Kamala Harris at odds with Obama on mortgage fraud (Bay Citizen)
Four years ago, when most of the Democratic Party establishment stood firmly behind Hillary Rodham Clinton, Kamala D. Harris, then San Francisco’s district attorney, spent a winter week in Iowa stumping for Barack Obama....But since taking office as attorney general a year ago, Harris has clashed with the Obama administration over one of her signature issues: foreclosures and mortgage fraud. In September, Harris walked away from settlement talks with the nation’s five largest mortgage servicers, saying the proposed deal to have them pay roughly $25 billion in restitution for mortgage abuses was too weak. She said the proposed settlement sought by the Obama administration asked California to “excuse conduct that has not been adequately investigated.”
S.F. begins turning tree care over to residents (SFGate)
Thousands of San Francisco property owners will find themselves in the tree maintenance business now that the city has begun transferring the responsibility for more than 23,000 street trees - and their upkeep costs - to local residents. Starting last week, homeowners across the city found notices taped to the trees outside their front doors announcing that the city's Department of Public Works won't be caring for the urban greenery anymore. Forcing property owners to pick up the cost for keeping street trees healthy is expected to save the city about $300,000 this year.
Palo Alto math teachers oppose requiring Algebra II to graduate (Mercury News)
Against the resolute push for higher academic standards geared toward preparing students for college, the Palo Alto High School math department has drawn a line in the sand. Don't prepare all students for University of California entrance, the math faculty argues, because not all students can master quadratic equations and logarithmic functions. Their counterpush against raising graduation standards to include Algebra II has angered educators and parents who believe schools, including districts like Palo Alto with strong college-going cultures, are failing poor and minority students by expecting too little of them.
Oakland Raiders' coach search could heat up with Green Bay Packers out of playoffs (Oakland Tribune)
The Raiders' search for a head coach should heat up this week, courtesy of the New York Giants. When the Giants beat the Green Bay Packers 37-20 Sunday at Lambeau Field, Packers assistant coaches Winston Moss, Joe Philbin, Dom Capers and Tom Clements became available for head coaching interviews. All have been reported as potential Raiders candidates and had a working relationship with Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie in Green Bay.
49ers to host Giants for Super Bowl berth (SFGate)
The 49ers, giddy, exhausted and sore from their 36-32 win over the Saints on Saturday, sat back and watched with big smiles Sunday as the New York Giants became the first team in these playoffs to win a road game, upsetting the Packers 37-20 in Green Bay. That means the 49ers' first appearance in the NFC Championship Game since January 1998 will be at Candlestick Park on Sunday afternoon. San Francisco beat the Giants 27-20 there Nov. 13.
Police ID 14 year-old sought in sex assaults (Oakland Tribune)
Police are searching for a 14-year-old boy they say has robbed and sexually assaulted two women in the last two weeks, both of whom were twice his age. Investigators said the boy is named Brionn Glasper. He is 5 feet 5 inches tall, about 110 pounds and African American, with black hair and brown eyes. Police say he should be considered armed and dangerous. On Jan. 12, according to investigators, a 28-year-old woman reported being attacked as she walked at about 9:15 p.m. in the 600 block of 11th Street, between Interstate 980 and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.