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An ugly call about Trump's wall reaches an LAUSD strike picket line -- A Los Angeles Unified employee working at South Gate Middle School during the teachers’ strike was removed from the school after she shouted, “Build the wall!” at picketers. The district said it was investigating the incident, which went viral when a video was posted on Facebook. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/17/19

Judge blames deadly California wildfires on PG&E’s uninsulated power conductors -- A federal judge Thursday blamed uninsulated power conductors owned by PG&E for the bulk of Northern California’s wildfires the past two years – including the deadly Camp Fire in Butte County – adding to the legal woes the utility is confronting. Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/17/19

What would a deal to end the LAUSD teachers’ strike look like? -- The outlines of a deal that could resolve the three-day-old Los Angeles teachers’ strike are emerging, but sticking points and animosity could stymie a quick resolution. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/17/19

PG&E bankruptcy plan threatens California’s electric car goals -- California has set its sights on having millions more electric cars on the road over the next decade, but the planned bankruptcy of Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the state’s largest investor-owned utility, could complicate efforts to achieve that goal. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/17/19

Big earthquake would topple countless buildings, but many cities ignore the danger -- The Northridge earthquake that hit 25 years ago offered alarming evidence of how vulnerable many types of buildings are to collapse from major shaking. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/17/19

Should children attend full-day kindergarten? -- California may soon require that all the state’s kindergarteners attend a full day of school, if a bill introduced last week becomes law. Under the legislation, schools must transition from half-day programs to full-day programs by the 2021-22 school year. Sawsan Morrar in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/17/19

Thousands more migrant children likely taken from their families than previously disclosed, report says -- The Trump administration likely separated thousands more children from their families at the border than has been previously acknowledged, a federal watchdog said Thursday. Paloma Esquivel in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/17/19

Fox: Doubling the Earned Income Tax Credit -- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposes to deal with the poverty issue in part by doubling the size of the Earned Income Tax Credit designed to put extra money in the pockets of low income workers. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 1/17/19

Michael Cohen does not dispute report that he paid tech firm to rig polls for Trump -- Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former lawyer and fixer, did not dispute a report Thursday that he hired a technology company to help rig online polls in his boss’s favor ahead of the 2016 presidential campaign and said what he did was at Trump’s direction. John Wagner and Philip Rucker in the Washington Post -- 1/17/19

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

San Francisco supervisors look at windfall as potential source of PG&E acquisition money -- When San Francisco received a multimillion-dollar windfall recently, several supervisors proposed using some of the money in an unexpected way: a $50 million down payment on PG&E electrical transmission equipment, so the city could reduce its reliance on the beleaguered utility. Trisha Thadani and J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/17/19

Ex-Assemblyman Ridley-Thomas sexually harassed staffers, investigation finds -- A California lawmaker who resigned abruptly at the end of 2017 citing health problems likely harassed at least two legislative staff members while he was in office, according to an investigation commissioned by the state Assembly. Laurel Rosenhall Calmatters Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/17/19

That Newsom proposal for six-month paid family leave? It’s bold—but less so than it seems -- Californians who like the idea of getting more paid time off work to care for a new baby may find good news and bad news in the details of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget. Laurel Rosenhall Calmatters -- 1/17/19

Business navigates California's one-party state -- Democrats’ unprecedented level of power in Sacramento — and new Gov. Gavin Newsom’s embrace of an expansive liberal agenda — has left the business community asking a question with ramifications well beyond California: How are we supposed to kill a bill in this town? Jeremy B. White Politico -- 1/17/19

With the 2018 election hailed as the Year of the Woman, how far has California—a state that prides itself on being on the progressive vanguard—actually come? -- As CALmatters’ latest “Legislators: Just Like You?” interactive demonstrates, only three out every ten lawmakers are now women. That means not only is California far behind neighboring Nevada, which became the first state with a majority of female legislators. It it lags 19 states, including its other regional neighbors Arizona, Oregon and Washington, not to mention New York and Colorado, according to the latest count by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Elizabeth Castillo Calmatters -- 1/17/19

How can California elect more women? Let campaigns pay for child care costs, lawmakers say -- Blanca Rubio put 16 names on her emergency contact form so that family and friends could pick up her two children from school and take them to activities while she was running for her Los Angeles-area Assembly district. Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/17/19

Skelton: It's time for the California Republican Party to stop living in denial: Trump cost them big -- A new dissection of votes from the November election has produced solid evidence that President Trump cost California Republicans seven congressional seats. That was half the state’s already measly GOP House contingent. Democrats now outnumber Republicans 46 to 7 in the California delegation. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/17/19

California law abolishing bail is put on hold until at least November 2020 -- California’s new law abolishing the requirement to post bail for release after arrest, scheduled to take effect in October, was put on hold Wednesday when bail bond companies qualified a referendum to put the issue before voters in November 2020. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/17/19

California's Top Pesticide Regulator Resigns Without Offering Explanation -- California's chief pesticide regulator is leaving his post. Brian Leahy, who has served as director of the state Department of Pesticide Regulation for the last seven years, announced his resignation in an email to agency staff last week, but stopped short of explaining why. Ted Goldberg KQED -- 1/17/19

New legislative analyst will come to the Capitol from big finance -- California’s next legislative analyst will be a public finance expert who will come to the Capitol from a top financial credit rating agency. Gabriel Petek of S&P Global Ratings was named on Wednesday as the state’s next legislative analyst, succeeding longtime analyst Mac Taylor. Bryan Anderson in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/17/19

Walters: Should California revive redevelopment? -- An anything-is-possible attitude enveloped post-World War II America, fueling ambitious undertakings such as a nationwide network of freeways, nuclear power so inexpensive that it wouldn’t need to be metered, and exploring outer space. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 1/17/19

Here Are California's New Laws To Address The State's Opioid Crisis -- About 2,000 Californians die from opioid overdose annually, according to the California Department of Public Health. This week in Chico, one person died and 12 were taken to the hospital after a suspected overdose on a powerful opiate called fentanyl. Sammy Caiola Capital Public Radio -- 1/17/19

Teachers strike  

Teachers union and LAUSD to return to bargaining table Thursday at City Hall -- Union leaders had announced earlier in the evening that they were ready to resume talks with the Los Angeles Unified School District on Thursday — the fourth day of their strike — and to take up Garcetti’s offer to mediate. Sonali Kohli, Hannah Fry and Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/17/19

With teachers on strike, LAUSD schools turn into movie theaters — and parents aren't thrilled -- Los Angeles students who go to school during the teachers’ strike may be more likely to spend their days watching movies than receiving academic instruction in a classroom. And some of the titles that have been screened could give them nightmares. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/17/19

The Class Size Conundrum At The Heart Of LAUSD's Teachers Strike -- Throughout a protracted contract fight with the school district, leaders of United Teachers Los Angeles have demanded a complete rewrite of the district's class size rules, aiming to make current classes smaller and give the district less power to make them bigger. Kyle Stokes laist -- 1/17/19

Oakland teachers prepare wildcat walkout Friday amid disruptive LA strike -- Teachers from half a dozen schools in Oakland are planning to walk out Friday to warn the district of a looming strike if they aren’t offered better pay — a move that comes amid a massive teachers’ strike in Los Angeles. Ashley McBride in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/17/19

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

San Jose green lights covering TSA workers’ salaries during government shutdown -- Transportation Security Administration workers and other federal employees who work at San Jose International Airport could soon get some relief from the government shutdown that has halted their paychecks. Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury -- 1/17/19

‘I can’t afford gas in my car:’ Furloughed federal workers protest at Sacramento airport -- After 26 days working without pay because of the federal government shutdown, Susan Braverman of Sacramento says she’s near her “breaking point.” “Money is tight,” said Braverman, a lead transportation security officer at Sacramento International Airport. I maybe have a couple more weeks left of money before I’m no longer able to pay for childcare.” Maddy Ashmun in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/17/19

Unpaid Coast Guard members offered some relief thanks to $15 million USAA donation -- Some 42,000 active-duty U.S. Coast Guard members — including 700 in San Diego — and 8,700 civilian employees may get some financial relief from the partial government shutdown after the Coast Guard, along with USAA, announced a $15 million donation to Coast Guard Mutual Assistance, a nonprofit that offers zero-interest loans to service members in need. Andrew Dyer in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/17/19

Federal food programs in Southern California scramble as government remains closed -- About 4 million poor Californians — half of them children — who rely on government assistance for the food on their tables started receiving early disbursement of their February benefits this week before money runs out under the partial federal government shutdown. Theresa Walker in the Orange County Register -- 1/17/19

Minimum wage to increase by up to $4 in one Bay Area city -- Minimum wage in Fremont will rise to $15 over the next two years. Fremont City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to increase the minimum wage ahead of state-ordered minimum wage increases that will be implemented in 2022 and 2023. Michelle Robertson in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/17/19

Walking out for higher wages: More public employees decide to ‘fight back’ in California -- Court reporters in Fresno. UC hospital workers in Sacramento. Teachers in Los Angeles. Public employees are striking across the state in a sign that the year is shaping up to a feisty for labor in California government. Adam Ashton and Ken Carlson in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/17/19

In blow to Los Angeles, SpaceX is moving some Mars spaceship and booster work to Texas -- In a reversal of a deal local officials had touted as a win for Los Angeles tech, SpaceX will no longer build its Mars spaceship and rocket booster system at the Port of Los Angeles. Instead, work to build and test the prototype will be done in south Texas. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/17/19

Homeless  

Bus route known as Hotel 22 may have to limit service -- Hotel 22 may be closing its doors. That’s the nickname given to the Valley Transportation Authority’s overnight bus line from the Eastridge Transit Center to Palo Alto Transit Center along El Camino Real, The Alameda and Santa Clara Street. It’s been an oasis of sorts where for decades homeless riders have been able to grab a seat, doze off, get out of the rain and chill and for a few hours feel safe from fears of living on the street. Gary Richards in the San Jose Mercury -- 1/17/19

Housing  

San Francisco wants to use new map of flood-prone areas to inform property buyers -- Some San Franciscans could soon have one more box to check in the paperwork that piles up when they’re trying to sell their properties. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/17/19

Wildfire  

Shutdown Threatens To Stall Recovery In Wildfire-Ravaged Paradise, California -- So far FEMA and Small Business Administration loans do not appear to be affected. But local officials say the shutdown is causing delays in more under-the-radar infrastructure projects, which could have serious, longterm consequences. Kirk Siegler NPR -- 1/17/19

Government shutdown taking toll on wildfire preparations -- Just two months after a wildfire wiped out Paradise, California, officials are gearing up for this year’s fire season and fear the government shutdown could make it even more difficult than one of the worst in history. Gillian Flaccus Associated Press -- 1/17/19

Cannabis 

Pot deliveries OK’d into California communities that ban sales -- California endorsed a rule Wednesday that will allow home marijuana deliveries statewide, even into communities that have banned commercial pot sales. The regulation by the state Bureau of Cannabis Control was opposed by police chiefs and other critics who predict it will create an unruly market of largely hidden pot transactions, while undercutting control by cities and counties. Michael R. Blood Associated Press -- 1/17/19

Pot bust shines light on lingering, leafy illicit market -- As the county enacts new pot regulations and urges growers into compliance, authorities last week shut down an illegal marijuana grow-op with nearly 2,000 plants and 46 pounds of processed marijuana in a Lake Boulevard house, county officials said Wednesday. Michael Todd in the Santa Cruz Sentinel -- 1/17/19

Immigration, Border, Deportation 

Trump and Democrats are far apart on immigration. Can they work together for California farms? -- Earlier this week, President Donald Trump told farmers he wants to make it easier for foreign labor “to come in and to work the farms.” Two California Democrats have a proposal they argue could do just that. Emily Cadei in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/17/19

Education 

Amid protests, UC regents weigh plan to build housing on beloved UC Santa Cruz meadow -- A plan by UC Santa Cruz to build student housing on a beloved campus meadow sparked sharp disagreement — with no sign of compromise — at a University of California regents meeting on Wednesday. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/17/19

911 recording in student’s death that led to UCI frat’s suspension: ‘He just drank too much’ -- In a 911 recording a caller tells a dispatcher over the weekend that 18-year-old UCI student Noah Domingo who had died “drank too much” and then fell asleep. Domingo was later pronounced dead at an off-campus, private home in Irvine on Saturday, Jan. 12. Alma Fausto in the San Bernardino Sun$ -- 1/17/19

Beyond higher pay and smaller classes, charter debate is undercurrent of teachers strike in Los Angeles -- Most of the signs and chants call for better pay, smaller classes and more staff support, but the backdrop to the Los Angeles Unified School District strike is a battle that has long loomed large over education in California: The fight over charter schools. Mikhail Zinshteyn EdSource -- 1/17/19

Environment 

California’s most famous butterfly nearing death spiral -- An alarming, precipitous drop in the western monarch butterfly population in California this winter could spell doom for the species, a scenario that biologists say could also plunge bug-eating birds and other species into similar death spirals. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/17/19

Also . . . 

ACLU seeks police records on 8 shootings, including Oscar Grant, Stephon Clark cases -- Relying on a new state law that allows the public to obtain some previously secret police records, the American Civil Liberties Union is seeking documents from Northern California police agencies involved in eight fatal shootings, including the killing of Oscar Grant at an Oakland BART station 10 years ago. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/17/19

A victim of Afghan suicide bombing grew up in Arcadia -- An Arcadia High School graduate was among those killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan, this week, his family said Wednesday. Manoharan Paul Kamaleson, 55, had just returned to Kabul from a holiday break in Chicago with his family, where they lived before moving to Afghanistan, said his sister Ruth Loisel, who lives in Arcadia. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/17/19

POTUS 45  

Giuliani says Trump didn’t collude, but people on his campaign might have -- Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, said Wednesday night that there could have been “collusion” between Trump’s presidential campaign and Russian officials, but if it did happen, Trump didn’t do it. Brent D. Griffiths Politico -- 1/17/19

Trump taps free government labor to execute political agenda -- The Trump administration is pushing the legal boundaries of a government shutdown, fueling fears that the president is manipulating federal agencies and workers to soften the political blow against him. Nancy Cook Politico -- 1/17/19

In a West Wing in Transition, Trump Tries to Stand Firm on the Shutdown -- President Trump has insisted that he is not going to compromise with Democrats to end the government shutdown, and that he is comfortable in his unbendable position. But privately, it’s sometimes a different story. “We are getting crushed!” Mr. Trump told his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, after watching some recent coverage of the shutdown, according to one person familiar with the conversation. “Why can’t we get a deal?” Maggie Haberman and Annie Karni in the New York Times -- 1/17/19

Beltway 

‘She’s satin and steel’: Pelosi wages war on Trump -- Her move to derail Trump’s State of the Union address underscores her aggressive challenge to the president. John Bresnahan, Heather Caygle and Rachael Bade Politico -- 1/17/19

Barr hearing: Feinstein says she won’t vote for attorney general nominee unless he promises to release Mueller report -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Wednesday that she would not vote for attorney general nominee William P. Barr unless he were to commit to releasing the report generated by the special-counsel investigation — something he has notably declined to do. Matt Zapotosky, Karoun Demirjian and Devlin Barrett in the Washington Post -- 1/17/19

California Rep. Schiff Hiring Team to Investigate Trump, Russia Ties -- Adam Schiff, Southern California Democratic congressman and newly appointed chair of the House Intelligence Committee, is hiring a team of investigators as part of his committee's probe into President Trump's alleged ties to Russia. John Sepulvado KQED -- 1/17/19

Ann Coulter justifies shutdown: A wall is worth more than ‘the Yosemite gift shop being open’ -- Ann Coulter said that Donald Trump will be “dead in the water” if he fails to build his proposed border wall, applying more pressure to a president who, some say, has continued to keep the federal government partially closed in part because of criticism from commentators on the right. Michael Brice-Saddler in the Washington Post -- 1/17/19

 

-- Wednesday Updates 

Critical UC Davis campus alert system failed during Corona shooting, officials say -- A critical emergency alert system designed to warn UC Davis students and staff failed the night Davis police Officer Natalie Corona was shot and killed blocks from the campus, university officials announced, calling the breakdown “unacceptable.” Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee -- 1/16/19

L.A. teachers bask in support for strike, but pressure grows to settle amid financial losses -- It’s been a heady two days for striking Los Angeles teachers and their union leaders. Rain failed to fizzle huge rallies. People brought free tacos and “Tofurky for Teachers” to the picket lines. And their strike became a cause celebre of liberal politicians such as Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Howard Blume and Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/16/19

PG&E bankruptcy could mean price hikes, unpaid fire lawsuits -- Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said this week it will file for bankruptcy, raising concern that rates for electricity and gas will rise and victims of California wildfires who are suing the nation’s largest utility won’t get all the money they may be owed. Kathleen Ronayne Associated Press -- 1/16/19

Los Angeles County sets record with estimated 50 million tourists in 2018 -- Marking the eighth year in a row of tourism growth, Los Angeles County hosted an estimated 50 million visitors in 2018, reaching a target milestone two years ahead of schedule. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times -- 1/16/19

San Francisco’s Van Ness project nearly 2 years behind schedule, millions in cost overruns -- The $316 million makeover of San Francisco’s Van Ness Avenue is running a year and nine months behind schedule, according to the main contractor, with the completion date now pushed to late 2021. Phil Matier in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/16/19

Pelosi asks Trump to reschedule SOTU because of the shutdown -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday asked President Donald Trump to reschedule his State of the Union address — or deliver it in writing — as long as the government remains shut down. Heather Caygle and Rachael Bade Politico -- 1/16/19

Fox: PG&E Bankruptcy Opens the Door for Municipal Utilities -- PG&E’s bankruptcy declaration, liabilities, stock plunge, wrathful legislators, and possible criminal charges put the utility in a life and death situation. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 1/16/19