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California voter turnout hits all-time low for presidential contest -- California's election turnout last month set a record low for a presidential primary in the state, with more than two of every three registered voters opting not to cast ballots. Jim Sanders SacBee Capitol Alert -- 7/14/12 Two-thirds of voters cast ballots by mail -- Nearly two-thirds of California voters cast their vote by mail in the June election, a record for the state, but fewer than a third of registered voters turned out, Secretary of State Debra Bowen reported Friday. JULIET WILLIAMS Associated Press Jean Merl in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/14/12 Legislation to allow hands-free driver texting signed into law -- Under legislation that Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law today, California motorists can dictate, send or listen to text-based messages while they're behind the wheel if they're using voice-activated, hands-free devices. Jim Sanders SacBee Capitol Alert -- 7/14/12 Bustamante Scandal Sends Another Top Official Packing -- Indications are that Orange County Deputy CEO Alisa Drakodaidis is the latest high-level official heading out the door in the wake of the Carlos Bustamante sex crimes scandal. And Drakodaidis has left behind a scathing letter that could rock the foundation of the county government. NORBERTO SANTANA JR. VoiceofOC.org -- 7/14/12
How Insider Politics Saved California's Train To Nowhere -- Environmentalism may be religion to some on the left, but its high priests aren't all pure and righteous. Consider the not-so-immaculate conception of California's bullet train. ALLYSIA FINLEY in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 7/14/12 Critics of high-speed rail prepare for next chapter -- Even with initial funding secured, California's embattled project faces major hurdles. Gennady Sheyner Palo Alto Weekly -- 7/14/12
California has nation's worst credit rating, Pew study finds -- California has the worst credit rating of any state now and the nation's worst credit rating record over the past 11 years, according to a new nationwide compilation by the Pew Center on the States. Dan Walters SacBee Capitol Alert -- 7/14/12 Krugman: California Represents The Worst Of Current U.S. Economic Crisis -- The budget pain facing California this year is not California’s fault, said Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist who has been among the most outspoken writers critiquing the government’s response to what he calls an economic “depression.”SHAWN GAYNOR SF Public Press -- 7/14/12 Police investigate possible bid-rigging, records show -- For at least six months, San Bernardino police have been investigating evidence of possible bid-rigging involving publicly funded construction projects and at least two former city employees, court records show. RICHARD BROOKS and JEFF HORSEMAN in the Riverside Press -- 7/14/12 Bankrupt city’s auditing firm defends work -- Partners in the accounting firm responsible for checking San Bernardino's fiscal practices said they don't know what City Attorney Jim Penman was referring to when he said that city financial documents were falsified. JEFF HORSEMAN in the Riverside Press -- 7/14/12 Buffett Says Muni Bankruptcies Set to Climb as Stigma Lifts -- Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said municipal bankruptcies are set to rise as there’s less stigma attached after three California cities opted to seek protection just weeks apart. Margaret Collins Bloomberg -- 7/14/12 New San Bernardino County agency created to fight foreclosures holds first meeting, attracts criticism -- Leaders of the newly formed Homeownership Protection Program have yet to decide how they will try to solve San Bernardino County's lingering foreclosure woes, but the potential use of eminent domain to take over mortgages continued to arouse objections from industry groups when the group convened its first meeting on Friday. Andrew Edwards in the Inland Daily Bulletin -- 7/14/12 Struggling Families Lift Themselves Out Of Poverty -- It's been almost 50 years since President Lyndon Johnson declared a "War on Poverty." But today, the poverty rate in the U.S. is the highest it's been in 17 years, affecting some 46 million people. The economy is partly to blame, but even in good times, millions of Americans are poor. PAM FESSLER NPR -- 7/14/12 Saunders: Don't buy investor-government scheme -- There are some ideas so convoluted that only an expert (or wannabe expert) could love them. For example: collateralized debt obligations, which seemed like a good idea until the mortgage meltdown swamped the U.S. economy. Debra J. Saunders in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/14/12 S&P puts Compton bonds on credit watch -- Standard and Poor's rating service put the city of Compton's lease revenue bonds on credit watch with negative implications Friday afternoon because of a lack of response to inquiries and allegations of fraud and "abuse of public moneys." William D'Urso in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/14/12 Apple back on board with green group -- Days after San Francisco officials said the city could no longer buy its products, Apple announced Friday that it would rejoin an environmental certification program that makes them eligible for purchase by government agencies that rely on the ratings. Casey Newton in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/14/12 Votes assails state laws on food safety -- A California voter-approved law requiring that hens have cages large enough to let them spread their wings has drawn a national backlash from other livestock producers that threatens not only the state's humane treatment of hens, but also its new ban on foie gras. Carolyn Lochhead in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/14/12
Students sue LAUSD and Telfair Elementary teacher charged with molestation -- A former Telfair Elementary teacher charged with sexually abusing 13 youngsters has been sued by two of his alleged victims who claim they were molested on the Pacoima campus and that Los Angeles Unified officials failed to protect them. Barbara Jones in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 7/14/12
Micro-apartments next for San Francisco? -- The city is considering shrinking the minimum size of rental units, prompted by a demographic shift toward one-person households along with rising rents and an acute housing shortage. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/14/12 Stanford's George Shultz On Energy: It's Personal -- George Shultz leads a group preparing to propose a federal tax on carbon to slash U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and oil consumption, a seemingly unlikely policy from a Republican Party statesman. MARK GOLDEN and MARK SHWARTZ Stanford Report -- 7/14/12 Rat poison in remote pot gardens linked to rare wildlife deaths -- Toxic chemicals used to rid rodents from illicit marijuana gardens in the Sierra Nevada range and elsewhere in California may have inadvertently poisoned dozens of vulnerable weasel-like mammals called fishers, according to a new study released today. ANDREW BECKER Bay Citizen -- 7/14/12
Oakland City Hall intern's deportation reprieve could be first of many -- A federal immigration agent sifted through Jose Garcia's paperwork before gruffly telling the shackled 20-year-old he was off the hook, rescued by forces beyond the agent's control. "'You better thank Obama,'" Garcia, a summer intern in Oakland Mayor Jean Quan's office, said the agent told him. Not long after, Garcia walked free into downtown San Francisco after a sleepless, desperate week in jail. Matt O'Brien in the San Jose Mercury -- 7/14/12
Harborside may find answers in L.A. case -- Like Oakland's Harborside Health Center, the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center had the approval of local law enforcement and political leaders for its medical marijuana dispensary. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 7/14/12 Sacramento power broker Darius Anderson hit by identity theft -- California power broker Darius Anderson made a splashy, public attempt to buy the Sacramento Kings last year – and wound up a victim of identity theft. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee -- 7/14/12 California governor signs safety-hazard notice bill -- Would-be homeowners must be told how to obtain information about potential safety hazards near properties, according to a bill signed into law Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown. Marc Lifsher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/14/12 Judge hears testimony on one-drug executions -- A California team of executioners is rehearsing how to use a new lethal injection to end the lives of death row prisoners with a single drug, an expert witness testified Friday. LINDA DEUTSCH Associated Press -- 7/14/12 Yahoo, HP, PG&E showered departing execs with millions -- Call it the golden goodbye. Four of the Bay Area's biggest companies handed out $67 million to five chief executives who retired under pressure or were shown the door this year and last. Pete Carey in the San Jose Mercury -- 7/14/12 Measure permitting pot clubs in Palo Alto likely headed to voters -- Voters in Palo Alto could be asked in November to pass an initiative that clears the way for three medical marijuana dispensaries to set up shop, although the future of such establishments remains hazy. Jason Green in the San Jose Mercury -- 7/14/12 Apple, Google face off in battle over voice computing -- One has a quirky sense of humor and seems more inclined to chat. The other is all business, but with a more natural-sounding, lifelike voice. Brandon Bailey in the San Jose Mercury -- 7/14/12
Obama defends criticism of Mitt Romney’s role at Bain Capital -- President Obama on Friday defended his campaign’s attacks on Mitt Romney’s record at Bain Capital after a flurry of charges and countercharges this week concerning Romney’s role at the private equity firm after he said he left to run the Salt Lake City Olympics. The item is in the Washington Post -- 7/14/12 2012 campaign enters a new phase, as Obama and Romney rachet up their attacks on each other -- President Obama’s campaign has spent many months trying to portray Mitt Romney as an unprincipled flip-flopper, a panderer to right-wing extremists and a greedy business executive. Then this week the ante was upped when one Obama aide suggested that Romney may be something worse: a potential felon. David Nakamura in the Washington Post -- 7/14/12
Romney assails Obama over Bain ads -- Mitt Romney accused President Obama on Friday of stooping to reckless and undignified campaign tactics, saying he was spreading false information to tarnish his rival’s record as chief executive of a Boston private equity firm. Michael Finnegan and Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/14/12 Mitt counter-punches on Bain -- Mitt Romney aggressively counter-punched against reports that he controlled Bain Capital for three years longer than he has previously claimed, giving five separate television interviews on Friday defending himself and slamming President Barack Obama’s campaign for alleging that he might be a “felon.” GINGER GIBSON and DYLAN BYERS Politico -- 7/14/12 Democrats say Romney tax returns could clarify Bain departure date -- Determined not to let a recent slate of attacks on Mitt Romney’s financial and job history slide quietly into the weekend, Democrats stepped up their attacks on Friday, again criticizing Romney for his failure to release his tax returns. Alana Semuels in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/14/12 |
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