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Cooler temperatures aid battle against California wildfires, but smoke continues to choke Central Valley -- Although a break in the weather has provided firefighters a respite from the scorching heat that has complicated the fight against multiple wildfires in California, an alert warning of poor air quality remains in effect for much of the Central Valley, the National Weather Service said. Sarah Parvini in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/13/18

Ranch Fire approaches 300,000 acres as Mendocino Complex containment efforts continue -- The Ranch Fire was reported 59 percent contained at a size of 295,970 acres as of 8 a.m. Monday, burning more than 13,000 acres between Sunday and Monday morning. Together with the River Fire, which is 93 percent contained and has had no movement since Saturday, the Mendocino Complex has scorched a total of more than 344,890 acres, according to Cal Fire. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/13/18

Holy fire: Some students return to school as firefighters begin to gain upper hand on blaze -- As firefighters begin to slowly gain the upper hand on the Holy fire that has burned in the Cleveland National Forest for a week, some students near the burn area are going back to school. Beatriz E. Valenzuela in the Orange County Register -- 8/13/18

After Stephon Clark shooting, Sacramento police create new policy for chasing suspects -- Under a new policy set to be announced by the department Monday, foot pursuits in risky circumstances like the one that ended Clark’s life may be discouraged. Instead, officers will be asked to weigh their own safety, the safety of the public and the importance of apprehending the person before and during a pursuit. Molly Sullivan and Anita Chabria in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/13/18

H-1B use skyrocketed among Bay Area tech giants -- Even as the White House began cracking down on U.S. work visas, major Silicon Valley technology firms last year dramatically ramped up hiring of workers under the controversial H-1B visa program, according to newly released data. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/13/18

Elon Musk reveals funding for going private — it’s oil money -- Tesla CEO Elon Musk ended nearly a week of speculation Monday by revealing the source of financing for his plan to take the electric automaker private — the sovereign wealth fund of oil-rich Saudi Arabia. David R. Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/13/18

Golden State Killer suspect is charged with 13th murder, this time in Tulare County -- Claude Snelling woke in the night 42 years ago to find a man in the backyard trying to abduct his 16-year-old daughter. He tried to stop him and was fatally shot. Paige St. John in the Los Angeles Times$ Evan Sernoffsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Sam Stanton, Darrell Smith and Lewis Griswold in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/13/18

Can consumer loans ever be so expensive they break the law? The California Supreme Court says yes -- California’s high court has ruled that interest rates on consumer loans can be so high that they become “unconscionable” and, therefore, illegal — a decision that could upend the state’s subprime loan market. James Rufus Koren in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/13/18

Voters elect shortest-serving California state senator in more than 100 years -- Six months after Tony Mendoza resigned his state Senate seat following allegations of sexual harassment, the seat will be filled by another Democrat — for the next three months. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/13/18

Borenstein: Cal Fire union leaders’ pension-spiking gambit -- Two California firefighter union leaders are seeking to fatten their public pensions because, they claim, for years they never took a day off work. Dan Borenstein in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/13/18

Few California school districts have tested water for lead, even though it’s free -- As students head back to class across California this month, many will sip water from school fountains or faucets that could contain high levels of lead. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/13/18

Fox: They’re Not Like Us—But They Should Be -- That special DMV office in the capitol accessible to elected officials, capitol staffers and insiders reminds me of a Prohibition era speakeasy. Go up to the unmarked door with a peephole and utter a password– “Jerry sent me,” seems appropriate—and you get to avoid long lines at the DMV. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 8/13/18

FBI agent Peter Strzok fired over anti-Trump texts -- Strzok initially helped lead the bureau's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections and possible complicity by the Trump campaign, which remained secret until after the election. When his texts with an FBI lawyer, Lisa Page, were disclosed last year by the agency’s inspector general, special counsel Robert S. Mueller III immediately removed Strzok from the team. Eli Stokols in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/13/18

California Policy & Politics This Morning

Eric Swalwell, still a relative newbie in Congress, looking to presidential run -- Call him ambitious, but with just five years under his congressional belt, 37-year-old East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell is laying the tracks for a possible 2020 presidential run. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/13/18

It’s an election year, and California’s campaign watchdogs are busy fighting among themselves -- A commission charged with enforcing California’s campaign violations in an election year has spent its time publicly bickering, altering the agency’s power structure and adjusting its own pay. Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/13/18

Skelton: California election officials are defending against cyberattacks — without any help from D.C. -- California election officials are guarding their voting machines and registration lists against Russian hackers — although no one has spotted any. “I operate under the assumption that hacking is actually happening and California is a target,” Secretary of State Alex Padilla says. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/13/18

Ranch Fire now largest in California history at 282,479 acres -- The Mendocino fires have burned 336,399 acres and are 70 percent contained. The larger of the two, the Ranch Fire, was responsible for all of the growth, burning 8,096 acres for a total of 287,479 acres. That made the Ranch Fire the largest blaze in state history, surpassing last year’s Thomas Fire in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. The Ranch blaze was 62 percent contained Sunday. Trisha Thadani and Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Bill Swindell in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat -- 8/13/18

Break in the weather helps California firefighters battle massive blazes across state -- Cooler, calmer weather is helping firefighters get a handle on battling the largest wildfires burning across California and preventing new blazes from getting out of control. Tony Barboza in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/13/18

Firefighters get a handle on the Holy fire, containment jumps to 51% -- As the smoke began to clear above Lake Elsinore, firefighters took heart Sunday as they appeared to gain control of the Holy fire, with containment at 51 percent and 22,714 acres consumed. “I’m just thinking we turned the bend here,” U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Vickie Wright said of the wildfire that had burned out of control for nearly a week. Richard K. De Atley, Craig Shultz, Tony Saavedra in the Orange County Register -- 8/13/18

‘The president’s right’: Interior chief pushes thinning forests to cut fire risk -- Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, touring neighborhoods devastated by the Carr Fire, stepped up the Trump administration’s push Sunday to remove more trees from national forests as a means of tamping down fire risks. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/13/18

What’s starting all these fires? We are -- While weather is driving the severity of California’s wildfires, new research shows that people ignite a lot more fires than nature does. And we’re starting fires where and when nature normally doesn’t — at places and times where lightning rarely strikes. But there’s hope: Because we cause them, we can stop them. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/13/18

Email reveals former Salk president's efforts to discourage gender discrimination suit -- The former president of the Salk Institute discouraged one of her professors from suing for gender discrimination, saying in a private email that legal action could damage the La Jolla science center’s reputation — and suggested it might harm the researcher’s career. Bradley J. Fikes and Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 8/13/18

California lobbyist fights for his daughter, with Legislature’s help -- Lobbyist Joe Lang is the guy to see if you’re a billionaire wanting to build a basketball arena in Inglewood, or a weed start-up testing the boundaries of commercial cannabis, or a tobacco company with its many issues. Dan Morain Calmatters -- 8/13/18

Walters: DMV a hot mess, but politics block audit -- During two lengthy Capitol hearings last week, legislators took turns castigating the Department of Motor Vehicles and its director, Jean Shiomoto, over Californians’ hours-long waits for service, often in the hot sun, at DMV offices. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 8/13/18

Schnur: Wildfires still rage. They also shine light on California’s environmental challenges -- The majority of Californians identify climate change as the state’s most serious environmental threat. As California wildfires continue to rage, many of the California Influencers are inclined to agree. Dan Schnur in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/13/18

Incident involving transfer of waste canister at San Onofre nuclear plant prompts additional training measures -- The contractor, Holtec International, was cited for the incident that occurred earlier this month when a canister got caught on an inner ring as it was being lowered into a Cavity Enclosure Container at a newly constructed “dry storage” facility on the site of the plant that is in the process of being decommissioned, Edison said in a statement last week. The transfers have been placed on hold. Rob Nikolewski in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/13/18

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions

Yosemite Valley Reopening a Relief for Hard-Hit Nearby Communities -- A collective sigh of relief is rolling through the central Sierra Nevada as Yosemite National Park officials prepare to reopen Yosemite Valley, which has been closed for nearly three weeks due to the Ferguson Fire. Jeremy Siegel KQED -- 8/13/18

Full containment on Ferguson Fire looms near, but Yosemite area businesses still feeling the burn -- The expected return of visitors to the park bodes well both for the park itself and for the neighboring gateway communities. Last year, visitors spent a grand total of $165.9 million on lodging and food in Madera County, according to the 2017 California Travel Impacts Report. William Ramirez and Jessica Johnson in the Modesto Bee -- 8/13/18

Also . . . 

Police Bodycams Can Be Hacked To Doctor Footage -- In all but the Digital Ally device, the vulnerabilities would allow an attacker to download footage off a camera, edit things out or potentially make more intricate modifications, and then re-upload it, leaving no indication of the change. Or an attacker could simply delete footage they don't want law enforcement to have. Lily Hay Newman Wired -- 8/13/18

Beltway

Tom Steyer: Pelosi is wrong about Trump impeachment push -- Democratic billionaire donor Tom Steyer said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is wrong for saying his push to impeach President Trump is helping Republicans. Jacqueline Thomsen The Hill -- 8/13/18

Pelosi: Trump engages in racism 'constantly' -- House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that President Trump engages in racism “constantly." Pelosi said on MSNBC’s “AM Joy” that she believes the president is afraid of her and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), whom he has repeatedly attacked as being a “low IQ” person. Jacqueline Thomsen The Hill -- 8/13/18

 

-- Sunday Updates 

Under Trump, the rare act of denaturalizing U.S. citizens on the rise -- A United States Citizenship and Immigration Services team in Los Angeles has been reviewing more than 2,500 naturalization files for possible denaturalization, focusing on identity fraud and willful misrepresentation. More than 100 cases have been referred to the Department of Justice for possible action. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/12/18

Ed Bledsoe couldn’t outrace the Carr Fire to save his family. But in his heart, they’re alive -- Melody and the kids are on vacation, somewhere far away, Ed Bledsoe told himself as he steered his old red pickup along this city’s back roads. They weren’t running errands with him in the Chevy like usual because they were off fishing for bluegill or collecting rocks. He knew it wasn’t true, but it was what he had to believe. It let him pretend, for another day, that California’s latest devastating wildfire hadn’t taken away so much. Lizzie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/12/18

In emergencies, cell phone alerts can be too slow to save lives -- While multiple systems exist for governments to warn people in urgent times — including broadcast TV, radio and internet messages — none is instantaneous and all are hit-or-miss in whom they reach and when they reach them. It is a reality at odds with what many people expect during a disaster. Anita Chabria, Ryan Sabalow and Taryn Luna in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/12/18

Holy fire: 14 structures destroyed, 6 damaged; voluntary evacuations declared for Trilogy -- More evacuees from the destructive Holy fire got word Sunday they could return to their homes after containment of the blaze grew to 41 percent overnight, with 22,174 acres consumed by the wildfire that authorities said was set Monday by an arsonist. The fire has destroyed 14 structures and damaged 6, according to an ongoing assessment. Richard K. De Atley in the Orange County Register -- 8/12/18

California fire map: Updates and expected dates of full containment -- Here are the latest updates on prominent wildfires in California and expected dates of full containment, according to fire officials. Pueng Vongs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/12/18

BART directors get hit with safety complaints — from public and staff -- BART Board President Robert Raburn got a stunning dress-down from an Oakland station agent Thursday after he and other directors took a mixed vote on the general manager’s call for more security on the crime-troubled transit system. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/12/18

New projections show future of work in California -- California will add two million jobs in the next decade, with the fastest job growth coming in sectors that require college degrees, according to new projections from the California Employment Development Department. Phillip Reese in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/12/18

‘The Oakland we knew is not going to remain’ -- An extraordinary residential building boom is shaking up Oakland, part of a transformation sweeping the Bay Area as market forces and political initiative combine to address the region’s desperate housing crisis. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/12/18