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White House hopefuls swarm rival’s home turf of California -- The Democrats who want to be president are swarming California, competing for campaign cash and media attention while courting longtime allies of home-state Sen. Kamala Harris on their rival’s own turf. Brian Slodysko Associated Press -- 5/12/19

‘A dream ticket’: Black lawmakers pitch Biden-Harris to beat Trump -- Senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus say it’s an ideal ticket if the former vice president stays atop the polls. Heather Caygle and John Bresnahan Politico -- 5/12/19

Governor, lawmakers share budget goals but details differ -- The Democrat who is five months into the job applauded Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon’s focus on universal preschool. He called Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Holly Mitchell the champion of increasing grants for low-income families. He even thanked several Republicans, including Assemblyman James Gallagher, who has sought assistance for the city of Paradise that he represents and mostly was destroyed by a wildfire last year. Kathleen Ronayne Associated Press -- 5/12/19

Cure for hate: Former skinheads recall what turned them around -- Tim Zaal was a scary guy. At 17, in boots studded with razors, he brutally beat a gay teenage runaway on the streets of Hollywood. By his 20s, he was a full-fledged acolyte of the white supremacist movement. Kristina Davis in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/12/19

State parks standstill: Why California hasn’t opened a new state park in 10 years -- Despite growing population and development pressure, California’s state parks department has stopped adding new beaches, forests and historic sites. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/12/19

Uber is public. Now what? -- As the world’s most-valuable private startup, it received intense scrutiny and criticism for years, but the harsh glare of Wall Street attention — and Securities and Exchange Commission regulations — will mean a whole new level of pressure. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/12/19

Uber, Lyft losses keep competitors at bay -- A fare war between Uber and Lyft has led to billions of dollars in losses for both ride-hailing companies as they fight for passengers and drivers. But in one way it has been good for investors who snatched up the newly public companies’ stock: The losses have scared off the competition, giving the leaders a duopoly in almost every American city. Tom Krisher and Michael Liedtke Associated Press -- 5/12/19

In San Francisco’s Tenderloin, there’s a revolving door — of drug dealers, that is -- When it comes to open drug dealing, it’s hard to beat San Francisco’s Tenderloin, where more than half of the city’s drug arrests occurred last year. Phil Matier in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/12/19

Most county police departments’ written policies lack wording on SB 54 requirements: report -- Most police departments in San Diego County do not have written policies that specify whether the department follows each of the requirements in the California Values Act, according to a new report. S.B. 54, known to critics as the “sanctuary state” law, went into effect at the beginning of 2018, almost a year and a half ago, with the aim of restricting the ways in which local police interact with federal officials responsible for immigration enforcement. Kate Morrissey in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/12/19

Not even God’s house is immune from the Bay Area’s housing crisis -- Some small and midsized places of worship are being displaced by high rents, forcing them to relocate, downsize or even close altogether. Others are suffering from dwindling membership as their congregants move away in search of cheaper housing, leaving pews empty and collection plates light. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/12/19

Smolens: Trump immigration plan fails to include DACA fix -- There’s one idea in the battle over immigration policy that has near-universal support among the key players: finding a way to give permanent legal status to young people here temporarily under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. Michael Smolens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/12/19

‘Hormone lunches’ help women in workplace open up about fertility -- It’s lunchtime at Reddit’s office in San Francisco, and several dozen women have convened over salads and sparkling water to learn about their changing bodies. They’ve invited San Francisco startup Modern Fertility, which makes a home testing kit that measures hormones related to fertility, to lead a sex-ed class for grown-ups. Melia Russell in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/12/19

Pentagon will pull money from ballistic missile and surveillance plane programs to fund border wall -- The Pentagon will shift $1.5 billion for President Trump’s border wall from programs that include the military’s next nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile and a plane that provides surveillance and communications to fighter jets while airborne, according to a Defense Department document obtained by The Washington Post. Dan Lamothe in the Washington Post$ -- 5/12/19

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

With a mom in charge, Gavin Newsom is building a playground in the governor’s office -- As Gavin Newsom’s team prepared for him to take office last fall, Ann O’Leary brought her two children with her to work. The governor’s new chief of staff put 12-year-old Violet in charge and stepped into a meeting. Soon, Violet knocked on the door with news about her 9-year old brother. Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/12/19

How much do you and your neighbors pay in state taxes? -- Think you pay too much in state income taxes? Well, if you made $82,643 and paid $5,000 to Sacramento, then for better or worse, you are the average California taxpayer. The state’s Franchise Tax Board breaks down personal income tax collections and total tax liability by ZIP Code. For the 2018 filing year, CALmatters took one step further: We’ve figured out, for each of those areas, what the typical tax filer made and paid. Judy Lin Calmatters -- 5/12/19

Can SANDAG solve traffic woes with 100 MPH commuter rail, rush-hour pricing? -- New details of a controversial plan to prioritize rail over widening freeways are starting to emerge — from laying hundreds of miles of high-speed commuter rail to charging drivers to use many of the most congested freeways. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/12/19

Walters: Demography is California’s destiny -- Who first declared that “demography is destiny” is uncertain, but that doesn’t detract from the aphorism’s validity—and what’s happening in California right now proves it. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 5/12/19

Two months after a USC student was shot, his family and friends ask for help finding his killer -- For nearly a decade, Oakland Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney and her family regularly gathered with the group Soldiers Against Violence Everywhere on street corners in their community to mourn the victims of violence. Paloma Esquivel in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/19

Raid of reporter’s home in leak of Adachi report raises free speech concerns -- Lawyers and free speech advocates are wrangling over whether San Francisco police were right to raid a journalist’s home Friday — the latest jolt from a leaked report on the February death of Public Defender Jeff Adachi. The incident has raised concerns that city officials have lost sight of journalists’ rights in their haste to solve a case that embarrassed the city. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/12/19

When a reporter would not betray his source, police came to his home with guns and a sledgehammer -- The banging jolted Bryan Carmody awake. Outside his San Francisco home Friday morning, the longtime journalist saw a throng of police officers with a sledgehammer, trying to break down his front gate. Matt Hamilton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/12/19

Swatting Attacks Increase Security Concerns Across Silicon Valley Tech -- One January night this year an emergency dispatch operator in Palo Alto, Calif., fielded a call from a man who said he had shot his wife and then tied up his children inside his house, where he had several pipe bombs. After a tense period in which police officers surrounded the house, out came the owner, a senior Facebook executive who said there was no shooting and that he had no idea what was going on. The call was a hoax, but not an isolated incident. Robert McMillan and Jeff Horwitz in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/12/19

How Volunteer Sleuths Identified a Hiker and Her Killer After 36 Years -- One could not select a more serene location for a homicide. On July 17, 1982, a woman’s body was found in a meadow in the mountains that run along the border between California and Nevada, not far from Lake Tahoe. Heather Murphy in the New York Times$ -- 5/12/19

$10,000 worth of illegal fireworks seized in San Bernardino County -- The state Department of Food & Agriculture and state Department of Justice were doing a roadside enforcement on Goffs Road at Highway 95, about 15 miles west of Needles, when they stopped a truck. Inside, they found 4,000 pounds of illegal fireworks, according to a news release from the San Bernardino County Fire Department. Brian Rokos in the San Bernardino Sun$ -- 5/12/19

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

As seismic retrofits loom, San Francisco restaurateurs wonder whether they can survive -- Lucrecia Torres is trying to prepare for all the unknowns that will come when her wine bar faces its seismic retrofit. Janelle Bitker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/12/19

Big names in cycling headline Tour of California -- The Tour of California was once a quaint upstart race that took place in February, so early on the worldwide cycling calendar that nobody really paid it much attention. That has changed dramatically in the past 14 years. Dave Skretta Associated Press -- 5/12/19

Environment 

Gray whales starving, washing up dead in startling numbers along San Francisco coast -- Exhausted, emaciated gray whales are going belly up along the coast of San Francisco this year at a rate seen only once — during a two-year period 20 years ago — since whaling was banned and the leviathans were pulled from the brink of extinction. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/12/19

Also . . . 

A group raised over $20 million to ‘build the wall.’ Now its supporters want answers -- A December fundraising campaign brought in more than $20 million over the course of a few weeks, its thousands of donors united by a common goal: the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, oft-promised by President Trump. Some four months later, a contingent of those supporters is ready to see what their money has built. Michael Brice-Saddler in the Washington Post$ -- 5/12/19

MaryAlice Kaloostian, longtime Valley State Senate staffer, passes -- MaryAlice Kaloostian, a longtime Fresno County political staffer who worked for three straight California State Senators, passed away on Thursday, the office of Senator Andreas Borgeas (R-Fresno) announced Friday. Alex Tavlian in the San Joaquin Valley Sun -- 5/12/19

POTUS 45  

Trump: Discussing a Biden probe with Barr would be 'appropriate' -- President Donald Trump told Politico on Friday that it would be “appropriate” for him to speak to Attorney General Bill Barr about launching an investigation into his potential 2020 rival, Joe Biden, or his son, Hunter. Eliana Johnson, Darren Samuelsohn, Andrew Restuccia and Daniel Lippman Politico -- 5/12/19

Beltway 

Newsom touts Harris, but says Buttigieg is 'many people’s second choice' -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom said home-state senator Kamala Harris is outperforming her 2020 rivals across the board — but told Poltico that Pete Buttigieg “tends to be many people’s second choice — if he’s not already a first." It’s more evidence that the South Bend, Indiana mayor's campaign is playing hard in heavily Democratic California, which will play a bigger role than usual in choosing the party’s nominee thanks to an early March 3 primary. Carla Marinucci Politico -- 5/12/19

 

-- Saturday Updates 

L.A. spent $619 million on homelessness last year. Has it made a difference? -- The gloomy prognosis on one of Southern California’s top political issues emerged during two recent briefings on homelessness and the 2019 point-in-time count, the results of which are due to be released May 31. Gale Holland in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/11/19

Rent inflation in Los Angeles and Orange counties at 5.4%, a 12-year high -- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index for the two counties shows the cost of local renting was up at a 5.4% annual rate in April vs. 5.1% a year earlier. This is the highest April reading since 2007 when the rate was 6.4%. Jonathan Lansner in the Orange County Register -- 5/11/19

Early money is on Southern California Democrats keeping their 2018 momentum -- After Democrats scored a clean sweep of the hardest-fought congressional races in Southern California last November, there were reasons to wonder if they could keep their upward momentum — or even hold onto their newly won seats — in 2020. Kevin Modesti in the Orange County Register -- 5/11/19

Cost of Aliso Canyon gas leak rises again – to an estimated $1.07 billion – and could get even bigger -- The 2015 Aliso Canyon gas leak has cost Southern California Gas Co. and its parent company $1.07 billion — and those costs may rise “significantly,” according to the company’s first-quarter earnings report. Sempra Energy said this week that the estimated cost of the leak, which was discovered in October 2015, inched up 1.5 percent from the company’s $1.05 billion estimate at the end of last quarter. Olga Grigoryants in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/11/19

Device explodes outside Denny’s in Fullerton, leaves man seriously injured; 2nd device found -- Investigators believe the explosion came from a “device” that the injured man brought to the area. A second explosive device was discovered by the bomb squad, and was rendered safe, Radus said. Alma Fausto in the Orange County Register -- 5/11/19

Glendale teacher admitted secretly photographing female students, official’s letter says -- A Glendale high school teacher admitted secretly taking inappropriate photos of female students for several years, according to a letter obtained in a public records request from the Glendale Unified School District. Andy Nguyen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/11/19

Dennis Rodman, others accused of stealing 400-pound crystal from yoga student in Newport Beach -- A Newport Beach yoga studio claims former NBA star Dennis Rodman entered the business twice in two days this week and helped other people, including a former employee of the studio, steal more than $3,500 in merchandise, including a 400-pound amethyst crystal. Julia Sclafani in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/11/19

BART slows rollout of new trains as it contends with more repairs than expected -- It was supposed to be BART’s shining evolutionary moment. Instead, it’s been a year-and-half of stumbles and delayed gratification: The system’s new rail cars are grinding through maintenance issues, slowing the rollout of a fleet that captivated riders and transit officials. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/11/19

Pender: Companies try to retain new moms with full-time pay, part-time work -- When Lauren McClelland returned to her job in February as a director in PricewaterhouseCoopers’ audit practice in San Francisco after seven months of maternity leave, she was able to work 60 percent time at 100 percent pay for the first four weeks under a program known as phased return. Her husband, who also works for PwC, got the same benefit. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/11/19

Gray whales starving, washing up dead in startling numbers along SF coast -- Exhausted, emaciated gray whales are going belly up along the coast of San Francisco this year at a rate seen only once — during a two-year period 20 years ago — since whaling was banned and the leviathans were pulled from the brink of extinction. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/11/19

USC honors interim chief Wanda Austin, who led amid tumult ‘with courage, dignity and grace’ -- With weeks left in her tenure as USC’s interim president, Wanda Austin received an honorary degree Friday celebrating her leadership as the university grappled with extraordinary issues and unprecedented tumult. Matt Hamilton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/11/19

Willie Brown: Spare us the subpoena soap opera, but we’d love to see Trump’s taxes -- I found myself in front of my closet the other day, asking, “What does one wear to a constitutional crisis?” When I was mayor I learned how to suit up for various crises: garbage strike, jeans and a windbreaker. Muni meltdown, flak jacket and running shoes. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/11/19

LGBT voters in California have two favorites: Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg -- Estevan Montemayor couldn’t even pronounce Pete Buttigieg’s name before he attended the Democrat’s presidential campaign fundraiser at a West Hollywood bar in March. By the time it was over, he was so “mesmerized” that he promptly cut a donation check. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/11/19