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Weather delivers blow to La Tuna fire's spread: 'Mother Nature kicked in' -- Less than 24 hours after Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Los Angeles County, weather helped take the fight out of a more than 7,000-acre brush fire that officials said is the city’s largest in decades by acreage. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/4/17

After Bay Area violence, California debates classifying 'antifa' as a street gang -- Not long after dozens of black-hooded protesters were filmed pummeling people on his city’s streets, Berkeley Mayor Jesse Arreguin made clear his disgust for the self-stylized vigilantes. James Queally, Benjamin Oreskes and Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/4/17

Their lives were transformed by DACA. Here’s what will happen if it disappears -- A former waiter, born in El Salvador, now writes code for a U.S. Navy contractor. A young man from South Korea is using the money he makes selling pastries to help pay for community college. And a psychology major from Ecuador, who feared she’d be stuck babysitting all her life, now plans to earn a doctorate and move to New York. Maria Sacchetti in the Washington Post$ -- 9/4/17

Brief but explosive shouting match erupts at Chicano Park demonstration -- A brief but explosive shouting match erupted at Chicano Park Sunday afternoon between hundreds of park supporters and a small, right-wing group that had recently criticized the park’s iconic murals. Lyndsay Winkley in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/4/17

Where the border fence meets the sea, a strange beach scene contrasting the U.S. and Mexico -- Thrusting into the sky from the edge of the Pacific, Tijuana’s lighthouse, or faro, sends out a beacon where the northwestern nook of Latin America edges against the southwestern tip of the United States. Patrick J. McDonnell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/4/17

At 89, SF’s Quentin Kopp is still getting results -- Carve another notch in the belt of contrarian Quentin Kopp, the 89-year-old former San Francisco supervisor, ex-state senator and retired judge who is now a member of the city Ethics Commission. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/4/17

Special interests shovel cash to California Democrats and Republicans alike -- When it comes to taking in big bucks from big business, California’s Democrats and Republicans have a lot more in common than you might think. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/4/17

Schwarzenegger’s bipartisan next political act: Terminating gerrymandering -- Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is a master at marketing, having scaled to the top of three different professions. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/4/17

Medi-Cal programs to the state: Can we stop printing and mailing directories the size of phone books? -- The 2017 directory for L.A. Care, a local Medi-Cal health plan, is 2,546 pages of doctors’ names listed by city, by specialty — anesthesiologists, gastroenterologists, ophthalmologists. It includes hours, addresses, phone numbers and languages spoken for each of the thousands of physicians. The directory weighs more than 7 pounds. It wouldn’t fit in most mailboxes. And it can quickly become obsolete. Soumya Karlamangla in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/4/17

These San Diego Scientists Can Predict How You Look Using Only Your Anonymous DNA -- If you have ever provided your DNA for medical research or as part of a consumer test such as 23andMe, you have probably been assured that your personal genetic information will be kept private. But human genome sequencing pioneer J. Craig Venter and his team of scientists in La Jolla are out with a new study that offers a word of warning: computer algorithms can now predict what you look like using only your anonymous genome sequence. David Wagner KPBS Bradley J. Fikes in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/4/17

SDSU faculty tour Tijuana, collaborate with Mexico school -- Professors and deans from San Diego State University ventured south of the border Friday to meet social and business entrepreneurs in Tijuana and explore ways to expand its partnership with CETYS Universidad. Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/4/17

California Policy & Politics This Morning   

San Francisco could become first local government to use open-source voting system -- San Francisco has taken a tentative step toward deciding on whether it will become the first local government in the country to run its voting machines on open-source software. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/4/17

This group is putting women at the center of the battle to fix California's bail system -- As a public defender in New York City, Gina Clayton realized the cash bail system used in most state courts across the country was placing a heavy burden on women. The grandmothers and mothers who visited her office bailed relatives out so often that they knew several bond agents by name. Jazmine Ulloa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/4/17

Berkeley protests catapult black-clad ‘antifa’ to newfound fame and controversy -- They wear black pants and sweatshirts, with either helmets or hoods over their heads, bandanas across their faces — and dark sunglasses, goggles or gas masks over their eyes. Many carry makeshift shields and flags, whose staffs can quickly become weapons. Thomas Peele, Casey Tolan and David DeBolt in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/4/17

Blue-tag abuse: Disabled-placard cheaters work the angles -- Anyone who has searched for parking in San Francisco and noticed space after space taken by cars with blue disabled placards dangling from their rearview mirrors might wonder whether the city could possibly have so many drivers with disabilities. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/4/17

Walters: California unions on a political roll, but see threats on horizon -- California’s labor unions should be celebrating on this Labor Day because they’ve been on a political roll. Overall union membership in California, 2.6 million, is by far the most of any state, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, and at 15.9 percent of the state’s workers, is one of the nation’s highest. Dan Walters Calmatters.org -- 9/4/17

Skelton: Ignore the critics. Sen. Dianne Feinstein is outperforming many half her age, with old-fashioned civility -- Maybe civility, tact and graciousness have become so untrendy in politics that when a U.S. senator plays nice to an American president she just naturally gets booed. Even in her hometown, a supposed bastion of sophistication and enlightenment. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/4/17

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

Activists, travel industry square off over aviation’s climate-changing consequences -- While commercial air travel’s contribution to pollution — 12 percent of all greenhouse gases from transportation — is dwarfed by the emissions generated by earthbound vehicles, air-quality advocates say the impact is still worrisome and that the industry hasn’t kept pace with pollution-reducing efforts of other industries. Rachel Uranga in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/4/17

Growing dilemma: Automated jobs meet social consciousness -- Security guard Eric Leon watches the Knightscope K5 security robot as it glides through the mall, charming shoppers with its blinking blue and white lights. The brawny automaton records video and sounds alerts. According to its maker, it deters mischief just by making the rounds. Janie Har Associated Press -- 9/4/17

Bay Area culinary schools thrive even as Le Cordon Bleu College departs -- The last remaining vestige of what was once San Francisco’s top cooking school will pack up its saute pans and close its doors for good at the end of September. Tara Duggan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/4/17

Cal/OSHA Cites Two Companies, Caltrans in Deadly Accident After Santa Cruz County Mudslide -- State workplace regulators have issued close to $50,000 in fines against one of California’s oldest and largest construction companies, a subcontractor and Caltrans in connection with the death of a worker on Highway 17 near Scotts Valley in Santa Cruz County after one of last winter’s strong rainstorms. Ted Goldberg KQED -- 9/4/17

Wildfire  

La Tuna Fire grows to 7,000 acres, 30% containment -- California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for L.A. County Sunday, as the La Tuna Fire grows to more than 7,000 acres in the hills above Burbank, Glendale and Sunland-Tujunga. Elina Shatkin, Sharon McNary, and Melissa Leu KPCC -- 9/4/17

La Tuna fire evacuees grateful: ‘Everything else can be replaced’ -- Peter Glassberg was watching television images of firefighters battling the La Tuna fire on Saturday at the American Red Cross shelter at McCambridge Park when something caught his eye. It was an image, he said, of the property he had been living on for the past year on La Tuna Canyon Road in Sun Valley. He started recording with his phone. Brenda Gazzar in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/4/17

Ponderosa Fire claims 4,000-plus acres, 64 percent contained -- Despite scorching temperatures, firefighters made slow, steady progress against the Ponderosa Fire in Butte County, which was reported 64 percent contained early Sunday evening. Mark Glover in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/4/17

Mountain community residents flee, roads closed as fires erupt -- About 50 people were trapped for a time Sunday by a fire that broke out in a remote Madera County community. The Mission Fire was the latest blaze to ignite in Madera County and further stretched firefighting resources. Ashkeigh Panoo and Brian Wilkinson in the Fresno Bee -- 9/4/17

Education 

Remember When San Diego Unified Had An MRAP? District Says It Won’t Happen Again -- San Diego Unified Police Chief Michael Marquez said his department has no plans to acquire surplus military equipment now that President Donald Trump has reinstated a program that transfers combat vehicles and gear to local law enforcement agencies. Megan Burks KPBS -- 9/4/17

Cannabis 

San Francisco’s new weed boss is green to the business, but she’s got connections -- San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee often refers to his departments heads as being part of the “city family” — but sometimes the family ties can get a bit complicated. Take the case of Nicole Elliott, the just-named, $149,459-a-year director of the newly created Office of Cannabis. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/4/17

Also . . . 

Man dies after rushing into Burning Man festival flames -- Authorities are investigating the death of Aaron Joel Mitchell, 41, who broke through a two-layer security perimeter during the Man Burn event in which a giant wooden effigy is set ablaze. Sally Ho Associated Press -- 9/4/17

Dogs and cats flown in from Texas for adoption in Bay Area -- Texas animal shelters are dealing with a large influx of displaced animals due to Hurricane Harvey, and now five Bay Area rescue groups are looking to help. Dianne de Guzman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/4/17

Harvey leads to Southern California homes for Texas dogs flown to Orange County -- The Karma Rescue organization flew 34 dogs from Texas animal shelters to John Wayne Airport via a chartered jet on Saturday night, Sept. 2. The transport freed up room in Texas shelters for family pets displaced by Hurricane Harvey. Bill Alkofer in the Orange County Register -- 9/4/17

Here's why 5 convicted killers may benefit from the Dekraai ruling -- For several convicted killers, the horrific case of Seal Beach mass murderer Scott Evans Dekraai is a potential legal gift. Tony Saavedra in the Orange County Register -- 9/4/17

Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Bay Area: Where are they now? -- The day Diane Evans escaped the Hurricane Katrina flood zone, she boarded an overcrowded evacuation bus at the edge of Interstate 10 in Louisiana’s Jefferson Parish, “praying it would go to Houston.” Evans, now a 71-year-old San Francisco resident, is one of several Katrina refugees who resettled in the Bay Area. This time, she said, Houston is on the other end of her prayers. Jenna Lyons in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/4/17

POTUS 45  

Obama to speak out if Trump ends DACA -- Obama’s current plan is to post a statement on Facebook and link to it on Twitter, where the former president has more than 94 million followers. In his final presidential press availability, he suggested that he would speak out if Trump went after the Dreamers — and that it was one of the few issues where he would feel morally compelled to do so. Michael Grunwald Politico -- 9/4/17

Beltway 

With brutal Sept. to-do list, GOP already clashing over Harvey relief, debt limit -- President Trump and congressional Republicans return to work this week facing enormous pressure to achieve major policy victories and carry out such basic acts of governance as providing disaster relief in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, avoiding a default on the nation’s debt and keeping federal agencies open. So far, there is little evidence of progress. Damian Paletta, Mike DeBonis and Ed O'Keefe in the Washington Post$ -- 9/4/17

McManus: If you listen closely, you can hear Trump's tax plan shrinking -- Tax cuts are the centerpiece of President Trump’s economic agenda. That’s how he’ll deliver on his promise to create “millions” of new jobs and restore manufacturing in the heartland, he says. Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/4/17

 

-- Sunday Updates 

Trump has decided to end DACA, with 6-month delay -- President Donald Trump has decided to end the Obama-era program that grants work permits to undocumented immigrants who arrived in the country as children, according to two sources familiar with his thinking. Senior White House aides huddled Sunday afternoon to discuss the rollout of a decision likely to ignite a political firestorm — and fulfill one of the president’s core campaign promises. Eliana Johnson Politico -- 9/3/17

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