Rep. Darrell Issa is suing his unsuccessful 2016 opponent, Doug Applegate, over allegedly defamatory campaign ads.
JOSHUA STEWART with LAT: "The race may be over between Rep. Darrell Issa and challenger Doug Applegate, but one piece of business from the campaign may linger a long time.
The day before the Nov. 8 election, Issa sued Applegate for libel, claiming that two political ads have damaged his reputation."
"Issa also named Applegate’s campaign manager, Robert Dempsey, and the campaign itself in the lawsuit filed in San Diego County Superior Court. The incumbent, one of the wealthiest members in Congress, is seeking $10 million in damages and said he’ll donate any money awarded by the court to charity."
A year later, victims of San Bernardino's terrorist attack say that the county has abandoned them.
PALOMA ESQUIVEL with LAT: "After a heavily armed San Bernardino County employee and his wife attacked a county holiday event last Dec. 2, killing 14 people and wounding 22, county leaders sounded a clear message of support for their workers."
"The events of that day could have torn us asunder. They have not. They have drawn us closer together and rebounded our commitment to take care of one another,” Board of Supervisors Chairman James Ramos said at a memorial in January."
"But a year later, some county employees who were victims of the attack, including witnesses and those who were physically injured, say such pledges ring hollow."
The UC system has pledged to do its utmost to protect undocumented students.
TERESA WATANABE with LAT: "The University of California announced sweeping actions Wednesday to protect its students who came into the country illegally, saying it would refuse to assist federal immigration agents, turn over confidential records without court orders or supply information for any national registry based on race, national origin or religion."
"While we still do not know what policies and practices the incoming federal administration may adopt, given the many public pronouncements made during the presidential campaign and its aftermath, we felt it necessary to reaffirm that UC will act upon its deeply held conviction that all members of our community have the right to work, study, and live safely and without fear at all UC locations,” UC President Janet Napolitanosaid in a statement."
Science has documented the medicinal benefits marijuana, and now it appears 'magical mushrooms' may have medicinal purposes as well.
MELISSA HEALY with LAT: "In findings that could pry open a door closed for nearly half a century, researchers have found that psilocybin — a hallucinogen long used in traditional healing rituals — eases the depression and soothes the anxiety of patients contending with serious illness and the prospect of imminent death."
"In two separate studies published Thursday, researchers report that trial subjects who received a single moderate-to-large dose of psilocybin got substantial and lasting relief from their profound distress. Among 80 cancer patients who participated in the two trials, as many as 4 in 5 continued to feel measurably less hopeless and demoralized six months after taking the drug than they had upon their recruitment."
"And even years later, many reported they had gained — and retained — a profound sense of peace and meaning from the experience. Of 29 cancer patients who got psilocybin in a trial conducted at New York University’s Langone Medical Center, 20 rated it as “among the most meaningful” events of their life."
The California Hall of Fame has inducted a few notable names into its roster.
TARYN LUNA with Sacramento Bee: "Sacramento rolled out the red carpet for actors Harrison Ford and George Takei, former California first lady Maria Shriver and other political and cultural icons at the annual California Hall of Fame induction ceremony Wednesday evening."
"In his opening remarks at the California Museum, near the state Capitol, Gov. Jerry Brown called the event an “extraordinary” opportunity to honor people and reflect on the state’s past in the time of Twitter."
"Tweets are known fundamentally by the fact that there can only be 140 characters,” Brown said. “But in life and poetry and art, 140 characters is not enough. So it is important that we go beyond that and go beyond the news and momentary excitement and alarm of whatever it is that gets our attention or manipulates our attention."
The MLB has banned smokeless tobacco for all new players.
AP in Sacramento Bee: "A person familiar with the negotiations says Major League Baseball and its players' union agreed to ban smokeless tobacco for all new big leaguers."
"The person spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday night because the ban is among the details of the sport's new collective bargaining agreement that have not been announced."
"The ban does not apply to any player who already has at least one day of major league service. In addition, several cities have banned the use of smokeless tobacco in ballparks, including Boston; Chicago; Los Angeles; New York; San Francisco; and Washington, D.C. The Milwaukee City Council approved a ban last week."
Student journalism is under constant threat from the administrations on their campuses, a new report details.
GIBSON CHU with Daily Californian: "Hoping to bring more awareness to the core principles of free student press, four national media organizations released a report Thursday revealing college administration threats to student journalism and their faculty advisers."
"The report was authored by the American Association of University Professors, the College Media Association, the National Coalition Against Censorship and the Student Press Law Center, and it was the first joint formal report in a long time addressing this issue. Derived from a survey of media advisers at student papers across the country, the report found a “disturbingly routine” trend of adviser firing, financially motivated censorship or denial of access to information as a result of university actions."
"There’s always been tension between colleges and their student media,” said Frank LoMonte, executive director of SPLC. “What I think is new is that colleges are more blatant about retaliating … Colleges have decided that there is more reputational gain in killing off aggressive journalism than being harmed for disrespecting press freedom."
Employees in nail salons around the Bay Area are getting some relief from the U.S. government.
ANNIE SCIACCA with Mercury News: "A Bay Area health center is getting help from the U.S. government to help nail salons throughout the region overhaul products and practices that many health experts have deemed hazardous."
"Oakland-based Asian Health Services received a $120,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to pilot a microloan program for nail salons in Alameda, San Francisco, Santa Clara and San Mateo counties that want to achieve the status of “Healthy Nail Salon” — a designation established by the California Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative for salons that avoid certain toxic ingredients and commit to certain requirements."
"The microloan program will help nail salons get no-interest, no-fee loans to buy nail products without toxic ingredients (including what health experts call “the toxic trio”: dibutyl phthalate, toluene and formaldehyde) and to purchase equipment to better ventilate their spaces."
The state's political watchdog is officially looking into a BART case involving a video and basketball superstar Draymond Green.
ERIN BALDASSARI with East Bay Times: "A state agency on Wednesday launched an investigation into allegations that BART illegally used public funds to campaign for its $3.5 billion bond after it aired a video featuring Warriors’ star Draymond Green."
"Fair Political Practices Commission spokesman Jay Wierenga said the agency would not pursue a similar complaint that state Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda,filed in October. If the investigation, which typically takes six months to one year to complete, proves BART broke the law, the transit agency could face fines of up to $5,000 for each violation, Wierenga said."
"Lafayette attorney and political blogger Jason Bezis filed an initial complaint on Oct. 28, alleging BART improperly used district resources by hosting and filming a press conference on June 9 after BART’s governing board voted to place the bond on the ballot. He followed up with a supplemental complaint on Oct. 31 saying Green’s script in a video posted to BART’s website lifted phrases often repeated by both BART and the committee campaigning for the bond."
Ever wondered what a $2.5m home in Malibu looks like?
MIKE POWELL with NYT: "WHAT: A contemporary with three bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms, plus a one-bedroom, one-bath guesthouse"
"HOW MUCH: $2,495,000"
"SIZE: 3,641 square feet total"
The Millenium Tower's sinking is well documented, and now satellites in space are being used to observe the corrosive tilting's pace.
MIKE MCPHATE with NYT: "Two European satellites have captured a stunning portrait of the subtle topographical shifts at work in the landscape of the San Francisco Bay Area."
"The Sentinel satellites, operated by the European Space Agency, have been snapping radar scans of the region since 2015 as part of their mission to collect data on the earth and oceans. Analysts have since compared the movement of physical features over time — down to mere millimeters."
"Among the project’s starkest depictions are shifts along the Hayward Fault, the gradual sinking of reclaimed land in the San Rafael Bay, and the rise of the city of Pleasanton, a possible side effect of replenished groundwater."
Indian water rights have taken center stage after the Agua Caliente tribe of Palm Springs argues for its right to groundwater.
MATT WEISER with Water Deeply: "IN PALM SPRINGS, one of the hottest regions in California, precious groundwater has been depleted for decades to build lush golf courses, swimming pools and tract homes. Now the local American Indian tribe is pressing for a right to help manage that water."
"The Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians, which owns two casinos in the popular desert tourism region, has been buying water for decades from the two government water agencies that manage local groundwater, the Desert Water Agency and theCoachella Valley Water District."
"Now the tribe wants to be able to tap into the aquifer itself and help manage it. At a hearing in October before the Ninth U.S.Circuit Court, the tribe asserted it has a “federally reserved” right to directly access the region’s groundwater, even though it has never done so."
READ MORE related to California Water Crisis: Meet the Minds: Christine Boyle on creating collaborative water future -- ELINE GORDTS with Water Deeply
And now for a page from our "The Haunting of Crathes Castle" file ...
Ghost, or fiendish prankster playing tricks on the unsuspecting? There's mischief afoot at Crathes Castle in the UK.
MSN: "A family has been photobombed by a "ghost holding a baby" at a haunted castle."
"Bill Andrew, 78, was taking a picture of his family in front of the castle when they noticed what look like a ghostly apparition in one of its doorways."
"The shadowy sighting is not the first at Crathes Castle near Banchory, Aberdeenshire, which already has its fair share of ghost stories."
