California Policy & Politics This Morning
California drought: Why is there no mandatory
water rationing? -- Fourteen months into a historic drought, with
reservoirs running low and the Sierra snowpack 27 percent of normal, a
growing number of Californians are wondering: Why isn't everyone being
forced to ration? Paul Rogers in the
San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/16/14
California water issues awash in politics
-- To call water “political’ is tantamount to calling it wet. And this
year — the state’s driest year on record — is fertile ground for a water
war. Ben Baeder in the
Los
Angeles Daily News$ -- 2/16/14
History shows California subject to extreme
droughts -- If you are reading this from anywhere in California,
stop, look in the mirror and say, “I’m a champion.” It’s an indisputable
claim, because experts say Californians are the worldwide leaders at
capturing water. Ben Baeder in the
Los
Angeles Daily News$ -- 2/16/14
14 reservoirs in Southern California near record
lows -- Late winter in year three of an extended drought and the
local picture isn’t pretty. Steve Scauzillo
in the
Los Angeles Daily News -- 2/16/14
Lopez: Getting rid of grass is making
homeowners' wallets greener -- Property owners are being offered a
financial incentive to replace water-guzzling grass with drought-tolerant
landscaping. Steve Lopez in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/16/14
In Oakland, police struggle to find recruits
-- In a city where unemployment is high and officials are desperate
to rebuild an understaffed police force, the Oakland Police Department is
having a hard time finding applicants from Oakland.
Matthew Artz in the
Oakland Tribune -- 2/16/14
Walters: Declining labor-force participation
bodes ill for California economy -- How’s this for a statistical
coincidence? In December, California’s “seasonally adjusted” unemployment
rate was 8.3 percent, reflecting its slow recovery from its worst postwar
recession that had driven the jobless rate as high as 12.9 percent four
years earlier. Dan Walters in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/16/14
Morain: Wayward lobbyist is part of the Capitol
money machine -- Lobbyist Kevin Sloat, the latest Capitol insider
to be outed by his own hubris, apparently thought he needed an edge,
whether he did or not. Dan Morain in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/16/14
Faulconer win was wide and deep -- An
analysis of Tuesday’s San Diego special mayoral election returns shows
Kevin Faulconer swept the Republican vote, triumphed among independents
and older voters and picked up substantial backing from Democrats.
Mark Walker
UT San Diego$ -- 2/16/14
Willie Brown: Are public-employee unions toxic
to their candidates? -- The real news in the San Diego mayoral race
isn't that a Republican won, but that the candidate backed by
public-employee unions lost. Willie Brown in
the
San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/16/14
Economy, Employers and Jobs
Court says Orange County can charge retirees
more for health care -- Dealing a blow to about 4,600 retired
public workers, a panel of federal judges has ruled that Orange County can
continue to charge retirees more for health insurance than it charges
current employees. Mike Reicher in the
Orange County Register$ -- 2/16/14
Palo Alto: Councilwoman questions '9/80
schedule' -- For years, Palo Alto has given a large chunk of its
workforce every other Friday off. But one councilwoman is questioning
whether the practice should be abandoned or at least modified.
Jason Green in the
San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/16/14
Rental costs leave low-income Treasure Island
tenants stuck -- Many of the residents who moved to Treasure Island
over the past 15 years were formerly homeless or low-income people hoping
to escape the social and environmental ills of neighborhoods like the
Tenderloin and Bayview. Instead, they have found themselves in the middle
of a toxic cleanup site. And most can't afford to go anywhere else.
Marisa Lagos in the
San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/16/14
Education
Proposed initiative would give school districts
back their property taxes -- The parent activists who formed Educate
Our State say it’s time for the state to stop robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Peter, in their view, being the schools and the theft being billions in
property taxes. John Fensterwald
EdSource -- 2/16/14
Bonta: CalSTRS shortfall will require a shared
responsibility -- The best solution to fix the shortfall is one
that is fair to all stakeholders involved: school districts, the state and
teachers. Rob Bonta
EdSource -- 2/16/14
In USC student government, where are the women? -- Since 2006, every
candidate for USC student body president has been male, and almost all
winners have been fraternity members. Jason Song
in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/16/14
Nine-hour school day is the norm -- and a
national model -- at Oakland middle school -- All 375 students at
Elmhurst Community Prep attend the expanded learning program, making it
part of their normal school day. Classes begin at 8 a.m. and end at 5
p.m., at least two hours after most other Oakland students are done for
the day. Susan Frey in the
Oakland Tribune -- 2/16/14
Health
Is Treasure Island toxic? Residents' worries grow
-- Treasure Island resident Kathryn Lundgren has been concerned for
several years about the effects of contamination at the former Navy base on
her family's health. Marisa Lagos in the
San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/16/14
Ammiano has bone to pick over access to Healthy
San Francisco -- He finds it no laughing matter that Healthy San
Francisco, the city's universal health care plan, will continue to be
available to undocumented immigrants who don't qualify for health
insurance through President Obama's Affordable Care Act but not to U.S.
citizens who qualify for it but can't afford it.
Heather Knight in the
San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/16/14
California provides scant information to
families looking for residential elderly care -- According to the
California Department of Social Services website, Valley Springs Manor is
open for business and fully licensed. That may come as a surprise to the
families of 19 residents who were abandoned at the facility in October
because state regulators closed it for providing substandard care.
Katie Nelson and
Daniel J. Willis in the
San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/16/14
Exclusive database lists fines for senior care
homes all over California -- Though the state of California makes
very little information on residential elderly care facilities available
online, this news organization has assembled what is available into an
exclusive database of the fines levied against hundreds of facilities
during a two-year period. Katie Nelson and
Daniel J. Willis in the
San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/16/14
Dental services are coming back for California's
low-income adults -- Across the state, many low-income California
adults lack dental insurance or access to dental care, threatening their
overall health and employability. Daniela
Hernandrez in the
San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/16/14
Environment
Paramount residents not alone in pollution fight
-- A Paramount case spotlights poor communities' struggle for action
on local pollution sources. Tony Barboza and Jessica
Garrison in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/16/14
Guns
San Diego sheriff to keep reviewing concealed
weapons applications -- Despite a court ruling that struck down
California's concealed weapons statute, the San Diego County Sheriff's
Department will continue reviewing applications for permits.
Tony Perry in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/16/14
Also...
Email raises questions about Tanaka's role in
handling of inmate informant -- A manager's memo says the then-L.A.
County undersheriff or subordinates were to be present whenever Anthony
Brown, who was cooperating with the FBI, was moved.
Robert Faturechi in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/16/14
GPS monitoring alerts overwhelm probation
officers -- The system that was supposed to help L.A. County keep
track of felons is complicating the task, bombarding agents with emails.
Paige St. John in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/16/14
Gibson guitars made with government-seized wood
are sold out -- The Les Paul, Explorer, SG and Flying V six-string
guitars have fingerboards made of wood that federal agents seized in
Gibson factory raids and then returned. Ryan
Faughnder in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/16/14
POTUS 44
Did the NSA really help spy on U.S. lawyers?
-- Sounds like the NSA helped spy on U.S. lawyers, right? Well, not
so fast. If you unpack the story and ignore the opening spin, the story ends
up delivering considerably less than it promises.
Orin Kerr in the
Washington Post$ -- 2/16/14
NSA / Surveillance
Spying by N.S.A. Ally Entangled U.S. Law Firm
-- The list of those caught up in the global surveillance net cast
by the National Security Agency and its overseas partners, from social
media users to foreign heads of state, now includes another entry:
American lawyers. James Risen and
Laura Poitras in the
New York Times$ -- 2/16/14