Surveys show confidence in government down amid urban sprawl and energy crisis.
Some 82 percent of the 2001 people asked said that population growth over the next two decades will make California a less desirable place to live. Central Valley residents are most concerned about urban sprawl and loss of open space, the recent polling by four prominent research groups showed. The findings by the Public Institute of California, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, James Irvine Foundation and David and Lucile Packard Foundation, did not surprise locals. John Fallgatter, president of Kern County's Smart Growth Coalition, said of the California energy shortage. Only 44 percent said California is on the right path.