Updating . .
Mystery parent paid $6.5 million to get kids into top universities as part of admissions scandal -- Of the many outrageous allegations revealed by federal prosecutors in the college cheating scandal, one stands out. Someone paid $6.5 million to get his or her children into elite schools. But the identity of that parent — and details about which schools were involved — remains a mystery nearly two weeks after authorities in Boston filed the charges against dozens of wealthy individuals. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/19
Your kid’s an average student: What’s it cost to boost his college application? -- The national college admissions scandal has renewed focus on an uncomfortable truth: If mom and dad have the means, there are plenty of legal ways to boost an otherwise average student’s chances to get into a coveted university. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/24/19
Valero refinery to temporarily shut down after air pollution warning -- The Valero refinery in Benicia will shut down, probably for several days, after a problem caused coke particles to escape through a stack, creating health risks for people with respiratory problems, officials said Sunday. Benicia officials urged vulnerable people to immediately seek shelter, and they said the shutdown of the facility may result in visible flaring. Kimberly Veklerov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/19
Leaks reveal San Diego operations of white nationalists active at area colleges -- A recent leak of more than 200,000 online chat logs from a white supremacist group reveals how local members are targeting students on San Diego college campuses and trying to project a respectable image even as the group’s members privately espoused Islamophobic, anti-Semitic and racist views. Andrew Dyer in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/24/19
How smart would a 'smart wall' be at the border? -- Deep in the Otay Mountain Wilderness, there is no wall. The only boundary between the U.S. and Mexico is a section of barbed wire fence in a pastoral valley. And miles and miles of treacherous terrain. Kristina Davis in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/24/19
Trump says barbed wire ‘can be a beautiful sight.’ Many border communities disagree -- Most people know it as razor wire. It coils atop the walls and fences that divide the U.S. and Mexico, snaking through weeds and past traffic signs, splintering the sunlight with its shiny knife-like barbs. The U.S. military prefers a less menacing name: concertina wire. Molly Hennessy-Fiske in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/19
Shut out of the legal pot market, Indian tribes pursuing cannabis sales on their own land -- The legalization of recreational marijuana in California left American Indians out in the cold. Proposition 64, approved by voters in 2016, lets local governments decide whether to allow cannabis dispensaries to operate within their jurisdictions. But it made no provisions for tribes. J. Harry Jones in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/24/19
Bretón: Deal with it: Our homeless problem will surely persist if we don’t do anything -- Homelessness is not as pronounced or overwhelming in Sacramento as it is in Seattle, San Francisco, Berkeley and Los Angeles. But it could be in a few years. Marcos Bretón in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/24/19
California’s patchwork of care for the undocumented: Where you live matters -- In the outpatient waiting room at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Spanish and Chinese chatter spills from pharmacy windows as other patients doze on chairs or play on their phones. Sammy Caiola Capital Public Radio via in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/24/19
Is the Bay Area pushing people to the breaking point? -- Despite a booming economy, pleasant climate and natural treasures, nearly two-thirds of Bay Area residents say the quality of life here has gotten worse in the last five years, according to a new poll. Louis Hansen in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/24/19
Bubble Watch: Southern California building permits take biggest tumble since recession -- But 2018’s slightly cooling job market helped create a large local supply of unsold newly built homes. And as summer began, homeowners were rushing to list their existing homes for sale. More competition for sellers, at a minimum, diminished builders’ immediate need to create more single-family homes. Jonathan Lansner in the Riverside Press Enterprise$ -- 3/24/19
Willie Brown: Bernie Sanders: New haircut, new suit, old news -- Are California voters feeling the Bern this time? That’s the question facing Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont when he arrives in San Francisco on Sunday to stoke support for his renewed run for president. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/19
California Policy & Politics This Morning
College admissions scandal generated disgust and outrage. But what exactly was the crime? -- In filing criminal charges last week against 50 people alleged to have played roles in the wide-ranging scam, the U.S. attorney in Boston embarked on an ambitious and, in some regards, uncertain legal odyssey, legal experts said. Joel Rubin and Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/19
Top lawyer in L.A. city attorney’s office quits amid questions about outside income -- A top lawyer in Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer’s office who was helping oversee litigation regarding the 2013 Department of Water and Power billing debacle has resigned, the office said. Chief Assistant City Atty. Thomas Peters stepped down Friday after The Times questioned Feuer’s office about outside income that Peters reported. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/19
‘A Night of Hope & Healing’: Sacramento’s response to the Christchurch mass shooting -- Sacramento’s community leaders, organizations and others from the community gathered Saturday at Sacramento State to process the terrorist attack tragedy on two mosques this month in Christchurch, New Zealand, that left 50 people dead. David A. Bustamante in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/24/19
Nothing can deter throngs from enjoying super bloom in Lake Elsinore -- Ignore the overcast skies and the $10 shuttle rides. Forget about last weekend’s fist fights and traffic jams. Never mind the hourlong wait. Cindy Carcamo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/23/19
Lopez: She got death sentence for murdering her kids. Her ex-husband is angry at Newsom’s reprieve -- The salty marine air was coming off the bay as we crossed the grounds of San Quentin State Prison just before midnight and entered the building that houses the death chamber. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/19
Walters: Are big tax increases coming to California? -- Gavin Newsom’s election as governor and the expanded Democratic Party majorities in the Legislature have raised hopes in some quarters and fears in others that big tax increases may be on the horizon. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 3/24/19
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
‘I'm really struggling’ — Facing pay cuts, some ride-hailing drivers prepare to strike -- Frustrations are mounting among some Uber and Lyft drivers about wages and treatment. But because ride-hailing drivers are classified as independent contractors instead of employees, unionizing — a common way for discontented workers to bring about change — is something of a non-starter. So in a parking lot outside Los Angeles International Airport, where Uber and Lyft drivers wait for ride requests, some ride-hailing workers are charting their own course. Johana Bhuiyan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/19
Homeless
'When they died, they died alone.' Vigil honors 111 homeless deaths -- One by one, in a moment of silence, men, women and children on Saturday walked up to the San Diego County Administration Center and placed 111 pairs of worn-out shoes on the steps of the historic building. David Hernandez in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/24/19
Guns
New Jersey sues California company over ‘ghost guns’ -- New Jersey’s attorney general announced a lawsuit Friday against a California company that sells mail-order firearms parts that can be turned into working weapons, the first such action the state has taken since it banned so-called ghost guns last year. David Porter Associated Press -- 3/24/19
Environment
Whales in the bay: Great for sightseers, but biologists are concerned -- An unusually large influx of gray whales into San Francisco Bay this year has thrilled boaters, beachgoers and tourists along Crissy Field, Angel Island and other shoreline locations, but the strange behavior and apparent poor condition of the magnificent sea creatures has marine biologists worried. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/19
Also . . .
Fresh out of prison, a former lifer finds his footing training for the L.A. Marathon -- In a photo taken during his murder trial, Gilbert Anthony Romero’s face is blank, expressionless. Though he had pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and attempted murder, he hadn’t apologized or shown remorse. It would take decades for him to show — or even feel — remorse. Sam-Omar Hall in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/19
POTUS 45
After claiming ‘no collusion’ at least 231 times, Trump says nothing about the end of the Mueller investigation -- On Friday night, just hours after special counsel Robert S. Mueller III delivered his report to Attorney General William P. Barr, President Trump got up to give a speech. JM Rieger in the Washington Post$ -- 3/24/19
Trump’s legal troubles are far from over even as Mueller probe ends -- Nearly every organization Trump has run over the past decade remains under investigation by state or federal authorities, and he is mired in a variety of civil litigation, with the center of gravity shifting from Mueller’s offices in Southwest Washington to Capitol Hill and state and federal courtrooms in New York, the president’s hometown and the headquarters of his company. Rosalind S. Helderman and David A. Fahrenthold in the Washington Post$ -- 3/24/19
Beltway
Pelosi vows to reject classified Mueller briefing -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she would reject any classified briefing or configurations so the contents can be discussed publicly. She added that "the takeaway from this call is that the American deserve the truth, to know the truth, transparency is the order of the day." Gigi Sukin Axios Heather Caygle, Andrew Desiderio and Kyle Cheney Politico -- 3/24/19
Democrats insist on pursuing Trump investigations no matter what Mueller concludes -- Democrats have yet to see details of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s report on President Trump and Russian interference in the 2016 election but are insisting they will press ahead with their investigations no matter what the conclusions. Rachael Bade, Karoun Demirjian and Karoun Demirjian in the Washington Post$ -- 3/24/19
End of Mueller probe roils political scene, testing both parties as much remains unknown -- The end of the special counsel’s inquiry into the far corners of President Trump’s White House and campaign is poised to upend the political landscape. But with the final report still secret, both parties are left to scramble in the dark to seize political advantage. Janet Hook and Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/19
How the Mueller report will reshape the 2020 race — unless one side overplays its hand -- The still-unknown contents of the report — as well as the outcome of several other federal and state investigations into Trump, his family and his campaign staff — will go a long way toward determining whether Trump gets four more years in the White House. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/19
Kamala Harris makes a point in Houston: It’s not just O’Rourke and Sanders who can draw crowds -- Sen. Kamala D. Harris made the first major policy announcement of her campaign Saturday, promising to use federal dollars to boost teachers’ salaries as she spoke to a boisterous crowd at Texas Southern University. Chelsea Janes in the Washington Post$ -- 3/24/19
Bernie Sanders decries anti-Muslim violence in mosque visit and downtown L.A. rally -- Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont called on Americans to “stand up to hatred of all kinds” on Saturday as he paid a visit to a Koreatown mosque to commemorate the victims of the mass shooting in New Zealand. Michael Finnegan and Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/19