Your morning news roundup ....
- List of 28 chronically underperforming schools in Silicon Valley stirs up storm (SJ Mercury News)
A Silicon Valley advocacy group on Wednesday released its latest list of the 28 chronically worst-performing schools in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties that, not surprisingly, serve largely poor and Latino children. Intended to lend urgency to the mission of improving education for those students, Wednesday's release intensifies the clash over reform and charter schools and sparked resentment among school officials. Some cried foul, saying that the list is based on dated information and ignores recent strides. Full story
- For Google's self-driving cars, learning to deal with the bizarre is essential (SJ Mercury News)
In 700,000 miles of navigating Bay Area and other roads, Google's self-driving cars have encountered just about everything -- including an elderly woman in a motorized wheelchair flailing a broom at a duck she was chasing around the street. Apparently perplexed and taking no chances, the vehicle stopped and refused to go further. Full story
- Alien fish poisoned by the thousands to save S.F.’s Mountain Lake (SF Chronicle)
... The four-hour poisoning operation, using rotenone, which is deadly to animals with gills, was the most difficult for ecologists to stomach of all the work done by the Presidio Trust over the past two years. The trust, which oversees most of the Presidio, plans to turn the degraded lake next to Park Presidio Boulevard into a natural preserve. The $12 million restoration project marks the first time anyone has tried to restore an ancient lake ecosystem in an urban area to the way it was before Europeans arrived in America. The idea is to rid the lake of carp, goldfish and other species introduced or dumped from aquariums into the lake over the years. Ecologists will test the waters again in May, and if all is clear they will reintroduce native species like three-spined sticklebacks, Western pond turtles and chorus frogs. Full story
- S.F. mayor’s choice for Chiu’s seat could swing balance of board (C.W. Nevius, SF Chronicle)
... While a replacement for Chiu as supervisor in District Three is a big deal, the ramifications for who replaces Chiu as Board of Supervisors president are huge. If Mayor Ed Lee chooses Planning Commission President Cindy Wu for the District Three seat — the strong preference of Chinatown power brokers, including the influential Rose Pak — conventional wisdom has it that Supervisor Jane Kim is a slam dunk for president. The thinking is that the board, minus Chiu, who is leaving for the Assembly, will be split 5-5 between moderates and progressives. The progs will rally around Kim, and Wu, if appointed, would be the tiebreaker. Full story
- Tech surveillance devices would require public oversight in SF under proposed legislation (SF Examiner)
The use of high-tech surveillance tools would need public approval to be adopted by San Francisco agencies under new legislation announced by Supervisor John Avalos and the American Civil Liberties Union on Wednesday. National Security Agency-style technology is bleeding into law enforcement agencies nationwide with little oversight, the ACLU said at a news conference on the steps of City Hall. Among their recommendations, Avalos and the ACLU called for more transparency around government surveillance protocols in San Francisco. Full story
- Bera surges ahead of Ose in close race (Sacramento Bee)
Freshman Democratic Rep. Ami Bera has captured the lead over Republican Doug Ose in the expensive and closely watched race for suburban Sacramento’s 7th Congressional District. Bera surged ahead of Ose by 711 votes, 87,643 to 86,932, in the most recent vote totals announced Wednesday afternoon. Ose’s lead had stood at 3,011 votes on election night, falling to 2,183 last Thursday and just 530 on Monday, when county elections officials announced that 33,000 ballots remained uncounted. The outcome of the contest now hinges on an estimated 10,000 countywide mail ballots and more than 9,000 additional provisional ballots, officials said. Full story
- Marin officials uncertain about Prop. 47's impact on jail population, previous offenders (Marin Independent Journal)
Marin law enforcement officials aren't sure how many offenders are eligible for release following the passage of Proposition 47 — but they fear it will lead to a rise in thefts and the inability of the courts to place offenders in drug rehabilitation programs. Hundreds of inmates have walked out of county jails throughout the state and more than 4,000 in state prisons are readying for possible release, including two from Marin, because of the proposition approved last week that reduces sentences for some drug and property crimes. Marin officials are unsure how many people both in and out of jail will be affected by the new law. Full story
- Did Obama Shoot Himself in the Foot on Net Neutrality? (Mother Jones)
On Monday, President Barack Obama urged the Federal Communications Commission to safeguard net neutrality and not allow internet companies to give preference (for a fee) to certain types of online traffic. After much debate, the president was declaring his support for a free-flowing internet in which telecom firms do not block or slow traffic in order to pocket more profits or promote their own commercial (and perhaps even political) interests. But there could be a problem: FCC chairman Tom Wheeler, whom Obama appointed, is not yet on board. After Obama's announcement, Wheeler, according to the Washington Post, told industry insiders he preferred to allow some for-profit fast-tracking. That seemed to suggest the president may have a fight of his own making. Last year, Obama had the chance to nominate an outspoken consumer advocate to chair the FCC. But he picked Wheeler—whose views on the issue weren't entirely clear—instead. Full story