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‘You just gotta get out of here’ -- Our exclusive look at police video from the Wine Country fires shows heroic rescuers and harrowing escapes — and helps explain why people in danger sometimes don’t flee. Julia Prodis Sulek and Matthias Gafni in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/20/18

Scandal after scandal focuses scrutiny on USC leadership, culture -- Last year, USC decided to oust longtime campus gynecologist George Tyndall after concluding that for years he had been making sexual comments and touching patients inappropriately during pelvic exams. The university drew up a secret deal and Tyndall quietly left with a financial settlement. Paul Pringle, Matt Hamilton, Sarah Parvini, Harriet Ryan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/18

Where candidates for governor stand on California’s biggest issues -- The list is in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/20/18

Sports gambling may be coming to California — but it's unclear who will take your bets -- If there is one sure bet Californians can make now that the Supreme Court has cleared the way for legalized sports gambling, it's this: Months, if not years, of haggling lie ahead before residents can wager a dime on any game. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/18

Charter backers outspend teachers in 2 California races -- Wealthy donors who support charter schools and education reform have poured more than $22 million into independent committees to support former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for governor and former schools executive Marshall Tuck for state schools chief. Many of the same donors have also contributed directly to Villaraigosa’s and Tuck’s campaigns. Sophia Bolag Associated Press -- 5/20/18

Supporters come out hard as support for Bay Area bridge toll hike is squishy -- With just over two weeks to go before the June election, no one knows how the regional measure to raise Bay Area bridge tolls by $3 to pay for transportation projects will fare. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/20/18

2018 midterms: An early heat for 2020 Democrats? -- The leading players — from established national figures such as former Vice President Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to up-and-comers including California Sen. Kamala Harris — don’t necessarily put it that way. But the potential 2020 candidates are making the rounds, raising and distributing campaign cash among fellow Democrats, endorsing candidates and meeting political activists. Bill Barrow Associated Press -- 5/20/18

Stalls, stops and breakdowns: Problems plague push for electric buses -- When Chinese battery maker BYD Ltd. approached Southern California officials in 2008 touting ambitious plans to build electric cars, local politicians jumped at the promise of thousands of jobs and cleaner air. Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/18

Del Mar considers unpopular 'planned retreat' strategy due to rising sea level -- Herb Montgomery and his wife, Janet, have lived in Del Mar's low-lying Beach Colony just east of Camino Del Mar for 20 years. Phil Deihl in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/18

'The big experiment in the sky' -- Electronic artist Jim Campbell sat in Blooms Saloon on Potrero Hill, looking out the window and across town at Salesforce Tower. As day turned to dusk, he pressed a button on his laptop and the top 130 feet of the tower came ablaze in yellow LED light. Sam Whiting in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/20/18

San Francisco Mayor Farrell’s plan to get 250 addicts off the street isn’t a cheap fix -- Mayor Mark Farrell’s call for a new 10-member team to fan out across San Francisco offering an instant cure for heroin addiction is the latest attempt to deal with the growing problem of people openly shooting drugs. It’s also expensive. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/20/18

Police were called to handle an escalating mental-health crisis. This is why they backed off -- Stevante Clark was slipping out of control, and the police cruiser parked on his front lawn wasn't improving his mental state. Anita Chabria in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/20/18

Levi’s jeans: How they started, how they’re made and how they’ve changed -- On May 20, 1873, Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received their patent for riveted pants. This month marks the 165th year since the San Francisco clothing company first made them. Kurt Snibbe in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/20/18

Alameda City Manager Keimach ends dispute and agrees to buyout package -- Embattled Alameda City Manager Jill Keimach, who secretly taped conversations with two City Council members she felt were pressuring her to hire a union leader as the city’s fire chief, has agreed to $945,000 walk-away package. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/20/18

Mock interview program readies students for the real world -- Independence High School teacher’s project sharpens seniors for post-graduate life. Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/20/18

County tries new tactic in fight to close illegal pot dispensaries in Spring Valley -- San Diego County officials are trying a new tactic in their fight to shut down unpermitted marijuana dispensaries in Spring Valley — giving property owners 10 days to cease the illegal business operations or face losing access to their buildings. And they say the approach seems to be working. Karen Kucher in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/20/18

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning

California GOP has a lot riding on 2 candidates for governor -- Californians looking to vote for a Republican in the June 5 governor’s primary face largely the same choice they have for the past decade: a tough-talking conservative officeholder or a wealthy businessperson who has never been elected. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/20/18

California's illegal immigration fight is back, and so are the political pitfalls for Republicans -- Few topics have been as incendiary in California as illegal immigration, with intense arguments about whether those who cross borders are a reminder of the American dream or a sign of its demise. Those past debates — most visible duri ng elections in 1994 and 2010 — may offer some insight into the issue's political rewards and risks. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/18

Walters: Prison inmates are down, but costs still going up -- When Jerry Brown’s first governorship began in 1975, California had about 20,000 men and women behind bars in its prison system, but that number would increase more than eight-fold. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 5/20/18

PAC Money Invades 15th District Assembly Race -- A network of pro-charter school donors is spending big on behalf of Buffy Wicks, while the California Nurses Association is touting Rochelle Pardue-Okimoto. Darwin BondGraham in the East Bay Express -- 5/20/18

The CA 39th: Candidates, intrigue, money and, now, a truce -- The tit-for-tat political attack ads between two Democratic congressional hopefuls suddenly disappeared from the web this week in the race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Ed Royce. So did their intraparty mudslinging websites. Jordan Graham in the Orange County Register -- 5/20/18

March for Our Rights rally at L.A. City Hall takes aim at 'sanctuary state' law -- The recently formed grass-roots organization Freedom Rights staged a march and rally Saturday in downtown Los Angeles to protest the creation of "sanctuary" cities, laws and policies intended to provide protections for immigrants in the country illegally. Deborah Netburn in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/18

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

U.S. customs to hire dozens of officers as foreign travel surges at LAX -- With international travel to Los Angeles continuing to grow, U.S. Customs and Border Protection is for the first time in 10 years accepting applications for dozens of new officers to work at Los Angeles International Airport. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/18

Legislation would require airlines, commuter rail lines, buses to adopt anti-harassment rules -- After a survey that found widespread sexual harassment on commercial airlines, federal lawmakers have proposed legislation requiring airlines and other transit operations to adopt policies to crack down on harassment and abuse. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/18

Homeless  

Demonstrators march in Koreatown to protest planned temporary homeless shelter -- Los Angeles police shut down Vermont Avenue from Wilshire Boulevard to 7th Street in Koreatown because of the protest, which was scheduled to run from 4 to 7 p.m., LAPD Sgt. Matthew Meneses said. The item is in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/18

Guns 

Santa Fe, unlike Parkland, says the issue behind the latest school shooting isn't guns -- Students and teachers returning to Santa Fe High School on Saturday to claim belongings left behind during the evacuation had to be escorted by police: The school was still a crime scene, cordoned off with yellow police tape. Molly Hennessy-Fiske in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/18

Houston Police Chief Says He Has ‘Hit Rock Bottom’ on Gun Rights Arguments -- Just hours after 10 people were killed in a school shooting in Santa Fe, Tex., the police chief in nearby Houston issued a defiant condemnation of elected officials who have failed to act on gun control, saying he had “hit rock bottom.” Jacey Fortin and Matt Stevens in the New York Times$ -- 5/20/18

Also . . . 

The Coming Wave of Murders Solved by Genealogy -- The same DNA analysis used to find the alleged Golden State Killer has led to the arrest of a second alleged murderer. It’ll likely lead to more. Sarah Zhang The Atlantic -- 5/20/18

Runners find Bay to Breakers is both a race and a busy sales event -- Getting up the Hayes Street hill on Sunday requires just the right goop. Runners were looking to sip from the holy grail of energy goops on Saturday. That’s what the annual Bay to Breakers Expo is all about. Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/20/18

Another woman accuses L.A. sheriff's deputy of sexual assault inside jail -- The woman said the attack happened in a dimly lit part of the jail. The officer ordered her to take off her clothes, then groped her breasts, the woman said. She claimed the lawman forced her into sexual acts again and again, threatening to remove her from educational classes if she did not comply. Maya Lau in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/20/18

Why do we still care about royal weddings? -- From Elizabeth and Philip to Charles and Diana and now, the princes William and Harry and their brides, we have followed royal marriages as loyal media subjects for more than half a century. It’s a story line that has evolved, as has the institution of marriage, but its central dramatic tensions — will they or won’t they? — remains the same. Tony Bravo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/20/18

POTUS 45  

In Familiar Cycle, Trump Laments Texas School Shooting and Vows Action -- President Trump had called for gun control measures after the February school shooting in Parkland, Fla., but did not press for action, and Congress has not followed through. Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Michael D. Shear in the New York Times$ -- 5/20/18

F.B.I. Used Informant to Investigate Russia Ties to Campaign, Not to Spy, as Trump Claims -- In fact, F.B.I. agents sent an informant to talk to two campaign advisers only after they received evidence that the pair had suspicious contacts linked to Russia during the campaign. Adam Goldman, Mark Mazzetti and Matthew Rosenberg in the New York Times$ -- 5/20/18

 

-- Saturday Updates 

1 million low-income Californians could be hurt by Trump family planning rules -- More than 1 million low-income Californians could see new barriers to reproductive care under a proposal that the Department of Health and Human Services sent to the White House Friday. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/18

California lags other high-tax states on state and local deduction workaround -- New York, New Jersey and Connecticut have already passed bills intending to circumvent the new $10,000 limit on the federal tax deduction for state and local taxes. California, which has the highest state income tax rate in the nation, hasn’t passed any workaround bills, although two are making their way through the Legislature. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/18

Oakland high school’s students head to college after overcoming odds -- Enasia Mc-Elvaine has a resume that rivals any other high school senior. Volleyball. High school debate team. Student director for the Oakland Board of Education. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/18

Willie Brown: Scooters on San Francisco’s streets: What’s not to like? -- Love ’em or hate ’em, those electric scooters zipping around downtown are the future. Pedestrians and motorists may scream. City officials may confiscate them by the dozens. But the fact is that young people, especially younger women, are more comfortable on the scoots than on a bike. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/18

A bar too high? Pass rate plummets to record low for California lawyer exam -- Only a quarter of applicants passed the California bar exam in its most recent sitting, the State Bar of California announced this week, a record low for the test that lawyers must successfully complete to practice in the state. Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/18

After a real-estate deal that triggered $1,000 rent hikes, Oakland families face eviction -- With its crumbling popcorn ceilings, cracked tile and worn carpeting, the apartment Rafael Luna and Evelia Cruz have called home for nearly a decade has outlived its youthful prime by any measure but one: California’s rent control law. Katy Murphy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/19/18

Where San Francisco’s mayoral candidates would push hardest in next year’s budget -- Passing San Francisco’s multibillion-dollar budget each year is a reliably messy process, fraught with late-night negotiations, haggling between lawmakers and pressure from lobbyists pressing their clients’ case for city cash. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/18

East Area Rapist arrest has police scouring old files. Is a 13th murder charge to come? -- When authorities in Sacramento announced the arrest of a suspect in the East Area Rapist case last month, 60-year-old Jim Sigle in Alabama immediately took notice. Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/18

California Politics Podcast: The Campaign Ads -- This week: We give a listen to some of the most interesting television ads in California political races on airwaves everywhere -- plus, the big news of Trump's endorsement in the race for governor. Then, we discuss the end of the sexual harassment investigation involving a female Democratic legislator. And the politics lightning round! With John Myers and Melanie Mason of the Los Angeles Times Link Here -- 5/19/18