• School Inoovation and Achievement
  • School Inoovation and Achievement

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California sanctuary state bill headed for approval after changes to please Jerry Brown -- The bill was amended to expand law enforcement’s ability to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, reflecting a compromise between the two political leaders. Brown previously said he was seeking changes to the measure, casting doubts on whether he would sign an earlier and stronger version of the bill. Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ Jazmine Ulloa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

California, 3 other states sue Trump administration for DACA decision -- President Trump’s decision to rescind protections shielding hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation betrayed their trust in the government’s assurances that their private information would not be used against them, Attorney General Xavier Becerra said Monday in a lawsuit filed by California and three other states. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

Law that would expand firearms ban on California campuses goes to Gov. Jerry Brown's desk -- A measure that would expand a firearms ban on school campuses in California won final legislative approval Monday and was sent to Gov. Jerry Brown, a rifle owner who has been skeptical about some gun control measures. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

Ahead of final week, California lawmakers change bills to garner support for housing package -- A package of bills to address California’s housing affordability crisis inched forward late last week ahead of a do-or-die week in the Legislature. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

‘Sanctuary businesses’? Tough-talking states give businesses a pass on illegal immigration -- As part of its tough stance against illegal immigration, Texas has been one of the few states requiring state agencies to use a federal system known as E-Verify to check job applicants. Cindy Carcamo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

Bernie Sanders coming back to California -- U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, the subject of an aggressive effort to lure him into the 2020 presidential race, is returning to California later this month to rally with some of his fiercest supporters. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/11/17

The political parties would like voters to kill California's top-two primary system in 2018 -- Political parties and open primaries are the electoral equivalent of oil and water. They may coexist, but they don’t mix. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

Taylor: Urban Shield offers tools for law officers, ammunition for skeptics -- When the Alameda County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the use of $5.5 million in federal emergency preparedness funding for Urban Shield, the multiday event that includes tactical exercises for SWAT teams, bomb squads and emergency workers, they also created a civilian task force to monitor the gathering of law enforcement agencies. Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/11/17

Hepatitis-focused street cleaning to start next week -- Sanitary street washing will commence next week in downtown San Diego and will continue every other week to combat the city’s deadly hepatitis A outbreak, Mayor Kevin Faulconer’s office said Friday. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/11/17

Seismologists hope to create earthquake forecasts for California, using small temblors to warn of big ones -- One day, next to the traffic map and weather forecast on your smartphone, seismologist Thomas H. Jordan envisions an app that you can check to see when the chances of a major earthquake in California rise. Rong-Gong Lin II and Raoul Rañoa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

Video of UC Berkeley police seizing bacon hot dog vendor's earnings goes viral -- A video showing a UC Berkeley bicycle officer citing a bacon hot dog vendor on campus and removing cash from his wallet for operating without a permit has gone viral. Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

Somber San Francisco ceremonies honor those killed in 9/11 attacks -- Just after 6:45 a.m., on the 16th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, four garage doors at Fire Station No. 7 slid up. One by one, three engines and an SUV started up, purring in the warm morning air. They inched forward, their noses poking out of the station. A dozen firefighters in uniform stood facing the street. Then, silence. Lizzie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/11/17

Capitol Weekly Podcast: Tom Chorneau -- Longtime journalist Tom Chorneau joins the podcast to talk about his debut novel, Enterprise Reporting, which follows one of the state’s top political reporters and his lobbyist uncle as they game the system during Arnold Schwarzenegger’s reign as California governor. Link Here -- 9/11/17

Fox: Time to Play Ball with CEQA Reform -- SB 798, the bill to give CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) exceptions to a proposed L.A. Clippers sports arena in Inglewood and transportation projects tied to L.A.’s 2028 Olympics, was put aside by the legislature. Too bad—but not for reasons you might think. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 9/11/17

San Jose leads nation in share of co-borrowing on home loans — and size of down payments -- A new report shows that the San Jose metropolitan area has the nation’s highest share of co-borrowers for home purchases. In addition, San Jose buyers make the largest median down payments in the U.S., according to a second-quarter report from Attom Data Solutions, which compiles nationwide property data. Richard Scheinin in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/11/17

In midtown, a daily fight for cleanliness and safety as homelessness surges -- The sidewalk outside of Mango’s restaurant on K Street is soiled and needs a power wash. A couple of blocks away, a homeless man with wild hair and dirty clothing is lingering at a patio table at a pizzeria where employees are preparing for the lunch rush. Across the street from a construction site on 21st Street where workers are climbing scaffolds, food from discarded foam containers is spilling out onto the walkway. Cynthia Hubert in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/11/17

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning   

Legislation procrastination: California lawmakers leave some of the biggest bills for the final days -- The California Legislature has left many of its high-stakes proposals — from a “sanctuary state” bill to a long-delayed affordable-housing package — for the final five days before adjourning for the year, setting the stage for a frenzied week in the Capitol. Bills that don’t get a vote by Friday will have to wait until January, when lawmakers reconvene for the second half of a two-year session. Katy Murphy in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/11/17

‘Pretty much a family affair’: Audit reveals relatives abound at California tax agency -- About 1 in 5 employees at a California tax department works with a relative, and several families there have nepotism conflicts within their chains of supervision, according to sources who are familiar with an ongoing personnel audit at the Board of Equalization. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/11/17

Power play: Electric grid plan resurfaces at end of session -- With days to go before the close of the legislative session, Gov. Jerry Brown and other leading Democrats have reintroduced a plan that would expand the California power grid to five Western states but could also cede control of the vast network of transmission poles and wires. Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/11/17

Police Oversight Legislation Stalls in Sacramento -- With all the talk about police shootings, alleged misconduct and body cameras in recent years, it seems natural that California lawmakers would wade into the debate. Marisa Lagos KQED -- 9/11/17

Skelton: When it comes to affordable college education, conservative Tennessee has so-called progressive California beat -- California’s Democratic politicians and activists talk big about being so-called progressives. But on one thing, they’re downright reactionary when compared with hard-right Tennessee. Tennesseans voted in landslide numbers — roughly 61% of them — for President Trump. They’re also about to provide a tuition-free community college education for any Tennessean who wants one. That’s truly progressive’. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

Walters: California legislators grant ‘great exceptions’ to laws others must obey -- Nearly seven decades ago, historian Carey McWilliams assessed California’s first century of statehood and labeled it “The Great Exception” for its many attributes. The same phrase could be applied to the California Legislature, which habitually carves out great exceptions for particular interests from laws everyone else must obey. Dan Walters Calmatters.org -- 9/11/17

Mexico diplomat meets with California officials, immigrants -- Mexico's top diplomat will make a two-day visit to immigrant-friendly California amid strained relations between his country and the U.S. over President Donald Trump's border wall and immigration and trade proposals. Kathleen Ronayne and Amy Taxin Associated Press -- 9/11/17

Six burning questions about Central California’s 2017 fire season -- No, it’s not your imagination. California’s long, hot summer is on a pace to produce a wildfire season with more fires scorching more acres this year than 2016 – more acres falling victim to flames, in fact, than all but three of the past 10 years. Tim Sheehan in the Fresno Bee -- 9/11/17

Charles Manson isn’t the only high-profile criminal in this California prison -- In the middle of tranquil cotton fields in a corner of Kings County sits a state prison that’s home to some of the most notorious criminals in California. Lewis Griswold in the Fresno Bee -- 9/11/17

Cambodian Americans protest in Long Beach over the jailing of a political leader in their homeland -- More than 300 Cambodian Americans rallied at a Long Beach park Sunday to demand the release of recently jailed Cambodian political leader Kem Sokha. Frank Shyong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

A decade after settling sex abuse cases, the Diocese of San Diego still copes with the fallout -- Whenever Heidi Lynch thinks about priests molesting children, her stomach churns, her head spins and her questions multiply. Peter Rowe in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/11/17

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

Fewer charter schools choosing CalSTRS pensions -- The percentage of new charter schools choosing CalSTRS pensions began a sharp drop in 2014, the year long-delayed legislation began to more than double CalSTRS employer rates by 2020. Ed Mendel Calpensions.com -- 9/11/17

Strike canceled as county and union make a deal -- San Diego County government and its largest labor union have reached a tentative deal on a new contract, avoiding a strike planned for later this week. Joshua Stewart in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/11/17

With a $1,000 Price Tag, Apple’s iPhone Crosses a Threshold -- When Apple unveils its new top-of-the-line iPhone on Tuesday, it isn’t just expected to offer features like infrared facial recognition and wireless charging for the first time. The company will also enter new territory on price: The latest phone will start at about $1,000, compared with the $769 minimum for its current top phone, the iPhone 7 Plus. Vindu Goel in the New York Times$ -- 9/11/17

Slowdown in international visitors may be the 'Trump Slump' experts have predicted -- The harsh words uttered by Donald Trump about Muslims and Mexicans had travel industry leaders worried that international visitors would feel unwelcome and stay away from the U.S. if he became president. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

‘Lifestyle and entertainment’ district taking shape. Is this the answer to downtown’s woes? -- A few weeks ago, with the Sacramento Kings’ second season in their downtown arena approaching, brightly colored letters spelling out D-O-C-O suddenly showed up at three street-corner entrances to the arena area. Tony Bizjak and Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/11/17

Wildfire  

Cautious local officials warily approaching wildfire season -- Wildfire conditions in San Diego County presently are decent, firefighters say. The moisture levels of the live brush in the mountains and valleys of the backcountry are a bit higher than normal because of the big winter rains and some monsoonal downpours that have been drenching parts of the area every few weeks this summer. J. Harry Jones in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/11/17

Education 

Marin educators teach 9/11 to post-attack generation -- For Terra Linda High School sophomore Molly Madden, terrorist attacks around the world and long airport Transportation Security Administration lines are an established part of life and all she has ever known. Keri Brenner in the Marin Independent Journal -- 9/11/17

Bilingual education advocates celebrate first new policy for English language learners in 20 years – After years of reform and advocacy efforts, bilingual education activists across California celebrated the adoption of California’s first new language policy in more than two decades — the English Learner Roadmap. Ashley Hopkinson EdSource -- 9/11/17

High schoolers earning college credit spikes -- In the past five years, the number of high school students in California earning college credit has more than doubled, as the traditional lines between secondary schools and community colleges increasingly blur. Alisha Kirby Cabinet Report -- 9/11/17

Charles Young in Sonoma may be most overqualified school chief in U.S. -- Charles Young likes to quip that he flunked retirement. The 85-year-old Sonoma man, who led UCLA for nearly three decades, is back at work once again, this time running a K-12 school district in his adopted hometown. He may be the most overqualified public school superintendent in the United States. Eloísa Ruano González in the Santa Rosa Press -- 9/11/17

Immigration / Border 

Hundreds of demonstrators rally in MacArthur Park to denounce Trump’s immigration policies -- Hundreds of people rallied Sunday in MacArthur Park in support of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, better known as DACA, and to protest the efforts by the Trump administration to deport some 800,000 immigrants who were brought into the country illegally by their parents. The item is in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/11/17

Hundreds in Petaluma protest DACA cut -- Maura Espinoza was just 8 years old when she and her family took a trip from their native Mexico to Disneyland that would change her life. When it was over, her family decided not to return south of the border, opting instead to pursue a better life in Petaluma. Espinoza applied herself in school, attended San Francisco State University and eventually, became a teacher. Paul Payne in the Santa Rosa Press -- 9/11/17

An Undocumented Immigration Attorney Reacts To End Of DACA -- Like many of her clients, immigration attorney Dulce Garcia’s future in the U.S. is in a state of uncertainty. Garcia was brought by her parents to the U.S. from Mexico when she was 6 years old. She is one of 230,000 undocumented immigrants in California who benefitted from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which the Trump administration rescinded Tuesday. Marissa Cabrera, Maureen Cavanaugh KPBS -- 9/11/17

Environment 

Fires, droughts and hurricanes: What's the link between climate change and natural disasters? -- With Hurricane Irma smashing into Florida so soon after Hurricane Harvey flooded southeastern Texas — and as wildfires burn through the western United States — extreme events have been hitting the U.S. from all sides. To what extent does climate change influence them? Here are a few ways researchers think that climate change’s effects could play out. Amina Khan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

Design Teams Attack Growing Threat for Bay Area Flooding: Rising Seas -- Ten teams of experts will hit the ground this week in a yearlong blitz to bolster the Bay Area against rising seas and other potentially catastrophic risks posed by the changing climate. The project, dubbed Resilient by Design, was inspired by a similar planning challenge to rebuild east coast locations ravaged by “Superstorm” Sandy in October of 2012. Craig Miller KQED -- 9/11/17

Also . . . 

Proposal calls for ‘meaningful civilian oversight’ of Santa Clara County jails -- More than two years after three guards beat an inmate to death in the Santa Clara County jail — and after scores of meetings on how to best reform the conditions that made it possible to happen — a proposal to create a civilian oversight panel is scheduled to go before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Jason Green and Eric Kurhi in the Santa Cruz Sentinel -- 9/11/17

Polish death metal band members arrested on kidnapping charges -- Members of the Polish death metal band Decapitated were arrested by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies on suspicion of kidnapping a woman, authorities said Sunday. Adam Elmahrek in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

From wheelchairs to waves: surfers with disabilities hit the sea -- As soon as Margarita Molina-Corona hit the waves, she knew surfing was her sport. Deborah Sullivan Brennan in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/11/17

Beltway 

On '60 Minutes,' Steve Bannon strikes at his long list of enemies and raises specter of GOP fratricide ahead -- Stephen K. Bannon, President Trump’s former chief strategist, left the White House last month vowing to support the man he helped get into the Oval Office and to savage those he saw as blocking Trump’s way. It is a long, long list. Cathleen Decker in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/17

Bannon declares war with Republican leadership in Congress -- Stephen K. Bannon — President Trump’s former chief strategist who left the White House in August — declared war Sunday against the Republican congressional leadership, called on Gary Cohn, Trump’s top economic adviser, to resign, and outlined his views on issues ranging from immigration to trade. Ashley Parker in the Washington Post$ -- 9/11/17

Clinton criticizes Trump for using race to win election -- Declaring that she is done with being a candidate, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton looked back on the 2016 presidential campaign Sunday with a mix of regret and frustration over the way she thinks President Trump won the election by stoking racial grievances. Robert Costa and Ashley Parker in the Washington Post$ -- 9/11/17

McCain, battling cancer, acknowledges challenges but says he has had ‘a wonderful life’ -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), battling brain cancer, reflected on a life well lived in an emotional interview Sunday, saying he was “very happy” with his 81 years so far and noting, “Every life has to end, one way or another.” Ashley Parker in the Washington Post$ -- 9/11/17

Four Pinocchios: President Trump’s claim that a wall will ‘stop much of the drugs from pouring into this country’ -- One of President Trump’s signature campaign promises was building a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border to stem illegal immigration. He also insisted that somehow Mexico would reimburse the United States for the cost, but in the meantime he has pushed for start-up funding despite skepticism in Congress. Nicole Lewis in the Washington Post$ -- 9/11/17

 

-- Sunday Updates 

How California could jolt the 2020 presidential race -- California is pushing forward with a plan to change the state’s primary date from June to March, a move that could scramble the 2020 presidential nominating contest and swing the early weight of the campaign to the west. David Siders and Gabriel Debenedetti Politico -- 9/10/17

Retirement watch: The four California members of Congress most likely to bow out by 2018 -- No one in the country’s largest state delegation to Congress has announced plans to retire by 2018. Yet. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/10/17

How California's Trust Act shaped the debate on the new 'sanctuary state' proposal -- Over the past few months, immigrant advocates have rallied at sheriff’s departments, marched to the state Capitol and occupied the governor’s office in a push for a California Senate bill that would limit law enforcement from questioning or holding people on immigration violations. Jazmine Ulloa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/10/17

Berkeley protests expensive for East Bay police departments -- Politically charged rallies and protests in Berkeley this year have cost East Bay police departments more than $1.5 million to keep the peace, according to law enforcement data reviewed by The Chronicle. Kimberly Veklerov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/10/17

How Airbnb is generating hefty tax revenues for LA -- This sharing economy seems to be panning out. A new report from Airbnb shows that the home-sharing service has collected and remitted nearly $40 million in taxes to the city of Los Angeles since reaching a voluntary tax collection agreement with the city last year. Kevin Smith in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/10/17

When California rounded up Japanese Americans for internment camps, Monterey emerged as the center of the resistance -- Mollie Sumida had lived on this windswept peninsula for years, with friends of all races attending school and slicing abalone on Cannery Row. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/10/17

Hmong pot growers in Siskiyou County seeking identity, profit — or both -- So much land has changed hands so quickly in cash deals that Sheriff Jon Lopey is convinced he is fighting the hidden hand of organized crime. Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/10/17

Can California Really Go 100 Percent Renewable Energy? -- California lawmakers are considering a groundbreaking new energy goal: getting 100 percent of the state’s electricity from clean sources like solar and wind — in less than 30 years. For a state of California’s size, it’s an ambitious reach. California is second only to Texas in its energy appetite. Lauren Sommer KQED -- 9/10/17

Hillary Clinton: Trump’s inaugural address was ‘a cry from the white-nationalist gut’ -- Former secretary of state Hillary Clinton said Sunday that racial grievances had a significant influence on the 2016 presidential election and continue to be stoked by President Trump. Robert Costa in the Washington Post$ -- 9/10/17