Updating . .
Trump’s land official meets with Brown: ‘We want to be the friendly, yep organization’ -- Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, President Donald Trump’s chief land manager with control over vast amounts of the United States, met with Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday and discussed several California projects managed by his agency, but announced no immediate action. Christopher Cadelago in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/13/17
Wet winter sets precipitation record in Northern California -- A series of late-season storms vaulted this winter into the history books, making it the wettest winter for California’s northern Sierra Nevada in nearly a century of record-keeping, according to the California Department of Water Resources. Sarah Parvini in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/13/17
Mortgage rates tumble to lowest level of 2017 -- Benchmark mortgage rates have fallen to their lowest levels of 2017, according to Thursday’s Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. Richard Scheinin in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/13/17
Clash over power supply holds up opening of San Francisco public sites -- A homeless shelter in Dogpatch. A children’s museum in Corona Heights. A public plaza in Noe Valley. They were all supposed to be up and running by now, but they are still waiting to open. The common problem? PG&E won’t turn on the lights. And no one can agree on why. Emily Green in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/13/17
Fox: Progressive Policy Agenda Could Benefit with Advanced Primary Election -- While the focus on Sen. Ricardo Lara’s bill to move California’s presidential primary from June to an earlier date so as to increase the state’s influence in presidential contests, there is an overlooked aspect to the change that could also advance the progressive state issues cherished by the majority in the California legislature. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 4/13/17
'We can’t let what happened conquer us': Staff at San Bernardino school urge return after gun attack -- Looking to heal from this week’s deadly shooting inside a San Bernardino classroom, North Park Elementary staff have asked district officials to be allowed to return to campus and carry on with the school year. Veronica Rocha in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/13/17
Man dragged off United flight got a concussion and other injuries, attorney says -- The man who was dragged off a United Airlines flight suffered a broken nose and concussion and lost two front teeth, according to lawyers who are preparing a lawsuit against the Chicago carrier. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/13/17
United outrage is felt in Little Saigon: 'Did they think he's a quiet minority who won't resist?' -- Minh Phu Le’s cousin called her about the news shaking up Little Saigon: The man who’d been dragged off a United Airlines flight, seen in a viral video, was someone they all knew. Anh Do in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/13/17
Scandal continues to weigh on Wells Fargo earnings -- The bank’s non-retail operations have held up much better than its consumer side, which continues to suffer from the fake-account scandal that erupted in September. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/13/17
Tesla factory workers turn up the heat on automaker -- Tesla’s big promises and Wall Street valuation have come with added pressure from its employees. Nearly 60 local organizations on Thursday sent a letter to CEO Elon Musk criticizing the tech company’s confidentiality policy and safety protocol at its Fremont factory. Louis Hansen in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/13/17
EV makers Tesla, Lucid going big and fast -- The future of electric vehicles is coming fast and big. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said today the company’s all-electric semi-truck will be revealed in September. Louis Hansen in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/13/17
Tight home supply keeps driving up real estate prices in Bay Area and nation -- And it’s a Bay Area story. After Denver and Seattle (where newly listed homes spent just eight days on market), Oakland and San Jose were the fastest-moving markets in the nation with 13 and 14 median days on market, respectively. Richard Scheinin in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/13/17
New plan for state worker bonuses should mean a lower tax bite -- California state workers won’t lose as much of their $2,500 bonus checks to taxes as they once thought. Reversing a previous decision, the State Controller’s Office is working to issue the bonuses in such a way that they won’t be taxed at a higher rate than workers normally see on their paychecks. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/13/17
Survey ranks Bay Area school districts for the best teachers -- Ever wonder which school district can boast the best teachers in the Bay Area? The Niche website, which ranks school districts nationwide, says it has number-crunched data to get the answers you are looking for. Not everyone agrees with its findings, though. Joyce Tsai in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/13/17
Talbot: Planned Parenthood under siege; time to fight, again -- When I was a student at UC Santa Cruz in the early 1970s, there were no abortion providers in the county, whose medical system was dominated by the local Catholic-run hospital. So my sister Cindy and several other feminist activists who were also Santa Cruz students founded the first women’s health clinic in the county and imported a doctor each week to terminate unwanted pregnancies. David Talbot in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/13/17
Battling bumper bigotry: DMV fights ugly messages on the road -- The white nationalism that seems to have flourished over the past year is showing up in an unlikely place: applications for vanity license plates. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/13/17
Prediction prof: Trump will be impeached -- The professor who took hell for predicting President Donald Trump has a much longer case for predicting President Mike Pence — and it’s all in his new book, out next week. Edward-Isaac Dovere Politico -- 4/13/17
Californ a Policy & Politics This Morning
Sea-level rise in California could be catastrophic, study says -- A state-commissioned report on climate change released Wednesday raises the stakes for fighting global warming, offering a clearer and, in some cases, more catastrophic picture of how much sea levels will rise in California. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/13/17
A 'sanctuary state' bill is raising heated debate among California lawmakers. Here's how it would work -- California state Senate leader Kevin de León introduced Senate Bill 54 on what was an unusually acrimonious first day of the 2017 legislative session, as lawmakers in both chambers were locked in bitter debate over the still newly elected President Donald Trump. Jazmine Ulloa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/13/17
A rich reformer lobbies California for merciful justice -- A cattle-ranching billionaire headed into Gov. Jerry Brown’s office last week with redemption on his mind. Laurel Rosenhall Calmatters.org -- 4/13/17
Classes to resume Monday at San Bernardino school where shooting killed teacher, student -- With extra staff on hand, classes will resume Monday at North Park Elementary School, where a shooting earlier this week killed a teacher and student and left another student wounded. Work also is underway this week to consider additional security at the school. Richard K. De Atley and Ryan Hagen in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 4/13/17
Skelton: Should California move up its primary to gain clout in presidential elections? -- California voters had virtually no voice in who was nominated for president last year. That’s plain wrong. And hopefully it can be made right for 2020. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/13/17
Fresno State says FBI, Secret Service probing professor’s tweets about President Trump -- Fresno State President Joseph Castro said Wednesday that he and his staff will continue to cooperate with federal investigators in their probe of a German-born history professor who ignited a firestorm when he said on Twitter that President Donald Trump must hang to save democracy. Pablo Lopez in the Fresno Bee -- 4/13/17
Calbuzz: Wannabe Guv Chiang: “Stronger Financial Future” -- In running for governor, California Treasurer John Chiang understandably promotes his deep experience with state finances and mastery of policy detail – but seriously struggles when asked for a clear and simple rationale for his candidacy. Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine CalBuzz -- 4/13/17
Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds
How's this for a trade-off: End sales taxes on tampons and diapers, but raise liquor taxes -- The slogans are simple, and meant to convey a clear choice. “It’s time to tax liquor before ladies,” Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) said. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/13/17
Homeless
San Francisco lawmaker seeks to speed up homeless housing -- Assemblyman Phil Ting says he wants to hammer down the regulatory delays that can turn constructing housing for homeless people into a slog through bureaucratic molasses, and he’s come up with an aggressive approach: a measure that would let San Francisco rewrite the rules to supply roofs quickly for the 7,000 people in the city with no long-term home. Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/13/17
LA County approves funding to keep winter homeless shelters open into fall -- Los Angeles County has approved about $2.5 million to keep three area winter shelters for the homeless open until next fall, to give people more time to connect with permanent housing and social services. Susan Abram in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 4/13/17
New Funding To House California's Homeless Must First Clear Hurdles -- Counties around California are preparing for an influx of state funding to add new housing for homeless people with mental illness. But it will likely be at least two years before they’re ready to hand out new house keys. Daniel Potter Capital Public Radio -- 4/13/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Bay Area companies rank among highest paying in USA -- Several Bay Area tech companies, including search giant Google and cloud software firm VMware, rank among the top 25 highest-paying companies in the nation, according to a new Glassdoor.com survey. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/13/17
Transit
BART to look at service cuts, reduced discounts to trim costs -- Reduced BART service and smaller discounts are among the proposals expected at the rail system’s Thursday Board of Directors meeting in Oakland to close a multimillion-dollar budget shortfall. Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/13/17
Education
California bills aim to crack down on for-profit charter schools -- Vowing to fight public school profiteering, Democratic state lawmakers have introduced legislation that would either block or seriously limit for-profit companies’ ability to operate charter schools in California. Jessica Calefati Calmatters.org -- 4/13/17
UC Berkeley Republicans test limits again with Ann Coulter speech -- The Berkeley College Republicans have no problem inviting the nation’s most provocative conservatives to speak on campus — and the more outrageous the better, they say. It’s good for business. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/13/17
Million-dollar teachers: Cashing in by selling their lessons -- Miss Kindergarten is in the million-dollar club. So are Lovin Lit, the Moffatt Girls and about a dozen other teacher-entrepreneurs who are spinning reading, math, science and social studies into gold by selling their lesson plans online to fellow teachers around the world. Carolyn Thompson Associated Press -- 4/13/17
Environment
There's fear that the EPA's request for a court delay may lead to dirtier air -- When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency adopted a stricter smog limit in 2015, forcing states to reduce emissions, many people were disappointed. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/12/17
California Boosts Funding For Electric Vehicle Charging Stations -- Plans to build more electric vehicle charging stations in California received a boost Wednesday in the form of a $15 million grant that state officials hope will grow much larger. Chris Nichols Capital Public Radio -- 4/13/17
Also . . .
Hedgecock suit says sidewalk fall ruptured wife's breast implants -- Former San Diego Mayor Roger Hedgecock and his wife are suing the city over a 2015 fall she took on damaged sidewalk that allegedly ruptured her silicone breast implants and eventually required replacement surgery. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/12/17
Antenna permitting bill sparks clash between state, local officials -- A resolution unanimously approved by San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors on Tuesday may put the city on a collision course with Sacramento legislators over a bill that aims to shift the power to regulate the placement of wireless communications devices from local municipalities to the state. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/13/17
POTUS 45
Inside Bannon’s struggle: From ‘shadow president’ to Trump’s marked man -- When Stephen K. Bannon reported for work Wednesday, he did not act like a man who had just been publicly humiliated by his boss. Philip Rucker, Ashley Parker and Robert Costa in the Washington Post$ -- 4/13/17
Trump shifting positions at breakneck pace -- On everything from NATO to health care, Trump has demonstrated a willingness to bend his views. But there’s one flip-flop he won’t make. Matthew Nussbaum Politico -- 4/13/17
Putin Hoists Trump on His Own Fake News Petard -- The global infowars have tumbled through the looking glass: On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin accused the government of President Donald Trump—who grew fat accusing the American press of promulgating fake news—of concocting fake news directed at him. Jack Shafer Politico -- 4/13/17
Manafort is expected to register as a foreign agent -- Paul Manafort, the former campaign chair for Donald Trump, has signaled that he plans to register as a foreign agent for his past work on behalf of political figures in Ukraine. Tom Hamburger in the Washington Post$ -- 4/13/17
-- Wednesday Updates
Abcarian: California prosecutors have turned the tables on Planned Parenthood's undercover video tormentors -- Before I tell you why it’s such great news that California’s new Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra has filed felony charges against a pair of anti-abortion activists who accused Planned Parenthood of selling fetal tissue for profit, let me ask you a few questions: Have you ever been vaccinated against polio, rubella, measles, chicken pox or Hepatitis A? Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/12/17
California vaccine rates increase after Legislature toughens rules for children -- A new report by the California Department of Public Health found that 95.6 percent of kindergartners in the current school year completed vaccinations requirements. Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/12/17
Police departments say they don't enforce immigration laws. But their manuals say something different -- Like many law enforcement agencies across California, Culver City police say officers don't enforce federal immigration law. The City Council declared the town a so-called sanctuary city last month, promising to protect the public safety of all city residents, regardless of immigration status. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/12/17
Lazarus: 'Get off or pay for another seat.' United customers share their bad experiences -- I received hundreds of emails in response to my column on an Irvine investment manager being threatened with handcuffs by United Airlines if he didn’t give his first-class seat to a “higher-priority” passenger. Most of the messages recounted indignities large and small suffered by other United customers. Many were too long, or expletive-laden, to be posted online (which tells you something). David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/12/17
Change in North Carolina bathroom law not enough to lift California's travel ban, Becerra says -- North Carolina’s repeal of its controversial “bathroom bill” did not sufficiently address concerns about discrimination to result in California lifting its ban on state-funded travel to that state, California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra said Wednesday. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/12/17
Michael Tubbs, one of America’s youngest mayors, aims to lift his hometown of Stockton -- Michael Tubbs eased into the chair at Big Herk’s Clippers and closed his eyes, hoping for a precious few moments of downtime under a blue barber’s cape. “Hello, Mr. Mayor!” a man boomed as Hynek Washington’s electric shaver began buzzing. Cynthia Hubert in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/12/17
UC: Locals vs. the out-of-staters -- It’s a common story. California high school graduates with top grades and scores still aren’t able to get into the University of California campus of their choice. Lisa Renner Capitol Weekly -- 4/12/17
From extreme drought to record rain: Why California's drought-to-deluge cycle is getting worse -- California’s climate has long been dominated by cycles of intense dry conditions followed by heavy rain and snow. But never before in recorded history has the state seen such an extreme drought-to-deluge swing. Rong-Gong Lin II and Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/12/17
Sanctuary cities crackdown threatens government shutdown -- President Donald Trump’s budget director is urging congressional Republicans to take a hard line against sanctuary cities in a must-pass spending bill, complicating efforts to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month, according to officials in both parties. Burgess Everett and Sarah Ferris Politico -- 4/12/17
Trump administration moving quickly to build up nationwide deportation force -- The Trump administration is quickly identifying ways to assemble the nationwide deportation force that President Trump promised on the campaign trail as he railed against the dangers posed by illegal immigration. David Nakamura in the Washington Post$ -- 4/12/17
Fox: Could a Dem v. Dem Governor’s Race Save Some Congressional Republicans? -- Despite all the anti-Trump resistance in California that quickens the heartbeat of Democrats hoping to knock off a number of California’s congressional Republicans their survival hinges on turnout and just maybe could be influenced by California’s unique top two primary system. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 4/12/17