Bagging the ban?

Backers of an attempt to overturn California's law prohibiting single-use plastic bags say they've met the threshold to get their referendum on the 2016 statewide ballot. The law, which hasn't even taken effect yet, has been put on hold until the ballot issues are resolved.

The Chronicle's Peter Fimrite tells the tale: "Plastics manufacturers and their supporters announced Monday that they have collected enough signatures to put California’s plastic-bag ban up for a vote, a move that would extend the saber-rattling over the landmark law for at least another year."

"Opponents of the law banning single-use plastic bags — which is supposed to go into effect July 1 — collected more than 800,000 signatures when they needed only 504,760 to qualify for a referendum, according to representatives of the trade group American Progressive Bag Alliance."

Jerry Brown is a Democrat, but you'd never know it in some of the districts where he was the winner in last month's election. The Bee's Jim Miller takes a look at the data.

"In other hotly contested legislative races, the results suggest that many Brown backers supported Republicans further down the ballot. In addition, an average of 1.5 percent of people who voted in the governor’s race did not do so in the competitive legislative contest – the so-called undervote, according to final election numbers..."

"Brown focused his campaign efforts this fall on winning passages of water bond and budget reserve ballot measures, with little visible help for down-ticket Democratic candidates. He taped a television ad for Democrat Jose Solorio in the 34th Senate District, where Brown defeated Kashkari by 4.8 percentage points, but Republican Janet Nguyen defeated Solorio by 16.2 percentage points."

Here come da judge! Six of them, actually. Nobody knows their way around the legal system better than a judge, and when you get a group of them alleging that they've been diddled on their pensions, you could have a quite a fight on your hands.

From Reuters' Tim Reid: "Under state pay grades, the six California Superior Court judges each earn more than $181,000 a year. The lawsuit filed on Dec. 23 says their pension contributions should be lowered by about $13,000 a year."

"The six, who were elected in 2012, claim a pension reform law signed by Governor Jerry Brown which took effect Jan. 1, 2013 has raised their pension contributions to 15 percent from 8 percent of their salary. They say the 8 percent contribution was set in stone and should not have been raised by the new law retrospectively."

It's winter, but the fires are still burning, so to speak: The state has placed a number of firefighters on leave while an investigation is under way into allegations of sexual misconduct.

From the LAT's Marisa Gerber: "California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Daniel Berlant said a majority of the 16 employees on “administrative time off” teach at the academy in Ione."

"Details about the violations aren't being released, but Berlant said they're unreleated to the initial allegations..."

A firefighter's "estranged wife has publicly alleged that firefighters had sex with prostitutes on firetrucks at the academy and that a sex tape had been made there."

Loyola Law School professor Kevin Kish is the newly appointed head of the state Depart of Fair Employment and Housing, which has had its troubles in the past over allegations of discrimination and shoddy record keeping.

From the Bee's Jon Ortiz: "An adjunct law professor at Loyola Law School, Los Angeles and director of Bet Tzedek Legal Services’ employment law project, Kish would assume leadership of an agency beset by allegations of inappropriate hiring and promotion practices. The Senate would need to confirm Kish’s appointment to the post, which carries an annual salary of $150,198."

"The department polices claims of discrimination in workplaces and housing. An investigation by the State Personnel Board warned about employment rules being “willfully ignored or disregarded” by agency staff and found incomplete record-keeping. Spurring the investigation was the case of a woman being twice promoted despite lacking qualifications."

And from our "God Bless You, One and All" file comes word that people actually are in a cheerier, more giving mood during the holidays. Want proof? Just ask the family of Pedro Lopez, the San Francisco window washer who fell from 11 floors up -- and lived.

"It’s been one week since the Perez family reluctantly asked the public for financial help after the 58-year-old window washer fell 11 stories onto the roof of a passing car in downtown San Francisco and survived."

"The family, which lives in San Leandro, originally asked for $20,000 to help cover living expenses while the husband and father of three recovers from head trauma, internal damage and broken bones from the Nov. 21 accident."

"By Monday, however, the crowdfunding site set up by Perez’s family had raised more than $70,000..."

 "More than 1,000 people have chipped in, many donating hundreds of dollars to the fund. The family says the money will help them make ends meet while Perez is unable to work."

If that doesn't warm the cockles of your heart, you have no cockles....