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Daily news roundup for Tuesday, December 15, 2015

NGB Counterdrug/www.flickr.com/photos/ngbj32counterdrug/

Here’s what’s happening in the Bay Area, as curated by KALW News:

California pot farms stealing water amid drought // San Jose Mercury News

"About 72 million gallons of water were used to irrigate San Diego County's thirsty and illegal marijuana operations, enough to serve 440 families for a year, and that's only for the ones that were found."

"Law enforcement officials made that statement Thursday at a news conference at the Drug Enforcement Administration's San Diego office as they announced the number of illegal pot plants seized countywide so far this year."

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Opposition poised to doom San Francisco’s new jail// San Francisco Examiner

"San Francisco’s jail proposal could be doomed after six members of the Board of Supervisors said Monday they would vote against the project on Tuesday. Four members of the Board of Supervisors – John Avalos, Eric Mar, Jane Kim, David Campos – have long taken an anti-jail position. They were joined during a rally Monday by board president London Breed who ended weeks of speculation by saying she would oppose the jail."

"Breed declared her position with the four progressive supervisors during a rally outside of City Hall. 'My brother spent years in 850 Bryant,' she said. 'Unfortunately he had a drug problem and he needed treatment, not to be locked up.'"

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Could New California Law Prevent Mass Shootings? // Capital Public Radio 

"California law enforcement agencies will get a new tool in January that they hope could prevent mass shootings. The new law is drawing criticism from gun rights advocates, while last week’s San Bernardino shooting has supporters hoping to expand its reach."

"The law was written in response to a mass shooting near Santa Barbara in May 2014. A young man killed six people and injured 13 after his parents had warned law enforcement he could be dangerous. Within months, California had a new law allowing family members or law enforcement officials to seek a temporary 'gun violence restraining order' against someone they believe could be dangerous."

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Coliseum Transit Village deal could cost Oakland millions // Oakland Tribune

"A long-gestating transit village might finally sprout up next to the Oakland Coliseum BART Station, covering a slab of parking lot with 110 apartments and 1,500 square feet of retail. But the project could come at great cost to the city, which for 12 years has pinned its hopes on a transient cast of businessmen who formed their own nonprofit corporation to clinch the deal."

"The Oakland City Council’s Community and Economic Development Committee will vote Tuesday on whether to sign a development agreement with that group and its partner, local real estate firm UrbanCore. The agreement would require Oakland to become a partner and loan $11.6 million to the project with no guarantee of ever getting it back."

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Crawl space placed for rent in San Francisco for $500// KRON4

"Times are tough in the Bay Area, especially in San Francisco. Rent is increasing and it’s getting harder to find an affordable place to live. Two guys aged '20 something' have put up their Pacific Heights crawl space for rent on Craigslist...for $500. The ad was posted on December 11 and you can move in on December 15."

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Megaship will visit Port of Oakland on New Year's Eve// Oakland Tribune

"A new class of cargo ship set to visit the Port of Oakland at 8 a.m. Dec. 31 could herald a more productive era of trade between two continents."

"Port officials expect the 1,300-foot-long Benjamin Franklin, operated by Marseille-based shipping line CMA CGM, to test its berthing, docking and unloading capacities during its maiden voyage later this month. After its launch from a Chinese shipyard last month, line owners expect to schedule regular service between California, China and South Korea."

Edwin Okong’o is an African-born award-winning writer, journalist, humorist and satirist. He has worked as an associate editor and communications director at New America Media, and a reporter for PBS’s Frontline/World. “Kenya: Sweet Home, Obama,” a documentary he made about Kenyans and the 2008 U.S. presidential elections for the PBS program, was voted the People’s Voice at the 2009 Webby Awards. He teaches at the University of California, Berkeley, where he graduated from in 2007 with a Master's degree in journalism.