The first American to ever orbit Earth has passed away. Rest in peace, John Glenn!
JOHN NOBLE WILFORD with NYT: "John Glenn, a freckle-faced son of Ohio who was hailed as a national hero and a symbol of the space age as the first American to orbit Earth, then became a national political figure for 24 years in the Senate, died on Thursday in Columbus, Ohio. He was 95."
"Ohio State University announced his death. Mr. Glenn had recently been hospitalized at the university at the James Cancer Center, though Ohio State officials said at the time that admission there did not necessarily mean he had cancer. He had heart-valve replacement surgery in 2014 and a stroke around that time."
"He had kept an office at the John Glenn College of Public Affairs, which he helped found, and also had a home in Columbus."
Democrats have restored their legislative supermajority, and special interest dollars helped play a large part.
JIM MILLER with The Bee: "Monday’s legislative swearing-in ceremonies made it official: Democrats had restored theirtwo-thirds supermajorities in both houses of the Legislature."
"The achievement rested heavily on millions of special-interest dollars moving to and from political party campaign committees, state filings show, effectively avoiding candidate contribution limits and obscuring the true source of the money."
"Intricate money shifts have been a bipartisan feature of California’s campaign landscape for almost two decades, ever since voters passed Proposition 34. The 2000 ballot measure established political contribution limits, but the fine print elevated state and county parties into wheelhouses for campaign money."
CARB is not happy with Trump's pick to head the EPA.
BEN BRADFORD with CPR: "California's top pollution regulator says her agency is not changing its approach to climate change and air regulation due to the election of Donald Trump and his nominee for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency."
"State Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols says California will continue to tighten limits on emissions, even if the EPA scales back its efforts."
"President-elect Trump nominated Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to run the agency. A frequent court opponent of the EPA, Pruitt has rejected mainstream science on climate change and is expected to work to restrict the agency's environmental regulations, which he has called fedreal overreach. "
Sen. Barbara Boxer has pledged to filibuster a drought bill 'rider' that threatens the Endangered Species Act.
SARAH D. WIRE with L.A. Times: "The water policy measure overwhelmingly passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday to build long-term water infrastructure across the Golden State is headed for a showdown with outgoing Sen. Barbara Boxer, who plans to mount a filibuster in the Senate on Friday as one of her final acts in Congress."
"The overall bill — which Boxer co-authored — authorizes hundreds of water projects across the country, including new infrastructure to fix lead issues in Flint, Mich., and projects connected to the Los Angeles River, Salton Sea and Lake Tahoe. It also includes plans to increase water flowing from the Sacramento Delta to San Joaquin Valley farmers and Southern California."
"The California provisions were added to the bill Monday and reflect years of negotiations among Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), California’s 14 Republican lawmakers and a handful of Democrats."
Meanwhile, speaking of the environment, Oakland finds itself involved in a lawsuit over coal shipping.
BOB EGELKO with The Chronicle: "The would-be shipper of coal from the Port of Oakland, a company controlled by a longtime friend of Gov. Jerry Brown, has sued Oakland for outlawing coal handling and storage within its borders, saying the ban interferes with interstate commerce and with federal authority over the transportation of hazardous substances."
"The City Council unanimously passed the ordinance in July with the support of environmental groups, who said coal trains emit hazardous dust particles, and burning coal releases carbon dioxide that worsens global warming. In August, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation by Sen. Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley, prohibiting the state Transportation Commission from funding future coal-handling ports, though it would not affect Oakland."
"The suit was filed in federal court Wednesday by a company called Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal, which had signed a contract with the city in 2013 to build a $250 million shipping terminal as part of a 130-acre development at the site of the former Oakland Army Base. The coal would be shipped by rail from Utah and could amount to 10 million tons a year, more than three times as much coal as California ports now send overseas."
Witnesses have begun testifying in the Lee Baca trial.
SUSAN ABRAM with Daily News: "Federal prosecutors continued Thursday to hammer away at Lee Baca by presenting witnesses who testified that when the former sheriff was told about an FBI investigation into inmate abuse at Men’s Central Jail, he was surprised but did little to stop his department’s top brass from trying to thwart it."
"The testimony came from current and former staff from within the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department during the second day of Baca’s jail corruption trial in downtown L.A.’s federal courthouse. Baca is charged with allegedly obstructing justice for trying to keep FBI agents away from inmates and also conspiring to obstruct justice in August and September of 2011."
"Through several witnesses, prosecutors tried to show the link between the FBI investigation and Baca’s actions, calling him the “heartbeat of conspiracy” in their opening statement Wednesday. Baca’s defense, meanwhile, also worked to show that the former sheriff tried to protect inmates but that his undersheriff at the time, Paul Tanaka, had his own agenda, orchestrated the corruption and did not tell his boss what was happening. Tanaka is serving five years in federal prison on corruption charges. Many of the same witnesses who appeared at Tanaka’s trial also testified in Baca’s case, including former LASD Deputy Mickey Manzo, who was convicted of trying to obstruct the federal probe and sentenced to two years in prison."
Progressives find relief under the shade of Bernie Sanders.
CHRISTINE MAI-DUC with L.A. Times: "Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders built a fiercely loyal California following during the election, regularly selling out events and packing his rallies with devoted supporters, some of whom trekked to other states on his behalf."
"But when the former Democratic presidential candidate’s hopes for the nomination were dashed, Sanders and his allies worked to parlay some of that enthusiasm into electoral success elsewhere, hoping to advance progressive causes and candidates in one of the most liberal states in the nation."
"Observers say Sanders made a real impact in the races he boosted directly or indirectly — an organization launched with his blessing raised six-figure sums for some candidates — an effect that could multiply if the movement the senator began continues to grow."
The Oakland Ghost Ship pprobe reveals that the warehouse itself was missing from OFD records -- a consequence of supposedly never having been inspected, despite yearly requirements to do so.
DAVID DEBOLT with Mercury News: " The warehouse that housed the Ghost Ship art collective was not listed as it should have been in a city database of commercial buildings that require yearly fire safety inspections — and no records exist of any inspections of the structure, according to a city employee familiar with the database and inspection records."
"If fire inspectors had been inside the building where 36 people died in a blaze last Friday, they would have seen what visitors and former residents called a death trap and a tinder box: piles of wood, shingles and old furniture, extension cords and often-sparking electrical wires running willy-nilly throughout the structure, welding equipment and propane tanks scattered about — the kind of fire code violations that could have led inspectors to shutter the building immediately."
“They never inspected it. It’s not on the inspection rolls,” said the city employee, who requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to news organizations about the fire."
A Trump transition team wouldn't be complete without financial ties to "Celebrity Apprentice," the president-elect's former reality t.v. show.
MEG JAMES with L.A. Times: "President-elect Donald Trump is retaining his executive producer credit — and financial ties — with the NBC reality show “Celebrity Apprentice” as he transitions to his new role in Washington."
"NBC is preparing to launch “The New Celebrity Apprentice” on Jan. 2 with former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger stepping in as the show’s boardroom judge. He replaces Trump as the lead character who decides the fates of various contestants."
"Trump’s ongoing financial arrangement with “Celebrity Apprentice” was confirmed late Thursday by a person close to the show who was not authorized to discuss the matter. The Times reported on Trump’s planned ongoing relationship with “Celebrity Apprentice” last week."
READ MORE related to National News: Japan ratifies Pacific trade pact that Trump plans to dump -- ELAINE KURTENBACH with AP; Did Al Gore get played? Engaging with Trump brings risks for the left -- EVAN HALPER with L.A. Times; Microsoft closes $26.2 billion purchase of LinkedIn -- QUEENIE WONG with Bay Area News Group; Alabama executes man convicted of killing store clerk -- AP in Mercury News
A recent study finds that half of the millennial population has it tough trying to earn more than their parents did.
MELISSA ETEHAD and NATALIE KITROEFF with L.A. Times: "Rico Johnson says that when he was growing up, he never had to worry about having clothes or getting three meals a day."
"His single mother, a human resources director at a San Diego nursing home, made enough to give him that peace of mind."
"But Johnson, 33, now makes $12.50 an hour working at a Taco Bell in Richmond, Calif., and he struggles to make his paycheck cover the basics for his 10-year-old twins. "
Californians approve of the state's public colleges and want to provide the institutions with more state funds.
TERESA WATANABE and ROSANNA XIA with L.A. Times: "Most Californians give high marks to their public universities and colleges but worry they are too expensive, according to a statewide survey released Thursday."
"The majority of Californians surveyed by the Public Policy Institute of California support more money for public higher education, but they disagree over how to raise it. Three-fourths reject tuition increases — which are being considered for next year by the University of California and Cal State University — but a majority said they would back a statewide bond for construction projects."
SEE ALSO: Amid talks of tuition raises, recent polling suggests that many college students already struggle with the affordability of higher education.
CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO with Sacramento Bee: "With tuition hikes being discussed for California’s public universities, a new poll shows a strong majority of residents identifying college affordability as a big problem, including at least half of adults across wide partisan, income, and age groups."
"The survey, released by the Public Policy Institute of California late Thursday, asked respondents to name the most important issue facing public colleges and universities – and 46 percent mentioned the costs, affordability, or student tuition and fees."
"Other issues received mentions from less than 10 percent of adults."
Visions of Flint, Michigan, are hitting close to home for some Bay Area residents who are forced to drink smelly tap water.
PETER FIMRITE with The Chronicle: "Millions of Bay Area residents who aren’t enamored of the stinking water that has recently been coming out of their taps can rejoice — the musty smelling liquid won’t kill them or even make them sick."
"That, at least, is what the experts say. And, as if that news wasn’t cause enough for celebration, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission officials said Thursday that they will immediately stop pumping the malodorous, algae-infused water into people’s houses."
Also in San Francisco, Mayor Ed Lee has vetoed a short-term rental bill due to weaken current enforcement.
EMILY GREEN with The Chornicle: "Mayor Ed Lee vetoed legislation late Thursday that would have restricted short-term rentals to 60 days a year, saying it would make enforcement of the current law “more difficult and less effective” and would drive “even more people to illegally rent units."
"The legislation, passed by the Board of Supervisors last month, would have barred hosts from having paying guests in a room, house or entire apartment for more than 60 days a year."