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Cities should act on homelessness or face lawsuits, Newsom task force says -- Recommendations by Gov. Gavin Newsom's task force on homelessness in California call for a legally enforceable 'mandate to end homelessness' on the November ballot, echo the governor's request for more funding and call for a homelessness czar. Matt Levin, Jackie Botts Calmatters -- 1/13/20
Ex-Sheriff Lee Baca likely headed to prison after Supreme Court declines to review case -- The high court denied Baca’s writ of certiorari, filed July 18, which would have reopened his case for review after a panel of judges from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last year that his conviction for helping orchestrate a scheme to interfere with an FBI investigation into abuses at the county’s jails was fair and legally sound. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/13/20
How AB5 affects gig rivals: One gets more business, one exits California -- AB5, the state’s new gig work law, took effect Jan. 1, and has already changed some livelihoods, with Uber drivers, freelance writers and performing artists among those feeling its impact. Less well-known gig companies that connect workers to blue-collar jobs are also affected — sometimes to their benefit, sometimes not. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/13/20
Deadly boat fire: Four families of victims file suit against Conception owners -- Four families whose relatives were among the 34 people killed in a fire early Labor Day morning aboard the dive boat Conception are suing the vessel’s owners, alleging they failed to have a roving watch required by the Coast Guard, had insufficient fire suppression and detection and inadequate means of escape. Richard Winton, Mark Puente in the Los Angeles Times$ Brian Melley Associated Press -- 1/13/20
‘Outrageous.’ Officials furious that FEMA seeks money from California wildfire victims -- Camp Fire survivor Danielle Patrich was livid to hear that the federal government is trying to carve out money from the PG&E Corp. bankruptcy — money that would otherwise go to victims like her. Dale Kasler and Ryan Sabalow in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/13/20
Taylor: Amplified hostility between US, Iran puts Bay Area communities on edge -- Sadri Madjlessi, the co-owner of Hudson Bay Cafe in North Oakland, was planning to buy a plane ticket to visit his mother’s grave in Iran. The U.S. drone strike that killed a top Iranian general on Jan. 3 put his plans on hold. Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/13/20
Admissions scandal: Charged parents try to drag USC into the fray -- From the start, federal prosecutors have tried to make the college admissions case a straightforward story about greed. But in the nine months since, the case has turned murky. Joel Rubin, Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/13/20
Beverage makers have dodged California’s recycling crisis. That may soon change -- Across California, can and bottle redemption centers have closed. Consumers struggle to find places to get nickels and dimes for their containers. Supermarkets are obliged to redeem cans and bottles not deposited elsewhere. Trash companies take the remainder. James Rainey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/13/20
California judge could face expulsion after charges of sexual harassment -- A state judicial panel says extensive testimony showed California Appeals Court Justice Jeffrey Johnson sexually harassed numerous women at the courthouse, including a colleague whom he repeatedly groped and propositioned over a nine-year period. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/13/20
Why one Bay Area county is exploring basic income for former foster youth -- When Dontae Lartigue left foster care right before his 19th birthday in 2009, finding housing in Santa Clara County was one of his biggest obstacles. He struggled to find places he could afford on his $12 an hour salary at Walmart, and with a limited income and no rental history, he found landlords were often wary of returning his calls. So Lartigue, who is now 29 years old, ended up couch surfing or sleeping in his car. Erica Hellerstein Calmatters -- 1/13/20
Newsom, legislators seek to add Bay Area open space to California park system -- An immense stretch of ecologically valuable woodlands and open space covering four Bay Area counties has been targeted by Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators to become the first major property added to the California state park system since the 1940s. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/13/20
‘They’ve been getting sicker’: Insœide SF’s effort to help the toughest homeless cases -- For two years, San Francisco outreach workers had tried coaxing into housing a frail 42-year-old homeless man who’d been adrift on the city’s streets for more than a decade. Dominic Fracassa and Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/13/20
Body found hanging from tree with rope around neck near I-80 south of Roseville, CHP says -- The California Highway Patrol is investigating after a dead body was found hanging from a tree Saturday night along Interstate 80, between Citrus Heights and Roseville. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/13/20
Cal State San Marcos official who approved lavish spending is still on payroll -- Although a key figure in the still-open probe into travel expenses at Cal State San Marcos left his post as provost, he remains on the university payroll. Jeff MCDonald, Morgan Cook in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/13/20
9-year-old finds loaded Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputy’s handgun in Airbnb -- The Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office has launched an internal investigation after a Hayward family found a deputy’s loaded gun and badge seemingly forgotten in a South Lake Tahoe Airbnb on Friday night. Fiona Kelliher in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/13/20
'Unapologetic': Jerry Brown's Legacy In Oakland -- Oakland feels a lot different today than it did when Jerry Brown was elected mayor in 1998. That’s because he had a lot to do with how the city changed. The unapologetic and sometimes controversial Brown is featured in KQED's newest podcast, The Political Mind of Jerry Brown. KQED -- 1/13/20
Fox: For Small Business, the Governor’s Budget Giveth and Taketh Away -- While recognizing the emergence of an evolving economy and new ways of working, Governor Gavin Newsom’s second budget both promotes and raises obstacles to these circumstances. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 1/13/20
California Policy & Politics This Morning
The delta’s sinking islands -- A fight over the management of a diked island in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta is shining a light on a growing conundrum for California water managers, farmers and environmentalists over the best way to restore natural habitat on cropland created more than a century ago by draining marshes. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/13/20
The Neverending Battle Over Martins Beach Explained -- The California Coastal Commission and the State Lands Commission continue their battle with Silicon Valley billionaire Vinod Khosla over public access to Martins Beach onœ the San Mateo County coast. For 100 years, Bay Area families have been going to this beach, seven miles south of Half Moon Bay, to fish, swim and picnic. The only way onto this scenic beach is a single road through private property. KQED -- 1/13/20
Skelton: Column: Newsom has had lots of luck as governor. He’ll need it for his long list of priorities -- Newsom? He’s the lucky one. That’s his most significant trait so far. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/13/20
Walters: More entitlements as economy slows? -- Gov. Gavin Newsom is tiptoeing into a political region that predecessor Jerry Brown purposely skirted — expanding expensive services and benefits that are difficult, and perhaps impossible, to shrink if California’s economy turns sour. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 1/11/20
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$ -- 1/13/20
At town hall, Campa-Najjar says he will fight money’s influence on politics -- Ammar Campa-Najjar, a Democratic challenger for the 50th Congressional District, promised at a Sunday town hall that he would work to end limitless corporate campaign spending and curb the influence of money and insider politics on government. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/13/20
New bill would make it illegal to send unsolicited nude photos in California -- When Ling Ling Chang was a state assemblywoman making her first bid at a California senate seat in 2016, she wanted to make herself more accessible to the public. So she shared her cell phone number online. The Diamond Bar resident heard from constituents with legitimate concerns. She also got multiple nude photos from men she’d never met. Brooke Staggs in the Orange County Register -- 1/13/20
Calbuzz: Why We Need a United Front Against Trump (UFAT) -- With the first votes about to be cast in Iowa, New Hampshire and among absentee voters in California (February 22), it’s time for Democrats to form the United Front Against Trump (UFAT). Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 1/13/20
Transit
Electric moped rentals now available in Oakland -- The latest tech firm to offer smartphone-backed transportation in Oakland made its debut Friday, as the moped rental startup Revel began depositing a fleet of Vespa-style electric motorcycles on the city’s streets. Nico Savidge in the East Bay Times -- 1/13/20
Education
Two States. Eight Textbooks. Two American Stories. -- We analyzed some of the most popular social studies textbooks used in California and Texas. Here’s how political divides shape what students learn about the nation’s history. Dana Goldstein in the New York Times$ -- 1/13/20
For-profit film school turned their Hollywood dreams into student debt nightmares -- Only two months into pursuing his dream to be a sound engineer, David Gross knew he’d made a mistake. The single father in 2013 signed up at a for-profit college in Burbank that convinced him it was his path to a Hollywood job. But after two classes, he realized it was “definitely not what I was promised,” he said. Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/13/20
African-American suspension rate drops in California, after years of reform efforts -- After nearly a decade of school discipline reform in California, the suspension rate for African American students continued to decline last year, according to recently released state data. Carolyn Jones EdSource -- 1/13/20
Health
The Trump administration wants the Supreme Court to not rule on Obamacare until after the 2020 election -- Democrats have asked the Supreme Court to hear a case that could determine the fate of Obamacare. The Trump administration wants the court to wait. Katelyn Burns Vox -- 1/13/20
Environment
Fires and sprawl threaten this rare San Diego butterfly; now it’s proposed for protection -- Hermes copper butterfly lives almost exclusively in San Diego County, where its habitat has been burned or built over. Deborah Sullivan Brennan in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/13/20
POTUS 45
Trump, Shifting Arguments, Urges Swift Dismissal of Impeachment Charges -- President Trump on Sunday injected fresh instability into final preparations for the Senate’s impeachment trial, suggesting that senators should dismiss the House’s charges of high crimes and misdemeanors against him outright rather than dignifying them with a full tribunal. Nicholas Fandos in the New York Times$ -- 1/13/20
Beltway
Esper Says He Saw No Evidence Iran Targeted 4 Embassies, as Story Shifts Again -- They had to kill him because he was planning an “imminent” attack. But how imminent they could not say. Where they could not say. When they could not say. And really, it was more about what he had already done. Or actually it was to stop him from hitting an American embassy. Or four embassies. Or not. Peter Baker and Thomas Gibbons-Neff in the New York Times$ -- 1/13/20
Senior administration officials struggle to explain intelligence behind killing of Soleimani -- Senior administration officials declined Sunday to confirm President Trump’s assertion that four U.S. embassies had been targeted for attack by Iran, while saying that Trump’s “interpretation” of the threat was consistent with overall intelligence that justified the killing of a senior Iranian general. Karen DeYoung in the Washington Post$ -- 1/13/20
Tom Steyer is surging in South Carolina and Nevada. Does it matter? -- Businessman Tom Steyer’s surprise gain in recent polls in South Carolina and Nevada is adding fuel to a debate in the Democratic Party about the ability of billionaire candidates to boost their profiles and place on the debate stage through lavish spending. Amy B Wang in the Washington Post$ -- 1/13/20
Michael Bloomberg Looks to California to Bolster Grassroots Efforts -- As part of his campaign's national tour of 27 states, presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg hosted dozens of gatherings in California on Saturday to help raise money for his presidential bid. Gabriel Greschler KQED -- 1/13/20