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"content": "\u003cp>San Francisco may become the next U.S. city to ban plastic straws. The city’s Board of Supervisors approved the ban on a preliminary basis last week and the final decision is on its agenda Tuesday. That has shops that sell boba, or bubble tea — a drink that has to be sucked through a straw — concerned.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Bubble tea is typically served in a big plastic cup over ice. It has balls of tapioca at the bottom the size of small marbles. You use a wide straw to suck up the tapioca, or boba, from the bottom of the cup.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For boba fans, the straw is an integral part of the experience. “Boba is just, in general, an expression, right?” says Alvin Yu, co-owner of the city’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.steepsf.com/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Steep Creamery and Tea\u003c/a>. “You have not just tapioca pearls, but you also have aloe jelly, you have these herbal jellies that we make ourselves. And it all requires a straw.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to Yelp, more than 200 shops sell bubble tea in San Francisco. All of them will have to change their business practices if the city bans plastic straws to help reduce litter and landfill and combat the amount of single-use plastics that end up polluting the ocean.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The size and shape of plastic straws makes them particularly problematic for the city’s composting and recycling centers, says San Francisco Supervisor \u003ca href=\"https://sfbos.org/supervisor-tang-district-4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Katy Tang\u003c/a>, who spearheaded the bill.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When they’re being sorted in the sorting machines, [the straws] just fall through the cracks and so they don’t actually get composted — even if they are supposedly made of compostable material,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why San Francisco’s plastic straw ban goes a step further than similar prohibitions passed by other U.S. cities: Not even plastic that’s compostable is allowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yu says he was lucky. His shop was able to beat the rush and order paper straws in advance of the ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other boba shops haven’t been so fortunate. Only a few companies manufacture super-sized paper straws big enough for bubble tea. They’re all reporting huge orders and delays lasting up to \u003cem>four months\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But paper is not a perfect fix, says Yu. “Part of the experience of drinking boba is poking a sharp end of a straw through the plastic seal of a cup. And that’s something we wanted to emulate,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the paper straws Yu ordered aren’t cut with a point on the end. So he and his staff have to cut them all by hand. The paper straws are also expensive — about 10 times more than plastic straws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What about drinking bubble tea without a straw? “It’d be really hard,” says boba fan Julie Abad, a customer at Yu’s shop drinking a plain black tea with tapioca and lychee jelly at the bottom. “I think I’d have to pour it into a cup and use a spoon or something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others, like customer Kehlani Penland, just dismissed the idea outright. “Nobody wants to do that when you’re walking and it’s cold outside. You know, you just want to sip it with a straw!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, Steep Creamery and Tea is offering the paper straws for free. But Yu says that over time, he will have to raise prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, some environmentally conscious boba consumers, like 10-year-old Alice Asoyan, say all this effort is worth it. “Our world is in big danger right now because of plastic, so paper is probably better,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the bill passes again on Tuesday, it goes to Mayor London Breed for her signature. She has previously come out in favor of the ban. Businesses will then have until July 2019 to trade in their plastic straws for paper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boba lovers can also choose to do what Supervisor Tang suggests: Carry a metal straw just for bubble tea.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When they’re being sorted in the sorting machines, [the straws] just fall through the cracks and so they don’t actually get composted — even if they are supposedly made of compostable material,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s why San Francisco’s plastic straw ban goes a step further than similar prohibitions passed by other U.S. cities: Not even plastic that’s compostable is allowed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Yu says he was lucky. His shop was able to beat the rush and order paper straws in advance of the ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Other boba shops haven’t been so fortunate. Only a few companies manufacture super-sized paper straws big enough for bubble tea. They’re all reporting huge orders and delays lasting up to \u003cem>four months\u003c/em>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But paper is not a perfect fix, says Yu. “Part of the experience of drinking boba is poking a sharp end of a straw through the plastic seal of a cup. And that’s something we wanted to emulate,” he says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the paper straws Yu ordered aren’t cut with a point on the end. So he and his staff have to cut them all by hand. The paper straws are also expensive — about 10 times more than plastic straws.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What about drinking bubble tea without a straw? “It’d be really hard,” says boba fan Julie Abad, a customer at Yu’s shop drinking a plain black tea with tapioca and lychee jelly at the bottom. “I think I’d have to pour it into a cup and use a spoon or something.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others, like customer Kehlani Penland, just dismissed the idea outright. “Nobody wants to do that when you’re walking and it’s cold outside. You know, you just want to sip it with a straw!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Right now, Steep Creamery and Tea is offering the paper straws for free. But Yu says that over time, he will have to raise prices.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, some environmentally conscious boba consumers, like 10-year-old Alice Asoyan, say all this effort is worth it. “Our world is in big danger right now because of plastic, so paper is probably better,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the bill passes again on Tuesday, it goes to Mayor London Breed for her signature. She has previously come out in favor of the ban. Businesses will then have until July 2019 to trade in their plastic straws for paper.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Boba lovers can also choose to do what Supervisor Tang suggests: Carry a metal straw just for bubble tea.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>California lawmaker Ian Calderon introduced a bill making it \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/fiorestraw\">illegal for servers in restaurants to provide straws\u003c/a> unless asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Calderon pointed to environmental reports stating that 500 million single-use plastic straws are discarded daily, contributing to massive amounts of \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/04/24/trash-talk-currents-push-marine-debris-into-massive-garbage-patch/\">harmful plastics\u003c/a> on land, waterways and in oceans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1884\">AB 1884\u003c/a> attempts to prevent servers at restaurants from “providing single-use plastic straws to consumers unless requested by the consumer,” with violators potentially facing misdemeanor charges, a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After immediate criticism — largely focused on penalties imposed by the straw legislation — Calderon said the bill will be amended to eliminate the penalties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>California lawmaker Ian Calderon introduced a bill making it \u003ca href=\"http://bit.ly/fiorestraw\">illegal for servers in restaurants to provide straws\u003c/a> unless asked.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Calderon pointed to environmental reports stating that 500 million single-use plastic straws are discarded daily, contributing to massive amounts of \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/2017/04/24/trash-talk-currents-push-marine-debris-into-massive-garbage-patch/\">harmful plastics\u003c/a> on land, waterways and in oceans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1884\">AB 1884\u003c/a> attempts to prevent servers at restaurants from “providing single-use plastic straws to consumers unless requested by the consumer,” with violators potentially facing misdemeanor charges, a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>After immediate criticism — largely focused on penalties imposed by the straw legislation — Calderon said the bill will be amended to eliminate the penalties.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>If shellfish are on the menu, chances are \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/09/19/guess-whats-showing-up-in-our-shellfish-one-word-plastics/\">microplastics are, too\u003c/a>. One researcher said he found “shocking numbers” of plastics in seawater.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tiny plastic particles come from everything from toothpaste and face wash to fake snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A study last year found that wastewater treatment plants were discharging 7,000,000 particles each day into San Francisco Bay. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sheer load of these particles, both plastics and non-plastics, “suggested that San Francisco Bay has more microplastic pollution than other major water bodies in the U.S.,” the study said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, researchers \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/09/21/hunting-for-plastic-in-californias-protected-ocean-waters/\" target=\"_blank\">are trying to find out how much is there\u003c/a> and whether it’s polluting marine sanctuaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>If shellfish are on the menu, chances are \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/09/19/guess-whats-showing-up-in-our-shellfish-one-word-plastics/\">microplastics are, too\u003c/a>. One researcher said he found “shocking numbers” of plastics in seawater.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The tiny plastic particles come from everything from toothpaste and face wash to fake snow.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A study last year found that wastewater treatment plants were discharging 7,000,000 particles each day into San Francisco Bay. \u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The sheer load of these particles, both plastics and non-plastics, “suggested that San Francisco Bay has more microplastic pollution than other major water bodies in the U.S.,” the study said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now, researchers \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/science/2017/09/21/hunting-for-plastic-in-californias-protected-ocean-waters/\" target=\"_blank\">are trying to find out how much is there\u003c/a> and whether it’s polluting marine sanctuaries.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>“Do you need a bag?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since November, when California became the first state to ban single-use plastic bags, it’s a question you have to answer almost every time you go to the store. And you have to ask yourself: Am I willing to pay 10 cents for a bag?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriouspodcastinfo]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also a question that made 12-year-old Amar Farhat have a question of her own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Is banning plastic bags making a difference in the environment?”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amar doesn’t just want to know if fewer bags are being used now, but also if the law is doing what it was meant to do: help the environment. She’s a little skeptical. Amar and her family used to reuse the old plastic bags for trash or errands. Plus, she said, the new thicker bags you get at the store seem to be made of more plastic, not less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like it might help a little bit, but overall, we have so many plastic things, this is a small percentage,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What is the Plastic Bag Ban?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>If plastic bags are banned, what are these thicker plastic bags Amar is getting from the grocery store?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s important to understand how the new statewide ban works. The law gets rid of single-use plastic bags — those thin, cheap plastic bags you used to get. It also requires grocery stores to charge 10 cents for paper bags or for new, thicker, reusable plastic bags. Those thicker plastic bags have to be made of partially recycled material and have to meet \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=PRC&division=30.&title=&part=3.&chapter=5.3.&article=2.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">specific requirements\u003c/a>. The state hopes that if these bags are heftier and bigger, you can use fewer of them at the checkout line and reuse them for longer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is one of the old bags:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-11463433\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is one of the new bags:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-11463426\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also opt to bring your own bags or not take any bags at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the state law just went into effect, it’s too soon to know how it’s working, but there are hundreds of cities around California that already had their own plastic bag bans. If something different is happening at your grocery store, it might be because your local law varies slightly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These cities can tell us how they’ve fared so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Are Fewer Bags Being Used Overall?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In 2013, Alameda County passed an ordinance very similar to the current state law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen an 80 percent reduction in the number of bags — paper and plastic,” said Meri Soll, senior program manager at \u003ca href=\"http://www.stopwaste.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">StopWaste\u003c/a>. The agency oversees waste management in Alameda County\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are a number of ways Soll and her colleague, Jeff Becerra, measured the impact of the ordinance — but one of the most effective methods was surprisingly low-tech.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We stood in a parking lot,” said Soll. “We just watched the consumers go out, how many bags did they have, what types of bags? Did they not have bags?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a year after the ordinance, they went back to those same stores at the same time and counted again. What they found was that twice as many people are bringing their own bags and almost three times as many simply don’t take a bag at all. The big differences have been that people are no longer taking bags when they buy one or two items, double-bagging items or taking extra free bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s a chart StopWaste made:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11462981\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1332\" height=\"841\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags.png 1332w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-160x101.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-800x505.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-1020x644.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-1180x745.png 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-960x606.png 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-240x152.png 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-375x237.png 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-520x328.png 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1332px) 100vw, 1332px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soll and Becerra didn’t just stand in parking lots, though. They also got the purchasing data from 69 chain stores in the county. Those stores went from using 50 million bags each year to using just 10 million total — paper and plastic. The number of paper bags used went from 13 million to 8 million, and the number of plastic bags went from 37 million to 2 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alameda is not the only county that has attempted to measure the impact of its bag ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are \u003ca href=\"http://www.cawrecycles.org/list-of-local-bag-bans/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">multiple studies\u003c/a> and a few \u003ca href=\"http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.849.5625&rep=rep1&type=pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in-depth analyses\u003c/a> of different local bans — nearly all of which show a decrease in the overall number of single-use bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>In\u003ca href=\"http://www3.sanjoseca.gov/clerk/CommitteeAgenda/TE/20121203/TE20121203_d5.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> its effectiveness study\u003c/a>, San Jose found twice as many people opted not to take a bag post-ban.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>San Jose also measured the number of plastic bags found in litter and creek cleanups, and saw decreases.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>California Waste Solutions, which does the majority of recycling for San Jose, reported fewer plastic bags getting caught in recycling machines and a 35-50 percent reduction in down time because of that.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ladpw.org/epd/aboutthebag/PDF/Bag%20Ban%20Status%20Nov%202012.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles County found\u003c/a> its large stores gave away 2 million plastic bags and 196,000 paper bags annually before its ban. A year later, those stores handed out only 125,000 paper bags.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>What cities have found is charging people for a bag makes a big difference. San Francisco’s original ordinance, which didn’t charge a fee, wasn’t nearly as effective as it is now. “People just take the free option then,” said Soll. “We found if you were giving one bag free and charging for the other, there would just be a switch” — not a decrease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 10-cent charge is why use of both paper and plastic decreased in places like Alameda County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The 10-cents charge actually really affects how the consumer behaves at point of sale,” said Soll. “A bag that used to be free and now you’re charging 10 cents actually gives the consumer pause. ‘Do I need this bag and next time I’m going to bring my own bag. I’m not going to pay that 10-cents charge.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘The 10-cents charge actually really affects how the consumer behaves at point of sale.’\u003ccite>Meri Soll, Stop Waste\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“We do know that these ordinances work,” said Becerra.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all likelihood, we’ll see similar drops statewide in single-use bags, though we can’t know for sure yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Is It Better for the Environment?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Amar, our question asker, also wanted to know if all these plastic bag bans are actually doing any good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It comes down to two issues: How big a problem were plastic bags in the first place, and what are you using now instead?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stephen Joseph is a lawyer for the plastic bag industry, and fought the bans. He also used to run an anti-litter group in San Francisco. He said plastic bags have gotten an unfair bad rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s media sensationalism,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘Plastic bag litter was so tiny that even after they banned plastic bags, there was no appreciable effect.’\u003ccite>Lawyer Stephen Joseph\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Plastic bags, he said, account for a tiny portion of overall litter. He rarely saw them when picking up trash. City litter surveys and beach cleanups actually confirm this. \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/Bag-Ban-San-Jose-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">In San Jose’s pre-ban tally, plastic bags accounted for only about 2 percent of trash\u003c/a>. And Eben Schwartz, from the Coastal Commission, said plastic bags were about 9 percent of what they picked up on San Francisco beaches before the local bans went into effect — and are about 6 percent of trash they pick up now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Plastic bag litter was so tiny that even after they banned plastic bags, there was no appreciable effect, because there’d been so little of it in the first place,” said Joseph, of San Francisco’s ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bigger problem, said Joseph — what’s killing marine mammals and gathering in patches in the ocean — is “hard plastic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While researchers do find plastic bags in the stomachs of dead whales and turtles, what \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yom6zlm5VqE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">they find more often\u003c/a> are: toothbrushes, golf balls, plastic water bottle caps, fishing debris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Schwartz said plastic bags are still a problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They break down into smaller pieces of plastic. That doesn’t mean they’re less harmful. It just means there’s more plastic to be ingested,” he said. “You create little toxic pellets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousbug]Plus, the main reason environmental groups have focused on plastic bags is because they’re easy to replace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is it really just a product we’re using for 37 seconds, for one minute, and then we’re throwing it away, and what we’re learning here is there is no away,” said Dan Jacobson, the state director for Environment California, who worked to pass the measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What Do You Use Instead?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>When you think about how good or bad a bag is for the environment, you need to think about its whole life cycle— from how much energy it takes to produce to what happens after you throw it in the trash or the recycling bin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11463425\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 5312px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11463425\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"5312\" height=\"2988\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327.jpg 5312w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5312px) 100vw, 5312px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">My kitchen cabinet stuffed full of plastic, paper and reusable bags. \u003ccite>(Kelly O'Mara/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Amar and her family used to reuse the old plastic bags to line trash cans and carry things to work. Lots of people used them for pet waste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the replacement bags take more resources to make than the old, single-use plastic bags. Paper bags are heavier, so they take more gas to ship. Canvas bags need to be washed, which uses water and energy. All of these factors mean a reusable bag must be used multiple times to have a net positive effect on the environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How many times you need to reuse a bag to compensate for the additional resources depends on what the bag’s made out of. This is called a life-cycle analysis. Alameda County conducted its own analysis as part of \u003ca href=\"http://reusablebagsac.org/resources/addendum-final-environmental-impact-report-2016\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">its environmental impact report\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/291023/scho0711buan-e-e.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The UK’s Environment Agency conducted its own\u003c/a>, too, and there have been others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are how many uses are needed to equal one use of one of the old thin plastic bags:\u003c/p>\n\u003ctable class=\"tableizer-table\">\n\u003cthead>\n\u003ctr class=\"tableizer-firstrow\">\n\u003cth>REUSABLE BAG TYPE\u003c/th>\n\u003cth># OF USES NEEDED\u003c/th>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003c/thead>\n\u003ctbody>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>New reusable plastic bags at the grocery store (LDPE)\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>4.2\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>PET reusable plastic bags\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>10-11\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Non-woven polypropylene fabric bags\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>11-13\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Polyester bags\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>42\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Cotton bag\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>131\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003c/tbody>\n\u003c/table>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.customearthpromos.com/custom-recycled-shopping-bags.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=recycled_bags&utm_campaign=shopping_CEP&gclid=CjwKEAjw6e_IBRDvorfv2Ku79jMSJAAuiv9YdgpOTV4o0Wr-uU1aKvaMnvbbnP2cZ5j5GqRFrrZNuRoCPzbw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A PET reusable plastic bag\u003c/a> is the plastic square kind you can buy at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. \u003ca href=\"https://www.customearthpromos.com/custom-reusable-non-woven-bags.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=non_woven_bags&utm_campaign=shopping_CEP&gclid=CjwKEAjw6e_IBRDvorfv2Ku79jMSJAAuiv9YjFsNnFSZPX7QE01DtcZBWcT2j2RliVafMI9yzeBezhoCgKTw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A polypropylene bag\u003c/a> is the semi-fabric boxlike kind often given out at expos or festivals. Cotton bags are the nice cotton totes you might buy for their cute design or charm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do know that once you have a reusable bag and you’re using it over and over, the environmental savings always outweigh something that can be used once,” said Soll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s especially true when those reusable bags are made from recycled materials. Even Joseph agreed with that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fortunately, what they’re being replaced with today are to some extent recyclable polyethylene reusable bags,” said Joseph. “Then that’s good for the environment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We can’t know for sure what people will do, but if what happened at the local level happens at the state level, then we’ll end up using fewer plastic \u003cem>and\u003c/em> fewer paper bags. And that should ultimately be enough fewer resources that the environment will come out ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[baycuriousquestion]\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "Are Plastic Bag Bans Actually Helping the Environment? | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>“Do you need a bag?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since November, when California became the first state to ban single-use plastic bags, it’s a question you have to answer almost every time you go to the store. And you have to ask yourself: Am I willing to pay 10 cents for a bag?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Bay Curious\u003c/a> is a podcast that answers your questions about the Bay Area.\n Subscribe on \u003ca href=\"https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/bay-curious/id1172473406\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Apple Podcasts\u003c/a>,\n \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/podcasts/500557090/bay-curious\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">NPR One\u003c/a> or your favorite podcast platform.\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s also a question that made 12-year-old Amar Farhat have a question of her own.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cem>“Is banning plastic bags making a difference in the environment?”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Amar doesn’t just want to know if fewer bags are being used now, but also if the law is doing what it was meant to do: help the environment. She’s a little skeptical. Amar and her family used to reuse the old plastic bags for trash or errands. Plus, she said, the new thicker bags you get at the store seem to be made of more plastic, not less.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I feel like it might help a little bit, but overall, we have so many plastic things, this is a small percentage,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What is the Plastic Bag Ban?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>If plastic bags are banned, what are these thicker plastic bags Amar is getting from the grocery store?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It’s important to understand how the new statewide ban works. The law gets rid of single-use plastic bags — those thin, cheap plastic bags you used to get. It also requires grocery stores to charge 10 cents for paper bags or for new, thicker, reusable plastic bags. Those thicker plastic bags have to be made of partially recycled material and have to meet \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displayText.xhtml?lawCode=PRC&division=30.&title=&part=3.&chapter=5.3.&article=2.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">specific requirements\u003c/a>. The state hopes that if these bags are heftier and bigger, you can use fewer of them at the checkout line and reuse them for longer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is one of the old bags:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-11463433\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194321-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is one of the new bags:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-11463426\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-1020x574.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170516_194250-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>You can also opt to bring your own bags or not take any bags at all.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since the state law just went into effect, it’s too soon to know how it’s working, but there are hundreds of cities around California that already had their own plastic bag bans. If something different is happening at your grocery store, it might be because your local law varies slightly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These cities can tell us how they’ve fared so far.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Are Fewer Bags Being Used Overall?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>In 2013, Alameda County passed an ordinance very similar to the current state law.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve seen an 80 percent reduction in the number of bags — paper and plastic,” said Meri Soll, senior program manager at \u003ca href=\"http://www.stopwaste.org/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">StopWaste\u003c/a>. The agency oversees waste management in Alameda County\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are a number of ways Soll and her colleague, Jeff Becerra, measured the impact of the ordinance — but one of the most effective methods was surprisingly low-tech.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We stood in a parking lot,” said Soll. “We just watched the consumers go out, how many bags did they have, what types of bags? Did they not have bags?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a year after the ordinance, they went back to those same stores at the same time and counted again. What they found was that twice as many people are bringing their own bags and almost three times as many simply don’t take a bag at all. The big differences have been that people are no longer taking bags when they buy one or two items, double-bagging items or taking extra free bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s a chart StopWaste made:\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags.png\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-11462981\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1332\" height=\"841\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags.png 1332w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-160x101.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-800x505.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-1020x644.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-1180x745.png 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-960x606.png 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-240x152.png 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-375x237.png 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/bags-520x328.png 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1332px) 100vw, 1332px\">\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Soll and Becerra didn’t just stand in parking lots, though. They also got the purchasing data from 69 chain stores in the county. Those stores went from using 50 million bags each year to using just 10 million total — paper and plastic. The number of paper bags used went from 13 million to 8 million, and the number of plastic bags went from 37 million to 2 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Alameda is not the only county that has attempted to measure the impact of its bag ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are \u003ca href=\"http://www.cawrecycles.org/list-of-local-bag-bans/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">multiple studies\u003c/a> and a few \u003ca href=\"http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.849.5625&rep=rep1&type=pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">in-depth analyses\u003c/a> of different local bans — nearly all of which show a decrease in the overall number of single-use bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few:\u003c/p>\n\u003cul>\n\u003cli>In\u003ca href=\"http://www3.sanjoseca.gov/clerk/CommitteeAgenda/TE/20121203/TE20121203_d5.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> its effectiveness study\u003c/a>, San Jose found twice as many people opted not to take a bag post-ban.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>San Jose also measured the number of plastic bags found in litter and creek cleanups, and saw decreases.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>California Waste Solutions, which does the majority of recycling for San Jose, reported fewer plastic bags getting caught in recycling machines and a 35-50 percent reduction in down time because of that.\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://ladpw.org/epd/aboutthebag/PDF/Bag%20Ban%20Status%20Nov%202012.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Los Angeles County found\u003c/a> its large stores gave away 2 million plastic bags and 196,000 paper bags annually before its ban. A year later, those stores handed out only 125,000 paper bags.\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>What cities have found is charging people for a bag makes a big difference. San Francisco’s original ordinance, which didn’t charge a fee, wasn’t nearly as effective as it is now. “People just take the free option then,” said Soll. “We found if you were giving one bag free and charging for the other, there would just be a switch” — not a decrease.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 10-cent charge is why use of both paper and plastic decreased in places like Alameda County.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The 10-cents charge actually really affects how the consumer behaves at point of sale,” said Soll. “A bag that used to be free and now you’re charging 10 cents actually gives the consumer pause. ‘Do I need this bag and next time I’m going to bring my own bag. I’m not going to pay that 10-cents charge.’ ”\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘The 10-cents charge actually really affects how the consumer behaves at point of sale.’\u003ccite>Meri Soll, Stop Waste\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>“We do know that these ordinances work,” said Becerra.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all likelihood, we’ll see similar drops statewide in single-use bags, though we can’t know for sure yet.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>Is It Better for the Environment?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>Amar, our question asker, also wanted to know if all these plastic bag bans are actually doing any good.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It comes down to two issues: How big a problem were plastic bags in the first place, and what are you using now instead?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Stephen Joseph is a lawyer for the plastic bag industry, and fought the bans. He also used to run an anti-litter group in San Francisco. He said plastic bags have gotten an unfair bad rap.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“It’s media sensationalism,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003caside class=\"pullquote alignright\">‘Plastic bag litter was so tiny that even after they banned plastic bags, there was no appreciable effect.’\u003ccite>Lawyer Stephen Joseph\u003c/cite>\u003c/aside>\n\u003cp>Plastic bags, he said, account for a tiny portion of overall litter. He rarely saw them when picking up trash. City litter surveys and beach cleanups actually confirm this. \u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/Bag-Ban-San-Jose-2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">In San Jose’s pre-ban tally, plastic bags accounted for only about 2 percent of trash\u003c/a>. And Eben Schwartz, from the Coastal Commission, said plastic bags were about 9 percent of what they picked up on San Francisco beaches before the local bans went into effect — and are about 6 percent of trash they pick up now.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Plastic bag litter was so tiny that even after they banned plastic bags, there was no appreciable effect, because there’d been so little of it in the first place,” said Joseph, of San Francisco’s ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bigger problem, said Joseph — what’s killing marine mammals and gathering in patches in the ocean — is “hard plastic.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While researchers do find plastic bags in the stomachs of dead whales and turtles, what \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yom6zlm5VqE\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">they find more often\u003c/a> are: toothbrushes, golf balls, plastic water bottle caps, fishing debris.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But Schwartz said plastic bags are still a problem.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They break down into smaller pieces of plastic. That doesn’t mean they’re less harmful. It just means there’s more plastic to be ingested,” he said. “You create little toxic pellets.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003caside class=\"alignleft utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__bayCuriousPodcastShortcode__bayCurious\">\u003cimg src=https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/bayCuriousLogo.png alt=\"Bay Curious Podcast\" loading=\"lazy\" />\n What do you wonder about the Bay Area, its culture or people that you want KQED to investigate?\n \u003ca href=\"/news/series/baycurious\">Ask Bay Curious.\u003c/a>\u003c/aside>\u003c/p>\u003cp>Plus, the main reason environmental groups have focused on plastic bags is because they’re easy to replace.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Is it really just a product we’re using for 37 seconds, for one minute, and then we’re throwing it away, and what we’re learning here is there is no away,” said Dan Jacobson, the state director for Environment California, who worked to pass the measure.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch3>What Do You Use Instead?\u003c/h3>\n\u003cp>When you think about how good or bad a bag is for the environment, you need to think about its whole life cycle— from how much energy it takes to produce to what happens after you throw it in the trash or the recycling bin.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11463425\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 5312px\">\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11463425\" src=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"5312\" height=\"2988\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327.jpg 5312w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-160x90.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-800x450.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-1020x574.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-1180x664.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-960x540.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-240x135.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-375x211.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2017/05/20170515_210327-520x293.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 5312px) 100vw, 5312px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">My kitchen cabinet stuffed full of plastic, paper and reusable bags. \u003ccite>(Kelly O'Mara/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Amar and her family used to reuse the old plastic bags to line trash cans and carry things to work. Lots of people used them for pet waste.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many of the replacement bags take more resources to make than the old, single-use plastic bags. Paper bags are heavier, so they take more gas to ship. Canvas bags need to be washed, which uses water and energy. All of these factors mean a reusable bag must be used multiple times to have a net positive effect on the environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>How many times you need to reuse a bag to compensate for the additional resources depends on what the bag’s made out of. This is called a life-cycle analysis. Alameda County conducted its own analysis as part of \u003ca href=\"http://reusablebagsac.org/resources/addendum-final-environmental-impact-report-2016\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">its environmental impact report\u003c/a>. \u003ca href=\"https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/291023/scho0711buan-e-e.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The UK’s Environment Agency conducted its own\u003c/a>, too, and there have been others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here are how many uses are needed to equal one use of one of the old thin plastic bags:\u003c/p>\n\u003ctable class=\"tableizer-table\">\n\u003cthead>\n\u003ctr class=\"tableizer-firstrow\">\n\u003cth>REUSABLE BAG TYPE\u003c/th>\n\u003cth># OF USES NEEDED\u003c/th>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003c/thead>\n\u003ctbody>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>New reusable plastic bags at the grocery store (LDPE)\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>4.2\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>PET reusable plastic bags\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>10-11\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Non-woven polypropylene fabric bags\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>11-13\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Polyester bags\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>42\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003ctr>\n\u003ctd>Cotton bag\u003c/td>\n\u003ctd>131\u003c/td>\n\u003c/tr>\n\u003c/tbody>\n\u003c/table>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.customearthpromos.com/custom-recycled-shopping-bags.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=recycled_bags&utm_campaign=shopping_CEP&gclid=CjwKEAjw6e_IBRDvorfv2Ku79jMSJAAuiv9YdgpOTV4o0Wr-uU1aKvaMnvbbnP2cZ5j5GqRFrrZNuRoCPzbw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A PET reusable plastic bag\u003c/a> is the plastic square kind you can buy at Whole Foods or Trader Joe’s. \u003ca href=\"https://www.customearthpromos.com/custom-reusable-non-woven-bags.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=non_woven_bags&utm_campaign=shopping_CEP&gclid=CjwKEAjw6e_IBRDvorfv2Ku79jMSJAAuiv9YjFsNnFSZPX7QE01DtcZBWcT2j2RliVafMI9yzeBezhoCgKTw_wcB\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A polypropylene bag\u003c/a> is the semi-fabric boxlike kind often given out at expos or festivals. Cotton bags are the nice cotton totes you might buy for their cute design or charm.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We do know that once you have a reusable bag and you’re using it over and over, the environmental savings always outweigh something that can be used once,” said Soll.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That’s especially true when those reusable bags are made from recycled materials. Even Joseph agreed with that.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Fortunately, what they’re being replaced with today are to some extent recyclable polyethylene reusable bags,” said Joseph. “Then that’s good for the environment.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>We can’t know for sure what people will do, but if what happened at the local level happens at the state level, then we’ll end up using fewer plastic \u003cem>and\u003c/em> fewer paper bags. And that should ultimately be enough fewer resources that the environment will come out ahead.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp class=\"tp-ad-processed\">California’s epic battle over plastic bags looks to be over — as of Wednesday evening 52 percent of voters have upheld the statewide ban on carryout bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"tp-ad-processed\">“The voters took a a very strong stand against a very deceptive multimillion-dollar campaign by out-of-state plastic bag makers who thought they could hijack California’s initiative and referendum system to protect their profits,” says Steven Maviglio, spokesman for the Yes on 67 campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"tp-ad-processed\">In 2007, San Francisco became the first city in the nation to ban plastic bags, and about 150 cities and counties have followed suit. In 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a statewide ban, but it never took effect because immediately after it became law, the American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA), an industry group that lobbied against the bill, began collecting signatures to stop it with Proposition 67.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposition’s intent is to cut down on the cost of plastic pollution and unify the patchwork of local laws. California taxpayers spend $25 million every year to dispose used plastic bags, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a significant environmental victory!” exclaims Maviglio. “It immediately means that 25 million plastic bags that are polluting California every day will be removed from our waste stream and from our oceans, and our coasts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, Lee Califf, executive director of the APBA, warns that voters have set themselves up for buyer’s remorse. “Plastic bag bans don’t meaningfully reduce overall waste or litter or provide a positive environmental impact, but they do threaten tens of thousands of American manufacturing jobs, hit consumers in the wallet and drive people to use less environmentally friendly carryout options.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Proposition 67 passes, supermarkets and large grocery stores will no longer offer flimsy plastic bags. You will need to bring a bag or pay at least a dime for a paper or reusable bag. The 10-cent fee will be waived for low-income folks who pay with a state benefit card.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Small grocery stores, convenience stores and liquor stores would have 18 months to comply with the law. Stores could still offer thin plastic bags for bulk goods and produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All revenue from the bag ban would be directed toward educational campaigns or to cover the costs of providing paper bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other ballot measure backed by the ABPA would have funneled that 10-cent bag fee to a wildlife conservation fund, Proposition 65, but the measure failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now, instead of bag fees going to an environmental fund, grocers will keep hundreds of millions of dollars in new profits without providing any public benefit,” says Califf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But opponents of 65 thought the measure was a ploy by the plastic industry to confuse voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California voters saw right through the motivations of out-of-state corporations and overwhelmingly rejected it [Proposition 65] and kept the law as signed by the governor in place,” says Maviglio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California would be the first state in the nation to ban plastic bags.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp class=\"tp-ad-processed\">California’s epic battle over plastic bags looks to be over — as of Wednesday evening 52 percent of voters have upheld the statewide ban on carryout bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"tp-ad-processed\">“The voters took a a very strong stand against a very deceptive multimillion-dollar campaign by out-of-state plastic bag makers who thought they could hijack California’s initiative and referendum system to protect their profits,” says Steven Maviglio, spokesman for the Yes on 67 campaign.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp class=\"tp-ad-processed\">In 2007, San Francisco became the first city in the nation to ban plastic bags, and about 150 cities and counties have followed suit. In 2014, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a statewide ban, but it never took effect because immediately after it became law, the American Progressive Bag Alliance (APBA), an industry group that lobbied against the bill, began collecting signatures to stop it with Proposition 67.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposition’s intent is to cut down on the cost of plastic pollution and unify the patchwork of local laws. California taxpayers spend $25 million every year to dispose used plastic bags, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is a significant environmental victory!” exclaims Maviglio. “It immediately means that 25 million plastic bags that are polluting California every day will be removed from our waste stream and from our oceans, and our coasts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, Lee Califf, executive director of the APBA, warns that voters have set themselves up for buyer’s remorse. “Plastic bag bans don’t meaningfully reduce overall waste or litter or provide a positive environmental impact, but they do threaten tens of thousands of American manufacturing jobs, hit consumers in the wallet and drive people to use less environmentally friendly carryout options.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If Proposition 67 passes, supermarkets and large grocery stores will no longer offer flimsy plastic bags. You will need to bring a bag or pay at least a dime for a paper or reusable bag. The 10-cent fee will be waived for low-income folks who pay with a state benefit card.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Small grocery stores, convenience stores and liquor stores would have 18 months to comply with the law. Stores could still offer thin plastic bags for bulk goods and produce.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>All revenue from the bag ban would be directed toward educational campaigns or to cover the costs of providing paper bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other ballot measure backed by the ABPA would have funneled that 10-cent bag fee to a wildlife conservation fund, Proposition 65, but the measure failed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Now, instead of bag fees going to an environmental fund, grocers will keep hundreds of millions of dollars in new profits without providing any public benefit,” says Califf.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But opponents of 65 thought the measure was a ploy by the plastic industry to confuse voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California voters saw right through the motivations of out-of-state corporations and overwhelmingly rejected it [Proposition 65] and kept the law as signed by the governor in place,” says Maviglio.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California would be the first state in the nation to ban plastic bags.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>Oh, to be a plastic bag. Helpful, ubiquitous and ever useful. Carefree, wafting on the wind, and alive for a thousand years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other hand, you are cheap and trashy. Discarded, your presence mars beautiful landscapes. You and your trillions of clones clog sewers, accumulate in the worlds’ oceans, and entangle and choke wildlife and sea creatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California banned your flimsy presence in the Golden State, consigning you to an environmentally-sensitive death by recycling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, as shoppers know all too well, getting rid of plastic bags isn’t that easy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “paper-or-plastic?” checkout query was supposed to be a relic of our unenlightened past. After reviewing the scientific evidence of persistent environmental harm, California legislators in 2014 banned thin plastic carryout bags, authorizing stores to charge customers 10 cents for heavier-duty plastic sacks or paper bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the ban inflamed the nation’s bag makers, who intervened before the law could take effect. They wielded two ballot measures to poke a stick in the eye of the Legislature and the grocery industry, whom they haven’t forgiven for switching sides to support the ban after the Legislature allowed the grocers to keep the 10 cent fee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, in the confounding manner of direct democracy, California voters in November will ponder two opposing initiatives, each sponsored by the plastic bag industry—which has spent more than $6 million to put them on the ballot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/proposition/propositions-65-and-67-plastic-bags/\">Prop. 67\u003c/a>, is a referendum—an attempt to block the bag ban by asking voters whether they agree with the new law. The plastic bag industry is hoping to convince enough Californians to vote no, thereby preempting the ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/proposition/propositions-65-and-67-plastic-bags/\">Prop. 65\u003c/a>, would redirect the 10 cent bag fee consumers pay, so that rather than stores reaping the benefit, it would instead go to an environmental fund administered by the state Wildlife Conservation Board. The plastics industry is backing this one, a smack-down to the grocery industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1092839\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1092839\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag2Checkout.jpg\" alt=\"Plastic bags at checkout.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag2Checkout.jpg 640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag2Checkout-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag2Checkout-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag2Checkout-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag2Checkout-520x390.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Plastic bags at checkout. \u003ccite>(Day Donaldson/flickr)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If the bag ban survives at the polls, Californians would say goodbye to one of the world’s most utilitarian products. Thus would the plastic bag, a humble object engineered to be of long and useful service, become undone by its very design.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It already has been exiled from \u003ca href=\"http://www.lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Proposition?number=67&year=2016\">150 cities and counties\u003c/a>, primarily along the Pacific coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe the environmental facts have been misconstrued,” said Phil Rozenski, policy chair of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, and a senior director at Novolex. Its subsidiary, Hilex Poly Co., has contributed to the ballot propositions. “This is all about politics and emotional debate. Science left the building years ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of plastic’s durability, even when exposed to constant wave action and degraded by a relentless sun, it doesn’t disappear, but breaks down into tiny particles called microplastics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, a survey of existing research estimated that as many as 51 trillion particles of microplastics are floating around the planet’s oceans, weighing as much as 236,000 metric tons. Closer to home, a \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfei.org/documents/microplastic-contamination-san-francisco-bay\">2015 study\u003c/a> found that eight wastewater treatment plants discharge nearly half a million microplastic particles into the San Francisco Bay each day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even taking into consideration that bags represent only a portion of all plastics found in marine debris, researchers say 80 percent of trash floating in the ocean is plastic. “The problems with plastics are well-documented,” said Eben Schwartz, who oversees the California Coastal Commission’s Marine Debris Program. “Sea animals ingest plastic and it not only gives the sense of being full, so they starve, but it can also get caught in the esophagus, and keep food from getting down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1092840\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 1963px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1092840 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean.png\" alt=\"PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean\" width=\"1963\" height=\"1098\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean.png 1963w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-160x89.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-800x447.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-768x430.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-1020x571.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-1920x1074.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-1180x660.png 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-960x537.png 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-240x134.png 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-375x210.png 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-520x291.png 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1963px) 100vw, 1963px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: \u003ccite>(NOAA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Plastic accumulated in the stomach of a marine mammal, renders the animals more buoyant and makes it more difficult to dive for food. Sea turtles can mistake floating plastic bags for their favorite meal, jellyfish. Offshore and onshore, animals become entangled with plastic bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Californians use about 15 million single-use plastic bags a year—as the Legislative Analyst \u003ca href=\"http://www.lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Proposition?number=67&year=2016\">notes\u003c/a>, that’s more than 400 bags per Californian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because plastic is marvelous. Few modern inventions have so quickly shoved aside the competition and staked a spot smack in the middle of American culture, industrial design and manufacturing. Plastics emerged in the late 1940s full of promise and vigor. Then, as now, plastic begins life as a petrochemical. Manufacturing processes convert chains of hydrogen and carbon molecules into a polymer resin that is then heated, shaped and cooled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cheap and versatile, it can become just about anything.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But plastic formulation prevents it from bio-degrading along with other garbage. Scientists sifting through landfills of the future will dredge up diapers—and Safeway bags. Even the industry’s “biodegradable” bags don’t completely break down, and these green plastic bags account for less than 1 per cent of the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This description of a plastic bag’s afterlife, from an \u003ca href=\"http://plasticbaglaws.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/MEA_green-cities-CA.pdf\">environmental assessment\u003c/a> prepared for California local governments: “The majority of bags end up as litter or in the landfill, and even those in the landfill may be blown away as litter due to their light weight. Although some recycling facilities will handle plastic bags, most reject them because they can get caught in the machinery and cause malfunctioning, or are contaminated after use.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1092843\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1653px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1092843\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web.jpg\" alt=\"Credit:\" width=\"1653\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web.jpg 1653w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-800x506.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-768x486.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-1020x645.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-1180x746.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-960x607.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-240x152.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-375x237.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-520x329.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1653px) 100vw, 1653px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: \u003ccite>(NOAA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bags snag on tree limbs, blow around on vacant lots and loiter in gutters. But don’t blame the bag, says the industry, blame a populace ridden with litterbugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether it’s marine debris or litter—it shouldn’t be there,” said Rozenski. “We have to work on it as a society. Approaching it on a product-by-product basis is not the way to do it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others oppose the ban on philosophical grounds. “The government shouldn’t be telling stores what kind of bags to offer. That’s between the store and the customer,” said Ted Brown, chairman of the state Libertarian Party, which opposes both propositions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Do bag bans really make a difference?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since San Francisco’s ban has been in place, plastic bag refuse found on the Bay Area’s inland and coastal beaches has fallen 34 per cent, according to Schwartz of the coastal commission. He cited data gathered at annual Bay Area cleanups showing that in 2008, plastic bags accounted for about 9 percent of all debris removed from beaches. By 2012, they were only 6 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We never see drops like that,” he said. “The bans are effective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://calmatters.org/\">\u003cem>CALmatters\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is a non-profit journalism venture dedicated to exploring state policies and politics. For more stories by Julie Cart, go to calmatters.org/about/staff/julie-cart/\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"excerpt": "California voters will find two opposing plastic bag initiatives on the November ballot -- Proposition 67 and Proposition 65 -- both sponsored by the plastic bag industry.",
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"title": "Pity the Plastic Bag: Will Californians Seal Its Fate With a Ban? | KQED",
"description": "California voters will find two opposing plastic bag initiatives on the November ballot -- Proposition 67 and Proposition 65 -- both sponsored by the plastic bag industry.",
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"headline": "Pity the Plastic Bag: Will Californians Seal Its Fate With a Ban?",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Oh, to be a plastic bag. Helpful, ubiquitous and ever useful. Carefree, wafting on the wind, and alive for a thousand years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>On the other hand, you are cheap and trashy. Discarded, your presence mars beautiful landscapes. You and your trillions of clones clog sewers, accumulate in the worlds’ oceans, and entangle and choke wildlife and sea creatures.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>California banned your flimsy presence in the Golden State, consigning you to an environmentally-sensitive death by recycling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But, as shoppers know all too well, getting rid of plastic bags isn’t that easy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “paper-or-plastic?” checkout query was supposed to be a relic of our unenlightened past. After reviewing the scientific evidence of persistent environmental harm, California legislators in 2014 banned thin plastic carryout bags, authorizing stores to charge customers 10 cents for heavier-duty plastic sacks or paper bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the ban inflamed the nation’s bag makers, who intervened before the law could take effect. They wielded two ballot measures to poke a stick in the eye of the Legislature and the grocery industry, whom they haven’t forgiven for switching sides to support the ban after the Legislature allowed the grocers to keep the 10 cent fee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So, in the confounding manner of direct democracy, California voters in November will ponder two opposing initiatives, each sponsored by the plastic bag industry—which has spent more than $6 million to put them on the ballot.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>One, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/proposition/propositions-65-and-67-plastic-bags/\">Prop. 67\u003c/a>, is a referendum—an attempt to block the bag ban by asking voters whether they agree with the new law. The plastic bag industry is hoping to convince enough Californians to vote no, thereby preempting the ban.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another, \u003ca href=\"https://calmatters.org/proposition/propositions-65-and-67-plastic-bags/\">Prop. 65\u003c/a>, would redirect the 10 cent bag fee consumers pay, so that rather than stores reaping the benefit, it would instead go to an environmental fund administered by the state Wildlife Conservation Board. The plastics industry is backing this one, a smack-down to the grocery industry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1092839\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1092839\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag2Checkout.jpg\" alt=\"Plastic bags at checkout.\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag2Checkout.jpg 640w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag2Checkout-160x120.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag2Checkout-240x180.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag2Checkout-375x281.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag2Checkout-520x390.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Plastic bags at checkout. \u003ccite>(Day Donaldson/flickr)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>If the bag ban survives at the polls, Californians would say goodbye to one of the world’s most utilitarian products. Thus would the plastic bag, a humble object engineered to be of long and useful service, become undone by its very design.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It already has been exiled from \u003ca href=\"http://www.lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Proposition?number=67&year=2016\">150 cities and counties\u003c/a>, primarily along the Pacific coast.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We believe the environmental facts have been misconstrued,” said Phil Rozenski, policy chair of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, and a senior director at Novolex. Its subsidiary, Hilex Poly Co., has contributed to the ballot propositions. “This is all about politics and emotional debate. Science left the building years ago.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because of plastic’s durability, even when exposed to constant wave action and degraded by a relentless sun, it doesn’t disappear, but breaks down into tiny particles called microplastics.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Two years ago, a survey of existing research estimated that as many as 51 trillion particles of microplastics are floating around the planet’s oceans, weighing as much as 236,000 metric tons. Closer to home, a \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfei.org/documents/microplastic-contamination-san-francisco-bay\">2015 study\u003c/a> found that eight wastewater treatment plants discharge nearly half a million microplastic particles into the San Francisco Bay each day.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Even taking into consideration that bags represent only a portion of all plastics found in marine debris, researchers say 80 percent of trash floating in the ocean is plastic. “The problems with plastics are well-documented,” said Eben Schwartz, who oversees the California Coastal Commission’s Marine Debris Program. “Sea animals ingest plastic and it not only gives the sense of being full, so they starve, but it can also get caught in the esophagus, and keep food from getting down.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1092840\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" style=\"max-width: 1963px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1092840 size-full\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean.png\" alt=\"PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean\" width=\"1963\" height=\"1098\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean.png 1963w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-160x89.png 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-800x447.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-768x430.png 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-1020x571.png 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-1920x1074.png 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-1180x660.png 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-960x537.png 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-240x134.png 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-375x210.png 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag3FloatinginOcean-520x291.png 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1963px) 100vw, 1963px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: \u003ccite>(NOAA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Plastic accumulated in the stomach of a marine mammal, renders the animals more buoyant and makes it more difficult to dive for food. Sea turtles can mistake floating plastic bags for their favorite meal, jellyfish. Offshore and onshore, animals become entangled with plastic bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Californians use about 15 million single-use plastic bags a year—as the Legislative Analyst \u003ca href=\"http://www.lao.ca.gov/BallotAnalysis/Proposition?number=67&year=2016\">notes\u003c/a>, that’s more than 400 bags per Californian.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Because plastic is marvelous. Few modern inventions have so quickly shoved aside the competition and staked a spot smack in the middle of American culture, industrial design and manufacturing. Plastics emerged in the late 1940s full of promise and vigor. Then, as now, plastic begins life as a petrochemical. Manufacturing processes convert chains of hydrogen and carbon molecules into a polymer resin that is then heated, shaped and cooled.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Cheap and versatile, it can become just about anything.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But plastic formulation prevents it from bio-degrading along with other garbage. Scientists sifting through landfills of the future will dredge up diapers—and Safeway bags. Even the industry’s “biodegradable” bags don’t completely break down, and these green plastic bags account for less than 1 per cent of the market.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This description of a plastic bag’s afterlife, from an \u003ca href=\"http://plasticbaglaws.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/MEA_green-cities-CA.pdf\">environmental assessment\u003c/a> prepared for California local governments: “The majority of bags end up as litter or in the landfill, and even those in the landfill may be blown away as litter due to their light weight. Although some recycling facilities will handle plastic bags, most reject them because they can get caught in the machinery and cause malfunctioning, or are contaminated after use.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_1092843\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1653px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1092843\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web.jpg\" alt=\"Credit:\" width=\"1653\" height=\"1045\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web.jpg 1653w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-160x101.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-800x506.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-768x486.jpg 768w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-1020x645.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-1180x746.jpg 1180w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-960x607.jpg 960w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-240x152.jpg 240w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-375x237.jpg 375w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2016/10/PlasticBag4Landfill_for-web-520x329.jpg 520w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1653px) 100vw, 1653px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Credit: \u003ccite>(NOAA)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Bags snag on tree limbs, blow around on vacant lots and loiter in gutters. But don’t blame the bag, says the industry, blame a populace ridden with litterbugs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Whether it’s marine debris or litter—it shouldn’t be there,” said Rozenski. “We have to work on it as a society. Approaching it on a product-by-product basis is not the way to do it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Others oppose the ban on philosophical grounds. “The government shouldn’t be telling stores what kind of bags to offer. That’s between the store and the customer,” said Ted Brown, chairman of the state Libertarian Party, which opposes both propositions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Do bag bans really make a difference?\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since San Francisco’s ban has been in place, plastic bag refuse found on the Bay Area’s inland and coastal beaches has fallen 34 per cent, according to Schwartz of the coastal commission. He cited data gathered at annual Bay Area cleanups showing that in 2008, plastic bags accounted for about 9 percent of all debris removed from beaches. By 2012, they were only 6 percent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We never see drops like that,” he said. “The bans are effective.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"http://calmatters.org/\">\u003cem>CALmatters\u003c/em>\u003c/a>\u003cem> is a non-profit journalism venture dedicated to exploring state policies and politics. For more stories by Julie Cart, go to calmatters.org/about/staff/julie-cart/\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Environmentalists and Plastic Bag Industry Face Off Over Propositions 65 and 67",
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"content": "\u003cp>In 2007, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban single-use plastic bags. California Governor Jerry Brown later followed suit, signing a statewide ban in 2014. But the ban never officially went into effect: the plastics industry stalled it by gathering enough signatures for a referendum to be placed on the November 2016 ballot – Proposition 67 – that could overturn the law by popular vote. Proposition 65, another measure brought forth by the plastic bag industry, proposes using the fees that grocery stores charge for bags to fund environmental programs. Currently, retailers keep the bag fees. Environmental groups claim that the dual propositions are an industry ploy to undermine the ban and confuse voters, while proponents of Prop. 67 say they are fighting to protect bag makers’ jobs. We check in on the issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>More Information:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/election-2016/\">KQED’s Full Election Coverage\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "In 2007, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban single-use plastic bags. California Governor Jerry Brown later followed suit, signing a statewide ban in 2014. But the ban never officially went into effect: the plastics industry stalled it by gathering enough signatures for a referendum to be placed on the November 2016 ballot - Proposition 67 - that could overturn the law by popular vote. Proposition 65, another measure brought forth by the plastic bag industry, proposes using the fees that grocery stores charge for bags to fund environmental programs. Currently, retailers keep the bag fees. Environmental groups claim that the dual propositions are an industry ploy to undermine the ban and confuse voters, while proponents of Prop. 67 say they are fighting to protect bag makers' jobs. We check in on the issue.",
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"title": "Environmentalists and Plastic Bag Industry Face Off Over Propositions 65 and 67 | KQED",
"description": "In 2007, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban single-use plastic bags. California Governor Jerry Brown later followed suit, signing a statewide ban in 2014. But the ban never officially went into effect: the plastics industry stalled it by gathering enough signatures for a referendum to be placed on the November 2016 ballot - Proposition 67 - that could overturn the law by popular vote. Proposition 65, another measure brought forth by the plastic bag industry, proposes using the fees that grocery stores charge for bags to fund environmental programs. Currently, retailers keep the bag fees. Environmental groups claim that the dual propositions are an industry ploy to undermine the ban and confuse voters, while proponents of Prop. 67 say they are fighting to protect bag makers' jobs. We check in on the issue.",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>In 2007, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban single-use plastic bags. California Governor Jerry Brown later followed suit, signing a statewide ban in 2014. But the ban never officially went into effect: the plastics industry stalled it by gathering enough signatures for a referendum to be placed on the November 2016 ballot – Proposition 67 – that could overturn the law by popular vote. Proposition 65, another measure brought forth by the plastic bag industry, proposes using the fees that grocery stores charge for bags to fund environmental programs. Currently, retailers keep the bag fees. Environmental groups claim that the dual propositions are an industry ploy to undermine the ban and confuse voters, while proponents of Prop. 67 say they are fighting to protect bag makers’ jobs. We check in on the issue.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>More Information:\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://ww2.kqed.org/news/series/election-2016/\">KQED’s Full Election Coverage\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "California Plastic Bag Ban On Hold: Referendum Qualifies for 2016 Ballot",
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"content": "\u003cp>Love it or hate it, you won’t find California’s new statewide ban on plastic bags taking effect this year … or ever, unless voters endorse it in November 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State elections officials announced Tuesday that plastic bag manufacturers have gathered enough voter signatures to force a statewide vote via referendum at the next general election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California voters will now have the chance to vote down a terrible law,” said Lee Califf of the American Progressive Bag Alliance in a prepared statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The referendum, filed just days after \u003ca href=\"http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18742\" target=\"_blank\">Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 270 into law last Sept. 30\u003c/a>, would give voters a chance to cancel the hotly debated law. The law would have gone into effect on July 1, and would have imposed a 10-cent fee on paper or other reusable bags. While the bill cleared a number of tricky political hurdles in making its way through the Legislature, the plastic bag industry never supported it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all, bag manufacturers spent more than $3.1 million to gather 809,810 signatures to force a vote on the ballot. Environmental and recycling groups lashed out Monday at the news that the referendum had qualified. Opponents argue the law is bad for the economy — lost bag-manufacturing jobs — and simply bad policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the ban, not surprisingly, see things differently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The plastic bag industry has bought its way onto the California ballot to protect its profits,” said Mark Murray of Californians Against Waste in a written statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The timing of the referendum and election are also worth noting. State law used to say that a qualified referendum would appear on the next ballot. That law was tweaked in 2011 by a new provision moving all initiatives and referenda to general election ballots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thus, even though California voters next go to the polls in June 2016, the referendum won’t be considered until November … and the plastic bag ban will sit in limbo an additional five months.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Love it or hate it, you won’t find California’s new statewide ban on plastic bags taking effect this year … or ever, unless voters endorse it in November 2016.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State elections officials announced Tuesday that plastic bag manufacturers have gathered enough voter signatures to force a statewide vote via referendum at the next general election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“California voters will now have the chance to vote down a terrible law,” said Lee Califf of the American Progressive Bag Alliance in a prepared statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The referendum, filed just days after \u003ca href=\"http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18742\" target=\"_blank\">Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 270 into law last Sept. 30\u003c/a>, would give voters a chance to cancel the hotly debated law. The law would have gone into effect on July 1, and would have imposed a 10-cent fee on paper or other reusable bags. While the bill cleared a number of tricky political hurdles in making its way through the Legislature, the plastic bag industry never supported it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In all, bag manufacturers spent more than $3.1 million to gather 809,810 signatures to force a vote on the ballot. Environmental and recycling groups lashed out Monday at the news that the referendum had qualified. Opponents argue the law is bad for the economy — lost bag-manufacturing jobs — and simply bad policy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Supporters of the ban, not surprisingly, see things differently.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The plastic bag industry has bought its way onto the California ballot to protect its profits,” said Mark Murray of Californians Against Waste in a written statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The timing of the referendum and election are also worth noting. State law used to say that a qualified referendum would appear on the next ballot. That law was tweaked in 2011 by a new provision moving all initiatives and referenda to general election ballots.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thus, even though California voters next go to the polls in June 2016, the referendum won’t be considered until November … and the plastic bag ban will sit in limbo an additional five months.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "a-toast-to-2014s-top-california-political-stories",
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"content": "\u003cp>Let’s be honest: Who doesn’t like a good old-fashioned annual rite of passage? Spring cleaning. The Fall Classic. Swallows returning to Capistrano. (Well, \u003ca href=\"http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/bringing-back-the-famous-swallows-of-mission-san-juan-capistrano\" target=\"_blank\">maybe not that one these days, it seems\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a list of top news stories to wrap up a year. Which brings us to this list covering California politics in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was, well, an odd even-numbered year. Statewide elections usually spark some big stories and important debates, but 2014 was rather tepid compared with previous electoral cycles. Even so, there were a few big moments that won’t be soon forgotten.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So without further ado…\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393263\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393263\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS9444_leelandyee-20140326a-400x266.jpg\" alt=\"Leland Yee was accused of corruption in March 2014 as part of an FBI investigation.\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leland Yee was accused of corruption in March 2014 as part of an FBI investigation. (Justin Sullivan/Getty) \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Political Quote of the Year: “People Need Certain Things”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you were casting a movie about a political scandal and you needed a legislator on whom to base a character accused of corruption … Leland Yee wouldn’t have been your guy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Democrat was a fairly high-profile member of the California Legislature, but not a flamboyant one or one who was the subject of gossip and rumor. And that’s probably why \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/03/26/u/Leland-Yee-Firearms-Trafficking-FBI\" target=\"_blank\">the news in March landed with such a bombshell\u003c/a>, when the 66-year old former psychologist was arrested and charged with not only corruption, but also with allegedly participating in a scheme to smuggle illegal weapons into the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The irony was impossible to miss: gun trafficking charges against a Democrat who made a name for himself \u003ca href=\"http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/03/26/leland-yee-crusaded-for-gun-control-before-indictment-on-gun-charges/\" target=\"_blank\">as a fierce advocate of gun control\u003c/a>, a politician who championed \u003ca href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/29/business/la-fi-ct-facetime-20100429\" target=\"_blank\">a nationally debated California law to ban children from buying violent video games\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now, that infamous quote contained in the FBI affidavit, one attributed by investigators to Yee during a secret meeting that focused on the potential smuggling of weapons:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cem>“People want to get whatever they want to get. Do I care? No, I don’t care. People need certain things.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Yee’s political career pretty much ended the same day the detailed allegations were made public, part of a bigger FBI investigation into the Chinese immigrant community of San Francisco. 2014 also saw \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_25440366/state-senate-vote-suspend-yee-calderon-and-wright\" target=\"_blank\">Yee and two other state senators suspended over ethics charges\u003c/a>: Ron Calderon, the focus of \u003ca href=\"http://www.news10.net/story/news/politics/john-myers/2014/02/21/ron-calderon-indicted-by-feds-for-bribery/5704253/\" target=\"_blank\">his own FBI corruption sting\u003c/a>, and Rod Wright, \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-rod-wright-20140913-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">convicted of perjury in a case involving whether he actually lived in his legislative district\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only Wright’s case was closed in 2014. We’re still waiting to see what happens to Calderon and Yee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393266\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393266\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8399_465639979-400x258.jpg\" alt=\"The historic drought helped loosen opposition to long-running political debates.\" width=\"400\" height=\"258\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8399_465639979-400x258.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8399_465639979-800x516.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8399_465639979-1440x928.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The historic drought helped loosen opposition to long-running political debates. (Justin Sullivan/Getty) \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Top Political Actor in a Dramatic Role: California’s Drought\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let’s leave it to Gov. Jerry Brown to explain this one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve got a drought,” said Brown in September. “And that’s got everybody’s attention.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so it was in 2014, where California’s unquenched thirst helped break the logjam on several water policy fights that had been dragging on for years. Brown’s quip came \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/09/16/drought-becomes-powerful-political-tool-for-jerry-brown-and-lawmakers\" target=\"_blank\">just after he signed the state’s first-ever regulations on the use of groundwater\u003c/a>, something unthinkable in years past. The year also saw lawmakers negotiate, and voters approve, \u003ca href=\"http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/en/propositions/1/\" target=\"_blank\">a $7.5 billion bond package\u003c/a> for water reliability and storage — a package where politicos had long fretted about the public’s distaste for new borrowing but one that \u003ca href=\"http://vote2014.sos.ca.gov/returns/maps/ballot-measures/prop/1/\" target=\"_blank\">ultimately received a ”yes” vote from 67 percent of the voters who cast ballots on Nov. 4\u003c/a>. Campaign strategists say it’s simple: The drought was a huge motivating factor, something voters didn’t need a political campaign to explain to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393504\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393504\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4633_HarryMendez_Milpitas_6-e1419988578986-400x278.jpg\" alt=\"Randall Elementary School in Milpitas, Calif.\" width=\"400\" height=\"278\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4633_HarryMendez_Milpitas_6-e1419988578986-400x278.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4633_HarryMendez_Milpitas_6-e1419988578986-800x557.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4633_HarryMendez_Milpitas_6-e1419988578986-1440x1002.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Randall Elementary School in Milpitas. (Charla Bear/KQED) \u003ccite>(Charla Bear/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> Simmering Fight Over Teacher Tenure\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision made by a Los Angeles judge on June 10 had the potential for huge political impact: California’s tenure rules for K-12 teachers were found to violate the constitutional rights of students to equal protection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A huge ruling, yes, but one that surprisingly caused only a small series of political rumbles in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 16 pages of findings in \u003ca href=\"http://studentsmatter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Tenative-Decision.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Vergara v. California\u003c/a> by Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu handed down a scathing indictment of the system of tenure — one that Treu said unfairly disadvantages students from communities of color or from low-income families:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“It therefore cannot be gainsaid that the number of grossly ineffective teachers has a direct, real, appreciable, and negative impact on a significant number of California students, now and well into the future for as long as said teachers hold their positions.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The ruling was immediately praised by critics of the tenure system and self-described reform groups, but panned by teachers unions and state officials who argued the judge overstated the number of “bad” teachers on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But why \u003cem>Vergara\u003c/em> didn’t land a more powerful political punch in 2014 is hard to say. While it did play \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/10/27/how-teacher-tenure-figures-into-the-november-election/\" target=\"_blank\">a real role in one statewide race — the contest for superintendent of public instruction — and a few legislative races\u003c/a>, there was no groundswell of action or outrage. Even the decision by Gov. Jerry Brown to \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-governor-appeals-vergara-20140829-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">appeal the ruling\u003c/a> (a decision he tried to defend on legal grounds during the political season’s only gubernatorial debate) extracted no real political price. Nonetheless, \u003cem>Vergara\u003c/em> resonated in education and government circles and could continue to make news depending on the outcome of the appeals process in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Box Office Sleeper: The Kashkari Kid\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No candidate made a bigger bet on public outcry over the \u003cem>Vergara\u003c/em> ruling than Neel Kashkari, the Republican newcomer hoping to topple a sitting governor with a household name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393606\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393606\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12018_CAJC115_Governor-California-Debate12891-e1419997708127-400x366.jpg\" alt=\"Kashkari, the longshot candidate for governor, during the Sept. 4 gubernatorial debate.\" width=\"400\" height=\"366\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12018_CAJC115_Governor-California-Debate12891-e1419997708127-400x366.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12018_CAJC115_Governor-California-Debate12891-e1419997708127-800x732.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12018_CAJC115_Governor-California-Debate12891-e1419997708127.jpg 855w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kashkari, the long-shot candidate for governor, during the Sept. 4 gubernatorial debate. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP) \u003ccite>(Rich Pedroncelli/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Kashkari, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/10/21/why-kashkari-is-proud-of-tarp-doesnt-trumpet-it\" target=\"_blank\">the former U.S. Treasury official\u003c/a> who bested a more conservative Republican to win the second of two spots on the fall ballot, had always insisted that education would be one of only two priorities should he somehow win the race for governor (the other being job creation). But he didn’t seem to talk much \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-kashkari-schools-20140422-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">about his education agenda\u003c/a>, as he seemed to be much more energized about schools after \u003cem>Vergara\u003c/em> swept into the news.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the only debate between the two men, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKjuxVjPbMk\" target=\"_blank\">held on Sept. 4 and sponsored by KQED along with three other media organizations\u003c/a>, Kashkari unloaded on Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to appeal the ruling. One month later, he released a television ad that never mentioned the tenure court case by name — opting instead for the shock value of a drowning kid and his GOP rescuer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEZFdmwqG3Q?rel=0&w=560&h=315]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ad also highlighted the challenge for the Kashkari campaign team: finding something … anything … that would stick to Jerry Brown. The candidate began the race in January talking about poverty; then he lampooned \u003ca href=\"http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2014/03/13/kashkari-hits-jerry-brown-s-crazy-train/\" target=\"_blank\">Brown’s support for the “crazy train”\u003c/a> of high-speed rail; then he went back to poverty by \u003ca href=\"Neel%20Kashkari%20takes%20campaign%20to%20the%20streets,%20literally%20-%20LA%20...\" target=\"_blank\">posing as a homeless man on the streets of Fresno\u003c/a>; then a series of \u003ca href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/22/kashkari-brown-coddled-pr_n_5863100.html\" target=\"_blank\">attacks on the Brown political dynasty\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And on it went, even though polls suggested either that \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/04/23/poll-jerry-brown-draws-california-republican-votes\" target=\"_blank\">voters weren’t impressed\u003c/a> or were simply \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/40-of-voters-unaware-Jerry-Brown-is-seeking-5865196.php\" target=\"_blank\">oblivious to the entire campaign\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lingering question: Does Neel Kashkari, a man with now at least a modicum of statewide name ID, run for something else in 2016 or 2018?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393612\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393612\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4645_101564736-400x277.jpg\" alt=\"California's new law banning plastic bags may be on hold until a statewide referendum in 2016.\" width=\"400\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4645_101564736-400x277.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4645_101564736-800x555.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4645_101564736-1440x999.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California’s new law banning plastic bags may be on hold until a statewide referendum in 2016. (Justin Sullivan/Getty) \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Ban That May End Up Getting Banned Itself\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are more than 100 communities across California that have imposed some kind of limit or ban on single-use plastic bags in recent years. So, it’s not surprising that a statewide effort would be launched in Sacramento. Still, few legislative fights in 2014 were more intense, or more chock-full of backroom wheeling and dealing, as the one that ended with legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown to impose a statewide plastic bag ban starting in July. When enacted, the ban will be \u003ca href=\"http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/sep/29/plastic-bag-ban-california/\" target=\"_blank\">the first of its kind in the nation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or will it? The plastic bag industry \u003ca href=\"http://www.bagtheban.com/news/item/statement-from-the-american-progressive-bag-alliance-on-intent-to-repeal-se\" target=\"_blank\">quickly ponied up $3 million to gather signatures for a referendum\u003c/a> asking voters to overturn the law — and they appear to have enough to make that happen in November 2016. That would also mean the new law is on hold, allowing the plastic bag industry to keep selling its products for at least an additional 16 months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five separate versions of \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_270&sess=PREV&house=B&author=padilla_%3Cpadilla%3E\" target=\"_blank\">Senate Bill 270\u003c/a> were considered before all was said and done at the state Capitol. Grocers were given a concession of 10 cents for every paper bag, and \u003ca href=\"http://www.scpr.org/blogs/politics/2014/01/24/15676/onetime-foes-now-back-statewide-plastic-bag-ban/\" target=\"_blank\">Latino Democrats (who helped kill a similar effort in 2013) signed on\u003c/a> after efforts were promised to help mitigate any job losses at plastic bag manufacturing plants. The governor played the final card, surprising at least a few political watchers by agreeing to sign the bill. Now, its fate is unclear — as even more cities across California prepare to enact their own bag bans in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393691\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393691\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12918__MG_4249-400x266.jpg\" alt=\"Voter turnout in 2014: historically low. (Katie Brigham/KQED)\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12918__MG_4249-400x266.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12918__MG_4249-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12918__MG_4249-1440x959.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Voter turnout in 2014: historically low. (Katie Brigham/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Suppose We Held An Election … And No One Showed Up?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a state where it’s become common to watch millions of voters skip elections, it wasn’t surprising that 2014 — a year without a presidential race and not a lot of widely anticipated ballot propositions — was going to end with low turnout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But boy, who knew it would be this bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The June and November elections each set records for voter apathy: Only 25.17 percent of registered voters cast ballots in June, 42.2 percent in November. Never have any regular primary or gubernatorial elections in California seen such tepid interest from the voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/11/28/California-politicians-picked-by-few-voters/\" target=\"_blank\">turnout was even worse in a number of individual legislative and congressional districts\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393723\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393723\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-30-at-10.19.30-PM-400x280.png\" alt=\"No on Prop. 46 television ad\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-30-at-10.19.30-PM-400x280.png 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-30-at-10.19.30-PM-800x560.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-30-at-10.19.30-PM-1440x1008.png 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-30-at-10.19.30-PM.png 1990w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">No on Prop. 46 Television Ad\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Political Power of No\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The low turnout didn’t do much to help backers of any of \u003ca href=\"http://vote2014.sos.ca.gov/returns/ballot-measures/\" target=\"_blank\">the six propositions on November’s ballot\u003c/a>. In fact, the 2014 election cycle proved once again how much easier it is to \u003cem>kill\u003c/em> a ballot measure than it is to \u003cem>pass\u003c/em> one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most-talked-about initiatives, \u003ca href=\"http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/en/propositions/45/\" target=\"_blank\">Proposition 45\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/en/propositions/46/\" target=\"_blank\">Proposition 46\u003c/a>, were a textbook case of death by a thousand cuts. Opponents had more money and an easier message: The measures were too complicated, poorly drafted, clever Trojan horses that really had an ulterior motive. Prop. 45, the measure to boost the regulatory power of the state insurance commissioner over health care rates, was a rebuke to Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, who championed the proposal. Prop. 46, the fight over doctor drug testing and medical malpractice awards, was a lawyers-versus-doctors smackdown that landed on the ballot after \u003ca href=\"http://www.news10.net/story/news/politics/john-myers/2014/01/22/4758601/\" target=\"_blank\">the two sides failed to reach any kind of deal in the Legislature\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mark DiCamillo, the longtime director of the nonpartisan Field Poll, has long joked that if he ever hung up his pollster badge and became a political campaign consultant, he’d only take on clients who wanted to defeat initiatives. “No” is where the easy money is, it seems. And combined, the Prop. 45/Prop. 46 opposition campaigns raised more than $111 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393727\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393727\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8168_127726920-e1420007401985-400x352.jpg\" alt=\"Tim Draper, the author of the Six Californias initiative. (Max Morse/Getty)\" width=\"400\" height=\"352\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8168_127726920-e1420007401985-400x352.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8168_127726920-e1420007401985-800x705.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8168_127726920-e1420007401985-1440x1269.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tim Draper, the author of the Six Californias initiative. (Max Morse/Getty)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Let’s Stay Together, Loving You Whether …\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some day years from now, you’ll see it at an auction: \u003ca href=\"http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/files/2014/07/states16_04.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">a bright crimson-colored, custom tie — one with a multi-colored map of California sliced into six new state configurations\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And you’ll say to yourself, “Oh yeah, that Six Californias thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t meant to be, at least not in 2014. The owner of that tie, Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper, came up short in his quirky quest to ask Californians to go their separate ways. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/09/12/plan-to-split-california-six-ways-fails-to-make-ballot\" target=\"_blank\">Not only did his split-it-six-ways plan fail to make the fall ballot\u003c/a>, but Draper’s hired guns failed to even collect enough valid signatures to get it on the ballot in 2016. And that’s after he sank almost $5.3 million of his own cash into the endeavor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Skeptics doubted Draper was serious. Politicos mused that he was trying to get his name out there for a future run for statewide office. (But which state? Ah, the jokes). And \u003ca href=\"http://verdict.justia.com/2014/01/03/political-constitutional-questions-raised-tim-drapers-six-californias-plan-split-california\" target=\"_blank\">legal scholars said the initiative was absolutely unworkable and likely unconstitutional\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But hey, at least he’s still got that tie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393729\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393729\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS10597_brownvoting-400x266.jpeg\" alt=\"Gov. Jerry Brown may have had the best year in politics of anyone in California. (Jeremy Raff/KQED)\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS10597_brownvoting-400x266.jpeg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS10597_brownvoting-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS10597_brownvoting-1440x960.jpeg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS10597_brownvoting.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Jerry Brown may have had the best year in politics of anyone in California. (Jeremy Raff/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Tao of Jerry\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And finally, the hard-to-deny consensus big political winner in a year where Californians didn’t even seem to want to \u003cem>think\u003c/em> about politics: Edmund Gerald Brown Jr.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jerry Brown’s 45-year political career is best left to biographies rather than end-of-the-year lists. But suffice it to say, in an year when the electorate didn’t seem to want to embrace politics, the low-key style of Brown’s third term as governor seemed to suit Californians just fine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, it would be unfair to imply that Brown wasn’t working hard behind the scenes to secure a fourth term. From beating back legislation at the state Capitol that didn’t suit his finely honed persona of frugality … to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/10/04/jerry-brown-re-election-bid-quiet-just-like-he-wants-it\" target=\"_blank\">the non-campaign campaign\u003c/a> that saw him preach propositions rather than himself … Jerry Brown found a way to successfully match his political message to the electoral mood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He has an impeccable sense of timing,” said the governor’s top aide, Nancy McFadden, to a business group in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Yes, but perhaps he learned it from having a lousy sense of timing in \u003ca href=\"http://www.thenewerworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/people.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">1976\u003c/a> … and \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/blogs/politicaljunkie/2009/04/on_this_day_in_1980_jerry_brow.html\" target=\"_blank\">1980\u003c/a> … and \u003ca href=\"http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1982/10/24/page/30/article/jerry-brown-has-met-the-enemy-its-himself\" target=\"_blank\">1982\u003c/a> … and \u003ca href=\"http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117695/sidney-blumenthal-jerry-browns-campaign\" target=\"_blank\">1992\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Where Jerry Brown chooses to steer his governorship in the new year and beyond remains to be seen. But for now, he seems to like the course that he — and California — are on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s hoping he and the state’s other political players make 2015 an interesting one to watch.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"title": "A Toast To 2014's Top California Political Stories | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Let’s be honest: Who doesn’t like a good old-fashioned annual rite of passage? Spring cleaning. The Fall Classic. Swallows returning to Capistrano. (Well, \u003ca href=\"http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/bringing-back-the-famous-swallows-of-mission-san-juan-capistrano\" target=\"_blank\">maybe not that one these days, it seems\u003c/a>).\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And a list of top news stories to wrap up a year. Which brings us to this list covering California politics in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It was, well, an odd even-numbered year. Statewide elections usually spark some big stories and important debates, but 2014 was rather tepid compared with previous electoral cycles. Even so, there were a few big moments that won’t be soon forgotten.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So without further ado…\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393263\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393263\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS9444_leelandyee-20140326a-400x266.jpg\" alt=\"Leland Yee was accused of corruption in March 2014 as part of an FBI investigation.\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Leland Yee was accused of corruption in March 2014 as part of an FBI investigation. (Justin Sullivan/Getty) \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Political Quote of the Year: “People Need Certain Things”\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If you were casting a movie about a political scandal and you needed a legislator on whom to base a character accused of corruption … Leland Yee wouldn’t have been your guy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Democrat was a fairly high-profile member of the California Legislature, but not a flamboyant one or one who was the subject of gossip and rumor. And that’s probably why \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/03/26/u/Leland-Yee-Firearms-Trafficking-FBI\" target=\"_blank\">the news in March landed with such a bombshell\u003c/a>, when the 66-year old former psychologist was arrested and charged with not only corruption, but also with allegedly participating in a scheme to smuggle illegal weapons into the United States.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The irony was impossible to miss: gun trafficking charges against a Democrat who made a name for himself \u003ca href=\"http://sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com/2014/03/26/leland-yee-crusaded-for-gun-control-before-indictment-on-gun-charges/\" target=\"_blank\">as a fierce advocate of gun control\u003c/a>, a politician who championed \u003ca href=\"http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/29/business/la-fi-ct-facetime-20100429\" target=\"_blank\">a nationally debated California law to ban children from buying violent video games\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And now, that infamous quote contained in the FBI affidavit, one attributed by investigators to Yee during a secret meeting that focused on the potential smuggling of weapons:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>\u003cem>“People want to get whatever they want to get. Do I care? No, I don’t care. People need certain things.”\u003c/em>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>Yee’s political career pretty much ended the same day the detailed allegations were made public, part of a bigger FBI investigation into the Chinese immigrant community of San Francisco. 2014 also saw \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_25440366/state-senate-vote-suspend-yee-calderon-and-wright\" target=\"_blank\">Yee and two other state senators suspended over ethics charges\u003c/a>: Ron Calderon, the focus of \u003ca href=\"http://www.news10.net/story/news/politics/john-myers/2014/02/21/ron-calderon-indicted-by-feds-for-bribery/5704253/\" target=\"_blank\">his own FBI corruption sting\u003c/a>, and Rod Wright, \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/politics/la-me-pol-rod-wright-20140913-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">convicted of perjury in a case involving whether he actually lived in his legislative district\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Only Wright’s case was closed in 2014. We’re still waiting to see what happens to Calderon and Yee.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393266\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393266\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8399_465639979-400x258.jpg\" alt=\"The historic drought helped loosen opposition to long-running political debates.\" width=\"400\" height=\"258\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8399_465639979-400x258.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8399_465639979-800x516.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8399_465639979-1440x928.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The historic drought helped loosen opposition to long-running political debates. (Justin Sullivan/Getty) \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Top Political Actor in a Dramatic Role: California’s Drought\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Let’s leave it to Gov. Jerry Brown to explain this one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’ve got a drought,” said Brown in September. “And that’s got everybody’s attention.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And so it was in 2014, where California’s unquenched thirst helped break the logjam on several water policy fights that had been dragging on for years. Brown’s quip came \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/09/16/drought-becomes-powerful-political-tool-for-jerry-brown-and-lawmakers\" target=\"_blank\">just after he signed the state’s first-ever regulations on the use of groundwater\u003c/a>, something unthinkable in years past. The year also saw lawmakers negotiate, and voters approve, \u003ca href=\"http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/en/propositions/1/\" target=\"_blank\">a $7.5 billion bond package\u003c/a> for water reliability and storage — a package where politicos had long fretted about the public’s distaste for new borrowing but one that \u003ca href=\"http://vote2014.sos.ca.gov/returns/maps/ballot-measures/prop/1/\" target=\"_blank\">ultimately received a ”yes” vote from 67 percent of the voters who cast ballots on Nov. 4\u003c/a>. Campaign strategists say it’s simple: The drought was a huge motivating factor, something voters didn’t need a political campaign to explain to them.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393504\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393504\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4633_HarryMendez_Milpitas_6-e1419988578986-400x278.jpg\" alt=\"Randall Elementary School in Milpitas, Calif.\" width=\"400\" height=\"278\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4633_HarryMendez_Milpitas_6-e1419988578986-400x278.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4633_HarryMendez_Milpitas_6-e1419988578986-800x557.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4633_HarryMendez_Milpitas_6-e1419988578986-1440x1002.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Randall Elementary School in Milpitas. (Charla Bear/KQED) \u003ccite>(Charla Bear/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong> Simmering Fight Over Teacher Tenure\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The decision made by a Los Angeles judge on June 10 had the potential for huge political impact: California’s tenure rules for K-12 teachers were found to violate the constitutional rights of students to equal protection.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A huge ruling, yes, but one that surprisingly caused only a small series of political rumbles in 2014.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The 16 pages of findings in \u003ca href=\"http://studentsmatter.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Tenative-Decision.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Vergara v. California\u003c/a> by Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu handed down a scathing indictment of the system of tenure — one that Treu said unfairly disadvantages students from communities of color or from low-income families:\u003c/p>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>“It therefore cannot be gainsaid that the number of grossly ineffective teachers has a direct, real, appreciable, and negative impact on a significant number of California students, now and well into the future for as long as said teachers hold their positions.”\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003cp>The ruling was immediately praised by critics of the tenure system and self-described reform groups, but panned by teachers unions and state officials who argued the judge overstated the number of “bad” teachers on the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But why \u003cem>Vergara\u003c/em> didn’t land a more powerful political punch in 2014 is hard to say. While it did play \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/10/27/how-teacher-tenure-figures-into-the-november-election/\" target=\"_blank\">a real role in one statewide race — the contest for superintendent of public instruction — and a few legislative races\u003c/a>, there was no groundswell of action or outrage. Even the decision by Gov. Jerry Brown to \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-governor-appeals-vergara-20140829-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">appeal the ruling\u003c/a> (a decision he tried to defend on legal grounds during the political season’s only gubernatorial debate) extracted no real political price. Nonetheless, \u003cem>Vergara\u003c/em> resonated in education and government circles and could continue to make news depending on the outcome of the appeals process in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Box Office Sleeper: The Kashkari Kid\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>No candidate made a bigger bet on public outcry over the \u003cem>Vergara\u003c/em> ruling than Neel Kashkari, the Republican newcomer hoping to topple a sitting governor with a household name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393606\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393606\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12018_CAJC115_Governor-California-Debate12891-e1419997708127-400x366.jpg\" alt=\"Kashkari, the longshot candidate for governor, during the Sept. 4 gubernatorial debate.\" width=\"400\" height=\"366\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12018_CAJC115_Governor-California-Debate12891-e1419997708127-400x366.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12018_CAJC115_Governor-California-Debate12891-e1419997708127-800x732.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12018_CAJC115_Governor-California-Debate12891-e1419997708127.jpg 855w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Kashkari, the long-shot candidate for governor, during the Sept. 4 gubernatorial debate. (Rich Pedroncelli/AP) \u003ccite>(Rich Pedroncelli/AP)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Kashkari, \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/10/21/why-kashkari-is-proud-of-tarp-doesnt-trumpet-it\" target=\"_blank\">the former U.S. Treasury official\u003c/a> who bested a more conservative Republican to win the second of two spots on the fall ballot, had always insisted that education would be one of only two priorities should he somehow win the race for governor (the other being job creation). But he didn’t seem to talk much \u003ca href=\"http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-kashkari-schools-20140422-story.html\" target=\"_blank\">about his education agenda\u003c/a>, as he seemed to be much more energized about schools after \u003cem>Vergara\u003c/em> swept into the news.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the only debate between the two men, \u003ca href=\"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKjuxVjPbMk\" target=\"_blank\">held on Sept. 4 and sponsored by KQED along with three other media organizations\u003c/a>, Kashkari unloaded on Gov. Jerry Brown’s decision to appeal the ruling. One month later, he released a television ad that never mentioned the tenure court case by name — opting instead for the shock value of a drowning kid and his GOP rescuer.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutube'>\n \u003cspan class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__embedYoutubeInside'>\n \u003ciframe\n loading='lazy'\n class='utils-parseShortcode-shortcodes-__youtubeShortcode__youtubePlayer'\n type='text/html'\n src='//www.youtube.com/embed/pEZFdmwqG3Q?rel=0'\n title='//www.youtube.com/embed/pEZFdmwqG3Q?rel=0'\n allowfullscreen='true'\n style='border:0;'>\u003c/iframe>\n \u003c/span>\n \u003c/span>\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The ad also highlighted the challenge for the Kashkari campaign team: finding something … anything … that would stick to Jerry Brown. The candidate began the race in January talking about poverty; then he lampooned \u003ca href=\"http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2014/03/13/kashkari-hits-jerry-brown-s-crazy-train/\" target=\"_blank\">Brown’s support for the “crazy train”\u003c/a> of high-speed rail; then he went back to poverty by \u003ca href=\"Neel%20Kashkari%20takes%20campaign%20to%20the%20streets,%20literally%20-%20LA%20...\" target=\"_blank\">posing as a homeless man on the streets of Fresno\u003c/a>; then a series of \u003ca href=\"http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/22/kashkari-brown-coddled-pr_n_5863100.html\" target=\"_blank\">attacks on the Brown political dynasty\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And on it went, even though polls suggested either that \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/04/23/poll-jerry-brown-draws-california-republican-votes\" target=\"_blank\">voters weren’t impressed\u003c/a> or were simply \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/matier-ross/article/40-of-voters-unaware-Jerry-Brown-is-seeking-5865196.php\" target=\"_blank\">oblivious to the entire campaign\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The lingering question: Does Neel Kashkari, a man with now at least a modicum of statewide name ID, run for something else in 2016 or 2018?\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393612\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393612\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4645_101564736-400x277.jpg\" alt=\"California's new law banning plastic bags may be on hold until a statewide referendum in 2016.\" width=\"400\" height=\"277\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4645_101564736-400x277.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4645_101564736-800x555.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS4645_101564736-1440x999.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">California’s new law banning plastic bags may be on hold until a statewide referendum in 2016. (Justin Sullivan/Getty) \u003ccite>(Justin Sullivan/Getty)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Ban That May End Up Getting Banned Itself\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>There are more than 100 communities across California that have imposed some kind of limit or ban on single-use plastic bags in recent years. So, it’s not surprising that a statewide effort would be launched in Sacramento. Still, few legislative fights in 2014 were more intense, or more chock-full of backroom wheeling and dealing, as the one that ended with legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown to impose a statewide plastic bag ban starting in July. When enacted, the ban will be \u003ca href=\"http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/sep/29/plastic-bag-ban-california/\" target=\"_blank\">the first of its kind in the nation\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Or will it? The plastic bag industry \u003ca href=\"http://www.bagtheban.com/news/item/statement-from-the-american-progressive-bag-alliance-on-intent-to-repeal-se\" target=\"_blank\">quickly ponied up $3 million to gather signatures for a referendum\u003c/a> asking voters to overturn the law — and they appear to have enough to make that happen in November 2016. That would also mean the new law is on hold, allowing the plastic bag industry to keep selling its products for at least an additional 16 months.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Five separate versions of \u003ca href=\"http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/postquery?bill_number=sb_270&sess=PREV&house=B&author=padilla_%3Cpadilla%3E\" target=\"_blank\">Senate Bill 270\u003c/a> were considered before all was said and done at the state Capitol. Grocers were given a concession of 10 cents for every paper bag, and \u003ca href=\"http://www.scpr.org/blogs/politics/2014/01/24/15676/onetime-foes-now-back-statewide-plastic-bag-ban/\" target=\"_blank\">Latino Democrats (who helped kill a similar effort in 2013) signed on\u003c/a> after efforts were promised to help mitigate any job losses at plastic bag manufacturing plants. The governor played the final card, surprising at least a few political watchers by agreeing to sign the bill. Now, its fate is unclear — as even more cities across California prepare to enact their own bag bans in 2015.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393691\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393691\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12918__MG_4249-400x266.jpg\" alt=\"Voter turnout in 2014: historically low. (Katie Brigham/KQED)\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12918__MG_4249-400x266.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12918__MG_4249-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS12918__MG_4249-1440x959.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Voter turnout in 2014: historically low. (Katie Brigham/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Suppose We Held An Election … And No One Showed Up?\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For a state where it’s become common to watch millions of voters skip elections, it wasn’t surprising that 2014 — a year without a presidential race and not a lot of widely anticipated ballot propositions — was going to end with low turnout.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But boy, who knew it would be this bad.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The June and November elections each set records for voter apathy: Only 25.17 percent of registered voters cast ballots in June, 42.2 percent in November. Never have any regular primary or gubernatorial elections in California seen such tepid interest from the voters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/11/28/California-politicians-picked-by-few-voters/\" target=\"_blank\">turnout was even worse in a number of individual legislative and congressional districts\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393723\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393723\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-30-at-10.19.30-PM-400x280.png\" alt=\"No on Prop. 46 television ad\" width=\"400\" height=\"280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-30-at-10.19.30-PM-400x280.png 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-30-at-10.19.30-PM-800x560.png 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-30-at-10.19.30-PM-1440x1008.png 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/Screen-Shot-2014-12-30-at-10.19.30-PM.png 1990w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">No on Prop. 46 Television Ad\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Political Power of No\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The low turnout didn’t do much to help backers of any of \u003ca href=\"http://vote2014.sos.ca.gov/returns/ballot-measures/\" target=\"_blank\">the six propositions on November’s ballot\u003c/a>. In fact, the 2014 election cycle proved once again how much easier it is to \u003cem>kill\u003c/em> a ballot measure than it is to \u003cem>pass\u003c/em> one.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The most-talked-about initiatives, \u003ca href=\"http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/en/propositions/45/\" target=\"_blank\">Proposition 45\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"http://www.voterguide.sos.ca.gov/en/propositions/46/\" target=\"_blank\">Proposition 46\u003c/a>, were a textbook case of death by a thousand cuts. Opponents had more money and an easier message: The measures were too complicated, poorly drafted, clever Trojan horses that really had an ulterior motive. Prop. 45, the measure to boost the regulatory power of the state insurance commissioner over health care rates, was a rebuke to Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, who championed the proposal. Prop. 46, the fight over doctor drug testing and medical malpractice awards, was a lawyers-versus-doctors smackdown that landed on the ballot after \u003ca href=\"http://www.news10.net/story/news/politics/john-myers/2014/01/22/4758601/\" target=\"_blank\">the two sides failed to reach any kind of deal in the Legislature\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Mark DiCamillo, the longtime director of the nonpartisan Field Poll, has long joked that if he ever hung up his pollster badge and became a political campaign consultant, he’d only take on clients who wanted to defeat initiatives. “No” is where the easy money is, it seems. And combined, the Prop. 45/Prop. 46 opposition campaigns raised more than $111 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393727\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393727\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8168_127726920-e1420007401985-400x352.jpg\" alt=\"Tim Draper, the author of the Six Californias initiative. (Max Morse/Getty)\" width=\"400\" height=\"352\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8168_127726920-e1420007401985-400x352.jpg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8168_127726920-e1420007401985-800x705.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS8168_127726920-e1420007401985-1440x1269.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tim Draper, the author of the Six Californias initiative. (Max Morse/Getty)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>Let’s Stay Together, Loving You Whether …\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some day years from now, you’ll see it at an auction: \u003ca href=\"http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/files/2014/07/states16_04.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">a bright crimson-colored, custom tie — one with a multi-colored map of California sliced into six new state configurations\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And you’ll say to yourself, “Oh yeah, that Six Californias thing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It wasn’t meant to be, at least not in 2014. The owner of that tie, Silicon Valley investor Tim Draper, came up short in his quirky quest to ask Californians to go their separate ways. \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/09/12/plan-to-split-california-six-ways-fails-to-make-ballot\" target=\"_blank\">Not only did his split-it-six-ways plan fail to make the fall ballot\u003c/a>, but Draper’s hired guns failed to even collect enough valid signatures to get it on the ballot in 2016. And that’s after he sank almost $5.3 million of his own cash into the endeavor.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Skeptics doubted Draper was serious. Politicos mused that he was trying to get his name out there for a future run for statewide office. (But which state? Ah, the jokes). And \u003ca href=\"http://verdict.justia.com/2014/01/03/political-constitutional-questions-raised-tim-drapers-six-californias-plan-split-california\" target=\"_blank\">legal scholars said the initiative was absolutely unworkable and likely unconstitutional\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But hey, at least he’s still got that tie.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_10393729\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 400px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-thumbnail wp-image-10393729\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS10597_brownvoting-400x266.jpeg\" alt=\"Gov. Jerry Brown may have had the best year in politics of anyone in California. (Jeremy Raff/KQED)\" width=\"400\" height=\"266\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS10597_brownvoting-400x266.jpeg 400w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS10597_brownvoting-800x533.jpeg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS10597_brownvoting-1440x960.jpeg 1440w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/12/RS10597_brownvoting.jpeg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gov. Jerry Brown may have had the best year in politics of anyone in California. (Jeremy Raff/KQED)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>\u003cstrong>The Tao of Jerry\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>And finally, the hard-to-deny consensus big political winner in a year where Californians didn’t even seem to want to \u003cem>think\u003c/em> about politics: Edmund Gerald Brown Jr.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Jerry Brown’s 45-year political career is best left to biographies rather than end-of-the-year lists. But suffice it to say, in an year when the electorate didn’t seem to want to embrace politics, the low-key style of Brown’s third term as governor seemed to suit Californians just fine.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, it would be unfair to imply that Brown wasn’t working hard behind the scenes to secure a fourth term. From beating back legislation at the state Capitol that didn’t suit his finely honed persona of frugality … to \u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/10/04/jerry-brown-re-election-bid-quiet-just-like-he-wants-it\" target=\"_blank\">the non-campaign campaign\u003c/a> that saw him preach propositions rather than himself … Jerry Brown found a way to successfully match his political message to the electoral mood.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“He has an impeccable sense of timing,” said the governor’s top aide, Nancy McFadden, to a business group in November.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>(Yes, but perhaps he learned it from having a lousy sense of timing in \u003ca href=\"http://www.thenewerworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/people.jpg\" target=\"_blank\">1976\u003c/a> … and \u003ca href=\"http://www.npr.org/blogs/politicaljunkie/2009/04/on_this_day_in_1980_jerry_brow.html\" target=\"_blank\">1980\u003c/a> … and \u003ca href=\"http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1982/10/24/page/30/article/jerry-brown-has-met-the-enemy-its-himself\" target=\"_blank\">1982\u003c/a> … and \u003ca href=\"http://www.newrepublic.com/article/117695/sidney-blumenthal-jerry-browns-campaign\" target=\"_blank\">1992\u003c/a>.)\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Where Jerry Brown chooses to steer his governorship in the new year and beyond remains to be seen. But for now, he seems to like the course that he — and California — are on.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here’s hoping he and the state’s other political players make 2015 an interesting one to watch.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Millions-poured-into-effort-to-bag-the-5895777.php\" target=\"_blank\">Manufacturers pour millions into effort to overturn state’s ban on plastic bags\u003c/a> (San Francisco Chronicle):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Plastic bag manufacturers have poured $2.7 million into efforts to overturn California’s statewide ban on plastic bags in the seven weeks since Gov. Jerry Brown signed the historic legislation. With signature gatherers posted outside grocery and retail stores across the state, opponents of the plastic bag ban are attempting to gather the more than 500,000 signatures needed to put the referendum on the November 2016 ballot. \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Millions-poured-into-effort-to-bag-the-5895777.php\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_26950825/big-blaze-at-holy-cross-church-destroys-beloved\" target=\"_blank\">Big blaze destroys beloved San Jose church\u003c/a> (San Jose Mercury News):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Holy Cross Catholic Church, a century-old center of a beloved parish, where Mass was still recited in Italian, burned down Sunday afternoon in a four-alarm fire. “This was home, and now it’s gone,” said Catherine Ventimiglia, who attended the Italian Mass that ended minutes before the fire broke out around 2 p.m. “We are stunned. My legs are numb from this.” \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_26950825/big-blaze-at-holy-cross-church-destroys-beloved\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/my-town/ci_26944086/fbi-report-oakland-again-tops-nation-robberies\" target=\"_blank\">FBI report: Oakland was nation’s robbery capital in 2013 — for the third year in a row\u003c/a> (Oakland Tribune):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Not only was Oakland the nation’s robbery capital for the third consecutive year in 2013, the city also endured its worst year for robberies in at least three decades. Oakland recorded 4,922 robberies last year, according to the FBI’s annual crime report. That amounted to nearly 14 robberies per day. By comparison, there were 1,095 robberies recorded in San Jose last year and 4,202 in San Francisco — two cities with more than double Oakland’s population. \u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/my-town/ci_26944086/fbi-report-oakland-again-tops-nation-robberies\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_26945735/homicide-cold-cases-grow-chillier-clues-disappear-police\" target=\"_blank\">Homicide cold cases grow chillier as clues disappear and police resources dwindle\u003c/a> (Bay Area News Group)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>As 9-year-old Beth Ringheim struggled to make sense of the gruesome murder scene in her father’s Dublin home, she formed a terrifying question: Who would do such a thing? Nearly three decades later, neither she — nor Alameda County Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives — have any idea. Her father, Harve Ringheim, a Pleasant Hill veterinarian, had been stabbed in the head, heart and neck. Her stepmother, Keiko, tightly bound with duct tape, was facedown in a bucket of water. She had been strangled. But an investigation into the Jan. 24, 1986, incident found no fingerprints and no signs of forced entry, and no motive emerged as months, years and eventually decades passed by. \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_26945735/homicide-cold-cases-grow-chillier-clues-disappear-police\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.marinij.com/crimebeat/ci_26951005/aclu-urges-public-debate-marin-installs-more-cameras\" target=\"_blank\">ACLU urges more public input on surveillance as Marin installs more cameras\u003c/a> (Marin Independent-Journal):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California is out with a new report on the use of surveillance technology by California communities just days after Belvedere voted to purchase cameras to monitor cars entering and exiting the city. The ACLU report included data on cities and counties in California that are using surveillance technologies and whether any public discussion occurred before the equipment was purchased. The ACLU is recommending that cities and counties adopt a model ordinance that would require public debate and a detailed cost-benefit analysis before such purchases are made. \u003ca href=\"http://www.marinij.com/crimebeat/ci_26951005/aclu-urges-public-debate-marin-installs-more-cameras\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/3026937-181/a-year-later-graton-casinos\" target=\"_blank\">Giant Sonoma County casino, a year after opening: ‘Not Armageddon, but not a cash cow either’\u003c/a> (Santa Rosa Press Democrat)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>David Rabbitt, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said the county has not seen the kind of major problems coming from the casino that critics predicted, but he added that it has not been a boon to the local economy. “At the end of the day, the casino has not been the Armageddon that people feared, and it’s not the cash cow that some promised,” he said. “It’s somewhere in between.” \u003ca href=\"http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/3026937-181/a-year-later-graton-casinos\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://blog.sfgate.com/warriors/2014/11/16/game-10-warriors-136-lakers-115/\" target=\"_blank\">Look who’s dominant now: Warriors rout Lakers, 136-115\u003c/a> (San Francisco Chronicle):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The Warriors’ stars found themselves in an unfamiliar situation Sunday night at Staples Center, sitting out the fourth quarter and watching the reserves coast home with a 136-115 victory over the Lakers. The Warriors have now beaten the Lakers four straight times overall, their longest streak since a six-game stretch in 1993-94. They’ve opened a season 8-2 for the first time since 1975-76. \u003ca href=\"http://blog.sfgate.com/warriors/2014/11/16/game-10-warriors-136-lakers-115/\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9b3296bacfcb4774927f572b1cf756c3/chileans-design-bike-cant-be-stolen\" target=\"_blank\">Chileans design ‘a bike that can’t be stolen’\u003c/a> (Associated Press):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The “Yerka,” a prototype designed by three young Chilean engineering students, is the latest entry in a recent trend of bikes that can be locked using some of their own parts. … The bike’s lower frame opens up into two arms that are then connected to the seat post and locked to a post, so thieves would have to destroy a Yerka to get it unlocked, leaving it valueless. \u003ca href=\"http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9b3296bacfcb4774927f572b1cf756c3/chileans-design-bike-cant-be-stolen\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2014/11/13/ghost-bikes-new-photography-book-focuses-on-these-bikes-across-the-us\" target=\"_blank\">Photography project aims to capture ghostly reality of cyclist memorials\u003c/a> (SF Weekly):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Genea Barnes is working on a project to make cyclists safer on the road but it’s not a bike lane, a piece of city planning policy, a highly visible piece of clothing, or anything else that’s routinely touted as a measure to reduce cyclist deaths on the road. Barnes is looking to raise funds for an art book featuring photography of ghost bikes. … These public, roadside memorials to those who lose their lives while cycling, often placed near the spot were the cyclist was hit, act as a stark reminder to be mindful of others on the road, and exactly how vulnerable a cyclist is on a roadway that’s designed for cars. \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2014/11/13/ghost-bikes-new-photography-book-focuses-on-these-bikes-across-the-us\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cul>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Millions-poured-into-effort-to-bag-the-5895777.php\" target=\"_blank\">Manufacturers pour millions into effort to overturn state’s ban on plastic bags\u003c/a> (San Francisco Chronicle):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Plastic bag manufacturers have poured $2.7 million into efforts to overturn California’s statewide ban on plastic bags in the seven weeks since Gov. Jerry Brown signed the historic legislation. With signature gatherers posted outside grocery and retail stores across the state, opponents of the plastic bag ban are attempting to gather the more than 500,000 signatures needed to put the referendum on the November 2016 ballot. \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Millions-poured-into-effort-to-bag-the-5895777.php\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_26950825/big-blaze-at-holy-cross-church-destroys-beloved\" target=\"_blank\">Big blaze destroys beloved San Jose church\u003c/a> (San Jose Mercury News):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Holy Cross Catholic Church, a century-old center of a beloved parish, where Mass was still recited in Italian, burned down Sunday afternoon in a four-alarm fire. “This was home, and now it’s gone,” said Catherine Ventimiglia, who attended the Italian Mass that ended minutes before the fire broke out around 2 p.m. “We are stunned. My legs are numb from this.” \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_26950825/big-blaze-at-holy-cross-church-destroys-beloved\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/my-town/ci_26944086/fbi-report-oakland-again-tops-nation-robberies\" target=\"_blank\">FBI report: Oakland was nation’s robbery capital in 2013 — for the third year in a row\u003c/a> (Oakland Tribune):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Not only was Oakland the nation’s robbery capital for the third consecutive year in 2013, the city also endured its worst year for robberies in at least three decades. Oakland recorded 4,922 robberies last year, according to the FBI’s annual crime report. That amounted to nearly 14 robberies per day. By comparison, there were 1,095 robberies recorded in San Jose last year and 4,202 in San Francisco — two cities with more than double Oakland’s population. \u003ca href=\"http://www.insidebayarea.com/my-town/ci_26944086/fbi-report-oakland-again-tops-nation-robberies\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_26945735/homicide-cold-cases-grow-chillier-clues-disappear-police\" target=\"_blank\">Homicide cold cases grow chillier as clues disappear and police resources dwindle\u003c/a> (Bay Area News Group)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>As 9-year-old Beth Ringheim struggled to make sense of the gruesome murder scene in her father’s Dublin home, she formed a terrifying question: Who would do such a thing? Nearly three decades later, neither she — nor Alameda County Sheriff’s Office homicide detectives — have any idea. Her father, Harve Ringheim, a Pleasant Hill veterinarian, had been stabbed in the head, heart and neck. Her stepmother, Keiko, tightly bound with duct tape, was facedown in a bucket of water. She had been strangled. But an investigation into the Jan. 24, 1986, incident found no fingerprints and no signs of forced entry, and no motive emerged as months, years and eventually decades passed by. \u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-courts/ci_26945735/homicide-cold-cases-grow-chillier-clues-disappear-police\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.marinij.com/crimebeat/ci_26951005/aclu-urges-public-debate-marin-installs-more-cameras\" target=\"_blank\">ACLU urges more public input on surveillance as Marin installs more cameras\u003c/a> (Marin Independent-Journal):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California is out with a new report on the use of surveillance technology by California communities just days after Belvedere voted to purchase cameras to monitor cars entering and exiting the city. The ACLU report included data on cities and counties in California that are using surveillance technologies and whether any public discussion occurred before the equipment was purchased. The ACLU is recommending that cities and counties adopt a model ordinance that would require public debate and a detailed cost-benefit analysis before such purchases are made. \u003ca href=\"http://www.marinij.com/crimebeat/ci_26951005/aclu-urges-public-debate-marin-installs-more-cameras\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/3026937-181/a-year-later-graton-casinos\" target=\"_blank\">Giant Sonoma County casino, a year after opening: ‘Not Armageddon, but not a cash cow either’\u003c/a> (Santa Rosa Press Democrat)\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>David Rabbitt, chairman of the Board of Supervisors, said the county has not seen the kind of major problems coming from the casino that critics predicted, but he added that it has not been a boon to the local economy. “At the end of the day, the casino has not been the Armageddon that people feared, and it’s not the cash cow that some promised,” he said. “It’s somewhere in between.” \u003ca href=\"http://www.pressdemocrat.com/news/3026937-181/a-year-later-graton-casinos\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://blog.sfgate.com/warriors/2014/11/16/game-10-warriors-136-lakers-115/\" target=\"_blank\">Look who’s dominant now: Warriors rout Lakers, 136-115\u003c/a> (San Francisco Chronicle):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The Warriors’ stars found themselves in an unfamiliar situation Sunday night at Staples Center, sitting out the fourth quarter and watching the reserves coast home with a 136-115 victory over the Lakers. The Warriors have now beaten the Lakers four straight times overall, their longest streak since a six-game stretch in 1993-94. They’ve opened a season 8-2 for the first time since 1975-76. \u003ca href=\"http://blog.sfgate.com/warriors/2014/11/16/game-10-warriors-136-lakers-115/\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9b3296bacfcb4774927f572b1cf756c3/chileans-design-bike-cant-be-stolen\" target=\"_blank\">Chileans design ‘a bike that can’t be stolen’\u003c/a> (Associated Press):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>The “Yerka,” a prototype designed by three young Chilean engineering students, is the latest entry in a recent trend of bikes that can be locked using some of their own parts. … The bike’s lower frame opens up into two arms that are then connected to the seat post and locked to a post, so thieves would have to destroy a Yerka to get it unlocked, leaving it valueless. \u003ca href=\"http://bigstory.ap.org/article/9b3296bacfcb4774927f572b1cf756c3/chileans-design-bike-cant-be-stolen\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003cli>\u003ca href=\"http://www.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2014/11/13/ghost-bikes-new-photography-book-focuses-on-these-bikes-across-the-us\" target=\"_blank\">Photography project aims to capture ghostly reality of cyclist memorials\u003c/a> (SF Weekly):\u003cbr>\n\u003cblockquote>\u003cp>Genea Barnes is working on a project to make cyclists safer on the road but it’s not a bike lane, a piece of city planning policy, a highly visible piece of clothing, or anything else that’s routinely touted as a measure to reduce cyclist deaths on the road. Barnes is looking to raise funds for an art book featuring photography of ghost bikes. … These public, roadside memorials to those who lose their lives while cycling, often placed near the spot were the cyclist was hit, act as a stark reminder to be mindful of others on the road, and exactly how vulnerable a cyclist is on a roadway that’s designed for cars. \u003ca href=\"http://www.sfweekly.com/exhibitionist/2014/11/13/ghost-bikes-new-photography-book-focuses-on-these-bikes-across-the-us\" target=\"_blank\">Full story\u003c/a>\u003c/p>\u003c/blockquote>\n\u003c/li>\n\u003c/ul>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/FenitN\" target=\"_blank\">Fenit Nirappil\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\nAssociated Press\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_124392\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/01/RS4995_73735624-lpr.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-124392\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/01/RS4995_73735624-lpr-640x469.jpg\" alt=\"Shoppers in San Franicsco's Chinatown with plastic bags. (David Paul Morris/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"469\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shoppers in San Franicsco’s Chinatown with plastic bags. (David Paul Morris/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation imposing the nation’s first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery and convenience stores, driven to action by a buildup of litter and damage to aquatic ecosystems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A national coalition of plastic bag manufacturers immediately said it would seek a voter referendum to repeal the law, which is scheduled to take effect next July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB270\" target=\"_blank\">SB270\u003c/a>, plastic bags will be phased out of checkout counters at large grocery stores and supermarkets such as Wal-Mart and Target starting next summer, and convenience stores and pharmacies in 2016. The law does not apply to bags used for fruits, vegetables or meats, or to shopping bags used at other retailers. It allows grocers to charge a fee of at least 10 cents for using paper bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State \u003ca href=\"http://sd20.senate.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\">Sen. Alex Padilla\u003c/a>, D-Los Angeles, credits the momentum for statewide legislation to the more than 100 cities and counties, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, that already have such bans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law marks a major milestone for environmental activists who have successfully pushed plastic bag bans in cities across the United States, including Chicago, Austin and Seattle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This bill is a step in the right direction — it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself,” Brown said \u003ca href=\"http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18742\" target=\"_blank\">in a signing statement\u003c/a>. “We’re the first to ban these bags, and we won’t be the last.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plastic bag manufacturers have aggressively pushed back through their trade group, the \u003ca href=\"http://plasticsindustry.org/apba/\" target=\"_blank\">American Progressive Bag Alliance\u003c/a>, which aired commercials in California blasting the ban as a cash giveaway to grocers that would lead to a loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If this law were allowed to go into effect, it would jeopardize thousands of California manufacturing jobs, hurt the environment and fleece consumers for billions so grocery store shareholders and their union partners can line their pockets,” Lee Califf, executive director of the manufacturer trade group, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/170108904&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry’s promised ballot referendum wouldn’t come before voters until the fall of 2016. But if it qualifies for the ballot by early 2015, it could block the law from taking effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Padilla, the bill’s author, said Californians would reject a referendum effort and quickly adapt their behavior to help the environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For those folks concerned about the 10-cent fee that may be charged for paper, the simple, elegant solution is to bring a reusable bag to the store,” Padilla said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The American Forest and Paper Association, a trade group representing makers of paper bags, says the bill unfairly treats their commonly recycled products like plastic, while holding reusable plastic bags to a lower standard for recyclable content.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Responding to the concerns about job losses, the bill includes $2 million in loans for plastic bag manufacturers to shift their operations to make reusable bags. That provision won the support of Los Angeles Democratic Sens. \u003cspan style=\"color: #4d4d4d\">Kevin de León \u003c/span>and Ricardo Lara, who had blocked earlier versions of the legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawmakers of both parties who opposed SB270 said it would penalize lower-income residents by charging them for bags they once received for free. The bill was amended to waive fees for customers who are on public assistance and limit how grocers can spend the proceeds from the fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico also have pending legislation that would ban single-use bags, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003cstrong>\u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/FenitN\" target=\"_blank\">Fenit Nirappil\u003c/a>\u003cbr>\nAssociated Press\u003c/strong>\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_124392\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/01/RS4995_73735624-lpr.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-124392\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/01/RS4995_73735624-lpr-640x469.jpg\" alt=\"Shoppers in San Franicsco's Chinatown with plastic bags. (David Paul Morris/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"469\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Shoppers in San Franicsco’s Chinatown with plastic bags. (David Paul Morris/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>SACRAMENTO — Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation imposing the nation’s first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags at grocery and convenience stores, driven to action by a buildup of litter and damage to aquatic ecosystems.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A national coalition of plastic bag manufacturers immediately said it would seek a voter referendum to repeal the law, which is scheduled to take effect next July.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB270\" target=\"_blank\">SB270\u003c/a>, plastic bags will be phased out of checkout counters at large grocery stores and supermarkets such as Wal-Mart and Target starting next summer, and convenience stores and pharmacies in 2016. The law does not apply to bags used for fruits, vegetables or meats, or to shopping bags used at other retailers. It allows grocers to charge a fee of at least 10 cents for using paper bags.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>State \u003ca href=\"http://sd20.senate.ca.gov/\" target=\"_blank\">Sen. Alex Padilla\u003c/a>, D-Los Angeles, credits the momentum for statewide legislation to the more than 100 cities and counties, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, that already have such bans.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The law marks a major milestone for environmental activists who have successfully pushed plastic bag bans in cities across the United States, including Chicago, Austin and Seattle.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This bill is a step in the right direction — it reduces the torrent of plastic polluting our beaches, parks and even the vast ocean itself,” Brown said \u003ca href=\"http://gov.ca.gov/news.php?id=18742\" target=\"_blank\">in a signing statement\u003c/a>. “We’re the first to ban these bags, and we won’t be the last.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Plastic bag manufacturers have aggressively pushed back through their trade group, the \u003ca href=\"http://plasticsindustry.org/apba/\" target=\"_blank\">American Progressive Bag Alliance\u003c/a>, which aired commercials in California blasting the ban as a cash giveaway to grocers that would lead to a loss of thousands of manufacturing jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If this law were allowed to go into effect, it would jeopardize thousands of California manufacturing jobs, hurt the environment and fleece consumers for billions so grocery store shareholders and their union partners can line their pockets,” Lee Califf, executive director of the manufacturer trade group, said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ciframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/170108904&color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false\">\u003c/iframe>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The industry’s promised ballot referendum wouldn’t come before voters until the fall of 2016. But if it qualifies for the ballot by early 2015, it could block the law from taking effect.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Padilla, the bill’s author, said Californians would reject a referendum effort and quickly adapt their behavior to help the environment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For those folks concerned about the 10-cent fee that may be charged for paper, the simple, elegant solution is to bring a reusable bag to the store,” Padilla said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The American Forest and Paper Association, a trade group representing makers of paper bags, says the bill unfairly treats their commonly recycled products like plastic, while holding reusable plastic bags to a lower standard for recyclable content.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Responding to the concerns about job losses, the bill includes $2 million in loans for plastic bag manufacturers to shift their operations to make reusable bags. That provision won the support of Los Angeles Democratic Sens. \u003cspan style=\"color: #4d4d4d\">Kevin de León \u003c/span>and Ricardo Lara, who had blocked earlier versions of the legislation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lawmakers of both parties who opposed SB270 said it would penalize lower-income residents by charging them for bags they once received for free. The bill was amended to waive fees for customers who are on public assistance and limit how grocers can spend the proceeds from the fees.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Puerto Rico also have pending legislation that would ban single-use bags, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"title": "Union's Blessing Paves Way For Passage of Plastic Bag Ban",
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"content": "\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_146226\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/08/RS6545_162291848-lpr.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-146226\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/08/RS6545_162291848-lpr-640x430.jpg\" alt=\"An agreement between Safeway and a key union helped pave the way for plastic bag ban. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"430\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An understanding between Safeway and a key union helped pave the way for plastic bag ban. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shortly before the state Assembly approved on Thursday \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billVotesClient.xhtml\">a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags\u003c/a>, Republican Assemblyman Don Wagner pointed out the measure had failed on a floor vote just three days earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nothing has changed,” said the Irvine legislator. “We debated it, we voted it down, and nothing has happened to this bill to make it better. There have been no amendments that have been taken.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What had changed, however, was that a powerful union had shifted its stance on the measure. And when the bill was called to a vote several minutes later, it had picked up six additional Democratic votes – enough to pass. The legislation will likely see a final vote in the Senate on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill’s brief death, swift resurrection and muddled reasons for renewed life are emblematic of the behind-the-scenes negotiations that dominate the final days of a legislative session.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what happened? California’s United Food and Commercial Workers Union had voiced “serious concerns” about the latest version of the bag ban before Monday’s initial Assembly vote. UFCW’s problem: Recent amendments allow stores to keep proceeds from the 10-cent fee charged for paper or reusable bags given to customers. In a letter to lawmakers, the union wrote it was worried the bill lacked a “serious enforcement mechanism” to make sure stores were spending the money properly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But on Wednesday, the union was back to supporting the measure. Sam Rodriguez, who’s representing UFCW at the Capitol, said the union had reached an understanding with executives at Safeway, one of California’s largest grocery chains — not on any amendments to the bill’s current language, but to make sure the fee revenue was being spent where it was supposed to: on the costs of complying with the new regulations; buying paper bags; and educational campaigns for consumers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We look forward to working together to ensure the provisions in the law are adequate,” Rodriguez said. He hinted that cooperation may involve a new bill next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of SB270’s new support came from Democrats who had abstained during Monday’s vote. Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), however, went from “no” to “yes.” She said her shift had nothing to do with how the 10-cent fee would be spent or UFCW’s support for the measure. Garcia said she talked to the bill’s sponsor, Senate Democrat Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), as well as the business groups involved in the negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted to make sure that it was a compromise from them — that in three years, when we see the data, it was not going to take us nine years, or six years, to pass additional legislation,” she said. “That they were going to come to the table and we were going to do it in a timely manner, and that I got to be part of the discussions, also.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Garcia was referring to a CalRecycle report that SB270 would commission on whether the ban has any environmental or economic impact. The report would be due in 2018. But if she’s waiting on definitive data, Garcia may be disappointed: L\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_24416003/ap-exclusive-calif-recycling-law-lacks-oversight\">ast year the Associated Press found CalRecycle had not kept tabs\u003c/a> on whether a previous statewide effort to cut back on plastic bag use was actually working.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like the UFCW, Garcia seemed hopeful a follow-up measure may emerge next year. “For ourselves, it was the idea this is the first step in what could possibly be multiple steps,” she said, on another dynamic that shifted her from a “no” to a “yes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But promises of “next year” should be taken with a grain of salt at the Capitol. As we’re seeing this week, many major measures don’t pass until the final days of legislative sessions, when deals are being cut and deadlines are looming. A promise to revisit a measure can be reneged as new leaders and stakeholders emerge. Case in point: Padilla, who has spearheaded the bag ban over the last two years, is term-limited and won’t be around for any follow-up debates.\u003c/p>\n\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_146226\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 640px\">\u003ca href=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/08/RS6545_162291848-lpr.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-146226\" src=\"http://ww2.kqed.org/news/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2014/08/RS6545_162291848-lpr-640x430.jpg\" alt=\"An agreement between Safeway and a key union helped pave the way for plastic bag ban. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\" width=\"640\" height=\"430\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">An understanding between Safeway and a key union helped pave the way for plastic bag ban. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Shortly before the state Assembly approved on Thursday \u003ca href=\"http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billVotesClient.xhtml\">a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags\u003c/a>, Republican Assemblyman Don Wagner pointed out the measure had failed on a floor vote just three days earlier.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Nothing has changed,” said the Irvine legislator. “We debated it, we voted it down, and nothing has happened to this bill to make it better. There have been no amendments that have been taken.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>What had changed, however, was that a powerful union had shifted its stance on the measure. And when the bill was called to a vote several minutes later, it had picked up six additional Democratic votes – enough to pass. The legislation will likely see a final vote in the Senate on Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The bill’s brief death, swift resurrection and muddled reasons for renewed life are emblematic of the behind-the-scenes negotiations that dominate the final days of a legislative session.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>So what happened? California’s United Food and Commercial Workers Union had voiced “serious concerns” about the latest version of the bag ban before Monday’s initial Assembly vote. UFCW’s problem: Recent amendments allow stores to keep proceeds from the 10-cent fee charged for paper or reusable bags given to customers. In a letter to lawmakers, the union wrote it was worried the bill lacked a “serious enforcement mechanism” to make sure stores were spending the money properly.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But on Wednesday, the union was back to supporting the measure. Sam Rodriguez, who’s representing UFCW at the Capitol, said the union had reached an understanding with executives at Safeway, one of California’s largest grocery chains — not on any amendments to the bill’s current language, but to make sure the fee revenue was being spent where it was supposed to: on the costs of complying with the new regulations; buying paper bags; and educational campaigns for consumers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We look forward to working together to ensure the provisions in the law are adequate,” Rodriguez said. He hinted that cooperation may involve a new bill next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Most of SB270’s new support came from Democrats who had abstained during Monday’s vote. Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), however, went from “no” to “yes.” She said her shift had nothing to do with how the 10-cent fee would be spent or UFCW’s support for the measure. Garcia said she talked to the bill’s sponsor, Senate Democrat Alex Padilla (D-Pacoima), as well as the business groups involved in the negotiations.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I wanted to make sure that it was a compromise from them — that in three years, when we see the data, it was not going to take us nine years, or six years, to pass additional legislation,” she said. “That they were going to come to the table and we were going to do it in a timely manner, and that I got to be part of the discussions, also.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Garcia was referring to a CalRecycle report that SB270 would commission on whether the ban has any environmental or economic impact. The report would be due in 2018. But if she’s waiting on definitive data, Garcia may be disappointed: L\u003ca href=\"http://www.mercurynews.com/california/ci_24416003/ap-exclusive-calif-recycling-law-lacks-oversight\">ast year the Associated Press found CalRecycle had not kept tabs\u003c/a> on whether a previous statewide effort to cut back on plastic bag use was actually working.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Like the UFCW, Garcia seemed hopeful a follow-up measure may emerge next year. “For ourselves, it was the idea this is the first step in what could possibly be multiple steps,” she said, on another dynamic that shifted her from a “no” to a “yes.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But promises of “next year” should be taken with a grain of salt at the Capitol. As we’re seeing this week, many major measures don’t pass until the final days of legislative sessions, when deals are being cut and deadlines are looming. A promise to revisit a measure can be reneged as new leaders and stakeholders emerge. Case in point: Padilla, who has spearheaded the bag ban over the last two years, is term-limited and won’t be around for any follow-up debates.\u003c/p>\n\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
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"soldout": {
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