Maria Echaveste grew up a farmworker’s child in Fresno County’s farm labor camps, now she could be confirmed as the next U.S. Ambassador to Mexico.
Michael Doyle reports for McClatchy Washington Bureau: ““She’s a brilliant woman who understands the United States government, from her own time in the U.S. government,” Jeffrey Davidow, a former U.S. ambassador to Mexico, said in an interview, “and she knows a great deal about the Mexican government.””
“President Barack Obama nominated Echaveste on Sept. 18 for the position, whose formal title is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the United Mexican States.”
“The Senate Foreign Relations Committee could potentially hold Echaveste’s confirmation hearing during the post-election session in November or December, though speed is not the Senate’s strong suit. About 40 ambassadorial nominees are currently awaiting Senate action, with some having waited more than a year.”
More construction problems are creeping up for the eastern span of the Bay Bridge.
Jaxon Van Derbeken reports for The SF Chronicle: “Nearly every one of the 423 steel rods that anchor the tower of the new Bay Bridge eastern span to its base has been sitting in potentially corrosive water, Caltrans officials said Tuesday — one of the most serious construction defects found yet on the $6.4 billion project.”
“Several of the high-strength, 25-foot-long rods inspected after the first signs of trouble appeared last month were found to be submerged in several feet of water, in part because not enough grout had been pumped into protective sleeves to keep them dry, officials told members of a bridge project oversight committee in Oakland.”
Bell Gardens Mayor Daniel Crespo was fatally shot yesterday during an altercation with his wife and son.
Ryan Parker, Richard Winton and Ruben Vives report in The LA Times: “Crespo died en route to a hospital, Bell Gardens Fire Department officials confirmed.”
“Levette Crespo was questioned but was released without an arrest being made, according to the sheriff's officials.”
“All evidence will be presented to the district attorney's office to determine whether charges will be filed, according to the officials.”
“Crespo's son was taken to a hospital for injuries to his face from the struggle and was then questioned by authorities, according to sheriff's officials.“
The governor gave his final verdict on a number of bills that remained on his desk yesterday, Gov. Brown’s last day to act on legislation. But what’s his veto track record this year?
Jessica Calefati, Josh Richman and Paul Rogers report for SJ Mercury News: “Overall, Brown vetoed 143 of the more than 1,000 bills that landed on his desk in the Legislature's final days in August, making his veto rate for this election year 13.3 percent. That's a few percentage points higher than last year, when he rejected one in 10 bills.”
“Other notable pieces of legislation that earned Brown's blessing this week include bills that impose tougher safety standards for some limousines; allow public school students to review and delete data collected about them by school districts through social media; and require California college students to hear the word "yes" from their sexual partners.”
For being a show about intelligence, Jeopardy did something pretty stupid this week.
Neha Prakash reports for Mashable: “What is... Stop right there, Alex, there's no correct response for this one.”
“Jeopardy got itself into hot water Monday night by featuring a category called "What Women Want." Unfortunately, the category was not a cute play on words and was, instead, a series of clues spotlighting female stereotypes.”
“The answers to the questionable clues implied that the only things women want in life are a pair of jeans and husbands to help with the vacuuming. It was like we were tuning into a replay of an episode from the 1950s.”
