Gov. Jerry Brown is facing a lawsuit that claims he broke state law when amending an initiative focused on cleaning up California's prisons.
The Associate Press' Don Thompson writes: "A judge is set to consider Wednesday whether to block Gov. Jerry Brown's proposed ballot initiative to reduce California's prison population."
"State prosecutors want Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Shelleyanne Chang to prevent Attorney General Kamala Harris from issuing the title and summary for a proposal that they say bypassed the normal filing process."
"That would force Brown and his supporters to file a new initiative instead of amending an existing proposal. It would delay when supporters can begin collecting the signatures necessary to put the measure before voters in November."
Meanwhile, there's a sharp difference of opinion among Democrats over how the state's water should be divided and used.
From the Bee's Michael Doyle: "A Sacramento Valley Democrat revealed plans on Tuesday for a big new California water bill that likely will upset some of his colleagues and potentially affect water politics in the U.S. capital."
"Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, said his proposal would provide for new dams, spur water transfers and fund emergency drought aid."
“I want to lay down a marker,” Garamendi said in an interview Tuesday evening, adding that “we can stake steps to address the drought immediately, and to take long-term measures.”
And the latest twist in the story that won't go away: Apple says that the San Bernardino shootings are NOT the first time the agency has asked to have an iPhone unlocked.
Howard Mintz in the San Jose Mercury News: "Reinforcing Apple's argument that an FBI request for the company to unlock an iPhone in the San Bernardino terror probe could unleash repeated demands for help in other cases, newly released documents show that the Silicon Valley giant has received at least a dozen similar requests in courts around the country since last fall."
"In a letter filed last week in federal court in Brooklyn and unsealed Tuesday, Apple's lawyers told a New York judge that the company has received FBI demands to unlock iPhones in California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Ohio and New York for devices ranging from iPhone 3s to an iPhone 6 Plus, which has heightened security and privacy features. One of those demands came in an unspecified criminal probe in the Bay Area federal courts in December, when Apple opposed efforts to unlock three iPhones, according to the letter."
Meanwhile, an interesting new initiative seeks to turn politicians into walking advertisements.
From KPCC's Mary Plummer: "Imagine a world where state politicians are required to display the logos of their top funders right on their suit jackets in the fashion of NASCAR drivers."
"It may sound wild, but the idea is one of about 75 California initiatives that supporters are trying to qualify for the general election ballot this November."
"Part of my mission in life has been to do something about corrupt politics," said San Diego businessman John Cox, the measure's sponsor."
Speaking of businessmen, "The Russian" involved in providing Senator Leland Yee and Raymond "Shrimp Boy" Chow with arms has been revealed.
John Shutt and Alex Emslie in KQED: "New court filings in the sentencing of former state Sen. Leland Yee and his political consultant Keith Jackson point to a Colma tombstone carver as the man the two talked about as a potential supplier of weapons for an undercover FBI agent posing as an East Coast Mafioso."
"Yee and Jackson pleaded guilty last year to racketeering, including conspiring to traffic weapons. They are scheduled to be sentenced Wednesday."
"Prosecutors’ sentencing documents related to Yee and Jackson — who were caught up in the sprawling federal investigation of San Francisco Chinatown crime boss Raymond “Shrimp Boy” Chow — detail meetings involving Yee, Jackson and the undercover agent in which they discuss a potential arms supplier referred to as “the Russian.” In one conversation mentioned in the documents, Yee also refers to the alleged arms merchant as “Leon.”
And now from our "Tips on Wasting Money" file: If you've ever wanted to learn how to throw away $120,000, just take a lesson from the Netherlands.
"A bridge built especially for squirrels to be able to cross a busy motorway in the Netherlands – which cost €150,000 (£120,000) to construct – has been used five times since its erection, according to officials."
"The bridge was built in 2012 to give squirrels safe passage between the Haagse Bos forest and Oosterbeen, and Clingedel park, and spans the N44 motorway by the Benoordenhoutseweg."
"According to The Hague online, the country’s Animal Protection Agency said the bridge would stop squirrels from being run over on the motorway, which had been a problem, and would help their declining population grow by expanding the rodents’ habitat."
