California Policy & Politics This Morning
A 'monumental moment' for fully legal marijuana in California -- Will Senn has been waiting his whole life for this. Californians can now go to the store and buy marijuana, and his shop is opening its doors at 7 a.m. on New Year’s Day. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/1/18
Some states put a THC limit on pot-smoking drivers — Here’s why California doesn’t -- Melanie Brinegar smelled of marijuana, so a Colorado police officer asked her to get out of her vehicle. On the one-legged stand, a routine part of field sobriety tests, she lost her balance after 28 seconds, when she needed to go 30. A drug recognition evaluation that included looking at her vital signs went worse. Jenna Lyons in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/1/18
What to expect when recreational marijuana goes on sale on Jan. 1 -- Recreational marijuana is scheduled to go on sale at licensed stores in California on January 1st, or shortly thereafter, depending on the location. Here’s what you need to know about buying and using so-called “adult use” cannabis. Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ Angel Jennings and Sarah Parvini in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/1/18
California's largest ever fire was a force that could not be stopped -- The fire left the mountains ghostly gray, vast slopes frozen still but for dust devils wandering the ash. Joe Mozingo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/1/18
Walters: California’s Capitol wakes up to a new ambience -- The Capitol awakens from its autumnal hibernation this week with a much-changed institutional ambience. An ever-expanding sexual harassment scandal has already claimed the careers of two legislators, and others are at risk. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 1/1/18
California Community Colleges To Hand Out First Bachelor’s Degrees Next Year -- In 2014, the state agreed to conduct an experiment. It would allow a small number of community colleges to offer four-year bachelor’s degrees. Megan Burks KPBS -- 1/1/18
Why East L.A. Educators Have Been Running The Troubled San Ysidro School District -- When the San Ysidro school board hired Mary Willis as its interim superintendent in November, she became the seventh person to lead the troubled district since 2013. She was also the fourth to have ties to school districts in the East Los Angeles area. Leo Castaneda inewsource -- 1/1/18
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Lazarus: 2017 marked a year of tearing down consumer protections 'brick by brick'. -- If you think the government has no business telling business its business, this has been a pretty great year. If, on the other hand, you think government has a role to play in ensuring fair play by companies that have shown themselves to be guided almost exclusively by self-interest and a disregard for consumers and public welfare, this year has been nothing short of horrendous. David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/1/18
POTUS 45
For Trump, a Year of Reinventing the Presidency -- In ways that were once unimaginable, President Trump has discarded the conventions and norms established by his predecessors. The office has become a blunt instrument to advance personal, policy and political goals. Will that change the institution permanently? Peter Baker in the New York Times$ -- 1/1/18
Beltway
Devin Nunes, targeting Mueller and the FBI, alarms Democrats and some Republicans with his tactics -- Rep. Devin Nunes, once sidelined by an ethics inquiry from leading the House Intelligence Committee’s Russia probe, is reasserting the full authority of his position as chairman just as the GOP appears poised to challenge special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s investigation of possible coordination between the Trump campaign and Russian officials. Karoun Demirjian in the Washington Post$ -- 1/1/18
The latest 2018 election-hacking threat: 9-month wait for government help -- States rushing to guard their 2018 elections against hackers may be on a waiting list for up to nine months for the Department of Homeland Security’s most exhaustive security screening, according to government officials familiar with the situation. Tim Starks Politico -- 1/1/18
Mullen: Threat of nuclear war with North Korea heightened -- Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Sunday that the U.S. is closer to nuclear war with North Korea than ever before, an example of America's adversaries taking advantage of the "uncertainty" of President Donald Trump's leadership. Brent D. Griffiths Politico -- 1/1/18