Pot regulations database: What are the cannabis laws in my city?
Sacramento Bee's RYAN LILLIS/NASHELLY CHAVEZ: "Want to go to a medical marijuana dispensary in your area? Want to start an outdoor garden? Hoping to go to a recreational store nearby when sales can begin Jan. 1, 2018? Chances are you may not have those options. Check below to see what the laws are in these California cities and counties."
READ MORE related to Cannabis: Pot churches proliferate as States ease access to cannabis -- California Healthline's BARBARA FEDER OSTROV; 'Big-time operation' busted as Sacramento ramps up pot house enforcement -- Sacramento Bee's RYAN LILLIS/NASHELLY CHAVEZ; 'Where are all the people?' Capital crowds modest as California starts selling legal pot -- Sacramento Bee's BRAD BRANAN/TONY BIZJAK; New era opens in California with first sales of recreational marijuana -- The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER/DAVID DOWNS; Customers line up for first legal purchases of recreational pot -- The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER; For marijuana users, it's high times as California makes recreational use legal -- LA Times' MARISA GERBER; Legalization is here! Shrug. -- NYT's THOMAS FULLER
New California laws cover immigration, marijuana, education, criminal justice
AP: "California state lawmakers in 2017 passed nearly 900 bills that Gov. Jerry Brown then signed into law. Most of them take effect Monday. The new laws cover topics ranging from the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, to the state’s new recreational cannabis market, to the price of a college education."
"Here are some of the laws taking effect with the new year:"
Workplace laws in 2018 could impact job seekers, parents and ex-offenders
Mercury News' ANNIE SCIACCA: "New laws will take effect Monday that could have a big impact on how parents, ex-offenders and job seekers navigate California workplaces."
"Starting Jan. 1, employers in the state will be banned from asking job applicants about their criminal history before making a conditional offer of employment or from inquiring about applicants’ salary history. California will also expand a law that requires businesses to provide parents with up to 12 work weeks of unpaid leave to bond with babies. That law already exists for large companies but will now extend to employers with between 20 and 49 employees."
"Those are some provisions that the California Chamber of Commerce says will be “significant” changes in workplace laws in 2018. There are almost 30 new laws that workplaces will have to follow in the new year."
A guide to figuring out if California will flip the House for Democrats this fall
L.A. Times' SARAH D. WIRE: "Now that the year of the midterm elections has arrived, the battles will start to pick up speed as Democrats try to reclaim control of the House."
"The path to the 24 seats Democrats need passes through California — and that means they need to win at least a handful of the Republican seats they hope to flip."
"As the contests take shape, watch these trends to get a sense of what the 2018 elections might bring."
California Governor's race is likely to be decided in L.A. County
L.A. Times' PHIL WILLON: "For the hopefuls in California’s race for governor, the sprawling metropolis of Los Angeles County is as mesmerizing as the blanket of lights that glistens every night from the San Gabriel Mountains to the Long Beach coast."
"The election will be decided here, where 1 in 4 of the state’s voters live. It’s diverse, sprawling, expensive to advertise in and voters often don’t show up, especially compared with the Bay Area. That’s why anyone hoping to topple Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom has to win the county."
"For two hometown Democratic candidates especially — former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and state Treasurer John Chiang of Torrance — doing well in L.A. County is essential. Yet this overwhelmingly Democratic stronghold continually bedevils even the most adept campaigns."
California wildfires in 2017: A staggering toll of lost life and homes
Sacramento Bee's PHILLIP REESE: "This year will go down as one of the worst in California wildfire history, the latest state fire statistics show."
"As of Dec. 11:"
"Large wildfires had destroyed or damaged more than 10,000 structures in California this year, a higher tally than the last nine years combined."
READ MORE related to The West is Burning: As wildfires worsen, technology makes tracking smoke in air easier -- The Chronicle's KATE GALBRAITH
Where are they now? Paul Horcher
Capitol Weekly's ALEX VASSAR: "For all the drama that comes with a first day of session, it’s largely a scripted affair. Legislators and their families fly to Sacramento and at about noon everyone files into the Chambers for the oath of office. A few procedural votes are taken and then everyone goes home until January."
"But that wasn’t how it happened in 1994."
"That year, Assembly Republicans gained their first majority in a quarter century only to have one of their own — Paul Horcher — break away and vote to keep Willie Brown, a Democrat, in power. It was one of the most amazing moments in the history of the Assembly."
Property owner wins round in delta duck club fight -- $3.6 million fine overturned
The Chronicle's J.K. DINEEN: "An East Bay man battling environmental watchdog agencies over his efforts to establish an elite duck club and kite-surfing center in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta won a legal victory when a judge overturned a $3.6 million fine that the agencies had imposed against him."
"Solano County Superior Court Judge Harry Kinnicutt found that two state water agencies — the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission — had acted with “an appearance of vindictiveness” in “imposing the highest penalties the Regional Board and BCDC had ever imposed” against John Sweeney, who owns Point Buckler, a 39-acre island in the Suisun Marsh wetlands area near Pittsburg."
"The delta duck duel pits Sweeney against environmentalists who argue that the property owner violated the Suisun Marsh Preservation Act in reconstructing about a mile of levees in the wetlands around Point Buckler, an island that was operated as a duck club until the 1990s. In a May 2016 lawsuit, water board officials said the levees blocked tidal flows onto the property, compromising habitat for endangered species, including migrating salmon and delta smelt."
Hollywood women promote plan against sexual harassment
The Chronicle's CARA BUCKLEY: "Driven by outrage and a resolve to correct a power imbalance that seemed intractable just months ago, 300 prominent actresses and female agents, writers, directors, producers and entertainment executives have formed an ambitious, sprawling initiative to fight systemic sexual harassment in Hollywood and in blue-collar workplaces nationwide."
"The initiative includes:"
"• A legal defense fund, backed by $13 million in donations, to help less privileged women — such as janitors, nurses and workers at farms, factories, restaurants and hotels — protect themselves from sexual misconduct and the fallout from reporting it."
High lake and reservoir levels could make for great year on the water
The Chronicle's TOM STIENSTRA: "From the shore of San Luis Reservoir, the first thing you will say is, “Look at all that water."
"Same thing at Shasta, Trinity, Bullards Bar, Folsom, Pardee, New Melones, Don Pedro, Stampede and many of the state’s other lakes and reservoirs."
"What this means, as the rains are forecast to start this week, is that the year ahead looks sensational for boating, camping, fishing and water sports."
READ MORE related to Environment: Turning blue to ring in the new with frigid Jan. 1 Ocean Beach plunge -- The Chronicle's STEVE RUBENSTEIN; Deadly, bone-chilling cold grips wide swath of US -- AP; A $125,000 snow machine is the latest luxury vehicle for rich land barons -- L.A. Times' KYLE STOCK; After dry start, Bay Area to see rain this week -- Mercury News' ANNIE SCIACCA
'Great equalizer': Program fights lack of diversity in jazz education
The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "Juan Romo, 11, had heard of jazz music, but didn’t know much about it. The San Francisco middle school student had neither played it nor listened to it. He didn’t think he would like it."
“I used to think it was just music,” the sixth-grader said. “But now I understand people can share how they feel through jazz.”
"Juan’s new appreciation for the American art form followed a two-week workshop at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, sponsored by SFJazz."
READ MORE related to Education: Inside the fight over how to address San Francisco's 'state of emergency' for black student achievement -- LA Times' JOY RESMOVITS; Young, gay and living on the street: LGBT youth face increased odds of homelessness -- EdSource's CAROLYN JONES
Mass shootings are on the rise. So are classes on how to avoid them.
The Chronicle's KEVIN FAGAN: "First they tried it the old way. The crazed shooter burst into the room, and everyone tried to hide. Just about everyone got shot."
"Then the 10 people running the simulation at UC Berkeley on what to do during a shooting rampage tried things the new way — cobbling up a plan for fighting back. They hurled pretend laptops, books and chairs at the shooter the second he burst into their office."
READ MORE related to Gun Violence: Authorities: 3-year-old boy seriously hurt in gun accident -- AP; San Leandro woman wounded by random New Year's gunfire -- The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN
Terrifying brush with death drives doctor to fight for patients
California Healthline's MICHELLE ANDREWS: "The searing abdominal pain came on suddenly while Dr. Rana Awdish was having dinner with a friend. Soon she was lying in the back seat of the car racing to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where Awdish was completing a fellowship in critical care."
"On that night nearly a decade ago, a benign tumor in Awdish’s liver burst, causing a cascade of medical catastrophes that nearly killed her. She nearly bled to death. She was seven months pregnant at the time, and the baby did not survive. She had a stroke and, over the days and weeks to come, suffered multiple organ failures. She required several surgeries and months of rehabilitation to learn to walk and speak again."
"Helpless, lying on a gurney in the hospital’s labor and delivery area that first night, Awdish willed the medical staff to see her as a person rather than an interesting case of what she termed “Abdominal Pain and Fetal Demise.” But their medical training to remain clinically detached worked against her. Later, in the intensive care unit, she overheard her case being discussed by the surgical resident during morning rounds."
READ MORE related to Health Care: Trump administration relaxes financial penalties against nursing homes -- California Healthline's JORDAN RAU
How the Russia inquiry began: A campaign aide, drinks and talk of political dirt
NY Times' SHARON LEFRANIERE/MARK MAZZETTI/MATT APUZZO: "During a night of heavy drinking at an upscale London bar in May 2016, George Papadopoulos, a young foreign policy adviser to the Trump campaign, made a startling revelation to Australia’s top diplomat in Britain: Russia had political dirt on Hillary Clinton."
"About three weeks earlier, Mr. Papadopoulos had been told that Moscow had thousands of emails that would embarrass Mrs. Clinton, apparently stolen in an effort to try to damage her campaign."
"Exactly how much Mr. Papadopoulos said that night at the Kensington Wine Rooms with the Australian, Alexander Downer, is unclear. But two months later, when leaked Democratic emails began appearing online, Australian officials passed the information about Mr. Papadopoulos to their American counterparts, according to four current and former American and foreign officials with direct knowledge of the Australians’ role."
READ MORE related to KremlinGate: As the dossier scandal looms, the New York Times struggles to save its collusion tale -- National Review's ANDREW C. MCCARTHY; The 5 biggest Trump-Russia events to watch for in 2018 -- Vox's ALEX WARD; Trump-Russia inquiry: Australian PM denies US relationship damaged by Downer report -- The Guardian's AMY REMEIKIS; Is Donald Trump's dark Russian secret hiding in Deutsche Bank's vaults? -- LUKE HARDING in Newsweek
Still more on Kremlingate: Finding it hard to keep up with all of the news involving President Trump and Russia? Check out former Press Secretary's Bill Moyers timeline, which chronologically lists all of the Trump/Russia interactions that have been reported on the record.
McClatchy DC's FRANCO ORDONEZ: "The Department of Homeland Security is considering new regulations that would prevent H-1B visa extensions, according to two U.S. sources briefed on the proposal. The measure potentially could stop hundreds of thousands of foreign workers from keeping their H-1B visas while their green card applications are pending."
"The proposal, being drafted in memos shared between DHS department heads, is part of President Donald Trump’s “Buy American, Hire American” initiative promised during the 2016 campaign."
"The administration is specifically looking at whether it can reinterpret the "may grant" language of the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act to stop making the extentions. The act currently allows the administration to extend the H-1B visas for thousands of immigrants, predominantly Indian immigrants, beyond the allowed two three-year terms if a green card is pending."
Trump will stay in check till 2020. He'll also stay in office
The Chronicle's WILLIE BROWN: "For those of you who aren’t crazy about President Trump, the good news as we wrap up his first year in the White House is how the courts and federal bureaucracy have kept him from running the country completely off the rails."
"The bad news, for Democrats, is that he will serve out his term and run for re-election. People hoping he’ll resign or be thrown out of office are dreaming."
"One of the interesting twists of Trump’s first year is that the very system he wanted to tear down coming into office has kept him from going down in flames himself."
READ MORE related to POTUS45: 55 ways Donald Trump structurally changed America in 2017 -- NYMag's NICK TABOR; Trump takes credit for no air travel deaths in 2017 -- The Hill's JORDAN FABIAN; Donald Trump's year of living dangerously -- Politico's SUSAN B. GLASSER; Trump urges Justice Department to 'act' on Comey, suggests Huma Abedin should face jail time -- WaPo's DAVID NAKAMURA
Congress returns to work with slimmer GOP majority to accomplish Trump's agenda
L.A. Times' LISA MASCARO: "Congress returns to work this week with unfinished business on spending, immigration and other crucial issues, but with an even narrower GOP majority that will make it tougher to move on President Trump’s agenda."
"The House and Senate will convene Wednesday, swearing in the newly elected Democratic senator from Alabama, Doug Jones, and Minnesota’s Tina Smith to replace a fellow Democrat, Sen. Al Franken, who is resigning as the latest high-profile public figure sidelined by allegations of sexual misconduct. The change gives Republicans only a one-seat margin in the Senate."
It looked to them like a fake parking ticket. So they paid with fake money.
Sacramento Bee's TONY BIZJAK: "What happens when you park in a lot but don’t put your payment stub on your dashboard? Here’s one cautionary tale:"
"Erin Muilenburg parked in a lot on L Street one evening last month on the way to a post-work event, and dutifully paid $6 for two hours in the payment kiosk."
"She was in a hurry and it was dark out, making her a little uncomfortable, so when the machine did not immediately spit out a payment receipt, she decided to head on to her event, thinking the private parking lot company probably had some other way of knowing she’d paid.
READ MORE related to Transportation: Disney-bound family kicked off Southwest flight after unconfirmed lice accusation -- KCStar's ADAM DARBY; Orange County sees future in transit-oriented development as freeways get more jammed -- L.A. Times' DANIEL LANGHORNE; Live chickens blocking lanes on 605 Freeway transition in Norwalk area -- Daily News' STEVEN ROSENBERG
'Beautiful girls': Muslim community mourns preteens slain on New Year's Eve
Sacramento Bee's TONY BIZJAK/STEPHEN MAGAGNINI: "A man and two girls believed to be his daughters, ages 9 and 12, are dead in what appears to be a murder-suicide in a car parked next to West Sacramento City Hall on Sunday night."
"West Sacramento police spokesman Sgt. Roger Kinney said police and fire officials received a call at 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve of “suspicious circumstances” involving a car parked in a commercial lot on West Capitol Avenue."
"Fire officials found a 47-year-old man and two girls in the car. All were unresponsive. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The two girls were transported to the UC Davis Medical Center hospital in Sacramento, where they were pronounced dead later."
Best 2018 Rose Parade photos: Floats, bands, celebrities march and roll through Pasadena
Daily News' DEAN MUSGROVE: "Hundreds of thousands packed Colorado Boulevard Monday morning for the 129th Tournament of Roses parade for this year’s edition of Pasadena’s most famous event."
READ MORE related to Rose Parade: People don't know that the Amazon Prime Rose Parade coverage hosted by Will Ferrell, Molly Shannon is a joke -- Daily News' SAMANTHA BUSH
Global markets turn lower as 2018 trading gets underway
AP's JOE MCDONALD: "Stock markets turned lower in European hours on Tuesday, the first day of trading in 2018, as investors looked ahead to whether the record-setting equity run will last."
"KEEPING SCORE: Germany's DAX fell 0.8 percent to 12,819 and France's CAC 40 shed 0.6 percent to 5,279. London's FTSE 100 retreated 0.5 percent to 7,650, coming off a record high it hit last week. On Wall Street, futures for the Dow Jones industrial average were flat, while those for the Standard & Poor's 500 were up 0.3 percent."
"NEW YEAR: Investors are gauging whether 2018 might be as good for stocks as 2017, when many indexes hit record highs. U.S. stocks last year turned in their strongest annual performance since 2013. "Question in 2018 is what it will take for more of the same," analysts from Mizuho Bank said in a report to investors. They described the stock gains as "getting long in the tooth."
Iran's top leader blames protests on meddling by 'enemies'
AP's NASSER KARIMI/JON GAMBRELL: "Iran's supreme leader on Tuesday blamed the protests roiling the country on "enemies of Iran" who he said were meddling in its internal affairs, as state television reported that overnight clashes between protesters and security forces killed another nine people."
"The demonstrations, the largest seen in Iran since its disputed 2009 presidential election, have brought six days of unrest across the country and resulted in at least 20 deaths."
"The protests began Thursday in Mashhad over Iran's weak economy and a jump in food prices. They have since expanded to several cities, with some protesters chanting against the government and the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Hundreds of people have been arrested and a prominent judge on Tuesday warned that some could face the death penalty."
READ MORE related to International: South Korea offers to talk with North on Olympics cooperation -- AP; North Korea unveils massive ballistic missile ice sculpture to celebrate the new year -- Newsweek's SOFIA LOTTO PERSIO; Kim Jong-un's overture could drive a wedge between South Korea and the U.S. -- NYT's CHOE SANG-HUN/DAVID E. SANGER
--
More than 3 months have passed since hurricanes ravaged territories and states in the Atlantic, yet the people living there are in more need than ever as Irma and Maria's death toll from preventable causes threatens to eclipse Katrina's bodycount.
--
The Roundup is compiled by Associate Editor Geoff Howard. Questions? Comments? Feedback? Email him at geoff@capitolweekly.net