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Jorgito’s journey -- Young boy, taken from mother, on solo trip through 4 states in 6 months. Karen de Sá in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/18

California, Long a Holdout, Adopts Mass Immigration Hearings -- A federal judge was irritated when ffan attorney for dozens of people charged with crossing the border illegally asked for more time to meet with clients before setting bond. It was pushing 5 p.m. on a Friday in May, and the judge in San Diego was wrestling with a surge in her caseload that resulted from the Trump administration's "zero-tolerance" policy to prosecute everyone who enters the country illegally. Elliot Spagat Associated Press -- 7/8/18

Firefighters make significant progress in wildfires burning across Southern California -- Firefighters in Santa Barbara County on Sunday morning continued mop-up operations after battling a wildfire that destroyed about 20 structures, prompting hundreds of evacuations in Goleta over the weekend amid a brutal heat wave. Andrea Castillo, Amina Khan, Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/18

Crews Build Containment Around Destructive California Fires -- Firefighters have been able to build containment around several destructive wildfires burning in California. Officials said Sunday that the 48-square-mile (124-square-kilometer) blaze on the California-Oregon border known as the Klamathon fire is now 25 percent contained. It's one of many fires burning around the drought-ridden states in the U.S. West. Associated Press -- 7/8/18

Firefighters preparing for greater activity in Klamathon, County blazes -- Firefighters are bracing for more high temperatures and extreme fire activity through the weekend as they work to contain a swath of wildfires that have scorched parts of Northern California. The state's first wildfire fatality since the deadly Thomas Fire in Santa Barbara occurred near the California-Oregon border, where the Klamathon Fire killed one civilian and injured a firefighter. Kellen Browning in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/8/18

Berkeley boy was ‘Patient X’ in first FDA-approved medicine derived from marijuana -- They called him Patient X. The Berkeley boy had his first epileptic seizure when he was 4, and after that, they kept coming, up to 100 a day. His desperate parents tried a barrage of two dozen medications, plus a high-fat medical diet and autoimmune therapy. Lizzie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/18

Kimberly Guilfoyle — San Francisco’s former first lady — now spends time at White House -- After being romantically linked for weeks, presidential son Donald Trump Jr. and former San Francisco first lady-turned-Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle had a coming-out party of sorts on Wednesday, showing up hand-in-hand at a Fourth of July celebration at the White House. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/18

#MeToo movement prompts disclosure of alleged sexual abuse at La Jolla Farms Stables -- On a sweeping bluff overlooking the San Diego coast, a generation of young girls nurtured their love of horses while parents relied on the staff at La Jolla Farms Stables for the basics in show jumping and equestrian competition. Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/8/18

This man cost Sacramento County more in one year than any other homeless person -- By his own admission, Pete Taneyhill was a "dirtbag" back then, living in abandoned houses, stealing to feed his drug habit and shooting methamphetamine into his veins between stints at the Sacramento County jail. Cynthia Huber in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/8/18

In San Diego, a dialogue begins on women in the scientific world -- Nearly 400 people packed a seminar last month focused on women breaking the barriers of science and navigating the thorny issues of sexual harassment in the workplace that featured some of the top women in the field. Bradley J. Fikes in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/8/18

While celebrating the 10th anniversary of L.A. Live, AEG looks to expand the Downtown Los Angeles entertainment complex -- As the L.A. Live entertainment complex celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2018, one of its developers, the Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) along with its private and public partners, has proposed a $1.2 billion-dollar expansion of the some of the surrounding facilities including the Los Angeles Convention Center and the JW Marriott. Kelli Skye Fadroski in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 7/8/18

Epidemic of robocalls: Why your mobile phone is under siege and what you can do about it -- Kristie Karkanen cringes whenever a call comes in from an unfamiliar number. Which con artist or telemarketer will it be this time — a phony IRS agent demanding payment for back taxes, someone babbling threats in Mandarin or a guy offering a “free’’ resort vacation? Tracey Kaplan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/8/18

Democrats' long-shot plan to stop Trump's Supreme Court pick -- Narrowly outnumbered in the Senate, Democrats are embarking on a Hail Mary campaign to block President Trump’s pick for the U.S. Supreme Court. And they realize what a long shot it is. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/18

The House Returns to Deep Uncertainty Over Both Parties’ Leadership -- The House returns from its July Fourth recess this week in a state of remarkable uncertainty, with both Democrats and Republicans facing open questions about their leaders’ futures and neither party certain of which will be in control after November’s elections. Nicholas Fandos and Thomas Kaplan in the New York Times$ -- 7/8/18

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning

Klamathon blaze doubles in size -- A deadly fire burning near the Oregon border more than doubled in size overnight and was threatening Saturday to overwhelm hundreds of homes, a railroad line and the Interstate 5 freeway, authorities said. The Klamathon Fire, which broke out Thursday and killed an unidentified resident, grew to 22,000 acres and was 20 percent contained by Saturday evening, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said. Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Kellen Browning in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/8/18

Fire crews make significant progress in Goleta as some residents return to find charred ruins -- Firefighters on Saturday continued to battle a destructive fire that snaked through a hillside area of Goleta in Santa Barbara County, one of several blazes that destroyed homes amid a record-setting heat wave in Southern California. Andrea Castillo, Amina Khan, John Wilkens, Teri Figueroa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/18

Some Alpine fire evacuations lifted; residents find homes in ruins -- The true toll of the wind-driven blaze that tore through Alpine a day earlier was beginning to take shape Saturday, as damage assessment teams moved through charred neighborhoods and some residents returned to the burn zone to survey what was left. J. Harry Jones and Kristina Davis in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/8/18

'Stretched to the limit' by fires, state allows aerial SuperTanker to re-join fight -- As wildfires rage across California, beleaguered fire officials are calling for reinforcements. After a lengthy delay, a modified 747 airplane is expected to be deployed this weekend to assist with the fight. Kellen Browning in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/8/18

Brush fire in Burbank hills prompts mandatory evacuations of dozens of homes -- A brush fire in a hillside neighborhood in Burbank on Saturday afternoon prompted a mandatory evacuation of dozens of homes, officials said. The fire was initially reported around 1 p.m. in Wildwood Canyon and quickly grew to about 45 acres, Burbank police spokesman Sgt. Derek Green said. The fire was 30% contained late Saturday, he said. Amina Khan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/18

Abortion may soon return to the national political debate, but it's largely settled in California -- Should abortion return to the front lines of the nation’s political battles, as President Trump selects a pivotal new justice to join the U.S. Supreme Court, the outcome likely will have little practical impact in California. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/18

California Lawmakers Face Dozens Of Key Bills In Final Month -- So far in 2018, they have passed first-in-the-nation data privacy regulations and a ban on new local soda taxes. But when they return in August, they'll have less than a month to tackle high-profile measures on criminal justice, energy policy and sexual harassment. Here's a look at some of the issues waiting for them when they return. Sophia Bollag Associated Press -- 7/8/18

Walters: Coy about taxes and pension costs -- California’s economy may be booming, but throughout the state, local governments—including school districts—are feeling the financial pinch and asking their voters to approve new taxes of one kind or another. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 7/8/18

San Francisco Mayor-elect London Breed says she wants to move quickly, look to future -- As she prepares to take over as San Francisco’s mayor Wednesday, London Breed says she is thinking far beyond the partial term she was elected to: In addition to clearing the streets of tent camps and hiring more police officers, she said her first actions in office will lay the foundation for the city’s future. Trisha Thadani and Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/18

'You better shoot straight': how Maxine Waters became Trump's public enemy No 1 -- Amid threats to assassinate, hang, lynch, expel and otherwise silence her, Maxine Waters clambered on to a stage in Los Angeles last week and did what comes naturally: hurl defiance. “All I have to say is this: if you shoot me, you better shoot straight,” she told cheering supporters. “There’s nothing like a wounded animal.” Rory Carroll The Guardian -- 7/8/18

Celebrating life at Euclid and Imperial, once known as Four Corners of Death -- There was a whole lot of life visible at Euclid and Imperial avenues Saturday afternoon, as Southeast San Diego residents gathered for the Fifth Annual Four Corners of Life Celebration. They came to eat, dance and just generally take ownership of a place that Mykeah Simpson, 26, said has struggled under a painful label for too many years. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/8/18

Tuolumne County health officials to decide when San Francisco Yosemite camp can reopen -- Tuolumne County health officials will help decide Wednesday whether Camp Mather will reopen next weekend as planned, after a viral outbreak that sickened at least 27 people at the popular family camp near Yosemite National Park. Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/18

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

Eastline project, bigger than Salesforce Tower, seeks to transform Oakland -- The barren site at 2100 Telegraph Ave. could turn into one of the largest developments the city has seen. Named Eastline by its backers, the 1.57 million-square-foot office project would be bigger, in square footage, than San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/18

Pender: Dozens of millionaires fled California after 2012 tax increase, study says -- California lost a very small but statistically significant percentage of high-income residents after voters approved Proposition 30 — the 2012 ballot measure that raised the top state income tax rate to 13.3 percent, the highest in the nation — according to a new working paper from three researchers. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/8/18

The roiled solar power market shows how Trump's tariffs can disrupt an industry -- A 30% U.S. tariff on imported solar panels put in place last winter should have caused prices here to jump. But when tariffs are unleashed, as businesses are learning, things don’t always go as expected. Jim Puzzanghera, Don Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/8/18

Mark Zuckerberg Tops Warren Buffett to Become the World’s Third-Richest Person -- Facebook Inc. co-founder Mark Zuckerberg has overtaken Warren Buffett as the world’s third-richest person, further solidifying technology as the most robust creator of wealth. Zuckerberg, who trails only Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates, eclipsed Buffett Friday as Facebook shares climbed 2.4 percent, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Tom Metcalf and Jack Witzig Bloomberg -- 7/8/18

Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds 

California isn’t the only state hiking gas taxes -- As 2018’s second half starts, drivers in seven states face just-raised taxes on fuel, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. In fact, 27 states nationwide have increased gasoline taxes in the past five years – with Missouri voters facing an Election Day choice to become No. 28 with a gas-tax hike on their November ballot. Jonathan Lansner in the Orange County Register -- 7/8/18

Immigration, Border, Deportation 

Demonstrators sing 'we love you' to sheltered migrant children in El Cajon -- A demonstration of love and support was waiting on the sidewalk Saturday morning as a short caravan of minivans carrying what appeared to be migrant children streamed out of a shelter in El Cajon. About 20 people, some from as far away as Seattle, smiled and waved as the minivans passed, shouting encouraging words in both English and Spanish. Morgan Cook in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/8/18

Health 

Health Insurers Warn of Market Turmoil as Trump Suspends Billions in Payments -- The Trump administration said Saturday that it was suspending a program that pays billions of dollars to insurers to stabilize health insurance markets under the Affordable Care Act, a freeze that could increase uncertainty in the markets and drive up premiums this fall. Robert Pear in the New York Times$ Amy Goldstein in the Washington Post$ -- 7/8/18

Also . . . 

Ex-Rohnert Park sergeant under investigation earned reputation with Highway 101 stops -- Over nearly 15 years as a Rohnert Park police officer, Brendon Tatum led local law enforcement missions to disrupt the flow of illegal drugs into Sonoma County, netting Rohnert Park hundreds of thousands of dollars in seized assets through traffic stops. Julie Johnson in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat -- 7/8/18

POTUS 45  

Balz: Trump and women: The big disconnect in American politics -- The disconnect between President Trump and female voters is serious and not getting better. That’s a potentially big problem for Republicans in the November elections — but only if the women opposed to the president turn out to vote. Dan Balz in the Washington Post$ -- 7/8/18

 

-- Saturday Updates 

'I had no idea the flames could go that fast': Goleta devastated by fire as record heat burns path of destruction -- Firefighters on Saturday were battling a destructive fire that snaked through a hillside area of Goleta, one of several blazes that destroyed homes amid a record-setting heat wave in Southern California. Fire personnel spent the night and morning in pitched battle against the Holiday fire, which exploded Friday night amid 100-degree temperatures and dangerous “sundowner” winds that made the blaze impossible to control. Andrea Castillo, John Wilkens and Teri Figueroa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/18

Deadly Klamathon blaze doubles in size -- A deadly fire burning near the Oregon border more than doubled in size overnight and was threatening Saturday to overwhelm hundreds of homes, a railroad line and the Interstate 5 freeway, authorities said. Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/7/18

The political futures of McCarthy and Pelosi could hinge on their home state of California -- The Central Valley Republican and the San Francisco Democrat are fighting to win the House majority and, with it, the right to try to round up enough votes to become House speaker. Paul Kane in the Washington Post$ -- 7/7/18

Abolishing a water district isn't easy — even when it's accused of nepotism, mismanagement and delivering brown water -- For its litany of problems, it’s been hard to kill the tiny Sativa Los Angeles County Water District. It has survived scandals involving financial instability, nepotism, poor maintenance and mismanagement. Angel Jennings and Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/18

Willie Brown: Scott Pruitt is just the symptom. The disease is Trump -- Former Environmental Protection Agency chief Scott Pruitt isn’t the first Trump Cabinet member whose high living on the public dime and questionable ethics led to the hot-water pool, and he won’t be the last. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/7/18

Uber and Lyft are forcing Southern California parking companies to adapt or die -- The rapid rise of ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft has taken a big bite out of businesses that rely on people who need to park their cars. Now they’re facing a choice: keep dwindling, or innovate. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/7/18

Curbs on Chinese investment could hit Detroit and Silicon Valley -- U.S. President Donald Trump’s threat to block Chinese investment in U.S. companies could be trouble for a number of American automotive and technology companies using Chinese funds to develop electric and self-driving cars and related services, from Tesla Inc to dozens of Silicon Valley startups. Paul Lienert Reuters -- 7/7/18