California drought: Proposed ballot measure would fast-track construction of dams, desalination plants and other water projects
PAUL ROGERS, Mercury News: "California has not built enough new reservoirs, desalination plants and other water projects because there are too many delays, too many lawsuits and too much red tape.
That’s the message from a growing coalition of Central Valley farmers and Southern California desalination supporters who have begun collecting signatures for a statewide ballot measure that would fast-track big water projects and provide billions of dollars to fund them — potentially setting up a major political showdown with environmentalists next year shaped by the state’s ongoing drought.
The measure, known as the “Water Infrastructure Funding Act of 2022,” needs 997,132 signatures of registered voters by April 29 to qualify for the November 2022 statewide ballot."
Jackie Speier retirement sets off jockeying to replace her in Congress
TAL KOPAN, and ALEXEI KOSEFF, Chronicle: "Rep. Jackie Speier’s retirement could set off a political cage match to replace her — and foreshadow more departures to come.
The San Mateo Democrat’s announcement that she will not seek another term in Congress caught the Bay Area by surprise Tuesday, opening up a rare shot at a job that some local lawmakers hold for decades. Already, young, ambitious politicians are eyeing the Peninsula district race — one that could end up being quite expensive.
But there’s also a sense that Speier’s retirement might not be the last among the Bay Area delegation in the near future, as Democrats fear steep losses in next year’s midterms that could send them into the House minority and possibly cost them the Senate, as well. California is also in the midst of its redistricting process, which could redraw political boundaries in ways that prompt members to consider retirement rather than running in a reconfigured district."
READ MORE on Jackie Speier: From Jonestown survivor to Congress -- KEVIN FAGAN, Chronicle
Gov. Newsom warns of California winter surge, with virus 'coming back in force
AIDIN VAZIRI, Chronicle: "Gov. Gavin Newsom warned Tuesday that the state is in for another potentially devastating winter surge and sharpened his call for all Californians 18 and older to get COVID-19 vaccine booster shots.
“This disease is not taking the winter off. It’s coming back in force,” Newsom said at a briefing at a vaccination clinic in Kings County, which has one of the lowest vaccination rates and highest hospitalization rates per capita of any California county.
With about 67% of the state’s eligible population fully vaccinated, coronavirus infections continue to push upward, with the rate of cases increasing in many regions, including the Central Valley, Inland Empire and even highly vaccinated areas like San Francisco and Marin County."
ACLU calls for investigation into CHP’s use of aerial surveillance at racial justice protests
HANNAH WILEY, SacBee: "California Highway Patrol officers took to the air last year to survey racial justice protests all over the state after George Floyd’s death at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis.
Their images captured protesters marching through the streets and dancing in parks. CHP videos zoomed in on demonstrators making signs and a jogger running next to the Capitol in Sacramento. Officers did not employ the same aerial surveillance tactics when right-leaning organizations protested Gov. Gavin Newsom’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates in the spring of 2020, according to public records obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.
Now, the civil rights nonprofit is calling for an independent investigation into how law enforcement uses surveillance tactics during demonstrations. The group also wants lawmakers to step in with stronger rules against recording protesters."
Two homeless men lit on fire in attack at Thousand Oaks encampment
GREGORY YEE, LA Times: "Two homeless men suffered minor burns during an attack at a Thousand Oaks encampment Tuesday afternoon, according to authorities.
Officers responded at 4:32 p.m. to the area of Lynn Road and the 101 Freeway where an attack had been reported in an encampment in an open space between the 101 and the Oaks mall, said Sgt. Timothy Lohman, a Thousand Oaks Police Department spokesman.
Investigators learned that the suspect and victims knew one another and identified the suspect as Robert Burn, Lohman said."
LAUSD to loosen COVID-19 protocols next semester
LINH TAT, La Daily News: "With all staff members and most students 12 and older who will be on campus expected to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus by early January, Los Angeles Unified officials are planning to relax some of the school district’s health-and-safety protocols next semester, including policies regarding who must undergo weekly COVID-19 testing and who can remove their masks outdoors.
Starting next semester, which begins Jan. 11, only unvaccinated students will need to get a baseline COVID-19 test that first week of the new term, plus undergo weekly testing moving forward — a marked departure from the current requirement that all students and staff members, regardless of vaccination status, get tested weekly.
According to a district staff report to the school board on Tuesday, Nov. 16, this change in testing requirement reflects the fact that overall new case rates are continuing to decline while vaccination rates are increasing, and that there is low risk of viral transmission by vaccinated individuals with no symptoms, especially in masked settings."
UC lecturer strike averted as union hails tentative agreement as its ‘best contract’ ever
TERESA WATANABE and COLLEEN SHALBY, LA Times: "A massive two-day strike by University of California lecturers that threatened widespread class cancellations was averted early Wednesday after the union and university reached a tentative agreement on a contract that would strengthen job security and boost the pay by an average 30% over five years.
It is expected that classes will go on as scheduled, although there could be some early-morning confusion as word spreads about the agreement.
“We’re encouraging and advising members to teach today,” said Mia McIver, president of the University Council-AFT, which represents 6,500 lecturers. “We’re doing the best we can to get the word out.”
California agency suspends alcohol license at bar where fake vaccination cards were sold
ROSALIO AHUMADA, SacBee: "The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control earlier this month suspended the liquor license at a San Joaquin County bar, where its owner was arrested on suspicion of selling fake COVID-19 vaccination cards.
State agents on Nov. 1 posted a suspension notice, prohibiting all alcohol sales at The Old Corner Saloon, said John Carr, a spokesman for the Alcoholic Beverage Control agency. The bar is located at 18783 East Highway 88 in the small town of Clements, 12 miles northeast of Lodi. The liquor license suspension will remain in effect for 75 days and indefinitely thereafter until the license is transferred to someone else who is acceptable to the agency, Carr told The Sacramento Bee on Tuesday.
The license also is subject to revocation if a transfer is not completed within six months."
City Hall corruption scandal: Former S.F. building inspector, building commissioner indicted
LAUREN HERNANDEZ, Chronicle: "A former San Francisco senior building inspector and former city building commissioner were indicted in federal court Tuesday on charges of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and committing honest services wire fraud, records show.
Rodrigo Santos, a former building commissioner, asked his clients to make charitable contributions to San Francisco Golden Gate Rugby Association “intending that those donations would influence” then-San Francisco senior building inspector Bernie Curran “in the performance of his official duties,” according to the indictment filed in the Northern District of California in San Francisco.
Curran would then give Santos’ clients “favorable official treatment in his capacity” as a senior building inspector, the indictment says."
Does Los Angeles Unified’s powerful school board contribute to leadership turnover?
LOUIS FREEDBERG: "As Los Angeles Unified begins interviewing candidates for yet another superintendent, it must face a tough question: Has its unusual board governing structure blurred the lines between board member and superintendent and contributed to the steady churn in district leadership?
The seven board members, each representing a different geographic area of the massive district, work full time and earn a salary of $125,000. Each member has a staff of five or more, along with other perks and supports that have resulted in what is in effect a parallel power structure in the district.
Cost to the district: at least $10 million a year."
Director of S.F. Film Commission forced to resign after not getting COVID vaccine
ANDRES PICON, Chronicle: "Susannah Greason Robbins, executive director of the San Francisco Film Commission, is being forced from her job at the end of this year after choosing not to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as required by a city mandate, she said.
After 11 years on the job, Robbins is being released on Dec. 31. She had requested an exemption from San Francisco’s vaccine mandate on religious grounds, but that request was denied, she said. She was asked to submit a letter of resignation to the Film Commission, which works to attract and support efforts to film movies and TV series in San Francisco.
“I’m sad to be leaving because I love this job and this city and the film community we have here,” Robbins said in a statement to The Chronicle on Tuesday. “I also feel that we’ve built San Francisco into a city where productions know they can do the work they want because of the effectiveness of my staff and the relationships we’ve created with other city agencies and key city stakeholders.”
