Only half of the registered voters in California are expected to cast ballots this year, as the California electorate unfortunately is divided into the "haves" and the "have nots."
From the Public Policy Institute of California in Capitol Weekly: "Likely voters in California tend to be older, white, college-educated, affluent, and homeowners, according to the report, based on analyses of state data and results from the 2015 PPIC Statewide Survey. Likely voters also tend to identify themselves as “haves”—rather than “have nots”—when asked to choose between these two economic categories.
"Nonvoters tend to be younger, Latino, renters, less affluent, less likely to be college-educated than likely voters—and they generally identify with the have nots."
"The economic differences between voters and nonvoters reflect the growing economic divide that has surfaced as one of the most important policy issues this election year. Voters and nonvoters vary noticeably in their attitudes toward the role of government and government spending, as well as their views of elected officials—all of which come into play in an election year."
Latino influence could be the secret to a decent ballot turnout at the polls this year.
KPCC's Mary Plummer writes: "It’s lunchtime in Watts, and Norma Salas and others have gathered in a home on Juniper Street to enjoy homemade tostadas and talk about a problem that’s growing more critical as California’s June 7 primary draws closer."
"The issue: few people vote in this South Los Angeles neighborhood, and as the community grapples with high crime rates, poverty and unemployment, community activists wonder how these problems will get solved when so many feel disengaged."
"A mother of four, Salas worries daily about keeping her kids safe."
Meanwhile, Wayne Nastri is expected to replace Southern California's ousted air quality agency leader.
Tony Barboza with LAT: "The top candidate to lead Southern California's air quality agency is a former U.S. Environmental Protection Agency official who now works as a consultant to industry, The Times has learned."
"The South Coast Air Quality Management District board could appoint Wayne Nastri as early as Friday, according to air district sources who were not authorized to discuss personnel matters. Nastri served as administrator of the EPA's Pacific Southwest region from 2001 to 2009, during the George W. Bush administration."
"The move comes after Republicans gained a majority on the air quality board earlier this year as part of a campaign to make emissions rules friendlier to businesses. The panel fired longtime executive Barry Wallerstein on March 4 and let stand oil industry-backed rules it adopted in December that govern smog-forming emissions from refineries and other large facilities."
Water is everywhere and drought restrictions are likely to be relaxed, as the wettest winter in five years promises California relief from a historical drought.
Mercury News' Paul Rogers reports: "With the wettest winter in five years having taken the hard edges off the historic drought and a key Sierra snowpack reading Wednesday expected to show big gains, Californians can look forward to substantial relief from mandatory statewide water restrictions."
"We are likely to ease the rules or lift the rules," said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the State Water Resources Control Board. "We are in better shape."
"The board imposed California's first statewide water conservation rules last May at the insistence of Gov. Jerry Brown -- forcing hundreds of cities to limit lawn watering, ratchet up conservation programs and, in some cases, fine residents for using excessive amounts of water. Brown's goal was to cut urban water use 25 percent on average from 2013 levels. From June through January, urban residents delivered, cutting 24.8 percent."
Unfortunately, the weather patterns only seem to really benefit northern California, as the south still deals with drought.
From Kurtis Alexander in the Chronicle: "The rain storms and blizzards that were supposed to come with El Niño were conspicuously non-biblical in California this winter, leaving the state in an ecological limbo that has regulators thinking about easing water-use restrictions in some places but not in others."
"While the weather cheered ski resorts hit hard by the historic drought and brought some reservoirs to their highest points in years, in the end it dropped less snow than average in the Sierra, where more than a third of the state’s water comes from."
"The water content of the snow statewide is 87 percent of average for this time of year, according to electronic measurements taken Tuesday, a benchmark when the spring melt historically begins and water spills into the reservoirs."
Gov. Brown pushes for a November ballot initiative to overhaul parole policies as California may be forced to release prisoners early due to overcrowding.
LAT's Paige St. John reports: "Evoking the threat of court-ordered prison releases, Gov. Jerry Brown this week appealed for help in collecting signatures to get his parole initiative on the November ballot."
"In an email blitz to political supporters, the governor said that "even after significant improvements, the state does not have a durable plan to deal with prison overcrowding” and faces the prospect of a forced release of thousands of inmates."
And from our "Relax and Enjoy It File" comes the tale of the hostage who was a having a good time in that hijacked airplane that landed in Cyprus. Hmmmm.
"A British man who posed for a photo with the hijacker of his EgyptAir flight said he wanted "a closer look" at the hijacker's supposed explosives belt."
"Ben Innes, 26, a health and safety auditor from Leeds, was returning from a business trip when he became one of three passengers and four crew held by Seif Eldin Mustafa after he hijacked the EgyptAir flight and forced it to land in Cyprus."
"After the plane landed at Larnaca airport, Innes had a crew member snap the photoof him standing next to Mustafa, who was still wearing the belt inside the cabin of the plane."
"I'm not sure why I did it, I just threw caution to the wind while trying to stay cheerful in the face of adversity," Innes told The Sun. "I figured if his bomb was real I'd nothing to lose anyway, so took a chance to get a closer look at it."
Indeed ...
