Ed's Note: Today is #GivingTuesday. On Tuesday, November 28, 2017, charities, families, businesses, communities, and students around the world will come together for one common purpose: to celebrate generosity and to give. We hope you will consider making a donation to Open California, the nonprofit organization that publishes The Roundup and Capitol Weekly. We're working hard every day to produce and collect high-quality, reliable news, but to continue, we need your help: Can you make a contribution today to support essential, nonpartisan, public affairs journalism?
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Sexual harassment hearings come as California Capitol is roiled by accusations and a resignation
LA TIMES' MELANIE MASON/JAZMINE ULLOA: "Sexual harassment allegations continued to roil the California political landscape Monday, as one Democratic legislator announced his immediate resignation and another was stripped of key posts by his colleagues."
"The dramatic developments set the stage for the first legislative examination of the issue since it engulfed the state Capitol six weeks ago. The focus on sexual harassment — propelled by high-profile allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo social media movement — began with an open letter from more than 140 women denouncing a “pervasive” culture of misconduct in state government. The missive did not identify any legislators or others accused of misbehavior."
READ MORE related to Boy's Club: Conyers' sex harassment troubles could open door for Bay Area congresswoman -- The Chronicle's CAROLYN LOCCHEAD; California Assembly to open hearings on sexual harassment in Legislature -- The Chronicle's MELODY GUTIERREZ
Request for emergency audit of bullet-train project is denied by Legislature's leadership
LA Times' RALPH VARTABEDIAN: "A request for an emergency audit of the $64-billion California bullet train project was turned down Monday by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi, the Torrance Democrat who chairs the joint audit committee."
"In a letter to Assemblyman Jim Patterson (D-Fresno), who requested the audit, Muratsuchi said the request would deny the legislature and public an opportunity to review and discuss the issue in public."
"Muratsuchi suggested he bring a regular request for an audit when the committee holds a hearing in January. Under Patterson’s request for an emergency audit, the chair and co-chair of the committee can authorize an audit by themselves. The project is facing a $1.7-billion increase in costs and a seven-year delay in just its segment in the Central Valley."
California's history works against just about every candidate for governor
The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH: "Sometimes the best way to gaze into the future is to look back at the past. The 2018 governor’s election may be one of those times."
"With California’s vote less than a year away, many of the early polls seem closely divided between “Who are those guys?” and “Do we really have an election next year?"
"But somebody has to replace termed-out Gov. Jerry Brown, so a visit to the state’s history may give a hint about who the state’s next governor may, or may not, be."
California Supreme Court rules for farmworkers, and upholds binding mediation
LA Times' MAURA DOLAN: "California’s highest court decided unanimously Monday that farmers may have a labor contract imposed on them if negotiations with a union fail to produce an agreement."
"The state Supreme Court, overturning a lower court ruling, upheld a 2002 law that permits the state to order farmers and unions to reach binding contracts."
"The Legislature passed the law after determining that farmers were refusing to negotiate with unionized workers. The law allows either side to ask for a neutral mediator and for that mediator to impose a contract covering wages and working conditions."
Diablo Canyon: To be or not to be?
Capitol Weekly's LISA RENNER: "A final decision looms on whether to close California’s last operating nuclear power plant."
"The California Public Utilities Commission will hear closing arguments tomorrow, Nov. 28, on the fate of the controversial Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County. The commission is expected to make a decision by the end of the year."
"Located near Avila Beach, the plant has been operating since 1985. It provides power for more than 3 million people and employs 1,500 people."
READ MORE from Capitol Weekly: A city fights with CalPERS' costs -- Calpensions' ED MENDEL in Capitol Weekly
State board's next challenge: how to measure school climate, the heartbeat of a school
EdSource's JOHN FENSTERWALD: "Busloads of high school students and parents from organizations statewide have trekked to State Board of Education meetings for two years, clamoring for changes they believe will improve school climate. In moving testimony, students described schools where they feel disconnected, misunderstood and often under-challenged."
"If you are serious about closing the achievement gap, and bringing equity to our most vulnerable students, don’t continue to neglect school climate,” Armon Matthews, a junior at Oakland High School, testified this month to the board. Matthews is a student leader with Californians for Justice, an Oakland-based nonprofit that has led a school climate campaign under the Twitter hashtag #SchoolClimateIsTheHeart."
"After a long look at the subject, a study group overseen by Chief Deputy State Superintendent Glen Price released preliminary recommendations that would thrust school climate and conditions to the forefront of the state’s school improvement and accountability system. They include adopting a uniform definition of school climate, creating a menu of a state-endorsed school climate surveys for school districts to choose from, and requiring surveys be done annually in multiple grades. (See below, pages 9-10, from presentation to state board."
READ MORE related to Education: Weak high school prep, poor counseling keep most California 9th-graders from a college degree -- EdSource's MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN
FBI gave heads-up to fraction of Russian hackers' US targets
AP's RAPHAEL SATTER/JEFF DONN/DESMOND BUTLER: "The FBI failed to notify scores of U.S. officials that Russian hackers were trying to break into their personal Gmail accounts despite having evidence for at least a year that the targets were in the Kremlin's crosshairs, The Associated Press has found."
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"Nearly 80 interviews with Americans targeted by Fancy Bear, a Russian government-aligned cyberespionage group, turned up only two cases in which the FBI had provided a heads-up. Even senior policymakers discovered they were targets only when the AP told them, a situation some described as bizarre and dispiriting."
"It's utterly confounding," said Philip Reiner, a former senior director at the National Security Council, who was notified by the AP that he was targeted in 2015. "You've got to tell your people. You've got to protect your people."
How services and funding for Social Security Disability Insurance are changing
OC Register's KURT SNIBEE/MARGOT ROOSEVELT: "The average processing time for a Social Security Disability Insurance hearing rose to 633 days in September 2017 from 543 days in October 2016. Today we look at the program."
"Definitions"
"Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits are available to workers who have accumulated a sufficient number of work credits."
READ MORE related to Social Safety Nets: Is Social Security cheating the disabled? The wait time to get a hearing is nearly 2 years -- OC Register's MARGOT ROOSEVELT
Five iconic Southern California piers getting makeovers worth millions
OC Register's LAYLAN CONNELLY: "The list of people who love piers is long."
"Anglers drop fishing lines and lean against railings, hoping to catch something big. Walkers stroll to piers’ ends, taking in a salty sunrise or a day’s final moment, when the sun is a fiery line on the horizon. Surfers love how piers re-shape the waves and, for extra thrills sometimes zoom between the pilings."
"And, of course, lovers love piers. Countless first dates and first kisses and marriage proposals have happened on the piers that poke out from beaches from Malibu to San Clemente."
Terry Crews says agent Adam Venit 'got a pass' after groping allegations
LA Times' CHRISTIE D'ZURILLA: "Terry Crews, who recently accused Adam Venit of grabbing his genitals at an industry party in 2016, was not pleased Monday to learn that the agent had returned to work at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment after a 30-day unpaid suspension over the alleged incident."
"SOMEONE GOT A PASS,” the “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” actor tweeted Monday morning, linking to coverage of Venit’s reinstatement."
"Venit, formerly head of WME’s motion picture group, is back as an agent for the company, Deadline Hollywood reported Monday. WME sources told the Hollywood Reporter that an internal agency investigation had determined the alleged groping was an isolated event and not indicative of a pattern of behavior. Hence Venit’s return."
Will Trump ever have to answer to the women who say he harassed and assaulted them?
LA Times' ROBIN ABCARIAN: "Now that Americans are facing the truth about sexual harassment, will they hold President Trump accountable for his own bad behavior?"
"Last year, after Trump was heard on an “Access Hollywood” tape bragging about assaulting women, 16 accused him of sexually inappropriate behavior, ranging from voyeurism to assault."
READ MORE related to POTUS45: Trump says he passed on being 'person of the year.' 'Time' says that he's 'incorrect.' -- NPR's JAMES DOUBEK; Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard and tennis star Andy Murray taunts Trump over 'person of the year' tweet --Rolling Stone's SCOTT RAFFERTY; Trump straddle: Won't stump for Moore, yet blasts Democratic foe -- AP
Prosecutors say this housing complex is a hotbed for gang crime, and they think its owner should live there
LA Times' ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN: "In recent months, a police informant made a dozen drug buys at a sprawling apartment complex that sits on the northern edge of Baldwin Village. In the last few years, authorities seized half a dozen firearms there and investigated multiple shootings and robberies."
"Los Angeles prosecutors say the Chesapeake Apartments, a 425-unit complex spread over more than 17 acres, is a longtime stronghold for a street gang called the Black P-Stones and has been plagued by violent crime for decades. The gang is so deeply entrenched in the neighborhood, officials said, that its members have tattoos that reference the property."
From LA girl to British royalty: Meghan Markle is now the talk of the town
LA Times' MICHAEL LIVINGSTON/MAKEDA EASTER/SARAH PARVINI/JACLYN COSGROVE: "By late afternoon Monday, the black-and-red “No Trespassing” sign hanging on Doria Ragland’s front gate was probably feeling more like a plea than an order."
"On Sunday, Ragland had been living her life in Los Angeles as a social worker. The following day, her View Park-Windsor Hills home was swarming with reporters. A security guard in a Chevrolet truck sat outside, handing out a note adorned with the royal family’s Kensington Palace letterhead."
"The request? Privacy."
Little optimism as new round of Syria peace talks set to open
LA Times' LAURA KING: "t doesn’t usually bode well for peace talks when the attendance of one of the principals is still up in the air on the eve of the gathering."
"An eighth round of United Nations-backed talks aimed at finding a political solution to Syria’s grinding civil war was to convene Tuesday in Geneva, but by late Monday, the world body was still expressing hopes that the Syrian government would send representatives, while acknowledging it had not obtained a commitment from Damascus to take part."
"This is a moment of truth for the Syria talks,” said U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric. “We obviously think the participation of the Syrian government is important."
Nonprofits hope to cash in on Giving Tuesday
Sacramento Bee's CYNTHIA HUBERT: "You can help feed rescued tigers at the Performing Animal Welfare Society in Calaveras County, buy art supplies for kids who take classes through the Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento or give the gift of transportation to clients of United Cerebral Palsy of Northern California."
"Thousands of nonprofit groups in the Sacramento region and around the globe plan to use the power of social media for the next 24 hours to help boost their budgets during an online fund raising campaign dubbed Giving Tuesday."
"Since its launch in 2012, Giving Tuesday has become one of the most important days of the year for organizations that rely heavily on private donations. Last year, more than 40,000 nonprofits around the world raised more than $168 million during the campaign."
Santa Ana approves $1 million loan for digital auto center sign
OC Register's SEAN EMERY: "City leaders have agreed to loan car dealerships at a key Santa Ana auto mall $1 million to build a digital billboard next to the 55 freeway."
"The Santa Ana City Council earlier this month agreed to earmark money from the city reserve fund to pay for the purchase and installation of a 75-foot-tall, double-face, digital illuminated sign at the Santa Ana Auto Mall at 1505 Auto Mall Drive."
"Increased sales tax from additional business at the dealerships is expected to pay back the loan. If that isn’t enough to cover the cost of the loan within 10 years, the Auto Mall is required to pay back the balance owed, according to staff reports."
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The Roundup is compiled by Associate Editor Geoff Howard. Questions? Comments? Feedback? Email him at geoff@capitolweekly.net
