Internal documents reveal large scale inmate abuse with impunity at Sac County jail
Sac Bee's SAM STANTON/MOLLY SULLIVAN: "Patrick Hoyt ended up in the Sacramento County Main Jail on Dec. 1, 2015, after being picked up on a misdemeanor domestic violence warrant."
"Within hours, he said, he was escorted by two deputies into an area of the jail without camera coverage, where one of them twisted his arm and shoved his face into a brick wall so hard he ended up with a swollen black eye."
"Hoyt said he later complained of excessive force and, after his release, was interviewed by internal affairs investigators who asked, “What would make this right again?"
READ MORE related to Sacramento County Inmate Abuse: Here's a sample of the abuse claims made against Sac County jail deputies -- Sac Bee's SAM STANTON/MOLLY SULLIVAN
UC, amid lawsuits, eyes value of SAT, ACT tests
AKEMI TAMANAHA/BRYNDON MADISON in Capitol Weekly: "The University of California is facing court challenges over its use of the SAT and ACT tests to decide student admissions."
"This comes as a special UC faculty group, the Standardized Testing Task Force, prepares to release its own report on the tests in early 2020."
"The litigation, in the form of a pair of lawsuits, claims that use of the tests is unfair to disadvantaged students. The suits were filed by a coalition of five community groups, four
individual students and the Compton Unified School District."
Running free: For inmates, the San Quentin Marathon offers 26.2 miles of life beyond bars
The Chronicle's RACHEL LEVIN: "I’m not a betting man, but if I was, I’d put my money on Fidelio,” says Markelle “The Gazelle” Taylor, winner of the 12th annual San Quentin Marathon — and the three before that. He isn’t running this year. The 26.2-mile race, held inside the 30-foot walls of what’s got to be the prettiest prison in America, is for inmates only."
"Prettiest, at least, when viewed from the outside, where the sparkling San Francisco Bay stretches to the sky and Mount Tamalpais rises above the barbed wire."
"The Gazelle always appreciated that view of Tam while running around and around and around the prison yard. He completed his last San Quentin Marathon — 105 laps around a quarter-mile track — in a record 3:10:42. A few months later, paroled after 18 years, he ran to the top of the mountain he’d been looking at for so long. (And then he ran the Boston Marathon, in 3:03:52, his personal best.)"
California's consumer privacy law is coming. Here's how to exercise your rights
The Chronicle's DUSTIN GARDINER: "Californians are on the cusp of acquiring a host of new rights to control how their personal information is collected, stored and sold online."
"The landmark California Consumer Privacy Act, the first major statewide internet privacy law in the country, takes effect Jan. 1. Consumers will have the power to tell businesses not to sell their data and to demand that they delete the information altogether."
"But privacy advocates say the sweeping law, passed by state lawmakers in June 2018, will be effective only if consumers know their rights and exercise them."
These new California laws will protect animals in 2020, and could change the way you shop
Sac Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "California animal rights activists scored big wins in the Capitol this year, when they advocated for a slate of new protections for four-legged critters."
"In part due to the efforts of groups like People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and Social Compassion in Legislation, California lawmakers voted to ban the use of most circus performing animals, ban both recreational and commercial fur trapping, and ban the sale of many types of exotic animal skins in the Golden State."
"With each of these wins, it gets us more strength,” said Judie Mancuso, founder of Animals and Social Compassion in Legislation, who added her group is poised to enter 2020 with more political capital."
OP-ED: California's hunger problem is hurting the state's children
BARAKA FLOYD/EMMA STEINBERG in Sac Bee: "Young children need food to grow and develop, but today 2 million of California’s children live in low-income households without consistent access to enough food."
"We are physicians, not mathematicians, but we see how the numbers don’t add up for many families: high rent and childcare costs equal less money for nutritionally adequate food and poor health for all household members."
"Lack of nutritious food is especially devastating for children. Research shows that the stress and adversity experienced in childhood affects us into adulthood. Babies born to mothers who are food insecure are more likely to have low birth weight. Children who experience food insecurity are at greater risk for developmental delay, anemia, and challenges in school. They also have higher rates of conditions like obesity, asthma, and depression."
5 sentenced in the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi
AP: "Saudi Arabia sentenced five people to death on Monday for the killing of Washington Post columnist and royal family critic Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul last year by a team of Saudi agents."
"The killing of Khashoggi stunned the international community and also many Saudi citizens, who were deeply shocked that a Saudi national could be killed by 15 government agents inside one of the kingdom’s consulates."
"Another three people were sentenced to prison for a combined 24 years, according to a statement read by the attorney general’s office on Saudi state TV. No individual breakdown for the sentencing was given."
Storm soaks Bay Area, more rain expected Christmas Eve
The Chronicle's TATIANA SANCHEZ: "A few hours of heavy rain in the Bay Area on Sunday gave way to drier weather, giving holiday shoppers and travelers a break from their umbrellas and boots. But rain is expected to return just before Christmas."
"The cold front brought about a half inch of rain to San Francisco and the East Bay, according to the National Weather Service, while San Jose received just under a quarter inch. Marin County was the region’s hardest hit area, receiving about 2 inches of rain in some places."
"Several inches of snow fell in the Sierra."
Sacramento will continue to accept refugees, Mayor Steinberg says in letter to Trump
Sac Bee's THERESA CLIFT: "The city of Sacramento will continue to accept refugees, despite a September executive order by President Donald Trump that allows municipalities to block refugee resettlement."
"The order requires municipalities that want to continue to accept refugees to send in letters by Christmas. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg sent the Trump administration a letter on Friday, according to a news release."
"We are proud to be one of the nation’s most welcoming cities for refugees,” Steinberg said in a news release. “It’s our city ethic, our tradition and our obligation as Americans. As the Bible says, ‘I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in."
America's noisiest and quietest national parks -- the human factor
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "From the distant canyons of Yosemite to the remote deserts of Death Valley, national parks are among the best places to escape the sounds of the city."
"Yet, in an age of increasing thumps, buzzes and hums, noise is invading even this dusty turf. New research finds that 36% of national park sites in the continental United States are at least 10 times noisier than they would be otherwise because of human-produced sounds. Many of these spots are in California."
"The clamor, scientists say, isn’t a problem just for people grumpy about loud music and beeping iPhones. Noise has real effects on human health, contributing to anxiety and elevated blood pressure, for example. It also fouls things up for wildlife, which rely on an unobstructed environment to find food, escape predators and communicate for mating."
A ship with no home: The sad but colorful (and now very costly) tale of the Sherman
The Chronicle's MATTHIAS GAFNI: "After almost a century on Bay Area waters, the Sherman, a former Army troop transport in World War II, Alcatraz escape vessel and repeat restaurant failure, is being picked for parts at a dry dock on Vallejo’s Mare Island."
"The 144-foot steamer has been evicted from three Northern California ports in the last five years. The latest failed business venture was a costly one, forcing the city of Vallejo to shell out about $500,000 to remove the dilapidated ship from its municipal harbor, with tugboats dragging the three-story vessel across the Mare Island Strait in November."
"It’s an ignominious end to the Sherman’s colorful, if checkered, past."
Internet restored at Sac airport after outage caused problems for holiday travelers
Sac Bee's VINCENT MOLESKI/MITCHEL BOBO: "Flights at the Sacramento International Airport saw major delays Sunday morning due to an AT&T internet outage."
"Sacramento County airport spokeswoman Samantha Mott said passengers and baggage were being checked in manually and all airlines experienced delays, with Southwest Airlines being the worst hit."
"The airport’s official Twitter account announced that connection was restored just after 9 p.m. Sunday, with airlines working with their IT departments to get things back to normal."
Watch this K-9 crash through a truck window and nab a fugitive
Sac Bee's DON SWEENEY: "A man who refused to exit his pickup truck after a police chase got a surprise visitor early Friday morning when a police K9 suddenly joined him, KABC reports."
"A video shows Duke, a Corona Police Department dog, dive through the shattered driver’s side window and attack the flailing fugitive, KTLA reported."
"With Duke’s assistance, police arrested Julio Vasquez, 31, on suspicion of stalking and evading police, KABC reported. He also could face charges for punching Duke in the fracas, police say."
FBI's probe of Trump campaign faced problems from the start
LA Times's DEL QUENTIN WILBER: "When Michael Horowitz, the Justice Department’s internal watchdog, released a report that criticized the secret FBI surveillance of a former Trump campaign advisor in 2016 and 2017, initial reports suggested the FBI had been too aggressive."
"But a close reading of the 434-page report, and interviews with current and former agents, suggest the FBI may have been too cautious, especially in the early stages of the investigation."
"The reason? The FBI was trying to stay out of politics."
Pelosi vs. McConnell: What could happen next on impeachment
The Chronicle's DUSTIN GARDINER: "A day after the House’s historic vote to impeach President Trump, uncertainty about the timing and rules of his eventual Senate trial descended over Capitol Hill."
"The conventional wisdom echoed in Washington for weeks — that the GOP-controlled Senate would quickly acquit Trump after a trial beginning and ending in January — was thrown into doubt when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday night left open the question of when she would send the two articles of impeachment to the Senate. The San Francisco Democrat said she is looking for assurances that Republicans who control the chamber would hold a “fair trial."
"That sounded like code for Democrats’ demands that the Senate hear from current and former White House aides whom Trump barred from testifying before the House about the holdup of U.S. military aid to Ukraine while he sought Kyiv’s announcement of investigations into Democrats."
READ MORE related to Impeachment: Meet Mark Galli, evangelical magazine editor who called for Trump's removal -- LA Times's SONALI KOHLI; Evangelicals split over Trump impeachment: 'God always chose people that had flaws' -- LA Times' MATT HAMILTON