California Policy and Politics This Morning

Corrosion plagues new Bay Bridge span -- Doug Coe, a normally confident engineering manager for the new east span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, walked into the nearby Oakland project office looking as if he were fighting back tears. Joel Sayre, then a bridge spokesman who worked there, remembers tensing in alarm. Charles Piller in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/13

Investigation improves safeguards for bridges, roads -- The Bee's ongoing investigation into California Department of Transportation testing and construction has prompted changes in how state government safeguards bridges and roadways. Charles Piller in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/13

State law requiring identifying information on bullet casings takes effect -- A California law that requires all semi-automatic handguns to be equipped with technology that stamps its identifying information on bullet casings is now in effect after years of delays. Tami Abdollah Associated Press -- 5/19/13

Oakland police struggle to rebuild — using fewer resources -- 'Working smarter' and reorganization can go only so far. It's not clear that the public is ready to make the investment. Lee Romney in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/13

Lawmakers like brighter budget numbers -- Democratics who control the state legislature were already eager to spend more money than was proposed in Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget, which would grow by 5.5 percent. Christopher Cadelago UT San Diego$ -- 5/19/13

Walters: Legislative analyst gives Democrats more money -- Jerry Brown – who made "lower your expectations" a catchphrase of his first governorship – is back in that mode during his second stint, especially on spending. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/13

Brown's budget includes Holden's sex offender bill -- Assemblyman Chris Holden's bill looking to help keep violent offenders under the supervision of the state is a step closer to becoming a reality. Beatriz E. Valenzuela in the San Bernardino Sun -- 5/19/13

Morain: Donors' millions kept undercover -- Americans for Job Security, a political operation with a name that is a cross between pabulum and platitude, did what it was set up to do: help a rich man hide his multimillion-dollar donation to a campaign. Dan Morain in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/13

L.A.'s next mayor to have regional impact -- The next mayor of Los Angeles - City Councilman Eric Garcetti or City Controller Wendy Greuel - can be expected to have political influence well beyond their city's limits. Andrew Edwards in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 5/19/13

Wendy Greuel, Eric Garcetti dash across L.A. to shore up support -- The controller appears in South L.A. with Magic Johnson and Rep. Maxine Waters. The councilman, who leads in a new poll, warns workers not to take victory for granted. Michael Finnegan, Maeve Reston, Catherine Saillant in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/13

Union money looms big in L.A. mayor's race -- Unions like the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, which is backing Greuel, or the Teamsters, who endorsed rival Eric Garcetti, are making a big push in the Los Angeles mayor's race, sending workers to canvass, phone bank and gather signatures. But mostly, they are raising money. Dakota Smith in the Inland Daily Bulletin -- 5/19/13

Spending in L.A. mayor's race breaks records -- By Saturday, the expenditures had exceeded $33 million, with outside money playing a dominant role heading into Tuesday's election. The biggest single donor is Working Californians, a pro-Greuel "super PAC." David Zahniser and Maloy Moore in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/13

Mayor candidates on transportation: innovation vs. tried and true -- L.A. mayor candidates Garcetti and Greuel have similar track records on city transportation problems, but there are a few notable differences. Laura J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/13

Lopez: Do we love L.A.? We don't always vote like it -- The weather should be nice (what else?) for Tuesday's municipal election, so roll out of bed and start humming Randy Newman. Maybe we'll hit 25% turnout. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/13

3 competing medical marijuana measures on Tuesday ballot -- In a test of public support for medical marijuana, Los Angeles voters will have three different options Tuesday to regulate pot dispensaries, including proposals that limit their numbers and impose new taxes on their sales. Rick Orlov in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 5/19/13

   Taxes - Fees

Metro considers adding fees to every new home, store or office building to fight congestion -- Developers in Los Angeles County are bracing themselves for a new layer of congestion fees that would add about $1,900 per new home and about $30,000 on a new Trader Joe's store. Steve Scauzillo in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 5/19/13

Parking fees fight at California state beaches heat up -- Sunbathers flocking to Southern California beaches are used to feeding the meter or paying a parking attendant. Not so along the less developed north coast where it's customary to ditch cars on the shoulder of Highway 1 to surf, swim or picnic. ALICIA CHANG Associated Press -- 5/19/13

   Economy

New Kings boss Ranadive is all about winning -- Two young employees at Tibco Software Inc. recently challenged the head of the company to a pull-up contest, and Vivek Ranadive didn't hesitate to accept. The employees, men in their 30s, combined to gut out 12 pull-ups. Ranadive, who is 55, pumped out nearly twice as many. Ryan Lillis, Dale Kasler and Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/13

What's in millennials' wallets? Fewer credit cards -- Boom-bust cycles leave the millennial generation more wary of credit card debt and more prone to thrifty lifestyles. Emily Alpert in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/13

Super Bowl vote: 49ers, Bay Area prepare for NFL's decision Tuesday -- On Tuesday, 32 of the country's richest and most powerful people will file into a 15th-floor executive boardroom overlooking Boston Harbor. They'll lock the door behind them and take their seats in high-backed leather chairs around a large mahogany table for exactly one hour and 15 minutes. Mike Rosenberg in the San Jose Mercury -- 5/19/13

Bay Area firm's idea to lift underwater homeowners to positive equity loses steam -- A year ago, with the real estate market still in a deep slump, a San Francisco firm caught the attention of officials in California and elsewhere with its novel idea of using eminent domain to seize underwater mortgages in order to reduce the amount that borrowers owe. Hudson Sangree in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/13

   Education

Gov. Brown's school funding plan runs into lawmakers' concerns -- Gov. Jerry Brown had hardly finished presenting his annual budget revision last week before state Sen. Ted Lieu lit up on Twitter with a burst of criticism of a major part of the plan, a bid to shift more state aid to poor and English-learning students. David Siders and Phillip Reese in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/13

Cal Poly Pomona tests digital textbooks -- Engineers and other technical majors at Cal Poly Pomona are no strangers to heavy textbooks that strain the seams on their book bags. But a digital textbook pilot program at the school may help ease the pain for future students. Beau Yarbrough in the San Bernardino Sun -- 5/19/13

   Health

Simi Valley's Winnie Tapper attains a rare feat: 40 years on dialysis -- Last month, Winnie Tapper celebrated a milestone anniversary of something that at first made her cry. That was years ago, her very lifeblood in the balance, facing a treatment she’d never heard of as well as a new way of life. Brett Johnson in the Ventura Star -- 5/19/13

Antioch toddler's wait for transplant raises awareness -- Photographer Mandi Raymond senses she is onto something. All she needs is for Matthew Ouimet, a relentless, adorable, undeniable 2-year-old, to hold a pose. Gary Peterson in the San Jose Mercury -- 5/19/13

The Health Toll of Immigration -- A growing body of mortality research on immigrants has shown that the longer they live in this country, the worse their rates of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. And while their American-born children may have more money, they tend to live shorter lives than the parents. SABRINA TAVERNISE in the New York Times$ -- 5/19/13

   Environment

Wood fire pits could pose health problems for beach residents, AQMD study shows -- The smoke from one beach fire pit generates the same pollution as a heavy-duty diesel truck traveling 564 miles, according to air quality experts who are considering banning the popular pits. Joe Segura in the San Gabriel Tribune -- 5/19/13

   Immigration

Green card plan for students stirs worry -- Silicon Valley tech companies for years have urged Congress to "staple a green card" to every master's degree or Ph.D that a foreign student earns in science, technology, engineering or math at a U.S. university. Carolyn Lochhead in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 5/19/13

   Also

America's Cup: Italian team Luna Rossa defies cup officials and sets sail in its first practice in bay -- Defying a request from an America's Cup safety review committee to suspend training for a week, the Italian challenger Luna Rossa tested the waters anyway, setting sail on the San Francisco Bay on Saturday on its 72-foot catamaran. Julia Prodis Sulek in the San Jose Mercury -- 5/19/13

Proliferation of pot shops frustrate some San Pedro merchants -- Just two days before voters decide the fate of medical marijuana dispensaries in Los Angeles, some San Pedro merchants are becoming frustrated with a recent proliferation of the shops in and around their historic downtown district. Donna Littlejohn in the Torrance Daily Breeze -- 5/19/13

Deputies responding to burglary call find marijuana operation -- Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies responding to a burglary call in a Rancho Palos Verdes neighborhood stumbled upon a $1-million marijuana-growing operation, authorities said. Stephen Ceasar in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/13

Pitch for county power agency enters crucial stretch -- With four cities down and four to go, Sonoma County officials this week enter the second half of their roadshow to convince cities to take part in the county's planned public power agency. BRETT WILKISON in the Riverside Press -- 5/19/13

All mail at Santa Clara County jail to be limited to small postcards -- To jail inmate Lisa Coulter, the Hallmark card she got from a support group is a lifeline, something to hold close to her heart as she nervously waits for a judge to release her or send her back to prison after 16 years behind bars. Tracey Kaplan in the San Jose Mercury -- 5/19/13

Google Glass: Cool or creepy? -- Google staged four discussions expounding on the finer points of its "Glass" wearable computer during this week's developer conference. Missing from the agenda, however, was a session on etiquette when using the recording-capable gadget, which some attendees faithfully wore everywhere -- including to the crowded bathrooms. Alexei Oreskovic Reuters -- 5/19/13

Google's Plan To Take Over The World -- With every new product update, every new feature, every new virtual service, it became more and more clear that Google isn't just a search company that makes loads of cash by showing you ads. It's creeping into every aspect of our digital, physical, and private lives at an exponential rate. Steve Kovach Business Insider -- 5/19/13

   POTUS 44

Obama speech to address counterterrorism measures -- President Obama will deliver a speech Thursday at the National Defense University in which he will address how he intends to bring his counterterrorism policies, including the drone program and the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in line with the legal framework he promised after taking office. Scott Wilson Politico -- 5/19/13

President Obama exercises a fluid grip on the levers of power -- President Obama’s professed ignorance of the targeting of conservatives by one government agency and his support of tracking journalists’ sources by another highlight one of the great paradoxes of his presidency: Sometimes he uses his office as aggressively as anyone who’s held it; other times he seems unacquainted with the work of his own administration. Philip Rucker and Peter Wallsten in the Washington Post -- 5/19/13

   IRS

How the IRS spun out of control -- Little guidance from Washington and a flood of new nonprofits left the Cincinnati office overwhelmed. Joseph Tanfani, Matea Gold and Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/13

   AP / DOJ

Veteran lawyers: No clear-cut abuse by DOJ -- Journalists were swift, loud and universal in their condemnation: The revelation that the Justice Department had secretly subpoenaed the phone records of Associated Press reporters was outrageous — a massive government overreach that would surely have a chilling effect on newsgathering. JAMES HOHMANN Politico -- 5/19/13

   Beltway

Dem lawmakers buoyed by Obama response to trio of controversies -- House Democrats left Washington on Friday insisting they're not worried about political fallout after one of the most difficult weeks the Obama administration has endured. Mike Lillis The Hill -- 5/19/13