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San Francisco cannabis stores open for city’s first day of recreational pot sales -- Legal recreational cannabis sales began in San Francisco on Saturday morning, drawing crowds to the first six retail stores in the city to sell weed to anyone over the age of 21 who wants it. Sophie Haigney in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/6/18

‘A Very Stable Genius’: Trump Responds to Renewed Criticism of His Mental State -- President Trump insisted Saturday that he is “a very stable genius,” following the recent publication of a book that raises questions about his mental state and fitness for office. Samantha Raphelson NPR -- 1/6/18

Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer: We’re Hand-Delivering New Anti-Trump Book to All of Congress -- Billionaire investor and Democratic donor Tom Steyer says he bought 535 copies of the controversial new book about the Trump presidency, “Fire and Fury,” and plans to have them hand-delivered to each member of Congress. Last October, Steyer launched an internet and TV ad campaign to impeach Trump. Scott Shafer and Ryan Levi KQED -- 1/6/18

San Diego paid out almost $278,000 for security for Trump's border wall build -- San Diego paid $278,000 for overtime, supplies and services for city police assigned to patrol the area where workers from six companies labored to build prototypes for President Trump’s promised border wall last fall. Greg Moran in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/6/18

Trump's plan to open California coastal waters to new oil and gas drilling probably won't go very far -- There are two things working against the Trump administration’s proposal to open up California coastal waters to new oil and gas drilling: state regulators and simple economics. Bettina Boxall and Tony Barboza in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/6/18

Lopez: Protecting California's beaches from Donald Trump -- The boat left Redondo Beach’s King Harbor early Friday morning under conditions so perfect, I couldn’t think of one good reason to ever go back to the office. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/6/18

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

Twitter appears to explain why it hasn't banned President Trump -- It made no mention of his name, but Twitter appears to have offered an explanation Friday for refusing to ban President Trump despite outcry from some users of the social media service. David Pierson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/6/18

John Birch Society leader to speak at L.A.-area GOP meeting -- Joe Panzarello, the society’s Southern California field director, is scheduled to speak at an El Monte restaurant for a “Victory Elephant Breakfast” hosted by the Los Angeles County GOP’s 49th Assembly District Central Committee. The society, an anti-communism group that opposed the civil rights movement and deemed President Eisenhower a communist, has been disowned by most mainstream Republicans. Seema Mehta and Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/6/18

Rep. Duncan Hunter accuses FBI investigators looking into his campaign spending of political motives -- Rep. Duncan Hunter has been under the cloud of federal investigation into his campaign spending since at least last year. Now, he’s accusing FBI investigators of dragging the inquiry on as his campaign for re-election gears up. Christine Mai-Duc in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/6/18

Severe flu brings medicine shortages, packed ERs and a rising death toll in California -- So many people have fallen sick with influenza in California that pharmacies have run out of flu medicines, emergency rooms are packed, and the death toll is rising higher than in previous years. Soumya Karlamangla in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/6/18

The silver lining of Trump’s “war” on California -- For left-leaning Californians, there’s a silver lining to the Trump administration’s proposal to reopen the long-protected California coast to offshore oil drilling: They think it could help them win back Congress from the Republicans. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/6/18

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

Many H-1B holders could be denied certain extensions under draft White House plan -- The Trump administration is working on plans to limit extensions of H-1B visas, a move that would affect hundreds of thousands of foreigners working in the United States, a source briefed on the plans told The Chronicle. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/6/18

Wildfire  

Judge rules Northern California wildfire suits to be overseen in San Francisco -- Pretrial proceedings in nearly 100 lawsuits blaming PG&E for the October wildfires in Northern California should be coordinated in a single court in San Francisco. That’s the order of a judge assigned by the state’s Chief Justice to recommend the best way to handle the flood of litigation arising from fires in Sonoma, Napa, Solano, Yuba, Lake and Mendocino counties. Paul Payne in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/6/18

L.A. fire officials will track homeless encampments in high-risk fire zones -- Social service workers knew that homeless people sometimes lived in a ravine near Sepulveda Boulevard and the 405 Freeway — the suspected ignition point of a wildfire that scorched Bel-Air last month — but the encampment was never on the fire department’s radar. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/6/18

Education 

LAUSD chief Michelle King won't return from medical leave for cancer, plans to retire -- Los Angeles Unified School District Supt. Michelle King, whose four-month medical leave for cancer treatment left a leadership gap at a school system facing challenges on numerous fronts, won’t return to her position and plans to retire later this year, the district announced Friday. Howard Blume and Joy Resmovits in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/6/18

Cannabis 

San Francisco retailers to begin selling recreational marijuana this weekend -- The party scene in San Francisco will get a stimulating boost this weekend after the city approved recreational sales of marijuana at seven retail stores, marking the first time city retailers will be able to legally sell the drug to customers without doctors’ notes. Peter Fimrite and David Downs in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/6/18

California officials pull anti-drugged-driving ad that some felt promoted marijuana use -- A public service commercial aimed at preventing drugged driving has been pulled from television stations by state officials after some viewers complained that it promoted the use of marijuana. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/6/18

 

-- Friday Updates 

In about-face after legal threats, California's Legislature will grant new access to sexual misconduct allegation records -- The California Legislature unveiled a new policy Friday that for the first time would reveal the identities of some who have been accused of sexual misconduct, two months after refusing to disclose detailed information about years of allegations. John Myers and Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/5/18

State missed problems that led to Oroville Dam near-disaster, report finds -- The 584-page assessment prepared by a team of independent dam experts, released Friday, said design weaknesses in the dam’s main spillway, years of deterioration of the chute and soft bedrock beneath it should have been identified and addressed by dam operators. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/5/18

California proposal would make it a ‘sanctuary state’ for marijuana -- California is putting up a united front against U.S. Attorney Jeff Sessions and his federal directive targeting legal weed, with one state lawmaker reviving a proposal this year that would make California a so-called “sanctuary state” for marijuana. Angela Hart in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/5/18

California's pot world sees 'reefer madness' in Sessions' assault on legal marijuana -- For the steady stream of customers waiting to see a “budtender” Thursday at a Santa Ana pot store, U.S. Atty. Gen. Jeff Sessions’ broadside against recreational pot was more a bummer than a buzzkill. People were annoyed — but not terribly surprised that California, once again, would be going to battle in the cultural wars with the Trump administration. Emily Alpert Reyes, Angel Jennings and Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/5/18

Becerra vows to fight pot crackdown: 'They have tripped over themselves and given us opportunities to legally stop them' -- California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Thursday that if a new federal policy results in prosecutors charging marijuana growers and sellers licensed by the state, he would not rule out intervening in court on behalf of the state-sanctioned business. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/5/18

San Francisco will beat Los Angeles to adult use cannabis sales -- San Francisco residents and visitors will likely be able to join in adult use cannabis sales starting on Saturday morning. GreenState has received word from city officials that up to seven San Francisco medical cannabis retailers received local approval Thursday evening to sell to all adults 21 or older. David Downes in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/5/18

California Legislators Introduce Bill to Block Trump’s Offshore Drilling Push -- The Trump Administration is proposing a major expansion of offshore oil leasing nationwide, including off the California Coast. It would be the first West Coast oil lease sale since the 1980s, but that doesn’t mean it’s a done deal. State and local officials could easily throw a wrench in the plans. Lauren Sommer KQED -- 1/5/18

East Bay family furious after ‘swatting’ incident from fake 911 call, police say -- Two days after Christmas, police officers raced to a house in this quiet suburb after receiving a call from a distraught young man saying he heard gunshots, his mother scream and that he was hiding in his closet. Matthias Gafni in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/5/18

London Breed says she’s in the race for San Francisco mayor -- San Francisco acting Mayor London Breed signaled her intent to become an official mayoral candidate in the June election, pulling her nomination papers at the city’s Department of Elections on Friday. Dominic Fracassa and Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/5/18

Toni Atkins poised to enter history books -- State Sen. Toni Atkins has come a long way since she was a girl growing up poor without running water in rural Virginia. This month, the San Diego lawmaker is set to replace Kevin de León as leader of the California Senate. She will be the first woman and first open lesbian to hold the position. She also will be the first person since the 19th century to hold both of the Legislature’s top jobs – Assembly speaker and Senate leader. Lisa Renner Capitol Weekly -- 1/5/18

Fox: Sign Here: ‘Tis Initiative Season -- It is too early to know which initiatives will qualify for the November ballot; some measures have not even received their titles and summaries from the attorney general yet. But we know that money goes a long way in helping to qualify ballot measures using professional signature gatherers. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 1/5/18

Lyft trips in San Francisco more efficient than personal cars, study finds -- Because they carry multiple passengers, ride-hailed cars contribute fewer miles per person to traffic than personal cars making equivalent trips, according to a research report released Thursday. That’s true even after accounting for the miles that ride-hailed drivers spend trolling for fares and going to pick up passengers, it said. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/5/18

Former GOP Rep. Doug Ose announces he is running for California governor -- Former Northern California Republican Rep. Doug Ose said Friday he plans to run for California governor, adding to an already crowded field of candidates. "I happen to think people are going to respond very positively to my efforts to rebuild the California dream," Ose told The Times. Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/5/18

Rep. Devin Nunes plays defense for Trump by going on hard offense against Justice Department -- While special counsel Robert S. Mueller III conducts a criminal investigation into Trump’s current and former aides, producing charges against four individuals so far, Nunes has launched a counteroffensive aimed at derailing or discrediting the federal probe that has shadowed Trump’s first year in office — and shows no sign of ending. Chris Megerian