The GOP national convention kicked off in Cleveland, Ohio yesterday, and those who tuned in expecting anything other than mudslinging were surely disappointed.
Cathleen Decker with L.A. Times: " The theme of Monday’s opening night of the Republican National Convention was “Make America Safe Again.” In other words, “Make America Safe from Hillary Clinton."
"Donald Trump, who will accept his party’s nomination Thursday, was barely mentioned by many of the speakers, nor were specifics of the few concrete proposals he has made."
"The focus instead was on presumptive Democratic nominee Clinton and Republican fears that she would extend President Obama’s two terms in office."
SEE MORE related to Beltway/The RNC: Reality TV: Republcans put on a raucous, celebrity-filled convention opening day -- Mark Z. Barabak and Noah Bierman with L.A. Times; Iowa Rep. Steve King asks if other 'subgroups' besides whites have contributed 'more to civilization.' -- Javier Panzar with L.A. Times; Rep. McClintock gives pitch for Trump, 'new Republican Party' -- Martin Wisckol with O.C. Register; 'I put lipstick on a pig,' says Trump's 'Art of the Deal' ghostwriter, breaking a decades-long silence -- Robin Abcarian with L.A. Times.
Meanwhile, a federal judge declared that a six-month jail sentence plea for ex-L.A. Sheriff Lee Baca is not enough for his involvement in obstructing an FBI investigation.
Cindy Chang and Marisa Gerber in L.A. Times write: "A federal judge on Monday threw out a plea agreement that would have given former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca a maximum of six months in prison, saying the sentence was too lenient considering Baca’s role in obstructing an FBI investigation into the county jails."
"Addressing a downtown courtroom packed with Baca’s supporters, U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson said the deal “would trivialize the seriousness of the offenses … the need for a just punishment [and] the need to deter others."
"Baca, 74, had pleaded guilty in February to a single charge of lying to federal investigators. But the former sheriff’s involvement in trying to derail the investigation reached further than that, Anderson said."
SEE MORE related to Public Safety: 'Watch your back,' LAPD chief tells rank-and-file in wake of Baton Rouge and Dallas attacks -- Kate Mather with L.A. Times; Sacramento Sheriff's Department loses bid for new trial in discrimination lawsuit -- Darrell Smith with Sacramento Bee; Clairvoyant charged with killing a man and firing 40 shots at deputies dies in custody -- Matt Hamilton with L.A. Times; Security cameras on all BART cars by next year -- Michael Cabanatuan with The Chronicle.
And as the months start to heat up, so does the focus on California's water supply, where a Southern California water district has just completed a $175 million purchase of delta islands at the core of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta,
L.A. Times' Matt Hamilton reports: "Southern California’s powerful water supplier has completed the $175-million purchase of five islands in the heart of the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, the ecologically sensitive region that’s a key source of water for the Southland."
"The top attorney for the Metropolitan Water District said in a memo Monday that the agency had finalized the purchase of the islands from Delta Wetlands Properties."
"The purchase comes less than a week after the state Supreme Court lifted an order that had barred the water agency from buying the islands. The order was imposed after San Joaquin County, other local governments and environmental groups sued to block the sale of the islands."
READ MORE from Environment: Oil refiners agree to pay $425 million to reduce air pollution in the West -- Rick Anderson in L.A. Times.
California's new community college chief will begin working this December; his goal: increase full-time enrollment and graduation rates across the state.
Larry Gordon writing in EdSource: "Overhauling financial aid policies to encourage more community college students to enroll full-time. Working more closely with K-12 schools and the state’s four-year public universities. Getting more high school students to take community college courses. Helping more students from low-income and minority communities to get workforce training or associate degrees."
"Those are some of the goals that Eloy Ortiz Oakley said he wants to pursue when he becomes the next chancellor of California’s community college system in December. Oakley, who has headed the Long Beach community college district since 2007, was hired on Monday to become statewide chancellor and will oversee the 113 colleges that enroll 2.1 million part-time and full-time students."
"I really want to put a spotlight on serving our students and making sure that all of our students have the kinds of educational outcomes we expect our colleges to produce,” Oakley told EdSource in an interview shortly after the community colleges board of governors announced him as its choice to head the nation’s largest higher education system."
MORE related to Education: Katehi scandal at UC Davis called 'worse than pepper spray' -- Sam Stanton and Diana Lambert with Sacramento Bee.
And in economic news, grocery chains around the state say little progress has been made in forging new contract agreements, but union reps said they are taking every effort they can to prevent a strike.
Kevin Smith with Press-Telegram reports: "Four and a half months after their labor contract expired, union representatives for workers at Albertsons, Vons, Pavilions, Safeway and Ralphs grocery stores say little progress has been made in forging a new agreement."
"If the two sides fail to ink a new contract it sets the stage for another grocery strike, according to theUnited Food and Commercial Workers, Local 770."
"We don’t want a strike and we’re making every effort to prevent it,” union President Rick Icaza said Monday. "There’s a lot at stake here."
And now from our "Use it or Lose it" file ...
A man has apparently been arrested in Pennsylvania for somehow being able to use a stolen human brain to get high. Too bad he couldn't have used the organ to borrow a few(thousand) brain cells instead...
HuffPo: "A Pennsylvania man in jail on burglary charges is now accused of using a human brain to get high."
"Joshua Long, 26, was charged Friday with abuse of a corpse after his aunt found the brain underneath the front porch of a vacant trailer in Penn Township, according to Fox43.com."
"The brain was in a display container ― the kind you might see in a museum ― and stuffed into a Walmart bag, according to PennLive."
