Updating . .
The Las Vegas A’s? Baseball commissioner tells Oakland it could happen -- Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred made it clear to Oakland officials that the A’s proposed waterfront ballpark and the team’s desire to develop at the Coliseum is an “all in one” proposition — and that the city needs to drop its lawsuit over the Coliseum land sale to the A’s or risk the team relocating to another city. And apparently, everyone got the message. Phil Matier in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/6/19
California is feuding with this SoCal city over ‘planned retreat’ from sea-level rise -- Del Mar is gearing up for a tussle with the California Coastal Commission over the best way to adapt to rising sea levels, an issue with statewide implications. The city has taken the position that one of the Coastal Commission’s basic strategies, called “managed retreat” or sometimes “planned retreat,” will not work in Del Mar. Phil Diehl in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/6/19
California ignores the science as it OKs more homes in wildfire zones, researchers say -- Researchers say continued home building in high-risk wildfire areas threatens lives and makes big blazes more likely. Joshua Emerson Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/6/19
An actor’s death was ruled an accidental drowning. His widow and private investigators suspect foul play -- Jason Murphy was flying high in September 2017. The actor and improv artist had recently married his sweetheart. After returning from a honeymoon in Ireland, he’d attended a weeknight screening in North Hollywood of the movie “From Jennifer,” in which he has a scene-stealing part. Afterward, he stopped at a party with the cast and crew. Mark Puente in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/6/19
The L.A. vape shop scene was booming. Those days are over -- The Ace Smoke Shop on a gentrifying strip of Lake Avenue in Altadena is a small business in every sense of the word — a tiny shack crammed with a variety of tobacco products that attracts a steady stream of customers in need of their nicotine fix. Laurence Darmiento in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/6/19
Guns from the United States are stoking a homicide epidemic in Mexico -- This rugged stretch of Guerrero state had always been a little lawless, home to cattle rustlers and highway bandits. But by the time the gunmen seized Ocotito in 2013, the region was overrun with dozens of criminal groups battling for territory. There was another key difference: The criminals were now packing AR-15s, AK-47s and other weapons of war. Kate Linthicum in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/6/19
Is it a bus or is it a trolley? New SF Muni fleet can go off-wire -- Regular riders of Muni’s trolley bus lines are starting to notice the changes. Low floors. Navy blue seats instead of brown. Motors that thrum as quietly as a dishwasher on a light rinse cycle. The aesthetic differences are subtle, but the new fleet provides other, more important benefits that commuters can’t see. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/6/19
Fry’s Electronics still hanging on, but for how long? -- Walking into a Fry’s Electronics nowadays is nothing like it was during its heyday in the 1980s and ’90s. There are no long lines at the cash registers. The cafes sit mostly empty, like the store shelves and parking lots. Levi Sumagaysay in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/6/19
Second whistleblower emerges in Trump impeachment inquiry, said to be one of ‘multiple’ complainants -- Mark Zaid, a lawyer for the original whistleblower in the case, said Sunday that his team now represented a second person who had come forward. Another lawyer on the legal team, Andrew Bakaj, tweeted later that the firm was representing “multiple” whistleblowers but provided no details on the number, the status of their complaints, or whether they were also part of the intelligence community. Laura King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/6/19
California Policy & Politics This Morning
PG&E begins shutting off power to 10,000 customers in Sierra foothills -- Dry, windy weather conditions in the Sierra Nevada foothills prompted Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to turn off power in the region Saturday to reduce the risk of its power lines sparking deadly wildfires. Lauren Hernández and Ryan Kost in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Benjy Egel in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/6/19
Willie Brown: Who should run against Trump? How about Hillary Clinton? -- It’s time for Hillary Clinton to come out of retirement, lace up the gloves and get back in the ring with President Trump for what would be the biggest political rematch ever. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/6/19
How Far Will California Take Criminal-Justice Reform? -- "All Hands on Deck," the writer and activist Shaun King wrote on Twitter on Friday afternoon, calling on San Franciscans to protest the decision of London Breed, the city’s mayor, to name Suzy Loftus as the interim district attorney. Loftus’s appointment comes in the final weeks of a heated race in which she is a contender; the election was to be the first open race in more than a century. Dana Goodyear in The New Yorker -- 10/6/19
Walters: Events frame a California Paradox -- By happenstance, events in the final week of September perfectly framed what one might call the California Paradox — a thriving, world-class economy with stubbornly high levels of poverty and a widening divide between the haves and have-nots. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 10/6/19
Marines disciplined at San Diego boot camp for abuse and racism targeting recruits, documents show -- In one case, a drill instructor used a staple gun on a recruit and ordered another to eat a pine cone. Dan Lamothe in the Washington Post$ -- 10/6/19
How Devin Nunes is defending Trump on impeachment: Sowing doubt on Fox News -- Investigating the investigators. Nightly appearances on Fox News to sow doubt about the integrity of an investigation threatening the White House. Accusing Democrats of being “unhinged,” then criticizing the “mainstream media” for covering it. Kate Irby McClatchy DC -- 10/6/19
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
High Medical Bills Set Up Major Legal Showdown in California -- In a less than a week, Sutter Health, a sprawling system of 24 hospitals and 5,500 doctors, will face a court trial over accusations that it used its dominance in Northern California to stifle competition and force patients to pay higher medical bills. Reed Abelson in the New York Times$ -- 10/6/19
Crusading tech mogul aims to prove CEOs can be activists too -- Salesforce founder Marc Benioff oversees a $130 billion software empire from a 62-story skyscraper that towers above everything else in San Francisco. But he sits uneasily in his lofty perch because of a worsening economic divide on the streets down below, where the lavish pay doled out to tech workers like his are pricing many people out of affordable housing. Michael Liedtke and Barbara Ortutay Associated Press -- 10/6/19
Education
‘Gender neutral’ student crowned homecoming queen at Clovis East -- Trevor Meyer had been nominated previously for the homecoming court. As a prince. But what Meyer really longed for was to win homecoming queen. Anthony Galaviz in the Fresno Bee -- 10/6/19
The homecoming queen is a football player: How an Elsinore High athlete is breaking barriers -- Samantha Segura-Veliz joined the Elsinore High School football team two years ago. As the only female on the field she worked hard to prove herself and as an offensive guard and defensive end she has done that. On Sept. 27, under the Friday night lights, the 17-year-old contributed to her team’s close win over visiting Phineas Banning High School from Wilmington. But before that sweet victory, Segura-Veliz was crowned Homecoming Queen during halftime. Diane A. Rhodes in the Riverside Press Enterprise$ -- 10/6/19
Mill Valley teachers slam district amid contract dispute -- Members of the Mill Valley Teachers Association union, which represents about 200 certificated teachers, counselors, nurses and other specialists, have been working without a contract since June 30. Despite more than a half dozen negotiation sessions, the two sides are still at odds over compensation and over who pays for a bump in medical insurance costs. Keri Brenner in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 10/6/19
Expensive legal fights ensue when families say they’re not getting the right special education services -- The law says public schools must give students with disabilities the services that meet their individual needs, but parents and districts often disagree on what those services should be or whether a student needs services at all. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/6/19
Cannabis
San Diego advances ban on marijuana billboards near schools, parks and youth centers -- San Diego is moving forward with a crackdown on cannabis billboard ads as part of a package of new city regulations and rule changes. In addition to limiting where billboards can be placed, the city is proposing to loosen restrictions on the locations of marijuana dispensaries and production facilities, such as indoor farms and factories making marijuana edibles. David Garrick in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/6/19
Also . . .
$35 for a cup of coffee? But it’s locally grown by Grammy winner Jason Mraz -- It’s not every day you’d shell out $35 for a cup of coffee — OK, it’s locally grown — nor is it an everyday occasion where you’d sidle up to the coffee bar and your barista is a Grammy award-winning singer-songwriter. Lori Weisberg in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/6/19
POTUS 45
Mounting evidence buttresses claims in whistleblower complaint -- Since the revelation of an explosive whistleblower complaint that sparked an impeachment crisis for President Trump, he and his Republican allies have coalesced around a central defense: The document was based on secondhand information, mere hearsay riddled with inaccuracies. Rosalind S. Helderman in the Washington Post$ -- 10/6/19
Trump unloads on Romney as Ukraine crisis deepens -- President Donald Trump tore into Mitt Romney in a series of tweets Saturday, renewing their on-again, off-again feud as Trump tries to fend off criticism from the Ukraine scandal threatening his presidency. Christian Vasquez Politico -- 10/6/19
Pompeo: State Dept. will follow law as Dems seek documents -- Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the State Department intends to follow the law in the House impeachment investigation and vigorously defended President Donald Trump, dismissing questions about the president’s attempts to push Ukraine and China to investigate a Democratic political rival. Jill Colvin and Matthew Lee Associated Press -- 10/6/19
2nd Official Is Weighing Whether to Blow the Whistle on Trump’s Ukraine Dealings -- A second intelligence official who was alarmed by President Trump’s dealings with Ukraine is weighing whether to file his own formal whistle-blower complaint and testify to Congress, according to two people briefed on the matter. Michael S. Schmidt and Adam Goldman in the New York Times$ -- 10/6/19
Meet the Ukrainian Ex-Prosecutor Behind the Impeachment Furor -- As soon as he got the invitation from Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump’s personal lawyer, it was abundantly clear to him what Mr. Trump’s allies were after. Andrew E. Kramer, Andrew Higgins and Michael Schwirtz in the New York Times$ -- 10/6/19
Axios: Trump pins Ukraine call on Energy Secretary Rick Perry -- President Trump told House Republicans that he made his now infamous phone call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the urging of Energy Secretary Rick Perry — a call Trump claimed he didn’t even want to make. Trump made these comments during a conference call with House members on Friday, according to 3 sources on the call. Alayna Treene, Jonathan Swan Axios -- 10/6/19
Beltway
Biden Faced His Biggest Challenge, and Struggled to Form a Response -- As Trump made unfounded allegations about Biden and his son, the former vice president was torn over what to do. He now looks more vulnerable than at any point in the campaign. Jonathan Martin, Alexander Burns and Katie Glueck in the New York Times$ -- 10/6/19
Joe Biden tries to turn attention to ‘wholly unfit’ President Trump -- Joe Biden on Saturday sought to take a more aggressive tone in combating President Trump, a shift in strategy amid signs of worry among campaign donors and supporters that his message is getting lost in an onslaught from the White House. Matt Viser in the Washington Post$ -- 10/6/19
Sanders’s heart attack raises questions about his age, potential damage to campaign -- Sen. Bernie Sanders’s admission late Friday that he had suffered a heart attack three days earlier invited new scrutiny of the presidential candidate’s age, health and ability to keep up with the rigors of a national campaign. Sean Sullivan and Amy Gardner in the Washington Post$ -- 10/6/19
For House Democrats, impeachment probe widens the divide they hoped to bridge -- What hasn’t emerged is clear evidence of a political backlash, according to visits to nine lawmaker events and interviews with dozens of voters last week: Pro-Trump protesters picketed outside some of the events while pro-impeachment Democrats cheered inside, but swing voters mostly appeared to steer clear. Instead, echoing recent polling, the move toward impeachment appears only to have widened the existing partisan divide — and plunged the Democrats who ran on rising above it straight into the split. Mike DeBonis and Amber Phillips in the Washington Post$ -- 10/6/19
-- Satruday Updates
Trump opening California public land to fracking, gas leases. Is it ‘reckless’? -- The agency received more than 400 objections of its proposed leasing plan over a 30-day protest period, according to its final report. BLM officials ruled that none of them was valid. Emily Cadei in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/5/19
Trump Signs Proclamation Denying Entrance to Immigrants Who Cannot Afford Health Care -- President Trump signed a proclamation late Friday barring legal immigrants who cannot prove they will have health care coverage or the means to pay for it within 30 days of their arrival to the United States. Richard Gonzales NPR -- 10/5/19
Jury awards $8.1 million to L.A. County sheriff’s deputy harassed after reporting misconduct -- As a trainee, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Andrew Rodriguez said he had a recurring thought while on patrol with his training officer: Oh, man, we’re going to end up in federal prison. The officer, he said, instructed him to lie on a report documenting the arrest of a man found with a meth pipe. She’d routinely harass people in motel parking lots for no reason, he said, and those who slept along shopping center walkways. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/5/19
Employee or not? Business, freelancers consider gig-work future -- Music instructors at Berkeley’s Freight and Salvage teach instruments from clawhammer banjo to mountain dulcimer, as well as leading bluegrass jams, singing circles and a community chorus. About 1,000 people a year study traditional music at the nonprofit arts organization. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/5/19
Converting from contractor to employee has benefits, but taxes aren’t one of them -- AB5, the groundbreaking state law that could lead some companies to convert independent contractors to employees, has many benefits for California workers, but taxes might not be one of them. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/5/19
Politifact CA: Gavin Newsom promised to expand homeless services. What has he done? -- Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to solve California’s homelessness crisis, a problem that has deepened in cities big and small since he took office in January. Running for governor, he pledged to appoint a cabinet-level homelessness czar ‒ a promise we rated ‘Stalled’ last month after a lack of action. Chris Nichols Politifact CA -- 10/5/19
Black people disproportionately homeless in California -- In Monterey County, the percentage of black or African American people who are homeless is more than seven times higher than the county’s black population. It is nearly six times higher at the state level. Kate Cimini Calmatters -- 10/5/19
Protest brews against proposed Newport Beach homeless shelter -- Neighbors say the shelter would unfairly concentrate homeless people in that area, which straddles Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, and bring down property values, safety and quality of life. Hillary Davis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/5/19
Lopez: Shamed by Hollywood homeless catastrophe, she went to Italy for answers -- Kerry Morrison had seen enough. She was not a clinician or policymaker, and she didn’t know what the answers were. But she knew she was looking at failure, and she knew she could no longer ignore it. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/5/19
Willie Brown: Who should run against Trump? How about Hillary Clinton? -- It’s time for Hillary Clinton to come out of retirement, lace up the gloves and get back in the ring with President Trump for what would be the biggest political rematch ever. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/5/19