New polling shows cannabis legalization, tax hikes, and the death penalty repeal are all in high favor.
CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO with Sacramento Bee: "California fall initiatives to legalize recreational marijuana for adults and hike the cigarette tax by $2 per pack are supported by clear majorities of likely voters, while a virtually unopposed statewide school bond measure is surveying below the 50-percent threshold, according to a new poll."
"The Public Policy Institute of California survey found the marijuana initiative (Proposition 64) ahead 60 percent to 36 percent, and the tobacco tax increase(Proposition 56) ahead 59 percent to 36 percent. A plurality of voters back the $9 billion bond measure to fund K–12 schools and community college facilities (Proposition 51) 47 percent to 43 percent, though it needs to climb above a majority to pass."
"Some 54 percent expressed support for Proposition 55, which would extend for 12 more years a 2012 income tax increase on high earners. The measure is opposed by 38 percent."
READ MORE related to Polling: Voters favor legalizing pot, outlawing capital punishment -- MATTHEW ARTZ with EBT; 4 high-profile ballot measures leading in state poll -- JOHN WILDERMUTH, BOB EGELKO and CAROLYN LOCHHEAD with The Chronicle; Kamala Harris maintains lead over Loretta Sanchez in U.S. race, but trends vary by poll -- MARTIN WISCKOL with O.C. Register; Is a plan to end the death penalty on the ropes in California? -- CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO with Sacramento Bee; Two Senate polls were released Wednesday--with very different results -- PHIL WILLON with L.A. Times
Big Tobacco is on the offensive with Proposition 56 right around the corner, but it appears their ad campaign is omitting some very key facts.
TARYN LUNA with Sacramento Bee: "Tobacco giants Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds have enlisted the help of a Long Beach public school teacher to persuade voters to reject a $2 cigarette tax increase on the November ballot, Proposition 56."
"The industry’s commercial, which began airing Sunday across the state, stars high school math and music teacher Davina Keiser. As she sets tests and pencils on empty desks in a classroom, Keiser says she was “astounded” to learn that Proposition 56 was written to undermine the state’s school funding guarantee. She says not one penny from the measure will go to improving kids’ schools, which she calls “bad math."
READ MORE related to Ballot Measures: Prop. 13: It's better if you're wealthier -- MORGAN COOK with Union-Tribune
Fans of poetry may appreciate this Thursday morning collection of haikus aimed at describing our state ballot measures. Enjoy!
JESSICA ROY with L.A. Times: "The next president is far from the only thing California voters will be deciding when they cast their ballots. California has17 propositions up for a vote on issues ranging from the death penalty to legalizing marijuana to requiring actors in pornographic films to use condoms. Voters in L.A. will also make decisions about things like housing and transit."
"One man has written all of them up in easy-to-digest haiku form.Damian Carroll is the national director of the charity Vision to Learn and a self-identified Democratic activist who lives in Van Nuys. He released his poetry as a PDF document on Google Drive, starting with:"
"This November 8th
Seventeen propositions
Are on the ballot"
Governor Brown has been busy signing bills this week, but one of the most controversial is a program for the U.C. system that will attempt to double the institution's graduation rate in a mere 9 years.
SOPHIA BOLLAG with L.A. Times: "Gov. Jerry Brown signed two bills Wednesday intended to help students graduate from California public colleges and universities in four years."
"One bill would create programs at Cal State campuses to give students extra support from academic advisers and priority registration in classes. Students in the programs would need to take a minimum number of credits and maintain a qualifying GPA."
"Many students at the CSU want to finish in four years, but they need help in charting the path," state Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda), the bill's author, said in a statement. "This bill directs resources to students who likely need the most help and will boost their chances of getting a bachelor's degree in four years."
READ MORE related to Gov. Brown: Governor rejects bill to mandate non-faculty CSU trustee -- AP in The Chronicle; Jerry Brown signs measure to improve working conditions in nail salons -- DAVID SIDERS with Sacramento Bee
A homeless man shot and killed by police this past summer has prompted the city to call for policing reforms.
ANITA CHABRIA with Sacramento Bee: "The families of two men killed by Sacramento police were joined by black and religious community members Wednesday morning to call for police reforms a day after the release of surveillance video showing Joseph Mann being shot to death."
“The time for political niceties is over,” said Mark Harris, a lawyer representing the family of Joseph Mann, a mentally ill man shot July 11 in North Sacramento."
"Later Wednesday, as darkness fell, a growing crowd of about 80 people gathered at Del Paso Boulevard and Arden Way to protest Mann’s killing and other police shootings of black men. The protest was organized by Black Lives Matter."
READ MORE related to Public Safety: Oakland OKs $1.2 million settlement in fatal shooting by police -- STEVE RUBENSTEIN with The Chronicle; Demonstrators gather in Sacramento to protest the shooting of Joseph Mann -- JA'NEL JOHNSON with CPR