Updating . .   

Santa Clarita shooting: Weapon used in Saugus High attack a ‘ghost gun,’ sheriff says -- The gun used in last week’s shooting at Saugus High School was assembled from parts, a so-called ghost gun without a registration number, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva confirmed Thursday. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ Stefanie Dazio Associated Press -- 11/21/19

PG&E outages: Crews work to restore power to over 100,000 people -- Pacific Gas & Electric Co. crews started inspecting power lines and equipment in preparation to restore power to 37,000 homes and businesses — roughly 110,000 people — in Northern California as winds died down and the National Weather Service ended its red-flag alert four hours earlier than planned Thursday. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Janie Har Associated Press -- 11/21/19

Obama warns SF crowd of a splintered America because of media ‘siloing’ -- Former President Barack Obama said he is increasingly worried about the divisive media culture that is splintering the country — not just politically, but culturally. ”Now, if you watch Fox News you live in a different reality than if you read the New York Times,” Obama said during an onstage interview Thursday with Salesforce chairman and co-CEO Marc Benioff before 8,000 people at the company’s Dreamforce conference in San Francisco. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

Trump may withhold tax returns and appear on ballot, California Supreme Court rules -- President Trump may appear on California’s primary ballot without having to disclose his tax returns, the state’s highest court decided Thursday. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Brian Melley Associated Press Bryan Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ Bryndon Madison Capitol Weekly -- 11/21/19

As Democratic primary heads toward all-white top tier, debate underscores risks of losing black voters -- Even as the Democratic presidential field seems to be narrowing to four top contenders, Wednesday night’s debate highlighted a question the party had hoped not to face: How much do Democrats risk if they offer voters an all-white set of top candidates? Janet Hook in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/19

Jeffe: The Kamala Dilemma—California Style -- It was 2:30 pm on a busy Saturday afternoon at the California Democratic Party Endorsing Convention—just a couple of hours away from a roll-out of myriad candidates for the party’s Presidential nomination. Some were taking a brief detour from the Golden State money trail; all were seeking to claim a California primary victory. In the Exhibit Hall candidate booths were abuzz. All except one: Kamala Harris’. Sherry Bebitch Jeffe Fox & Hounds -- 11/21/19

As Rents Outrun Pay, California Families Live on a Knife’s Edge -- The state’s severe housing shortage is driving up rents, leaving many lower-income families struggling to stay in neighborhoods they once could afford. Jill Cowan and Robert Gebeloff in the New York Times$ -- 11/21/19

Top state officials criticize Cal State math proposal, citing access concerns -- A controversial Cal State University proposal to require a fourth year of math-related coursework for admission came under robust questioning and at times harsh criticism Wednesday from top state educators and others who said it would unfairly block black and Latino students from the system with no guarantee that it would improve graduation rates. Nina Agrawal in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/19

In a tweet, Trump tells Navy not to boot Gallagher from SEALs -- President Donald Trump appeared to upend a Navy SEAL administrative board days before it started Thursday by tweeting that the Navy will not strip a decorated SEAL of his coveted trident pin in the wake of his court-martial conviction for posing with the corpse of an enemy combatant. Andrew Dyer in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/21/19

Minor crimes, major time: Many in juvenile halls there for low-level offenses -- As youth crime plummets, authorities claim California's increasingly empty juvenile halls now hold mostly the worst young offenders. But a Chronicle investigation shows nearly a third of kids in custody are there for low-level offenses. Joaquin Palomino and Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

Toll lanes could be headed to a Sacramento freeway. Here’s how they would work -- As traffic worsens on Interstate 80 between Sacramento and the Bay Area, regional and state planners are considering adding lanes to the freeway and designating some lanes as “toll lanes” to speed up the ride. Toll lanes are used in Southern California and the Bay Area. So how would they work here? Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/21/19

Hostage discovered in Santa Ana home, police say, as they arrest man suspected of killing Army veteran -- A Santa Ana man has been arrested in the alleged murder of an Army veteran, Adrian Darren Bonar, whose body was found in October in the trunk of a deserted Lexus in Anaheim Hills. Jeong Park in the Orange County Register -- 11/21/19

San Francisco’s quest to make landfills obsolete -- Even as other cities over the past several years have scaled back or even abandoned their recycling programs because they couldn’t find a market for the materials, San Francisco’s commitment to recycling has not wavered. Out of the city’s annual 900,000 tons of discarded material, it diverts more for reuse than it sends to landfills — a success that only a few peer cities, such as Seattle, have achieved. Erick Trickey Politico -- 11/21/19

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

‘A matter of life or death’: California regulators assail cell, internet firms for outage failures -- As another PG&E shut-off got underway, the California Public Utilities Commission grilled executives from eight wireless and internet companies about why hundreds of thousands of people lost vital services during past outages. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Miranda Leitsinger KQED Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/21/19

Latest fire-prevention power outage ending in California -- Pacific Gas & Electric expected to restore power Thursday to virtually all the 120,000 people it intentionally blacked out to avoid the risk of catastrophic wildfires. Janie Har Associated Press -- 11/21/19

California agency predicts $7 billion state budget surplus -- California is expected to have a $7 billion budget surplus next year, but lawmakers were urged Wednesday not to spend all of it because a sizable chunk depends on an upcoming decision by the Trump administration as it feuds with state Democratic leaders. Adam Beam Associated Press -- 11/21/19

Hundreds protest Ann Coulter speech at UC Berkeley, arrests made -- UC Berkeley police arrested multiple masked protesters Wednesday night at a rowdy demonstration against a scheduled speech by conservative pundit Ann Coulter. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Jaclyn Cosgrove, Shelby Grad in the Los Angeles Times$ Ali Tadayon in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/21/19

Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, neither pardoned nor cleared by Trump, says Navy is retaliating against him -- As the Navy took steps to consider further punishment of Navy SEAL Chief Edward R. Gallagher, his team filed an official complaint with the Inspector General alleging retaliation. Andrew Dyer in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/21/19

SF Judge Teri Jackson in line to achieve second judicial milestone -- Judge Teri Jackson has been nominated by Gov. Gavin Newsom to become the first female African American justice on the state’s First District Court of Appeal, the same milestone she achieved 17 years ago on the San Francisco Superior Court. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

50 years later, Native Americans return to Alcatraz to remember occupation -- Fifty years ago they were college students, carrying bullhorns. Now they are tribal elders, carrying canes. Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

California’s top court to decide whether state can force Trump to disclose tax returns -- California’s highest court will decide Thursday whether the state can require presidential candidates, including President Trump, to disclose their tax returns in order to appear on the state’s primary ballot. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/19

San Diego appeals court upholds new felony murder law -- In a pair of rulings a San Diego-based appeals court determined that SB 1437, the new law that revised the state’s felony-murder rule and opened the door for possibly hundreds of inmates to get reduced sentences, is constitutional. Greg Moran in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/21/19

Uber shows a big rise in government requests for rider information -- Uber said on Wednesday the number of requests for data on its riders from government officials in the United States and Canada rose sharply last year due, in part, to a “rising interest” in information on the ride-hailing company’s users. Rex Crum in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/21/19

Skelton: Californians care less about the issues. They want a candidate who can beat Trump -- After all the debating, it might not matter much to Democratic voters where the presidential wannabes stand on healthcare or other issues. They’ll simply want the nominee who is most likely to send President Trump packing. That’s especially true in California, according to a new statewide poll. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/19

Walters: Kamala Harris’ campaign sputtering -- It would be interesting to know the precise moment that California Sen. Kamala Harris realized that she would not win the presidency, at least not in 2020. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 11/21/19

California to new presidential candidates: We’re just not that into you -- The view from California is that the Democratic presidential candidates on the debate stage Wednesday night shouldn’t feel scorned because one new candidate just jumped into the race and another is on the way. It’s not about you. It’s about them. And, as is the case with everything political, it’s about Donald Trump. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

Health care costs for California workers are growing far faster than incomes -- Californians who get health insurance through their jobs are having to spend a greater share of their paychecks on health care costs, according to a new analysis of employer-sponsored health plans to be released Thursday by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit foundation that researches health industry trends. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

H-1B visa: Rule to ban H-1B spouses from working coming in March, Homeland Security says -- The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will publish in March a proposed rule to strip work authorization from spouses of H-1B visa holders, the agency said Wednesday in the latest federal government rule-making agenda. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/21/19

California boycotts Trump-aligned automakers in escalating emissions fight -- California is using a new strategy — the boycott — to push back against automakers that have sided with the Trump administration in the battle over the state’s regulation of tailpipe emissions. Tony Barboza in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/19

Commercial Dungeness crab season likely to be delayed until Dec. 15 -- The California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday that it likely would further delay the local commercial Dungeness crab season — due to open Nov. 22 — until Dec. 15 for the area south of the Mendocino-Sonoma county line. In a statement Wednesday afternoon, department director Charlton Bonham said a final decision will be made Friday. Justin Phillips in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

PayPal buys Honey for $4 billion in biggest-ever L.A. tech deal -- Digital payments giant PayPal Holdings Inc. announced a deal to buy the downtown Los Angeles-based Honey Science Corp. for $4 billion Wednesday, marking the largest acquisition of a tech company in L.A. history. Sam Dean in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/19

An ex-cabbie, now Lyft driver opens up about the economics of being a driver in SF -- Foley, 40, was a cab driver for seven years and, when working for Yellow Cab, riders always tipped. When he started driving for ride-hailing apps, he rarely got tips. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

Transit  

BART stabbing: Suspect walked away from hospital before attack, victim mourned -- It wasn’t the first killing on BART. But Tuesday’s bizarre attack — in which a man walked away from treatment at a San Leandro hospital, boarded a Warm Springs-bound train and allegedly stabbed a passenger multiple times — left top officials stunned. Rachel Swan, Evan Sernoffsky, Anna Bauman and Alejandro Serrano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

Housing  

Amid gentrification fears, officials kill plan for 577 apartments in South L.A. -- The South Los Angeles Area Planning Commission has voted to reject a plan for 577 apartments near a Crenshaw Boulevard light-rail station, the latest flare-up in a debate over gentrification and the benefits of market-rate housing. David Zahniser in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

Stockton, Rancho Cordova pass emergency bans on no-fault evictions -- Stockton and Rancho Cordova passed temporary bans on “no fault” evictions this week, as tenants across California report an uptick of sudden notices to leave their homes by the end of the year. Under a new state law, starting Jan. 1 rent increases will be capped at 5 percent plus inflation, and landlords will be restricted in how and when they can evict renters with some exemptions. Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/21/19

Roughly 100 residents avoid being displaced after Madera passes ban on no-fault evictions -- After about 30 tenants received no-fault 60-day eviction notices last month at the 46-unit Laguna Knolls apartment complex in Madera, council member Santos Garcia asked the council to consider an emergency ordinance to ban no-fault evictions. The measure passed unanimously. Manuela Tobias in the Fresno Bee$ -- 11/21/19

Wildfire  

She Fireproofed Her Home But Still Lost Her Insurance -- After more than three decades in the Sierra foothills town of Grass Valley, Emma Titus lost her homeowners insurance last week. Her insurer, The Hartford, said she hadn't done enough to fireproof her property, a 5-acre spread with old-growth pines and fruit trees. Mary Franklin Harvin KQED -- 11/21/19

Education 

CCSF slashes another 289 classes as spring registration opens -- As spring registration opened Wednesday at City College of San Francisco, administrators slashed 289 classes to close a new $13.1 million budget deficit, The Chronicle has learned. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

San Jose: Fear, frustration after Oak Grove High School bomb scare and Santa Teresa gun hoax -- Teachers, parents and students voiced fear and unease over school safety on Wednesday, a day after a homemade bomb was found in the student parking lot at Oak Grove High School and, hours later, a nearby high school was the target of a gun threat. Robert Salonga, Fiona Kelliher in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/21/19

‘Moderate’ funding increase predicted for California schools, community colleges in 2020-21 -- K-12 schools and community colleges can anticipate a “moderate” 4.2 percent increase in funding in the 2020-21 state budget, instead of a long-anticipated recession, the Legislative Analyst’s Office predicted Wednesday in its annual fiscal forecast. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 11/21/19

Cannabis 

With Cannabis Legal In California, Some Cities And Health Groups (And Neighbors) Are Asking Questions About Secondhand Smoke -- Julie Woodside enjoys living in the Arden Arcade area northeast of downtown Sacramento, but lately she’s been worried about the occasional whiff of marijuana coming from a nearby home. Sammy Caiola Capital Public Radio -- 11/21/19

Immigration / Border 

County supervisors again support Trump’s lawsuit against California’s sanctuary laws -- A divided San Diego County Board of Supervisors Wednesday voted 3-2 in a closed session to again support the Trump administration’s lawsuit against California over the state’s so-called sanctuary laws, which limit local law enforcement’s role in immigration enforcement. Charles T. Clark in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/21/19

Asylum-Officer Turns Whistleblower Says ‘Remain In Mexico’ Program Rigged -- A former asylum-officer has turned whistleblower after he was asked to send asylum-seekers back to Mexico under the Trump administration’s “Remain in Mexico” program. Douglas Stephens had only done five interviews with asylum-seekers in the “Remain in Mexico” program before he decided that it was breaking the law and resigned. Max Rivlin-Nadler KPBS -- 11/21/19

Water 

From toilets to taps: SF tests new water recycling program -- Manisha Kothari looked every bit the bartender as she filled a dozen shot glasses, pouring carefully from a slender pitcher. But what Kothari served on a weekday morning at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission’s headquarters was not a round of spirits. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

Environment 

The Cost of Battery Storage Plummets at the Right Moment for California -- California has a decade to reach its self-mandated goal of slashing greenhouse gas emissions to 40% of 1990 levels. One independent analysis found the state is falling behind — in part, because emissions from the transportation sector have soared to record highs. Kevin Stark KQED -- 11/21/19

Also . . . 

Jury awards $13.2 million to children of man who died after 2016 confrontation with Anaheim police officers -- A jury in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 20, awarded $13.2 million to the two children of 32-year-old Fermin Vincent Valenzuela, who died from complications of asphyxia after a confrontation with Anaheim police officers in 2016. Alma Fausto in the Orange County Register -- 11/21/19

Police can keep video from Ring doorbells indefinitely, adding to privacy concerns -- Once Ring doorbell owners give law enforcement access to video captured by their cameras, police can keep the video as long as they like and share it at their discretion, a Ring executive told a U.S. senator. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/19

‘A safe place to live’: Treasure Island beds help homeless in recovery to stay sober -- John almost lost it all. He’d been sober for years when he started drinking again. He tried Alcoholics Anonymous, but it didn’t work. He lost his job. His health was deteriorating. He was losing his apartment. “I just kind of lost control,” said John, now 40, in a recent interview. “Life became unmanageable.” Alejandro Serrano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

Santa Clara County DA launches investigation into police report of prosecutor using daughter to lure child molester -- The Santa Clara County district attorney’s office has launched an internal review after police said a prosecutor told them he used his 13-year-old daughter to lure a child molester back to where he had previously assaulted her, the district attorney said. Alejandro Serrano and Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

County to use automated license plate readers to document poor air quality in some San Diego neighborhoods -- On Wednesday county supervisors unanimously approved a proposal from the local air pollution control district to use the readers at 12 intersections to collect data on vehicles traveling through some of San Diego’s most environmentally disadvantaged neighborhoods. Charles T. Clark, Lauryn Schroeder in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/21/19

Judge Rules Against San Diego Sex Offender Ordinance -- A federal judge ruled Wednesday a San Diego ordinance restricting where registered sex offenders can live violates state law. U.S. District Judge Cynthia Bashant found the ordinance, one of the most restrictive of its kind in California, is preempted by state law and that the city has no authority to restrict the residency of sex offenders who are no longer on parole. Andrew Bowen KPBS -- 11/21/19

Off-duty Richmond cop shot armed man who was fleeing, police say -- The off-duty Richmond police officer who shot and killed a man in Vallejo last week during an argument fired the fatal shots as the other man — who was armed — fled, Vallejo police said Tuesday. Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/21/19

Inside the bloody cartel war for Mexico’s multibillion-dollar avocado industry -- Mexico’s multibillion-dollar avocado industry, headquartered in Michoacan state, has become a prime target for cartels, which have been seizing farms and clearing protected woodlands to plant their own groves of what locals call “green gold.” Kate Linthicum in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/19

POTUS 45  

Sondland Says He Followed Trump’s Orders to Pressure Ukraine -- An ambassador at the center of the House impeachment inquiry testified on Wednesday that he was following President Trump’s orders, with the full knowledge of other top administration officials, when he pressured the Ukrainians to conduct investigations into Mr. Trump’s political rivals in what he called a clear “quid pro quo.” Nicholas Fandos and Michael S. Schmidt in the New York Times$ Rachael Bade, Aaron C. Davis and Matt Zapotosky in the Washington Post$ Andrew Desiderio and Kyle Cheney Politico Rebecca Ballhaus and Dustin Volz in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/21/19

What Trump, Pence, Pompeo and others knew, according to Gordon Sondland’s testimony, texts and emails -- Gordon Sondland testified to Congress that he knew there was a quid pro quo, which he communicated to Ukrainian officials. But in putting himself out there, he made sure Congress knew that lots of other high-level officials knew about it, too. Amber Phillips and Joe Fox in the Washington Post$ -- 11/21/19

'I don't know him very well': Trump fights back against Sondland's testimony' -- Clutching handwritten notes scrawled with a Sharpie, President Donald Trump on Wednesday fought back against bombshell impeachment testimony from Gordon Sondland that tied the president even closer to a quid pro quo involving Ukraine and investigations into Trump's political rivals. Quint Forgey Politico -- 11/21/19

Beltway 

Gordon Sondland chooses to save himself, not Trump -- Minutes after he took his seat Wednesday in the House impeachment hearing, Ambassador Gordon Sondland made himself clear: He had come to save his own reputation, not the president’s. Noah Bierman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/19

Five takeaways from the Democratic presidential debate in Atlanta -- Less than 100 days before the first votes are cast, there is no more clarity to the contest than there was more than 100 days ago, when the series of debates began. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/21/19

 

-- Wednesday Updates 

PG&E outages: 90,000 people losing power in Bay Area -- Nearly 30,000 North Bay homes and businesses — equivalent to about 90,000 people — were without power or expected to lose it Wednesday morning in the latest round of PG&E’s precautionary power shutoffs. Michael Cabanatuan and Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/20/19

PG&E delays power shutoffs in Sierra foothill counties due to ‘evolving weather’ -- PG&E has delayed the start of Wednesday’s intentional blackouts by at least a few hours in several counties, including Placer, Nevada and El Dorado, as some rain started to fall in the foothills. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/20/19

San Jose: Police confirm Oak Grove High bomb; school closed Wednesday -- A San Jose high school was locked down and evacuated Tuesday after a homemade bomb was found in the student parking lot. Fiona Kelliher, Jason Green in the San Jose Mercury$ Julia Barajas in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/20/19

California is on track for a $7 billion budget surplus -- California’s long expansion should continue into next year, giving Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers another projected surplus as they begin to map out a new state budget. Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$-- 11/20/19

Netflix could play a key role in upcoming Hollywood labor drama -- As Hollywood’s major unions gird for potentially contentious contract negotiations with the major studios, streaming giant Netflix is moving to hash out its own labor deals that could give it a competitive advantage in the event of a strike. Wendy Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/20/19

AI to affect high-paying jobs held by Bay Area workers the most, studies say -- High-paying jobs held by male, white and Asian-American workers will be more affected by artificial intelligence than lower-paying jobs, a new study has found. And San Jose and San Francisco are among the metro areas that will feel the biggest impact from AI, according to researchers. Levi Sumagaysay in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/20/19

A gay man sued Palo Alto police. Now every officer will undergo LGBTQ training -- Eight months after a gay man sued Palo Alto and its police department for violating his civil rights, a settlement has been reached that requires all officers to undergo LGBTQ training. Maggie Angst in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/20/19

Lopez: Column: As L.A.'s homeless crisis worsens, no one is in charge. That has to change -- I could give you a hundred reasons homelessness has become L.A. County’s most vexing challenge, from the gargantuan income gap to housing costs to the scourge of drugs and mental illness, but the biggest impediment to solving it may be this: Nobody is in charge. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/20/19

Fox: Homeless Issue Tops in CA, Political Price for Inaction? -- Two recently issued polls reveal that homelessness is the top issue in California. Disagreement abounds on how to confront the problem but the truth is if the homeless crisis is not ameliorated there will be a political price to pay and wise politicians should understand that. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 11/20/19

Trump directed Ukraine quid pro quo, key witness says -- Ambassador Gordon Sondland told House impeachment investigators Wednesday that he worked with Rudy Giuliani on Ukraine at the “express direction” of President Donald Trump and pushed for a political “quid pro quo” with Kyiv because it was what Trump wanted. Lisa Mascaro, Mary Clare Jalonick and Eric Tucker Associated Press Nicholas Fandos and Michael S. Schmidt in the New York Times$ Aaron C. Davis and Rachael Bade in the Washington Post$ Rebecca Ballhaus and Dustin Volz in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/20/19

AP Fact Check: Trump distances himself from Sondland -- President Donald Trump sought to defend against accusations that he pushed Ukraine’s president for a political “favor” by making a dubious claim that he had little involvement with the U.S. ambassador testifying in House impeachment hearings. Hope Yen Associated Press -- 11/20/19