Former Sacramento Congressman Doug Ose is upset about Papa Bera's 'lenient' sentence, claiming that Congressman Ami Bera was privy to his father's seedy dealings during the entire campaign.
Christopher Cadelago reporting for Sac Bee writes: "Last month, Doug Ose was in Cleveland helping smooth Donald Trump’s path to the Republican presidential nomination."
"On Thursday, the former Sacramento-area congressman had matters closer to home to attend to. Ose was at the downtown federal courthouse to see the 83-year-old father of Democratic Rep. Ami Bera be sentenced to a year in prison for election fraud involving the finances of his son’s campaign committee."
"In a letter to the judge, Ose, who challenged Bera in 2014, more than two years after the crimes took place, said he considered himself a victim and thus should be able to address the court. A wealthy businessman, Ose argued that money is fungible, so some ill-gotten gains from Babulal Bera carried over."
California's Salton Sea is the largest lake in the state, and Sen. Boxer says it's only a matter of time before we face an unprecedented crisis if officials don't move to restore the lake quickly.
Jim Steinberg reporting in Daily Bulletin writes: "Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., called Thursday for local, state and federal agencies to hurry up and restore the Salton Sea, California’s largest lake."
"If we don’t act faster than we are acting now, we will face a public health disaster and an environmental disaster,” Boxer said at the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge."
"There must be no backpedaling, because the dust won’t wait for us to act, the birds won’t wait for us to act and our children’s lungs won’t wait for us to act,” she said."
As the Blue Cut Fire continues to rage, officials are left wondering just how bad the extent of the blaze's damage is.
Brittny Majia, Angel Jennings, Ruben Vives and Corina Knoll with L.A. Times report: "The tiny stone home was little more than a blackened shell. The only hint of its former occupants: a metal bed frame, a shattered toilet seat, charred tin cans."
"Nestled along Lone Pine Canyon Road, a narrow, twisting thoroughfare, it was a bleak symbol of all that has surrendered to the raging fire that continues to terrorize the Cajon Pass."
"But for all the devastation that the Blue Cut fire has wreaked, officials have had difficulty determining the damage left by explosive flames that quickly overtook nearly 36,000 acres."
READ MORE in Early Fire Season: Why the LA's Super Scoopers aren't fighting the Blue Cut fire -- Gregory J. Wilcox with L.A. Daily News; This is how a California wildfire could change your homeowners insurance rate -- Kevin Smith with Daily News
A bill aimed at having 15% of all cars on California roads be Zero Emissions Vehicles (fully electric, non hybrid), has died in the final days of the session.
John Howard reporting for Capitol Weekly writes: "A hasty attempt to boost electric vehicle sales in California – an idea the governor likes – died in the final days of the legislative session amid intense lobbying and fast-approaching deadlines."
"The plan called for 15 percent of cars sold in California by 2025 to be Zero Emission Vehicles, or ZEVs. That means they must be all-electric, or even all hydrogen-powered, but not plug-in hybrids, such as the Chevrolet Volt, or conventional hybrids, such as the Toyota Prius or Honda Insight."
"The bill, AB 1108, by Assemblywoman Autumn Burke, D-Inglewood, requires California’s air-quality enforcer, the Air Resources Board, to write regulations by the end of next year that put the 15 percent benchmark into effect. The measure originally dealt with beverage containers, but was gutted and rewritten to cover electric cars – reflecting a common practice in the late days of a legislative session."
A contentious bill in the Assembly attempting to bar minors forced into sexploitation from felony prosecution for prostitution is one of the most controversial issues this year.
L.A. Times' Jazmine Ulloa reports: "A controversial bill that would decriminalize prostitution for minors squeezed out of the California Assembly on Thursday and is now headed back to the Senate for a final vote."
"SB 1322, authored by Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), would make the crimes of solicitation and loitering with intent to commit prostitution misdemeanors inapplicable to children younger than 18. It also would allow law enforcement to take sexually exploited children into temporary custody if leaving them unattended would pose an immediate threat to their health or safety."
"The measure passed Thursday with a 42-29 vote. It was one of two bills heard Thursday seeking to decriminalize prostitution."
READ MORE related to Social Justice: California arrested nearly half a million people for pot over the past decade -- Christopher Ingraham with The Washington Post; Two California bills to protect foster youth pass Assembly -- Tracy Seipel with East Bay Times
An effort to incorporate $400 million of the state's budget into affordable housing for low income/non-existent income families has stalled.
AP's Juliet Williams and Allison Noon report: "California's Assembly speaker conceded defeat Thursday on negotiations over a plan to inject $400 million into affordable housing projects, a deal that was included in the $122 billion budget compromise legislative leaders negotiated with Gov. Jerry Brown this spring."
"The funding was contingent on lawmakers approving Brown's controversial "by right" housing proposal to speed approval for developments that include affordable units. The proposal would give automatic approval to projects that meet existing zoning requirements and set aside at least one-fifth of the units for low-income residents. Developments near transit stops would need to set aside at least 10 percent of units."
"Brown's proposal was aimed at quickly increasing the supply of housing. But it left some neighborhood activists furious at the prospect of losing a voice in approving construction that they fear will change the character of their communities, and it angered some labor unions."
The U.C. Berkeley Institute for Government Studies has released polling information tracking this year's most controversial ballot measures.
Mira Chaplin with The Daily Californian reports: "California voters strongly support state ballot measures on gun control and marijuana legalization, according to a poll released Wednesday by the UC Berkeley Institute for Governmental Studies."
"The poll asked 3,020 respondents — who represent an array of California demographics — the same questions Proposition 63 and Proposition 64 will present on the November ballot."
"Approximately 82 percent of those polled supported Prop. 63, a measure that would enforce background checks to buy ammunition, require ammunition sales to occur through licensed dealers and prohibit large capacity magazines."
The Coastal Commission's 'ex-parte' or 'behind-the-scenes communication' bill is being revised.
L.A. Times' Dan Weikel reports: "The author of a bill to ban behind-the-scenes communications at the California Coastal Commission said Thursday that she will seek to revise amendments an Assembly committee recently made to moderate the reform measure."
"Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) said she wants to “revise, perfect and clarify” changes in SB 1190, her bill to stop coastal commissioners from having private, so-called ex-parte communications with developers, lobbyists, environmentalists or anyone else interested in the land use agency’s business."
"Her legislation also would prevent commissioners from trying to influence reports and recommendations by staff members, who are supposed to do their job free of political influence."
SEE MORE related to Environment: SDG&E shareholders and green groups headed for face-off? -- Joshua Emerson Smith with San Diego News-Tribune
The Big Prison industry is trying to maintain a foothold in California by capitalizing on ICE detention (immigration) as some lawmakers in the state attempt to move away from for-profit incarceration.
Leslie Rojas with KPCC reports: "An announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice this week that it will phase out its use of private prisons for inmates doesn't affect immigration detainees -- and immigration officials said Thursday that they don't plan to stop using private contractors. But a state bill that's up for an Assembly vote next week could put a wrench in some private detention contracts in California."
"Authored by Sen. Ricardo Lara (D-Bell Gardens), SB 1289 seeks to prohibit California cities and counties from contracting with private prison companies for immigrant detention. Right now, three local governments do just that to house ICE detainees in California. The largest of these is in Adelanto, a high-desert city about 90 miles from Los Angeles, and many local detainees are held there."
"Immigration officials contract with Adelanto for detention space in a facility that's manned by The Geo Group in a contract with the city."
Finally, for our choice of the person who had the worst week in California, #WorstWeekCA, we picked Babulal Bera, Rep. Ami Bera's Father. The elder Bera was handed a 1 year prison sentence yesterday for election fraud.
