California Policy & Politics This Morning  

PG&E to pay $1 billion to governments for wildfire damage -- A California utility agreed Tuesday to pay $1 billion to 14 local governments to cover damages from a series of deadly wildfires caused by its downed power lines. The settlement is a sliver of the more than $30 billion in potential damages Pacific Gas & Electric is facing in lawsuits filed by local governments, insurance companies and private property owners. Adam Beam Associated Press J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Katherine Blunt and Erin Ailworth in the Wall Street Journal$ Darrell Smith and Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/19/19

How California utility’s wildfire settlement will be paid -- Pacific Gas & Electric is facing at least $30 billion in potential damages in lawsuits filed by local governments, insurance companies and private property owners. PG&E’s settlement with local governments on Tuesday must be approved by a bankruptcy court before it can take effect. Adam Beam Associated Press -- 6/19/19

California governor, lawmaker alter proposed vaccine rules -- California public health officials would have oversight of doctors and schools with high numbers of medical exemptions for vaccinations under a legislative compromise announced Tuesday. Gov. Gavin Newsom and the bill’s author disclosed the deal aimed at cracking down on fraudulent exemptions issued by sympathetic doctors. Don Thompson Associated Press Hannah Wiley and Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/19/19

Walters: Bill reduces ballot measure transparency -- Given their druthers, many government officials would prefer to do their business – our business, actually – behind closed doors and provide sanitized, self-serving versions of their actions after the fact. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 6/19/19

San Francisco has moved to ban e-cigarettes. Juul has a backup plan -- The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to approve first-of-its-kind legislation to suspend the sale of e-cigarettes in the city, amid concerns over underage use of the addictive nicotine products. The measure is already being challenged by the nation’s largest e-cigarette company, Juul, which is laying the groundwork to take the issue to voters in November. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/19/19

California governor calls Native American treatment genocide -- Gov. Gavin Newsom formally apologized Tuesday and pushed the state to reckon with California’s dark history of violence, mistreatment and neglect of Native Americans, saying it amounted to genocide. Andrew Oxford Associated Press Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Taryn Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/19/19

Nunes hired a longtime supporter with little experience to handle 2018 campaign ad buys -- For 13 years, Rep. Devin Nunes relied on a trusted, experienced political consultant, Tim Orman, for his campaign advertising. But as Nunes (R-Tulare) faced what would become his toughest-ever reelection last year, Orman was no longer available. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/19/19

Tentative settlement reached in Stephon Clark family lawsuit against Sacramento, court says -- Lawyers for the city of Sacramento and Stephon Clark’s children have reached a partial settlement of the Clark family’s $20 million lawsuit over the March 2018 shooting by police that killed the unarmed black man, federal court filings say. Sam Stanton and Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/19/19

Bill to create 'safe injection sites' won't happen this year -- Legislation that would allow San Francisco drug users to inject themselves at supervised facilities without legal consequences will not move forward this year, the bill’s authors announced Tuesday. Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/19/19

Judges differ with Trump administration on conditions for immigrant minors -- The Trump administration’s defense of conditions at its shelters for immigrant minors — it argues it is not legally required to provide all of them with such items as soap, toothbrushes and sleeping accommodations — drew an incredulous response from federal appeals court judges Tuesday at a hearing in San Francisco. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/19/19

Attorney: Man killed at Costco was mentally ill, off meds -- A man fatally shot in a Southern California Costco store was mentally ill and off his medication when he pushed or slapped an off-duty police officer who opened fire and killed the man and critically wounded the man’s parents, the lawyer for the man’s family said Tuesday. Stefanie Dazio Associated Press -- 6/19/19

Costco shooting: Man pushed LAPD officer, but deadly force was excessive, attorney says -- A man fatally shot by an off-duty Los Angeles police officer at a Costco in Corona pushed the officer — but that does not justify the use of deadly force, an attorney representing his family said Tuesday. Hannah Fry, Mark Puente and Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/19/19

In Los Angeles, only people of color are sentenced to death -- Los Angeles has sentenced more people to death than any other county in the US, and only people of color have received the death penalty under the region’s current prosecutor, a new report shows. Sam Levin The Guardian -- 6/19/19

Lopez: The California lottery, public schools and the mystery of the ‘missing’ money -- “Where is the money from the lottery going?” asked a reader named Jean. It never fails. Write about school funding shortages in California, and the emails start pouring in from people who insist the lottery was supposed to solve all our education money issues and wonder why it hasn’t. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/19/19

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

California Almond Industry Faces Another Tariff Hike, This Time From India -- The country is imposing a 70% tariff on American imports, including apples and almonds. The move is in response to U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, and it comes on the heels of China increasing its retaliatory tariff on almonds last year. The California almond industry has invested heavily in the India and China markets. India is the No. 1 importer of almonds in the world, and California is the No. 1 producer, growing 80% of the world’s supply. Rich Ibarra Capital Public Radio -- 6/19/19

The Finance 202: Trump administration gets earful on tariffs from New Balance to toilet maker -- American companies, from video game makers to tractor manufacturers, are lining up this week to give the Trump administration an earful about the damage its proposed tariffs on $300 billion of Chinese imports will do to their businesses. Whether President Trump is listening remains to be seen. Tory Newmyer in the Washington Post$ -- 6/19/19

America has never gone this long without hiking the federal minimum wage -- In July 2009, almost 10 years ago, the federal minimum wage rose from $6.55 an hour to $7.25 an hour. Since then, Congress has not approved any additional hikes, with Republican lawmakers generally rejecting Democrats’ attempts to raise the minimum wage. Jeff Stein in the Washington Post$ -- 6/19/19

Experts Cheer Newsom’s Order To Create Aging Plan, Some Push For Interim Fixes -- Advocates for seniors are optimistic about California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to create a master plan on aging by October 2020. But they hope the elderly’s most pressing needs aren’t ignored in the interim. Amita Sharma KPBS -- 6/19/19

Transit  

Cash-paying Muni riders will face fare hike on July 1, Muni says -- Muni travelers using cash to ride buses and light rail trains will have to dig a bit deeper in their pockets starting July 1. The cost of a single ride for cash payers will rise by a quarter from $2.75 to $3.00, according to a statement released Tuesday by Muni officials. Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/19/19

$44 Million Mid-City Bus Rapid Transit Route Is Slower Than Route It Replaced -- Federal and local taxes paid $44 million for a bus rapid transit route from San Diego State University to downtown that is slower on average than the route it replaced, according to an inewsource analysis. Lauren J. Mapp inewsource via KPBS -- 6/19/19

Housing  

Southern California cities cite 'chaos' in rejecting state push for more housing -- This month, a public agency representing 19 million residents in Los Angeles County and five neighboring counties voted to sharply restrict the amount of residential building in the region. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/19/19

Four San Francisco supervisors propose ballot measure for affordable and teacher housing -- The measure, which would require board approval to appear on a ballot, would allow 100% affordable and educator housing on more than 3,000 lots, and publicly owned sites, excluding parks. The measure would also waive density restrictions to allow for larger projects and give teacher housing the same approval streamlining as affordable projects. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/19/19

These are the most expensive counties in the U.S. to rent. Hint: they’re all in the Bay Area -- Renters need to make about $127,000 a year to afford a modest, two-bedroom home in the nation’s three most expensive counties — all of which are right here in the Bay Area, according to the latest report to crown the region with a dubious housing distinction. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/19/19

Google Pledges $1 Billion to Help Fight Bay Area Housing Crisis It Helped Create -- Unprecedented in size and scope, the proposal to create 20,000 new homes is being greeted with wary enthusiasm, as it comes amid a regional housing crisis instigated in part by big technology companies like Google. Rachael Myrow KQED -- 6/19/19

Silicon Valley’s Quaintest Community -- Every ZIP Code in California’s Silicon Valley, roughly 30 miles of communities strung together on the peninsula south of San Francisco and north of San Jose, has outsize residential real-estate prices. Atherton, Los Altos, and Palo Alto often steal the spotlight. Jessica Flint in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 6/19/19

Education 

New L.A. schools budget includes raises, layoffs -- Los Angeles school district officials on Tuesday approved a $7.4-billion budget that was a mix of gains and losses for the nation’s second largest school system. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/19/19

L.A. Unified board votes to end random student searches -- Los Angeles school leaders voted Tuesday to end a policy of randomly searching students with metal detectors during the school day, a decades-old practice that a coalition of students and advocates has been trying to eliminate for years. Sonali Kohli in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/19/19

Supporters, opponents of controversial San Francisco school mural speak out -- The days of students at George Washington High School saying “Meet me at the dead Indian” are likely numbered but that didn’t stop the San Francisco Board of Education from having one last big battle over the merits of a controversial Depression-era fresco in the school’s hallways. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/19/19

Charter ‘authorizers’ come under greater scrutiny in California -- As charter school conflicts intensify in California, increasing attention is being focused not only on the schools themselves but on the school boards and other entities that grant them permission to operate in the first place. Louis Freedberg EdSource -- 6/19/19

Cannabis 

San Diego City Council greenlights Linda Vista pot facility -- The San Diego City Council agreed by a 5-4 vote Tuesday to allow a marijuana production facility in Linda Vista, ending a months-long battle for what appears to be the last available conditional use permit. Jeff MCDonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/19/19

Immigration / Border 

Trump renews pledge to deport millions, but ICE reality is far more limited -- With unauthorized border crossings soaring under Trump to their highest levels in more than a decade, ICE has been facing a shortage of funds and detention beds, and experts say that a large-scale push to arrest and deport hundreds of thousands of migrants would be exorbitantly expensive and highly unlikely. Nick Miroff, Maria Sacchetti, Abigail Hauslohner and Josh Dawsey in the Washington Post$ -- 6/19/19

San Diego immigrant communities preparing for increased enforcement after Trump tweet -- Lilian Serrano, chair of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium, said she’s already heard from community members in North County who are worried about what might happen to them or their families if the president’s plan becomes reality. Kate Morrissey in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/19/19

Environment 

The World Will Get Half Its Power From Wind, Solar by 2050 -- Nearly half the world’s electricity will come from renewable energy by 2050 as costs of wind, solar and battery storage continue to plummet. That titanic shift over the next three decades will come as electricity demand increases 62% and investors pump $13.3 trillion into new projects, according to a report released Tuesday by BloombergNEF. Millicent Dent and Chris Martin Bloomberg -- 6/19/19

Also . . . 

Sheriff’s deputy has concussion after incident with Raptors’ Masai Ujiri, attorney says -- The Alameda County sheriff’s deputy who said he was pushed and hit in the face by the Toronto Raptors’ president last week after the Canadian team claimed its first NBA championship sustained a concussion and is on medical leave from work, his attorney said Tuesday. Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/19/19

L.A. County to pay $7-million settlement in fatal shooting involving tattooed deputy group -- Secret societies of Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies with matching skeleton tattoos have long been a liability in cases in which inked deputies are accused of excessive force and harassment. Now, county taxpayers will pay $7 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the family of a 31-year-old man who was shot and killed when deputies opened fire on him during a foot chase in 2016. Deputies claimed the man, Donta Taylor, had a handgun, but no weapon was found. Maya Lau in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/19/19

Weinstein victims' settlement hits another roadblock -- The deal, which was already in jeopardy, is now facing more uncertainty because of a dispute between the estate of the Weinstein Co. and former directors who’ve been accused of enabling Weinstein’s alleged misconduct. Stacy Perman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/19/19

How Redding, California, became an unlikely epicenter of modern Christian culture -- God brought Golibé Omenaka to Northern California. The journey started in Manchester, England, when he encountered the teachings of a Redding-based megachurch called Bethel, and took off when a friend prophesied that God had called Omenaka to Bethel. Vanessa Rancano KQED via Calmatters -- 6/19/19

Marilyn Monroe is missing from the top of a 25-year-old Hollywood installation -- For 25 years, a glittery sculpture of Marilyn Monroe has perched high above the “Four Ladies of Hollywood” gazebo — a statuesque gateway to the Walk of Fame. In the predawn hours Monday, Marilyn went missing. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/19/19

POTUS 45  

Trump rehashes gripes, rips ‘radical’ Dems in 2020 launch -- Jabbing at the press and poking the eye of the political establishment he ran against in 2016, President Donald Trump officially kicked off his reelection campaign Tuesday with a grievance-filled Florida rally that focused more on settling scores than laying out his agenda for a second term. Jill Colvin, Jonathan Lemire and Michael Schneider Associated Press -- 6/19/19

2016 All Over Again -- “2016 was not merely another four-year election,” Mr. Trump said when he took the stage. Pointing to the press pen, he noted that it was “a defining moment in American history, ask them right there.” He followed up with promises to “drain the swamp,” pausing as the crowd picked up the familiar refrain, and assurances that he was going to “build the wall.” Annie Karni and Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ -- 6/19/19

Trump officially enters 2020 race still hung up on 2016 rival -- Trump seemed more focused on Clinton at his official campaign launch than he was on any of the 2020 Democratic candidates. He promised supporters he would find Clinton's deleted emails from her time as secretary of state. He had previously claimed he was joking about requesting the emails from Russia, though the Mueller investigation found Trump repeatedly asked Michael Flynn to get them in 2016. Rashaan Ayesh Axios -- 6/19/19

Dems taunt Trump with threats of prison time -- Get ready for a potential new 2020 presidential campaign chant: “Lock him up.” A role reversal is starting to play out, with some Democrats openly taunting President Donald Trump with threats he’ll be the one spending time behind bars after he’s out of office. Darren Samuelsohn Politico -- 6/19/19

Trump takes credit for passing veterans bill that passed under Obama -- President Trump at his 2020 campaign kickoff rally on Tuesday took credit for passing a veteran's health care bill that was signed into law by former President Obama. Rachel Frazin The Hill -- 6/19/19

Beltway 

Congressional Hearing On Slavery Reparations Set For Wednesday -- For the first time in a decade Congress will hold a hearing Wednesday on the subject of reparations for the descendants of slaves in the United States, a topic that has gained traction in the run-up to the 2020 elections. Richard Gonzales NPR Sheryl Gay Stolberg in the New York Times$ -- 6/19/19

Trump supporters stage small but spirited ‘caravan’ in Marin County -- Marin County isn’t exactly a hotbed of support for Trump — he lost it in 2016 to Hillary Clinton by 77% to 15% — and Tuesday’s turnout wasn’t all that large. But supporters did have 14 cars, which they used to form what they called a “caravan” celebrating the re-election rally that Trump planned to hold Tuesday night in Orlando. Gwendolyn Wu in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/19/19

 

-- Tuesday Updates 

California vaccine bill undergoes major changes, wins support of Newsom, a former critic -- A key California lawmaker has amended contentious legislation to tighten vaccine exemptions amid a national measles outbreak, sharpening its focus on bad doctors while easing the list of medical conditions that doctors could cite in allowing schoolchildren to skip required immunizations. Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/18/19

At Costco food sample line, gunfire, death and unanswered questions -- It was a typical Friday night at Costco. The cavernous Corona store was packed, and customers waited in line for food samples — the quintessential Costco experience. Hannah Fry, Mark Puente, Richard Winton and Laura Newberry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/18/19

Google puts up $1 billion to fight housing crisis in its Bay Area backyard -- Over the next decade, the Mountain View tech giant will establish a $250 million investment fund to help finance 5,000 affordable housing units close to its offices and near transportation hubs, the company said in a blog post. Roland Li and Melia Russell in the San Francisco Chronicle$ George Avalos and Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/18/19

After year of headlines and scandals, Google shareholders call for big changes -- Some of the proposals address issues that have made headlines in the past year or so, including Google’s plans to once again operate a search engine in China, extremist content on its platforms, sexual harassment in the workplace, and employment practices and contracts that make it tough for employees to seek redress. Levi Sumagaysay in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/18/19

Oakland mayor punches back at Trump after tweet on ICE raids to arrest millions -- President Trump issued an unexpected announcement Monday night on Twitter that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, will soon conduct raids to round up millions of undocumented immigrants across the country. One local official, who has been an adversary of Trump’s on immigration, had a response at the ready. Josh Koehn in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/18/19

Abcarian: Duncan Hunter, your wife admitted conspiring with you to steal campaign funds. You don’t belong in Congress -- This is a husband, after all, whose reaction to being charged with federal felonies was not just to throw his own wife under a bus, but to make sure the bus backed up and ran her over a few more times. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/18/19

In a tiny California town ravaged by fire, a muralist finds a calling — and notoriety -- When the lot is cleared and Nicole’s wall crumbles to the ground, so too will the mural. But Shane’s notoriety in the art world will have just begun to take root. Laura Newberry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/18/19

You won’t believe how many San Francisco workers are burned out -- Twenty-nine percent of workers in the city by the bay are crispy-fried by the strains of their work life. If that sounds dire, take heart that it’s even worse in Los Angeles and Orange counties where the number of people completely charred by their working lives hits a dismal 50 percent. Karen D’Souza in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/18/19

With SUV ads and snark, desert city looks to woo Bay Area residents -- Would you trade your long commute for hotter weather? A few less museums, restaurants and concerts for a much cheaper home? A Phoenix-area business group has launched a campaign — complete with shrink-wrapped SUVs and a slightly snarky Twitter account — to lure frustrated Bay Area residents and companies away from Silicon Valley. Louis Hansen in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/18/19

Sacramento set to require panic buttons for hotel workers to protect them from sex harassment -- The hotels would have to provide all housekeepers with buttons at no cost to the employees. Workers would be able to press the buttons if they are about to witness an act of sexual harassment, such as masturbation. The button sends a notification to on-site staff who can immediately intervene. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/18/19