The right-to-die bill inspired by Brittany Maynard’s tragic story will be revived Tuesday after being in legislative limbo for a month. Jessica Calefati has the story for the San Jose Mercury News:
“Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday will unveil plans to revive legislation that would give terminally ill Californians the right to die on their own terms.
“Authors of the controversial "End of Life Option Act" shelved the measure last month when it became clear the bill didn't have enough support to clear a key Assembly committee by a mid-July deadline. It was unclear Monday how the measure will advance now.
“Senate Bill 128 would allow mentally competent, terminally ill patients to obtain a legal dose of medication from a physician to ease their suffering by ending their lives. It was inspired by Brittany Maynard, a UC Berkeley graduate who moved to Oregon to legally end her battle with aggressive terminal brain cancer.”
Are new taxes on their way in 2016? Governor Brown seems to think so – note his veto message on yesterday’s rejection of AB464, which would have raised limits on transactions and use taxes:
“…I am reluctant to approve this measure in view of all the taxes being discussed and proposed for the 2016 ballot.”
While he vetoed AB464, Brown signed AB359 by Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) which offers job protections for grocery store workers after changes in store ownership. Melanie Mason and Patrick McGreevy, LA Times:
“Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) said her measure protects grocery workers from losing their jobs in the event of a corporate merger.
"’Wall Street mergers and acquisitions that make big money for corporations and private equity firms should not jeopardize jobs of the grocery workers who live and work in our communities,’ said Gonzalez in a statement. ‘This is a common sense opportunity to save people's jobs and make sure the most-experienced, best-prepared workers stay on the job during a complicated transition period.’
“The bill was strongly backed by labor groups, including the United Food and Commercial Workers, which represents grocery workers.
“Business groups opposed the bill, arguing that it would force a company to keep its predecessor's employees and adhere to contracts that the new owner did not negotiate. The California Chamber of Commerce labeled the measure, AB 359, a ‘job killer.’”
Speaking of the Gov, his name has been floated (again) as a serious contender for the 2016 presidential nomination, this time by… Newt Gingrich? Yup.
The next time some wingnut wants to file a ballot prop to make homosexuality a crime punishable by death, he (it’s always a he, isn’t it?) may have to pony up $2000, rather than the $200 currently required. Alexei Koseff, Sacramento Bee:
“Proponents contend that Assembly Bill 1100, which was inspired by a proposed initiative to kill homosexuals, is necessary to discourage nonsensical or patently unconstitutional ideas that nevertheless cost the state thousands of dollars to prepare for signature-gathering.
“’There are some lunatics out there, and for $200, we encourage them,’ Sen. Mark Leno, D-San Francisco, said.
“But a vocal minority of lawmakers argued that democracy has a price, and the fee increase would only shut ordinary citizens out of the process.
“’This sends a message to the public,’ Sen. Bob Hertzberg, D-Los Angeles, said, ‘that we want to put barriers up against their right to participate in the system.’”
The Governor’s ambitious twin tunnels project has yet to break ground, but the state has drawn up plans to acquire up to 300 Delta farms in the pathway of the project. Ellen Knickmeyer, Associated Press:
“State contractors have readied plans to acquire as many as 300 farms in the California delta by eminent domain to make room for a pair of massive, still-unapproved water tunnels proposed by Gov. Jerry Brown, according to documents obtained by opponents of the tunnels.
“Farmers whose parcels were listed and mapped in the 160-page property-acquisition plan expressed dismay at the advanced planning for the project, which would build 30-mile-long tunnels in the delta formed by the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers.
"’What really shocks is we're fighting this and we're hoping to win,’ said Richard Elliot, who grows cherries, pears and other crops on delta land farmed by his family since the 1860s. ‘To find out they're sitting in a room figuring out this eminent domain makes it sound like they're going to bully us ... and take what they want.’
“Officials involved in the project defended planning so far ahead regarding the tunnels.
"’Planning for right-of-way needs, that is the key part of your normal planning process,’ said Roger Patterson, assistant general manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, one of the water agencies that would benefit from the twin tunnels.”
Sometimes the headline says it all: “California ferret legalization cleared for signatures.” From the Sacramento Bee’s Jeremy White:
“The 2016 ballot is increasingly looking like a crowded one. Measures before voters next November could include whether to overturn a plastic bag ban, legalize recreational cannabis, boost the minimum wage, alter pension laws and extend higher taxes.
“But it is ferrets, not taxes or cannabis, that motivated Pat Wright to submit his initiative. For years the La Mesa resident has been one of California’s most vocal champions of the domesticated weasel-like critters, which are illegal to keep as pets.
“’There’s no argument against ferret legalization,’ Wright said. ‘If you don’t have ferrets, why do you care?’”
Here’s a Roundup first: linking to a press release rather than a news story. Capital Public Radio welcomes aboard Chris Nichols as its first Politifact California Reporter. Nichols was a first rate reporter at the San Diego Union Tribune and we look forward to seeing what he brings to the new gig at CPR.
And finally, one for the nerds: a new tech startup has a unique plan to recruit for 100 positions - by advertising the jobs in Klingon.
“Are you a web programmer fluent in coding languages like Java and HTML5, as well as the fictional language of Klingon as popularized in the ‘Star Trek’ franchise? If yes, and you happen to also need a job, the tech firm Zooz would like to extend to you a very joyous "yI'el!" (or welcome! in Klingon).
“The Israeli startup has taken the unusual path of filling 100 job openings by advertising them in the Klingon language. This creative recruitment campaign is not only designed to attract attention, but also top talent…
“While one might easily assume that every ‘Star Trek’ fan under the sun could potentially have a shot at landing a career at Zooz, the reality is that very few people in the world have a grasp of Klingon. Arika Okrent, author of "In the Land of Invented Languages," estimates that only a few thousand people know ‘a little Klingon,’ with even fewer people able to read and write it. ‘Klingon is a type of puzzle that appeals to a type of person,’ she writes.”