Federal officials haven't answered all the questions surrounding last year's major attack on an electrical substation, which severly damaged transformers funnelling power to the Silicon Valley.
Rebecca Smith in The Wall Street Journal reports: "Nobody has been arrested or charged in the attack at PG&E Corp.'s Metcalf transmission substation. It is an incident of which few Americans are aware. But one former federal regulator is calling it a terrorist act that, if it were widely replicated across the country, could take down the U.S. electric grid and black out much of the country."
"The attack was "the most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid that has ever occurred" in the U.S., said Jon Wellinghoff, who was chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at the time."
"The Federal Bureau of Investigation doesn't think a terrorist organization caused the Metcalf attack, said a spokesman for the FBI in San Francisco. Investigators are "continuing to sift through the evidence," he said."
President Obama will execute his latest executive action today, which is designed to help the nation's agricultural community "combat climate change and adapt to extreme weather."
Lesley Clark reporting for McClatchy D.C.: "Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will announce at the White House press briefing the creation of the first ever "Regional Hubs for Risk Adaptation and Mitigation to Climate Change" at seven locations across the U.S."
"The White House says the climate hubs, which are part of Obama's Climate Action Plan, will "address increasing risks such as fires, invasive pests, devastating floods, and crippling droughts on a regional basis, aiming to translate science and research into information to farmers, ranchers, and forest landowners on ways to adapt and adjust their resource management."
"The locations selected to serve as the regional center for climate change information and outreach to the agricultural sector include"
"The bill's assistance for California is substantial. It provides for a large boost in research and other assistance for the state's produce growers to combat pests and diseases and improve crop safety."
Meanwhile, water officials' allocation decisions last year are biting them in the rear this year.
Robert Gammon notes in the East Bay Express: "So what happened? Last spring, Northern California's three major reservoirs had plenty of water despite the fact that the state had just endured its second consecutive winter of below-normal precipitation. Records show that by April 2013, Shasta, Oroville, and Folsom reservoirs were at 101 percent, 108 percent, and 96 percent of their historical averages, respectively."
"According to a report prepared last fall by the Central Delta Water Agency that was obtained by the conservation group California Sportfishing Protection Alliance, state officials — mindful of the possibility of a third dry year — planned to cut back on the amount of water pumped out of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta from 1.67 million acre-feet to 1.46 million acre-feet in 2013. Federal water officials announced similar reductions. But then the state reversed course last spring and summer and pumped more water from the delta than it had said it would — about 827,000 acre-feet more, enough for about four million people."
Another drought Californians should be mindful of involves the state's Demoratic Party.
The National Journal's Josh Kraushaar writes: "That's had major consequences for the national Democratic Party. The list of prospective 2016 candidates is filled with politicos from the other Democratic stronghold of New York—Hillary Clinton, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand—but there's no one from California on the list. It's striking how few Hispanics are represented in the party's presidential ranks, even as they make up an essential part of the Democratic coalition."
"Blame California, the diverse Democratic goldmine, as a pivotal factor in that drought."
"Within California, top talent has been blocked from seeking higher office thanks to a logjam of long-tenured politicos. Despite the state's diversity, there isn't a single Hispanic official currently holding statewide office. Within Congress, promising California Democrats, such as House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra, preferred to move up the ranks rather than think bigger."
"In a state that's minority-majority, Hispanics were underrepresented in the state's Congressional delegation before last year's redistricting. Most represent gerrymandered seats drawn to elect minorities, which makes it a greater challenge appealing to a broader electorate"
Sen. Dianne Feinstein intorduced a bill yesterday that would streamline the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' housing project for the thousands of homeless veterans living in Los Angeles.
Gale Holland reports in the L.A. Times: "The legislation would authorize the department to lease two dilapidated buildings on the long-neglected 387-acre site to a private, nonprofit group to renovate as long-term therapeutic housing for disabled veterans, Feinstein said in a statement."
"Advocates have accused the veterans agency of dragging its feet on housing Los Angeles County's nearly 7,000 homeless veterans, the largest concentration in the nation."
"The bill would authorize using a so-called enhanced-use lease to renovate the property. The absence of such a lease killed a 2009 proposal for Common Ground, a nonprofit homeless services agency in New York City, to create housing on the campus."
Ted Lieu may have his campaign sights set on Congress, but that leaves a hole to be filled in the state senate.
Melanie Mason in the L.A. Times: "State Sen. Ted Lieu’s announcement that he is running for an open congressional seat has sparked interest in his Senate seat from a crowd of possible contenders, including Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi and former Assemblywoman Betsy Butler."
"Lieu, a Democrat from Torrrance, said he plans to run for the congressional seat being vacated by the retirement of Rep. Henry Waxman, a contest that could be a tough one if L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaorslavsky decides to jump in."
"On Tuesday, Democrat Vito Imbasciani, a state surgeon for the California Army National Guard, became the first person to announce his candidacy for Lieu’s 26th Senate District seat."
Seema Mehta also reports in the L.A. Times: "Democratic attorney and activist Sandra Fluke has decided against running for retiring Rep. Henry A. Waxman’s congressional seat, instead planning a bid for the state Senate.
The hot water in which Democrati Sen. Rod Wright is standing in has reached a boil, as more critics are calling for his expulsion.
Jim Miller in the Sac Bee: "Three Republican state senators called Tuesday on Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg to hold a vote on expelling state Sen. Rod Wright or to make a “forthright effort to the senator requesting his resignation.”
"In a letter Tuesday to Steinberg, state Sens. Steve Knight, R-Palmdale, Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, and Andy Vidak, R-Hanford, said the Senate cannot wait for Wright’s appeal of his felony convictions on voter fraud and perjury charges."
Yesterday, secretary of State candidate Dan Schnur wrote his opponents and democratic state Senators Alex Padilla and Leland Yee also urging they expel Wright.
A lawsuit filed Friday is challenging the ability of unions to automatically direct dues toward political activity. The suit was filed against the state's Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1000 and Controller John Chiang.
John Myers reporting for News10: "The crux of the case, from the plaintiff's viewpoint, is fairly straightforward: why should state workers be forced to 'opt out' of a paycheck deduction that goes to fund SEIU's political operations? Why shouldn't it instead, they say, be an 'opt in' system for those who want to participate?"
"In April 2013, a group of teachers filed a similar federal lawsuit against the California Teachers Association. That lawsuit now sits in the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where the teachers who filed it may hope to ultimately buck the case up to the U.S. Supreme Court."
"And with good reason."
"Both groups of public employees may have an eye toward the case SEIU Local 1000 lost in front of the nation's highest court on June 21, 2012. In Knox v. SEIU Local 1000, a 7-2 Court majority found that the union was wrong to impose a special assessment on its members without first getting their consent. That fee, an extra 25 percent assessment, was imposed in 2005 as part of the union's effort to beat backfive ballot initiatives promoted by former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger."
Chiang is also making news for his new effort to have every school district provide the salary and benefit information of all employees and elected officials for Web posting.
Jeff Gottleib in the L.A. Times: "Chiang has said that making the salary information easy to access on a state Web page is another step toward government transparency in the wake of the 2010 salary scandal in Bell."
"The controller mailed a letter Monday to 58 county offices of education, 949 school districts and 992 charter schools, requesting the information in no later than 90 days."
Prisons are facing more criticism, as the newest facility in Stockton halts new admission amid scathing reports on medical care problems.
Paige St. John in the L.A. Times: "Kelso said the problems at the Stockton prison call into question California's ability to take responsibility for prison healthcare statewide. He accused corrections officials of treating the mounting healthcare problems "as a second-class priority."
"An inspection team sent in by prisoners' lawyers in early January found that inmates had been left overnight in their feces, confined to broken wheelchairs or forced to go without shoes."
"A shortage of towels forced prisoners to dry off with dirty socks, a shortage of soap halted showers for some inmates, and incontinent men were put into diapers and received catheters that did not fit, causing them to soil their clothes and beds, according to the inspection report and a separate finding by Kelso."
"The inspectors also found that nurses failed to promptly answer call buttons in the prison's outpatient unit. Inmates told the inspectors of a bleeding prisoner on the unit who died Jan. 8 after nurses disregarded his repeated attempts to summon help."
Assemblyman Time Donnolley is kicking off another bus tour, this time spanning ten days and rolling through 40 cities. His gubernatorial efforts are apparent, but his fiscal prowess is absent.
Seema Mehta in the L.A. Times: "Incumbent Gov. Jerry Brown has a massive fundraising edge, reporting $17 million in the bank as the year began. Donnelly had $54,000 cash on hand, according to campaign finance disclosure documents filed with the state last week. Donnelly said he recognized that many of his supporters couldn’t write $27,200 checks – the maximum under state limits – but urged them to give as much as they could, introduce him to friends who could contribute, host a coffee or talk about him with friends on social media."
“It will take money to win,” Donnelly said. “Without a victory we can’t affect policy.”
"Donnelly did not mention his GOP rival, former U.S. Treasury official Neel Kashkari, by name, instead focusing his fire on Brown’s policies. The incumbent Democrat had whitewashed the state’s financial situation, he argued, by ignoring the massive pension liabilities facing the state and talking about a budget surplus."
Ex-GOP gubernatorial candidate Abel Maldanado tweeted he'd like to see conservative millionaire Charles Munger throw his hat in the ring, imploring that the party "needs" him.
David Siders reports in Capitol Alert: "Munger, the wealthy Republican benefactor and chairman of the Santa Clara County Republican Central Committee, has given no indication he is considering a run. But Maldonado is hopeful."
"Munger has poured tens of millions of dollars into candidates and ballot measure in recent years, while working to moderate the California Republican Party's platform. He helped the California Republican Party retire debt last year and supported ballot initiatives to give California's political map-making authority to an independent Citizens Redistricting Commission."