Updating . .
'May you die in pain': Northern California GOP congressman gets an earful at town hall -- “May you die in pain.” That was the nastiest moment of Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa's early morning town hall in Chico on Monday. The wish was uttered by an older man who criticized LaMalfa for voting for the House GOP plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. He was also holding a pink sign that read “Lackey for the Rich!" Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/17
Google exec denounces employee’s views on female workers -- Silicon Valley’s efforts to promote workforce diversity haven’t yielded many results — unless you count a backlash at Google, where a male engineer blamed biological differences for the paucity of female programmers. Barbara Ortutay Associated Press -- 8/7/17
Deportation put on hold for man detained by ICE after dropping daughter off at L.A. school -- An immigration appeals court Monday granted a last-ditch reprieve to a man whose arrest and looming deportation have made him a cause célèbre in the country’s roiling debate over illegal immigration. Joel Rubin and Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/17
California lawmakers push small Bay Area city to approve big housing project -- Tonight, the small Bay Area city of Brisbane will consider if it will support any housing on a 640-acre parcel of land bordering San Francisco. A collection of state lawmakers are urging city leaders to say yes to housing development. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/17
Political Road Map: No one spends more on lobbying in Sacramento than local governments -- The stereotype of lobbying is that it’s the exclusive domain of corporations and organized labor, groups spending huge sums of money to quietly but firmly flex their political muscles in Sacramento. But the data don’t bear that out. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/17
From spectacular vistas to the pits: A decades-long public land battle continues in the California desert -- Just beyond the southeast corner of Joshua Tree National Park, rows of boarded-up houses, gouged mountainsides and concrete ruins are an ugly reminder of the never-ending battle over the West’s public lands. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/17
City-state dispute over Prop. B, which limits height of new buildings on San Francisco's waterfront, goes to trial -- Proposition B, passed by 59 percent of the city’s voters in June 2014, was challenged by the state Lands Commission, which argued that California law authorizes only the state — and not local governments or their voters — to regulate waterfront development. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/7/17
Father of Ghost Ship victim: Build memorial at site of fire -- The grieving father of a young man who was among the 36 people who died in the Dec. 2 Ghost Ship fire is making the first public calls for the site of the inferno to become a permanent memorial to the victims of the worst fatal blaze in modern California history. Thomas Peele and David DeBolt in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/7/17
Thelton’s Orders -- On the eve of his retirement, the federal judge who reshaped the state’s prison system and the Oakland Police Department speaks on his role in the civil rights movement and the future of justice in the Trump era. Scott Morris Oakland Magazine -- 8/7/17
Suspect arrested in two unprovoked attacks on BART trains -- A suspect in two unprovoked attacks on passengers riding on BART trains in the last week was arrested Monday morning, just hours after police released surveillance photos of him, officials said. Filipa Ioannou and Alison Graham in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/7/17
Jeffe & Jeffe: California Democrats Reap Trump Dividend -- Donald Trump is hardly California’s best friend. His policies are out of step with most folks in the Golden State and his stances on immigration, health care and climate change have spurred confrontations between California and the Trump Administration. One gaggle of Californians, however, has benefited from the Trump phenomenon—Democratic politicians. Sherry Bebitch Jeffe and Doug Jeffe Fox & Hounds -- 8/7/17
Rich San Francisco residents get a shock: Someone bought their street -- Thanks to a little-noticed auction sale, a South Bay couple are the proud owners of one of the most exclusive streets in San Francisco — and they’re looking for ways to make their purchase pay. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/7/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Getting rid of California lawmakers’ cars actually did save some money -- Despite the Legislature’s protest that switching to a mileage-based reimbursement system would raise expenses, the 2011 elimination of a perk providing cars to lawmakers has saved hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, according to a Sacramento Bee analysis of travel records. Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/7/17
California lobbyists soldier on despite that swamp-draining talk -- President Donald Trump came to Washington, D.C., decrying lobbyists and vowing to “drain the swamp” — but six months into his administration, California’s top lobbyists say the only major changes they’ve had to make are in their language. Casey Tolan in the Marin Independent Journal -- 8/7/17
How can Democrats win again? Advocate for the ‘common man,’ Jerry Brown says -- Gov. Jerry Brown, assessing the deepening rifts within his Democratic Party as it confronts the Trump administration, said in an interview airing Sunday that it should avoid litmus tests over divisive issues like abortion and instead take up the causes of the “common man.” Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/7/17
Walters: Los Angeles is stoked for the Olympics, but it may be a risky business -- The business, civic and political elites of Los Angeles are understandably stoked that their city was chosen last week to host the 2028 Olympic Games. Dan Walters Calmatters.org -- 8/7/17
After Two Spills, Shell Oil to Replace Miles of Problem Pipeline -- Shell Oil Co. is replacing more than 12 miles of a pipeline that carries crude petroleum from Central Valley oil fields to Bay Area refineries after an investigation into two ruptures in eastern Alameda County in 2015 and 2016. Ted Goldberg KQED -- 8/7/17
How Trump could reshape the American Dream -- In the space of 24 hours this week, two bombshells emerged from Washington: President Donald Trump endorsed a proposal to dramatically cut back legal immigration and reports suggested the administration was preparing to take a tough new look at affirmative action policies that give preference to minority students. Casey Tolan and Tatiana Sanchez in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/7/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
UC leads on pension loans, are 401(k) plans next? -- The University of California began internal borrowing to pay pension costs six years ago, apparently becoming the model for a state $6 billion loan this year to pay down CalPERS state worker pension debt. Ed Mendel Calpensions.com -- 8/7/17
Faraday Future plans to refurbish an old tire factory to take on Tesla -- Faraday Future is running on fumes. But it’s still running. The Gardena-based luxury electric car start-up raised $14 million in emergency funding and will lease an old factory near Fresno that will enable it to turn out 10,000 cars a year. Russ Mitchell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/17
Education
Growing number of California schools districts offer students free college entrance exam -- An increasing number of school districts and charter school organizations in California are offering either the SAT or ACT, the other college readiness test, for free to all high school juniors. Newly published research concluded that one benefit — a statistically significant increase in 4-year college enrollment — shows the effort is a smart investment. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 8/7/17
Understanding Cal Grant financial aid for college students: a quick guide -- Cal Grants are the foundation of state-funded financial aid for California students who attend college in the state. Larry Gordon EdSource -- 8/7/17
Immigration / Border
Deportation looms for man arrested while dropping daughter off at L.A. school -- Sitting in an immigration detention center less than two hours from his home in Lincoln Heights, Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez counted up all the family events he has missed since his arrest Feb. 28. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/17
Also . . .
BART sparks a weed-themed limerick contest over Twitter with Metro Los Angeles -- If you weren't paying close attention to BART's Twitter account Friday afternoon — it was Friday, after all, so it's understandable — you may have missed a bit of wholesome fun. It blossomed out of a BART rider's complaint about ... a man shaving during his commute. Dianne de Guzman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/7/17
BART robberies and assaults up, but felony arrests down -- Calls seeking help from BART police shot up in the first six months of the year at all but two of 46 train stations, keeping pace with a 35 percent increase in robberies and a 27 percent jump in assaults compared with the same period in 2016, agency figures show. Evan Sernoffsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/7/17
Two pepper-sprayed in teen robbery on BART -- The attempted robbery happened while the train was at the Embarcadero Station, and the teens all fled after pepper spraying the two they tried to rob, police said. Officers weren’t able to find them. Rick Hurd in the East Bay Times -- 8/7/17
They tried to fight off armed robbers at the family store. A son was shot and killed -- A mother, father and son tried to fight off three armed robbers at a family store before gunfire erupted and the son was killed, Fresno police said Saturday night. Jessica Johnson in the Fresno Bee -- 8/7/17
POTUS 45
Many Politicians Lie. But Trump Has Elevated the Art of Fabrication -- From his days peddling the false notion that former President Barack Obama was born in Kenya, to his inflated claims about how many people attended his inaugural, to his description just last week of receiving two phone calls — one from the president of Mexico and another from the head of the Boy Scouts — that never happened, Mr. Trump is trafficking in hyperbole, distortion and fabrication on practically a daily basis. Sheryl Gay Stolberg in the New York Times$ -- 8/7/17
Four Pinocchios: President Trump’s claim of Obamacare ‘bailouts’ for insurance companies -- “Bailout” is a pejorative term in Washington. After Republicans in the Senate failed to pass a bill that would replace the Affordable Care Act, the president threatened to end what he termed “bailouts” for insurance companies and members of Congress. What’s he talking about? And are these really bailouts? Glenn Kessler in the Washington Post$ -- 8/7/17
-- Sunday Updates
California sanctuary state bill needs changes, Jerry Brown says -- Speaking on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Brown suggested he wants further amendments to the bill barring state and local law enforcement from using their resources to help federal immigration officials enforce violations against unauthorized immigrants who haven’t been convicted of a violent crime. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/6/17
Rich and powerful figures will set USC course in wake of scandal, from behind closed doors -- Composed of 57 voting members, USC’s board of trustees includes noted philanthropists, accomplished alumni, Hollywood insiders and industrial tycoons. The group’s influence extends from the floor of Staples Center to metropolises in India and China. Sonali Kohli, Sarah Parvini, Matt Hamilton and Adam Elmahrek in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/17
What we know about California's largest toxic cleanup: Thousands of L.A. County homes tainted with lead -- By this fall, California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control plans to begin removing lead-tainted soil from 2,500 residential properties near the shuttered Exide Technologies battery recycling plant in Vernon. Tony Barboza and Ben Poston in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/17
Oroville Dam: Six months after disaster, a race to repair before next winter -- Six months ago, relentless winter storms dumped nearly 13 inches of rain in four days on the Sierra Foothills, tearing an enormous hole in the spillway at Oroville Dam, the nation’s highest, and leading to an unprecedented emergency that prompted the evacuation of 188,000 people from nearby towns. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/6/17
Walters: California’s economy booms, but a slowdown looms -- What’s not to like about California’s economy this summer? The state’s’s $2.6 trillion economy would be the sixth largest in the world were it a nation, and many politicians are already crowing that it may move into the No. 5 spot due to economic turmoil in Great Britain. Dan Walters Calmatters.org -- 8/6/17
A proposed state law would let Fresno County open clinics for ‘safer’ illegal drug use -- A bill currently making its way through the California Legislature would let eight counties, including Fresno, open “safer” places for people to take illegal drugs – without any legal repercussions – under the supervision of a health professional, who would also monitor the addict for signs of overdose. Rory Appleton in the Fresno Bee -- 8/6/17
BART police chief’s rough ride out of town in Santa Ana -- It turns out that new BART Police Chief Carlos Rojas’ departure from his last job — top cop in Santa Ana — was far from amicable. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/6/17
Hayward officials raise questions about ICE arrests of 2 residents -- City officials said they were blindsided by the recent arrests of two undocumented immigrants by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and have raised questions about how two family men headed to work ended up in detention and on a path toward deportation. Tatiana Sanchez in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/6/17
Road to Big Sur, isolated by landslides, now a footpath -- After flying his family nearly halfway around the world to vacation in California, Tokyo resident Iain Ferguson wasn’t about to miss Big Sur’s renowned beauty — even if a lot of it is cut off by landslides. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/6/17
The later the better? Sleep-in bill would change school start times for some California students -- Here’s a bedtime story for you: Asking middle school and high school students to attend class earlier than 8:30 a.m. is setting them up to fail. Gary Peterson in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/6/17
President Trump is tasked with governing, but he keeps harping on these 7 things -- He’s been in office for more than six months, but it often seems he’s still campaigning. Kurtis Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/17
A Google engineer wrote that women may be genetically unsuited for tech jobs. Women wrote back -- The author has not been publicly identified, but his words have sparked a backlash. Critics say his sentiments reflect a tech company culture that's unwelcoming or even hostile to women and minorities. Another fear: The engineer's words reflect the unspoken thoughts of many others in an industry dominated by white men. Cleve R. Wootson Jr. in the Washington Post$ -- 8/6/17
How Trump's FCC aided Sinclair's expansion -- Sinclair Broadcast Group is expanding its conservative-leaning television empire into nearly three-quarters of American households — but its aggressive takeover of the airwaves wouldn’t have been possible without help from President Donald Trump's chief at the Federal Communications Commission. Margaret Harding McGill and John Hendel Politico -- 8/6/17