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Waging a desperate fight to save homes as Holy fire explodes to more than 18,000 acres -- Firefighters on Friday continued to battle an 18,000-acre wildfire in the Cleveland National Forest after it spread into Riverside County overnight and forced thousands to evacuate. Ruben Vives and Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ Beatriz E. Valenzuela in the Orange County Register -- 8/10/18

Mendocino Complex Fire 60 percent contained as crews focus on national forest -- Firefighters made further progress against the Mendocino Complex Fire overnight, reaching 60 percent containment of the record-setting blaze, Cal Fire said Friday morning. Julia Sclafani in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/10/18

California wildfires: Red-flag warnings, a mounting death toll and an arson arrest -- The fight against the deadly wildfires scorching California headed into a critical phase Friday with heat, low humidity and gusty winds expected to reemerge during the weekend, officials said. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/10/18

This L.A. sheriff's deputy was a pariah in federal court. But his secrets were safe with the state -- For years, James Peterson’s secrets were safe in the courtrooms of Los Angeles. The L.A. County sheriff’s deputy, who trawled a stretch of the 5 Freeway for drug traffickers, often testified in the state court system about his arrests. No one knew to ask about his troubled past. Then one of Peterson’s cases landed in federal court. Joel Rubin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/10/18

Fed-up locals are setting electric scooters on fire, smearing them with poop and burying them at sea -- They've been crammed into toilets, tossed off balconies and set on fire. They’ve even been adorned with dangling bags of dog droppings. As cities from Santa Monica to Beverly Hills struggle to control a rapid proliferation of electric pay-per-mile scooters, some residents are taking matters into their own hands and waging a guerrilla war against the devices. Laura Newberry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/10/18

Amid backlash, Coastal Commission asks state to 'explore all potential options' to open Hollister Ranch to the public -- Facing mounting criticism for allowing Hollister Ranch landowners to keep 8.5 miles of Santa Barbara coastline largely closed to the beachgoing public, state officials indicated Thursday some regret about the controversial deal they quietly agreed to earlier this year. Rosanna Xia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/10/18

Facebook blocks sharing of 3D-printed gun files and sites -- Facebook is blocking the sharing of blueprints for making 3D-printed guns, saying it is against its community standards — and amid a temporary nationwide restraining order against an organization that seeks to share the code. Levi Sumagaysay in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/10/18

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning

Flames from growing Holy fire halted feet from Lake Elsinore homes -- Firefighters raced from street to street late Thursday in Lake Elsinore neighborhoods, successfully fighting back flames as winds pushed the expanding Holy fire perilously close to homes. Brian Rokos, Richard K. De Atley, Beatriz E. Valenzuela in the Orange County Register -- 8/10/18

'It feels like a war zone': Lake Elsinore residents fight to save homes as Holy fire rages -- The Holy fire marched toward Lake Elsinore on Thursday afternoon, forcing a new round of evacuations as flames came perilously close to homes. Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/10/18

Inmate firefighters risk death at $1 an hour -- Some were bank robbers, car thieves and burglars. Now they are on the front lines in the scary and dangerous job of saving California from raging wildfires. There are about 3,900 of them, all state prison inmate volunteers from 44 fire camps spread across California. Chuck McFadden Capitol Weekly -- 8/10/18

Gov. Jerry Brown issues executive order expediting response to California's devastating fires -- Assisting fire-ravaged communities in Lake, Siskiyou, Shasta, Mendocino and Napa counties, the order suspends regulations on clearing fire-related debris and eliminates limits on the number of hours emergency personnel can work. More than 13,000 firefighters are battling blazes across the state. Mini Racker in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/10/18

Third firefighter killed while responding to Carr Fire near Redding -- The death toll in what was already the most lethal year for firefighters in California since 2008 increased to five Thursday, when a heavy equipment mechanic was killed after falling asleep at the wheel on his way to the fire lines near Redding, a family member told The Chronicle. Michael Cabanatuan and Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/10/18

Billionaire Drops Quest to Split California Into 3 Parts -- The billionaire behind a measure to split California in three said he's giving up on the effort to reimagine the nation's most populous state after the state Supreme Court knocked it off the November ballot. Kathleen Ronayne Associated Press Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/10/18

Recalled Sen. Josh Newman 'more than open' to running for the seat again in 2020 -- A few months after state Sen. Josh Newman was recalled from office by voters, the Fullerton Democrat has scheduled a political fundraiser to collect money for a possible 2020 campaign to reclaim the seat. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/10/18

Rent control foes hire California NAACP leader after her group opposes initiative -- The president of the California NAACP has long resisted criticism that she melds the group’s interests with those of her political consulting firm, which takes in large fees for working on campaigns that the civil rights organization backs. Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/10/18

Legislators assail Gov. Brown’s plan to limit utilities’ liability in wildfires -- Gov. Jerry Brown’s plan to end strict financial liability for utilities whose power lines spark wildfires received a skeptical response Thursday from state legislators, some of whom bristled at anything resembling a bailout of the companies. David R. Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Sophia Bollag Associated Press -- 8/10/18

Letter Alleges Lewd, Drunken Behavior by Lottery Officials -- Gov. Jerry Brown has asked the attorney general to look into a whistleblower complaint about alleged inappropriate and drunken behavior by staff of the California State Lottery, a spokeswoman said Thursday. Associated Press -- 8/10/18

Nunes to donors in secret recording: GOP majority is necessary to protect Trump -- During a meeting with donors last month, Rep. Devin Nunes made clear, among other things, the importance of retaining a GOP-lead Congress in the midterm elections. Joshua Tehee in the Fresno Bee$ -- 8/10/18

Sexual assault allegations against Harvey Weinstein, Steven Seagal and Anthony Anderson land on L.A. prosecutors' desks -- More sexual assault allegations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, as well as allegations against actors Steven Seagal and Anthony Anderson, have landed on Los Angeles prosecutors’ desks. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/10/18

Coroner sent letters to doctors whose patients died of opioid overdoses. Doctors' habits quickly changed -- Addressed directly to the doctor, the letter arrived in a plain business envelope with a return address of the San Diego County medical examiner’s office. Its contents were intended, ever so carefully, to focus the physician on a national epidemic of opioid abuse — and his or her possible role in it. Melissa Healy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/10/18

Analyzing the Trump effect: Is America having a nervous breakdown? -- Think people are losing their minds over President Trump? Maybe it’s not all in your head. The American Psychological Association is holding its annual convention in San Francisco, and there are no fewer than 15 symposiums, panel discussions and paper presentations devoted to the psychological ills that practitioners believe are spreading under the president. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/10/18

Secret DMV office near California Capitol serves lawmakers and their staff -- If you enter the Legislative Office Building in downtown Sacramento, pass through security and hook an immediate left, then walk to the end of the hallway and take another right, at the end of that hallway is an unmarked door with a peephole. Alexei Koseff and Bryan Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/10/18

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions

Trump administration ordered to ban widely used farm pesticide -- A federal appeals court ordered the Trump administration Thursday to ban the widely used farm pesticide chlorpyrifos within 60 days, citing long-standing evidence that its presence on food can harm children. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/10/18

Silvery Towers labor woes draw accusations of human trafficking and slave labor -- Hundreds of protesters rallied in front of the soaring Silvery Towers high-rises in downtown San Jose on Thursday, accusing the project’s principal developer, Full Power Properties, of slave labor, human trafficking and wage theft. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/10/18

Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds 

California drivers pay growing cost for climate program -- A California program to fight climate change may now add more to the cost of gasoline than the state gas-tax increase that many voters want to repeal. David R. Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/10/18

California’s new online tax program leads a major firm to ask for paper instead -- One of the world’s largest accounting firms chose a low-tech option when the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration asked it to start using a new online system for filing business sales tax returns. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/10/18

Cannabis

Taylor: Cannabis entrepreneur’s green business has Oakland bureaucracy blues -- Alexis Bronson has tried all year to make his cannabis business legitimate under the state’s and Oakland’s marijuana laws. But after a dispiriting week, he might be ready to give up and go back to selling his clone plants and seeds on the thriving underground market. Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/10/18

Sacramento to help launch minority pot businesses in struggling neighborhoods -- The Sacramento City Council took a big step Thursday toward giving minority business owners and residents of disadvantaged neighborhoods better access to the billion-dollar cannabis industry. Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/10/18

Education 

Sexual misconduct: California court says college was unfair to the accused -- A California appeals court has joined the debate over how colleges should handle sexual misconduct cases, saying a school disciplinary board should require an accuser to attend a hearing and answer questions before suspending or expelling an accused student. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/10/18

Baby and toddler storytime can create a lifetime love of reading -- On a recent weekday morning, librarian Annabelle Blackman stood in front of a room full of young children at the Cesar Chavez Public Library in Oakland, Calif., singing a children’s rhyme and swaying from side-to-side. Her performance was more than mere entertainment; it was part of her weekly summer storytime that is designed to promote early literacy for infants and toddlers. Ashley Hopkinson EdSource -- 8/10/18

Environment 

Coastal officials vote to tear down sea wall protecting Laguna Beach mansion -- The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously Thursday to order a Laguna Beach couple to pay $1 million in fines and tear down a sea wall that officials say protects a single mansion from erosion at the expense of the public beach in front. Rosanna Xia in the Los Angeles Times$ Martin Wisckol in the Orange County Register -- 8/10/18

Also . . . 

Attorney Geragos bungled Scott Peterson’s 2004 murder trial, new brief alleges -- Proving that famed defense attorney Mark Geragos botched Scott Peterson’s high-profile 2004 double-murder trial could be the Modesto man’s best chance at leaving death row, his latest appeal document suggests. Garth Stapley in the Modesto Bee$ -- 8/10/18

POTUS 45  

Melania Trump’s Parents Become U.S. Citizens, Using ‘Chain Migration’ Trump Hates -- President Trump has repeatedly and vehemently denounced what he calls “chain migration,” in which adult American citizens can obtain residency for their relatives. On Thursday, his Slovenian in-laws, Viktor and Amalija Knavs, became United States citizens in a private ceremony in Manhattan by taking advantage of that same family-based immigration program. Annie Correal and Emily Cochrane in the New York Times$ -- 8/10/18

Trump's core support remains solid, but a significant minority of Republicans have soured, study finds -- President Trump's backing from his core supporters has been famously solid — Trump himself once joked that he could shoot someone on New York’s Fifth Avenue without jeopardizing their votes. David Lauter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/10/18

Beltway

Pelosi is the star of GOP attack ads, worrying Democrats upbeat about midterms -- While Democrats grow optimistic about their chances of taking control of the House in November, they are increasingly anxious that the presence of their longtime and polarizing leader, Nancy Pelosi, is making it harder for many of their candidates to compete in crucial swing districts. Mike DeBonis in the Washington Post$ -- 8/10/18

 

-- Thursday Updates 

California Fires: Smoke levels to improve as Bay Area weather changes -- After weeks of hazy, smoky skies from fires burning around the state, air quality in the Bay Area is about to improve. Forecasters said Thursday that increasing winds blowing in from the ocean should within the next fews days clear out much of the smoke now hanging over the region. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/9/18

An L.A. County deputy faked evidence. Here's how his misconduct was kept secret in court for years -- They were at the tail end of their overnight shift when they spotted Gerald Simmons near a vacant lot in Inglewood. The two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies said they saw the 43-year-old toss a plastic baggie of rock cocaine to the ground. Corina Knoll, Ben Poston and Maya Lau in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/9/18

Cars soon will be unwelcome on Playa Vista's main drag. And a lot of people are happy about it -- On any given day, cars roll slowly down the main shopping street of Playa Vista, just as they do in small towns everywhere. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/9/18

Third firefighter killed while responding to Carr Fire near Redding -- A firefighter was killed while responding to the Carr Fire near Redding, officials announced Thursday. A heavy equipment operator from the Cal Fire Butte unit died in a crash on Highway 99 in Tehama County, officials said. The man is the third firefighter to be killed in the Carr Fire. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/9/18

Abcarian: Dwindling beer supplies, stalled businesses and missed county fair deadlines: California’s largest ever wildfire throws lives in limbo -- In an otherwise deserted part of Clearlake Oaks, which was under a mandatory evacuation order, Nicole Young sat on the porch of a triple-wide lakefront mobile home with a couple of other holdouts. A sweet smell wafted outside from the home. Young, 44, was baking a yellow cake. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/9/18

Salesforce Transit Center puzzle: When will the trains get to the station? -- Beneath the art-bedecked terrazzo floor of San Francisco’s Salesforce Transit Center is an enormous concrete box waiting to be filled. It’s an end point for bullet trains that may someday zip in from Los Angeles, and commuter Caltrain locomotives chugging up the Peninsula to the South of Market district. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/9/18

Eric Swalwell has visited Iowa 10 times in last year and a half. Is he running for president? -- Bay Area congressman Eric Swalwell spent two days last week in a Winnebago nicknamed “Sioux City Sue,” road-tripping across rural Iowa to campaign for a fellow Democrat. He’ll be back again this weekend, speaking on the soapbox at the State Fair and stopping by a corn boil in Baldwin, population 109. Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/9/18