The Department of Water Resources Thursday released an Environmental Impact Report detailing proposed changes to the governor’s controversial plan to build two massive tunnels through the Delta. The report moves the project one step closer to reality. Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow, Sacramento Bee:
“The environmental documents released by DWR didn’t appear to change anyone’s mind. Opponents continued to dismiss the effort as a Southern California “water grab” that would worsen, not improve, the Delta’s damaged ecosystem. Proponents said the project is desperately needed to fix California’s man-made water-delivery network.
“Either way, release of the documents marks a milestone in the $15 billion project, which has been in the works since 2006. The statement, the product of a lengthy study required by law, provides the most detailed blueprint yet.
“’It’s a big deal,’ said Jeffrey Kightlinger, general manager of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, one of the agencies pushing for the tunnels.”
A report from the California Council on Science and Technology finds that chemicals used in the fracking process may – or may not – be contaminating water and wildlife. There just isn’t enough information to know. Julie Cart, LAT:
“The long-awaited final assessment from the California Council on Science and Technology said that because of data gaps and inadequate state testing, overwhelmed regulatory agencies do not have a complete picture of what oil companies are doing.
“The risks and hazards associated with about two-thirds of the additives used in fracking are not clear, and the toxicity of more than half, the report concluded, remains “uninvestigated, unmeasured and unknown. Basic information about how these chemicals would move through the environment does not exist.”
“Jane Long, the report's co-lead, said officials should fully understand the toxicity and environmental profiles of all chemicals before allowing them to be used in California's oil operations.
“Recycled oil field wastewater used for crop irrigation may contain chemicals used during fracking and other well stimulation procedures, the report said. While treatment of that water is required, the testing is not adequate, the report said. Long said researchers did not find strong evidence of fracking fluids in irrigation water but added: ‘What we did find was that there was not any control in place to prevent it from happening.’”
And, an update on a story we shared months ago: the California DOJ still isn’t doing a good job of getting guns out of the hands of people who have lost the right to keep them. Maura Dolan, Los Angeles Times:
“A program to determine whether potentially dangerous people own guns in violation of state law is plagued with delays that pose a ‘continued risk to public safety,’ California’s auditor reported Thursday.
“Auditor Elaine M. Howler said the Department of Justice, overseen by Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris, failed over 18 months to fully implement seven of eight recommendations auditors made in 2013 to reduce backlogs.”
Bad news for SD3, the Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) bill that would raise the minimum wage to $13 per hour statewide: the Department of Finance has come out in opposition, likely signaling Governor Brown’s feelings on the bill. Allen Young, Sacramento Business Journal:
“The finance department opposes this year’s minimum wage bill because it would boost the state payroll by an estimated $1.2 billion once the wage reaches $13 in 2017. Finance officials also think the economic impact of a $13 minimum wage likely would be negative because it would slow the growth of employment.
“’This would lead to slower personal income growth, and an anticipated negative impact on taxes collected, especially since the tax structure in California is highly progressive and lower income individuals pay little to no income taxes,’ finance officials wrote in a bill analysis.”
Sac Bee’s Dan Morain, who has himself editorialized in favor of SB128, the stalled Aid-in-Dying bill, offers a thoughtful look into the motivations of Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego) who opposes the measure.
“’You think about this as a choice,’ she said. ‘But we have a health care system that is set up to cut costs.’
“Gonzalez’s mother, Carmen Regan, was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 45, when Gonzalez was away at Stanford. She recovered, but the disease recurred 17 years later and metastasized.
“The family gathered at Carmen’s home for Thanksgiving in 2007. Gonzalez’s older brother, Marco, delivered the good news that their mother would be a grandmother again. She died the next day.
“Gonzalez’s mother had been a registered nurse and might have wanted the end of life options prescribed by SB 128. But she was educated and understood the implications of her disease. Gonzalez represents a district at the far southern end of the state, where nearly 70 percent of the residents are Latino, and a third or more are on Medi-Cal. Many speak little English.
“’My concern is for people who don’t have resources, who don’t have a choice,’ she said. ‘You read about Oregon denying someone a lung transplant, but, “Here, you can you have these pills.” That’s my fear about what this would become.’”
Hard to believe, but it’s already Friday, meaning that its time for us to announce our pick for who had the #WorstWeekinCA politics. Like last week, there really wasn’t much of a contest.
The senseless murder of 32 year old Kathryn Steinle by a seven-time convicted felon from Mexico who had been deported from the US five times, brought a scorching spotlight on San Francisco’s “Sanctuary” policy, under which the accused killer had been released in April instead of being sent to Immigration Customs Enforcement. The issue has become a topic of national debate, with Senator Dianne Feinstein and presidential candidates blasting city officials for releasing Francisco Sanchez, who has admitted to shooting Steinle.
This isn’t great for Mayor Ed Lee, but the majority of the blame has come to rest on Sheriff Ross Mirkarimi, former SF Supervisor, co-founder of the California Green Party, and accused wife-beater. In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Mirkarimi did his best to deflect blame to Lee, the Sanctuary law, and federal immigration enforcement, but those arguments fell apart when it was revealed that it was Mirkarimi’s department that had requested that Sanchez be sent to San Francisco when his 46-month stint in a San Bernardino federal prison was up. They even sent the transport to pick him up.
Now, we don’t have a crystal ball, but all of the above points to the City by the Bay having a brand new Sheriff when the next election for the office is held in November.
