California has reinstated it's water conservation rules, despite a series of drought-quenching storms.
Mercury News' PAUL ROGERS: "Despite drenching rains and heavy snowfall this winter, California moved Tuesday to keep in place its statewide water conservation rules — at least for another three months or so."
"On Tuesday, the staff of the State Water Resources Control Board recommended that the rules the agency put in place last summer relaxing strict mandates from 2015 should continue at least through May, when they can be re-evaluated after the winter rainy season is over."
"The bottom line: Communities across California that dropped strict watering rules, fines and other penalties this fall will not have to reimpose them, and areas that kept rules in place due to tight supplies are likely to keep them in the short term, although in some cases they may drop drought rules if they can demonstrate that recent rains filled their reservoirs and brought their local conditions back to normal."
READ MORE related to Weather: Death toll from California's winter storms continues to rise -- L.A. Times' JOSEPH SERNA
Gov. Brown's latest budget proposal drew criticism after a clerical error created a $1.5B hole in the blueprint.
L.A. Times' JOHN MYERS: "Gov. Jerry Brown's budget team offered a seemingly simple explanation on Tuesday for an almost $1.5-billion accounting error in California's healthcare program for the poor."
"The math was wrong," said Amy Costa, the chief deputy director of Brown's state Department of Finance, in a Senate committee hearing."
"The mistake drew sharp criticism from some state senators, who suggested it should be viewed it in the context of Brown's projected $1.6-billion deficit and the $3.2 billion in spending cuts he has proposed to help balance the books."
And speaking of the budget, Early Education advocates are not happy with the latest proposals.
EdSource's ASHLEY HOPKINSON: "To the dismay of early education advocates, Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing to change the plan outlined in the current budget and defer funding for more full-day state preschool slots until the 2018-19 fiscal year."
"In his proposed 2017-18 budget announced last week, Brown said the state needs to take a fiscally conservative approach and delay the planned increase in the number of state-subsidized preschool slots."
"Last year’s budget outlined how $100 million for an additional 8,877 full-day preschool slots would be phased in over four years. The increase will begin April 1, according to Department of Finance spokesman H.D. Palmer. It will cost $7.8 million to add the first of 2,959 slots, the2016-17 budget states. Then, according to that original plan, another 2,959 slots would be added beginning in April of each of the following two years."
READ MORE related to EdSource: DeVos says she won't force private school voucher plan on states -- EdSource's LOUIS FREEDBERG
A former aide to Rep. Dana Rorabacher has pleaded guilty to 24 felony charges connecting him to an embezzlement scheme that stole $300,000 from a reelection committee.
L.A. Times' HANNAH FRY: "A former volunteer campaign treasurer for Rep. Dana Rohrabacher pleaded guilty Tuesday to two dozen felony counts in connection with the embezzlement of more than $300,000 from the congressman's reelection committee."
"Jack Wenpo Wu, 46, of Newport Beach pleaded guilty to three felony counts of grand theft by embezzlement, 21 felony counts of forgery with sentencing enhancements for theft exceeding $100,000, aggravated white-collar crime over $100,000 and property loss over $200,000, according to Orange County Superior Court records."
"The plea was part of an offer from prosecutors that reduced the maximum amount of prison time Wu could face from 20 years and four months to four years and four months. Wu is scheduled to be sentenced March 13, according to court records."
The latest Capitol Weekly podcast is out; CALEXIT and the incoming administration are discussed just days before the inauguration.
Capitol Weekly: "Midway into the inauguration week of president-elect Donald Trump, Capitol Weekly sits down with Democratic communications guru Jason Kinney of California Advocates. Kinney weighs in what he sees as California’s role as the anti-Trump, “Beacon of opportunity,” weighs in on CALEXIT, and even drops a reference to "Cool Hand Luke."
The Ghost Ship fire was a tragedy that stemmed in part from 'arduous permit processes,' say critics.
East Bay Express' SAM LEFEBVRE: "In 2005, Gray Area was a small SOMA gallery and experimental music venue when former San Francisco Entertainment Commission President Terrance Alan paid a casual visit, and noticed some fire-safety deficiencies — namely, no exit signs."
"But instead of fining the venue or shutting it down, Alan helped make it safe."
"He gave me a box of exit signs, and told me where to install them," recalled Gray Area founder and director Josette Melchor. Ever since, she said that she's applied that fire-safety knowledge any time she throws an event in a new space."
READ MORE related to Ghost Ship: Oakland warehouse artists unite to stay safe -- and to petition city hall -- KQED's CY MUSIKER
A newly proposed Bill of Rights for Children is catching some heavy flak from an unexpected crowd: parents.
L.A. Times' ROBIN ABCARIAN: "It was a little like being in an alternate reality Tuesday morning, as dozens of parents and children gathered on the state Capitol steps to protest a bill aimed at improving the lives of California’s 9 million children.
Last year, a coalition of businesses, civic, education and political leaders came together as the Right Start Commission to push for a more child-centered approach to life in the Golden State. The project was conceived by Common Sense Kids Action, the advocacy arm of Common Sense Media, an online pop culture guide for parents that has about 65 million users."
"The commission came up with broad goals that the state could commit to — a Children’s Bill of Rights — affirming the importance of things like high-quality, affordable child care, universal preschool, preventive healthcare, parent education, and family-friendly business policies. They asked state Sen. Richard Pan, a pediatrician who was vilified and threatened when he authored the state’s mandatory vaccine law in 2015, to introduce a bill that would become the framework for this effort."
Children aren't the only ones getting a special bill of rights; utility customers are, too.
Daily News: "The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Board of Commissioners on Tuesday approved a “customer bill of rights” backed by Mayor Eric Garcetti and criticized by some leaders from neighborhood councils, but also moved to open up public comment and revisit the bill of rights in about 90 days."
"The commissioners unanimously approved the provisions of the bill of rights, which includes assurances that call wait times will not exceed three minutes on average; bills that exceed three times the average historic use for the same billing period will automatically be reviewed before being sent out; and requests to start a new residential account will be processed within one business day."
"Customers will receive rebates or credits if the guarantees are not met. For example, if the department takes longer than 10 days after a final inspection to process a new business service connection of 200 amps or less, that business will receive a $25 credit."
Cannabis dispensaries may soon come under legislation intended to make it easier for them to pay their taxes.
The Chronicle's MELODY GUTIERREZ: "California lawmakers want to make it easier for marijuana dispensaries to pay their taxes, saying many cash-only businesses are forced to drive long distances with thousands of dollars to make an in-person payment."
"That’s clearly not safe, said state Sens. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, who introduced a bill Tuesday to increase the number of places where tax and fee payments can be made in California."
"The bill comes as the state prepares to take in hundreds of millions more in taxes and licensing revenue when retail operations go into effect next year under the recreational pot legalization initiative Proposition 64."
Stats are in about what the first year without Obamacare will look like; the results are unsettling.
L.A. Times' LISA MASCARO: "Repealing Obamacare without a replacement would result in higher costs for consumers and fewer people with insurance coverage,according to a report Tuesday from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office."
"In the first year, insurance premiums would jump by 20% to 25% for individual policies purchased directly or through the Obamacare marketplace, according to the report. The number of people who are uninsured would increase by 18 million."
"Those numbers would only increase in subsequent years. Premium prices would continue to climb by 50% the next year, with the uninsured swelling to 27 million, as full repeal took effect, the report said."
With a growing list of House Democrats boycotting the Inauguration, there are still at least two Golden State lawmakers who will attend.
Daily News' ELIZABETH CHOU: "Unlike many of their fellow Democrats, two California congressmen from the San Fernando Valley say they will attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration despite misgivings about the incoming president."
"Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, said he wavered over the weekend about going to the inauguration after Trump attacked Georgia congressman John Lewis, a revered civil rights leader, on Twitter. But he ultimately chose to attend the ceremony."
"Sherman said he did not want to distract from what he feels is the more pressing matter of urging Attorney General Loretta Lynch to launch an investigation into the “cyber-hacking” of the Democratic National Committee e-mails, which could help determine if Trump’s campaign “coordinated” with Russia to influence the election."
Meanwhile, L.A. Mayor Garcetti goes back East to raise campaign cash.
Daily News' ELIZABETH CHOU: "Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti attended a fundraiser in Chicago Monday night for his re-election campaign, and is set to go to two more later this week in Washington, D.C., and New York, his campaign strategist said."
"The fundraisers bookend an official mayoral trip to Washington, D.C., to attend a three-day winter meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors."
"Garcetti’s political strategist Bill Carrick declined to name the hosts of the fundraisers, but said the event in Chicago was a cocktail party at a home, while the D.C. and New York events on Thursday will be similar affairs."
A state tax board's self-issued pay raises has been criticized, and now reforms are being demanded.
Sacramento Bee's ADAM ASHTON: "On a summer day in 2015, 16 high-level managers at the Board of Equalization received special pay raises that the department still can’t explain."
"They ranged in value from 1.9 percent to 10 percent. In each case, they followed standard wage increases that went to all state employees that year, swelling pay for certain executives by as much as 17.5 percent."
“There were no performance reviews,” said board Chairwoman Fiona Ma, whose staff documented the pay raises after hearing rumors of pay disparities among the agency’s executive staff."
A San Bernardino corruption case has a new witness pool: journalists.
L.A. Times' PALOMA ESQUIVEL: "A San Bernardino County judge Tuesday ruled that prosecutors can call numerous journalists to testify in the ongoing public corruption trials of a former county supervisor and others."
"However, attorneys in the case reached an agreement that would allow at least two journalists to avoid taking the stand."
"Duffy Carolan, an attorney for the journalists, said she was hopeful similar agreements could be reached for the remaining reporters."
President Obama's love-for-land has been demonstrated repeatedly in Southern California, after numerous land preservation efforts.
Press-Enterprise's JEFF HORSEMAN: "President Barack Obama made his mark in Southern California through his presence and policies."
"As Obama, America’s 44th president, leaves office after eight years in the White House, some parts of his legacy, such as preserving vast swaths of wilderness as national monuments, will endure for generations. Other efforts, including his push for health care and immigration reform, are either on shaky ground or never took flight."
“He started with hope and change,” said Jack Pitney, a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. “He finishes with frustration and disappointment.”
Oil companies are being hit for their wastewater removal.
KQED's LAUREN SOMMER: "For decades, California oil companies have disposed of wastewater by pumping it into aquifers that were supposed to be protected by federal law."
"California regulators mistakenly granted permits to do it, through a combination of poor record keeping, miscommunication and permitting errors."
"Now, years after the errors first emerged, state officials say that 460 underground injection wells that were disposing of wastewater illegally will be shut down."
Local lawmakers in Southern MexiCali are strategizing against the border wall hardline.
KPBS' JEAN GUERRERO: "The San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting a binational meeting of officials and business leaders Wednesday to discuss the San Diego-Tijuana region's potential to influence President-elect Donald Trump's border and immigration policies."
"There’s been so much criticism on trade and NAFTA that we need to make sure that we’re telling the full story, and San Diego can tell that full story," said Paola Avila, vice president of the chamber. "It’s the best example for trade, cross-border trade in particular."
"San Diego exports more than $4 billion in electronics, auto-parts, aerospace products and more to Mexico every year, she said."
Santa Ana has officially been declared a sanctuary city.
O.C. Register's JESSICA KWONG: "Three days before Donald Trump assumes the presidency, Orange County’s second-largest city has enacted a law making it a sanctuary for all residents, regardless of immigration status."
"The Santa Ana City Council, which unanimously approved the sanctuary ordinance on first reading Dec. 20, on Tuesday voted 6-0 to adopt it, with Councilman Vincent Sarmiento absent."
"The ordinance requires the city to implement policies that include prohibiting the use of city resources for immigration enforcement, protecting sensitive information, preventing biased-based policing and directing law enforcement officials to exercise discretion to cite and release individuals instead of detaining them at a local facility or county jail based on the nature of the alleged crime."
