With the Electoral College convening today, protests calling for the faithless dismissal of PEOTUS Trump flood local streets.
JAVIER PANZAR with LAT: "A coalition of activist groups on Sunday took to the streets of downtown Los Angeles to protest against some of the labor and immigration policies proposed by President-elect Donald Trump, a day before he is expected to officially claim victory in the nation’s presidential contest."
"On Monday, 538 presidential electors from across the country will convene in their respective states to cast their votes and finalize the results of the Nov. 8 election. Trump, who only needs 270 electoral votes, is expected to collect 306 votes as pledged by members of the electoral college."
"Electors are chosen by the voters from party slates and are expected to support the party nominee. Although constitutional scholars agree that electors are free under the U.S. Constitution to cast their votes as they please, 29 states and the District of Columbia have statutes that seek to bind electors, sometimes with threats of fines or criminal penalties."
Unions see a major boon as a $500 million wetlands tax in the Bay Area redirects "project labor agreements" their way.
PAUL ROGERS with EBT: "In a move that critics say could increase costs and delay projects, a low-profile government agency responsible for handing out $500 million to restore San Francisco Bay’s wetlands and improve flood control has ruled that most of the construction contracts must be awarded to union workers."
"In June, voters in the nine Bay Area counties passed Measure AA, a $12 per year parcel tax on residential and commercial property in the region. The tax is expected to raise $25 million a year over the next 20 years to bring back fish and wildlife and reduce the risk of flooding around the bay’s shoreline."
"Union leaders saw an opportunity and urged the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority, a seven-member government agency made up of local elected officials that will distribute the money, to require “project labor agreements” for contracts funded with the Measure AA proceeds."
Sacramento may be getting a new bridge over the iconic river that bears the city's name, and Congresswoman Matsui is responsible for leading the group involved in creating its aesthetic design.
TONY BIZJAK with Sacramento Bee: "Congresswoman Doris Matsui is convening a group to make sure the planned bridge over the Sacramento River between West Sacramento and the railyard is “beautiful.”
“You go to any river city around the world, you’ve got bridges that are beautiful,” Matsui said. “We have a huge opportunity here.” Tower Bridge is iconic. The next bridge should be too, she said."
"The mainly federally funded bridge will replace the car portion of the I Street Bridge, connecting West Sacramento’s redeveloping waterfront with Sacramento’s railyard, where new housing and businesses, as well as a Kaiser medical complex and a soccer stadium, are expected to be built."
More millenials are choosing blue collar work instead of earning educational degrees.
GREG HADLEY with Sacramento Bee: "For years, the idea of going to college, getting a degree and parlaying that into a stable career was widely accepted as the best possible route for most young people in America."
"Now, that might no longer be the case."
"As recently as 2014, the Pew Research Center released a study that found that a college diploma was worth an extra $17,500 in salary. But as high school graduation rates increase, especially among lower-income students, committing to four years of expensive higher education doesn’t make sense for more and more people, according to research conducted by Forbes."
Meanwhile, Purdue Pharma explores an international takeover of OxyContin.
HARRIET RYAN, LISA GIRION and SCOTT GLOVER with LAT: "OxyContin is a dying business in America."
"With the nation in the grip of an opioid epidemic that has claimed more than 200,000 lives, the U.S. medical establishment is turning away from painkillers. Top health officials are discouraging primary care doctors from prescribing them for chronic pain, saying there is no proof they work long-term and substantial evidence they put patients at risk."
"Prescriptions for OxyContin have fallen nearly 40% since 2010, meaning billions in lost revenue for its Connecticut manufacturer, Purdue Pharma."
First responders talk about their harrowing experience entering the remnants of the Ghost Ship blaze -- an indellible horror they will wrestle with for years to come.
ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN with LAT: "The first body he saw, he recognized."
"She looked like a mannequin under a pile of charred wreckage about a dozen feet high, among pianos, drum kits and amplifiers coated with soot."
"As Brian Centoni carefully peeled away layers of debris, his body drenched in sweat under heavy fire gear, he realized he knew her face."
READ MORE related to Oakland Ghost Ship Fire: Oakland warehouse fire: Chapel of Chimes musical event honors dead -- LAURA CASEY with EBT; Spotlight on the confusing world of gender identity -- TAMMERLIN DRUMMOND with Mercury News
California sees a profitable 'gun run' amid legislation approved in July calling for increased control of firearms.
PATRICK MCGREEVY with LAT: "Gov. Jerry Brown’s approval of sweeping gun control legislation in July has triggered a run on firearms in California, with some stores reporting sales have doubled since then."
"Starting Jan. 1, the general public in California can no longer buy asemiautomatic rifle equipped with bullet-buttons that allow for the quick removal and replacement of ammunition magazines, under a new law signed by the governor."
"Guns purchased before Jan. 1 can be kept as long as the owner registers them with the state as assault weapons."
Four influential senators are calling for a special select committee to investigate alleged 'Russian election interference.'
DAVID G. SAVAGE with LAT: "Four powerful members of the Senate called Sunday for creation of a special select committee to investigate Russian attempts to influence the presidential election, a sign of growing concern that GOP leaders' plans to use existing panels will produce a partisan inquiry."
"Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who chairs the Armed Services Committee, and Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), the incoming minority leader, said the specter of a foreign power trying to sway the U.S. election demands a special bipartisan investigation."
"“We need to get to the bottom of this," McCain said on CNN’s “State of the Union."
Schools explore unconvential solutions to help failing students.
ANNA M. PHILLIPS and SONALI KOHLI with LAT: "When Horace Mann Middle School principal Orlando Johnson thinks about the eighth-graders he sent off to high school last year, he worries about how they will fare."
"Only about 1% of Horace Mann students in that grade and the ones below it tested at grade level in math. At the end of the year, the eighth-grade math teacher was dismissed for ineffective teaching. Sixth- and seventh-graders, meanwhile, were learning math from long-term substitutes. "
"Johnson wanted to fill the vacancies, but teachers weren’t lining up to work at one of the lowest performing schools in L.A. Unified."
A UC Berkeley student refuses to let his physical limitations strangle his aspirations.
NANETTE ASIMOV with The Chronicle: "Wind sweeps through southern Chile’s primeval landscape, whistling through scrub, curling around granite spires and raising waves on Grey Lake, a vast and frigid pool of melted ice. Rain soaks the region, stops, then resumes its relentless cycle."
"It’s just the place for Álvaro Silberstein, a student at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business."