Following a leaked report that she would announce her candidacy for Barbara Boxer’s senate seat on Thursday, Rep. Loretta Sanchez says that the report was in error and that she still hasn’t made up her mind whether or not to run. Michael Finnegan at the LAT:
“’A ‘draft’ announcement was leaked,’ Sanchez told The Times in an email. ‘I have actually not made a decision. That is the truth.’
“…[The] Sacramento Bee and Politico published articles saying that she would declare her candidacy Thursday morning at the Santa Ana train station.
“The Bee cited a Sanchez letter to supporters in which the congresswoman was quoted as saying, ‘Together we will win.’ The report said family and friends would join her at the train station.
“Sanchez said her draft announcement had been sent to just four people to review, and ‘one forwarded it to someone,’ leading to the erroneous media reports.”
Rep. Adam Schiff, however, stands by his announcement – he’s still out.
The drought may spell the end for California’s endangered Delta Smelt and other native species. Amy Quinton, Capital Public Radio:
“The Sacramento San Joaquin Delta is the only place in the world to find the threatened three inch fish. Lately, it hasn’t been easy,
"’Numbers are down this year. So the March survey we caught six. The April survey we caught one,’ says Lauren Damon an environmental scientist with the department.’Those catches are pretty low. They’re not unprecedented but certainly for our March survey that’s the lowest catch we’ve ever experienced.’
“…Delta smelt aren’t the only victims. Other threatened species are struggling. Long fin smelt populations are the second lowest ever recorded. Ninety-five percent of last year’s brood of winter-run Chinook salmon died. State water regulators and fish agencies conceded that they were wrong in the way they managed the state’s water system last year.
"’I think the awareness of what happened last year, has heightened the sensitivity,’ says Stafford Lehr, chief of fisheries with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. ‘You just can’t turn the knobs and set it and walk away and expect everything to be fine. Everybody understands we have to be more aggressive in responding.’"
The Assembly Health Committee yesterday rejected a bill to tax soda and other sugar-filled drinks. Dan Walters has the report in the Sacramento Bee:
“The legislation, Assembly Bill 1357 by Assemblyman Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, would have imposed a two-cent-per-ounce tax on sugary beverages, making soda-drinking more expensive and raising at least $3.5 billion a year for health education and dental programs. It garnered only six votes in the 19-member committee, all from Democrats, while three Democrats joined seven Republicans in opposition and three Democrats didn’t vote, which had the same effect as voting no.”
Over at the Senate, Pro Tem Kevin de León is facing criticism for helping his daughter land a job with a nonprofit that would soon have a bill before the Senate. Patrick McGreevy at the Los Angeles Times:
“De León called the nonprofit Greenlining Institute and asked if his daughter could apply for a position there, according to Bruce Mirken, a spokesman for the Berkeley-based organization, which advocates for minority communities. The senator's daughter, now 21, obtained a summer job as a consultant with the institute in June.
“The Los Angeles Democrat introduced Greenlining's bill in February 2014 and was steering it through legislative committees when his daughter started work…
“In a statement, De León said Greenlining's hiring of his daughter was not connected to his support for the bill that the institute co-sponsored. He cited his history of working with groups including Greenlining on environmental legislation.
"’Last year, I asked a Greenlining representative if they were still accepting summer internship applications. That's it,’ De León said. ‘My day job doesn't preclude me from being a father to my daughter and providing advice to her. But anything she's accomplished professionally in her fledgling career, she's accomplished on her own.’”
Special interests spent more than $48.5 million lobbying the state in the first quarter of 2015. Jim Miller at the Sacramento Bee:
“Local governments, businesses, unions and other special interests reported spending more than $48.5 million on direct state lobbying expenses from January through March, according to first-quarter reports filed earlier this month.
“More than 2,760 lobbyist employers also spent $16.3 million on other payments to influence and $1 million on meals for legislative staff members and other activity expenses from Jan. 1 through March 31.”
Some education bills are on hold until the Governor’s May Revise is released. Kimberly Beltran, California Cabinet Report:
“Several potentially costly education bills – including a $1 billion allocation for implementing Common Core – have been held up by legislative leaders in anticipation of the release later this week of the governor’s updated budget plan.
“Also placed on the sideline – at least for now – were proposals to recruit more teachers, provide behavior intervention training for districts and put a school facilities bond before voters next year.
“Expectations are that Gov. Jerry Brown will release his revised May budget on Thursday, shedding light on what he wants to do with an estimated surplus some $3 billion more than was projected in his January plan.
“K-14 schools can lay claim to the lion’s share of that revenue but exactly how it gets doled out – and for what purposes – will be the subject of negotiation the next few weeks as Brown and lawmakers work to prioritize needs and adopt a final budget by June 15.“
The drip, drip, drip of bad news continues for former PUC head Michael Peevey. From chief dripper Jeff McDonald, U-T San Diego:
“On Oct. 2, UCLA professor Stephanie Pincetl asked Peevey to amend terms of the proposed San Onofre settlement to make sure greenhouse gas grants would be invested within the service territories of Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, co-owners of the failed plant. That would exclude another likely grant recipient, UC Berkeley.
“Her email was the one Peevey disclosed under the commission’s ‘ex parte’ rules, designed to give all stakeholders access to the same information leading up to commission decisions.
“According to his newly-released response, sent just two minutes later, Peevey replied, ‘Thanks. I have already, in consultation with Commissioner Florio, modified the language to make it more precise, etc. I think you will find it satisfactory for our joint purposes —– reducing GHG in SCal.’”
We all know that the Bay Area is ground zero for California’s hipster contingent, but this SFGate story about winning a “cool” million takes the cake…
“Israel Martinez Sotero went into the Super Liquor & Food on Monument Boulevard to buy a Vitaminwater, according to the California Lottery, and decided to purchase an Emerald 10’s scratcher. He quickly scratched the ticket and realized he’d just won $1 million.
“Did Sotero go straight to a casino to put it all on black? Did he run to the nearest Benz dealership so he could get his dream ride? Nope.
“’I went back to the car and I just went home,’ he said. ‘It wasn’t much excitement. I was like … cool, I won.’”
