Stalag 13 and Prop 13?/ Pete Peterson

While news of increased voter participation continues to filter in following yesterday's "Super Tuesday" series of primaries, voter registration is way up for a demographic rarely considered for its civic engagement: prison inmates. In both Los Angeles and San Francisco County jails the number of prisoners voting by absentee ballot is considerably higher than either the 2006 or 2004 election cycles.

In LA County alone, at least 917 inmates had registered to vote. This compares with the 16 prisoners who registered in 2006 and 121 who did so in the last presidential election year: 2004. Much of the work in growing these registration figures is being carried out by the ACLU. County Sheriff's spokesman, Steve Whitmore said, "people have the legal right to vote if they [have not been convicted] and have no prior felony convictions. We look at it as part of the process, part of the inmate services we provide."

Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-jailvote6feb06,1,7855213.story

Bratton Stands In for Villaraigosa / Laura Elena Ortuno

L.A. Police Chief William Bratton has taken the leading role in a high-stakes campaign to persuade voters to preserve a utility tax this week that would bolster the city's flagging revenues. Bratton’s position has demonstrated his growing power overshadowing that of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, specifically on this issue.

Campaign officials have stated that Bratton’s campaign was appealing to voters across party lines more than any other city official, including the mayor. Bratton’s reputation has greatly helped in the success of his campaign. This is the first time he has put himself at the forefront in the public eye.

Bratton is highly confident that Proposition S will pass. In the case that the proposition which accounts for about 6% of the city’s general fund does not pass, it will lead to significant cuts to city services.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-bratton4feb04,1,6232869.story?ctrack=2&cset=true

Frenzied 24 hours of campaigning in California/ Sarah Montes

In the final hours leading up to Super Tuesday, campaign efforts have increased dramatically in California. The high campaign activity is due to the closeness of the race. Bill Clinton has been all over the state in support of his wife Hillary. He held a town hall meeting with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom at the Ferry building in San Francisco last night. While Obama’s campaign a held a reunion of the surviving members of the Grateful Dead at an event titled "Deadheads for Obama." Which took place in the bay area. The GOP candidates were also really busy during the last 24 hours making last minute appearances in efforts to pick up delegates before Super Tuesday. The GOP race has also gotten tighter in California A Field Poll of state voters through Friday showed McCain leading by 8 points, but some of the latest polls suggest that his lead has been softening while Mitt Romney seems to be closing the gap.

Candidates have been doing all they can in efforts to get as many California votes as possible.

Link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/02/05/MNNFURV7R.DTL

Regional Fire Agencies Look at New Forms of Cooperation/ Joanne Golden

Three wildfire committees in San Diego County (Regional Fire Protection Committee (RFPC), San Diego Regional Fire Safety Forum, and Ad Hoc Committee on Fire Prevention and Recovery) have been brainstorming on ways to prepare for future wildfires. Funding remains an impediment, but committees expect that local support will provide them with the funds. Ultimately, the goal is to become less dependent on the state’s response agency, Cal Fire. One way that the RFPC expects to raise the revenue is through “a quarter-cent sales tax for fire protection is one of the funding options [County Supervisor] Roberts said the committee would consider. It would generate about $110 million a year.”

Link: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/20080203-9999-1m3fire.html

California Water Worries/ Lisa Sweet

As a result of higher temperatures supposed to have been caused by global warming, the snow pack in the Western mountainous regions is decreasing. Higher temperatures result in a higher rainfall over snow while melting the current snow pack without replacing it. The trend is expected to intensify through the decades which will have an adverse effect on the fragile balance of the California reservoir system leading to flooding in the winters and shortages in the summers.

In recent decades, the amount of precipitation as snow has steadily decreased by an average of 4.3% per decade as temperatures have climbed on average by 0.34% Celsius in winter months. Researchers and scientists point to greenhouse gases as the culprit of the temperature change. The data modeling suggests that gases are 35-60% responsible depending on which climate model is used. In order to prepare for future water worries water conservation and reservoir construction are suggested as part of the solution.

Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-sci-water1feb01,1,7686108.story