First Land Park farmers market draws big crowd Hyde’s late TD pushes 49ers past Washington SPORTS | Page C1 OUR REGION | Page B1 THE SACRAMENTO BEE Monday, November 24, 2014 Manny Crisostomo Bee file A Valero proposal would bring two 50-car crude oil trains a day to its Benicia plant. Mayor’s remarks could derail oil vote sacbee.com • • • • $1 Business interests spend to mold Dems in their image IN TOP-TWO RACES, GROUPS INVEST MILLIONS IN PREFERRED CANDIDATES By Jeremy B. White [email protected] Hoping to reshape the Democratic coalition governing the California Legislature, business-backed outside groups spent millions during the 2014 election cycle to elect Democrats they believe will be more sympathetic to their interests. Newly elected Democratic candidates aided by business-funded groups posted an impressive record. In seven out of 10 races to fill open seats, the Democratic candidate who benefited from independent spending by business groups prevailed. Those results have prompted talk of a new generation of business- friendly Democrats assuming office. Some groups that spent lavishly on behalf of those Democrats are touting their success. Californians for Jobs and a Strong Economy, for example, spent $1.1 million on the effort, and the group’s leader predicted that “economic Democrat” lawmakers will have considerable clout in the coming session. Fifteen years ago, “there were six (such Democrats) in the Assembly,” said David Townsend, who oversees Californians for Jobs and a Strong Economy. “When they get sworn in for the next session, exactly one-half of the Democratic caucus will be mods.” Others take issue with Townsend’s use of the term “moderate” to describe those Democrats. Some of the newly elected members support policies such as raising the minimum wage or extending temporary tax increases enacted via Proposition 30. Many also received money from reliable bastions of Democratic support, DEMOCRATS | Back page, A12 I-5 BUS CRASH KILLS 1 NEAR SHASTA LAKE BENICIA LEADER SAYS SHE WON’T RECUSE HERSELF By Tony Bizjak [email protected] The hot national debate over crude oil train safety has taken an unusual twist in the Bay Area city of Benicia, where a blunt-talking mayor’s right to free speech is being pitted against an oil company’s right to a fair public hearing. This summer, amid tense public debate over a Valero Refining Co. proposal to bring crude oil on trains to its Benicia plant, Mayor Elizabeth Patterson revealed that the city attorney had privately advised her that her frequent public comments about oil transport safety could be seen as bias against the Valero project. The mayor said the city attorney advised her to stop talking about the oil trains and sending out mass emails containing articles and other Elizabeth information, Patterson and to recuse was advised herself from to stop voting when it talking about came before oil trains. the council. Patterson, a longtime community planner and environmental activist, is refusing to step aside, saying she has a duty to share information with constituents about the city’s pivotal role in the crude oil debate, one of the biggest environmental fights in the state. The situation in Benicia provides an unfolding civics lesson on the sometimes-surprising legal tightropes cities and public officials must walk when dealing with highstakes issues. The trains in question would pass twice daily through downtown Sacramento and other Northern California cities en route to the Benicia refinery. Patterson points out she has never said she would vote against the Valero project and said she hasn’t yet made up her mind. “I am providing information. I am letting people know what is going on,” MAYOR | Back page, A12 Alayna Shulman The Record Searchlight A Los Angeles tour bus bound for Washington state crashed Sunday morning on Interstate 5 near Pollard Flat in Shasta County, killing a 33-yearold man and injuring at least 30 people, three critically. It was the second crash in one day for the bus, which also bumped into a Denny’s restaurant in Red Bluff, according to the CHP. Investigators suggested driver fatigue may have caused the second crash. Story, Page B1 Amid wait to hear about charges, lives are put on hold in Ferguson BUSINESSES, SCHOOLS SUFFER AS UNCERTAINTY DRAGS ON Clean fuels’ boosters fight federal plan to halt gas mandate By Evan Halper Tribune Washington Bureau By Manny Fernandez and Alan Blinder The New York Times FERGUSON, Mo. – At Spencer’s Bakery near the barricaded police station here, there have been fewer Thanksgiving orders, including for pumpkin pie. Across the region, school administrators are debating whether to start their holiday recesses early because of the potential for unrest. And in Clayton, the affluent hub of the St. Louis County justice system, guests at the Crowne Plaza hotel coped with heightened security precautions: restricted access to the building, and the shuttering Whitney Curtis The New York Times of the restaurant that faces the street and the courthouse. The breakfast buffet was relegated to an out- St. Louis County police officers stand guard outside a laundromat along West Florissant Avenue in Ferof-the-way ballroom. FERGUSON | Page A2 guson, Mo., as protesters march Saturday night. WASHINGTON – As biotech masterminds and venture capitalists scramble to hatch a new generation of environmentally friendly fuels that can help power the average gasoline-burning car, they are confronting an unexpected obstacle: the White House. Yielding to pressure from oil companies, car manufacturers and even driving enthusiasts, the Obama administration is threatening to put the brakes on one of the federal government’s most ambitious efforts to ease the nation’s addiction to fossil fuels. The proposed rollback of the 7-year-old green energy mandate known as the renewable fuel standard is alarming investors in the innovation economy and putting the administration at odds FUELS | Page A2 TOP STORIES OUR REGION Three of area’s most prominent Latinos are awarded the Ohtli, one of Mexico’s highest honors, for their cross-border bridge building. B1 A persistent question plagues Sacramento’s struggling arts community: Where’s the money? City Beat, B1 CAPITOL & CALIFORNIA NATION WORLD SPORTS UC students angered by last week’s decision for planned tuition hikes say they will stage “walkouts” at multiple campuses at noon. A3 A once-lost letter to Jack Kerouac that inspired a rewrite of “On The Road” is set for auction. A4 A bomber kills more than 40 at a volleyball tournament in one of Afghanistan’s deadliest attacks this year. A10 Western and Iranian officials say unresolved issues on a deal to curb Iran’s nuclear program may push talks beyond today. A10 Motivation has kept the Kings’ Derrick Williams active and aggressive with his scant but impressive playing time. C1 Former LSU coach Dale Brown and player Shaquille O’Neal are inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. C8 A 12-year-old boy dies a day after he was shot by a Cleveland police officer. Police said he reached for a gun that turned out to be fake. A6 Marion Barry, the D.C. mayor who made one of the most improbable comebacks in the history of politics, dies at 78. A8 Sunny, breezy 63 | 43 Complete forecast Page B8 INSIDE Classifieds Comics Crosswords Horoscope Letters Lottery Obituaries Movies Scoreboard Television C11 B3, B6 B3, B6 B5 A11 B2 B7 B2 C10 B5 T O DAY ’ S D E A L 49% off Admission and Ride Wristband to Global Winter Wonderland See ad on Page A10 Get this deal today at dealsaver.com/sacramento VOLUME 302, NO. 328
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