California and most of America were engrossed and horrified by a mass shooting in San Bernardino yesterday, where two shooters killed 14 and wounded 17 before being killed themselves in a shootout with police. Many questions, including motive, remain, but police identified the shooters last night. Richard Serrano, Paloma Esqivel and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times:
“Late Wednesday night, San Bernardino police Chief Jarrod Burguan identified the people killed in the gun battle with police as Syed Rizwan Farook, a 28-year-old American citizen, and 27-year-old Tashfeen Malik. Police did not know where Malik was born or where she had lived.
“Burguan said police are ‘reasonably confident’ that Farook and Malik, who may have been married or engaged, were the same two people who opened fire at the holiday party Wednesday morning.
“Farook, who had worked for the county health department for five years, left the party ‘under some circumstances that were described as angry.’"
San Bernardino’s representatives struggled to process the day’s events, frustrated that the mass shootings will get a moment of silence at the capitol – but no legislative action.
In Sacramento, Governor Brown cancelled yesterday’s capitol Christmas tree lighting ceremony in response to the attack.
Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) who terms out of the Assembly next year, announced yesterday that he will not run for state senate. Christopher Cadelago, Sacramento Bee:
“Gatto said he’s tried to be a ‘different kind of lawmaker’ in other ways, as well. As one of the Legislature’s most prolific posters to social media, he presented himself as a ‘big-picture’ thinker. ‘Let the well-being of the people be the ultimate law,’ he wrote in a tweet pinned to his profile.
“Unlike most of his peers, he rarely, if ever, skipped out from voting on a bill. During the 2015 session, Gatto was the only lawmaker who never missed a vote, records show.
“Said Gatto: ‘I've answered every e-mail sent by my constituents. I've never taken an out-of-state junket. I've voted independently, just like my district and my heart tell me to ... All the while, I haven't missed a vote in 9,370 opportunities, a streak that we are told is the longest of any legislator in the nation.’”
Our favorite Gatto bill: AB1658, which allowed car enthusiasts to use reproduction vintage-style license plates on their cars – those newbie white plates look oh-so wrong on a sixties Mustang or Corvette (or Studebaker Lark for that matter)…
A newly-released PPIC poll finds that support for providing subsidized health care for undocumented immigrants is at 54% among eligible voters, but only 44% for likely voters. John Myers, Los Angeles Times:
PPIC’s [Mark] “Baldassare said the gap between likely voters and adults can probably best be explained by the fact that there’s less diversity among those who frequently cast ballots in California elections.
"’They're older, they're more affluent and, as a result, more likely to have their healthcare needs taken care of already,’ he said.”
The same study also found that Californians are underwhelmed by the prospect of a crowded 2016 ballot. Christopher Cadelago, Sacramento Bee:
“With Californians staring down the prospect of a crowded ballot next fall, a new poll finds that 61 percent of likely voters believe there are too many propositions…
“PPIC asked about the importance of four ballot measures that all could go before voters. Some 55 percent of likely voters view a state bond measure to pay for school and community college facilities as very important, and 49 percent consider a statewide initiative raising the minimum wage as critical.
“Less important are bids to extend Proposition 30 tax increases and legalize recreational marijuana, according to the poll. Just 37 percent of likely voters see renewing the tax hike as very important while 30 percent view legitimizing cannabis as crucial.”
Meanwhile, Calbuzz digs into the study’s numbers on Californians’ beliefs about climate change, noting that Democrats are nearly four times as likely as Republicans to see climate change as a major problem.
“Back in cooler times, in 2006 when California passed AB 32 – requiring the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — it was supported by 65% of all Californians, including 67% of Democrats, 65% of Republicans and 68% of independents, according to the July 2006 survey by the Public Policy Institute of California.
“By July 2014 (after President Obama and Gov. Brown visibly supported action to address climate change) overall support for AB 32 was still strong at 68%. But while 81% of Democrats supported the law and 62% of independents still did, backing had dropped to a mere 39% among Republicans.
“Today’s PPIC poll finds an even greater partisan divide on climate change, with 79% of Democrats agreeing that global climate change is a very serious problem, compared to 55% of independents and a paltry 21% of Republicans.”
We all know that California is a foodie mecca where delicacies abound, but have you ever had a 150 year old preserved berry? You might get the chance at the Arabia Steamboat Museum, where the contents of an 1856 shipwreck are on display.
“In 1856, the Steamboat Arabia was frontier bound, loaded with supplies for 16 towns. With two hundred tons of precious cargo aboard, it left Kansas up the Missouri River on a routine trip, but waiting silently at the water’s surface, lost in the glare of the setting sun, was the thick trunk of a huge, fallen walnut tree lying directly in the path of the approaching steamboat.
“The lethal impact came without warning, piercing the thick hull of the steamer. Water poured through the gaping hole and the Arabia sank to the bottom of the Missouri River within minutes. Everyone on board miraculously swam to safety, except for one forgotten mule, tied to the deck.”
The boat lay undisturbed for generations, even as the path of the river changed. In 1988, the Arabia was uncovered 45 feet under Kansas farmland, and many of its treasures, including edible food, were recovered.
“On November 26, 1988, the Arabia was finally exposed, along with its 200 tons of buried treasure. Within a few days, a wooden crate filled with elegant china was unearthed; the yellow packing straw still visible thanks to the mud being such an effective preserver.
“With the lack of air to spoil them, thousands of artifacts were recovered intact, including jars of preserved food that are still edible. These artifacts are now housed in a cool little museum in Kansas City called the Arabia Steamboat Museum, where you can also find a display honoring the found skeleton remains of that poor wee mule.
“On special occasions, they let museum visitors taste the Arabia’s 150 year old food.”
