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Zinke: Oil and gas exploration off the Pacific coast might not happen -- Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke expressed doubt Tuesday that oil and gas exploration will happen off the Pacific coast as part of the Trump administration’s proposal to dramatically expand offshore leasing, saying California, Oregon and Washington have “no known resources of any weight” for energy companies to extract. Darryl Fears in the Washington Post$ -- 3/13/18

Trump uses visit to San Diego to bash California, Jerry Brown, Libby Schaaf -- President Trump used his first official visit to California to talk up his planned border wall and slam both Gov. Jerry Brown and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf for “putting the entire nation at risk” and becoming “the best friend of criminals” for their support of sanctuary policies for undocumented residents. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/13/18

No tax breaks for building Trump's wall, lawmaker says -- Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, has introduced Assembly Bill 2355, which would prohibit companies that contract or subcontract with the federal government to help build a wall along the U.S. - Mexico border from receiving certain California tax breaks. Billy Kobin in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/13/18

After spokesman quits in protest, ICE says it ‘can’t put a number’ on missed arrests -- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said Tuesday that they “can’t put a number on how many targets avoided arrest” because of Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s public warning before an operation, confirming the complaints of an ICE spokesman who resigned over what he saw as false assertions by officials. Hamed Aleaziz in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/13/18

Sacramento mayor encourages students to leave class Wednesday to protest gun violence -- Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg not only supports high school students walking out on Wednesday to protest gun violence. - he plans to join the students. Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/13/18

Trump administration signals fight with California over pollution from cars -- California plans to slash greenhouse gas emissions from cars. Nationally, the Trump administration wants to ease up on those restrictions to make life easier for automakers. On Tuesday, after nearly a year of negotiations, the possibility of a compromise appeared to go up in smoke. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/13/18

Trump: Gov. Brown is "doing a terrible job running the state of California' -- President Trump seemed to confirm Gov. Jerry Brown’s recent complaint that the president is “going to war against” the state, telling reporters during his first visit that Brown is “doing a terrible job.” Noah Bierman and Brian Bennett in the Los Angeles Times$ John Wagner in the Washington Post$ -- 3/13/18

Trump arrives in California without the usual lawmakers in tow -- President Trump broke with standard practice Tuesday, flying to California without any lawmakers from the state. Such trips are normally a perk, most often for lawmakers of the president’s political party, who get to ride on the prestigious Air Force One and enjoy access to the president as well as some local publicity. Noah Bierman and Brian Bennett in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

California lawmaker proposes a new gun and ammo fee to pay for school counselors and safety officers -- Californians who buy guns or ammunition would have to pay a new fee to fund more counselors and safety officers at schools under legislation proposed in response to the recent mass shooting at a Florida high school. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

L.A. County supervisors OK motion to study stricter gun laws -- The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to explore options for regulating firearms, including restricting sales to anyone under 21, banning .50-caliber handguns, strengthening safe storage laws and prohibiting gun sales near schools. The item is in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

Trump arrives in California for first visit as president, confronting the resistance movement on its home turf -- He plans to spend about an hour inspecting border wall prototypes built at his direction in San Diego, then speak at the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and travel to a fundraiser in Beverly Hills that is expected to raise $5 million for the Republican National Committee. Brian Bennett and Noah Bierman in the Los Angeles Times$ Julie Watson and Jill Colvin Associated Press -- 3/13/18

California attorney general mocks Trump's proposed border wall as 'medieval,' suited only to 'keep us safe from knights on horses' -- As President Trump headed for the San Diego area Tuesday to look at prototypes for a proposed border wall, state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra mocked the project at a news conference in Los Angeles, saying it would not make America safer. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

Trump's California supporters hope to inspire other conservatives to come out from 'behind enemy lines' -- Dozens of Trump supporters gathered early Tuesday at the corner of Britannia Boulevard and Bristow Court, about half a mile from the border, in chilly weather beneath cloudy skies. “Build that wall! Build that wall!” they chanted. “Trump 2020! Trump 2020!” Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

Fox: Looking to Trump the Cost of the Bullet Train -- It is more than a coincidence that Gov. Brown invited President Trump to see where the high-speed rail is being built days after a new business report states the cost of the train has soared. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 3/13/18

Abcarian: If Trump really wants to fix our border problems, he should visit the sewage pools, not his silly walls -- On Sunday, I stood at the end of a barren cul-de-sac overlooking a field on the U.S. side of the border, staring toward Mexico. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

Rookie San Francisco cop fired 3 months after fatal shooting -- On his fourth day on the job, rookie San Francisco cop Chris Samayoa was still getting out of his patrol car when he fatally shot an unarmed carjacking suspect. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/13/18

North Bay fires fuel a population explosion in homeless camps -- Andreas Gunn reckons he had a pretty sweet life before Oct. 8. The 22-year-old was working a job he liked swabbing grease out of kitchens, lived with his uncle in the Santa Rosa subdivision of Coffey Park and was saving money for a car. Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/13/18

Why Sacramento County dumped 290 tons of recyclables in a landfill -- "The last thing I want to do is put curbside recycling in the landfill," Sloan said. The problem originated with one of the three recycling contractors. Ed Fletcher in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/13/18

Amazon looks at dropping packages onto your patio from as high as 25 feet -- It’s not that drones get tired, it’s just that if they’re delivering your box of cat food and low-rise socks, dropping down to put it on your patio and flying back up for the next delivery takes power that they need to conserve. Better to just hover over your home and drop the box, a new patent from Amazon proposes. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/13/18

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

Police preparing for big protests as Trump makes first California visit as president -- While details of the Trump visit remain clouded in secrecy, he is scheduled to attend an evening fundraiser for his reelection campaign when he visits California for the first time in his presidency and Los Angeles police and sheriff's officials are ready for spontaneous protests. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ Julie Watson Associated Press -- 3/13/18

Trump's LA visit so closely held even law enforcement doesn't know all the details -- Freeway and surface road traffic could get congested, although — as of Monday afternoon — the Los Angeles Police Department had no information on road closures. Mike Lopez, with LAPD Media Relations, said it is unusual that police don't have more information this close to the arrival of a president. Mary Plummer KPCC -- 3/13/18

Border fence meets a wall of skepticism in Tijuana, where residents say U.S.-Mexico ties transcend any physical barriers -- As Trump inspects the prototypes and poses for photos along the border east of San Diego, he'll be just yards away from a Tijuana slum where people have formulated their own ideas about them. Richard Marosi in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/13/18

Politifact CA: President Trump’s Record With The Truth As He Visits California -- If his past statements about California are any guide, Trump is likely to make claims about immigration, California’s sanctuary state policies and the MS-13 gang that originated in California prisons. Chris Nichols Politifact CA -- 3/13/18

Trump administration accuses California of “bankrolling” human smuggling operations -- On the eve of President Trump’s first visit to the state since taking office, his administration took another shot at California lawmakers who have pledged to fight a federal lawsuit against new state laws that extend protections to people living in the U.S. illegally. Administration officials said those laws and policies endanger federal agents and make immigrant communities less safe. Franco Ordoñez in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/13/18

Court orders Trump administration to comply with clean air laws -- A court ruled today that the Environmental Protection Agency must identify regions of the country that exceed federal smog levels, giving another win to California and other states that sued to compel the regulator to enforce the Clean Air Act. Julie Cart Calmatters -- 3/13/18

ICE spokesman resigns over falsehoods he said were spread by Trump administration after raids -- A spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Francisco resigned his post, disillusioned by what he called false claims spread by Trump administration officials after a four-day raid in Northern California last month, according to reports. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

California Gov. Jerry Brown says Trump’s upcoming visit should focus on bridges, not the wall -- On the eve of President Trump’s first visit to California since taking office, the state’s Democratic governor, Jerry Brown, is questioning Trump’s decision to highlight prototypes for his promised U.S.-Mexico border wall. “You see, in California we are focusing on bridges, not walls,” Brown writes in a letter to Trump that Brown’s office released Monday morning. John Wagner in the Washington Post$ -- 3/13/18

Odds That Two Democrats Advance In California's U.S. Senate Race Increase -- No prominent Republican filed to enter the race for California Senate before Friday’s deadline. That could leave the field open for two Democrats to advance to the general election for the second consecutive time. Ben Bradford Capital Public Radio -- 3/13/18

New Report Sparks Debate: Delta Tunnels Could Help Save Fish Species -- One of California’s foremost experts on freshwater fish believes there may be hope for restoring native salmon to abundance – but there’s a catch: California must build the controversial Delta tunnels, he says. Alastair Bland KQED -- 3/13/18

Raise taxes or ration health care? Why single-payer won't work in California. Yet -- Betty Doumas-Toto's health insurance premium rose nearly 48 percent in January, to $800 per month for an Affordable Care Act plan. She and her husband are both Los Angeles freelancers in the film industry and are draining their savings trying to keep up with their monthly payments. Angela Hart in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/13/18

California Supreme Court, citing false evidence, overturns murder conviction that put Delano man on death row -- Lawyers for Vicente Benavides Figuero, a former farmworker who is now 68, demonstrated that medical testimony and an autopsy result used to convict him had been inaccurate. Most of the experts who testified against him have since recanted. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

San Francisco jail let ICE interview inmate in breach of sanctuary policy, state law -- The San Francisco Sheriff’s Department allowed federal immigration officers into one of its jails to interview an inmate, a violation of jail policy and California sanctuary law, department officials said Monday. Hamed Aleaziz in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/13/18

Tobacco, taxes, Tasers — they’re all on San Francisco’s June ballot -- San Francisco voters will face a tax-heavy ballot on June 5, with measures to raise the Bay Bridge toll by $3, increase parcel taxes to fund teacher salaries and hike the gross receipts tax on commercial landlords — spending the money either on affordable housing or child care subsidies. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/13/18

Rep. David Valadao hit with lawsuits over $9 million in family farm debts -- A Central Valley congressman in a competitive district is facing lawsuits accusing his family farm of defaulting on more than $9 million in debts. Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/13/18

LAPD officers who fatally shot a bottle-throwing man they mistook for a gunman won't be charged -- Prosecutors have declined to charge two Los Angeles police officers who shot and killed an unarmed man in Van Nuys after he threw a beer bottle through a window of their police car, authorities announced Monday. Kate Mather in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

Monterey Park police officer is convicted of sexually assaulting 3 women during traffic stops -- A jury in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom convicted Sanchez, 41, who is currently on unpaid administrative leave from the Monterey Park Police Department, of five counts of sexual battery by restraining, five counts of assault under the color of authority, three counts of false imprisonment by violence and one count of soliciting a bribe. Marisa Gerber in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

ICE Is Auditing This Central Valley Grower, Again - And He Blames California Lawmakers -- In late January, Mike Poindexter, a third-generation walnut grower in the Central Valley town of Selma, received some bad news. It came in the form of a letter from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). It said federal agents would be auditing his business. Alexandra Hall KQED -- 3/13/18

Rejection of Broadcom bid a rarity, but the company may take another stab at Qualcomm -- The rejection suffered by Broadcom on Monday is rare but don’t be surprised if the company takes another shot at acquiring Qualcomm, said a Washington D.C. attorney and former Central Intelligence Agency officer. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/13/18

Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs on President Trump's order: 'We are celebrating' -- President Trump won hearty approval even among some staunch San Diego Democrats Monday when he blocked Broadcom’s hostile takeover of Qualcomm. Diane Bell in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/13/18

State fines lenders for pushing borrowers into high-cost loans -- High-cost lender Advance America will pay refunds to hundreds of California customers after a state regulator accused the firm of charging illegally high interest rates topping 100%. James Rufus Koren in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

Garcetti still struggling to expand the number of female firefighters -- Four years ago, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti vowed to revamp the way the city hires firefighters by introducing more women into a department that has been overwhelmingly male. Yet despite increasingly aggressive recruitment efforts, the Fire Department has seen only modest gains. David Zahniser and Ben Welsh in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

Debra Reed is stepping down as CEO of Sempra Energy -- Just days after Sempra Energy wrapped up the largest acquisition in the company's history, Debra Reed announced Monday that she will be stepping down as president and chief executive of the San Diego company. Rob Nikolewski in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

Don't launch these tiny satellites, the FCC said. They're apparently in space anyway -- In December, small-satellite company Swarm Technologies Inc. received word from the Federal Communications Commission that its request to launch and operate four tiny satellites was denied. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

Water  

Last California drought one of the worst since Columbus landed in the New World -- Just how bad was California's last drought? For most of Southern California, it was either the worst or second worst since the century Columbus landed in the New World, the Ottoman empire was started and Joan of Arc was burned at the stake. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/13/18

Guns 

'Lock up your guns': City attorney charges parents of teens who reportedly threatened schools -- City Atty. Mike Feuer filed the charges last week against San Fernando Valley parents Robert Christy and Dazo Esguerra accusing both fathers of keeping firearms easily accessible to teenage sons who made threats in February, Feuer's office said. Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

L.A. County leaders to look at strengthening gun laws -- The proposal, authored by Supervisors Sheila Kuehl and Mark Ridley-Thomas, asks the county's legal team to analyze the feasibility of ordinances that would ban .50-caliber handguns and impose additional restrictions on the sale of firearms to people younger than 21. Melissa Etehad in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

Education 

Those who walkout on Wednesday will join a rich history of student protest – Since the Civil Rights era, some of the most impactful youth protests have taken place in high schools and even junior high schools. David Washburn EdSource -- 3/13/18

Health 

Judge rules that spouse has authority to remove partner's life support if there's no directive -- A Los Angeles judge has ruled that a spouse in California is the presumptive healthcare decision maker when the partner is in a persistent vegetative state. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/13/18

Environment 

San Francisco Bay Shellfish Are Loaded With Toxins, Study Finds -- A whopping 99 percent of mussels collected from the San Francisco Bay were contaminated with at least one algal toxin, while more than a third contained four different kinds of algal toxins, according to a study published in the March issue of the scientific journal, Harmful Algae. Amel Ahmed KQED -- 3/13/18

POTUS 45  

Conceding to N.R.A., Trump Abandons Brief Gun Control Promise -- President Trump on Monday abandoned his promise to work for gun control measures opposed by the National Rifle Association, bowing to the gun group and embracing its agenda of armed teachers and incremental improvements to the background check system. Michael D. Shear and Sheryl Gay Stolberg in the New York Times$ -- 3/13/18

Beltway 

Democrats show little willingness to fight GOP ahead of spending deadline -- For months, Democrats promised to use their leverage on government spending to protect young immigrants at risk for deportation after President Trump canceled the program. More recently, they have demanded Congress pass universal background checks for gun buyers in the wake of another deadly school shooting. Mike DeBonis in the Washington Post$ -- 3/13/18

 

-- Monday Updates 

ICE spokesman quits over officials’ claim of 800 eluding arrest -- The San Francisco spokesman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement resigned after the agency’s recent Northern California sweep, saying he couldn’t continue to do his job after Trump administration officials made false public statements about a key aspect of the operation. Hamed Aleaziz in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/12/18

'Fast-approaching' storm triggers evacuation orders in Santa Barbara County, authorities say -- Santa Barbara County authorities ordered mandatory evacuations Monday for residents in burn areas ahead of a "fast-approaching" storm expected to hit the region. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/12/18

Parents charged after guns found in homes of Chatsworth, Granada Hills students behind alleged threats -- Students at two San Fernando Valley high schools who in separate incidents allegedly threatened to shoot their classmates were arrested in recent weeks, authorities said Monday, resulting in searches of homes that turned up multiple weapons and dozens of rounds of ammunition. Brenda Gazzar and Joshua Cain in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 3/12/18

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr an authority on gun violence -- After flying back from his team’s game in Minnesota, Kerr appeared with Rep. Ro Khanna, D-San Jose, and Marjory Stoneman Douglas High alum Matt Deitsch at Newark Memorial High School. For an hour, they fielded questions from students and spoke to a crowd of about 500. Ann Killion in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Julia Prodis Sulek in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/12/18

Weedmaps to Bureau of Cannabis Control: You don't have the authority to police us -- A popular marijuana website has told the state's cannabis czar that she lacks the authority to make the company stop running advertisements for unlicensed pot retailers. Brad Branan in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/12/18

Trump immigration officials take aim at California politicians ahead of presidential visit -- White House officials ratcheted up their fight with California politicians over immigration policies ahead of President Trump’s visit Tuesday, briefing reporters Monday night on what they called “misconceptions” being propagated by leading Democrats in the state. Noah Bierman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/12/18

Protesters on eve of Trump's visit: 'You want to mess with California? Well, bring it on' -- Immigrant, labor and LGBTQ rights activists said President Trump represented the antithesis of California’s values and was not welcome in the state, as they rallied Monday on the eve of his first presidential visit. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/12/18

Trump blocks Broadcom from buying Qualcomm, citing national security -- In the latest example of his tough stance against foreign takeovers of U.S. technology companies, President Trump on Monday blocked Broadcom Ltd. from acquiring Qualcomm Inc., scuttling the proposed $117-billion deal on national security grounds. Bloomberg via the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/12/18

On the eve of Trump's visit, state lawmaker proposes cutting tax breaks for companies that help build border wall -- Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), who wields substantial influence in the creation of state tax policy as Assembly budget committee chairman, has been among the vocal opponents to the border wall, calling it counterproductive to the state’s economic growth and “a symbol of weakness and hate to the world.” Jazmine Ulloa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/12/18

GOP still losing ground in O.C., and Latinos, young voters are responsible -- The GOP long billed Orange as “America’s Most Republican County,” peaking in 1990 when it had a 22-percentage point lead. By time Trump was elected, the edge had shrunken to 3.7 points and the county, overall, favored the Democratic presidential nominee for the first time since 1936. Martin Wisckol in the Orange County Register -- 3/12/18

California attorney general ordered to rewrite description of cap-and-trade cash plan, Proposition 70 -- The official title for Proposition 70, a ballot measure laying out rules for future climate change revenues collected by the state, must be rewritten after a Sacramento judge agreed with a Republican lawmaker that voters in June would otherwise be misled. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/12/18

Artificial intelligence can transform industries, but California lawmakers are worried about your privacy -- The use of bots to meddle in political elections. Algorithms that learn who people are and keep them coming back to social media platforms. The rise of autonomous vehicles and drones that could displace hundreds of thousands of workers. Jazmine Ulloa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/12/18

Gov. Jerry Brown urges Trump to ‘come aboard’ efforts to build bullet train while visiting California -- Seeking to capitalize on President Trump’s pledges to focus on the nation’s infrastructure, Gov. Jerry Brown is urging the president to consider California’s high-speed rail efforts as part of his first official visit to the Golden State. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/12/18

Pedestrian deaths keep rising and LA County has the most in the country, report says -- Despite local cities’ ambitious goals to make their streets safer, the number of pedestrians dying in Southern California has risen for the last 10 years and the numbers continue to climb, surpassing the rate of fatalities from other traffic accidents, a new report found. Steve Scauzillo in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 3/12/18