Updating. . .
Both California parties losing ground among
registered voters -- California's two major political parties are
continuing to lose ground in voter registration as the ranks of
independent voters continue to swell, a new report by the Secretary of
State's office indicates. Dan Walters in the
Sacramento Bee$ John Howard
Capitol Weekly Patrick McGreevy in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
Google plans move into San Francisco's Mission
District -- The Mission District -- which used to be a largely
Latino working-class neighborhood -- has been ground zero for growing
tensions over tech-driven gentrification in San Francisco. Jessica Guynn
in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
McLeod becomes sixth California House member to
head for exits -- Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod, a freshman Democrat,
announced Tuesday that she will run for San Bernardino County supervisor
rather than Congress, becoming the sixth California House member to head
for the exits and potentially creating yet another competitive race.
Jean Merl and Richard
Simon in the
Los Angeles Times$ Jim Miller in the
Sacramento Bee$ Aaron Blake in the
Washington Post$ Alex Isenstadt
Politico Emily Cahn and
Abby Livingston
Roll Call -- 2/18/14
Ex-Rep. Baca bashes 'bimbo' Negrete McLeod,
won't run for seat -- Former Rep. Joe Baca (D-Calif.) won't switch
districts to run for Rep. Gloria Negrete McLeod's (D-Calif.) seat.
Cameron Joseph
The Hill -- 2/18/14
Former state GOP chair Ron Nehring running for
lieutenant governor -- Ron Nehring, the former chairman of the
California Republican Party, said Tuesday that he was running for
lieutenant governor. Seema Mehta in the
Los Angeles Times$ Josh Richman
Political Blotter Mark Walker
UT San Diego$-- 2/18/14
Gov. Brown honors CHP officers killed in crash
-- Gov. Jerry Brown led an array of public officials and law
enforcement agencies who offered their condolences after two California
Highway Patrol officers were killed in a car crash near Fresno early
Monday morning. Matt Stevens and
Ari Bloomekatz in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
Filling in blanks on NY Times story about
west-side water treatment -- It was well-done, but long on
technology and short on context for the Valley, so I will fill in the
blanks. My story on the water treatment plant published about a year ago.
Mark Grossi in the
Fresno Bee -- 2/18/14
Higher minimum wage would reduce jobs but
increase incomes, CBO says -- Increasing the federal minimum wage
to $10.10 an hour would cause the loss of about 500,000 jobs but would
boost earnings for about 16.5 million low-wage workers, the Congressional
Budget Office said Tuesday. Jim Puzzanghera in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
California Legislature Considering Ammunition
Background Check Bill -- A bill in the California legislature would
require criminal background checks for all ammunition purchases made in
the state. Max Pringle
Capital Public Radio --
2/18/14
Fox: A Dickens’ California -- Are we
Californians living through a Charles Dickens novel? “It was the best of
times it was the worst of times.” Joel Fox
Fox
& Hounds -- 2/18/14
Kaiser Permanente losing members to cheaper
plans -- Kaiser Permanente's statewide membership losses in the
California Public Employees' Retirement System this year also hold true
for the Sacramento region. Kathy Robertson
Sacramento Business Journal -- 2/18/14
Google's instructions on how not to be a
Glasshole -- The post tells users to explain that Glass serves a
lot of the same functions a mobile phone does when they ask, and it
instructs them to always ask to record photos or videos of others.
Eric Van Susteren
Silicon Valley Business Journal -- 2/18/14
California Policy & Politics This Morning
California ballot measure on pot legalization
delayed until 2016 -- A national drug reform coalition decides not to
put an initiative before voters in November, saying it needs more money and
time. Maria L. La Ganga in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
Sacramento marijuana dispensary battles with the
IRS over business expenses -- Sacramento’s Canna Care dispensary,
an evangelical medical marijuana provider renowned for doling out buds
with Bibles, is waging a public fight with the Internal Revenue Service
over an $873,167 tax penalty sought under a tax code aimed at illegal drug
traffickers. Peter Hecht in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/18/14
Former Greuel strategist signs on with
competitor Williamson -- The consultant who oversaw former L.A.
Controller Wendy Greuel's race for mayor last year has signed on with a
competitor to Greuel's campaign for an open congressional seat.
Jean Merl in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
Why San Diego’s Water Wonks Aren’t Panicking
-- In the weeks after Gov. Jerry Brown declared a drought
emergency, the San Diego County Water Authority has repeatedly said past
efforts to diversify its water sources and hold more H20 in storage mean
our region can avoid the significant cutbacks others have seen.
Lisa Halverstadt
VoiceofOC.org -- 2/18/14
Prop 8 sparks slew of 2014 initiatives requiring
a defense in court -- Call it for what it is: Prop 8's legacy when
it comes to the California initiative process. 2013's end to the long
legal fight over the state's ban on gay marriages left everyone wondering
whether laws written by voters will simply wither and die if elected
officials refuse to mount a legal defense. John
Myers
News10 -- 2/18/14
Congress in middle of Hollywood copyright clash
with Silicon Valley -- As Congress works to update the nation's
copyright law, film studios struggle not to get outmaneuvered by tech
firms and their allies. Evan Halper in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
Walters: There’s a darker side to Californians’
mortgage relief: big tax bills -- Two years ago, Attorney General
Kamala Harris trumpeted a landmark deal with the nation’s three largest
housing lenders, which agreed to give beleaguered California homeowners
$12 billion in relief from their underwater mortgages.
Dan Walters in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/18/14
Lazarus: Capital One says it can show up at
cardholders' homes, workplaces -- The credit card company's recent
contract update includes terms that sound menacing and creepy.
David Lazarus in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
Loophole let Orange County toll-road agency keep
$220,000 out of public eye -- The Foothill/Eastern toll road agency
kept nearly $220,000 in contract approvals hidden from public scrutiny in
the past year using a budget loophole that even its board members didn’t
know about, records show. Doug Irving and
Jenna Chandler in the
Orange County Register$ -- 2/18/14
L.A. Police Commission may revise scope of
shooting inquiries -- If approved, the panel would consider an
officer's actions before he fires his weapon in taking into account
whether the use of force is justified. Joel Rubin
in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
Newport Beach agrees to settlement with three
former officers -- The city agrees to a nearly $1-million
settlement with three former officers who say they were victims of a
corrupt police force. Jeremiah Dobruck in
the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
Latino cops' bias suit against Westminster moves
to trial -- Jury selection will begin in the case of three Latino
police officers who accuse Westminster of passing them over for
promotions. Adolfo Flores in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
2 CHP officers killed in Highway 99 crash
-- Two California Highway Patrol officers died early Monday on Highway 99
while driving to a collision near Kingsburg. Tim
Sheehan and Jim Guy in the
Fresno Bee -- 2/18/14
Nine charter schools fail new CalPERS entry test
-- CalPERS has denied membership to nine charter schools, saying a
proposed IRS rule could end crucial tax advantages if “even a single
non-governmental entity” is allowed into the giant pension system.
Ed Mendel
Calpensions.com -- 2/18/14
Greenhut: San Diego gun case not just about guns
-- When your 'right' is up to government, it's not a 'right'.
Steven Greenhut
UT San Diego$ -- 2/18/14
Taxes/Fees
Fines for unpaid Golden Gate Bridge tolls bring
in millions -- Having switched to all- electronic toll collections,
the Golden Gate Bridge district may be looking at a windfall gain of
millions of dollars in fines from motorists who don't pay up in time.
Phillip Matier and
Andrew Ross in the
San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/18/14
L.A. City Council to propose wage hike for hotel
workers -- Los Angeles lawmakers plan to introduce an ordinance
Tuesday that would require the operators of big hotels to pay workers
$15.37 an hour, one of the highest minimum wage rates targeting private
employers anywhere in the U.S. James Rainey
in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
Economy, Employers and Jobs
Development alters San Francisco 's road of
churches -- For decades, Brotherhood Way has been a unique part of
San Francisco, an almost pastoral road running toward Lake Merced past a
hillside of pine trees on one side and a row of churches, temples and
religious schools on the other. John Wildermuth
in the
San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/18/14
$400-million Powerball jackpot signals
California Lottery changes -- Bigger jackpots -- like Wednesday
night's $400-million Powerball drawing -- are attracting more players and
excitement to the California Lottery after years of decline, officials
say. Matt Stevens in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
Poll: Cost of owning home San Franciscans' top
concern -- Not that there was much doubt, but San Franciscans are
really concerned about the cost of living here.
John Coté in the
San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/18/14
Education
Spike in California students seeking financial aid
for college -- After years of rising tuition and pressure on
household budgets, a record number of students across California are
applying for college financial aid. Loretta Kalb
in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/18/14
New USC master's program to breed business-savvy
social entrepreneurs -- USC is out to create a new breed of
entrepreneur — one that can turn social causes into money makers.
Ronald D. White in the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
San Diego Students Adjusting To New Expectations
For GED -- Some of students in Trenton Watkin's adult education
class look like they could still be in high school.
Kyla Calvert
KPBS -- 2/18/14
Great year for CalSTRS won’t alter need for big
increase in contributions -- The Assembly committee that will
decide how to fix the multibillion-dollar funding shortfall for teacher
and administrator pensions will get good – and some sobering – news when
it holds its first hearing on the issue this week.
John Fensterwald
EdSource -- 2/18/14
Bill would open apprenticeship pathways
-- As schools across the state consider how they might use some of the
$250 million set aside to provide link-learning programs, one lawmaker has
proposed taking a share of that money to close a critical gap in the
program – building apprenticeship opportunities.
Tom Chorneau
Cabinet Report -- 2/18/14
Nation’s top science teachers culling NGSS
resources -- A team of expert instructors from all over the country
are preparing to release soon an online gallery of educational resources
that can be used to help teach new incoming science standards.
Kimberly Beltran
Cabinet Report -- 2/18/14
Health
Missteps in Covered California’s Marketing
Campaign to Latinos -- It’s been decades since the advertising
industry recognized the need to woo Hispanic consumers. Big companies saw
the market potential and sank millions of dollars into ads. The most basic
do’s and don’ts of marketing to Latinos in the U.S. have been understood for
years. April Dembosky
KQED -- 2/18/14
California Weighs Cigarette-Style Scare Labels
for Sodas -- There’s no question that obesity is a public health
problem: More than one-third of American adults are obese, and it’s
getting worse. Does that mean it’s the right time to slap scary labels on
sugar-laden drinks? John Tozzi
Bloomberg Businessweek -- 2/18/14
Environment
Squirrels, gophers unleash toxins at former
Berkeley landfill into bay -- Having run out of options, the city is
planning to trap and terminate hundreds, if not thousands, of ground
squirrels and western pocket gofers who have turned the shoreline of the
90-acre Cesar Chavez Park on the bay into what looks like a slice of Swiss
cheese. Doug Oakley in the
Contra Costa Times$ -- 2/18/14
Also...
Divers plunge in to keep San Francisco reservoirs
clean -- On a sunny morning in the Sunset District, Drew McEwing
struggled into a dry suit, clipped on ankle weights and was helped into a
diving helmet. Marisa Lagos in the
San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/18/14
Two Bee journalists win award for Nevada busing
story -- Sacramento Bee reporters Cynthia Hubert and Phillip
Reese are the recipients of a 2013 George Polk Award in Journalism for
their stories about a Las Vegas psychiatric hospital’s practice of
exporting patients by Greyhound bus to cities across the country.
The item is in the
Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/18/14
26 Percent of Americans Say the Sun Revolves
Around the Earth -- Every two years, the National Science
Foundation conducts a nationwide survey that stands as the "State of
Science" in America. As well as tracking progress in science education and
science jobs in the labor force, it provides a baseline of Americans'
understanding of their natural world. Brian Resnick
National Journal -- 2/18/14
POTUS 44
In California, Obama wraps up three days of
seclusion at Sunnylands -- President Obama squeezed in one last round
of golf on Monday before wrapping up his secluded Presidents Day weekend and
heading back to Washington. Christi Parsons in
the
Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/14
NSA / Surveillance
Hillary Clinton goes mum on NSA, skirts
surveillance fight -- Last September, Hillary Clinton strode to a
podium in Philadelphia to deliver what she advance-billed as a policy
speech addressing the roiling controversy over government surveillance in
a digital era. John Gerstein
Politico -- 2/18/14
Beltway
Issa in N.H.: ‘I came to shape the debate’
-- California Republican Darrell Issa opened his speech at Monday
night’s Lincoln-Reagan Dinner saying he was not there as a candidate.
Doug Alden
UT San Diego$ -- 2/18/14