An odd tale: At the state Public Utilities Commission, there's a flap over a staffer who recorded a meeting on his smart phone without the rest of his colleagues being aware of it.
From the Bee's Torey Van Oot: "A briefing on an upcoming Senate budget subcommittee hearing was underway Friday when a smart phone belonging to PUC Energy Division Director Edward Randolph interrupted with an announcement that the recording space on his device was full, several sources told The Bee. The discovery surprised -- and angered -- many of the more than a dozen attendees of the off-the-record, private meeting, which was quickly called to an end."
"Randolph initially denied that he was trying to covertly record the meeting, but later apologized to some attendees. The meeting included members of the Senate subcommittee staff, the office of Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, the Department of Finance and the PUC's Division of Ratepayer Advocates, an office that has clashed with PUC leadership."
"Now, officials are reviewing whether Randolph's actions broke California law, which requires consent of all parties involved to tape private conversations."
The governor has proposed a major overhaul of education funding but its running into flack in the Legislature, where some key players are not happy.
From the Cabinet Report's Tom Chorneau: "Gov. Jerry Brown’s sweeping plan to restructure school funding took a double hit Tuesday from key lawmakers who expressed what may be a growing consensus in the Legislature – that the proposal may need a lot more discussion before it is ready to be voted on."
"First, members of the Assembly’s subcommittee on education finance – with support from various education groups – suggested that options to Brown’s Local Control Funding Formula should be considered for creating a more equitable and streamlined system."
"Panel members also appeared poised to recommend removing some of the broader policy issues of the Brown plan out of budget negotiations and into a separate, stand-alone bill – an important move that would ensure a broader discussion of the issues but could also expose the plan to easier attack from critics."
Eric Swalwell, the upstart who upended the voluble and venerable Pete Stark last year in a race for Congress, is getting attention in Washington.
From the Chronicle's Carolyn Lochhead: "Swalwell has taken a lead in fighting Transportation Security Administration administrator John Pistole on his decision to lift the ban on pocketknives at airport security, along with novelty bats, billiard cues, ski poles, hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks and golf clubs (up to two). The new policy is to take effect Apr. 25."
"On Tuesday, Swalwell issued a blistering attack on Pistole’s defense of the policy. “He’s basically saying he can walk and not chew gum, or he can chew gum but not walk, but he can’t walk and chew gum,” Swalwell told us, characterizing TSA’s stance as “looking for knives prevents us from looking for liquids.”
"Pistole last week wrote a defense of the policy, noting that members of Congress, starting last January, are among those allowed to breeze through security under special protocols for low-risk passengers. Others include children under age 12, persons over age 75, World War II vets visiting Washington, pilots, flight attendants, federal judges, state and local law enforcement officers, active military and eight million members of the public who have signed up for TSA’s pre-check program."
California's entry into the Powerball lottery market may not mean a whole lot of dough for players, but support industries have sprung up which are doing quite nicely, thank you very much.
From the LAT's Andrea Chang: "Since Monday, when Powerball tickets went on sale in California for the first time, mini-marts, liquor stores and gas stations have been flooded with jackpot hopefuls. And websites that provide tips on picking numbers and list "lucky" retailers have seen a sharp jump in clicks."
"The long lines at the state's 21,000 authorized retailers are also renewing interest among lottery aficionados in bringing ticket sales to the Web. But with no such plan in sight, online services including LottoGopher are swooping in to take advantage of consumers' desire for a more convenient way to play."
"LottoGopher, based in West Hollywood, is one of a handful of websites that operate as lottery messenger services. The company offers a monthly membership, starting at about $10, that enables California residents to order lottery tickets online and join ticket-pooling groups to better their chances of winning."
And from our "Oh No, Say it Ain't So" file comes word that Fleet Week in San Francisco, that wonderful time in October when the weather actually is nice, the Blue Angels scream overhead and ships clog the Bay, may be in jeopardy. The high-flying Angels are being grounded.
From the Chronicle's Henry K. Lee: "The future of San Francisco's annual Fleet Week was thrown into doubt Tuesday when the Navy grounded the show's star attraction, the Blue Angels precision flying team, citing federal budget cuts."
"Officials said they would try to salvage an event that draws as many as 1 million visitors to the northern waterfront each fall, many of them to watch the half-dozen F/A-18 fighter jets shriek overhead in tight formation."
"But J. Michael Myatt, a retired Marine Corps major general who heads the Fleet Week organizing group, acknowledged that without the Blue Angels, it might not be possible to stage the Parade of Ships naval flotilla and an air show featuring lesser attractions."
