The surge of Latinos in California, a potent political and cultural force, is intensifying as the state experiences a demographic sea change.
From Peter Fimrite in the Chronicle: "The number of Hispanic people in California will equal the non-Hispanic white population by the middle of the year and surpass it as the largest single racial or ethnic group in the state by 2014, according to projections released Thursday by the state Department of Finance."
"The demographic changes will continue, and in 2060 nearly half of California's population will be Hispanic. It's a transformation that will have a profound impact on education, job growth and the economy, according to experts."
"If the calculations prove correct, California will become the third state in the nation in which non-Hispanic white citizens are outnumbered by those of another race or ethnic group. New Mexico also has more Hispanics and Hawaii has more Asians than any other individual race."
The fallout from the sex-abuse scandals that have rocked the Catholic Church for years continues to resonate, this time with the disciplining of one of the Church's most powerful figures.
From the LA Times' Harriet Ryan and Victotia Kim: "In a move unprecedented in the American Catholic Church, Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Gomez announced Thursday that he had relieved his predecessor, Cardinal Roger M. Mahony, of all public duties over his mishandling of clergy sex abuse of children decades ago."
"Gomez also said that Auxiliary Bishop Thomas J. Curry, who worked with Mahony to conceal abusers from police in the 1980s, had resigned his post as a regional bishop in Santa Barbara."
"The announcement came as the church posted on its website tens of thousands of pages of previously secret personnel files for 122 priests accused of molesting children."
Silicon Valley, that land of geeks, fast money and suburban sprawl, continues to lead the nation in innovation and, in fact, is increasing its lead.
From the Oakland Tribune's George Avalos: "Silicon Valley remains the nation's innovation leader, as measured by the region's patent output -- and it is stretching its lead over its closest rivals, a report released Friday shows."
"Measured by patents per employee, the Silicon Valley -- defined as Santa Clara County for the purposes of the study -- is No. 1 in a survey of 358 metropolitan areas, a report released by the Brookings Institution shows."
"What's more, Silicon Valley has been on top every year starting in 1988, Brookings reported in its survey, the first of its kind to measure patent output in U.S. metro centers."
"(Silicon Valley) has staying power for innovation," said Jonathan Rothwell, an associate fellow with Brookings, a Washington, D.C.-based research institute. "It is an extraordinary story of a metro region that has been strong for quite a while."
The petroleum industry is mounting an effort to delay the implementation of California's Low Carbon Fuel Standard, which is part of the mix of clean-air policies favored by state and federal regulators.
From the Mercury-News' Dana Hull: "The fuel standard requires the oil industry to gradually reduce the "carbon intensity" of transportation fuels like diesel and gasoline by at least 10 percent by 2020. Chevron and its allies, including the Western States Petroleum Association, are trying to undermine the standard by rallying opposition, financing critical studies and lobbying the Democratic-controlled Legislature, state agencies and Gov. Jerry Brown."
"The political pushback comes as compliance regulations ratchet up and climate change has re-emerged as a top priority for both Brown and President Barack Obama. California's attempts to rein in greenhouse gases are widely seen as a possible playbook for regulatory action at the regional or national level."
"Chevron and the Western States Petroleum Association argue that the 2020 timeline can't be met without severe economic impacts, including a huge spike in gasoline prices."
California's voter-approved stem cell agency is doing too little too late to resolve long-standing issues of conflicts of interest that spring from the composition of its board and the path of grant dollars.
From the Bee's Cynthia Craft: "The stem cell agency's reform plan does not go far enough to fix all that has been chipping away at the agency's credibility, said Harold Shapiro, chair of the Institute of Medicine committee hired to evaluate the agency."
"There certainly is a gap between what we recommended and what they responded with," said Shapiro, president emeritus at Princeton University. "I wish they had moved closer to our recommendations."
"The committee presented sweeping recommendations in its December report, emphasizing the need for new blood on a governing board that has been plagued by the appearance of conflicts of interest, cronyism and sluggishness in getting stem-cell products to market."
