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California Policy & Politics This Morning  

He could have beaten his wife in Afghanistan, but here she fought back. And lost her kids -- Basira Haidari arrived in Sacramento three years ago from Afghanistan and vowed to stand up to her husband if he abused her. That pledge broke her family apart. Stephen Magagnini in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/16/17

Thousands march in Los Angeles to demand release of Trump tax returns -- The peaceful demonstration was one of dozens of “tax marches,” held in cities around the country on the traditional deadline for filing federal income tax returns. Marchers filled blocks of closed-off streets as they walked from Pershing Square to City Hall, waving signs and chanting “Donald Trump has got to go.” Bettina Boxall in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/16/17

Protesters take to the streets in San Francisco for anti-Trump Tax March -- Thousands of demonstrators in San Francisco, the Bay Area and cities across the nation took to the streets Saturday in a Tax March demanding that President Trump release his tax returns. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/16/17

Thousands march in San Diego demanding Trump's tax returns -- As many as 3,000 marchers descended on downtown San Diego to protest President Donald Trump over tax issues Saturday, one of 150 similar events nationwide and part of a lengthening list of protest marches planned this spring. Jeanette Steele in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/16/17

Hundreds of Santa Rosa demonstrators call on President Trump to release tax returns -- Over 300 people gathered Saturday at the main post office in downtown Santa Rosa to call on President Donald Trump to release his tax returns. The rally, held on what is typically the deadline date for filing federal income taxes, was sponsored by Indivisible Sonoma County. Robert Digitale in the Santa Rosa Press -- 4/16/17

At Southside Park, hundreds march to call for Trump to release tax returns -- Several hundred people marched and chanted and held aloft all kinds of signs Saturday at a protest centered on the not-so-exciting topic of taxes – specifically, the tax returns Donald Trump once promised he would make public. Blair Anthony Robertson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/16/17

20 arrested in California pro and anti-Trump rallies -- At least 20 people were arrested after violence broke out Saturday between groups of supporters and detractors of President Donald Trump holding rallies in downtown Berkeley, authorities said. Associated Press Cynthia Dizikes in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Ericka Cruz Guevarra KQED Annie Sciacca, Nate Gartrell, Chris Treadway and Tom Lochner in the East Bay Times -- 4/16/17

San Diego Activist Disappears In Mexico After Begging For Help On Facebook Live -- Hugo Castro, a U.S. citizen and immigrant rights activist from San Diego, disappeared Thursday evening after posting a Facebook Live video from the shoulder of a highway near Mexico City, saying a group of criminals was "hunting" him. Jean Guerrero KPBS -- 4/16/17

Bids for Oroville Dam repairs top state estimates; $275.4 million the lowest -- Blowing past state officials’ financial projections, three construction contractors submitted bids for the Oroville Dam repairs that begin at $275 million, the Department of Water Resources said Saturday. DWR, in a brief announcement, said its engineers had estimated the repairs to the two damaged spillways would come in at $220 million. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/16/17

How the drought changed California forever -- California’s historic five-year drought is officially over, washed away with the relentlessly drenching rains, floods and snowstorms of this winter. But just as tougher building codes and better emergency planning follow major earthquakes, the brutally dry years from 2012 to 2016 are already leaving a legacy, experts say, changing the way Californians use water for generations to come. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/16/17

Nobody inspected schools, apartment buildings for fire risk for years in Galt, Elk Grove and Folsom -- Many schools, day care centers, senior care homes, businesses and public buildings in Elk Grove, Folsom and Galt have not been inspected for faulty wiring, blocked fire exits and other fire hazards for years. Diana Lambert in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/16/17

California Democrats prepare to battle GOP over Endangered Species Act -- Last spring, well before a deluge of winter rain in California, then presidential candidate Donald Trump famously declared to an audience of Central Valley farmers that the state hadn’t really suffered from years of drought. David Danelski in the San Bernardino Sun$ -- 4/16/17

Warrant mysteriously dismissed for fugitive linked to huge Bay Area drug ring -- A suspected Bay Area drug dealer listed as a fugitive for 12 years recently was dismissed as a federal defendant, and U.S. Attorneys aren’t saying why. Since 2005, Saul “Jalaka” Vega-Robles was wanted on unresolved charges connected to a large-scale methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking ring that was busted in the early 2000s. Nate Gartrell in the East Bay Times -- 4/16/17

Jerry Brown pardons three veterans deported to Mexico -- Gov. Jerry Brown, in a spring tradition timed to coincide with the Easter renewal, extended pardons Saturday to three people who served in the U.S. military but were deported to Mexico after completing sentences for various crimes. Christopher Cadelago and Peter Hecht in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/16/17

Gov. Jerry Brown issues pardons, commutes sentences hours before Easter Sunday -- Continuing his tradition of considering the requests of felons for a second chance both at Christmas and Easter, Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday issued 72 pardons and seven sentence commutations for crimes ranging from burglary to being an accomplice in a murder. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/16/17

That $52-billion road bill just made California's next climate change move a heavy lift -- It took late-night cajoling and nearly $1 billion in deal sweeteners for Gov. Jerry Brown and top Democrats to muscle through a $52-billion tax-and-fee plan just over a week ago to repair California’s roads. Melanie Mason and Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/16/17

Q&A 'The world shifts': Gov. Jerry Brown talks California, climate change and President Trump -- The Times talked to Jerry Brown about climate change and California’s role in fighting it. Here’s what he had to say. Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/16/17

Willie Brown: How to succeed in politics: Talk with other side, avoid FBI -- When I was asked to to speak to a group of up-and-coming black politicians in San Francisco the other day, my first advice was to “listen to everyone.” And my last was to beware, because the FBI may be listening as well. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/16/17

Schnur: Where Kamala Harris and Ronald Reagan would agree -- Do the Democrats need their own Tea Party? If one intransigent movement in Congress can create so many problems from the right, imagine what life in Washington would be like if its mirror image emerges from the left. But that seems to be the direction we’re headed. Dan Schnur in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/16/17

Break away from the USA? The effort to cleave California faces its own split -- If there’s one thing Jed Wheeler and Marcus Ruiz Evans agree on, it’s that things in California need to change. The state sends too much money to Washington, they say, and is both politically and culturally out of step with a country that lacks its openness and vitality. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/16/17

You know CPR. Now firefighters want you to treat shooting and bombing victims -- The images they were about to see would be gruesome: a woman bleeding out at the Boston Marathon, a video of a terrorist repeatedly stabbing a stranger. But the speaker asked the audience not to avert their eyes. Soumya Karlamangla in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/16/17

More than 200 Japanese-Americans imprisoned at Santa Anita Racetrack during WWII reunite in downtown LA -- Families lost their homes, communities were destroyed, and some lost their lives. Perhaps the only positive thing about the mass incarceration of thousands of people of Japanese ancestry 75 years ago, attendees of a memorial event in downtown Los Angeles said Saturday, was all the friends they made behind the barbed wire. Stephanie K. Baer in the Inland Daily Bulletin$ -- 4/16/17

Deadheads aren't the only ones who'll enjoy this 'Long Strange Trip' -- I can’t imagine that anyone will walk away from “Long Strange Trip,” Amir Bar-Lev’s remarkable four-hour documentary about the Grateful Dead, without a newfound appreciation for the band’s music and its place in American popular culture. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/16/17

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions 

Battling racial inequality, segregation in Bay Area restaurants -- When Demonte Lane recounts his past few years working in the Bay Area restaurant industry, his stories are tinged with equal parts frustration and resignation. He saw white workers shuffled into higher-paying server jobs, while people of color like himself were relegated to posts as dishwashers, porters or prep cooks. Justin Phillips in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/16/17

Why employers shouldn’t ask about an applicant’s previous salary -- This month, New York City joined Philadelphia and Massachusetts in passing legislation that will ban employers from asking job applicants about their salary history, in an attempt to narrow the wage gap between women and men. More than 20 other cities and states — including San Francisco and California — have similar legislation in the works. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/16/17

Education 

San Bernardino responds to school shooting: ‘We’re more than our problems’ -- “We’ve been here before.” When tragedy struck at North Park Elementary School Monday, community members expressed heartbreak, fear, anger — but not shock. Ryan Hagen in the San Bernardino Sun$ -- 4/16/17

Cannabis 

Marijuana Goes Industrial in California -- This vast and fertile valley is often called the salad bowl of the nation for the countless heads of lettuce growing across its floor. Now California’s marijuana industry is laying claim to a new slogan for the valley: America’s cannabis bucket. Thomas Fuller in the New York Times$ -- 4/16/17

Guns   

ATF’s focus on firearm sales by police may be tied to gun seizure at Pasadena officer’s home -- A letter from the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to law enforcement agencies across Southern California warning about an “emerging problem” of officers engaging in unlicensed firearms sales came just weeks after a Pasadena police officer’s home was searched and guns seized. Greg Moran and Lyndsay Winkley in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/16/17

Immigration / Border 

Immigrants beware: Marijuana may be legal in California, but it could get you deported -- It’s legal in California, but marijuana possession and use is still a federal offense that could cause serious problems for immigrants in the Golden State. “It is still a federal offense,” said Inland-based attorney Russell Jauregui. “Federal law controls immigration and thus people will still face severe immigration consequences for marijuana conviction/use.” Alejandra Molina in the Long Beach Press Telegram$ -- 4/16/17

Environment 

California’s jammed highways hold hope as power source -- State officials agreed last week to fund an initiative to generate electrical power from traffic, a plan that involves harnessing road vibrations with the intent of turning the automobile, like the sun and wind, into a viable source of renewable energy. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/16/17

Tracking air quality block by block -- A local environmental advocacy group last week launched a first-of-its kind monitoring project, installing air quality sensors in the densely packed neighborhoods near this city’s port to give the people who live and work there on-the-ground readings of pollutants that can seriously injure their health. Ngoc Nguyen in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 4/16/17

Thousands of volunteers show up to clean LA River after record-breaking storms -- A battery of winter storms ended years of drought by sending water cascading into the Los Angeles River, filling it with tons of trash, debris and washed-out homeless encampments. Dana Bartholomew in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 4/16/17

USGS finds vast reserves of salty water underground in California -- A new nationwide study has unearthed the huge hidden potential of tapping into salty aquifers as a way to relieve the growing pressure on freshwater supplies across the United States. Devika G. Bansal in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/16/17

Health 

Stem cell invented that can grow into any tissue in the body -- Salk Institute and Chinese researchers report creating a new kind of stem cell, one that is more versatile than any other normally grown in the lab. Called an extended pluripotent stem cell, it can give rise to every cell type in the body, the researchers say in a recent study. This includes the extra-embryonic tissues such as the placenta that support the developing baby. Just one cell can generate a complete organism. Bradley J. Fikes in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/16/17

POTUS 45  

Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump: Pillars of Family-Driven West Wing -- One has an office down the hall from the president in the White House; the other just moved into an office a floor up. One recently visited war-torn Iraq as the president’s emissary; the other will soon head to Berlin at the invitation of Germany’s chancellor. Peter Baker, Glenn Thrush and Maggie Haberman in the New York Times$ -- 4/16/17

Trump says he can’t be sued for violence at his rallies because he won the election -- Last year, protesters from a campaign rally sued Donald Trump — claiming the future president urged his supporters to assault them. Now Trump is the president, of course. And while the lawsuit grinds on, with more accusations added last week, he claims he won immunity along with the election. Avi Selk in the Washington Post$ -- 4/16/17

Trump's plan to privatize air traffic control has benefits and pitfalls -- In Canada, about 2,000 air traffic controllers scrutinize 7 million square miles of North American skies to manage the takeoff and landing of 10,000 flights a day — all without a cent of government funding while maintaining safety standards that meet or exceed those of the United States. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/16/17

With Trump Appointees, a Raft of Potential Conflicts and ‘No Transparency’ -- President Trump is populating the White House and federal agencies with former lobbyists, lawyers and consultants who in many cases are helping to craft new policies for the same industries in which they recently earned a paycheck. Eric Lipton, Ben Protess and Andrew W. Lehren in the New York Times$ -- 4/16/17

Why did FBI suspect Trump campaign adviser was a foreign agent? -- He has a lengthy military background, academic credentials and, until recently, a largely apolitical financial career. But now, Carter Page is a central character in the investigation into Russia’s meddling in the United States election. Kevin G. Hall McClatchy DC -- 4/16/17

Beltway 

How a tax plan unites progressives, the Koch brothers and Walmart -- As Americans face Tuesday’s deadline to pay their taxes, the Trump administration is hinting that tax reform is up soon on its agenda, with the president predicting it will be an easier political lift than the botched GOP attempt to replace Obamacare. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/16/17