A Sacramento Superior Court judge threw out two taxpayer groups’ legal fight against the city financing plan for the new downtown Kings arena.
Dale Kaiser and Ryan Lillis report: “With a judge unwilling to overlook their mistakes, two Sacramento taxpayer groups lost their legal fight Wednesday to force a vote on the city’s planned $258 million contribution toward a new downtown Kings arena.”
“Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley, in a strongly worded decision, ruled the two groups had filed signature petitions “infected with errors” that violated state election laws. He also sided with city attorneys who argued the proposed ballot measure would violate the city charter because it sought “to restrict the City Council’s future power to manage its financial affairs.”
Major Sacramento Valley landowners are protesting the federal government’s proposed water supply reductions.
Matt Weiser reports in the Sacramento Bee: “That 40 percent allotment for the so-called Sacramento River settlement contractors is only a forecast by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, based on drought conditions that are expected to deplete snowmelt. Such a low allocation has never been made before, and it is well below the 75 percent that the settlement contractors say is the minimum they should receive under any conditions.”
Billions of gallons of fracking waste are being dumped off the cost.
From ReWire’s Chris Clarke: “According to the Center for Biological Diversity, oil rig operators have federal permits to dump more than nine billion gallons of fracking wastewater into California's ocean waters each year. That's enough wastewater to fill more than 100 stadiums the size of the Rose Bowl brim-full of toxic waste. And CBD wants the Environmental Protection Agency to do something about it.”
A federal lab is offering to test the troubled rods on the Bay Bridge to determine if its steel fasteners are at risk.
From San Francisco Chronicle’s Jaxon Van Derbeken and Carla Marinucci: “The test will try to determine whether steel-cracking hydrogen invaded the rods in the environment or was left behind after manufacturing. If it happened on the bridge, she said, that would call into question the long-term reliability of many of the span's fasteners.”
Thirty-one UC Berkeley students filed federal complaints alleging decades of mishandling campus sexual assault investigations.
Alexei Koseff reports in the Sacramento Bee: “In a petition to the U.S. Department of Education'sOffice for Civil Rights seeking a formal investigation, the students charged that UC Berkeley procedures discourage victims from reporting sexual assaults, favor assailants in the adjudication process and re-victimize survivors.”
"They are deliberately indifferent to this and they know what they're doing and they've been doing this for years," Sofie Karasek, a Berkeley junior who helped organize the complaint, said in an interview. "It's jeopardizing the safety of students on campus."
More local government officials are opting to take their early retirement benefits.
From the Sacramento Bee’s Jon Ortiz: “Many local agencies in the CalPERS retirement system are gasping for revenue while confronting higher pension costs over the next several years. California’s year-old pension law – which mandates higher employee contributions – has pushed more older workers into retirement. Local government employers are openly talking about cutting pension costs via local initiatives or in bankruptcy court.”
There’s another possible GOP contender vying to unseat Gov. Jerry Brown in his yet-to-be-announced reelection bid.
Seema Mehta for the Los Angeles Times: “Laguna Hills Mayor Andrew Blount, who was first elected to office in 2012 and is known for his elaborate annual Christmas lights display, filed paperwork with the state last week declaring his intention to run for governor.”
“In a video posted online, Blount describes moving to California with $17 in his pocket, creating a software company, raising a family and putting on the Christmas display at their home that draws thousands of visitors every year. After highlighting the state’s importance in industries such as agriculture and technology, Blount turns to the subject of his campaign.”
Senate Republican leader Bob Huff introduced two resolutions to suspend scandal-ridden senators Rod Wright and Ron Calderon.
Patrick McGreevy writes in the Los Angeles Times; “Senate Democrats are expected Thursday to block a vote on Senate Resolution 29, by Republican Sens. Andy Vidak, Steve Knight and Joel Anderson, to expel Wright.”
“In that case, Huff’s Senate Resolutions 30 and 31, suspending Wright and Calderon, would be available to consider, although possibly not Thursday.”
No other state compares to California’s number of foreign-born residents.
According to a new Census Bureau report: “California is home to a quarter of the nation's foreign-born residents and they also make up more than a quarter of California's 38 million residents, according to a new Census Bureau report.”
“Furthermore, the report reveals, nearly a quarter of the nation's noncitizens under 35 years old - 2.3 million persons - are found in California.”
Adopting sheltered animals would earn you a state tax refund under a proposed bill.
From Capitol Pubic Radio’s Max Pringle: “Rick Johnson with the Sacramento SPCA says the bill would be a good incentive for people deciding whether to adopt one of the increasing number of strays he’s seen come into the shelter over the past couple of years.”
“Backers of the measure say 800,000 unwanted animals end up in California shelters every year. The estimated cost of housing them is about $150 per animal per day. Local jurisdictions pay an estimated $250 million per year to shelter unwanted pets.”
Finally, in foodie news… the reality of new nutrition labels may keep us up at night.
Associated Press’ Mary Clare Jalonick reports: “Those "Nutrition Facts" labels that are plastered on nearly every food package found in grocery stores are getting a new look.”
“Calories would be in larger, bolder type, and consumers for the first time would know whether foods have added sugars under label changes being proposed by the Obama administration. Serving sizes would be updated to make them more realistic. A serving of ice cream, for example, would double to a full cup, closer to what people actually eat.”
