As Governor Brown spoke Thursday about climate change at a United Nations meeting in New York, the California Air Resources Board convened to consider renewal of the low carbon fuel standard, a keystone of the state’s plans for greenhouse gas reduction. David Siders, Sacramento Bee:
“The ARB is Brown’s chief vehicle for reducing carbon emissions, a priority of his administration. Since its formation in the 1960s, the board has set standards for tailpipe emissions and has issued regulations for everything from nail polish removers and glass cleaners to lawn mowers and weed trimmers…
“In addition to the low-carbon fuel standard, existing laws allow the ARB to pursue a variety of petroleum-reduction measures, including policies to increase the use of alternative fuels and mass transit.
“’Under the regulations already in effect, if you just extend them out at the same rate through to 2030 ... you’d be within striking difference of the 50 percent,’ said Daniel Sperling, an Air Resources Board member and director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at the University of California, Davis.”
Democrats assumed that unseating the Bay Area’s only Republican lawmaker, Catherine Baker of Dublin, would be easy. On paper it all made sense: the Democratic advantage in the district (7 points) is nearly double the margin of victory in her 2014 win. And, she’s a Republican. In the Bay Area. But Democratic activists are finding Baker hard to peg. Josh Richman, San Jose Mercury News:
“She applauded Brown's budget plan in June. She turned down a legislative pay raise and returned a tobacco company's campaign contribution. She has no-holds-barred meetings with constituents at least once a month. And she was one of only two Assembly Republicans who voted for SB 350, the Democrats' bill to further boost renewable energy use and make buildings more efficient by 2030.”
Supporters of a ballot initiative to repeal SB 277, the recent bill that limits vaccine exemptions for school children, have less than a week to collect enough signatures to place their measure on the 2016 ballot. They think they’ll make it – the bill’s supporters think not. Jeremy White, Sacramento Bee:
“Qualifying a referendum for California’s statewide ballot is difficult, and few supporters of SB 277 believe referendum backers have the resources to collect 365,880 signatures by Sept. 28. They say the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown mirrored the science and the polling: vaccines work, and the public overwhelmingly supports them.
“’This bill passed through six committees, the governor signed it. This is a policy that has a lot of public support,’ said Molly Weedn, a spokeswoman for the California Medical Association. ‘We feel confident that people understand the benefits around vaccinations.’”
Former Governors Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger filed friend of the court briefs last week on the appeal of the Vergara ruling – the landmark 2014 decision that found that teacher tenure rules in some cases violate the rights of poor and minority children. The deadline for submissions was last week – the case will now be examined by the Second District of the California Court of Appeal. John Fensterwald, EdSource:
“Two former Republican governors joined an impressive array of law professors, education scholars, teachers of the year, civil rights advocates and state and civic leaders submitting briefs on both sides of the appeal of the Vergara lawsuit.
“Last week was the deadline for experts supporting or opposing the lawsuit to submit friend of the court briefs, called amicus curiae, to the judges of the Second District of the California Court of Appeal. The court will review the landmark ruling of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu, who struck down five state teacher protection statutes affecting tenure and the processes for teacher dismissal and layoffs based on seniority.
“Both sides are hoping there will be a ruling sometime next year, although the court of appeal has not yet set a date for oral arguments for the case, and there is no statutory deadline for an appeals court to make a ruling.”
The biggest news for California political junkies came from the newsmakers themselves yesterday, with three longtime capitol-area journalists playing musical chairs. KQED’s John Myers will be taking over as Los Angeles Times Bureau Chief, starting October 20. Carla Marinucci, longtime San Francisco Chronicle newsie announced a move to Politico to head their coverage of the Golden State. And, former Sacramento Bee editor Tom Negrete has joined CALmatters as Associate Editor. Congratulations all around!
We’ll be honest: it’s been a pretty slow news week for California politics. Sure, there was the Air Resources Board-Volkswagen bombshell, but aside from ARB scientists helping dig up the dirt, not really a California story. We were really starting to worry about having someone to give the #WorstWeekinCA politics award to.
Well, thank goodness for Jaxon van Derbeken and the Bay Bridge boondoggle- the gift that just keeps giving:
“A long-term fix for the waterlogged steel rods at the base of the new Bay Bridge eastern span’s tower will cost at least $15 million, much of which could come from toll payers, Caltrans officials said Wednesday.
“The risk of corrosion to the high-strength, 25-foot-long rods has led to months of study and delays in putting the finishing touches on the eastern span, which opened to traffic in September 2013.
“Caltrans issued its new cost estimate the day before a Bay Bridge oversight panel is scheduled to consider accepting the $6.4 billion span — warts and all — from the main contractor, a joint venture called American Bridge/Fluor.”
Best bet is that toll payers will be on the hook for up to $25 million – which some sources say is nothing more than a “guestimate” on the final cost to fix the structure.
With news like that, we’re happy to hand our weekly award to CalTrans Director Michael Dougherty – again.