Updating . .
Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra resigns amid sexual misconduct allegations -- Facing mounting allegations of sexual misconduct, Assemblyman Raul Bocanegra on Monday announced that he would resign immediately rather than serve out the remaining nine months of his term. Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Katy Murphy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/27/17
State Sen. Tony Mendoza booted from leadership posts pending sexual harassment investigation -- The Senate Rules Committee voted Monday to strip state Sen. Tony Mendoza of his leadership positions, including chairmanship of the banking committee, pending the outcome of an investigation into sexual harassment allegations by three women against the Democratic lawmaker from Artesia. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/27/17 * auto start audio on this link
California Realtors launch ballot drive to expand Prop. 13 for senior homeowners -- If passed, the proposition would allow senior and disabled homeowners to transfer their low, existing Prop. 13 tax assessment to a new home anywhere in the state, using the option as often as they choose and paying any price for their new home. Jeff Collins in the Orange County Register -- 11/27/17
Why conservative headliners are teaming up to challenge Maxine Waters in Los Angeles -- Republican Omar Navarro is trying again to unseat Rep. Maxine Waters, but this time, he has a new set of high-profile friends. Trump confidant Roger Stone is a campaign advisor, former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio calls weekly, and far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones hosted him on his popular show. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/27/17
Diablo Canyon: To be or not to be? -- A final decision looms on whether to close California’s last operating nuclear power plant. The California Public Utilities Commission will hear closing arguments tomorrow, Nov. 28, on the fate of the controversial Diablo Canyon Power Plant in San Luis Obispo County. The commission is expected to make a decision by the end of the year. Lisa Renner Capitol Weekly -- 11/27/17
2018’s new laws: California businesses brace for changes -- A slew of new laws that address unpaid parental leave, new hiring restrictions and other workplace issues will have an impact on California businesses in the coming year. Kevin Smith in the Orange County Register -- 11/27/17
Some Mission Bay neighbors fuming over Caltrain’s diesel dust -- Toby Levine braced for noise and pollution 10 years ago when she moved into San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood, two blocks away from the Caltrain station at Fourth and Townsend streets. Yet the pervasiveness of the diesel dust surprised her. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/27/17
With elk on rebound, California releases new management plan --Wildlife experts say it’s time to expand, link and improve their scattered habitats. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/27/17
Walters: Brown’s WaterFix project could go down the drain -- The decades-long political struggle over fixing the bottleneck in California’s immense north-south water system is nearing a climax—and it’s not looking good for Gov. Jerry Brown’s long-sought solution. Dan Walters Calmatters.org -- 11/27/17
Bretón: These laws are eroding public trust with police. And they are hurting good officers too -- Here is the point that always gets lost in discussions about police brutality: The system is rigged in favor of the police every time it is alleged. Marcos Bretón in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/27/17
Lazarus: Completely unnecessary spat over CFPB leaves consumers out in the cold -- Don’t be distracted. The White House would have you believe that the battle for control of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is about the rightful exercise of presidential power. It's about screwing over consumers. David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/27/17
Fox: National Park Fees, State Gas Taxes and the AG’s Policy Choices -- California Attorney General Xavier Becerra wants to keep national park fees down so poor people can afford entry in their vehicles. However, the gas tax repeal effort, which critics say he disfavors based on the title and summaries he authored on repeal initiatives, might keep drivers from even reaching the parks because of the increased cost of gas. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 11/27/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
First-term lawmaker to lead Assembly hearings on harassment -- Assemblywoman Laura Friedman had no idea a sexual harassment scandal was about to explode at the California Legislature when she was elected last year or that she would help lead the response. Kathleen Ronayne Associated Press -- 11/27/17
California businesses push for 2017 immigration fix in Congress, but hopes fade -- With prospects dimming for a deal this year to prevent young undocumented immigrants from deportation, California business leaders and other sympathetic groups are planning a massive push over the next few weeks to force the issue to the top of Washington’s agenda. Franco Ordonez, Emily Cadei and Andrea Drusch in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/27/17
California high court to decide legality of farm worker law -- An upcoming ruling by California's highest court in a legal battle between the union launched by labor leader Cesar Chavez and one of the nation's largest fruit farms could dramatically reduce the power of organized farm labor in the state. Sudhin Thanawala Associated Press -- 11/27/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
One city’s struggle with mounting CalPERS costs -- Monrovia’s city manager, Oliver Chi, told the city council the budget could absorb the CalPERS employer pension rate increases enacted in 2012, 2013, and 2014 — but a large fourth rate increase last December could push the city into insolvency. Ed Mendel Calpensions.com -- 11/27/17
Newport Beach expected to yank Banning Ranch approvals this week -- A long-planned development of hundreds of homes and expansive retail space this week likely will lose the approvals it received from the Newport Beach City Council five years ago, dealing the controversial project yet another blow. Lauren Williams in the Orange County Register -- 11/27/17
Orange County office buildings sell at record fast pace at record high prices -- If you’re nervous about real estate, don’t just wonder what the common house hunter is thinking — ponder the wisdom of big-dollar buyers of local office buildings. Jonathan Lansner in the Orange County Register -- 11/27/17
Wildfire
Mental health issues increasing as Sonoma County enters new phase of fires’ aftermath -- Martha Marquez is not prone to cry at movies and usually keeps a tight rein on her emotions. But when a Red Cross worker called her up recently and told her she was checking on her mental health after the loss of her Santa Rosa home, Marquez could not hold back the tears. Martin Espinoza in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat -- 11/27/17
Education
Fizz! Pop! Bang! Teachers find new science standards fun, but costly -- With their emphasis on hands-on experiments, California’s new science standards have turned classrooms into noisy, messy laboratories. Carolyn Jones EdSource -- 11/27/17
Cannabis
Marin belies laid-back image, looks down on pot shops -- There was a time when Marin County was a capital of cannabis hipsterism, a New Age outpost of ganja in a weed-hostile world, but when recreational sales of marijuana become legal Jan. 1, the county that rarely abstains will be sitting out. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/27/17
Black entrepreneurs could get city boost to open marijuana businesses in Sacramento -- African Americans are nearly four times as likely to be arrested on marijuana charges as white people in Sacramento, a disparity black leaders cite as they argue that their community should receive special treatment when it comes to the city’s legal weed market next year. Brad Branan in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/27/17 ** auto start audio on this link
Immigration / Border
Tunnel rats stay busy stalking border drug smugglers -- It’s a name only a bureaucrat could love: Confined Spaces Entry Team. Squad members call themselves something else: Tunnel Rats. For the past seven years, they’ve been going underground to locate, map and seal off the tunnels used by cartels to smuggle drugs from Mexico to San Diego and beyond. John Wilkens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/27/17
Water
Giant Rosarito Beach desalination project faces scrutiny -- But plans for the reverse-osmosis facility in Rosarito Beach, a project that at full capacity would desalinate 100 million gallons daily, have come under unprecedented scrutiny at a politically sensitive moment. The touchiest public issue is the question of whether some of that water would be sold to the Otay Water District in San Diego County. Sandra Dibble in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/27/17
Health
Mental health urgent care clinic to open Nov. 29 -- After years of mental health patients inundating Sacramento area emergency rooms, Sacramento County will open a new mental health urgent clinic to provide an intermediate level of care for people struggling to find the right treatment, county officials said. Molly Sullivan in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/27/17
Designer DNA drugs approach a potential watershed moment -- What started more than a decade ago as a hunch among a small group of San Diego researchers has grown into real hope for treating currently-incurable neurodegenerative diseases. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/27/17
Environment
Surfable waves hit Lake Tahoe as 50-mph winds blow into the area -- High wind gusts that hit the Lake Tahoe area made for some spectacular waves Sunday, attracting at least two brave surfers to its cold waters. Buoy readings from the center of the lake measured wind gusts up to 50 miles per hour during the day, according to the National Weather Service. Dianne de Guzman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/27/17
Also . . .
Guns were Black Friday must-haves, going by the FBI’s record 203,086 background-check requests -- For decades, the term “Black Friday” has conjured up distinct images: turkey-stuffed consumers awake at insanely early hours of the morning, bursting into big-box stores to fight over flat-screen TVs. But in a muzzle flash, it seems, a new image may be replacing that stereotype. It involves a trigger and, possibly, a scope. Cleve R. Wootson Jr. in the Washington Post$ -- 11/27/17
Baby safe, suspect dead after standoff in California -- Police say officers shot and killed a man who had barricaded himself in a car for hours after taking his 7-month-old daughter hostage in a Los Angeles suburb. Associated Press -- 11/27/17
POTUS 45
James B. Comey tweeted about freedom of the press — minutes after Trump attacked CNN -- Former FBI director James B. Comey’s latest tweet was a defense of the press — a quote from Thomas Jefferson’s Jan. 28, 1786, letter from Paris to physician James Currie. “Our liberty depends on the freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost,” Comey tweeted Saturday evening along with a picture of the Capitol. Kristine Phillips in the Washington Post$ -- 11/27/17
Consumer bureau's deputy director sues to stop Trump appointee from taking temporary control of agency -- The battle over control of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau escalated Sunday as the deputy director sued to stop President Trump from installing his own appointee as temporary head of the agency. Jim Puzzanghera in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/27/17
Beltway
Senate GOP tax bill hurts the poor more than originally thought, CBO finds -- The Senate Republican tax plan gives substantial tax cuts and benefits to Americans earning more than $100,000 a year, while the nation’s poorest would be worse off, according to a report released Sunday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Heather Long in the Washington Post$ -- 11/27/17
The time to hack-proof the 2018 election is expiring — and Congress is way behind -- Lawmakers are scrambling to push something — anything — through Congress that would help secure the nation’s voting systems ahead of the 2018 elections. But it might already be too late for some critical targets. By this point during the 2016 election cycle, Russian hackers had already been in the Democratic National Committee’s networks for at least three months. Martin Matishak Politico -- 11/27/17
In Tax Debate, Gift to Religious Right Could Be Bargaining Chip -- Conservative Christian leaders are edging toward a once-improbable victory, having quietly worked for years to repeal a ban on political activity by churches. Kenneth P. Vogel and Laurie Goodstein in the New York Times$ -- 11/27/17