The Roundup

Winter is here, but you wouldn't know it in the Sierra Nevada, which is waiting for a solid snowfall. Little snow means little runoff in the spring, and that means little water for most of the state. Welcome to a drought.

From the Chronicle's Peter Fimrite: "The state's frozen water supply, as snow is known to water-resources officials, is 19 percent of normal for this time of year, according to electronic measurements taken across the Sierra. This is the water that is going to be used to irrigate millions of acres of farmland and quench the thirst of many of California's 38 million people when it melts in the spring."

"Snow surveyors will tromp out under what forecasters predict will be bright blue skies Friday, but the results are already known. There is, said David Rizzardo, chief of the snow surveys section and water supply forecasting for the state Department of Water Resources, very little snow out there."

"We've gone through a summer now and an entire fall that was abnormally dry," Rizzardo said. "We have a very real possibility of getting halfway through our wettest period and having only 10 or 15 percent of average snowpack. Hardly anyone can look at this and not raise an eyebrow."

California's higherst court says an undocumented immigrant can be a member of the State Bar and serve as a duly licensed lawyer if he or she passes the tests to practice law.

 From Capitol Weekly's Samantha Gallegos: "The state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that California’s undocumented immigrants are eligible to practice law if they meet licensing requirements — even though they are not citizens."

"The court’s decision involved Sergio C. Garcia, an undocumented immigrant from Chico who passed all qualifying state exams and was seeking a license to practice law in California. Arguments in the case were heard last year."

A judge has ruled that the state's top elections officer must count thousands of signatures that were submitted on petitions seeking to overturn California's new transgender rights law.

From the LAT's Melanie Mason: "Secretary of State Debra Bowen had refused to count some 5,000 petition signatures submitted in Mono and Tulare counties because the referendum's supporters had failed to submit them by the Nov. 10 deadline."

"But because Nov. 10 was a Sunday and the next day, Nov. 11, was Veteran's day, Judge Allen Sumner of the California Superior Court in Sacramento ruled that the signatures were filed timely on Nov. 12. The judge also said the supporters "substantially complied" with the filing deadline by unsuccessfully attempting to submit the petitions before Nov. 10."

"Evan Goldberg, chief deputy secretary of State, said historically the law had been interpreted that "90 days meant 90 days." But, he added, "the judge has ruled otherwise and of course the Secretary will comply with that interpretation."

Hollywood wants to at least quadruple tax credits to the film industry in an effort to keep more productions in the state -- and the jobs that go with them.

From the LAT's Richard Verrier: "Under a program enacted in 2009, California allocates $100 million annually to film and TV productions, which are eligible for up to a 25% tax credit toward qualified production expenses. Although the incentive has slowed the outflow of production and boosted local activity, most of it has been for smaller and lower-budget projects."

 "Consequently, industry officials are pressing to substantially increase annual funding, closer to the $420 million a year that rival New York provides."

"Other favored revisions include allowing large-budget films to qualify, as well as TV pilots and network dramas. Currently, only movies with budgets less than $75 million are eligible, as are basic cable programs and network shows returning from out of state. The exclusions have contributed to a historic falloff in the production of one-hour dramas as well as big-budget studio movies in L.A."

Susan Rasky, a former New York Times reporter who taught journalism at UC Berkeley for more than two decades, has died at the age of 61.
 
From Calbuzz's Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine: "The 20-plus years of UC Berkeley J-School students lucky enough to have her as an instructor had the chance to learn from a pro not only how important, but also how much fun, the job of being a political reporter could be, as anyone who was ever dragooned into speaking to her class can attest."

"Of course, Susan had a big advantage over many journalism school chrome domes — she’d actually spent years learning the craft while working in the trenches of daily journalism. Before returning to California, where she was born, and to Berkeley, where she got her BA, Susan had covered Congress for years for several news organizations, including Reuters and the NYT, and won a prestigious Polk Award for her work at the Times."