Redding Record Searchlight
May 31, 2011

Pete Manzo, Pasadena
Manzo is the president and CEO of United Ways of California.

Many in Bay Area are faring worse.

Your May 20 editorial, “Report opens a window onto two Californias,” missed the mark with regard to the well-being report recently released by the American Human Development Project.

A Portrait of California analyzed how Californians are doing with regard to health, education and income using a Human Development Index ranking of 0-10. While it is true that Redding faces extreme challenges with a HD Index score of 4.31, it is not true that everyone in the Bay Area is doing well. Pittsburg in Contra Costa County and the neighborhood of Elmhurst in Alameda County actually score worse than Redding on the scale, for example.

What the report found is that regional geographic distinctions are not necessarily as stark as socioeconomic ones, and there are great disparities in well-being within communities. Our goal at United Ways is to try to give all Californians opportunities to live a good life.

Read the original editorial here.