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Assembly Democrats say addressing the housing affordability crisis is next, but hurdles loom -- Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco) said that after legislators passed a major transportation funding package earlier this month, housing was the state’s most significant unresolved issue. “Like transportation, we need to put our money where our mouth is,” Chiu said. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/17/17

Feinstein hears it at raucous San Francisco town hall — voters want action -- Many of the 1,000 people who attended Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s town hall Monday in San Francisco didn’t necessarily disagree with her, they just wanted her to be louder and more aggressive in opposing the Trump administration. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Christine Mai-Duc in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/17/17

The author of the 'Calexit' initiative calls it quits on his proposal for a 2018 ballot measure -- Less than three months after being given the green light to start gathering voter signatures, the author of a closely watched effort to split California from the United States has decided to withdraw his proposal. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/17/17

First California offshore oil platform to be removed in 20 years -- In a decision that was cheered by environmentalists, a Colorado oil company announced Monday that it will end operations on a prominent offshore oil platform near Santa Barbara, which will result in it the first offshore platform removed from California’s coast in more than 20 years. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/17/17

Fox: Whither the Tax Revolt? -- Last autumn, I wondered both in a Wall Street Journal article and a Los Angeles Times piece if California’s tax revolt is dead. Given all the taxes that were passed by voters on the state and local level, the question was worth pondering. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 4/17/17

Cost triples, delays mount for UC computer system upgrade -- The timeline for a massive upgrade to the University of California’s payroll and personnel system was extended again twice in the past two months, further delaying a project now expected to cost more than three times its original budget. Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/17/17

BART to shell out big bucks to catch fare cheats -- BART is planning to spend $800,000 next year to hire a team of six full-time fare inspectors to roam the line and hunt down fare cheats who supposedly are costing the ailing rail line millions of dollars a year in lost revenue. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/17/17

LAPD officers expected to face more scrutiny over shootings with new rules -- For nearly two years, the Los Angeles Police Department’s civilian bosses have embarked on a high-profile campaign to curb the number of shootings by officers, pushing department brass for more training and less-lethal devices. Kate Mather in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/17/17

A $10-million fund will help immigrants fight deportations. But should it help those with violent criminal convictions -- Fearing mass deportations under President Trump, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and County Supervisor Hilda Solis stood together in December to unveil a $10-million fund to hire lawyers to defend local immigrants without legal status. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/17/17

Berkeley couple’s mysterious deaths raise public health fears -- No one knows how a young Berkeley couple and their two cats were fatally poisoned with carbon monoxide during a storm one night in January. Kimberly Veklerov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/17/17

Some families blame phone makers for distracted driving deaths -- Peggy Riggs often warned her children, including 20-year-old son David, about the dangers of texting and driving. In turn, David encouraged his friends never to engage in the practice. Wendy Lee in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/17/17

One key way soggy California could save water for the next dry spell -- The water spread into every corner of the fields, beckoning wading ibises and egrets as it bathed long rows of sprouting grapevines. Several inches had covered the vineyard ground for a couple of months. But rather than draining it, Don Cameron was pouring more on. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/17/17

Capitol Weekly podcast: John Hancock -- For followers of state politics, Ground Zero is The California Channel, which started broadcasting more than 26 years ago and has never looked back. Okay, so it’s not flashiest option on your TV dial and people have been known to turn it on late at night as a sleep aid. But among California politicos and policy wonks, the Cal Channel is must-see TV. Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster sat down with John Hancock, CalChannel’s president and CEO. Link Here -- 4/17/17

Internal Affairs: Stanford OKs Trump image for sexual assault conference -- With a name like “The Way Forward: Title IX Advocacy in the Trump Era,” it might seem natural that the upcoming conference at Stanford University would feature the president’s image on its website and poster. Tracey Kaplan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/17/17

AAA to offer one-way hourly car rentals in East Bay -- The American Automobile Association, the 115-year-old auto club founded when cars were poised to disrupt the horse and buggy, is branching into a new business, anticipating major changes in car ownership. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/17/17

Bill would ban leasing of dogs and cats -- Dogs and cats could no longer be leased in California – yes, leased – if a new bill co-authored by Assemblyman Brian Maienschein becomes law. The controversial, pricey and little-known practice of leasing pets has upset animal rights groups and left some customers bewildered when they learn they don’t actually own their new pet, but signed a rent-to-own contract instead. Ashly McGlone in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/17/17

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

California Democrats focus on normally safe GOP House seats -- Democratic plans to target half of California’s 14 Republican members of Congress in the 2018 midterm elections represent a high-stakes bet that President Trump’s continuing unpopularity in the state will filter down to even the strongest GOP candidates. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/17/17

Incumbents have big campaign money lead -- It’s called the power of incumbency for a reason. Sitting lawmakers have a campaign fundraising advantage over their opponents. In the two contested congressional races in San Diego, incumbents have amassed substantial leads. Joshua Stewart in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/17/17

More rainstorms prompt the reopening of the damaged Oroville Dam spillway -- State officials have reopened the damaged spillway at Oroville Dam as another set of rainstorms began moving across Northern California. Water resumed gushing through the partly collapsed concrete chute Friday morning, said Kristyne Van Skike, who is on the state Department of Water Resources team that’s managing the spillway. Michael Finnegan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/17/17

How Berkeley became epicenter of violent Trump clashes -- Berkeley, long a hotbed of political protest, has emerged as a flashpoint in the Trump era. The latest example of this came Saturday, when clashes between backers and critics of the president resulted in 21 arrests. Paige St. John and Shelby Grad in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/17/17

White supremacist who created stir at Stanislaus State seen punching woman at Berkeley protest -- Nathan Damigo was seen in a YouTube video posted by WeAreChange.org on Saturday striking a woman, who immediately fell to the ground. Brian Clark in the Modesto Bee -- 4/17/17

Can Denham handle heat of town hall critics? We’ll find out Monday night -- Town hall meetings once resembled chamber of commerce mixers. Politicians came back to their home districts, answered softball questions, schmoozed, shook hands and posed for photos. No longer. Jeff Jardine in the Modesto Bee -- 4/17/17

Lawmakers across US move to include young people in voting -- Donald Trump's characterization of Mexican immigrants as criminals and rapists during his presidential campaign angered Heidi Sainz, whose family is from Mexico and who has close friends who are immigrants. She was also upset that she couldn't do anything about it at the ballot box because she was a year shy of being able to vote. Sophia Bollag Associated Press -- 4/17/17

Democrats link party rivals to DeVos as 2018 fights emerge -- Teachers unions and others are attacking charter supporters in California, New York and New Jersey for doing the administration's 'dirty work.' David Siders Politico -- 4/17/17

Break away from the USA? The effort to cleave California faces its own split -- If there’s one thing Jed Wheeler and Marcus Ruiz Evans agree on, it’s that things in California need to change. The state sends too much money to Washington, they say, and is both politically and culturally out of step with a country that lacks its openness and vitality. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/17/17

Daughters of murder victim hurt by Gov. Brown’s parole decision -- Devastation filled the hearts of David Russo’s daughters when they learned through a news report Saturday that Gov. Jerry Brown had granted Susan Russo, who is serving a life sentence for the murder-for-hire killing of their father, a chance for parole. Andrea Figueroa Briseño in the Fresno Bee -- 4/17/17

Casualties in Big Sur Blaze Point to Hazards of ‘Wildfire Gig Economy’ -- For example, the contractors who hired 35-year-old Robert Reagan, the bulldozer operator killed in the early days of the Soberanes Fire last July, and John Tiersma, a 60-year-old water tender driver injured six weeks later, did not carry workers’ compensation insurance. Ted Goldberg KQED -- 4/17/17

Costs soar after Huntington Park picks politically connected firm to provide bus service -- The Huntington Park City Council was faced with a crisis. Its longtime provider of bus service abruptly announced it was getting out of the business two years ago, and the city had 30 days to find a new operator. Adam Elmahrek in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/17/17

Housing  

Blueprint for Bay Area aims to ‘change the dynamics’ of housing crisis -- The only way for the Bay Area to become a relatively affordable place to live again is for cities and counties to be more tolerant of different types of housing, according to the draft of a new regional plan. John King in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/17/17

Tiny homes yield bigger problem: Where to put them? -- Jeremy Spencer and his husband, Ryan Kelley – and their tiny home – are pioneers. Their sub-400-square-foot home is part of a two-unit tiny house cluster that sits in an Isleton RV park. Ed Fletcher in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/17/17

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions 

Another court setback for protectors of pensions -- In another ruling allowing pension cuts, an appeals court last week overturned a state labor board ruling that a voter-approved San Diego pension reform was invalid because the city declined to bargain the issue with labor unions. Ed Mendel Calpensions.com -- 4/17/17

Companies building battery cars, drones and hyperloops part of new tech-transit cluster in Southern California -- When the space race faded and the Cold War cooled, that signaled the beginning of the end of Southern California’s aerospace industry. But the decline of that once dominant industry opened up opportunities for others in need of high-skilled help. Steve Scauzillo in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 4/17/17

United changes policy, crew can't displace seated passengers -- United Airlines is changing a company policy and will no longer allow crew members to displace customers already onboard an airplane. The change comes after a passenger, Dr. David Dao, was dragged from a fully-booked United Express flight in Chicago because he refused to give up his seat to make room for crew members. Associated Press -- 4/17/17

How San Diego International went from "little airport" to global stop -- Speaking last month at a downtown luncheon celebrating San Diego’s first nonstop flight to Switzerland, the outgoing airport CEO took the opportunity to applaud her soon-to-be-former employer — “the little airport that could,” she called it. Lori Weisberg in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/17/17

Education 

Classes to resume a week after shooting at California school -- An elementary school in San Bernardino that was the scene of a murder-suicide is reopening. School district officials say classes at North Park Elementary will resume Monday, a week after the killings. Associated Press -- 4/17/17

Teacher complaints lead to improvements in state tests -- Changes are underway to fix flaws in tests designed to help teachers pinpoint student weaknesses before they take Common Core–aligned assessments each spring. Theresa Harrington EdSource -- 4/17/17

Immigration / Border 

ICE immigration arrests of noncriminals double under Trump -- Immigration arrests rose 32.6 percent in the first weeks of the Trump administration, with newly empowered federal agents intensifying their pursuit of not just undocumented immigrants with criminal records, but also thousands of illegal immigrants who have been otherwise law-abiding. Maria Sacchetti in the Washington Post$ -- 4/17/17

POTUS 45  

Trump asks why people are still talking about his taxes a day after protesters asked for his returns -- President Trump lashed out Sunday at the protesters who took part in marches across the country Saturday to demand that he release his tax returns, declaring on Twitter that “The election is over!” Trump’s comments followed a nationwide Tax March that drew thousands of people in dozens of cities on the country’s traditionally recognized deadline to file taxes, April 15. John Wagner in the Washington Post$ -- 4/17/17

Beltway 

Congress needs to reach a budget deal in a matter of days. What could go wrong? -- Republican and Democratic congressional leaders are optimistic that when they return from their recess the last week of April, they’ll reach a deal and avert a government shutdown by April 28, when legislation that is now funding the government expires. Lesley Clark McClatchy DC -- 4/17/17