A Field Poll released Tuesday revealed a surprising leader in the race to succeed retiring Senator Barbara Boxer: former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. State Attorney General Kamala Harris comes in at number two.
KQED’s John Myers looks at the results: “’I think, from voters’ perspective, they’re open to a range of possibilities,’ said Mark DiCamillo, director of the Field Poll…
“The survey finds noticeable support for a Senate race by U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove); California Secretary of State Alex Padilla; and U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier (D-San Mateo). The three Democrats come in at 64 percent, 61 percent, and 58 percent support, respectively, among their own party loyalists.
“Of those, only Sanchez has publicly flirted with entering the race. Also scoring high in the potential scenarios floated by Field’s pollsters were U.S. Rep. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove) and former U.S. Rep. Jane Harman.”
Assemblyman Rocky Chavez (R-Oceanside) announced yesterday that he is exploring a run for Boxer’s seat. Unfortunately, he came in at number 17 (just above Duf Sundheim) in that same Field Poll.
One in nine California voters speak limited English and often have trouble finding election materials in their native tongue, according to a new study from the Greenlining Institute. The result: lower turnout for these communities. John Howard has the story at Capitol Weekly.
“The report commissioned by the nonprofit Greenlining Institute also reported that online voter registration isn’t proving useful to voters with limited expertise in English. In fact, from April to November of 2014, just 1.4 percent of online registrations were in a language other than English.
“’Many of our participants — presumably more engaged and informed than average voters — did not know that Californians can register to vote online in nine languages’ the report said.
“Turnout for Asian and Latino voters ‘is running between 11 and 15 percentage points lower than white and black voters,’ according to the study.”
Over at the Los Angeles Times, Tim Logan and Andrew Khouri provide the backstory on the struggle between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union and the Pacific Maritime Association that has all but paralyzed West Coast ports. Amazing photos too.
“The dispute that has snarled West Coast shipping revolves around a rarity in American business — a small but mighty union…
“For decades these ‘lords of the docks’ have been paid like blue-collar royalty. Their current contract pays $26 to $41 an hour, with free healthcare for members. Some earn six figures with overtime. Even as a growing chorus of business groups clamor for a resolution to their months-long contract talks with the Pacific Maritime Assn., which represents shipping companies, the union sees little need to back down.
"’They have unique skills that aren't easily replaced,’ said Goetz Wolff, who teaches about labor and economics at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs. ‘They're not going to roll over and play dead.’”
As the Open Enrollment period wraps us, nearly half a million Californians have signed up for new healthcare plans at Covered California, bringing the total insured through the system to nearly 1.2 million. More are expected to complete applications already begun but not yet submitted. From Susan Abram at the Los Angeles Daily News:
“Peter Lee, the executive director for Covered California, said during a teleconference Tuesday that early figures show that about 474,000 people signed up for health coverage during this second enrollment period, which ended Sunday.
“But a surge of last-minute enrollees online, on the phone or in lines to speak with agents, still need help finishing the process. Those who started an application but found all routes clogged can complete the process by telephone or by meeting an agent face to face. Lee had said last week that people had until Friday to complete enrollment, but he made the change to Sunday to match the federal health exchange’s policy.”
A federal judge may have (temporarily) blocked President Obama’s executive action on immigration, but that won’t stop immigrants’ rights activists from helping immigrants apply for extended visas. Carla Marinucci has the story at SFGate:
“’This is a temporary roadblock, but we’re going to keep moving forward,’ said Adrienne Pon, executive director of the San Francisco Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs, which assists immigrants with citizenship and extended-visa applications. ‘We don’t want people to get discouraged,’ she said.
“U.S. District Judge Judge [sic] Andrew Hanen’s temporary order Monday came two days before some of those 11 million immigrants would have been able to apply for deportation relief and work permits under executive action the president took in November. The Obama administration said it would appeal the judge’s order to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.”
Dan Walters looks at the big changes in education funding – mostly for the good – over the past few years, but says that Governor Brown’s opposition to new school bonds could become a contentious issue this year. From the Sacramento Bee:
“California’s school districts have received a bonanza of new money over the last few years, reflecting the public’s priorities and a sharp uptick in revenue from an expanding economy and a temporary tax hike that Gov. Jerry Brown persuaded voters to adopt in 2012.
“State and local school financing has jumped from $47.3 billion during the first budget of Brown’s second governorship (2011-12) to a projected $65.7 billion in 2015-16 – and probably will go even higher as revenue outstrips current forecasts…
However, “[this] year, local school officials are learning that Brown had a third shoe to drop – his intention to end using state bond issues to finance local school construction, which began after the passage of Proposition 13 in 1978.”
You can call him “Dr. Greenthumb.” A rapper from the 1990s rap group Cypress Hill – known for their hit songs about marijuana – is one of 20 lottery winners to win permission to open medical marijuana dispensaries in Santa Ana.
“Santa Ana held a lottery last week, and rapper Louis “B-Real” Freese of the group Cypress Hill is one of 20 winners hoping to open dispensaries. The luck of the draw will pave the way for Freese and 19 others to open medical marijuana collectives in Santa Ana later this year.
“The city received more than 630 applications, and numerous applicants were placed on a waiting list. The lottery came after Santa Ana voters approved a measure in November to legalize and tax medical marijuana shops, limiting them to two industrial zones.”
Just another case of life imitating art…
