Recession hot topic of luncheon

Woodland Daily Democrat

The economy was a top issue for Congressman Mike Thompson and Yolo Superior Court Presiding Judge David Rosenberg at the 15th annual state of the community luncheon held by the League of Women Voters.

Thompson spoke about the economic problems facing the country, state and local community.

"All eyes and all efforts are trying to figure out how to get out of this economic and financial mess that we're in," Thompson said.

Last month 625,000 jobs were lost across the nation, and many businesses are struggling to stay open and unemployment rates are climbing.

"There are counties in our seven-county district that will outpace California unemployment numbers and national numbers," he said. "We have one county over 13 percent and we have a couple of counties over 10 percent.

"And there's probably more to come," he said.

Thompson said he believes the country can get out of this, and while he did not agree with every item, he agreed that the stimulus bill will be a "bridge over troubled water."

"We've got to stop these jobs that are hemorrhaging because of our economic downturn, and this is the way to do it," he said.

Thompson said that there are several tax benefits money for schools, funds for infrastructure as well as money to create or save 8,000 jobs in the district, and more than 3 million across the country.

But once the economy gets back on track, he said the country needs to start dealing with the mounting $11 trillion debt.

The economy is also impacting Yolo Superior Court.

"We have budget woes like everyone else. We're not complaining, we're just dealing with it," Rosenberg said.

The courthouse is working on improving efficiency, but the judge said it's hard to innovate when they don't have enough resources.

"We don't have the money, we can't hire the clerks," he said. "We do the best we can but we're just treading water handling case load."

And the court has a hefty case load. The Yolo Superior Court has a staff of 138.5 people, with 10 judges. Last year, judicial officers dealt with 94,532 cases, about 45,385 new for 2008 -- a significant amount for a what's considered a "medium-sized" court.

"In 2007, there were 38,955 -- that's a 14 percent increase in cases filed," he said. "I do believe that's the greatest increase in the state of California."

While they're dealing with the economy just like everyone else, the court is also busy with a serious problem plaguing the community.

The courthouse is dealing with spacing issues as well. Right now the court is split up into seven different locations across Woodland. But there's hope -- Yolo Superior Court is fourth on the list California counties designated to get a new courthouse.

"It will be an enormous economic engine for the community," Rosenberg said.