The tentacles of the Kinde Durkee scandal are reaching across the spectrum of Democratic campaigns, as candidates scramble to find out how much -- if any -- their campaigns were bilked by the fiscal operative, now facing federal mail fraud charges.
From the LA Times' Richard Simon and Patrick McGreevy: "A suspected embezzlement scheme that has ensnared hundreds of campaign accounts of Democrats has sent candidates scrambling for new cash as they prepare for an election season that could reshape California's political landscape."
Just when they need to start hiring staff and commissioning polls, many candidates have no idea how much might have been taken from them or how much they have left, and they cannot find out: As many as 400 political accounts have been frozen by the banks holding the funds since the Sept. 2 arrest of treasurer Kinde Durkee."
She controlled funds for numerous politicians, predominantly Democrats, and it could be years before litigation sorts out who is owed what."
Much of the discussion over what's become known as "realignment" -- the transfer of state authority and resources to the locals -- has focused on money. But in corrections, one result of realignment is likely to be a greater number of low-level prisoners on the streets than they otherwise would be. The Mercury News' Tracy Kaplan tells the tale.
"The state's new massive "realignment" plan -- which begins Saturday -- amounts to a dramatic retreat from California's costly, tough-on-crime, lock-'em-up approach. No matter how slowly the new strategy unfolds, it will ultimately put more low-level offenders on the streets sooner than they would be under the current rules, either because they are enrolled in rehabilitation programs outside the jail walls, or are serving shorter periods in jail or on post-release supervision."
"It's the biggest change in the criminal justice system in 35 years," since the state switched to imposing fixed-term sentences on most crimes, said Judge Phil Pennypacker, who presides over the criminal division of Santa Clara County Superior Court."
"Still, the state has been quick to assure the public that switching low-risk convicts from prison blues to county jail jumpsuits will not jeopardize public safety. Killers, robbers and sex offenders like Philip Garrido, who kidnapped 11-year-old Jaycee Dugard and held her in Antioch for 18 years, will remain under the state's watch. No inmates will be released early from prison and bused home. Instead, the 58 counties will gradually begin housing and supervising nonviolent criminals and parole violators as they are sentenced or released."
Deaths are on the rise in California's national forests and most fatalties are water-related, apparently the result of a heavy snow year.
From the Bee's Matt Weiser: "Data provided by the U.S. Forest Service show there have been 27 deaths in 18 national forests in the state through Aug. 15, the most recent data available."
"That is about equal to the total number of deaths in each of the last three full calendar years, said Stanton Floria, a spokesman for the Forest Service's Pacific Southwest Region, which is based in Vallejo and oversees all the California forests."
"We have been noticing a trend toward more injuries and fatalities," Floria said. "We're already at the point where we've been in past years, and we haven't concluded the year yet, so that's fairly telling."
If California's high-speed rail system ever does get built, one thing it will do is test the capacity of the electricity grid, which will be providing the power.
From the Fresno Bee's Tim Sheehan: "If the system is ever built, it's going to take massive amounts of electricity to make those trains fly, raising questions about the power grid's ability to meet the demand. If you think your electric bill is high -- just be thankful you're not the Rail Authority."
"Deep within environmental-impact reports for the system's Valley sections is a tossed salad of kilowatts, megawatts, gigawatts, BTUs and passenger miles. When combined, they form a picture of a train system that could use more than 3 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) a year by the time it's fully operational statewide."
"The average California home uses about 6,960 kWh in a year. At that rate, it would take more than 430,000 households to use what the train system would consume."
Most Californians, especially those under 40, would like to see the state tax online poker and make the game legal, according to a Field Poll.
The Bee's Laurel Rosenhall reports: "Among all age groups, 53 percent of voters support the idea, the poll says, while 41 percent oppose it. Among voters under age 40, however, support grows to 73 percent."
"The Legislature has been discussing proposals to make online gambling legal in California for the past two years. The bills stalled as various gambling interests fought over who would be able to profit from the endeavor."
"Parties involved in the debate – owners of Indian casinos, card rooms and race tracks – are supposed to meet this fall to hash out a compromise proposal for the Legislature to consider next year. Lawmakers who support Internet gambling have said it could bring hundreds of millions to state coffers."