A FIRST STEP ON METH FRONT

Radanovich Promises To Seek Congressional Hearings.

Rep. George Radanovich's pledge to seek congressional hearings on the
methamphetamine problem in the Central Valley is a welcome response from
one of the region's elected officials. Most have been silent despite
growing evidence that meth is one of the Valley's most serious law
enforcement challenges, with broad social implications for our children and
families.

These issues were documented in "A Madness Called Meth," an 18-page special
section produced by a team of Bee journalists from Fresno, Modesto and
Sacramento. The Central Valley is meth's principal breeding ground, but
little has been done by our governmental leaders.

Radanovich made his pledge to seek congressional hearings on the meth
epidemic on Monday during a meeting with The Bee's editorial board. The
Mariposa Republican said he would talk to Rep. Henry Hyde, chairman of the
House Judiciary Committee, about possibly scheduling hearings. Radanovich's
office later said he also would be pursuing other avenues to increase
funding for the meth fight and to increase public awareness of the
seriousness of the meth problem.

Congressional hearings certainly would raise the profile of this issue, and
we commend Radanovich for deciding to attack this problem at the
congressional level. He said he had not realized how widespread the meth
problem was or how little funding actually went into the fight in the
Valley prior to publication of The Bee's report.

It is disturbing that most of the region's lawmakers have either ignored
the problem or have been making excuses for their timid actions in
responding to the crisis. The region has been declared a High-Intensity
Drug Trafficking Area, which should open it up to increased funding and
allow better coordination of the governmental authorities and resources
involved in this fight.

But the lack of federal funds to fight meth in the Valley remains an
indictment of our representatives, and is clear evidence that the region
has been ignored when meth-fighting money has been handed out.

The Bee report found that while San Diego gets $10 million from the federal
government to combat drug trafficking, Milwaukee $4.5 million and Lake
County, Ind., $3 million, the nine Valley counties that stretch from
Sacramento to Kern receive just $1.5 million from the federal government.
It is the smallest drug-fighting budget of any region in the country.

If Radanovich is successful in getting federal hearings, it will focus
attention on the problem and the lack of state and federal commitment to
resolving it.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein has defended her actions in the meth fight by citing
all the anti-meth laws that she has authored. They have been helpful, but
this battle is far from over. At the very least, the senator should get
more federal funds directed at the Valley's meth problem.

We hope Radanovich persuades his colleagues to hold congressional hearings
on the Central Valley's methamphetamine problem. Maybe then, with the
cameras rolling, our state and federal officials will take this threat much
more seriously.