(Sacramento Bee) // Assembly and Senate Democrat leaders are attempting to block the governor’s proposed cuts to programs that benefit the poor. They met with Brown yesterday to outline a budget plan that has a smaller reserve fund and cuts an obsolete high school scholarship. Since Democrats can pass a budget proposal with a simple majority, they have left Republicans at the periphery of the discussion and expect to present their budget plan to the governor Friday…
(LA Times) // During the recession, the state’s economy was not the only one that took a plunge. The wealth of the average family in the United States scaled back by 40 percent due to the reduction in the market value of their homes, back to what they were worth in the 90s. While some families have begun to recover, a recent Federal Reserve report presents data of impact felt across the board by people of various ages, income and educational backgrounds…
(San Francisco Chronicle) // The Urban Strategies Council, an Oakland nonprofit, flagged data flaws in Mayor Jean Quan’s 100-block crime fighting plan. Back in October, the Mayor attributed 90 percent of Oakland’s violent crimes to 100 city blocks, but the nonprofit found that crime on that area accounts for just 17 percent of overall crime…
(Oakland Tribune) // If Oakland’s City council doesn’t approve a plan to transform the Oakland Army base by next week, they will risk loosing $242 million in funding from the state. The plan to transform the base into to a job and warehousing center is being held up by a confrontation between developers and the community over a promise to create jobs specifically for Oakland residents…
(Bay Citizen) // According to a state audit, some public schools may not be prepared for a big earthquake due to failure of proving they’ve modified their buildings to meet safe seismic standards. The potential vulnerability of such schools is attributed to the lack of a system that tracks such needed alterations…
(Associated Press) // It’s been 50 years since a few convictions found and exploited the vulnerabilities of another structure – Alcatraz prison. Rumors circulated about whether the escaped bank robbers would return to the scene of their escape on this hallmark anniversary.
Connecting the dots brings the day’s news together.