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Governor signs foster and homeless youth's education rights bill -- Foster and homeless youth will have a new way to fight for their educational rights under a bill signed into law on Sunday by Gov. Jerry Brown. Joyce Tsai in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/12/15
California Gov. Jerry Brown vetoes ethnic studies bill -- Gov. Jerry Brown has vetoed a bill that would have required state education officials to develop a model ethnic studies program for California's public schools. Stephen Ceasar in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/12/15
Business groups help bring down labor bills -- After the dust settled Sunday on the final day of the year's regular legislative session, business groups were quick to claim victory over a torrent of labor-backed bills. Allen Young Sacramento Business Journal -- 10/12/15
SD7: Bonilla won’t run against Glazer in 2016 -- Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla won’t run next year against fellow Democrat state Sen. Steve Glazer, who defeated her in the 7th State Senate District’s special election earlier this year. Josh Richman Political Blotter -- 10/12/15
Lake County Faces Long, Tough Recovery From Valley Fire -- The towering walls of flame that rampaged across an area more than double the size of San Francisco are gone. Lake County’s famous clean mountain air no longer carries the acrid smell of creosote. Alex Emslie KQED -- 10/12/15
Warriors formally purchase Mission Bay site -- The Warriors announced Monday the team has formally acquired the 12-acre site of its future sports and entertainment complex in Mission Bay from Salesforce. Rusty Simmons in the San Francisco Chronicle Diamond Leung in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/12/15
ESPN postpones Sacramento film due to new focus on Kevin Johnson molestation allegations -- Hours before a scheduled Sacramento premiere of its documentary about the region’s efforts to keep the Kings, ESPN announced Monday that it will temporarily shelve its film “Down in the Valley” because of renewed focus on allegations that Mayor Kevin Johnson molested a Phoenix teenager nearly two decades ago. Marcos Breton in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/15
'Purple carpet' event for Kings documentary will still be held tonight -- A Sacramento screening of an ESPN documentary about the Sacramento Kings will take place tonight as planned, despite ESPN's decision today to postpone its network premiere. Sonya Sorich Sacramento Business Journal -- 10/12/15
Fox: Is There a Willie Brown in Congress? -- The battle in the Republican congressional caucus over choosing a leader just might open an opportunity for a strategic, politically savvy Democrat to take a shot at the speakership. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 10/12/15
Valley Fire Leaves Many Immigrants In A Precarious Position -- The recent Valley Fire, north of Napa, scorched more than 75,000 acres and destroyed nearly 1,300 homes. Thousands of people were displaced. Imagine if you were one of them, you lost everything but were scared to ask for help. That’s the reality for many undocumented families in the area. Lesley McClurg Capital Public Radio -- 10/12/15
Education Push to Help Doctors Field Patients’ Assisted-Death Requests -- Now that California has legalized physician-assisted suicide, advocacy groups are planning statewide education campaigns so doctors know what to do when patients ask for lethal medication to end their lives. April Dembosky KQED -- 10/12/15
Shawn Hurwitz, prominent Houstonian, dead in Austin boat crash -- Hurwitz was the son of Houston billionaire Charles Hurwitz, 75, CEO of Maxxam Inc. (AMEX: MXM) and an instrumental founder of commercial horse racing in Texas. Dylan Baddour Houston Chronicle -- 10/12/15
Tesla Model X buyers could get $25,000 tax break -- Take heart, prospective Tesla buyers alarmed by the probable $100,000-plus price tag for the company's new Model X: You may qualify for a $25,000 tax break. Charles Fleming in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/12/15
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Gov. Jerry Brown uses raft of veto messages to draw attention to his agenda -- Gov. Jerry Brown often quotes erudite authors and ancient texts to help explain his thinking. But in a raft of vetoes issued ahead of Sunday's midnight deadline to act on legislation, his message came through loud and clear -- Legislature, you messed up. Jessica Calefati in the Contra Costa Times$ -- 10/12/15
Jerry Brown sounds notes of caution in vetoes -- Less than a week after signing legislation allowing California doctors to prescribe their dying patients lethal drugs, Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday vetoed a bill that would have let terminally ill people petition pharmaceutical companies for access to experimental drugs before they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. David Siders in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/15
Jerry Brown vetoes ‘right to try’ bill for experimental drugs -- Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday vetoed legislation that would have allowed terminally ill people in California to petition pharmaceutical companies for access to experimental drugs before they are approved by the Food and Drug Administration. David Siders in the Sacramento Bee Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times Tracy Seipel in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/12/15
Brown rejects labor-backed laws in sweeping bill package -- Gov. Jerry Brown barred public schools from using the Redskins name, strengthened the state's vaccine rules by requiring mandatory vaccination for day care workers and handed a win to the business community by vetoing two bills on the Chamber of Commerce list of so-called "job killers" as he took action on dozens of pieces of legislation Sunday. Juliet Willams Associated Press -- 10/12/15
Jerry Brown vetoes expanded family leave -- Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed legislation Sunday that would have expanded California’s unpaid family leave policy to include a broader range of workers’ family members, handing a significant victory to business groups that opposed the measure. David Siders in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/15
California bans use of ‘Redskins’ as school mascot or team name -- Amid national debate about the use of a term many critics call outdated and offensive, Gov. Jerry Brown on Sunday signed legislation banning the use of “Redskins” as a school mascot or team name. David Siders in the Sacramento Bee Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times Kurtis Alexander and Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/12/15
Governor Brown vetoes drug conviction bill -- When is a conviction not a conviction? That's one of the questions raised by California Gov. Jerry Brown as he vetoed a bill earlier this that would have protected immigrants—legal or not—with low level drug offenses from deportation. Richard Gonzales NPR -- 10/12/15
Health clinics run by anti-abortion groups sue attorney general over AB 775 -- Reproductive health clinics run by abortion opponents moved immediately to head off enforcement of a bill signed Friday by Gov. Jerry Brown that would require the clinics to inform patients that abortion services are available elsewhere. Denny Walsh in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/15
Californians like Jerry Brown, but not for president -- Just 39 percent of likely voters in California’s Democratic primary react positively to the idea of Brown running for president, according to a Field Poll released Monday. David Siders in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/15
California Considers Tough Campaign-Finance Rules -- California is considering some of the nation’s strictest campaign-finance rules, aimed at keeping candidates from coordinating with groups able to raise unlimited amounts of money on their behalf. Alejandro Lazo in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/12/15
Death-row drug quandary: makers resist supplying prisons -- California will soon allow physicians to prescribe life-ending medications to terminally ill, mentally competent patients who request them. At the same time, the state lacks drugs to put condemned prisoners to death, if the courts were to lift a nearly decade-old moratorium on executions in California. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/12/15
Skelton: Americans won't tolerate firearm deaths forever -- It is really quite simple: Guns are designed for killing. The more guns there are, the more people get killed. That's not just simple logic. It's simple fact. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/12/15
Walters: California has unspent billions from carbon auctions -- One of the chores the Legislature left undone when it adjourned was spending billions of dollars from auctioning carbon dioxide emission credits. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/15
Asian Americans celebrate rising political clout, call for more voter turnout -- When Dr. Richard Pan was growing up, a career in politics wasn’t considered a viable option for Asian American kids. Stephen Magagnini in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/15
California may allow inmate firefighters with violent pasts -- California officials are considering allowing inmates with violent backgrounds to work outside prison walls fighting wildfires, and the idea is generating concerns about public safety. Don Thompson Associated Press -- 10/12/15
US Servicemen Who Stopped French Train Attacker Reunite in Hospital After Stabbing -- Army National Guardsman Alek Skarlatos made a trip to Sacramento, California, this weekend to visit his friend Spencer Stone, who has been recovering in the hospital since Thursday. Emily Shapiro ABC News -- 10/12/15
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Developers, tech firms invest heavily in housing bond measure -- If you want to see how things really get done in San Francisco, a great example is the campaign for Proposition A — Mayor Ed Lee’s $310 million affordable-housing bond that voters are being asked to approve on the Nov. 3 ballot. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/12/15
New pension initiative puts Utah-like cap on cost -- One of the two initiatives filed by a pension reform group last week would cap state and local government spending on retirement benefits for most new hires at 11 percent of pay, much like a Utah pension reform five years ago. Ed Mendel Calpensions.com -- 10/12/15
How El Nino is big business for roofing companies -- With a mega El Niño predicted to hit Southern California this winter, roofing companies are scrambling to keep up with their work orders. Kevin Smith in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 10/12/15
Drought
Fines Over Water Use Rankle Californians -- Cities under pressure from California for failing to slash water consumption enough during the prolonged drought are cracking down on residents. Jim Carlton in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 10/12/15
Cadiz chief has strategy to get BLM roadblock removed for desert water transfer project -- The CEO for embattled Cadiz Inc. has a plan to keep alive a controversial project to transfer ancient groundwater in a remote part of San Bernardino County’s Mojave Desert to parts of Orange County and other locations where it could serve as many as 400,000 people. Jim Steinberg in the San Bernardino Sun -- 10/12/15
Education
Brown's school budget reform embraced, exploited -- Just over a year after Gov. Jerry Brown gave schools more money in exchange for their commitment to spend more on the neediest students and involve parents in setting priorities, some schools have made dramatic changes in line with his intentions, while others have dipped into the larger pool of funds to pay for pet projects. Sharon Noguchi in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/12/15
Wildlife refuge also serves as incubator of science study -- Cherokee and his feathered friends – among more than 50 different animal “teachers” living at a Half Moon Bay sanctuary known as Wildlife Associates – are in the spotlight this month as the non-profit refuge expands its educational reach with the launch of a pilot program that brings a three-week science unit aligned to new curriculum standards into several Bay Area classrooms. Kimberly Beltran Cabinet Report -- 10/12/15
Torlakson: New times demand new ways to support students and schools -- California’s education system is transforming in positive ways. Replacing the high school exit exam with more modern and meaningful measures is a critical part of that work. Tom Torlakson EdSource -- 10/12/15
Environment
California pushes to make landfills food-free -- In a little-heralded move with potentially sweeping implications, the California Air Resources Board last month announced a push to halt disposal of nearly all organic waste by 2025. Jeremy B. White in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/15
Solar panels getting cool reception from homeowners associations -- Despite state laws limiting the control that homeowners associations have over solar installations, green advocates say the groups are a steady challenge to extending the systems to more residential rooftops. Louis Hansen in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/12/15 --