Capitol Alert: AM Alert: Domestic workers look for help from 'The Help'

Are the conditions depicted in Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel, "The Help," still common in California?

Members of the California Domestic Worker Coalition say yes. They plan to mark the nationwide release today of the book's movie version with a protest in San Francisco.

The group is also pushing for passage of Assembly Bill 889 by Democrats Tom Ammiano and V. Manuel Pérez, which would regulate the wages, hours, and working conditions of domestic workers. The bill passed the Assembly, 49-28, back in early June and is now before the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Ammiano is expected to speak at the protest, which starts at 11 a.m. outside Westfield Shopping Center's theaters, 845 Market St.

Back in Sacramento, the state Board of Forestry and Fire Protection will discuss the controversial new fee, now the subject of a proposed referendum, that charges rural property owners up to $150 each for fire protection. The state is counting on Assembly Bill X1 29 to raise $50 million. The board's meeting starts at 8 a.m. in the Resources Building auditorium, 1416 9th St. Click here for the agenda.

A block away, members of the California Energy Commission will hear about the impact of a "monsoonal storm event" last month at the Ivanpah solar project in the Mohave Desert. That meeting starts at 10 a.m. at 1516 9th St. Click here for the agenda.

This is the solar project being challenged in federal court by the Western Watersheds Project, which contends that project officials have underestimated the number of protected desert tortoises that the solar project would affect. Gov. Jerry Brown has filed an amicus brief saying that halting completion of the project "is not in the public interest."

PROTEST: Professional signature gatherers are demonstrating at Safeway's headquarters to protest what they say are the company's unconstitutional policies targeting the collection of signatures for ballot measures. The protest begins at 11 a.m. at 5918 Mall Road in Pleasanton.

SEMINAR: Assemblyman Mike Eng, D-Monterey Park, and Sen. Ed Hernandez, D-West Covina, join state Controller John Chiang to co-host a seminar for restaurant owners and managers on the state's new food handler cards. The meeting starts at 3 p.m. in Monterey Park City Council chambers, 320 W. Newmark Ave.

TOWN HALL: The Palm Desert Area Chamber of Commerce and Assemblyman Brian Nestande, R-Palm Desert, co-host a town hall to discuss the state budget and legislation they consider "job killers." Look for it starting at 5 p.m. on the Palm Desert campus of CSU-San Bernardino, 37500 Cook St.