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Deputy fatally shoots suspect at East L.A. high school, prompting campus lockdown -- Sheriff’s deputies opened fire on the Esteban Torres High School campus in East Los Angeles on Wednesday morning, fatally wounding a suspect and prompting officials to lock down the school. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/19

California regulators open inquiry into PG&E power outages -- California regulators have unanimously ordered an investigation into a dozen deliberate power outages that plunged millions of people into the dark last month. The California Public Utilities Commission voted Wednesday at a short meeting in San Francisco after testimony from people pleading for regulation, planning and leadership. Associated Press -- 11/13/19

Sen. Kamala Harris introduces bill to crack down on PG&E bonuses -- Sen. Kamala Harris is introducing legislation that would ban utilities under bankruptcy, like Pacific Gas and Electric Co., from paying bonuses to executives, following a pledge by Democratic state Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco to convert PG&E to a government-owned company. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/19

USC student deaths: Possible drug overdoses, tainted narcotics probed, sources say -- Of the recent deaths among USC students this semester, officials say some of them may be the result of drug overdoses, according to sources familiar with the matter. Colleen Shalby, Richard Winton, Soumya Karlamangla in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/19

California pulls back clean-vehicle rebates to point them at lower-income buyers -- Starting in December, those looking to buy electric vehicles with a price tag of more than $60,000 won’t qualify for California’s clean-vehicle rebate. The rebate is also disappearing for plug-in hybrids with less than 35 miles of all-electric range. Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/19

Business partners donated big money to Sacramento politicians as they built cannabis empire -- Over the past several years, a group of business partners has quietly amassed the largest network of cannabis storefronts in Sacramento, despite city rules designed to prohibit consolidation of the pot industry here under single ownership. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/13/19

Orinda Halloween shooting: Owners had charged $800 for large parties, records show -- The owners of 114 Lucille Way, Michael Wang and Wenlin Luo, were charging an $800 daily fee for large parties, along with a $350 cleaning fee. They advertised the house on Airbnb for parties with up to 30 guests, according to one complaint filed with the city of Orinda in February. Nate Gartrell, Jon Kawamoto and Angela Ruggiero in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/13/19

Huge Napa Valley property, famed Napa Soda Springs property, goes up for sale -- The famous Napa Soda Springs property, home to a one-time resort that dates back to 1856, is up for sale in what would be one of the largest land deals in the Bay Area. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/13/19

Fox: LA City Budget Situation Reflects a Sad Reality of Today’s Politics -- The chatter from many presidential candidates and local politicians is that corporations and businesses are corrupting government and buying the government they want. While there is no denying that corporations do their best to influence and direct politicians, businesses are not the only ones playing that game and are often the target of spending interests that attempt to manipulate political class, as well. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 11/13/19

 

New testimony ties Trump more directly to Ukraine pressure campaign -- A top diplomat on Wednesday tied President Trump more directly to the effort to pressure Ukraine to probe his political opponents, describing a phone call in which Trump sought information about the status of the investigations he had asked Ukraine to launch one day earlier. Elise Viebeck in the Washington Post$ Kyle Cheney and Andrew Desiderio Politico -- 11/13/19

U.S. diplomats describe Trump’s effort to hijack Ukraine policy for his political benefit -- Historic public impeachment proceedings got underway Wednesday, as career diplomats delivered solemn testimony about the Trump administration’s alleged misconduct in Ukraine that they found bewildering and at odds with U.S. interests. Jennifer Haberkorn, Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/19

Impeachment is one thing. But 2020 will be about something else -- The immediate unfolding is indeed predictable: The Democratic-dominated House will impeach President Trump and the Republican-dominated Senate will not remove him from office. If there’s a twist, it’s going to come in the battleground states that will decide the 2020 presidential election. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/19

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

California regulators to open inquiry into power outages -- California regulators will vote Wednesday on whether to open an investigation into pre-emptive power outages that blacked out large parts of the state for much of October as strong winds sparked fears of wildfires. Janie Har Associated Press -- 11/13/19

PG&E faces potential showdown over its bankruptcy plan -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom is stepping up pressure on Pacific Gas & Electric to fork over billions more in cash to pay thousands of people who lost homes in wildfires that drove the utility into bankruptcy. The rising tensions were scheduled to be aired out in a bankruptcy court hearing Wednesday, but it was abruptly postponed on Tuesday to Nov. 19. Michael Liedtke Associated Press -- 11/13/19

California Sen. Scott Wiener to propose turning PG&E into public utility -- State Sen. Scott Wiener says efforts to restructure Pacific Gas and Electric Co. must include an option to turn the embattled, investor-owned utility into a public entity. Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/19

DACA in doubt as Supreme Court conservatives question its legality -- The Supreme Court’s conservative justices sounded skeptical Tuesday about the legality of an Obama-era policy that has allowed 700,000 young immigrants to live and work in the United States, suggesting they may clear the way for President Trump to end the program. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times$ Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/19

In wake of Supreme Court DACA hearing, UC’s Janet Napolitano defends the policy she created under Obama -- To allow the Trump administration to end the protections would shatter the lives of young people who are Americans in virtually all ways, Napolitano said in remarks after the high court heard oral arguments on whether the Trump administration had followed proper procedures to shut down the program. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/19

For DACA’s youngest ‘Dreamers,’ activism helps them feel less alone -- Meet teens who walked out of El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills Tuesday to rally on behalf of their friend, DACA recipient Ulises Gonzalez. Ariella Plachta in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/13/19

Border wall opponents in court trying to stop construction -- A federal appeals court heard arguments Tuesday on a bid to halt military funding for construction of President Donald Trump’s border wall as the pace of construction raises questions about whether time is running out for the administration’s critics. Elliot Spagat Associated Press -- 11/13/19

Walters: Local governments are in distress -- California’s economy has been booming for most of this decade and has generated a cornucopia of tax revenues for state and local governments. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 11/13/19

Prosecutors: Hunter couldn’t afford daughter’s dance lessons, spent campaign funds on trip to competition -- A new court filing by prosecutors in the case against Rep. Duncan D. Hunter says the lawmaker was warned as early as 2010 that he and his wife were breaking the law by improperly spending campaign funds. Morgan Cook in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/19

Lawsuit: California festival didn’t plan for active shooter -- The lawsuit says the Gilroy Garlic Festival Association used an outdated contract with its security provider that did not include modern-day risks to large public events or plan for worst-case scenarios for a festival that attracts 100,000 visitors over three days. Stefanie Dazio Associated Press -- 11/13/19

L.A. Archbishop Gomez, a tenacious advocate for immigrants, becomes first Latino to lead U.S. bishops -- On the eve of his election as the new leader of U.S. bishops, Archbishop José Gomez had a message for the faithful back home: It was well past time for immigration reform. Sarah Parvini in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/19

Vapers Turn to Home Brew as Flavored Nicotine Bans Mount -- As more states, cities and even the federal government consider banning flavored nicotine, thousands of do-it-yourself vapers like Jones are flocking to social media groups and websites to learn how to make e-liquids at home. Jenny Gold Kaiser Health News KQED -- 11/13/19

California has six of the nation’s 1,680 high-hazard dams deemed in risky condition -- In California, six high-hazard dams were rated as poor or unsatisfactory, including Oroville, which failed in 2017 and prompted mass evacuations downstream. Crews have since been repairing the dam and it is now listed in “fair” condition, according to California inspectors. The other dams were Kelley Hot Spring in Modoc County; North Fork in Santa Clara County; Misselbeck in Shasta County; Moccasin Lower in Tuolumne County; and Matilija, a dam in Ventura County slated for removal. David A. Lieb, Michael Casey, Michelle Minkoff in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/19

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

Trucking group sues to be exempted from California gig-work law -- In the first big challenge to California’s new gig-work law, the California Trucking Association filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block it from applying to truck drivers. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Don Thompson Associated Press Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/13/19

As California burns, scientists search the smoke for threats to firefighter health -- What’s in the smoke? As climate change primes California to burn, the long term health risks of wildland firefighting are still a mystery. Rachel Becker Calmatters -- 11/13/19

Sacramento OKs $27 million soccer loan. Mayor says talks are on to land women’s team -- A unanimous Sacramento City Council on Tuesday voted approval of a $27.2 million loan to the city’s private Major League Soccer investment group to help it build infrastructure around the group’s planned downtown soccer stadium. Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/13/19

Workers to strike over outsourcing at UC hospitals and campuses. What you need to know -- Leaders of UC Davis Health said that they have not canceled any patient appointments in preparation for Wednesday’s strike by thousands of patient care and service workers, but they have alerted patients getting lab work whether they will have to go to a different facility. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/13/19

Juul to Cut Roughly 650 Jobs, or 16% of Workers -- Juul Labs Inc. is cutting around 650 jobs, or about 16% of its total workforce, according to a Juul official, as the embattled e-cigarette maker braces for a hit in sales after voluntarily stopping the sale of its most popular flavor in the U.S. Kimberly Chin and Jennifer Maloney in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/13/19

How to Sell a House in Southern Calfornia: Make a Movie -- Video marketing is not new territory for home sales — wide-angle walk-throughs of staged living rooms and sweeping drone footage of leafy neighborhoods have become common tools in real estate agents’ kits. But cinematic mini-films, complete with paid actors, lighting crews and full-fledged story boards, are something new. Debra Kamin in the New York Times$ -- 11/13/19

Californians: The Americans a lot of other Americans love to hate -- Austin, Portland and even Boise tell transplants to go back home. Patrick May in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/13/19

This startup is offering $10,000 to workers who leave the Bay Area -- A trio of former Google employees who were drawn to the promise of Silicon Valley have founded a company that will pay Bay Area residents $10,000 to move away. Launched Tuesday, San Jose-based MainStreet aims to entice people frustrated by astronomical housing costs and soul-sucking traffic to places such as Sacramento or Salt Lake City with the promise of rewarding tech work and none of the region’s downsides. Emily DeRuy in the Orange County Register -- 11/13/19

Homeless  

The Nonprofit Fights That Keep Butte County Residents on the Streets After the Camp Fire -- When the Camp Fire swept through Paradise, Magalia and Concow last November, killing 85 and destroying almost 14,000 homes, it displaced some 52,000 people. And while some of them were able to quickly find solace on friends’ couches or in motel rooms, others were forced to seek shelter elsewhere. Michelle Wiley KQED -- 11/13/19

Housing  

Housing vs. trees: SF backs 744 homes at UCSF Laurel Heights campus -- Champions of housing beat out tree-hugging preservationists Tuesday night as the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a plan to transform the UCSF Laurel Heights campus into a 744-unit housing and retail complex. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/19

In midst of biotech boom, ‘all eyes’ on huge South San Francisco housing project -- On Wednesday, the South San Francisco City Council will vote on a proposal to build 800 housing units on city-owned land located along Mission Road — a 5.9-acre site about a 10-minute walk south of the city’s BART station. Opponents are lining up against the project, worried about traffic and neighborhood character. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/19

‘Project of my heart’: How 98-year-old fought to get affordable housing built on his SF property -- It was a moment Mischa Seligman had thought he would not live long enough to see. On a recent Friday afternoon, Seligman, 98, walked up the steep driveway at 36 Amber Drive in San Francisco’s Diamond Heights. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/19

Education 

9 student deaths at USC since August stun campus, spark alarm -- University officials confirmed this week that nine students died between late August and early November. Not all causes of death have been determined, but officials say three were suicides. In one note to the campus community, USC President Carol Folt and other administrators wrote that “the student losses are devastating and heartbreaking for all of us.” Colleen Shalby, Hannah Fry, Soumya Karlamangla, Leila Miller in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/19

School Staff Will Be Charged In Death Of Special Needs Student In El Dorado Hills -- It's been almost a year since a 13-year-old special-needs student died at a private school in El Dorado Hills. Now three school staff members will be charged with involuntary manslaughter, according to prosecuting attorneys. Bob Moffitt Capital Public Radio Darrell Smith and Sawsan Morrar in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/13/19

Immigration / Border 

NCIS agent testifies no Marines took immigrants across border in alleged ‘human smuggling’ case -- None of the 13 Marines recently arrested and charged in the case of an alleged human smuggling ring at Camp Pendleton are accused of transporting any unauthorized immigrants across the border, the lead investigator in the case said Tuesday. They are charged based on the allegation they were part of a conspiracy to transport the immigrants across the county. Andrew Dyer in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/13/19

Federal Judge Rules ‘Remain In Mexico’ Family Must Have Access To Lawyer -- U.S. District Court Judge Dana Sabraw ruled Tuesday that a Guatemalan family of seven in the "Remain in Mexico" program cannot be sent back to Mexico without first having access to a lawyer. Max Rivlin-Nadler KPBS -- 11/13/19

Guns 

Judge blocks White House from allowing downloads of 3-D printed gun blueprints -- A federal judge on Tuesday struck down the Trump administration’s effort to allow blueprints for making guns from 3-D printers to be posted online. Jonathan Stempel Reuters -- 11/13/19

Health 

Google to store and analyze millions of health records -- In a sign of Google’s major ambitions in the health care industry, the search giant is working with the country’s second-largest hospital system to store and analyze the data of millions of patients in an effort to improve medical services, the two organizations announced this week. Natasha Singer and Daisuke Wakabayashi in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/19

Environment 

Renewables Are Booming, But Not Fast Enough to Cap Greenhouse Emissions -- The International Energy Agency’s annual report into fuel supply and demand shows a pickup in the rate of growth for wind and solar power. But that’s not enough to curtail greenhouse gas pollution, which is on track to grow through 2040. Jeremy Hodges and Anna Shiryaevskaya Bloomberg -- 11/13/19

Also . . . 

Viral video: ‘I dare you, bra’ — Driver rams car into man during spat over pot in Antioch -- A jolting video showing one man ramming another with his car on Monday in Antioch after an argument over marijuana went viral with more than 1.5 million views, and police are investigating the incident as an assault. Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/19

Latinos and transgender people see big increases in hate crimes, FBI reports -- Hate crimes targeting people in 2018 surged to their highest levels in 16 years despite a slight overall dip in the number of hate crimes, the FBI said in a report released Tuesday. Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/19

Man walks free after serving 11 years for L.A. robberies he didn’t do -- A man who spent 11 years in prison for a series of Los Angeles armed robberies he didn’t commit was exonerated Tuesday after prosecutors agreed he had been wrongly convicted. A courtroom full of family members and friends erupted in applause as Ruben Martinez Jr. was found innocent and walked free from Los Angeles Superior Court. Associated Press via the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/19

POTUS 45  

The Man Trump Trusts for News on Ukraine -- Who is John Solomon? His name popped up frequently in closed-door testimony in the impeachment query. He is a regular on Hannity. And his work helps shape how millions of Americans understand this moment. Jeremy W. Peters and Kenneth P. Vogel in the New York Times$ -- 11/13/19

Trump Has Considered Firing Intelligence Community Inspector General -- The president blames Michael Atkinson, whom he appointed, for finding the anonymous whistle-blower’s complaint on his interactions with Ukraine to be credible. Maggie Haberman and Michael S. Schmidt in the New York Times$ -- 11/13/19

Aides are counseling Trump not to fire Mulvaney, as acting chief of staff changes course again -- President Trump has been threatening for weeks to fire acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, but senior advisers have counseled him to hold off on such a drastic step amid a high-stakes impeachment probe, according to three people familiar with the discussions. Carol D. Leonnig, Tom Hamburger, Josh Dawsey and John Hudson in the Washington Post$ -- 11/13/19

Beltway 

Leaked Stephen Miller emails shows Trump’s point man on immigration promoted white nationalism, SPLC reports -- In the lead-up to the 2016 election, White House senior adviser Stephen Miller sought to promote white nationalism, far-right extremist ideas and anti-immigrant rhetoric through the conservative site Breitbart, according to a report released Tuesday by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Kim Bellware in the Washington Post$ -- 11/13/19

Clinton says she is being urged by ‘many, many, many people’ to run in 2020 -- Hillary Clinton on Tuesday declined to rule out launching a future presidential campaign after her two failed bids, saying “many, many, many people” were pressuring her to enter the race. Abbey Marshall Politico -- 11/13/19

Californians are warming up to Warren. Her campaign is ramping up efforts to win them over -- With less than 100 days until early voting begins on Feb. 3, Warren’s team announced on Tuesday that the Massachusetts senator has hired eight additional staff members in the Golden State, bringing the total number of paid California workers to nine. Bryan Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/13/19

 

-- Tuesday Updates 

Boat fire: Coast Guard repeatedly rejected calls for tougher boat safety rules -- The Conception dive boat accident that killed 34 people on Labor Day was one of the worst maritime disasters in California history, but the safety lapses that led to it were hardly unprecedented. Richard Winton, Mark Puente in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/19

9 student deaths at USC this semester raise alarms on campus -- A series of student deaths at USC this semester has prompted concern and a demand for answers among the campus community. Colleen Shalby, Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/19

Breed, supes reach deal on SF mental health reform to fix ‘crisis on our streets’ -- After months of sometimes bitter political bickering, Mayor London Breed and two supervisors have reconciled their dueling plans to overhaul San Francisco’s fractured mental health care system. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/19

Berkeley company makes meat out of thin air -- First, there was animal meat. Then, there was plant-based meat. Now, a Berkeley company plans to sell air-based meat. That’s right. A meat alternative, conjured out of thin air. The company, Air Protein, created what its CEO Lisa Dyson believes is the first air-based meat in the world last month. Janelle Bitker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/19

More than 1,000 California police accessed background check database for personal use -- On June 5, 2013, San Francisco police Sgt. John Haggett was working the 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. shift in a third-floor office at the city’s Hall of Justice. At 11:48 that morning, someone logged into the department’s secure database inside that office and used Haggett’s sign-on and password to run a criminal background check on a San Francisco woman through the department’s local records. Sam Stanton, Darrell Smith, and Elliot Wailoo in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/12/19