Marin Valley Herald – The week in review
Original post can be found in Mariscope Newspapers.
- The Golden State Warriors basketball team will go for the record for wins in a single season on Wednesday, April 13, against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs last Sunday to record their 72 win of the season. That ties the record set by the Chicago Bulls in the 1995-96 season. The game Wednesday begins at 7:30 p.m.
- A California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer remains hospitalized this week after he was hit on west bound Interstate 80 in Sacramento. Michael Ericson, who grew up in Marin County, is assigned to the CHP office in Sacramento. He pulled his motorcycle in front to what appeared to be a stalled vehicle. The pick-up then rammed into Ericson and left the scene. The suspect, Austin Scott, 28, of Reno, was later apprehended and charged with attempted murder.
- The San Francisco 49ers will participate in the 2016 National Football League draft on April 28-30 with a lot of needs and a lot of cash to spend. The 49ers finished dead last in their division last year. In almost every statistical category, the team dwelled at or near the bottom of the league. However, the 49ers have about $56 million in salary cap room, the highest in the NFL and the team has 12 draft picks. Insiders are looking for the team to stockpile young talent.
- The federal government is probing allegations that Gov. Jerry Brown improperly used federal funds to build two 40-foot-high, 30-mile-long tunnels to carry water from the Northern California’s Sacramento River to districts further south. Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility asked for a review on behalf of a whistleblower who maintains the state improperly used $60 million that was supposed to restore fish habitat, not move water around the state. The Interior Department’s inspector general is investigating.
- If water levels rise as much as projected this century, 27 major commercial and residential developments in the Bay Area will be under water, including the new Warriors basketball stadium and the new facilities for Google and Facebook. That conclusion comes from a study published in the Public Press, which partnered with the University of California-Berkeley Cartography and Geographic Information System Education Lab. It is estimated that in the next 100 years, water levels could rise as much as 8 feet.
- If you are black or Latino in California, you are much more likely to face arrest after a traffic stop. An analysis of California traffic courts titled “Not Just a Ferguson Problem” by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area found patterns of uneven traffic enforcement that cut against minorities in a disproportionate way. “It’s the closest thing we still have to a debtors prison in California,” said one of the authors for the report. “There’s just this cascading series of events that happen to people that start with really minor traffic offenses.”
- Gov. Jerry Brown isn’t saying who he is supporting for president – Bernie Sanders or Hillary Clinton. Gov. Brown is a so-called “super delegate” and can vote for whomever he chooses. He is not bound by the election or the party. Brown said he will take his time to decide. “Once you make a decision, you give up the ability to make a decision,” Brown said.
- The Marin County Fair (June 30 – July 4) will feature a number of prominent bands this year. The Wallflowers are scheduled to play June 30, Kool & the Gang take the platform on July 1, Sheila E plays July 2, Plain White T’s play July 3 and Foreigner hits the stage July 4. The entertainment was announced this week.
- The Marin County Civil Grand Jury audited 126 local agencies overseen by the county and found that six agencies were awarded an A+. They were Corte Madera, Sausalito and Novato Fire Protection District, the Novato Sanitary District, the Marin/Sonoma Mosquito and Vector Control District and the Bolinas Community Public Utility District. Most agencies, however, fell far short of top marks. Twenty-seven county agencies didn’t even have websites to audit.
- Grace Slick will exhibit her paintings with Marijuana themes April 20 through May 30 at the Area Arts Gallery in Santa Rosa. Slick, 73, is the former lead singer with Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship.