Updating . .
Battling treacherous office chairs and aching backs, aging cops and firefighters miss years of work and collect twice the pay -- When Capt. Tia Morris turned 50, after about three decades in the Los Angeles Police Department, she became eligible to retire with nearly 90% of her salary. But like many cops and firefighters in her position, the decision to keep working was a financial no-brainer, thanks to a program that allowed her to nearly double her pay by keeping her salary while also collecting her pension. Jack Dolan, Gus Garcia-Roberts and Ryan Menezes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
L.A. faces skyrocketing costs for lawsuits over bike crashes -- On a clear morning in Porter Ranch, a 62-year-old man riding his bicycle along Reseda Boulevard struck a ruptured piece of pavement pushed up by a tree root, crashed and broke his neck, and became a quadriplegic. Another cyclist suffered a brain injury when he struck a pothole and crashed in Sherman Oaks. A third died in Eagle Rock after hitting a patch of uneven pavement and flipping over his handlebars. Emily Alpert Reyes, Laura J. Nelson and Ben Poston in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
Nunes challenger seizes on FBI memo uproar -- It’s been a rough week for House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, the California Republican at the center of a Washington firestorm after crafting a memo alleging bias and misconduct at the FBI and Department of Justice. But for Andrew Janz, the congressman’s Democratic opponent, things have never been better. Carla Marinucci and David Siders Politico -- 2/3/18
Democrats hope to make Nunes an election target. But it’s a long shot -- Nunes’ district includes much of Fresno and Tulare counties, as well as part of the city of Fresno and all of Tulare, Clovis (Fresno County) and Visalia (Tulare County). Republicans hold a 43 percent to 33 percent registration advantage, and Nunes was re-elected in 2016 with better than two-thirds of the vote. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/3/18
Prison company seeks to open center for federal felons near Sacramento homes, schools -- One of the nation’s largest operators of private prisons is seeking to open a day facility for released criminal offenders in south Sacramento, but several community members are objecting to the proposal because the location is near multiple schools and disadvantaged neighborhoods. Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/3/18
You'll need to book ahead to see Yosemite's famous firefall this year -- For two weeks in February each year, Horsetail Falls on the east side of El Capitan glows a fiery orange at sunset. The annual event has gained such popularity among camera-toting visitors – it's known to attract over 1,000 sightseers a year – Yosemite has instituted a new reservation system this year to quell traffic jams and pedestrian safety problems. Michelle Robertson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/3/18
Trump's border wall prototypes triggered 10,000 OT hours for 356 employees of the San Diego sheriff -- San Diego Sheriff’s Department deputies, fearing large-scale protests over the construction of President Donald Trump’s border wall prototypes last fall, logged more than 10,000 hours of overtime in a three-month period before and after project construction. Greg Moran in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/3/18
San Diego wants to be more welcoming to immigrants -- While the federal government remains in a stalemate over immigration, the city of San Diego took the first steps on Friday to create a strategic plan to better welcome and support new arrivals locally. Kate Morrissey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
Lopez: There's only one fix for L.A.'s traffic nightmare — we all have to pay up -- Twenty-five years after the first modern subway train rolled into Los Angeles, traffic is horrible, billions of dollars are being invested in more public transit, and ridership has been declining for years. Robert Gatica, 24, offers a clue as to what's going on. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
The U.S. government is set to borrow nearly $1 trillion this year, an 84 percent jump from last year -- Treasury mainly attributed the increase to the “fiscal outlook.” The Congressional Budget Office was more blunt. In a report this week, the CBO said tax receipts are going to be lower because of the new tax law. Heather Long in the Washington Post$ -- 2/3/18
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Legal 'war' promised if Trump tries to clip California's right to set air standards -- Any attempt to prevent California from setting its own clean air transportation standards would provoke "a war with many states lining up on California's side," Mary Nichols, chair of the California Air Resources Board, said Friday. Russ Mitchell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
Washington Is Abuzz Over the Nunes Memo. His California District, Not So Much -- As Washington was abuzz Friday over the release of a classified memo, Democrats and Republicans were up in arms over its allegations. And right in the middle was Devin Nunes, a Republican representative in California and the memo’s chief architect. Tim Arango in the New York Times$ -- 2/3/18
Flap over Nunes memo gives his opponents hope that voters will reject him -- With the release of a controversial memo that bears his name, Rep. Devin Nunes has cemented his national identity as a relentless defender of President Donald Trump. But critics are starting to portray the Tulare Republican as the man who poked the FBI in the eye with his memo, and local opponents wonder if that can be used against him when he runs for re-election this year. Lewis Griswold in the Fresno Bee -- 2/3/18
Former Sen. Roderick Wright blames love of spoken-word poetry for harassment claim that led to settlement -- Former state Sen. Roderick Wright (D-Inglewood) was given a “stern admonishment” in 2010 by the Senate Rules Committee for repeatedly using coarse and vulgar language that offended a female staffer, according to a newly released letter from Darrell Steinberg, then leader of the Senate. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
State Sen. Ted Gaines asked aide to resign over sexual harassment allegations, then hired him as political consultant -- Two years ago, state Sen. Ted Gaines (R-Rocklin) asked his chief of staff to resign after hearing that the man had been accused of sexual harassment, but later put the aide on the payroll of his political campaign. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
‘Uncomfortable and unwelcome’ dancing with Capitol worker led to reprimand for California senator -- Sen. Bob Hertzberg, a Los Angeles Democrat under investigation for taking his signature hugs too far, was previously reprimanded for pulling a Capitol employee close and dancing with her in an office, according to documents released Friday by the California Senate. Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/3/18
Sen. Tony Mendoza was warned in 2010 that his habit of hugging women 'comes with peril' -- State Sen. Tony Mendoza has been under investigation for allegations of sexual harassment, but new documents released Friday show he was warned in 2010 by a personnel manager that his habit of hugging staff members “comes with peril,” and he should stop. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
Senate staffer accused of sexual harassment was later appointed to Veterans Affairs post by Gov. Jerry Brown -- Three months after a state Senate staffer was terminated over allegations of sexual harassment, he was appointed by Gov. Jerry Brown to a top position in the state Department of Veterans Affairs, according to state records released Friday. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
Candidate for California governor among those admonished for sexual misconduct, new records show -- Republican gubernatorial candidate Travis Allen and three other sitting lawmakers were among those named in an unprecedented release of sexual harassment investigation records disclosed Friday by California legislative leaders. Alexei Koseff, Christopher Cadelago, Marjie Lundstrom and Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/3/18
GOP gubernatorial candidate Travis Allen calls release of sexual harassment complaint 'a political attack' -- Gubernatorial candidate Travis Allen is among the state lawmakers who were accused of sexual harassment in the last several years, according to documents publicly disclosed Friday by the California Legislature. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
Sexual misconduct complaint should push Travis Allen out of gov’s race, rivals say -- Democrat Delaine Eastin, the most prominent woman running for California governor, issued a scathing rebuke of a Republican rival accused of sexual harassment, urging Assemblyman Travis Allen to suspend his campaign. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/3/18
These 7 current and former state lawmakers from Southern California face allegations of misconduct -- Seven current and former California Assembly and Senate members were accused of sexual misbehavior and other harassment over the past decade, according to documents released Friday by the Legislature. Here are details about each lawmaker gleaned from the documents, some of which were heavily redacted to protect the identities of accusers and other parties. Martin Wisckol, Kevin Modesti and Beau Yarbrough in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 2/3/18
Gavin Newsom Says No Way He’s Running for President -- Newsom referred to Gov. Brown’s decision to run for president in 1976, shortly after he was elected to his first term as California governor in 1974. Brown ran for president again in 1980 and 1992. It’s not an example he wants to follow, said Newsom. KQED -- 2/3/18
By the numbers, Democrats look strong in Orange County congressional races they must win to flip the House -- Democrats have a few problems to sweat over in this year’s midterm elections: winnowing their vast fields of candidates and navigating California’s top-two primary system, to name a couple. But in Orange County, a key battleground as they attempt to take back the House, money doesn’t seem to be one of them. Christine Mai-Duc in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
Republicans raise more money than Democrats in (San Diego) county campaigns -- Despite a smaller share of the county’s electorate, Republicans lead Democrats in campaign fundraising in races for two Board of Supervisors seats as well as for district attorney, sheriff and assessor. Joshua Stewart in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/3/18
San Francisco police union criticizes policy, video shows car hitting officer -- The San Francisco Police Department released a video Friday of an auto break-in suspect running over a plainclothes police officer and an alleged accomplice Thursday near Alamo Square. The police officers union said the attack shows how the department’s policy prohibiting officers from firing at moving vehicles puts its “officers’ lives in danger.” Evan Sernoffsky and Annie Ma in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/3/18
Supporters turn in signatures to put Tasers for police on San Francisco’s June ballot -- San Francisco voters could decide in June whether to equip the Police Department with conductive energy devices — commonly known as Tasers — which have been the subject of a rancorous, 13-year debate. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/3/18
Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds
Skyrocketing water bills in San Diego prompt internal city investigation -- Its sounds like something out of a Kafka novel. You get an inexplicable bill from a government agency for thousands of dollars and no manner of protest or pleading will reverse it. Instead, you’re told by the bureaucracy to pony up the money or face losing access to an essential resource — water. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/3/18
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
California bill would override L.A. and other cities that don't license street vendors -- Los Angeles lawmakers have wrestled for years with how to legalize and regulate the vendors who sell food and goods on the city's sidewalks. Now a state legislator is championing a bill that could take some of those decisions out of the city's hands. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ Elizabeth Chou in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 2/3/18
Fed caps growth at Wells Fargo over sham accounts, other consumer abuses -- The Federal Reserve ordered Wells Fargo & Co. on Friday to cap its growth and improve its corporate governance, punishment for what the regulator called "widespread consumer abuses and other compliance breakdowns" at the San Francisco financial giant. James Rufus Koren in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
San Diego fares worst among NFL relocations -- San Diego felt a much bigger financial impact on its hotels than did St. Louis after the cities’ football teams defected to Los Angeles, a new report shows. Lori Weisberg in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/3/18
UPS orders more Boeing 747s — a possible boon for Hawthorne fuselage plant -- The famed Boeing Co. 747 airplane now has a slightly longer lease on life — at least in the cargo transport industry. And that could be a boon for the Hawthorne plant that produces fuselage panels for the humpbacked plane. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
LAX testing facial recognition technology to speed up check-in process -- The Transportation Security Administration has launched a three-week test to see if biometrics can help speed up the check-in process at Los Angeles International Airport. But don't expect to see a big difference yet. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
Homeless
Restraining order request could halt effort to clear Orange County homeless camp -- Meanwhile, attorney Brooke Weitzman, who filed a federal lawsuit this week on behalf of seven homeless people to block the county’s actions on the riverbed, is asking a federal judge to momentarily stop the county from evicting more people by issuing a temporary restraining order. A decision on that request could come as soon as Saturday. Jordan Graham and Theresa Walker in the Orange County Register -- 2/3/18
Housing
Senate leader to Silicon Valley: Don’t squander ‘major’ housing breakthrough -- The state has hit “a major breakthrough in Sacramento” with recent pro-housing bills, and Senate leader Kevin de León had marching orders for a Silicon Valley audience Friday: Don’t let that go to waste. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/3/18
Cannabis
Alleged cannabis bribery attempt in Oakland prompts investigation -- A man who Oakland City Council President Larry Reid says tried to bribe him to help obtain a cannabis dispensary permit also allegedly offered two businessmen assistance in getting a dispensary license in exchange for bags of cash, The Chronicle has learned. Kimberly Veklerov and Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/3/18
Workshop Teaches Cannabis Industry Of New ‘Track And Trace’ System -- Licensed cannabis businesses will soon be required to tag all their plants, flowers and manufactured products with RFID chips to identify the origins of each product. Andrew Bowen KPBS -- 2/3/18
The Dirty Secret of California's Cannabis: It's Dirty -- As cannabis use goes recreational in California, producers are facing a reckoning: They’ll either have to clean up their act, or get out of the legal market. Matt Simon WIRED -- 2/3/18
Immigration / Border
With DACA in Limbo, Financial Analyst Focuses on What She Can Control -- Key parts of Janeth Medina’s future, including her ability to keep her job in finance, depend on the fate of a program that protects her and about 200,000 immigrants living in California from deportation. Farida Jhabvala Romero KQED -- 2/3/18
Report Finds San Diego’s Immigrant Community Tied To Region’s Economic Prosperity -- San Diego County's foreign-born population boosts the region's economy, according to a new data analysis released Friday. The report from the national nonprofit New American Economy found immigrants in the region represent more than a quarter of the region's total spending power and are more likely to launch businesses that native-born residents. KPBS -- 2/3/18
Water
Big dam proposals score low in contest for state money -- Backers of new dams and other water storage projects in California slammed into a roadblock Friday when their proposals scored badly in the first round of competition for a pot of state bond money. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
Health
Cancer breakthrough? 97 percent of mice cured in Stanford vaccine study -- A Stanford University study targeting cancer cells in laboratory mice has been generating buzz and hope. A new experiment for cancer treatment had incredible results using immune-stimulators to target tumors in mice. Ted Andersen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/3/18
Also . . .
Nuclear fusion's clean energy dream meets budget reality — and San Diego's General Atomics sweats it out -- Using nuclear fusion as a virtually unlimited source of energy has been a thrilling yet distant dream for more than six decades. An expensive and incredibly complicated international project to determine if the fantasy can become reality is finally taking shape — and San Diego’s General Atomics is in the midst of constructing what may be the single most important portion of the program. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/3/18
Beltway
The Nunes memo, annotated: 10 things that may not be as simple as they appear -- The memo released by the House Intelligence Committee makes several claims that are in dispute. Here are key points in the debate. David Lauter and Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/3/18
-- Friday Updates
California Legislature has spent $294,271 investigating sexual harassment claims since 2006 -- Most of the money was spent by the Assembly in 2017 in the wake of intense scrutiny of misconduct under the state Capitol dome. The document marks the first time legislative officials have revealed the cost of outside investigators in examining claims against lawmakers, staff members and others. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/2/18
California Legislature releases a decade's worth of records on sexual harassment investigations -- Eighteen alleged cases of sexual harassment, ranging from sharing of pornographic photos to a staff member accused of grabbing a woman's buttocks and genitals, were publicly disclosed by the California Legislature on Friday, detailed through investigation records that had been shielded in some cases for more than a decade. John Myers and Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/2/18
GOP candidate for California governor Travis Allen responds to appearing in sexual harassment investigation records -- Gubernatorial candidate Travis Allen is among the state lawmakers who were accused of sexual harassment in the past several years, according to documents publicly disclosed Friday by the California Legislature. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/2/18
Four Current California Lawmakers, Including Governor Candidate Travis Allen, Named In Sexual Harassment Claims -- The current officeholders named in the documents released Friday are Sen. Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys), Sen. Tony Mendoza (D-Artesia), Assemblyman Travis Allen (R-Huntington Beach) and Assemblywoman Autumn Burke (D-Marina del Rey). None of the four lawmakers received any discipline beyond verbal conversations. Sammy Caiola, Ben Adler, Nick Miller and Bob Moffitt Capital Public Radio Melody Gutierrez and Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Christopher Cadelago, Alexei Koseff, Marjie Lundstrom and Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ Kathleen Ronayne Associated Press -- 2/2/18
ICE targets 77 Northern California businesses in illegal worker crackdown -- The so-called I-9 audit notices were delivered to businesses in San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento, said ICE spokesman James Schwab. He would not name the businesses. Jason Green and Tatiana Sanchez in the San Jose Mercury$ Anita Chabria in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/2/18
ICE employment crackdowns haunt Bay Area undocumented immigrant workers -- Some activists say undocumented immigrants are hesitant to show up to work, and others have stopped showing up altogether. “Taking away these people’s humanity is a commonly-used tactic by ICE and unfortunately, it’s very effective,” said Maria Marroquín, executive director of the Day Worker Center of Mountain View. Tatiana Sanchez and Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/2/18
Middle school shooting renews debate over how L.A. Unified keeps students safe -- Frightened parents rushed to the scene of a Los Angeles middle school Thursday morning, crowding outside the gates, desperate to hear if their children were safe. Word had spread fast that a gun had gone off in a classroom and that students had been shot. Sonali Kohli, Howard Blume, Ruben Vives and Anna M. Phillips in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/2/18
What exactly does L.A. Unified do to try to prevent school shootings? -- The nation’s second-largest district relies on both policing and counseling to try to prevent campus violence. It also has an experienced team of counselors to deal with the aftermath — although most deadly episodes happen outside school. Howard Blume and Sonali Kohli in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/2/18
Gun in Westlake school shooting may have gone off inside a backpack, LAPD says -- Police investigating the shooting of students at Sal Castro Middle School said the handgun that was carried into a classroom appears to have fired a single round from inside a backpack. Brittny Mejia and Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/2/18
California wants more electric cars. The Trump administration doesn't. Automakers are in the hot seat -- The signals to automakers couldn't conflict more: California, with the nation's largest auto market, is stepping up pressure to stay on track with the state's ambitious climate goals. The Trump administration is moving to free the companies of such obligations and even has threatened to strip California of its power to impose existing requirements within its borders. Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/2/18
Voters OK’d $2.7 billion for new reservoirs. Critics say California won’t spend it -- It’s a tantalizing pot of money, $2.7 billion for new dams and reservoirs approved by California voters during the worst of the drought. But is the state willing to spend it? Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/2/18
Pension costs ‘unsustainable,’ California cities say -- Most California cities expect their spending on public employee pensions to climb by at least 50 percent over the next seven years, restricting their ability fund basic services like public safety and parks, according to a study their lobbying organization released on Thursday. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/2/18
Activists Try to Recall Judge in Stanford Sex Attack Case. Some Say They’ve Gone Too Far -- When a California judge sentenced a Stanford University swimmer found guilty of sexual assault to six months in jail, many saw the verdict as too lenient. Outrage spread across the country, particularly among those who felt it was the latest proof of a criminal justice system stacked against women who have been victims of sexual violence. Jose A. Del Real in the New York Times$ -- 2/2/18
Knight: Gone in 5 seconds: San Francisco neighborhood, police powerless against car break-ins -- As we talked, the Jetta drove by again and again, circling seven or eight times. Finally, it came to a stop next to a white Dodge Grand Caravan. A man in a gray sweatshirt jumped out, quickly shattered the middle of three windows on the driver’s side, and reached in so far his waist was balanced on the door and his legs and feet were in the air. He emerged with a backpack and dashed back into the Jetta. It took just a few seconds. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/2/18
Morain: Billionaires are running our elections. Is there no way out of this? -- After discussing the failings of Obamacare, the importance of gun rights and the wisdom of locating the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem, the conversation turned, inevitably, to campaign money. Dr. Yona Barash is a Republican surgeon who is challenging a fellow physician, Democratic incumbent Ami Bera, in the swing congressional district that runs from Bera’s home in Elk Grove to Folsom. Dan Morain in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/2/18
Capitol Weekly Podcast: Alexei Koseff -- Sacramento Bee reporter Alexei Koseff covers California politics and higher education for the Bee’s capitol bureau — and handles the state Assembly, too. Alexei joined Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster to chat about the challenges facing UC — Alexei is a Stanford alumnus, by the way — and the unique, constitutionally protected position the institution occupies in California’s educational structure. Click Here -- 2/2/18
Compton gave the world 'The Chronic' — but rejects marijuana sales despite legalization -- Dr. Dre's classic 1992 album brought the nickname for high-grade cannabis into the mainstream, and, to the disdain of many Compton residents, cemented the city as the home of West Coast gangsta rap. Angel Jennings in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/2/18
Taylor: Clock ticking to find space after operator wins Oakland permit for pot store -- Gene Gorelik, a commercial real estate agent who specializes in green zone listings, told me there’s plenty of retail space available in Oakland. But, he added, many building owners are hesitant to lease to cannabis businesses because they fear that banks could require property owners to immediately and fully pay off their loans if they learn that a cannabis business is operating on the premises. Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/2/18
This deputy says sheriff kissed and hugged her 100 times. Now she’ll get nearly $100,000 -- Six years after accusing Yolo County Sheriff Ed Prieto of kissing her on the lips and giving her at least 100 unwanted hugs, a former deputy has settled her lawsuit against the county for a $98,000 payment. Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/2/18
Feds thought she was missing in Humboldt, but woman was spotted on 'The Bachelor' -- A woman who was reported as missing in Humboldt County was found this week in a rather visible place — the reality series "The Bachelor." Rebekah Martinez, 22, of Fresno, was reported missing on Nov. 18 by her mother, who told the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office that her daughter had gone to the area to work on a marijuana farm. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Lisa Bonos in the Washington Post$ -- 2/2/18
Sacramento erased crosswalk two months before woman, child were struck by hit-and-run driver -- Sacramento officials on Thursday defended the change, saying city standards indicate a crosswalk is dangerous at high-volume streets if no other safety enhancements are present, such as a traffic light. Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/2/18
California could make it easier to erase your old marijuana convictions -- Assemblyman Rob Bonta is hoping to simplify the process. The Alameda Democrat’s Assembly Bill 1793 would require courts to automatically expunge the records of Californians convicted of offenses that are now legal under Proposition 64, such as possessing up to an ounce of weed and growing up to six plants for personal use, and to resentence those individuals whose crimes, such as selling marijuana, were reduced from felonies to misdemeanors. Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/2/18
Study shows how Asian Americans are transforming Orange County, and highlights diversity and disparities -- In the first-ever study of Asian Americans in Orange County, a new report released by civil rights and advocacy group Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Orange County details the growing assets and continued needs of the county's fastest growing immigrant group. Caitlin Yoshiko Kandil in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/2/18
FCC fines Cesar Chavez Foundation over promotions on its radio stations -- The stations — KUFW-FM (90.5) in Woodlake, Calif., and KNAI-FM (88.3) in Phoenix — strayed from rules that allow educational stations to acknowledge underwriters without making "commercial" pitches for them, the FCC found. Geoffrey Mohan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/2/18
Fox: Where’s the Republican Bench? -- The Republican Party in California is fighting for relevance – “Dying at the box office,” as former Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger once put it—so you would expect an effort to be made to field known, credible candidates in all statewide races. But with little over a month to go to file for a constitutional, statewide office there are few recognizable Republicans vying for those posts. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 2/2/18