There are three special elections being held today. Two (AD-37 and SD-21) are low drama affairs (with Sharon Runner, unopposed in SD-21, virtually guaranteed a straight win), and one, SD-7, an ugly three-way battle awash in special interest money. The outcome of today’s election likely decides the longterm future of Steve Glazer.
Former legislator Gary Hart might challenge the accuracy of calling today’s election “special” – this is the 33rd “special” election held since 2009. Is it time to revamp the existing system? John Myers has the story at KQED.
“’It takes up to six months to actually fill a vacancy,’ he said. ‘And during that period of time, those constituents basically do not have a voice in Sacramento.’
“Hart’s proposal, which was reflected in 2014’s Senate Constitutional Amendment 16, would allow the governor to fill a mid-term vacancy in the state Senate, Assembly, or U.S. House of Representatives. The governor already has that power to fill any vacancy that should occur in the U.S. Senate, in a statewide office, or on a county board of supervisors.”
And, speaking of elections, Rep. Tony Cardenas paid family members over $120,000 to work on his 2014 campaign, according to federal filing disclosures.
Dakota Smith, Los Angeles Daily News: “Nearly $40,000 was paid by Cardenas’ 2014 campaign to his wife Norma Cardenas’ consulting firm over a two-year period. His stepdaughter Vanessa De La Rosa and her company earned more than $81,000 during the same time.
“Members of Congress are barred from hiring family members as staffers or steering contracts involving official funds toward relatives. But relatives can be paid for campaign work, provided bona fide work is performed and a fair market value wage provided...
“While the practice isn’t uncommon, hiring relatives for campaign work skirts too closely to a law barring candidates from using donations to enrich themselves or their family members, according to watchdog groups and some lawmakers.
“Washington, D.C.-based watchdog Common Cause wants a ban passed on using campaign funds to employ family members, said Aaron Scherb, the group’s director of legislative affairs.
“’While we are sure that Cardenas’ relatives are qualified and probably deserve those jobs, the perception looks troubling,’ Scherb said.”
Dan Walters looks at Sunshine rules proposed by GOP Assembly leader Kristin Olsen (R-Modesto), including a rule that bills are in print at least 72 hours before a vote. From the Sacramento Bee:
“Dozens of so-called ‘budget trailer bills’ are written in the dead of night, often with provisions that have little or nothing to do with the budget, and quickly enacted. They’ve been dubbed ‘mushroom bills’ – grown in darkness, nourished in excrement.
“Mushroom bills sprout again in the session’s final hours, often appearing on legislators’ desks moments before they are asked to vote…
“Assembly Republican leader Kristin Olsen has introduced a constitutional amendment that would require bills to be in print for 72 hours before a vote, unless the governor declares an emergency.
“It’s a very reasonable reform, but majority Democrats rejected it previously and probably will again, so they can continue doing our business in secret.”
As if there hasn’t been enough bad news related to the drought – Amy Quinton reports that lack of water may have pushed The Delta Smelt over the edge into extinction.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District has proposed new pollution regulations on refineries based in the East Bay. From Dennis Cuff at the Contra Costa Times:
“With the new proposals, clean air regulators say they want a more holistic approach that goes further than existing rules and permits aimed at reducing pollution from specific types of boilers, towers, other equipment and manufacturing processes.
"’We want to understand and address all the emissions from refineries,’ said Greg Nudd, the air district's manager of rule development. ‘We want to continue to assure public health is protected even if there is a change in refinery operations, such as a change in the type of crude oil that is refined.’"
At an Assembly hearing yesterday, new California Public Utilities Commission President Michael Picker told members that he had reservations about the distribution of costs associated with the closure of the San Onofre nuclear plant – but voted for the settlement anyway. The settlement, largely negotiated by former CPUC President Michael Peevey, has come under scrutiny and is part of an investigation into improper connections between CPUC and the utilities it regulates. Marc Lifsher has the story at the Los Angeles Times:
"’I struggled with that decision,’ Picker told members of the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee at an oversight hearing Monday. ‘Maybe it was the best I could make with the information I had at the time.’
“What the record did not show, Picker conceded, was any reference to a March 2013 energy industry junket in Warsaw, Poland, at which then PUC President Michael Peevey discussed San Onofre with an executive of Southern California Edison. Peevey retired Dec. 31 after 12 years as PUC president…
“A now-infamous memo written on stationery from Warsaw's Bristol Hotel set down the outline of potential San Onofre settlement that was largely dictated by Peevey.
“It was seized with a search warrant by the state attorney general's office from Peevey's house in January. The inventory of items taken listed ‘RSG Notes,’ referring to notes about the ‘replacement steam generators’ installed at San Onofre.
“In February, Edison filed documents with the PUC, confirming that the Warsaw meeting took place. The utility said it made the much-belated disclosure after concluding that the discussion may have violated commission rules against meetings with only one party in a pending legal case.”
And while we are rightly frustrated with the questionable quality of the Bay Bridge construction, it is nice to remember that it could be worse. Like way worse. A brand new 13 story apartment building in Shanghai just fell over (with photos).
“This past Saturday, an entire apartment building in Shanghai collapsed. To be fair, the building was under construction and thus unoccupied, but it's still a minor miracle that there was only one fatality.
“Sounds like there was a problem with some nearby flood prevention walls at the Dianpu River, but there's no hard evidence as to why this huge building simply fell over.”
