Updating . .   

How stricter vaccine laws spared California from a major measles outbreak -- More than 750 people have been diagnosed with measles in the United States this year, the most cases nationwide in more than 20 years. Health officials say that more than 500 of those people had not been vaccinated. Priya Krishnakumar and Soumya Karlamangla in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/19

Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a big political test as he shapes his first California budget -- Even in the best of California’s economic glory days, no governor has entered office with the kind of fiscal tail wind that Gov. Gavin Newsom now enjoys. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/19

Taylor: Use of force by Vallejo police strikes family twice -- The family of Willie McCoy, the black man who was fatally shot by six Vallejo police officers in February, is reeling from another incident of troubling use of force by Vallejo officers. Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/6/19

San Francisco, Oakland could be first cities in nation to ban facial recognition -- San Francisco could become the first city in the nation to ban any city department from using facial recognition under a proposal that says any benefits of the technology outweigh its impact on civil rights, and Oakland may not be far behind. Levi Sumagaysay in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/6/19

H-1B visa denial rates skyrocket under Trump -- President Donald Trump’s promised crackdown on the H-1B visa had a dramatic impact last year, according to recently released federal data that shows immigration officials denied nearly one out of every four requests for new visas for skilled foreign workers. Ethan Baron and Leonardo Castañeda in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/6/19

Homelessness isn’t huge in this part of L.A. — but it’s a huge campaign issue -- In Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley neighborhoods of Chatsworth, Porter Ranch and Granada Hills are about as far as you can get from skid row. Fewer people live without shelter in this suburban stretch of the city than in any other L.A. City Council district, according to the last available data from the homeless count. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/19

San Jose: Plans for 18-story towers in ‘urban village’ near Berryessa BART Station draw concern -- With San Jose’s first BART station finally slated to open later this year, the city is moving forward with plans to design a dense “urban village” that could feature some tall towers in the Berryessa neighborhood surrounding the stop. Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/6/19

7 Chinese nationals bilked of $1.5 million in visa scheme, D.A.’s office says -- Seven Chinese nationals were defrauded of $1.5 million by two San Gabriel Valley residents who said they could obtain visas in exchange for investments in restaurants owned by one of the locals, prosecutors said Monday. Javier Panzar in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/19

Building the Transcontinental Railroad: Stanford historian’s book shines light on Chinese workers in California -- They helped complete the American dream of conquering the West. And then they were told to leave. Erin Baldassari in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/6/19

New political action committee hopes to energize Asian American progressives -- As she addressed a group of mostly Asian Americans, Katie Nguyen Kalvoda spoke of the need for elected leaders who “not only look like us, but truly represent us”. In a county where the vast majority of Asian American elected representatives are Republicans, Kalvoda was referring specifically about progressive Asian leaders. Roxana Kopetman in the Orange County Register -- 5/6/19

New battery storage technology connected to California power grid -- The California Independent System Operator — the nonprofit that maintains reliability for the bulk of the state’s power grid — has become one of the first wholesale power markets to connect an innovative battery storage technology to its system. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/6/19

CO₂ emissions from Silicon Valley and Salinas linked to ocean acidification in Monterey Bay -- Winds transport the emissions from urban hubs, likely making waters acidic and unfavorable for many sea creatures. Priyanka Runwal in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/6/19

The race is on to cultivate a seaweed that slashes greenhouse emission from burping cows, other livestock -- Researchers have recently discovered that feeding cattle and other livestock a specific type of seaweed — known as Asparagopsis taxiformis — can dramatically reduce the massive amount of planet-warming methane such farm animals burp and fart into the atmosphere. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/6/19

Weed tourism is the new wine tasting in California -- As the passenger van reached the gate of a legal cannabis farm, Lorianna Bender looked for barbed wire and barking Dobermans and saw none. A smiling farmer welcomed the tour group, and the view opened to reveal rows of pot plants baking in the sun. Her fear that pot farms were dangerous, clandestine operations vanished. Melia Russell in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/6/19

San Mateo County has an eye on your drones -- Hobbyist drone pilots can expect a stern talking-to if they fly their aircraft anywhere near San Mateo County’s juvenile detention center after the launch of a drone detection system to locate people who could be spying or dropping contraband into the center. Gwendolyn Wu, Bob Egelko and Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/6/19

California family in trailer killed by crash; driver reportedly beaten by neighbors -- Three members of a Northern California family, including a 10-year-old boy, were killed Saturday night when a vehicle crashed into their trailer home as they slept. The driver reportedly attempted to flee but was detained — and possibly beaten — by the family’s neighbors. The crash occurred around 9:50 p.m. at a cluster of homes off Highway 113, in Sutter County north of Knights Landing. The item is in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/6/19

Fox: LAUSD Involvement in Measure EE Campaign: Information or Advocacy? -- There has been a growing concern of late—although the roots go back decades—of California government entities funding so-called information campaigns for upcoming tax increase ballot measures that have the feel of advocacy. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 5/6/19

 

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

PG&E shut-off plan to prevent fires troubles vulnerable customers -- In Eddie Lopez’s Concord home, electricity does far more than keep the lights on: It powers life-sustaining machinery that his daughter depends on every day. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/6/19

California lawmakers again protect the loophole of unlimited political cash -- This isn’t meant to be a trick question: Are there limits to the size of campaign contributions that a California lawmaker can accept? Yes, there are — unless the money is given to a political committee that’s supposed to either support or oppose a ballot measure. Then the answer is no; the politician can collect in donations of all sizes. And it’s been that way for almost two decades. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/19

Skelton: Political power should be decided in elections — not rigged census surveys -- Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Democrats are determined to beat President Trump next year — not only on the ballot, but also in the census count. There’s widespread suspicion that Trump is gaming the decennial census in an effort to reduce California’s political clout and federal funding. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/19

Walters: California’s vexing poverty puzzle -- California, as we all should know by now, has the nation’s highest rate of poverty as measured by the Census Bureau’s supplemental – and most accurate – methodology. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 5/6/19

Two more cases of measles confirmed in L.A. County -- Two new cases of measles have been confirmed in Los Angeles County, bringing the total to 14 this year including residents and people who passed through the county. One of the new measles patients is an L.A. County resident and the other was a traveler, the L.A. County Department of Public Health said in a news release on Saturday. Cindy Chang in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/19

Schnur: Where’s California’s middle class? Influencers say income disparity must be addressed -- We used to have a middle class in California. But years of economic and technological upheaval have created an unmet demand for new job skills required for high-paying jobs, which has led to tremendous growth in income disparity among state workers. The challenge now is to figure out how to avoid becoming home for only the very rich and the very poor. Dan Schnur in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/6/19

Bretón: The Sacramento teachers union won the raises it wanted. Who loses? The kids -- The union for Sacramento’s public school teachers won big last week – really big. Unfortunately, this big win will come at the expense of Sacramento school kids. Marcos Bretón in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/6/19

Man was homeless and lost, until a photo led his brother to him -- Baron Feilzer hadn’t seen his only sibling for years. Then a homeless man’s picture appeared in The Chronicle. Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/6/19

How some online communities are fomenting hate -- Websites like those apparently used by the Poway synagogue shooting suspect are increasingly serving as incubators for radicalization in the extremist alt-right movement. Kristina Davis, Lyndsay Winkley in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/6/19

Democrats said they want to unseat Devin Nunes. They don’t have a candidate -- Democrats and Republicans have made it clear where the congressional battlegrounds are in California for 2020, and nearly all nine contested seats have multiple declared challengers trying to unseat incumbents. Just two targeted districts — the ones held by Reps. TJ Cox, D-Fresno, and Devin Nunes, R-Tulare — still don’t have a single public challenger. Kate Irby in the Fresno Bee -- 5/6/19

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

IPOs bring tax jackpot for California; can lawmakers resist? -- Uber and Airbnb are among at least six California-based companies valued at more than $1 billion expected to go public this year, creating a new class of millionaires and billionaires and a welcome quandary for the state’s budget writers. Adam Beam Associated Press -- 5/6/19

Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds 

Taking from the rich and giving it to you: Democrats have ‘Robin Hood’ tax plans this year -- Democratic presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Cory Booker are touting Robin Hood tax plans that would raise fees on the wealthy to boost incomes of the poor and middle class. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has one, too, and his proposal might actually become law. Adam Ashton and Emily Cadei in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/6/19

Homeless  

How Upland shrank its homeless population, even as San Bernardino County’s has grown -- In the past four years, Upland’s homeless population has dropped by nearly two-thirds, putting it in stark contrast to the situation countywide, where homelessness is increasing, according to a recent report. Beau Yarbrough in the San Bernardino Sun$ -- 5/6/19

Wildfire  

Silicon Valley ‘Hackathon’: Coders target deadly California wildfires -- Silicon Valley is not going to stop the next California inferno with computer code, but a small army of software developers got together in Fremont on Saturday to brainstorm new technology to cut the losses. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/6/19

Education 

Conservative religious groups targeting California’s sex education guidance -- With the State Board of Education set to vote on new sex education teaching guidance, conservative religious groups are mobilizing parents in an aggressive effort to remove recommendations focused on the sexual health of LGBTQ students and other material they deem too explicit for young students. David Washburn EdSource -- 5/6/19

Cannabis 

Fire at house with marijuana-growing operation inside leaves three burned -- A house with a marijuana-growing operation inside caught fire Sunday evening, leaving three people with serious burns, a fire official said. The blaze erupted about 6:10 p.m. at a two-story house on Sunny Meadow Street near Canyon Breeze Road, San Diego Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Rick Ballard said. Lyndsay Winkley in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/6/19

Environment 

Triumph as rare red-legged frogs return to Yosemite -- With no parting glance at their devoted human caretakers, 142 rare red-legged frogs swam to freedom on Friday — one small jump for the frogs but a giant leap for the threatened species. Our official state amphibian, the frogs vanished from these pristine mountain meadows 50 years ago. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ Carmen George in the Fresno Bee -- 5/6/19

Also . . . 

San Jose Police shoot, kill suspect who dragged officer with stolen car -- The suspect was pronounced dead at a local hospital after the incident on Kollmar Drive near Story Road, authorities said. The officer who was hit by the car was taken to a local hospital where he was being treated for broken bones. San Jose police described his injuries as serious but said he is expected to survive. Robert Salonga, Nico Savidge and Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/6/19

POTUS 45  

Trump Objects to Mueller Testifying Before Congress -- President Trump reversed himself on Sunday and said that the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III, should not testify before Congress, setting up a potentially explosive confrontation with Democrats over presidential authority and the separation of powers. Michael Tackett and Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ Laura King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/19

Red Sox Manager Alex Cora will not visit the White House -- Alex Cora, who led the team to the title in his first year at the helm, announced in a written statement provided to the Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Dia on Sunday that he will not join the team when it meets with President Trump. Cora, a native of Puerto Rico, mentioned the federal government’s relief efforts after Hurricane Maria when explaining his decision. Michael Errigo in the Washington Post$ -- 5/6/19

Beltway 

Harris assails Trump for hateful rhetoric -- ‘This president isn’t trying to make America great; he’s trying to make America hate.’ Christopher Cadelago Politico -- 5/6/19