Updating . .
Kamala Harris overtakes Joe Biden in new poll of California voters -- Following her performance in the first Democratic presidential debate, California Sen. Kamala Harris has overtaken former Vice President Joe Biden, according to a Quinnipiac University survey of California Democratic voters. Bryan Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/17/19
The Buttigieg bump: Mayor Pete challenges Kamala Harris for California cash -- Kamala Harris continues to lead all Democratic challengers so far among California donors of $200 or more, whose identities are revealed in campaign disclosures. However, her home-state advantage narrowed in recent months. Upstarts in the race like South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg out-raised her here by $500,000 in the most recent quarter, according to new filings released this week. Maloy Moore in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/17/19
Rising health insurance deductibles fuel middle-class anger and resentment -- Denise Wall, a Fresno area school teacher with more than $2,000 in medical bills, was outraged to hear she could get free care if she quit her job and enrolled her family in Medicaid. Noam N. Levey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/17/19
Competitive Orange County House races draw big money in second quarter fundraising -- Democratic House incumbents in Orange County are ramping up fundraising as they head into the 2020 election, according to financial reports posted this week with the Federal Election Commission. But a few Republican challengers raised nearly as much — or even more — in the second quarter of the year than the Congress members they’re trying to unseat. Brooke Staggs in the Orange County Register -- 7/17/19
Berkeley becomes first U.S. city to ban natural gas in new buildings -- Berkeley became the first city nationwide to ban the use of natural gas in new buildings in a unanimous vote Tuesday by the City Council. The ordinance, introduced by Councilwoman Kate Harrison, goes into effect Jan. 1, 2020 and phases out the use of natural gas by requiring all new buildings to have electric infrastructure. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/17/19
UC Academic Senate calls on Regents to divest from fossil fuels -- Faculty at the University of California called on the Board of Regents at a public meeting Wednesday to embrace fossil fuel divestment — submitting a formal recommendation endorsed by a vote of the full Academic Senate. It’s still unclear whether the university system’s governing body will take up the call to sell off millions of dollars of stocks and bonds in oil and gas companies. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/17/19
Even after huge earthquakes, much of Southern California still unprepared for The Big One -- A sizable crowd had already gathered outside the Surplus Store early July 6 when Victor Hernandez arrived at the West Los Angeles shop to unlock the doors. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/17/19
U.S. home sales to foreigners sink on strong dollar and Trump’s trade wars -- Foreign purchases of U.S. residential real estate fell 36% to the lowest annual rate since 2013, as slowing overseas economies, the strong dollar and the White House’s anti-immigrant rhetoric put a chill on demand. Prashant Gopal Bloomberg -- 7/17/19
SF Supervisor Mar to pull IPO tax from ballot, replace with similar measure -- Supervisor Gordon Mar plans to pull a proposed tax on stock-based compensation — dubbed the IPO tax — from the November ballot, and will instead put a similar business tax on the November 2020 ballot. Trisha Thadani and Emily Fancher in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/17/19
California union contracts targeted in new lawsuit challenging how workers quit paying dues -- Conservative groups are suing the union representing in-home caretakers, alleging that the union is violating workers’ First Amendment rights by restricting when members can leave the labor organization. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/17/19
Cracks emerge in SEIU Local 1000 leadership as bargaining season begins -- Three top officers at SEIU Local 1000 say union president Yvonne Walker’s tight grip on power is keeping them from carrying out the promise of change on which they were elected last year. The newly elected vice presidents of bargaining, organizing and finances at the state’s largest union said Walker has restricted their travel and withheld information they need to do their jobs. Wes Venteicher in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/17/19
LAPD officer charged with rape after ‘cold’ DNA match, prosecutors say -- An LAPD officer has been charged with rape following a sexual assault investigation, authorities said Wednesday. Officer William Rodriguez, 33, a 10-year veteran of the LAPD who most recently was assigned to the Valley Traffic Division, was taken into custody Tuesday and relieved of his police powers. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ Joshua Cain in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 7/17/19
Fearsome mountain lions high-tail it out of there when they hear human voices -- The presence of people in remote areas of the Santa Cruz Mountains turns mountain lions into veritable fraidy-cats and strikes so much fear in bobcats, skunks and opossums that they change their behavior to avoid detection, a new study has found. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/17/19
Coyote enters house through doggie door, killing pet in ‘unprecedented’ attack -- Buena Park officials are warning residents to be prepared for coyote encounters after a bold predator recently entered a home through a doggie door and attacked two dogs, killing one in what officials called an “unprecedented” attack. Alexa Díaz in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/17/19
L.A. River planners float three design proposals for a major new park -- The three design schemes look totally distinct on paper and come with different names — “Island,” “Soft Edge,” “The Yards” — but they all have the same goal: restore wildlife habitat, plant people-friendly landscapes and develop flood-control strategies for a place that has been the subject of so much neglect, speculation, dreaming and debate: the L.A. River. Mimi Zeiger in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/17/19
Column: Steve Lopez goes to Italy and searches for his Sicilian roots -- If you’re trying to find long lost relatives, I hope you’re better at it than I am. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/17/19
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Oakland bans use of facial recognition technology, citing bias concerns -- The Oakland City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ban the use of facial recognition by city departments, including police, making it the second city in the country to do so after San Francisco. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Ali Tadayon in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/17/19
Pender: California’s master of disaster talks quake-rate hike, new wildfire fund -- This has been a busy month for Glenn Pomeroy, chief executive of the California Earthquake Authority. On July 1, the quake-insurance provider revised rates for the first time in three years, raising them for some policyholders and lowering them for others. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/17/19
Undocumented immigrant reported by Daly City police to ICE, prompting outcry -- Jose Armando Escobar-Lopez and his girlfriend were driving home from church one Saturday evening when they were pulled over by a Daly City police officer. Escobar-Lopez, who was behind the wheel, didn’t have a criminal record. But he was living in the country illegally and driving without a license. Tatiana Sanchez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/17/19
Census forms with a citizenship question are being mailed to residents, but they’re only a test -- The mailers are part of a test to see what impact the question could have on response rates. Some already have been delivered to households in the Bay Area, where cities and counties were among the first to join the fight to stop the Trump Administration from asking a citizenship question. Leonardo Castañeda in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/17/19
House Democrat says he still gets told to 'go back' to China -- Rep. Ted Lieu, who was born in Taiwan and is a naturalized American citizen, shared Tuesday that despite the fact that he served in the U.S. military and has been a member of Congress since 2015, people still tell him to “go back” to China. Aris Folley The Hill -- 7/17/19
Rep. Katie Hill leads her Republican challengers in early 2020 campaign fundraising -- Fundraising reports posted this week look good for Hill, showing the young Democrat from Agua Dulce ahead of her Republican challengers — and far ahead of where Steve Knight stood financially when he was the incumbent two years ago. Kevin Modesti in the Riverside Press Enterprise$ -- 7/17/19
Hunter leads opponents in second quarter fundraising, but burns a lot of cash -- Rep. Duncan Hunter raised nearly $500,000 in second quarter but trails opponent in cash on hand after expenses, some of them unusual. Charles T. Clark, Morgan Cook in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/17/19
The Democratic scramble for California’s cash: A deeper dive in 5 charts -- By the numbers: Which Democratic presidential challenger has raised the most from Californians this year-to-date? This past quarter? Last month? Who's leading in donations from more zip codes—and in each zip code? We break it all down for you. Ben Christopher Calmatters -- 7/17/19
Nipsey Hussle’s 2-year-old son to inherit $1 million, Lauren London says in court filings -- Lauren London expects that her 2-year-old son with Nipsey Hussle will inherit $1 million from the late rapper’s estate, and she has filed documents to make sure she she has a say in legal matters involving the estate, The Blast is reporting. Martha Ross in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/17/19
California readies $1.6B high-speed rail design contract -- California officials on Tuesday moved toward awarding a $1.65 billion contract to design and construct the tracks and system for the first segment of its beleaguered high-speed rail project. Kathleen Ronayne Associated Press -- 7/17/19
Report finds California government IT security flaws -- The report from Auditor Elaine Howle comes amid scrutiny of how companies and governments alike handle the data of customers and citizens and as governments grapple with the threat of hackers who might steal information or shut down computer systems. Andrew Oxford Associated Press -- 7/17/19
Study: California’s 12 oldest prisons need major fixes -- California’s 12 oldest prisons, some dating to the mid-1800s, need major repairs or replacements if they are to continue housing about a third of the state’s inmate population, according to a new state-commissioned study made public Tuesday. Don Thompson Associated Press -- 7/17/19
An ultra-violent MS-13 group entered the U.S., then stalked L.A. with blades and bats -- One by one, the victims were lured to remote locations: an abandoned building in downtown Los Angeles, an empty rooftop in Hollywood, a quiet park in the San Fernando Valley. Each was accused of a transgression against the notorious MS-13 street gang. Each would meet their end in a manner federal investigators described as “medieval.” James Queally, Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/17/19
‘This death happened on my watch.’ Child welfare chief takes heat over abused Palmdale boy -- Los Angeles County social workers are under fire again over the suspicious death of a Palmdale boy whose family had previously been investigated after serious allegations of abuse. Matt Stiles in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/17/19
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
California’s child poverty hits coastal Bay Area -- More than 27 percent of children in Santa Cruz County live in poverty, the second-highest rate in California. Wages are lower than they are on the other "side of the hill" in the high-cost Bay Area. Erica Hellerstein Calmatters -- 7/17/19
Growing Latino Middle Class: One Family’s Journey From Have-Not To Have -- In the real estate firm where she works, Monica Rivera has a window office. At 29, she has a great job, managing a team of agents. She has a degree from USC. The walls of her office are adorned with the awards she’s won and family photos. Leslie Berestein Rojas, KPCC via Capital Public Radio -- 7/17/19
Transit
SFMTA board votes to make e-scooter program permanent -- The electric scooter craze that took over San Francisco streets last year may become permanent, the city’s transportation board decided Tuesday. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/17/19
City transit officials vote to close block in Hayes Valley to car traffic, adding bike lane -- A neighborhood once crisscrossed by a double-decker freeway may come to symbolize a new vision of public space in San Francisco — one that eschews the automobile. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/17/19
Homeless
Task force formed to relocate homeless encampments at risk of fire and flood in LA County -- The Los Angeles County will create a task force to relocate homeless people from encampments near areas of high risk for fire or flood. Authored by supervisors Kathryn Barger and Hilda Solis, a motion approved by the board last week said homeless people often seek shelter on secluded hillsides or along waterways with risks of fire and flood. Stephanie Lai in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 7/17/19
Protesters target L.A. over skid row plan: ‘We will not be gentrified’ -- Alarmed by the threat of gentrification, a coalition of advocates on Tuesday accused Los Angeles of wanting to give the bulk of skid row over to luxury housing developers, ignoring the desperate straits of thousands of people living in tents and shelters in the blighted downtown district. Gale Holland in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/17/19
LAPD officer could not walk away from homeless woman and granddaughter on streets of North Hills -- The radio call came in as a case of potential child abuse. A toddler was seen urinating on the sidewalk near Sepulveda Boulevard and Rayen Street. But when LAPD Mission Division Officer Patricia Barajas and her partner showed up, what they found was a 3-year-old girl sitting in a tan-colored sedan, and a woman lying down in the back seat. Elizabeth Chou in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 7/17/19
County supervisors approve proposed homeless lawsuit settlement that would leave some south county cities without anti-camping enforcement -- The Orange County Board of Supervisors agreed in a closed session Tuesday, July 16, to a proposed settlement of the 2018 homeless lawsuit that already has led to developing a system of care that includes the opening of shelters, more permanent supportive housing units, stepped-up health care outreach to people on the street, and an increase in mental health care services. Theresa Walker in the Orange County Register -- 7/17/19
Housing
Homebuying in Anaheim, Orange, Villa Park tumbles 10% in worst May for O.C. in 5 years -- CoreLogic homebuying stats show May was the 10th consecutive month Orange County home sales failed to beat the pace of the year-ago period. Plus, this was the slowest-selling May countywide in five years as sales ran 13% below their historical monthly norm. Fewer buyers cut the countywide median selling price by the largest amount in seven years. Jonathan Lansner in the Orange County Register -- 7/17/19
Education
University of California looks at changing how it raises tuition — and who’d get the higher bills -- In its latest effort to find a fair way to raise tuition — and avoid student protests every time it happens — the University of California wants yearly price hikes, but only for incoming freshmen and transfer students. The UC regents don’t yet have a plan to do that. But at their mid-summer meeting in San Francisco Thursday, university officials will float a trial balloon to see what the governing board thinks. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/17/19
Politifact CA: Gavin Newsom promised college savings accounts for kindergarteners. He’s taken a $50 million step -- The cost of going to college in California has grown dramatically. Take tuition and fees at the University of California. Today's undergraduates pay $14,400, or six times what students did four decades ago, when adjusted for inflation, according to the nonprofit California Budget & Policy Center. Those costs have increased at an even faster clip at the California State University system. Chris Nichols Politifact CA -- 7/17/19
Noose found hanging on Stanford University prompts investigation -- Officers with the university’s Department of Public Safety responded to a report of a noose near a residence for summer students over the weekend and found the rope, which was roughly 1/4 of an inch to 1/3 of an inch in diameter with a prominent “loop at the end, suspended from a tall bush,” university officials said in statement. Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Jason Green in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/17/19
Cannabis
California pot seller asks court to void county delivery ban -- Another legal fight is underway over home marijuana delivery in California. A licensed cannabis company has sued Santa Cruz County, claiming that it’s violating state law by prohibiting deliveries from out-of-county retailers into a swath of unincorporated areas. Michael R. Blood Associated Press -- 7/17/19
Immigration / Border
A Day After It Was Filed, New Trump Asylum Policy Gets Hit in Court -- A coalition of immigrant advocacy groups on Tuesday sued the Trump administration in federal court, challenging a new rule intended to severely restrict the ability of people fleeing persecution to apply for asylum in the United States. The groups filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of California in San Francisco, seeking an injunction to block the policy less than 36 hours after the government announced it on Monday. Miriam Jordan in the New York Times$ Molly Hennessy-Fiske, Kate Linthicum, Giulia MCDonnell Nieto Del Rio in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/17/19
New Asylum Rule Leaves Migrants In Tijuana Confused And Desperate -- Asylum-seekers in Tijuana expressed a mix of frustration and desperation over a new Trump administration rule that would bar most of them from declaring asylum in the United States. Max Rivlin-Nadler KPBS -- 7/17/19
Asylum seekers continue to wait in Tijuana, despite Trump’s new rules -- Confusion and uncertainty loomed over the first day of the Trump administration’s new policy that limits the number of asylum seekers allowed to enter the United States through the southern border. Gustavo Solis, Wendy Fry in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/17/19
It's taking longer and longer to become a legal immigrant -- The number of immigrants waiting on a judge to decide whether they can stay in the U.S. keeps climbing, according to Justice Department data. Immigration-court backlogs "are basically crippling the whole system," Georgetown Law professor and former immigration judge Paul Schmidt told Axios. Stef W. Kight Axios -- 7/17/19
Health
California doesn’t have enough doctors. To recruit them, the state is paying off medical school debt -- Bryan Ruiz’s hands were still shaking an hour after he learned the $300,000 in medical school loans he took out to become a dentist were being wiped away by California taxpayers. Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/17/19
Environment
This Will Be a Sweltering Century in California and the Nation -- Extreme heat grounds planes in Arizona. Last year in Australia, the government blamed it for melting tires on a road. And during a particularly brutal July in 2006, heat killed at least 163 Californians, with state epidemiologists estimating that it contributed to hundreds more deaths. Molly Peterson KQED -- 7/17/19
Also . . .
Parents of 16-year-old who was fatally shot by L.A. police reach $200,000 settlement -- The parents of a 16-year-old who was fatally shot by Los Angeles police in 2016 reached a $200,000 settlement with the city in a lawsuit that alleged their son was killed without provocation. Juan and Josefina Mendez alleged wrongful death, civil rights violations and assault and battery after their son, Jose Mendez, was shot 13 times. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/17/19
Judge OKs order to remove seawall protecting Laguna Beach home -- A Laguna Beach couple’s legal effort to preserve the seawall protecting their recently remodeled $25 million beachfront rental has been rejected. Martin Wisckol in the Orange County Register -- 7/17/19
POTUS 45
Republicans' choice: Stand with Trump or risk his wrath -- Trump has already informed at least two GOP lawmakers of his dissatisfaction with their defense of his racist tweets. Burgess Everett and James Arkin Politico -- 7/17/19
Beltway
'Doomsday scenario': Cash shortage squeezes huge Dem field -- Months of bleak polling couldn’t stop the parade of lower-level Democrats crowding into the presidential primary. But bankruptcy might. David Siders, Zach Montellaro and Scott Bland Politico -- 7/17/19
Andrew Yang doing better than many veteran politicians in first White House run -- Andrew Yang got a sign that his top campaign issue is resonating when, he said, Joe Biden sidled up to him during a commercial break at the first presidential debate last month. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/17/19
-- Tuesday Updates
Corporate tax cuts blocked at least 15,000 affordable homes in California. Here’s how -- Affordable housing advocates warned that the corporate tax cuts passed by Republicans in 2017 could have disastrous effects on the development of more affordable housing. More than two years later, independent data shows it has meant at least 15,000 delayed or killed affordable housing units in California alone. Kate Irby in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/16/19
How many students cheated to get into USC? A look inside the admissions investigation -- Shortly after federal authorities took down a national college admissions scam in March, officials at USC launched their own investigation with emails to dozens of students. Joel Rubin, Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/19
Ridgecrest earthquake aftershocks move toward dangerous faults, sparking concerns of triggered temblors -- Aftershocks of the magnitude 7.1 earthquake near Ridgecrest have been creeping into areas close to two major earthquake faults, a development that is generating interest and some concern among seismologists over whether it could trigger another huge temblor. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/19
Bay Area likely to see more 100+ degree days in coming years, new study finds -- By the middle of this century, summer heat in the Bay Area will feel similar to conditions in Los Angeles now. And Sacramento will feel more like Texas. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/16/19
Central Valley could see more ‘dangerously hot’ days from climate change -- California’s Central Valley is no stranger to heat, but human-caused climate change could soon see the region hitting boiling temperatures at greater frequency than before. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/16/19
California pledges millions to battle enormous, destructive swamp rats -- A growing menace in the form of 15-pound swamp rodents is threatening Delta waterways, and the state is throwing money, hunting dogs and birth control at the invasive pests which have the potential to destroy crops and wetlands. Cat Ferguson in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/16/19
To cut carbon footprint, SF moves to eliminate vehicle emissions by 2040 -- San Francisco officials want to shrink the city’s carbon footprint by eliminating the greenhouse gases belched from cars, trucks and other vehicles by 2040. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/16/19
Los Angeles is finally ditching coal — and replacing it with another polluting fuel -- The smokestack at Intermountain Power Plant looms mightily over rural Utah, belching steam and pollution across a landscape of alfalfa fields and desert shrub near the banks of the Sevier River. Sammy Roth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/19
Personal information at risk due to state government’s spotty oversight, audit finds -- A California state government office under the military department didn’t change the default passwords that came with some of its IT systems, creating a “significant threat of an attacker gaining unauthorized access to its network.” Wes Venteicher in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/16/19
San Francisco couple takes BART to wedding in Oakland -- It was the day of Laura Hansen and Jeremy Bachrach's wedding and everyone in their bridal party, except them, had cold feet about how they would all get to the ceremony. "I would say our bridal party was very skeptical," Hansen said before Bachrach let out a laugh. Drew Costley in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/16/19
Women in jail endured group strip searches. L.A. County to pay $53 million to settle suit -- During her brief incarceration several years ago, Jessica Almaraz said she was ushered into a dirty bus garage with 60 or so other inmates at a women’s jail in Lynwood. The inmates, some of whom were menstruating, were told to remove their clothes, and lift and spread their body parts, in full view of one another. Deputies yelled degrading comments and profanities as they made their orders. Some laughed. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/19
MS-13 members from L.A. charged in string of grisly killings, prosecutors say -- MS-13 gang members in Los Angeles hacked to death seven people in the last two years, including a rival gang member who was dismembered and had his heart cut out by six MS-13 soldiers in the Angeles National Forest for defacing the gang’s graffiti, federal authorities alleged in an indictment unsealed Tuesday. James Queally, Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/19
Pete Buttigieg outraises Kamala Harris in California as new presidential numbers released -- California Sen. Kamala Harris’ breakout debate performance last month brought in a surge of donations, but it wasn’t enough to put her ahead of South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg in her home state. Emily Cadei and Ben Wieder in the Sacramento Bee$ Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/16/19
Trump's new impeachment problem -- President Trump's racist tweets had an unintended consequence: They gave House Democrats a new rationale for impeachment. This has the potential to fundamentally change the conversation around impeachment, which has so far mostly focused on possible instances of obstruction of justice as laid out by Robert Mueller's findings. Alexi McCammond Axios -- 7/16/19
Trump’s new asylum rule strands Central American migrants in Tijuana -- Reporting from Tijuana — There was confusion on Monday among northbound migrants in Tijuana, following the Trump administration’s latest effort to ban virtually all foreigners from filing for asylum in the United States. Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/16/19
Kellyanne Conway asks reporter’s ethnicity as she defends Trump’s racist remarks -- Kellyanne Conway, responding to a reporter’s question Tuesday about President Trump’s racist tweet directed to four Democratic congresswomen, asked the journalist: “What’s your ethnicity?” Colby Itkowitz in the Washington Post$ -- 7/16/19
Schwarzenegger calls Trump attack on minority lawmakers 'un-American' and 'crude' -- The action movie star and immigrant to the United States added that “America has always been about where you are going, not where you come from. That’s what drew me and millions of other proud, contributing Americans to the greatest country in the world to realize our dreams.” Jessica Campisi The Hill -- 7/16/19
Fox: Tom Steyer Wants a National Referendum -- I’m trying to imagine how the national referendum proposed by Tom Steyer as part of his presidential platform would work. He said he trusted the people to make the laws, and that he had success using initiatives in California. Of course, his great wealth spurred those law changes in the Golden State. It would take even more money to campaign for a national initiative. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 7/16/19