California Policy & Politics This Morning  

Nurses heckle Democratic leader, threaten legislators over health care -- State Democrats’ three-day convention had a raucous start Friday, as liberal activists booed and heckled Democratic National Committee Chair Tom Perez after marching from the state Capitol to promote a universal heath care program. Christopher Cadelago and Angela Hart in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/20/17

Rallies, F-bombs and a raucous start to the California Democratic Party convention -- The California Democratic Party convention started with a bang Friday night, with protesters disrupting speeches at the official kickoff and state party Chairman John Burton unleashing a series of F-bombs aimed at the demonstrators. Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/17

California Democrats open convention with eye on Trump -- But the Democrats are also a party divided, still nursing deep divisions between insurgent supporters of Bernie Sanders and the party's establishment wing. That schism is at the heart of the hard-fought race for party chair, which will be decided Saturday night. A contingent of Sanders loyalists won a bloc of convention seats earlier this year and is clamoring for changes in party leadership. Jonathan J. Cooper Associated Press -- 5/20/17

Democratic leaders may be forced to disclose outside political consulting contracts -- The California Democratic Party on Friday came closer to adopting a new policy that would require party leaders to fully disclose any compensation they receive to advocate for a statewide ballot initiative or candidate for state office. Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/17

Tom Steyer says (again) he's not running for California governor — but he's in retail politics mode -- Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer was one of several declared and potential candidates for governor seen roaming the halls of the Sacramento Convention Center on Friday, the opening day of the California Democrats' three-day convention. Christine Mai-Duc in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/17

California Politics Podcast -- This week, we preview the California Democratic Party's convention. From gubernatorial candidates to debates ranging from Trump to money in politics. With John Myers and Melanie Mason of the Los Angeles Times and Marisa Lagos of KQED News. Link here -- 5/20/17

Politifact CA: Is Jerry Brown 'diverting' 30 percent of California's new gas tax money? -- Drivers in California will start paying a higher gas tax this fall, as part of a bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown to raise money for the state’s deteriorating roads and bridges. But when that tax hike kicks in, how much revenue will go to road projects? Chris Nichols Politifact CA -- 5/20/17

'Calexit' supporters to take another shot at securing California independence -- Members of the California Freedom Coalition gathered outside the state Capitol on Friday before turning in their proposed initiative to the state attorney general’s office for review. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ Jim Miller in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/20/17

Congress, the Doctors Will See You Now -- Incensed by attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, several Democratic physicians are planning to run for office. Ed Young The Atlantic -- 5/20/17

Schnur: No place for California GOP delegation to hide -- It was not even 90 days ago when I wrote in this space about the challenge that California Republicans in Congress would face as they tried to balance between loyalty to President Trump and to the wishes of their constituents. Dan Schnur in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/20/17

Big changes recommended for California’s traffic court -- The more than 4 million traffic tickets handed out to Californians each year for such infractions as speeding, failing to stop at a red light or failing to signal before changing lanes should no longer be criminal charges, but instead be handled in civil court, says California’s top judge. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/20/17

L.A. city attorney says new limits on assisting immigration agents don't violate federal rules -- New restrictions that limit how Los Angeles city workers can assist with immigration enforcement do not violate federal rules, City Atty. Mike Feuer said in a report for city lawmakers this week. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/17

After ICE agents appear at a Sacramento church, pastor tries to calm his flock's deportation fears -- A Sacramento pastor is pleading with his congregants to return to church this Sunday after a recent encounter with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents sparked fears of deportations. Veronica Rocha in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/17

How the Contra Costa County Sheriff Works With ICE -- For decades Contra Costa County has worked with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold immigrant detainees in a county jail in Richmond. But now new legislation could change that. Monica Lam KQED -- 5/20/17

Regulators propose tougher rules for California natural gas fields after Aliso Canyon leak -- In the wake of the historic Aliso Canyon natural gas leak, California oil and gas regulators on Friday proposed new rules to ensure safe underground gas fields throughout the state. The Department of Conservation released the proposed regulations aimed to prevent further leaks and include stronger well construction standards and requirements for daily testing of wellheads. Dana Bartholomew in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 5/20/17

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions 

Endless winter? California ski resorts plan to keep slopes open this summer -- Californians, blessed with the natural resources to ski and surf in the same day, may be able do both deep into summer for the first time in years. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/17

Borenstein: A great deal could go wrong with Brown’s pension plan -- Gov. Jerry Brown and state Treasurer John Chiang have a plan to help cover the state’s soaring pension payments: Borrow money at low interest rates and invest it to make a profit. What could go wrong? Lots. Daniel Borenstein in the East Bay Times -- 5/20/17

Homeless  

With homeless using it as a bathroom, Central Library spends thousands on cleaning -- On a recent Thursday afternoon, the restrooms had dozens of users in the span of an hour, most toting bags or pulling handcarts and suitcases. Many came from nearby Cesar Chavez Plaza, where homeless gatherings remain common and controversial. Anita Chabria in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/20/17

Water   

Floating solar would be a San Diego County first -- The push for alternative energy sources has led the San Diego County Water Authority to consider a new possibility — floating solar panels on the surface of the agency’s only reservoir. Phil Diehl in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/20/17

Education 

California State University set to scrap placement tests -- The chancellor’s office wants to evaluate whether students are ready for college by using markers like high school grades and SAT or ACT scores instead of the English and math placement tests that have long been the standard. Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/20/17

The doctor is only a click away at these Sacramento schools. Not everyone is happy -- Fifth-grader Fred Amey was upbeat when he arrived at an Ethel I. Baker Elementary School office for his appointment with the doctor. Loretta Kalb in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/20/17

SDSU students seek to launch rockets higher and higher -- After two years of work in what must be one of the most unglamorous labs in aerospace, a group of San Diego State University students last week finalized plans to launch what might be one of the largest rockets of its kind ever built by students. Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/20/17

Cannabis 

Pot businesses urge LA City Council to curb harassment of those caught in enforcement ‘limbo’ -- Damaris, an employee of a cannabis cultivation business in Los Angeles, told the City Council on Friday she feared for her life when police officers arrested her at gunpoint earlier this month while she was at work. Elizabeth Chou in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 5/20/17

Guns   

Nearly 800 guns , including anti-tank rocket launcher, turned in at LAPD buyback -- Uzis, AK-47s and an anti-tank launcher were among the nearly 800 weapons turned in at the latest Los Angeles Police Department gun buyback — an annual event that police say is helping to reduce gun crime in the city. Cindy Chang in the Los Angeles Times$ Wes Woods in the Los Angeles Daily News-- 5/20/17

Health 

Norovirus Outbreak Has Now Infected Almost 2,500 People -- Yolo County health officials say the Norovirus outbreak has now infected almost 2,500 people, but appears to be slowing down. Still, schools are seeing a lot of absences. Sally Schilling Capital Public Radio -- 5/20/17

Also . . . 

Undercover officers seize synthetic heroin worth nearly $7 million outside Fresno -- Undercover officers in Central California made a drug bust valued at nearly $7 million on the streets, seizing just a few pounds of a synthetic heroin. Associated Press -- 5/20/17

A 25-year-old mystery solved: Last unidentified victim of '92 L.A. riots has a name -- For a quarter-century after his charred body was found inside a Pep Boys torched in the 1992 Los Angeles riots, he was known as John Doe No. 80. Richard Winton and Cindy Chang in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/17

'First Lady of Motown' gets serenaded at LA City Council -- Claudette Robinson, the sole female member of Motown Records singing group The Miracles and former wife of its star member, Smokey Robinson, was recognized by the Los Angeles City Council Friday. Elizabeth Chou in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/20/17

Appeals court strikes down FAA drone registration rule -- The ruling was a victory for hobbyists and a setback for the FAA, which cited safety concerns as it tried to tighten regulation of the fast-growing army of drone operators. Some pilots of commercial airliners have reported close calls with drones flying near airports. Associated Press -- 5/20/17

Anderson Cooper tells Jeffrey Lord: If Trump 'took a dump on his desk, you'd defend it' -- Jeffrey Lord regularly appears as a pro-Trump commentator on CNN. On "Anderson Cooper 360," Cooper asked Lord whether he thought Trump should be doing things like telling the Russians that fired FBI Director James B. Comey is a "nut job" while under investigation by the FBI. Jessica Roy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/17

POTUS 45  

Russia probe reaches current White House official, people familiar with the case say -- The law enforcement investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign has identified a current White House official as a significant person of interest, showing that the probe is reaching into the highest levels of government, according to people familiar with the matter. Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky in the Washington Post$ -- 5/20/17

Trump campaign seeks to raise money off the ‘witch hunt’ the president faces -- President Trump on Friday sought to raise campaign money off his characterization of a probe into possible collusion with Russia as a “witch hunt” — the latest in a series of attempts to parlay his political troubles into cash. John Wagner in the Washington Post$ -- 5/20/17

Trump told aides firing Flynn was a mistake -- The president has grown obsessed with defending the tough-talking 58-year-old general, repeatedly telling aides and associates in private that Flynn was a 'good man.' Josh Dawsey Politico -- 5/20/17

 

-- Friday Updates 

Inside the San Francisco laundromat basement where 2 dozen people lived -- For nearly four years, Nicaraguan immigrant Claudia Soto lived in the basement of a laundromat in San Francisco’s Excelsior neighborhood with about two dozen people — some of whom had called the subterranean space home for as long as a decade. Michael Bodley in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/17

Gavin Newsom faces backlash as state fights Sierra Club and San Francisco over waterfront -- One of Gavin Newsom’s few duties as lieutenant governor is to serve on the State Lands Commission, a powerful agency that governs much of California’s shoreline. Michael Finnegan in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/17

F.B.I. Once Warned G.O.P. Congressman That Russian Spies Were Recruiting Him -- The F.B.I. warned a Republican congressman in 2012 that Russian spies were trying to recruit him, officials said, an example of how aggressively Russian agents have tried to influence Washington politics. The congressman, Dana Rohrabacher of California, has been known for years as one of Moscow’s biggest defenders in Washington and as a vocal opponent of American economic sanctions against Russia. Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman and Mark Mazzetti in the New York Times$ -- 5/19/17

Russia probe reaches current White House official, people familiar with the case say -- The law enforcement investigation into possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign has identified a current White House official as a significant person of interest, showing that the probe is reaching into the highest levels of government, according to people familiar with the matter. Devlin Barrett and Matt Zapotosky in the Washington Post$ -- 5/19/17

Trump-Russia probe now includes possible cover-up, Congress is told -- Investigators into Russian meddling in the U.S. presidential elections are now also probing whether White House officials have engaged in a cover-up, according to members of Congress who were briefed Friday by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Matthew Schofield and Lesley Clark McClatchy DC -- 5/19/17

Trump Told Russians That Firing ‘Nut Job’ Comey Eased Pressure From Investigation -- President Trump told Russian officials in the Oval Office this month that firing the F.B.I. director, James B. Comey, had relieved “great pressure” on him, according to a document summarizing the meeting. “I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job,” Mr. Trump said, according to the document, which was read to The New York Times by an American official. Matt Apuzzo, Maggie Haberman and Matthew Rosenberg in the New York Times$ -- 5/19/17

White House does not dispute that FBI probe now includes at least one Trump aide -- President Trump told a pair of Russian envoys that his abrupt decision to fire FBI Director James B. Comey — whom he described as “crazy, a real nut job” — had relieved “great pressure” on him because of the Russia investigation, according to a published report. Noah Bierman and Lisa Mascaro in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/17

Lawmakers pass budget bills in Sacramento, but they're almost completely blank -- The official record will show that the state Assembly passed all of the bills related to a new state budget on Thursday, almost a month before the constitutional deadline to do so. But the record will also show those bills were devoid of any language related to the budget. They were, like ones passed last week by the Senate, empty legislative vessels. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/17

California employers cut 16,300 jobs, slashing payrolls for the first time since June -- California employers slashed 16,300 jobs from payrolls in April, according to data released by the state’s Employment Development Department on Friday. It was the first month that the state posted a job loss since June 2016. Still, unemployment fell to 4.8%, from 4.9% in March, the lowest rate since 2001. The national jobless rate last month was 4.4%. Natalie Kitroeff in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/17

San Jose area loses jobs, but East Bay posts gains -- Santa Clara County lost 2,900 jobs during April, while the Bay Area shed 200 positions, the state’s Employment Development Department reported. The bright spots included the East Bay, which added 500 jobs, while the San Francisco-San Mateo region gained 1,500 jobs. All the numbers were adjusted for seasonal variations. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/19/17

California unemployment rate falls, but is the state’s economy slowing? -- California’s unemployment rate fell to a near-record low of 4.8 percent last month, but experts cautioned that the Golden State’s economy might be slowing down. Mark Glover in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/17

L.A. teachers union faces tough questions in wake of charter election wins -- Los Angeles’ teachers union, for decades a dominant political force in school district politics, suffered a crushing defeat this week that speaks to a larger power shift away from labor and toward the growth of the well-heeled charter school movement. Howard Blume and Anna M. Phillips in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/17

California Democrats collide over control of state party -- With President Donald Trump in a tailspin and the Republican House majority appearing increasingly vulnerable, what happens here at the California Democratic Party state convention this weekend will reverberate across the map. Carla Marinucci Politico -- 5/19/17

California Democratic Heavyweight John Burton Exiting the Political Stage -- The California Democratic Party will undergo a historic transition in Sacramento this weekend, when its legendary chairman, John Burton, steps down after eight years as party chair. Burton has always been a little rough around the edges. Scott Shafer KQED -- 5/19/17

Democrats ramp up talk of impeaching Trump, passing universal health care in California -- Happening today, and continuing through the weekend: The California Democratic Party convention in downtown Sacramento. Before your eyes glaze over, or you head to the bar to prepare for Saturday night performances by Common and Cypress Hill, we’ve got a tip-sheet for what to watch for. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/17

Capitol Weekly podcast: Ruth Bernstein and Paul Mitchell -- California experienced a surge of new voter registrations in 2016 and turnout was high, spurred in part by the high interest in the presidential election. But the big question is whether those voters will stick around for the 2018 midterms. Political Data’s numbers cruncher Paul Mitchell and pollster Ruth Bernstein of EMC Research stopped by the Capitol Weekly office to chat about the results of a new EMC Research/Capitol Weekly poll of those 2016 new voters. John Howard and Tim Foster host. Link Here -- 5/19/17

Fox: Measuring the Gas Tax Increase Backlash -- How hot is the anger over the gas tax increase? It may be a bit early to measure in full the backlash on the gas tax increase since the tax won’t be collected until November. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 5/19/17

How a remote California tribe set out to save its river and stop a suicide epidemic -- The Yurok people live in a stark land of salmon runs and steep, misty mountains, where giant salamanders hide under rotting logs and Bigfoot is said to prey after dusk. Joe Mozingo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/17

More than $17 million in illegally harvested sea cucumbers traded out of San Diego, indictment says -- An investigation into wildlife crime has led to the federal indictment of a father-son duo who federal prosecutors say smuggled illegally harvested sea cucumbers worth more than $17 million into San Diego and then sold them to Asian markets. Joshua Emerson Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/17

Make America Great Again march that led to fracas in H.B. is headed to Fountain Valley -- The organizers of a Make America Great Again march in Huntington Beach that turned violent two months ago are planning a similar event in Fountain Valley. Ben Brazil in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/17

‘President Barack H. Obama Freeway’ en route to California -- A resolution passed by the state Senate this week names a roughly 4-mile stretch of the CA-134 freeway in Eagle Rock and Pasadena after the 44th president, waiving the usual practice that honorees be deceased before the highway designation is bestowed. Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/17

California Rep. Eric Swalwell and wife Brittany welcome a baby boy, Nelson -- Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Dublin) and his wife Brittany announced the birth of their first child Friday, a boy. The couple named their son Eric Nelson Swalwell and plan to call him Nelson, according to the congressman's Instagram. He was born in San Ramon, Calif. Swalwell reports that mom and baby are healthy and well. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/17