Updating . .
Jerry Brown heads to Washington to talk nuclear danger, more -- Brown, the popular Democratic leader of a state antagonistic to Trump on issues ranging from healthcare and environmental protections to immigration policy, will attend the meeting of the Nuclear Threat Initiative’s Board of Directors. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/17
Norovirus outbreak continues at Santa Monica schools -- Nearly two months after a norovirus outbreak began during a class trip to Yosemite, students in Santa Monica are still falling sick with the stomach bug, according to school and public health officials. Soumya Karlamangla in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/17
Lack of kids in Davis fuels K-12 transfers from outside the school district -- It takes “granny nanny” Helen Pomerleau up to 20 minutes to drive her three grandchildren from their home near downtown Woodland to their schools in Davis. Loretta Kalb in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/18/17
In One Rocky Week, Trump’s Self-Inflicted Chaos on Vivid Display -- Minutes before President Trump was to take the stage in Nashville last week to make his case for the health care overhaul he had promised, he received some unwelcome news that shifted his script. Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ -- 3/18/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Oakland denies prosecutors access to Ghost Ship fire report -- In an escalating legal feud over the investigation into the Ghost Ship tragedy, Alameda County prosecutors have tried without success in recent weeks to pry the completed draft report of the deadly fire from the city’s hands. Matthias Gafni, Thomas Peele and David Debolt in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/18/17
San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer: Local Police Will Not Act As Immigration Agents -- In response to an inquiry from the San Diego City Council, Mayor Kevin Faulconer gave his clearest indication yet that the city will not participate in any attempt to deputize local law enforcement officers as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Megan Burke, Maureen Cavanaugh KPBS Joshua Stewart in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/18/17
San Francisco leaders want no federal immigration arrests at city courts -- San Francisco’s top legal officials joined the chief justice of the California Supreme Court in calling for federal immigration agents to refrain from “stalking” courthouses and arresting people who are in the country illegally. Hamed Aleaziz in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/18/17
$1 million settlement for family of Tijuana teen who died after drinking liquid meth -- The case of a Tijuana teenager who died screaming and going into convulsions after sipping liquid methamphetamine while in federal custody at the San Ysidro Port of Entry has been settled with a $1 million payment to his family members. Sandra Dibble in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/18/17
Meals on Wheels recipients see results White House doesn’t -- If they want to cut back on David Drees’ broccoli, it’s not going to happen without a fight. “I need this,” said Drees, gazing as fondly as a man can gaze at a plastic tray of vegetables. “I don’t know what I would do without it.” Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/18/17
Morain: Issues seem so familiar even 30 years later -- John Van de Kamp would feel right at home today if he were back on the job as California attorney general. Van de Kamp, who died earlier this week at age 81, handled issues 30 years ago when I was writing about him that aren’t much different from what the current attorney general faces. Dan Morain in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/18/17
Gale Kaufman recognized as ‘trailblazer’ on tough political battles in California -- Gale Kaufman has been inducted into the American Association of Political Consultants’ hall of fame, one of three women to have ever been recognized by the national organization, which called the California-based politico “a true trailblazer” who has gained “notoriety for her decisive victories on prominent statewide ballot initiative campaigns.” Angela Hart in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/18/17
California Democrats decry Trump budget's housing cuts -- Cuts to affordable housing funding in President Donald Trump's proposed budget would be devastating to California, Democratic state lawmakers said Friday, stressing that the White House's plans increase pressure on them to address the state's housing crisis. Sophia Bollag Associated Press -- 3/18/17
L.A. budget report warns of $224-million deficit next year -- Recent labor agreements, costly court settlements and funding for combating homelessness are driving up expenses and could hamper plans to expand city services in the coming years, a new City Administrative Office report suggests. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/17
Jury awards whistle-blower $2 million in San Francisco sewer-fraud case -- A jury ruled Friday that San Francisco must award a former deputy city attorney more than $2 million in damages in a lawsuit that said she was fired for exposing a long-running illegal payment scheme between municipal officials and plumbing companies. Jenna Lyons in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/18/17
Rep. Maxine Waters blasts Wells Fargo for meeting with Republicans but stonewalling Democrats -- Rep. Maxine Waters on Friday chided Wells Fargo Chief Executive Timothy Sloan, saying he and others at the bank met months ago with Republican staff of the House Financial Services Committee but have given Democratic staff the runaround. James Rufus Koren in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/17
Walters: California’s new school ratings: Are they better or just confusing? -- If Gray Davis’ governorship achieved anything of importance before he was recalled by voters, it was a system for rating academic achievement in the state’s public schools. Dan Walters in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/18/17
Conservative Darrell Issa turns to the left -- Darrell Issa, who built a reputation in Congress as an imposing conservative attack dog, has got a brand new bag. With Democrats closing in on his seat last fall, Issa mailed a campaign ad praising President Barack Obama for signing a victims rights bill Issa supported -- the same Obama he unrelentingly criticized while serving as the high-profile chairman of the House Oversight Committee. Martin Wisckol in the Orange County Register -- 3/18/17
Rohrabacher challenger Harley Rouda addresses past GOP affiliation -- Democrat Harley Rouda has come fast and hard out of the gates in his challenge of Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Costa Mesa, announcing Tuesday, March 14, that he’d raised $100,000 in less than two weeks after declaring his candidacy. At the same time, it emerged that Rouda had given $1,000 to Republican John Kasich in last year’s presidential primary and some began questioning the businessman and first-time candidate’s faithfulness to the Democratic Party. Martin Wisckol in the Orange County Register -- 3/18/17
L.A. City Councilman Gil Cedillo and bike activist Joe Bray-Ali looking at May 16 runoff election -- Los Angeles City Councilman Gil Cedillo is heading for a May 16 runoff contest against bicycle activist Joe Bray-Ali, according to the latest vote count released Friday. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/17
Sempra Services Lobbyists Met With San Diego Elected Officials, Potentially Violating State Ban -- State officials say lobbyists for Sempra Energy's new marketing division, Sempra Services, may have violated state law by meeting with some San Diego elected officials. That's because Sempra Services has not received full approval from the state agency that oversees utilities, the California Public Utilities Commission. Claire Trageser KPBS -- 3/18/17
Union law firm's private detective gets 1 year in jail in scheme to set up Costa Mesa councilmen -- A private detective who admitted he tried to set up a Costa Mesa councilman for a false DUI and tailed the city’s former mayor using a tracking device was sentenced by an Orange County Superior Court judge Friday to one year in jail. Louis Casiano in the Orange County Register -- 3/18/17
California Politics Podcast: This week, we discuss big proposals from President Trump -- environmental protection and budget cuts -- that will impact California. We also take a look at a sweeping higher education plan from Democrats in Sacramento. And the end of an era in Los Angeles politics. With John Myers and Melanie Mason of the Los Angeles Times, Marisa Lagos of KQED News and Anthony York of the Grizzly Bear Project. Link here -- 3/18/17
Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds
Absentee vote pushes L.A. County homeless sales tax measure to a strong finish -- Ten days after the election, a measure to raise the sales tax a quarter-percent to fund homeless programs across Los Angeles County was declared a winner Friday with a growing margin over the required two-thirds majority. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ Antonie Boessenkool in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 3/18/17
Homeless
Trump budget's curbs on rent subsidies could hamper L.A.'s homeless housing effort, officials say -- President Trump’s budget would upend Los Angeles’ attempt to solve its homelessness crisis, cutting into federal rent subsidies that had been expected to cover operating costs for thousands of new housing units, officials said Friday. Gale Holland in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Trump’s proposed cuts to research funding would hit Bay Area hard -- Researchers and university leaders in the Bay Area, one of the nation’s premier hubs of scientific and medical research, are reeling in the wake of President Trump’s proposal to cut federal funding to the government’s primary agency for medical research by nearly a fifth. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/18/17
Transit
Trump's proposed infrastructure cuts prompt @SFBART tweetstorm -- Before he was elected president, Donald Trump vowed to spend billions on infrastructure improvement. Now in his first blueprint budget, he proposes to slash transportation infrastructure funding. The proposed 2018 Federal Transportation Department budget of $16.2 billion reflects a 13 percent cut, which would impact programs aiding both urban and rural communities. Mike Moffitt in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/18/17
Education
Bill would make abortion pill available at state college campuses -- The abortion pill would be on hand at virtually every public college in California under legislation introduced Friday in the state Senate. The bill’s inception comes amid renewed attempts to slash funding for Planned Parenthood, which would no longer receive Medicaid reimbursements under the Republican-backed American Health Care Act. Kimberly Veklerov in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/18/17
Want foster students to succeed in college? Bills make financial aid easier to get -- Like other children placed in foster care, Luz Hernandez was on her own when it came time for applying for or paying for college. Because she had no parents, guardians or resources to help her figure out how to fill out financial aid forms, Hernandez did not get any grants or loans for her first year at City College of San Francisco, and was dropped from her first-semester classes. Robin Opsahl in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/18/17
What is SDSU looking for in a new president? -- If there is any one apparent trend in the hiring, it might be diversity, especially in gender. Of the 19 hires, 10 were women, including all five presidents hired last year. Counting CSU San Marcos President Karen Haynes, who was hired in 2004, there are 11 female presidents in the system. Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/18/17
Environment
After intense public anger, Republicans waver over slashing Obama-era action on methane gas -- As Republican lawmakers consider how closely to align with the climate skepticism and fossil fuel fervor radiating from the White House, a nascent clean air initiative that energy firms want scrapped is fast testing their comfort zone. Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/18/17
SoCalGas reports gas leak on pipeline at Aliso Canyon, fire official calls it ‘false alarm’ -- Southern California Gas Co. officials said Friday they were working to stop a methane leak discovered on an above-ground pipeline at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility near Porter Ranch — though a county fire official said the leak didn’t happen. Ryan Fonseca in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 3/18/17
Bay Area Lawmakers Outraged Over Trump’s Push to Eliminate Federal Refinery Regulator -- Local leaders and health officials in Contra Costa County, home to four oil refineries, are blasting a part of President Trump’s budget that calls for cutting all money for the federal agency that investigates chemical accidents. Ted Goldberg KQED -- 3/18/17
POTUS 45
Trump Offers No Apology for Claim on British Spying -- President Trump provoked a rare public dispute with America’s closest ally on Friday after his White House aired an explosive and unsubstantiated claim that Britain’s spy agency had secretly eavesdropped on him at the behest of President Barack Obama during last year’s campaign. Peter Baker and Steven Erlanger in the New York Times$ -- 3/18/17
Courts will likely scrutinize motive behind Trump travel ban -- With President Trump’s revised travel ban once again on judicial hold, its fate in higher courts — including the Supreme Court — most likely turns on one question: Must judges accept the president’s word that his motive was to protect the nation from terrorism and not to exclude Muslims? Motives can make all the difference in the law. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/18/17
Priebus talk with FBI appears to break White House rules -- Trump’s policy requires that staffers get a lawyer’s approval before discussing a pending investigation. Isaac Arnsdorf Politico -- 3/18/17
Trump’s media diet causes global heartburn -- The president and his aides’ habit of ripping from right-wing media is offending foreign allies and flummoxing fellow Republicans. Matthew Nussbaum Politico -- 3/18/17
Trump drags key foreign allies into controversy over unproven wiretap claims -- President Trump’s unproven allegation that his predecessor wiretapped Trump Tower in New York ahead of the election blazed a new path of political disruption Friday as he dragged two foreign allies into his increasingly thin argument that he is right. Jenna Johnson and Karla Adam in the Washington Post$ -- 3/18/17
Beltway
The Cost Can Be Debated, but Meals on Wheels Gets Results -- Meals on Wheels has been delivering food to older people in the United States since the 1950s. Last year it served 2.4 million people. This week, after President Trump released his budget proposal, a furor erupted over the program’s future and effectiveness. Let’s look at the evidence. Aaron E. Carrol in the New York Times$ -- 3/18/17
How the Mercer family’s partnership with Stephen Bannon shaped the populist climate -- The champagne was flowing as hedge fund executive Robert Mercer and his daughter Rebekah hosted a reception during the Cannes Film Festival last May to promote “Clinton Cash,” a film by their political adviser Stephen K. Bannon and the production company they co-founded, Glittering Steel. Matea Gold in the Washington Post$ -- 3/18/17
-- Friday Updates
Laid off Sungevity workers’ paychecks bounce amid solar firm’s bankruptcy -- Paychecks have bounced for some of the 350 Sungevity workers who were abruptly laid off ahead of the struggling solar company’s recent bankruptcy filing, increasing the pressure on employees who lost their jobs. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/17/17
Brown administration pressures lawmakers to support road-repair funding plan as support lags for tax hike bill -- But two Democrats — Sens. Richard Roth of Riverside and Henry Stern of Woodland Hills — did not vote for the bill, Senate Bill 1, in committee, and a third, Sen. Steve Glazer of Concord, indicated Friday that he is not yet on board. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/17/17
House Democrats frustrated after immigration meeting with homeland security head -- Frustrated House Democrats say they got few specifics from Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly when they questioned him Friday in a closed-door meeting about his agency's efforts to comply with President Trump's immigration orders. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/17/17
Oroville Dam eyes new test as main spillway reopens -- In a fresh test of Oroville Dam’s battered infrastructure, water was released from the fractured main spillway Friday for the first time in three weeks in a renewed effort to lower water levels at the troubled reservoir. Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/17/17
Politics, gun-control anxiety cited for California's record 2016 gun sales -- Californians bought guns at a blazing-fast pace in 2016, setting a record for the most guns ever sold in the state with 1.3 million. It was the first year Californians had ever purchased more than a million firearms. Aaron Mendelson KPCC -- 3/17/17
Police are using new mouth-swab tests to nab drivers under the influence of marijuana and other drugs -- San Diego police have a new way to confirm the presence of marijuana and other drugs in impaired drivers — a mouth-swab device that is already being used by police departments in more than a dozen states and is expected to become more popular with the legalization of marijuana. Kristina Davis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/17/17
Trump's push to ease vehicle emissions rules takes aim at the foundation of California's air pollution fight -- The Trump administration’s move to shelve aggressive vehicle fuel economy standards raises the possibility of a confrontation over what for decades has been at the core of California’s fight against air pollution: the state’s power to set its own stricter emissions rules. Tony Barboza in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/17/17
Immigration judges to be sent to border detention centers -- The Justice Department said Friday that it will temporarily transfer immigration judges to six detention centers mostly near the border with Mexico in an effort to put President Donald Trump's immigration directives into effect. Elliot Spagat Associated Press -- 3/17/17
Huntington Beach restaurant fires waiter after he asks 4 diners for 'proof of residency' -- When Diana Carrillo, her sister and two friends decided to try the Saint Marc Pub-Cafe in Pacific City last week, they were hoping for a nice shared experience. They got a shared experience, but not one they would have expected. Greg Mellen in the Orange County Register -- 3/17/17
Lawmakers warn that Trump budget cuts will deepen California affordable housing crisis -- The average rent in California is now more than double the national average – and as high as $4,500 per month in San Francisco. Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/17/17
Inland Empire rental market tighter than LA's, study says -- Though rents in the Inland Empire are still far cheaper, they're rising as fast or faster than in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, according to a new report from the Center for Economic Forecasting and Development at UC Riverside's School of Business It also found that the Inland Empire has a lower vacancy rate. Ben Bergman KPCC -- 3/17/17
Trump's proposed budget would hurt LA's homelessness efforts -- The proposal – which represents the president's wish list and not a final federal budget – requests $6 billion in cuts from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which is a major funder of local rental assistance projects and affordable housing. Rina Palta KPCC -- 3/17/17
In California, the ‘Beginning of the Battle’ to Save Arts Funding -- With the official release of President Trump’s proposed budget on Thursday, arts leaders in California weren’t surprised to see the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) among the cuts. Cy Musiker KQED -- 3/17/17
Wages rise on California farms. Americans still don’t want the job -- rnulfo Solorio’s desperate mission to recruit farmworkers for the Napa Valley took him far from the pastoral vineyards to a raggedy parking lot in Stockton, in the heart of the Central Valley. Natalie Kitroeff and Geoffrey Mohan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/17/17
Fox: Federal Budget Could Rattle California Taxation -- With the threat of far less money coming out of Washington for California under the Trump Administration budget, California officials and advocates are starting to talk about the need to raise more local and state taxes as a cushion against revenue loss. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 3/17/17
Absentee vote pushes L.A. County homeless sales tax measure toward a strong finish -- Ten days after the election, backers of a quarter-cent sales tax to fund homeless programs in Los Angeles County are waiting for new vote counts Friday that are expected to seal the measure’s narrow passage. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/17/17
California Women’s Caucus sends ‘advice letter’ to Trump’s Supreme Court nominee -- The women helping to lead the world’s sixth-largest economy sent a letter of advice to U.S. Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/17/17
With housing costs skyrocketing, rent control is on the docket again in Sacramento -- Amid California’s housing crisis, several state lawmakers want to give cities the ability to dramatically expand rent control, including imposing the kind of strict limits that once existed in Santa Monica and West Hollywood but have been barred since the 1990s. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/17/17
County supervisor will accept pay raise she voted against -- When San Diego County supervisors voted early this year to increase their own salary by more than $19,000 — as angry taxpayers yelled “shame on you” from the packed chamber — newly seated Supervisor Kristin Gaspar cast the lone vote in opposition. Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/17/17
How food delivery apps have changed the game for restaurants -- A year ago Mendocino Farms didn’t offer delivery at any of its 15 Southern California locations. Now Ellen Chen, co-founder of the artisanal sandwich chain, is knocking down restaurant walls to make room for delivery drivers. Tracey Lien in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/17/17
State unveils a 10-year plan to restore habitat and control toxic dust storms along the Salton Sea's receding shoreline -- Salton Sea advocates on Thursday cautiously celebrated the announcement of a 10-year state plan to complete projects designed to restore areas where migrating birds once proliferated and control toxic dust storms rising off expanses of smelly playa surrounding the shrinking salty lake. Louis Sahagun in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/17/17
Lake Tahoe expected to fill up with largest physical rise in recorded history -- Winter's unrelenting storms built up a substantial Sierra snowpack and are expected to fill the lake for the first time in 11 years. Many low-lying areas that were exposed when the lake level was declining during the drought will be inundated with water. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/17/17
San Francisco pitches plan for future of California rivers -- For decades, San Francisco has been blissfully removed from California’s water wars. The city’s pristine reservoirs in and around Yosemite National Park have been not only plentiful but also largely outside the reach of regulators. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/17/17
Delicious and Nearly Extinct, Can White Abalone Be Saved? -- Aquilino had driven the rare animal 385 miles from Los Angeles, where it was captured off the coast, and where small numbers of this endangered species can still be found. She was about to introduce the 7-inch marine snail to its new home, a research facility at UC Davis’ Bodega Marine Lab in Bodega Bay. Lindsey Hoshaw KQED -- 3/17/17
Taylor: Desley Brooks’ handling of Oakland pot permits raises questions -- There’s something funky about how the Oakland City Council — and Councilwoman Desley Brooks, in particular — has handled the city’s pot-business permit system. It doesn’t smell right. Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/17/17
Should minors be allowed to marry in California? -- Under 18 and want to get hitched? In California, you need signed permission from a single parent or legal guardian, an interview and approval from the court. Soon, you might need to wait until 18 no matter who signs off, making California the only state in the nation with an absolute ban on under-18 marriage. Robin Opsahl in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/17/17
Senate bill requires publicly funded colleges to provide abortion pills to students -- As Republicans in Congress move to defund Planned Parenthood, a California state senator is pushing a bill to require student health centers on public university and community college campuses to provide non-surgical abortion services. Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/17/17
PolitifactCA: Nothing inflated in Arnold Schwarzenegger's claim on gerrymandering -- Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger won’t be back to host The New Celebrity Apprentice. He also recently squashed rumors he might run for U.S. Senate. That doesn’t mean, however, that the bodybuilder-turned-movie-star-turned-politician plans to fade quietly into the Hollywood sunset. Chris Nichols PolitifactCA -- 3/17/17
Trump's unsubstantiated claim that Obama spied on him has now entangled — and upset — Great Britain -- White House officials scrambled to explain themselves Friday after an unusual press briefing a day earlier prompted a diplomatic flap with Britain, one of the United States' closest allies. Noah Bierman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/17/17