(Ed's Note: Due to technical difficulties, today's Roundup was delayed.)
Sacramento's worst roads – and those in a lot of other places, too -- are targeted to get a massive repair under the state's new transportation funding bill approved by the Legislature last week.
Sacramento Bee's TONY BIZJAK: "The Sacramento area’s bumpiest roads are likely to get a lot smoother in the next few years, thanks to the state transportation funding bill approved by the Legislature Thursday, local officials say. But the “gusher” of new funds, as one activist put it, is unlikely to be enough to make daily commutes less congested."
"For that, local transportation officials say, Sacramento’s cities and counties will have to find some other budgetary magic. Federal funding remains a dark cloud; the Trump administration recently proposed cutting transportation funding 13 percent this year."
"Sacramento leaders say the long-awaited state bill, SB 1, will allow them to come out of starvation mode. The bill imposes a pump-tax increase and higher vehicle registration fees, and will cost the typical driver about $10 a month. Much of the funding will not start flowing until November."
Read More related to Transportation: 'Buying' the votes for a gas-tax hike: Is it illegal or just good politics? -- Sacramento Bee's JIM MILLER/CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO/TARYN LUNA; OP-ED: Jerry Brown teaches a lesson in old-school politics Sacramento Bee's DAN MORAIN; Passengers grateful Alaska Airlines jet landed safely in Modesto -- Modesto Bee's ROSALIO AHUMADA; California's interminable tree extinction is expected to slow thanks to this winter season's amazing amount of rain.
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "California’s extraordinarily wet winter didn’t just end the drought. It’s likely to mean a turnaround for the state’s dying forests."
"After five years of dry weather unleashed unparalleled havoc on trees from Yosemite to the Central Coast — leaving vast stands of pine too parched to fight pests and reducing entire mountainsides to browning wastelands — a forecast by the U.S. Forest Service suggests the die-off will slow this year."
"The projection, made public earlier this year, is short on specifics. But it mirrors the opinion of many forestry experts who say fewer trees will perish as rainy weather helps California’s woodlands regain their natural defenses against the ravenous bark beetle."
READ MORE related to Environment: California's environmental crusaders helped save our state. Now, they face down Trump -- LA Times' STEVE LOPEZ; With California's bounty just out of reach, one town is nourished by a family farm -- LA Times' DIANA MARCUM.
Trump has ordered Steve Bannon and Jared Kushner to work on their relationship as rumors of serious friction between the two rapidly spread; WaPo's ABBY PHILLIP: "Annoyed that palace intrigue stories dominated the headlines late this week, President Donald Trump ordered two of his top advisers, Jared Kushner and Stephen Bannon, to work out their differences, according to two senior White House officials."
"The two met Friday afternoon after Chinese President Xi Jinping left Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Florida, in a nearly one-hour meeting arranged by White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus."
"According to one of the officials, the meeting ended amicably, with both men agreeing to work together to advance Trump's agenda."
READ MORE related to Beltway: How Bannon's multimedia machine drove a movement paid him millions -- WaPo's SHAWN BOBURG/ROBERT O'HBARROW JR; Suicide bombers kill 44 at Palm Sunday services in Egypt -- AP's HAMZA HENDAWI; Trump advisers: US seeks to fight IS and oust Syria's Assad -- AP's HOPE YEN; In Donald Trump's White House, it's all relative -- The Chronicle's WILLIE BROWN; Gorsuch's impact on divided Supreme Court will begin immediately -- LA Times' DAVID G. SAVAGE
Placer County Sheriff John D'Agostini says he will push back as hard as he can against a statewide imposition of sanctuary status laws.
The Chronicle's PETER FIMRITE: "Leaning back in his chair, his gold sheriff’s badge glinting in a shaft of light, John D’Agostini thought for a second about what he would do if Sacramento legislators imposed San Francisco-style sanctuary laws to protect people living across the state illegally."
"His dilemma is part of the complex immigration debate in California, where a bill passed last week by the state Senate would restrict cooperation with U.S. immigration agents everywhere, including not only liberal strongholds but bastions of conservatism like El Dorado County."
"To D’Agostini, the proposed law, SB54, is tantamount to coddling criminals, and that doesn’t wash in the historic Gold Rush towns and foothill hamlets he serves. He said he would simply refuse to go along."
READ MORE related to Immigration: Rio Grande Valley is unusually quiet as illegal border crossings drop to lowest point in at least 17 years -- LA Times' JENNY JARVIE
Do the use of cellphones help increase the risk of getting cancer?
Sacramento Bee's SAMMY CAIOLA: "Unofficial California guidelines released last month after years of legal battles contained worrisome warnings about one of the most ubiquitous devices around – cellphones. Everyday habits such as holding a phone to your ear, sleeping near your device or making calls in weak reception areas could expose users to potentially cancer-causing radiation, the guidelines said."
"The two-page tip sheet, titled “Cell Phones and Health,” was written in 2014 but only made public this March, after the state Department of Public Health lost a court case with a UC Berkeley researcher demanding the document’s release. Its emergence adds intrigue to a years-long debate about whether our pocket-sized devices pose a looming threat to our health."
"The jury is still out on whether cellphone use increases cancer risk. A few animal studies have showed tumor formation in mice exposed to cellphone radiation, but some scientists say the results aren’t applicable to humans. Other studies have found correlations between people who develop brain cancer and those who use mobile devices, but critics say asking people to recall phone habits over several decades produces unreliable results."
Meanwhile, Sutter's Fort in Sacramento ran a historical re-enactment of California's first shopping mall from the 1840's.
Sacramento Bee's STEPHEN MAGAGNINI: "Sutter’s Fort in downtown Sacramento turned back time to its heyday in the 1840s, when trappers, traders, farmers, musicians and blacksmiths transformed the fort into “California’s First Mall."
"Hundreds of visitors from as far away as Los Angeles entered the old white brick walls of the fort this weekend to watch horseshoes being forged, wool being spun, fry bread being cooked, butter being churned and muskets being fired. You could buy period hats, dresses, shirts and pants in the markets."
"The fort once hosted “at least 12 different businesses, along with a hospital, jail and one of California’ first newspapers, the Placer Times,” said Steve Beck, history and education expert at Sutter’s Fort Historic State Park who organized the three-day “Trader’s Faire.”
Read More related to Economy: Big tech firms pay H-1B workers more than prevailing wage -- The Chronicle's TRISHA THADANI; House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and US Rep. John Lewis join LA rally to end child poverty -- LA Times' JAMES QUEALLY; The cost of California's public pensions is breaking the bank. Here's one reason this problem is so hard to fix -- LA Times' JUDY LIN
A good samaritan was killed in a freak accident after a CHP officer's cruiser accidentally backed up over him.
Sacramento Bee's JESSICA HICE: "A bus driver was struck and killed by a California Highway Patrol vehicle while assisting at the scene of a traffic accident near Truckee Saturday night."
"A CHP officer arrived at an accident site on eastbound Interstate 80 near Iceland Grade, about 5 miles east of Truckee, where a charter bus was blocking traffic and another vehicle was overturned, CHP said in a statement Sunday."
"The bus driver was placing reflective triangles in the roadway when the CHP officer arrived on scene around 7:30 p.m. to speak to the driver and witnesses. Once in the patrol car again, the CHP officer backed up his patrol car to establish a lane closure and accidentally hit the bus driver, CHP said."
Read More related to Public Safety: Officials say ransom notes not tied to disappearance of Gridley woman -- Sacramento Bee's JESSICA HICE; Oakland Fire Department software blamed for inspection lapses -- The Chornicle's KIMBERLY VEKLEROV; Sheriff's Department misconduct-claim payouts have soared, topping $50 million last year -- LA Times' RICHARD WINTON; Police shoot man suspected of stabbing 3 in downttown's skid row, LAPD says -- LA Times
And now for an older page from our 'Unusual Punishment' file:
A small town Ohio judge has received attention over the years for his firm belief in 'making the punishment fit the crime'. The most amazing part of his process? The recidivism rate: 10% compared to the 75% national average.