California Policy & Politics This Morning
FEMA says it may bill fire victims if it can’t get $4 billion from PG&E -- Federal officials say Pacific Gas and Electric Co. owes the government nearly $4 billion, and if they can’t get the payment request resolved as part of the utility’s bankruptcy case, they may later have to ask wildfire victims for a portion of the money instead. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/12/20
Big increase in firefighters proposed for California -- The past three years — with massive wildfires setting records across California — have been rough on firefighters. Now, as climate change continues to warm the state and population growth pushes more people into fire-prone areas, some relief may be on the way. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/12/20
California Governor Newsom sends incident managers to help with Puerto Rico’s earthquakes -- The 31 disaster specialists will leave Sunday for Puerto Rico and deploy for 16 days, according to a statement from the governor’s office, and will be led by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, known as Cal OES. Sawsan Morrar in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/12/20
Oakland property owner offers to pay for housing to get homeless women out -- Wedgewood Properties said Saturday it would pay temporary housing and moving expenses for a group of homeless mothers who have been living in the company’s vacant Oakland home for months. Anna Bauman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/12/20
San Diego, other local cities could reap millions from redevelopment lawsuit -- San Diego officials say they hope to get a windfall of up to $40 million sometime this year from a lawsuit that challenges how the county divides up property tax collected by the city’s former redevelopment agency. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/12/20
San Diego pension debt climbs past $3B for first time -- A new analysis shows San Diego’s pension debt has climbed past $3 billion for the first time, forcing the city to increase its annual pension payment by more than $11 million this year despite a projected budget deficit of $84 million. The climb past $3 billion continues a long and steady series of increases for the pension debt, which was $1.2 billion in 2007. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/12/20
Lesser-known candidates could shake up tight race to replace Hunter -- The race for California’s 50th congressional district is one of the premiere contests of the 2020 election cycle, with a political family dynasty in shambles, several high profile candidates, and lots and lots of money. Charles T. Clark in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/12/20
Same candidates, new race. Could turnout change the results of this L.A. council rematch? -- Just months after he was sworn in at City Hall, Los Angeles City Councilman John Lee is facing a rematch for his seat against Loraine Lundquist, the astrophysicist and college educator who lost to Lee in a special election in August. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/12/20
Smolens: A family affair: The rise and fall of Rep. Duncan Hunter -- Duncan Hunter squandered one of the rarest opportunities in America: to serve in Congress. Out of more than 200 million people living in the United States who are at least 25 years old — the minimum age requirœed for Congress — only 435 are members of the House of Representatives. Michael Smolens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/12/20
Once-a-decade redistricting effort could shift San Diego politics -- San Diego is launching its once-a-decade effort to make sure its nine City Council districts are balanced by population and reflect recent demographic changes across the city. The City Clerk began recruiting members this week for a nine-member independent panel of volunteers who will create new boundary lines for council districts based on data from the 2020 U.S. Census. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/12/20
Walters: The politics of slow population growth -- During the first decade of the 21st century, demographers in California’s Department of Finance and those in the U.S. Census Bureau found themselves in a genteel conflict. Years by year, the two agencies’ estimates of California’s population diverged, finally reaching a gap of about 1 million human beings. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 1/12/20
Newsom’s budget includes $20 million for California’s biggest new state park in decades -- California is in the land market to create a new state park. The only questions are — where? And at what price? Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Friday that he wants legislative leaders to dedicate $20 million from a one-time budget surplus to help purchase new public parkland, possibly creating one of the largest new state parks in decades. Louis Sahagun in the Los Angeles Times$ Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/12/20
Despite predicted financial blow, most San Jose public employee unions remain strong -- Despite fears that a U.S. Supreme Court ruling would trigger a mass exodus of members from government unions, most of San Jose’s public employee unions remain strong 18 months later. Maggie Angst in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/12/20
She embodied the hopes for L.A.’s cannabis program. Can she overcome its stumbles? -- When Cat Packer was chosen to head a Los Angeles city department that would help usher in the legalization of marijuana, then-Council President Herb Wesson billed her appointment as a bold example of what Los Angeles stood for. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/12/20
Board salaries climb at Surfing Madonna Oceans Project as revenue, grants dip -- Annual revenue at the Surfing Madonna Oceans Project slumped by more than 10 percent last year, slicing tens of thousands of dollars from the Encinitas charity’s bottom line. The amount of grants it awarded dipped by a similar amount. Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/12/20
Black market fuels brazen Bay Area laptop thefts in cafes -- Their Macbooks and Dells have become prime targets for coffee-shop bandits who strike day or night, often in groups, and flee in mere seconds, motivated by a black market hungry for laptops that can be scrubbed of data and shipped overseas. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/12/20
What causes dangerous tule fog in California’s Central Valley, and why is it becoming less common? -- Love it or hate it, a study a few years ago by researchers at UC Berkeley found that the trend is for less and less of the pea-soup fog. Paul Duginski in the Los Angeles Times$ -- -- 1/12/20
Willie Brown: Tom Steyer’s surge isn’t just good for him. It also helps Michael Bloomberg -- Our own Tom Steyer returns to the Democratic primary debate stage Tuesday, barely making the cut after spending $67 million to date and surging in two new state polls. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/12/20
Soda, cigarettes, and charter schools: How Michael Bloomberg used his fortune to shape California politics -- Long before Michael Bloomberg set his sights on California’s presidential primary, the former New York City mayor used his massive fortune to shape the state’s politics, investing huge sums on campaigns ranging from sugary soda taxes to under-the-radar school board races. Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/12/20
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Tesla left car buyer out in the cold -- Instead of partying on New Year’s Eve, hundreds of people who had ordered Teslas for delivery before a federal tax credit expired after Dec. 31 lined up at the company’s Fremont plant to pick up their cars. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/12/20
How SpaceX is building Starlink, a low cost broadband network in space -- Jan. 6, SpaceX began 2020 by launching a rocket with 60 satellites to bring its Starlink satellite network up to 182, the largest satellite fleet in the world. Today we look at the record-setting mission and the plan for its low-cost global broadband network. Kurt Snibbe in the Orange County Register -- 1/12/20
Homeless
Sweeps of Homeless Camps in California Aggravate Key Health Issues -- It's 5 a.m., and the thermostat reads 44 degrees F. Cars round the bend of an off-ramp of state Route 24 in northern Oakland, spraying bands of light across Norm Ciha and his neighbors. They wear headlamps so they can see in the dark as they gather their belongings: tents, clothes, cooking gear, carts piled with blankets, children's shoes and, in one case, a set of golf clubs. Anna Maria Barry-Jester Kaiser Health News via KQED -- 1/12/20
Vouchers in hand, some homeless in the Sepulveda Basin are displaced with apartments almost in reach -- Yet the challenges that come with finding a landlord to accept Section 8 mean people like Mark and Sharon are being displaced by police and sanitation crews even with a ticket out. “I’m just glad we’ve got it dangling in front of us,” said Kline of his potential voucher-funded apartment as trash trucks crept closer to his encampment. “Before this we’d be at the end of our line.” Ariella Plachta in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 1/12/20
Wildfire
U.S. firefighters sent to battle Australia’s wildfires arrive to cheers and applause -- More than 100 U.S. firefighters, including dozens from California, have traveled to Australia over the last month to help combat the country’s wildfires that have consumed more than 12.5 million acres of vegetation. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/12/20
Education
California governor proposes nearly $1 billion to tackle teacher preparation, shortages -- Anticipating nearly $4 billion more in revenue for K-12 schools and community colleges in the next state budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday proposed to continue massive investments for teacher recruitment and training and for transforming special education. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 1/12/20
California governor wants to expand preschool and create new early child development department -- Gov. Gavin Newsom is moving forward on his promise to offer subsidized preschool to all low-income 4-year-olds and is proposing to consolidate most other subsidized child care programs in California in a new Department of Early Childhood Development. Zaidee Stavely EdSource -- 1/12/20
Newsom proposes funding boost for colleges and universities but education leaders wanted more -- California’s public colleges and universities would receive more state funds to help improve graduation rates, expand online education for older students and lower textbook costs under Governor Gavin Newsom’s budget plan for 2020-21 unveiled Friday. Larry Gordon and Michael Burke EdSource -- 1/12/20
POTUS 45
Trump Allies Explore Buyout of Conservative Channel Seeking to Compete With Fox News -- Allies of President Trump are pursuing an effort to acquire right-leaning news channel One America News Network, according to people familiar with the matter, in a bid to shake up a conservative media market that has been dominated by Fox News. Juliet Chung, Corrie Driebusch and Rebecca Ballhaus in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 1/12/20
-- Saturday Updates
California may switch to shorter probation terms -- Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to overhaul California’s probation system by greatly reducing the time a convict is under supervised release, but increasing rehabilitation programs at the outset of the probationary period, when they are considered the most effective. Don Thompson Associated Press in the San Jose Mercury$
E-bikes are wildly popular in the Bay Area. Can they really replace cars? -- When Liza Lutzker threw her daughters a back-to-school party at the Berkeley Rose Garden, she and her husband packed all the provisions on their electric cargo bikes: two boxes of firewood, food for 30 people, a water dispenser, plates, napkins, glasses and two kids. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/12/20
Sea lions are cash cows in the Bay Area. Farther south, fishermen say, ‘Shoot ‘em’ -- Sea lions are increasingly living in parallel universes along the California coast, a disparity best observed amid the noisy, stinking spectacle that rolls out daily at San Francisco’s Pier 39 shopping center. Louis Sahagun in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/12/20
Newsom’s budget includes $900 million to address California teacher shortage -- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed state budget includes $900 million to recruit and retain teachers, part of a plan to attack a critical statewide shortage of instructors, especially in math, sciences and for students with disabilities. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/12/20
Five quintessentially Newsom moments from the governor’s news conference -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom began a news conference Friday to unveil his $222.2-billion state budget proposal with a plea for forgiveness and a warning: The exhaustive 90-minute presentation he gave for his first spending plan one year ago wasn’t an exception, it set a precedent. Taryn Luna, Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/12/20
Day labor center in Westlake fights eviction, arguing it is ‘safety net’ for community -- Eight days before Christmas, a day labor center in the Westlake district of Los Angeles received an eviction notice. According to the landowner, the site has become a “nuisance” and a “blight.” As a result, the organization that runs it has been given until mid-January to vacate. Julia Barajas in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/12/20
A high-profile lawsuit targeting Huntington Beach over housing could end in a settlement -- In a letter sent to the Orange County city on Friday, state housing officials said a proposal to increase low-income housing development in the city would meet the terms of a state law that requires all communities to zone for enough affordable housing to meet projected population growth. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/12/20
Lopez: This immigration attorney understands her clients. She’s undocumented, too -- On Friday morning, attorney Lizbeth Mateo went to immigration court in downtown Los Angeles to represent a client with whom she has something in common. She’s undocumented, too. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/12/20
Lelyveld: How can we help the homeless? Let’s start by asking them -- I am an individual. I have individual needs. Unhoused people have them too. Start to ask them and they’ll tell you. They’ll be specific. Pet food for a dog. Sanitary pads. Loaded TAP cards to help them travel to the welfare office or a nonprofit that can provide them with showers and fresh clothes and a meal. On a larger scale, toilets and trash cans to help them live on the streets in a cleaner, more civilized way. Nita Lelyveld in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/12/20