Youth immigrants can find solace in California, where a new Field Poll finds a majority of Californians want to offer them shelter.
Jeremy B. White reports for the Sacramento Bee: “”Californians appear to be quite sympathetic to the plight of the unaccompanied children who are in increasing numbers entering the U.S. illegally from Central America,” said Field Poll Director Mark DiCamillo. “It is a unique kind of issue,” distinct from the overall immigration debate.”
”Many of the young immigrants making the perilous crossing have recounted stories of extreme violence in their home countries. Respondents appear to have been swayed by those circumstances.”’
Another legal battle is brewing over the state’s high-speed rail project.
Jessica Calefati reports for The Mercury News: “In a petition filed Tuesday in San Francisco, opponents of the project urged the state Supreme Court to take their case because an unfavorable appellate court decision dismantles century-old legal precedent on the "enforceability" of voter-approved bond measures.”
“"If the Court of Appeal's decision is allowed to stand, the trust and confidence of California's voters ... will be seriously undermined," the filing states.”
“At issue is whether the California High-Speed Rail Authority followed a sweeping set of stringent rules for selling $8.6 billion in bonds approved by voters in 2008 to begin construction of the project, which state officials now project will cost $68 billion.”
State regulators have fined Pacific Gas and Electric more than a billion dollars in penalties related to a 2010 gas pipeline explosion.
John Howard reports for Capitol Weekly: ““The Administrative Law Judges found that in total, PG&E committed 3,798 violations of state and federal laws, rules, standards, or regulations in connection with the operations and practices of its gas transmission system pipeline,” the PUC said in announcing the decision.”
“The PUC, which has jurisdiction over investor-owned utilities, said penalties against PG&E stemming from the San Bruno explosion exceed $2 billion – the $1.4 billion announced Tuesday and $635 million from an earlier decision involving aging pipelines.”
Gov. Jerry Brown has thrown his weight behind congressional incumbent Mike Honda of the Silicon Valley.
Jon Brooks reports for KQED: “In a press release from Honda’s office, Brown sings Honda’s praises this way:
“”Mike Honda has dedicated his career to tackling difficult issues and doing what’s right for working people. After leading the local effort to bring BART to San Jose, Mike got $900 million in federal funding for the project creating 10,000 jobs for the Silicon Valley. Mike is an effective advocate in Congress for his district and all of California — I’m proud to support him.””
Berkeley City officials have voted to push a new boundary on medicinal weed sales by making the flower free.
Ian Lovett reports for The New York Times: “Beginning next August, medical marijuana dispensaries in this city will be required to donate at least 2 percent of their cannabis to low-income residents. The City Council approved the requirement this summer — unanimously no less — with the hope of making the drug, which can sell for up to $400 an ounce at dispensaries, affordable for all residents.”
“But the charity cannabis mandate, which city officials believe is the first such law, provoked a swift backlash from critics who mocked it as a tie-dyed fantasy in a city already famous for liberal experiments.”
