Updating . .
They sued for Clinton's emails. Now they want information on California voters -- California’s top elections officer and 11 county registrars have been asked to hand over detailed voter registration records or face a federal lawsuit, a request that centers on new accusations that the records are inaccurate. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
Can San Francisco plan for surviving a North Korean nuclear strike? -- As President Trump reacts to Pyongyang’s nuclear belligerence against the U.S. with a threat of unleashing “fire and fury” on North Korea, local governments have begun worrying about whether they should revive a fixture of the darkest days of the Cold War — the civil defense plan. Lizzie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/8/17
'We don't feel OK here': Detainee deaths, suicide attempts and hunger strikes plague California immigration facility -- The July 11 incident was the fifth report of an attempted suicide at the immigration detention center since December, according to San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department 911 call logs obtained by The Times through a public records request. Paloma Esquivel in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
UC Berkeley ex-chancellor to receive $434,000 while on leave -- Nicholas Dirks stepped down as UC Berkeley’s chancellor this summer but will receive almost all of his executive salary, $434,000, for another year though he won’t teach or run campus programs. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/8/17
McClellan base polluted drinking water supply, districts say. They want $1.4B from feds -- In a sweeping legal fight that could affect drinking water supplies for thousands of Sacramento-area residents, two water districts near the old McClellan Air Force Base are suing the federal government for $1.4 billion to clean up the cancer-causing chemical hexavalant chromium from the area’s groundwater supplies. Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/8/17
Cancer-causing compounds decline in East Bay water -- Cancer causing compounds in drinking water for 1.4 million East Bay residents declined in the past three months due to treatment changes and a break from Mother Nature, the East Bay Municipal District said. Denis Cuff in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/8/17
Exide Cleanup Under Fire for Leaving Homes With Contamination -- But DTSC's plan leaves more than 5,000 homes with toxic lead on their properties at levels above what is currently recommended by California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Those homes will not be cleaned up unless additional funds are found. Los Angeles County says the plan also ignores many of the concerns they shared about the DTSC's cleanup plan. Matthew Glasser and Angie Crouch NBC4LA -- 8/8/17
Wells Fargo insurance scheme triggers California investigation -- The state’s insurance department launched on Tuesday a formal investigation into allegations that Wells Fargo improperly charged consumers for auto insurance for those who had automobile loans with the banking giant. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/8/17
Why more Medi-Cal patients ended up at the ER after UC Davis cut their primary care -- Ian Kim sees the dire effects every day of UC Davis Medical Center’s decision to stop providing basic care for some of Sacramento County’s most vulnerable patients. This past year, a boy came into the hospital’s emergency room with an infection so serious that, if not well managed, could have led to the loss of a limb or even death, said Kim, who is a resident physician at the medical center. Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/8/17
Dignity Health, UCSF Health announce new collaboration -- Dignity Health and UCSF Health on Tuesday announced a new affiliation that will bring UCSF Health’s academic expertise to three Dignity Health hospitals in the Bay Area: Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, and Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and St. Mary’s Medical Center in San Francisco. Tracy Seipel in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/8/17
It’s the middle of summer. Can you believe school’s already starting? -- Oak Ridge High School students started their school year Monday with a raucous rally and a game of kickball, with runners sliding into pools of water instead of bases. Diana Lambert in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/8/17
Food guru who brought healthier meals to L.A. schools hit with criminal charges -- The man credited with leading an initiative that brought healthier meals to Los Angeles’ public school students has been charged with embezzlement, forgery and mismanagement of funds, prosecutors said Tuesday. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
Lazarus: The guy who stole my identity 15 years ago just resurfaced in my life -- Ten years ago this week, I wrote my first column for the Los Angeles Times. The topic was the huge mess that ensued after a guy in Connecticut stole my identity and ran up unpaid bills with credit card companies and Indian casinos. David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
GOP Rep. Doug LaMalfa calls investigation of Trump campaign's ties to Russia a 'bunch of crap' -- LaMalfa, a fourth-generation rice farmer in his third term, represents one of the most Republican congressional districts in the state — a place where Trump trounced Hillary Clinton in November. The district is vast, covering California’s northwest corner along the Nevada and Oregon borders. Responses were edited for clarity and brevity. Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
Protestors blast LAPD drone plan -- Three years after it acquired a pair of drones that it chose not to deploy in response to protests about potential surveillance uses, the Los Angeles Police Department plans on taking its first step today in opening a drone pilot program. The item is in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 8/8/17
Exclusive interview with woman who saw airplane passenger’s child-sex texts, helped rescue kids -- The woman who reported seeing child-sex texts on another airplane passenger’s smartphone, leading to the freeing Exclusive interview with woman who saw airplane passenger’s child-sex texts, helped rescue kidsof two children in alleged sexual servitude, says she’s no hero. She was just trusting her instincts and her training as an educator. Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/8/17
How big can Google get? Its aggressive push for elbow room in the Bay Area -- For the past six years, Google has been expanding bit by bit beyond its Mountain View headquarters. But this year, the tech titan’s plan for a massive new push into San Jose coupled with big land buys in Sunnyvale show just how big Google’s footprint may get. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/8/17
Want to ride in a robot taxi? You can ... if you work at Cruise -- Want to catch a ride in a self-driving car? All you have to do is land a job at Cruise, the San Francisco startup now owned by General Motors. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/8/17
Fox: Sanctuary and Consistency -- Gov. Jerry Brown says he wants changes to the sanctuary state law working its way through the legislature. While conjecture is that he wants to make sure that criminal immigrants don’t get protection under the law, there may also be a sense of gaining consistency in the state’s viewpoint of the on-going rhetorical battle with the federal government over immigration status. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 8/8/17
Tuna won’t be listed as endangered, Trump administration says -- Rejecting a petition from environmental groups, the Trump administration announced Monday that it will not list Pacific bluefin tuna — a torpedo-shaped fish that can grow to 1,000 pounds and which sells for $100,000 or more per fish in Japanese sushi markets — as endangered, despite that fact that the animal’s population has fallen 97 percent. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/8/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
LA leader to Feds: ‘We’ll have to sue’ if you don’t clarify new sanctuary rules -- Los Angeles could be barred from receiving an annual federal grant that goes toward fighting gang crime because of new Justice Department requirements on illegal immigration, with City Attorney Mike Feuer saying Monday the city might file a lawsuit if those requirements aren’t clarified by the end of the week. Elizabeth Chou in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 8/8/17
It's California Vs. Sessions On Police Seizures Of Cash, Property -- There’s a new battle between California and the federal government. This time, it's over a new U.S. Justice Department policy on police seizures of cash and property – and it could affect a new California law that took effect this year. Ben Adler Capital Public Radio -- 8/8/17
Los Angeles' 2028 Olympic bid will get state financial support, Assembly leader says -- The city of Los Angeles' bid to host the 2028 Olympics will receive financial support from the state, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) said in a letter to city officials Monday. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
U.S. appeals court says Medi-Cal cut to hospitals was illegal -- A U.S. appeals court decided Monday that the federal government wrongly approved California’s request to temporarily cut Medi-Cal reimbursement by 10% during the recession for hospital outpatient care. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
New California law gives air quality officials the power to quickly shut down polluters -- The law, which goes into effect Jan. 1, follows years of frustration in communities such as Paramount, Boyle Heights and Maywood — where regulators have struggled to stop highly polluting operations after discovering hot spots of Chromium-6, lead and other dangerous pollutants. Tony Barboza in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
Climate Deal Swing Votes Among Top Oil Money Recipients -- California Assembly members considered swing votes on legislation to reduce carbon emissions by charging polluters were among the top recipients of donations from oil companies, campaign finance filings show. Associated Press -- 8/8/17
Hotel that reimbursed workers for campaign contributions faces $310,000 state fine -- A luxury Santa Monica hotel has agreed to pay a $310,000 fine from California’s campaign watchdog for illegally funneling money to city council candidates in hopes of preserving the property’s Pacific Ocean views. Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ Kathleen Ronayne Associated Press -- 8/8/17
California Democratic Party crushes GOP in campaign fundraising -- If there was ever any doubt about which party controls the Capitol, last week’s campaign finance disclosure presented the latest evidence. Rennie Svirnovskiy and Jim Miller in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/8/17
Democrats’ quandary on supporting anti-abortion party members -- Democrats have a growing problem when it comes to abortion, one that risks alienating some of the largest progressive organizations at a time when the party needs their grassroots energy to revive itself. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/8/17
A congressional candidate in Orange County is going decidedly anti-Trump in his first campaign ad -- Democrat Dave Min is using a decidedly anti-President Trump angle in his first campaign ad in his bid to unseat GOP Rep. Mimi Walters of Irvine. The digital ad, titled "Country of Immigrants," highlights Min's parents' journey from Korea to the United States, where he was born. Christine Mai-Duc in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
San Diego sued over refusal to repeal sex-offender laws -- A federal lawsuit was filed against San Diego Monday after the City Council failed to repeal city laws that restrict where paroled sex offenders can live. Karen Kucher in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 8/8/17
Self-Driving Cars Will Compel Changes on California Roads and Highways -- We are moving rapidly down the road toward the age of self-driving cars. But as the cars change, the roads will have to change with them, and it will likely mean some adjustments, such as different signage and narrower lanes. Craig Miller KQED -- 8/8/17
Hacking the Vote: Why Voting Systems Aren’t as Secure as You Might Think -- While President Trump appears to be debating whether the voting system in the U.S. was compromised by the Russians, hackers at Defcon were hard at work trying to understand the vulnerabilities. Queena Sook Kim KQED -- 8/8/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Google has fired the employee behind that controversial diversity manifesto -- After a controversial memo by a Google engineer about diversity programs at the company and gender differences went viral over the weekend, sparking an explosive reaction on social media, the search giant did not dispute media reports late Monday that the employee had been fired. Jena McGregor in the Washington Post$ Daisuke Wakabayashi in the New York Times$ -- 8/8/17
Google employee's memo triggers another crisis for a tech industry struggling to diversify -- When Google realized in 2013 it had a diversity problem, it followed the corporate playbook by introducing workshops to train employees about hidden biases. Tracey Lien and David Pierson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
Wells Fargo accused of denying loans to immigrants in DACA program -- A federal judge in San Francisco has refused to dismiss a lawsuit accusing Wells Fargo bank of denying loans to immigrants who came to the U.S. as youngsters and have been allowed to remain here. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/8/17
How Cambodian refugees found a new life — and crisis-proof wealth — in Southern California's jewelry market -- On a spring day in 1975, as Khmer Rouge forces launched a coup that would unleash four years of genocide in Cambodia, Jerry Young grabbed a fistful of jewels from his store and fled for his life. Frank Shyong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
HBO says there's no evidence hack has infiltrated email system -- The hacker group that took credit for breaking into HBO’s computer systems reportedly released new documents on Monday, including marketing materials and emails of an HBO executive. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
Hackers demand millions in ransom for stolen HBO data -- A group of hackers posted a fresh cache of stolen HBO files online Monday, and demanded a multimillion-dollar ransom from the network to prevent the release of entire television series and other sensitive proprietary files. Tali Arbel and Frank Bajak Associated Press -- 8/8/17
California pension fund divests from coal as industry rebounds -- Coal stocks are on the rebound, but California’s main public pension fund won’t see investment gains from that industry. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/8/17
Get your resume: Caltrans has 1,100 job openings -- Two trends are driving the department’s hiring spree. First, Caltrans has a somewhat older workforce than most other state departments and it’s seeing a wave of baby boomers retire. Second, it’s planning for a heftier workload while it prepares for a slate of projects that are to be funded through the state’s new transportation tax. Adam Ashton in the Fresno Bee -- 8/8/17
Homeless
Q&A Mental illness and homelessness are connected. But not how you might think -- Even as Los Angeles starts a $1.2-billion homeless housing construction program, residents from Temple City to Venice are fighting to keep homeless projects out of their neighborhoods. Gale Holland in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
Housing
In Brisbane, a battle between small-town and housing advocates -- After a heated, two-plus hours of public comment, the Brisbane City Council pushed to at least the end of the month its vote on a proposed mixed housing and commercial development that has pit proponents of the city’s small-town feel against those who say the region desperately needs more housing. Lizzie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/8/17
The ‘forever’ home: Why more people in Southern California aren’t selling their homes -- Reasons are varied. They include changing demographics, possible tax consequences, rising mortgage rates and difficulty finding the next home, experts say. The trend is not inconsequential. Staying put longer can stymie economic growth while stifling business for those who depend on home sales for their livelihoods. And it’s contributing to the current shortage of homes on the market. Jeff Collins in the San Bernardino Sun$ -- 8/8/17
Wildfire
Former fire explorer charged as serial arsonist in 8 San Bernardino County blazes -- Jarrod Samra, 23, of Yucaipa was arrested Thursday when deputies responding to a brush fire off Highway 38 stopped his vehicle and investigated. After he was in custody, detectives linked him to eight blazes overall that burned more than 900 acres and injured one firefighter. Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
And a sign down the road read, “You guys kick ash!” -- In his 42 years of fighting fires, Dan McCabe has not seen anything quite like the love that greeted hundreds of out-of-town firefighters who rolled into this small northern Sierra Nevada community last week when a wildfire got too close. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
Education
This School District Asked Real Estate Agents to Help Rekindle Its Reputation -- Brian McDonald was looking for a new home several years ago in the wealthy city of Pasadena. He says when he told the real estate agent that he had five school-age children, she told him not to enroll in Pasadena’s public schools. That was pretty surprising to McDonald. He’s the school district’s superintendent. Adolfo Guzman Lopez KQED -- 8/8/17
New law requires CSU to tell students cost of off-campus housing -- California’s public universities have failed to give students and their families accurate information on the cost of off-campus housing, prompting Gov. Jerry Brown to sign a bill Monday to ensure that the universities post online the true cost of attending a campus. Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/8/17
Fresno Unified releases statement on tolerance after board president’s LGBT comments -- In a news release Monday, Fresno Unified affirmed its commitment to “tolerance, diversity and inclusiveness” after school board president Brooke Ashjian made controversial comments regarding LGBT-inclusive sex education. Mackenzie Mays in the Fresno Bee -- 8/8/17
Fade to black: How teachers are using the solar eclipse to shed light on science -- It’s official: the world is not flat, and on Aug. 21 California science teachers will prove it. Carolyn Jones EdSource -- 8/8/17
Cannabis
Calaveras Auditor Says Sheriff Misspent Cannabis Funds -- After the Calaveras Board of Supervisors decided to regulate medical cannabis in 2016, they took in $3.7 million in fees from people who wanted to grow medical cannabis. Now, the County Auditor says the Sheriff's Department has misspent some of those funds. Julia Mitric Capital Public Radio -- 8/8/17
Health
Cost Of Covered California In 2018 Will Depend On Insurance Plan -- The price of a Covered California health plan in San Diego is going up an average of 11.5 percent next year. That's just below the statewide average increase of 12.5 percent. Kenny Goldberg KPBS -- 8/8/17
Environment
California eyes bigger rebates for electric cars -- California has far more electric cars and plug-in hybrids plying its roads than any other state — about 300,000 so far. But they’re still just a tiny fraction of auto sales. Now, legislation in Sacramento is designed to juice the market, just as a new generation of long-range electric cars hits showroom floors. David R. Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/8/17
From toilet water to drinking water -- This legislation might be hard to swallow: Lawmakers are considering a bill that would clear the way for California communities to put highly treated wastewater directly into the drinking water supply. Lisa Renner Capitol Weekly -- 8/8/17
U.S. EPA approves plan for San Diego to recycle sewage into drinking water -- The so-called permit waiver is part of a longstanding deal between city officials, regulators and members of the environmental community aimed at freeing up money to pay for a water recycling program, known as Pure Water San Diego. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 8/8/17
LA County tells 4 more metal plants to curb chromium 6 emissions -- Claiming "action is needed without delay," the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health is ordering four Paramount metal processing facilities to reduce emissions of cancer-causing hexavalent chromium. The move apparently comes before regional air regulators have issued any citations against the plants. At least two of the firms dispute the county's findings. Rebecca Plevin KPCC -- 8/8/17
New Study Traces Airborne Dust Back To Shrinking Salton Sea -- As the Salton Sea shrinks — exposing land that was once underwater to desert winds — one concern has been that increased dust emissions will make already poor air quality worse for nearby residents. A recently published study out of UC Riverside confirms this is already starting to happen. David Wagner KPBS -- 8/8/17
Video: Sierra Hikers Capture Mountain Lion Encounter -- Two hikers walking the High Sierra Trail in Sequoia National Forest encountered a wild mountain lion in their path, videotaping part of a nerve-wracking stare-down with the big cat that lasted nearly half an hour. Associated Press -- 8/8/17
Also . . .
LA supes to vote on $1.5M settlement of suit over deputy's fatal shooting of driver -- The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is expected to approve on Tuesday a $1.5 million payment to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of a man fatally shot by a sheriff’s deputy in Cerritos last year. Frank Stoltze KPCC -- 8/8/17
Godson of 'El Chapo' indicted on drug charges after surrender -- A 29-year-old man believed to be the godson of Mexican drug lord Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzmán was indicted on drug smuggling charges in San Diego federal court Monday. Lyndsay Winkley in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 8/8/17
Jurors acquit two LAPD officers charged with conspiracy, deadlock on one charge for one officer -- Two Los Angeles police officers were acquitted Monday of conspiring to obstruct justice after prosecutors accused them of failing to arrest a drunk driving suspect and writing false reports so that they could wrap up their shift and go home. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/17
Two men died in a 2016 parachute jump near Lodi. The FAA says it can’t sanction facility -- The Federal Aviation Administration will not take action against the Parachute Center for the August 2016 deaths of two young men near Lodi, though it found “discrepancies in the records of the instructor who died during the jump,” the agency announced Monday. Brad Branan in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/8/17
Fallen firefighter returns home to San Bernardino County -- Fallen U.S. Forest Service firefighter Brent Michael Witham made his final journey home to San Bernardino County on Monday from Montana, where he was killed last week in the line of duty. Brian Rokos in the San Bernardino Sun$ -- 8/8/17
Fifty men commit most gun crimes in Sacramento -- When someone is shot in Sacramento, it’s a good bet that one of about 50 mostly black or Latino young men pulled the trigger. Police know it. The figure comes in part from a city analysis of five years of homicide data and intelligence, said Khaalid Muttaqi, director of the city’s gang prevention and intervention task force. Anita Chabria in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/8/17
2 arrested in killing at San Francisco Twin Peaks viewpoint -- Police in San Francisco say two people have been arrested in last month's killing of a 71-year-old man in Twin Peaks viewpoint, one of the city's most popular tourist spots. The San Francisco Police Department said Monday that 20-year-old Fantasy Decuir and 19-year-old Lamonte Mims were charged last week in the killing of San Francisco photographer Edward French. Associated Press -- 8/8/17
Transgender camp teaches kids they’re ‘normal, not alone’ -- In some ways, Rainbow Day Camp is very ordinary. Kids arrive with a packed lunch, make friendship bracelets, play basketball, sing songs and get silly. But it is also unique, from the moment campers arrive each morning. Jocelyn Gecker Associated Press -- 8/8/17
POTUS 45
Poll: Trump support eroding with his base -- In a fresh survey from CNN, conducted by the independent research company SSRS, Trump’s “strong approval” among Republicans has dropped from 73 percent in February, shortly after he took office, to 59 percent now. Overall, 83 percent of Republicans approve of Trump’s performance, with 14 percent disapproving. Henry C. Jackson Politico -- 8/8/17
Beltway
Government Report Finds Drastic Impact of Climate Change on U.S. -- The average temperature in the United States has risen rapidly and drastically since 1980, and recent decades have been the warmest of the past 1,500 years, according to a sweeping federal climate change report awaiting approval by the Trump administration. Lisa Friedman in the New York Times$ Steven Mufson in the Washington Post$ -- 8/8/17
-- Monday Updates
'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