Morning Splash: Prop 8 Hearing, Shrinking Oakland Police Dept, SFUSD Scandal Warnings

California's divisive struggle over same-sex marriage reaches another milestone Monday, when the legal challenge to Proposition 8 unfolds in a federal appeals court in San Francisco. Two years after voters restored the state's ban on gay nuptials, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear two hours of arguments on whether to uphold a federal judge's August ruling that struck down the same-sex marriage ban as government-sponsored discrimination. Full article

...Everyone knows about the 80 officers (Oakland) laid off in July to save money. But since then, 21 more have retired, 12 have decamped for other police departments, five have simply quit and one has been fired - dropping the total number of officers to 670.
Meanwhile, 30 more officers are undergoing background checks by other departments seeking to hire them. And another 40 will be eligible to retire by year's end.Even that doesn't tell the whole story... Full article

San Francisco school officials, including Superintendent Carlos A. Garcia, received warnings that a group of administrators in charge of after-school programs used questionable accounting practices while handling millions of dollars in district money, according to senior executives with community organizations. The warnings, dating back five years, raise questions about oversight at the San Francisco Unified School District, and whether officials could have prevented a payment scandal that has threatened services at a time when the district is facing $113 million in cuts. Full article

Democratic lawmakers, still fuming over Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to eliminate child care subsidies for poor families, will hit back today with a bill that would restore funding to the program and guarantee day care for about 55,000 children... Lawmakers will take up the bill next month, when Democrat Jerry Brown takes office as governor... Full article

Fallen trees and power lines troubled areas around Sonoma County following a powerful storm that swept through the region early Monday.Emergency crews and PG&E workers were in the west county on Graton Road for downed trees and powerlines hanging a few feet above the roadway, according to initial CHP reports. Full article

A nascent California ballot measure that seeks to replicate Arizona's controversial crackdown on illegal immigrants is dividing the state's Republicans, with a number of prominent strategists and leaders fearing that it could further harm their party's already fraught relationship with Latinos — the fastest-growing segment of the electorate. It's unclear whether the ballot's backers will have the financial resources to gather enough signatures to place the measure on the 2012 ballot. Full article

Two years after requiring airport businesses to give their employees a "living wage" -- at the urging of labor leaders -- San Jose officials Tuesday will consider changes aimed at making it more palatable to airlines and other companies they desperately need to keep and attract. Businesses and airline officials had objected to the requirement, saying that it imposed a costly burden. Full article

Google Inc., owner of the world’s most popular search engine, is starting an electronic book- selling service today with almost 4,000 publishers, in a challenge to Amazon.com Inc. and Apple Inc. The service, called Google eBooks, features about 3 million titles for free and hundreds of thousands for purchase, the company said today in a post on its website. Publishers include Random House Group Ltd. and HarperCollins Publishers. Full article

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees parking in The City, is proposing a new rule that would mandate a one-hour cap for parking at all broken meters citywide. The agency wants to move forward with the plan because it is introducing 5,000 high-tech parking meters to streets, some of which will allow motorists to stay in one space for as long as four hours at a time...Wary of unruly motorists breaking meters just so they can have a few hours of free parking, the SFMTA is proposing a cap of one hour at all broken-meter spaces, even at spots that would normally allow motorists to park longer than 60 minutes. Full article

Supervisor Charles McGlashan's years-long drive to ban plastic bags at Marin retail establishments in appears headed for approval.Officials say the county is on the brink of banning plastic and imposing a 5-cent charge on paper bags to encourage use of reusable bags at outlets including unincorporated area grocery stores. Full article

Everyone was picking the red-hot Chargers to beat the reeling Raiders. And why not? The Chargers had won four straight, the Raiders had lost two in a row, and recent history offered nothing in Oakland's favor. By game's end, the Raiders made believers out of the Chargers and, perhaps, many others who felt as if they were on the brink of a late-season collapse, fashioning a convincing 28-13 victory at Qualcomm Stadium. Full article

The Stanford football team, a conference doormat just four years ago, is headed to one of the nation's most prestigious bowl games.Stanford will face Virginia Tech in the Orange Bowl in Miami on Jan. 3 -- its first appearance in a major bowl game in 11 years. Full article