California Policy & Politics This Morning  

Before he launched a bid for California governor, Republican John Cox made a fortune in real estate -- Tucked away off the main drag in this northwest Indiana town, not far from a busy plasma donation center and a former Tepe’s Department Store that serves as the town hall, sits a cluster of nondescript apartment buildings. Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/28/18

Gavin Newsom is a career public servant and multimillionaire businessman. Here's how he has made his wealth -- For the last two decades, Gavin Newsom has been rising to the highest levels of California politics. At the same time, he also has become a multimillionaire businessman, with an upscale chain of wine stores, wineries, restaurants, nightclubs, hotels and retail shops stretching from the Bay Area and Napa Valley to Lake Tahoe and Palm Springs. Kim Christensen and Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/28/18

Jerry Brown praises her—so why are Democrats trying to defeat her? -- No less a Democrat than Gov. Jerry Brown praises Assemblywoman Catharine Baker, the last Republican to represent a slice of the Bay Area in the Legislature. But as they seek a two-thirds majority, Assembly Democrats and the California Democratic Party have poured $527,000 since Oct. 1 into the campaign to unseat Baker, a Dublin attorney seeking her third two-year term. Dan Morain Calmatters -- 10/28/18

Bernie Sanders warms up his 2020 engine by bashing Trump in Berkeley -- Sen. Bernie Sanders’ stop in Berkeley Saturday was billed as a rally for Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee, but the independent Vermont senator sounded more like he was warming up his 2020 presidential campaign with a blistering attack on President Trump. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/28/18

Bernie Sanders campaigns with Barbara Lee in Berkeley but skips most of California’s competitive House races -- Sen. Bernie Sanders electrified a rally full of Berkeley liberals on Saturday, urging voters to turn out for what he called the most important midterm election in history and showing he still commands a fervent following as he considers another presidential bid. Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury -- 10/28/18

For California's forgotten GOP statewide candidates, it's a record-setting election for not raising campaign cash -- The adage coined by one of California’s most powerful politicians of the 1960s and ’70s, the late Jesse Unruh, still defines modern campaigns. “Money,” the colorful Democrat said, “is the mother’s milk of politics.” John Myers in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/28/18

L.A. County Sheriff's Department pays price as clandestine deputy cliques persist -- The image on the deputy’s calf depicted a skeleton in an officer’s uniform, wearing a cowboy hat and clutching a smoking rifle. Jason Zabala said he was inked by an artist who worked at a Sunset Beach tattoo shop and was the 140th person to get the same design. The tattoo, he said, was a proud mark of camaraderie among his fellow peace officers. Maya Lau in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/28/18

It’s Trump versus ‘Bay Area values’ in tight Central Valley House race -- Many Democrats cast the battle for the House as a referendum on President Trump. In a Central Valley district where voters will help determine who runs Congress, the race has become a referendum on the Bay Area. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/28/18

Madison Square Garden Co., LA Clippers owner wage expensive fight over Inglewood mayor’s race -- Owners of The Forum and Los Angeles Clippers are waging an expensive proxy war in Inglewood, pumping nearly $1 million into the race for Inglewood mayor in a bitter dispute over potentially competing arenas on each side of a new NFL stadium. Jason Henry in the Orange County Register -- 10/28/18

'Devastating and soul killing': L.A.-area Jewish leaders respond to Pittsburgh synagogue shooting -- After word spread about the mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday morning, Rabbi Sarah Bassin of Beverly Hills quickly changed her planned sermon. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/28/18

Bay Area Jews fearful but defiant after deadly Pittsburgh shooting -- Jewish communities and organizations across the Bay Area were left shaken Saturday after a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue left 11 dead and several wounded. Many wondered if their own synagogues and places of worship are safe amid escalating racial and political tensions that have deeply divided the country. Tatiana Sanchez in the San Jose Mercury -- 10/28/18

Yosemite deaths highlight the danger behind those glorious Instagram posts -- It was a dramatic engagement photo that quickly went viral. With the sun setting over Yosemite National Park, a man got to his knees and proposed to his girlfriend at Taft Point, a rock outcropping perched precariously over the valley. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/28/18

Lopez: Yes, we'll pay to house the homeless, but not here, or here, or here, or... -- On the evening of Oct. 17, as Venice residents roughed up L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti for his plan to build temporary homeless housing in the neighborhood, Pasadena residents gathered for a meeting on the planned conversion of a motel into permanent supportive housing. That one didn’t go so well, either. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/28/18

Oakland isn’t alone: Costs spike nationwide after housing fires -- Large fires have destroyed 45 major housing projects nationwide since 2009, and Alameda County had more suspicious fires than any other region. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/28/18

Walters: Labor shortage could slow California’s economy -- California’s latest employment report is nothing short of astounding. The state’s unemployment rate, which topped 12 percent during the Great Recession a decade ago, declined to a record low 4.1 percent in September as employment rolls continued to expand, up 339,600 workers over the previous year. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 10/28/18

Willie Brown: Trump’s twisting of political terrorism is disgraceful, but it may help him -- It’s a sad day when the president of the United States has to be dragged kicking and screaming to oppose an act of political terror. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/28/18

Muni transit director retires amid sexual harassment lawsuit -- John Haley, transit director for the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, is retiring on the heels of a lawsuit alleging he sexually harassed and discriminated against his assistant, officials said late Friday. Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/28/18

Immigration, Border, Deportation 

Teenager mistakenly held in adult detention for nearly a year is redetained by ICE on his 18th birthday -- A teenager released from adult detention after mistakenly being determined to be an adult has been redetained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement after turning 18. The teenager’s case highlighted the controversial use of dental forensics to determine age. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/28/18

Mexico halts second migrant caravan and offers temporary residency while main group continues north -- Mexican authorities have broken up a second attempted migrant caravan near the country’s southern border, as Mexico — under pressure from U.S. authorities to halt the northward flow — offered temporary residency to Central Americans who would agree to remain in the country. Patrick J. McDonnell in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/28/18

Environment 

Destructive snails are invading Bay Area waters. And no one knows what to do -- The otherworldly mollusks are among the most invasive alien species in the western United States and have recently spread into waterways in the Sierra and eight of the Bay Area’s nine counties. It is an invasion, no less, of voracious armored critters, and nobody can figure out how to stop them. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/28/18

Also . . . 

After winning the longest game in World Series history, Dodger fans endure a frustrating loss to Red Sox -- On Saturday morning, Dodger Stadium employees showed up clutching coffee cups and asking each other what time they got to bed. The night before, they and Dodger fans all across Southern California fought sleep to watch the longest game in World Series history. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/28/18

Meet Sierra: Livermore’s powerful new supercomputer -- Suddenly, your smart phone feels really dumb. Meet Sierra, Lawrence Livermore National Lab’s’ new supercomputer that can perform 125 quadrillion calculations per second — think 125 followed by 15 zeroes — and will guard our nation’s nuclear stockpile. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury -- 10/28/18

Stolen laptop prompts data breach concern for 10,000 Raley’s pharmacy customers -- Raley’s experienced a data breach affecting 10,000 pharmacy customers, the company announced Friday. No address information, social security or credit card numbers, or driver’s license information was included in the breach, the company said. Hannah Darden in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/28/18

Highland hog’s wild adventure sparks Doritos donation -- San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies can expect to get a big care package of Doritos after a deputy sacrificed some of hers to lure a hog back to his Highland home earlier this month. Brenda Gazzar in the San Bernardino Sun$ -- 10/28/18

POTUS 45  

Trump Calls for Unity After Synagogue Shooting, Then Swiftly Denounces Democrats -- President Trump said on Saturday that “the hearts of all Americans are filled with grief” after a mass shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue left at least 11 people dead, and he called on the country to combat hate crimes together. Katie Rogers and Jeffery C. Mays in the New York Times -- 10/28/18

Beltway 

‘He felt that somebody was finally talking to him’: How the package-bomb suspect found inspiration in Trump -- Sayoc, a 56-year-old Florida man who friends and other associates say had never shown any interest in politics, suddenly began sharing images of himself on Facebook at Trump campaign events. He signed up for Twitter, where he trafficked in conspiracy theories and conservative memes. Danielle Paquette, Lori Rozsa and Matt Zapotosky in the Washington Post -- 10/28/18

White House tempers hopes of retaining House control -- The White House is lowering expectations that Republicans will maintain control of the House in the midterm elections — while positioning President Donald Trump to claim credit for any seats his party gains in the Senate. Alex Isenstadt Politico -- 10/28/18