Entries by IPS

Taxing Alcohol to Protect Public Health and Safety Is a Good Thing

Most people cringe at the idea of paying more taxes, including on alcoholic products. But when weighed against the cost that alcohol puts on communities, healthcare, and society, a strong case exists that more taxing is necessary. An alcohol tax is a type of excise tax that is applied to beer, wine and spirits at […]

“Unity in the Community” Mural is Unveiled

The six-year project, co-led by IPS’ sister agency, demonstrates the value of public art to community health SAN DIEGO, April 2023 – On Saturday, March 25, residents and city leaders gathered at Teralta Neighborhood Park in San Diego for the official unveiling of a 270-foot mural depicting the City Heights neighborhood. The project, co-led by […]

Creating a Prevention Campaign That Works

Lessons learned from tobacco control hold value for future efforts In 1880, James Albert Bonsack filed a patent on an invention that would eventually pit industrial growth against public health. Bonstack’s invention could roll hundreds of cigarettes a minute, revolutionizing the tobacco industry and creating a product that would see thousands of percentages of increases […]

IPS Expands Tobacco Prevention Efforts

Agency awarded two new grants from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health LOS ANGELES, December 2022 – The Institute for Public Strategies (IPS) announced it has been awarded two grants from the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health to develop and implement comprehensive smoke-free policies for outdoor areas and in multi-unit […]

IPS Celebrates 30 Years Leading Projects Around the Nation

SAN DIEGO, December 2022 – “Equity is not a path forward, it is the path forward,” is a phrase you can hear often around the offices at the Institute for Public Strategies and is embedded in our office culture. CEO/President Brenda Simmons, who has been at the helm for more than three years, says IPS is committed […]

Tobacco Prevention 2.0: Integrating Equity into Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing

Protecting the health and safety of everyone requires a new approach to policy When it comes to housing vulnerable populations, tobacco prevention is essential. Tens of millions of Americans live in multi-unit housing (apartment buildings, condominiums, and other tightly-clustered living arrangements). A significant percentage of this housing is subsidized by the government. Smoke-free building policies, which […]

California’s New Composting Law Takes on Climate Change

It’s no secret that the first to be impacted by the devastating effects of climate change are those who are already the most vulnerable. The startling and unprecedented changes to the natural world—caused, at least in part, by human activity—individuals that are already struggling are likely to bear the burden of environmental collapse. Already, researchers […]

This Election Cycle, Vote with Redistricting in Mind

California received a facelift this year in the form of a dramatic new redistricting plan that leaves the state’s political landscape barely recognizable, yet full of opportunities for new representatives to lead their regions. The changes have come at all levels of government, from city councils to Congress. They provide new opportunities for some communities […]

Juneteenth at IPS: Historical Oppression and Upstream Prevention

On June 19, 1865, U.S. General Gordon Granger led federal troops to Galveston, Texas — one of the few remaining areas of the deep south that had held resistance late into the Civil War. As General Granger stepped foot on that arid soil, he brought with him orders which stated that all slaves were to […]