California Policy & Politics This Morning
BART train derails near Concord Station
-- An out-of-service BART train derailed Friday night near the Concord
Station, halting all traffic east of the station for several hours and
causing long delays for hundreds of passengers stranded during the evening
commute. Demian Bulwa and
Erin Allday in the
San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/22/14
Concord: Cleanup from BART derailment to last
through Saturday -- Cleanup was expected to continue through
Saturday after an unloaded BART train departing the Concord station
derailed shortly after 6:20 p.m. Friday, leaving cars strewn across two
sets of tracks and the train's lead car hanging off the edge of the
elevated rails. Katie Nelson in the
Oakland Tribune -- 2/22/14
Drought: Feds cut water to California farmers to
zero -- Federal officials announced Friday that many California
farmers will receive no water this year from the federally-run system of
reservoirs and canals fed by the drought-stricken Sierra Nevada, a
crippling blow for the state's agricultural industry.
Kurtis Alexander in the
San Francisco Chronicle Mark Grossi in
the
Fresno Bee Bettina Boxall in the
Los Angeles Times$ Paul Rogers in
the
San Jose Mercury$ Matt Weiser and
Mark Glover in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/22/14
Tesoro bars federal safety agency from East Bay
refinery -- In an unprecedented challenge, Tesoro Corp. has barred
federal authorities from going inside its refinery near Martinez to
investigate an incident in which two workers were burned by acid spewing
from a broken pipe, The Chronicle has learned.
Jaxon Van Derbeken in the
San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/22/14
Steinberg asks Calderon to resign from
California Senate -- Following the announcement Friday that a
federal grand jury has indicted Sen. Ron Calderon on 24 criminal charges
including bribery, California state Senate leader Darrell Steinberg called
on him to resign and said he had the full backing of his Democratic
caucus. Laurel Rosenhall in the
Sacramento Bee$ Patrick McGreevy in the
Los Angeles Times$ Josh Richman
Political Blotter -- 2/22/14
Plea deal sheds light on 'massive healthcare
fraud scheme' -- In announcing the indictment of state Sen. Ron
Calderon on charges including money laundering Friday, federal authorities
also released documents shedding new light on a spinal surgery billing
scheme the California Department of Insurance called its largest-ever case
of insurance fraud. David Siders in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/22/14
Calderon indictment could affect other races,
supermajority -- The indictments against state Sen. Ronald S.
Calderon and former Assemblyman Tom Calderon on Friday initially drew a
muted response from colleagues in the Legislature who huddled behind
closed doors to decide what to do. Patrick McGreevy
in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/22/14
Calderon name may lose its luster in state
politics -- Corruption counts against Ron and Tom Calderon could
affect political aspirations of other family members.
Patrick McGreevy in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/22/14
State Sen. Ron Calderon faces 395 years for
alleged bribery scheme -- The U.S. attorney in Los Angeles on
Friday painted a picture of government for sale as he announced that state
Sen. Ron Calderon had been indicted on suspicion of taking roughly
$100,000 in bribes, meals and trips in exchange for favorable legislation.
Richard Winton in the
Los Angeles Times$ Laurel Rosenhall and
David Siders in the
Sacramento Bee Don Thompson
Associated Press Melody Gutierrez
in the
San Francisco Chronicle Dan Whitcomb
Reuters Dakota Smith in the
Los
Angeles Daily News$ -- 2/22/14-- 2/22/14
Federal officials say Ron Calderon agreed
willingly to wear 'wire' -- Federal officials said in a court
filing Friday that state Sen. Ron Calderon wore a "wire" to record two
conversations with another, unnamed person, but canceled a third meeting
shortly before the FBI raided Calderon's Capitol office last summer.
David Siders in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/22/14
Read the indictment of Ron and Tom Calderon -- via the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/22/14
Capitol Connection podcast: Surprisingly
Newsworthy -- Sometimes, even when you think you're prepared for
the week's political news, you get a curveball. Or, in the case of this
week, two curveballs. John Myers
KXTV -- 2/22/14
California Sen. Rod Wright sentencing delayed
two months -- Sentencing has been delayed by two months in the case
against Sen. Rod Wright, who was found guilty of eight felonies by a Los
Angeles jury last month for lying about where he lives.
Laurel Rosenhall in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/22/14
Prosecutor: Tim Donnelly won't face legal action
for gun use -- Tim Donnelly will not face legal action in San
Bernardino County for his heavily publicized use of firearms at campaign
events in recent weeks, the local prosecutor saying Friday that terms of
Donnelly's probation do not prohibit such activities.
David Siders in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/22/14
Rep. Becerra endorses Eloise Gomez Reyes for
Congress -- Breaking with the election arm of House Democrats, Rep.
Xavier Becerra (D-Los Angeles) has endorsed Colton attorney Eloise Gomez
Reyes for an open Inland Empire congressional seat.
Jean Merl in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/22/14
Jerry Brown's parole interventions include
crossbow killing case -- Gov. Jerry Brown let about 82 percent of
convicted killers' parole releases stand last year, continuing to use his
power to block decisions of the state parole board relatively sparingly.
David Siders in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/22/14
Sierra Club San Diego Chapter suspended
-- The Sierra Club’s national board voted Friday to suspend its San Diego
chapter for four years, citing “ongoing conflicts and divisions” among
local activists. Deborah Sullivan Brennan
UT San Diego$ -- 2/22/14
Complaint to FPPC: Anaheim Mayor Has Conflict of
Interest With OCTA Votes -- A complaint to the state's political
watchdog alleges Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait violated a state conflict of
interest law by casting City Council votes on matters relating to the
Orange County Transportation Authority, which contracts with his
environmental engineering firm. Adam Elmahrek
VoiceofOC.org -- 2/22/14
No Medal of Honor for Peralta -- A
years-long battle to upgrade the posthumous combat award for Sgt. Rafael
Peralta to the Medal of Honor appeared to end in defeat Friday, when the
Pentagon announced it will not reopen the nomination for the fallen
Marine. Gretel C. Kovach
UT San Diego$ -- 2/22/14
Democrats still have $30K of foreign cash
-- One month after pledging to dispose of $30,000 pegged by prosecutors as
an illegal campaign contribution from a foreign national, the Democratic
Party of San Diego County has yet to send back or donate the money.
Jeff McDonald
UT San Diego$ -- 2/22/14
Audit finds questionable Long Beach port
commission travel expenses -- Reimbursement for spousal travel,
despite a city ban, was among the findings. Travel costs topped $1.2
million for 12 trips. Christine Mai-Duc in
the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/22/14
Economy, Employers and Jobs
For F/A-18 Super Hornet, the end may be on the
horizon -- Workers at Northrop Grumman Corp.'s
1-million-square-foot El Segundo facility on Aviation Boulevard have been
cranking out fuselage sections for the Navy's F/A-18 fighter jet for
decades. But now, the end may be near. W.J.
Hennigan in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/22/14
Strong L.A. economy boosts income inequality in
city, study says -- A relatively strong local economy in Los
Angeles, which is stoking the fortunes of its higher-income residents, is
helping boost income disparity in the city, the Brookings Institution
study shows. Walter Hamilton in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/22/14
Jesse Jackson on Silicon Valley’s ‘apartheid’
-- The renowned civil rights leader told the Mercury News editorial
board Thursday that his Rainbow PUSH Coalition plans to revitalize its
Silicon Valley project and make its case to the region’s top tech firms
that “we need to democratize the economy.” Josh
Richman
Political Blotter -- 2/22/14
Billionaire tech star Peter Thiel, big GOP
donor, backs $12/hr minimum wage -- Here’s more evidence that
progressives and conservatives may find common ground on a key issue —
billionaire tech star Peter Thiel, the San Francisco-based PayPal
co-founder who’s given millions to GOP causes, supports the idea of
boosting the minimum wage to $12 an hour. Carla
Marinucci in the
San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/22/14
Nation's problems aren't tech's fault, Peter
Thiel says -- Peter Thiel, the billionaire co-founder of PayPal and
an increasingly active force in conservative and libertarian politics,
says the country has a problem: It's not embracing tech. Worse, said
Facebook's original investor, it's making the tech culture a whipping boy
for its problems. Carla Marinucci in the
San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/22/14
Education
UC Davis students vote to tax themselves to keep
campus newspaper alive -- UC Davis students gave their campus
newspaper new life Friday, voting to tax themselves nearly $300,000 a year
to support the operations of the California Aggie indefinitely.
Richard Chang in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/22/14
Tobacco sales to cease at Stanford University
-- Vendors who operate convenience stores at the Valero gas station
and Tresidder Union have agreed to the school's request to phase out sales
of tobacco products, including cigarettes, chewing tobacco and
e-cigarettes. Jason Green in the
San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/22/14
Guns
San Diego Sheriff won’t fight gun permit ruling
-- Sheriff Bill Gore said Friday that he will not fight an opinion
by a federal appeals court that ruled against the county’s restrictive
policy on carrying concealed weapons. Kristina
Davis
UT San Diego$ Tony Perry in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/22/14
Health
Health officials see flu declining but warn of
measles -- Just as California’s record-setting flu season seems to
be fading, with 278 deaths confirmed as of Friday, health officials warned
that another infectious and sometimes deadly virus has arrived -- measles.
Eryn Brown in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/22/14
California flu fatalities rise another 35 in one
week, totaling 278 -- Flu deaths in California continue to climb,
with state officials Friday warning the public that the influenza season
likely will last until April. Cynthia H. Craft
in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/22/14
Environment
Local Group Wants Renewable Development in L.A.,
Not Owens Valley -- California's second-largest county wants to
designate almost ten percent of its land for renewable energy development,
and a cultural protection group is taking up metaphorical arms against the
core of the proposed policy. Chris Clarke
KCET Rewire -- 2/22/14
Also . . .
Rodota: Bad Break-up: Keep California
Together -- "California is ungovernable in its current state."
--Tim Draper. We have seen this movie before. In the late 1980s, venerated
political consultant Stu Spencer offered an identical perspective to
then-Senator Pete Wilson, in a vain attempt to dissuade him from a run for
Governor. Joe Rodota
Huffington Post -- 2/22/14
POTUS 44
Obama to award Medal of Honor to two dozen
veterans, including 19 discrimination victims -- President Obama
will correct a historical act of discrimination next month when he awards
the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest commendation for combat valor, to
a group of Hispanic, Jewish and African-American veterans who were passed
over because of their racial or ethnic backgrounds.
Scott Wilson in the
Washington Post$ -- 2/22/14
Beltway