People can get a leg up in tackling complicated political issues in California through a new program recently launched by a coalition of government groups and University Extension at UC Davis. Called California Issues Forums, the program features a series of organized community discussions in which the participants work together to find points of agreement. They are guided by a trained moderator and use nonpartisan "issue" books that address state-specific issues. Information collected during these forums will be shared with policy-makers during 1994. The program is based on the National Issues Forums' model. "We find that there is much more common ground than many Californians realize when they sincerely begin tackling the issues together," says Charles Lacy, leader of the state forum coalition and dean of University Extension at UC Davis.