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California’s black market for pot is stifling legal sales. Now the governor wants to step up enforcement -- Before he was elected governor, Gavin Newsom was instrumental in legalizing marijuana for recreational use in California. Now, as he settles into office, he faces the challenge of fixing a system that has been slow to bloom. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/19

California struggles to seize guns from people who shouldn’t have them -- California has struggled to enforce a unique state law that allows officials to seize guns from people with criminal convictions or mental health problems, leaving firearms in the hands of thousands of people legally barred from owning them. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/18/19

Rare L.A. mega-storm could overwhelm dam and flood dozens of cities, experts say -- Scientists call it California’s “other big one,” and they say it could cause three times as much damage as a major earthquake ripping along the San Andreas Fault. Although it might sound absurd to those who still recall five years of withering drought and mandatory water restrictions, researchers and engineers warn that California may be due for rain of biblical proportions — or what experts call an ARkStorm. Louis Sahagun in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/19

Oakland Diocese names 45 accused of sexual abuse, none since 1988 -- The Catholic Diocese of Oakland has released the names of 45 clergymen and religious brothers they say are “credibly accused” of sexually abusing minors, the latest in a cascade of dioceses across the country to take such a step amid a scandal involving pedophile priests and decades of church coverups. Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ John Woolfolk, Erin Baldassari in the East Bay Times$ -- 2/18/19

Shyong: This new California law is supposed to protect immigrant home cooks. It may help tech giants instead -- How many dumplings equal a “meal”? I’ve personally pondered this question because the number of dumplings I want to eat rarely corresponds with the recommended serving size. But this question also happens to come up when you read the text of California Assembly Bill 626, a new law decriminalizing the sale of home-cooked food. Frank Shyong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/19

Two new ferry terminals address the practical — sea level rise — with style -- The Bay Area’s ever-expanding ferry service does more than move commuters back and forth. It also strengthens our connections to the body of water that gives this region its name. John King in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/18/19

For those living on the coast, ocean waves may be getting stronger -- Many of us have heard that climate change is causing a rise in sea levels, higher ocean temperatures and a decline in sea ice. But stronger waves? Helen Santoro in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/18/19

No, Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t kill high-speed rail. But what’s his Plan B? -- It’s been a dream for years in California’s sprawling Central Valley. Sleek bullet trains would race workers to and from booming Silicon Valley in the Bay Area, bridging the economic and cultural gap between urban and rural California. Last week, with the words “let’s get real,” Gov. Gavin Newsom canceled that dream for now - and perhaps forever. Tony Bizjak, Tim Sheehan, and Rory Appleton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/18/19

Billions pile up in special district accounts while critics say many should dissolve -- California’s most affluent special districts nearly doubled their spending over the course of a decade, while the value of their cash and investments nearly tripled, according to a Southern California News Group analysis of state data. The figures revive the question many good-government advocates have been asking for decades: Do special districts, which operate largely under the public radar, simply have too much money? Teri Sforza in the LA Daily News$ -- 2/18/19

Tiny Homes for Homeless Get the Go-Ahead in the Wake of Camp Fire -- But November's Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and incinerated some 14,000 area homes, breathed new life into plans for a community of one-room wooden homes to help house some of Butte County's homeless. Eric Westervelt NPR -- 2/18/19

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

The Grapevine is closed as cars spin out in falling snow in Tejon Pass -- WIth snow falling in the Tejon Pass, the Grapevine was closed Sunday evening after several cars spun out on the 5 Freeway, the California Highway Patrol said. Snowfall elevations were expected to drop to 2,500 feet, and authorities warned that highway closures could make holiday travel in the mountains dicey. Joseph Serna and Laura Newberry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/19

Mountain roads closed due to snow; peaks could get a foot -- Stretches of two highways were closed in the San Diego County mountains Sunday night due to falling snow, and are likely to remain closed through Monday morning. Gary Robbins, Lyndsay Winkley and Karen Kucher in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/18/19

Skelton: Brown was obsessed with twin-tunnel vision. Newsom has a more realistic view -- A potential grand compromise to settle a decades-long water fight has been obvious for years but blown off. Now Gov. Gavin Newsom is forcing all combatants to consider it seriously. California’s water future hinges on the ultimate deal. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/19

Walters: Felony murder law repealed? Maybe not -- Two young men drive up to a small corner grocery store in an inner city neighborhood and the driver remains at the wheel while his masked partner runs into the store, gun in hand, to commit a robbery. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 2/18/19

How San Francisco supervisors, Mayor Breed compromised on budget windfall -- When San Francisco was handed an extra $185 million late last year, Mayor London Breed did what mayors do: She spelled out the city’s spending priorities. But allocating the windfall ended up being a messy back-and-forth between the mayor and Board of Supervisors. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/18/19

San Francisco moves to help Hong Kong Lounge II and others after gas line explosion -- As the National Transportation Safety Board continues to investigate the Feb. 6 gas line explosion on Geary Boulevard, the city of San Francisco is working to get two beloved businesses back on their feet: Hong Kong Lounge II and Huckleberry Youth Programs. Dianne de Guzman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/18/19

Golden Gate Bridge suicide barrier starting to take shape -- Thousands of people who pass over the Golden Gate Bridge likely didn’t notice the four new metal protrusions on its western and eastern flanks. Kymberlyrenee Gamboa did. Will Houston in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/18/19

Valley congressman backs Green New Deal a week after release, and push by local activists -- A week after the release in Washington of the Green New Deal – a policy package framework aimed at cutting carbon emissions across the economy – Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks) announced Thursday that he planned to support the legislation. Ariella Plachta in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 2/18/19

Housing  

A loan program was set up to boost energy efficiency. Instead, it's being used to build 'granny flats' -- As stories piled up of homeowners being smooth-talked into taking home improvement loans they couldn’t afford, defenders of the PACE program cited its safety features. The loans could be used only for environmentally friendly and safety projects, they noted. And money couldn’t be issued until projects were finished. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/18/19

Education 

Does Sacramento State have a hazing problem in its Greek life? The school says no -- News of a Sacramento State fraternity allegedly hazing its prospective members and abusing active members spread across the country last week. Benjy Egel in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/18/19

POTUS 45  

Japan’s Abe won’t confirm Trump Nobel Prize nomination, but media reports say he did -- Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe wouldn’t say Monday whether he nominated President Trump for a Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating with North Korea, even though local media reports suggest that he did. Simon Denyer and Akiko Kashiwagi in the Washington Post$ -- 2/18/19

Donald Trump talks of 'retribution' after Alec Baldwin sketch on SNL -- Donald Trump has savaged Saturday Night Live as a “total Republican hit job” while calling for “retribution” and an investigation of the show after another unflattering portrayal of the president by Alec Baldwin. Kate Lyons The Guardian -- 2/18/19

Beltway 

McCabe: 'I was fired because I opened a case against the president' -- Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said he was ousted from the bureau in March 2018 because he opened two investigations into President Donald Trump 10 months earlier. Quint Forgey Politico -- 2/18/19

 

-- Sunday Updates 

Massive air cargo logistics center coming to San Bernardino International Airport -- The Eastgate Air Cargo Logistics Center, to be built on a 101-acre lot west of Victoria Avenue and south of Third Street, is expected to provide nearly 4,000 jobs and generate millions of dollars in revenue within five years. With a price tag exceeding $200 million, airport Executive Director Mike Burrows called it an “immense opportunity.” Joe Nelson in the Orange County Register -- 2/17/19

Import Wave Jams California Warehouses -- A steady wave of imports into Southern California’s ports, driven by a robust U.S. economy and companies trying to get goods moving ahead of potential tariffs, has the region’s warehouses and shipping terminals overstuffed and distribution networks jammed. Erica E. Phillips in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 2/17/19

How Sempra decided to go all in on natural gas — $10 billion worth -- For miles, you drive past the reeds and marshes of the Louisiana Gulf Coast on a February morning under a cloudy, bruised-colored sky. Then, after going over a ridge, it appears. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/17/19

Why the future of Caltrain is being built in Salt Lake City -- The future of Caltrain is taking shape in a gusty sagebrush plain formerly owned by the Mormon Church with a dramatic view of the snow-covered Oquirrh Mountains. A massive new production facility designed to rebuild Caltrain’s fleet has sprouted up here over the last few months, the backbone of one of the biggest upgrades in the commuter railway’s 155-year-history. Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/17/19

Pot entrepreneurs are running out of patience and money while waiting on L.A. permits -- After California legalized recreational cannabis, Los Angeles leaders had vowed that entrepreneurs such as her — with roots in communities hit hardest by the war on drugs — would get an upper hand in L.A.’s potentially lucrative marijuana market. Keith, a single mother of three, snapped up a lease on a Leimert Park storefront and lined up an investor. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/17/19

Train to nowhere? Here’s how high-speed project went off the rails -- It’s the railway dream that bedazzled California for decades: bullet trains whipping up and down the state, cutting a path from Los Angeles, through the orchards of the Central Valley and into downtown San Francisco. The route promised to eventually push north to Sacramento and south to San Diego. Rachel Swan and Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/17/19

The hunt for cheaper housing is changing what it means to be in the ‘Bay Area’ -- High housing prices and grueling commutes are changing the definition of the Bay Area from a nine-county region bordering the San Francisco Bay to a sprawling 21-county "megaregion." Erin Baldassari in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/17/19

Experts skeptical that a Trump border wall would reduce human trafficking -- While a presidential platform is often appreciated on social issues, some trafficking victim advocates say the focus is misplaced and ignores the broader picture of trafficking in the United States. Kristina Davis in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/17/19

Long before City Hall rats, L.A. has struggled with the rise of typhus -- Los Angeles officials this month called for an investigation into a vermin infestation at City Hall, after at least one city employee was diagnosed with typhus, a disease spread by rodents. Soumya Karlamangla in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/17/19

A’s ballpark proposal encounters choppy waters -- The Oakland A’s are getting hit on two fronts by organized opposition to their proposed waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal. Phil Matier in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/17/19

L.A. has great weather, yet more homeless die of the cold here than in New York -- Brider, 63, had gone into cardiac arrest and oxygen had been cut off to his brain. But another, seemingly improbable, factor contributed to his death last winter: hypothermia, or loss of body heat, from being out in the cold, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office ruled. Gale Holland in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/17/19

Socks a gesture of love to homeless for San Diego 'Sock Man' -- Hal Sadler had the attention of nearly everyone in the courtyard of the Neil Good Day Center on Tuesday morning. “I’m the San Diego Sock Man,” he said as heads turned. “I’m giving out 140 pairs of socks. I’m not here to judge you. I’m here to love you.” Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/17/19