Russian hack: The smoking-gun?

Kremlin/Russian interference in the 2016 campaign trail has been verified after the same malware used to sabotage Ukranian military in 2014 was discovered in the DNC hacks.

ELLEN NAKASHIMA in Washington Post: "A cybersecurity firm has uncovered strong proof of the tie between the group that hacked the Democratic National Committee and Russia’s military intelligence arm — the primary agency behind the Kremlin’s interference in the 2016 election."

"The firm CrowdStrike linked malware used in the DNC intrusion to malware used to hack and track an Android phone app used by the Ukrainian army in its battle against pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine from late 2014 through 2016."

"While CrowdStrike, which was hired by the DNC to investigate the intrusions and whose findings are described in a new report, had always suspected that one of the two hacker groups that struck the DNC was the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, it had only medium confidence."

A soaked-start to the wet season has officials optimistic about drought-ravaged California's water supply.

KURTIS ALEXANDER with The Chronicle: "With the rainy season off to a strong start, California officials on Wednesday more than doubled the amount of water they expect to provide next year from the State Water Project."

"Officials had been proceeding with caution after five years of drought, projecting last month that the state’s massive network of reservoirs, pumps and pipelines would distribute only 20 percent of the requested water. That estimate was adjusted to 45 percent."

"While the figure remains low, it could increase if storms continue to swell the rivers and lakes of the Sierra Nevada, which nourish the water system."

A video of a BART officer closed-fist punching a handcuffed man after being spit on has spurred outrage from locals -- a use-of-force the BART police chief justifies as being 'a distraction blow.'

JOSEPH SERNA with LAT: "Videos captured the moment in July when Bay Area Rapid Transit police officers pounced on Michael Smith and his girlfriend in downtown San Francisco, ordering them to the ground at gunpoint and handcuffing them."

"As people gathered and recorded with their cellphones, Smith, 22, still handcuffed, crooked his head up and spit in an officer’s face. That prompted the officer to punch him in the face with a closed fist, causing Smith’s head to bounce off the ground."

"People at the Embarcadero station exploded in screams of anger. Smith’s girlfriend and others told Smith to cooperate, and soon he and his girlfriend were hauled off to a police substation, where the woman was let go and Smith was booked on suspicion of assaulting and resisting police."

READ MORE related to Public Safety: Women says miscarriage due to excessive use of force by BART police -- VIVIAN HO with The Chronicle

A swift crackdown on unsafe warehouse spaces in the wake of the Ghost Ship blaze has many artists calling for a moratorium on punitive action.

MICHAEL BODLEY with The Chronicle: "The abrupt inspection of the Potrero Hill warehouse her identical twin sister shares with other artists prompted Julie Mastrine to act, bringing her before San Francisco building officials Wednesday."

"Armed with an online petition with more than 10,000 signatures, Mastrine called on the Building Inspection Commission to impose a moratorium on fire and code spot inspections that city officials contend are necessary to keep warehouse dwellers safe in the wake of the Dec. 2 Ghost Ship warehouse fire in Oakland that killed 36 people."

Lee Baca's trial continues after a second day of deliberations without a verdict.

SUSAN ABRAM with LADN: "A second full day of deliberations ended Wednesday without a verdict in the federal jail corruption trial of former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca."

"The jury, made up of six men and six women, remained behind closed doors for most of the day inside the federal courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, though a request was made to hear back testimony by former Assistant Sheriff Cecil Rhambo, Jr."

"Rhambo was called by both federal prosecutors and the defense earlier in the trial to recount a conversation he had with Baca back in August, 2011, when the former sheriff learned that the FBI was investigating inmate abuse inside the Men’s Central Jail. Baca was told that an FBI agent had been able to bribe a deputy into bringing a cell phone to an inmate named Anthony Brown, who had become an informant for the feds."

The importance of the 2016 General Election can best be reflected in the voter turnout: Californians showed up to the polls in record-shattering numbers.

JEFF HORSEMAN with LADN: "More Californians voted last month than in any election in state history, the secretary of state’s office reported late last week."

"About 14.6 million Californians — roughly the population of the six states in New England and more than the population of all but four U.S. states as of 2015 — cast ballots in the Nov. 8 presidential election, according to results certified by Secretary of State Alex Padilla."

"The previous record of 13.7 million voters was set in November 2008. Statewide voter turnout last month was 75.27 percent, the highest since the 2008 presidential election."

Gov. Brown and President Obama have one thing in common before they leave their respective seats: they have the power of the pardon. They also have shown a willingness to use it.

LAUREL ROSENHALL with CalMatters: "Those are the words people convicted of felonies in California wrote to Gov. Jerry Brown in recent years, asking him to pardon their crimes. Their clemency applications describe bad decisions and reckless adolescences, lives of poverty and addiction. Drug deals. Accidental shootings. Drunken driving."

"But they also show transformation through hard work, self-reliance and a devotion to living clean. Steady jobs. Responsible parenting. Sobriety."

"They’re the kind of letters Brown has likely been reviewing in recent weeks as he prepares for his Christmastime tradition of granting pardons to felons who have served their sentences and stayed crime-free for at least a decade. The fourth-term Democratic governor has pardoned more felons than any governor in recent state history, bringing back a custom that faded during the tough-on-crime politics of the 1990s."

More than a million of California's kids find themselves without state subsidized child care -- many of whom qualify for state programs but did not receive their benefits.

ASHLEY HOPKINSON with EdSource: "Only one in seven California children who qualify for subsidized child care received services from state programs in 2015, according to a December report from the California Budget and Policy Center. Of the state’s estimated 1.5 million children – newborns to 12-year-olds – who are eligible for subsidized child care, only 218,000 were enrolled in programs, the report states. "

"A decline in federal funding and state budget cuts contributed to the shortage of subsidized care, said Kristin Schumacher, policy analyst for the California Budget and Policy Center and the report’s author. The report states the number of children served by those programs is below pre-recession levels."

"The report focuses on subsidized child care programs administered by the California Community Colleges, the California Department of Education and the Department of Social Services. The report data are based on the number of newborns to 12-year-olds enrolled in full-day programs in October 2015, with the exception of one community college program, which was based on Department of Finance estimates for 2015-16. "

The feud between California and the federal government over science testing in schools will continue in Washington D.C. if an appeal by the state superintendent is granted.

PAT MAIO with EdSource: "California education officials have appealed the U.S. Department of Education’s decision to reject the state’s request to begin phasing in tests this spring based on new science standards, rather than administer current tests based on standards in place since 1998."

"In a letter sent Tuesday to federal education leaders, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson and State Board of Education President Michael Kirst wrote that they are seeking an administrative hearing in Washington, D.C., to make their case before Ann Whalen, a senior adviser to U.S. Secretary of Education John King Jr."

"Existing federal education law requires that the U.S. Department of Education hold a hearing by Dec. 29, but Torlakson and Kirst requested that the hearing be postponed until after the Jan. 2 holiday to allow state education staff time to prepare for the hearing."

Calpensions'  Ed Mendel discusses CalPERS key committee meeting over investment forecasting.

ED MENDEL with Capitol Weekly: "A key committee yesterday approved a drop in the often-criticized CalPERS investment earnings forecast, gradually raising record rates already being paid by state and local governments, if approved as expected by the full board today."

"The earnings forecast would drop from 7.5 percent to 7 percent, giving the nation’s largest public pension fund one of the most conservative forecasts, possibly setting a nationwide trend in the view of some."

A Northern California Brewery is able to incorporate many innovative sustainability practices into its beer brewing -- the first of its kind.

ESTHER MOBLEY with The Chronicle: "When Santa Rosa’s Seismic Brewing Co. begins producing beer in the coming weeks, owner Christopher Jackson hopes to set a new standard for sustainability practices in craft brewing."

"The individual technologies involved in realizing this goal — innovative on-site wastewater treatment, as well as energy-conservation aids like a steam condenser and a carbon dioxide vaporizer — are not unique to Seismic, but what’s uncommon about Seismic is its ability to implement all of these technologies at once, in a brand new multimillion-dollar brewery."