We’re not sure why the AP didn’t wait to run this story on 4/20, but whatever: California pot farmers are putting on their Sunday best and lobbying the capitol just like every other big agricultural interest. From Lisa Leff:
“Marijuana producers from Northern California's infamous Emerald Triangle are hiring veteran lobbyists, forming political action committees and taking elected officials on fact-finding tours — even though large-scale pot farms remain illegal under federal law and growers risk being raided and prosecuted.
“The growers' coalition says it's worth the risk to ensure their interests are represented as lawmakers, and ultimately voters, consider regulations that could allow them to do business aboveboard.
"’This is democracy in action,’ said Casey O'Neill, who grows flowers, vegetables and marijuana in Mendocino County and serves as secretary of the 750-member Emerald Growers Association. ‘Every other industry sends lobbyists to tell government how to think, so finally as an industry we are realizing if this is how it works in America, we are going to have to play ball.’"
The story of California’s most-recent drought has been a string of unrelenting bad news, so it’s nice to finally get this positive report from the LAO: the drought may wither lawns and fallow some farm fields, but it is unlikely to harm the state’s overall economy. From Jim Miller at the Bee:
“’While the drought is affecting many Californians and communities in different ways, we currently do not expect the drought to have a significant effect on statewide economic activity or state government revenues,’ Tuesday’s report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office read. ‘That being said, we acknowledge the drought as a risk factor for the state’s economy, especially if its effects worsen or are prolonged.’”
And, speaking of water, Forbes has an interesting Q&A with Ashoka Fellow and urban water expert Andy Lipkis. His advice: cisterns.
“Why make freshwater when we could collect the water that falls from the sky? Even on the driest year in recorded history in 2013, it still rained 3.6 inches in Los Angeles. An inch of rainfall in L.A. generates 3.8 billion gallons of runoff, so you’re talking about more than 12 billion gallons of water that could be captured, but that flows within hours down our concrete streets and into the ocean. There’s enough rainwater to be harvested to produce 30-50% of the entire city’s water needs.”
Meanwhile, the drought has put a spotlight on Felicia Marcus, Chair of California’s Water Resources Control Board. Chris Megerian profiles Marcus, and the challenges she faces, for the Los Angeles Times.
And, following a series of committee hearings, legislators supporting SB 277 are reporting threats of violence from anti-vaxxers. (And this is a surprise to who, exactly? On a scale ranging from “Grumpy” to “Enraged,” anti-vaxxers rate somewhere between flat earthers and fluoride-is-poison types.) Alexei Koseff has the story for the Sacramento Bee:
“The messages range from images depicting [Senator Richard] Pan as a Nazi to posts on his Facebook page calling for him to be ‘eradicated’ or hung by a noose. Pan said his staff has forwarded all of the threats to the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms office, as is procedure, which has assessed them and responded as needed. Additional guards attended a community forum last month, for example, after bill opponents discussed throwing things at Pan.”
Former Public Utilities Commission president Michael Peevey may be gone, but with state investigators searching his home, and multiple accusers claiming alleged improprieties under his watch, he is certainly not forgotten. Chuck McFadden looks at the career of a man some paint as too arrogant to follow the rules. From Capitol Weekly:
“State Sen. Jerry Hill, whose district includes San Bruno, theorizes that Peevey, coming from the private sector where a CEO’s word is usually law, ‘did not have the patience, or did not develop the patience,’ to deal with the vagaries of the sometimes slower-moving public arena. ‘He has the arrogance that comes with always getting your way,’ Hill said.
“’I try not to make it personal — with him it’s always personal,’ Hill said. He told of the time in 2013 that he and a group of San Bruno residents were at the PUC, waiting to testify in connection with the explosion, when Peevey came down the aisle and, accidentally or not, knocked Hill down into a seat and kept on walking.”
You may have noticed the large anti-tobacco billboards popping up around the state (big one at 21st and N for Sacto locals) – all part of a new, $7 million campaign to raise awareness of the dangers of vaping. At the capitol, legislators have introduced a host of new bills aimed at curtailing tobacco use, and the tobacco lobby is gearing up for the fight. Patrick McGreevy, Los Angeles Times:
“The last 17 attempts to raise the tobacco tax in California — going back a decade and a half — have failed after heavy lobbying by the industry. Voters narrowly rejected a $1 tax increase on the 2012 ballot after tobacco interests spent $47.7 million to defeat the measure….
“Thirty-two other states have higher tobacco taxes and spend more on anti-smoking programs, said California Sen. Richard Pan (D-Sacramento). He wants to raise California's tobacco tax by $2 a pack, to bring in $1.5 billion a year for smoking prevention and smoking-related medical costs now borne by taxpayers through Medi-Cal, the state's healthcare program for the poor.
"’The toll that tobacco continues to exact on people is staggering,’ Pan said, noting that 40,000 Californians die from tobacco-related diseases each year.”
Is Ro Khanna getting ready to challenge Mike Honda again? $801,000 says yes.
Josh Richman, San Jose Mercury News: “The former Obama administration official, who came close to unseating fellow Democrat Honda in November, raised $801,000 in this year's first quarter, a report he'll file Wednesday shows -- more than three times what Honda reportedly raised.
"…[If] you thought 2014 was close, pull up a chair,’ said Larry Gerston, a San Jose State professor emeritus and political expert.”
And, it’s April 15, meaning, tax day, the anniversary of Lincoln’s death (after being shot the day before), and, MOST importantly: the debut of former Assemblyman Tim Donnelly’s new radio talk show on Talk 960 in Victorville. Stream here, live from 3-6PM.
And, don’t look now, but the Minnesota Senate has decided to keep its rule banning eye-contact during floor debates. Really.
“The [issue] arose Monday during the passage of the rules to govern the Senate.
“On a 15-44 vote, the Senate decided to keep its current requirement that all speakers must gaze at the Senate president.
"’I find this particular rule of the Senate, dare I say, antiquated,’ said Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove.
“But Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, disagreed. When you can look at the senator speaking, he said, debates could become longer and more personal.
"’Our decorum would probably not be as Senate-like as we would like to have it,’ Bakk said.”
