Updating . .
Lawmakers, pot growers say California's marijuana cultivation rules favor big corporate farms -- California’s new rules allowing marijuana cultivation favor large corporate farms despite a promise in Proposition 64 that small growers would be protected, according to a group of state lawmakers and marijuana industry leaders who called Monday for the policy to be changed. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/17
'They'll have a few good days': Forecasters say weaker winds could aid fight against Thomas fire -- Weaker winds, cooler temperatures and higher humidity early this week should help firefighters battling the massive Thomas fire in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, forecasters said. Hailey Branson-Potts and Melissa Etehad in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/17
Crews saved hundreds of homes in epic battle against wind and fire. But two families returned to rubble -- Every morning and every night during her family vacation in snowy Colorado, Sonia Behrman pulled up the live security footage of her Montecito home. Sometimes she’d see a handful of firefighters, with hoses, moving about. Other times, a firetruck parked in the driveway. In every stream for seven days, her home was still standing. Melissa Etehad and Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/17
Will the GOP tax bill stall California's economic growth? -- Republicans have said that by slashing business taxes, they will supercharge the American economy, benefiting both C-suite executives and the average American. Economists generally expect a short-term boost to growth, though they doubt the cuts will be a game changer for either the larger economy or the typical worker. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/17
Gov. Jerry Brown takes to social media to criticize Republican 'tax monstrosity' via the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/17
Quinn: Ground Zero In The Battle For Congress -- “Gentlemen, we fight on the Marne,” supposedly said a French general in 1914 before the historic Battle of the Marne. Well, gentleman (and ladies), in 2018 for control of the U.S. House of Representatives we fight in California. California will determine whether Democrats seize control of the House and stop the Trump agenda in its tracks. Tony Quinn Fox & Hounds -- 12/18/17
Angela Alioto takes big step toward San Francisco mayoral run -- San Francisco attorney and former Supervisor Angela Alioto took a major step Monday toward a mayoral run, requesting nomination documents from the city’s Department of Elections. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/17
Borenstein: CalPERS about to bury taxpayers, cities, counties in more debt -- The nation’s largest pension system is expected to adopt a funding plan this week that anticipates shortfalls during the next decade and then banks on exceptional investment returns over the following half century to make up the difference. Dan Borenstein in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/18/17
Federal Judge Kozinski retires as sexual misconduct inquiry launched -- Amid an onslaught of sexual misconduct allegations from at least 15 women, Judge Alex Kozinski of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco abruptly announced his retirement Monday, effective immediately. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/17
Don’t force us to pay for Delta tunnels, Valley farmers say -- A large group of San Joaquin Valley farmers is challenging the Delta tunnels project in court, saying they shouldn’t be forced to help foot the $17.1-billion price tag. The valley farmers, located mainly in Kern and Kings counties, voiced their objections in a court filing opposing the Brown administration’s plan to issue bonds to pay for the tunnels. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/18/17
Rep. Grace Napolitano's husband, Frank Napolitano, dies after battle with cancer -- Rep. Grace Napolitano’s husband, Frank Napolitano, died Friday at their home in Norwalk after a battle with cancer. The former restaurateur was 90, and had undergone chemotherapy and radiation to treat esophageal cancer over the summer. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/17
Sacramento State wants to shuttle students to campus in driverless robot buses -- University, transit and city transportation officials have begun talking about setting up an autonomous shuttle bus system to ferry students between campus and the 65th Street light rail station a mile away. Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/18/17
Start of retail pot sales puts spotlight on Sacramento’s ‘discreet’ dispensaries -- Dispensaries have become like the speak-easy bars that operated during prohibition on alcohol in the early 20th century, even though medical marijuana has been legal in California for 20 years. Bran Branan in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/18/17
California lawmakers pledge to work together on sexual harassment – then act alone -- Women in Sacramento have been clamoring for the California Senate and Assembly to establish a single approach to address sexual harassment in the Capitol community. Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/18/17
Sacramento County students are among the most absent in California -- Sacramento County students have the worst chronic absentee rate in the region and a higher rate than all but two of the other 20 largest counties in California – Sonoma and San Joaquin. Diana Lambert and Phillip Reese in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/18/17
After 157 years in Chinatown, Los Angeles’ oldest hospital shuts its doors -- Xiaoyuan Yang was pregnant and her husband Weiming Lei needed a job when they moved more than 20 years ago from Guangzhou, China, to Los Angeles. “We knew nothing, and we didn’t understand anything,” Lei said. “Someone told us to live in Chinatown.” Frank Shyong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/17
Sacramento Music Festival canceled after 44 years -- The Sacramento Traditional Jazz Society announced the annual jubilee’s cancellation in a Facebook post Monday morning, ending years of speculation about its economic viability amidst falling turnout. Benjy Egel in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/18/17
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Multimillion-dollar homes in the Montecito area are reduced to ashes by the Thomas fire -- Although an epic firefight Saturday was largely a success, preventing the mammoth Thomas fire from sweeping into whole neighborhoods in Montecito and Santa Barbara, some expensive homes were lost in this affluent coastal community known for its celebrity residents. Melissa Etehad in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/17
Fire crews take advantage of calm winds, but 'we’ll always be in the ‘ready, set, go’ mode' -- Firefighters took advantage of light winds in Santa Barbara County late Sunday, mounting an aggressive attack directly on the massive Thomas fire’s western face a day after powerful gusts pushed flames toward homes along the coast. Melissa Etehad and Ben Poston in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/17
Santa Ana winds help clear the smoke from the Thomas fire, but health risks remain -- Raging Santa Ana winds helped clear smoke from the massive Thomas fire out of Ventura County on Sunday, but health officials cautioned residents that “non-smoky” conditions don’t mean the air is safe to breathe. Ben Poston in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/17
Funeral procession for firefighter killed in Thomas blaze passing through fire-affected counties -- A multi-county funeral procession was held Sunday for Cal Fire engineer Cory Iverson, a San Diego area resident who was killed in the Thomas fire. Kristina Davis, David Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/17
‘They give up so much’: Firefighters’ sacrifice honored as Thomas fire victim returns home -- Waving American flags and holding their hands to their hearts, thousands of people came from throughout California on Sunday, Dec. 17, to observe the funeral procession taking firefighter Cory Iverson home to San Diego just days before Christmas. The 32-year-old firefighter died Thursday after he was injured while battling the massive Thomas fire. Brooke Staggs in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 12/18/17
Thanks to calmer winds, Edison avoids cutting power to parts of Malibu as a precautionary measure -- As winds died down across the region Sunday afternoon, Southern California Edison managed to avoid cutting off power to parts of Malibu as a precautionary measure aimed at preventing more wildfires, an official said. Adam Elmahrek and Ben Poston in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/17
Flames threaten coastal communities as firefighters mourn -- Thousands of firefighters tried Sunday to shield coastal communities from one of the biggest wildfires in California history while a funeral procession rolled past burn-scarred hillsides in honor of one of their colleagues who was killed battling the flames. Christopher Weber Associated Press -- 12/18/17
Skelton: Thanks to Trump's tax plan, victims of disasters large and small are about to get scrooged -- President Trump and Republican congressional leaders are desperate to “achieve” something — anything — by Christmas. One goal is to deliver a lump of coal to disaster victims. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/18/17
How air power helped defeat the Lilac fire -- In open country near I-15 and Highway 76, a spark caught fire. Fanned by strong winds, the spark became a blaze and the blaze became the Lilac fire. That was on Thursday, Dec. 7, around 11: 20 a.m. By 11:30 a.m., the sky was full of smoke, burning embers and a twin-engine airplane. Peter Rowe in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 12/18/17
Mayor Ed Lee
Throng of dignitaries, everyday people honors Mayor Ed Lee at City Hall memorial -- Billionaires, baseball players, politicians and everyday people filled San Francisco City Hall on Sunday to celebrate the life of Mayor Ed Lee, a man remembered for his dignity, humility and passion for the city. Jill Tucker and Sam Whiting in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/17
Overflow crowd says goodbye to San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee -- They came from all over the city and beyond, lining up Sunday for hours outside San Francisco’s City Hall to remember the man so many knew as not just Mayor Ed Lee, but as a nice guy with an ever-ready kind word who just happened to be in charge of the coolest city in California. Kevin Fagan and Kimberly Veklerov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/17
Thousands turn out to bid farewell to Mayor Ed Lee -- Since Lee’s sudden death at 65 early Tuesday, the city he had led the past seven years has been in a state of disbelief. And Sunday’s memorial drew a huge crowd of the mayor’s admirers, from high-profile politicians and local celebrities to everyday residents who marveled at how the soft-spoken man had shepherded San Francisco out of the Great Recession and into its biggest boom time in recent history. Patrick May in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/18/17
‘Like Beyonce with a Mustache’: San Francisco Celebrates Ed Lee’s Life -- Political luminaries and scores of San Francisco residents packed City Hall to celebrate the life of Mayor Ed Lee on Sunday. Lee was eulogized as a tireless, unassuming civil servant, who broke through a political ceiling by becoming the city’s first Asian-American mayor. Guy Marzorati KQED -- 12/18/17
Diaz: San Francisco mayor is toughest job in the city -- Mayor Ed Lee kept a remarkably low profile in comparison with his two predecessors, Willie Brown and Gavin Newsom. In many ways, that was Lee’s key to success: Budgets and labor contracts were negotiated and sealed without high drama, and the Board of Supervisors worked to find common ground with the mayor instead of looking for ways to undercut him at every turn. John Diaz in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/17
Nolte: Mayor Lee the face of a new, enlightened San Francisco -- When Mayor Ed Lee died, the obituaries said he led San Francisco in a time of change. That was only half true. Mayor Lee was change personified. He was more than the city’s first Asian American mayor. He represented a community that was ignored, discriminated against and kept from the halls of power for generations. Carl Nolte in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/18/17
Walters: Mayor’s death will expose San Francisco’s complex politics -- The first thing to understand about San Francisco politics is with just 7.4 percent of its voters registered as Republicans, the city’s main players are self-proclaimed liberals – or “progressives” in the preferred nomenclature. Dan Walters Calmatters.org -- 12/18/17
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
For Hotel Workers, Weinstein Allegations Put a Spotlight on Harassment -- At a high-walled hotel here with celebrity customers, a housekeeper was turning down the sheets for a V.I.P. guest one evening when she said the guest offered her money for a massage. She refused and told a supervisor. Still, the next day, she said she returned to clean the same suite, where she found an open briefcase with cash inside. Benjamin Mueller in the New York Times$ -- 12/18/17
Homeless
Cities face growing crisis as RVs become homes of last resort -- Bay Area cities are coming to realize what Ramirez already knows — parking tickets won’t solve the problem of finding a place to live. From Oakland to San Jose, officials are struggling to cope with a growing influx of RV dwellers seeking a safe, permanent place for the only homes they can afford. Louis Hansen in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/18/17
Cannabis
Convicted of a marijuana crime in California? It might go away, thanks to legal pot -- Yirtuamlak Hailu Derege came to California a decade ago with dreams of making it big in the entertainment business. But shortly after arriving, he was arrested and convicted of selling marijuana, a felony that has made it difficult for him to find any job at all. Rob Kuznia and Katie Zezima in the Washington Post$ -- 12/18/17
Burners beware: California pot sold Jan. 1 could be tainted -- That legal weed you'll be able to buy in California on New Year's Day may not be as green as it seems. Any marijuana sold when recreational sales become legal Jan. 1 in the nation's most populous state will have been grown without regulatory controls that will eventually be in place. Pot could contain pesticides, molds and other contaminants. Brian Melley Associated Press -- 12/18/17
POTUS 45
Champion of the ‘Little Guy’? Trump’s Actions Tell Another Story -- But this week, the president hopes to sign with great fanfare a tax bill that would deliver its largest benefits, not only in dollar terms but also as a percentage increase in income, to corporations and the wealthiest Americans. Michael Tacket and Jim Tankersley in the New York Times$ -- 12/18/17
Beltway
Democrats see plot to fire Mueller in escalating GOP attacks -- A sense of foreboding has settled over congressional Democrats, who fear that GOP lawmakers, the White House and conservative media figures are orchestrating a messaging campaign with one logical goal: the firing of special counsel Robert Mueller by President Donald Trump. Kyle Cheney Politico -- 12/18/17
Trump says he is not considering firing Mueller -- "No, I’m not,” Trump told reporters, when asked if he intended to fire Mueller. The president was returning to the White House from a weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat. Brent D. Grifffiths Politico -- 12/18/17
E.P.A. Employees Spoke Out. Then Came Scrutiny of Their Email -- Three different agency employees, in different jobs, from three different cities, but each encountered a similar outcome: Federal records show that within a matter of days, requests were submitted for copies of emails written by them that mentioned either Mr. Pruitt or President Trump, or any communication with Democrats in Congress that might have been critical of the agency. Eric Lipton and Lisa Friedman in the New York Times$ -- 12/18/17
-- Sunday Updates
Thomas Fire continues to grow as strong, shifting winds bring new dangers -- The massive Thomas Fire continued to grow Sunday morning even after an epic battle to protect homes along the Santa Barbara County coast Saturday proved successful despite intense winds. Melissa Etehad and Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/17
The fury of monster fire leaves residents no choice but to flee -- Resident Darren Caesar stood off the shoulder of Highway 192 next to the Montecito Fire Station early Saturday and pointed to a long row of firetrucks and tankers parked nearby. Joseph Serna and Melissa Etehad in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/17
Firefighters optimistic with Thomas Fire as winds start to die down -- Forecasters remained hopeful Sunday that strong wind gusts pushing a huge Southern California blaze would die down and allow firefighters a chance to aggressively battle the fire. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/17/17
Morain: A wishful anti-Trump wave in McClintock country: ‘If they can do it in Alabama, we can do it in CD4’ -- Bateson, a mother of three young boys, grew up in Roseville, went off to Stanford, joined the U.S. Foreign Service, got a doctorate at Yale, taught at MIT, was stunned by Donald Trump’s victory, and returned home to join the resistance by running for Congress. Dan Morain in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/17/17
California officials say housing next to freeways is a health risk — but they fund it anyway -- California’s support for those projects shows how policies created to cut greenhouse gases and ease the housing crunch are also putting some of the state’s neediest residents at risk from traffic pollution. Tony Barboza and David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/17
Curtain rises on San Francisco’s next drama, and the star is London Breed -- At the conclusion of Willie Brown’s eulogy Sunday for Mayor Ed Lee, the political curtain will go down at San Francisco City Hall for the holidays — but come Jan. 9 at 5 p.m., the curtain will rise again for a new drama that will set the course of the city for years to come. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/17/17
A multi-billion-dollar ‘mega measure’ to fix Bay Area traffic for good heading your way -- Imagine a Bay Area with highways that flow instead of grind to a halt. With trains that ring the bay, some running 24 hours a day. With ferries that stop at more than a handful of terminals and autonomous buses cruising in their own lanes, blasting past cars on the freeway. Erin Baldassari in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/17/17
An L.A. court mistakenly destroyed evidence a death row inmate says would free him. Now what? -- From his small cell on California’s death row, Scott Pinholster swore he could prove his innocence. The proof, he said, was in the dried blood on a work boot and a pink towel recovered from his home years ago. Marisa Gerber in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/17/17
Detox can end in death at some ‘non-medical’ Southern California rehabs -- “This is the beginning of your beautiful new life!” So began a contract for Above It All Treatment Center, a drug rehabilitation facility in Lake Arrowhead where, in February, Matthew Maniace signed himself in for detox. Teri Sforza in the Orange County Register -- 12/17/17
Urine empire, lax oversight expose flaws in California rehab laws -- Philip Ganong, his wife and their 34-year-old son built a fast-growing, multi-million-dollar empire on urine. They collected it from drug addicts at their chain of Southern California sober living homes. They created labs to test it. And they charged insurance companies to analyze it. But the success story was a scam, according to prosecutors, who have accused the Ganongs of fraud. Tony Saavedra and Scott Schwebke in the Orange County Register -- 12/17/17
GOP, with tax bill finalized, makes its case to a skeptical public -- Republicans, confident they've found the votes to pass a massive tax overhaul, entered the next phase of their effort Sunday, attempting to sell the plan to a public that polling suggests is deeply skeptical. Jeff Stein and Mike DeBonis in the Washington Post$ -- 12/17/17
Lockheed Martin teams up to build supersonic business jet -- For 27 years, until its retirement in 2003, the Concorde was a flying symbol of glamour and speed, a sleek embodiment of technological prowess and supersonic power that ferried the wealthy from New York to London in 3½ hours while dining on veal medallions and crème caramel. Christian Davenport in the Washington Post$ -- 12/17/17