Updating . .
Federal judge tells PG&E board to tour wildfire-ravaged Paradise -- U.S. District Judge William Alsup made the decision at a sentencing hearing he held for the utility regarding a violation of its probation arising from the 2010 San Bruno pipeline explosion. Alsup previously found the utility did not properly report a settlement it reached with Butte County regarding its involvement in a 2017 fire. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/19
In Trump vs. California, the state is winning nearly all its environmental cases -- More than two years into the Trump presidency, California has embraced its role as chief antagonist — already suing the administration more times than Texas took President Obama to court during eight years in office. It’s having an effect. Anna M. Phillips in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/19
LAPD officers may have been exposed to highly infectious MRSA bacteria -- Several Los Angeles police officers at the department’s West Valley station in Reseda may have been exposed to MRSA, a type of staph bacteria that causes a highly contagious infection resistant to many antibiotics, officials said Tuesday. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/19
No more sales taxes on diapers and tampons under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget -- Embracing an idea advocates say will help struggling California women and families, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday proposed eliminating sales taxes on purchases of diapers and menstrual products — proposals that his predecessor rejected. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/19
Gavin Newsom’s $209 billion budget calls for new taxes -- Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed new taxes and fees to fund health care subsidies, clean drinking water and tax credits for low-income families. But state revenue outpacing even his most optimistic predictions could present a challenge for him as he attempts to raise taxes. Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/7/19
San Francisco supervisors change tune on Big Tech: City is ‘not just a place to be mined’ -- A stern attitude toward the tech industry has emerged on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors — the most progressive in recent history — as some members look to tax an industry for problems they say it helped cause. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/19
Knight: Cancer-stricken teacher charged for sub’s wages -- Now, a second-grade teacher at the school is on leave for at least the rest of the school year as she battles cancer. Parents were shocked when they discovered the school district is charging her for her own substitute. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/19
A Little-Known Company Is Quietly Making Massive Water Deals -- In the past several years, Los Angeles-based Renewable Resources Group has helped sell 33,000 acres of land to California’s most powerful water agency, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California. Documents obtained by VOSD raise fresh questions about those deals. Now, Renewable may be working on another deal that could rearrange the distribution of water in California forever. Ry Rivard Voice of San Diego -- 5/7/19
California prison manager watched thousands of YouTube videos at work -- An administrator at the Valley State Prison in Chowchilla watched thousands of YouTube videos while on the clock, according to a new report from the California State Auditor. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/7/19
A war is brewing over lithium mining at the edge of Death Valley -- Recently, the Australia-based firm Battery Mineral Resources Ltd. asked the federal government for permission to drill four exploratory wells to see if the hot, salty brine beneath the valley floor contains economically viable concentrations of lithium. The soft, silvery-white metal is a key component of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries and is crucial to the production of electric and hybrid vehicles. Louis Sahagun in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/19
Lazarus: A former corn-syrup lobbyist is drafting new federal dietary rules (seriously) -- The swamp isn’t just getting deeper. It’s being ladled out for supper. Federal dietary rules are required by law to be updated every five years. Under previous administrations, this task was performed mainly by nutritional experts focused on improving public health. David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/19
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Chief praises slain officer, scolds California lawmakers -- A police chief briefly scolded California lawmakers Monday for “making it more difficult for us” as he honored an officer whose slaying entered the national debate over immigration last year. Newman Police Chief Randy Richardson spoke while praising Cpl. Ronil Singh, who immigrated from Fiji and was fatally shot early Dec. 26 after stopping a suspected drunk driver. Don Thompson Associated Press Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/7/19
Witness dies before testifying in fatal warehouse fire trial -- A key witness scheduled to testify this week in the involuntary manslaughter trial involving a Northern California warehouse fire that killed 36 people has died in a car crash, prosecutors told a judge Monday. Associated Press -- 5/7/19
Mother of Ghost Ship victim recalls final text from warehouse: ‘I’m gonna die now’ -- Carol Cidlik texted with her daughter throughout the day on Dec. 2, 2016, a routine exchange of messages. But in the evening, an unusual and frightening message arrived. At 11:23 p.m., 29-year-old Nicole Siegrist texted from Oakland: “I’m gonna die now.” Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Don Clyde KQED -- 5/7/19
Feds say VA covered up Legionella at Loma Linda hospital, putting patients, staff at risk -- Veterans Administration officials failed to notify physicians in 2017 about Legionella bacteria found at the VA Medical Center in Loma Linda, posing a public health danger and possibly causing at least one doctor to contract potentially fatal Legionnaires’ disease, according to a federal report obtained by the Southern California News Group. Scott Schwebke in the Orange County Register -- 5/7/19
Can they do that? California Dems again try to force Trump to show his taxes -- For the second year in a row, California Democrats have passed a progressive crowd-pleaser: a bill that would require all presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns if they want to make it onto the state primary ballot next year. Ben Christopher Calmatters -- 5/7/19
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 -- 5/7/19
CA120: Surprise! How some voters chose partisanship -- When a supermarket wants to sell candy or a tabloid magazine, they put it near the checkout counter. When you get a fundraising email, the “donate now” is always in the first paragraph. Paul Mitchell Capitol Weekly -- 5/7/19
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Gas prices rise yet again, in Sacramento and across California -- After last month surpassing $4 for the first time since 2014, gas prices stood at an average of $4.10 a gallon as of Monday morning in the Golden State, according to AAA. The next closest states were Hawaii at $3.64 and Washington at $3.53. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/7/19
Riot Games workers walk out to protest forced arbitration of sex discrimination suits -- More than 200 workers at Riot Games walked out of the video game developer’s Los Angeles headquarters Monday to protest the company’s handling of two sexual discrimination lawsuits. Sam Dean in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/19
Trump May Redefine Poverty, Cutting Americans From Welfare Rolls -- The possible move would involve changing how inflation is calculated in the “official poverty measure,” the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a regulatory filing on Monday. The formula has been used for decades to determine whether people qualify for certain federal programs and benefits. Justin Sink Bloomberg -- 5/7/19
Check your ride: Uber and Lyft drivers planning to strike this week -- San Francisco Uber and Lyft drivers are among the thousands of ride-hailing app drivers nationwide expected to strike Wednesday morning, one day before Uber is expected to issue its initial public stock offering. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/7/19
Tourism spending in California tops $140 billion in 2018 -- Travelers and residents spent more than $140 billion dollars at restaurants, stores and other businesses last year – a 5 percent increase from the previous year, according to a new report from Visit California. Michael Finch II in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/7/19
Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds
Mayor Steinberg floats new tax for Sacramento schools as he urges teachers to stop labor fight -- Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg over the weekend urged teachers and administrators to settle their contract dispute to help avoid a state takeover of the Sacramento City Unified School District – and floated a districtwide parcel tax campaign to support schools as an incentive. Sawsan Morrar in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/7/19
Homeless
City/county spat halts work on 600-bed Santa Ana homeless shelter -- About a month ago, Orange County and Santa Ana officials stood in a federal courtroom and told U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter they’d aim to open a homeless shelter with up to 600 beds by this fall. Now the project is on an indefinite hold, after Orange County First District Supervisor Andrew Do questioned whether the city still supports the shelter. The proposed site is an existing industrial building on South Yale Street a few blocks north of West Warner Avenue, near the southwestern corner of Santa Ana. Alicia Robinson in the Orange County Register -- 5/7/19
Housing
Where will Southern California house 2.76 million millennial homebuyers? -- If you think it’s already hard to find a bargain in the Southern California home market, imagine adding a youthful flock of 2.76 million potential house hunters to the equation. Jonathan Lansner in the Orange County Register -- 5/7/19
Education
Let sleeping students lie? California bill pushes back school start time -- For the second time in two years, California lawmakers are advancing a bill that would forbid K-12 schools from starting class earlier than 8:30 a.m. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee $ -- 5/7/19
Cal Grant expansion tops list of college affordability bills: Track them here -- California’s financial aid system could get its biggest overhaul in 20 years if a proposal backed by key Assembly Democrats becomes law. And that’s just one of a slew of college affordability bills in play this legislative session. Felicia Mello Calmatters -- 5/7/19
California colleges help students dress for success — for free -- When Jonah Luna needed dress shirts for his career program at West Los Angeles College, he didn’t have to leave campus. And it didn’t cost him anything either. Larry Gordon EdSource -- 5/7/19
Immigration / Border
As Trump continues to push deportations, a fight over data goes to court -- Throughout years of legal battles over the country’s immigration system, a basic question has received relatively little attention: Is information the government stores on the country’s millions of immigrants reliable? That will change this week with the opening of a federal trial in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom. Joel Rubin and Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/19
Health
Newsom plan to cover young undocumented immigrants would divert public health dollars -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants the state to provide health coverage to low-income young adults who are in the country illegally, but his plan would siphon public health dollars from several counties battling surging rates of sexually transmitted diseases and, in some cases, measles outbreaks. SamanthaYoungCaliforniaHealthline via in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/7/19
Undocumented children can get California health care — now Gov. Gavin Newsom wants young adults to have it, too -- R. Lopez moved to the United States from Mexico when she was 3. By the time she was in high school, the aspiring Spanish teacher from Oxnard needed glasses to drive and to see the whiteboard in her classes. Although her family’s low income qualified her for government-funded health coverage, she wasn’t eligible for full-scope Medi-Cal for much of her childhood because she lacks legal status. Sophia Bollag The USC Center for Health Journalism Collaborative via in the Orange County Register -- 5/7/19
Environment
Trump’s EPA illegally dragging its feet on limiting methane gas, judge says -- The Trump administration has illegally delayed rules limiting the discharge of climate-changing methane gas from landfills around the United States and must act on plans for California and several other states by September, a federal judge ruled Monday. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ John Glidden and Nate Gartrell in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/7/19
Dead gray whale washes up on Ocean Beach in San Francisco -- A dead gray whale washed up early Monday morning at Ocean Beach in San Francisco to become the ninth whale to turn up dead in the Bay Area in the last two months, authorities said. Gwendolyn Wu in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Rick Hurd in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/7/19
Also . . .
Vallejo police release body cam footage of 2018 fatal shooting of bicyclist -- Vallejo police released body camera footage Monday of a February 2018 incident in which an officer shot and killed a black bicyclist who allegedly grabbed an officer’s flashlight during a tussle. However, the video does not clearly show whether the bicyclist presented the flashlight “in a threatening manner,” as police said on Monday as well as in the days following the incident. Ashley McBride in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/19
Fatal police shooting: Suspect jumped car roofs before running over officer -- Suspect killed after hitting and dragging sergeant with stolen car, police say; injured cop released from hospital. Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/7/19
How Police Departments Are Disclosing Records Under SB 1421 -- The public can now see past records of police shootings, use of force and sexual assault from some San Diego County police departments, after a lawsuit was partially resolved last month. But each city is handling how it releases those records in a different way and the cities aren't necessarily releasing records of recent police shootings first. Claire Trageser KPBS -- 5/7/19
'Culture Of Corruption' Alleged At CHP's East LA Station; Officers Fight Back -- An investigation into alleged overtime fraud at the California Highway Patrol's East L.A. station has led to massive turnover, leaving rookies to patrol some of the state's busiest freeways and a top CHP official to call the episode a "very, very dark stain" on the department's history. Frank Stoltze laist -- 5/7/19
POTUS 45
Trump battles series of foreign policy setbacks after some risky bets -- President Trump’s unconventional foreign policy appeared in disarray amid a series of setbacks around the globe and mounting signs that the president and his advisors were on the verge of losing several risky policy bets. Eli Stokols, Noah Bierman, David S. Cloud and Don Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/19
Trump would have been charged with obstruction were he not president, hundreds of former federal prosecutors assert -- More than 450 former federal prosecutors who worked in Republican and Democratic administrations have signed on to a statement asserting special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s findings would have produced obstruction charges against President Trump — if not for the office he holds. Matt Zapotosky in the Washington Post$ -- 5/7/19
Beltway
Harris unloads on pundits who say only a white man can beat Trump -- The California senator and 2020 Democratic hopeful believes the media narrative taking shape in the presidential race over who is best positioned to reclaim the Midwest for Democrats —essentially that only certain voters will back certain candidates, regardless of where they stand on issues — ignores big swathes of the electorate that she can excite, namely African Americans and women. Christopher Cadelago Politico -- 5/7/19
How Chinese Spies Got the N.S.A.’s Hacking Tools, and Used Them for Attacks -- Chinese intelligence agents acquired National Security Agency hacking tools and repurposed them in 2016 to attack American allies and private companies in Europe and Asia, a leading cybersecurity firm has discovered. The episode is the latest evidence that the United States has lost control of key parts of its cybersecurity arsenal. Nicole Perlroth, David E. Sanger and Scott Shane in the New York Times$ -- 5/7/19
-- Monday Updates
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