Measure would bring discretion back to sentencing

by Brian Leubitz

At the height of the war on drugs, while Nancy Reagan was leading the charge to “Just Say No”, the federal government and most states passed some harsh legislation punishing drug offenses. That worked to crowd our prisons, but hasn’t really changed much in the fight against illegal narcotics. Some of the laws were blatantly racist, and have already been removed. Other reforms are pending, with the notable example of the Attorney General’s strongly symbolic speech in San Francisco.

Three weeks after AG Holder announced the nation’s plan to scale back prison sentences for low-level drug crimes, the California Assembly has passed legislation authored by Senator Mark Leno that reforms California’s drug sentencing laws for simple possession. SB 649 allows counties to significantly reduce incarceration costs by giving prosecutors the flexibility to charge low-level, non-violent drug offenses as misdemeanors or felonies (known as a wobbler). The bill, which passed the Assembly with a bipartisan vote, also gives judges discretion to deem a non-violent drug possession offense to be either a misdemeanor or felony after consideration of the offense and the defendant’s record.

“We know we can reduce crime by offering low-level offenders rehabilitation and the opportunity to successfully reenter their communities, but we are currently doing the opposite,” said Senator Leno, D-San Francisco. “We give non-violent drug offenders long terms, offer them no treatment while they’re incarcerated, and then release them back into the community with few job prospects or options to receive an education. SB 649 gives local governments the flexibility to choose reduced penalties so that they can reinvest in proven alternatives that benefit minor offenders and reserve limited jail space for serious criminals.”

If signed by the governor, SB 649, the Local Control in Sentencing Act, will significantly reduce jail spending and allow local governments to dedicate resources to probation, drug treatment and mental health services that have proven most effective in reducing crime. It will also help law enforcement rededicate resources to more serious offenders. The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates reducing penalties for drug possession will save counties about $159 million annually.

This legislation is a good, common sense start to drug sentencing. It gives both prosecutors and judges some discretion over sentencing, and allows them to take in context for those decisions. And when you add in the context of the prison overcrowding crisis, some common sense is very helpful.

Bay Bridge opens early, pleases crowds

by Brian Leubitz

By yesterday afternoon, my Facebook feed was dominated by questions of when the Bay Bridge would reopen. And when it finally did, around 10pm last night, it was full of videos showing the new span as cars started rolling on.

At 10:15 p.m. Monday, Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol took down barricades at on-ramps and interchanges and let traffic flow to the bridge for the first time since Wednesday night, when it was closed to allow construction crews to make the transition from the old east span to the $6.4 billion new span.

The bridge had been scheduled to open at 5 a.m. Tuesday. But construction went smoothly, and Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty announced at the dedication ceremony that it would open Monday night. (SF Chronicle)

It has been about 24 years since the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that pushed the need for this new structure, and the design process took much of that time. Since the actual structure has gone up, the work has been fairly quick. While delays were expected because of faulty bolts, some on-the-fly engineering work was able to speed the process up. The fact remains that even with the awkward “shims” supporting the questionable bolts, the new bridge is still safer than most of the other major bridges in the nation.

From a broader perspective, it is truly a beautiful structure. The massive tower stands as a signal that we can still accomplish big things as a state.

Website may not be ready to go at beginning of enrollment period

by Brian Leubitz

The California individual health care exchange comes online on October 1, whether the website is ready or not. But it looks like “not” may be more likely:

“We have not made that call yet,” said Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, which is implementing the federal health law in the state. If online enrollment isn’t immediately available, Lee said, there would be other ways to sign up through call centers, enrollment counselors and agents before coverage kicks in Jan. 1. “The date we care about is Jan. 1 when coverage takes effect.” (LA Times)

You can actually buy these exchange policies in a number of ways, including directly through the insurance provider. However, given how web-centric we are these days, that is obviously the easiest option. While other states are also having problems, you would have hoped we could have been the model state to get everything ready to go.

However, minor annoyances aside, and despite this not being a long-term solution like single payer, Covered California is still a step in the right direction.

Resolution calls for avoiding investments in Russia until LGBT policy is changed

by Brian Leubitz

In case you’ve been living under a rock, the government of Russia is pushing to scapegoat the LGBT community, as President Putin is losing credibility.  The move combines with a very homophobic attitude from the Russian Orthodox Church to create a toxic environment and causing [increasing violence against the community. Yesterday, a resolution introduced by Senator Mark Leno that urges CalPERS and CalSTRS not to invest future resources from their pension plans in Russia passed the Senate Public Employment and Retirement Committee today with a 4-1 bipartisan vote.

Senate Resolution 18 was introduced in response to Russia’s new laws that discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. In addition to asking the state’s two largest pension funds to stop making direct future investments in Russia, SR 18 calls on the International Olympic Committee to withdraw its position that expressing support for LGBT people and their rights is a violation of its rules and seek a written guarantee from the Russian government that athletes and other visitors to the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi will not be prosecuted under the anti-gay laws. SR 18 also urges other organizations holding large internationally televised events in Russia, including the Miss Universe Organization and its owner Donald Trump, to move their events to countries without such virulently anti-gay laws.

“Russia’s new anti-gay laws are designed to promote the ongoing persecution of LGBT people in that country, and they are an unconscionable affront to LGBT people around the globe,” said Senator Leno, D-San Francisco. “As the host of international events, including the Winter Olympics and the Miss Universe Pageant, it is unacceptable that Russia promote discrimination against people based solely on sexual orientation or gender identity. California joins the worldwide outrage against these new laws and is in a unique position as one of the largest economies to make a strong statement that we will not tolerate nor invest in blatant violations of human rights.”

The measure goes to the full Senate floor, where it will hopefully be quickly sped upon its way.

Fire threatens giant sequoia groves

by Brian Leubitz

The Yosemite area Rim fire is huge, and doesn’t show many indications of slowing down anytime soon:

Firefighters on Monday dealt with fierce winds that were pushing the giant Rim Fire north toward the communities of Tuolumne City, Twain Harte and Ponderosa Pines.

Overall, fire crews reported progress slowing the advance of the blaze, which had grown to more 235 square miles on the western edge of Yosemite and was threatening thousands of homes, many in the hills above the Gold Rush-era city of Sonora.

Beyond the concerns that this will scare away tourists (myself included…I was planning a trip soon), the fire is now endangering some of the oldest and largest trees in the world. Two of the three largest Sequoia groves are at risk, and firefighters are working to protect them.

It turns out how we think about fire fighting has changed a lot in the last 30 years. Simply putting out every fire isn’t wise, but we also can’t be setting controlled burns every few years. Nature has evolved with a very delicate balance, and we’ve been failing that for over 100 years in the American West. The combination of our fire management strategies with climate changed has made our forests a disaster waiting to happen.

Best of luck to our firefighters. Stay safe.

Photo credit: NASA Goddard Space center on Flickr. The Rim Fire can be seen as a bright blob directly south of Lake Tahoe. The fire is now bigger than Lake Tahoe.