Updating . .
Fast-moving Santa Barbara County fire grows to 19,000 acres; evacuations ordered -- The fire, located near Highway 166, was only 10% contained, officials said. Crews were battling to protect Tepusquet Canyon, their efforts hampered by extreme heat, low humidity and winds from the northeast. Javier Panzar and Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/17
Wall Fire grows to 2,000 acres, evacuations still in effect -- The Wall Fire in Butte County remains at about 2,000 acres as of 2:50 p.m. Saturday, according to the Cal Fire incident report. The wildfire on Chinese Wall Road, five miles north of Bangor, has destroyed 10 homes and inflicted minor injuries on five civilians and one crew member, according to Cal Fire. Thomas Oide and Anthony Sorci in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/8/17
ATF: 2016 fire in Oakland was 4th arson at unfinished building -- Hours after Oakland’s fifth fire in recent years at half-finished residential buildings — three of which were previously deemed arsons — federal investigators said Friday for the first time they were investigating a fourth of the five as arson. Michael Bodley in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/17
Hundreds remain displaced by Oakland blaze -- Hundreds of people remained displaced Saturday as crews continued to mop up debris from the huge blaze that destroyed a seven-story building under construction in Oakland a day earlier. Hamed Aleaziz in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/17
Nursing home residents fear cuts from GOP health bill -- A year and a half ago, Robert Hawkins was living on the street in San Francisco’s Financial District, struggling with diabetes and chronic lung disease. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/17
Former Obama staffers say they’re running for office to protect his legacy -- As one of Barack Obama’s top political organizers, Buffy Wicks plotted national campaign strategy, mobilized support for the Affordable Care Act and helped marshal the thousands of volunteers who carried Obama to the White House. Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/8/17
The latest Silicon Valley housing idea: on a landfill -- It’s not your typical site for a new housing development: a former landfill, containing an estimated 5.5 million tons of municipal waste dumped over a quarter century in the heart of this city. Richard Scheinin in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/8/17
What do you get when you sign up for a 100% green electricity plan? -- For the first time, residents and businesses up and down the state can buy electricity plans touted as “100 percent green” in their quest to fight climate change or simply be more environmentally friendly. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/8/17
Another longtime lawman joins race for L.A. County sheriff -- Bob Lindsey says he’s reluctant to recommend the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department to a young person hoping for a career as a cop. Maya Lau in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/17
Ed Lee is the tops — highest-paid mayor in California, that is -- San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee’s $297,387 salary last year was enough to make him the highest-paid mayor in California, according to data recently compiled by the state controller’s office. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/17
Cannabis cotillion: Luxury cannabis brand Beboe debuts in San Francisco -- As canna-business strategist Elise McRoberts walked across an animal skin rug and into the living room of a Pacific Heights home for the recent San Francisco launch of Beboe, an upscale cannabis brand from Los Angeles, she assumed she would see the usual faces on the marijuana circuit — growers, dispensary owners and cannabis chefs. Carolyne Zinko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/17
Hot days bring blazes and fallen livestock across California -- Hot, dry winds have fanned a wildfire in Santa Barbara County that has now grown to nearly five square miles and forced evacuations in the most urgent of several blazes burning throughout the baking state. Associated Press -- 7/8/17
At 14, she was told to hide her baby bump and switch schools. Her shaming wasn’t unique -- Graciela Pacheco didn’t know she was pregnant until she was six months along. At 14 years old, she couldn’t differentiate the bodily changes that come with puberty from the signs that a baby was growing inside her. Mackenzie Mays in the Fresno Bee -- 7/8/17
The federal program that can’t be killed — or fixed -- San Francisco is one of the nation’s wealthiest cities, reaping the riches of America’s tech economy. Across the country and worlds away, Allentown, Pa., hasn’t fully recovered from the death of Big Steel. Yet when it comes to federal aid for community development, Silicon Valley wins. Lehigh Valley makes do. Lorraine Woellert Politico -- 7/8/17
Once Dominant, the United States Finds Itself Isolated at G-20 -- For years the United States was the dominant force and set the agenda at the annual gathering of the leaders of the world’s largest economies. But on Friday, when President Trump met with other leaders at the Group of 20 conference, he found the United States isolated on everything from trade to climate change, and faced with the prospect of the group’s issuing a statement on Saturday that lays bare how the United States stands alone. Steven Erlanger and Julie Hirschfeld Davis in the New York Times$ -- 7/8/17
Trump leaves leaders fearing the future as G-20 summit closes -- President Trump and other world leaders on Saturday emerged from two days of talks unable to resolve key differences on core issues such as climate change and globalization, slapping an exclamation point on a divisive summit that left other nations fearing for the future of global alliances in the Trump era. Michael Birnbaum and Damian Paletta in the Washington Post -- 7/8/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Feinstein revs up the opposition to GOP Senate health care plan -- Republican efforts to replace President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act would devastate children’s hospitals across California and make it harder for millions of people — young and old — to get the care they need, Sen. Dianne Feinstein said in San Francisco Friday. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Angela Hart in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/8/17
Here's how Jimmy Gomez's new job makes the state's climate change fight more difficult -- Despite round-the-clock negotiations this week, including on the July 4 holiday, Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative leaders came up short in their bid to have a bill to reauthorize the program ready for a vote Monday, the last day that Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez (D-Los Angeles) would have been able to cast a vote before he is sworn into Congress on Tuesday. Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/17 -- 7/8/17
Gavin Newsom continues to dominate gubernatorial campaign fundraising -- Gavin Newsom continues to dominate fundraising in the 2018 race for California governor, raising millions more than his Democratic opponents in the reporting period that recently closed, according to preliminary information filed with the state. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/17
Fiery rhetoric from California to feds over $18M fire debt -- California’s emergency services director fired off a sharply worded letter to the U.S. Forest Service this week that said the agency had stiffed the state $18 million for fighting wildfires on federal lands last year and raised the prospect that the state may stop protecting national forests during blazes. Brian Melley Associated Press -- 7/8/17
Wife of former state attorney general arrested in dispute -- The wife of a former California attorney general and state treasurer was free on bail after she was arrested following a domestic dispute, authorities said Friday. Nadia Lockyer, 46, was released on $5,000 bail Thursday night after her arrest on suspicion of spousal abuse. Don Thompson Associated Press Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/8/17
Federal investigators join search for cause in massive Oakland fire -- Federal and Alameda County arson investigators were among those trying to determine the cause of a huge blaze that destroyed a seven-story building under construction in Oakland on Friday, displacing 700 nearby residents and leading one City Council member to suggest the fire was deliberately set. Sarah Ravani, Kimberly Veklerov, Hamed Aleaziz and Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/1 7
Long path ahead for arson investigators after Oakland inferno -- Investigators trying to figure out if Friday’s towering fire at an Oakland construction site was ignited by accident or attack will likely spend weeks combing the wreckage for clues, while talking to neighbors and developers and consulting specialists in fire behavior before drawing a conclusion. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/17
Taylor: Fires could be an anti-gentrification attack -- I know I’m not the only one who thinks it just can’t be a coincidence. Another fire at another housing project under construction. What’s going on? Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/17
Oakland fires put insurers on watch -- Will the string of fires in Oakland prompt a hike in commercial and residential insurance rates there? Not yet, experts say — but insurers definitely pay attention to such trends. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/17
Amador County says Sacramento growth plans will turn Jackson Highway into a parking lot -- For nearly a century, ribbon-like Jackson Highway has connected urban Sacramento to bucolic Amador County in the foothills. Now, a fight over the future of the highway is dividing the two. Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/8/17
Some of Trump's top supporters are refugees - and they’re scrutinizing his Putin meeting -- Many of the Sacramento region’s tens of thousands of immigrants from the former Soviet Union were watching closely Friday when President Trump shook hands for the first time with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Stephen Magagnini, Rene Svirnovskiy and Phillip Reese in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/8/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Walmart pays $1.65 million to settle Medi-Cal fraud claims -- Walmart has paid $1.65 million to settle claims that it defrauded California’s Medi-Cal program by collecting payments for unneeded or unapproved drugs, the U.S. Justice Department announced Friday. The retailer, which has pharmacies in 283 stores in California, was accused of billing Medi-Cal for drugs after misrepresenting doctors’ assessments of the need for the medications. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/17
Is Sacramento the next Silicon Valley? Report calls it a ‘market of opportunity’ -- When it comes to technology and California, most people think about the Bay Area and Silicon Valley, which houses companies like Google, Twitter and Facebook. But a recent report from professional services firm JLL said that Sacramento could become an attractive option for technology companies due to its high concentration of computer programmers and lower cost of living. Thomas Oide in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/8/17
Homeless
Rise in RV homeless throughout South Bay -- This week was a street week for Aida Barron. The 58-year-old South County native parked her 1979 Dodge Beaver recreational vehicle on a commercial cul-de-sac near the Gilroy Walmart, a ritual she does every fourth week when she needs to vacate the San Benito Thousand Trails RV park — a requirement in their by-laws. Eric Kurhi in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/8/17
Homeless and lawless? A stretch of the Santa Ana River is often unpoliced -- Police and sheriff agencies offer scant oversight of a fast-growing homeless encampment in Orange County, along the Santa Ana River, prompting people who work with the homeless to suggest that violence and drug dealing in the community soon could grow akin to Los Angeles’ notorious Skid Row. Jordan Graham in the Orange County Register -- 7/8/17
Housing
Facebook announces plan for housing at new Menlo Park campus -- Facebook revealed plans on Friday to turn a 56-acre plot of land it bought in 2015 into its own village — complete with 1,500 homes, a grocery store, transit center, hotel, retail shops, office buildings and open park space. Marissa Lang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/17
As investor demand for apartments rises, so do rents in Southern California -- Tenants at Tustin’s Palm Garden Apartments have seen two or three rent hikes since the aging apartment complex first sold to new owners in 2016, with rents jumping as much as $500 within five months. Jeff Collins in the Orange County Register -- 7/8/17
Wildfire
Fast-moving Santa Barbara County fire explodes to 3,000 acres; evacuations ordered -- A wildfire exploded out of control Friday on the Central Coast, burning more than 3,000 acres in just a few hours and forcing evacuations amid 90-degree heat and low humidity. Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/17
Immigration / Border
With only one left, iconic yellow road sign showing running immigrants now borders on the extinct -- For all the often vitriolic talk about illegal immigration, debates about sanctuary cities and President Trump’s promise to build a massive — and “beautiful” — wall along the southern border, few places have seen the generational decline in illegal crossings like California. Cindy Carcamo in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/8/17
Environment
LA River rehab just got a $100 million boost. Here’s how it will help -- Soccer fields, picnic areas and hiking paths could be coming to disadvantaged communities along the 51-mile Los Angeles River, thanks in part to $100 million in bond money earmarked for river projects in the recently approved state budget. Elizabeth Chou in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 7/8/17
POTUS 45
Trump's pursuit of friendship with Putin fulfills his campaign promise -- The president has been uniquely tireless in his efforts to pursue warmer relations with Moscow, despite the political costs at home. Michael Crowley Politico -- 7/8/17
Beltway
Cybercriminals could find treasure trove in voter data -- When Kris Kobach of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity sent out a letter last week asking all 50 states to provide the federal government with detailed information on every voter in the nation in hopes of combatting election fraud, experts say he may have unwittingly opened a new gate for the bad actors of the cyberworld. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/17
Travel ban opponents suffer another legal setback -- The guidelines that dictate who can enter the country under President Donald Trump’s travel ban remain in place after a federal appeals court declined to block the policy or further clarify its terms. Ted Hesson Politico -- 7/8/17
-- Friday Updates
131-year-old heat record in downtown L.A. could fall on Saturday, forecasters say -- The records are set up, ready to fall like dominoes if forecasters’ predictions prove accurate for Southern California’s heat wave this weekend. Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/17
Gavin Newsom continues to dominate gubernatorial campaign fundraising -- Gavin Newsom continues to dominate fundraising in the 2018 race for California governor, raising millions more than his Democratic opponents in the reporting period that recently closed, according to preliminary information filed with the state. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/17
Was that shootdown of a mock enemy warhead in May 'realistic'? Not exactly -- After the nation’s homeland missile defense system successfully intercepted a mock enemy warhead high above the Pacific on May 30, the director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said the test had been held under “very realistic” conditions, faithfully simulating an attack by North Korea. David Willman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/17
Why some pot businesses hide their cash — and others truck it straight to a federal vault -- Slip a fresh $20 bill under the bulletproof teller window of Donnie Anderson’s Medex marijuana dispensary on Century Boulevard — perhaps for a gram of cannabis or some THC-infused toffees — and the legal tender is transformed into something else: drug money. James Rufus Koren in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/17
Massive fire engulfs construction project in Oakland -- A huge blaze erupted before dawn Friday north of downtown Oakland, engulfing a seven-story, mixed-use building that was under construction and prompting concern about a crane that was in danger of collapsing. Deb Wandell, Sarah Ravani, Hamed Aleaziz and Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Harry Harris, Matthias Gafni, Patrick May and Erin Baldassari in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/7/17
Oakland blaze at construction site looks suspiciously like previous East Bay fires -- The four-alarm blaze that had 80 firefighters battling a burning apartment building under construction in Oakland early Friday was an instant reminder of three other nearby fires that have hit the East Bay in the past 12 months. Patrick May in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/7/17
Oakland construction fire just the latest devastating inferno in East Bay -- The fire that gutted an a partment and retail complex that was being built near downtown Oakland on Friday was only the latest inferno to cause devastation in and around the city in recent years. Demian Bulwa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/7/17
Oakland blaze a setback for city plan to transform Auto Row -- The under-construction building that went up in flames early Friday in Oakland was a key piece of the city’s plan to turn the area once known as Auto Row into a mixed-use retail destination with thousands of new homes. J.K. Dineen and Trapper Byrne in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/7/17
This state worker has to return $20,000 her bosses said she deserved -- Pelican Bay State Prison dental assistant Tonya Eld told her boss that she was overpaid a decade ago – when George W. Bush was still president. She pointed to language in her union contract, and reported that her managers had placed her in the wrong range. This spring, the state finally sorted it out. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/7/17
Comma.ai releases hacker tools for DIY self-driving features -- At age 17, George Hotz achieved worldwide fame as the first person to jailbreak the original iPhone, allowing it to be used with any wireless carrier. Now, a decade later, he’s doing something similar with vehicles, releasing hardware and software to enable tech-savvy people to hack into cars and give them self-driving features. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/7/17
Facebook campus expansion includes offices, retail, grocery store, housing -- Aiming to address long-neglected community needs and to accommodate its burgeoning workforce, Facebook has proposed a vast expansion of its Menlo Park campus. The new campus would include several office buildings, hundreds of homes, retail, a grocery store, and parks and plazas, all part of what the social network giant envisions as a new center for the neighborhood. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/7/17
Bretón: He used to be homeless, sleeping in Sacramento parks. Now he’s a rookie CHP officer -- Edwin Lopez, a rookie California Highway Patrol officer, this week returned to an Elk Grove park where, all too recently, he used to live and sleep when he was homeless. Marcos Bretón in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/7/17
Fox: California, a State of Laws—Or Not -- What laws do we have to follow? Seems like there is an obvious answer to this question, but in California there is evidence that one gets to pick and choose. Illegal fireworks went off all around me on July 4. Some caused brush fires. The users of the fireworks faced no penalties. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 7/7/17
‘Auntie Maxine’ Waters Goes After Trump and Goes Viral -- Maxine Waters has been in Congress for a quarter-century, but in President Trump, her barbed tongue has found a perfect target — and an audience. Yamiche Alcindor in the New York Times$ -- 7/7/17
At G-20, world aligns against Trump policies ranging from free trade to climate change -- The growing international isolation of the United States under President Trump was starkly apparent Friday as the leaders of major world economies mounted a near-united opposition front against Washington on issues ranging from climate to free trade. Michael Birnbaum and Damian Paletta in the Washington Post -- 7/7/17
Some Prosecutors Offer Plea Deals to Avoid Deportation of Noncitizens -- For noncitizens, minor crimes like shoplifting can result in deportation. But a growing number of district attorneys say they offer immigrants accused of crimes plea deals to help them avoid that fate. Corinne Ramey in the Wall Street Journal -- 7/7/17