Updating . .   

What we know about the protester hit by a sheriff's vehicle Saturday at the Stephon Clark march -- Who is Wanda Cleveland? Wanda Cleveland is a well-known social activist in Sacramento who often attends both City Council and county Board of Supervisors meetings. The Board of Supervisors oversees the Sheriff's Department. Ellen Garrison, Anita Chabria and Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/1/18

Tale of the tape -- In 1992, Laurie Smith took evidence in an investigation implicating her. Now, the key figures in a sexual harassment allegation against the five-term sheriff are finally speaking out. Tracey Kaplan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/1/18

As China puts the brakes on overseas investment, Los Angeles' development boom takes a hit -- Last year, Chinese investors interested in buying or developing property in Southern California peppered World Trade Center Los Angeles officials with questions about how best to break into the market. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/1/18

Facebook fiasco boosts bid to put California crackdown on ballot -- The fallout over Facebook users having their personal information used to help Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign is adding fuel to a California ballot initiative directed at tightening privacy rules for social media platforms. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/1/18

L.A. County women's jail lags behind national standards on preventing sexual abuse, report finds -- A month after a guard was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting inmates at the women’s jail in Lynwood, auditors touring the lockup noted a number of troubling practices that could lead to sexual abuse. Maya Lau in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/1/18

H-1B visa lottery, despite changes, still leaves careers up to chance -- The H-1B visa lottery will begin again Monday, after a dizzying year of rhetoric, memos and executive orders from an administration determined to crack down on any foreign-worker program that it feels threatens American jobs. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/1/18

In fighting homeless camp, Irvine's Asians win, but at a cost -- One by one, the buses pulled up to the Orange County Hall of Administration last week carrying posters with messages such as "No Tent City" and "No Homeless in Irvine." Many of the hundreds on board were immigrants, and this would be their first experience joining a political protest. Anh Do in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/1/18

How Cape Town found water savings California never dreamed of -- A six-car municipal police convoy skidded to a halt outside a Cape Town house, and police leaped from their cars at the offending sight: a trickle of hose water splashing onto a squat red flower. Robyn Dixon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/1/18

News Anchors Reciting Sinclair Propaganda Is Even More Terrifying in Unison -- The anchors were forced to read the so-called “journalistic responsibility messages” word for word by their employer, the conservative-leaning Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest owner of television stations in the country. The features were one of Sinclair’s now infamous “must-run” segments, consisting of conservative commentary that every Sinclair-owned station is required to air. Chas Danner New York Magazine -- 4/1/18

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

Stephon Clark protester hit by Sacramento County sheriff vehicle during vigil, video shows -- A protester at a vigil Saturday night for Stephon Clark was hit by a Sacramento County Sheriff's Department vehicle, based on video from a legal observer. Witnesses said the vehicle then left the scene. Nashelly Chvez, Alexei Koseff, Brad Branan and Anita Chabria in the Sacramento Bee$ Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/1/18

Matt Barnes lifts up Stephon Clark's sons at rally, pledges to be 'driving force' for change -- Standing on a stage with Stephon Clark's 3-year-old son in his arms – the two of them playing with cellphones – former Sacramento King Matt Barnes on Saturday announced he is launching a college scholarship fund for Clark's two sons. It's personal, Barnes said. Tony Bizjak, Darrell Smith and Jon Schultz in the Sacramento Bee$ Paige St. John, Adam Elmahrek and Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ Kathleen Royane Associated Press J.K Dineen and Jenna Lyons in the San Francisco Chronicle$ David DeBolt in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/1/18

With Stevante Clark's pain laid bare to the world, a family friend pleads for help -- Stevante Clark's pain is naked for Sacramento – and suddenly, the world – to see. The brother of 22-year-old Stephon Clark has seemingly been everywhere in the days since his brother's death March 18 at the hands of police – one of the most visible and visceral symbols of a community's and a family's anguish. Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/1/18

Taylor: Stephon Clark’s killing underscores blacks’ fears, shop’s refusal to serve police -- Fear can cause police officers to incorrectly perceive events, says John Powell, the director of UC Berkeley’s Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society. Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/1/18

Federal Count of Deadly Police Shootings Is Slow to Get Going -- A deadly police shooting of an unarmed black man in Sacramento, Calif., has spurred fresh protests and again highlighted a long-vexing question: How many people do police kill each year? There isn’t an easy answer. Zusha Elinson in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/1/18

Federal Voting Rights Act lawsuit settlement leaves Kern County with two Latino-majority districts -- A federal judge approved new boundaries for the Kern County Board of Supervisors this week, creating two Latino-majority districts in a move that could provide such voters significant political power. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/1/18

Justice’s use of term illegal ‘alien’ sends message -- At first glance, the Supreme Court’s Feb. 27 ruling in Jennings vs. Rodriguez appears to be about creatures from outer space. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/1/18

Walters: California booms, but when will it bust again? -- California’s economy is booming with record-high employment, record-low unemployment and billions of extra tax dollars flowing into the state treasury. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 4/1/18

Bretón: Awaiting death in season of renewal, Bishop Quinn reflects on life – and the secret to happiness -- Francis Quinn, Bishop Emeritus of Sacramento's Roman Catholic Diocese and arguably the capital's most consequential spiritual leader of the last half century, is reflecting on his life as the end nears. Marcos Bretón in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/1/18

Willie Brown: Trump shuts up about Stormy Daniels. It’s doing him good -- President Trump’s public approval ratings are suddenly on the rise. He’s gone from a low of 37 percent to just shy of 42 percent in recent weeks. If this continues, it means there will be no Republican challenger to Trump in 2020. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/1/18

Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds 

Sales tax increase is only way Chula Vista can hire more cops, mayor says -- Raising Chula Vista’s sales tax is the only way the city can afford to hire more cops and firefighters, Mayor Mary Salas said during a public forum Thursday evening. Gustavo Solis in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/1/18

Housing  

Could a tax incentive pry empty nesters from their oversize homes? -- One problem afflicting the Bay Area and other regions is that a growing percentage of people are “over-housed” or living in homes with unused bedrooms. This is largely because Baby Boomers make up a growing portion of the population and, like generations before them, can’t bear the stress of leaving a home full of memories and stuff. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/1/18

Cannabis 

Neighbors balk as legal marijuana gains ground in Sonoma County -- David Drips has spent weeks tending cannabis seedlings and clones inside an old milking barn in rural Petaluma in preparation for the day he’d plant them in the ground. On Friday, that day arrived. Julie Johnson in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat -- 4/1/18

Here's why pot sellers are paying prime rents for warehouse and storefront space -- Growing up in Minnesota, Stephanie Smith dreamed of being a golf pro. Instead, the mother of five who lives in Pacific Palisades has ended up in the unlikeliest of trades. She claims to be one of the largest marijuana-industry landlords in the state in a business that is growing chaotically as cities begin to allow recreational pot sales after passage of Proposition 64 two years ago. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/1/18

Environment 

What is killing endangered steelhead trout in San Jose creeks? Environmentalists blame the water district -- Claiming that mismanagement by Silicon Valley’s largest water agency has likely wiped out endangered steelhead trout in Coyote Creek, a coalition of environmentalists, including the Sierra Club, has filed a complaint with state water officials seeking to force big changes to protect the fish in the nearby Guadalupe River. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/1/18

POTUS 45  

With White House stabilizers gone, Trump calls his own shots -- As he shakes up his administration, the president is prioritizing personal chemistry above all else, replacing aides who have tended toward caution and consensus with figures far more likely to encourage his more rash instincts. He is making hasty decisions that jolt markets and shock leaders and experts — including those on his own staff. Philip Rucker and Robert Costa in the Washington Post$ -- 4/1/18

Why Gov. Jerry Brown pardoned 5 ex-convicts facing deportation, drawing Trump’s ire -- Trump’s tweet, sent while the president was traveling from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., to the nearby Trump International Golf Club, may have been prompted by a report during the 6 a.m. hour of “Fox and Friends,” which Trump watches regularly. Kristine Phillips in the Washington Post$ -- 4/1/18

The White House releases a photo of its interns, and the Internet asks: Why so few people of color? -- The latest class of White House interns is a reminder that diversity in government isn’t an issue only at senior levels; it starts at the bottom. The White House released a photo Friday of its spring 2018 interns — and the Internet quickly noted a lack of people of color. Eugene Scott in the Washington Post$ -- 4/1/18

Beltway 

Laura Ingraham Takes a Week Off as Advertisers Drop Her Show -- The Fox News host Laura Ingraham announced on Friday that she was taking a week off following the decision of several companies to pull advertising from her show after she ridiculed a student survivor of the Parkland, Fla., school shooting. Jeffery C. Mays in the New York Times$ -- 4/1/18

 

-- Saturday Updates 

Trump blasts California governor's immigrant pardons -- President Donald Trump blasted California Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday for his pardon of five ex-convicts facing deportation, including two who fled the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia with their families four decades ago. Amanda Lee Myers and Paul Elias Associated Press -- 3/31/18

Thousands expected at rallies for Stephon Clark, social justice in downtown Sacramento today -- The two Saturday events come on the heels of four nights of often angry and boisterous but mainly nonviolent protests on downtown streets organized by the Sacramento chapter of Black Lives Matter. Tony Bizjak, Darrell Smith and John Schultz in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/31/18

Bretón: Here's another result of the Stephon Clark autopsy – cops can't investigate cops -- Putting aside technical debates over the methodology of Clark's autopsy, performed by Bennet Omalu, the former chief medical examiner for San Joaquin County, the explosive findings made public at a Friday news conference conveyed a clear statement to local law enforcement authorities: We don't trust you. Marcos Bretón in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/31/18

'Hey, mute': After they shot Stephon Clark, officers cut their audio. And that adds to the outcry -- Among the unanswered questions that have fueled anger in the wake of Stephon Clark's shooting is why officers muted their body cameras after firing 20 shots at the unarmed black man. Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/18

ICE arrests farmworkers, sparking fears in the Central Valley over immigrants and the economy -- The arrests were part of a larger sweep in California’s agricultural heartland that has sent fear through the Central Valley, where for generations, immigrants here — both legally and illegally — have picked crops. In some fields, almost all of the foreign workers are in the country without legal status. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/18

Automakers hope to avoid market disruption in the latest Trump vs. California fight -- A possible clash between the U.S. government and California over future fuel-economy standards raises the knotty question of whether automakers one day might have to build two different sets of the same vehicles for various parts of the nation. James F. Peltz in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/18

Here's why pot sellers are paying prime rents for warehouse and storefront space -- But she does boast controlling nearly 2 million square feet of industrial property, mostly in Southern California. Not all of it is rented to the cannabis trade — one of her tenants is Walmart — but she found that cannabis growers can be desirable tenants willing to pay top-dollar rents. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/18

Historic high-rise sold as downtown L.A.'s former business district thrives -- One of downtown's oldest tall buildings, the former Los Angeles offices of the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, sold this week for nearly $70 million to a residential developer. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/18