Just when you think you've had your fill of stories about bolts in the Bay Bridge, just when you're starting to nod off from quotes from engineers, comes the real deal: A fourth of the tower anchor rods are threatened by corrosive salt water.
The Chronicle's Jaxon Van Derbeken tells the tale: "During an emergency teleconference, a three-member panel charged with overseeing the $6.4 billion project — composed of the heads of Caltrans, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the state transportation commission — were told that 120 sleeves encasing high-strength rods designed to keep the tower from being damaged in a major earthquake continually flood with salty water..."
"Caltrans director Malcolm Dougherty said the bridge’s foundation — as with any marine structure — could never be fully watertight. Still, he said saltwater intrusion is a key issue with the new eastern span, because the foundation structure has “sensitivity to water getting to some components. We need to protect this — we need to come up with a solution...”
"The prospect that San Francisco Bay salt water may be intruding the foundation and getting to the rods, which are susceptible to waterborne hydrogen corrosion failure, is “two strikes right there that we’ve got,” said Steve Heminger, executive director of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission."
Over the opposition of the Legislature, the office records of forner Sens. Leland Yee and Ronald Calderon, both under indictment and facing trial on federal corruption charges, must be disclosed to the public, a judge has ruled.
From the LAT's Patrick McGreevy and Phil Willon: "Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Michael Kenney ruled in favor of a lawsuit brought by the Contra Costa Times, San Jose Mercury News and other news organizations seeking records after Yee and Calderon were indicted on charges of corruption in separate cases..."
"The judge rejected the Legislature’s argument that disclosure created a security risk. Both senators were suspended in March 2014. Yee, a San Francisco resident, and Calderon, a resident of Montebello, have since left office."
"The judge, however, did block a request for office records of Sen. Kevin de León (D-Los Angeles), the current Senate leader. Kenney noted that, unlike Yee and Calderon, de León has not been accused of any illegal activity in connection with his legislative office."
Gov. Brown, who relishes the image of being tight with a buck, may have to get his blue pencil sharpened when and if myriad bills moving through the Legislature reach his desk, including legislation to help the poor.
From KPCC's Rina Palta: "Among them, a bill that would raise the minimum wage in California to $13 an hour by 2017, a bill that would widen welfare eligibility to parents who have children while receiving benefits, and a bill providing health care benefits to undocumented immigrants."
"There's also child care subsidies, low-income tax credits, and AB 1335, a bill that would add a $75 fee to some real estate transactions and use the funds to build affordable housing."
"Poverty is a centerpiece of what the legislature sees as their responsibility to take on," said Peter Woiwode of the California Partnership, a group that advocates for low-income Californians. "There's more activity this year, both more ideas of what needs to happen as well as more momentum."
The debate over public pensions may get a lot bigger: A proposed ballot initiative would require new government hires to have 401(k)-based pensions. Let the battles begin.
From Calpensions' Ed Mendel: "New state and local government employees hired on or after Jan. 1, 2019, could receive a 401(k)-style retirement plan under a proposed initiative — but giving them a pension would require the approval of voters."
"The “Voter Empowerment Act of 2016” was filed yesterday by a bipartisan group led by two men who led local pension reforms approved by voters in 2012 in their cities: former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed and former San Diego Councilman Carl DeMaio."
"Their new drive to cut the cost of pensions said to be eating up government budgets is aided by an unusually low number of voter signatures needed to place a state constitutional amendment on the ballot, 585,407, due to low voter turnout in the previous election."
Great. Just when you're dealing with drought, global warming, miserable traffic, job woes, family stresses and health care, comes a new worry: the tsunami.
From KQED's Andrew Alden: "A new study argues that at least two large earthquake faults off the coast of Southern California can spawn damaging tsunamis that would wash over San Diego, Long Beach, Santa Barbara and other coastal cities. The study’s findings could force changes in the disaster plans for these places."
"In the study, published by the Journal of Geophysical Research, a team led by Mark Legg scrounged years of data from different undersea surveys to analyze the offshore lands of Southern California in unprecedented detail. Looking both on and underneath the deep sea floor, Legg’s team found some of the earthquake faults off California are longer and more threatening than previously thought – capable not only of generating large earthquakes, but of launching dangerous tsunamis toward the nearby coast."
Well, it's Friday, which means it's time to turn our attention to someone in the political or government world who had a really bad week.
So how about giving the Worst Week award to former Assemblymember Tim Donnelly, an arch-conservative, pro-Tea Party, anti-immigration, pro-Minuteman Republican who is a talk show host down in San Bernardino? Donnelly spent his legislative career railing against spending on social programs, immigration and mandatory vaccination, among other hot-button topics.
So he must have had a helluva week as legislative Democrats targeted a passle of spending bills on minimum wage, unionization, child care, education, while business-backed legislation drew a mixed reaction.
But there's a bright side: What's going on in Sacramento makes good listening for a radio show down in San Berdoo....
