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Loretta Sanchez accuses Kamala Harris of protecting ‘political cronies’ over California ratepayers -- Signaling an escalation in the U.S. Senate campaign, Rep. Loretta Sanchez on Thursday accused her opponent, state Attorney General Kamala Harris, of refusing to prosecute “well-documented, illegal” activity at the state regulatory agency amid a probe into the closure of the San Onofre nuclear power plant. “ Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/8/16

California becomes a global laboratory in fight against climate change -- California will become a petri dish for international efforts to slow global warming under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday, forcing one of the world’s largest economies to squeeze into a dramatically smaller carbon footprint. Chris Megerian and Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ David Siders in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/8/16

County supervisor candidate can't link rival to Trump in voter pamphlet, judge rules -- Kathryn Barger, a candidate running to replace retiring Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, won a legal challenge Thursday over a rival's candidate statement that implied Barger supports Donald Trump. Abby Sewell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/8/16

California's parents don't know they have a voice in school spending decisions -- Parents in California have a right to help decide how their schools spend money, but many in the state may not know that. Joy Resmovits in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/8/16

Fox: Promises, Promises -- Voters, beware the promises you will hear attached to the coming state ballot measures. Given the track record of some recently passed ballot measures, voters should turn a skeptical eye on many of the assurances assigned by initiative promoters. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 9/8/16

California Policy & Politics This Morning   

Coastal Commission rejects Newport Banning Ranch development -- After a marathon day of testimony, California coastal commissioners voted to deny a controversial proposal to develop one of the largest open private parcels of land on the Southern California coast. Bettina Boxall and Dan Weikel in the Los Angeles Times$ Amy Taxin Associated Press -- 9/8/16

Oakland moves to fire 4 cops, suspend 7 in sex scandal -- An investigation into sexual misconduct at the Oakland Police Department that began with an officer’s suicide a year ago ended Wednesday with the firings of four police officers and suspensions of seven others. Kevin Fagan, Rachel Swan, and Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle David Debolt in the San Jose Mercury -- 9/8/16

Oakland police to fire 4 officers, suspend 7 others, in sexual misconduct scandal -- Four Oakland police officers will be fired and seven others suspended without pay for their roles in a sexual misconduct scandal that sparked national outrage earlier this year, Mayor Libby Schaaf confirmed late Wednesday. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/8/16

Poll Finds Californians Split Over Extent Of Police Abuse -- A new survey commissioned by a consortium of public radio stations including KPCC has found Californians, like much of the nation, are divided by race when it comes to their views of police profiling and excessive use of force. Frank Stoltze KPCC -- 9/8/16

Political Paradox? Prop. 59 asks Californians to condemn a big-money system long used here -- Six years after Citizens United—the landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision that says corporations and unions have a 1st Amendment right to unlimited campaign spending—presidential candidates across the spectrum have condemned the campaign finance system it shaped. “Corrupt,” says Bernie Sanders. “Pernicious,” says Hillary Clinton. “A broken system,” says Donald Trump. Laurel Rosenhall Calmatters.org -- 9/8/16

LA City Council tightens record-keeping rules after fallout over destroyed documents -- The Los Angeles City Council voted Wednesday to create a new records retention schedule for all council members. Under the rules, papers such as budget documents must be archived with the city for up to 8 years. Other documents, including some policy papers must be permanently stored. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/8/16

Garcetti vows to bar private meetings with planning commissioners -- Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti says he plans to put a stop to private meetings between planning commissioners and real estate developers or other outside parties, part of a bigger attempt to fend off a hotly contested ballot measure. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/8/16

Meet the men plotting strategy for California's U.S. Senate candidates -- Donald Trump’s comments about Mexicans and immigrants, and his rise to be the Republican party’s presidential nominee, might have thrown a wrench in Bill Carrick’s plan to get an underdog elected to the U.S. Senate. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/8/16

California’s top tech officer: Don’t click on phishing links -- To: California state workers Subject: Watch what you click The state’s top technology officer is reminding California public employees to protect their workplaces from hackers as she seeks to shore up cyber security weaknesses that were revealed in a harsh audit a year ago. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/8/16

This corrupt politician made nearly $1 million in past 3 years but says he can’t afford to pay a fine for money laundering -- Former state assemblyman Tom Calderon of Montebello made nearly $1 million between 2013 and 2015, but he doesn’t have enough money to pay a fine as part of his sentence for pleading guilty to one count of money laundering, according to a presentencing report that will go to U.S. District Judge Christina Snyder. Mike Sprague in the Long Beach Press Telegram$ -- 9/8/16

Quentin Kopp back to San Francisco City Hall as ethics commissioner -- The appointment will bring Kopp, the closest there is to a conservative in this town, back into the fold of city government. Given his reputation for being cantankerous and gruff, his presence could generate some sparks at the Ethics Commission. Emily Green in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/8/16

Lopez: Are there more bigots now than there were before Trump became the GOP front-runner? -- Here’s what I’ve been wondering since last year, when Donald Trump made race and immigration central to his campaign: Has the country become more bigoted as a result, or does it just seem that way because of how rabid and vocal Trump supporters are? Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/8/16

Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls     

Diaper, Tampon Sales Tax Exemption Bills In Jeopardy -- Among the nearly 800 bills sitting on California Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk are a slew of measures that seek to create new tax breaks or exemptions. Some, like sales tax exemptions for diapers and tampons, passed the Legislature with broad bipartisan support. But it's highly unlikely that Brown will sign those bills. Ben Adler Capital Public Radio -- 9/8/16

First change to developer fees in 30 years could bring in $30 million more for L.A. parks -- For the first time in more than 30 years, Los Angeles is overhauling how it calculates and collects park fees from developers. Alice Walton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/8/16

Homeless     

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions 

Mammoth cargo ship under arrest off Long Beach due to Hanjin shutdown -- One of three Hanjin ships moored off Southern California’s shores was seized by U.S. Marshall’s officers, officials confirmed Wednesday. Two fuel suppliers teamed up to lay a claim last week on the Hanjin Montevideo, said an attorney for one of the companies. The cargo craft has been sitting inside the breakwater while the financially crippled Korean shipping giant tries to hammer out a bankruptcy plan to resume business. Rachel Uranga in the Long Beach Press Telegram$ -- 9/8/16

Education 

Did a rambling ballot argument hijack the debate over a $288 million school bond measure? -- Steve Rocco’s argument against Measure S encourages people to vote against the bond issuance by pointing out it will raise their taxes. But it also references a police home invasion, alleges that school district personnel were out to destroy him and claims his family was murdered. Jordan Graham in the Orange County Register -- 9/8/16

FBI scours dirt for clues in Cal Poly student Kristin Smart's 1996 disappearance -- On a dry hillside half a mile from the place on the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus where Kristin Denise Smart was last seen alive 20 years ago, a specialized FBI team on Wednesday began to sift through 20,000 cubic feet of dirt. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/8/16

With help, some low-income families in L.A. can now afford the Internet -- For a year, Christian Sanchez, his parents and his younger siblings lived without Internet service in their apartment in Estrada Courts — a Boyle Heights public housing project they have called home for 15 years. The family of five couldn’t afford it. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/8/16

Governor pressed to sign accountability bill at odds with state board -- More than 300 nonprofit groups, individuals and business organizations urged Gov. Jerry Brown Wednesday to sign legislation that would require the State Board of Education to rank schools’ and school districts’ academic performance using an overall rating, a model the state board and the state Department of Finance oppose. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 9/8/16

Kindergarten readiness gap between low-income and higher-income students shrinking -- Persistent gaps in kindergarten readiness between children from low-income families and their higher-income peers — which have continued as ongoing achievement gaps in later years — appear to be narrowing, new research shows. And in a related finding, another report has concluded that lower-income parents are investing more time and effort in their younger children. Jeremy Hay EdSource -- 9/8/16

Heated debate, backlash erupt over display of Confederate flags in Lake Arrowhead -- A price is being paid for freedom of speech in Lake Arrowhead, where a group of high school students displaying Confederate flags on their pickup trucks has suffered a backlash of vandalism, harassment and violence, police and witnesses said. Joe Nelson in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/8/16

Cannabis 

This November, there will be a rush of local votes on marijuana rules, taxes -- Deep into the looong November ballot, many voters will be sorting through a typical mix of school bond measures, sales tax hikes and the like. But this year, in dozens of cities and counties in California, communities will also face pivotal questions about the future of marijuana. Brooke Edwards Staggs in the Orange County Register -- 9/8/16

Group fights to keep marijuana, pot dispensaries out of Laguna Beach -- A group of residents who want to defeat Measure KK, an initiative on the November ballot that could make Laguna the only city in South Orange County to have medical marijuana dispensaries, is up and running. Erika I. Ritchie in the Orange County Register -- 9/8/16

Environment 

Botanists’ ‘holy grail’ blooms near Antioch -- A jolt of adrenaline is coursing through the normally placid botany community in the East Bay after the discovery of a prodigious patch of extremely rare wildflowers that, until a few years ago, were thought to be extinct. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/8/16

Health 

Zika-prone mosquitoes found in San Fernando Valley -- For the first time, the mosquito that can carry and spread the Zika virus has been found in the San Fernando Valley, and experts are urging residents to take precautions. Susan Abram in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/8/16

Beltway 

Trump repeated false claim he ‘was totally against the war in Iraq.’ Matt Lauer didn’t press him on it. -- Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Wednesday stood behind his false claim that he was "totally against" the Iraq War from the beginning, making the assertion while speaking about his judgment. Jose A. DelReal in the Washington Post$ -- 9/8/16

Clinton defends her handling of classified information at commander-in-chief forum -- Hillary Clinton defended her use of classified information, insisting that she never sent or received any documents on her private email server that were properly marked as classified. Abby Phillip in the Washington Post$ -- 9/8/16

Fact-checking Clinton and Trump in NBC’s commander-in-chief forum -- Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump each appeared for 30 minutes on NBC’s commander-in-chief forum, answering questions on national security from moderator Matt Lauer and audience members. Here’s a round-up of dubious claims made by the candidates. Glenn Kessler and Michelle Ye Hee Lee in the Washington Post$ -- 9/8/16

Clinton pressed on emails and Trump defends praising Putin as they compete for military support -- Donald Trump sought to allay voter concerns about his temperament Wednesday as Hillary Clinton tried to assure Americans that her mistakes in handling national security email should not undercut their trust in her capacity to lead the nation. Chris Megerian and Michael Finnegan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/8/16

Clinton, Trump strive to be trusted with hand on button -- A terse, defensive Hillary Clinton tried to show she can be trusted as commander-in-chief, vowing she did nothing to compromise national security on her personal email server. A tough-talking Donald Trump aimed to demonstrate he’s got the temperament and judgment to lead the nation, but offered few details about what he might do differently. David Lightman and William Douglas McClatchy DC -- 9/8/16

Clinton, Trump Put Weaknesses on Display at Forum on Military -- Back-to-back appearances by Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump at a forum on the military Wednesday night exposed enduring weaknesses that both candidates have yet to overcome two months before the presidential election. Kevin Cirilli, Margaret Talev Bloomberg Politics -- 9/8/16

Fact-Checking Donald Trump’s National Security Speech -- Mr. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, offered many facts to support his vision and outlined the approach a Trump administration would take on issues related to national security. We found five of his key claims or proposals to be misleading or consistent with current policy. Matthew Rosenberg in the New York Times$ -- 9/8/16

 

-- Wednesday Updates 

Kamala Harris, Loretta Sanchez agree to one Senate debate -- The Sanchez campaign and debate sponsors confirmed Wednesday that the Oct. 5 debate from Los Angeles would proceed after weeks of wrangling over the fall schedule. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/7/16

Jerry Brown presses case for expanding California’s power grid -- Gov. Jerry Brown, who last month delayed his proposal to integrate California’s largest electricity grid with other states, on Wednesday acknowledged the political difficulty of such a plan but said a broader grid is necessary to support growing renewable-energy production in the West. David Siders in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/7/16

Court ruling deals blow to 385,000 Uber drivers -- A federal appeals court dealt a severe blow Wednesday to an attempt by 385,000 drivers for the ride-hailing company Uber in California and Massachusetts to sue for employment status. The ruling apparently requires virtually all of them to take their individual claims to private arbitrators rather than joining in a class-action lawsuit. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/7/16

California's water conservation dips in July — are eased rules to blame? -- Urban water conservation across California dipped slightly during the second month that less stringent conservation requirements have been in place, state regulators said Wednesday. Matt Stevens in the Los Angeles Times$ Steve Scauzillo in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/7/16

Scandal plagues City of Commerce, but generous services help blunt public scrutiny -- Fueled by hefty tax revenue from the Commerce Casino, Citadel outlet mall and other businesses, the city has long provided services to residents that surrounding communities cannot match, including extensive recreation facilities, rent subsidies for the elderly and even a mountain retreat. Adam Elmahrek in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/7/16

Why a conservative California mega-donor gave more than $100,000 to Gary Johnson's presidential campaign -- B. Wayne Hughes Jr., the Malibu-based conservative mega-donor and registered Republican, has never given to a third-party candidate in his life as far as he can recall. Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/7/16

Pavley’s legacy: premier warrior fighting greenhouse gases -- As a longtime former middle school teacher, Fran Pavley thought she would focus her energies on education when she got elected to the California Legislature 15 years ago. Lisa Renner Capitol Weekly -- 9/7/16

New China flight planned out of Tijuana airport -- Starting next year, Aeromexico has plans to beef up its air service between Tijuana and China by adding a new nonstop flight to Beijing. Lori Weisberg in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/7/16

Court clerk, 11 recruiters accused of illegally fixing more than 1,000 DUI, traffic cases -- A former Orange County Superior Court clerk has been indicted on federal racketeering charges for allegedly fixing more than 1,000 court cases in exchange for bribe money, authorities said Wednesday. Kelly Puente and Sean Emery in the Orange County Register Joel Rubin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/7/16

Two California congresswomen are behind the new Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights -- It’s not often a measure championed by the dean of the state’s majority Democratic congressional delegation gets praise from the Republican House speaker. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/7/16

Twitter already hates the new Apple AirPods -- The iPhone 7's Apple AirPods were doomed from the start, really. Bloggers hate them and consumers didn't like the idea of them much either. Who could blame them? People, after all, hate change, and we too easily misplace things. Alyssa Pereira in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/7/16

Which bills will Jerry Brown sign? -- With the end-of-session rush over and the Legislature out of town, focus in Sacramento now shifts to Gov. Jerry Brown. The fourth-term Democrat has 789 bills to consider this month, according to his office. David Siders and Jeremy B. White in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/7/16

Racial slur, swastika spray painted on Antioch house before fire -- Someone spray painted a swastika and a racial slur on an Antioch house early Wednesday before tossing a Molotov cocktail at the residence, setting it ablaze and triggering a hate-crime investigation by police. Kimberly Veklerov in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/7/16

Mini-Bay Bridge will stretch over downtown San Francisco -- Like a Las Vegas-style replica, a mini-version of the towering eastern span of the Bay Bridge will soon light up downtown San Francisco as part of the bus ramp for the new $2.7 billion Transbay Transit Center. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/7/16

Where death row inmates stand: End the death penalty or speed up executions? -- California voters face two capital punishment choices on the November ballot: End the death penalty or speed the way for execution. Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/7/16

Black-focused housing at Cal State L.A. draws criticism, but it's nothing new -- The debut of a new housing option at Cal State Los Angeles is attracting a lot of attention, starting with its name: the Halisi Scholars Black Living-Learning Community. Matt Hamilton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/7/16

The states with the biggest Obamacare struggles spent years undermining the law -- As insurers exit Obamacare marketplaces across the country, critics of the Affordable Care Act have redoubled claims that the health law isn’t working. Yet these same critics, many of them Republican politicians in red states, took steps over the last several years to undermine the 2010 law and fuel the current turmoil in their insurance markets. Noam N. Levey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/7/16

Gentrification Threatens Oakland’s Few Truly Diverse Schools -- When Manzanita SEED, a Spanish-English dual immersion school, opened in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood in 2005, it was serving almost exclusively low-income Latino, Asian and African-American families from nearby neighborhoods. Then, in 2011, the school won an award for closing the achievement gap. Zaidee Stavely KQED -- 9/7/16