PG&E diverted millions from putting lines underground, audit finds
Chronicle's J.D. MORRIS: "Over the course of 10 years, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. “consistently and significantly” shifted money away from efforts to bury power lines underground, likely causing such projects to take longer and cost more than they would have otherwise, according to a recently completed audit."
"PG&E diverted $123 million from 2007 through 2016 from a major program intended to help bury overhead electric lines, the review conducted for the California Public Utilities Commission found. The lower spending was not because the company found cheaper or more efficient ways of completing the efforts: Auditors concluded that PG&E was using the money for other things it deemed more important."
"The review, finished in October by the firm AzP Consulting, broadly confirms what the commission had already observed before it approved the audit in 2018. But auditors went further by trying to ascertain the impact of PG&E steering so much money away from the program, known as Rule 20A."
READ MORE related to PG&E: How Wiener's push to break up PG&E could endanger major California housing bill -- The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF
States confront the casualties of the war on pot
LA Times's DEL QUENTIN WILBER/ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN: "With the tap of a computer key, prosecutors in Los Angeles and Chicago plan over the coming weeks to erase tens of thousands of marijuana convictions from people’s criminal records, a key part of a progressive crime-fighting strategy that is seeking to rectify the wrongs of a decades-long drug war."
"Prosecutors and legal aid advocates say purging arrest and conviction records removes barriers to jobs and housing, helping to stabilize and improve troubled communities. Jettisoning marijuana convictions has taken on added urgency as more states legalize the possession and sale of marijuana, a lucrative trade, and confront the vexing question of how to handle convictions for crimes that are no longer crimes."
"We are undoing the harm prosecutors have caused,” said Cook County State’s Atty. Kim Foxx, whose office handles prosecutions in Chicago, a city of 2.7 million residents and who has been one of the leading national advocates of expunging people’s records."
Report on Hunter's camapign funds finds 'pervasive evidence' of misspending
The Chronicle's MORGAN COOK: "An Office of Congressional Ethics report on Rep. Duncan Hunter’s campaign spending, held up for three years by the criminal prosecution of the congressman, has been released now that he has pleaded guilty to misspending the funds."
"The 50-page report provides new details about individual expenses and spending patterns that have not come out previously in media coverage or the criminal case."
"The records illustrate a consistent practice of misuse of campaign funds by Rep. Hunter and his family,” the office found. “The OCE also found prevalent examples of FEC [Federal Election Commission] reports filed by the campaign committee that may contain materially false and misleading statements."
Pelosi's narrow impeachment strategy could help California Dems in swing seats
The Chronicle's DUSTIN GARDINER: "House Democrats’ less-is-more approach to impeaching President Trump could be an election-year boon for lawmakers in purple districts who helped the party grab control of the chamber last year."
"That includes a pair of California lawmakers — Reps. Josh Harder and TJ Cox — who flipped GOP-held seats in the Central Valley and face tough re-election fights in 2020."
"Both are among a group of moderate Democrats whom Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, has sought to shield from backlash in districts where the impeachment inquiry has polarized voters."
READ MORE related to Impeachment: Dems' impeachment articles aim to balance demands of moderates and progressives -- LA Times's SARAH D WIRE
Mike Bloomberg, trying to win converts in California, gets an event with Jerry Brown
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg makes his first presidential campaign trip Wednesday in California, a state where few people support his White House run, many don’t know who he is, and those who do think little of him."
"The 77-year-old billionaire publisher is going to try to change those impressions with an endorsement Wednesday from up-and-coming Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, an appearance with former Gov. Jerry Brown in San Francisco, and $14 million of TV ads that are ready to saturate California’s airwaves through the rest of the year, The Chronicle has learned."
"Tubbs was ready to endorse California Sen. Kamala Harris until she dropped out of the race last week. He told The Chronicle that he’s endorsing Bloomberg, whom he has known for several years, because “top of mind, we have to beat Donald Trump and preserve democracy.” The two will appear together Wednesday morning in Stockton."
Want to vote in the primary? Better check your registration
Sac Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "If you want to vote in the 2020 presidential primary, you might want to check your voter status."
"Voting in California’s political primaries begins on Feb. 3, 2020, but those who are listed as “No Party Preference” may be surprised to find no presidential primary candidates on their ballot."
"That’s because California’s political parties have their own ballots that will be released in February."
6 California dioceses subpoenaed by state AG in child sex abuse case
Sacramento Bee's ALEXANDRA YOON-HENDRICKS: "The Roman Catholic Diocese of Sacramento, along with the other 5 dioceses in California, will be subpoenaed for additional records as the state attorney general continues to investigate whether dioceses complied with mandatory reporting requirements."
"California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced in May he would investigate all of California’s Roman Catholic dioceses to ensure that church officials followed state law and reported sexual misconduct allegations to law enforcement."
"The announcement of that investigation came after Becerra’s office began requesting that victims of clergy sex abuse submit complaints to his office last year.
Thousands of lawful California gun owners are being denied ammo purchases. Here's why
Sacramento Bee's RYAN SABALOW: "Zachary Berg usually buys guns and ammunition with relative ease. After all, he’s a Sutter County sheriff’s deputy and needs them for his job. California’s stringent gun laws usually don’t apply to him."
"But Berg couldn’t buy shotgun shells at his local hardware store in Yuba City prior to a duck hunting trip last month. He was rejected under California’s stringent ammunition background check program that took effect July 1, because his personal information didn’t match what state officials had in their database."
"Berg was one of tens of thousands of Californians who have been turned away from buying ammunition at firearms and sporting goods stores, even though they appear to be lawfully able to do so, a Sacramento Bee review of state data shows. Between July 1 and November, nearly one in every five ammunition purchases was rejected by the California Department of Justice, the figures show."
California anti-vaccine activists abandon initiative to roll back new law
Sacramento Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "Anti-vaccine advocates abandoned plans for an initiative that would undo a new law restricting medical exemptions for vaccines and complained that state officials made their effort more difficult by using “grossly misleading” language to describe their referendum to voters."
"The organizers, Denise Aguilar, Heidi Munoz Gleisner and Tara Thornton did not gather enough signatures for the initiative to qualify for the 2020 ballot."
"They expressed on Facebook their disappointment with the Secretary of State Office’s wording on the title and summary for the referendums to repeal Senate Bills 276 and 714, which they called “grossly misleading.”
READ MORE related to Health: Californians with no health insurance face penalties. Not everyone has to pay -- LA Times's BERNARD J WOLFSON
Sacramento schools should consider cuts to teacher salaries, state audit suggests
Sacramento Bee's SAWSAN MORRAR: "The California state auditor painted a dire picture of Sacramento City Unified School District’s finances in a new report released Tuesday and suggested the district should consider trimming wages and benefits for teachers."
"The report was requested by Assemblyman Kevin McCarty, D-Sacramento, in January. McCarty, who is married to Sacramento City Unified board member Leticia Garcia, is a longtime ally of teachers unions."
"The audit stated the district has not proactively addressed its financial problems and is close to insolvency. The audit recommended the district adopt a new plan by March 2020 to resolve its fiscal crisis.
Businesses sue California officials over new mandatory arbitration law
The Chronicle's MALLORY MOENCH: "California business groups have sued state officials over a new law that will criminally penalize employers who ask workers to sign mandatory arbitration contracts to get hired, calling it a “job killer.” It was an unsurprising legal challenge to California’s new code that tiptoed around federal law allowing companies to enforce arbitration contracts where workers agree to mediate employment issues instead of suing."
"The suit, which the California Chamber of Commerce announced Tuesday after filing it last week, argued the new law would open the floodgates to litigation — clogging courts, delaying justice, and increasing costs for businesses and workers. Plaintiffs asked the court to stop AB51 before it goes into effect in January."
“It doesn’t make sense to place businesses at risk for criminal penalties for a practice that has been favored by California and federal law and consistently upheld by the courts,” Allan Zaremberg, the business trade group’s CEO, said in a statement. “While it may not serve the best interests of the trial lawyers, expeditious resolution through the arbitration process serves the interests of employees and employers.”
Flu Activity in California ramping up early this season, public health officials say
Sacramento Bee's CATHIE ANDERSON: "California’s 2019-20 flu season started off early – and with a bang."
"According to the state Department of Public Health, clinical and commercial laboratories have not reported influenza activity this high this early in the flu season since the H1N1 swine flu pandemic in 2009."
"State epidemiologist Erin Murray said lab results are just one way that CDPH gauges the severity of flu in the state. Her team also tracks how many people were diagnosed with flu, but not admitted to a hospital. In looking at that statistic for this season, Murray said she had to go back to the 2014-15 season to find as much flu activity."
Sacramento mayor says city will soon open 100 cabins to shelter homeless. But where?
Sacramento Bee's THERESA CLIFT: "Sacramento officials are planning to open cabin-style shelters with services for 100 homeless people somewhere in north Sacramento by mid-March, and could also open warming centers to shelter homeless individuals this winter, officials said Tuesday."
"Mayor Darrell Steinberg is proposing the cabins open in order to meet Gov. Gavin Newsom’s “100-day challenge,” which challenges municipalities across California to meet goals for new homeless initiatives within 100 days in order to receive additional state funding."
"Steinberg originally said the city would meet the challenge by obtaining land for 100 cabins within 100 days, but is now shooting for a more ambitious version of the project: to have the shelters open within 100 days."
Judge bars Trump from building border wall with military funds
BLOOMBERG: "A U.S. judge barred President Trump from using $3.6 billion in military construction funds to pay for a wall along the Mexico border."
"Tuesday’s order follows an October ruling by U.S. District Judge David Briones in El Paso, in which he concluded that Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to redirect Defense Department appropriations to a wall project that Congress specifically refused to pay for was illegal. The government is appealing the October ruling."
"The decision by Briones could hinder the ability of lawmakers to agree on a fiscal 2020 spending bill package this week where border wall funding is once again a key stumbling block and a shutdown looms Dec. 20. The White House may double down on its request for more direct wall funding if the transfer option is barred."
https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article238196274.html
