As the U.S. Senate election nears, Loretta Sanchez and Kamala Harris have yet to agree to a debate schedule.
Michael R. Blood with A.P.: "Candidate debates are usually routine events on the political calendar. But not in California's U.S. Senate contest."
"The two Democrats seeking the seat — state Attorney General Kamala Harris and U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez — have been unable to agree how many there should be, or when and where to hold them."
"After weeks of squabbling, it's possible a debate will never take place."
READ MORE related to U.S. Senate Race: California Counts Poll: Big leads for Kamala Harris, Yes on 64 -- Ben Bradford with California Counts; Loretta Sanchez listed as guest at 'informational luncheon' for her Super PAC -- Christopher Cadelago with Sac Bee
By the way, if you're a fan of sipping a brew while getting your ears lowered, legislators have just made your life a little more convenient -- maybe.
Cassandra Vogel with Daily California: "Berkeley barbershops and beauty salons are one step closer to being able to legally serve alcohol to customers after the state Assembly passed AB 1322 on Aug. 22."
"Authored by Assemblymembers Tom Daly (D-Anaheim) and Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita), the bill, if signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, would allow beauty salons and barber shops to offer complimentary beer and wine without a license."
"According to the bill analysis, many beauty salons throughout California already provide their customers complimentary alcoholic beverages while styling hair. This practice, however, violates state law, according to John Carr, a public information officer for California’s Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control."
California's Coastal Commission is expected to make an announcement that could end a 20 year development ban on a private land tract in Southern California.
Lauren Williams with O.C. Register: "The California Coastal Commission is expected to end a two-decade battle over building on Banning Ranch, a 401-acre oil field that is one of the last undeveloped private tracts along Southern California’s coast."
"The commission’s decision, slated to come after a hearing that starts today in Newport Beach, also could signal the future direction of the state agency established to preserve public interests along California’s 1,100-mile coast."
"The most recent plan from the developer, Newport Banning Ranch, includes 895 single-family homes and condominiums, a 75-room resort, a 20-bed hostel and more than 45,000 square feet of commercial space. In exchange, the company would spend $55 million to clean up 329 acres of environmentally sensitive mesas and grasslands and open that land to the public as a nature preserve."
Vocational schools were dealt a serious blow after federal sanctions caused an abrupt closure and complete shutdown of ITT Technical Institute on Tuesday.
Kevin Smith with Daily News: "Tuesday’s abrupt closure of more than 130 ITT Technical Institutes came amid growing concerns over the schools’ recruitment and accounting practices — concerns that ultimately led to federal sanctions."
"Similar concerns by the U.S. Department of Education fueled a shutdown of the Marinello Schools of Beauty earlier this year."
"Will this increased scrutiny put other for-profit vocational schools at risk? More importantly, are there any vocational schools left in Southern California where someone can learn a trade without fear of being scammed or worrying that the school will eventually close?"
Meanwhile, the S.F. School Board president is moving to remove all names of historical slaveholders from educational institutes.
Steven Rubenstein, Rachel Swan with S.F. Chronicle: "George Washington, the guy on the quarter, could soon be facing the ax in San Francisco as surely as his fabled cherry tree."
"The president of the San Francisco school board thinks it’s time to consider renaming schools that bear the names of slave owners — including Washington and his friends and fellow presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe."
"Board President Matt Haney said Tuesday he will introduce a resolution before the board this month to clarify the rules for renaming San Francisco schools with an eye to encouraging the communities at Washington High School, along with Jefferson and Monroe elementary schools, to consider whether they want to make a change."
A 'spice'-related overdosing wave that swept L.A. nearly two weeks ago is prompting the city to evaluate its public safety responsiveness.
Susan Abram with Daily News: "A Los Angeles County supervisor has called for an evaluation of the response by emergency personnel to last month’s Spice outbreak on Skid Row, to determine if the event caused a “massive threat to public safety."
"Dozens of people from the Skid Row neighborhood near downtown Los Angeles were transported to area hospitals between Aug. 19 and 22, after smoking Spice, a designer drug created to mimic the effects of marijuana. There were a total of 72 people sickened during that time and many of them collapsed on the street."
"Dr. Marc Eckstein, medical director for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said at the scene last month that 12 paramedic ambulances and 75 firefighters were in the area, “taxing city resources.” One death is being investigated for a possible link to the drug."
Proposition 55 is seeing a push for support amid fears of $4 billion in revenue cuts for education should the measure not pass on the November ballot.
David Siders with Sac Bee: "Proponents of a ballot measure to extend higher taxes in California are running a TV ad arguing that the measure is necessary to avoid significant school funding cuts."
"The ad correctly states that schools will benefit from Proposition 55 – money that could help avoid school funding reductions in future years. But the ad’s warning of $4 billion in cuts if the measure does not pass relies on an optimistic assumption of how much money the tax will raise, as well as an overly simplistic characterization of school funding estimates."
"It wasn’t that long ago. Years of devastating cutbacks to our schools. Thirty thousand teachers laid off. Class sizes increased. Art and music programs cut. We can’t ever go back."
And Proposition 56 is seeing a lot of opposition from Big Tobacco, who have dumped more than $20 million into a campaign aimed at making sure a $2 tax is not levied against cigarettes post-November.
Melody Gutierrez with the Chronicle: "The campaign over a ballot measure that would raise the state’s tobacco tax by $2 per pack of cigarettes is shaping up as one of the most expensive among the long list of initiatives confronting California voters in November."
"In August alone, the tobacco industry poured $20 million into fighting Proposition 56, which would increase the state’s tax on cigarettes for the first time since 1999 to $2.87 per pack, up from the current 87 cents, and impose comparable increases on other forms of tobacco. The tax would raise $1.4 billion and be used to fund health care, prevention programs and research."
"Mike Roth, spokesman for the Yes on Prop. 56 campaign, said raising the cost of buying tobacco has been shown to be a successful deterrent to smoking."
Endangered animals along a coastal highway are preventing an expansion of the thoroughfare near Pacifica.
Bob Egelko with S.F. Chronicle: "The state’s plans to widen Highway 1 in Pacifica have run into a new legal roadblock with a federal judge’s ruling that Caltrans gave misleading information to federal officials about the project’s impact on two imperiled species, the California red-legged frog and the San Francisco garter snake."
"The state Department of Transportation assured the federal government that it had agreed to protect 5.14 nearby acres of the creatures’ habitat from development — without mentioning that the parcel had been already protected from development by a 1996 agreement between Pacifica and theCalifornia Coastal Commission, said U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria of San Francisco."
"He said Caltrans had known about that agreement since at least August 2011 but failed to notify the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which was reviewing the environmental effects of the project. The state agency said it would also improve the creatures’ habitat on an adjoining 5.46-acre parcel, but provided only a vague description of its plans, Chhabria said."
READ MORE related to Transportation: Business and labor are combining forces to support new roads, rail lines -- Steve Scauzillo with L.A. Daily News
California showed excellent water discipline during peak summer heatwaves in July, nearing June's conservation estimate of 21.5%.
A.P. in Fresno Bee: "Residents of drought-stricken California kept up water conservation in July despite the long, hot days near the peak of summer, officials said."
"People are most inclined to water their yards when it is the hottest, so dialing back sprinklers also offers the greatest opportunity for savings, officials said."
"We're holding steady" on conservations, said Max Gomberg, a senior climate scientist for the State Water Resources Control Board. "It shows that people understand that the drought's not over."
The amount of ballot initiatives for the November election this year has some wondering if California's voter initiative process needs a revamp.
Maureen Cavanaugh and Michael Lipkin with KPBS: "When California voters receive their sample ballot next month, they may wonder if the state has lost its mind."
"Seventeen initiatives have found their way onto this year's ballot, the most since 2000. And that number doesn't include dozens of measures for the city of San Diego and San Diego County."
"California has arguably one of the most productive state legislatures in the nation because the same party controls state houses and the governor's office. But there are reasons voter initiatives appear each election."
