Updating . .
- - Trump revealed highly classified information to Russian foreign minister and ambassador -- President Trump revealed highly classified information to the Russian foreign minister and ambassador in a White House meeting last week, according to current and former U.S. officials, who said that Trump’s disclosures jeopardized a critical source of intelligence on the Islamic State. Greg Miller and Greg Jaffe in the Washington Post$ Eric Schmitt and Matthew Rosenberg in the New York Times$ -- 5/15/17
Former head of California's campaign watchdog agency hit with fines by the agency -- Dan Schnur, the former chairman of the state campaign watchdog agency, has agreed to pay that agency $4,500 in fines for failing to properly disclose and handle some campaign contributions to his unsuccessful 2014 run for secretary of State. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/17
Pursuit suspect shot by police on live TV following chase in South L.A. -- The man, along with a woman, had abandoned a white van after leading South Gate police on a chase on the 710 and 91 freeways and nearby surface streets, at times driving into oncoming traffic. The chase and its violent aftermath were observed by a KTLA news helicopter and broadcast live. Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/17
California Democratic Party faces $3,500 in state fines for mishandling campaign funds, governor gets warning letter -- The California Democratic Party has agreed to pay $3,500 in fines for mishandling a pair of six-figure contributions, but state investigators stopped short of accusing party officials of laundering donations from the oil industry to the 2014 reelection effort of Gov. Jerry Brown. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/17
Gov. Brown's ballot measure committee agrees to pay $1,500 fine for campaign finance violations -- Gov. Jerry Brown’s committee for the tax measure Proposition 30 in 2012 has agreed to pay $1,500 in fines to the state’s campaign watchdog commission for not properly reporting all contributions. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/17
With defunding threats less imminent, Planned Parenthood turns its focus to low Medi-Cal payments -- A Capitol gathering of Planned Parenthood supporters on Monday had many of the same traits as the January Women's March and other rallies of the Trump era: pink T-shirts and so-called pussy hats, with frequent jeers for the president and the GOP-majority Congress. Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/17
‘Brutal beatdown’ by Kevin Johnson for pie attack was justice to some jurors -- A Sacramento judge declared a mistrial Monday in the felony assault trial against local activist Sean Thompson, accused of smashing a pie in the face of then-Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson at a charity event last September. Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/15/17
Silicon Valley venture capitalist Sam Altman says he's considering a run for California governor in 2018 -- Altman, 32, is the president of Y Combinator, a start-up technology incubator that has invested in companies such as Airbnb, Dropbox and Stripe. When he was 19, he co-founded a social media app that later sold for $43 million. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/17
Trump presidency eases Gavin Newsom's path in his second run for California governor -- The first time Gavin Newsom ran for governor, he dropped out of the race in deference to a seemingly unbeatable fellow Democrat, Jerry Brown. Michael Finnegan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/17
Only 1 in 3 can afford median-priced California home; situation better in Sacramento -- Only 32 percent of California households could afford to purchase the $496,620 median-priced Golden State home in the first quarter of 2017, according to a report issued Monday by the Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors. Mark Glover in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/15/17
California State Controller seeks additional restrictions on state tax board to prevent conflicts of interest -- State Controller Betty T. Yee on Monday proposed new rules aimed at preventing conflicts of interest and other ethical lapses by members of California’s tax board while it awaits the results of investigations by the state Department of Justice and others into allegations of mismanagement. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/17
Becerra’s new role fighting Trump provides plenty of fodder -- In office just five months, his recent work includes challenging the administration’s proposed travel restrictions, defending sanctuary cities and attempting to preserve the state’s energy-efficiency standards, among other actions. Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/15/17
After decades of shattered expectations at Lake Oroville, can residents trust state? -- There was going to be a steam train – and a monorail. Plus a major resort featuring a 250-seat restaurant and a 1,000-seat amphitheater. As many as 5 million visitors a year would show up. When it came to wooing Butte County about the construction of Oroville Dam, state officials weren’t shy about setting grand expectations. Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/15/17
Fox: Brown Makes Environmental Justice Pitch to Get Two-Thirds Vote for Cap-n-Trade -- At the budget revision press conference last week, Gov. Jerry Brown tried to assuage Democratic lawmakers over costs on his cap-and-trade extension by arguing for environmental justice so as to assure a two-thirds vote for the plan. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 5/15/17
Life without parole: Reforms target youthful offenders -- New legislation to overhaul California’s youth criminal justice system includes a key provision that could curb life-without-parole sentences for juvenile offenders. Daniel Maraccini Capitol Weekly -- 5/15/17
Hunter's campaign spent on trip to Las Vegas amid probe -- Rep. Duncan Hunter’s latest financial filings show his campaign continues to incur expenses at places like cigar lounges, where he has previously said he prefers to hold small-scale fundraising events. Morgan Cook in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/15/17
BART’s ‘seat hog’ ordinance, never enforced, likely to die -- BART’s “seat hog” ordinance became law last fall, making it illegal for passengers to take up more than a single seat on a commute train. But it has never been enforced, and it may never be. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/15/17
Trump’s revised travel ban gets another appeals court hearing -- As a federal appeals court considered President Trump’s second attempt to ban U.S. entry of anyone from selected nations with overwhelmingly Muslim populations Monday, a judge on the panel compared it to another president’s order sending all Japanese-Americans to U.S. internment camps as supposed threats to national security. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/15/17
Cancer cells metastasize far earlier than suspected -- Solid tumors can metastasize far earlier than previously thought, according to a study by scientists at The Scripps Research Institute. Bradley J. Fikes in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/15/17
Are higher wages fueling Southern California inflation? -- That recent pay raise you’re enjoying may actually be costing you. Southern California worker bees are seeing some of the nicest increases in wages since the recession ended. But employers must somehow pay for higher labor expenses, and it appears bosses are opting to raise local prices. Jonathan Lansner in the Orange County Register -- 5/15/17
California considers investing $100 million in-home visits for new moms and their babies -- The CalWORKs Baby Wellness and Family Support Home Visiting Program would spend $100 million to offer home visits from nurses or social workers to new mothers who are living in poverty. Bonnie Petrie KPCC -- 5/15/17
How Trump gets his fake news -- The president rarely surfs the web on his own, but his staff have made a habit of slipping news stories on to his desk—including the occasional internet hoax. Shane Goldmacher Politico -- 5/15/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Key UC regent is standing by Napolitano -- University of California President Janet Napolitano may be on the hot seat with state lawmakers over the state auditor’s findings that her office had $175 million hidden away — but she is on firm footing with UC’s regents, even after their call to bring in their own auditor to review the state’s assessment. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/15/17
Skelton: While California spends liberally, the governor talks like a penny-pincher -- California’s status as a far-left state was emphatically reconfirmed by Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget last week — not so much by his proposal, but by his presentation. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/17
Walters: Legislature tries State Bar fix, but remedy falls short -- California has a rogue’s gallery of malfunctioning state agencies, with the Board of Equalization the current poster child for disarray and miscreant behavior. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/15/17
Whatever happened to Devin Nunes, who once led House Russia probe? -- After President Donald Trump fired FBI Director James Comey on Tuesday, Rep. Devin Nunes was the only one of the top four members of a congressional intelligence committee not to issue a statement. Michael Doyle in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/15/17
Feinstein, Harris gain fresh focus in wake of Comey’s ouster -- The burgeoning fallout from President Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey has thrust California’s two senators into a new prominence on the national stage that shows no sign of diminishing anytime soon. Carolyn Lochhead in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/15/17
County considers disbanding child welfare donation unit after audit finds toys, funds unused and mismanaged -- Los Angeles County is reviewing how best to handle child welfare donations after an audit found that thousands of toys weren’t given out, inappropriate payments were made and fundraising efforts were largely ineffective. Nina Agrawal in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/17
California courts look to modernize with chatbots, video tech -- California court officials are on a mission to pull the technology underpinning their operations into the 21st century. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/15/17
Attorney General Becerra urges Cal grads to fight for change -- But the state’s first Latino attorney general, the son of immigrants and the first in his family to graduate from college, urged them to employ a special weapon — ganas, Latino slang that, loosely defined, means desire merged with intestinal fortitude. Fighting for political change in the current challenging times, he said, won’t be easy. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/15/17
Trump reportedly considering replacing Spicer with Bay Area's Guilfoyle -- President Donald Trump is reportedly considering a major shake-up in his communications department, and a Bay Area native may be part of his plans. Eric Ting in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/15/17
Can California’s Most Vulnerable Survive Obamacare’s Replacement? -- When Bonnie Kerlew retired from her job as a nurse at the U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in 2005, she wanted to continue helping others. She eventually became guardian to a boy with cerebral palsy, whose family she had been helping, and today she cares for him by herself eight hours a day, plus weekends, in Oceanside. Paul Tullis Capital & Main -- 5/15/17
Education
How Could Trump Impact California Schools? A Cheat Sheet -- Trump has pledged to expand ‘school choice.’ Do most California families have access to school choice now? Ana Tintocalis KQED -- 5/15/17
Why California’s subsidized after-school programs are struggling to survive -- Budgetary pressures may spell the end for California’s subsidized after-school programs, which serve 859,000 low-income students at 4,500 schools across the state. Antonie Boessenkool in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 5/15/17
As good times roll, ed funds ruled by recession relief valve -- Despite a robust economy and a surging stock market, Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget plan would trim state payments to schools by invoking an arcane funding formula typically associated with recession and bad times. Tom Chorneau Cabinet Report -- 5/15/17
'Hamilton' curriculum brings U.S. history to life for high school students -- In the final scene of the Broadway hit musical “Hamilton,” the cast takes center stage, gazes into the audience and sings in an emotional crescendo, “Who lives, who dies, who tells the story?” The lights dim, the crowd erupts, and the 2,000 high school kids in the audience know exactly who will tell the story: It’s them. Carolyn Jones EdSource -- 5/15/17
As schools adopt social-emotional programs, a new guide offers help -- Parents, teachers and students streamed into the library of Palo Alto’s Gunn High School on a warm evening this spring to hear about a new plan, coming this fall, to help high school students develop empathy and coping skills through “social and emotional learning.” Jane Meredith Adams EdSource -- 5/15/17
Environment
After Massive Bee Kill, Beekeepers Want Answers From Fresno County AG Commissioner -- When Rafael Reynaga came to check on his bee colonies in a Fresno almond orchard, he found a carpet full of dead bees on the ground. Reynaga picked up a hive and found two inches of bees at the bottom. He says most were dead, but a few were still moving. Julia Mitric Capital Public Radio -- 5/15/17
POTUS 45
Don't politicize FBI pick, lawmakers urge Trump (and hand over any tapes, they add) -- Lawmakers from both sides of the political divide cautioned President Trump on Sunday not to name a political figure to head the FBI, and a growing chorus declared that if the president has tapes of White House conversations with fired Director James B. Comey, they must be handed over. Laura King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/17
McManus: Trump's dangerous credibility gap -- When Donald Trump was merely a real estate mogul, he exaggerated flamboyantly and reporters considered it charming: He promoted Trump Tower as a 68-story building, even though it has only 58 floors. When Trump was a presidential candidate, he lied enthusiastically, but that didn’t prevent him from winning: He insisted falsely that he opposed the Iraq war from the start, to cite only one of many instances. Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/17
Is it time for Trump staff to lawyer up? -- Veterans of Washington's scandals say that with subpoenas coming from Congress and an FBI investigation still active, staffers would be wise to seek counsel. Darren Samuelsohn Politico -- 5/15/17
Clapper: Comey firing 'another victory' for Russia -- President Donald Trump’s decision to fire FBI Director James Comey is “another victory on the scoreboard” for a Russian government that has put the institutions of the U.S. government “under assault,” former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Sunday. Louis Nelson Politico -- 5/15/17
Beltway
Political chaos in Washington is a return on investment for Moscow -- Russia has yet to collect much of what it hoped for from the Trump administration, including the lifting of U.S. sanctions and recognition of its annexation of Crimea. But the Kremlin has collected a different return on its effort to help elect Trump in last year’s election: chaos in Washington. Greg Miller in the Washington Post$ -- 5/15/17
Republicans plan massive cuts to programs for the poor -- Under pressure to balance the budget and align with Trump, the House GOP has its eye on food stamps, welfare and perhaps even veterans’ benefits. Rachael Bade and Sarah Ferris Politico -- 5/15/17
-- Sunday Updates
‘Lethal arrogance’? Oroville Dam crisis sprang from Pat Brown’s towering ambition -- Sixty years before a crisis at Oroville Dam sent thousands fleeing for their lives in February, the late governor brought an almost evangelical zeal to erecting the structure that would hold back the Feather River to deliver water to the parched southern half of the state. Ryan Sabalow, Dale Kasler and Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/14/17
Closer look at $175 million UC hid from the public -- News that thousands of students at the University of California often go hungry because they can’t afford meals prompted a generous promise last summer from UC President Janet Napolitano: $3.3 million for more food pantries and other ways of feeding the young scholars. Nanette Asimov and Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/14/17
San Diego using loophole to hand out large raises during pay freeze -- The city of San Diego has given nearly 150 high-level managers more than $4 million in pay raises since 2012 despite a voter-imposed salary freeze, saddling the city and its taxpayers with many millions in additional pension debt. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/14/17
Suspense growing over Oakland A’s stadium decision -- The Oakland A’s — soon the only game left in town — have committed to staying put. Now they just have to tell their faithful fan base, the ones who stuck with the team through good times and bad and numerous threats to move, where team majority owner John Fisher plans to build his self-financed ballpark. David DeBolt in the East Bay Times -- 5/14/17
Abcarian: Meet the Malibu lawyer who is upending California's political system, one town at a time -- Kevin Shenkman, who is tall and bookish, does not look like the aspiring light heavyweight boxer he once was. Clearly, though, he still relishes a good fight. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/14/17
How could hundreds of undocumented immigrants fall for adoption-for-citizenship scam? -- Many of Helaman Hansen’s hundreds of victims first heard about his citizenship-through-adoption scheme in their neighborhood churches. Stephen Magagnini in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/14/17
‘Green rush’ in Salinas Valley turns fields from chrysanthemums to cannabis -- A beloved but beleaguered landscape is now sprouting new luxury greenhouses, fueled by a dream of marijuana riches that is changing the people and produce of this corner of Steinbeck Country. Salinas Valley was once the heart of the nation’s flower-growing business. But now collapsing wood-and-plastic greenhouses are being replaced by tall and gleaming high-tech European structures guarded by gates, barbed wire and cameras. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/14/17
After a week of self-inflicted chaos, Trump could see long-term costs to his presidency -- Besides potential legal problems for Trump and his associates stemming from the investigation, the crisis set off by Comey’s sacking threatens long-term damage to Trump’s presidency — further undermining the White House’s credibility across the board, imperiling the president’s legislative agenda and stunting his ability to attract qualified professionals to serve in an administration already woefully behind in filling top positions. Noah Bierman and Michael A. Memoli in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/14/17
Climb inside the massive tunnel 60 feet below downtown L.A. -- en weeks in and 60 feet beneath the streets of downtown Los Angeles, the miners have clawed through nearly 2,600 feet of earth. At 5 a.m. on a cool Thursday morning, they gather in the construction yard for the start of another shift. Thomas Curwen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/14/17
Clapper says Trump weakening U.S. institutions -- Former director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr. warned Sunday that the nation’s institutions are being undermined by President Trump after his decision last week to fire FBI Director James B. Comey. Brian Fung in the Washington Post$ Jonah Engel Bromwich in the New York Times$ -- 5/14/17
Republicans and Democrats agree: If Trump has tapes, he’ll need to turn them over to Congress -- Lawmakers in both parties said Sunday that President Trump will need to hand over any recordings of conversations in the White House if such a taping system does exist. Ed O'Keefe and Jenna Johnson in the Washington Post$ -- 5/14/17