 |  |  |  |
Updating . .
George Gascón will be L.A. County’s next district attorney as incumbent Jackie Lacey concedes -- Reform candidate George Gascón will take control of the nation’s largest local prosecutor’s office after incumbent Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey conceded the contest Friday, handing a major win to the movement to elect progressive district attorneys. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ Brian Melley Associated Press Larry Altman in the Los Angeles Daily News$ Jeremy B. White Politico -- 11/6/20
L.A. jolted by progressive political shakeup this week. Is it just the beginning? -- In a year dominated by massive street protests over racial injustice and wrenching losses from the pandemic, Los Angeles voters upended the political status quo on Tuesday by backing a slate of progressive candidates and measures. Dakota Smith, Julia Wick in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/6/20
In Trump-loving Newport Beach, the faithful make no apologies -- It is a sentiment widely felt in this coastal cradle of wealth where Trump’s well-heeled supporters have clung to hope this week with the election results up in the air. On Tuesday, they thrilled as the president seemed headed toward a polls-busting victory. By Wednesday, uncertainty crept in. By Thursday, optimism waned. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/6/20
Arellano: In Orange County, pretending coronavirus is fake news wins you elections -- For the last four years, reporters and politicos have descended upon my native Orange County like detectives at a murder scene. The victim: O.C.’s reputation as a GOP kingmaker. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/6/20
Nancy Pelosi declares she will run again for House speaker as Dems quarrel about messaging -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi told fellow House Democrats that she will run to keep her leadership post in the next Congress, on the heels of election results that disappointed her caucus and raised questions about the party’s strategy. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/6/20
Rising Democratic star Michael Tubbs risks reelection defeat, thanks in part to a Stockton blog -- Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs, a Democratic rising star with a national reach, is trailing in a reelection bid to an upstart Republican contender — a potential upset driven in part by a local social media page that has become a kingslayer if not a kingmaker in this San Joaquin Valley city. Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/6/20
Fox: California Legislature Rebuked by Voters -- Measured against a number of statewide ballot propositions, the California legislature apparently has a different vision on governing the state than the people they serve. Importantly, two measures that challenged legislative actions intended to lead policy change across the nation were upended by voters. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 11/6/20
Virus
Coronavirus updates: California reports highest one-day case total since late August -- Though it remains too early to definitively call it a surge, California’s coronavirus activity is growing more concerning by the day. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/6/20
Teachers, parents rally in suburban Sacramento school district for COVID-19 safety plan -- More than 50 teachers and parents Thursday took to the parking lot outside the Folsom Cordova Unified School District headquarters in Rancho Cordova, waving signs, ringing cow bells and calling for more transparency and communication from school officials as they continue to prepare for a return to classrooms. Sawsan Morrar in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/6/20
Street
San Marino man accused of driving truck into Black Lives Matters protest freed on $10-million bond -- A San Marino man accused of intentionally driving a truck into a crowd of Pasadena Black Lives Matter protesters and charged with conspiring to violate firearms laws will be released after his parents put up a $10-million property bond and he surrendered his stock of firearms, authorities said. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/6/20
California Policy & Politics Friday Morning
What the failure of Prop. 25 means for racial justice in California -- California voters rejected the Legislature’s decision to end cash bail. While it doesn’t mean the end of criminal justice reform, it does signal more work ahead. Nigel Duara CalMatters -- 11/6/20
California proves it’s not as liberal as you think -- The myth of lockstep liberal California took a hit this election. Jeremy B. White Politico -- 11/6/20
In the Bay Area, hope and anxiety -- As President Trump and his supporters moved to stop the counting of mail-in votes in key battleground states yesterday, local activist groups greenlighted rallies in several Bay Area cities. Their message was simple: count every vote. Brian Howey and Steven Rascón CalMatters -- 11/6/20
Social media slow to crack down on users rallying against vote-counting -- Efforts by President Trump and his supporters to sow doubt in the integrity of election results continue to pose challenges for Facebook and other social media companies, as the vote-counting process remains underway. Sam Dean, Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/6/20
Latino voters overwhelmingly supported Biden in the election. Here’s why -- The unprecedented support that President Trump received from Latino voters in Florida had many people buzzing on election night. But a poll of 5,300 Latino voters across the nation — including California, Arizona, Georgia, Florida and Pennsylvania — revealed Latinos overwhelmingly supported former Vice President Joe Biden and Democratic congressional candidates in the election. Tatiana Sanchez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/6/20
Skelton: With Trump we lost the democratic system envisioned by our founders. With Biden we could get it back -- This country was great until President Trump was elected, running on a once-inconceivable demagogic message that the USA's days of greatness were behind her. He then steadily proceeded to prove his claim, fracturing the nation and sullying its image overseas. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/6/20
EDD
California unemployment claims backlog falls below 1 million -- A backlog of unemployment claims unleashed by the onset of coronavirus-linked business shutdowns in California is shrinking, falling below 1 million for the first time since March, according to the state Employment Development. George Avalos in the Orange County Register -- 11/6/20
Election
50th District congressional race remains too close to call -- In the tight and closely-watched race in California’s 50th District, former Rep. Darrell Issa, a Republican, pulled slightly farther ahead of his challenger, Ammar Campa-Najjar, a Democrat, when voting results were updated Thursday evening. Morgan Cook in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/6/20
Prop. 18, which would have allowed some 17-year-olds to vote, is rejected by voters -- The the proposed amendment to the state Constitution would have permitted California to join at least 18 other states that allow some 17-year-olds to cast ballots, including red states such as Kentucky and Mississippi and blue states such as Illinois and Maryland. Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ Christopher Weber Associated Press -- 11/6/20
California’s counters still have millions of ballots to go -- California still must count 4.5 million ballots, a bigger job than what it faced two days after the election in 2016. Lewis Griswold CalMatters -- 11/6/20
Kanye West receives thousands of votes from Orange County residents -- As the nation watches a tight presidential race and agonizes over the future of American democracy, Kim Kardashian’s husband received thousands of votes from Orange County residents. Ben Brazil in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/6/20
Street
As Election Day neared, conflict in Bakersfield between Trump and BLM groups intensified -- They’ve clashed in parking lots, on sidewalks and in the road, leading to three arrests–one of a BLM protester brandishing a firearm, another of a 1776 Patriot openly carrying a firearm, and a third of a 1776 Patriot accused of assault with a stun gun. Freddy Brewster, Dereka Bennett and Injeong Kim CalMatters -- 11/6/20
Virus
Fresno County Board of Supervisors to quarantine after staff member tests positive for coronavirus -- The Fresno County Board of Supervisors was instructed this week to quarantine at home after a staff member in the county’s downtown offices tested positive for COVID-19. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde in the Los Angeles Times$ Bryant-Jon Anteola in the Fresno Bee -- 11/6/20
San Diego County’s daily COVID-19 numbers show significant spike -- For the first time since Aug. 8, the daily number of new cases announced has surpassed the 500 mark, landing at 530 in the latest update. Current hospitalizations came in at 317. It was the first time since Aug. 25, according to county records, that the number of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients filling beds on a single day was greater than 300. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/6/20
If San Diego County falls to purple tier, here’s how schools might be affected -- Thanks to persistently high COVID-19 case rates, San Diego County is days away from potentially landing in the purple tier, the most-restrictive level of the state’s COVID-19 monitoring system, which would mean that schools that have not started teaching at least some students in person would lose their chance to reopen. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/6/20
Wildfire
California protects homeowners from having fire insurance dropped — again -- As this year’s historic wildfire season winds down, Californians living in fire-prone territory got temporary relief from another threat: they can’t lose their homeowners’ insurance policies for another year. James Bikales CalMatters Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/6/20
Former employee sues SoCal Edison after losing his home in Bobcat fire -- Richard Passmore was celebrating his fourth month of retirement from Southern California Edison when flames from the Bobcat fire began creeping toward his Juniper Hills home. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/6/20
Education
Unclear ballot language, lack of time to connect with voters explain affirmative action loss, backers say -- Voters spoke pretty clearly Tuesday against Proposition 16, defeating it soundly, but those backing the initiative say that confusing ballot language, lack of time to get a clear message to voters and misreading public support contributed to the loss. Opponents of the measure called their 12-point win a landslide. Thomas Peele EdSource -- 11/6/20
How California teachers are making bilingual education work online -- Stuck behind a screen for distance learning, California teachers in dual-language classrooms are trying to come up with new ways to immerse their students in two languages. Zaidee Stavely EdSource -- 11/6/20
California voters pass most school construction bonds, parcel taxes on ballot -- While voters statewide likely defeated Proposition 15, which would raise taxes on commercial property to increase funding for schools, voters in dozens of districts agreed by wide margins to raise their own taxes to support local schools. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 11/6/20
Shorter exams will replace California’s annual Smarter Balanced tests -- Parents, teachers and school administrators who want to know how students are doing academically during the pandemic will have another report card to turn to this year. Sydney Johnson EdSource -- 11/6/20
POTUS 45
Analysis: Trump’s vote diatribe both shocking, unsurprising -- It was at the same time shocking and utterly to be expected. As the nation held its collective breath and awaited the result of the 2020 presidential election, President Donald Trump stepped to the podium in the White House on Thursday and made a full-frontal attempt to undermine the integrity of the vote, which was leaning in the direction of Democrat Joe Biden. Nancy Benac Associated Press -- 11/6/20
GOP splits over Trump’s false election claims, unfounded fraud allegations -- President Trump questioned the presidential election results Thursday night in a speech so riddled with false and unfounded claims that many major news networks, including MSNBC, CBS and ABC, cut away to fact-check the Republican incumbent in real-time. Katie Shepherd in the Washington Post$ Peter Baker and Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ -- 11/6/20-- 11/6/20
-- Thursday Updates
Powerful, wealthy interest groups keep tight grip on California proposition system -- California voters were first empowered to govern by ballot measure in 1911. But it took almost seven decades and the anti-tax crusade of a cantankerous, fist-shaking businessman to reveal the political strength of a direct democracy tool that has come to redefine the state’s politics ever since. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/20
George Gascón barely survived his primary. Now, he’s likely to be L.A. County’s district attorney -- Eight months ago, more than a few people were writing George Gascón’s political epitaph. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/20
S.F. voters passed new taxes. Will that hurt or help as city recovers from pandemic? -- San Francisco embraced several tax measures on the ballot Tuesday, despite the recession and the millions of dollars spent arguing that raising taxes during a pandemic would increase the city’s economic woes. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/5/20
California goes big on criminal justice reform, setting a more progressive path -- California voters expressed a clear appetite for criminal justice reform on election night, supporting a series of ambitious changes after a summer of mass protests sparked a painful reckoning around racial injustice and debate over the role of policing. Kevin Rector, Anita Chabria, James Queally, Benjamin Oreskes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/20
This Gen Z gig worker ran for office. Now he’s California’s youngest legislator -- Four years ago, Alex Lee was student body president at UC Davis. On Tuesday, he overwhelmingly won a seat in the California Assembly, becoming the youngest state legislator to assume office in more than 80 years. Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/20
Fake polling place or service to the community? Questions swirl around ‘ballot room’ in OC’s Little Saigon -- On Election Day, voters arrived at a strip mall in the Orange County enclave known as Little Saigon. “POLLING PLACE,” a large sign announced in Vietnamese. “Together, let’s vote.” Anh Do, Adam Elmahrek, Kiera Feldman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/20
Facebook removes pro-Trump group for false election claims and some members calling for violence -- Facebook Inc on Thursday said it had taken down a rapidly growing group where supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump posted misinformation, violent rhetoric and organized protests against the baseless claim that Democrats were stealing the election. The group had ballooned to more than 365,000 members in one day. Elizabeth Culliford, Raphael Satter Reuters -- 11/5/20
Virus
L.A. County sees another big jump in daily coronavirus cases -- Los Angeles County officials on Wednesday reported the highest single daily case count of coronavirus infections not connected with a backlog since late August. The county confirmed 1,843 new cases and 22 additional COVID-19 deaths. Luke Money, Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/5/20