Updating . .
10-year-old shot in drive-by outside California school -- A 10-year-old student was shot by a stray bullet in a drive-by shooting outside a Southern California elementary school, authorities said Thursday. Oxnard police said on Twitter the child was struck during a car-to-car shooting outside McAuliffe Elementary School in the coastal city. Associated Press -- 1/23/20
Firefighters who died in Australia were on California tanker -- California’s governor says the three American flight crew members who died when their aerial water tanker crashed while battling wildfires in southeastern Australia were part of a crew on a California-based tanker. Gov. Gavin Newsom in a statement on Thursday did not identify the crew members but called them heroes. Associated Press -- 1/23/20
California will be hit hard as Trump administration weakens clean water protections -- Defying environmentalists and public health advocates, the Trump administration on Thursday will announce the replacement of Obama-era water protections with a significantly weaker set of regulations that lifts limits on how much pollution can be dumped into small streams and wetlands. Anna M. Phillips in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
Newsom pledged to fix California water politics. Now he’s bogged down in the delta -- Soon after taking office last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged to break through the “status quo” of California water politics, plagued by decades of litigation and impasse. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
You’ve just been named California’s homelessness czar — what’s your first move? -- Options for addressing the state's most pressing social problem range, at best, from limited to imperfect. What would you choose? Matt Levin Calmatters -- 1/23/20
California bill would make utilities pay some blackout costs -- Californians left in the dark by electric companies that shut off their power to prevent wildfires could get paid for things such as lost wages or spoiled food under a bill being considered in the Legislature. Adam Beam Associated Press -- 1/23/20
PG&E Makes Peace With Bondholders, Strife With Gov. Newsom Continues -- PG&E Corp. has reached an accord with bondholders that smooths its path out of bankruptcy, but it has yet to win over California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has threatened a state takeover of the embattled utility. Peg Brickley in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 1/23/20
Amid fears over coronavirus outbreak, LAX passenger taken to hospital for evaluation -- A traveler who arrived at Los Angeles International Airport on a flight from Mexico City was taken to a hospital early Thursday for an evaluation amid growing concerns over the spread of the deadly coronavirus. The passenger, who was not identified, arrived at the airport on American Airlines Flight 2546 shortly before 6:40 p.m. Wednesday. Hannah Fry, Emily Baumgaertner in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
The number of Californians represented by unions grows as national labor organizing stagnates -- The number of Californians represented by unions rose by 139,000 last year in the wake of successful organizing campaigns across occupations as varied as nurses, electricians, animation artists, scooter mechanics and university researchers. Margot Roosevelt in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
Adam Schiff’s role in Trump impeachment trial draws usual fire, but also unlikely praise -- House prosecutors began their second day of arguments in the Senate impeachment trial of President Trump on Thursday, as lead manager Rep. Adam B. Schiff drew some unexpected praise from Republicans for his steady performance so far during the hours-long, often tedious presentations. Sarah D. Wire, Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
Even From Half a World Away, Pelosi Keeps a Tight Grip on Impeachment -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s motorcade was winding through Jerusalem on Wednesday, en route to a state dinner hosted by the president of Israel, when she placed perhaps the most important call of her day — to Representative Adam B. Schiff, the man leading the charge to remove President Trump from office. Nicholas Fandos in the New York Times$ -- 1/23/20
San Francisco Mayor London Breed endorses Mike Bloomberg for president -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed endorsed Mike Bloomberg for the Democratic presidential nomination, boosting the billionaire’s chances in a delegate-rich state where he got off to a late start but is now spending millions to try to win. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/23/20
Jerry Brown urges America to ‘wake up’ as Doomsday Clock moves closer to midnight -- The former governor was one of several dignitaries and officials on-hand Thursday morning for the unveiling of the clock; other notable names present included former United Nations Secretary Ban Ki-moon and former president of Ireland Mary Robinson. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/23/20
S.F. cops spending thousands of hours on hospital watch instead of out on streets -- In 2019, San Francisco police officers spent almost 24,000 hours doing something other than run-of-the-mill police work. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/23/20
Man traded fentanyl and heroin for grenades and machine guns, federal officials say -- A U.S. citizen living in Tijuana has been indicted on charges of trading drugs for weapons, including machine guns and grenade launchers, which he intended to provide to Mexican gangs, federal authorities said this week. Priscella Vega in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
Southern California home prices and sales surged in December -- Southern California home prices in December rose by the most in 19 months, the latest sign that the housing market is gaining steam after a prolonged slowdown. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
Owning their pasts, students look to a future in homelessness services -- Lying in bed at night, Earl Williams wondered what his future would be. From his top bunk, No. 133A, in the men’s shelter on 38th Street in South Los Angeles, he stared up at the white rafters. With the world out of sight, anything seemed possible — until his fears kicked in. Thomas Curwen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
Fox: Justice ignored is justice denied -- Now it’s Los Angeles’s turn to engage in the debate over justice reform as national attention is focused on the L. A. County district attorney’s race. Will L.A. voters keep the hard-line progressive social justice reform train rolling or stop it in its tracks? Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 1/23/20
California Policy & Politics This Morning
California governor aims to block PG&E’s bankruptcy plan -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom is urging a federal judge to reject Pacific Gas and Electric’s blueprint for getting out of bankruptcy and renewing his threat to lead a bid to turn the beleaguered utility into a government-run operation. Michael Liedtke Associated Press Ivan Penn and Peter Eavis in the New York Times$ Marisa Lagos KQED Peg Brickley and Christine Mai-Duc in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 1/23/20
No coffee, no cell phones: Kamala Harris, Feinstein adjust to Trump’s trial -- It’s the side of a trial that is unfamiliar to California Sen. Kamala Harris — listening silently as a member of the jury. Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/23/20
Sen. Dianne Feinstein leaves Trump impeachment trial early Wednesday night -- “She left a little early because she was feeling under the weather,” Feinstein’s spokesman Tom Mentzer told The Chronicle in an email. “She’ll be back tomorrow.” Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/23/20
How to win California: A guide to the nation’s largest presidential primary -- Our electorate is diverse. Our election procedures, complex. Our population, enormous; our costs of campaigning, even more so. And now that California’s primary has been boosted to March 3, just after the first contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina, the qualities that make California politics unique might actually matter this time. Ben Christopher Calmatters -- 1/23/20
Skelton: State Senate head saved California’s most important housing bill, showing what leadership is made of -- A big part of effective legislative leadership is knowing when and how to exercise extraordinary power. The answer is rarely but emphatically. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
Walters: Voters face hundreds of local tax measures -- California voters have seen a deluge of local government tax and bond measures in recent elections and will face even more this year. The California Taxpayers Association has counted 231 local sales and parcel tax increases and bond issues (which automatically increase property taxes if approved) on the March 3 primary ballot alone. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 1/23/20
‘It’s a wake-up call’ — fentanyl crisis grips San Francisco as body count skyrockets -- Deadly fentanyl overdoses that began spiking in 2018 appear to have more than doubled last year in San Francisco, a signal the nation’s opioid epidemic has completed its westward expansion, and a grim reality that has left city health, government and law enforcement officials struggling to respond. Evan Sernoffsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/23/20
Gloria releases first TV ad in San Diego mayoral campaign -- The other leading candidates in the race, Republican Scott Sherman and Democrat Barbara Bry, said it is unlikely their campaigns would be able to afford TV ads before the March 3 primary. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/23/20
Smolens: It’s the initiatives, more than the candidates, that really matter on March 3 -- The candidate primaries will shape the November election in San Diego County, but the initiatives on the March 3 ballot could shape the region’s future. Michael Smolens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/23/20
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top strategist retiring after decades shaping California policy -- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s top strategist Daniel Zingale announced Wednesday that he will retire from full-time state service to focus on his health and family. Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ Carla Marinucci and Victoria Colliver Politico -- 1/23/20
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
California begins planning for transition away from natural gas -- As cities in California ban natural gas appliances in new homes and the state slashes emissions, gas-powered technology will increasingly become obsolete over the next quarter-century, regulators predict. And they’ve started to plan for that future. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/23/20
Ready to move, Californians tour their top destination: Texas -- Californians have been leaving the Golden State for decades in search of cheaper housing, lower taxes and a different way of life. According to a UC Berkeley poll conducted for the Los Angeles Times last year, more than half of California’s registered voters have considered leaving the state. Molly Hennessy-Fiske in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
Health insurers take on Big Pharma, plan to manufacture their own drugs -- A group of leading U.S. health insurers, frustrated by the high cost of prescription drugs, plan to start manufacturing versions of popular generic medications, hoping the competition with pharmaceutical companies will bring down costs. Noam N. Levey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
UC and 8,000 service workers reach tentative deal on labor dispute over outsourcing, wages -- More than 8,000 service workers at the University of California announced Wednesday that they have negotiated a tentative contract agreement with their employer, ending one of the university system’s longest-running labor dispute. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/23/20
Homeless
Homeless advocates see increased policing days before annual count -- A homeless advocate who regularly follows police enforcement in downtown San Diego said arrests and encounters with people on the street have increased in the weeks leading up to Thursday morning’s homeless count. Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/23/20
Gavin Newsom asks Trump’s HUD to turn over California land for homeless housing -- “Emergency shelter solves sleep and we agree this is an urgent priority,” Newsom wrote in a letter Tuesday to Ben Carson, the U.S. secretary of housing and urban development. “But only housing and services solve homelessness.” Alexei Koseff and John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Victoria Colliver Politico -- 1/23/20
Meet the woman who brings thousands together to count L.A.’s homeless population -- The hand-drawn thermometer on the wall had just jumped to 7,100, assuring everyone in the command center that this year’s homeless count would have enough volunteers. But for Clementina Verjan, in charge of every count since the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority began conducting them in 2005, that didn’t mean all was well. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
Berkeley approves plan for homeless camp program -- Calling it a “stopgap measure,” the Berkeley City Council approved a pilot program for a homeless camp to house up to 50 people. Jon Kawamoto in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/23/20
Housing
San Diego median home price, $575K, stayed near record highs in December -- The median price hit an all-time high of $594,909 in November, said CoreLogic data provided by DQNews. Still, San Diego County’s price in December was up 4.5 percent in a year — ending the year on a high note after a sluggish first six months. Phillip Molnar in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/23/20
Wildfire
State high court to decide if firms responsible for fires must pay state costs -- The state Supreme Court agreed Wednesday to decide whether corporations, including Pacific Gas and Electric, can be required to pay the state’s costs in fighting fires that were started carelessly or spread by company employees. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/23/20
Education
No consensus on UC tuition hike as students protest and regents express mixed views -- University of California regents voiced starkly different views Wednesday on a proposed tuition increase for fall 2020, as consensus on the controversial issue failed to emerge. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
UC San Diego looking to see if any students have been infected with Chinese coronavirus -- UC San Diego — which has one of the largest Chinese populations in American higher education — is trying to identify students who might have been infected by the pneunomia-like virus that has killed at least 17 people in China and has spread to other countries, including the U.S. Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/23/20
Teachers may vote on whether to oust controversial union at Gompers charter school -- The creation of a teachers union a year ago at the long-hailed Gompers Preparatory Academy charter school has divided the school community. Now some teachers are petitioning to get rid of the union. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/23/20
California moves closer to eliminating, replacing reading instruction test that has blocked thousands from teaching credential -- he California reading instruction test is a major hurdle for many aspiring teachers across the state. So much so that about one-third who take the test fail the first time, according to state data of the five-year period between 2012 and 2017. Diana Lambert EdSource -- 1/23/20
Immigration / Border
Laguna Beach pays DACA-holder $18,750 after police detained him for ICE -- Police in Laguna Beach pulled over Edgar Torres Gutierrez in June, 2018, on suspicion that he was driving under the influence and took him to their local jail. But when it was time to release Torres Gutierrez, police didn’t let him go. Instead, they held him for federal immigration agents to pick him up, according to a claim filed with the city. Roxana Kopetman in the Orange County Register -- 1/23/20
Also . . .
City OKs $5.75-million settlement in death of Marine veteran stun-gunned by LAPD -- The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved a $5.75-million settlement with the parents of a Marine veteran who died after an LAPD officer stunned him six times with a Taser during a Christmas Eve altercation five years ago. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
Raiders drop Oakland for good — they’re now the Las Vegas Raiders -- The Las Vegas Raiders were born Wednesday and the Oakland Raiders are history. Raiders owner Mark Davis, joined by Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak as well as some current Raiders players and alumni, made the change of the team name official in a ceremony at partially-built Allegiant Field. Jerry McDonald in the East Bay Times -- 1/23/20
U.S. seeks to limit emotional support critters on planes -- The next time you fly on a commercial airline, you many notice fewer emotional support peacocks, rabbits, goats or other creatures sharing the cabin. Hugo Martín in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/23/20
POTUS 45
In Impeachment Case, Schiff Accuses Trump of Trying ‘to Cheat’ in Election -- The House Democratic impeachment managers began formal arguments in the Senate trial on Wednesday, presenting a meticulous and scathing case for convicting President Trump and removing him from office on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Michael D. Shear in the New York Times$ -- 1/23/20
Beltway
Democrats face risks and limits in Trump’s impeachment trial -- No matter how overwhelming the evidence confronting Trump, it becomes less compelling when presented again and again, day after day, as Democrats try to convince not just fidgety senators but an American public deeply divided over the president in an election year. Lisa Mascaro, Eric Tucker and Zeke Miller Associated Press -- 1/23/20
-- Wednesday Updates
CCSF faces dire budget crisis 8 years after college nearly closed in face of financial woes -- On Thursday, the trustees will hear from an auditor whose financial study of the college raises “substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.” Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/22/20
Use-of-force incidents against homeless people are up, LAPD reports -- More than one out of three times that a Los Angeles police officer used force in recent months involved a person experiencing homelessness, according to a new LAPD report. Leila Miller in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/22/20
These BART stations saw the most phone and laptop thefts, amid surge in snatch-and-grabs -- BART saw a significant surge in thefts of cell phones and laptops in the past year, with the No. 1 target being passengers on trains running through San Francisco stations, where 512 robberies and thefts were reported in 2019. Phil Matier in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/22/20
Vineyards versus vernal pools: On Napa’s Atlas Peak, a neighbors’ dispute turns ugly -- Save for the occasional bear or bobcat sighting, there’s rarely much commotion in the rugged hills of Napa Valley’s Atlas Peak area. But a dispute between two neighbors over a small vineyard planting — and whether it might threaten its surrounding landscape — turned into a major clash that led to a libel lawsuit, restraining orders and, allegedly, gunshots. Esther Mobley in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/22/20
Fentanyl, heroin overdoses in San Francisco more than doubled in 2019 -- There were 234 deaths that are estimated to have involved fentanyl, compared with 90 in 2018. The number of deaths where heroin appears to have played a role reached 100 last year, officials with the city’s chief medical examiner’s office estimate. Evan Sernoffsky and John King in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/22/20
Cruise unveils next-generation, self-driving robot taxi -- San Francico’s Cruise has unveiled a robot taxi called the Origin that can deliver “super-human performance” at low cost — but didn’t say when it would actually start giving rides. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/22/20
Bonds on the ballot: Will billions of dollars help California cope with climate change? -- Competing plans to seek voters' approval for “climate resiliency” bonds emerge from three sides of state government: the Assembly, the Senate and the governor. Julie Cart Calmatters -- 1/22/20
California needs clean energy after sundown. Geothermal could be the answer -- After years of playing third fiddle to solar and wind power, geothermal energy is poised to start growing again in California. Sammy Roth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/22/20
Why tech has been slow to fight wildfires, extreme weather -- For two years running , California’s wildfires have sent plumes of smoke across Silicon Valley. So far, that hasn’t spurred much tech innovation aimed at addressing extreme-weather disasters associated with climate change. Rachel Lerman Associated Press -- 1/22/20
Lopez: You thought the Dodgers lost the 2017 and 2018 World Series? Not according to the L.A. City Council -- Hey Dodgers fans, hold on a minute. Remember those two heartbreaking World Series losses in 2017 and 2018 to the Houston Astros and Boston Red Sox? Of course you do, but finally, just before spring training sets everyone up for another year of disappointment, there’s good news. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/22/20
Gavin Newsom wants to put real money behind his Native American apology -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants nearly half a million dollars per year to fund the Native American council he created in June, according to public documents detailing the governor’s state budget plans. Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/22/20
California Wants To Increase Vaping Taxes, But Experts Say There Could Be Unintended Consequences -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom has a new idea for addressing the youth vaping epidemic: a nicotine tax on electronic cigarettes. Sammy Caiola Capital Public Radio -- 1/22/20
Trump’s GOP foe Bill Weld favors impeachment, would vote for a Democrat -- Bill Weld, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, thinks President Trump should be impeached. And he’s not saying that just because he’s running against Trump for the Republican nomination. He’s saying that as a former federal prosecutor who worked on the Watergate case against Richard Nixon. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/22/20
Mike Bloomberg: ‘There’s no excuse’ for not regulating Facebook -- Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg made his $54 billion fortune off a media empire that bears his name, so he knows something about running media companies. And he thinks Facebook should be regulated like a media company. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/22/20
Faulconer’s Common Sense Roadmap on Homelessness -- San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer offered a common sense approach to the continuing homeless crisis in California and in so doing he dares to take a stand against the political correctness that often creates obstacles to solving the problem. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 1/22/20