The Roundup

Cliffside homes overlooking the ocean can be a delight -- until the cliffs give way.

The Chronicle's Evan Sernoffsky tells the tale: "Fears that crushing waves and powerful rains from El Niño would erode the coastal bluffs in Pacifica — where several vacant apartment buildings and homes have been left teetering for years — were realized this weekend."

"The city declared a state of emergency Friday in part because of accelerated erosion to the cliffs along Esplanade Avenue and Palmetto Avenue, where two properties in recent days were evacuated."

"Those homes joined scores of other units that have been abandoned because of erosion, including the apartments on the 300 block of Esplanade Avenue that were evacuated in 2010 after heavy storms in 2003 began shearing off huge chunks of the cliffs.Other areas along the bluffs have given way in the past 10 days as several heavy storms and waves slammed the shoreline, city officials said."

An official discussion is under way on whether to build the first segment of the bullet train north to San Jose -- which would be a major change in the multibillion-dollar project.

From  Eric Kurhi in the Mercury News: "California high-speed rail officials are considering junking a 2012 decision to build the first segment from Burbank north into the Central Valley -- and are now seriously studying the possibility of bringing the first stretch of track north to San Jose instead."

"The alternative being examined would run from Silicon Valley to Bakersfield and be less costly than the current proposal to connect the Central Valley with Burbank because it wouldn't entail expensive tunneling costs, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times."

"This would seriously be a game-changing win," said Carl Guardino of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, who also sits on the California Transportation Commission. "One of the big winners would actually be our efforts to electrify Caltrain. High-speed rail comes to San Jose and we electrify Caltrain between San Jose and San Francisco; the winner is everyone who depends on additional speed, with less noise and less pollution."

Speaking of transportation, for those motorists weary of battling California's crumbling roads, this isn't what you wanted to hear: The Callifornia Transportation Commission, which decides how money is divvied up for projects, ordered a cut of more than three-quarters of a billion dollars over the next five years.

From the LAT's Patrick McGreevy: "Faced with plummeting gasoline tax revenue, state transportation officials have announced plans to cut funding for road and transit projects by $754 million over the next five years, the greatest reduction in two decades."

"The 38% decrease was approved by the California Transportation Commission on Thursday, the same day that Gov. Jerry Brown used his State of the State address to call on the Legislature to end the gridlock in negotiations over new taxes and fees for transportation projects."

"What this means is that almost every county in California that relies on this source of funding for projects that improve traffic and air quality will have to cut or delay projects indefinitely," said Lucy Dunn, chairwoman of the commission." She warned of "even more draconian cuts next year" if funding sources under consideration by lawmakers do not improve transportation.

finances."

For whatever reason, prescription drugs and heroin are becoming ever more popular -- and California's morgues provide ample evidence.

From the Bee's Phillip Reese: "As prescription opioids and illegal heroin rise further in popularity, the number of drug overdoses in the state hit a new high in 2014, according to new estimates from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

"About 4,500 Californians died following drug poisoning in 2014, up by 1,500, or 50 percent, from 2002. The age adjusted rate of drug overdose deaths rose almost 30 percent during the same period."

"Far more Californians die from drug poisoning each year than die in car accidents. More than twice as many Californians die of drug overdoses than are murdered."

Meanwhile, aficionados of marijuana thought things would be getting better when weed regulations were approved last year. But no.

From the AP's Lisa Leff: "When the California Legislature passed the state's first comprehensive medical marijuana regulations in September, pot advocates hoped the move heralded a new era of trust in their often-tumultuous relationship with wary local officials and police."