Latino political power is a big winner in California's new congressiona map
LA Times, SEEMA MEHTA, MELANIE MASON, JOHN MYERS: "Latino voters would see a major boost in political clout under new congressional and legislative districts approved unanimously Monday by the independent citizen panel charged with redrawing the state’s political map.
Although the panel, created by voter initiative in 2008, does not take partisan balance into account in drawing district lines, the maps it produced all but guarantee that Democrats will retain super majorities in the Legislature and their current lopsided majority in California’s congressional delegation.
Nearly one-third of the state’s 52 new congressional districts would have a majority of Latino citizens of voting age under the new maps. That’s an increase of three districts even as California lost a seat for the first time in its history because its population did not grow as fast as other states."
Some California Democrats are in trouble after legislative redistricting
LARA KORTE, SacBee: “California’s redistricting commission nailed down the makeup of legislative districts Monday night, and the new boundaries could prompt some state legislators to move or lose their seats altogether.
Coupled with recent retirements from the Assembly, the makeup of the Legislature could change significantly in 2022 following the once-in-a-decade process. Democrats’ tight control on state government, however, is unlikely to change.
“If I had to bet, I would bet Republicans would be in a super-minority for the next decade,” said Matt Rexroad, a Republican campaign consultant.
After lengthy talks, strike looming at California College of the Arts
SETH SANDRONSKY, Capitol Weekly: “Is labor strife the new normal in California higher education as 2021 ends?
After UC sidestepped two worker strikes recently, 97 percent of staff at the California College of Arts (CCA) campuses in Oakland and San Francisco voted earlier this month to authorize their contract negotiating team to call a strike.
The slow pace of contract talks that began in fall 2019 drove the rank-and-file strike vote, according to the Service Employees International Union Local 1021.”
California judge rules against Biden administration in pension law fight, freeing up grants
WES VENTEICHER, SacBee: “A federal judge has cleared the way for California public transit agencies to receive billions in federal grants, ruling against the Biden administration in a legal fight over a state pension law.
The U.S. Labor Department determined in October that California hampered the collective bargaining rights of its public transit employees eight years ago, when the state passed a law that trimmed pension benefits for newly hired civil servants.
That decision put in jeopardy an estimated $12 billion in grants, including money included in the federal infrastructure bill recently approved by Congress.
‘Scary’ 6.2 earthquake strikes area near Eureka in Northern California
JESSICA FLORES, Chronicle: “A magnitude 6.2 earthquake rattled an area near Eureka on Monday afternoon.
The quake was reported at about 12:10 p.m. off the Pacific coast near Petrolia, a town south of Eureka in Humboldt County, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The National Weather Service on Twitter said no tsunami was expected from the temblor.
Omicron is now the dominant U.S. COVID variant. Is it as contagious as measles?
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: "With startling speed, the immensely contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus has become the dominant strain in the U.S.
The omicron variant accounted for 73% of new infections in the United States last week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — a sharp rise from 13% the prior week.
In some places, such as New York, the prevalence of omicron is at over 90%, federal authorities said. Its prevalence is unclear in California, which has not updated its variant sequencing numbers since last Wednesday, when the state tallied just 49 omicron cases — a number that by now is certain to be vastly higher."
Aliso Canyon gas leak evidence was stolen from Best Buy parking lot, Halliburton claims
LA Times, SAMMY ROTH: "When a ruptured well at Aliso Canyon started spewing toxic chemicals and heat-trapping methane gas — sickening local families and adding to the climate crisis — Southern California Gas Co. turned to another fossil-fuel giant to help stop the bleeding.
SoCalGas hired Boots & Coots, a well-control company owned by the Houston oil services giant Halliburton, to get the blowout under control. The company tried and failed six times to kill the faulty well. The leak lasted nearly four months.
What went wrong? Many things — one of which was the Halliburton subsidiary’s failure to use computer modeling to design most of its attempts to kill the well, according to an independent analysis ordered by state officials. Rather than stop the leak, “each kill attempt caused additional damage to the wellhead and well site,” the analysis by Blade Energy Partners found."
Winter storms to sweep across California, bringing snow and rain to holiday travel
The Chronicle, GREGORY YEE: "A series of storms is expected to sweep across California this week, bringing snow and rain, and complicating travel in the days leading up to Christmas.
Winter storm warnings are in effect for the Sierra Nevada from 4 p.m. Wednesday to 4 p.m. Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
The weather service’s Sacramento office expects “widespread rain and mountain snow chances” to return Tuesday, with snow levels starting around 3,000 to 4,500 feet."
The Supreme Court found a Sonoma County man’s arrest illegal. A state appeals court upheld his conviction anyway
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Six months ago, a North Bay man who was pursued into his garage by police scored a rare defense victory in the U.S. Supreme Court, which limited officers' authority to enter a suspect's home without a warrant.
That meant the entry into Arthur Lange's garage was illegal - but because the officer couldn't have known that in advance, Lange's drunken-driving conviction was valid, a state appeals court ruled Monday.
The decision by the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco was the latest in a long line of state and federal rulings to find exceptions to the “exclusionary rule,” which prohibits prosecutors from using evidence obtained in illegal searches. The U.S. Supreme Court established that rule in a 1961 case but the court, and lower courts, have substantially limited its impact since then, allowing evidence when police acted illegally but in “good faith” based on their reasonable understanding of the law."
D.A. Chesa Boudin joins critics of Breed’s Tenderloin crackdown to protest plan
The Chronicle, MALLORY MOENCH: "District Attorney Chesa Boudin joined other elected officials and activists Monday to criticize Mayor London Breed’s plan to flood San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood with police and crack down on drug dealers as well as people who use drugs in the open.
Breed announced a series of initiatives last week, including asking for overtime spending for police, seeking more social workers and public toilets for the Tenderloin, and declaring a state of emergency there. Breed said the city will continue to offer services and housing to people on the street and those struggling with addiction but will get tough on those who refuse shelter and treatment.
Boudin, Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton and Public Defender Mano Raju said at a news conference Monday that the plan was flawed because it relied on failed policies to deal with problems."
San Leandro school board president dies after being struck by car
The Chronicle, ANDRES PICON: "Christian Rodriguez, the school board president in the San Leandro Unified district, died Monday after he was struck by a vehicle on Friday, officials said.
“As you can only imagine, his tragic, untimely death is enormously devastating for our entire San Leandro community,” Superintendent Mike McLaughlin said in a statement posted online Monday morning. “Christian has been an indispensable member of our SLUSD family for many years now and was also a dear, cherished friend to so many of us.”
He was hit by a vehicle while walking with his wife, Marina, on Friday and was “gravely injured,” the school district said in a statement Saturday. He had been listed in critical condition."
