A government engineer has contradicted statements made by PG&E during the pipeline safety trial, and now some accusations of file-deleting and intentionally failing to preserve data on PG&E's behalf have surfaced.
Bob Egelko in The Chronicle reports: "Federal regulators have publicly spelled out utility companies’ obligations to limit pressure in their gas pipelines, a government engineer testified Tuesday at Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s trial on pipeline-safety charges, contradicting PG&E’s argument that the rules are vague and self-defeating."
"One of those rules exempts some older pipelines from the numerical limits set by federal law for pipeline gas pressure, and instead sets their limits as the maximum pressure they had safely managed in the previous five years. PG&E contends it’s a loosely worded rule that gives utilities an odd incentive to pump up their pressures every five years, but a prosecution witness said the regulation was far from obscure: It was publicly announced in 2003, discussed at workshops attended by utility representatives, and explained in “frequently asked questions” on a federal agency’s website in 2004."
"The rule applies only to pipelines built before 1970 and doesn’t exempt their operators from their obligation to test pipes, monitor their pressure closely and keep accurate records, said Steven Nanney, an engineer with the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, testifying in federal court in San Francisco."
As the ballot for cannabis legalization inches closer, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said that if voters fail to pass the measure than legalization could lose momentum for at least a decade.
Joe Garofoli in SF Chronicle reports: "Leading cannabis activists, including Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, warned Tuesday that if California voters don’t support legalizing marijuana for adult recreational use in November it could set momentum on the issue back at least a decade."
“It’s not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination,” Newsom told a meeting of legalization supporters. “Any of you think this is done in California, you couldn’t be more wrong."
"With the Adult Use of Marijuana Act expected to qualify for the California ballot in the next week or so, and the possibility of cannabis measures going before voters in eight other states this fall, “we’ve never had so much at stake in one election night,” Aaron Smith, executive director of the National Cannabis Industry Association told those attending the opening of the organization’s convention Tuesday in Oakland."
A study by UC Berkeley public health experts shows that the average ROI for every county dollar funneled into California health programs ranges from $67-$88.
Brenna Smith writing in The Daily Californian reports: "Each dollar a county spends on public health programs in California has a return on investment of $67 to $88, according to a study conducted by campus public health professor Timothy Brown."
"The study, which was published Thursday and was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, quantified return on investment for public health programs based on data collected from 2001 to 2009. Brown calculated return rate by using a standardized measure of the economic impact of a human life to assign monetary values to health outcomes."
"Public health is about preventing bad things from happening,” Brown said. “In this case, (it’s about) who didn’t die because of county departments of public health, and whose health got better.”"
A wide-sweeping federal investigation into a Veteran's Affairs scandal has rocked many officials in both Sacramento and Palo Alto, resulting in prison time and/or probation for all involved.
San Jose Insider's Melissa Hartman reports: "A years-long probe into a bribery scheme at the Veterans Affairs offices in Palo Alto and Sacramento resulted in probation and prison time for seven people."
"Federal authorities launched the investigation in 2011 in response to a “culture of corruption” at the Palo Alto VA, according to indictments handed down a few years later."
"The FBI found that the agency’s former contracting officer, Tracy Marasco, accepted cash, trips and gifts from companies in exchange for expensive contracts. She was sentenced to six months in prison and another six under house arrest."
The LAPD will soon be the largest department in the country utilizing body-cameras for on-street cops, after the city council nods in approval at a diversion of funds from other city budgets being funneled into public safety.
LA Times: "Los Angeles city lawmakers broke through a lengthy political logjam over police body cameras on Tuesday, clearing the way for a City Council vote on the costly initiative."
"After six months of delays, the council’s Public Safety Committee unanimously backed the plan for purchasing thousands of devices from Scottsdale, Ariz.,-based Taser International, a move that would make the LAPD the largest law enforcement agency in the nation to use the devices on such a widespread scale."
"A full council vote is scheduled for Wednesday. Councilman Joe Buscaino, who previously warned that the program would divert funds from other public safety needs, said he now is “comfortable” with the initiative and ready to move forward."
Decommissioning California's last nuclear powerplant is proving to be no easy feat, with an estimated $4 billion shutdown cost and a decade-long time frame occupying the state as it figures out what to do with the spent fuel onsite.
The Tribune's Rob Nikolewski reports: "Decommissioning a nuclear power plant is a long and expensive process that sometimes takes more money than originally expected."
"But executives running the Diablo Canyon nuclear facility, who announced Tuesday that the site's two reactors will be shut down by the middle of the next decade, expressed confidence that they can do it quickly and without running up the tab."
"The basic design is, by the time you get to the licensing end of the plant's life, you've collected enough to decommission the plant," said Tony Earley, chairman and chief executive of Pacific Gas & Electric, the investor-owned utility that runs Diablo Canyon, in a conference call with reporters."
SEE ALSO: California's last nuclear power plant to be shut down -- Chris Arnold in NPR.
Foreign money influences local politics as state legislative candidates begin to see financial support from charter school advocate donors well outside their immediate reach during the election cycle.
Aaron Mendelson with KPCC writes: "Big campaign spending from outside interests, including charter school advocates, helped propel a slew of state legislative candidates out of primaries onto November ballots. But in many cases, the candidates groups opposed also advanced, setting up costly general election rematches."
"The flood of charter spending comes from a trio of groups that support the expansion of charter schools: committees representing EdVoice, California Charter School Association Advocates, and the Parent Teacher Alliance."
"The PTA spent more than $1.4 million on a single Southern California Assembly race, accounting for more than 70 percent of the outside money in that contest."
The advent of terrorism has given rise to Islamaphobia: a social anxiety driven by fear of muslims -- a fear which has been systematically abused by politicians. And now a study suggests ways that we as a nation can change that.
Stina Chang reports in The Daily Californian: "A study released Monday by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, and the campus Center for Race and Gender suggested a four-point strategy to combat Islamophobia in the United States."
"By collecting statistics from more than 25,000 news articles and more than 500 tax filings as well as by interviewing experts on Islamophobia, the researchers were able to identify the issue causing Islamophobia and offer a solution called the “Environmental Centric Strategy."
"The proposal suggested that Muslims should get more involved in communities, media and politics and that people should recognize the similarities between Islamophobia and other forms of discrimination."
And now from our "Summer Solstice" file ...
Summer is here, and our friends across the map have amassed a stunning array of photography to celebrate its arrival. Enjoy.
N.Y. Times: "Welcome, Summer"
"New York City was treated to an unimpeachably lovely day on Monday, the first day of summer. The New York Times asked people to document their day with photographs and share them on Instagram and email. Here are some of the best, selected from more than 1,200 submissions."
About time, too....
