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The Roundup
Nov 24, 2023
Trusting the bots
We hope you had a Happy Thanksgiving--enjoy your Black Friday, and the weekend ahead!
California examines benefits, risks of using artificial intelligence in state government
QUEENIE WONG, LA Times: "Artificial intelligence that can generate text, images and other content could help improve state programs but also poses risks, according to a report released by the governor’s office on Tuesday.
Generative AI could help quickly translate government materials into multiple languages, analyze tax claims to detect fraud, summarize public comments and answer questions about state services. Still, deploying the technology, the analysis warned, also comes with concerns around data privacy, misinformation, equity and bias."
A mysterious illness affecting dogs has reached California. Here’s what to know
AIDIN VAZIRI, Chronicle: A mysterious respiratory illness affecting dogs that was previously reported in several states has now surfaced in California, prompting animal welfare officials to caution pet owners about taking precautions during the holiday season.
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has identified at least 10 cases of what is termed as “atypical canine infectious respiratory disease,” based on reports from veterinarians as of Tuesday.
A year after Bay Area refinery’s shocking release of toxic dust, residents fear for the future
JULIE JOHNSON, Chronicle: "The FBI agents had just begun knocking on doors when the neighbors started texting: Federal investigators were asking about the Martinez oil refinery that had belched tons of toxic dust into town.
It was six months after the November 2022 incident, and Wendy Ke didn’t want to miss the chance to tell them about the ashy material her family cleaned off their car and the asthma symptoms she only recently had developed. So her husband drove around the neighborhood until he found two agents. He rolled down the window and asked them to stop by their front porch."
Senate endorsement presents an awkward dilemma for California House members
SHIRA STEIN and JOE GAROFOLI, Chronicle: "Choosing a candidate to endorse typically isn’t all that controversial for most California House members.
Except in this year’s U.S. Senate primary.
With three of their co-workers running — Reps. Barbara Lee of Oakland, Katie Porter of Irvine and Adam Schiff of Burbank — the lawmakers are in an awkward place. Whether or not they endorse, they risk the wrath of the next senator from California, either by picking one of their opponents or avoiding staking out a strong position."
California Assembly majority leader gets ousted in major leadership shakeup
ANDREW SHEELER, SacBee: "Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, D-Hollister, announced a radical change to Assembly leadership Tuesday night that included the ouster of Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Los Angeles, as majority leader.
In a statement, Rivas thanked Bryan for his “exceptional work during my transition into the office of speaker.” Assemlbywoman Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, D-Winters, will take over for Bryan, while Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Healdsburg, replaces Aguiar-Curry as speaker pro tempore."
Speaker Rivas shuffles the leadership deck and YIMBYs win
BEN CHRISTOPHER, CALMatters: "Who’s up and who’s down? When the news broke late Tuesday that new Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas picked new committee chairpersons and canned others, the Sacramento political sphere was immediately abuzz with talk of winners and losers.
The winners include Cecilia Aguiar-Curry, the Davis Democrat who was named Assembly majority leader, and Encino Democrat Jesse Gabriel, who is taking over the budget committee, though at a time of budget deficits. He’s replacing Assemblymember Phil Ting of San Francisco, who said that the eight state budgets he helped put together have boosted California’s efforts on child care, climate change and access to higher education and healthcare."
Family vacations, fancy clothes and a cigar humidor: How an O.C. politician got fined for abusing campaign funds
FAITH E. PINHO, LA Times: "California elections watchdogs have fined a former Orange County assemblyman $100,000 for using campaign funds to cover myriad personal costs — including family vacations, his children’s cellphone bills and $2,400 worth of clothing — in violation of state law.
The decision this month from the Fair Political Practices Commission concluded a four-year-long investigation into the expenses of William Brough, a Republican who served three terms in the California Assembly representing the Dana Point area. The FPPC, which oversees candidates and campaign finances, found multiple discrepancies in the reports from Brough’s 2018 and 2020 campaign committees."
Bundle up, Sacramento. Valley spots in Northern California under first freeze warning of season
DANIEL HUNT, SacBee "Forecasters Thursday issued the first freeze warning of the season for the Sacramento Valley, meaning those Thanksgiving leftovers won’t be the only thing chilling this weekend.
Most areas in the Sacramento Valley are under the advisory through 1 p.m. Friday and again from late Saturday through Sunday morning, according to the National Weather Service’s office in Sacramento. The warning extends west to most of Lake County, too, forecasters said mid-day on Thanksgiving Day.
Education Policy – Tony Thurmond, Superintendent of Public Instruction (PODCAST)
STAFF, Capitol Weekly: "This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s Conference on Education Policy which was held in Sacramento on Tuesday, November 7, 2023
This is the KEYNOTE – CALIFORNIA SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION TONY THURMOND
Introduction by Rich Ehisen, Capitol Weekly"
USC neuroscientist faces scrutiny following allegations of data manipulation
CORINNE PURTILL, MELODY PETERSEN, LA Times: "A star neuroscientist at USC is facing allegations of misconduct after whistleblowers submitted a report to the National Institutes of Health that accused the professor of manipulating data in dozens of research papers and sounded alarms about an experimental stroke medication his company is developing.
The accusations against Berislav V. Zlokovic, professor and chair of the department of physiology and neuroscience at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, were made by a small group of independent researchers and reported in the journal Science."
First group of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas released, Israeli media and officials say
WAFAA SHURAFA, BASSEM MROUE, DAVID RISING, Associated Press: "Hamas released the first batch of hostages under a cease-fire deal that began Friday, including 13 Israelis who have been held in the Gaza Strip since the militant group staged a raid on Israel nearly seven weeks ago, according to officials and media reports.
Twelve Thai nationals were also released, according to Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin. Dozens of Palestinian prisoners are also expected to be freed by Israel."
San Jose spent big bucks on COVID parklets – but some businesses can’t afford to make them permanent
GABRIEL GRESCHLER, BANG*Mercury News: "It’s a Thursday morning in San Jose’s SOFA neighborhood, and restaurant pop-up owner Brandon Salmon has served one of his very last COVID-era breakfast sandwiches.
The pop-up space is located in a parklet on South Second Street that was installed during the pandemic. But with San Jose — like most cities around the Bay Area — phasing out free parklet space for businesses, this one will soon be a relic of a time when masks and social distancing were part of our regular lexicon."
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