Updating . .
California governor endorses potential 'sanctuary cities' lawsuit -- California Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday endorsed the idea of his state taking the Trump administration to federal court over its threat to pull law enforcement funding unless cities agree to cooperate with a federal call for stricter immigration enforcement. Brent D. Griffiths Politico Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/5/17
California speaker recall effort reflects Democratic tension -- Democrats control every lever of power in California state government, and free from worrying about major losses to Republicans, they're training fire instead on each other. Jonathan J. Cooper Associated Press -- 8/5/17
Democrats fear Russia probe blowback -- Fearful of alienating voters who appear more concerned about the economy and health care, Democrats campaigning in districts across the country are de-emphasizing Russia in their rhetoric — and some are warning that a persistent focus on the Russia investigation could backfire. David Siders Politico -- 8/5/17
With LA’s homeless crisis ‘past the tipping point,’ would Olympics bring change? -- Los Angeles’ agreement to host the 2028 Olympic Games could bring the focus and urgency needed to house thousands of people who live on the city’s streets, but only if local leaders treat homelessness like an emergency, said one downtown social service provider. Susan Abram in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 8/5/17
Morain: This lobbyist is fighting for the biggest cause of his career: his daughter. -- Joe Lang was part of the campaign that raised $26 million for an initiative that would have legalized slot machines at race tracks and card rooms. That was in 2004, before Jordan was born. Dan Morain in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/5/17
Knight: Mom panhandling with newborn sparks polarized debate -- San Franciscans are known for their firmly entrenched viewpoints and their ability to defend them vigorously. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/5/17
Snap makes money for no one, except insiders -- If Webvan and Pets.com came to signify the dot-com bust of the early 2000s, then Snap Inc. will surely be the perfect case study for unicorn-era excess. Thomas Lee in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/5/17
Republican Shadow Campaign for 2020 Takes Shape as Trump Doubts Grow -- Senators Tom Cotton and Ben Sasse have already been to Iowa this year, Gov. John Kasich is eyeing a return visit to New Hampshire, and Mike Pence’s schedule is so full of political events that Republicans joke that he is acting more like a second-term vice president hoping to clear the field than a No. 2 sworn in a little over six months ago. Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns in the New York Times$ -- 8/5/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Demonstrators gather in San Bernardino to condemn Sessions’ withholding of funds to fight crime -- Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ announcement that San Bernardino would not be eligible for crime-reduction funding spurred a demonstration outside San Bernardino City Hall on Friday. Alejandra Molina in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 8/5/17
California bullet train chief executive is still on the state payroll — two months after his exit date -- California bullet train chief executive Jeff Morales announced in April that he would be leaving June 2, after five years running the nation’s largest infrastructure project. Ralph Vartabedian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/5/17
Sect. of State Padilla still resists Trump voter records request -- California Secretary of State Alex Padilla blasted President Trump’s plan to reduce legal immigration over the next decade as “an unconscionable position to take and one that has no respect, frankly, for the history of our nation as a whole.” Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/5/17
GOP incumbents raise funds for expensive fight to keep seats -- Democrats are convinced that deep-blue California’s growing distaste for President Trump will be enough to flip nine of the state’s 14 Republican-held congressional seats in 2018, but the most recent federal campaign finance reports show the GOP incumbents won’t be going without an expensive fight. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/5/17
Rohrabacher’s GOP opponent focuses on Russia, marijuana -- Despite going along with a new round of sanctions, President Donald Trump and Costa Mesa Rep. Dana Rohrabacher continue to be scrutinized for having urged friendlier relationships with Russia. Martin Wisckol in the Orange County Register -- 8/5/17
Schwarzenegger Says Denying Climate Change Is a ‘Betrayal’ -- After launching an online tool to help governments write environmental legislation, former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger defended a state Republican leader who recently provided critical GOP votes to Gov. Jerry Brown’s cap-and-trade bill. Scott Shafer KQED -- 8/5/17
Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger launches partnership to share ideas for environmental legislation -- Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is launching a new partnership with a nationwide network of green-minded state lawmakers to share ideas for environmental legislation. Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/5/17
California preparing to sue Trump administration -- California is poised to sue the Trump administration over the president’s latest attempt to punish jurisdictions tagged by the Justice Department as “sanctuary cities” that harbor undocumented immigrants, according to two sources close to the case. Franco Ordoñez and Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/5/17
Feinstein to Critics: ‘I Consider Myself a Liberal’ -- By one measure, Dianne Feinstein is at the peak of a long political career, with her seniority, temperament and experience giving her unprecedented influence in the U.S. Senate. And yet, at age 84 and the oldest member of the Senate (the second-oldest, Orrin Hatch, is nine months younger), she can’t quite shake the whispers that it might be best for her not seek re-election next year. Scott Shafer KQED -- 8/5/17
San Francisco park where shooting occurred plagued by crime -- The San Francisco park where three people were shot on a sunny afternoon underwent a $20 million renovation last year and immediately became one of the city's most popular destinations - and a magnet for drug use, gang activity and violence. Paul Elias and Linda Wang Associated Press -- 8/5/17
Where are they now? John Dunlap -- Political dynasties are nothing new in California: There are eight current legislators who are children of former legislators. Alex Vassar Capitol Weekly -- 8/5/17
Diaz: 6 tests of real journalism -- Journalism has come under public scrutiny to a degree never experienced in my four decades in the profession. John Diaz in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/5/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
How This Silicon Valley Giant Is Backing China’s Tech Ambitions -- As the Chinese government develops drones, the American technology giant Qualcomm is helping. The same goes for artificial intelligence, mobile technology and supercomputers. David Barboza in the New York Times$ -- 8/5/17
Judge: Feds owe Molina Healthcare $52 million -- Molina Healthcare got some good news to follow up this week’s disappointing earnings report — a federal judge on Friday handed down a decision ordering the government to pay the Long Beach company more than $52 million. Andrew Edwards in the Long Beach Press Telegram$ -- 8/5/17
Wells Fargo says number of unauthorized accounts, legal expenses could rise -- Wells Fargo & Co.’s troubles continue to mount, with a bevvy of new disclosures Friday: The bank may have created more unauthorized accounts than first thought, it is the subject of a new federal inquiry and it could face $1.3 billion more in legal costs than previously estimated. James Rufus Koren in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/5/17
On a flight from L.A. to San Francisco, you could pay six times more than your seatmate -- On a flight between Los Angeles and San Francisco — one of the nation’s most popular air routes — a passenger can pay up to six times more for an economy seat than another passenger on the same flight. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/5/17
Dockworkers union ratifies contract extension, easing fears of another slowdown -- The union that represents dockworkers along the West Coast have ratified a three-year contract extension, a move that will likely quell fears of a work stoppage or slowdown in 2019 when the contract was originally set to expire. The item is in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 8/5/17
Recycling centers, squeezed by economy, seek help from state -- Ors Csaszar opened his first recycling center in San Francisco seven years ago with the hope of earning money while doing something good for the environment. It was the best of both worlds, he said. But Csaszar said he isn’t sure how much longer he can keep his business open, despite the lines of people who come each day to return soda cans, water bottles and other beverage containers for a nickel or a dime each. Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/5/17
Homeless
The Antelope Valley's only homeless shelter is shutting its doors -- The rationing system at the Lancaster Community Shelter worked on a simple principle: priority to those who slept on the street the night before. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/5/17
Housing
Overflow crowd marks 40th anniversary of I-Hotel evictions -- A sizable crowd spilled from the entrance of the International Hotel Manilatown Center on Friday to mark the 40th anniversary of the night in 1977 when residents of the former International Hotel on Kearny Street, many of them elderly Filipino war veterans, were evicted so the hotel could be razed to make way for development in what was then the city’s Manilatown. Brandon Yu in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/5/17
Education
Nation’s first personalized education residency launches in the Bay Area -- We all know doctors go to a specialized residency to prepare themselves for their discipline, but what about teachers? The bay area’s Summit Teacher Learning Residency program has an answer for that. Gillian Brassil in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/5/17
San Jose Unified creates gender-neutral restrooms on all campuses -- Responding both to student demand and a change in state law, the San Jose Unified School District expects to designate at least one gender-neutral restroom at each of its campuses and offices by the end of the calendar year. Sharon Noguchi in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/5/17
Cannabis
Seniors board ‘cannabus’ for trip to medical marijuana dispensary -- Tour buses parked inside the gates of Laguna Woods Village, a retirement community in south Orange County, are typically scooping up seniors for a day of Indian resort gambling. Not on this Wednesday. At 10:30 a.m., a big white bus was waiting to whisk 14 seniors off on a new adventure: a shopping trip at a medical marijuana dispensary. Brooke Edwards Staggs in the Orange County Register -- 8/5/17
Immigration / Border
ICE deports construction worker detained on Travis Air Force Base -- Rodrigo Nuñez, one of two construction workers detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement while reporting to a new job on the Travis Air Force base in Fairfield, has been deported, according to activists and his union. The father of three American-born children had been in the United States for more than a decade. Tatiana Sanchez in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/5/17
Environment
How Much Drinking Water Has California Lost to Oil Industry Waste? No One Knows -- California survived its historic drought, in large part by using groundwater. It was a lifeline in the Central Valley, where it was the only source of water for many farmers. Lauren Sommer KQED -- 8/5/17
Imperial Beach poised to sue feds over border pollution -- Elected officials for Imperial Beach announced Tuesday that the city is preparing to take legal action against the federal government concerning the continued flow of polluted wastewater from Tijuana into San Diego County. Joshua Emerson Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/5/17
By 2100, SoCal could see average summer temps in triple digits -- Sea levels rise. Devastating storms, heat waves and droughts become more common. Those are among the things that will likely happen if the average global temperature rises more than 2 degrees celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels because of climate change. Jacob Margolis KPCC -- 8/5/17
Also . . .
Jury awards $2.25M to Orange County woman who said deputy raped her while on duty -- A federal jury awarded $2.25 million on Friday, Aug. 4, to an Orange County woman who alleged an on-duty sheriff’s deputy raped her in Dana Point only four months after another woman accused the same deputy of sexual assault. Jordan Graham and Kelly Puente in the Orange County Register -- 8/5/17
Capt. Tubby hailed a hero after San Francisco Bay rescue -- When Erik Anfinson set sail Thursday on San Francisco Bay in his 130-foot Alcatraz Clipper with more than 400 passengers aboard, he didn’t expect to end the night a hero. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/5/17
Concern mounts about exhaust odors, carbon monoxide in police Ford Explorers -- Ford Motor Co. and federal regulators are investigating concerns raised by police departments around the country about excessive carbon-monoxide levels and exhaust odors in their police Ford Explorers, causing officers to fall ill. James F. Peltz and Charles Fleming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/5/17
LAPD review of cadet scandal finds inadequate supervision, other deficiencies -- At some police stations, a single officer supervised 60 teenage cadets. Cadets occasionally used social media to bully one another or express “infatuations” with police officers. They sometimes logged into police computers using an officer’s serial number. Cindy Chang and Kate Mather in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/5/17
Here’s how you can help bring back defunct ‘buddy’ program for kids and the elderly -- For 21 years, third-grade teacher Angela Bronson has linked her Balboa Magnet School students with elderly residents at the Jewish Home for the Aging in Reseda. The children pair up with senior citizens, visit them monthly and interview them about their personal histories. Antonie Boessenkool in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 8/5/17
'Deteoriating' Alcatraz decoy heads will live on with the help of 3-D scanning -- After nearly 60 years on display, it's expected for heads to have some wear and tear, especially those used during the 1962 inmate escape from Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. To preserve these relics of Bay Area history, the FBI and National Park Service (NPS) are turning to contemporary technology – 3-D scanning. Michelle Robertson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/5/17
Beltway
The U.S. economy is solid, but there’s no ‘Trump bump’ -- Every president talks up the economy. It's the president's job to be America's cheerleader-in-chief. The reality is the U.S. economy is solid. It's not booming. And there's no “Trump bump” — yet. Heather Long in the Washington Post$ -- 8/5/17
GOP efforts to stabilize Obamacare markets might come too late -- Insurers have warned for months that they need certainty from Washington in order to decide where they will sell Obamacare plans and how much to charge. But after months of fruitless repeal efforts and growing unease over White House threats about pulling funding and undermining the law, the damage may be done. Paul Demko Politico -- 8/5/17
-- Friday Updates
L.A. City Council set to vote on 2028 Olympics plan before key financial reports are completed -- City Council President Herb Wesson said at a council hearing Friday that he wants a vote possibly as soon as next week on the host city contract. That agreement reflects the city’s commitment to host the Games in 11 years and puts Los Angeles taxpayers on the hook for cost overruns if unforeseen expenses arise. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/4/17
He has the cash and the name recognition. Is Gavin Newsom unstoppable? -- In the race to succeed Jerry Brown as California governor, Gavin Newsom is miles ahead — at least, on paper. Katy Murphy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/4/17
Rep. Linda Sanchez takes 'empty chair' at town hall, talks strategy with those hoping to defeat Rep. Ed Royce -- Rep. Linda Sanchez attended a town hall Thursday night, but it wasn't on her home turf. The Democrat appeared at a forum for constituents of Republican Rep. Ed Royce of Fullerton at the invitation of liberal groups working to oust him next year. Christine Mai-Duc in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/4/17
Tech workers are fleeing state government. Would raises tempt them to stay? -- Information technology workers are leaving their state government positions faster than ever while their pay falls behind their private industry counterparts, their union argues in a new report. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/4/17
As prices rise, mortgage lenders are making it easier to buy a house -- The changes bring lending nowhere near the easy-money bonanza of last decade, which ended in financial crisis. But they have brought criticism from some corners that liberalizing rules for down payments and how much debt a borrower can have is a slippery slope that could eventually lead to another bubble. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/4/17
Parents sue private California school claiming transgender daughter had to wear boys’ uniform -- The parents of an 8-year-old transgender child are suing a Yorba Linda private school saying their daughter was barred from using the girls’ restroom and was forced to wear a uniform for boys. In their discrimination lawsuit filed Wednesday, Priya Shah and Jaspret Brar say Heritage Oak Private School advertised itself as nondiscriminatory. Kelly Puente in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/4/17
Ghost Ship fire defendant Derick Almena’s bail lowered to $750,000 -- A judge on Friday lowered the bail of Derick Almena in his 36-count manslaughter case to $750,000, but said he had concerns that the former leader of the Ghost Ship artists’ collective might not return to court if he is released from custody. Matthias Gafni, Thomas Peele and Angela Ruggiero in the East Bay Times -- 8/4/17
These folks say the Oroville Dam crisis hurt them. They want the state to pay -- A hairdresser demanded $75,000, arguing that the Oroville Dam crisis permanently scared off customers and ruined his business. The city of Gridley, 22 miles downstream, said it’s owed $354,000 for evacuation costs and damages to its boat dock. A horse breeder sought $14,000 to pay for the cost of relocating more than two dozen Arabians. Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/4/17
San Francisco supervisor pushes to untangle freeway Hairball -- Residents of San Francisco’s Mission and Dogpatch neighborhoods have a name for the tangle of freeway arteries that interlock over Cesar Chavez Street, Potrero Avenue and Bayshore Boulevard. They call it the Hairball. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/4/17
Fox: Minority-Owned Businesses Thrive in California….But -- According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs, California is leading all states in minority-owned and women-owned employer firms—and by a good margin. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 8/4/17
Sex education is now the law, but conservative school leaders aren’t happy about it -- The California Healthy Youth Act went into effect in 2016 and requires that middle and high schools teach unbiased and medically accurate sex education, including lessons on birth control and abortion. But there is concern about how much support the curriculum is getting in the politically conservative central San Joaquin Valley, which has a history of pushback against such lessons. Mackenzie Mays in the Fresno Bee -- 8/4/17
Jim Plunkett’s painful journey: ‘My life sucks’ -- He rises from a chair next to his Heisman Trophy in a room stuffed with dozens of silver and gold keepsakes that recognize a remarkable sports legacy. At 6-foot-3, Jim Plunkett still commands a room. But underneath the tanned exterior anxiety grows over an uncertain future. Elliott Almond in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/4/17
5 things Trump did while you weren't looking: Week 9 -- In Congress the dam finally broke last week: With the death of the Republican health care bill, Senate Democrats allowed dozens of nominees and bills to pass before lawmakers all scattered for August recess. Danny Vinik Politico -- 8/4/17