‘Unpardonable cowardice’: Jury convicts dive-boat captain in fiery sinking that killed 34
The Chronicle, JORDAN PARKER: "The captain of the Conception, a Santa Barbara-based dive boat that burst into flames near Santa Cruz Island in Santa Barbara County in 2019, killing 34 people, was convicted of felony misconduct, prosecutors said Monday.
Jerry Nehl Boylan, 69, was convicted of one count of misconduct or neglect of a ship officer, commonly referred to as “seaman's manslaughter,” prosecutors said. He faces up to 10 years in federal prison and his sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 8, 2024. Boylan is free on $75,000 bond, officials said. Prosecutors said the jury found “Boylan, as captain of the Conception, committed a series of failures – including abandoning ship instead of rescuing passengers – that resulted in the disaster.”
READ MORE -- Captain found guilty of negligence in Conception boat fire that killed 34 -- LA Times, CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD
Supreme Court hears major test of 2nd Amendment gun rights in domestic violence case
LA Times, DAVID G. SAVAGE: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday confronts a major test of the 2nd Amendment and its protection for gun rights, including whether they extend even for people who are subject to a domestic violence restraining order.
At issue is the broader question of whether modern gun control laws may deny firearms to potentially dangerous people, including felons and drug addicts."
Are California’s electricity rates about to skyrocket? (PODCAST)
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "The former President of the California Public Utilities Commission is sounding the alarm on a proposed change to California’s commercial electricity providers’ rate structure that, she says, will dramatically increase rates for electricity customers. AB 205 easily passed the legislature and was signed by the Governor as a Budget Trailer Bill back in the summer of 2022. It received little attention at the time, although some observers did flag it as a stretch of the Trailer Bill application.
AB 205 allows utilities to set a tiered rate structure based on the customer’s income, rather than a straight rate for electricity used. Proponents of the change say that the tiered structure will protect lower-income customers as electricity rates increase – they have already doubled in the past decade – and that the higher-income users will offset the lower rates paid by lower tier customers. Lynch argues that California’s private electric companies are already charging higher rates than companies in other states and that there are no protections for lower income consumers actually in the bill. Now, Lynch and other critics of AB 205 including members of the legislature, are urging the CPUC to intervene before it’s too late."
Legislative documents used to determine intent
Capitol Weekly, CHRIS MICHELI: "Resorting to legislative history is generally appropriate only where statutory language is ambiguous. As the California Supreme Court has said, “Our role in construing a statute is to ascertain the Legislature’s intent so as to effectuate the purpose of the law. In determining intent, we look first to the words of the statute, giving the language its usual, ordinary meaning. If there is no ambiguity in the language, we presume the Legislature meant what it said, and the plain meaning of the statute governs.”
Thus, “[o]nly when the language of a statute is susceptible to more than one reasonable construction is it appropriate to turn to extrinsic aids, including the legislative history of the measure, to ascertain its meaning.” Even where statutory language is ambiguous, and resort to legislative history is appropriate, as a general rule in order to be cognizable, legislative history must shed light on the collegial view of the Legislature as a whole. [emphasis added]"
Super PAC backing Barbara Lee for Senate launches $1M ad buy
The Chronicle, SHIRA STEIN: "The super PAC backing Rep. Barbara Lee’s Senate campaign launched a $1 million ad buy in California on Tuesday emphasizing moments of courage she’s shown throughout her life and career, an organizer of the committee told the Chronicle.
Lee has struggled in the race thus far, according to polls — she has consistently ranked third among Democratic candidates — and needs to distinguish herself from the two other well-funded House Democrats. The ad shows she plans to do that by talking about moments in her life where she stood out fromaf the others around her.'
S.F. Mayor Breed jumps into fight over police staffing proposal
The Chronicle, ALDO TOLEDO: "Mayor London Breed and moderate supervisors have pulled their support for a police staffing plan advanced by a committee of supervisors Monday amid a fight over how to fund it.
Introduced by Supervisor Matt Dorsey, the minimum police staffing charter amendment would have asked voters whether to impose a minimum police staffing level of 2,074 officers and fund recruitment and retention through a $30 million budget set-aside to provide incentives for new recruits, including $75,000 signing bonuses."
Deputy DA will challenge sitting S.F. judge, marking second competitive judicial race
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "A San Francisco prosecutor is challenging Superior Court Judge Patrick Thompson for election in March, marking the second contest on the local ballot in which a candidate is challenging a sitting judge. Supervisor Aaron Peskin said Deputy District Attorney Jean Myungjin Roland is backed by the same tough-on-crime group that endorsed a challenger last week to Superior Court Judge Michael Begert.
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, in a statement from her office, said she was notified last week of Ronald’s candidacy, which “will not impact or interfere with any of her office duties.” Jenkins has not endorsed a candidate in the race."
Inside California’s billion-dollar bet to overhaul unemployment
CALMatters, LAUREN HEPLER: "Five years, $1.2 billion. And a new model for government contracting in the tech-challenged home state of Silicon Valley.
That is what California officials say it will take to overhaul an employment safety net pushed to the brink by record pandemic job losses, widespread fraud and the political panic that followed."
Newsom accelerates plans for California’s largest reservoir in nearly 50 years
The Chronicle, KURTIS ALEXANDER: "Gov. Gavin Newsom exercised his new power under state law Monday to help get a giant reservoir planned for Northern California on the fast track for approval.
The proposed $4.5 billion Sites Reservoir, envisioned 70 miles north of Sacramento, would be the first major reservoir built in California in nearly half a century."
Home insurance exodus: Another key insurer leaves California
The Chronicle, CLAIRE FONSTEIN: "Tens of thousands of Californians will need to switch to a new insurance provider as another company ends coverage in the state, though most policyholders will get offers under the same parent company.
An insurer that is part of Farmers Insurance Group — the second largest provider in California’s property and casualty market — surrendered its Certificate of Authority, which allows the company to operate in the state, according to an October filing with the state’s Department of Insurance."
The lasting toll of California’s COVID layoffs
CALMatters, LAUREN HEPLER: "Lose your job, file for unemployment, get a few hundred dollars a week from the state to pay for essentials while you find a new gig.
It sounds simple, in theory. But that’s far from the reality that many workers experienced when the state’s job safety net unraveled during the pandemic."
SFO now monitoring flu and RSV as part of CDC’s expanded disease surveillance program
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has expanded its infectious disease surveillance efforts in four major airports, including San Francisco International, to detect more than 30 pathogens, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, known as RSV.
The expansion of the agency’s Traveler-based Genomic Surveillance initiative was announced on Monday, ahead of the upcoming respiratory virus season."
California wants every high school senior to apply for student financial aid. Will a federal delay slow efforts?
CALMatters, HAYDEE BARAHONA, LI KHAN: "About $550 million in federal and state funding for college is left behind annually when thousands of eligible California students miss out on financial aid, but a new California law intended to increase the number of high school seniors completing financial aid applications seems to be working.
In September, the California Student Aid Commission announced that it had received 24,000 more applications than the previous year. These students completed either the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, known as FAFSA, or the state California Dream Act Application, known as CADAA, for students who are ineligible for federal aid due to their immigration status."
These are the highest-paid University of California employees
The Chronicle, NAMI SUMIDA: "The University of California, among the most prestigious university systems in the country, is famous for its academic programs, research institutions and medical centers. But data shows that the university’s top-paid employees are not involved in any of these pursuits.
The very highest-paid employees in 2022 were not professors, chancellors or even the president of the university. Instead, the most compensated employees were UCLA football coach Chip Kelly, UC Berkeley football coach Justin Wilcox and UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin. Each head coach earned over $4 million last year."
California State University’s maintenance workers are going on strike. Here’s what to know
Sacramento Bee, MAYA MILLER: "If you live, work or learn on a California State University campus, don’t expect anyone to respond to your maintenance requests next Tuesday.
The 1,100 skilled tradespeople represented by Teamsters Local 2010 — which include electricians, plumbers, mechanics and locksmiths among others — will walk off the job from midnight on Nov. 14 to midnight on Nov. 15. The strike will effectively halt all maintenance and work orders across 22 of the CSU’s 23 campuses.
Soon-to-be retired California reading instruction test gets high marks in national analysis
EdSource, DIANA LAMBERT: "Most exams to prove teachers are prepared to teach reading are ineffective, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the National Council on Teacher Quality. Only six of the 25 licensure tests currently used in the U.S. are considered to be strong assessments, including the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment, which California will do away with in 2025.
Fifteen of the 25 reading licensure tests being used in the U.S. were “weak” and four were “acceptable,” according to the analysis. One state does not require a reading licensure test."
California’s homebuyer exodus continues. But this region remains a national hot spot
Sacramento Bee, RYAN LILLIS: "At a median sale price of more than $840,000, California has some of the most expensive real estate in the nation.
It’s also bleeding potential homebuyers."
