Updating . .
Ex-Public Works chief Nuru sings to city attorney to soften possible sentence -- Within days of his arrest on federal corruption charges, former San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru began a series of interviews with investigators from the city attorney’s office. “He spent two days telling all,” said one source familiar with the investigation. Phil Matier in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/23/20
Winning California’s Democratic presidential primary isn’t as simple as it sounds -- Voters in California, like others across the country, have long assumed that only one candidate can win an election. And in most cases, they’re right. But most presidential primaries work differently — a fact obscured in years past when the race was all but over by the time Californians cast ballots. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/23/20
Fridges hurt the environment. Here’s how California wants to regulate them -- Did you know that keeping your food cold hurts the climate? Refrigerators, air conditioning units and dehumidifiers use greenhouse gases called hydrofluorocarbons that trap at least a thousand times more heat over the same time period than carbon dioxide, according to the state Environmental Protection Agency. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/23/20
SF voters to weigh in on $600 million bond to rebound from earthquakes, battle fires -- San Francisco officials are asking voters to approve a $628.5 million bond to fund upgrades that would make the city more resilient in a big earthquake and better able to fight major fires, as well as other emergency response improvements. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/23/20
Los Angeles County Eliminates Criminal Fees. Will California Follow? -- Los Angeles County will stop billing people millions of dollars a year for the costs of their incarceration in an effort to lighten the financial burden on former inmates. Jackie Botts, CalMatters via Capital Public Radio -- 2/23/20
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Bernie Sanders wins big in Nevada, rolls toward California with momentum -- Sen. Bernie Sanders scored an easy win in the Nevada caucuses Saturday, giving him momentum going into California’s Super Tuesday primary and putting him potentially on a path to the Democratic presidential nomination. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/23/20
Verizon latest sponsor to bow out of RSA Conference in SF amid coronavirus fears -- Verizon on Friday became the third large company to pull its sponsorship from the RSA Conference, a cybersecurity industry event, over coronavirus concerns. The conference is slated to take place next week at San Francisco’s Moscone Center, and registration opens tomorrow. More than 40,000 conference-goers are expected to arrive in the city for the event. Chase DiFeliciantonio in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/23/20
Air testing at closed Oakland school shows no cancer-causing chemical -- After a West Oakland high school was closed due to a cancer-causing chemical found in groundwater, early testing on Saturday showed no indication of the chemical in the air. Preliminary results of about 50 air tests at McClymonds High School found no presence of the carcinogen, trichloroethylene, also known as TCE. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/23/20
California’s new labor commissioner discusses AB5 gig-work law, worker protections -- Lilia Garcia-Brower spent the past two decades fighting to make sure janitors got paid fairly. As executive director of Los Angeles’ Maintenance Cooperation Trust Fund, a statewide watchdog, she oversaw probes into unfair and illegal practices in the cleaning industry. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/23/20
In L.A., Kobe Dominates the Paint -- You can see their images in Long Beach, in Artesia, in Downtown Los Angeles, and in Venice Beach. A complicated figure during his playing days, Kobe has ignited a surge of emotion in death. The city’s walls have never spoken so loudly. Walter Thompson-Hernández in the New York Times$ -- 2/23/20
Walters: Newsom makes big political wager -- Gavin Newsom is rushing in where angels — and more cautious politicians — fear to tread by devoting virtually all of his second State of the State address to California’s seemingly intractable housing and homelessness crises. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 2/23/20
Willie Brown: Mike Bloomberg can still beat Trump. But he has no business on a debate stage -- It was a mistake for Mike Bloomberg to mix it up with the other Democratic candidates for president in Las Vegas the other night, but in a strange way he might come out the winner in the long run. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/23/20
How Bernie built a big win in Nevada -- Sanders built an unshakable coalition of liberals, Latinos and young voters — many of whom decided to vote for him months ago. Steven Shepard Politico -- 2/23/20
Latino voters seem fond of ‘Tío Bernie.’ Big-name Latino politicians, not so much -- They showed up in Stetsons and Dodgers caps. Guayaberas and Mexican blouses. Chicano hipsters — aka “Chipsters” — and punks. Dark, light and all skin tones in between. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/23/20
Sanders eviscerates the conventional wisdom about why he can't win -- In Nevada, he exposed his main rivals as weak, divided, and grasping at increasingly tenuous arguments about their viability. Ryan Lizza Politico -- 2/23/20
Former Obama official rallies Barrio Logan crowd for Elizabeth Warren -- More than 200 people jammed the back patio of a Barrio Logan brewery Saturday night to whoop and holler their support for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren and state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, who is seeking re-election. For others in the crowd, the main attraction was Julián Castro, a former Obama cabinet member who ran a year-long presidential bid but now campaigns for Warren. Pauline Repard in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/23/20
Races to represent 71st, 75th districts in CA State Assembly attract few challengers -- The race for State Assembly 71st District has only two candidates, so regardless of who gets the most votes both names will appear on the ballot in November. The district represents much of East County and a small part of Riverside County and includes more than 450,000 residents, many of whom reside in Santee, Alpine, Ramona, La Presa, El Cajon, Spring Valley and Lakeside. Charles T. Clark in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/23/20
Early voting starts in L.A. County, with some hiccups reported -- About a quarter of the county’s 960 voting centers were slated to be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. starting Saturday. But some of them were unable to open on time because supplies or equipment needed to set up had not yet arrived, said Michael Sanchez, deputy communications director for the county registrar’s office. At other centers, workers did not have the security codes or login information necessary to start the new touch-screen ballot-marking devices. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/23/20
Lopez: You’ll need a shower after reading about this school board race that’s descended into the gutter -- There she was, sitting right in front of me. Evil in the flesh, or so you’d believe from the fliers now landing in mailboxes across a wide swath of Los Angeles. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/23/20
Jail deaths across nation, state drop in new federal study; San Diego County rate rose over same two years -- The number of inmates dying behind bars in jails across the country declined by almost 2 percent between 2015 and 2016, the most recent years examined in a new report by the U.S. Department of Justice. During the same period in San Diego County, the number of jail deaths increased from 12 to 15 — a 25 percent rise. Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/23/20
Housing
Ultra-luxury SF condo projects could test just how high home prices can go: ‘They have a lot of money to spend’ -- From the Embarcadero to Yerba Buena Island to Nob Hill to South of Market, the wave of deluxe condo offerings washing over the city will test the upper reaches of one of the nation’s priciest housing markets. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/23/20
Immigration / Border
Greyhound to Stop Allowing Border Patrol Agents on Its Buses Without Warrants -- Greyhound Lines will no longer allow Border Patrol agents to conduct immigration checks on its buses without warrants, the company announced on Friday — one week after a leaked government memo revealed that agents could not board buses without consent. Johnny Diaz in the New York Times$ -- 2/23/20
Environment
Preview: First new state park campground in 30 years -- The first new state park campground on the coast in 30 years will feature ocean frontage from coastal bluff tops on Monterey Bay and likely sellout dates available the moment it opens in 2022. The location is the Fort Ord Dunes State Park, which has 4 miles of stellar ocean beach on Monterey Bay and is located near Marina, roughly south of Moss Landing and north of Monterey. Tom Stienstra in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/23/20
POTUS 45
Trump Was Furious That Passengers With Coronavirus Were Brought Back to U.S. -- President Trump was infuriated that 14 American citizens who had tested positive for coronavirus were permitted to return this week to the United States, said two senior administration officials. The decision had taken the president, a self-declared “germophobe,” by surprise. Edward Wong and Katie Rogers in the New York Times$ -- 2/23/20
-- Saturday Updates
Trump has flipped the 9th Circuit — and some new judges are causing a ‘shock wave’ -- When President Trump ticks off his accomplishments since taking office, he frequently mentions his aggressive makeover of a key sector of the federal judiciary — the circuit courts of appeal, where he has appointed 51 judges to lifetime jobs in three years. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/22/20
Most California insurers don’t incentivize fire prevention. A bill would change that -- A group of state lawmakers, regulators and consumer advocates hope the insurance industry can encourage homeowners and communities to harden their homes and neighborhoods against wildfires. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/22/20
Bay Area boosts Biden and Buttigieg Super PACs; Sanders leads California fundraising -- Sen. Bernie Sanders continued to lead his presidential rivals in donations from Californians last month as he raked in more than $25 million in contributions from around the country, according to campaign finance reports released late Thursday. Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/22/20
Game-changing LA County voting centers are open — despite some early glitches -- Years in the making, vote centers opened throughout Los Angeles County on Saturday morning, ushering in a major change in the way and where many of the county’s voters cast their ballots. Ryan Carter in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 2/22/20
Missing Palo Alto couple found alive in Marin County -- In a Tweet Saturday morning, the Marin County Sheriff’s Office said Marin County Search and Rescue and the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office were “working to extract them from the area.” The couple was transported to “a local hospital,” around noon, the Marin County Sheriff's Office said on Twitter. Carol Kiparsky, 77, and Ian Irwin, 72, were last seen on Feb. 14 walking near their rented cottage on Via de la Vista in the Seahaven-Inverness area. Justin Phillips in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/22/20
Judge blocks transfer of suspected coronavirus patients from Travis to Orange County -- A federal judge has granted a request to block temporarily the transfer of several dozen people who likely are infected with the new coronavirus from Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield, where they have been under quarantine, to a closed facility in Orange County. Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/22/20
250,000 fans visited L.A. Live in days after Kobe Bryant’s death. Monday will be different -- In the days after Kobe Bryant’s death last month, Los Angeles was in mourning. Mayor Eric Garcetti said “this city is broken” as he talked about a memorial for the NBA great who died in a helicopter crash along with his daughter and seven mothers. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/22/20
Oakland mayor says police chief’s firing was ‘personally difficult’ but in ‘the best interest’ of the city -- A day after she agreed to the citizen police commission’s firing of Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, Mayor Libby Schaaf welcomed nearly 30 police academy graduates with an explanation of why she terminated an ally she had recruited to turnaround Oakland’s troubled police department. David DeBolt in the East Bay Times -- 2/22/20
A look at Proposition 13, the $15-billion school bond on the March 3 ballot -- California voters will see only one statewihttps://www.dailynews.com/2020/02/21/instead-of-another-gated-community-porter-ranch-and-chatsworth-get-257-acres-of-lovely-preserved-open-space/de proposition on the March 3 primary ballot, a proposal to borrow money for the state’s schools. And in an election season dominated by a fiercely contested Democratic presidential race, this single ballot measure has received little attention. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/22/20
Coronavirus: Masked medics asked her to step outside. Then they started singing “Happy Birthday” -- Sarah Arana’s birthday party this year was going to be an elegant and intimate affair. Instead, she was given a surprise serenade by a joyful quartet of medics from the National Disaster Medical System of the Department of Health and Human Services — dressed in protective masks, face shields and surgical gloves — who sang, laughed, strummed guitar and delivered a box of decorated cupcakes. Lisa M. Krieger and John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/22/20
Lelyveld: Theo Henderson, 46, calls a park in Chinatown home and records “We the Unhoused” on his cellphone every week — no small feat as he also tries to survive on our streets. His parents, his only real safety net, died when he was a young man. And even though he graduated from college and used to teach elementary school, in a series of calamities starting with a diabetic coma during the recession, he lost his job and his housing and his economic stability. He now sleeps outdoors, on concrete. Nita Lelyveld in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/22/20
Still need a Real ID? Here’s how you can save time on your next trip to the DMV -- The clock is ticking for the roughly 16 million California drivers who are expected to come the Department of Motor Vehicles by the end of the year for a Real ID. Bryan Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/22/20
Instead of another gated community, Porter Ranch and Chatsworth get 257 acres of lovely, preserved open space -- The housing development once planned to be built here was to be called Hidden Creeks Estates. Now the name Hidden Creeks is being used to refer to the newly established, and fully protected, parkland. Elizabeth Chou in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 2/22/20