Aaron Read
Edsource.org
Olson Hagel
Capitol Weekly
CA Leg Analyst
Cal FPPC
Maplight.org
 
 

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Trump threatens funding for California forest fires that didn’t happen -- The big fires that hit Southern California last week burned expensive Los Angeles homes, swept through lush agricultural land, closed the 405 Freeway and threatened a presidential library. But they did not burn through large swaths of forests. Nonetheless, President Trump weighed in Sunday on Twitter with a new critique of Caifornia’s forest management practices. Shelby Grad in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/3/19

Trump tweets on wildfire aid to California: ‘No more’ -- President Trump repeated his vague threat to withhold federal wildfire aid to California over forest management issues, tweeting Sunday: “No more.” Trump said in a three-tweet string he had told Gov. Gavin Newsom that “he must ‘clean’ his forest floors” and added, “Every year, as the fire’s rage & California burns, it is the same thing — and then he comes to the Federal Government for $$$ help. No more.” Trapper Byrne in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/3/19

Power outages hit some of state’s poorest communities hard -- PG&E’s unprecedented blackouts over the past month have hit especially hard in some of Northern California’s poorest communities, stripping electricity from hundreds of thousands of people who can least afford to be without it, according to state data reviewed by The Chronicle. Joaquin Palomino and Cynthia Dizikes in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/3/19

Inside a wealthy L.A. man’s effort to help pilots fight wildfires from a remote mountain base -- Perched atop the Santa Monica Mountains, there’s a prime chunk of real estate with stunning ocean views that’s owned by a wealthy former radio executive. You won’t find a palatial mansion or an infinity pool there, however. Matt Stiles in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/3/19

Fire sparked as Edison turned power back on points to another hazard for utilities -- California utilities were already in a bind, between intense criticism when they shut off power and financial peril when they don’t during high fire hazard episodes. Now an announcement by Southern California Edison has introduced a third dimension to the dilemma: the risk of turning that power back on too soon. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/3/19

Sell a house? Cash in an IRA? You may be hit with a surcharge on Medicare premiums -- Susan Bullock and her husband got a shock last fall when they got a letter saying their Medicare Part B premiums for 2019 would be $433 each, up drastically from $134 per person in 2018. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/3/19

Who owns Silicon Valley? -- These landowners got rich building Silicon Valley. Can they now fix the housing crisis? Leonardo Castañeda in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/3/19

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

Finally, some relief: Santa Ana winds weaken as fire weather warnings for L.A. area expire -- Finally, there’s some relief: Dangerous fire weather conditions have expired in Los Angeles and Ventura counties, as Santa Ana winds were expected to continue weakening and overnight fog along the coast was expected to return by Sunday night. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/3/19

Illegal drones ground water-dropping helicopters at critical moment in Maria fire battle -- As flames rapidly spread along a hillside in Santa Paula early Friday morning, firefighters were faced with a perilous dilemma: ground night-flying helicopters working to contain the growing fire or risk an aerial collision with a thrill-seeking drone. Colleen Shalby, Mark Puente, Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/3/19

As Smoke Clears in California, Pressure Builds on Power Companies -- As firefighters worked to contain wildfires across California on Saturday, residents began returning to their homes, business owners surveyed the damage and officials shifted their attention to what had gone wrong and what could be done to prevent — or at least temper — what has become a near-constant threat. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs in the New York Times$ -- 11/3/19

How state-funded charter schools are avoiding vaccine requirements -- Nearly all California students must get vaccinated after state leaders tightened laws following the 2014 Disneyland measles scare, but at least one loophole remains: new hybrid programs known as charter home schools. Mackenzie Mays Politico -- 11/3/19

Judge declines to stop fuel transfer at San Onofre nuclear plant --A San Diego Superior Court judge has rejected a request from environmental activists to halt the transfer of spent fuel at the San Onofre nuclear plant from wet to dry storage. Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/3/19

Walters: Will spending more fix our schools? -- Former state legislator Ted Lempert is personally and professionally committed to improving the wellbeing of California’s children. Lempert, the president of Children Now, has tirelessly advocated to improve children’s futures and last week released a lengthy report comparing California to other states and concluding that we are woefully underspending on education. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 11/3/19

Smugglers are sawing through new sections of Trump’s border wall -- Smuggling gangs in Mexico have repeatedly sawed through new sections of President Trump’s border wall in recent months by using commercially available power tools, opening gaps large enough for people and drug loads to pass through, according to U.S. agents and officials with knowledge of the damage. Nick Miroff in the Washington Post$ -- 11/3/19

Judge Blocks Trump’s Plan to Bar Immigrants Who Can’t Pay for Health Care -- A federal judge on Saturday blocked the Trump administration from implementing a policy that would require immigrants to prove they have insurance or the financial resources for medical costs in order to obtain a visa. Aimee Ortiz in the New York Times$ -- 11/3/19

Willie Brown: Impeachment a winner for Democrats? Don’t bet on it -- If the goal was to damage President Trump by formalizing the impeachment inquiry, it’s Mission Unaccomplished for House Democrats. If anything, the vote solidified Trump’s hold on power. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/3/19

How ‘President Pence’ would change the 2020 race -- “Pence 2020.” It’s the yard sign of dreams for many Democrats, confirmation that President Trump has been removed from office before next year’s election and has been replaced by his loyal vice president. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/3/19

Orinda grieves over Halloween shooting, councilman calls for ban on Airbnb rentals -- Roses, votive candles and hand-made signs hung over the mailbox at 114 Lucille Way in Orinda on Saturday, the site of a Halloween shooting that left five people dead. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Nate Gartrell, Leonardo Castañeda, Mike Lefkow in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/2/19

POTUS 45  

In Trump’s Twitter Feed: Conspiracy-Mongers, Racists and Spies -- By retweeting suspect accounts, seemingly without regard for their identity or motives, he has lent credibility to white nationalists, anti-Muslim bigots and obscure QAnon adherents like VB Nationalist, an anonymous account that has promoted a hoax about top Democrats worshiping the Devil and engaging in child sex trafficking. Mike McIntire Karen Yourish and Larry Buchanan in the New York Times$ -- 11/3/19

Beltway 

As Warren and Buttigieg rise, the Democratic presidential race is competitive and fluid, a Washington Post-ABC News poll finds -- The race for the Democratic presidential nomination is both competitive and fluid less than 100 days before the Iowa caucuses, with a stable trio of leading candidates and a fourth — Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind. — now rising above a dozen others in the low single-digits, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. Scott Clement and Dan Balz in the Washington Post$ -- 11/3/19