"McDonald has resumed her podcast through a different company and went public with her story during an Oct. 26 broadcast. She said she quit PodcastOne to get away from Pattiz. She said he repeatedly commented on her appearance or joked about following her into the bathroom during her weekly visits to the recording studio. She said she had to hire a lawyer over the summer because Pattiz tried to prevent her from taking the popular podcast elsewhere."
"Thinx, which sells moisture-absorbing underwear, teamed up with the agency that places ads on the BART system for “station domination” campaigns at the Montgomery and 16th Street-Mission stations in San Francisco later this month."
"The ads feature inverted photographs of models wearing the underwear above the Thinx logo. BART was OK with “anxiety-proof underwear” and “patriarchy-proof underwear,” and didn’t bat an eye at the trans models in two ads."
The state ttorney general has some stern words for educationial companies trying to data mine children's personal information.
ADOLFO GUZMAN-LOPEZ with SCPR: "A new report released on Wednesday by California’s Attorney General aims to send a warning to private educational technology companies hired by public schools to abide by new student data privacy laws."
"In some instances we’re seeing evidence of companies mining data from school children beyond what’s necessary for their education,” said Daniel Suvor, chief of policy for California Attorney General Kamala Harris."
"That kind of data mining is illegal. Two recent laws, SB1177 and AB1584, place strict limits on how education technology companies can use public school student data. It’s illegal for these companies to collect student data to market to students or their families or take the student data and sell it to other companies."
READ MORE related to Education: Schools to face teacher shortage if voters end ban on bilingual education -- ASHLEY HOPKINSON with EdSource
The polls are in a state of flux, but Clinton seems to maintain a narrow lead nationally.
DAVID LAUTER with LAT: "Charles Franklin is hardly a household name, but for a few minutes Wednesday, the full spotlight of the 2016 presidential campaign focused on the veteran pollster and political scientist as he unveiled the latest results from his closely followed poll of Wisconsin voters."
"When he announced the verdict: Hillary Clinton leading Donald Trump 46%-40% — almost identical to the margin the poll had found in early October — sighs of relief from Democratic activists could be heard from Brooklyn to Santa Monica. "
"For Democrats, who, as a tribe, seem more inclined to election-season night terrors than their Republican foes, these are anxious days."
READ MORE related to Beltway: Black church torched in Mississippi, with 'Vote Trump' painted on wall -- CLEVE R. WOOTSON JR. with The Washington Post; Presidential race might be tightening, but it's not changing -- JOE GAROFOLI with The Chronicle; The polls might seem wild right now, but this election is closing a lot like the last one did -- DAVID LAUTER with LAT
California edges closer to an ambitious $150m public/private partnership to mainstream state-funded stem cell research.
DAVID JENSEN with Capitol Weekly: "California’s plan to create an ambitious, $150 million public/private partnership to commercialize state-funded stem cell research edged forward this week as the deadline for applications closed on Monday afternoon."
"Little is known about the nature of the applications — not even the number received. The state’s stem cell agency yesterday declined to reveal the figure, declaring that the proposals needed to be examined to determine eligibility."
"Traditionally the $3 billion agency does not disclose the names of applicants for its funding or details of their applications, although there have been exceptions. Their proposals are reviewed behind closed doors by scientific grant reviewers whose names are not disclosed. Nor are the reviewers’ statements of economic interest publicly revealed."
READ MORE related to Health: Surprising number of California parents experienced abuse as children -- JOCELYN WIENER with California Healthline; FDA's drug approval team copes with 700 unfilled jobs as industry lures staff -- SYDNEY LUPKIN and SARAH JANE TRIBBLE with California Healthline; Anthem may pare its health law offerings if profits don't improve in 2017 -- Kaiser Health News
Newsha Ajami is the director of Urban water Policy at Stanford's Water in the West program -- one of the experts working diligently to help ease California's water issues.
STAFF with Water Deeply: "For Newsha Ajami of Stanford University, California’s drought is not only a massive challenge, but also a huge opportunity. “I really hope that we as Californians use this drought as an opportunity and build on the current momentum to become a leader in moving the water sector into a new era,” she told Water Deeply recently."
"Ajami is the director of Urban Water Policy at Stanford’s Water in the West program andNSF-ReNUWIt initiatives. She has focused much of her research efforts on the role of big data in building sustainable water resource management solutions, water policy, innovation and financing."
"Water Deeply spoke with Ajami as part of Meet the Minds, our series canvassing experts working on California water issues."
READ MORE related to California Water Crisis: State, White House launch California water data challenge -- NEWS STAFF with Government Technology; In parched Central California, water trumps other election issues -- JEFF DANIELS with CNBC; It's raining -- will Californians still conserve water? -- CRAIG MILLER with KQED; Wet October doesn't mean rainfall year will be soggy -- PAUL ROGERS with Bay Area News Group