A recent conference held by Capitol Weekly takes an in-depth pros-and-cons look at some of the most critical ballot issues this year, such as the state of the death penalty and cannabis legalization.
Chuck McFadden with Capitol Weekly: "It was a wonkish wonderland."
"Capitol Weekly and Capital Public Radio combined forces Thursday to stage the first “California Votes” series of panel discussions on six of the most controversial ballot measures voters will face on Nov. 8."
"The day was civil, with handshakes among the adversaries before and after they argued with one another. There was at least one hug between opponents. Even so, it was all about pro and con. Attendees enjoyed a full measure of explanation and argument, with accusations of misleading statements and truth-shading flying around the sleek auditorium of the secretary of state’s headquarters in downtown Sacramento."
California may soon be getting an energy infrastructure expansion after Gov. Brown proposed a multi-state powergrid earlier this year, and now continually advocates the idea despite a lull in the Legislature.
Juliet Williams with AP reports: "Gov. Jerry Brown said last week that he remains committed to expanding California’s power grid to include other Western states, despite a delay announced this summer when it appeared the state Legislature was unprepared to grant the broader approval needed to advance the project this year."
“The efficiency of a wider grid is unmistakable. And the imperative is greater efficiency, greater elegance and intelligence in the way we use and produce electricity, the way we market it, and the way it goes around the system,” Brown said at a meeting hosted by the California Independent System Operator in Sacramento."
"The ISO manages the flow of electricity across long-distance power lines that make up 80 percent of California’s power grid and a small part of Nevada’s grid, overseeing transmission lines stretching for tens of thousands of miles. It also operates a competitive wholesale power market."
Speaking of the governor, Jerry Brown is also committed to completing his rehaul of the prison system in California, which he says hinges on 'the final key to the puzzle': Proposition 57.
Marisa Lagos with KQED: "Forty years ago, when Jerry Brown was first governor, he signed a law that dramatically changed the way California sentenced criminal offenders."
"Previously, under the indeterminate sentencing law, many inmates received inconclusive sentences instead of a fixed term. It was up to a parole board to decide when an inmate was ready to re-enter society."
"Under the law signed by Brown in 1976, the state shifted to a determinate sentencing structure — and in the years following, lawmakers and voters piled on dozens more laws that added years to prisoners’ terms."
READ MORE related to Gov. Brown: 'An aggressive proposal that touched a lot of nerves': Why Gov. Brown's plan to stem the housing crisis failed -- Liam Dillon with L.A. Times
One of the most historical elections in recent memory -- the seat for a California representative in the U.S. senate in which 2 non-white female democrats are opposing one another -- is showing disheartening numbers in the polls related to voters' choices.
Phil Willon with L.A. Times: "As many California voters prefer "none of the above" as plan to vote for Loretta Sanchez."
"Support for the Orange County congresswoman in the state’s U.S. Senate race not only lags far behind her rival, Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris, but is matched by the pool of Californians who say they don’t plan to vote for either candidate, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll."
"The survey found 16% of registered voters, mostly self-described Republicans and independents, have decided to skip the first open U.S. Senate race that California has seen in 24 years — the same percentage of voters who favor Sanchez. Support for Harris came in at almost double that level at 30%."
Speaking of polls, a recent survey shows that many Californian's are more scared than reassured about being able to remedy the state's critical problems.
Steven Quevas with KQED: "A majority of Californians believe poverty is a serious problem, but they disagree over what to do about it. That’s according to a survey conducted for our California Counts public radio collaboration."
"The CALSPEAKS survey asked hundreds of voters and some nonvoters across California how they feel about a range of economic issues, from home ownership and job security to wage disparity and upward mobility."
"More feel scared than say that they feel hopeful,” said Sacramento State University political scientist David Barker, who directed the CALSPEAKS survey. The poll asked Californians to weigh in on a laundry list of issues relating to the November election."
Prop. 52--aimed at securing more annual Medicaid funding for the state--could very well be a double-edged sword.
Victoria Colliver with The Chronicle: "Supporters of Proposition 52, a California ballot measure that would lock in an existing hospital fee that helps fund the state’s Medicaid program for the poor, know their biggest opposition is the measure itself."
"While the proposition lacks organized opponents, it’s just the sort of wonky, complicated and arcane type of measure that frustrates voters and makes them likely to skip that box on their elections form or to simply vote “\"no.”"
"A lot of initiatives are not that simple, and this is included in that. That’s especially challenging given how large the ballot is,” said Kevin Riggs, spokesman for the Yes on 52 campaign, of the 17 statewide voter initiatives on the November ballot."
A potential bulwark against Huntington's Disease and other degenerative cognitive maladies has been found by researchers at U.C. Berkeley in an odd place -- a laboratory with roundworms.
Kimberley Nielsen with Daily Californian: "When a group of campus researchers induced the symptoms of Huntington’s disease — a fatal genetic disorder that claims millions of lives every year — in the cells of roundworms, the last outcome they expected was weight gain."
"Yet the mysterious fat causing nematodes to swell might also invigorate human cells against the degenerative effects of Huntington’s and a string of other baffling diseases for which no cures currently exist, such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The researchers’ findings were published online Thursday in Cell magazine."
"It’s not like we set out to do this — it sort of found us,” said Andrew Dillin, a UC Berkeley molecular and cell biology professor and co-author of the study. “Fortuitously, we knew the cells were getting fat and the animals were getting fat, and we could have ignored that but we put the two together."
If the presidential race could be described as 'loud and boisterous,' then the election for the 17th district congressional seat between opponents Rep. Mike Honda and hopeful Ro Khanna could best be described as 'quiet as a mouse.'
John Wildermuth with The Chronicle: "At Newark’s Silliman Center on Wednesday morning, congressional hopeful Ro Khanna was thanking officials of an East Bay plumbers union local for endorsing him in his race to unseat Rep. Mike Honda, a fellow Democrat."
"At the end of the 15-minute event, he looked out over the room and asked, “Any questions?"
"The inquiry was strictly rhetorical. The dozen or so people in the crowd were mostly union members already backing Khanna, along with a campaign aide and a couple of reporters."
A collaborative effort between scientists, journalists and Silicon Valley bright-minds seeks to upend the tradition of 'not counting your eggs before they hatch' when it comes to election results. They will offer a 24/7 live push-update feed showing which nominee is winning in any state at a given time--but some are worried that this could ultimately have an adverse affect on the way people vote on their ballots.
NICK Corosanti with N.Y. Times: "For decades, news organizations have refrained from releasing early results in presidential battleground states on Election Day, adhering to a strict, time-honored embargo until a majority of polls there have closed."
"Now, a group of data scientists, journalists and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs is seeking to upend that reporting tradition, providing detailed projections of who is winning at any given time on Election Day in key swing states, and updating the information in real time from dawn to dusk."
"The plan is likely to cause a stir among those involved in reporting election results and in political circles, who worry about both accuracy and an adverse effect on how people vote. Previous early calls in presidential races have prompted congressional inquiries."
What's one of the most influencing factors when deciding between development or conservation in coastal areas of California? The California gnatcatcher -- a wee songbird that's been endangered for over two decades.
Deborah Sullivan Brennan with San Diego Union-Tribune: "For two decades, a small gray songbird has made the difference between development and conservation in some of the most coveted coastal land in California."
"A federal decision last week to leave the coastal California gnatcatcher on the endangered species list brought praise from environmentalists, but left Southern California developers primed for an ongoing fight."
"The gnatcatcher has been a linchpin to conservation planning in San Diego, Riverside and Orange County, since it was listed as a threatened species in 1993. In 2014, the Pacific Legal Foundation petitioned the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to delist the bird, arguing that recent science casts doubt on its threatened status."
READ MORE related to Environment: Albino redwoods: mystery of 'the ghosts of the forest' may be solved -- Paul Rogers with Mercury News
Presumably, most people reading this roundup have the memory of 9/11 indellibly seared into their minds of hearts -- but what is it like explaining the most traumatic event in United States history to youth who weren't yet alive on that fateful morning?
Mackenzie Mays with Fresno Bee: "Brenda Acosta isn’t sure who was president on Sept. 11, 2001, but the Hoover High School freshman knows that what happened that day was terrorism."
"“9/11 is when a plane – was it one or two? – hit the towers in New York City,” said Acosta, 14. “It was like, hijackers. And they ended a lot of lives."
"Karen Alcaraz, also a freshman at Hoover High in Fresno, asked, “Wasn’t it ISIS?"
Having a total stranger drive your toddler or young child around to and from school or day care may seem like an uncomfortable and unsettling idea for some parents, but for those in the Bay Area, a 'baby-based-Uber' is under way and gaining lots of traction.
Jeremy Hay with EdSource: "Twice a week, a Kango ride service driver picks up Mrigya Datta’s 2-year-old from the family’s San Francisco home to take her to daycare. Every day, another driver collects Datta’s 8-year-old daughter for her ride to school. Later the girls are picked up for the ride home."
"Datta is one of a growing number of parents using ride services to shuttle their kids — including toddlers — around. BesidesKango, two others are active in the Bay Area: Zum and HopSkipDrive. All three are founded and run by mothers."
"Zum, which landed $1.5 million in financing in March, has handled more than 50,000 rides since January, founder Ritu Narayan said. At Kango, founder and CEO Sara Schaer said the company isn’t disclosing its ride numbers but is growing between 50 and 70 percent month over month. HopSkipDrive would not release its ridership numbers; it has raised $14 million in financing."
In Beltway news, it appears Hillary Clinton is suffering from pneumonia and will be out of commission for a bit. But not to worry, according to doctors.
Mike Stobbe with AP: "Hillary Clinton's diagnosis of pneumonia is a serious concern, but something from which she soon should recover, several doctors and medical experts said Sunday."
"Clinton, 68, unexpectedly left a 9/11 anniversary ceremony in New York after she became "overheated and dehydrated," her doctor said. Clinton went to her daughter's nearby apartment for a short stay, and emerged before noon to tell reporters, "I'm feeling great."
"Several hours later, Clinton's physician said the Democratic presidential nominee was diagnosed on Friday with pneumonia. "She was put on antibiotics, and advised to rest and modify her schedule," said Dr. Lisa R. Bardack, an internist who practices near Clinton's suburban New York home."
READ MORE in Beltway: Hillary Clinton has not been quick to share health information -- Todd C. Frankel with Washington Post; An image linking Trump to the alt-right is shared by the nominee's son -- David Weigel with Washington Post; Top Trump Advisor Rudy Giuliani: 'Until the war is over, anything's legal' -- Jenna Johnson with Washington Post; Clinton, with pneumonia, cancels California trip -- Carla Marinucci with Politico;
