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California National Guard Begins Border Training -- After a contentious standoff between the state and federal government, California National Guard troops started training Thursday with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol to be camera operators, radio dispatchers and other support roles. Some troops could start their new jobs as soon as Sunday or Monday. KQED -- 5/12/18

California Policy & Politics This Morning

Brown faces California budget fight as surplus grows -- California Gov. Jerry Brown faces a bruising fight with the Legislature over funding for welfare, health care and higher education after producing a revised budget proposal that shows a lot more money but not a lot more spending. The state’s budget surplus has ballooned to nearly $9 billion, the largest in at least 18 years, at a time when California is facing serious challenges like rising homelessness and growing inequality. Jonathan J. Cooper Associated Press -- 5/12/18

California governor wants millions for homeless aid -- Cities and counties would receive $359 million from surplus state revenue to help California’s growing homeless population under the proposed budget Gov. Jerry Brown announced Friday. About a fourth of homeless people in the United States live in California, which has just 12 percent of the country’s overall population, according to federal data. Sophia Bollag Associated Press -- 5/12/18

No Major Bump For Medi-Cal, Covered California in Governor’s Revise Despite Push From Lawmakers -- Gov. Jerry Brown opted not to include major long-term investments in public health insurance programs in his budget revision on Friday, citing a preference for one-time spending measures. “I’m going to be reluctant to embark upon programs that will continue and will grow into the future,” he said. “They all have some merit to them, but we’re already over-extended.” Sammy Caiola Capital Public Radio -- 5/12/18

Jerry Brown's budget has $100 million surprise for West Sacramento and California Indians -- Gov. Jerry Brown’s final budget proposal includes an eye-popping surprise for California's Native American tribes. It sets aside $100 million to begin building a California Indian Heritage Center on a 43-acre riverfront campus in West Sacramento Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/12/18

Brown’s budget increases cannabis tax revenue estimates despite disappointing first quarter results -- Despite disappointing first-quarter cannabis tax revenue numbers, Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised state budget proposal actually increases the amount of money California is expected to make from the first six months of legal marijuana and allocates $133 million to regulate the massive industry. Brooke Staggs in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/12/18

Villaraigosa collects endorsements in San Francisco from Art Agnos, David Campos -- Antonio Villaraigosa, a Democratic candidate for governor, was in the Mission District on Friday, collecting cheers and support that a former mayor of Los Angeles doesn’t expect from a local crowd. The incongruity didn’t escape Art Agnos. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/12/18

National Democrats back Rohrabacher challenger in effort to avert top-two lockout -- National Democrats announced Friday that they would back businessman Harley Rouda in the crowded field to unseat GOP Congressman Dana Rohrabacher, hoping to avoid being locked out of a targeted race that could prove pivotal to the Democrats’ effort to retake the House. Jordan Graham in the Orange County Register John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/12/18

Democrats are using a new strategy to prevent a primary shutout in California -- The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee this week began airing television ads that go after two Republicans running for retiring Rep. Ed Royce's seat. The ads made no mention of a third, Young Kim, who has led polls, has the backing of Royce, and is widely seen as the Democrats' most formidable potential opponent in November. Christine Mai-Duc in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

$450,000 flows into Sacramento County DA race as TV ad battle begins -- Contributions in the race for Sacramento County District Attorney have topped $1.2 million as criminal justice reform advocates battle law enforcement organizations in the wake of the Stephon Clark shooting. Phillip Reese in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/12/18

Judge wants proof of Phillips' 'secret deal' in murder trial -- A Sacramento Superior Court judge on Friday said he needed more convincing that a secret deal between homicide suspect Tiwan Greenwade and deputy prosecutor-turned-District Attorney candidate Noah Phillips was in the works at the man’s murder trial in setting a June hearing to hear more proof of a hidden pact. Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/12/18

History shows that outside money in San Diego races doesn't necessarily bring success -- Billionaire investment banker George Soros has shaken up the San Diego County’s District Attorney’s race by spending $600,000 to help Democrat Geneviéve Jones-Wright’s underdog campaign to become the top prosecutor. Joshua Stewart in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/12/18

Trump wants negotiations with California on auto gas mileage -- Addressing a key concern for manufacturers, President Donald Trump has instructed his administration to explore negotiations with California on achieving a single fuel economy standard for the nation during a meeting with auto industry executives. Tom Krisher and Ken Thomas Associated Press Ryan Beene, John Lippert, and David Welch Bloomberg -- 5/12/18

Inside a Powerful Silicon Valley Charity, a Toxic Culture Festered -- As Silicon Valley technology executives have amassed enormous fortunes in recent years, one relatively obscure group — the Silicon Valley Community Foundation — has emerged as the local charity of choice. David Gelles in the New York Times$ -- 5/12/18

California Politics Podcast: This week: We look back at Tuesday's prime-time debate of the major candidates for governor. With John Myers and Melanie Mason of the Los Angeles Times Link Here -- 5/12/18

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

Proterra sells electric buses to Washington, D.C., public transit system -- Electric buses from California-based Proterra are beginning to appear in the nation's capital. The Washington, D.C., Circulator transit district, which serves mainly tourists visiting the Smithsonian and other sites, bought 14 of the Proterra buses and began rolling them out earlier this month. Russ Mitchell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

Hiltzik: CalSTRS hammers Facebook for entrenching Zuckerberg — but does it have the power to force a change? -- The California State Teachers Retirement System, which carries a huge amount of stock market clout as the state's second largest public pension fund, recently had some very harsh words for Facebook, one of its largest investments. Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

Facebook expands in San Francisco, will lease space at Park Tower -- Facebook is on the verge of signing a lease at the 43-story Park Tower at 250 Howard St., nearly tripling its San Francisco office space. Wendy Lee and J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/12/18

Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds 

Alameda, San Francisco lead Bay Area counties in collection of millions in cannabis taxes -- Four of California’s top seven cannabis tax revenue producers were Bay Area counties, trailing only Los Angeles in money collected during the first three months of the year. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/12/18

Homeless  

Why neighbors say they appealed hospice that would comfort dying homeless people -- A neighborhood association representing residents of the Alkali and Mansion Flats area near downtown Sacramento is fighting a plan to establish a hospice for homeless people who are facing imminent death. Cynthia Hubert in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/12/18

Rising costs threaten L.A.'s homeless housing goal -- Skyrocketing development costs and loss of state and federal subsidies are undermining Los Angeles' goal of adding 10,000 units of homeless and affordable housing in a decade, officials said Friday. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

Housing  

As millennials buy more homes, developers strategize to bring them in -- Don't believe the naysayers: Young people are buying homes. Millennials, defined as buyers between the ages of 18 and 37, are the nation's largest block of home buyers by far, accounting for 42% of home sales in a 12-month span, according to a 2017 housing survey from Zillow. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

‘Cracks appearing’ in Southern California housing market, one analyst says -- Southern California house hunters are putting 9 percent fewer existing homes into escrow this spring, a dip that caused one analyst to make “Cracks Appearing” the title of his latest report. Jonathan Lansner in the Orange County Register -- 5/12/18

Transit 

Elon Musk shares a trip through his Hawthorne tunnel. His project in L.A. is facing a bumpier ride -- Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk unveiled a zippy video Thursday night showing the progress his company has made on a tunnel beneath the city of Hawthorne, part of his grand vision for a subterranean transportation network that whisks commuters across Los Angeles County. Laura J. Nelson and David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

Guns 

Couple accused of manufacturing and selling assault weapons from Moreno Valley home -- Bearl Andrew Leach, 33, and Sarah Anne Leach, 27, face 70 felony charges, including manufacturing assault weapons and possessing a short-barrel rifle and high-capacity magazines, according to the Riverside County district attorney's office. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

As more older Americans struggle with dementia, what happens to their guns? -- The man had been a patient for decades, retired now from a career in which firearms were a part of the job. He was enjoying his days hunting, or at the shooting range with friends. But episodes of confusion had led to a suspicion of dementia, and the nights were the worst: At sundown, he became disoriented, anxious and a little paranoid, and had started sleeping with his loaded pistol under the pillow. Melissa Healy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

Education 

Student shot at Highland High School in Palmdale, former schoolmate in custody -- A 14-year-old boy is in custody after a Friday morning shooting at Highland High School in Palmdale that left one student wounded, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said. The boy managed to get a rifle, an SKS, onto school campus and into a school bathroom from where he then started shooting, as many as 10 rounds, said Sheriff Jim McDonnell during a news conference Friday afternoon. Beatriz E. Valenzuela in the Los Angeles Daily News$ Brittny Mejia, Alene Tchekmedyian, James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

Immigration, Border, Deportation 

Trump asks anti-sanctuary Los Alamitos, Orange County officials to White House to talk immigration -- To that end, he’s invited Los Alamitos Mayor Troy Edgar, Councilman Warren Kusumoto and Orange County Supervisor Michelle Steel to a meeting at the White House next Wednesday. The three are part of a group of officials invited to sit down with Trump for a talk about a growing anti-sanctuary pushback among cities and counties in the state. Roxana Kopetman in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/12/18

Confusion, calculation and fear keeping DACA recipients from renewing their status while they can -- "We're telling people, 'You need to renew.' The problem is, they don't trust that anymore," said Elias Rosenfeld, a student and activist who was able to renew his own DACA protections. "It's real fragile right now." Lawyers say some clients are afraid to put in renewal applications, worried about attracting attention from enforcement agents. Joseph Tanfani in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

The aggressive prosecution of border-crossers is straining the courts. Will 'zero tolerance' make it worse? -- The Mexican migrant, slouching in his baggy jail garb, was caught crossing the border and the federal judge in San Diego wanted an explanation. "I'll stay in Mexico and won't come back again," said Carlos Arizmendi-Dominguez, 34, a former dairy farmer who was trying to return to his family in Idaho."I ask forgiveness." "I'm not here to forgive," Magistrate Judge William V. Gallo replied. Richard Marosi in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

Data offer new glimpse into work permit program for H-1B spouses -- Immigration officials published data Friday showing a program that gives spouses of H-1B visa holders permission to work in the United States is largely used by Indian women. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/12/18

Breaking Up Immigrant Families: A Look at the Latest Border Tactic -- Ramping up a promised “zero tolerance” immigration policy on the Southwest border, the Justice Department said that 11 members of a caravan of migrants from Central America were being criminally prosecuted for crossing the border illegally. At least four of those facing criminal charges had children taken from them and placed into separate custody, lawyers for the migrants said, highlighting one of the most contentious aspects of the Trump administration’s new border policies: family separations. Miriam Jordan in the New York Times$ -- 5/12/18

Health 

Data breach affects nearly 900 patients from two San Francisco hospitals -- The personal information of nearly 900 patients of San Francisco General and Laguna Honda hospitals was breached after a former employee of one of the hospitals’ vendors got unauthorized access to the data, the San Francisco Public Health Department said Friday. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/12/18

Cod and ‘Immune Broth’: California Tests Food as Medicine -- The group is now participating in an ambitious, state-funded study to test whether providing daily nutritious meals to chronically ill, low-income people on Medi-Cal — California’s version of the Medicaid program — will affect their prognosis and treatment, or the cost of their medical care. Patricia Leigh Brown in the New York Times$ -- 5/12/18

Environment 

Shrinking glaciers, bigger fires and hotter nights: How climate change is altering California -- California may be a leader in the fight against climate change, but the state is increasingly hard hit by symptoms of the unrelenting rise of greenhouse gases, a new state assessment finds. Tony Barboza and Joe Fox in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano has lessons for California -- Californians might feel immune to a volcanic eruption, but the state has seven active volcanoes. Kurt Snibbe in the Riverside Press Enterprise$ -- 5/12/18

Also . . . 

L.A. officers faulted in helicopter shooting said man was armed when he wasn't, commission report says -- A review of a fatal shooting last year in Sunland by Los Angeles police who were on the ground and in a helicopter found that several officers fired after the suspect no longer posed an imminent threat and that others were too far away to determine the threat. Nicole Santa Cruz in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

How hard is it to fly a helicopter on Mars? NASA will soon find out -- Roving around Mars is so passe. So NASA is sending a helicopter to the red planet. The aptly named Mars Helicopter will attempt to become the first vehicle to take flight on another planet. Karen Kaplan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

San Bernardino County settles with Adelanto woman’s family for $1.9 million stemming from her in-custody death -- Betty Lozano, 34, was reportedly “dumped from her wheelchair” in a sobering cell and was left there for hours. Mike Cruz in the San Bernardino Sun$ -- 5/12/18

Magnet Implants? Welcome to the World of Medical Punk -- On a recent Friday night in Tehachapi, Calif., Louis Anderson, a 16-year-old aspiring biotech entrepreneur, eats dinner with an anarchist, a world-renowned tongue splitter and at least 30 people who have implanted themselves with magnets or radio-frequency identification chips, a.k.a. RFID implants, for fun. Alice Hines in the New York Times$ -- 5/12/18

POTUS 45  

Meghan McCain asks how White House aide who mocked her father still has a job -- Sen. John McCain’s wife and daughter chastised a White House aide who made a dismissive remark about the senator’s cancer diagnosis during an internal meeting. “May I remind you my husband has a family, 7 children and 5 grandchildren,” Cindy McCain wrote on Twitter Thursday evening. Louis Nelson Politico -- 5/12/18

Kushner-backed health care project gets ‘devastating’ review -- The first stage of a multibillion-dollar military-VA digital health program championed by Jared Kushner has been riddled with problems so severe they could have led to patient deaths, according to a report obtained by Politico. Arthur Allen Politico -- 5/12/18

Trump promises to lower drug prices, but his blueprint is less sweeping than his campaign rhetoric -- After repeatedly promising to rein in skyrocketing prescription drug prices, President Trump Friday released a multipronged "blueprint" he said would deliver relief to patients "very soon." But the president stopped well short of backing any major new effort to use the federal government's power to negotiate lower prices for patients, a strategy he endorsed as a candidate and one broadly used by most industrialized nations. Noam N. Levey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/18

 

-- Friday Updates 

Brown proposes funding for investigators to crack down on California's illicit marijuana market -- Gov. Jerry Brown proposed Friday to create five teams in the state attorney general’s office to investigate California’s black market for marijuana after firms that received state licenses complained they are being undercut by the illicit growers and sellers. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/11/18

Jerry Brown tells lawmakers to bank added billions: ‘Let’s not blow it now’ -- Gov. Jerry Brown released his revised budget proposal for next year Friday, calling for fiscal restraint despite an unanticipated revenue increase of nearly $9 billion. Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Katy Murphy, John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ John Myers, Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ Jonathan J. Cooper Associated Press -- 5/11/18

Gov. Jerry Brown offers part of a historic budget bonanza to help ease California's homelessness crisis -- Even in the wake of previous tax windfalls, Gov. Jerry Brown’s announcement on Friday was breathtaking: The state has collected an unexpected $8 billion in tax revenue in recent months, even more additional cash than reported in January. Liam Dillon, John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/11/18

K-12 and higher ed to get slightly more in Gov. Brown's revised state budget -- State revenues have continued to flow, raising Gov. Jerry Brown’s state budget for 2018-19 by $3 billion more than he projected in January, according to the revised state budget Brown released on Friday. But little of the additional revenue will go to K-12 schools and community colleges, because of quirks in the formula that determines K-14 spending. John Fensterwald Edsource -- 5/11/18

California starts slow on seizing unstable people’s guns, but that could change -- The young man had posted his revenge fantasies online, writing about how he wanted to shoot classmates at his community college. The 21-year-old had recently bought a gun, his brother told police. Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/11/18

Fearing another top-two lockout, Democrats give Rohrabacher challenger a boost -- The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is picking a horse in the race to unseat Rep. Dana Rohrabacher amid Democratic fears the party is in grave danger of being locked out of another crucial House battle in California. Christine Mai-Duc in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/11/18

Sacramento councilman rescinds D.A. endorsement as Stephon Clark activists call for change -- In the weeks following the police shooting of Stephon Clark, several people testifying at Sacramento City Council meetings have urged council members to drop their support of District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert. Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/11/18

Can an uneasy truce hold off another water rebellion on California's northern border? -- The last time water was this scarce in the Klamath Basin, a rugged agricultural area straddling the California-Oregon border, farmers clashed with U.S. marshals and opened locked canal gates with blowtorches so they could irrigate. Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/11/18

He cycled between the streets and ER four times since February. Is this program the answer? -- David Anthony Cook was still wearing his UC Davis Medical Center hospital bracelet when a Lyft car dropped him off at a Volunteers of America office last month. Cynthia Hubert in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/11/18

Taylor: Homeless man in Oakland lives in a box while waiting to move in to a shed -- The rats scavenging for food drive Marcus Emery crazy at night. Their skinny tails thump the walls as he tries to sleep. It’s a harsher sound than a leaky faucet dripping through the night, he said. People can’t keep food in the tents they’ve set up on Northgate Avenue. Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/11/18

Hot on the trail of the ‘bots’ -- There is a move in the Capitol to force social media companies such as Twitter and Facebook to identify “bots,” those robot-like, automated accounts that move through the internet and interact with real people — and each other. Dylan Svoboda Capitol Weekly -- 5/11/18

Abcarian: The education of Bertha Perez: How a UC Merced custodian's disenchantment led to a political awakening -- It's the third day of a three-day strike, and UC Merced custodian Bertha Perez is taking a break from a picket line at the university's unremarkable entrance, an intersection with stop lights. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/11/18

In quiet Goleta, where Golden State Killer's bloody path turned south, prosecutors say they finally have their man -- The San Jose Creek snakes its way down from the Santa Ynez Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, cutting through sleepy seaside neighborhoods. Ranch-style homes sit along the creek's heavy brush and trees, among playgrounds and open space. The serene setting was ideal for the Golden State Killer. Joseph Serna, Ruben Vives, Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/11/18

Facebook expands in San Francisco, will lease space at Park Tower -- Facebook is expected to sign a lease at the 43-story Park Tower at 250 Howard St., greatly expanding its San Francisco real estate, according to a person familiar with the deal. J.K. Dineen and Wendy Lee in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/11/18

Wells Fargo will need a formal vote from the Federal Reserve before growth restrictions are lifted -- Wells Fargo & Co. will have to receive formal approval in a vote taken by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors before its growth restriction is lifted, Fed Chairman Jerome H. Powell has decided — a move that could cut into the bank's profits. Jim Puzzanghera in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/11/18

In the convention center arms race, Los Angeles plans to go big to take on Las Vegas and others -- In the arms race among the nation's largest convention centers, Las Vegas has unveiled its biggest weapon yet: a plan to make its already giant facility, well, humongous. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/11/18

Jeffe & Jeffee: George Deukmejian: The Anti-Trump -- The passing of former Governor George Deukmejian is a reminder of how much has changed in our political environment, particularly on the GOP side of the aisle. In virtually every way, Governor Deukmejian was the opposite of Donald Trump. Sherry Bebitch Jeffe & Doug Jeffe Fox & Hounds -- 5/11/18