Updating . .
UC regents approve first limit on out-of-state and international student enrollment -- University of California regents on Thursday approved the first limit on out-of-state and international student enrollment, settling for now a prolonged fight over who gets admitted to the prestigious public research university. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/18/17
State auditor urges UC regents to boost oversight of central budget practices but says audit found nothing "nefarious" -- What a difference a venue makes. When state Auditor Elaine Howle told a joint legislative committee this month that University of California central administrators had amassed a $175-million undisclosed surplus and interfered in her audit, lawmakers cried foul. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
State breaks another renewable energy record -- Early Saturday afternoon, renewable sources produced a record 67.2 percent of the electricity on the portion of state’s power grid controlled by the California Independent System Operator. Based in Folsom, the ISO runs 80 percent of the state’s grid. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/18/17
Democrats eyeing Orange County congressional seats in 2018 -- Newly energized residents are giving Democrats hope they can claim at least some of the congressional seats in Orange County that have been red for a generation. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao says she can’t approve Caltrain electrification grant yet -- Chao said at a hearing Wednesday morning of the Senate Environment and Public Works committee that she won’t sign off on a funding agreement necessary to release federal funds for the project, even as a critical June 30 funding deadline looms. Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/18/17
Bay Area slips in startup rankings -- Fewer entrepreneurs are flocking to the Bay Area to start companies; instead, more are heading to metropolitan areas like Miami, Austin and Los Angeles, a new report shows. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/18/17
Luxury high-rise boom makes downtown San Jose a millennial magnet -- Mike Kim walks out onto the seventh-floor patio of Centerra, a swanky, 21-story apartment complex, taking in the bird’s-eye view of downtown’s rapidly changing skyline. Richard Scheinin in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/18/17
Tesla factory workers reveal pain, injury and stress: 'Everything feels like the future but us' -- When Tesla bought a decommissioned car factory in Fremont, California, Elon Musk transformed the old-fashioned, unionized plant into a much-vaunted “factory of the future”, where giant robots named after X-Men shape and fold sheets of metal inside a gleaming white mecca of advanced manufacturing. Julia Carrie Wong The Guardian -- 5/18/17
Narcotic-affected newborns nearly double in California, but ‘it’s not the mom you expect’ -- In California, the number of babies born affected by drugs has nearly doubled over seven years to more than 3,630 in 2015, according to state public health officials. That rise is directly tied to the stubborn opioid epidemic of prescription painkillers and illegal street drugs such as heroin that have hooked increasing numbers of women, both in California and nationwide. Claudia Buck in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/18/17
Roger Ailes, Fox News founder forced out by scandal, dies at 77 -- Roger Ailes, the controversial founder and longtime head of Fox News — who also worked as an advisor to Republican presidential candidates from Richard Nixon to Donald Trump — died Thursday at 77, according to a statement released by his wife. Stephen Battaglio in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
Election 2017: With loss, outgoing LAUSD Board President Zimmer sees a ‘tectonic shift’ -- Big changes are coming for the second-largest school district in the nation, said its outgoing school board president, a day after his crushing defeat in an election that could have a huge effect on charter schools in the region. Antonie Boessenkool in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 5/18/17
Fox: Education Changes? There’s Something Happening Here -- The education status quo, buttressed by teachers’ unions and the education establishment, is beginning to buckle. It can be seen in poll responses and Tuesday’s school board election in Los Angeles. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 5/18/17
Health insurers and state officials say Trump is undermining Obamacare, pushing up rates -- Health insurers across the country are making plans to dramatically raise Obamacare premiums or exit marketplaces amid growing exasperation with the Trump administration’s erratic management, inconsistent guidance and seeming lack of understanding of basic healthcare issues. Noam N. Levey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
Opening of new NFL stadium in Inglewood delayed to 2020 -- Excavation of the site, which formerly housed the Hollywood Park racetrack, started in November, but the teams said that weather delays in January, February and March have made it infeasible for the stadium to open for the 2019 NFL season, as scheduled. Rich Hammond in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/18/17
CA120: Will those new 2016 voters return for the midterms? --History tells us that presidential-year new voters are likely to skip mid-term elections. Will the new voters of 2016 be any different? The answer to that question could have a profound impact on the 2018 elections. Paul Mitchell Capitol Weekly -- 5/18/17
Lawmakers try again to sway Gov. Jerry Brown on more jail visits for families -- State lawmakers on Wednesday voted in favor of crafting a budget proposal that would require all but eight California county jails to provide spaces for inmates to visit their families in person. Jazmine Ulloa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
Senate supports loosening sentencing mandate for gun crimes -- Current law says anyone who uses a gun in committing a felony must have their sentence increased by three to 10 years in prison on top of the penalty for the felony. The proposal is to lift that mandate. Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) said he introduced the bill after a 17-year-old riding in a car involved in a drive-by shooting was sentenced to 25 years in prison even though he denied shooting the gun. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
California lawmakers seek to ban marijuana oil processing labs from neighborhoods -- Alarmed by several explosions in residential areas caused by drug processing labs, the state Assembly on Thursday voted to ban home manufacturing of marijuana concentrates using volatile solvents. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
Fostering Failure: How shelters criminalize hundreds of children -- California’s foster care shelters are supposed to serve as a refuge for vulnerable children. Instead, they have funneled hundreds of kids into the criminal justice system. Karen de Sá, Joaquin Palomino and Cynthia Dizikes in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/18/17
Rosenstein knew Comey was going to be fired before writing his memo, senators say -- Deputy Atty. Gen. Rod Rosenstein knew James B. Comey was about to be fired before writing his scathing memo to President Trump about the FBI director, senators said Thursday. Rosenstein was briefing senators at a closed-door meeting at the Capitol in the aftermath of Comey's firing and his own appointment of a special prosecutor to probe the Trump campaign's possible connection with Russian interference in the 2016 election. Lisa Mascaro and Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
Trump calls appointment of special prosecutor 'the single greatest witch hunt' -- President Donald Trump on Thursday blasted the appointment of Robert Mueller to be the special prosecutor overseeing the investigation into Russia’s meddling into the 2016 election, calling the probe “the single greatest witch hunt of a politician in American history.” Louis Nelson Politico Mark Landler in the New York Times$ Ashley Parker in the Washington Post$ -- 5/18/17
Advisers Urge Trump to Hire an Outside Lawyer -- Several White House advisers and personal associates of President Trump have urged him to hire an experienced outside lawyer to help him deal with issues arising from a surging controversy over whether his campaign had ties to Russia, according to several people briefed on the conversations. Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ -- 5/18/17
Democratic Leaders Try to Slow Calls to Impeach Trump -- When House Democratic leaders hastily called a news conference Wednesday to demonstrate their outrage at President Trump’s latest dramatics, they took great pains to show they were not seeking to railroad him out of the White House. Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns in the New York Times$ -- 5/18/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Payoffs From Putin to Trump? McCarthy Says No, He Was Just Kidding -- Did you hear the one about the Russians paying off the future president of the United States? It seems House Republicans have. Matt Flegenheimer and Emmarie Huetteman in the New York Times$ Callum Borchers in the Washington Post$ -- 5/18/17
Trump’s Man in Congress: Few on Capitol Hill are closer to President Trump than Bakersfield’s Rep. Kevin McCarthy -- On paper, McCarthy is the second-most powerful member in the House after Speaker Paul Ryan, but in reality, no politician has more clout with the Trump White House than he does. Laurel Rosenhall Calmatters.org -- 5/18/17
What Donald Trump can learn from Richard Nixon -- As Congress and the public ponder the latest revelations about President Trump — that he allegedly asked FBI Director James Comey to drop an investigation of ousted national security adviser Michael Flynn, and fired Comey after he refused — some lessons might be drawn from recent presidential history. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/18/17
Jolted by Trump, Orange County Democrats see a shot at victory on GOP turf -- Catherine Nadeau was never a supporter of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, but as a resident of historically conservative Orange County she ha d never bothered to get involved in local politics either. Donald Trump’s surprise presidential win changed that. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
Issa's reactions trigger social media storm -- For the second time in two weeks, Rep. Darrell Issa’s curt interactions with reporters have brought him national attention. Joshua Stewart in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/18/17
House Democrats fight for Rep. Eric’s Swalwell bill to create independent Russia commission -- As controversy roiled the Capitol over the latest damaging reports about the Trump administration, House Democrats launched a procedural fight Wednesday to create an independent commission into Russian interference in the U.S. election. Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/18/17
UC regents meeting disrupted by protests over state audit finding of undisclosed surplus -- A stinging state audit of University of California budget operations cast a long shadow over a UC regents meeting Wednesday, as students and union members chastised officials for raising tuition while squirreling away millions. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
California budget panel seeks new limits on state tax board funding and staffing -- Amid concern over management problems at California's state tax board, a legislative panel recommended Wednesday that next year’s budget scale back an expansion of the agency's staff and supported limits on the budgets of each of the four board members. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
Skelton: Gov. Brown stiffed doctors, dentists and hospitals by not increasing provider fees with new tobacco tax money -- The way Gov. Jerry Brown is proposing to spend — or not spend — the hefty new tobacco tax is an example of why citizens are so cynical about government and politics. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
Free booze and celebrity appearances: How candidates for governor will court California Democrats this weekend -- Top candidates to replace termed-out Gov. Jerry Brown will gather at the California Democratic Party’s annual convention later this week, giving the most crucial speeches of their campaigns to date, courting activists and wooing donors and powerful party leaders. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
Tom Steyer testing waters for California gubernatorial bid -- Wealthy environmental activist Tom Steyer is taking steps toward joining the race to become California's next governor, fielding a survey that tests his strengths and weaknesses in an increasingly crowded Democratic field. Reid Wilson The Hill -- 5/18/17
After election loss, critics of Charter Amendment C call for sweeping review of LAPD discipline -- Reeling from a major defeat at the polls, a handful of police accountability groups called Wednesday for Los Angeles city leaders to overhaul the process used to select civilians who review allegations of serious officer misconduct. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
California lawmaker pulls bill on Cold War-era communist ban -- A bill that would have let communists legally work in California government was withdrawn Wednesday after the sponsor said he learned it caused veterans and Vietnamese-Americans “distress and hurt.” Assemblyman Rob Bonta, a Democrat from the San Francisco Bay Area, announced he was shelving the bill and apologized to veterans and people who fled the communist regime in Vietnam. Sophia Bollag Associated Press Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/18/17
Immigrants' fear cited in declining food stamp use in San Francisco -- Since the election, fewer eligible San Franciscans are taking advantage of food stamp benefits because of fears about immigration crackdowns under the Trump administration, said Trent Rhorer, executive director of San Francisco’s Human Services Agency. Tara Duggan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/18/17
Did the Sacramento County assessor and her staff get lower tax bills? -- Sacramento County has ordered three investigations this year into the office of Assessor Kathleen Kelleher, who resigned Friday and cited health reasons, The Sacramento Bee has learned. Brad Branan and Ellen Garrison in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/18/17
Many California courthouse buildings are seismically unsafe, state study says -- More than 140 courthouses across California are seismically unsafe, a study commissioned by state officials determined, and fixing just the worst dozen would cost more than $300 million. Sean Emery in the Orange County Register -- 5/18/17
Some Fresno residents couldn’t believe what was in their water. Now they are suing -- A second group of northeast Fresno residents are suing the city over water problems – including lead and discoloration – that they say lasted for years before officials took concerted action to solve the concerns. Tim Sheehan in the Fresno Bee -- 5/18/17
Homeless
San Francisco takes step toward housing all homeless veterans -- San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee stood in the lobby of a newly opened, supportive-housing complex Wednesday, and surrounded by dozens of military veterans just rescued from the street to live there, pledged to end chronic homelessness among their comrades by the end of the year. Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/18/17
Housing
San Francisco supervisors compromise on affordable housing -- A yearlong battle in San Francisco City Hall ended Wednesday night when two factions on the Board of Supervisors reached a compromise on how much affordable housing to require in new market-rate developments. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/18/17
How much income do you need to afford a house in Fresno County? -- About $49,000. That would have been enough to get you in the door of a $238,000 home in the first three months of this year, according to the California Association of Realtors. By California standards, that’s pretty cheap. Douglas Beeman in the Fresno Bee -- 5/18/17
You need to make $100,000 a year to afford the average home in LA County, according to a new report -- A report from the California Association of Realtors shows that 29 percent of L.A. County households could afford to buy the county’s median-priced home of $485,800 during the first quarter of 2017. Kevin Smith in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/18/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
More organizations join in opposition to L.A.'s 2024 Olympic bid -- A political organization that is opposing Los Angeles’ bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics announced Wednesday that it has been joined by eight other groups. David Wharton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
Judge questions Wells Fargo's $142-million class-action settlement over sham accounts -- A San Francisco federal judge is leaning toward rejecting some of the terms of a $142-million settlement aimed at ending a bevvy of class-action lawsuits against Wells Fargo & Co. over its sham accounts scandal. James Rufus Koren in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
There goes the sun: California's electric grid prepares for a solar eclipse this summer -- For the first time in 38 years, parts of the conti guous United States will see a total solar eclipse. And it will mark the first time such an event will occur since solar power has taken on an increasingly larger role in the electric grid — especially in California, which has six times more solar electric capacity than any other state. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/18/17
Tijuana Retail Reaping Profits That Once Flowed To San Diego -- President Trump’s stance on immigration is reshaping consumer tendencies in the San Diego-Tijuana region, with businesses in Mexico reaping profits that once went to stores in the U.S. amid a rise in Mexican patriotism. Jean Guerrero KPBS -- 5/18/17
Water
You could fill Shasta Lake 7 times with farm groundwater lost during state drought -- Central Valley farmers created a groundwater deficit large enough to fill an empty Shasta Lake seven times in order to keep their profitable orchards alive during California’s epic five-year drought. Ryan Sabalow and Phillip Reese in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/18/17
Education
UC Regents to consider audit, out-of-state enrollment cap -- The governing board of one of the most prestigious public university systems in the country is scheduled to vote on a proposal to cap out-of-state undergraduate enrollment at 18 percent. Janie Har Associated Press -- 5/18/17
This California bill to give students free or low-cost bus passes may already be dead -- High-school and college students make up one of the largest “drive alone” segments of California drivers, according to a UCLA transportation study. In Los Angeles County alone, there are an estimated 1.4 million students, and most are on the roads and freeways every weekday in their cars, adding to traffic, air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Steve Scauzillo in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/18/17
One L.A. campus, divided between traditional school and charters, may offer window into future -- On a shaded Westside street nestled just below the curve where the 10 meets the 405, two different visions of how to teach students in Los Angeles sit side by side. Joy Resmovits and Sonali Kohli in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
Trump Backs California Charter Schools, But the Feeling Isn’t Mutual -- As principal of a charter high school in South Los Angeles, Joshua Hartford said families would ask him the same question over and over again: “When are you opening a middle school?” Hartford works for Green Dot Public Schools, the leading charter school operator in Los Angeles, and one of the top three largest in the nation. Kyle Stokes KQED -- 5/18/17
Researchers, advocates divided over reclassifying English learners -- Researchers, advocates divided over reclassifying English learners – Proposed legislation to create uniform, statewide standards to determine when English learners are proficient in English has hit a snag, with some of the nation’s leading academic experts expressing strong opposition to the bill. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 5/18/17
Also . . .
Hate crime not ruled out in slaying of transgender woman in Fresno -- Police have not ruled out a hate crime in the early-morning slaying of a transgender woman who was shot multiple times in Fresno, Police Chief Jerry Dyer said Wednesday, adding that he has directed detectives to solve the case “very quickly.” Jim Guy in the Fresno Bee -- 5/18/17
POTUS 45
Trump Team Knew Flynn Was Under Investigation Before He Came to White House -- Michael T. Flynn told President Trump’s transition team weeks before the inauguration that he was under federal investigation for secretly working as a paid lobbyist for Turkey during the campaign, according to two people familiar with the case. Matthew Rosenberg and Mark Mazzetti in the New York Times$ -- 5/18/17
Flynn stopped military plan Turkey opposed – after being paid as its agent -- One of the Trump administration’s first decisions about the fight against the Islamic State was made by Michael Flynn weeks before he was fired – and it conformed to the wishes of Turkey, whose interests, unbeknownst to anyone in Washington, he’d been paid more than $500,000 to represent. Vera Bergengruen McClatchy DC -- 5/18/17
The worst job in Washington right now: Working for Trump -- As Donald Trump has grown increasingly angry and frustrated with his White House staff, the beleaguered targets of his ire have a quietly roiling gripe of their own — their boss, the president himself. Ashley Parker and Abby Phillip in the Washington Post$ -- 5/18/17
The new Russia special prosecutor is a startling admission of fault by the Trump administration -- On Wednesday afternoon, President Trump declared that no politician in history had been treated more unfairly than he had. By Wednesday evening, the Justice Department effectively pointed its finger directly at Trump himself. It tacitly admitted he had badly damaged the credibility of the FBI’s Russia investigation by announcing the probe would now be handled by a special prosecutor, former FBI director Robert S. Mueller III. Aaron Blake in the Washington Post$ -- 5/18/17
Meet Robert Mueller, the former San Francisco lawyer chosen to lead the Trump-Russia investigation -- Former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III, appointed independent special counsel to investigate Russian meddling in the 2016 election on Wednesday, has long enjoyed respect from both Democrats and Republicans. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
How Trump might fend off an obstruction of justice claim -- Former prosecutors and legal academics say they foresee at least three lines of defense for the president. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/18/17
Beltway
Republicans just got what they didn’t want: A special counsel -- For all the fallout from the damning news surrounding President Trump this past week, Republicans calling for more investigations was not one of them. Amber Phillips in the Washington Post$ -- 5/18/17
Vulnerable Republicans flee from Trump -- House Republicans facing tough reelection bids are running for cover from Donald Trump — an early sign that they believe the president’s deepening scandals could cost them their seats and even put the House in play. Rachael Bade and Kyle Cheney Politico -- 5/18/17
Conservatives begin to whisper: President Pence -- Not since the release of the Access Hollywood tape, in which Donald Trump bragged about groping women by the genitals, have some conservatives thought so seriously, if a bit wistfully, about two words: President Pence. Matthew Nussbaum and Theodoric Meyer Politico -- 5/18/17
Pence Takes Steps to Build War Chest as White House Stumbles -- While President Donald Trump’s White House grapples with the fallout from his firing of the former FBI director, Vice President Mike Pence has taken steps to begin building his own political war chest. Bill Allison Bloomberg Politics -- 5/18/17
Trump campaign had at least 18 undisclosed contacts with Russians - sources -- Michael Flynn and other advisers to Donald Trump’s campaign were in contact with Russian officials and others with Kremlin ties in at least 18 calls and emails during the last seven months of the 2016 presidential race, current and former U.S. officials familiar with the exchanges told Reuters. Ned Parker, Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel Reuters -- 5/18/17
-- Wednesday Updates
Robert Mueller, Former F.B.I. Director, Named Special Counsel for Russia Investigation -- The Justice Department has appointed Robert S. Mueller III, the former F.B.I. director, to serve as a special counsel to oversee its investigation into Russian meddling in the election, Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein announced on Wednesday. Rebecca R. Ruiz in the New York Times $ Devlin Barrett, Sari Horwitz and Matt Zapotosky in the Washington Post$ Joseph Tanfani in the Los Angeles Times$ Del Quentin Wilber and Aruna Viswanatha in the Wall Street Journal$ Eric Tucker and Nancy Benac Associated Press -- 5/17/17
House majority leader to colleagues in 2016: ‘I think Putin pays’ Trump -- A month before Donald Trump clinched the Republican nomination, one of his closest allies in Congress — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy — made a politically explosive assertion in a private conversation on Capitol Hill with his fellow GOP leaders: that Trump could be the beneficiary of payments from Russian President Vladimir Putin. “There’s two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump,” McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, according to a recording of the June 15, 2016 exchange, which was listened to and verified by The Washington Post. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia. Adam Entous in the Washington Post$ -- 5/17/17
Pelosi wants independent commission on Russia despite special counsel appointment -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) maintained Wednesday that an independent commission is the best way to investigate Russia's role in the 2016 election after the Justice Department announced a special counsel to oversee the FBI's probe. Cristina Marcos The Hill -- 5/17/17
'Now is the time for courage': Democratic Rep. Scott Peters makes personal appeal to Republicans -- Rep. Scott Peters (D-San Diego) is making a personal plea to every Republican in Congress in the form of a letter asking them join Democrats and create an independent, nonpartisan commission to look at Russia's attempts to influence the 2016 election. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/17/17
Antonio Villaraigosa: Donald Trump ‘should and will be impeached if he doesn’t resign’ -- Democrat Antonio Villaraigosa, a candidate for California governor, said Wednesday that President Donald Trump should quit or be impeached if media reports on his activities are accurate. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/17/17
Special breaks for refugees would include state jobs, in-state tuition in California -- Afghan refugee Mohammad Ajmal Sabit “was just killing time” during his first year after arriving in Sacramento as he waited to be able to pay in-state tuition at a local community college. The 30-year-old man, who earned a computer science degree in Afghanistan, had worked with the U.S. military back home but had joined other Afghans in Sacramento eager to restart his life. Stephen Magagnini and Phillip Reese in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/17/17
Trump's pick for a top Interior post has sued the agency on behalf of powerful California water interests -- When President Trump nominated David Bernhardt for the No. 2 spot at the Interior Department, the administration cited his extensive expertise. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/17/17
Students protesting hidden funds shut down UC Regents meeting -- Dozens of University of California students and workers briefly shut down a meeting of the UC regents Wednesday, protesting revelations that the president’s office kept $175 million in secret funds as it raised tuition. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/17/17
City Council winners: Gil Cedillo, Monica Rodriguez, labor -- Los Angeles voters picked seasoned political veterans in Tuesday’s election, reelecting City Councilman Gil Cedillo and backing Monica Rodriguez in races that saw a flood of outside spending by labor groups. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/17/17
Major changes could come to L.A. schools after charter school movement's big win -- Supporters of charter schools appeared to win control of the Los Angeles school board Tuesday, a watershed moment with huge implications for how students are taught in America’s second-largest school district. Howard Blume and Shelby Grad in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/17/17
Housing crisis causes legislative avalanche: 130 bills proposed in Sacramento -- Home prices keep rising to shocking levels around the Bay Area, while rents remain out of sight. Now, state lawmakers in Sacramento are responding with a torrent of proposals. Richard Scheinin in the East Bay Times -- 5/17/17
State worker’s bosses ignored his allergies. Now he’s $3 million richer -- A Caltrans employee in Nevada County who claimed his supervisors harassed him by ignoring his documented allergies to perfume and certain cleaning products will receive a $3 million payout from a lawsuit he filed against the state. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/17/17
Fox: AG Becerra: Lifting the Poor will Boost the Economy -- At a Sacramento Press Club appearance this week, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra claimed California has the “secret sauce for economic success.” The formula includes growing the economy by boosting lower income individuals and immigrants. However, that secret sauce contains some bitter ingredients that has left many behind. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 5/17/17
Lopez: Republican couple who lost a son want their GOP back, fewer guns, and a return of statesmanship -- Charles and Mary Leigh Blek of Trabuco Canyon take a nice photo. You may have seen it in The Times last week, the Bleks smiling as they stood next to a cardboard cutout of Rep. Mimi Walters in Irvine. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/17/17
MS-13 gang targeted in pre-dawn sweep across Los Angeles -- Hundreds of federal and local law enforcement fanned out across Los Angeles in pre-dawn sweeps, serving arrest and search warrants as part of a three-year investigation into the ultra-violent street gang MS-13. Federal prosecutors unsealed a sweeping indictment Wednesday morning charging dozens of members and leaders of the brutal street gang with a variety of crimes, including murder. Alicia A. Caldwell Associated Press -- 5/17/17
Bee industry buzzing: Stolen hives recovered in California -- The bee industry is buzzing over the arrest of a man accused of stealing thousands of hives worth nearly $1 million from California's almond orchards in one of the biggest such thefts on record. Scott Smith Associated Press -- 5/17/17
US: Immigrant arrests soar under Trump, fewer deported -- Arrests of immigrants suspected to be in the U.S. illegally soared in the early months of the Trump administration, in part because of a surge in the detention of immigrants who have no criminal convictions, officials announced Wednesday. Amy Taxin Associated Press -- 5/17/17
California fraternity faces charges after trees cut down -- Federal authorities have charged a fraternity at California State University, Chico with illegally cutting down dozens of trees in a national forest during an initiation of new pledges, the U.S. Forest Service said. The complaint was filed Tuesday against the school's Pi Kappa Alpha chapter and its president, Evan Jossey. Kristin J. Bender Associated Press -- 5/17/17
Sierra LaMar: Lead detective gave false testimony in another murder trial -- In a development that could have repercussions for the Sierra LaMar murder trial, the lead detective in the missing teen’s case was found by a judge last week to have given false testimony in another murder trial. Tracey Kaplan in the East Bay Times -- 5/17/17
Renters in Alameda win ‘just cause’ eviction protections -- The move came after the council heard from renters who said they fear that they could be put out of their homes at any time amid the Bay Area’s hot real estate market, and from property owners who said they were being treated unfairly and that their rental business could be undermined. Peter Hegarty in the East Bay Times -- 5/17/17
Trump, Saying He Is Treated ‘Unfairly,’ Signals a Fight -- An embattled President Trump used his first commencement address to a military academy as president to defend himself on Wednesday, telling graduating Coast Guard cadets that no leader in history has been treated more “unfairly” by the news media and Washington elites — and he signaled that will hunker down for a lengthy fight. Maggie Haberman and Glenn Thrush in the New York Times$ -- 5/17/17
Putin offers to provide Congress with details of Trump disclosures to Russian envoys -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday he would be willing to provide the U.S. Congress a record of President Trump’s meeting with top Russian envoys, bringing scoffs on Capitol Hill that the Kremlin could help shed light on the disclosures of reportedly highly classified intelligence. Andrew Roth in the Washington Post$ -- 5/17/17
The Right Builds an Alternative Narrative About the Crises Around Trump -- As Americans process a dizzying week of damning revelations about the president — his firing of the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey; his disclosure of highly sensitive intelligence to the Russians; and his plea to Mr. Comey to drop the bureau’s investigation of his fired national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn — Mr. Trump has found shelter on the right, where the collective judgment of the conservative media and the Republican Party so far seems to be to dismiss the allegations as “fake news,” shift the blame and change the subject. Jeremy W. Peters in the New York Times$ -- 5/17/17