Josh Newman's state Senate win gives Democrats two-house supermajorities in the state Legislature.
CHRISTINE MAI-DUC with LAT: "Democrat Josh Newman has defeated Assemblywoman Ling Ling Chang (R-Diamond Bar) to win the race for the 29th Senate District, giving Democrats in the Legislature a two-thirds majority in both houses."
"The Associated Press called the race Monday evening for Newman, who had been steadily gaining ground as provisional and absentee ballots were counted over the last three weeks."
"As of Monday afternoon, Newman's lead over Chang had grown to more than 2,100 votes."
READ MORE related to Local Elections: California GOP congressman Darrel Issa narrowly wins seat -- ELLIOT SPAGAT and MICHAEL R.BLOOD in Sacramento Bee; Republican Assemblyman Marc Steinorth hangs on to his seat, beating Democrat Abigail Medina -- CHRISTINE MAI-DUC with LAT
How does one of capital punishment's most galvanized supporters become the punitive measure's most staunch opponent? This is the story of Ron Briggs.
LISA RENNER with Capitol Weekly: "Ron Briggs was always an ardent supporter of the death penalty. His father John Briggs, former state assemblyman and senator, was a driving force behind a 1978 initiative that expanded the list of special circumstances required for a death sentence."
"But today, Ron Briggs is one the biggest opponents of capital punishment. He campaigned for Proposition 62, which would have ended the state’s death penalty and was rejected by voters this month. The former El Dorado County supervisor is one of the petitioners in a lawsuit seeking to overturn Proposition 66, approved by voters instead, which would speed up the state’s executions."
"He now believes that the death penalty is not a deterrent to crime. He believes few murderers consider the potential punishment before they commit their horrible crimes. “It’s more a social, mental health issue more than anything else,” he said."
A new report suggests that special education funding be determined and handled directly by the school districts instead of regional agencies.
JOHN FENSTERWALD and JANE MEREDITH ADAMS with EdSource: "The state should dismantle its system for distributing special education funding for California’s 718,000 students with disabilities and send the money – billions of dollars – directly to local school districts, according to a much anticipated report that’s expected to draw the attention of Gov. Jerry Brown and state education leaders."
"The recommendations, made by researchers at the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California and released Tuesday, would upend the way special education finance has worked in the state for nearly 40 years and potentially put out of business 133 regional special education agencies known as Special Education Local Plan Areas, or SELPAs."
"State money for special education would be folded into the Local Control Funding Formula, completing Brown’s goal of creating a unified funding system for all children. Funding earmarked for students with disabilities would continue to be spent for general special education, but districts would have “no firm restrictions on use,” the report recommended. Districts would have more flexibility to respond to individual needs earlier, before formally designating students as having disabilities."
READ MORE related to education: Should entire Thanksgiving week be a school hoilday? Some schools find it's a cost-saving move -- ADOLFO GUZMAN-LOPEZ with KPCC; California won't have to rank schools needing help -- JOHN FENSTERWALD with EdSource
David Campos, SF Supervisor, is looking for funding to block deportations under a Trump administration.
HEATHER KNIGHT with The Chronicle: "Supervisor David Campos on Tuesday plans to propose spending $5 million to provide legal representation to immigrants living in the country without documentation who face deportation. It’s the first test of whether San Francisco officials will stick to their pledge to remain a sanctuary city when Donald Trump becomes president."
"Campos spent much of Monday huddled in his office with Public Defender Jeff Adachi, immigration advocates and others to hammer out details. Campos is hopeful there will be a vote on the legislation by the Board of Supervisors by Dec. 13, his last scheduled meeting before being termed out of office and less than six weeks before Trump’s inauguration."
State Sen. Steve Glazer is not pleased with Wells Fargo.
JAMES RUFUS KOREN with LAT: "The chairman of the California Senate’s banking committee blasted Wells Fargoon Monday for failing to answer questions about the bank’s accounts scandaland for not sending Chief Executive Tim Sloan or another representative to a committee hearing."
"Committee Chairman Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) said he called for Monday morning’s hearing only after the San Francisco bank failed to adequately answer questions he put to bank officials over the last six weeks."
"Those questions, which echo inquiries by lawmakers on Capitol Hill, include when executives first knew about the creation of unauthorized customer accounts and why the bank’s board and investors were not notified about the practice sooner. Glazer said he invited Sloan to address those questions at Monday’s hearing, but neither Sloan nor any other Wells Fargo executive attended."
Speaking of elections, the presidential campaign has shifted the atmosphere on college campuses across the country.
ROXANA KOPETMAN with OC Register: "The day after Donald Trump was elected president, students at UC Irvine organized a “cry-in.”
"This is an actual event,” posted an Asian student group at the school."
"It was also, perhaps, just a start."
PG&E will dole out $85m to the public for its damage to Diablo Canyon.
AP in Sacramento Bee: "Pacific Gas & Electric has agreed to pay $85 million to neighboring cities and a school district affected by the closure of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, the California utility announced Monday."
"The state's largest utility reached a deal to provide economic support in the region when the Central Coast plant shuts down in 2025, depriving the area of property taxes and potentially affecting local businesses through the loss of plant workers."
"The agreement includes San Luis Obispo County, a coalition of local cities and the San Luis Coastal Unified School District. Another part of the deal involves promises to environmental groups and to unions representing plant employees. The deal needs approval from the California Public Utilities Commission."
Meanwhile, Tesla faces some obstacles in marketing its autopiloting vehicles.
RUSS MITCHELL with LAT: "The California Department of Motor Vehicles put forth proposed regulations that would, in effect, prohibit Tesla from using the Autopilot name to market its vehicles. That was in September."
"Now, a consumer group is telling the DMV to get on with it."
"Tesla uses the word Autopilot to describe its driver-assist technology, which, when enabled, automatically steers, brakes and passes other vehicles."
Scientists at UC Berkeley and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign have collaborated on a study examining the potential of genetically manipulating plants/food to combat world hunger.
MARIAH DE ZUZUARREGUI with Daily Californian:"UC Berkeley and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign scientists collaborated on a study published earlier this month examining the potential of genetic manipulation in plants to combat world hunger."
"Researchers altered several key genes in tobacco plants found in other common crops to enhance their yield. Their results, an increase of 14 to 20 percent in biomass, were a tenfold improvement over normal conditions, according to Bob Buchanan, a campus emeritus professor not involved with the study."
"That’s an enormous increase,” said Buchanan, a plant and microbial biology professor. “Plant breeders go for 1 or 2 percent, taking corn yield as an example."
Speaking of studies, a new report on forest fire behavior offers some interesting analyses.
JANE BRAXTON LITTLE with Water Deeply: "Temperatures are rising and forest fires, already larger and more frequent than the historical norm, are projected to increase dramatically with anthropogenic warming."
"That’s the general consensus among scientists studying the relationship between fire activity and climate change in the Sierra Nevada. But a study released last week found an influence on past fire activity even greater than climate: human beings."
"Since 1600, the way humans have used land in the Sierra has had more effect on fire behavior than climate change, said Valerie Trouet, associate professor of dendrochronology at the University of Arizona and lead coauthor of the study, published November 14 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences."
READ MORE related to Environment: Wettest start in 30 years to rainy season in Northern California, but don't forget the drought -- DALE KASLER and RYAN SABALOW with Sacramento Bee; Initial state water allocation set at 20 percent -- AP; California targets dairy cows to combat global warming -- TERENCE CHEA with Sacramento Bee
Mosques throughout California have received letters threatening of a Trump-led 'Muslim Holocaust'.
EDITORS with NY Times: "This Week in Hate tracks hate crimes and harassment around the country since the election of Donald Trump. While we can’t list every incident, we will regularly present a selection of incidents reported in news media. This article, the first in the series, includes incidents reported in the last two weeks."
"• In the last week, three mosques in California and one in Georgia have received letters threatening that Donald Trump “is going to do to you Muslims what Hitler did to the Jews.” The letters were signed “Americans for a Better Way."
READ MORE related to Hate Crimes: Fresno Islamic Cultural Center receives letter threatening Muslim genocide, praising Trump -- ANDREA CASTILLO with Fresno Bee; New Americans Museum reacts to slogans scrawled on entrance -- STEVE WALSH with KPBS
Planned Parenthood's future in California under a Trump administration looks bleak.
ANNA GORMAN with California Healthline: "President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to defund Planned Parenthood, to appoint conservative Supreme Court justices who could overturn Roe v. Wade and to prohibit late-term abortions. He has also vowed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, which expanded access to contraception."
"The anti-abortion platform of Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence appeals to many conservatives around the nation but worries many women’s health providers."
"We spoke to Kathy Kneer, CEO and president of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California, about the organization’s future under the incoming administration. Planned Parenthood provides primary care, reproductive health services, sex education and abortions across the nation. The 100-year-old organization has about 650 health centers, including 115 in California."
ADD story to roundup -> http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/watchdog/sd-me-supreme-court-emails-20161128-story.html