Updating . .
Update: Manhunt for active shooter near Sacramento City College -- A door-to-door manhunt for an armed suspect who killed one man and severely wounded another at Sacramento City College is underway in the area of Sutterville Road and Freeport Boulevard in Sacramento. Cathy Locke, Richard Chang and Hudson Sangree in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/3/15
Assembly Democrats pick Anthony Rendon to be next speaker -- Assembly Democrats tapped a Los Angeles-area lawmaker, Anthony Rendon, to be their next speaker Thursday, despite current Speaker Toni Atkins' attempt to stave off a challenge in the final weeks of the session. Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
Jerry Brown proposes new $65 driver’s fee, higher gas taxes -- California drivers would pay $65 a year in a new “highway user fee” plus higher taxes at the gas pump under a $3.6 billion plan Gov. Jerry Brown is pitching to help fix the state’s roads, bridges and highways. Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times John Myers KQED Jessica Calefati in the Oakland Tribune Juliet Willams Associated Press -- 9/3/15
News photographers call on California Gov. Jerry Brown to veto drone restrictions -- An organization representing news photographers urged California Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday to veto legislation that would restrict the use of drones over private property without the owner's consent. Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
L.A.-area carpool lanes may be opened to everyone during off-peak hours -- The state Senate sent the governor separate bills on Thursday — one that would allow all motorists to use carpool lanes on some Los Angeles County freeways during off-peak hours, and another that would increase penalties for sex offenders who remove court-ordered GPS tracking devices. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
Jerry Brown brokering late deal on medical marijuana regulations -- Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration is crafting the framework for medical marijuana regulations in California, a session-closing play that could end nearly two decades of clashing interpretations and court battles. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/3/15
Jerry Brown gets bill creating new date rape crime -- The state Senate on Thursday unanimously approved Senate Bill 333, which would create a new felony for the possession of date-rape drugs with the intent to commit a sexual assault, sending it to Brown’s desk for a signature. Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/3/15
Health plans come out against tax bills -- California’s largest health plan group this week declared its opposition to both of the healthcare special session bills that would impose new taxes on managed-care organizations, the latest sign that a replacement for a soon-to-expire health plan tax is unlikely to emerge before lawmakers adjourn next week. Jim Miller in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/3/15
California Bill Protects Immigrant Victims from Being Deported -- The state with the largest number of undocumented immigrants passed a bill Thursday to protect those who are victims of crimes from being deported. The California Assembly passed the the Immigrant Victims of Crime Equity Act, which was sponsored by Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins of San Diego and Senate President pro Tempore Kevin de León of Los Angeles. Chris Jennewein Times of San Diego -- 9/3/15
Congressman Mike Honda grapples with ethics report's release -- There is substantial reason to believe that Rep. Mike Honda and members of his staff improperly used official resources to benefit his campaign, and that Honda improperly linked official activities to political support, the Office of Congressional Ethics reports. Josh Richman in the San Jose Mercury$ Carla Marinucci in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/3/15
Tribal Casino Deals Quickly, Quietly Sealed By Governor Brown -- In the long and contentious history of Indian gaming in California, tribal leaders think they may have finally found a governor in Jerry Brown who has a good sense of both them and their multi-billion dollar industry. John Myers KQED -- 9/3/15
Survey: California state workers like their work, management not so much -- California’s state workers generally believe their work matters and that performance standards are well-defined, but that management doesn’t recognize good work or hold employees accountable for results, according to the results of a first-of-its-kind survey released Thursday. Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/3/15
California lawmaker presents bill for deaf students using sign language -- It was a little ironic that the Assembly fell silent to watch Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Yuba City, present Senate Bill 210, which sets educational standards for deaf students. Jeremy B. White in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/3/15
ACLU wants feds to withhold funds from LAPD for body cameras -- The Los Angeles Police Department's effort to equip officers with body cameras has run up against an unlikely obstacle - the ACLU of Southern California. Tami Abdollah Associated Press -- 9/3/15
San Jose jail death: 3 officers arrested on suspicion of murder, Santa Clara County sheriff's office says -- In a move with no known precedent in its 165-year history, the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office is recommending murder charges against three correctional officers in the death of an inmate last week at the main jail, accusing them of viciously beating the man and admitting to using force only after the man was found lifeless in his cell. Robert Salonga and Tracey Kaplan in the San Jose Mercury$ Veronica Rocha in the Los Angeles Times Martha Mendoza and Kristin J. Bender Associated Press -- 9/3/15
Feinstein trying for fifth full term? Invites go out for fundraiser -- California U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, 82, has sent the first signals that she intends to run for a fifth term — invitations to a Washington, D.C., fundraiser for her 2018 campaign went out Thursday. Carla Marinucci in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/3/15
Sen. Dianne Feinstein opens up about women in politics -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein has some advice for women interested in politics: Don't get too big for your britches. Javier Panzar in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
Jeffe&Jeffe: California Here He Comes -- Let’s stipulate that the GOP’s Trump boom may fizzle long before California’s June 2016 Presidential primary rolls around —remember Michele Bachmann and the pizza man? Sherry Bebitch Jeffe & Doug Jeffe Fox & Hounds -- 9/3/15
Fox: What’s in a Name? -- President Barack Obama stirred up a minor controversy authorizing a name change for Alaska’s Mt. McKinley back to an older name, Denali. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 9/3/15
Ben Carson Wins in Matchup With Donald Trump, Poll Shows -- If Donald Trump has an Achilles’ heel in the Republican presidential nominating contest, it just might be the candidate who is least like him: soft-spoken retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson. Rebecca Ballhaus in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 9/3/15
Snowden: Other People Get Fired and Prosecuted For What Hillary Clinton Did -- If anyone but Hillary Clinton had used a personal email server to send reportedly classified material, they would be prosecuted and lose their security clearance, Edward Snowden says. Kim Zetter WIRED -- 9/3/15
Private island for sale in the San Francisco Bay -- In a city with some of the highest home prices in the country, a private island in the San Francisco Bay is now for sale for $5 million. Kristin J. Bender Associated Press -- 9/3/15
California Policy & Politics This Morning
California bills on guns, police video and pension funds await governor's signature -- State lawmakers on Wednesday sent the governor bills that would ban concealed guns from schools and college campuses in California, make it a felony for police officers to alter or delete video evidence, and require the state's public pension funds to divest their holdings in thermal coal. Patrick McGreevy, Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
Public can now see California data on arrests and deaths in police custody -- Saying that increased transparency can help ease tensions between police and the public, California Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris on Wednesday unlocked state databases on police killings and arrests, while saying law enforcement agencies should be required to report more information about incidents involving force. Joel Rubin in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
Skelton: Drivers need a fix for battered roads, and Republicans should learn from history -- Long for the good old days when California enjoyed the smoothest highways in America? Well, back then, there wasn't a roadblock on taxes to finance them. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
State orders California firm to stop tapping Sierra springs -- Armed with evidence captured by surveillance cameras, California regulators have ordered a business to stop tapping Sierra Nevada spring water that is later bottled and sold in stores, officials said Wednesday. Scott Smith Associated Press Amy Quinton Capital Public Radio -- 9/2/15
Legionnaires' outbreak grows, keeping San Quentin locked down -- An environmental consultant has been brought into the hunt for the source of Legionnaires' disease at San Quentin state prison. Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
Black Lives Matter protesters demand Jerry Brown’s support for police profiling measure -- Chanting “Black lives matter!” and staging a massive “die-in,” scores of people rallied Wednesday at the state Capitol in support of legislation that seeks to stamp out racial profiling by law enforcement. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/2/15
California data shows racial disparity in arrests, deaths -- Just 6 percent of Californians are African American, yet they are involved in 17 percent of all arrests in the state and a quarter of in-custody deaths, according to what officials called a nationally unprecedented release of data Wednesday. Tami Abdollah and Amanda Lee Myers Associated Press -- 9/2/15
Court: Parole OK for prisoner who denies crime -- The California parole board can deny release for an inmate who lacks “insight” into the crime he or she committed many years ago. But a state appeals court says a prisoner who has behaved well during 34 years of confinement, and who poses a low risk of violence to the public, can’t be denied parole merely because he continues to deny the crime he was convicted of committing. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/3/15
Bill expanding access to experimental drugs sent to Gov. Jerry Brown -- Paralleling a nationwide campaign to pass similar “right to try” laws, Assembly Bill 159, by Assemblyman Ian Calderon, D-Whittier, would permit pharmaceutical companies to make not-yet-fully-approved treatments available to terminally ill patients without going through existing federal channels. Jeremy B. White in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/2/15
California unveils improved campaign finance search site -- Californians will have an easier time determining who is contributing money to political candidates and causes starting Thursday when Secretary of State Alex Padilla begins operation of a new searchable website. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times Jim Miller in the Sacramento Bee Chris Nichols Capital Public Radio -- 9/2/15
Bill to strip coal from California pension portfolios heads to governor -- California’s public pension funds would need to drop their current investments in coal and avoid making new ones under a bill the California Assembly sent to Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday. Jeremy B. White in the Sacramento Bee Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/2/15
Legislation extends injury benefits to Cal Fire firefighters -- State firefighters injured because of their work would receive up to one year of salary instead of worker’s compensation, if a measure that suddenly surfaced Tuesday becomes law. Jon Ortiz in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/2/15
Donald Trump piñatas a hit for Watsonville maker -- In an old white barn outside of Watsonville, five piñata makers quickly paste together the hollow papier-mache sculptures. Before the weekend’s celebrations, they need to make hundreds of cartoon characters and superheroes — and a leading Republican candidate for president. Samantha Clark Santa Cruz Sentinel -- 9/2/15
These guys want lawmakers to give them 10% pay raise — to $500,000 per man -- The San Francisco Bar Pilots, a group of a few dozen men who guide ships in the San Francisco Bay, are asking California lawmakers for a hefty pay raise that would have each of them earning half a million dollars per year. Riley McDermid San Francisco Business Times -- 9/2/15
Mike Honda Lawyers Up -- Rep. Michael M. Honda hired attorneys from two prominent Washington law firms and a California public relations firm to respond to a controversy surrounding a potential House Ethics Committee probe into improper coordination between his campaign and official staff. Hannah Hess Roll Call -- 9/2/15
Deadline looming on ethics inquiry of San Jose Rep. Mike Honda -- The U.S. House Ethics Committee has a Thursday deadline to reveal its next step in a complaint accusing Rep. Mike Honda (D-San Jose) of improperly coordinating campaign and official duties. Noah Bierman in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/2/15
Defying party leaders, Henry Perea could be climate legislation's biggest hurdle -- For years, the Democratic assemblyman had griped about the Central Valley getting shortchanged by Sacramento and overshadowed by Los Angeles, San Francisco and other big-city magnets for state dollars. Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/2/15
California lawmakers pass sweeping ivory ban to curb elephant poaching -- California made it illegal to sell ivory in 1977, but state law still permits the sale of older ivory imported more than four decades ago. If signed into law, Assembly Bill 96 would close that loophole and deter more poaching, says Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, D-San Diego. Jessica Calefati in the Contra Costa Times$ Chris Nichols Capital Public Radio Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/3/15
DNA database imperiled by Prop. 47 ruling on juveniles, San Diego D.A. says -- The California Supreme Court should overturn a lower court ruling that juvenile offenders have the same rights as adults to reduced sentences under Proposition 47, according to an appeal filed by the San Diego County district attorney. Tony Perry in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
A Vacation That Ended With the Legion of Honor -- In Sacramento, Airman Stone’s mother, Joyce Eskel, got a phone call from Specialist Skarlatos’s mother and another from the Air Force. Her son and his two friends, Ms. Eskel was told, had thwarted a terrorist attack. Her son had been “cut.” He was hospitalized but would be O.K. Helene Cooper in the New York Times$ -- 9/3/15
Greenhut: A settlement that's not for the dogs -- If Californians learned their government was keeping thousands of dogs confined in tiny, concrete, windowless kennels for years on end, people surely would be marching on the Capitol. I’m guessing Assembly members would have prioritized a bill ending that practice above their recent effort to halt ivory sales to protect elephants in far-off Africa. Steven Greenhut in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/3/15
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Four things workers should know about the California Fair Pay Act -- Here's what this bill could mean for workers. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/2/15
California equal pay bill may be toughest in nation -- The bill ensures that male and female employees who perform "substantially similar" work receive equal pay, even if their job titles aren't the same or if they work in different offices for the same employer. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/2/15
San Jose joins forces with seven other cities to raise minimum wage -- The mayors of seven Bay Area cities will join Mayor Sam Liccardo on Thursday to announce an unprecedented joint venture to raise the minimum wage across the valley in a regional effort to close the growing gap between the rich and the poor in Silicon Valley. Ramona Giwargis in the Contra Costa Times$ -- 9/3/15
Pension fund CalSTRS weighs shift to safety -- The California State Teachers' Retirement System, the nation's second-largest public pension system, is considering a new strategy that would shift up to 12% of its $191-billion portfolio into safer investments, such as long-term Treasury bonds. Dean Starkman, Melody Petersen in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
Governor Signs Brian Jones’ American-Made Labeling Law -- Legislation to allow manufacturers to label their products “Made in America” if no more than 10 percent of the final product is made outside of the United States was signed into law Wednesday by Gov. Jerry Brown. Chris Jennewein Times of San Diego Allen Young Sacramento Business Journal Michael Smolens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/2/15
Latest Raiders stadium plan for Oakland violates team's "terms and conditions" for deal -- Floyd Kephart has known for months that the cornerstone of his plan to finance a new stadium for the Oakland Raiders was a nonstarter for the team. Matthew Artz in the Oakland Tribune -- 9/2/15
Lopez: Cautionary tales for baby boomers without enough money for retirement -- Ever since I briefly flatlined three years ago after surgery, and then rose from the dead thanks to CPR from a well-trained nurse, I've found it more difficult to live conservatively and plan for tomorrow. Any of us could go at any minute, so why not live it up? Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/2/15
LA24 Olympic bid has something different: optics but no delusions -- dozen or so young women arrived at Santa Monica State Beach shortly before noon and split into groups to play volleyball on the sand. It occurs every day along the Southern California coast, but there was nothing impromptu or happenstance about their presence on this particular morning. David Wharton in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
Mayor's panel reveals recommended minimum wage for Sacramento -- Just in time for Labor Day, Mayor Kevin Johnson's task force on Wednesday recommended a plan to create a local minimum wage that would rise to $12.50 an hour by 2020. Allen Young Sacramento Business Journal -- 9/3/15
Drought
Fight between tribes and farmers over Northern California’s water -- Fish vs. farmers. Tribes vs. agribusiness. It might seem easy, summarizing the conflict over the Trinity River in Northern California. But amid record drought, this long-running and singular battle has become a case study about the difficulties in balancing Western water use. Michael Doyle in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/3/15
Education
San Francisco school adopting gender-neutral bathrooms -- Miraloma Elementary started removing the circles, triangles and stick-figure signs from restrooms at the start of this school year, in part to acknowledge six to eight students who don’t fit traditional gender norms — kids who range from tomboys to transgender, said Principal Sam Bass. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/3/15
Black and Latino students in California score better on AP tests than peers elsewhere -- Black and Latino students in California who passed Advanced Placement exams outperformed their peers elsewhere, but a gap persists between them and their white and Asian counterparts, according to new test score results. Sonali Kohli in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
Teen partly responsible for her sex abuse by teacher, L.A. Unified tells appeals court -- Los Angeles Unified continues to argue that a 14-year-old girl should be partly responsible for sexual abuse by her eighth-grade teacher. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
New institute in Palo Alto aims to help shape state, national K-12 policy -- A prominent scholar from Stanford University will direct a new education institute in Palo Alto whose mission is to influence K-12 policies in both California and the nation. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 9/3/15
Back to school in Long Beach, where the superintendent has lasted longer than your K-12 career -- A dozen years ago on a Saturday morning, a father in Long Beach dropped off his son to take a qualifying test for an AP history class. When the teen got in and the dad later visited the class at Wilson Classical High School, he noticed something odd: Most of the students were white—even though 70% of the school was not. Sonali Kohli in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/2/15
Cal State University campuses set enrollment records -- Cal State University announced this week that about 132,855 new students enrolled for the fall semester, a record-high for the 23-campus system. The enrollment includes 65,145 new freshman, 49,066 new transfer students and 18,644 new graduate students, CSU officials said. Josh Dulaney in the Long Beach Press Telegram -- 9/3/15
Environment
Community, Farmers Split on Pesticide Regulation -- More than 35,000 Monterey County schoolchildren will attend schools near fields treated with high levels of potentially dangerous pesticides—including chemicals that are known to harm the brain and nervous system, cause genetic mutations and disrupt hormonal regulation. Lily Dayton California Health Report -- 9/2/15
Caltrans proposes wildlife overpass on 101 Freeway -- Mountain lions, bobcats and other wildlife would have less chance of becoming roadkill if the state adopts a plan to build a landscaped bridge over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills, supporters of the proposal said Wednesday. Martha Groves in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/3/15
Health
California Moves To Stop Misuse Of Psychiatric Meds In Foster Care -- By the time DeAngelo Cortijo was 14, he had been in more than a dozen foster homes. He had run away and lived on the streets for months, and he had been diagnosed with bipolar and anxiety disorders, attachment disorder, intermittent explosive disorder or posttraumatic stress disorder. He had been in and out of mental hospitals and heavily medicated. Elaine Korry KQED -- 9/2/15
HIV-preventing drug holds up under study -- In the first real-world study of the prescription drug, Kaiser researchers found no new HIV infections among the more than 650 people they followed over nearly three years, beginning just after the drug was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2012. Victoria Colliver in the San Francisco Chronicle Hannah Guzik California Health Report -- 9/2/15
World’s largest public stem cell bank inaugurated in California -- California researchers opened the world’s largest publicly available stem cell bank Tuesday, which will aid in the search for cures for genetic diseases such as Alzheimer’s, epilepsy and autism. Stela Khury in the Sacramento Bee -- 9/2/15
Also . . .
Sharp downturn in use of force at Oakland Police Department -- Excessive use of force has long been a problem for the Oakland Police Department, leading to civic distrust, costly lawsuits and the nation’s longest-running federal intervention. Joaquin Palomino in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/3/15
Dramatic rise in crime casts a shadow on downtown L.A.'s gentrification -- As Lauren Mishkind was walking along 7th Street this summer in downtown Los Angeles, a man pulled a handgun and pointed it at another person standing behind her. Ben Poston, Kate Mather in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/2/15
Close call: iPhone stops bullet during armed robbery of Fresno State student -- A Fresno State student is lucky to be uninjured after an armed robbery near the campus in which a gunshot fired by the thief was blocked by the victim’s iPhone, police said. Rory Appleton in the Fresno Bee -- 9/2/15
Hackers attack jailbroken iOS devices, accessing 225,000 Apple accounts -- An Apple spokesman noted that the issue only affects users who have jailbroken devices and have downloaded malware from untrustworthy sources. Andrea Chang in the Los Angeles Times -- 9/2/15
Beltway
Sanders’s repeated, exaggerated claims on income and wealth inequality -- The gap between the rich and poor is a cornerstone of Sanders’s platform in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. This particular talking point is one he uses often on the trail, highlighting the income and wealth inequality in the United States. Michelle Ye Hee Lee in the Washington Post -- 9/3/15
Inside Jeb Bush’s fall strategy to deflate Trump and court conservatives -- This is not how Jeb Bush thought his summer would end. The candidate once seen as the most likely Republican presidential nominee is languishing in the polls, his fundraising has slowed, and he endures daily taunts from the rival who unseated him as the front-runner, Donald Trump. Robert Costa and Philip Rucker in the Washington Post -- 9/3/15