Senate pro tem Kevin De Leon unveiled an ambitious plan for California higher education Tuesday that would avoid a tuition hike at the University of California. Also on tap: more classes and more students for both UC and the California State University system. Laurel Rosenhall has the story at the Sacramento Bee. Patrick McGreevy also has the story at the Los Angeles Times, noting that the plan guts former speaker John Perez’ Middle Class Scholarship program.
“De Leon, who like Perez is a Democrat from Los Angeles, said taking as much as $580 million over three years from the Perez-conceived Middle Class Scholarship program is a necessary part of a new plan to avoid 5% annual tuition hikes in the University of California system and allow thousands more students to attend and afford UC and the California State University system.
“Legislation that was developed by De Leon, his staff and others, and introduced by Sen. Marty Block (D-San Diego), ‘will improve college access, affordability, and help students complete their degrees,’ according to a statement released by the president pro tem's office.
“In addition to eliminating the UC-proposed tuition hikes, SB 15 would increase UC enrollment by 5,000 students and CSU enrollment by 10,500 students next year.”
A Central Valley congressional delegation of six Republicans plus Fresno Democrat Jim Costa is making a last ditch effort to pass a farm-friendly California water bill before the end of the lame duck session. Michael Doyle reports on the effort in the Fresno Bee:
“The bill introduced by Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, as the chief sponsor has the strong backing of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, and is effectively guaranteed to pass the Republican-controlled House sometime before the scheduled Dec. 11 congressional adjournment. The bill has the backing of Costa, but is likely to be opposed by most other House Democrats.
In theory, the water bill could pass the House either as a stand-alone bill or as an inclusion into a much larger, must-pass omnibus spending bill needed to keep the federal government operating.
“’For the sake of the people of California, we can no longer delay action,’ McCarthy said.”
Former state Senator Sam Blakeslee says that the state’s last operating nuclear power plant needs deeper scrutiny from regulators in light of the Fukushima Dai-ichi disaster in Japan. From Kevin Freking and Michael R. Blood at Associated Press:
“Sam Blakeslee argues in testimony to be submitted Wednesday to a U.S. Senate panel that public safety demands closer scrutiny of Diablo Canyon's twin reactors, located near several faults on a seaside bluff midway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.
“The Nuclear Regulatory Commission and owner Pacific Gas and Electric Co. have long defended its safety.
"’The potential earthquakes affecting the plant have increased with each major study. But what's equally striking is that the shaking predicted by PG&E for these increasing threats has systematically decreased,’ Blakeslee, a geophysicist who left the Legislature in 2012, says in prepared remarks.”
In response to a train derailment north of Oroville last week, state Senator Jerry Hill has sent a letter to Governor Jerry Brown, asking for a moratorium on oil trains in many parts of the state. Dan Brekke reports for KQED:
“Hill’s letter goes on to call for a halt to shipments of crude oil and other hazardous substances on sections of railroad that the California Public Utilities Commission has identified as particularly hazardous. Those track segments include about 87 miles of the Feather River route between Oroville and Quincy and roughly 16 other sites throughout the state.”
In 2006, San Francisco passed the Healthcare Security Ordinance, a landmark measure that offset low-income residents’ healthcare costs and moved the city toward universal healthcare. But, the plan doesn’t qualify as health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, making trouble for low-income residents caught in the middle. From Lynn Graebner at Capitol Weekly:
“Instead of enrolling in Covered California, many of these low-income workers get their health care through Healthy San Francisco, a safety-net program partially funded by the employer contributions. It provides comprehensive health care at a network of clinics and hospitals for about a third of what it would cost to get health insurance under Covered California.
“But Healthy San Francisco isn’t health insurance, and doesn’t cover members if they seek care outside the area. And at the end of next year, the program will no longer be open to those who are also eligible for Covered California, forcing them to enroll in the insurance exchange or go without benefits.”
Finally, the perfect gift for that hard-to-shop-for person who likes everything spicy – even their beer.
Oregon-based Rogue Ales has announced that they will begin offering Sriracha beer, made with the ubiquitous hot sauce that nearly got evicted from its Irwindale factory last year over charges that the fumes were so hot that they were causing neighbors physical harm. From Jenn Harris at the Los Angeles Times:
“According to the product description, the beer is made from "Huy Fong original hot chile sauce and sun-ripened Rogue Farms ingredients." The company suggests drinking the beer with soups, sauces, pasta, pizza, hot dogs, hamburgers and chow mein. So basically anything you'd typically douse in Sriracha.
“Each bottle of Sriracha beer is $13 and available for preorder online. The beer is scheduled to start shipping Monday.”