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Arizona prepares for mass exodus of Californians in event of catastrophic earthquake -- The state of Arizona started a full-scale, three-and-a-half-day-long exercise Monday to prepare for a mass exodus of Californians in the event of a catastrophic earthquake. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

In its first bust, West Covina police dog finds 60 pounds of meth in car -- The newest K9 cop at the West Covina Police Department made its first bust over the weekend, sniffing out 60 pounds of methamphetamine stuffed under the seats of a Nissan Rogue. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/21/18

3 California Democrats in a scramble for second in governor’s race -- With Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom a good bet to win a spot on the November ballot for governor, three other Democrats face the inexorable arithmetic of California’s top-two primary. And because the two leading vote-getters move on to the fall campaign, second place is as good as first. And third is the same as last. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

Democrats in California's attorney general race clash over campaign ads filmed on state property -- The two Democrats running for California attorney general clashed Monday over campaign television ads filmed in a Sacramento courtroom, with Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones arguing that Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra had broken the law. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/21/18

5 women sue USC, alleging they were victimized by campus gynecologist -- Five women filed civil lawsuits Monday alleging that a longtime gynecologist at the University of Southern California victimized them under the pretext of medical care and that USC failed to address complaints from clinic staffers about the doctor's behavior. Matt Hamilton, Harriet Ryan, Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/21/18

Supreme Court deals defeat to workers' rights, upholding arbitration for individuals only -- The Supreme Court has sharply restricted the rights of American workers to join with others to challenge their company for allegedly violating federal laws on wages, overtime pay or civil rights. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/21/18

Tesla Model 3 dissed by Consumer Reports -- Consumer Reports on Monday said it could not recommend Tesla’s Model 3 sedan — the mass-market car considered pivotal to the automaker’s future — due to oddly inconsistent braking and issues with its touch-screen controls. David R. Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

Venice Beach property owners being offered over $1 million in refunds -- More than $1 million in refunds are being offered to Venice Beach property owners following complaints that a newly formed group had charged them but failed to promptly provide promised services, according to city officials. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/21/18

California Turns to Homeowners to Help Solve a Crisis -- A new state law that allows owners of single-family properties to build guest apartments is showing plenty of promise in easing the housing crunch. Virginia Postrel Bloomberg -- 5/21/18

Huge pop-up homeless shelters are planned for three Sacramento neighborhoods -- Sacramento's latest plan to shelter the homeless will involve erecting massive tent-like structures on vacant land in three neighborhoods, Mayor Darrell Steinberg told The Bee on Monday. Ryan Lillis and Cynthia Hubert in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/21/18

Five Things to Know About Water Bonds on Upcoming California Ballots -- Californians this year will vote on not one but two water bond measures totaling $13 billion. Given that the state still hasn’t spent all of the $7.5 billion from the Proposition 1 water bond passed in 2014, it raises a crucial question: Does California really need another $13 billion in water bonds? Matt Weiser Water Deeply via KQED -- 5/21/18

Veterans charity created by Nathan Fletcher raised and spent more than $1 million, report shows -- Nathan Fletcher was a far better fundraiser than mayoral candidate. In the years following his two failed campaigns for the San Diego Mayor’s Office, Fletcher collected more than $1 million to fight depression and suicide among the nation’s war veterans, according to an unaudited report published by the Three Wise Men Veterans Foundation Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/21/18

Why does this investor think three Californias are better than one? -- You could argue a Silicon Valley investor who saw the early potential of Tesla, Skype and cryptocurrency has a keen sense of knowing what we want before we do. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/21/18

Taylor: McClymonds seniors say college admission is great, but triumph lies in the future -- Yes, they’ve hurdled barriers — gun violence, access to resources, hunger — to earn their high school diplomas and acceptance letters from places of higher learning. But they want to do more than earn college degrees. They want to reshape the West Oakland neighborhoods where they were raised, neighborhoods where opportunities are scarce for people of color. Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

Are Alzheimer’s Patients Safe Around Guns? Doctors Say It’s Worth Discussing -- A report this month from UC Davis, the University of Colorado and other institutions found that patients with dementia who own firearms are at heightened suicide risk. The number of people living with Alzheimer’s disease is expected to more than double by 2050. Sammy Caiola Capital Public Radio -- 5/21/18

Fox: Gov. Brown Knows Political Stunts -- Gov. Jerry Brown visited Los Angeles Friday to urge defeat of an initiative to repeal the gas tax. During his talk he called the initiative effort a “political stunt” and “devious, deceptive, unfair and un-Californian.” Interesting, considering that Brown, himself, is an expert at getting the political edge. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 5/21/18

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning

California court opens world of uncertainty for the dying -- With so many fears and so little time, cancer patient Matt Fairchild now faces a new anxiety: When life’s too miserable, can he get help ending it? Before this week’s court ruling tossed out California’s right-to-die law, “I didn’t have to think about suffering,” said Fairchild, 48, a retired Army sergeant with incurable melanoma. “Now it’s one more thing on my daily list to have to worry about.” Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/21/18

Get a text ad from a candidate? Invasive, maybe, but it works, say experts -- Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert is taking to texts to get her message out in her bid for re-election in June. Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/21/18

Walters: California’s primary vote could be decisive -- Ordinarily, primary elections in June don’t settle partisan political conflicts but, rather, set the stage for showdowns in November’s general elections. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 5/21/18

A computer system failure hit Sutter Health. Now, patients and nurses are concerned -- The companywide information system failure at Sutter Health last week is raising concerns among some nurses and at least one patient about how the health-care giant functioned amid the crisis. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/21/18

Skelton: California is the first state to require solar panels on new homes. Here's why Big Brother is on to something -- When a state regulatory body decrees that all new homes must have rooftop solar starting in 2020, my temperature rises. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/21/18

Poll: Most Sonoma County residents didn’t get official fire warnings -- Few Sonoma County residents received official alerts telling them about the approaching October firestorm and many received no advance warning at all, according to The Press Democrat Poll. J.D. Morris in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat -- 5/21/18

Smolens: Faulconer forced off course by sanctuary law dispute -- San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has been trying to carve out a middle ground on illegal immigration. It hasn’t been easy. The politics of the long-combustible issue increasingly demand people choose sides, with space in between shrinking. Michael Smolens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/21/18

Shaped by AIDS crisis, Covered California’s leader champions health access -- In the 1980s, Peter Lee headed for the front lines of the HIV/AIDS crisis. In Washington, D.C., the Pasadena native helped organize rallies in front of the White House to protest the Reagan administration’s tepid response to the epidemic. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

San Francisco cultural districts gain footing in preserving neighborhoods’ heritage -- April Spears doesn’t want to stop change from coming to the Bayview, the San Francisco neighborhood where she was born and raised. She just wants to have a say in how it happens. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

A bright touch for the ugly utility boxes on city sidewalks -- The boxes, which stand about 4 feet high and contain equipment for high-speed internet and other communication services, were the subject of furious neighborhood opposition, heavy political lobbying, and threatened lawsuits as recently as 2015. How quickly things change. Caille Millner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

Saturday Night Live skewers Oakland's 'BBQ Becky' -- Since the video of a white woman calling the police on two black men over a charcoal barbecue in Oakland's Lake Merritt has gone viral, the moment has become a conversation starter on race issues. It's also spawned hashtags (#BBQingWhileBlack, #CookingOutWhileBlack) and a meme on social media. And now the woman in question has been parodied on "Saturday Night Live." Dianne de Guzman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

Anti-racist barbecuers take back Oakland’s communal backyard at Lake Merritt -- By 11:30 a.m. Sunday, a meaty, righteous aroma wafted up from hundreds of grills set up around the northeastern shore of Lake Merritt. Oakland barbecue stalwart Everett & Jones was flipping yard-long racks of ribs to give away. Vendors of skateboard decks airbrushed with the greats of African American history set up next to political organizers calling out for registered voters. BBQ’n While Black was barely getting started. Jonathan Kauffman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

Is The California Dream Dying? Another Family Calls it Quits on the Golden State -- It’s 65 degrees and sunny on a Saturday afternoon in the trendy Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. Many families are enjoying walks in Griffith Park, or eating lunch at outdoor cafés. But not Anna and Evan Colby. They're packing up their apartment in a mad dash to move to Lansing, Michigan. John Corley KQED -- 5/21/18

Marin leads Bay Area in home-based workers -- Marin is the work-from-home capital of the Bay Area, according to new data provided by a regional transportation agency. Mark Prado in the Marin Independent Journal -- 5/21/18

Homeless  

LA county to rollout $402 million spending plan for Measure H. Will it make a difference? --Measure H sales tax revenue is being generated to pay for services and programs that alleviate homelessness. Under the plan adopted by the county, which goes into effect in the 2018-19 fiscal year beginning July 1, emergency shelter programs and outreach are some of the key areas getting more funding. Elizabeth Chou in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/21/18

Housing  

Thousands of long-awaited homes are coming to Folsom. Here's what you should know -- The most anticipated new housing community in the Sacramento region goes “vertical” next week south of Highway 50 in Folsom with the construction of model homes, followed by homes for sale. Early buyers could be living on the oak-studded hillside by the end of the year, builders say. Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/21/18

Smart move: Ontario’s dairy fields turn to techy neighborhoods aimed at millennials, boomers -- Hundreds and hundreds of new homes, some equipped with new-age “smart home” technology from the likes of Apple and Amazon, are transforming a large swath of former Inland Empire dairy land that developers for decades had essentially skipped over. Andrew Edwards in the Orange County Register -- 5/21/18

Guns 

Legislators try again to ban Cow Palace gun shows -- A pair of local legislators will make yet another run at banning gun shows at the Cow Palace — and they say growing American revulsion at mass shootings, particularly at high schools, puts momentum in their favor. Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

Off-duty sheriff’s deputy, bar employee disarm man who brought an AR-15-type rifle to a Redlands bar -- The incident occurred at The District on Citrus Avenue and started when the suspect, identified as 36-year old Gilbert Manuel Arellano III of Redlands, became involved in an altercation with other customers, the Redlands Police Department said in a news release, Sunday, May 20. Nathaniel Percy in the Riverside Press Enterprise$ -- 5/21/18

Texas school had a shooting plan, armed officers and practice. And still 10 people died -- They, like so many others, thought they had taken the steps to avoid this. The school district had an active-shooter plan, and two armed police officers walked the halls of the high school. School district leaders had even agreed last fall to eventually arm teachers and staff under the state’s school marshal program, one of the country’s most aggressive and controversial policies intended to get more guns into classrooms. Todd C. Frankel, Brittney Martin, Tim Craig and Christian Davenport in the Washington Post$ -- 5/21/18

Immigration, Border, Deportation 

Asylum seekers have flooded into Canada. The government is putting them to work -- So Canadian policymakers are bolstering one tactic to ease the burden: They’re integrating refugee claimants as quickly as possible into the job market. Selena Ross in the Washington Post$ -- 5/21/18

Environment 

The clean-energy home of the future ... outside Fresno -- Starting in 2020, California officials want all new houses built in the state to generate their own solar power during the day and sip electricity at night, their energy use cut by highly efficient insulation. Brandon De Young figures he has that deadline beat by more than a year. David R. Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

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. He knows the ocean is creeping closer to his property and he says the city has an obligation to protect his home, valued at $3.2 million, from the rising waters. Phil Diehl in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/21/18

Also . . . 

Bay to Breakers a party disguised as a race in San Francisco -- Some, as usual, were naked. Others decided it was a good idea to run the annual Bay to Breakers 12-kilometer race Sunday as a unicorn, gorilla, dinosaur, superhero or whatever else suited their only-in-San Francisco fancy. And there were the outliers dressed as runners. Annie Ma, Michael Cabanatuan and Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

Bay to Breakers tortillas are not tacos but Frisbees, then trash -- What goes up must come down. And at the starting line of Sunday morning’s Bay to Breakers race, the tortillas went up, then came down, landing first on heads before they were cast aside onto the street. As the last of the runners left the starting line, they left behind the unfulfilled promise of ever becoming a burrito. Jill Tucker and Annie Ma in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

Here’s what an $8 million Bay Area restaurant looks like -- The Bay Area is no stranger to multimillion dollar restaurant mega-projects. Last year alone, George Chen opened his massive, San Francisco food emporium, China Live, which cost more than $20 million to build on Broadway. Not long after came the Landing Cafe, a restaurant at the Oakland Zoo that’s only accessible by a aerial gondola. It cost $13 million to open. Justin Phillips in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/21/18

Bear’s 2 a.m. adventure through California downtown caught on video -- A black bear paid a visit to downtown Healdsburg, California, early Friday morning, but all ended well for both ursine and human inhabitants along the Russian River. Don Sweeney in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/21/18

POTUS 45  

China is winning Trump’s trade war -- It was easy to miss the U.S.-China trade statement that the White House released Saturday, right in the midst of royal wedding mania. But it's hard to hide that China looks as if it's winning President Trump's trade skirmish — so far. Heather Long in the Washington Post$ -- 5/21/18

U.S. Puts ‘Trade War’ Against China on Hold, Mnuchin Says -- The Trump administration won’t impose tariffs on Chinese products for now, after the two nations made progress on trade issues during two days of talks, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said. Andrew Mayeda and Mark Niquette Bloomberg -- 5/21/18

Trump tries to amass local army for 2020 -- ‘State days’ aimed at developing relationships with elected officials across the U.S. are succeeding in bringing some skeptics on board the Trump Train. Christopher Cadelago Politico -- 5/21/18

 

-- Sunday Updates 

‘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