Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer wants to get rid of the electoral college.
SARAH D. WIRE with LAT: "Retiring Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) filed legislation Tuesday to abolish the Electoral College in light of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote but still losing the election."
"Such legislation makes a statement after an election that shocked Democrats, but is unlikely to gain traction with Republicans holding control of both chambers of Congress in a lame duck session."
"Her bill calls for an amendment to the Constitution that would end the Electoral College system. Should such a thing pass, the amendment would only take effect if ratified by three-fourths of the states within seven years after its passage in the U.S. Congress."
READ MORE related to Electoral College: Barbara Boxerwants to abolish the Electoral College -- JEFF HORSEMAN with The Press Enterprise
With the wrap up of this year's election, California had winners and losers ... but who?
CHUCK MCFADDEN with Capitol Weekly: "It’s all over and, with a few exceptions, it will stay that way for two more years."
"But like any other public event, ranging from bridge tournaments to the Super Bowl, there were winners and losers. Here’s our take on who came out winners and who lost in the 2016 general election."
READ MORE related to The Ballot: What's the going rate for plastic grocery bags in California -- NEIL NISPEROS with The Press Enterprise
Newly elected Congressional members are getting a representative crash-course.
SARAH D. WIRE with LAT: "Fresh off their wins last week, members-elect to the 115th Congressare in Washington this week for a crash course on what it means to be a representative."
"California’s five incoming House members, and two potential colleagues in races too close to call, are attending two weeks of daylong briefings on topics such as managing their office budget, how to write legislation and ethics, all while getting to know their way around and meeting their fellow lawmakers."
"The races in Orange County’s 49th District and Sacramento’s 7th District are still too close to call. The trailing challengers, retired Marine Col. Doug Applegate and Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones, were still expected to make the trip to Washington in case they ultimately win."
READ MORE related to Local Races: Democrat topples incumbent GOP legislator in close Assembly race -- JOHN MYERS with LAT
Slowly but surely, Jerry Brown's Delta projects inch forward towards review and implementation.
LISA RENNER with Capitol Weekly: "Gov. Jerry Brown’s massive Delta tunnels project is moving forward through a series of state and federal environmental reviews. But it still faces an array of major hurdles including public opposition, financing and approvals by state water contractors."
"The $15 billion project, known as California Water Fix, is on track to finish the state environmental impact report and federal environmental impact statement by the end of the year, said Cindy Messer, assistant chief deputy with the state Department of Water Resources."
READ MORE related to California Water Crisis: The North Delta habitat arc: An ecosystem for saving fish -- PETER MOYLE, JOHN DURAND and AMBER MANFREE with Water Deeply
The Trump transition team appears to be hitting some hurdles.
NOAH BIERMAN and LISA MASCARO with LAT: "The shoot-from-the-hip style that helped Donald Trump win the presidency is now playing out in his transition to governing."
"An insular group of loyalists and family members are at the helm, giving the public little information. A top establishment figure abruptly departed the transition team. And officials from across the federal government say they have heard nothing from the people who are supposed to take their place two months from now."
"By Tuesday, a week after his election, Trump’s team had yet to discuss even basic elements of the government handoff with key players at the Pentagon, the State Department and other vital agencies, in large part because of a delay in signing the paperwork dictating the nuts and bolts of the process."
READ MORE related to Trump Transition Team: Alan Dershowitz defends Steve Bannon: 'Not legitimate to call somebody an anti-Semite because you disagree with their policies' -- AARON KLEIN with Breitbart Jerusalem; Trump team talks of setting up political arm -- SHANE GOLDMACHER with Politico; Power battles bog down Trump transition -- ELI STOKOLS with Politico; Key figures purged from Trump transition team -- KAREN DEYOUNG and GREG MILLER with NYT; Trump could face a nuclear strike decision soon -- BRUCE BLAIR with Politico; Trump gets to decide if his transition team will have a code of ethics -- LISA REIN with ELISE VIEBECK with PowerPost
America under President-elect Trump hasn't deterred undocumented hopefuls from becoming documented citizens.
HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS with LAT: "They wore neckties and nice dresses. They waved small American flags. They posed for pictures with their kids, proudly holding up naturalization certificates."
"Six hundred and two people from 85 countries became United States citizens in a Pasadena ceremony Tuesday morning."
"It had been seven days since Donald Trump was elected president and it had been a tense week in America. The new citizens in the Pasadena Convention Center knew the campaign rhetoric often focused on immigrants like themselves."
READ MORE related to Immigration: Some California leaders vow to resist deportations under Trump -- JEREMY B. WHITE with Sacramento Bee
SEIU Local 1000 has authorized a member strike.
ADAM ASHTON with Sacramento Bee: "California state government’s biggest union won a mandate from its members to strike if SEIU Local 1000 can’t reach an agreement on a new contract, the union announced Tuesday."
"The union said 92 percent of members who voted cast a ballot to authorize the strike."
"The strike vote raises the stakes in stalled negotiations over a new contract for a union that represents more than 90,000 workers in a broad array of jobs classifications, from nurses to custodians and general government analysts."
California's general election vote count still has yet to see the finish line.
JOHN MYERS with LAT: "California election officials continue their efforts to review and count as many as 4 million ballots from the Nov. 8 election, a daunting process that has kept a few closely watched races in limbo for almost a week."
"A report from the secretary of state's office on Tuesday put the total number of unprocessed ballots at 4.1 million, down from the previous high of more than 4.5 million reported on Monday."
"But a closer look at the report reveals that it's not entirely clear how to estimate the total number of uncounted ballots. Most notably, several counties have not updated their official count since the middle of last week. That could mean hundreds of thousands of ballots have, in fact, been counted — but just not reported to state officials."
READ MORE related to Presidential Vote: Latino power rising -- MIKE MCPHATE with NYT
UC Berkeley sees yet another professor under fire for sexual harassment -- and students are livid.
KATY MURPHY with East Bay Times: "A new sexual harassment case involving a UC Berkeley professor has reignited anger and frustration from students who say the university has not learned from recent scandals — and that the school is still protecting the interests of prominent academics over the safety of students."
"Last month, a campus investigation found that architecture professor Nezar AlSayyad placed his hand on the upper thigh of a graduate student and proposed they become “close friends,” according to a recent report in the San Francisco Chronicle. The professor — who denied the allegations in a message to his students — was barred from teaching next semester, according to the Chronicle. But students say he is still teaching and has been permitted to hold one-on-one meetings."
"I think it’s outrageous that someone under investigation for such serious transgressions was left in positions of teaching and advising that put students in harm’s way,” said Brooke Staton, a graduate student in city planning who is in one of the professor’s lecture courses."
READ MORE related to Education: California universities weigh first tuition hikes in 6 years -- AP in East Bay Times; Hundreds walk out of Stanford classes, demand 'sanctuary campus' -- MICHAEL BODLEY with The Chronicle
The 'Obamacare' provision requiring an individual mandate may remain in whatever plan Republicans create to repeal ACA.
MICHELLE ANDREWS with California Healthline: "The Affordable Care Act’s requirement that people have health insurance or pay a fine is one of the least popular provisions of the law, and one that Republicans have pledged to eliminate when they repeal and replace Obamacare. But take a look at some of the conservative replacement proposals that are floating around and it becomes clear that the “individual mandate,” as it’s called, could still exist, but in another guise."
"The health law’s mandate doesn’t actually require people to have insurance. Instead, it imposes a tax penalty on most people if they don’t have coverage. In 2016, the penalty is the greater of $695 per person or 2.5 percent of household income."
"That unpopular tax penalty is what makes possible the very popular provision of the law that prohibits insurers from turning people down for coverage because they have preexisting medical conditions that might make them expensive to insure. The mandate is designed to make sure healthy people buy coverage so that insurers are not left with an expensive risk pool full of people who are sick."
READ MORE related to Healthcare: Study finds inmates benefit from much shorter TB treament -- ELAINE KORRY with California Healthline
A new use-of-force policy drafted by San Francisco PD has sparked controversy.
VIVIAN HO with SF Chronicle: "The San Francisco police union came under fire at a special joint Police Commission meeting with the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, with supervisors, commissioners and members of the public criticizing the union’s refusal to budge on a new use-of-force policy that was developed following the fatal shooting of Mario Woods by five city police officers."
"While the special hearing was meant to reaffirm the local commitment to police reform in the uncertainty of how a Trump administration could affect such efforts, several supervisors accused the San Francisco Police Officers Association of already standing in the way of reform."
"Supervisor Aaron Peskin noted that the union filed a grievance regarding the use-of-force policy, which could lead to arbitration and extend an already lengthy waiting period to put in place new directives that more strongly regulate officers’ decisions during perilous encounters and puts an emphasis on using minimal force."
