Updating . .
Governor Brown signs foreclosure funds bill -- A new law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown allows the state to keep $331 million that a court had designated for programs to help California homeowners who had been hit with foreclosures by banks accused of abusive practices. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/11/18
San Francisco wants to use old retrofit bond money to preserve affordable housing -- It could soon be possible for San Francisco officials to loan out $260 million in unused bond money to preserve and grow the city’s affordable-housing stock. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/11/18
I-5 open in Shasta County. Delays still expected as crews fight 53,000-acre Delta Fire -- The Delta Fire burning in Shasta County since last Wednesday has surpassed 53,000 acres (83 square miles) and remains just 5 percent contained as of Tuesday morning, Cal Fire said. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/11/18
More than 220,000 solo HOV-lane drivers will lose carpool stickers Jan. 1 -- Nearly 224,000 solo drivers stand to lose their green and white carpool stickers — permanently — on Jan. 1 in a seismic shakeup of the rules governing diamond lanes. Gary Richards in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/11/18
At Jerry Brown's climate summit, one deadline will overshadow all the others -- The political leaders coming from around the world for Gov. Jerry Brown’s climate action summit this week will grapple with a lot of urgent deadlines to drive down emissions, but one date is especially exasperating. It is 2035 — the year advocates aim to kill off production of gasoline and diesel powered vehicles. Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/18
Abcarian: On the trail with the Latino Arab American candidate trying to oust Duncan Hunter -- Retired FBI agent Jeff Iverson had his doubts about Ammar Campa-Najjar, the 29-year-old Democrat whose race to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter took on an unexpected importance after federal prosecutors charged Hunter and his wife with stealing $250,000 in campaign funds. “It’s not his politics, it’s his age,” Iverson, 67, told me as we stood on the porch of a stunning home overlooking Lake Hodges in Escondido. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/18
What do a porn star, a combative lawyer and a reality-TV contestant all have in common? Trump -- The constellation of personalities orbiting Donald Trump is unlike any known to previous presidents. Mark Z. Barabak and Michael Finnegan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/18
Tent village for homeless given eviction notice -- A handful of community advocates who are fed up with what they see as slow official progress on addressing San Jose’s homeless population opened an unsanctioned tent village in a vacant lot over the weekend, complete with a portable toilet and garbage service. Emily DeRuy and Mark Gomez in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/11/18
Orchard Supply job cuts: more than 600 in Bay Area, 1,500 in California -- Lowe’s will jettison more than 600 Orchard Supply jobs in the Bay Area, part of a wrenching elimination of over 1,000 jobs in Northern California and at least 1,500 statewide, according to new official state government filings. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/11/18
Big Safety Testing Failure Rate for California Pot Products -- Nearly 20 percent of marijuana products in California have failed tests for potency and purity since the state started requiring the checks on July 1, a failure rate some in the industry say has more to do with unrealistic standards and technical glitches than protecting consumer safety. Michael R. Blood Associated Press -- 9/11/18
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Ahead in the governor's race, Gavin Newsom begins bus tour to help other Democrats -- Gavin Newsom kicked off a statewide bus tour Monday in the Santa Clarita Valley to bolster fellow Democrats in California’s contested congressional races, saying the party’s efforts to retake control of the House with President Trump in the White House was just as critical to the state as his campaign to become its next governor. Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/18
Assemblyman Travis Allen weighing run for chairman of California Republican Party -- Having fallen short in his recent campaign for governor, conservative state Assemblyman Travis Allen said Monday that he is weighing a run for chairman of the state GOP with the goal of “leading California Republicans back to statewide relevance.” Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/18
President Trump is 'the big saboteur' of electric cars, says Gov. Jerry Brown -- California Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday accused President Trump of undermining the nation’s efforts to produce more electric vehicles, arguing that efforts to slow down the focus on clean energy will ultimately hurt the U.S. auto industry. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/18
California to rely on 100% clean electricity by 2045 under bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown -- All of California’s electricity will come from clean power sources by 2045 under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday, the latest in a series of ambitious goals set by the state to combat the effects of climate change. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ David R. Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ Jonathan J. Cooper Associated Press -- 9/11/18
Why 100 Percent Clean Energy in California is Gonna Be Tricky -- If the past is any precedent, it's going to be difficult. So far, California hasn't gotten as much benefit from its capacity for solar as it could. That’s because California has to keep natural gas running to supply energy on cloudy days and at night. Lauren Sommer KQED -- 9/11/18
California fires, floods, droughts: “It’s getting more real now” Jerry Brown says in climate interview -- California Gov. Jerry Brown, whose term expires in January, has made renewable energy and climate change a centerpiece of his final term. This week, he co-hosts a global climate summit in San Francisco. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/11/18
LAPD video shows female officer being shot at point-blank range during traffic stop before partner kills suspect -- Los Angeles police on Monday released a video of a gang member shooting a female officer at point-blank range during a July traffic stop in the San Fernando Valley and her partner subsequently fatally wounding the gunman. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ Joshua Cain in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/11/18
Sacramento sheriff says controversial shooting by deputies ‘legal, legally justified and within policy’ -- Two weeks after forcing out a department watchdog critical of a deputy-involved shooting, Sheriff Scott Jones maintains the Sacramento County District Attorney won’t file criminal charges in the controversial case, and deputies didn’t break any rules when firing dozens of shots at the fleeing man. Anita Chabria, Marcós Breton and Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/11/18
San Francisco’s filthy streets: We’re spending far more on cleaning than other cities -- The 47-square-mile city spends more than four times as much as Chicago does to keep streets clean, according to a recent budget and legislative analyst’s report. And Chicago, at 227 square miles, is almost five times larger than San Francisco. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/11/18
Climate summit protesters demand a place for indigenous voices in the room -- Hundreds of activists snarled commute-heavy traffic, picketed or simply sat in yoga poses outside the Parc 55 hotel in San Francisco’s clogged downtown Market Street area Monday morning, the first weekday leg of what promises to be a rocky series of protests against this week’s Global Climate Action Summit. Megan Cassidy and Ashley McBride in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/11/18
Oakland ethics panel to review freebie sports tickets cases, one involving mayor -- The issue of Oakland officials attending sought-after sporting events in luxury suites without paying for their tickets is coming back to the city ethics commission. Kimberly Veklerov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/11/18
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Tariffs glower over almond harvest -- Harvest is underway for what’s expected to be a record almond crop statewide at 2.45 billion pounds. The only question is, who’s going to buy it? Almonds have gotten entangled in President Donald Trump’s trade wars, with three of the major overseas markets for the California nuts placing stiff tariffs on their import. Steve Schoonover in the Chico Enterprise-Record -- 9/11/18
Court: UC Berkeley cannot patent gene editing research -- UC Berkeley’s breakthrough research on gene editing, the transfer of genetic material between living organisms with the potential to cure diseases, did not give the university exclusive rights to patent and use the technology, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/11/18
Citrus disease could kill California industry if Congress slows research, growers warn -- A disease called citrus greening has devastated Florida’s citrus industry since its discovery in 2005. Agriculture officials are hoping they can stop it before California suffers the same fate. Kate Irby McClatchyDC -- 9/11/18
Timekeeping software won’t let Dignity Health nurses log any overtime, lawsuit says -- A recent lawsuit alleges that up to 1,200 Sacramento-area nurses with Dignity Health worked as many as 50 minutes per 12-hour shift of unpaid overtime, three times a week — and that Dignity’s restrictive timekeeping software was part of the reason those hours couldn’t be logged properly. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/11/18
Hundreds of Sun-Maid workers go on strike over wages and benefits -- About 250 workers were on the picket line near the plant’s Kingsburg headquarters Monday afternoon, said Peter Nunez, president of Teamsters Local 431. It’s unclear how long they will strike. Robert Rodriguez in the Fresno Bee -- 9/11/18
Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds
To reduce wildfires, Edison seeks $582 million from ratepayers for improvements -- In a sweeping effort to reduce the wildfire risk from electric power lines, Southern California Edison said Monday that it wants to spend $582 million for a series of improvements to its grid that likely would mean higher bills for ratepayers. Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/18
Homeless
How a transportation safety net could keep more people off the streets -- While housing costs in California have skyrocketed, what is often the second biggest expense for a household is commonly overlooked and is contributing to the surge in homelessness. Anti-poverty advocates have called for measures to provide low-income residents more assistance with transportation costs. Meghan McCarty Carino KPCC via Calmatters -- 9/11/18
Housing
L.A. County supervisors to vote on temporary rent cap for apartments -- The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors plans to vote Tuesday, Sept. 11, on whether to impose a temporary rent cap on older apartments in unincorporated areas, limiting increases to 3 percent a year for six months. Jeff Collins in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/11/18
San Francisco Mayor Breed Commits $100 Million to Modular Housing Project -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced Monday that the city is pledging to spend $100 million on affordable housing orders from a proposed modular building factory in the coming years. Michelle Wiley KQED -- 9/11/18
Wildfire
Forest-thinning measures likely dead in Congress, despite Trump, California Republicans -- For more than a month, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue have been calling for a rollback of environmental regulations on forest-thinning projects they argue will help reduce the risk of wildfires, including the ones ravaging California. Emily Cadei McClatchyDC -- 9/11/18
What you need to know about traveling I-5 through the Delta Fire -- Monday brought some good news for motorists passing through Northern California when authorities reopened Interstate 5 after it was shut down last Wednesday because of the raging Delta Fire south of Mount Shasta. Patrick May in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/11/18
Cannabis
Many California Marijuana Products Failing Safety Tests -- Nearly 20 percent of marijuana products in California have failed tests for potency and purity since the state started requiring the checks on July 1, a failure rate some in the industry say has more to do with unrealistic standards and technical glitches than protecting consumer safety. Michael R. Blood Associated Press -- 9/11/18
Governor vetoes mandatory minimum penalties for pot shops that sell to minors -- Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday vetoed a bill that would have set mandatory minimum penalties for California pot shops that sell to minors, including revocation of the state license for a third violation in three years. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/11/18
Education
New report reaches unsettling conclusion on Sacramento child literacy -- A new report about literacy came to an unsettling conclusion about students in Sacramento County schools: about three out of every five third-graders do not read at their grade level. Michael Finch in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/11/18
Environment
Kaiser Permanente he--alth system vows to be carbon neutral in 2020 -- Reaching carbon neutrality will mean reducing or offsetting Kaiser’s greenhouse gas emissions from about 600,000 metric tons a year to zero. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/11/18
Also . . .
32 East Bay street gang members arrested in million-dollar fraud scheme -- The BullyBoys and CoCo Boys street gangs, who both have roots in Antioch, Pittsburg, and Bay Point, allegedly burglarized medical and dental businesses in 13 counties in Northern California. According to authorities, suspects stole and ran fraudulent returns on credit card terminals, placing the money on debit cards for their own use. Gwendolyn Wu in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Don Thompson Associated Press -- 9/11/18
Dixon confronts a Trump trickle-down after vice mayor’s antigay comments -- Thom Bogue asked several dozen stone-faced residents in the City Hall chambers whether they wanted to make a comment, but the mayor of Dixon in northern Solano County was met with jarring silence. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/11/18
POTUS 45
Trump Falsely Claims G.D.P. Growth Is Higher Than Unemployment ‘for the First Time in 100 Years’ -- Gross domestic product increased at a 4.2 annualized rate in the second quarter of 2018, and the unemployment rate was 3.9 percent in April, 3.8 percent in May and 4.0 percent in June. But Mr. Trump is wrong that G.D.P. growth has not been higher than the unemployment rate in the past century. In fact, it has happened in 185 months since 1948, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Linda Qiu in the New York Times$ -- 9/11/18
Beltway
GOP faces deadline crunch as threat of losing House deepens -- Congressional Republicans, eager to hit the campaign trail to save their imperiled majorities, are starting to narrow their September legislative to-do list in hopes of skipping town early. But they still have to deal with a handful of looming deadlines, a potential shutdown fight and internal policy tensions — and all on tight timelines. Rachael Bade and Burgess Everett Politico -- 9/11/18
-- Monday Updates
I-5 reopens near Shasta Lake after lengthy shutdown by Delta Fire -- Interstate 5, California’s main commercial artery, is open again after being closed for six days by the raging Delta Fire near Shasta Lake. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Associated Press -- 9/10/18
California to rely on 100% clean electricity by 2045 under bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown -- All of California’s electricity will come from clean power sources by 2045 under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday, the latest in a series of ambitious goals set by the state to combat the effects of climate change. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ David R. Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/10/18
San Francisco hosts global climate summit — will it make a difference? -- This week, thousands of political leaders, scientists, activists, journalists, celebrities and business leaders will arrive in San Francisco for a global summit on climate change, an event that makes California a worldwide flag-bearer on the issue at a time when the federal government is in retreat. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/10/18
Reunited after being split up at the border, Guatemalan father and son work through trauma alone -- His days are spent inside a tiny shack wedged behind a commercial building. An air conditioner hums in vain from the window, and any knock at the door makes him jump. Esmeralda Bermudez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/10/18
He thought his housing voucher would get him off the streets. He was wrong -- Henry Butler, homeless and desperate, thought he had won the housing lottery when he learned this spring that he would be getting a voucher that would cover most of his rent in the apartment or home of his choice. Cynthia Hubert in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/10/18
Rogue billionaires are giving the GOP and Democrats a migraine -- Republican Richard Uihlein and Democrat Tom Steyer have poured tens of millions of dollars into the 2018 campaign. And their political parties are irritated about it. Adam Wollner McClatchyDC -- 9/10/18
Strange bedfellows? Westlands and San Francisco share common ground -- It’s rare that Westlands Water District and San Francisco face identical problems, but plans to keep more water flowing in the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers – leaving less for irrigators and cities – is bringing the two together. Lewis Griswold in the Fresno Bee -- 9/10/18
It’s an immigration crisis few know of. And Fresno County might be at the center of it -- Thousands of immigrants in the Fresno region and nation could face deportation to a country that’s rarely discussed in the daily news cycle, and in some respects has been forgotten. Yesenia Amaro in the Fresno Bee -- 9/10/18
Fox: Will Soda Industry have Allies in Fight Against New Tax Proposal? -- Doctors and dentists filed a tax increase initiative on sugary drinks for the 2020 ballot. Naturally, the soda industry is opposed. The question is will they have allies in this fight to oppose the measure if it makes the ballot? Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 9/10/18