Updating . . .

Radio host, former Clinton aide Matt Miller to run for Waxman seat -- Matt Miller, newspaper columnist and former Clinton White House aide, said Friday he is jumping into the already crowded race to replace retiring Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills). Miller announced his candidacy on "Left, Right & Center," the political program he co-hosts on KCRW-FM (89.9). Jean Merl in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

Obama to stress climate change in Fresno -- White House science adviser John Holdren, a Stanford-trained physicist who taught at UC Berkeley and has studied the effects of environmental change for much of his career, says President Obama will address climate change in his visit to Fresno on Friday. Carolyn Lochhead in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/14/14

Target, Neiman Marcus will be no-shows at hearing on data breaches -- Two Assembly panels will convene next week to examine consumer data safety, but lawmakers won't be hearing from two companies that have been hit with recent high-profile security breaches. Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

BOE to consider lowering excise tax rate on gasoline by 3.5 cents -- The state Board of Equalization will consider adjusting the excise tax rate for gasoline downward by 3.5 cents during its Feb. 25 meeting in Culver City. Mark Glover in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/14/14

AT&T California president tells 34,000 employees to cut back on water usage -- McNeeley outlined specific measures to reach that goal. He asked employees to stop washing AT&T’s California fleet of more than 15,000 vehicles, reduce facility landscape irrigation by half, turn off decorative water features or fountains at corporate buildings, use brooms to clean job sites and generally remain vigilant in identifying water waste. Mark Glover in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/14/14

Supervisors chair gets free car plus 'two-Mercedes' car allowance -- Labor leaders criticize Shawn Nelson for taking the freebie from the air-quality board on which he serves, on top of the county’s car allowance. Mike Reicher in the Orange County Register$ -- 2/14/14

Federal judge dismisses Nevada ‘patient dumping’ lawsuit -- A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a civil lawsuit brought on behalf of a patient who was bused to Sacramento from a Nevada state psychiatric hospital in Las Vegas. Phillip Reese and Cynthia Hubert in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/14/14

Obama issues guidelines for banks on funds from legal marijuana sales --But the guidance fell short of giving banks carte blanche to get involved in a business that is legal in some states for medical or recreational purposes but is still illegal under federal law. Timothy M. Phelps in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

Occidental Petroleum to move HQ to Houston, spin off California assets --Occidental Petroleum, the longtime Los Angeles-based energy giant, announced Friday that it would move its headquarters to Houston and spin off its California assets into a separate company. Shan Li in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

California senator unveils bill to give health care to undocumented immigrants -- A plan to provide undocumented immigrants in California access to subsidized health care has been spelled out in Senate Bill 1005 by Sen. Ricardo Lara, a Democrat from Bell Gardens. Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/14/14

Wildermuth: Brown Finally Surrenders on Prison Overcrowding -- The endgame is here for Gov. Jerry Brown’s long-running battle with the courts over prison overcrowding. John Wildermuth Fox & Hounds -- 2/14/14

Comcast-Time Warner Cable deal would create formidable giant -- The Comcast-Time Warner Cable combination would have revenue approaching $100 billion and more than 30 million customers. But Comcast executives insist the merger wouldn't be anti-competitive. Joe Flint and Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

Downey space museum is struggling to survive -- Bob Thompson fondly remembers when Downey was buzzing with pride and payrolls as a major hub for work on the Apollo space program and the construction site for six space shuttles. James Barragan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

Obama to ask Congress for $1-billion climate change fund --President Obama will ask Congress for $1 billion to create a "climate resilience fund" to pay for research, preparation and infrastructure aimed at dealing with the extreme weather and new conditions associated with shifts in the weather. Kathleen Hennessey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

California health exchange faulted for not reaching out more to Latinos -- Some California politicians are turning up the heat on the state's health insurance exchange to boost Latino enrollment in Obamacare before a March deadline. Soumya Karlamangla and Chad Terhune in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning

Court strikes California law restricting concealed weapons -- California must allow law-abiding citizens to carry concealed firearms in public, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday, striking down the core of the state's permit system for handguns. Bob Egelko  in the San Francisco Chronicle Paul Elias Associated Press Kristina Davis UT San Diego$  Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ Josh Richman in the San Jose Mercury$ Ashby Jones in the Wall Street Journal$ Dan Whitcomb Reuters -- 2/14/14

Ruling figures to increase concealed weapons in Orange County -- The ruling could pave the wave for more concealed-weapons permits being issued in Orange County and other urban parts of the state. The decision could be challenged in the Supreme Court. David Montero in the Orange County Register$ -- 2/14/14

Obama to announce millions of dollars for drought assistance -- President Obama will announce millions of dollars in federal drought assistance Friday when he flies to California and tours fields and orchards ravaged by the deepening water crisis, aides said. Christi Parsons in the Los Angeles Times$ Jessica Calefati in the San Jose Mercury$ Elizabeth Held in the Orange County Register$ Michael Doyle McClatchy DC Steve Holland Reuters Carla Marinucci in the San Francisco Chronicle Anthony York in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14 

California Seeing Brown Where Green Used to Be -- Farmers are calculating losses that add up with each arid day. Thousands of farm workers who rely on paychecks for tending the fields are expected to go unemployed this year. Jennifer Medina in the New York Times$ -- 2/14/14

Drought may be a fertile topic for GOP candidates -- Republican candidates for governor are seizing on the subject as they seek to score points against Jerry Brown. Seema Mehta and Anthony York in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

Lady Gaga: California's new drought spokeswoman -- Lady Gaga has a new message for all of her “little monsters”: Save water. The five-time Grammy Award winner will soon be on the air with a public service announcement urging Californians to do their part to help with the state’s drought. Anthony York in the Los Angeles Times$ David Siders in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/14/14

Republican governor candidate fires borrowed guns despite probation -- Assemblyman Tim Donnelly, Republican candidate for governor and outspoken gun-rights advocate, appears to have violated his probation agreement while firing borrowed weapons at an indoor gun range last week. Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

Ballot measure would thin ranks on state's death row -- Three former governors are backing a ballot measure to speed up California's appeals process for death penalty cases, saying the current system is too slow, ineffective and expensive. Laura Olson in the Orange County Register$ -- 2/14/14

Walters: Democrats could lose California congressional seats -- Democrats picked up several California congressional seats in 2012, but the state – contrary to pre-election cheerleading by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi – didn’t generate enough action to prevent Republicans from retaining control of the House. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/14/14

Boxer ramps up San Onofre fight with NRC -- Sen. Barbara Boxer is continuing her aggressive search for what she calls missing Nuclear Regulatory Commission documents as part of her committee's investigation of a radioactive gas leak at the shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. David Hood in the Orange County Register$ --  2/14/14

Bill Bratton endorses Jim McDonnell in L.A. County sheriff’s race -- Former Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton announced his support Thursday for Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell for Los Angeles County Sheriff. Beatriz Valenzuela in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 2/14/14

Mary Hayashi rolls out her state Senate campaign -- But that team will have to find a way to convince voters it’s no big deal that Hayashi, 47, of Hayward, was convicted two years ago of shoplifting $2,450 worth of clothes from San Francisco’s Neiman Marcus. Josh Richman Political Blotter -- 2/14/14

Taxes/Fees

Red-light cameras topple in Poway -- Red-light cameras that have stood at three intersections in Poway since 2005 started coming down Thursday to the delight of passing motorists who honked and yelled their approval. J. Harry Jones UT San Diego$ -- 2/14/14

Economy, Employers and Jobs

BART OKs hiring consultant to investigate labor negotiations -- BART's tempestuous year of labor negotiations, which cost the transit agency $8.4 million and an immeasurable amount of public confidence, will end up costing as much as $225,000 more. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/14/14

PUC San Onofre proposal wins praise -- Much if not all of the electric power once provided by the San Onofre nuclear power plant could be replaced with energy from non-fossil-fuel sources, says a proposed decision pending at the California Public Utilities Commission. Marc Lifsher in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

Retail sales fall unexpectedly in January -- Amid bitter weather, sales slump a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in January from December, missing Wall Street's expectations, Commerce Department reports. Tiffany Hsu in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

L.A. County union approves new contract agreement -- SEIU members vote to approve new contract agreement with L.A. County after months of negotiations and a strike by social workers. Abby Sewell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

Ski season just getting started at Tahoe -- Many ski runs, kept closed because of a lack of snow coverage, will open for the first time this winter. And roads are clear as thousands wax their boards and skis, ready to hit the slopes. Randi Rossmann in the Santa Rosa Press -- 2/14/14

Education

The school standards rebellion -- Manufacturing associations, trade groups and farm lobbies have fueled the resentment at universal college prep, arguing that it’s elitist, that it demeans blue-collar workers — and, not incidentally, that it’s cutting off their pipeline of new workers. Stephanie Simon Politico -- 2/14/14

California Schools Have $37.5 Billion in Unissued Bonds  -- Though California has exhausted its authorization to issue state bonds for schools, school and community college districts have $37.5 billion in approved but unissued local school construction bonds.   Keeley Webster The Bond Buyer  --  2/14/14

Proposal would allow military instructors to teach physical education -- High school military instructors could become authorized physical education teachers if a contentious regulation change before the state Commission on Teacher Credentialing is approved Friday. Jane Meredith Adams EdSource -- 2/14/14

Miller: Transitional kindergarten for all would lessen inequality -- In January, California Senate President pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg introduced the Kindergarten Readiness Act of 2014 (SB 837), legislation that would improve and expand high-quality transitional kindergarten (TK) for all 4-year-olds, regardless of income. Paul Miller EdSource -- 2/14/14

New professional standards for CA principals approved -- Setting a clear expectation that schools should be a place of safety and fairness, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing adopted Thursday new standards for school principals that embrace restorative justice practices. Tom Chorneau Cabinet Report -- 2/14/14

No health risks from contaminated SFSU building, experts say -- Toxicology and medical experts said Thursday that 6,250 displaced students and employees at San Francisco State University face no increased health risk after asbestos, lead and mercury shut down the Science Building in January. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/14/14

Health

BART rider with measles potentially exposed thousands -- Public health officials issued a warning Thursday that thousands of Bay Area residents were potentially exposed to measles last week when a UC Berkeley student with the virus attended classes in Berkeley and rode on BART. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle Kristin J. Bender and Katie Nelson in the Oakland Tribune -- 2/14/14

Health warning labels proposed for soda sold in California -- Citing studies linking soda to obesity, a state lawmaker and medical experts proposed a first-in-the-nation bill Thursday that would require sugary drinks sold in California to have health warning labels similar to those on packs of cigarettes. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$  Josh Richman Political Blotter Jeremy B. White  in the Sacramento Bee$ --  2/14/14

California Medical Association backs health warnings on sugary drinks -- Are Coke, Pepsi and other sugary drinks the next tobacco? It's looking that way, as the California Medical Association and other groups back a new proposal in Sacramento to slap a health warning on sodas and other sugary drinks. Chris Rauber San Francisco Business Times -- 2/14/14

Obamacare enrollment push for the young enters 11th hour -- The government-sponsored television ad, which is airing on five national cable-TV channels, including ABC Family and TVLand, is part of an uphill battle to increase youth participation in President Barack Obama's signature domestic policy achievement. David Morgan Reuters -- 2/14/14

California takes down online health insurance exchange for small businesses -- The nation’s most populous state has elected to temporarily shutter its new online health insurance marketplace for small business only four months after it launched, dealing yet another blow to a key element of the health care law meant to lower costs for employers. J.D. Harrison in the Washington Post$ -- 2/14/14

States Struggle to Add Latinos to Health Rolls -- But California stands out as the most troubling case, proponents of the law say, because it has the most Latinos of any state and has worked hard to enroll them. Jennifer Medina and Abby Goodnough in the New York Times$ -- 2/14/14

State bill would get undocumented immigrants on health-care rolls -- The bill includes provisions that would cover the poorest undocumented immigrants and those who are not eligible to participate in the new federal health program because of their immigration status. Roxana Kopetman in the Orange County Register$ -- 2/14/14

Environment

Obama-appointed climate change task force meets in Los Angeles -- Obama administration officials met with a nationwide task force of state and local leaders in Los Angeles Thursday to hear what the federal government can do to help communities confront climate change. Tony Barboza in the Los Angeles Times$ Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 2/14/14

Healdsburg may use treated wastewater for vineyards -- Currently the state-of-the-art treatment plant discharges about one million gallons daily of “near drinkable” reclaimed water into a pond, which then leaches into the adjacent Russian River. Clark Mason in the Santa Rosa Press -- 2/14/14

Planet-warming methane leaking at higher rate, study finds -- Federal regulators are missing about 14 million metric tons of greenhouse gas in their annual inventory, most of which likely comes from the nation's growing natural gas industry, according to a new study. Geoffrey Mohan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

 Santa Monica targets quake safety -- City will become first in the state to identify potentially dangerous concrete buildings and require retrofitting. Rong-Gong Lin II, Doug Smith and Rosanna Xia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

Milestone: Ivanpah Solar Plant Formally Opens -- It's been a long road for the Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System, from its formal proposal by BrightSource Energy in 2007 through the well-publicized problems with desert wildlife, some of which actually brought construction to a brief halt in 2011. Chris Clarke KCET Rewire -- 2/14/14

A Huge Solar Plant Opens, Facing Doubts About Its Future -- The plant, which took almost four years and thousands of workers assembling millions of parts to complete, officially opened on Thursday, the first electric generator of its kind. It could also be the last. Diane Cardwell and Matthew L. Wald in the New York Times$ -- 2/14/14

Also...

Johnson: Cherry-picking crime stats may have pitfalls for Jean Quan -- At just about every event she's attended this year, Oakland Mayor Jean Quan has repeated the campaign mantra she hopes will win her another four-year term in November: Crime is down and Oakland is on the rise. Chip Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 2/14/14

LAPD officer found guilty of perjury in drug case -- After a jury in 2012 convicted two other officers but deadlocked on Manuel Ortiz, a new panel finds him guilty of lying under oath. Corina Knoll in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/14/14

El Dorado supervisor waiting to see if he’ll have to pay for fire response -- El Dorado County Supervisor Ray Nutting, already facing charges for allegedly failing to declare state income for brush clearing on his ranch, is now waiting to find out if he will be billed for a November incident in which fires broke out from smoldering burn piles that reignited. Peter Hecht in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/14/14

POTUS 44

Obama to raise money for House Democrats -- President Barack Obama will headline at least six fundraisers for House Democrats this year, with “the potential for more,” according to Democratic sources. John Bresnahan Politico -- 2/14/14

Beltway

House Democrats will seek to force vote on minimum wage --Democrats will seek to force a House vote on raising the federal minimum wage, party leaders said Thursday, but even getting the proposal to a vote will be an uphill fight. Michael A. Memoli in the Los Angeles Times$ Mike Lillis The Hill -- 2/14/14

Senators’ Debt Limit Votes Kept Off Microphones; Reporters Protest -- In a major departure from procedure during Wednesday’s climactic vote on suspending the federal debt limit, the Senate kept some senators’ votes secret while the nearly hourlong tally was under way — a move that has drawn sharp criticism from Capitol Hill reporters. Niels Lesniewski Roll Call --  2/14/14

Monica Lewinsky, reconsidered -- Liike it or not, we’re having a national flashback to the 1990s—replete with images of thong underwear near the Oval Office, semen-stained blue dresses and all manner of sordid details we thought we’d outgrown. Liza Munday Politico -- 2/14/14