Updating . .
He has become a hashtag and a movement for change. But who was the real Stephon Clark? -- Gunned down by police last month in the backyard of his grandmother's Meadowview home, Stephon Clark quickly became a symbol of injustice and touched off a movement for change. Cynthia Hubert and Benjy Egel in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/8/18
Bretón: 'Implicit bias' replaces the 'R' word. This is how we explain cops killing black men -- "Implicit bias" is a nice way of saying someone is racist without calling them racist. You have heard it more often recently in association with the police shooting of Stephon Clark last month. If implicit bias were a light beer, its sales slogan would be: "Less judgmental, feels nicer." Marcos Bretón in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/8/18
The missing billions spent on gasoline in California each year -- California drivers already pay more for gasoline than motorists in just about every other state. But even after taking into account state gas taxes, blending requirements aimed at reducing air pollution and other environmental and climate fees attached to each gallon of fuel, it appears drivers in the Golden State pay a lot more than they should. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/8/18
The North Bay Fires Were Six Months Ago. What's Actually Changed? -- Six months after California's deadliest fires, officials at all levels of government are working to make changes to prevent the next fire from being so catastrophic. Lisa Pickoff-White, Marisa Lagos, and Sukey Lewis KQED -- 4/8/18
Signs of life amid scars and loss -- Susan Gorin aches to fast-forward to well past next year — when she once again has a home on what is now an ashy lot. Peter Alan wants to turn the rubble of his Craftsman art studio into something meaningful. Lisa Mast longs to look out her window and see something across the street besides blackened reminders of the flames that swept through before sunrise Oct. 9. Lizzie Johnson and Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/8/18
Wildfires’ wake: Tracking progress, pain 6 months later -- The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Cal Fire, has not yet named a cause for any of the October fires. The item in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/8/18
Who caused the Bay Area’s housing shortage? -- Everyone has a theory about who’s to blame for the housing shortage that’s driving up prices and chasing Bay Area families out of the region. A new poll offers surprising insights into where most of us point the finger: not at the government officials who control what homes are built where, but at the tech companies that have flooded this region with jobs and the real estate developers trying to maximize profits. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/8/18
Voters in California prepare to cast ballots — in Mexico's presidential election -- Could California residents play a role in Mexico’s historic July 1 election? Catalina Sánchez, a 36-year-old graphic designer who lives in Poway, certainly intends to — without ever leaving San Diego County. Like Sánchez, a record number of Mexicans living abroad are preparing to vote in this presidential contest playing out amid uncertainty over the future of U.S-Mexico relations. Sandra Dibble in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/8/18
College Republican Wants to Bring 'Intellectual Diversity' to Deep Blue East Bay Assembly Race -- It may seem like the ultimate waving of a white flag for Republicans in the liberal East Bay — the only GOP candidate running for State Assembly is a college sophomore. Running a competitive race would be an uphill climb for any Republican, as only six percent of registered voters in the 15th district identify with the party. Guy Marzorati KQED -- 4/8/18
Mission housing project invokes law to exchange review for affordable units -- A 130-unit family housing project proposed for the Mission District will be the first in San Francisco to take advantage of a new state law that allows developers to skip expensive and lengthy environmental review in exchange for building a certain amount of affordable apartments. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/8/18
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Why the Stephon Clark shooting will become a campaign issue -- The Stephon Clark shooting has sparked rallies and protests. It has been the focus of two emotional Sacramento City Council meetings, with another one planned this week. But will Clark's death also become a campaign issue this spring? Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/8/18
Deconstructing Trump’s whopper about California voter fraud -- The easy analysis of President Trump's relentless attacks on California's 2016 election results is this: Maybe he simply hasn't gotten over the thumping he took in the Golden State. But there's more than just Trump's feelings at stake when he keeps claiming there's rampant voter fraud here. There's real civic danger when the president peddles that whopper. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/8/18
Walters: Recent years prove we need more water storage -- The first thing to remember about precipitation in California is that it’s unpredictable, as the past several winters have once again shown us. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 4/8/18
Willie Brown: How Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg can win his grilling on Capitol Hill -- Mark Zuckerberg is showing a lot of political smarts by agreeing to go before Congress this week to talk about how Facebook data on users’ profiles and “likes” wound up in the hands of Donald Trump’s friends. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/8/18
'Bucket Brigade' Volunteers Still Digging California Homes Out After Mudslides -- When a massive debris flow slammed into the Santa Barbara County community of Montecito along California's coast, Peri Thompson of San Diego, Calif. was shocked to see the drama was unfolding at her own house. She watched the televised helicopter rescue of a young family who rented her Montecito house. Stephanie O'Neill NPR -- 4/8/18
Yosemite Valley, swamped by Merced River river, to reopen Sunday if conditions allow -- Yosemite Valley roads and campgrounds were flooded, with some tent cabins submerged, as torrential rainfall pushed the Merced River above its moderate flood stage. The valley was closed all day Saturday. Park officials announced Saturday night the valley would reopen at noon Sunday if conditions allow. Carmen George in the Fresno Bee -- 4/8/18
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Southern California pay hits record highs as workers get more hours -- Southern California’s weekly wages have hit record highs with old-fashioned help: workers getting extra work. The pay peaks were revealed in regional pay data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis showing that local bosses are upping how long workers are on the clock as well as hourly pay. Jonathan Lansner in the Orange County Register -- 4/8/18
California Wineries Brace for Bottle Shock as US-China Trade War Escalates -- All week, the United States and China have been going back forth, threatening to impose tariffs on each other's goods. Friday morning, the trade war escalated once again, with China saying it was ready to strike back "forcefully" at the new U.S. tariffs. KQED -- 4/8/18
LAX now leads nation in 'automated' lanes designed to speed bag screening -- Los Angeles International Airport is the nation's second-busiest airport, but it is now No. 1 in the number of new "automated" lanes designed to speed security screenings. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/8/18
Downtown LA is booming, but for filmmakers it’s no Hollywood ending -- The building boom across Southern California has revitalized neighborhoods and brought new prosperity to the region. Downtown Los Angeles, especially, has benefited from the rise of new office buildings, multi-purpose structures, places to live and things to do. Bob Straus in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 4/8/18
Flagpole firm withstands winds of change -- Change has swept over San Francisco like a hurricane, but there are bits and pieces of an older city everywhere. You just have to look, sometimes in odd corners of the city. Carl Nolte in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/8/18
Water
'Pineapple Express' Fills Up Bay Area Water Reserves -- This weekend's record-breaking storm is proving to be a big boost for Bay Area water reserves. A river of moisture from Hawaii dubbed the "Pineapple Express" delivered up to 8 inches of rain in some coastal areas and set a record for humidity during the colder months, from October to April. Sara Hossaini KQED -- 4/8/18
Housing
59% of Orange County residents support rent control -- Fifty-nine percent of Orange County residents responding to a Chapman University poll said they support rent control, while just 41 percent opposed it. That’s a major disconnect between local attitudes and laws. Just one of Orange County’s 34 cities — San Juan Capistrano — has any form of rent control, and it’s limited to mobile homes. Jeff Collins in the Orange County Register -- 4/8/18
Wildfire
Transformed by October fires, Sonoma County takes stock, bracing for ‘a learning year’ -- Two sisters. Two paths to recovery. Susan Komar and Lynn Van Fleit each lost a home last fall when the Tubbs fire ravaged northern Santa Rosa. Robert Digitale in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat -- 4/8/18
Cannabis
San Diego's climate action plan puts hitch in marijuana supply chain -- San Diego may not have a local supply chain for its marijuana dispensaries as quickly as expected because of rigorous city environmental approvals and other regulatory hurdles facing indoor pot farms and factories for edible products. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/8/18
Immigration / Border
Several injured in human-smuggling crash on I-8 near Campo -- horse trailer secretly shuttling about 18 unauthorized immigrants through Campo on Interstate 8 overturned Saturday, injuring several, authorities said. The crash occurred in the westbound freeway lanes west of Crestwood Road about 11:50 a.m. Kristina Davis in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/8/18
The plan's still fuzzy, but Pentagon lurches to deploy troops to the border -- For the third time since 2006, the White House has ordered troops to the border with Mexico, although the Pentagon has yet to produce a detailed deployment plan or set a date for when the campaign would end. Carl Prine in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/8/18
Also . . .
Body pulled from surf could be child from Mendocino crash, authorities say -- Authorities say they may have found one of the missing children who likely plunged off a Northern California cliff in a fatal car crash that officials suspect was intentional. Soumya Karlamangla in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/8/18
Renegade yacht breaks anchor and is towed out of Aquatic Park -- The seagoing saga of a yacht illegally anchored in Aquatic Park Cove sailed into new waters when the boat broke free of its anchor, drifted into the Hyde Street Pier and on Saturday was moored at a harbor run by the Port of San Francisco. Sam Whiting and Sophie Haigney in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/8/18
Silicon Valley Comic Con fuses science and pop culture -- In Silicon Valley, science and technology collide every day to create some of the world’s leading innovations. Add a little pop culture and some spectacular costumes and you get Silicon Valley Comic Con, an event where science is king — and where nerds rejoice. Tatiana Sanchez in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/8/18
POTUS 45
‘When you lose that power’: How John Kelly faded as White House disciplinarian -- After White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly pressured President Trump last fall to install his top deputy, Kirstjen Nielsen, atop the Department of Homeland Security, the president lost his temper when conservative allies argued that she wasn’t sufficiently hard line on immigration. “You didn’t tell me she was a [expletive] George W. Bush person,” Trump growled. Ashley Parker, Josh Dawsey and Philip Rucker in the Washington Post$ -- 4/8/18
Trump goes full ‘MAGA’ on the economy in year two -- There’s a distinct shift unfolding in President Trump’s economic policy in his second year: He is moving from prioritizing a pro-business agenda of tax cuts and deregulation to a populist agenda of trade barriers and immigration restrictions. Put another way, he is deviating from the mainstream Republican agenda. Heather Long in the Washington Post$ -- 4/8/18
President Trump and truth: Another difficult week -- President Trump’s capacity to make things up is one of the defining features of his presidency. His loose adherence to the truth, when it suits his political purposes, seems to know few limits. Dan Balz in the Washington Post$ -- 4/8/18
Beltway
Judge’s Death Gives Trump a Chance to Remake a Vexing Court -- In the spring of 2014, a friend tried to nudge Judge Stephen Reinhardt, then an 83-year-old liberal stalwart on the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, into stepping aside from full-time duties so President Barack Obama could nominate a successor. Carl Hulse in the New York Times$ -- 4/8/18
-- Saturday Updates
Pardoned by Brown, blasted by Trump: Bay Area man grateful for 2nd chance -- Within hours, Daniel Maher’s name was everywhere. “Did you hear the good news?” asked his colleagues at the Ecology Center in Berkeley, where the 44-year-old works. Gov. Jerry Brown had just pardoned 56 ex-convicts in a pre-Easter act of clemency. Maher was among them. Lizzie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/7/18
Police using 'drone killers' to disable flying devices in emergency situations -- The Oceanside Police Department recently acquired a "drone killer," an electronic device that can disable a drone in the sky and force it back to the ground. Other area law enforcement agencies are considering the technology as a way to rein in unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. Phil Diehl in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/7/18
Taylor: Sex allegations against Contra Costa deputy further cloud county jail system -- Right now in Richmond, Contra Costa County sheriff’s officials are preparing to expel a deputy they say had unlawful consensual sex with two female inmates at the jail there. His behavior was, they want you to know, an anomaly. Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/7/18
YouTube shooter wasn’t a scorned lover — so why did so many jump to that conclusion? -- When word spread that the YouTube shooter wasn’t a disgruntled man but a woman, the almost immediate assumption was dead wrong: that she was a spurned lover intent on killing her boyfriend. Julia Prodis Sulek in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/7/18
Is your lawyer a crook? The California State Bar may soon let you know -- What do you call up to 10 percent of lawyers in California? Convicted criminals. And that’s no rotten-lawyer joke. That’s the eye-popping new estimate by the agency that licenses them. Tracey Kaplan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/7/18
California zigzags on ambitious water-delivery project, puts two-tunnel concept back on the table -- Four days after Southern California's biggest water agency dropped a plan to pay for most of a major water delivery project, the funding proposal is back on the table. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/7/18
Trump meets his match: Stormy Daniels' combative lawyer Michael Avenatti -- Michael Avenatti, the newly famous lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels, has more than a few things in common with President Trump. He's brash. He's media savvy. He enjoys the high life. He revels in antagonizing opponents. Michael Finnegan and Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/7/18
Lopez: She vanished 17 months ago with no leads. Now, a volunteer cop has a troubling theory about what happened to her -- Last spring, an off-duty LAPD cop named Mike Goldberg went to the movies at the Laemmle in North Hollywood with his wife. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/7/18