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California Policy & Politics This Morning

A day without power: bad traffic, big losses, some frustration -- Traffic was a mess, and restaurants and other businesses lost a sunny day’s worth of revenue while many workers were sent home during Friday’s big San Francisco blackout. Sarah Ravani and Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/22/17

Black man beaten by Sacramento cop legally crossed street, pedestrian groups say -- Pedestrian advocates say a Del Paso Heights man legally crossed the street before a police officer stopped him for jaywalking and repeatedly punched him in the face. Anita Chabria and Nashelly Chavez in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/22/17

California cities ready to fight Trump’s call to punish so-called ‘sanctuary cities’ -- Even as the Justice Department on Friday advised eight local governments and the state of California that they were at risk of losing federal dollars if they don’t cooperate, several cities had already directed their lobbyists to oppose such efforts. Lesley Clark McClatchy DC -- 4/22/17

Trump officials visit San Diego border, blast sanctuary jurisdictions for not helping enforce U.S. immigration laws -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions said at a Friday appearance at the U.S.-Mexico border in San Diego that sanctuary cities and counties that don’t cooperate with federal officials by handing over unauthorized immigrants who have committed crimes “put criminals back on your streets.” Greg Moran in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/22/17

As Trump, GOP seek to replace Obamacare, Southern California holds its breath – again -- In the Santa Clarita Valley, where hospitals and specialists were once few and far between, Teresa Savaikie said the Affordable Care Act helped keep her and her family from losing their home as she fought two, stage 3 colon cancer tumors. Susan Abram in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 4/22/17

Head of California's $64-billion bullet train project is stepping down -- California bullet train Chief Executive Jeff Morales will leave the rail agency in June, ending a five-year tenure that saw mixed results in moving the $64-billion project forward. Ralph Vartabedian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/22/17

Conservative group threatens UC Berkeley over Ann Coulter appearance -- A conservative group on Friday threatened to take legal action against UC Berkeley if student sponsors are not allowed to pick the date and location for an appearance by commentator Ann Coulter. Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/22/17

Milo Yiannopoulos announces 'grand comeback tour' at UC Berkeley -- Conservative provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos announced that he was planning to launch a comeback tour after his abrupt resignation as editor from the far-right website Breitbart News earlier this year. David Choi in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/22/17

Kamala Harris gets star treatment and no protests at her town hall -- Sen. Kamala Harris of California, a Democratic star showing up on lists of potential 2020 presidential candidates, was embraced with a resounding ovation as she condemned the Trump administration at her first town hall meeting on Friday. Sean Cockerham McClatchy DC -- 4/22/17

Water authority members meet more in private than public -- Members of the San Diego County Water Authority met behind closed doors more than 100 times last year — four times as often as they met in public. James DeHaven in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/22/17

What went wrong at Oroville? Congressional Democrats demand answers -- Citing the near disaster at Oroville Dam, a group of congressional Democrats is pushing the government’s watchdog agency to investigate federal oversight of dam safety regulations. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/22/17

Last lawsuit over PG&E San Bruno explosion close to settlement -- The last remaining lawsuit over the lethal 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion moved close to resolution Friday when a judge gave preliminary approval to a $90 million settlement of claims by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. shareholders against the utility’s managers and directors. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/22/17

Feinstein urges help from Silicon Valley on Caltrain electrification -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein called on Silicon Valley leaders Friday to lean on Central Valley congressional representatives to get funding for the electrification of Caltrain released. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/22/17

Schiff could use Russia probe as Senate springboard -- The congressman from Hollywood has landed his breakout role — investigating President Donald Trump’s ties to Russia — and it might be Adam Schiff’s path to the Senate. Austin Wright and Carla Marinucci Politico -- 4/22/17

Scientists to leave the labs and ‘March for Science’ in Sacramento -- For Dr. Fran Keller, science was always much more than an academic pursuit. It was a way of living in the world. Walter Ko in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/22/17

Morain: Lobbyists dismissed her as ‘Pot Girl.’ Now they want her business -- Amy Jenkins took a break from a busy day in the Capitol to reminisce. When she left her job as a legislative staffer in 2014, other lobbyists warned her against representing an industry that was illicit. Dan Morain in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/22/17

California election officials push $450 million voting machine bond for 2018 -- California elections officials want state lawmakers to place a $450 million voting-equipment borrowing measure on the June 2018 ballot, saying that many counties’ voting machines rely on outdated equipment that make them vulnerable to breakdowns and hacking. Jim Miller in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/22/17

California’s Deluge of Rain Washes Away a Homeless Colony -- For Robert Friend, home was a tent pitched down by the American River off 12th Street. It was quiet, secluded in the bushes, a respite from life on the pavement downtown. Or at least it was until the storms came. Adam Nagourney in the New York Times$ -- 4/22/17

California Politics Podcast: Lawmakers get an earful at town halls -- This week: California's members of Congress face their constituents in a series of testy town halls across the state. Plus, we take a look at how April tax revenues are shaping the budget negotiations that begin soon in Sacramento. With John Myers and Melanie Mason of the Los Angeles Times and Marisa Lagos of KQED News. Link here -- 4/22/17

Schnur: Shocker: Majority of Californians back tax-funded school vouchers -- If the old musical “West Side Story” were to be remade in 21st century California, it would be written as a love story between young charter school teacher Maria, and her secret paramour, Tony, a field organizer for the California Teachers Association. Dan Schnur in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/22/17

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions 

LA City Hall braces for retirement wave -- It's a statistic they've known for a while now, but it's inching ever closer: More than 40 percent of the city of L.A.'s 45,000 employees will become eligible for retirement by 2018. Andrea Bernstein KPCC -- 4/22/17

State workers, your bonuses are finally coming -- State workers represented by SEIU Local 1000 will receive bonuses from their new contract by May 12, the State Controller’s Office says. The $2,500 bonuses will be taxed as if they are combined with an employee’s April wages, but workers will receive them in separate payments, said a spokeswoman for the Controller’s Office. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/22/17

Plastc folds after raking in millions for smart credit cards it never shipped -- Another crowdfunded Bay Area startup has closed its doors without shipping customers the products they paid for, a failure that raises fresh concerns about risky online pre-order campaigns. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/22/17

Unemployment in California falls to 4.9%, lowest since 2006 -- California piled on 19,300 jobs in March and its unemployment rate dropped to 4.9%, according to figures released Friday by the state’s Employment Development Department. That’s the first time since December 2006 that the jobless rate has fallen below 5%. Natalie Kitroef in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/22/17

Water   

Plans for major new reservoir in Santa Clara County moving forward -- Hoping to boost water supplies during future droughts, Silicon Valley’s largest water provider is working on a plan to build a new $800 million dam and reservoir in the remote hills of eastern Santa Clara County, just off Pacheco Pass. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/22/17

Education 

Morning-after pill now available through vending machine at UC Davis -- A vending machine at UC Davis dispensing an emergency contraceptive, known as the morning-after pill, may be one of the first of its kind on a university campus. The machine was installed at the Activities and Recreation Center at UC Davis over spring break. Diana Lambert in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/22/17

Former Sherman Oaks principal says race played role in her demotion by LAUSD -- The former principal of Riverside Drive Charter Elementary School is speaking out, two days after the Los Angeles Unified School District reassigned her following a controversy at the school that Kesia Doucette and others said stemmed from complaints, even harassment, by a small group of parents. Antonie Boessenkool in the Inland Daily Bulletin$ -- 4/22/17

Also . . . 

Caltrans must redo failed surfacing job on Highway 50 bridge in Sacramento -- A multimillion-dollar resurfacing job on the Highway 50 bridge over the Sacramento River has failed – mysteriously, officials say – and will have to be scrapped and replaced this summer at three times the original cost. Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/22/17

POTUS 45  

Trump Vows to Unveil Tax-Cut Plan Next Week, Surprising Staff -- President Trump promised on Friday that he would unveil a “massive” tax cut for Americans next week, vowing a “big announcement on Wednesday,” but he revealed no details about what is certain to be an enormously complicated effort to overhaul the nation’s tax code. Alan Rappeport and Michael D. Shear in the New York Times$ -- 4/22/17

Trump scoffs at 100-day mark as ‘ridiculous standard’ -- President Donald Trump on Friday claimed that he won’t get the credit he deserves for the first 100 days of his administration, seeking to manage expectations around what he called the “ridiculous standard” of the upcoming milestone date. Louis Nelson Politico -- 4/22/17

 

-- Friday Updates 

Big change in high-speed rail: CEO steps down, says new leader needed -- Jeff Morales, who for the past five years has been the chief executive officer in charge of California’s embattled high-speed rail project, announced Friday that he is stepping down as head of the California High-Speed Rail Authority. Tim Sheehan in the Fresno Bee -- 4/21/17

Kevin de León says Trump law enforcement policy based on 'principles of white supremacy' -- California officials reacted with defiance Friday to a threat by federal officials to withhold some $20 million in criminal justice grants from the state and its counties as part of the dispute over so-called sanctuary city policies. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/21/17

Power restored in San Francisco Chronicle after blackout shuts businesses, cable cars -- A huge blackout probably caused by a fire at a PG&E substation swept through San Francisco on Friday, bringing everyday life to a virtual standstill as homes and businesses and courtrooms went dark, traffic lights stopped working, BART and Muni service slowed, and all the cable cars shut down. Sarah Ravani, Jill Tucker and Hamed Aleaziz in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/21/17

Power nearly fully restored after San Francisco outage -- A San Francisco power outage that stranded people in elevators and left tens of thousands of others in the dark Friday was caused by the massive failure of a circuit breaker that sparked a fire at a power substation, a utility company spokesman said. Janie Har Associated Press -- 4/21/17

Game developer sues Milwaukee over park-permit requirement -- A California gaming company sued Milwaukee County Friday over its requirement that developers get a permit to have augmented-reality games like "Pokemon Go" played at its parks. Irvine-based Candy Lab, Inc. asks in a federal lawsuit for the ordinance to be declared unconstitutional on free-speech grounds and for the court to prohibit Milwaukee County from ever enforcing the law. Ivan Moreno Associated Press -- 4/21/17

Drought’s not over for everybody -- Most Californians are – finally – out of the drought, but the record-setting rains have not washed away emergency conditions for all residents. Daniel Maraccini Capitol Weekly -- 4/21/17

Justice Department warns sanctuary cities in California, 8 other jurisdictions to cooperate with immigration enforcement -- The Justice Department on Friday fired an opening shot in the Trump administration’s crackdown on so-called sanctuary cities, sending letters to nine jurisdictions asking for proof that they are cooperating with immigration enforcement, and indicating they are at risk of losing federal grants. Joseph Tanfani in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/21/17

California’s death row turning into home for seniors -- California’s death row houses more senior citizens than most of the state’s nursing homes. Ninety California death-row inmates are at least 65 years old, corrections records show. The number of seniors on death row has grown by nearly 500 percent since early 2006, when the state housed 16 seniors. Phillip Reese in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/21/17

Borenstein: City managers concerned pensions will cause more bankruptcies -- Lodi City Manager Steve Schwabauer worries about his town’s fiscal solvency — and estimates roughly a third of California’s municipalities are in the same position because of rising pension costs. Daniel Borenstein Associated Press -- 4/21/17

Rock Poster Artist Chuck Sperry Turns Focus to Science March -- Chuck Sperry is best known for his rock concert posters of bands like The Who, Pearl Jam and Black Sabbath. But the San Francisco-based graphic artist is also passionate about street-level politics. Rachael Myrow KQED -- 4/21/17

Safe injection sites offer hope in scourge of discarded syringes -- San Francisco has earned many nicknames over the years: the City by the Bay, the Paris of the West, the City That Knows How. Here’s a new suggestion: Needle City. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/21/17

In ‘Buy American’ Push, Trump Is Starting in a Hole -- Foreign-owned companies received more money from federal contracts in the past three months than in any corresponding period in a decade, and President Donald Trump has limited power to buck that trend. Coulter Jones and Shane Shifflett in the Wall Street Journal -- 4/21/17