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California’s Criminal Cops: Who they are, what they did, why some are still working -- More than 80 law enforcement officers working today in California are convicted criminals, with rap sheets that include everything from animal cruelty to manslaughter. Robert Lewis, David DeBolt, Jason Paladino, Katey Rusch, Laurence Du Sault and Ali Defazio in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/10/19

These California police officers were charged with brutalizing loved ones. So why are so many still carrying a gun? -- He shoved her to the ground, kneed her in the back and handcuffed her so she couldn’t take their baby and leave, she told police. When she tried to get away, she said, he grabbed her hair and pushed her face into the door frame. Police photographed her swollen right eye for evidence. Robert Lewis and David Debolt in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/10/19

California Criminal Cops: Ex-police chief who hired abusive brother-in-law: ‘Maybe I made a mistake’ -- Graham Hill was the police chief in the tiny Humboldt County town of Rio Dell when he took a chance on a rookie cop with a criminal past. That officer just so happened to be Hill’s brother-in-law. And it wouldn’t be the last time he broke the law. David DeBolt in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/10/19

DUI is the most common offense among California police officers -- Roxanne Steward had picked up her daughter at the Reno airport and was driving to them to see family in Lassen County when her daughter screamed, “Mom! Mom!” “All I said is, ‘I see it,’” Steward said in a recent interview, as she recalled looking through the windshield of the car headed straight at her. “I saw George Driscoll’s eyes.” Robert Lewis in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/10/19

New owners for PG&E? A co-op would would bear utility’s burdens -- Turning California’s largest electric utility into a customer-owned cooperative, as San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo is trying to do, is not an easy feat to accomplish. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/19

Archer who wounded homeless people wanted for attempted double homicide -- Charges against a person who shot arrows and wounded two homeless people at an encampment in Richmond have been elevated to attempted double homicide, the East Bay Regional Park District police said. Shwanika Narayan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/19

Giant Greta Thunberg mural going up in Union Square -- If you feel like climate activist Greta Thunberg has been dominating the media lately, she’ll soon be staring down at you on Mason Street near Union Square, too. Created by the same artist who brought San Francisco its beloved Robin Williams mural (which has since been demolished), a large depiction of the 16-year-old activist is set to be completed next week. Tessa McLean in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/10/19

An L.A. councilman swore off developer money. Rivals argue he’s broken that promise -- When David Ryu first ran for Los Angeles City Council, he swore off campaign money from real estate developers with L.A. projects, a move that became a selling point for him as a City Hall outsider. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/19

Rep. Duncan Hunter cancels international travel ahead of criminal trial -- Shortly after a judge granted Rep. Duncan Hunter permission on Friday to travel abroad ahead of his criminal trial in January, the lawmaker canceled plans to leave the country. Morgan Cook in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/10/19

In this California ‘Trump country’ town, folks hear the impeachment talk, but it feels a world away -- On the road into Taft, fields of fruit trees give way to orchards of oil rigs nodding on golden hills that shimmer against a blue sky like creased velvet. Tyrone Beason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/19

Why were Carpinteria school officials pictured smiling in a marijuana field? Money -- In this seaside town, readers of the local paper recently came upon a curious photo: the school district superintendent and four administrators standing and smiling in a field of marijuana plants. They were wearing caps with the logo of the grower’s brand, Glass House Farms. Joe Mozingo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/19

Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard Tyson dies at 60 -- Bernard Tyson, Kaiser Permanente CEO and Chairman, passed away unexpectedly in his sleep on Sunday night, the health care giant announced in a press release. Tyson, who has served as chairman since 2014, was 60 years old. Katie Dowd in the San Francisco Chronicle Thy Vo in the San Jose Mercury$ Vincent Moleski in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/10/19

Behavioral health workers may halt strike after sudden death of Kaiser CEO Bernard Tyson -- Behavioral health workers may halt strike after sudden death of Kaiser CEO Bernard Tyson. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/10/19

Historic rise in Chinese students at UC San Diego stalls due to sour political climate in US -- It seemed like a great solution to a bad problem. Plagued by years of cuts in state funding, UC San Diego threw open its doors to Chinese students who were willing to pay three times as much tuition as California residents to attend the prestigious La Jolla school. Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/10/19

Crisis of spirit: An Army chaplain’s journey with PTSD -- With a name like Robert Blessing, he seemed destined to become a preacher. But the decision to join the U.S. Army as a chaplain? That was all his doing. And his undoing. John Wilkens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/10/19

Okies disappearing from Dust Bowl Festival, replaced by Latino migrants tending California’s fields -- The girl was afraid to speak in class because of her accent. The clothes sewn by her farmworker mother made her self-conscious. She lived in a field laborers’ camp outside the dusty town of Lamont, and many Californians despised people like her. Go back to where you came from, they said. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/19

Generators are a hot commodity: Here’s what you need to know about buying one for the next outage -- Cody Severtson found out about the Oct. 9 Pacific Gas & Electric public safety power shutoff around noon the day before. By the time Severtson was able to get off work, Costco had already sold out of generators and Sportsman’s Warehouse had just one left. Sonia Waraich in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/10/19

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

Growing fire threat makes California departments reluctant to help each other -- For nearly 70 years, California fire departments have fought blazes statewide through a codified system of neighbor helping neighbor. But as catastrophic windblown wildfires strike with more frequency, California’s system of mutual aid is under stress, with fire chiefs sometimes reluctant to assist their counterparts or unaware help is needed because of outdated communications. Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/19

Mayors’ ambitious plan for PG&E fix would put California on uncharted electricity path -- It would be the biggest government-led intervention in California’s electricity system in decades, a bold takeover of the state’s largest and most troubled utility as Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is assailed over widespread blackouts to avoid power line-sparked wildfires that have put it in bankruptcy court. But will the proposed PG&E remake as a customer-owned cooperative bring cheaper, safer and more reliable power to Silicon Valley and beyond? John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/10/19

Democrats open ‘battle station’ in Orange County to ramp up for 2020 election -- Nearly 100 Democratic activists and politicians crowded an Irvine office Saturday, scrawling messages such as “Blue wave 2020” and “Let’s do this” on a banner hanging in the national party’s new Orange County headquarters. Brooke Staggs in the Orange County Register -- 11/10/19

Smugglers have been dropping off migrants at a city-owned dock in San Diego, feds say -- Since late October, suspected smugglers have twice brought vessels to a city-owned dock in San Diego Bay near the U.S. Coast Guard station and were intercepted by federal officials, authorities said. Karen Kucher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/19

ICE may circumvent California’s ban on private immigrant detention centers -- Last month, California became the first state to kick out privately run immigrant detention centers. A new law that also bans private prisons prohibits new contracts or changes to existing ones after Jan. 1 and phases out existing detention facilities entirely by 2028. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/19

Activists reunite to remember campaign against Prop. 187, California’s anti-illegal immigrant initiative -- Eagle Rock attorney Don Justin Jones walked around Los Angeles State Historical Park on Saturday morning wearing a T-shirt with a crossed-out photo of former California Gov. Pete Wilson and an umbrella that stated “Chale Trump” (“No Way Trump”). Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/19

Willie Brown: Michael Bloomberg is exactly what the Democratic race needs -- The reality show known as the Democratic presidential contest got a badly needed plot twist — and an unexpected new location — when former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg decided to take steps to run in the Alabama primary. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/19

Chesa Boudin, reformer public defender, wins election as San Francisco’s new DA -- Chesa Boudin won the race to become the city’s next district attorney Saturday on a campaign promising to confront mass incarceration and racial disparities in the criminal justice system, while vowing to hold police more accountable in cases of brutality. Evan Sernoffsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Scott Shafer KQED Derek Hawkins in the Washington Post$ -- 11/10/19

‘Just like Paradise.’ Why California isn’t safer a year after the Camp Fire -- On the first anniversary of the Camp Fire, California remains as vulnerable to catastrophic wildfires as ever. A crisis that’s been brewing for years nearly boiled over again in late October, when the relative calm of the 2019 fire season roared to life in powerful wind gusts and a flurry of new fires. Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/10/19

Walters: Housing crisis — fits and starts -- The latest developments in California’s housing crisis are, as usual, mixed. In September, according to the Legislature’s budget analyst, permits for 10,580 new housing units were issued, a 13% increase from August and a 40% boost from September 2018. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 11/10/19

Bay Area students and teachers rally for school funding and Prop 13 reform -- Youth activists, who since 2018 have been flexing their political muscle with rallies against gun violence and for action on climate change, took on a new cause Saturday morning in the Bay Area: a partial repeal of Proposition 13. Leonardo Castañeda and Nico Savidge in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/10/19

Knight: ‘He’s not going to stop!’: Pedestrian’s injury underscores SF’s risky streets -- It’s strange what you remember about the ho-hum moments before your life is upturned. For Nancy Harrison-Noonan, it’s the blueberries. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/19

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

Despite fires, California wine is doing just fine - for now -- If you’re worried that wildfires might have created shortages of Northern California’s 2019 cabernet sauvignon, or even just imparted it with an undesirable smoky flavor, you can relax. The wine is just fine. For now. Rachel Lerman Associated Press -- 11/10/19

Scandinavian Wine? A Warming Climate Tempts Entrepreneurs -- A decade ago, winemaking was regarded as a losing proposition in these notoriously cool climes. But as global temperatures rise, a fledgling wine industry is growing from once-unlikely fields across Scandinavia, as entrepreneurs seek to turn a warming climate to their advantage. Liz Alderman in the New York Times$ -- 11/10/19

Transit  

BART riders stage ‘eat-in’ protest after police cited man for sandwich in viral video -- BART riders angered by a viral video showing a man being handcuffed and cited by police for eating as he waited for a train staged an “eat-in” protest at Embarcadero Station on Saturday. Photos and videos posted to Twitter showed about a dozen people, including BART Director Janice Li, eating sandwiches and pork buns on the station’s platform, in a protest against the Nov. 4 arrest at the Pleasant Hill station that is now being investigated. Nico Savidge in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/10/19

Wildfire  

Inside the fight to save Windsor from the Kincade fire -- Flames were sweeping down the grassy slopes of Foothill Regional Park toward the near-empty town of Windsor when Sonoma County Fire District Battalion Chief Mike Elson drove up Cayetano Court and realized the moment they had all been bracing for had come. Mary Callahan in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat -- 11/10/19

Immigration / Border 

Six Chinese nationals found behind truck’s false wall at San Ysidro border crossing -- Federal agents found six Chinese citizens hidden inside a moving van, behind a false wall, when the truck was stopped at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, authorities said Saturday. Pauline Repard in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/10/19

Environment 

How Did a Virus From the Atlantic Infect Mammals in the Pacific? -- Sea otters and seals in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of Alaska, are infected with a virus that once was seen only in animals in the Atlantic. A new study suggests that melting ice in the Arctic may be to blame — and that climate change may help spread the disease to new areas and new animals. Karen Weintraub in the New York Times$ -- 11/10/19

Also . . . 

To-go coffee cups could become a thing of the past in the Bay Area -- At Perch Coffee House near Oakland’s Lake Merritt, customers can either order their coffee to enjoy at the cafe or rent a jar to take it to-go. They can’t get it in a paper cup. Janelle Bitker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/19

Dignity Health calls off naming deal with Broadway Sacramento after LGBTQ boycott threat -- Dignity Health announced that it has withdrawn from a sponsorship deal to put its name on Broadway Sacramento’s popular theater-in-the-round on H Street, bowing to concerns raised by members of Sacramento’s LGBTQ community in the two weeks since the health care giant announced the deal. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/10/19

POTUS 45  

The unsolved mystery of frozen Ukraine aid -- How was Trump’s order to freeze the $400 million in military assistance handled at the highest levels of his administration? What reasons were given, if any, to the senior budget officials who implemented the abrupt freeze? Kyle Cheney and Andrew Desiderio Politico -- 11/10/19

In Seeking to Join Suit Over Subpoena Power, Mulvaney Goes Up Against the President -- In effect, the acting chief of staff hopes the court will tell him whether to listen to his own boss, who wants him to remain silent, or to comply with a subpoena from the House, which wants his testimony. Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ -- 11/10/19

Republicans Argue Impeachment Case Falls Short of Proving Trump Misconduct -- The release of House Republicans’ witness list signaled that the president’s favorite unsubstantiated theories will be a centerpiece of their strategy. Michael D. Shear and Nicholas Fandos in the New York Times$ -- 11/10/19

Beltway 

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg would face a steep climb in the 2020 presidential race -- At a time when some Democrats are yearning for a new generation of leaders, Bloomberg, 77, would be among the oldest contenders, wedged between Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 78, and former Vice President Joe Biden, 76. Bloomberg is a former Wall Street investment banker who would be joining the race when a top concern for many Democrats is growing wealth and income inequality. Michael Finnegan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/19