Updating . .
California's GOP members of Congress targeted in new ads over Republican tax plan -- Five of the state's GOP members of Congress are being targeted in television advertisements that began airing Saturday about the Republican tax reform plan that would disproportionately impact residents of high-tax states such as California. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/17
Morain: Seven ways the Republican tax plan will hurt Californians, especially veterans in need -- Randy Otremba lives in a mobile home on the outskirts of Crescent City, makes do on about $1,000 a month, and was calculating how the Republican tax plan would affect folks like him, veterans of military service. Dan Morain in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/11/17
As lenders targeted veterans with risky mortgages, VA failed to act -- The Department of Veterans Affairs has known for more than a year that military service members were being sold a flood of costly and risky mortgages and done little to stop it. Lorraine Woellert Politico -- 11/11/17
American leaders rip Trump, pledge to do Paris climate accord without him -- American leaders pledged their allegiance to the Paris climate accord on Saturday, pummeling President Donald Trump’s promised retreat from the global coalition as a temporary diversion that won’t impede their progress toward keeping global temperatures below catastrophic levels. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/11/17
Legionnaires’ disease outbreak at Disneyland sickens 12; park shuts down cooling towers -- The 12 cases of the bacteria-caused illness were discovered about three weeks ago among people who had spent time in Anaheim and included nine people who had visited Disneyland Park in September before developing the illness, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency. Their ages ranged from 52 to 94. Tony Barboza in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/17
Jerry Brown, President of the Independent Republic of California -- On his way to the United Nations climate talks in Bonn, Germany, this week, Jerry Brown stopped over at the Vatican, where a doleful group of climate scientists, politicians and public health officials had convened to discuss calamities that might befall a warming world. David Siders Politico -- 11/11/17
Lopez: He served as a Marine in Vietnam and later devoted himself to homeless veterans. Now he's fighting for his life -- Ken Williams, who grew up in La Mirada, saved the draft board the cost of a stamp. "I volunteered," he said. "I was raised to serve our country. You didn't question it." Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/17
UC Berkeley students deliver supplies to Puerto Rico -- Frustrated by what they see as a lack of support for hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico, a group of UC Berkeley students this week collected more than 300 pounds of supplies for the island. Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/11/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
The Times asked the California Legislature about sexual harassment. Here's what we learned — and what we still don't know -- In the wake of accusations that there is a “pervasive” culture of sexual harassment in and around the state Capitol, the Los Angeles Times asked both houses of the California Legislature for information regarding abuse and harassment complaints from 2006 to the present. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/17
Sexual harassment controversy threatens to ensnare Kevin de León -- The controversy surrounding sexual harassment in the state Capitol deepened on Friday and threatened to ensnare one of the Legislature’s leading Democrats, Kevin de León, as questions swirled over when the Senate leader became aware of complaints against his weekday roommate. Katy Murphy and Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/11/17
East Coast elections suggest West Coast GOP will pay a price for Trump -- You’ve heard the term “all politics is local”? California Republicans had better hope so. The polls told us that this week’s gubernatorial matchup in Virginia would be a nailbiter. Instead, it was an electoral thrashing. Ben Christopher Calmatters.org -- 11/11/17
Locked out in Sacramento, California Republicans drive recall efforts, ballot measures -- As California Democrats forge ahead into next year's midterm elections with progressive legislative wins in their pockets, Republicans are finding ways to push back outside of Sacramento — and seeing some success for their efforts. Mary Plummer KPCC -- 11/11/17
Former DNC Chair Brazile: ‘I Didn’t Vote for Hillary or Bernie’ -- Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile’s new book “Hacks” claims the party’s apparatus tilted the nominating process toward Hillary Clinton against Bernie Sanders. But in an interview with KQED on Friday, Brazile says she didn’t cast a ballot for either one of them in the June 14 District of Columbia primary where she votes. By that time, Clinton had wrapped up the nomination. Scott Shafer KQED -- 11/11/17
Weekly Issa protests get professional backup, congressman's camp says there's dark money behind it -- Nearly every Tuesday morning since President Donald Trump entered the White House, hundreds of protesters have met outside of Rep. Darrell Issa’s Vista office to push the Republican congressman to reject the new president’s agenda. Joshua Stewart in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/11/17
Peters, Vargas spend the most on tax-funded mail in local delegation -- The biggest spenders on taxpayer-funded mailings in San Diego’s congressional delegation are not the ones in high-profile re-election battles. Joshua Stewart in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/11/17
Politifact CA: The False claim California has built far more prisons than colleges since 1965 -- Candidate for California governor Delaine Eastin bills herself as the education candidate. She has, after all, spent her career in education - serving as a community college professor, as the state’s superintendent of public instruction and on the boards of the University of California and California State University systems. Chris Nichols Politifact CA -- 11/11/17
Couple who lost home in Tubbs Fire lose family pictures during benefit show -- But when the concert at AT&T Park in San Francisco ended, their next tragedy began. They returned to where they’d parked at Brannan Street between First and Second streets, and saw shattered glass. Lemieux knew immediately: Almost all of their family photos and videos, some of the only personal treasures left after flames took everything else, were gone. Sophie Haigney in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/17
Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds
California Looks at Republican Tax Measures and Sees Payback -- The tax plan hurtling through Congress is a fast-moving blur of cuts and increases designed to keep Republicans on track to pass a bill without Democratic votes. But here in California, where several prized deductions are at risk of being eliminated, people suspect there is a greater design at play. Conor Dougherty and Adam Nagourney in the New York Times$ -- 11/11/17
Tax Hike for Middle Class Is Possible, McConnell Says -- itch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, said he “misspoke” days earlier when he said that “nobody in the middle class is going to get a tax increase.” Jim Tankersley and Ben Casselman in the New York Times$ -- 11/11/17
Quinn: Republicans Vote For A Tax Increase -- California Republicans are about to vote for a major tax increase, on California Republicans. That’s what will happen when they pass the Congressional Republican tax reform bill that does away with the state and local tax deduction to your federal taxes, widely used by middle class Californians. Tony Quinn Fox & Hounds -- 11/10/17
GOP tax plan may not curb incentives for firms to shift profits and jobs overseas -- And by some accounts, the Republican proposal in its current form could actually increase the incentive for companies to make investments and manufacture abroad. Don Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/17
Pelosi warns California’s GOP members of Congress: OK tax bill at own risk -- California’s GOP members of Congress have to step up and oppose the new Republican tax plans or explain why their constituents will be paying thousands of dollars more to the IRS each year, San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi said Friday. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/17
What Does Your Congress Member Think of the House GOP Tax Reform Plan? -- The bill would end the ability of taxpayers to deduct state and local taxes from their federal tax burden, a change that could have an outsize impact in a high-tax state like California. On Thursday, the Senate released its own tax reform plan, which could ultimately be reconciled with the House version. Guy Marzorati KQED -- 11/11/17
This lawmaker isn’t sure that God exists. Now, he’s finally decided to tell people -- For years, as he rose from California state government to Congress, Jared Huffman felt justified — even a bit smug, perhaps — when he’d decline to answer questionnaires about his religious beliefs. Michelle Boorstein in the Washington Post$ -- 11/11/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Uber is the latest U.S. tech company to face regulatory backlash in Europe -- In the latest blow to a major U.S. technology company in Europe, a British employment tribunal ruled on Friday that Uber drivers are owed minimum wage and paid time off, throwing a wrench into the ride-hailing company's business model. David Pierson and Tracey Lien in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/17
In Trump era, Northern California wineries get political -- Like many Californians, winemakers Megan and Ryan Glaab woke up the morning after the 2016 presidential election feeling confused, angry and, well, hungover. They griped to family and friends about the new commander in chief and lamented the direction they feared the country would take. Then they vowed to resist, even though at the time they didn’t know quite how. Matt Villano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/17
Homeless
Homeless people pack up and leave Fountain Valley river trail encampment under county enforcement -- Under the watchful eye of 12 Orange County Sheriff’s Dept. deputies and a handful of police officers from other agencies, dozens of homeless people still living in encampments along the Santa Ana River near Centennial Regional Park spent Friday, Nov. 10, packing up in last-minute efforts to comply with county orders to vacate the area. Theresa Walker in the Orange County Register -- 11/11/17
Housing
Noe Valley woman 1st to beat Ellis Act eviction through trial -- On Thursday, a jury found that Betty Rose Allen would not have to vacate her Noe Valley apartment, where she’s lived for nearly 40 years, after a lengthy and acrimonious legal battle with the building’s owners. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/17
Wildfire
Probe into worst of Wine Country fires focused on scorched Calistoga property -- The investigation into what sparked the most destructive wildfire in modern California history is centered on a rural property northwest of downtown Calistoga, a wooded plot with a modest home that, according to its owner, was unoccupied when it burned to the ground. Evan Sernoffsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/17
Warning sirens stayed silent the night deadly wildfires swept into Mendocino County -- Nine people died in the Oct. 9 fire in Redwood Valley, where it took more than an hour for the Sheriff's Department to begin evacuation alerts. Both Redwood Valley and nearby Potter Valley have air raid sirens, but they were not used to warn residents. Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/17
Questions to Sonoma County officials about failure to warn residents of fires remain unanswered -- Questions about why many people were not warned about the fast-moving fires approaching their neighborhoods last month went unanswered by Sonoma County emergency services managers Friday for the second consecutive week. Julie Johnson in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat -- 11/11/17
La Tuna fire response prompts look at how LA alerts residents in a disaster -- When the La Tuna fire started on Sept. 1, residents in the immediate burn area were informed by knocks on doors and through social media. But they weren’t contacted through the NotifyLA mass notification system. Wes Woods in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/11/17
Displaced Sonoma County residents wrestle with rise in post-fire visitors to burned neighborhoods -- With heavy construction machinery clawing away at plots where homes once stood in Coffey Park, displaced residents returning to search for any surviving mementos in the rubble have noticed an uptick in visitors to the site of their staggering loss. Kevin Fixler in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat -- 11/11/17
Band Together fire relief effort raises $17 for low income victims of wildfires -- The proceeds from the concert, as well as related fundraising, go to the Tipping Point Community Relief Fund, a nonprofit aimed at fighting poverty and assisting low income communities in the Bay Area. The $17 million from the concert brings Tipping Point’s total funds raised for North Bay fire victims to $23 million. Martin Espinoza in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat -- 11/11/17
Massive new sculpture honors Wine Country firefighters -- In the aftermath of the fire that incinerated Santa Rosa’s Coffey Park neighborhood, Patrick Amiot knew he had to express himself. So he scavenged through the piles of junk he keeps in his yard, extracted dozens of spent fire extinguishers and fuel canisters, and got to work. Michael Shapiro in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/17
Education
What Inland Empire DACA students have to say about juggling deportation fears, college loads -- Even as the future of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program remains uncertain, some Inland Empire participants are trying to push aside their fears of deportation and focus on finishing college. Beau Yarbrough in the San Bernardino Sun$ -- 11/11/17
Cannabis
Think you’ll be able to buy recreational marijuana in Sacramento Jan. 1? Think again -- When recreational marijuana sales became legal in Nevada on July 1, customers were lined up around the block of a dispensary near downtown Reno, eager to buy buds. In Las Vegas, cannabis enthusiasts showed up in limos and tour buses, ready to participate in the opening-day pot festivities. Brad Branan in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/11/17
Immigration / Border
Immigrants waiting longer for US citizenship as backlog builds -- A spike in U.S. citizenship applications before and after the November 2016 election has led to a backlog of more than 708,000 pending requests nationwide, with typical wait times for applicants doubling since last year. Leslie Berestein Rojas KPCC -- 11/11/17
Contra Costa sheriff pledges ‘full investigation’ amidst troubling allegations from ICE detainees -- Following reports and an open letter from 40 federal immigration detainees alleging abuse and civil rights violations in the West County Detention Center, the county Sheriff’s office has pledged to conduct a full investigation, while also implying that the reports of abuses were a stretch. Nate Gartrell and Sam Richards in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/11/17
Health
CA hospitals scramble to deal with shortage of saline drip bags -- Hurricane Maria's ripple effects have reached California. When the storm destroyed much of Puerto Rico's infrastructure, it disrupted the operations of the leading manufacturer of saline solution IV bags, leading to a shortage that has affected California and other states. Michelle Faust KPCC -- 11/11/17
Environment
La Niña is here. This is what that means for California — and for you -- Forecasters say to expect a weak weather event in the early months of 2018, meaning Northern California can expect cooler, wetter conditions while Southern California will experience warmer, drier weather patterns. Luis Gomez in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/11/17
More beach closures issued from Tijuana River sewage -- Beach closures triggered by contaminated stormwater runoff from the Tijuana River were extended Friday to include all of Imperial Beach’s coastline. David Hernandez in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/11/17
Also . . .
California man who made car commercial for 1996 Honda gets $20K offer from Carmax -- Max Lanman, the Bay Area native currently in Los Angeles who went viral after creating a professionally produced commercial for a 1996 Honda Accord his fianceé is selling, has just received a rather generous offer for the car. Alyssa Pereira in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/17
Mountain lion shot with tranquilizer gun in San Francisco’s Diamond Heights -- The animal was turned over to the Santa Cruz Puma Project out of UC Santa Cruz, which, by late Friday afternoon, had fitted the cougar with a radio and GPS collar and was preparing to release it in the wild. Steve Rubenstein, Kurtis Alexander and Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/17
POTUS 45
Trump says U.S. won’t be ‘taken advantage of anymore.’ Hours later, Pacific Rim nations reach deal on trade without America -- On Saturday, the countries announced they had reached a deal to move ahead with the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade pact that Trump threw into question when he withdrew from it earlier this year. Ashley Parker in the Washington Post$ Michael Tatarski Politico -- 11/11/17
Californians strongly oppose Trump — and 53% say state's members of Congress should 'never' work with him -- A year after his election, President Trump remains wildly unpopular in California, and the state’s voters are split over whether members of Congress should work with him when possible, a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll has found. Cathleen Decker in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/17
Investigators probe Trump knowledge of campaign's Russia dealings: sources -- Special counsel Robert Mueller’s team has questioned Sam Clovis, co-chairman of President Donald Trump’s election campaign, to determine if Trump or top aides knew of the extent of the campaign team’s contacts with Russia, two sources familiar with the investigation said on Friday. Mark Hosenball, John Walcott Reuters -- 11/11/17
New York Times photographer tweets ‘photo’ of black box to protest White House coverage blackout -- On Saturday, New York Times photographer Doug Mills, a member of the White House Correspondents' Association board, tweeted a “photo” of a black box, framed with a decorative border, to illustrate the group's frustration. In the tweet, Mills said the 13-member travel “pool” of reporters, photographers and camera operators that provides reports for the rest of the news media would have no access at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. David Nakamura in the Washington Post$ -- 11/11/17
EPA is taking more advice from industry — and ignoring its own scientists -- When the Environmental Protection Agency this week proposed repealing tighter emissions standards for a type of freight trucks, it cited research conducted by Tennessee Tech University but underwritten by the biggest truck manufacturer challenging the rule. Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis in the Washington Post$ -- 11/11/17
Beltway
Trump judge nominee, 36, who has never tried a case, wins approval of Senate panel -- Brett J. Talley, President Trump’s nominee to be a federal judge in Alabama, has never tried a case, was unanimously rated “not qualified” by the American Bar Assn.’s judicial rating committee, has practiced law for only three years and, as a blogger last year, displayed a degree of partisanship unusual for a judicial nominee, denouncing “Hillary Rotten Clinton” and pledging support for the National Rifle Assn. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/17
-- Friday Updates
FBI's Russia investigation is looking into Rohrabacher meeting with former Trump advisor -- As part of his investigation into Russian attempts to influence the 2016 presidential campaign, FBI special counsel Robert Mueller is questioning witnesses about a meeting that allegedly took place shortly before the election between Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and former Trump advisor Michael Flynn, NBC is reporting. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/17
Most California voters already want to overturn gas tax increase, poll finds -- Most California voters would scrap the higher gas tax and vehicle fees recently approved by the Legislature to provide money to repair the state’s roads and bridges and improve mass transit, according to a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/17
Californians strongly oppose Trump — and 53% say state's members of Congress should 'never' work with him -- A year after his election, President Trump remains wildly unpopular in California, and the state’s voters are split over whether members of Congress should work with him when possible, a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll has found. Cathleen Decker in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/17
Pender: GOP tax bills could weigh on high-end housing in California -- The House and Senate Republican tax plans would not have much impact on home prices and homeownership rates nationwide, but could slow the rate of appreciation of high-end homes in high-tax states such as California, economists say. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/17
Taxes would rise for millions of Californians under Senate Republicans’ plan -- Only one California Republican, Darrell Issa of Vista, who narrowly won re-election in his suburban San Diego County district last year, has come out against the House version of the bill, in part because of its treatment of state and local taxes. And in a telephone interview Thursday, Issa said the Senate bill goes “from bad to hopeless.” Carolyn Lochhead in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/17
Following allegations, Orange County Democrats grapple with sexual harassment in politics -- The issue is coming into focus as Democrats are gearing up for big electoral fights in the midterm elections, and as scrutiny of alleged sexual misconduct in Hollywood and political circles intensifies. Christine Mai-Duc in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/17
Covered California far outspends Trump administration advertising open enrollment -- The Trump administration is spending just $10 million to tell consumers in 35 states that it’s time for open enrollment under the Affordable Care Act – a 90 percent reduction from last year. California’s state-run marketplace, in contrast, is spending five times that much on advertising. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/10/17
Hiltzik: Don't blame just the gas tax for California's pump prices — refineries are getting paid $3 billion more a year than they should -- On Feb. 18, 2015, an explosion ripped through Exxon Mobil's vast refinery in Torrance, forcing a shutdown that took 10% of the state's overall gasoline production capacity offline. Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/17
A top secret desert assembly plant starts ramping up to build Northrop's B-21 bomber -- A once-empty parking lot at Northrop Grumman Corp.’s top secret aircraft plant in Palmdale is now jammed with cars that pour in during the predawn hours. Ralph Vartabedian, W.J. Hennigan and Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/17
Highway 1 was buried under a massive landslide. Months later, engineers battle Mother Nature to fix it -- Ever since May, when a near-vertical slope of mountain collapsed at a place called Mud Creek, teams of geologists and engineers have clawed over rocks and boulders, through brush and chaparral, to come up with a plan for reconnecting this severed artery. Thomas Curwen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/17
County settles suit with man allegedly stripped, verbally abused in jail after jaywalking -- A man who was punched by a Sacramento police officer during a jaywalking stop, then allegedly stripped and verbally abused by Sheriff’s Deputies in jail, has settled a lawsuit with the County of Sacramento for an undisclosed sum for the part of the incident that took place in lockup. Anita Chabria in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/10/17
Trump judge nominee, 36, who has never tried a case, wins approval of Senate panel -- Brett J. Talley, President Trump’s nominee to be a federal judge in Alabama, has never tried a case, was unanimously rated “not qualified” by the American Bar Assn.’s judicial rating committee, has practiced law for only three years and, as a blogger last year, displayed a degree of partisanship unusual for a judicial nominee, denouncing “Hillary Rotten Clinton” and pledging support for the National Rifle Assn. On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee, on a party-line vote, approved him for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/17