Updating . .
Up to 600,000 expected to apply when L.A. reopens Section 8 housing list this month after 13 years -- Lately, home for Tamara Meeks has been the screened-in back porch of a tiny house behind an apartment building near 66th Street and Compton Avenue. At night she slips into the kitchen to sleep on a mover’s blanket while her two dogs sleep under a car seat on the porch. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/1/17
As the top pot-producing state in the nation, California could be on thin ice with the federal government -- California produced at least 13.5 million pounds of marijuana last year — five times more than the 2.5 million pounds it consumed. Where did all that extra pot go? Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/1/17
California’s right-to-die law: One woman’s last days have powerful impact on family and friends -- Jil Finnegan wanted to die on the anniversary of the day she married Geoff Protz 14 years ago. The pact that the petite environmental engineer made with her husband wasn’t meant to be macabre. If anything, the couple agreed, it was a way to complete the circle of their marriage vows. Tracy Seipel in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/1/17
Cable cars’ popularity takes huge hit with $7 fare -- San Francisco’s historic cable car system is seeing a roller coaster-like drop in people riding “the little cable cars halfway to the stars” — the decline hit 25 percent last year. According to Municipal Transportation Agency figures, ridership on the 139-year-old system fell to an average of 15,500 a day in fiscal 2016 — down from 20,600 rides a day in 2014. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/1/17
Long before Petco Park, citizens group foresaw homeless crisis and suggestions went unheeded -- Weeks after the San Diego Padres made it to the World Series in 1998, when they were unceremoniously swept by the dreaded New York Yankees, city voters approved a ballot measure to spend hundreds of millions of public dollars on a new ballpark downtown. Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/1/17
Ancient bristlecone pine forests are being overwhelmed by climate change -- For thousands of years, wind-whipped, twisted bristlecone pines have been clinging to existence on the arid, stony crests of eastern California’s White Mountains, in conditions inhospitable to most other life. Louis Sahagun in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/1/17
Knight: 4 in 10 calls to SF’s 911 aren’t emergencies -- City officials rightly deserve blame for ignoring the continuing crisis at the understaffed, slow-to-respond 911 call center. But San Franciscans, you’re on the hook here, too. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/1/17
Sac City Unified charters could grow 50 percent next year -- Sacramento City Unified is ground zero for new charter schools in the region. The school district could add as many as five more charter schools by the beginning of next school year – a 50 percent increase to the current count of 10 independent schools. Diana Lambert in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/1/17
Why Medi-Cal enrollees gain coverage but not broad access to doctors -- Medi-Cal enrollee Michael Gonzalez worked for months in 2015 to get to the Sutter specialists who ultimately treated his thyroid cancer, so he felt undermined this summer when Sutter Health announced that its primary-care doctors would no longer be serving 10,000 adult patients in Sacramento and Placer counties. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/1/17
Pair of pro-gun bills on move in House -- The House could pass legislation as early as this week that would roll back decades-old restrictions on gun silencers, opening up the market for a device that critics say would make it difficult in a mass shooting to detect where gunfire is coming from. Carolyn Lochhead in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/1/17
National parks set their sights on being litter-free -- In a conversation with new Undersecretary of the Interior David Bernhardt, I touched on a subject that U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke had brought up: Cleaning up America’s national parks is a No. 1 mission. Tom Stienstra in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/1/17
Can't guarantee tax cut for entire middle class: Mnuchin -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Sunday said one of the top goals of the Trump administration’s tax plan is to help the middle class, but he could not guarantee that every middle-class family would receive a tax cut. Lucia Mutikani Reuters -- 10/1/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Political Road Map: A sloppy signature might keep your 2018 ballot from being counted -- Few Californians are likely to spend any time thinking about how carefully they signed their voter registration card years ago. Nor is there much reason to assume that those who vote by mail think much about the neatness of their signature on the envelope containing that absentee ballot. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/1/17
Governor hopeful John Chiang looking to close visibility gap with Northern California tour -- John Chiang was wandering around Sonoma’s crowded town plaza on a recent evening, surrounded by photographers and video cameras as he did a politician’s stroll among the people out for a visit to the farmers’ market. A youngster rode up on his bike and asked the obvious question: “Is he someone famous?” John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/1/17
Walters: Latest academic tests underscore California’s education crisis -- California has spent tens of billions of extra dollars on its K-12 school system in recent years on promises that its abysmal levels of academic achievement – especially those of disadvantaged children – would be improved. Dan Walters Calmatters.org -- 10/1/17
Willie Brown: NFL’s owners take air out of players’ protest against racism -- NFL owners have apparently decided that the best way to kill the controversy surrounding players who take a knee during the national anthem is to smother the protest with support. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/1/17
California expands Japanese internment education to current rights threats -- The films, plays and public broadcasts California now funds to enlighten students and the public about the horrors of Japanese American internment camps in World War II will soon be expanded to illuminate more recent examples of persecution — including the Muslim immigrants targeted by President Trump. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/1/17
Coastal Commission will consider relaxing L.A.'s 30-year-old beach curfew -- Los Angeles is heading toward another collision over its 30-year-old beach curfew that could decide who rules the city’s segments of the coastline after dark. Gale Holland in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/1/17
The anthem passes, and Warriors move ahead -- The Warriors made it clear Saturday night that their most incisive political statements can be found where it really counts: beyond the court. Bruce Jenkins in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/1/17
Climbers detail horror of fatal rockslide at El Capitan in Yosemite -- Ryan Sheridan, a 25-year-old climber from Buffalo, N.Y., was with two friends on what is known as the Waterfall Route of Yosemite’s El Capitan when they witnessed horror unfold below — a fatal rockfall that has once again exposed the powerful and at times dangerous natural forces at work in the famed wilderness. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/1/17
Police, clinicians look to shift mental-health response burden away from officers -- Jim Tourino watched helplessly as his 280-pound son, holding a knife above his head, charged at a San Jose police officer. Staring at the 28-year-old mentally ill man coming toward him, the officer made a split-second decision: He fired his weapon, fatally wounding Tourino’s son. Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/1/17
Marines: Camp Pendleton water safe, clean -- Despite state and federal reports outlining concerns about staffing, equipment and reservoir problems at Camp Pendleton, military officials are telling the troops and their families that the water is safe to drink. Carl Prine in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/1/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Pender: California teachers, other school employees could get 6 weeks paid maternity leave -- Almost all teachers and other employees in California public schools and community colleges would get six weeks of fully paid maternity leave starting next year under a bill that is awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s approval. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/1/17
Hiltzik: California fires a shot at Tesla over its labor policies -- To entrepreneur Elon Musk, building Tesla electric vehicles is about creating “one of the great companies of the 21st century,” one that is “fair and just … the only kind worth creating.” To the United Auto Workers, which is trying to unionize Tesla’s Fremont factory, building Tesla cars is about doing so at substandard wages and in dangerous conditions, accompanied by efforts to suppress the unionization campaign. Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/1/17
Homeless
'Water Man' saw such need for restrooms downtown, he installed them himself -- Nearly a decade before San Diego was struck by a deadly, human waste-fueled hepatitis A outbreak, David “Water Man” Ross was thinking about port-a-potties. James DeHaven in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/1/17
Among LA’s homeless a photographer finds words can leave a lasting impression -- He gave each homeless person he met a white board and a marker and asked a question: “If you could say something about yourself to anybody, what would it be?” Susan Abram in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 10/1/17
After crackdown on tent city, homeless recount Hepatitis horror stories -- The swelling population of homeless and their tents that lined the streets of San Diego’s East Village in recent years had all but disappeared by Tuesday morning. Those still lingering bitterly recounted a swift crackdown by police along 16th and 17th streets a day earlier that resulted in a number of arrests and the removal of people’s belongings. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/1/17
Education
Malware Attacks San Ysidro School District, Demands $19K Ransom -- The cyber attack, known as ransomware, demanded roughly $19,000 in Bitcoin over the weekend of Sept. 16. Leo Castaneda KPBS -- 10/1/17
‘Let’s race our slaves.’ Were these messages sent by Clovis Unified students? -- The Clovis Unified School District said Saturday that it is investigating social media messages that may have come from students in the district and are racially demeaning. Cresencio Rodriguez-Delgado in the Fresno Bee -- 10/1/17
Immigration / Border
How A Reduced Ceiling On Refugee Arrivals Could Impact San Diego -- This time last year, San Diego County was the number one destination for refugees, but as the fiscal year ends this month, that is changing. Tarryn Mento KPBS -- 10/1/17
Health
Other States Closely Watching Fate of California’s Drug Price Transparency Bill -- Insurers, hospitals and health advocates are waiting for Gov. Jerry Brown to deal the drug lobby a rare defeat, by signing legislation that would force pharmaceutical companies to justify big price hikes on drugs in California. April Dembosky KQED -- 10/1/17
Also . . .
Jury selection to begin Monday in killing of Kate Steinle -- Jury selection is set to begin Monday in the San Francisco murder case that sparked a national uproar over immigration policies and sanctuary cities. Vivian Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/1/17
San Diego's sharp spike in police dog usage raising questions about policies -- A sharp spike in the use of police dogs in San Diego is increasing how many suspects get bitten and raising questions about how and when officers call on the dogs to quell dangerous situations. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/1/17
POTUS 45
Trump picks risky Puerto Rico fight -- The natural disaster in Puerto Rico has escalated into a firestorm for President Donald Trump, whose Saturday Twitter attack on the mayor of San Juan drew harsh condemnations, new charges of insensitivity, and warnings about political fallout. Matthew Nussbaum and Marc Caputo Politico -- 10/1/17
Beltway
How Two Sentences in Tax Plan May Help Unleash $1 Billion in Lobbying -- The sweeping tax rewrite unveiled by President Trump and Republican lawmakers this past week leaves many of the details to Congress, but two sentences in the nine-page framework have Washington lobbyists salivating over a payday that some industry experts predict could top $1 billion. Kenneth P. Vogel in the New York Times$ -- 10/1/17
-- Saturday Updates
Government jobs sprouting as legal pot looms in California -- Scientists. Tax collectors. Typists. Analysts. Lawyers. And more scientists. Recreational marijuana use becomes legal in California in 2018, and one of the things to blossom in the emerging industry isn't green and leafy - it's government jobs. Michael R. Blood Associated Press -- 9/30/17
CalPERS candidates say ballots aren’t secret, and they’re piling up at a Seattle warehouse -- Mail-in ballots for the CalPERS election that ends on Monday ask voters to sign them right below their choice, potentially revealing how people voted for two seats on the 13-member board that manages a $334 billion pension fund. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/30/17
L.A. might limit who can appeal against a marijuana business -- Los Angeles might restrict who can lodge appeals when marijuana businesses get city licenses, blocking challenges from people who do not live, work or own property nearby. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/30/17
Assembly hopefuls asking for Los Angeles votes on Tuesday -- A flood of candidates are seeking to fill the Assembly seat once held by Jimmy Gomez, who left the California Legislature to serve in Congress earlier this year, and Los Angeles voters have a chance to start sorting through them in Tuesday’s primary. Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/30/17
Is a hepatitis A vaccine shortage coming? -- On Friday, Merck & Co. Inc., manufacturer of VAQTA, one of two FDA-approved hepatitis A vaccines on the market, said in a short statement that it “anticipates working through some manufacturing constraints in 2017” as a result of unexpected demand for the product. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/30/17
Silicon Valley all in on tax reform -- No other policy issue facing tech companies in Washington — and there are many of late — stands to have as great an impact on their businesses. Steven Overly Politico -- 9/30/17
Cannabis harvest heats up in Sonoma County -- Just as grape growers keep watch for the moment of peak ripeness, cannabis farmers have for generations monitored the color of the bud’s trichomes, an aromatic crystal resin that transforms from clear to milky white, then gold to amber. Julie Johnson in the Santa Rosa Press -- 9/30/17
Lopez: This couple put art before income. But creativity doesn't pay the rent in today's L.A. -- In Arleta, a 64-year-old woman pays $1,100 a month — her entire income — for three meals a day and a bed in one-half of a converted garage. In Pasadena, a blind 59-year-old woman has lived without a functioning stove for years and is being forced out of her apartment because an upgrade will raise the rent to about 80% of her income. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/30/17