Updating . .   

Heat, wind expected to ease as firefighters keep battling La Tuna fire, a blaze of historic scope -- Fire officials said cooler temperatures and calmer winds Sunday should help firefighters tame a nearly 5,900-acre fire burning in the Verdugo Mountains north of downtown Los Angeles, but warned that favorable weather conditions could change quickly. Emily Alpert Reyes and Thomas Curwen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/3/17

New mandatory evacuation issued for Cedar Valley as Railroad Fire grows -- The Railroad Fire posed a new threat Sunday morning, as a mandatory evacuation order was issued for the Cedar Valley subdivision due to an unexpected spot fire, the Madera County Sheriff’s Office said. Ashleigh Panoo in the Fresno Bee -- 9/3/17

Who killed the onetime 'godfather' of a notorious Chinatown gang? -- Tony Young was a respected community leader in Los Angeles’ Chinatown when he was knifed to death earlier this year. His death led some to wonder: Had his past finally caught up to him? Cindy Chang in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/3/17

‘You can’t arrest your way out of homelessness.’ County cites less than 5 panhandlers a month -- On the politically sensitive issue of panhandling, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department has taken the middle ground, citing offenders only “when outreach and education fails.” Brad Branan in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/3/17

DA’s watchdog for SFPD is chased out of town -- Just months after being hired by District Attorney George Gascón to investigate officer-involved shootings, Roger Guzman has resigned amid accusations of off-duty misconduct. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/3/17

Accomable creates vacation-rental market for people with disabilities -- When Alex Ghenis moved into his Berkeley apartment, he spent thousands of dollars remodeling to accommodate his wheelchair, adding a roll-in shower, accessible shower fixtures, and hardwood floors in the living room and bedroom. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/3/17

Immigration reform: Could opposing sides compromise? -- The 44-year-old Redlands resident, now an American citizen, put forth his proposal for immigration reform package as part of an exercise in a closed Facebook group called Talking Across Borders, which includes about 60 people of all political persuasions from Southern California and the greater Bay Area. Tatiana Sanchez and Alejandra Molina in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/3/17

Prop 57: Debate rages on about which inmates should be released early -- Ten months after California voters approved a proposition allowing thousands of prison inmates to apply for early release, a debate is still raging over who ought to be freed. Tracey Kaplan and Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/3/17

Castle Rock State Park: Construction begins on grand new entrance -- Castle Rock State Park, a scenic expanse of forests, rocky outcroppings and breathtaking views to the Pacific Ocean that lies between Silicon Valley and the redwood forests of the Santa Cruz Mountains, is getting a 21st century upgrade. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/3/17

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning   

Trump's DACA decision is personal for some in the California delegation -- After President Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program in 2012, a cousin approached Nanette Barragán and asked her if it was safe to apply. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/3/17

Mayor Garcetti declares local state of emergency as La Tuna fire continues to grow -- Garcetti said the fire’s huge scope was expected to grow but that a strong ring of fire personnel was in position to halt it. The item is in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/3/17

Dramatic time-lapse videos show rapid spread of wildfire in Verdugo Mountains -- The blaze has burned more than 5,000 acres, making it one of the largest fires in Los Angeles’ history and one that officials warn could grow larger if erratic weather conditions continue. Alene Tchekmedyian, Ruben Vives and Shelby Grad in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/3/17

'Everything else can be replaced': In path of wildfire, residents have frantic moments to evacuate -- Chris Hall was spraying his roof with a water hose Saturday morning when two police officers pulled up to his driveway on McGroarty Street in Sunland-Tujunga. It was time to evacuate. Andrea Castillo, Ruben Vives and Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/3/17

Wildfire brings smoke, ash, unhealthful air quality to parts of Southern California -- The South Coast Air Quality Management District on Saturday issued a smoke advisory for the eastern San Fernando Valley and Burbank, which is likely to see smoke and ash. Ruben Vives, Andrea Castillo and Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/3/17

Fireworks believed to have ignited 3,200-acre brush fire in Riverside County -- A fast-moving brush fire west of Beaumont in Riverside County that erupted Saturday afternoon has grown to 3,200 acres and forced some residents to evacuate their homes. Ben Poston in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/3/17

Pier Fire exceeds 10,000 acres, more mandatory evacuations ordered -- The Pier Fire in Tulare County grew to more than 10,000 acres and was zero percent contained as of Saturday afternoon, spurring mandatory evacuations and road closures for nearby communities, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Ashleigh Panoo in the Fresno Bee -- 9/3/17

Watch an old Bay Bridge marine foundation implode -- The first of six planned demolitions of the remaining marine foundations that held up the old Bay Bridge happened safely and successfully Saturday, according to Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol. Filipa Ioannou in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/3/17

Plan to boost electric-vehicle rebates to $3 billion is scrapped in favor of state study -- The $3 billion was taken out of the bill, AB 1184. No dollar amount was inserted to take its place. Instead, the bill is now a directive to the state Air Resources Board to conduct studies on the best ways to write and implement EV rebate legislation, with the report due Sept. 1, 2019. Russ Mitchell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/3/17

Lopez: Bye-bye Silver Lake, hello Pacoima: How one couple tackled L.A.'s sky-high real estate prices -- Steve Adams, a nurse, and Rebekah Adams, a funeral director, arrived in Los Angeles five years ago from Minnesota, ready for a new adventure. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/3/17

Walters: California’s response to federal school accountability law falls short -- One of the less heralded – albeit, one of the more important – of the many clashes between Sacramento and Washington these days has to do with accountability for educating the state’s 6-plus million K-12 students. Dan Walters Calmatters.org -- 9/3/17

Willie Brown: Feinstein’s lesson in political correctness: Root for disaster from Trump -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein has become the latest victim in our new world of politics — one where instant emotional gratification and ideological reinforcement crowd out intelligent discourse. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/3/17

California Politics Podcast -- This week: We review some of the most notable bills killed during the legislative "suspense file" actions, and we discuss the prospects for the closely watched housing proposals that are still pending. Plus, what was the state Senate leader doing when he took issue with Sen. Dianne Feinstein's comments on President Trump? With John Myers and Liam Dillon of the Los Angeles Times and Marisa Lagos of KQED News. Link here -- 9/3/17

Inspired to 'build trust and work together,' Tibetans and Vietnamese hold human rights conference in Little Saigon -- The Tibetan leader, draped in a silky, traditional loose coat, joined a group of monks in prayers with a single purpose: charting a path toward peace. Anh Do in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/3/17

Russian diplomats shut down San Francisco consulate in response to U.S. order -- A Russian diplomatic official Saturday said that his staff fully intended to meet the U.S. State Department’s deadline to shutter the Russian Consulate building in San Francisco by the end of the day, but characterized the move as an “unbelievable” development that would put further strain on the already frayed relationship between the two countries. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/3/17

Hate incidents against California Muslims on the rise: report -- Hate incidents in California reported to a Muslim civil rights group went up almost 50 percent between 2015 and 2016, according to a new report, to 89 from 60, continuing a trend from previous years. Kate Morrissey in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/3/17

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

Clash of 2 tech titans: What Apple and Qualcomm are really fighting about -- Back in 1990 when Qualcomm was a start-up, it was spending so much on a new approach to cellular communications that it struggled to make payroll. Mike Freeman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/3/17

Forget Wall Street – Silicon Valley is the new political power in Washington -- Funding thinktanks is just one of the ways that America’s most powerful industries exert their influence over policymakers. Much of the work takes place a quarter of a mile from the White House, in a lesser-known political power base: Washington’s K Street corridor, the epicenter of the lobbying industry. Olivia Solon and Sabrina Siddiqui The Guardian -- 9/3/17

Inside 2017 California wine harvest: Grapes look great, labor crisis looms -- California’s 2017 wine harvest is under way, and it feels, in a sense, remarkably normal. Esther Mobley in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/3/17

Labor supporters mark holiday with union gains in Sonoma County -- Against a backdrop of falling union membership nationwide, unions scored several high-profile victories this summer in Sonoma County, where an estimated one in five workers are represented by organized labor groups. Guy Kovner in the Santa Rosa Press -- 9/3/17

Homeless  

Heat Risks High for Bay Area Homeless -- With record heat beating down on the Bay Area this holiday weekend, advocates who work with homeless people are redoubling efforts to spread word about places that offer some escape from the heat. Julie Small KQED -- 9/3/17

Housing  

Owners of San Francisco ‘soft-story’ buildings slow to file for required retrofits -- Time is running out for more than 1,100 San Francisco property owners who thus far have ignored a deadline to bring their apartment buildings up to current seismic safety standards. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/3/17

Education 

Silicon Valley Courts Brand-Name Teachers, Raising Ethics Issues -- One of the tech-savviest teachers in the United States teaches third grade here at Mapleton Elementary, a public school with about 100 students in the sparsely populated plains west of Fargo. Natasha Singer in the New York Times -- 9/3/17

LA special needs students have a school just for them, with a ‘focus on their strengths’ -- On a recent weekday morning, Ellis Crasnow showed off the “innovation lab” for high school students at the Valley Glen school of STEM³ Academy. It was impressively equipped, with flat-screen computers, 3-D printers, a tall red tool chest and big lab tables. Antonie Boessenkool in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/3/17

No more sugar cubes and Popsicle sticks? State urges teachers to scrap 4th-grade mission project -- Put away the Popsicle sticks, glue and sugar cubes. The fourth-grade mission project, a rite of passage for elementary students for decades, may be on its way ou t. Diana Lambert in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/3/17

Cuyamaca College Offers Case Study In Eliminating The ‘Math Pipeline Of Doom’ -- It is the second week of classes at Cuyamaca College and already Leisha Ankers feels compelled to give her math teacher Terrie Nichols a teary-eyed thank you. Megan Burks KPBS -- 9/3/17

Immigration / Border 

San Francisco’s DA, public defender mend fences over questioning of immigrants -- San Francisco’s policy scrums can get awfully heated, but those on opposing sides of the city’s extremely skinny political aisle can sometimes find agreement — especially if they’re unified against President Trump. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/3/17

Health 

Doctors Debate Danger Of Popular Diabetes Drug After FDA Amputation Warning -- Many San Diego doctors are taking their patients off of Invokana, a widely used diabetes drug, after a large industry-sponsored trial found it doubled the risk of lower limb amputations compared with those taking a placebo. Cheryl Clark KPBS -- 9/3/17

Also . . . 

Man suspected of fatally shooting Sacramento sheriff’s deputy has died -- Thomas Daniel Littlecloud, 32, was named by the department as the gunman who fatally shot deputy Robert French as he fled from a room at the Ramada Inn on Auburn Boulevard. Nashelly Chavez in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/3/17

POTUS 45  

Trump Returns to Texas, With Words of Encouragement and Triumph -- President Trump urged onlookers at a Houston shelter to “have a good time” on Saturday — and appeared to take his own advice during a daylong Gulf Coast tour that blurred the line between bucking up a battered region and taking an early victory lap. Glenn Thrush and Jack Healy in the New York Times$ -- 9/3/17

No Evidence Trump Tower Was Wiretapped, Justice Department Says -- The U.S. Justice Department has no evidence to support President Donald Trump’s statement in March that phones in Trump Tower were wiretapped at the order of his predecessor, Barack Obama, before last year’s election, according to a court filing Friday. Anna Edgerton Bloomberg -- 9/3/17

Beltway 

Long List of Top Democrats Have 2020, and Money, on Their Minds -- Aides to Senator Kamala Harris of California say that her fund-raisers in Martha’s Vineyard and the Hamptons this summer have been all about helping Democrats in 2018. Kenneth P. Vogel and Rachel Shorey in the New York Times$ -- 9/3/17

Democratic infighting between establishment, progressives sweeping country -- At the Netroots Nation conference in Atlanta last month, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren opened her speech to 3,000 progressives with a spirited attack on ... former Democratic President Bill Clinton. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/3/17