Provisional ballots -- one of the state's safeguards against election snafus -- get a close look as to their impact on California's June primary and their potential impact on November.
PAUL MITCHELL with Capitol Weekly: "California’s primary election was filled with administrative glitches. And some of those problems actually may have disenfranchised voters who hoped to vote in a very dramatic presidential primary."
"Ironically, one of the largest post-election dramas surrounding the June vote in California was how these problems were being resolved."
"And that brings us to the use of provisional ballots, the subject of the latest CA120 poll."
Another Dem-on-Dem senate race in California has attracted an endorsement from Gov. Brown.
ALEXEI KOSEFF in Sac Bee writes: "For the second time in two weeks, Gov. Jerry Brown has waded into a legislative fight between two Democratic candidates. On Tuesday, he extended his usually rare endorsement to state Sen. Jim Beall, who is facing a reelection challenge from Assemblywoman Nora Campos, a fellow San Jose Democrat.
"Jim Beall is a real leader. He has what it takes to get the job done,” Brown said in a statement. “I'm proud to endorse him for reelection."
"It’s unusual for a politician to take on an incumbent from their own party. When she announced her campaign in March, Campos, who terms out of the Assembly this year, cited a “disconnect” between Beall and the voters of his district, as well as a need for more women leaders."
READ MORE related to Gov. Brown/Policy: Final step in $2-billion plan for homeless housing signed by Gov. Brown -- LAT; Tax candy, not tampons, say lawmakers who pushed for sales tax exemptions -- LAT.
New energy conservation plans are awaiting approval for California's deserts.
DAVID DANELSKI in The Sun: "Interior Secretary Sally Jewell will be in Palm Desert today where she is expected to approve the first phase of a renewable energy and conservation plan for California’s deserts."
"Jewell will attend a signing ceremony for the Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan at the Santa Rosa & San Jacinto Mountains National Monument visitor center in Palm Desert, according to a news release."
"The sweeping plan covers 10 million acres of public lands in the deserts of seven California counties, including Riverside, San Bernardino and Los Angeles. It strives to speed up approvals for solar, wind and geothermal projects, creating energy development zones in locations where such projects would do the least amount of harm to wildlife habitat and other natural and cultural resources."
California's prison crowding is a growing issue -- but so is the support in favor of a correctional system reform.
JEREMY B. WHITE with Sac Bee: "If you’ve sold your body, you deserve leniency."
"If your felony was low-level enough, you deserve to vote."
"If you sexually assaulted someone, you deserve to go to prison."
READ MORE related to Public Safety: L.A.'s newest police commissioner calls for a deep analysis of racial profiling accusations -- L.A.T.
Despite an economic upswing nationally, many in high-cost housing states still continue to struggle.
VICTORIA COLLIVER with The Chronicle: "While U.S. household incomes rose and poverty levels dropped, U.S. census figures released Tuesday show that many Americans — particularly those in high-cost housing states like California — continue to struggle."
"The income gains, the largest since the U.S. Census Bureau began recording such figures in 1967, signaled a key turning point in the American economy as it continues to recover from the punishing recession of nearly a decade ago. Health insurance rates also improved across the country, particularly in California, the census data show. But the figures also show the improvements aren’t shared equally."
“When you factor in our high housing costs, what you find is California has the highest poverty level in the nation,” said Alissa Anderson, senior policy analyst with the California Budget and Policy Center in Sacramento."
Experts say Donald Trump's recent allegation that the election is rigged to be stacked against him doesn't add up.
O.C. Register's Martin Wisckol: "Instances of voter fraud are miniscule, most voting systems are safe from outside hackers and the biggest threat to a clean November election may be aging voting machines, according to extensive studies cited Tuesday by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University’s School of Law."
"The center’s media teleconference was spurred by Donald Trump’s allegations that the election may be “rigged” against him and his call for volunteers to monitor polling places."
“We believe the heated rhetoric about rigged elections is overblown,” said Wendy Weiser, director of the Democracy Project at the Brennan Center. “It’s harmful to our democracy and its legitimacy. It shifts attention away from real problems.”
Pot's health affects on the brain still remain up in smoke as potential legalization is around the corner this November in 5 states.
KQED's Martha Bebinger: "Five states are voting this fall on whether marijuana should be legal, like alcohol, for recreational use. That has sparked questions about what we know — and don’t know — about marijuana’s effect on the brain."
"Research is scarce. The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency classifies marijuana as a Schedule I drug. That classification puts up barriers to conducting research on it, including a cumbersome DEA approval application and a requirement that scientists procure very specific marijuana plants."
"One long-term study in New Zealand compared the IQs of people at age 13 and then through adolescence and adulthood to age 38. Those who used pot heavily from adolescence onward showed an average 8 percent drop in IQ. People who never smoked, by contrast, showed slightly increased IQ."
Regardless of various troubles surrounding the institution, U.C. still manages to hold a top-tier rank for education in the nation.
ERICKA CRUZ GUEVARRA with KQED: "Despite budget cuts, a squeeze for resources and a new, arguably more stressful application process systemwide, six University of California campuses made the Top 10 on U.S News & World Report’s list of the nation’s best public universities."
"UC Berkeley ranked No. 1 for the 15th year in a row, followed by UCLA at No. 2, UC Santa Barbara at No. 8 and UC Irvine at No. 9. UC San Diego and UC Davis tied for the No. 10 spot with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and the University of Wisconsin-Madison."
"In a newsletter on the University of California website, UC President Janet Napolitano said the rankings were a reflection of the quality of a UC education."
READ MORE related to Education: What's the best college in California? The US News & World Report's rankings are in -- BEAU YARBROUGH with Daily News
And in more economic news, it appears that California's housing market could be on an upswing.
KEVIN SMITH with Daily News: "Marty Rodriguez can remember the days when Southern California was awash in home foreclosures."
"Banks were giving out mortgage loans to borrowers who often didn’t have to verify their income. In some cases, they didn’t even have prove they had a job. At the peak of the housing meltdown in 2010, nearly 2.9 million U.S. homes fell victim to foreclosure filings."
"It was raining foreclosures and short sales,” said Rodriguez, owner of the Century 21 Marty Rodriguezrealty office in Glendora. “Back then about 40 percent of our transactions involved foreclosures or short sales."
In a statewide effort to prevent energy shortages during the coming winter, utilities giants in Southern California have brainstormed an energy storage center.
ROB NIKELOWSKI with San Diego Union-Tribune: "Fewer than four months ago, the still-emerging energy storage industry faced a big challenge."
"With the Aliso Canyon natural gas field in Los Angeles essentially out of commission after a massive leak, the California Public Utilities Commission called on San Diego Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison to come up with storage solutions to help ward off the risk of power outages for the upcoming winter."
"The two investor-owned utilities did not have to come up with a specific amount of storage but they were under a major time constraint: SCE had to find the sources by the end of the calendar year while SDG&E was given roughly the same target deadline."
READ MORE related to Energy/Environment: Court questions whether Berkeley cell phone law goes too far -- Bob Egelko with The Chronicle
And in the polls, it appears that a third of Californians are voting purely out of spite. Stay classy, folks!
ANDRE MOUCHARD with O.C. Register: "Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton holds a commanding lead in California, but her support – like the support for Republican nominee Donald Trump – is marred by a lack of enthusiasm, according to a poll of California voters released Monday by the Southern California News Group and KABC/Eyewitness News."
"Clinton leads Trump 57 percent to 32 percent, about the same margin held by Barack Obama when he defeated John McCain and Mitt Romney in the 2008 and 2012 elections."
"But one-in-three people voting for Clinton, and an almost identical one-in-three who plan to vote for Trump, are doing so as a statement against the nominee from the other party, according to the poll conducted by Survey USA. Only about two-thirds of the voters for each candidate could be described as an enthusiastic or mild supporter."
READ MORE related to Beltway: A visit to Trump's headquarters in Long Beach's Cambodia Town, in all places, produces some surprises -- L.A.T.
