| S.F. supervisors vote to get tougher on smoking |
| Smoking soon will be snuffed out at sidewalk cafes, restaurant patios, movie and ATM lines, bingo halls and the common areas of housing complexes.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to extend smoking restrictions to those places, along with lighting up near doorways and windows of offices, shops and restaurants. It already is illegal to smoke in offices and commercial establishments that don't have a legally designated smoking area.
"This legislation will protect thousands of San Franciscans from secondhand smoke," said Supervisor Eric Mar, chief sponsor of the legislation. [Article] |
| by Rachel Gordon, San Francisco Chronicle. 2010-03-10 |
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| Alameda County jail workers go on strike |
| DUBLIN, Calif.—More than 140 healthcare workers who treat inmates at Alameda County jails are striking over contract negotiations.
Tuesday's one-day strike includes nurses, physicians assistants and dental assistants at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin and Glenn Dyer Detention Facility in Oakland.
The workers say Tennessee-based Prison Health Services has not been negotiating a new contract in good faith and has backtracked after agreeing to a 10-percent increase in wage and health care benefits. They say the company now wants to increase health care premiums by 30 percent. [Article] |
| by Associated Press, San Jose Mercury News. 2010-03-10 |
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| Healthcare workers stage 1-day walkout at Santa Rita county jail |
| Nurses, physician's assistants, dental assistants and others who provide medical care at Alameda County's two correctional facilities staged a one-day walkout yesterday, charging their private employer with unfair labor practices over staffing levels and workplace safety at the facilities.
The workers said they will return to work today.
The workers are members of the United Healthcare Workers-West (SEIU-UHW), part of the Service Employees International Union, a national union with 2.1 million members. Yesterday morning, they were joined on the picket line by SEIU International President Andy Stern. [Article] |
| by Jeb Bing, Pleasanton Weekly. 2010-03-10 |
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| Constituents conflicted over gay legislator |
| Bakersfield - -- The state senator who represents this Bible Belt region of farms and oil fields was once best known for moments like the one he created on April 2, 2005.
Organizing a rally at Bakersfield's Patriots Park, Roy Ashburn stood with evangelical leaders to condemn same-sex marriage as gay-rights advocates shouted him down.
"Marriage between one man and one woman is fundamental to civilization," Ashburn said that day.
Now, after a drunken driving arrest near a gay bar in Sacramento forced Ashburn to reveal that he is homosexual, people in his district - including some who were at Patriots Park that day - are wrestling with what to make of him and his long public career. [Article] |
| by DEMIAN BULWA, San Francisco Chronicle. 2010-03-10 |
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| S.F. mayor seeks texting limit at city meetings |
| San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom wants to push the off button on the trend of text messaging during meetings of the Board of Supervisors and various city commissions.
The tech-savvy mayor, himself an avid texter on his beloved iPhone, has asked the city attorney's office to draft legislation curbing electronic communication during public meetings for fear of city officials being unfairly influenced by lobbyists' texts. [Article] |
| by Heather Knight, San Francisco Chronicle. 2010-03-10 |
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| San Francisco LGBT Center asking city for $1M |
| SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center is asking the city for some big financial help to stay afloat.
Since opening in 2002, the $12.3 million, city-subsidized center has struggled to pay its mortgage and is now on the verge of foreclosure.
Officials are now asking the city for a $1 million line of credit.
The LGBT Center's staff of 24 provides counseling, job training, HIV prevention and other programs. Center officials had expected to rely on income from community room rentals and donations, but both have dropped off in the recession. [Article] |
| by Associated Press, San Jose Mercury News. 2010-03-10 |
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| Opinion: Dan Walters: Judges' critic languishes behind bars in L.A. County |
| Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca released hundreds of jail inmates last week before their terms were up, citing county budget problems.
However, 70-year-old Richard Fine was not among them. Instead, last week he marked the one-year anniversary of being clapped into a small and windowless solitary confinement cell for what a local judge declared to be contempt of court.
Fine is an antitrust attorney who has been a persistent critic of Los Angeles County's practice of giving judges nearly $50,000 a year in extra pay over their state-paid salaries. He has alleged that when the county government is a party to a lawsuit, it's a conflict of interest for judges to hear the case — and a conflict for them to hear any cases involving him because of his criticism. [Article] |
| by DAN WALTERS / COLUMNIST, San Jose Mercury News. 2010-03-10 |
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| Santa Clara Valley Water District could lose $70 million if well owners reject groundwater fee |
| The main government agency that provides drinking water in Santa Clara County — buffeted in recent years by controversies over high salaries and spending — may be about to have its checkbook slammed shut.
After a judge ruled in November that it was illegally collecting one of its primary sources of income, a groundwater fee, the Santa Clara Valley Water District is now asking 5,500 property owners for permission to keep collecting it.
If a majority says no in writing by April 27, the San Jose-based agency stands to lose roughly $70 million a year, or nearly a quarter of its $305 million annual budget. [Article] |
| by Paul Rogers, San Jose Mercury News. 2010-03-10 |
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| Farm Bureau supports groundwater charges |
| The Santa Clara County Farm Bureau Board of Directors has voted recently to support the Santa Clara Valley Water District's proposed zero increase in groundwater charges for the third year in a row. We encourage your readers to join us in ensuring that the groundwater will continue to be replenished by the water district. We urge South County residents NOT to protest the district's water charges, as a zero increase in water rates demonstrates smart economics in these fiscally tough times. [Article] |
| by Jan Garrod/President, Santa Clara County Farm Bureau / OPINION, Gilroy Dispatch. 2010-03-10 |
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| Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen announces re-election bid |
| Vowing to "do more with less," Tehama County District Attorney Gregg Cohen Tuesday formally announced his candidacy in the June election as he seeks to renew the seat he has held for 10 years.
"This term will prove to be my most challenging," Cohen said on the steps of the Tehama County Courthouse in front of more than a dozen supporters.
Budget forecasts for the county, state and his office all point to greater budget cuts, even as drug cases and methamphetamine sales increase. [Article] |
| by GEOFF JOHNSON, Red Bluff Daily News. 2010-03-10 |
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| UPDATED: Former Shasta County sheriff's clerk handed 270-day jail term |
| A former clerk with the Shasta County Sheriff's Office who admitted to embezzling about $16,000 from the department was ordered Tuesday to serve 270 days in jail and pay nearly $80,000 in restitution.
Hildegarde Ursula Shoemaker, 59, of Cottonwood, who in January pleaded no contest to embezzlement, is to turn herself in to Shasta County jail officials by Friday.
But Shoemaker, who wiped away tears with a tissue during her sentencing, most likely won't be serving her jail time there.
Instead, because she worked as a sheriff's records clerk for 19 years, she would serve her jail sentence in another Northern California county, possibly Modoc County. [Article] |
| by Jim Schultz, Redding Record Searchlight. 2010-03-10 |
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| Counties' unemployment figures worsen |
| Three Mid-Valley counties saw their unemployment rates increase to more than 20 percent in January, according to figures released today by the state Employment Development Department.
Colusa County was the highest of the three at 27.4 percent, also ranking it the highest in the state. Sutter County's unemployment rate was 21.0 and Yuba County's was 20.4. The data was not seasonally adjusted. [Article] |
| by STAFF REPORT, Marysville Appeal-Democrat. 2010-03-10 |
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| Stanislaus County unemployment spikes to 19 percent |
| Stanislaus County saw its jobless rate spike to the highest in 16 years as 44,600 people found themselves unemployed for the month of January.
The county hit 18.9 percent unemployment for the month, up from a revised 17.3 percent in December, according to data released Wednesday by the Employment Development Department.
The rate historically jumps from December to January, as holiday hires are let go and other industries slow down. Stanislaus county lost 1,000 retail jobs during that time period [Article] |
| by Marijke Rowland, Modesto Bee. 2010-03-10 |
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| General Plan talk turns to zoning ordinance |
| BUTTE VALLEY — Another step in the years-long process to craft a new General Plan for Butte County will begin Thursday with a public discussion on the zoning ordinance that will be part of the package.
The General Plan 2030 Citizens Advisory Committee meeting will examine the proposed structure of the new zoning ordinance, major changes proposed to the existing ordinance, and goals, policies and actions, according to a press release issued by the county.
The Citizens Advisory Committee was appointed by the Butte County Board of Supervisors to bring a wide range of backgrounds and concerns the discussion during each phase of process. Thursday's meeting is the beginning of the eighth series of meetings on aspects of the General Plan since the process began. [Article] |
| by Staff Report, Chico Enterprise-Record. 2010-03-10 |
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| Grape growers go organic, sustainable |
| Pushes to grow wine grapes either organically — with no pesticides — or sustainably — prioritizing practices deemed more environmentally friendly — have flourished in the Calaveras County over the last five to eight years.
But quantifying those efforts — which typically involve lots of preventative care and fighting weeds with anything from sheep to machine tilling rather than herbicides — has been more difficult.
“Everyone pretty much calls themselves sustainable, but no one’s been certified,” said Steve Collum, who works with several Calaveras County wine grape growers through his consulting business, Vineyard Concepts. [Article] |
| by Michael Kay, Sonora Union Democrat. 2010-03-10 |
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| Butte children's nutrition program wins federal award |
| OROVILLE — A 25-year program in Butte County that provides free summertime meals to school-age children throughout Northern California won a federal award Tuesday.
California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell announced Tuesday the Butte County Office of Education, Migrant Education Region 2 was one of four California recipients of the 2009 Sunshine Awards.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture gives the awards for providing outstanding service to underprivileged children through its summer food service program. [Article] |
| by BARBARA ARRIGONI, Oroville Mercury Register. 2010-03-10 |
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| Brad Breithaupt: Politics heat up over county's green public power plan |
| WHEN THE PUSH to start Marin's public power authority really got rolling last year, its leaders said they didn't want to hold local advisory votes because they didn't want to get into a costly political firefight with PG&E.
At the time, they said they couldn't raise the money they figured they needed to combat a high-powered campaign that PG&E would generate to persuade voters to oppose their city or town joining the Marin Energy Authority.
They were probably right; they wouldn't be able to match PG&E dollar for dollar. But money doesn't always prevail in Marin elections. There are many developers and candidates who can testify to that being the case in past elections. They spent freely and filled mailboxes with glossy fliers, only to have crossed a threshold where they created a backlash that turned voters against them. [Article] |
| by BRAD BREITHAUPT / EDITORIAL, Marin Independent Journal. 2010-03-10 |
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| Report: One-fourth of welfare payments go to illegals |
| Nearly one-quarter of state welfare payments and food stamps issued in Los Angeles County go to children whose parents are in the U.S. illegally, according to January figures released today.
Supervisor Mike Antonovich offered the statistics, generated by the county's Department of Public Social Services, to help make the case for enforcing the nation's borders, establishing health care clinics on the border with Mexico and reimbursing local governments for unfunded state and federal mandates, according to his press deputy, Tony Bell. [Article] |
| by Staff Report, Daily Breeze. 2010-03-10 |
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| County plans energy savings for Rood Center, jail |
| Saving $1 million in energy costs is the idea behind Nevada County's plan to retrofit the Rood Center and adjacent Wayne Brown Correctional Facility.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to accept a California Energy Commission loan for almost $1.5 million for the project.
Another $350,000 in grant funds are expected soon to help pay for new lighting, along with new heating and air conditioning units.
“It's a good green project,” said Chief Information Officer Steve Monaghan. [Article] |
| by Dave Moller, Grass Valley Union. 2010-03-10 |
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| Kings Co. frustrated by probe into birth defects |
| Kings County officials said Tuesday that they are frustrated with what they described as a lack of communication from the state Department of Public Health about new cases of birth defects in Kettleman City.
"We have not been kept informed," Keith Winkler, director of the county's health department, told the county Board of Supervisors.
Winkler said he learned Friday from the department that there were 10 documented birth-defect cases in Kettleman City from 2007 to the present. Three new cases from 2009 and one from this year have come to light, Winkler said. [Article] |
| by Lewis Griswold, Fresno Bee. 2010-03-10 |
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