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Friday Must Reads: Brown’s ‘Drought Relief’ Plan Comes Under Fire; State May Not Be Able to Stop Ballot Measure that Calls for Killing Gays
Stories you shouldn’t miss:
1. Governor Jerry Brown’s $1 billion so-called “drought-relief” plan is coming under fire because it includes very little money for actual drought relief, the Mercury News$ reports. Instead, the governor’s proposal calls for spending $660 million on flood control projects that have nothing to do with the current drought and will do nothing to help alleviate it.
2. Because of issues involving free speech and state law, California Attorney General Kamala Harris may have no choice but to greenlight an extraordinarily repugnant and bigoted ballot measure that calls for the killing of gays and lesbians by “bullets to the head,” or “any other convenient method,” the SacBee$ reports. California’s extremely lax laws on state propositions allow anyone to circulate ballot measure proposals — even if one calls for murdering people.
3. A new report from the nonpartisan state Legislative Analyst’s Office blames NIMBYs for the Bay Area’s out-of-control housing costs, the SF Business Times$ reports. The analyst’s office notes that anti-growth forces in the region have effectively blocked housing development, resulting in an extreme housing shortage and skyrocketing prices.
4. In the wake of the scandal involving Hillary Clinton’s extensive use of personal emails while she was US Secretary of State, the AP notes that California has no blanket law that prohibits public officials from using their personal emails when conducting official public business (via the SacBee$, h/t Rough & Tumble).
5. The FAA granted Amazon.com the authority to test the use of drones for the delivery of packages, the LA Times$ reports.
6. And President Obama signed an executive order requiring the federal government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 2008 levels, the Washington Post$ reports (h/t Rough & Tumble).
2. Because of issues involving free speech and state law, California Attorney General Kamala Harris may have no choice but to greenlight an extraordinarily repugnant and bigoted ballot measure that calls for the killing of gays and lesbians by “bullets to the head,” or “any other convenient method,” the SacBee$ reports. California’s extremely lax laws on state propositions allow anyone to circulate ballot measure proposals — even if one calls for murdering people.
3. A new report from the nonpartisan state Legislative Analyst’s Office blames NIMBYs for the Bay Area’s out-of-control housing costs, the SF Business Times$ reports. The analyst’s office notes that anti-growth forces in the region have effectively blocked housing development, resulting in an extreme housing shortage and skyrocketing prices.
4. In the wake of the scandal involving Hillary Clinton’s extensive use of personal emails while she was US Secretary of State, the AP notes that California has no blanket law that prohibits public officials from using their personal emails when conducting official public business (via the SacBee$, h/t Rough & Tumble).
5. The FAA granted Amazon.com the authority to test the use of drones for the delivery of packages, the LA Times$ reports.
6. And President Obama signed an executive order requiring the federal government to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 40 percent from 2008 levels, the Washington Post$ reports (h/t Rough & Tumble).
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