• School Inoovation and Achievement
  • School Inoovation and Achievement

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California’s ‘four-party’ system -- For more than 165 years, political battles in California have played out almost entirely within the framework of a two-party system. There are signs that may be changing. Differing ideologies within each party are competing for money, supporters and attention. Out of it all, four major, distinct political tribes seem to be emerging: Chuck McFadden Capitol Weekly -- 9/19/17

California's attorney general asks Senate for more tools to fight online sex trafficking -- California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra pleaded with a U.S. Senate committee on Tuesday to change a decades-old Internet freedom law in order to give states more power to go after online sex traffickers. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

Coastal Commission begins crackdown against tech billionaire to open Martins Beach -- In a significant move that could result in Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla being hit with tens of millions of dollars in penalties, the California Coastal Commission has begun an enforcement action against Khosla for his refusal to open Martins Beach, along the San Mateo County coast, to the public. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/19/17

Farming district says it won’t pay for Delta tunnels in a vote that could kill the project -- A large agricultural district Tuesday dealt a potentially fatal blow to Gov. Jerry Brown's Delta tunnels project, voting overwhelmingly not to help pay for the $17 billion plan to remake the fragile estuary that serves as the hub of California's water delivery network. Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/19/17

Feinstein criticizes Trump for using U.N. speech 'as a stage to threaten war' -- It's the second time this week Feinstein has been harshly critical of Trump. On Monday, she said he needed to "grow up" and stop obsessing over former rival Hillary Clinton. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

Major 7.1 Earthquake Shakes Mexico City -- A powerful earthquake has shaken Mexico City, causing buildings to sway sickeningly. The U.S. Geological Survey says it calculates the earthquake as magnitude 7.1 It says the epicenter was near the town of Raboso, about 76 miles southeast of Mexico City. Mexico's seismological agency calculated its preliminary magnitude at 6.8 and said its center was east of the city in the state of Puebla. Associated Press Kate Linthicum and Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

Social media explodes with videos showing chaos in Mexico City after magnitude 7.1 earthquake -- Most videos came from Mexico City, where the quake sent buildings swaying, leading some to crack and collapse. People fled office buildings and filled the streets, embracing one another. The full extent of the damage is still unclear. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/19/17

Becerra predicts trouble for politicians who resist DACA fix -- Speaking to reporters before testifying at a Senate hearing, Becerra said those who stand in the way of such a measure now risk a backlash like the one that met Gov. Pete Wilson (R-Calif.) after he supported the anti-illegal-immigration Prop. 187 in 1994. Josh Gerstein Politico -- 9/19/17

After cap-and-trade vote, Assemblyman Chad Mayes faces a second Republican challenger for reelection -- Former Palm Springs Police Chief Gary Jeandron on Tuesday became the second Republican to announce plans to challenge Assemblyman Chad Mayes (R-Yucca Valley) in the 2018 election. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

Southern California home prices jump again. Lots of residents worry about affordability -- The Southern California real estate market continued to sizzle in August as home prices jumped 7.5% from a year earlier, highlighting new poll results showing widespread concern about the state’s housing affordability. Jim Puzzanghera in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

Lazarus: Despite Equifax hack, GOP lawmakers want to deregulate credit agencies -- Even as millions of consumers grapple with fallout from the Equifax data breach, Republican lawmakers are quietly backing legislation to deregulate credit agencies and make them even less accountable for wrongdoing. David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

'My daughters are going to be OK.' Then Trump phased out DACA -- Behind closed doors, Bertha Martinez and her husband, Victor Soriano, often discussed how they would tell their oldest daughter that she was in the country illegally. “We didn’t want to hurt her,” Soriano said. Esmeralda Bermudez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

Leaving America: With shaky job prospects and Trump promising crackdowns, immigrants return to Mexico with U.S.-born children -- Five months before, Luz’s parents walked into the Mexican Consulate on the edge of MacArthur Park to make her and her 3-year-old brother — who are American — Mexican citizens as well. Trump’s victory felt like a bad omen. They wanted to be ready to leave. Thousands of others across the country also went to Latin American consulates seeking dual citizenship for their U.S.-born children. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

Plans for religious-themed retreat in Mission Valley rejected by City Council -- Longstanding plans by San Diego televangelist Morris Cerullo to transform an aging Mission Valley hotel into a $160 million religious-themed retreat and conference center failed Monday to win support from the San Diego City Council after some members raised concerns about the potential for increased traffic congestion. Lori Weisberg in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/19/17

Laguna Beach may clone beloved, 135-year tree to save it -- The story of a 135-year-old pepper tree in front of Laguna Beach’s City Hall has taken a new twist. Bryce Alderton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

San Francisco's worst street corners for hard-core drug trafficking -- On one of the busiest street corners for the meth trade in San Francisco, buyers and sellers barely make an effort to conceal their transactions. Tweakers palm drug packets after paying in cash that is quickly pocketed. Some don't wander far before using. Mike Moffitt in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/19/17

Gun groups fight California bills they say will drive up cost of firearms -- The Firearms Policy Coalition is among the groups now lobbying Gov. Jerry Brown to veto measures like Senate Bill 464, by Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, requiring new security measures for storing inventory at gun shops, and Assembly Bill 1525, by Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, R-Dublin, updating the warning labels displayed on firearm packaging and in businesses. Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/19/17

Trump Vows to ‘Totally Destroy’ North Korea if It Threatens U.S. -- President Trump’s bellicose speech to the United Nations on Tuesday drew a series of good-versus-evil lines that forecast confrontations to come as he vowed to “totally destroy North Korea” if it threatened the United States and denounced the nuclear agreement with Iran as “an embarrassment” that he may abandon. Peter Baker and Somini Sengupta in the New York Times$ -- 9/19/17

 

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning   

Gov. Brown’s delta water tunnels facing financial uncertainty -- Just months after Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to shore up California’s water system with two giant tunnels won key approval from regulators, the $17 billion project is running into potential financial problems. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/19/17

Before his bid to become California governor, John Cox took on some guy named Obama -- The candidate was opposed to entrenched lawmakers doing favors for friends and sold himself as an anti-corruption reformer in favor of limited government. Was it the 2004 Illinois Senate race or the 2018 California governor’s race? For John Cox, it was both. Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

Nancy Pelosi Speaks In Support Of Dream Act To A Friendly Crowd At Sac State -- House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was met by a friendly crowd Monday at a Sacramento State event where she and other leaders spoke in support of the Dream Act - which would protect certain so-called Dreamers from deportation. The applause was in stark contrast to an event in San Francisco Monday morning...when protestors spoke over Pelosi and forced her to cut the press conference short. Julia Mitric Capital Public Radio -- 9/19/17

CPUC Says PG&E Violated Federal Safety Rules in East Bay Gas Outage -- The California Public Utilities Commission probe, outlined in a previously undisclosed report completed last April and obtained recently by KQED under the California Public Records Act, says the utility’s failure to follow its own written safety procedures led to the emergency shutdown of gas service. Ted Goldberg KQED -- 9/19/17

Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds 

$4.4 Billion Bay Area Transportation Plan — to Be Paid for by Higher Bridge Tolls — Sent to Governor -- If you live in the Bay Area, you’ll be hearing a lot about Senate Bill 595 over the next year or so. If you’re a regular user of any of the region’s seven state-owned toll bridges — that’s all of them, except the Golden Gate Bridge — you’ll want to pay close attention. Dan Brekke KQED -- 9/19/17

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

Millennials say student debt blocking them from homeownership -- Crushing student debt is further driving down homeownership in cities like Los Angeles that are already facing high costs and low inventory, according to a new report. A joint survey of millennials by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and American Student Assistance showed that the typical student debt load — about $41,000 — is several thousand dollars more than the annual median income of the respondents. Josie Huang KPCC -- 9/19/17

Expedited processing for H-1B visas to resume after suspension -- For-profit companies can once again pay a $1,225 fee to expedite the processing of an H-1B visa within 15 days. This move comes as some H-1B applicants are having a harder time getting approved for the coveted visa because of a surge in scrutiny lawyers say they have never experienced before. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/19/17

These have been judged the Bay Area’s 10 worst commutes -- Delays caused by congestion in the nine-county region climbed by about 10 percent between 2015 and 2016, and rose about 80 percent since 2010, the MTC reported in its annual study of weekday freeway congestion. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/19/17

Poverty rates drop in San Diego, but there are still big inequities by race -- The city of San Diego’s poverty rate decreased from 15.6 percent in 2015 to 13.1 percent last year, according to the report by the Center for Policy Initiatives, a think-tank that advocates for working families. Joshua Stewart in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/19/17

State seizes SAFE-BIDCO, will liquidate Santa Rosa lender -- State regulators seized troubled Santa Rosa-based SAFE-BIDCO late Monday and announced plans to liquidate the state-chartered nonprofit, which is devoted to helping small businesses obtain loans. Bill Swindell in the Santa Rosa Press -- 9/19/17

Work in California? These bills might affect you — listen to our song about them -- California's legislative session ended Friday with a slew of workplace-related bills passing through the Assembly and Senate. They now sit on Gov. Brown's desk, waiting for his signature or veto. We've rounded up a list of those bills with links to the legislation and a short description of what each one proposes. Andrea Bernstein and Lisa Brenner KPCC -- 9/19/17

How California might have more say in the 2020 presidential race -- California has the most people and more registered voters than any other state, the world’s sixth-largest economy and often, little influence over who Republicans and Democrats nominate for president. Jeff Horseman in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/19/17

Homeless  

LA County wants Sylmar armory to become a year-round shelter for homeless women -- An armory in Sylmar that sits vacant for most of the year is being considered as a year-round transitional housing facility for women experiencing homelessness, but who are close to securing permanent places to live. Susan Abram in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/19/17

Housing  

California exodus? Poll finds voters consider moving due to sky-high housing costs -- More than half of California voters say the state’s housing affordability crisis is so bad that they’ve considered moving, and 60 percent of the electorate supports rent control, according to a new statewide poll. Angela Hart in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/19/17

Wildfire  

San Diego prepping for potentially severe fire season -- With Southern California’s traditional wildfire season about to begin, San Diego officials say Santa Ana winds could whip up severe local firestorms fueled by dead trees from the drought and excessive brush from last winter’s heavy rains. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/19/17

Education 

Sonoma County, SCOE to hold free DACA renewal clinics -- The Sonoma County Office of Education has teamed with the county’s board of supervisors and counsel, to help Dreamers renew their work permits and protected status before the end of deferred action for childhood arrivals, or DACA. Eloísa Ruano González in the Santa Rosa Press -- 9/19/17

Right-leaning Free Speech Week is on at UC Berkeley, but lineup murky -- The campus is preparing strong security for four days of mainly outdoor events Sunday through Wednesday featuring several speakers, including right-wing personality Milo Yiannopoulos. Missing from the lineup are Steve Bannon and Ann Coulter, far-right speakers whom Yiannopoulos had previously announced. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/19/17

Milo Yiannopoulous' far-right Berkeley event is set to occur at birthplace of 1960s free speech movement -- A multi-day series of political speeches promoted by right-wing provocateur Milo Yiannopoulous at UC Berkeley next week will occur mostly outdoors instead of within two rarefied campus halls as initially planned. Javier Panzar and Benjamin Oreskes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

How One Berkeley Teacher Is Tackling White Supremacy -- Minassian says she wants to help her students — particularly her white male students — deconstruct and really understand the issues at play. “If we don’t talk about white male identity and address those questions in the classroom, they are going to be addressed on the internet,” Minassian says. Ana Tintocalis KQED -- 9/19/17

Bill Would Force Community Colleges’ Hands On Remediation Reforms -- Cuyamaca College saw a seven-fold increase in the number of students passing college math last year. Instead of requiring underprepared students to catch up on high school math first, it put them in college math with extra help. Mesa College did the same for English and saw its pass rate double for students in the pilot program. Megan Burks KPBS -- 9/19/17

California's community colleges seek extra $382 million in funding for next year -- The legislative season may be over, but California’s community colleges are already looking to next year’s state spending debates as they seek an additional $382 million from Sacramento on top of the $8.6 billion they currently receive. Mikhail Zinshteyn EdSource -- 9/19/17

Immigration / Border 

South Bay Lawyer Joins Others Suing Trump Administration On DACA Decision -- A South Bay lawyer who joined five other plaintiffs Monday in suing the Trump administration over the decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program said that she's confident Congress will do the right thing, but trusts the courts even more. KPBS -- 9/19/17

Southern California students, teachers sue over DACA -- A Pasadena doctoral candidate, two Los Angeles school teachers and a former Pomona College student now attending UC Irvine law school were among six people who sued the Trump administration Monday over the decision to phase out the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. The item is in the Long Beach Press Telegram$ -- 9/19/17

San Diego County heading for lowest annual refugee arrivals in a decade -- Unless the county resettles more than 500 refugees in September, it will have welcomed fewer than 2,000 refugees for the first time since fiscal 2007, according to State Department data. Kate Morrissey in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/19/17

Water  

San Joaquin Valley farmers think Sacramento water agencies should help pay for Delta tunnels -- Some Sacramento-area water agencies would end up paying for a small share of the Delta tunnels under a last-minute alternative funding plan pitched by one of the state’s largest farming groups. Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/19/17

Health 

San Diego’s Hepatitis A Outbreak Spurs Action in L.A., Orange County -- As San Diego County health officials work to combat a hepatitis A outbreak that has killed 16 people and sent nearly 300 to the hospital, public health officials in Los Angeles and Orange counties say they’re taking steps to prevent the virus from spreading northward. Rebecca Plevin KQED -- 9/19/17

UC Irvine aims to transform public health with record-breaking $200-million donation -- Susan Samueli caught a cold while visiting France more than three decades ago. Instead of the usual medicines, a friend suggested aconite, a homeopathic remedy derived from a plant in the buttercup family. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

Environment 

Edison Proceeds With Plans To Bury Nuclear Waste At San Onofre Site -- Southern California Edison said it will start burying spent nuclear fuel from the now-closed San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station by the end of this year. Opponents of the decision, at a Sept. 14 meeting of the San Onofre Community Engagement Panel, said Edison should wait till after a strategic plan for the waste is done. Alison St John KPBS -- 9/19/17

Also . . . 

Pizza shop employee fired after printing anti-police message on Torrance officer's receipt -- The exchange occurred Thursday when the uniformed officer stopped by Pieology about noon for a quick lunch. When the cashier handed him his receipt, he noticed “F--- The Cops” printed in the top right corner, said Sgt. Ronald Harris of the Torrance Police Department. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

LAPD seeks suspect who vandalized Los Feliz Sikh temple, threatened witness -- Artyom Manukyan, 27, is accused of using a black marker to write rambling messages on the walls of the Hollywood Sikh Temple on Vermont Avenue about 2 p.m. Aug. 31, said Capt. Robert Long of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Major Crimes Division. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

Rep. Speier’s amendment takes bite at GGNRA dog-walking rules -- An amendment proposed by Rep. Jackie Speier would prohibit the National Park Service from restricting canine access to its parklands by prohibiting some funding from being used to “finalize, implement, administer or enforce” the dog management plan. It passed the House last week with bipartisan support. Lizzie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/19/17

San Diego sheriff's deputy faces felony charges in insurance fraud case -- A local sheriff’s deputy, who claimed he had suffered a back injury but may have been seen working out with heavy weights at a gym, has been charged with committing workers compensation insurance fraud resulting in $57,000 in losses, prosecutors announced Monday. Dana Littlefield in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/19/17

POTUS 45  

Trump says he wants a massive military parade down Pennsylvania Avenue on July 4 -- President Trump's trip to France for the country's Bastille Day parade in July left a big impression. So big, in fact, that he wants to replicate the experience back home. Abby Phillip in the Washington Post$ -- 9/19/17

Beltway 

Trump's chance to reshape the Federal Reserve could be his biggest economic legacy -- President Trump is betting he can turbocharge the U.S. economy with tax cuts and trade deals, but his greatest leverage to influence growth may rest with an unparalleled opportunity to reshape the world’s most powerful central bank. Don Lee and Jim Puzzanghera in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/17

Trump Administration Rejects Study Showing Positive Impact of Refugees -- Trump administration officials, under pressure from the White House to provide a rationale for reducing the number of refugees allowed into the United States next year, rejected a study by the Department of Health and Human Services that found that refugees brought in $63 billion more in government revenues over the past decade than they cost. Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Somini Sengupta in the New York Times$ -- 9/19/17

Dems rush back to Obamacare battle -- Democrats hustled Monday to beat back the GOP’s latest Obama-care repeal push, leaning on moderate Republicans and mobilizing advocacy groups off the Hill to sound the alarm. Elana Schor Politico -- 9/19/17

 

-- Monday Updates 

Bigger tax breaks for homeowners and renters could be on California's 2018 ballot -- The measure would increase a state tax credit for homeowners and renters to $500 a year, which would continue to go up as housing costs rise. The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., the anti-tax group behind Proposition 13’s property tax restrictions, is sponsoring the initiative. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/17

Protesters shut down Pelosi news conference on DACA, chanting, ‘All of us or none of us’ -- Chanting pro-immigrant slogans — “All of us or none of us,” “Democrats deport” and “We are not a bargaining chip” — more than 60 young people overwhelmed a Monday news conference that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi had organized on her home turf in San Francisco to urge passage of the DREAM Act to protect immigrants who were brought to the country as children. Evan Sernoffsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/18/17

Bow hunter who shot a deer near homes in Monrovia likely to be prosecuted, state official says -- A bow hunter who triggered outrage after he shot and killed a deer with an arrow near homes in Monrovia is expected to face charges from the L.A. County district attorney, said Capt. Patrick Foy of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. Esmeralda Bermudez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/17

California ‘Puppy Mill’ Ban Would Also Cover Kittens and Bunnies -- California could become the first state to outlaw so-called puppy mills with legislation that bans pet stores from selling dogs, cats and rabbits that do not come from rescue organizations or shelters. Christine Hauser in the New York Times$ -- 9/18/17

Will the Southland wind up holding much of the $17-billion bill for the delta water tunnels? -- Some of the state’s biggest water districts are about to make their opening moves in a financial chess game that ultimately could saddle the Southland with much of the bill for re-engineering the failing heart of California’s water system. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/17

Millions of Californians on hook for water plan -- Water districts and households across California could be compelled to help pay for Gov. Jerry Brown's plans to build two giant tunnels to ferry water to cities and farms mainly in central and Southern California, under newly disclosed plans to shore up funding for the struggling $16 billion project. Ellen Knickmeyer and Scott Smith Associated Press -- 9/18/17

DACA recipients file suit over Trump's move to end program -- Several legal luminaries are backing the suit filed Monday morning in federal court in San Francisco, including Harvard Law professor Larry Tribe and University of California at Berkeley law school dean Erwin Chemerinsky. Josh Gerstein Politico -- 9/18/17

Connie Leyva’s in, as senators jockey for Kevin de León’s powerful job -- With Senate leader Kevin de León terming out at the end of next year, jockeying for his powerful job is intensifying. On Friday, Connie Leyva became the first to formally announce her intention to run for the Senate’s pro tem position. Taryn Luna and Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/18/17

Costa Mesa considers adding 'spartan' restrooms to deal with growing homeless issues -- Faced with continuing issues with the local homeless population, officials in Costa Mesa have again floated the idea of installing new public restrooms that would provide a hygienic and safe place for transients to use. Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/18/17

How California — yes, California — could make a Trump reelection more difficult -- The state's Democratic-controlled legislature wrapped up its 2017 session Friday by sending three bills to the desk of Gov. Jerry Brown (D) that could significantly influence Trump's reelection chances, how closely he guards his tax returns and his ability to deliver on one of his central campaign promises — to deport more immigrants who are in the country illegally. Amber Phillips in the Washington Post$ -- 9/18/17

Fox: Tax-Happy Session Ends; Could Have Been Worse -- With the gas tax increase, the cap-and-trade extension, which many call a tax increase because it raises revenue for the government to spend, and now the document tax to fund housing issues, this legislative session probably produced the most tax-happy lawmakers since the 1935 legislature created both a state income tax and a vehicle license fee. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 9/18/17