California Senate hires two firms to investigate sexual harassment complaints
Sacramento Bee's TARYN LUNA: "The California Senate has hired two firms to investigate allegations of a “pervasive culture of sexual harassment in the Capitol community” following the release of a letter signed by hundreds of women last week."
"There’s always more employers can do to protect their employees,” Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León said in a statement. “Everyone deserves a workplace free of fear, harassment and sexual misbehavior and I applaud the courage of women working in and around the Capitol who are coming forward and making their voices heard."
"Adama Iwu, a lobbyist whose own uncomfortable experience ignited a call to end an abuse of power by men in and around the Capitol, said the Senate’s response lacks transparency and doesn’t go far enough. Iwu questioned how the investigator was chosen, the parameters for the probe and how the results will be reported."
READ MORE related to 'Me Too': After 38 women accuse filmmaker James Toback of sexual harassment, 200 more reach out to share their stories -- LA Times' GLENN WHIPP; NBC's Megyn Kelly blasts Fox News and Bill O'Reilly over sexual harassment claims -- LA Times' STEPHEN BATTAGLIO
California stops billing parents for kids' detention
Marshall Project's ELI HAGER in Capitol Weekly: "Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law a sweeping package of criminal justice reform bills including a ban on the practice of billing parents for their children’s incarceration, which had been prevalent statewide for decades and was the subject of a Marshall Project investigation earlier this year."
"The new law — introduced by two Democratic state senators from the Los Angeles area, Holly Mitchell and Ricardo Lara, and approved by the Legislature on Sept. 6 — prohibits counties from assessing a range of fees against parents with children in the juvenile justice system, including those for probation supervision, electronic monitoring, drug testing, and the services of a public defender. Most significantly, it ends the nightly bills that mothers and fathers had long been made to pay for their children’s time in detention. Brown signed the legislation on Oct. 11."
"That practice is a nationwide one, rooted in a decades-old belief among policymakers that families are responsible for supporting their delinquent kids and should not expect government to pick up the tab.
'Everything is at stake:' California unions brace for a Supreme Court loss
Sacramento Bee's ADAM ASHTON: "California labor leaders sound almost apocalyptic when they describe a looming Supreme Court case that many of them concede likely will cost them members and money."
"Everything is at stake,” says Yvonne Walker, president of Service Employees International Local 1000, state government’s largest union."
"It’s a blatant political attack,” says Eric Heins, the leader of the massive California Teachers Association."
Football brings healing to Santa Rosa high school damaged in Tubbs Fire
The Chronicle's RON KROICHICK: "Two weeks ago, Kyle Carinalli scrambled down his driveway trying to dodge red-hot embers landing on his truck. One of his neighbor’s homes was engulfed in flames. He returned hours later and watched his house burn down."
"It was like watching my entire life turned to ash,” Carinalli said. “It just didn’t seem real."
"Carinalli, a senior wide receiver at Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa, retrieved a slice of his life Monday night. He and his football teammates played their first game since the Tubbs Fire tore through the city Oct. 9 and destroyed much of their campus."
READ MORE related to Wine County Fires: Where the blazes began -- The Chronicle's EVAN SERNOFFSKY; As temperatures rise, firefighters hustle for full containment on Northern California fires -- The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI
Homeless campers suing the city of Sacramento get their day in court
Sacramento Bee's CYNTHIA HUBERT: "More than eight years ago, homeless men and women set up tents and bedrolls in an empty lot near downtown Sacramento to challenge the city’s ordinance against camping outdoors for more than a day at a time."
"On Monday, their legal saga finally began to play out in court. Homeless people are plaintiffs in a civil lawsuit against the city of Sacramento, arguing that the camping ordinance is selectively enforced against men and women who have nowhere but the outdoors to sleep. The city’s behavior toward homeless people, they argue, violates the constitution’s guarantee of equal protection under the law."
"In September 2009, following years of failed attempts to establish a “safe ground” where homeless people could sleep without fear of citation or being arrested, about two dozen people camped out in a vacant lot at C and 12th streets. They did so with the permission of the property’s owner, civil rights lawyer Mark Merin, who now represents them in court. Police cited the homeless campers, removed their gear and ultimately arrested them, informing them that they were in violation of an ordinance that prohibits camping for more than 24 hours on public or private property without a special permit."
READ MORE related to Homelessness: LA's homeless crisis needs 'field general,' city attorney says -- Daily News' ELIZABETH CHOU
California rent control strengthened under proposed ballot measure
Sacramento Bee's ANGELA HART: "California housing advocates have filed paperwork to launch a 2018 ballot measure allowing cities and counties across the state to strengthen local rent control laws, a move they see as critical as California confronts a statewide housing shortage."
"The request for title and summary – the first step toward gathering signatures for an initiative – was received by the state Attorney General’s Office on Monday. If advanced to the November 2018 ballot and approved by voters, the measure would repeal California’s Costa-Hawkins Rental Housing Act, passed in 1995, which sets tight limits on the type of housing that can be covered under local rent control ordinances. Local rent control laws restrict the amount landlords can raise rent for tenants living in controlled units."
"Under state law, rent control cannot apply to any housing built after 1995. In areas that have rent control, like San Francisco and Santa Monica, much of the housing stock is exempt, including single-family homes, duplexes and condos. Once rent control is in place, city and county officials are prevented from changing or strengthening local laws."
After Nevada hosts a gun show, California sees sharp rise in gun-related injuries and deaths
LA Times' KAREN KAPLAN: "In the two weeks after a gun show is held in Nevada, injuries and deaths involving firearms jump by 69% — in neighboring areas of California."
"However, when gun shows occur in California, the state does not experience an increase in firearm-related trauma over the next fortnight."
"The findings, published Monday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, show that state gun laws have a measurable effect on public safety, especially when it comes to gun shows, the study authors wrote."
GAO: Climate change already costing US billions in losses
AP: "A non-partisan federal watchdog says climate change is already costing U.S. taxpayers billions of dollars each year, with those costs expected to rise as devastating storms, floods, wildfires and droughts become more frequent in the coming decades."
"A Government Accountability Office report released Monday said the federal government has spent more than $350 billion over the last decade on disaster assistance programs and losses from flood and crop insurance. That tally does not include the massive toll from this year’s three major hurricanes and wildfires, expected to be among the most costly in the nation’s history."
"The report predicts these costs will only grow in the future, potentially reaching a budget busting $35 billion a year by 2050. The report says the federal government doesn’t effectively plan for these recurring costs, classifying the financial exposure from climate-related costs as “high risk."
Vegetables sold at Albertsons, Walmart, Trader Joe's part of massive recall (Ed's Note: Corrects earlier link)
OC Register: "Mann Packing of Salinas is voluntarily recalling packaged vegetables because they may be contaminated with listeria, an organism that can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems."
"The recalled veggies were distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada with “best if used by” dates from Oct. 11-20 listed on the front of the packaging."
"The company said it had a single positive result found on one of its products during random sampling by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. So far, health officials have not reported any illnesses associated with these products."
