Updating . .
Trump's pick as EPA air pollution chief won't pledge to maintain California's authority -- When California defied Washington a decade ago by launching aggressive action on climate change, one official at the Environmental Protection Agency emerged as a nemesis for state leaders time and again. Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
Pay teachers the same salary as state lawmakers? Voters may decide in 2018 -- California teachers' paychecks could equal those of state legislators under a new initiative that proponents are aiming to qualify for the November 2018 ballot. Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
Poll: Majority opposes repealing gas tax increases in California -- The first poll on a proposed ballot measure indicates 53.9% of California residents oppose repealing a new gas tax and vehicle fee hike. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
Feinstein moves to close automatic-rifles loophole in wake of Las Vegas massacre -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein on Wednesday introduced legislation to close what she calls an automatic weapons loophole that allows gun owners to convert semi-automatic rifles into rapid-fire automatic machines. Angela Hart in the Sacramento Bee$ Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
Survivors from California recount their terrifying escape from danger in Las Vegas -- As the gunshots echoed and people began to drop around her, Carmen Alegria was certain her time was up. Cindy Carcamo, Alene Tchekmedyian, Kate Mather and Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
An ER Doctor Turned Congressman Takes ‘Public Health’ Approach to Gun Violence -- Congressman Raul Ruiz saw plenty of trauma during his days as an emergency room doctor in Southern California, but that doesn’t make it easier to deal with constituents directly affected by this week’s massacre in Las Vegas. Scott Shafer KQED -- 10/4/17
In a commandeered truck, Marine veteran drives dozens of Las Vegas shooting victims to a hospital -- One thought became crystal clear to Taylor Winston as carnage surrounded him. He needed a truck, and he needed it now. The 29-year-old from San Diego was in the crowd at the Route 91 Harvest country music festival Sunday night when a man opened fire from the nearby Mandalay Bay Hotel Resort and Casino. Lyndsay Winkley in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
San Diego's hepatitis A outbreak continues to grow -- Add 20 more cases and 22 more hospitalizations to San Diego County’s ever-growing hepatitis A outbreak. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/4/17
Pension costs ‘crowding out’ spending on parks, schools and social services, report says -- California governments likely will make do with fewer teachers, parks employees and other public workers while they struggle to absorb fast-rising pension costs in the next few years, a former state lawmaker argues in a study released this week through Stanford University. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/4/17
Mayor Eric Garcetti to host reelection fundraiser for Sen. Dianne Feinstein -- Mayor Eric Garcetti is hosting a fundraiser for Sen. Dianne Feinstein, and says the senior senator's stature is needed in Washington more than ever before. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
As Trump administration begins phasing out 'Dreamers' program, Congress split over replacement legislation -- The Trump administration officially begins at midnight on Thursday to unravel the Obama-era program shielding from deportation people brought to the United States illegally as children, accepting no new applications after that time. Brian Bennett in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
Rebuilding The Lake Oroville Spillways -- In February, a huge hole opened in the Lake Oroville main spillway. The cause of the hole is still undetermined. The ensuing closure of the main gates and use of the emergency spillway for the first time ever caused damage to the hillside, erosion toward the spillway structure and thousands of people to evacuate. Bob Moffitt Capital Public Radio -- 10/4/17
More power for electric vehicles? -- It may soon become a lot easier for California drivers to get plugged in. Legislation on Gov. Brown’s desk would allow city officials and private property owners to install charging stations for electric vehicles on curbsides of public streets. Brown has until Oct. 15 to sign the bill, veto it or let it become law without his signature. Vu Chau Capitol Weekly -- 10/4/17
Fox: Change Brown’s Policies? Which Ones? -- Last week’s Public Policy Institute of California poll contained a curious question that needed some in-depth follow-up to give us context. Since the follow-up did not occur, it left a reader of the poll to do some guessing. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 10/4/17
Interior Department whistleblower resigns, calling Ryan Zinke’s leadership a failure -- An Interior Department executive turned whistleblower who claimed the Trump administration retaliated against him for publicly disclosing how climate change affects Alaska Native communities resigned Wednesday. Darryl Fears in the Washington Post$ -- 10/4/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
How Donald Trump could still hurt California’s health care market -- After nine months of trying and failing, Republicans in Washington have all but given up on repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act for the foreseeable future. But there are other steps they may take in the coming months that could still destabilize the individual insurance marketplaces created under the 2010 law, also known as Obamacare. Emily Cadei McClatchyDC -- 10/4/17
White supremacists deserve free speech, California lawmakers told -- California is home to the largest skinhead population and the most developed white supremacist gangs in the country, the Anti-Defamation League told state senators during a hearing at the Capitol on Tuesday. Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ Mina Corpuz in the Los Angeles Times$ Jonathan J. Cooper Associated Press -- 10/4/17
Wendy Carrillo and Luis López advance in Assembly special election in Los Angeles -- Wendy Carrillo and Luis López will advance to the runoff in the special election for a state Assembly seat after receiving the most votes in Tuesday's primary. The candidates, both Democrats, emerged from a crowded field of 13 hopefuls seeking to represent Assembly District 51 in Los Angeles. Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
San Diego officials alerted city employees, vendors, early in hepatitis crisis, not so much the public -- San Diego city officials warned employees about the deadly hepatitis A outbreak two times before Mayor Kevin Faulconer issued any public statements about the spreading infectious disease, newly released emails show. Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/4/17
Walters: Half-a-loaf ‘solutions’ consume energy, fall short -- With some fanfare, Gov. Jerry Brown last week signed a package of bills aimed at relieving an acute shortage of housing that has sent costs into the stratosphere and given California the nation’s highest level of functional poverty. Dan Walters Calmatters.org -- 10/4/17
Want to win the lottery? Some places pay out more than others -- When it comes to California Lottery numbers, “1021295” could be in a winning league of its own. It isn’t a combination of lucky Powerball, Mega Millions or Fantasy 5 digits. That’s the ID for the business that’s sold the most big-dollar winning lottery tickets since 2009, according to several years of prize data provided to The Sacramento Bee. Jim Miller in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/4/17
Indigenous Peoples Day to replace Columbus Day in L.A. County -- Starting in 2019, the second Monday in October will be observed as Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day, according to a motion passed by the L.A. County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Nina Agrawal in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
Caltech, MIT physicists win the Nobel Prize for proving Einstein right -- Two Caltech scientists and their counterpart at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology won the Nobel Prize in Physics on Tuesday morning for leading a worldwide effort to detect gravitational waves, the faint ripples in space-time first predicted by Albert Einstein a century ago. Jason Henry in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 10/4/17
L.A. reworks another 'road diet,' restoring car lanes in Playa del Rey -- Faced with an ongoing furor over traffic congestion and so-called “road diets,” Los Angeles officials announced they will restore car lanes removed from two Playa del Rey boulevards earlier this year. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
Camp Pendleton Marine becomes first female officer to lead assault amphibian vehicle platoon -- Second Lt. Mariah Klenke has done most everything with total commitment. So it was no surprise to her parents, Darrell and Tina Klenke, that the 24-year-old from Breese, Ill., made history on Tuesday, Oct. 3, becoming the first female Marine to graduate from the Marine Corps Assault Amphibian Officer Course and earn the military occupational specialty of assault amphibian officer. Erika Ritchie in the Orange County Register -- 10/4/17
Las Vegas massacre reverberates in gun-loving Nevada -- Guns are as baked into Nevada culture as rattlesnakes, sagebrush and slot machines. Evan Sernoffsky and Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/4/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
United Farm Workers union settles an employee lawsuit -- The United Farm Workers union has settled a long-running lawsuit with its former field organizers, agreeing to pay $1.3 million in back wages, penalties and attorney fees. Geoffrey Mohan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
Yahoo says every account — all 3 billion of them — was affected by 2013 breach -- All 3 billion Yahoo accounts that existed in August 2013 were affected by a massive data breach, three times as many accounts as the company first reported. Ben Muessig in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
Sacramento-area tribe to build large casino resort in Elk Grove -- Plans call for a 608,756-square-foot facility that includes a 12-story 302-room hotel, pool, spa, convention center, six restaurants and bars, and a 110,260-square-foot gaming floor. Lizzie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/4/17
Cruise says San Francisco’s gnarly traffic helps school robot cars faster -- San Francisco traffic is ridiculous. And that’s a good thing when it comes to testing autonomous cars, according to Cruise, the self-driving division of General Motors. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/4/17
Lee: Fire Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan — or shrink the bank -- Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., offered this stark warning to Wells Fargo CEO Timothy Sloan on Tuesday during a hearing in Washington about the company’s latest breaches of the public trust. “If we’re here again six months from now, it will not be good,” he said. Thomas Lee in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/4/17
San Jose: Movement builds to ban leaf blowers -- In response to requests from hundreds of San Jose residents, Councilman Don Rocha said last week he is renewing an effort to ban the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in residential neighborhoods. Julia Baum in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/4/17
PUC reforms gain approval in wake of San Bruno explosion PG&E caused -- Newly approved legislation could go a long way toward reforming the state Public Utilities Commission, which tumbled into disgrace for lax oversight of PG&E that contributed to a fatal explosion in San Bruno more than seven years ago, a lawmaker and consumer group said Tuesday. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/4/17
LA's 20 hottest jobs that don't require a bachelor's degree -- If you work in nursing, information technology, or you're an electrician, your job is safe and in-demand. That's one of the findings from a new report from the Center for a Competitive Workforce and the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation. Andrea Bernstein KPCC -- 10/4/17
Homeless
Sylmar armory to be converted to year-round housing for homeless women -- The repurposed armory, which could open as soon as December, will provide “bridge housing,” consisting of shelter and support services to help transition women into permanent housing. Nina Agrawal in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
Jury calls for death in slayings of 5 at Long Beach homeless encampment -- The jury deliberated for about two hours before deciding late Monday that David Cruz Ponce, 37, should be sentenced to death, Deputy Dist. Atty. Cynthia Barnes said. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
Homeless Campground Set To Open Near Downtown San Diego -- A campground for homeless people in San Diego is set to open as early as next week, with 200 new tents set up in a city-owned parking lot at 20th and B Streets near downtown. Susan Murphy KPBS -- 10/4/17
Santa Ana to consider emergency ordinance aimed at civic center homeless camp -- The city of Santa Ana may tighten restrictions aimed at homeless people living in the civic center in an effort to clean up the large encampment there and address public health and safety concerns. Jill Replogle KPCC -- 10/4/17
Housing
California Lawmakers Consider Next Year's Housing Priorities -- Days after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a package of bills to address California's high housing costs, lawmakers are already discussing more changes to bring down home prices—particularly for the middle-class. Ben Bradford Capital Public Radio -- 10/4/17
Education
Newly emboldened, L.A. charter schools push to rewrite local rules -- A small Hebrew-immersion charter school found out on Tuesday that there were limits to how far it could push a new school board majority that is widely regarded as pro-charter. Anna M. Phillips and Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
Alum Rock schools: SEC investigating officials, S&P downgrades credit -- The bad news keeps coming for the troubled Alum Rock Union School District. Standard & Poors Global Credit has downgraded the credit rating of the Alum Rock Union School District’s bonds and other debt. And the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has launched an investigation into possible violations of securities law. Sharon Noguchi in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/4/17
Fresno Unified teachers overwhelmingly authorize a strike against their district -- At least 2,000 teachers with the Fresno Unified School District voted overwhelmingly Tuesday evening to authorize their union to call a strike if protracted contract negotiations don’t yield an agreement that meets their satisfaction. Tim Sheehan in the Fresno Bee -- 10/4/17
LA County Office admits it shouldn't have approved Long Beach's LCAP -- The Los Angeles County Office of Education has issued a mea culpa in a ruling with potentially far-reaching implications. It acknowledged that it mistakenly approved Long Beach Unified’s accountability plan last year that shortchanged low-income children, foster and homeless youth, and English learners $24 million under the state’s funding formula. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 10/4/17
Cannabis
San Francisco supes quash plan for cannabis club in Sunset after emotional hearing -- The San Francisco supervisors on Tuesday quashed former Oakland Mayor Jean Quan’s plans to open a high-end cannabis dispensary in San Francisco’s Outer Sunset District. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/4/17
San Diego legalizes local supply chain for marijuana -- San Diego finalized its legalization of marijuana cultivation and manufacturing on Tuesday, becoming one of the few cities in the state to have a fully regulated supply chain for the drug. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/4/17
Immigration / Border
As wall prototypes go up, DHS report says sneaking across southwest border now harder than 'ever before' -- The Department of Homeland Security said that by almost any measure — from apprehensions to the increased use of smugglers, even the increased rates the “coyotes” charge — getting into the country from Mexico is markedly more difficult that a decade ago. Greg Moran in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/4/17
Health
Possible Hepatitis A Case Originated At Haggin Oaks Golf Course -- An employee of MacKenzie’s Sports Bar and Grille at the Haggin Oaks Golf Complex may have come down with a case of Hepatitis A, according to the Sacramento County Department of Health and Human Services. The disease spreads when food, drink, or other shared objects get contaminated by an infected person's feces. In San Diego, Santa Cruz and Los Angeles, the liver infection has been spreading quickly among urban homeless communities. Sammy Caiola Capital Public Radio -- 10/4/17
San Diego Hepatitis A Outbreak Continues To Grow -- Twenty new cases are being reported this week, bringing the number of people infected to 481, according to San Diego County Health and Human Services. Public Health Officer Wilma Wooten said there are 47 other cases awaiting confirmation. Matt Hoffman KPBS -- 10/4/17
Turmoil in Washington adds uncertainty to health insurance enrollment -- Usually, the autumn ritual of selecting the right health plan for the coming year is quite predictable. The options are there on the table, and there is usually little thought that things might change dramatically after you make a decision. Not this year. Paul Sisson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/4/17
Environment
Environmental group sues California over whale-killing gear -- An environmental group sued the state of California on Tuesday for allegedly not doing enough to keep Dungeness crab fishery gear from killing protected whales. Associated Press -- 10/4/17
POTUS 45
Trump brings harsh edge to Puerto Rico trip -- President Donald Trump brought a jarring tone to Puerto Rico as he toured the hurricane devastation Tuesday, appearing to blame the U.S. territory for having “thrown our budget a little out of whack” and complimenting officials for sustaining only 16 deaths, compared with the much higher human toll of Hurricane Katrina. Nolan D. McCaskill and Matthew Nussbaum Politico -- 10/4/17
Beltway
IRS awards multimillion-dollar fraud-prevention contract to Equifax -- The IRS will pay Equifax $7.25 million to verify taxpayer identities and help prevent fraud under a no-bid contract issued last week, even as lawmakers lash the embattled company about a massive security breach that exposed personal information of as many as 145.5 million Americans. Steven Overly and Nancy Scola Politico -- 10/4/17
-- Tuesday Updates
Billionaire Tom Steyer is trying to reach a half a million California voters in vulnerable GOP districts -- After years of spending money to influence political races around the country, billionaire Democratic philanthropist Tom Steyer is turning his attention to his home state in hopes that investing early in vulnerable Republican districts could help Democrats take back the House. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/3/17
Conservative speaker Ben Shapiro is in Sacramento to raise campaign money for Ami Bera challenger -- Yona Barash, a Republican surgeon seeking his first elected office, is getting his congressional campaign rolling with a conservative commentator who has stoked controversy in California. Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/3/17
State Sen. Josh Newman defends against Howard Jarvis group lawsuit -- A court filing on behalf of state Sen. Josh Newman said that the California Legislature acted properly in adopting new rules for a recall campaign against him, and it charged a lawsuit challenging the rules is politically motivated. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/3/17
Senators question whether Wells Fargo CEO is the right person to lead bank's turnaround -- At a Senate Banking Committee hearing Tuesday, Wells Fargo & Co. Chief Executive Timothy Sloan faced pointed questions about his ability to lead a turnaround of the bank’s culture — and whether the steadily growing list of new disclosures from the bank would ever end. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/3/17
'I don't think we can pass a law that fixes stupid': Lawmakers berate Equifax ex-CEO -- House lawmakers are sharply criticizing Equifax Inc.’s former chief executive Tuesday for the credit rating company’s massive data breach and calling for tougher cybersecurity legislation to protect Americans’ sensitive information. Jim Puzzanghera in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/3/17
A Lawyer’s Weapon Against Farm Worker Complaints: Deportation -- As an attorney representing California Central Valley farmers and labor contractors who rely heavily on undocumented workers, Anthony Raimondo has become widely known for performing a sort of magic trick. He can sometimes make legal complaints against his clients – and the people who file them – disappear. Ted Rohrlich Fairwarning.org -- 10/3/17
Update: Wife of SFPD officer confirmed dead in Las Vegas attack -- The wife of a San Francisco police officer was confirmed among the dozens killed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, her family said Tuesday. Stacee Rodrigues Etcheber had attended the concert with her husband of 13 years, Officer Vinnie Etcheber. She was 50. Jenna Lyons in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Mark Gomez, Julia Prodis Sulek and Patrick May in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/3/17
Las Vegas shooter Stephen Paddock was a CSUN graduate, university confirms -- The man accused of fatally shooting 59 people and wounding hundreds more in Las Vegas Sunday night was a graduate of Cal State Northridge, officials said. Wes Woods in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 10/3/17
‘He was the most friendly and outgoing guy you could ever meet.’ Friends remember Las Vegas shooting victim from Cameron Park -- Friends of Kurt Von Tillow continued to bring flowers and other mementos on Tuesday to a memorial on the backyard fence of his home on the Cameron Park Country Club. Brad Branan in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/3/17
What’s the bump fire stock that Las Vegas killer may have used? -- Reports from Las Vegas on Tuesday suggest that at least one of gunman Stephen Paddock’s rifles was equipped with something called a “bump-fire stock.” Patrick May in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/3/17
Knight: On the right, left out in ultra-liberal San Francisco: the city’s Trump fans -- My phone rang the other day, and the caller had a real man-bites-dog story — the unusual event journalists relish. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/3/17
Parents express shock over flutes possibly tainted with semen and given to schoolchildren; little health risk seen -- As state and federal officials investigate how batches of plastic flutes believed to be contaminated with semen were distributed in the spring to schools in Southern California, parents expressed shock at the allegations while health experts said exposure to the flutes likely posed little risk to students. Bradley Zint and Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/3/17
San Francisco proposal targets bike ‘chop shops’ as advocates for homeless object -- In the space beneath San Francisco’s infamous “Hairball,” the thick knot of highway arteries looping above Cesar Chavez Street, Potrero Avenue and Bayshore Boulevard, lie the trappings of a bicycle graveyard. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/3/17
Will this winter in California be wet or dry? -- Just like every autumn, October is bringing cooler weather, changing leaves and pumpkins to the fields across California. But unlike the past five years, when a historic drought gripped the state, this fall there’s something new across the landscape: full reservoirs. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/3/17
Fox: State & Local Tax Deduction Debate: An Old Story; a New Political Twist -- The debate over the effects of state and local tax write-off from federal taxes in California is not new. Forty years ago, it was part of the historic battle over the iconic tax reduction measure Proposition 13. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 10/3/17