Updating . .   

It’s crunch time for San Francisco’s wannabe mayors -- As San Francisco’s mayoral machinations roll out, two key dates are on the horizon that will finally crystallize who is in and who is out of the race. On Tuesday, Aaron Peskin will call for a Jan. 16 vote of his Board of Supervisors colleagues to decide who should be interim mayor until the June election. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/7/18

Myers: 'Be loyal to the idea of California,' says Gov. Jerry Brown -- There is no mistaking Gov. Jerry Brown for anything other than a partisan Democrat. And yet, there’s a sense he views the label with some discomfort. He is, after all, as unique in politics as California is in the national mosaic. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/7/18

Nooses and the N-word. Student at suburban high school says racism is rampant -- Pleasant Grove High School senior Rachael Francois said she felt no shock hearing her classmate making hate-filled remarks about black people in a video that went viral in December. Instead, she said, she felt vindicated. -- Anita Chabria and Dianna Lambert in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/7/18

Concerns over Oakland official’s plan to divert funds to center in her district -- An Oakland city councilwoman wants to divert millions in public funds from voter-approved projects like street repairs and park improvements and give them to a community organization in her district. The proposal, which a legal expert cautioned could constitute an improper giveaway of taxpayer dollars, already has the backing of two other City Council members, one of whom said he hasn’t read it yet. Kimberly Veklerov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/7/18

For renters, the new normal: lower expectations and shrinking apartments -- As the Bay Area’s economy booms, and as the tech sector continues to expand, this is the new normal for those on the margins: shrinking expectations and shrinking apartments. Nearly 40 percent of working adults in the Bay Area are now “doubled up” with roommates in order to afford rent, according to a study from Zillow. Richard Scheinin in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/7/18

Trump Defends Fitness, Saying He’s a ‘Stable Genius’ -- President Trump, whose sometimes erratic behavior in office has generated an unprecedented debate about his mental health, declared on Saturday that he was perfectly sane and accused his critics of raising questions to score political points. Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ -- 1/7/18

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

In Clash Between California and Trump, It’s One America Versus Another -- When drivers entered California recently from the borders with Arizona and Nevada, they were greeted with signs welcoming them to an “official sanctuary state” that is home to “felons” and “illegals.” It was a prank, but the message was clear: By entering California, they might as well have been entering foreign territory. Tim Arango in the New York Times$ -- 1/7/18

Another Republican has jumped into California's race for governor, and he could sink his party's chances -- A new year and a new Republican candidate have cracked open California’s sleepy race for governor, unleashing predictions of a splintered GOP vote that could sink Republicans and lead to a November election between two Democrats. Phil Willon and Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/7/18

Denham venom plentiful at standing-room-only Democratic debate -- The most unpopular guy at Friday’s congressional debate wasn’t even in the house. GOP Rep. Jeff Denham’s name was invoked at least 35 times, never kindly, by six Democratic Party candidates hoping to replace him. Garth Stapley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/7/18

Gov. Jerry Brown plants the seeds of his next chapter on a ranch in rural Northern California -- The thought lingered with Jerry Brown, perhaps sustained through the years by an old black-and-white photograph in his state Capitol office. The image is a man with a long, white beard feeding his sheep in a rustic 19th-century setting. California’s longest-serving governor told himself that one day he should do something special with all of that rolling Northern California acreage that once belonged to his great-grandfather August Schuckman, the man in the photo. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/7/18

Walters: Minimum wage hike, other acts have consequences -- Outwardly, the McDonalds restaurant just off Highway 101 in Pismo Beach doesn’t look any different from the 1,500 or so others in California. But when you walk into this one, you immediately encounter a robotic kiosk that allows you to order your hamburger or other fast food on a touch screen, rather than verbally with a human worker at the counter. Dan Walters Calmatters.org -- 1/7/18

Willie Brown: It’s not the greatest show on Earth, but Trump is proud to be the star -- President Trump has once again proved that he is the best promoter since P.T. Barnum, even when it makes his own administration look like a three-ring circus. Trump’s over-the-top reaction to Michael Wolff’s book “Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House” guarantees it will be a best-seller. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/7/18

California Politics Podcast: This week: January 5: Reality Check -- The first podcast of 2018, as the Legislature returns to face the reckoning over sexual harassment and the Trump administration makes a series of proposals -- from pot to offshore drilling -- that could have major implications for California. With John Myers and Melanie Mason of the Los Angeles Times. -- 1/7/18

Homes in San Francisco, some historic, illegally demolished by developers -- In early December, the San Francisco Department of Building Inspection received a permit application to demolish a home at 49 Hopkins St., a 1935 modernist residence just east of Twin Peaks that was designed by famed architect Richard Neutra. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/7/18

Pollster Moore aimed to give voice to what the public was thinking -- For pollster Jim Moore, politics was all about numbers, and his firm J. Moore Methods supplied the statistics that guided local and statewide campaigns in California for three decades. Cathy Locke in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/7/18

Immigration / Border 

Thousands of Salvadorans in Los Angeles worry about Trump ending temporary legal status -- When Yesenia Reyes made it to the southern U.S. border in 2000 after fleeing domestic violence in El Salvador, she told immigration agents they would be sentencing her to her death if they sent her back. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/7/18

'Door of Hope' closed to cross-border hugs, weddings -- Border Patrol will not re-open doors in the border fence at Friendship Park this year, ending a series of events that allowed chosen families to reunite briefly on the line between the U.S. and Mexico. Kate Morrissey in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/7/18

POTUS 45  

Trump boasts that he’s a ‘very stable genius’ amid questions over his mental fitness -- President Trump lashed out at critics Saturday in defense of his mental fitness for office, calling himself a “very stable genius” in a tweetstorm of boasts. First on Twitter, then at a news conference with Republican leaders at Camp David, Trump defended himself against a new book that cites purported fears from former and current aides that he was unprepared for the presidency, incapable of processing information and uninterested in making difficult decisions. David Nakamura and Karen Tumulty in the Washington Post$ -- 1/7/18

Balz: Trump’s extraordinary tweetstorms mark an unsettling start to 2018 -- In a White House marked by a string of high-level comings and goings, an extraordinary level of palace intrigue and a general sense of unpredictability, there remains but one constant. That is the disorder at the center, perpetrated by a president who continues to break the norms of his office. It’s the reason 2018 could eclipse 2017 for political turbulence. Dan Balz in the Washington Post$ -- 1/7/18

 

-- Saturday Updates 

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