Blowing the whistle

Feb 6, 2018

California legislative staff get whistleblower protections

 

From the AP's KATHLEEN RONAYNE: "California legislative staff members on Monday applauded the passage of a bill granting whistleblower protections to legislative staff members who say they are badly needed to ensure sexual misconduct and other misbehavior can be reported without fear of retaliation."

 

"It passed the Assembly unanimously and was quickly signed by Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown, taking effect immediately. The Senate passed it last week after stonewalling a similar measure for four years. Legislative staff members wearing black gathered in the Assembly gallery and balcony to watch the debate."

 

"You're not standing alone," Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia of Bell Gardens told them from the floor."

 

California Democrats have raised nearly two times as much money as the Republicans they are trying to oust

 

LA Times' CHRISTINE MAI-DUC/SARAH D. WIRE: "If Democrats are going to regain control of the U.S. House and return Nancy Pelosi to the speakership, they must forge a path through California."

 

Sacramento Bee's TARYN LUNA: "Susan Kennedy, a former aide to Govs. Gray Davis and Arnold Schwarzenegger, has agreed to pay a $32,500 fine from the state ethics watchdog for failing to register as a lobbyist while advocating for Lyft and a Southern California water company."

 

"The Fair Political Practices Commission said Kennedy lobbied her former colleagues at the California Public Utilities Commission from 2012 to 2014 and did not register her activities with the state. She received $201,500 in payments from Lyft and the San Gabriel Water Valley Water Co. during that time."

 

"Lyft hired Kennedy, a Democrat who served as a commissioner from 2003 to 2006, months after the agency sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company in August 2012 for operating without the commission’s authority."

 

READ MORE related to State Politics: Tied to Trump, these two California Republican congressmen lag in poll -- McClatchy DC's EMILY CADEI; Gov. Jerry Brown signs whistle-blower bill to protect legislative workers -- The Chronicle's MELODY GUTIERREZ

 

Newsom addresses decade-old affair in the context of the #MeToo era

 

The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "In the backdrop of the #MeToo movement, when several politicians have been routed from office for sexually inappropriate behavior from years ago, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom offered an answer for voters who might be hesitant to support him for governor because of a 2007 affair he had with a subordinate while he was mayor of San Francisco."

 

"I would say the same thing that I said (then) to the voters in San Francisco: that I acknowledged it. I apologized for it. I learned an enormous amount from it,” Newsom said Monday during an onstage interview at the University of San Francisco. “And I am every day trying to be a champion and a model — not just for women and girls — but to deal with the issue that we need to focus on, which is the crisis with men and boys in this state and in this country.” He described a culture of “toxic masculinity” where men are responsible for much of the violence in the nation."

 

"In 2007, Newsom — who was then separated from his first wife, Kimberly Guilfoyle — publicly apologized for having a consensual affair with Ruby Rippey-Tourk, who was then his commission appointments secretary."

 

SF's June ballot includes repeal of flavored tobacco ban, giving cops Tasers

 

The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "San Francisco voters will decide in June whether to repeal a ban on flavored tobacco, equip police officers with Tasers and provide free legal counsel for all tenants facing eviction."

 

"The three initiatives are among six that submitted signatures by the Monday 5 p.m. deadline. A measure qualifies for the June ballot once 9,485 of those signatures are found to be valid."

 

"So far, three initiatives have been verified:"

 

READ MORE related to Local Politics: SF ordinance targets fee faced by poor defendants -- The Chronicle's EVAN SERNOFFSKY; San Jose ballot measure would force real estate developers to hire local -- Mercury News' MARISA KENDALL

 

Keeping the world below 2 degrees celsius of warming needs technology we don't have

 

ARS Technica's SCOTT K JOHNSON: "The analysis is well known to everyone who has paid even a little attention: the world hasn’t yet done enough to lessen the impacts of climate change. The last Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report included greenhouse gas emissions scenarios that could limit global warming to two degrees Celsius or less, but we’re not even close to a trajectory that would achieve any of them."

 

"But there’s something about those two-degrees scenarios you may not know, which climate scientists have been talking a lot about recently. Those scenarios involved a substantial deployment of technologies to actively remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Without those technologies, we’re even further from sufficient emissions cuts."

 

"That leaves us with a crucial question: can carbon dioxide removal techniques be scaled up to the necessary level in time? A new European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) report—reviewed and endorsed by the national academies of more than two dozen countries—evaluates the outlook for carbon dioxide removal. And it’s not optimistic."

 

READ MORE related to Energy & Environment: How much did it snow? It snowed so much that Moscow called a snow day. That never happens -- LA Times' SABRA AYRES; What's the chance for a 'normal' rain year now? Grim, if history is a gauge -- Mercury News' PAUL ROGERS; Robotics, AI make headway in the water industry -- Water Deeply's MATT WEISER; Why a posh Montana ski town may use treated wastewater for snowmaking -- Water Deeply's MATT WEISER; How to create enough 'new' water for a city of 474,000 -- Manteca Bulletin's DENNIS WYATT; Scalpel or machete? A look at how the White House wants to cut back the environmental permitting process -- National Law Review; OP-ED: Spillway bill nears $1 billion, keeps growing -- Chico ER; Fertilizer linked to valley air pollution -- UC Davis' KAT KERLIN; Conservation, drought cost NID $3.8M -- The Union's TRINA KLEIST; Cities seek seat on SJ County flood board -- Manteca Bulletin's JASON CAMPBELL

 

UN: Flow slows, but migrant deaths on US-Mexico border climb

 

AP: "The U.N.'s migration agency has tallied a 3-percent increase last year in the number of migrants who died trying to enter the United States from Mexico, despite signs of a sharp drop-off in crossings overall in the first year of Donald Trump's presidency."

 

"The International Organization for Migration recorded 412 migrant deaths last year, up from 398 in 2016."

 

Bay Area athletes heading to South Korea

 

The Chronicle's ANN KILLION: "When identifying our “local” Winter Olympians, who will begin competing this weekend in Pyeongchang, South Korea, we have to stretch our definition of the term."

 

"We have to head east to the mountains near Lake Tahoe, our nearest winter playground, where many of “our” athletes grew up."

 

"And we have to include those who spend most of their time far away. Because while “our” Olympians may have been born and spent their childhoods nearby, most Bay Area 2018 Olympians live and train somewhere else."

 

School for students with autism rises after Wine Country fires to welcome its kids home

 

The Chronicle's JENNA LYONS: "The sky was red and flecked with ash the night they lost the school."

 

"Like many Wine Country fire survivors, Andrew Bailey had no trouble recalling that October evening when flames ripped through Santa Rosa and devoured the city’s Anova campus. The school is part of a regional nonprofit that serves high-functioning autistic students."

 

"Bailey, Anova’s co-founder and CEO, announced that night that the phoenix would become the school’s mascot. So, too, Anova would rise from the ashes."

 

READ MORE related to Education: LA Verne special needs teacher's aide accused of sexually abusing student, held on $2 million bail -- SGV Tribune's BEATRIZ E. VALENZUELA; El Rancho board meeting moves to gym to accommodate big Gregory Salcido crowd -- SGV Tribune's HAYLEY MUNGUIA; Snoop Dogg tells California student suspended for sharing posts of him: Call my lawyer -- AP; Contrary to critics, parents tell pollster they find California's school dashboard useful -- EdSource's JOHN FENSTERWALD; Budget will bring challenges for university says Chico State president -- Chico ER's DANI ANGUIANO

 

Stock markets sink, suggesting global rout will last

 

NYT's JACK EWING/ALEXANDRA STEVENSON: "A stock market rout in the United States took on global contours on Tuesday, as investors from Tokyo to Hong Kong and London to Frankfurt sent shares tumbling."

 

"The sharp falls have come despite generally positive economic news around the world. There is strong growth on every continent, interest rates are at or near record lows, and the United States has just passed a sweeping tax overhaul that will significantly lower corporate taxes. President Trump has touted seemingly unending stock market highs as proof of improved economic prospects."

 

"But those positive factors have also, in part, created the circumstances for the recent sell-off. Accelerating growth means central banks are gradually looking to take away economic stimulus, and rising interest rates could eat into corporate profits. Workers, meanwhile, are increasingly demanding their share through wage increases."

 

READ MORE related to Economy: Dow's quadruple-point loss jolts stock market out of complacency -- The Chronicle's KATHLEEN PENDER; Cow Hollow shops struggle to survive -- The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN; SF supervisors want something done about long-vacant storefronts -- The Chronicle's JK DINEEN; Former Silicon Valley executive pleads guilty to wire fraud charge -- The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO

 

Scientists may have found a cure for baldness -- in McDonald's fries, study says

 

McClatchy DC's CRYSTAL HILL: "McDonald’s french fries may not be the healthiest meal to consume, but the greasy food has an ingredient that could have a significant medical impact, according to a study."

 

"Japanese scientists at Yokohama National University used a chemical called dimethylpolysiloxane, which is found in silicone that’s added to oil to cook fries, to regrow hair on mice, according to the study released Thursday in the Biomaterials journal."

 

"Dimethylpolysiloxane is used in fry oil to keep it from bubbling over, FOX News reported."

 

READ MORE related to Health & Health Care: Limit painkiller prescriptions to three days, California lawmaker says -- Sacramento Bee's ALEXEI KOSEFF; Opioid abuse in California has a new adversary -- Sacramento Bee's CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO; Communtiy health centers caught in 'Washington's political dysfunction' -- CHL's STEVEN FINDLAY; 'The Gesundheit Machine' collects campus cooties in race against a fierce flu -- CHL; Readers and tweeters add two cents on Amazon venture to repackage health care -- CHL; No car, no care? Medicaid transportation at risk -- CHL's JONEL ALECCIA/HEIDI DE MARCO

 

Abortion reversal, pregnancy centers targeted by billboard campaign

 

Sacramento Bee's BILLY KOBIN: "A national network of abortion providers launched a billboard campaign Monday in the San Francisco Bay Area that targets what it calls the deceptive tactics of “crisis pregnancy centers” and the decision by the state nursing board to allow training on an abortion reversal procedure."

 

"The Abortion Care Network’s campaign, which comes as state lawmakers consider expanding access to pill-induced abortion on college campuses, will last for one month and feature six billboards posted near crisis pregnancy centers in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Redwood City and San Lorenzo."

 

"Supporters say the pregnancy centers provide counseling and support to women, but the Abortion Care Network asserts they spread misinformation about the “abortion pill reversal” procedure."

 

California steps in to oversee police reform after Trump administration pulls out

 

Sacramento Bee's ANITA CHABRIA/KATE IRBY: "California’s top lawyer announced Monday he will monitor reforms at the San Francisco Police Department, replacing recently ended federal oversight and crafting a new path for state officials to become law enforcement watchdogs after the Trump administration last year drastically cut federal investigations of troubled agencies."

 

“Simply because the federal government decided to abandon ship does not mean we were going to let the ball drop,” California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said at a press event Monday in San Francisco. “At the end of the day ... we picked up the ball and we are going to run with it, and we are going to do this for the people of California and San Francisco.”

 

"The move comes after U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions last spring changed Department of Justice policy to largely end the kind of civil rights investigations of law enforcement that have been a driving force behind police reforms across the country, whether through consent decrees or voluntary action."

 

READ MORE related to Public Safety: Prosecutors use aggressive tactics against Suge Knight and his team, sparking civil liberties concerns -- LA Times' JAMES QUEALLY; "I refused to secretly spy" -- an Iranian-American turned down the FBI and wound up with a prison sentence -- The Intercept's JOHNNY DWYER; OP-ED: American guns are killing our neighbors in Canada and Mexico -- LA Times' CHELSEA PARSONS; Detectives running out of time in Natalie Wood mystery -- LA Times' CINDY CHANG

 

Airplane lurches skyward just before landing. Sacramento flyer asks: What happened?

 

Sacramento Bee's TONY BIZJAK: "Southwest Airlines flight 4037 cruised low over the fields in North Natomas last Sunday night. Passenger Gavin Canaan was tired from an Orange County business trip and looking forward to getting on the ground."

 

"Suddenly, somewhere just short of the runway, the engines screamed into higher gear, the plane gained speed, its nose headed back skyward."

 

"It just accelerated, up and out,” Canaan said. “I felt almost this vertigo feeling. My head swam a bit."

 

READ MORE related to Transportation: Waymo, Uber trade barbs in court over trade-secret theft suit -- The Chronicle's CAROLYN SAID; SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket is set to launch today -- LA Times' SAMANTHA MASUNAGA; Fontana woman nearing trial in 60 Freeway wrong-way, DUI crash that killed 6 -- SGV Tribune's MONICA RODRIGUEZ

 

Part of Lake Tahoe property featured in 'Godfather' movie for sale

 

Sacramento Bee's HUDSON SANGREE: "A prime connection to Lake Tahoe and Hollywood history is up for sale for just under $3.75 million."

 

"The residence in the Fleur du Lac Estates on Tahoe’s north shore is being offered by Sierra Sotheby’s International Realty."

 

"The original 15-acre Fleur du Lac compound was built by industrialist and ship-building magnate Henry J. Kaiser in 1938 to celebrate completion of the Hoover Dam. Kaiser’s company was one of the dam’s main contractors. (Kaiser later formed the Kaiser Permanente healthcare system for his workers.)"

 

SCOTUS won't block ruling striking down Pennsylvania GOP's House gerrymander

 

Daily Kos Elections: "On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court dealt Republican gerrymandering a crippling blow when it refused to block a Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that struck down the GOP’s congressional map for illegally discriminating against Democratic voters. The state court had ordered the Republican-controlled legislature to draw and pass a new map by Feb. 15, but GOP leaders have refused to cooperate with the ruling after Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf promised to veto any new gerrymander. As a result, the state court itself will likely draw new nonpartisan districts, which could lead to major Democratic gains this fall—anywhere from one to as many as six seats.​​"

 

"As shown in the first map here, Republicans passed an extreme gerrymander following the 2010 census that enabled them to obtain a 13-to-five majority in the state’s congressional delegation, even though Pennsylvania is an evenly divided swing state. That lopsided distribution of seats held up in 2012 even as Obama won the Keystone State—and Democratic House candidates won more votes than Republicans statewide—and again in 2016, when Donald Trump carried the state by less than a point. As we have previously detailed, the second map shown here illustrates what a hypothetical nonpartisan map might look like, which would not only make for a more equitable partisan balance but could also increase black representation."

 

"In an important backdrop to this decision, Democrats won a pivotal majority on the state Supreme Court in the 2015 elections, giving the plaintiffs a fair shot at invalidating the GOP’s map. And crucially, this legal challenge relied solely on the state constitution’s guarantees of free speech and equal protection rights. Consequently, the U.S. Supreme Court had very little leeway to override the state court’s interpretation of Pennsylvania’s own constitution. Republicans forged ahead with a long-shot appeal, but the Supreme Court rightly rejected it."

 

Committee votes to release Democratic rebuttal to GOP Russia memo

 

NYT's NICHOLAS FANDOS: "The House Intelligence Committee voted unanimously on Monday to make public a classified Democratic memorandum rebutting Republican claims that the F.B.I. and the Justice Department had abused their powers to wiretap a former Trump campaign official, setting up a possible clash with President Trump."

 

"The vote gives Mr. Trump five days to review the Democratic memo and determine whether he will try to block its release. A decision to stop it could lead to an ugly standoff between the president, his top law enforcement and intelligence advisers and Democrats on Capitol Hill."

 

"Mr. Trump vocally supported the release of the Republicans’ memo last week, declassifying its contents on Friday over the objections of Democrats and his own F.B.I., which issued a rare public statement to warn that it had “grave concerns” about the memo’s accuracy. On Saturday, he claimed, incorrectly, that the memo “totally vindicates” him in the continuing investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election."

 

READ MORE related to POTUS45/KremlinGate: Trump's lawyers want him to refuse an interview in Russia inquiry -- NYT's MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT/MAGGIE HABERMAN; "Junk" political news shared more widely by Trump backers -- McClatchy DC's GREG GORDON; Trump attacks on Russia investigation threaten US democracy, authors say -- LA Times' MICHAEL FINNEGAN; Global shipping business tied to Mitch McConnell, Secretary Elaine Chao shrouded in offshore tax haven -- The Intercept's LEE FANG/SPENCER WOODMAN; The Nunes Memo and Katie Roiphe article show how concerns for Due Process and Civil Liberties are highly selective and self-centered -- The Intercept's GLENN GREENWALD

 

Russia repatriates body of pilot downed in Syria

 

AP: "Russian officials say they have repatriated the body of a fighter pilot whose jet was shot down over a rebel-held area in northern Syria."

 

"Roman Filipov, the pilot of the Su-25 jet, died after he engaged in a gun battle with militants on the ground and blew himself up with a hand grenade."

 

"The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday its military intelligence, with the help of Turkey, has repatriated the pilot's body from Syria's Idlib province and that Filipov would be laid to rest in southern Russia on Thursday."

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Ed's Note: The Roundup is compiled each weekday by Associate Editor Geoff Howard. Comments? Questions? Complaints? Email him at geoff@capitolweekly.net.