Updating . .
‘Huge failure’: 80 percent of Oakland firefighter warnings of unsafe buildings go unchecked -- In what an expert calls a “huge failure,” hundreds of residential and commercial buildings across Oakland were never inspected after firefighters flagged fire dangers and referred them for followup, including more than 200 apartment buildings housing thousands of residents, an investigation by the Bay Area News Group has found. Thomas Peele, Matthias Gafni and David DeBolt in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/16/17
One child, a $21-million medical bill: How a tiny number of patients poses a huge challenge for Medi-Cal -- Somewhere in California, one child’s medical expenses in 2014 totaled $21 million — a bill covered entirely by Medi-Cal, the state’s version of Medicaid. The child’s condition is not known. But the cost of care was mentioned in recent Twitter and Facebook posts by Jennifer Kent, head of the state Department of Health Care Services, which runs Medi-Cal. Soumya Karlamangla in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/17
Obamacare repeal bills could put coverage out of reach for millions of sick Americans -- President Trump and congressional Republicans, despite repeated pledges to preserve sick Americans’ access to health coverage, are poised to scrap this core insurance protection in their campaign to roll back the Affordable Care Act. Noam N. Levey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/17
Walters: Despite Proposition 13, California property tax revenue has soared -- Much has been said and written – mostly negatively – about the effects of Proposition 13, California’s iconic law limiting property taxes. Its critics say that Proposition 13, which restricts taxes to 1 percent of property values and caps increases in those values at 2 percent a year, has starved schools and local governments of vital revenue. Dan Walters Calmatters.org -- 7/16/17
Wisckol: Glut of Democratic congressional candidates raises questions -- Surveying the crowd of Democratic congressional candidates hoping to unseat Orange County’s four GOP incumbents – already 16 – county Republican Party Chairman Fred Whitaker can hardly contain his glee. Martin Wisckol in the Orange County Register -- 7/16/17
Smolens: Bid for governor or not, Faulconer still a hot ticket on statewide stage -- Mayor Kevin Faulconer says he’s not running for governor next year — no way, no how. But that doesn’t mean he’s lost his “rising star” status in statewide politics. Michael Smolens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/16/17
Caitlyn Jenner mulling California Senate run -- Just after musician Kid Rock tweeted out the possibility of Senate run in Michigan, Olympic gold medalist and transgender activist Caitlyn Jenner told a New York radio audience she is eyeing a Senate run in California. Bartholomew D Sullivan USA Today -- 7/16/17
Central California wildfire grows as hot, dry conditions persist -- A damaging wildfire burning on California's scenic central coast was expected to expand on Sunday afternoon, with higher temperatures, lower humidity and high winds working against efforts to contain it, officials said. Bernie Woodall Reuters -- 7/16/17
Bay Area doctors learn to navigate California’s right-to-die law -- In a state of 39 million residents — and more than 100,000 licensed physicians — just 173 California doctors wrote lethal prescriptions for 191 patients in the last half of 2016, according to the California Department of Public Health. Tracy Seipel in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/16/17
Cigarette theft ring hits several Walgreens as new California tax raises prices -- A group of men are suspected of stealing large quantities of cigarettes from Walgreens locations across the eastern San Fernando Valley, including in Burbank, according t o authorities. Andy Nguyen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/17
NPR and SAG-AFTRA reach a tentative deal on a three-year contract -- Terms of the new deal reached just after midnight Eastern time on Saturday night were not disclosed. A representative for SAG-AFTRA said the deal provides for “salary increases and effectively repelled efforts to erode union protections and institute a two-tiered salary system.” Stephen Battaglio in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/17
Sacramento district can’t find enough teachers, so it turns to Philippines for help -- The district says it has no choice but to look abroad to fill vacancies, as schools around California and the nation face a shortage of employable teachers. Richard Chang in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/16/17
Google San Jose: Can the search giant prevent traffic, housing woes? -- Google will be traveling a razor’s edge of love and hate all the way to its planned new 20,000-worker San Jose campus as it brings jobs and star power to a city that needs both while delivering extra helpings of the ills that have sparked public ire against Silicon Valley’s big technology companies. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/16/17
Abcarian: How crazy do you have to be to run the world's most grueling foot race? (Hint: Not very) -- I drove to Death Valley last week because I had always been curious about the kind of people eager to spend up to 46 hours on their feet, with no sleep, running across the hottest place on Earth, dodging oncoming traffic, in the middle of July. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/17
Inmate fight put their brother in a coma. Siblings still seeking answers month later -- A brutal fight between two prisoners in a Sacramento County Main Jail cell has left an inmate in what family and friends call a vegetative state, no longer able to communicate with friends or loved ones. Nashelly Chavez in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/16/17
San Francisco chefs leaving for rural areas in search of work-life balance -- Just three years ago, Jake and Shauna Des Voignes were names that San Francisco food-watchers knew well: Jake as the chef of Local Mission Eatery, Shauna as the chef-owner of Knead Patisserie. Jonathan Kauffman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/16/17
White House unveils ‘Made in America’ week, though many Trump products are made overseas -- President Trump, whose company outsources the manufacturing of many of its products to overseas factories, is unveiling “Made in America” week at the White House to promote products made in the United States. Philip Rucker in the Washington Post$ -- 7/16/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Pro-, anti-Trump forces face off at Hollywood Boulevard star; 1 man arrested -- Words rumbled like thunder down Hollywood Boulevard on Saturday during a clash between demonstrators in support of President Donald Trump and against the billionaire and former reality TV celebrity. Dana Bartholomew in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 7/16/17
California climate law backers look for support -- California lawmakers leading an effort to extend the state's signature climate change initiative made a last-minute appeal Saturday to critics on the left who say their plan doesn't do enough to reign in polluters. Jonathan J. Cooper Associated Press -- 7/16/17
Here's what to watch for in the vote to extend California's cap-and-trade program -- Gov. Jerry Brown dusted off his little-used political mailing list on Friday to send an urgent message to his supporters: The time to rally around cap-and-trade is now. Melanie Mason and Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/17
Advisor swap: What hiring his rival's top aide will and won't do for Gavin Newsom and Antonio Villaraigosa -- The top contenders to be California’s next governor have similar low points in their political careers: extramarital affairs that exploded in public view during their tenures as big-city mayors. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/17
Darrell Issa was Obama's toughest critic. Here's why he's suddenly sounding like a moderate -- The hundreds of protesters who show up weekly to wave signs outside Rep. Darrell Issa’s office in a drab office park in Vista, Calif., have written a song for him to the tune of “Oh! Susanna.” Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/17
Willie Brown: A second Trump is in over his head -- Baby Don, also known as Donald Trump Jr., is getting the political education he should have had last year before he decided he was a player on the national stage. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/16/17
Famed institute becomes latest site of controversy about gender equity in the sciences -- A nasty feud has erupted at the normally genteel Salk Institute in La Jolla over whether the elite science center discriminates against its female professors in funding, promotions and leadership opportunities. Gary Robbins and Bradley J. Fikes in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/16/17
KQED Newsroom: Political Analysis from Russia to Sacramento, Regulating Cannabis, Fighting Chronic Homelessness. Joe Garofoli San Francisco Chronicle, Marisa Lagos KQED and Carla Marinucci Politico Link here -- 7/16/17
Court limits criminal defendants’ access to police records -- For more than 40 years, criminal defendants in California have had a right to find out if police testifying against them have a record of lying, excessive force or any other misdeeds that cast doubt on their credibility. But a new state appeals court ruling could remove a bridge to that information in a number of counties, including San Francisco, Alameda and Santa Clara. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/16/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Market transformation will end dominance of electrical utilities, regulators predict -- California is poised for a swift transformation of its electricity landscape — and that could bring tumult if preparations aren’t made soon to maintain quality and avoid reliability problems like rolling blackouts, the state’s leading energy regulator is warning. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/16/17
Why are California women giving birth at record-low rates? -- The pace of motherhood in California is slowing and its members are aging, a shift demographers expect to continue and contribute to far-reaching and uncertain changes in the decades to come. Ian Wheeler in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 7/16/17
Pender: Why universal basic income is gaining support, critics -- The idea of a universal basic income — monthly cash payments from the government to every individual, working or not, with no strings attached — is gaining traction, thanks in part to endorsements from Silicon Valley celebs. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/16/17
Homeless
Fed up with garbage, fleas, LA tow companies are refusing to haul away homeless RVs -- Motor homes have become a fixture on Los Angeles streets in recent years, a reflection of the growing number of homeless people living out of campers. Along with the increase in RVs, calls to haul them away are rising. But the city has hit a roadblock as the number of tow companies willing to do the work dwindles. Elizabeth Chou in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 7/16/17
Wildfire
Whittier fire in Los Padres National Forest grows to more than 17,300 acres -- The Whittier fire burning in Los Padres National Forest in Santa Barbara County has grown to more than 17,300 acres, which officials attributed Saturday in part to a combination of low humidity, high temperatures, steep terrain and brush fueling the fire on its southern flank. Cindy Carcamo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/17
Education
Betsy DeVos draws ire from Berkeley, Stanford students for campus sexual assault meeting -- When Betsy DeVos became U.S. education secretary earlier this year, survivors of sexual assault and their advocates at UC Berkeley, Stanford and other Bay Area colleges worried that the progress they felt they’d made under the Obama administration would deteriorate. Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/16/17
Cannabis
Wine Country vintners curious but wary of cannabis industry -- Some of the most coveted wines in the United States emerge from the vineyards of California’s North Coast. But in the hills overlooking his Mendocino County winery, and just to the north in California’s famed Emerald Triangle, another thriving crop is pulling millions of dollars into the region: cannabis. Bill Swindell in the Santa Rosa Press -- 7/16/17
Health
Bacteria-infected mosquitoes are coming to Fresno – but it’s a good thing! -- About 20 million lab-raised, bacteria-infected mosquitoes are being hatched and intentionally released in the Fresno area. But that’s apparently good news. It’s part of the Debug Project run by Verily Life Sciences, a subsidary of Alphabet Inc. (Google’s parent company). The goal is to rid the area of the mosquitoes that have the potential to carry the Zika virus. Bryant-Jon Anteola in the Fresno Bee -- 7/16/17
Blue Shield improperly denied mental health, drug treatment claims, suit alleges -- Initially filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, the complaint comes from two parents who allege their teenage children were repeatedly denied coverage under their employer-based plans despite serious mental and substance abuse problems. Elaine Korry in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 7/16/17
Environment
Ports of LA, Long Beach at clean-air crossroads as they update pollution battle plan -- Can one of Southern California’s biggest sources of pollution turn itself into a model of green energy? Rachel Uranga in the LA Daily News -- 7/16/17
Also . . .
BART cars transformed into psychedelic bingo halls -- A BART car heading into San Francisco around 8 p.m. on Friday, July 14 was transformed into a psychedelic bingo hall by advocates of Psychedelic Friendship Bingo, a long-running underground Bay Area event that will take place next week. Drew Costley in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/16/17
An inclusive theme draws record crowd to San Diego's Pride Parade -- More than 100,000 people thronged the San Diego Pride Parade in Hillcrest on Saturday, the centerpiece of a Pride weekend that is expected to draw in excess of 200,000. Peter Rowe in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/16/17
Grenades cause evacuation of Sunnyvale police, fire headquarters -- The headquarters of Sunnyvale’s police and fire department, along with its emergency dispatch center, was evacuated Saturday after a couple walked into the lobby with a box containing three rocket-propelled grenades and dozens of rounds of rusted ammunition. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/16/17
POTUS 45
Trump campaign paid firm of lawyer representing Trump Jr. before emails were made public -- President Trump’s campaign committee made a payment to the law firm of an attorney representing Donald Trump Jr. last month, nearly two weeks before it was announced that the same attorney would be representing the president's son in Russia-related probes, according to a campaign finance report filed Saturday. Mark Berman and Matea Gold in the Washington Post$ Maggie Severns Politico -- 7/16/17
Soviet Veteran Who Met With Trump Jr. Is a Master of the Dark Arts -- Rinat Akhmetshin, the Russian-American lobbyist who met with Donald Trump Jr. at Trump Tower in June 2016, had one consistent message for the journalists who met him over the years at the luxury hotels where he stayed in Moscow, London and Paris, or at his home on a leafy street in Washington: Never use email to convey information that needed to be kept secret. Andrew Higgins and Andrew E. Kramer in the New York Times -- 7/16/17
Poll finds Trump’s standing weakened since springtime -- President Trump’s standing with the American people has deteriorated since the spring, buffeted by perceptions of a decline in U.S. leadership abroad, a stalled presidential agenda at home and an unpopular Republican health-care bill, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. Scott Clement and Dan Balz in the Washington Post$ -- 7/16/17
Beltway
McConnell defers vote on Senate health-care bill as McCain recovers from surgery -- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) put off plans late Saturday to vote on a bill to overhaul the nation’s health-care system this week, after Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) announced he would be at home recovering from surgery, leaving Republicans short of the votes they needed to advance the legislation. Sean Sullivan in the Washington Post$ Robert Pear in the New York Times$ -- 7/16/17
-- Saturday Updates
Anguish in Sierra foothills as dangerous fire season kicks off -- Just days after California’s burgeoning wildfire season plundered the farm of Danny Lazzarini and Andrew Seidman, the couple were back to work, picking peaches amid the blackened hillsides. Just days after California’s burgeoning wildfire season plundered the farm of Danny Lazzarini and Andrew Seidman, the couple were back to work, picking peaches amid the blackened hillsides. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/15/17
California Politics Podcast: We examine the huge political firestorm in the wake of the Legislature's single-payer healthcare bill being blocked. We also dive deep into a Times exclusive on California's largely ignored housing law. With John Myers, Melanie Mason and Liam Dillon of the Los Angeles Times. Link Here -- 7/15/17
New spending control could win Republican votes for climate bill -- Republicans proposed a constitutional amendment Friday that could help win their support for legislation to extend the state’s climate-fighting cap-and-trade program. Christopher Cadelago, Alexei Koseff and Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/15/17
Exploitation or opportunity? California’s Capitol employs army of unpaid interns -- Q: How are your elected officials answering their many phone calls? A: Probably with the help of an unpaid intern. Or maybe 50 of them. Hannah Knowles in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/15/17
Silicon Valley investors embrace a new vision of college -- Make School, a for-profit startup in this city’s South of Market district, is one of the most unusual schools in the country: It lets students enroll in classes for free if they agree to pay later after they land a job. Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/15/17
The Lawyer, the Addict -- A high-powered Silicon Valley attorney dies. His ex-wife investigates, and finds a web of drug abuse in his profession. Eilene Zimmerman in the New York Times$ -- 7/15/17
Tenant wins case in dispute with landlord over mailed-in rent -- A landlord who insists that rent be paid by traditional mail cannot take action against a tenant if the money doesn’t arrive. But that’s only the case if proper postage was applied, and the rent money was sent with the correct address and in sufficient time to hit the due date, a California court ruled last week. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/15/17
Maryam Mirzakhani, world-renowned math genius and Stanford professor, dies at 40 -- Maryam Mirzakhani, a world-renowned mathematician and Stanford University professor best known for being the first woman to receive the prestigious Fields Medal for mathematics, has died, the university announced early Saturday. Mirzakhani died Saturday after a long battle with breast cancer. She was 40. Tatiana Sanchez in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/15/17
White House releases sensitive personal information of voters worried about their sensitive personal information -- Unfortunately for these voters and others who wrote in, the Trump administration did not redact any of their personal information from the emails before releasing them to the public. In some cases, the emails contain not only names, but email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers and places of employment of people worried about such information being made available to the public. Christopher Ingraham in the Washington Post$ -- 7/15/17