The commute in SF is rarely easy, but with BART on strike it can get excruciating. And, yes, BART is still on strike.
From the Chronicle's John Wildermuth: "Bay Area commuters will be forced to find an alternative to BART trains for a third day Wednesday, but for the first time there's a glimmer of hope that an end to the strike may be in sight."
"After a second long day of snarled traffic, hot and time-consuming commutes and ever-shortening tempers, BART and its unions met for nearly eight hours Tuesday night, making unexpected headway in narrowing the wide gap between what the workers want and want the transit agency is willing to provide."
"We made some progress tonight and we're working very hard," said Josie Mooney, a top negotiator for Service Employees International Union Local 1021, which represents BART mechanics, maintenance workers and professional staff, after the negotiations recessed shortly before 3 a.m. "We decided we could make more progress if we got some sleep."
President Obama said he was suspending penalties for a year against employers who don't insure their workers under the Affordable Care Act. The big question is what's that mean for California, which has taken the lead in implementing the ACA?
From HealthyCal's Dan Weintraub: "And here’s the wrinkle caused by Wednesday’s announcement: Only those people not offered affordable coverage at work will qualify for subsidies through the health exchange, but since employers won’t be required to offer it, or report who they are covering, it is unclear how Covered California — or the IRS — will know who qualifies."
"On a more practical level, it is also unclear how the lifting of the rules on employers will affect the number of people who gain coverage at work. If fewer employers offer coverage, and more workers get their policies through Covered California in the first year, that might prompt employers to stay on the sidelines altogether. If they see their workers getting coverage, and the employees are more or less happy with it, more businesses might simply decide to pay the penalty in 2015 rather than the substantially higher cost of covering their workers."
"That wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. Our employer-based system has a lot of problems, and causes a lot of problems. But it would be disruptive, and, at least in the short term, it might lead to some political blowback on the Democrats who crafted the ACA."
Steve Blank, the lone appointee on the Coastal Commission who was retained by Gov. Brown from the Schwarzenegger administration, resigned his post, sayhing that coastal protections have been compromised by a weakening commission and indifferent politicians.
From Capitol Weekly's John Howard: "Unfortunately, Peter Douglas is gone. Current commissioners, including your appointees want the commission to be reasonable. In fact, they want a new reasonable director,” he wrote."
"In a separate interview, Blank said environmentalists were not following the commission as closely as in years past, there has been a series of pro-development commissioners and those who appoint commissioners have not selected aggressive coastal protectionists."
"It was really a perfect storm," Blank said. "Never have all three of these things come together at once...It's not just the commission, it's the appointing authorities (who) screw it up for short-term gain. We've got something here that is easily destroyable and we're on the path to doing that."
Douglas, who had worked for the commission since it was formed 40 years ago, died last year at the age of 69.
The costs of that refinery fire last year in Richmond are still. coming in: Area school districts are taking a big hit because of a decline in property values.
From the Mercury-News' Rick Radin and Robert Rogers: "City and West Contra Costa schools officials said they were blindsided by news this week of a 14.61 percent decline in the assessed value of properties in Richmond for 2013-14. Richmond City Manager Bill Lindsay estimated that the lowered assessment will cost the city $6.1 million in tax revenues this fiscal year."
"Richmond's decline was driven largely by the change in the refinery's valuation. County Assessor Gus Kramer said his office valued the Richmond refinery at about $2.75 billion in 2013-14 compared with around $3.75 billion the previous year. The city as a whole was given a net assessed value of $10.89 billion, a decline of more than $1.86 billion; every other city in the county saw an increase in assessed value."
"Kramer said business income is the largest factor his staff considers in assessing the value of industrial properties. The refinery's income went down when the fire knocked out a main crude unit for eight months, he said. Richmond passed a $144 million budget last week that will have to be re-evaluated in light of the change, Lindsay said."
The focus on the new education budget has rightly been on the changes in school funding, but the governor's new plan also includes money for an oppressed minority -- middle-class families with students headed for college.
From Capitol Weekly's Samantha Gallegos:"Jerry Brown, head of a state that has sharply reduced funds for higher education in recent years, is showing his efforts for change by signing into law a bill that helps a middle class family struggling to foot increasing bills."
"The governor stopped at California Middle School in Sacramento, touting his scholarship program as part of his Local Control Funding Formula, a sweeping overhaul of education finance that raises resources in communities with schoolchildren who are English learners or come from low-income families."
“A lot of families are trying to pay for college, but they don’t have the wherewithal” to cover the costs, Brown said in response to a question about why there is a need to supply funding in excess to what is already granted by voter-approved Proposition 30. That measure raises about $6.8 billion by temporarily boosting sales and income taxes."
And a final note to our readers who are in Sacramento this afternoon with absolutely nothing better to do: Stop by our lavish offices at 1029 H Street, Suite 308, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. today and say hello. We at Open California -- public benefit corporation that publishes The Roundup and Capitol Weekly -- just moved in to our third-floor, 540-square-foot digs and we have two air conditioners. What else do you need? (PS: Don't be intimidated by the elevator).
Have a nice, long holiday weekend. We know we will ...
