Updating . .
Why didn't school board president Ref Rodriguez just write himself a big check? -- When news broke that Los Angeles school board president Ref Rodriguez was caught up in a criminal case over his campaign contributions, friends and foes alike were baffled. David Zahniser, Anna M. Phillips and Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/17/17
California tears into Trump -- Ripping into Donald Trump in the final hours of this year’s legislative session, California lawmakers passed measures urging Congress to censure the president, bucking his immigration policies and seeking to force him to release his tax returns. They also formally called on Trump “to publicly apologize to all Americans for his racist and bigoted behavior.” David Siders Politico -- 9/17/17
Top city luxury suite recipients: charities, city attorney's employees -- According to disclosure statements compiled into a database by U-T Watchdog, most of the tickets to the city-controlled suites — a 52-seat luxury box at Qualcomm and a 26-seat luxury box at Petco — go to nonprofit organizations, youth groups and members of the military. Lauryn Schroeder in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/17/17
Mystery mugger tries to rob woman with note on San Francisco BART train -- A woman received a frightening note from a would-be robber on a BART train in San Francisco on Saturday evening that claimed there were two guns pointed at her and demanded her wallet and phone, officials said. But rather than cough up her personal belongings to a faceless crook, the woman faked a seizure, attracting the attention of people on the train and foiling her mugger. Evan Sernoffsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/17/17
Numerous violations cited at Sacramento foster care shelter campus -- A Sacramento agency running one of the few remaining foster care shelters in California has violated health and safety laws and the personal rights of children more than 120 times in recent years — a number matched only by state-licensed facilities that have been shut down or placed on probation. Karen de Sá, Cynthia Dizikes, and Joaquin Palomino in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/17/17
Little joy in Oakland City Hall for new A’s ballpark plan -- The Oakland A’s plan for a new “walkable” downtown ballpark adjacent to Laney College may be a hit with the public — but it was not met with hugs or high-fives in City Hall. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/17/17
Pender: Stuck in the middle with few housing options -- Trevor McNeil and Sarah Montoya, both 35, would love to buy a home in San Francisco, but like many young couples, they make too much money to qualify for a below-market-rate unit and too little to afford a market-rate one. So for now, they are stuck in their one-bedroom, third-floor walk-up apartment in the Sunset District, with twin boys who were born in January and a 2-year old girl. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/17/17
Transbay Transit Center – a difficult journey -- Next spring, after seven years of work that began with the demolition of the aged Transbay Terminal, the doors should finally open. Visitors will be greeted by a sky-lit concourse adorned with colorful art, below a third-level bus deck with a direct ramp to and from the Bay Bridge. A rooftop park will feature 60 species of trees and a 1,000-foot-long fountain triggered by the arrival of buses below. John King in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/17/17
Private schools seek to dump A-to-F grading -- Imagine high school without grades, transcripts without A’s, B’s or F’s, and college applications without grade-point averages. It’s not a wild dream: It’s a goal more than 120 of the nation’s elite high schools have come together to achieve. Sharon Noguchi in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/17/17
Skip the checkout lines: Whole Foods, Walmart and other stores embrace online grocery shopping -- Grocery shopping can feel like you’re navigating through an obstacle course filled with crowded parking lots, long lines and screaming kids. But a growing number of Americans are checking off their grocery lists without even walking inside the store. Queenie Wong in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/17/17
Roadshow: New way to skip DMV waiting lines -- It was a DMV vending machine dispensing license tags and registrations. It scans your bill, you slide your credit card and voila — it prints your tags. Amazing. Gary Richards in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/17/17
McManus: Does Bernie Sanders' single-payer plan have a shot? -- Sen. Bernie Sanders’ “Medicare for All” plan, unveiled last week, is an ambitious and (to many) enticing idea: a single, government-run health plan with generous benefits for everyone — just like most industrialized countries have enjoyed for decades. If only it were feasible in today’s United States. Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/17/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Last Stop: Governor’s Call -- In the final days of the session, hundreds of bills landed on Brown’s desk. Here are some of the most consequential. Laurel Rosenhall Calmatters.org -- 9/17/17
Legislature resists Trump on immigration, but falls short of rhetoric on environment, internet bills -- In a supercharged year marked by hard-fought victories on affordable-housing and climate change, California lawmakers pushed through a passel of legislation to thwart initiatives from the Trump administration — but also discovered that even their popular resistance has limits. Katy Murphy and Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/17/17
'California versus Trump' became an instant rallying cry. But 'resistance' has been more complicated -- Within a day of President Trump’s election last November, California's top Democratic lawmakers responded with a joint statement that contained an audacious promise. It was their state, not Washington, D.C., that would be the "keeper of the nation's future." Melanie Mason and Jazmine Ulloa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/17/17
In California's Capitol, the real battles are often between the Assembly and the Senate -- When it comes to politics, most people think in terms of red versus blue, with Republicans fighting Democrats. But in California’s Statehouse, the battle line often is between red and green, the colors of the carpets in the Senate and Assembly chambers. Chris Megerian and Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/17/17
California 'sanctuary' bill gets support from law enforcement, rebuke from Trump administration -- California’s new “sanctuary state” bill limiting local law enforcement cooperation with federal immigration agents drew support Saturday from Los Angeles officials, but a stinging rebuke from the Trump administration, whose Justice Department said the measure “undermines national security and law enforcement.” Gale Holland in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/17/17
'Dreamers' scramble to renew DACA status before Oct. 5 deadline -- Vianey Romero is one of the lucky ones. When President Trump recently announced plans to phase out over the next six months a federal program that protects some immigrants from deportation, there was an exception made for those like Romero whose legal status was set to expire on or before March 5. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/17/17
Student group must pay needed fees for ‘Free Speech Week,’ UC officials say -- The student group seeking to hold a four-day series of conservative speakers and provocateurs at UC Berkeley has failed to pay required deposits, university officials said Saturday. Although the Berkeley Patriot student organization turned in a contract late Friday afternoon, after missing two earlier deadlines, it did not include money to rent the facilities, according to a campus spokesman. John King in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Benjamin Oreskes and Javier Panzar in the Los Angeles Times$ Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/17/17
UC Berkeley professors urge campus boycott during ‘Free Speech Week’ -- At UC Berkeley, 177 professors and graduate students have signed an open letter urging thousands of colleagues and classmates to boycott campus for four days this month to ensure their “physical and mental safety.” Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/17/17
Duncan Hunter’s in a safe district. So why are Democrats targeting him? -- Normally, a Republican congressman in a ruby red district has little to worry about come re-election time. But Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, who represents most of Temecula, finds himself on the Democrats’ 2018 target list — in no small part due to the ongoing federal investigation into his campaign spending. Jeff Horseman in the Riverside Press$ -- 9/17/17
Immigration talk was often heated, but social media experiment proves we CAN talk to one another -- Take an ex-trucker who blames illegal immigrants for his inability to find a job. Add in an undocumented immigrant who says that President Barack Obama’s executive action allowing her and other “Dreamers” to stay in the country changed her life. Put them both in a private Facebook group, along with 59 other Californians with strong views on immigration. Then ask them to talk about President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall, visa quotas, the DREAM Act and other flashpoints of U.S. immigration policy. Alejandra Molina in the Long Beach Press Telegram$ -- 9/17/17
Politifact CA: Rohrabacher repeats bogus claim Democrats orchestrated Charlottesville violence -- California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Orange County, repeated a debunked conspiracy theory this week that top Democrats "setup" and "manipulated" the political violence at last month’s white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va. Chris Nichols Politifact CA -- 9/17/17
Willie Brown: Bill Clinton shows off charm, humor at San Francisco Baptist church gathering -- Former President Bill Clinton was in town the other night for the Third Baptist Church celebration, and he looked fitter than he has in years. He had all of his weight back, good color and all of his former charm and energy. My hunch is that he has ditched the vegan diet that he took up after his heart troubles and is now back to the cheeseburgers that made him great. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/17/17
California's Democratic lawmakers have a plan for thwarting President Trump in the 2020 presidential primary -- Democrats in the California Legislature, still smarting from the election of President Trump, embraced a pair of proposed laws early Saturday that they hope would reshape the 2020 presidential contest in the image of America’s most populous state. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/17/17
Legislature wraps up busy, productive session in early morning hours -- State Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León sat in a black leather tufted chair in his ornate Capitol office, exhausted but determined to set the story line for the legislative session that closed just before 2:30 Saturday morning. Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/17/17
Dolores Huerta gets personal and political in a new documentary about her life -- At 87, Dolores Huerta has spent most of her life as a political organizer and activist. She co-founded the group that went on to become the United Farm Workers union in the 1960s, and also came up with the organization's famous slogan: "Si, se puede"—yes, we can. Alex Cohen and Lita Martinez KPCC -- 9/17/17
California judges say that TV court hearings could help the public -- A panel of high-ranking judges says televising court hearings is good for the public. Speaking Friday at a legal conference in Sacramento, Sidney Thomas, chief judge of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, recalled the surprised and pleased responses he heard from people who watched the court’s live-stream webcasts of its hearings on challenges to President Trump’s ban on travel from mostly Muslim nations. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/17/17
Restaurants, diners taking precautions after latest hepatitis A scare -- A day after news that San Diego’s deadly hepatitis A outbreak may have infiltrated the food service industry, more than 200 people lined up for vaccinations, restaurants reinforced their health safety measures and the city opened a new set of portable public restrooms downtown in an effort to gain some control over the disease’s spread. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/17/17
Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds
Taxi deregulation in San Diego has fallen flat thanks to Uber, Lyft -- San Diego’s partial deregulation of local taxis three years ago came with optimism about higher incomes for drivers and better customer service, but instead the industry is facing possible extinction because of competitors Uber and Lyft. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/17/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Bonsignore: Do half empty stadiums mean LA isn’t an NFL town? -- When the Rams kick off against Washington at the Coliseum on Sunday afternoon, somewhere between 50,000 and 60,000 fans will be there to watch in a stadium that seats more than 90,000. Vincent Bonsignore in the LA Daily News$ -- 9/17/17
What exactly a giant like Nestle gets when it buys an upstart like Blue Bottle -- Big companies are good at lots of things. Managing complex supply chains. Buying in bulk to get the lowest prices from suppliers. Getting products on lots of store shelves and in front of lots of consumers. But they’re not good at everything. Like being cool. James Rufus Koren in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/17/17
Hollywood Bowl, a unique part of Southern California’s economy -- When you’re talking economy — at least in terms of Southern California’s economy — most people envision our iconic film and TV industry, our expanding tech sector, our massive manufacturing plants and the bustling activity at our twin ports. Kevin Smith in the Long Beach Press Telegram$ -- 9/17/17
Lee: HP Labs seeks to regain its former glory -- “If you’re a geek, this is the place to be,” Shane Wall said to me. A lot of people in Silicon Valley, whether working at Apple or Google or the next hot startup, would say the same thing. Thomas Lee in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/17/17
Timberline Twister roller coaster tying Squaw Valley in knots -- A proposal to build a roller coaster-style ride on a hillside at Squaw Valley has inflamed tensions over the planned transformation of one of the world’s most picturesque ski resorts into a thrill-a-minute, year-round alpine wonderland. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/17/17
Homeless
Homeless entrenched in booming tent city along Santa Ana River -- Many of the people living along the river scoffed at the idea of living in a shelter, explaining that such a situation is demeaning and degrades a person’s sense of dignity. “There’s no privacy. There’s too many rules. You might as well be in jail,” says Robert Jackson, leaning out of his tent that’s protected behind a concrete wall along the bike path. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/17/17
Orange County sheriff begins patrolling homeless encampments -- The Orange County Sheriff’s Department began patrolling Friday along the Santa Ana River as part of a new plan to cut down on crime in and around the large homeless camps there. Deputies appeared to be mostly observing and collecting information from people living along the river in order to pass their information on to social service providers. Jill Replogle KPCC -- 9/17/17
Housing
Long Beach to consider increasing density near Los Cerritos Wetlands, Alamitos Bay -- Long Beach on Tuesday will consider approving a 40-year plan that would create a 7 Comments by encouraging new housing, dining and retail options on a stretch of Pacific Coast Highway. Courtney Tompkins in the Long Beach Press Telegram$ -- 9/17/17
Cannabis
Pot businesses rush to fill Santa Rosa industrial buildings -- In a nondescript southwest Santa Rosa industrial building, workers wearing blue gloves and lab coats pack ground-up dried cannabis flowers into pre-rolled joints printed with the Marley Natural label created by the iconic reggae singer’s estate. Julie Johnson in the Santa Rosa Press -- 9/17/17
Health
HIV Survivors Give Their ‘Last Gift’ In A New San Diego Study -- Back when HIV first started spreading in the United States, it was for many a death sentence. Today, it has become manageable for those with access to the right drugs. But there is still no cure. And a team of researchers in San Diego says to get there, scientists need to study HIV patients at the end of their lives. David Wagner KPBS -- 9/17/17
Environment
From bottle caps to vampire teeth, volunteers help remove 150,000 pounds of litter from San Diego County spaces -- Equipped with bags, buckets, gloves, trash grabbers and a desire to protect and beautify, hundreds of volunteers spread out around Golden Hill Park Saturday morning. Bradley J. Fikes in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/17/17
Knives, wheelchair, drug pipe, unopened wine bottle among finds at Coastal Cleanup Day -- They came to the beaches and got their gloves dirty and feet sandy. They dipped under the water’s surface and searched harbor bottoms below the boats. Laylan Connelly in the Long Beach Press Telegram$ -- 9/17/17
San Francisco bay shoreline gets some help during state’s annual beach cleanup -- Every year, about 2,000 volunteers across San Francisco pick up trash as a part of the statewide Coastal Cleanup Day. And just about every year, more than half of the volunteers end up at Ocean Beach, where there happens to be less trash to collect. Jenna Lyons in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/17/17
Army of volunteers leaves beaches pristine on Coastal Cleanup Day -- The tens of thousands of volunteers who took to beaches, riverbanks and lakeshores throughout California on the 33rd annual cleanup day gave a gift that will keep on giving, said San Jose resident Rich Pasco, 67, who helped organize a litter-picking effort at Bonny Doon Beach south of Davenport and has participated in the cleanup for 30 consecutive years. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/17/17
Also . . .
‘This is a dream come true,’ says Riley McCoy as she’s named Dana Hills homecoming queen -- She stood under the football stadium lights, in the spotlight, in the light of flashing cameras, in the light of a thousand smiles and somehow she outshined all of that. The girl who can’t go out in the sun owned the Friday night lights. Keith Sharon in the Orange County Register -- 9/17/17
POTUS 45
Trump Allies Fear Betrayal is ‘the New Normal’ -- When President Donald Trump sat down to discuss a potential immigration compromise with the leading Democrats in the House and Senate, eight other people sat with them, including senior aides. One person who wasn’t there was Trump’s own senior policy adviser, Stephen Miller, according to a source familiar with the dinner. Lachlan Markay, Asawin Suebsaeng and Sam Stein The Daily Beast -- 9/17/17
Beltway
With little to lose, Democrats cautiously share the driver’s seat with Trump -- Democratic lawmakers shut out of governance for much of this year now find themselves at the center of high-stakes negotiations with President Trump that could achieve a prize they have sought for nearly a decade: permanent legal status for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants. Paul Kane, Ed O'Keefe and Ashley Parker in the Washington Post$ -- 9/17/17
Establishment gears up for Steve Bannon’s war on the GOP leadership -- Deep-pocketed supporters of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and other GOP leaders have resolved to fight a protracted battle over the next year for the soul of the party in congressional primaries. “It’s shaping up to be McConnell, the Senate Leadership Fund and the Chamber against Bannon,” said Scott Reed, the senior political strategist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. “And we will take that fight.” Michael Scherer and Matea Gold in the Washington Post$ -- 9/17/17
RT, Sputnik and Russia’s New Theory of War -- How the Kremlin built one of the most powerful information weapons of the 21st century — and why it may be impossible to stop. Jim Rutenberg in the New York Times$ -- 9/17/17
-- Saturday Updates
White House may reverse itself on withdrawing from Paris climate deal -- A European official said Saturday the Trump administration has softened its stance on the landmark Paris climate accord and may not completely withdraw after all. If true, this would mark yet another reversal of a Trump campaign promise, one of the most controversial. But the White House quickly attempted to rebut the report. Tracy Wilkinson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/16/17
Plan to spend $1.5B in climate money includes union boost -- California lawmakers gave a boost to a union looking to organize Tesla workers Friday as they approved a plan to spend $1.5 billion on environmental initiatives using money from the state's recently renewed program that charges polluters to emit greenhouse gases. Jonathan J. Cooper Associated Press -- 9/16/17
San Diego opens downtown restrooms amid hepatitis A crisis -- New portable public restrooms have been opened in downtown San Diego, and more are planned, the city announced Saturday morning. The move is the latest step in the campaign by the city and county to turn the tide against the growing hepatitis A outbreak that has killed 16 and aff in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/16/17licted more than 400 since last fall, officials said. Michael Smolens in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/16/17
Last Stop: Governor’s Call -- In the final days of the session, hundreds of bills landed on Brown’s desk. Here are some of the most consequential. Laurel Rosenhall Calmatters.org -- 9/16/17
Hundreds of Bills Head to Jerry Brown’s Desk -- Friday was the end of this year’s legislative session, and lawmakers sent Governor Jerry Brown hundreds of bills this week covering issues as wide-ranging as immigration, public safety, health care and housing. Here’s a roundup of some of the bills now sitting on Brown’s desk. Marisa Lagos, Guy Marzorati and Scott Shafer KQED -- 9/16/17
California will soon be a ‘sanctuary state’ for undocumented immigrants -- California lawmakers early Saturday sent Gov. Jerry Brown a “sanctuary state” immigration bill that he is expected to sign after demanding changes that some advocates said weaken its impact. Taryn Luna and Angela Hart in the Sacramento Bee$ Jazmine Ulloa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/16/17
Los Angeles County sheriff applauds 'sanctuary state' bill he once opposed -- Los Angeles County Sheriff James McDonnell on Saturday applauded the “sanctuary state” bill just passed by the Legislature that aims to protect immigrants from federal enforcement as they leave jails, saying amendments had satisfied his earlier objections to the legislation. Gale Holland in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/16/17
Democrats kill bill to require all renewable energy in California by 2046 -- After facing late opposition from labor unions, a measure to require utility companies to use renewable energy for all of the retail electricity sold in the state faltered in the final week of the legislative session. Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/16/17
Legislature passes bills to reform PACE energy-efficiency loan program -- Two bills that would boost protections for consumers taking out PACE home-improvement loans are headed to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk after passing the Legislature. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/16/17
No supervised heroin use in California after ‘safe injection sites’ bill fails -- Assemblywoman Susan Talamantes Eggman, D-Stockton, announced Friday evening that she will try again next year to pass Assembly Bill 186, which would have authorized eight counties with heavy intravenous drug use to create pilot “safe injection sites.” Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/16/17
Lopez: Hear about the tract house that went for $800,000 above asking? Welcome to California 2017 -- The population of California was just above 10 million when I joined the party in 1953. Today we’ve got nearly four times as many residents, or just short of 40 million. Is that too many people? Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/16/17
Knight: Amid modest improvements, more tales of 911 woes -- Former San Francisco Supervisor John Avalos was driving on the Bay Bridge at 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 29 when he spotted an alarming sight: a disheveled-looking man walking on the north side of the bridge carrying a thick chain with some kind of ball at the end of it. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/16/17
Leaving the Bay Area? These folks did it — with mixed results -- Raya and Michael DeMarquez both grew up in San Jose, got married here, raised their kids here, bought a house here more than 20 years ago and felt settled in the Bay Area life — for life. Angela Hill in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/16/17