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Cave fire swells to 4,100 acres overnight, threatening homes in Santa Barbara County -- Firefighters on Tuesday continued to battle a wind-driven brush fire that erupted a day earlier near Highway 154 in Santa Barbara County and burned quickly downhill, threatening thousands of properties and sending residents fleeing from their homes. Leila Miller, Hannah Fry, Jaclyn Cosgrove in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/26/19

PG&E is testing technology that could prevent wildfires its equipment causes -- Distribution Fault Anticipation, as the technology is called, uses a predictive algorithm to assess electric systems and identify potential equipment failures, not unlike how a modern vehicle’s on-board computer works by “telling you everything there is to know of what’s wrong with the car,” said B. Don Russell. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/26/19

Exclusive: Trump’s top border official broke FBI rules to fund happy hours -- President Trump’s top border official broke federal ethics rules in a previous job by seeking sponsors to buy alcohol and fancy food for FBI happy hours, according to a watchdog report exclusively obtained by The Chronicle. Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of the Customs and Border Protection agency, continued asking the outside entities to pay for the social events even after being warned it was against federal rules, the Justice Department’s inspector general found. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/19

Cost of citizenship would rise 60% under Trump plan -- The proposed new rule, published on November 14 by the Federal Register with a month-long comment period, would raise the naturalization application fee for most eligible immigrants by more th an 60 percent, from $725 to $1,170. It also would eliminate a fee waiver now available to low-income applicants. Erica Hellerstein Calmatters -- 11/26/19

Elite climber survives El Capitan fall at Yosemite with help of ‘Free Solo’ climber -- An elite professional climber “pin balled” down Yosemite’s El Capitan — 3,000 feet of sheer vertical rock — on Sunday, sustaining scrapes and bruises but surviving with assistance from the climber whose ascent of the same cliff is profiled in the Oscar-winning film “Free Solo.” Anna Bauman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/19

L.A. could have 30 new homeless shelters, but the county is refusing to pay for them -- It took months to get off the ground, but Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti’s plan to build a homeless shelter in every City Council district has taken off. Benjamin Oreskes, Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/26/19

Lots of baby boomers will sell their Bay Area homes — here’s when that might affect the market -- A flood of houses for sale could be headed toward desperate Bay Area homebuyers. But don’t hold your breath — baby boomers won’t be leaving their roosts in earnest for at least another decade, according to a new Zillow survey. Louis Hansen in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/26/19

Ojai gets its first new apartment complex in over 10 years -- The small city of Ojai has many features that attract potential residents: a bustling downtown filled with local businesses, nearby hiking and bike trails, and views of surrounding mountains. But those looking to move to Ojai might have difficulty finding a place to rent. Erin Rode in the Ventura County Star -- 11/26/19

Most city workers pay $0 in healthcare premiums. Garcetti said he’d change that. He hasn’t -- In a major policy reversal that critics say will cost the city and taxpayers millions of dollars, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has abandoned his long-stated goal of getting the city’s public employee unions to pay a portion of their healthcare costs. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/26/19

Med school free rides and loan repayments — California tries to boost its dwindling doctor supply -- Primary care doctors are a hot commodity across California. Students are being lured by full-ride scholarships to medical schools. New grads are specifically recruited for training residencies. And full-fledged doctors are being offered loan repayment programs to serve low-income residents or work in underserved areas. Elizabeth Aguilera Calmatters -- 11/26/19

Column One: How befriending Mister Rogers’ widow allowed me to learn the true meaning of his legacy. Amy Kaufman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/26/19

Fox: Contradictory California and the Governor’s Approval Rating -- Gavin Newsom’s approval rating as measured in the recent Public Policy Institute of California poll is mixed at best and just might reflect attitudes toward the contradictions that abound in California. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 11/26/19

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

Cave fire threatens homes in Santa Barbara County amid strong winds -- A wind-driven brush fire that started late Monday afternoon near Highway 154 in Santa Barbara County moved quickly downhill, prompting mandatory evacuations and threatening homes. The Cave fire started just after 4 p.m. near East Camino Cielo and Painted Cave Road in Los Padres National Forest and by 9 p.m. had grown to at least 3,122 acres, according to the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. Jaclyn Cosgrove in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/26/19

Lack of driver’s license isn’t reason for police to search vehicle at traffic stop -- A driver’s failure to produce a valid license when stopped by police does not authorize them to search the car without a warrant, a divided California Supreme Court ruled Monday, overturning its decision in a similar case in 2002. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/19

As group home closes, mentally ill may end up in shelter -- Despite City Hall’s efforts to save San Francisco’s board-and-care homes, the facilities for the homeless, mentally ill and drug addicted are still rapidly closing around the city — and officials are running out of places to send the residents. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/19

Sierra winds reach 94 mph ahead of big snow storm -- Dangerous winds in the Sierra toppled a semi-trailer truck, downed power lines and closed a stretch of highway in Southern California on Monday ahead of a winter storm expected to bring up to 2 feet (60 centimeters) of snow to mountain tops around Lake Tahoe. Scott Sonner Associated Press -- 11/26/19

90-mph winds pound Mammoth as big snow storm approaches California -- Wind gusts topped 90 mph Monday in some parts of the Sierra, a preview of a major change in the weather across California that will bring rain and snow across the state for Thanksgiving. Hannah Fry, Laura Newberry, Gary Robbins in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/26/19

California man tells court he served as agent for China -- Xuehua Edward Peng agreed in court to a four-year prison term and a fine of $30,000 in a plea deal negotiated with prosecutors after they charged him with being an illegal foreign agent who delivered U.S. national security information to officials in China. Janie Har Associated Press -- 11/26/19

The Devin Nunes-Ukraine allegations, explained -- The House Intelligence Committee just finished hearing from a dozen witnesses, many of whom said President Trump’s allies were pushing unsubstantiated allegations about Joe Biden in Ukraine. Amber Phillips in the Washington Post$ -- 11/26/19

DCCC hitting Devin Nunes over alleged Ukrainian meeting -- The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is turning up the heat on Rep. Devin Nunes as the California Republican faces scrutiny over his alleged contact with a former Ukrainian official. Jeremy B. White Politico Andrew Sheeler in the Fresno Bee -- 11/26/19

Now that an ex-Trump aide is running for Rep. Katie Hill’s old seat, here’s his competition -- Four months ago, the race for Katie Hill’s north Los Angeles County congressional seat looked a lot different. Ryan Carter in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/26/19

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

SFO is booming. But workers there are struggling -- Hundreds of airline catering workers at San Francisco International Airport plan to demonstrate Tuesday as they push for better pay and benefits — spotlighting the ever-present debate about what makes for a living wage in the Bay Area. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/19

California unemployment checks could be late this week because of tech error -- Californians expecting an unemployment check this week might not see their money until Wednesday due to a technical system error, according to the California Employment Development Department. Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/26/19

CalPERS police-fire costs hit ‘unsustainable’ level -- A new CalPERS report shows average local government police and firefighter pension costs have reached 50 percent of pay — a level former CalPERS chief actuary Ron Seeling warned a decade ago would be in his view “unsustainable.” Ed Mendel Calpensions.com -- 11/26/19

Risks, rewards and robots: The future of work in California -- In today’s increasingly automated economy, that’s certainly the fear. Technology has always generated economic churn, destroying some jobs and creating others. Already advances have generated a whole new sector of “gig” employment, and deeply disrupted other workplaces, from brick-and-mortar bookstores to newspapers to travel agencies. Judy Lin Calmatters -- 11/26/19

Charles Schwab, TD Ameritrade deal shows need for brokers to bulk up -- Charles Schwab is buying rival TD Ameritrade in an all-stock deal initially valued at $26 billion, which is almost exactly what the latter company was worth the day before Schwab cut trading commissions to zero, a move followed almost immediately by Ameritrade and others. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/19

Google fires four workers, including software engineers at center of San Francisco worker rally -- Google announced Monday it had fired four employees for what it said were violations of its policies around accessing and sharing internal documents and calendars, amid rising tensions over what some workers say is a newly concerted effort by management to stifle the tech giant’s freewheeling culture. Greg Bensinger in the Washington Post$ Levi Sumagaysay in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/26/19

McDonald’s agrees to $26M settlement with California workers -- McDonald’s has agreed to a $26 million settlement of a long-running class-action lawsuit over wages and work conditions at corporate-run locations in California, the parties said Monday. The agreement, which estimates the settlement covers about 38,000 individuals, requires the approval of a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge. John Antczak Associated Press -- 11/26/19

Time is running out for the braceros -- Oscar Serna is still waiting for wages he is owed from working in the farm fields of California and Texas more than 70 years ago. Serna was 16 when he came from Mexico and was hired under an agreement between the U.S. and Mexico governments to work in the fields, where he picked oranges and grapefruit. Jorge Macías Calmatters -- 11/26/19

FTC fights for anti-monopoly sanctions against Qualcomm, downplays national security concerns -- The U.S. Federal Trade Commission made its case for upholding an anti-monopoly judgment against Qualcomm, calling concerns that the ruling could harm national security “pure speculation.” The agency outlined its position in support of a district judge’s ruling that Qualcomm violated antitrust laws in a court filing before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday. Mike Freeman in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/26/19

Activists Build a Grass-Roots Alliance Against Amazon -- The report, from the Economic Roundtable, a nonprofit research group that focuses on social and economic issues in Southern California, delves into the largely unexplored topic of what Amazon is costing the communities where it has warehouses. The short answer: a lot. David Streitfeld in the New York Times$ -- 11/26/19

Hollywood intersection is renamed for Motown Records founder Berry Gordy -- In a glass-walled conference room above Sunset Boulevard, many of the living luminaries of the Motown Records empire gathered Monday to honor one of their own — the man responsible for launching more than a few of their careers, and changing popular music as we know it. Julia Wick in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/26/19

Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds 

New parcel tax for Oakland parks maintenance, homeless services to go on March ballot -- The tax, if passed, is estimated to generate $21 million annually for 20 years — $13.44 million would be used for parks, landscape maintenance and recreational services; $6.3 million would be used for homeless support services; $1.05 million would be used to fix and clean storm drains; and $210,000 to be used for auditing and overseeing the tax. Ali Tadayon in the East Bay Times -- 11/26/19

Nevada passes 3M population mark with push from Californians -- Robert Lang, executive director of Brookings Mountain West at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, said there are now more adults in Nevada who were born in California than native Nevadans. Associated Press -- 11/26/19

Homeless  

Judge deals another blow to Navigation Center foes -- Despite all the effort and money spent by a group of San Franciscans to prevent a 200-bed homeless shelter from opening on the Embarcadero, a judge has ruled that the construction may continue. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Matthew Green KQED -- 11/26/19

Arrests outside Oakland City Hall as protesters pitch tents, call out homeless strategy -- Twenty-two people were arrested early Monday in Oakland after dozens of protesters set up tents outside City Hall to bring attention to the treatment of homeless people, officials said. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/19

San Diego City Council Falling Short In Meeting Homeless Housing Goal -- It’s been more than a year since the San Diego City Council voted to provide 140 new housing units for homeless and disabled residents in each council district by 2021, but little has been done to meet that commitment. Cody Dulaney/inewsource via KPBS -- 11/26/19

Education 

Man threatened to ‘shoot up and blow up’ SFSU library, police say -- A man walked into the library at San Francisco State University on Monday afternoon and threatened to “shoot up and blow up” the place, prompting a large police response and a shelter in place order, officials said. Evan Sernoffsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/19

Video shows barrage of gunfire that killed boys in Union City school parking lot -- The dark and grainy video, obtained from a neighbor near Searles Elementary school by KPIX-TV and KTVU-TV, shows the gunfire erupt around 1:30 a.m. Saturday that left the boys, ages 11 and 14 dead. Evan Sernoffsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/19

Parents, other experts named to guide California’s early education reforms -- Parents and family child care providers will help guide California’s revamp of early childhood education, a signature issue of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration. Zaidee Stavely EdSource -- 11/26/19

Environment 

Above-ground power lines grow in risk as climate changes -- Trees toppling onto above-ground power lines spark wildfires, more than 1,000 of them in the last decade in California alone. The wires snap in blizzards and hurricanes, causing dayslong outages. Everywhere, power poles topple in all kinds of disasters, blocking escape routes. Ellen Knickmeyer and Jocelyn Gecker Associated Press -- 11/26/19

Gated San Diego neighborhood declared ineligible for city’s utility undergrounding -- The neighborhood has long wanted its telephone poles, power lines and other utilities undergrounded as part of a multimillion-dollar city program. But City Atty. Mara Elliott says the neighborhood is ineligible because of the gates. David Garrick in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/26/19

WMO: Carbon dioxide levels hit the highest recorded in human history -- Atmospheric levels of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) reached the highest ever recorded in human history in 2018, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) announced in a new report Monday. If the trend continues, as predicted, the impact of climate change will become even more severe, the intergovernmental organization warns. Rebecca Falconer Axios -- 11/26/19

Also . . . 

Suspect in BART killing ran away from hospital on way to bathroom, deputy DA says -- A man suspected of stabbing a BART passenger to death aboard a train last week ran away from a hospital as staffers were escorting him to the bathroom, an Alameda County district attorney official said Monday. Alejandro Serrano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/19

At age 12, he watched his brother get killed. Now SF teen is accused of revenge slaying -- He was 12 years old when he watched his older brother get stabbed in the heart on a San Francisco sidewalk and then bleed to death during a car ride to the hospital. Five years later, the younger brother of Rashawn Williams is facing a murder charge himself, in what authorities believe is a case of retaliatory violence. Evan Sernoffsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/19

Lina Fat, credited with building a Sacramento-area restaurant empire, dies at 81 -- Lina Fat, the woman widely credited with building the Fat Family Restaurant Group empire beyond its L Street roots, died Monday at about 1:15 a.m. at Sutter General Hospital. She was 81. Benjy Egel and Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/26/19

POTUS 45  

Supreme Court blocks House committee from immediately reviewing Trump’s financial records -- The Supreme Court on Monday blocked a House committee from immediately reviewing President Trump’s financial records, after the president’s lawyers agreed to an expedited review of a lower-court ruling granting access. Robert Barnes in the Washington Post$ -- 11/26/19

Beltway 

Donald McGahn Must Testify to Congress, Judge Rules; Administration Will Appeal “Presidents are not kings,” a judge said in ruling that former White House counsel Donald McGahn must appear before impeachment investigators. Charlie Savage in the New York Times$ -- 11/26/19

 

-- Monday Updates 

Esper says Trump ordered him to allow SEAL to keep status -- Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Monday that President Donald Trump gave him a direct order to allow a Navy SEAL accused of war crimes to retire without losing his SEAL status. Robert Burns Associated Press -- 11/25/19

Boat on which 34 died in fire was exempt from latest Coast Guard safety rules, records show -- The Conception dive boat, on which 34 people died in a Labor Day fire, had been exempted by the U.S. Coast Guard from stricter safety rules designed to make it easier for passengers to escape, documents and interviews by The Times show. Mark Puente, Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/19

Charles Schwab to give up SF headquarters in $26 billion TD Ameritrade deal -- Charles Schwab announced Monday it would acquire rival stock brokerage TD Ameritrade in an all-stock deal worth $26 billion. As part of the transaction, the combined companies expect to move their headquarters to the Dallas-Forth Worth area, where both already have some operations. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/19

EBay Sells StubHub to Viagogo for $4.05 Billion -- EBay Inc. is selling its ticket marketplace StubHub to European rival Viagogo for $4.05 billion in cash, allowing the company to focus on its main retail site and address pressure from shareholder activists. Liana Baker Bloomberg -- 11/25/19

Cash-poor Dems to Obama donors: ‘Give so much that it actually hurts’ -- Former President Barack Obama received a standing ovation at a Los Altos Hills fundraiser the other day, but the 100 donors in attendance heard something else that they didn’t cheer as loudly for — a really hard sell to “give until it hurts.” Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/19

At age 12, he watched his brother get killed. Now SF teen is accused of revenge slaying -- He was 12 years old when he watched his older brother get stabbed in the heart on a San Francisco sidewalk and then bleed to death during a car ride to the hospital. Evan Sernoffsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/19

The secret BASE jumpers of California -- Daniel Ristow toed a rugged precipice high above a narrow gully near the summit of Mount Morrison and spit into the thin mountain air. The wind carried his projectile left to right, indicating a slight quartering tail wind — maybe 5 to 8 mph. Not ideal, Ristow thought. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/19

How scientists put a heart monitor on a blue whale in Monterey Bay -- Every year millions of people are given EKG tests to measure the health of their hearts. Taking the practice to an entirely new and amazing level, scientists have for the first time ever attached a heart monitor to a blue whale — the largest living animal on Earth — while it was swimming in the ocean. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/25/19

Taylor: BART ambassadors could de-escalate situations before they become violent. Time to hire some -- A few weeks ago, I was at the Powell Street BART Station and noticed a man wearing a stained gray sweatsuit bumping into people as they stood in line waiting for a train. A BART police officer watched as people scattered, but the officer didn’t stop the man from getting onto the train. Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/19

Why PG&E gave some customers up to $250 credit after shutoffs and not others -- For the nearly 1 million customers who were inconvenienced by PG&E’s first massive planned power outage, the check for your troubles is literally in the mail this month. More precisely, a credit should have showed up in your November utility bill. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/25/19

Investigators scrutinize Giuliani firm and donations to Trump super PAC as part of broad probe -- The federal investigation into two associates of Rudolph W. Giuliani is exploring a wide range of potential crimes — including wire fraud and failure to register as a foreign agent — as prosecutors dig into the pair’s interactions with the president’s personal lawyer and the main pro-Trump super PAC, according to people familiar with the investigation. Devlin Barrett, Tom Hamburger, Rosalind S. Helderman and Josh Dawsey in the Washington Post$ -- 11/25/19