Union seeks strike authorization - Local 1000 of the Service Employees International Union, the largest bargaining unit among state employees said it would seek a strike authorization vote from members. Union leaders say they can’t accept the state’s most recent offer, which included pay raises of less than three percent annually. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index has risen 1.5 percent over the past year.
Advocates oppose driverless car rules - Carmakers and tech companies are battling proposed rules from the Department of Motor Vehicles to regulate self-driving cars. Capital Public Radio reports, industry lobbyists say having state and local regulations atop federal rules would prevent self-driving cars from catching on. Consumer groups meanwhile are opposing proposed voluntary rules as pointless. The state is expected to launch a formal ‘rule-making’ process in coming months.
Modoc deputy shot to death - A Modoc County sheriff's deputy was shot to death yesterday while responding to a call, the sheriff's office said. The Associated Press is reporting that deputies were responding to a call on County Road 115, in a rural area about 10 miles south of Alturas, when Deputy Jack Hopkins, 31, was fatally shot. A suspect was detained a short time later, the sheriff's office said. Hopkins joined the force last year. The Shasta, Siskiyou, Lassen and Butte County Sheriff's Offices and the California Highway Patrol are investigating the shooting.
California resuming prison healthcare oversight - California has regained responsibility for providing medical care at more than a quarter of its 34 prisons after 10 years of reforms. According to the Associated Press, the court-appointed receiver running the inmate health care system returned control to the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation yesterday at a ninth state prison. A federal judge said last year that California must successfully operate all 34 adult prisons for a year before he considers ending a long-running class action lawsuit.
Sanchez badly lagging Harris in endorsements, fundraising - U.S. Senate candidate Loretta Sanchez is entering the final weeks in California's race short on money and trailing in the polls, according to the Associated Press. Records released yesterday show the Orange County congresswoman with just $879,000 in the bank September 30th— a troubling sign in her effort to stage an upset on Nov. 8. California has some of the nation's most expensive media markets, and it appears unlikely Sanchez can finance enough TV ads to close the gap with front-runner Kamala Harris. Harris, the state attorney general, ended the quarter with over $4 million in the bank and has been airing TV ads to sway late-deciding voters. Harris has never trailed in polls and has been endorsed by President Barack Obama and Gov. Jerry Brown. Sanchez has been attempting to stitch together an unusual coalition of Republicans, Latinos, and moderate independents and Democrats.