In last night’s State of the Union speech, President Obama laid out his plan for a better economy. His proposals focus on U.S. manufacturing, energy independence, adapting skills to a changing economy, and tax increases on the very wealthy. The speech, which comes at the start of the election year, is just the beginning of the president’s case for a second term…
Democratic legislative leaders are suing State Controller John Chiang on the grounds that the controller abused his authority by withholding paychecks during last year’s budget battle. Chiang had docked legislators’ pay last year after they passed what he considered an unbalanced budget. The matter is going to the 3rd District Court of Appeal, where legislators hope to keep this from happening again…
Meanwhile, San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee is asking the city’s board of supervisors to approve a $1 million investment to begin a small business loan program. The funds are already in the city’s coffers, and are not budgeted for any particular purposes. The mayor is planning to budget an additional $5 million for the program beginning July 1…
In the South Bay, Santa Clara city officials are trying to keep the 49ers stadium proposal from going to yet another vote. Councilmembers are claiming that residents already had their say in 2010 after 58% of voters approved the project. But opponents argue that voters were deceived about the project’s financials at the time. The matter is now headed to the courts in order to get the stadium built as soon as possible…
From stadiums to laboratories, the University of California has chosen to build the new Lawrence Berkeley Lab on the Richmond shoreline. The city survived a pool of 20 applicants and came out on top of heavyweight competitors like Berkeley, Oakland, and Emeryville. While the move would connect Berkeley and Livermore's research centers, those in Richmond are hopeful that the lab will bring in jobs, tax revenue, and intellectual spinoffs to the city of 100,000. The campus is expected to open in 2016...
And finally, Tony Bennett is coming back for Valentine's Day to celebrate the 50th year anniversary of his beloved tune, "I Left my hear in San Francisco." Cute.
Connecting the Dots brings together the day’s news.
