Updating . .
2 jets with Americans escaping coronavirus land in California -- Two jets carrying about 350 Americans have arrived in California at Travis Air Force Base after fleeing the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ Alejandro Serrano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
What happens if the coronavirus outbreak becomes a pandemic? -- Roughly 50 million people are under quarantine in China. Thousands of travelers are being screened at airports every day. Armies of disease detectives are knocking on doors around the world in hopes of halting the new coronavirus in its tracks. Despite all the colossal efforts to contain the virus, scientists are quietly preparing for a grim — and increasingly likely — outcome: A full-blown global pandemic. Emily Baumgaertner in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/5/20
Here’s where coronavirus evacuees will stay during 2-week quarantine at Travis AFB -- Those who are quarantined will be accommodated at Travis’s on-base hotel, the Westwind Inn, Travis officials told base personnel in a Facebook post. A safety cordon was set to be established, to separate the quarantined community at the inn from on-base residences. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/5/20
Feds were likely fishing for bigger catch, but Nuru put a stop to that -- Federal prosecutors offered San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru a deal on his corruption charges if he would help with further investigations, potentially involving colleagues at his level of city government — or even higher. Phil Matier in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
California firefighters return from battling Australia fires -- As the wildland firefighters, fresh off a long flight from Australia, strode into a Los Angeles fire station Wednesday morning, Marvin Schober got his GoPro camera ready. Schober wanted to capture his 41-year-old brother’s face as he realized his family was there to surprise him after nearly a month battling unprecedented fires half a world away. Stefanie Dazio Associated Press -- 2/5/20
Registered to vote? You’d be required to cast a ballot under California bill -- Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, introduced a bill Tuesday that would require all registered voters to return their ballots, either by mail or to a vote center, even if left blank. The measure, AB2070, would leave it up to the secretary of state, California’s chief elections official, to decide how to enforce the law. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
Newsom pardons civil rights leader Bayard Rustin, convicted of gay sex in ’50s -- Gov. Gavin Newsom has launched an initiative to pardon gay and lesbian Californians prosecuted for having sex with someone of the same gender, starting with a civil rights leader convicted nearly 70 years ago. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
SF Mayor Breed wants to take battle for housing to voters, amping up fight with supes -- It takes an average of nearly four years to shepherd a housing project with more than 10 units through the city’s permitting process, a 2018 study from UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation found. If voters pass Breed’s measure, it would require the Planning Department to cut that time down to six months. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
Lopez: Does it have to be so hard to pass a housing bill? Not really, and here’s a bold path forward -- Rents, up. Homelessness, up. Housing bill, down. Senate Bill 50, which could have produced a massive amount of desperately needed new housing in California, didn’t even die a humane death last week in Sacramento. It was clubbed, kicked to the ground and pecked to death. So now what? Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/5/20
UC freshmen applications dip for a second straight year -- Experts said the decline in first-year applicants may signal a reality check among high school students who are daunted by the growing competition and cost of a UC freshman seat and are instead opting for a more affordable community college pathway. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/5/20
To study atmospheric rivers, scientists need to get close. So they fly to them -- The Air Force research crew on the WC-130J Super Hercules airplane was cruising at 28,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean, preparing to deploy 25 weather-sensing devices over a long band of water vapor known as an “atmospheric river” when the hazards of air travel got in the way of science. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
This ‘Census’ form in your mailbox isn’t from the government. Here’s who sent it out and why -- Some Northern California voters are receiving documents that resemble U.S. Census forms, but they are in fact fundraising appeals from the Republican National Committee. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/5/20
Democratic Rep. Ami Bera is running again. Have Republicans given up trying to unseat him? -- California’s 7th Congressional District was once a key battleground seat for Republicans. Just a few years ago, the seat held by Democratic Rep. Ami Bera was actively targeted by the National Republican Congressional Committee. The district was home to the country’s most expensive congressional race in 2014. Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/5/20
Iowa caucuses disaster is a cautionary tale for the California primary -- After years of national heckling for holding elections that last longer than the time it takes to binge-watch several seasons of a TV show, it’s no wonder that California political insiders are breathing of sigh of relief: At least we’re not Iowa. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/5/20
Newsom administration trying again for a river flow deal -- The Newsom administration Tuesday floated a proposal to avert a protracted legal battle over new state standards that would make some of California’s biggest water users cut their river diversions to help struggling fish populations. Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/5/20
Newsom seeks peace with Trump in California water wars. Enviros are ready to fight -- Two months ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom seemed poised to file yet another suit against President Donald Trump — this time, over a federal plan to pump more water to Trump’s farming allies in the San Joaquin Valley. Ryan Sabalow, Dale Kasler, and Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/5/20
California scientists create bionic jellyfish to explore oceans -- California scientists looking for new ways to explore the world’s oceans have created something that seems right out of a Hollywood movie — a cyborg jellyfish, half animal, half robot, that can swim nearly three times faster than a regular jellyfish — and which one day might be remotely steered to collect information from deep ocean waters. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/5/20
Newport Beach doctor, girlfriend were branded sexual predators. Was it a political game? -- When the case broke in 2018, it immediately became fodder for tabloid headlines around the world. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/5/20
As L.A. traffic deaths stay high, officials plead with drivers to stop texting -- In the fourth full year of a program designed to eliminate traffic fatalities on Los Angeles streets, the number of people killed in car crashes stayed stubbornly high, early data show. Laura J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/5/20
Want a do-over on that California driver’s license photo? You could soon get your chance -- Not happy with that driver’s license photo? You might soon be able to pay for another. A California lawmaker has introduced a bill that would allow for up to three photographs to be taken on-site at the Department of Motor Vehicles. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/5/20
Mitt Romney dismantles the GOP’s strained defenses of Trump -- Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) announced Wednesday that he will vote to convict President Trump of abuse of power, becoming the first — and likely only — Republican to vote to remove him from office. Aaron Blake in the Washington Post$ -- 2/5/20
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Five San Jose hospital workers sent home after exposure to coronavirus -- Five health care workers at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose were exposed to the new coronavirus while treating a patient there and have been sent home and told to remain isolated until Feb. 11, according to Santa Clara County public health officials. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
Orange County coronavirus patient released, in good condition, health officials say -- At least one person diagnosed with coronavirus in Southern California is out of the hospital, and health agencies in Orange and Los Angeles counties say the risk of contracting the virus locally remains low. In Orange County, a man in his 50s who was diagnosed with coronavirus after traveling to Wuhan, China, was released from the hospital Saturday, Feb. 1. County health officials said Tuesday that the patient is in good condition but remains in isolation. Ian Wheeler in the Orange County Register -- 2/5/20
Ontario airport continues flights to and from Taiwan, despite ‘high risk’ coronavirus warning -- Flights from Ontario International Airport have continued unabated to Taiwan, the island territory run independent of China, even though the World Health Organization considers travel to China as well as Taiwan a “very high risk” due to the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus in Asia. The WHO travel advisory lumping in Taiwan with mainland China is misleading, say Taiwanese officials, because the majority of cases are in China, with only a few in Taiwan. Steve Scauzillo in the Inland Daily Bulletin$ -- 2/5/20
Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, CDC prepare to receive quarantined China evacuees --The Marines expect the San Diego-bound flight to arrive at the air station between 6 and 9 a.m. Wednesday. Two facilities at Miramar — the Consolidated Bachelor Quarters and the Inns of the Corps at Miramar — will house between 300-350 Americans for two weeks, according to government officials. Many of those to be quarantined are families with children. Andrew Dyer, Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/5/20
Trump’s speech: Jackie Speier walks out, Nancy Pelosi rips text in half afterward -- San Mateo Rep. Jackie Speier walked out of President Trump’s State of the Union speech midway through the address, joining several other Democrats who left the House floor before the president finished. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who sat behind Trump throughout the one hour and 18 minute speech Tuesday night, tore up a printed copy of the text once the president was finished. Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
California’s vote count likely to be chaos-free — but don’t expect quick results -- An election night, Iowa-style voting debacle isn’t going to happen in California on March 3. But that doesn’t mean primary voters — and anxious Democratic presidential candidates — are going to know the winners that night, or even that week. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Marisa Lagos KQED -- 2/5/20
California governor proposes new plan for managing water -- California’s governor revealed a plan on Tuesday that would keep more water in the fragile San Joaquin River Delta while restoring 60,000 acres of habitat for endangered species and generating more than $5 billion in new funding for environmental improvements. Adam Beam Associated Press -- 2/5/20
PG&E clears another bankruptcy hurdle with debt refinancing -- A federal judge on Tuesday approved a settlement that moves Pacific Gas & Electric closer to getting out of bankruptcy, but the troubled utility still must navigate nettlesome obstacles from the state of California. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali signed off on the deal to refinance billions of dollars in debt to pay off PG&E bondholders. Michael Liedtke Associated Press -- 2/5/20
Walters: PG&E seizure: Real threat or a bluff? -- Scott Wiener must be a glutton for punishment. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 2/5/20
Can San Francisco, Oakland win billions from the oil industry for climate change? -- A handful of California cities and counties want billions of dollars from the oil industry for the problems arising from climate change, and their far-reaching legal push is about to face a crucial test in a Pasadena courtroom. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
California shooting shows security vulnerabilities on buses -- Would-be plotters bent on staging an attack aboard a passenger plane know they’ve first got to pass through a gauntlet of security measures at an airport, from body scans and spot interrogations to pat-downs and even close scrutiny of their shoes. Michael Tarm and Stefanie Dazio Associated Press -- 2/5/20
Nuru allegations: Top SF officials give glimpse into city corruption investigation -- Amid the widening public corruption scandal surrounding disgraced Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru, two top San Francisco officials provided a glimpse into the contours of the city’s internal investigation into Nuru’s suspected wrongdoing. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
O.C. deputies’ lapses prompt massive review of evidence handling -- The Orange County Sheriff’s Department must review the evidence in more than 22,000 cases after 15 deputies were criminally investigated for failing to properly book information. The review, which began late last year, involves cases from March 2015 to March 2018. It follows allegations that some evidence was booked after convictions, or not at all. That could affect convictions. Jaclyn Cosgrove in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/5/20
Poll: Sara Jacobs has wide lead in race to replace retiring Rep. Susan Davis in 53rd District -- A poll released Tuesday shows Democrat Sara Jacobs leading by a wide margin in the race to replace retiring Rep. Susan Davis in the 53rd Congressional District. A San Diego Union-Tribune/10News poll of 513 likely voters conducted by SurveyUSA shows Jacobs, a former Hillary Clinton campaign adviser, leading 14 candidates with 23 percent. Charles T. Clark in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/5/20
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Uber, Lyft drivers tell state to enforce AB5, get us back wages -- On Wednesday over 100 Uber and Lyft drivers statewide are escalating the matter by filing wage claims with the state Labor Commissioner’s Office, The Chronicle has learned. They are seeking to be classified as employees and reimbursed for back wages, overtime and expenses for the past three years — amounts that for some drivers add up to over $100,000 each. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
California lawmakers have refused to restrict flavored vaping — is that about to change? -- California is behind some other states and the Trump administration when it comes to barring flavored tobacco, e-cigarettes and cannabis vape products. This year the calculation may be different. Elizabeth Aguilera Calmatters -- 2/5/20
Macy’s to lay off 831 SF workers, close local tech arm as it shuts 125 stores nationwide -- Macy’s is laying off 831 employees in San Francisco at its Macys.com division amid plans to shift tech operations to Atlanta and New York, amid a broader retrenchment that is seeing it close 125 stores nationwide. Shwanika Narayan and Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
United cancels Hong Kong flight as SFO steps up coronavirus screening -- As Hong Kong reported its first death from the coronavirus, United said Tuesday the airline would end its daily flight from San Francisco to the city Saturday. United, the largest carrier at San Francisco International, had already suspended flights to and from other cities in China, where the outbreak has killed hundreds and infected tens of thousands. Mallory Moench and Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
Bodybuilding former cop charged with fake worker’s comp claim in South Bay -- A former Santa Clara police officer who claimed to be disabled but was seen performing rigorous workouts in a Las Vegas gym has been charged with workers’ compensation fraud — the same offense for which his wife, a former sheriff’s lieutenant, was convicted last year, officials said. Former officer Kenneth Henderson, 53, will be arraigned Wednesday in San Jose. Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
Transit
One Clipper Card to rule them all. Chiu proposes integrating Bay Area transit -- State Assemblyman David Chiu dreams of a Bay Area transportation system that would rival London or Tokyo, where trains and buses are faster and more convenient than driving. Getting there won’t be easy. The region has 27 transit agencies that don’t play well together. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
Homeless
Homeless sue Sacramento, police over removal of portable toilet at downtown camp site -- Homeless residents looking for access to bathroom facilities filed suit in federal court Tuesday against the city of Sacramento and its police department, alleging that officers ordered the removal of a port-a-potty that had been placed near an encampment. Sam Stanton and Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/5/20
Federal judge says ‘no,’ for now, to Santa Ana’s homeless lawsuit against the county -- At the end of a four-hour federal court session that included talk about future homeless shelters in several Southern California cities, U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter on Tuesday, Feb. 4, looked to officials in Santa Ana and asked for details about something different. That city filed a lawsuit against Orange County last month, alleging that Santa Ana is unfairly burdened with homeless people brought into the city by others, and Carter wanted to see what’s behind that complaint. Theresa Walker in the Orange County Register -- 2/5/20
Housing
California rent control will be back on the November ballot -- The initiative is sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, a Los Angeles-based nonprofit that also advocates on housing issues. The organization was behind a similar ballot measure in 2018 that voters overwhelmingly rejected. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/5/20
Education
Coronavirus fears, rumors, misinformation roil Alhambra schools -- As fear about the novel coronavirus has gripped communities throughout the country, the Alhambra Unified School District has grappled with how to inform students and parents about the realities of the illness while combating misinformation and fear-based rumors. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/5/20
California may pause student fitness tests due to bullying -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to pause physical education tests for students for three years due to concerns over bullying and the test discriminating against disabled and non-binary students. The move also comes after annual test results show a growing percentage of students scoring not healthy. Cuneyt Dil Associated Press Mackenzie Mays Politico Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Sophia Bollag and Sawsan Morrar in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/5/20
Admissions scandal: Prosecutors seek longest prison sentences yet for four California parents -- Calling them “far and away the most culpable” of the parents who have admitted their guilt in the college admissions scandal, federal prosecutors recommended Tuesday that a judge sentence four parents to prison terms ranging from 18 to 26 months, heavier penalties than any handed down in the case so far. Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/5/20
CSU faculty, workers air concerns -- The fiscal outlook at California State University is good and the sprawling, 23-campus system that serves nearly a half-million students is in the midst of expansion. But there appear to be segments of CSU that aren’t all that happy — the faculty and the university’s workers. Jessica Hice Capitol Weekly -- 2/5/20
CSU, Cal State San Marcos agree to pay $240,000 to settle anti-abortion lawsuit -- Lawyers for the California State University system and CSU San Marcos have agreed to pay $240,000 in legal fees and other costs to settle a 2017 lawsuit challenging their refusal to use student fees to fund an anti-abortion speaker on campus. Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/5/20
California parents sharpen their computer science skills alongside students -- Parents are playing a more hands-on role in California’s ongoing quest to grow the number of students who pursue technology professions — and tech-savvy workers in all kinds of fields. Sydney Johnson EdSource -- 2/5/20
Immigration / Border
L.A. blocks private detention centers, including facilities for immigrant youth -- Los Angeles is blocking privately run detention centers from opening in the city, including facilities for immigrant youth in government custody, under a stopgap measure approved Tuesday by the City Council. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/5/20
Fact Check: Does California’s sanctuary law protect criminal illegal immigrants? -- He’s right that the law protects undocumented immigrants who have been charged and convicted of crimes, but the law makes exceptions for those charged or convicted of violent crimes. Kate Irby and David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/5/20
Health
New mental health shelter aims to ease burden at S.F. General's crowded psychiatric ER -- City officials are eyeing an empty building on Valencia Street as a new spot to temporarily shelter some of San Francisco’s mentally ill homeless population. A lease for the vacant Salvation Army building at 1156 Valencia St. in the Mission District is in the works. If approved, the facility would be the city’s second dedicated to a population that is particularly difficult to treat. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
Environment
State will prevail in Trump emissions fight, California Air Resources Board chief says -- Even if the White House declares null and void California’s ability to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions from motor vehicles — a move expected within weeks — the state will continue to fight in court and and keep its clean-air rules in place, unless a court orders otherwise. Russ Mitchell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/5/20
Coal plants are closing across the West. Here are the companies sticking with coal -- For nearly half a century, the deserts and plains of the American West have been punctuated by coal-burning furnaces and towering smokestacks — hulking power stations that have sustained small-town economies and fueled the growth of the region’s major cities, from Los Angeles to Phoenix to Seattle. Sammy Roth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/5/20
Also . . .
San Francisco police ‘office’ opens in Mid-Market area where drug dealing, drug use is rampant -- The small triangular office has its own entrance and will be open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily for people to file reports or meet with officers. The office doesn’t have jail cells, so police aren’t calling it a station or substation. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
POTUS 45
Trump paints strong economy as vindication as he tries to move past impeachment -- President Trump on Tuesday made a theatrical prime-time appeal for the success of his divisive and turbulent stewardship after three years, projecting confidence that a strong economy and a reset of U.S. standing in the world has put the nation on the right path despite the historic impeachment that has marred his term. David Nakamura in the Washington Post$ -- 2/5/20
With chants, walkouts and a ripped-up speech, bitter partisanship dominates Trump’s State of the Union -- Republicans cheered divisive lines, some Democrats walked out while Trump spoke, and Pelosi punctuated the night by tearing up the president’s speech while standing over his left shoulder as he wrapped up his remarks. Ashley Parker in the Washington Post$ -- 2/5/20
AP Fact Check: Trump’s exaggerated ‘great American comeback’ -- The “great American comeback” President Donald Trump claimed in his State of the Union speech drew on falsehoods about U.S. energy supremacy, health care and the economy as well as distortions about his predecessor’s record. Josh Boak, Calvin Woodward and Hope Yen Associated Press -- 2/5/20
Beltway
Feinstein ends Trump impeachment mystery: ‘No choice but to vote to convict’ -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein, one of the few Democrats who had not revealed her position in President Trump’s impeachment trial, said Tuesday that the Senate has “no choice but to vote to convict and remove this president.” Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/5/20
-- Tuesday Updates
Iowa debacle boosts California primary’s clout -- On Tuesday the only message coming from Iowa was chaos — the kind that will taint every Democrat in the field and reshuffle the race so that now the March 3 California primary will have more clout. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/4/20
The presidential contest for California cash, in 6 data visualizations -- You might not guess it given the president’s subterranean approval numbers among California voters, the more than 40 mean tweets he’s issued about the state or his regular spats with Gov. Gavin Newsom. But the latest raft of numbers from the Federal Elections Commission do not lie: The top beneficiary of California-based campaign contributions in 2019 is none other than President Donald Trump. See for yourself. Ben Christopher Calmatters -- 2/4/20
Jeffrey Epstein victim, undocumented immigrants on Bay Area lawmakers’ SOTU list -- Several lawmakers from the Bay Area are making undeniably political statements with the guests they’ve invited to attend President Trump’s third State of the Union address Tuesday night. Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/4/20
‘Nightmare for Silicon Valley’: China coronavirus travel ban strands workers, entrepreneurs -- The lethal coronavirus outbreak has halted visa processing, closed the border to foreign nationals who were recently in China, and limited flights. The measures are having a noticeable impact in the Bay Area, where business and personal ties to Asia run deep. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/4/20
Child under coronavirus quarantine in Riverside County is taken to hospital with fever -- The child, accompanied by a parent, was taken by ambulance to Riverside University Health System Medical Center on Monday night. Both are undergoing testing and observation for the virus. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/4/20
San Diego family secures spot on U.S. flight evacuating coronavirus-plagued Wuhan, China -- A San Diego mother and her two small children waited on Tuesday with hundreds of people overnight at an airport in Wuhan, China, hoping to escape the coronavirus-plagued city. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/4/20
Frantic 911 callers report Kobe Bryant helicopter crash, cite foggy conditions -- As investigators continue to probe the cause of the helicopter crash that killed Kobe Bryant and eight others, authorities have made public a series of 911 calls fielded by emergency operators on that foggy Sunday morning. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/4/20
For survivors of sexual assault, Kobe Bryant’s legacy is complicated -- When Shirley Alvarado del Aguila got to work on Jan. 27, she told colleagues she didn’t want to talk about Kobe Bryant, who had died the day before in a fiery helicopter crash, along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others. Laura Newberry, Maria L. La Ganga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/4/20
Knight: Nuru's alternate reality: Where SF sparkles, and homelessness doesn't exist -- Mayor London Breed arrived at Glide Memorial Church one day in August 2018 to find an alternate reality. The heart of the Tenderloin sparkled, and homelessness didn’t exist. She was there to tour and tout the mock-up of a safe injection site for drug users. The facility inside was calm, clean and sterile — just like, strangely, the typically dirty, raucous sidewalks outside. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/4/20
O.C. to drop charges against doctor and his girlfriend accused of sexual assaults, D.A. says -- Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer on Tuesday announced that he plans to drop all charges against a Newport Beach doctor and his girlfriend accused of drugging and sexually assaulting several women after a review of their case found no evidence they committed any crimes. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/4/20
CA housing authorities crack down on Sacramento landlords breaking law on housing vouchers -- The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing has selected Sacramento as the first county to launch an enforcement action to crack down on landlords who continue to illegally post advertisements that say they do no accept potential tenants with Section 8 vouchers. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/4/20
To keep cops in the community, a shuttered LAPD jail in San Pedro reopens -- For nearly a decade, the jail in San Pedro stood vacant and shuttered. Television crews filmed inside on occasion, and police cadets asked to use it on Halloween. But it had no real inmates. Leila Miller in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/4/20
Roseville’s Adventist Health signs outsourcing deals that will cut nearly 650 jobs -- Roseville-based Adventist said in letters to the California Employment Development Department that it was transferring jobs related to security and linen services to contractors that would be providing the services, adding that the company expected the contractors to offer positions to all the workers. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/4/20
Fox: Does AB 5 Violate Publishers First Amendment Protections as Well as Freelancers? -- Freelance writers and photographers challenged AB 5 in court as a violation of their First Amendment’s rights to freedom of speech. A second line of attack could come from those who hire the writers and photographers. The way some publishers run their publications, whether print or digital, could be drastically altered and potentially put out of business by the dictates of AB 5. Isn’t that a First Amendment violation “abridging …freedom…of the press?” Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 2/4/20