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California Policy & Politics This Morning  

Once again, the next governor will not resemble the average Californian -- With California’s race for governor narrowed down to two big-city rich guys, the mayor of the tiny farm town of Fowler worries that the San Joaquin Valley might continue to be a political afterthought. Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times-- 10/6/18

Potential 2020 contender Kamala Harris uses Kavanaugh to help at-risk Democrats -- Sen. Kamala Harris has been using Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh’s highly partisan, polarizing confirmation process to build her own political network — a boost that could be valuable as the 2020 presidential election nears. Kate Irby in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/6/18

Sen. Dianne Feinstein seeks sixth term: How her Washington virtues became California vulnerabilities -- ever mind respect for elders. The thousands of West Virginians who packed an arena on the last Saturday night in September were having a fine time laughing at California’s 85-year-old senator, Dianne Feinstein. Marc Sandalow Calmatters -- 10/6/18

A prison officer was charged with groping. The state now refuses to provide records -- Days after Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill that will open files in police sexual misconduct cases next year, state prison officials refused to release records that could show if a recent groping charge filed against a prison captain is indicative of a larger pattern at the facility. Ryan Sabalow in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/6/18

More than 60% of leases on the VA's West L.A. campus are illegal or improper, audit finds -- More than 60% of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ land-use agreements on its West Los Angeles campus are illegal or improper, a federal audit found, including leases for a Los Angeles city dog park and ballfields, Red Cross offices, a Shakespeare festival, a parrot sanctuary and the private Brentwood School. Gale Holland in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/6/18

Prominent obstetrician accused of sexual misconduct removed from leadership at Huntington Hospital, must have chaperone -- In the wake of revelations that a prominent Pasadena obstetrician had been accused repeatedly of sexual misconduct, Huntington Memorial Hospital announced Friday that the doctor no longer had a leadership role at the hospital and will have a chaperone when treating women in the maternity ward. Matt Hamilton and Harriet Ryan in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/6/18

Silicon Valley congressman unveils an Internet Bill of Rights -- By July 2019, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) aims to see the House of Representatives pass landmark legislation shielding consumers from the onslaught of data breaches and the anxiety and confusion over the misuse of their personal information on the Web. Hamza Shaban in the Washington Post -- 10/6/18

Women on boards: Are Bay Area companies in compliance with new law? -- Apple, Alphabet, Facebook and Tesla each will need to add one more woman to their board of directors by 2021 under a first-in-the-nation law just signed by California Gov. Jerry Brown, but some other well-known companies in the state have a lot more work to do than that. Levi Sumagaysay in the San Jose Mercury -- 10/6/18

No telling who’ll win Harder-Denham race, polls and experts say -- A new independent survey of likely voters indicates challenger Josh Harder has a slight edge over incumbent Rep. Jeff Denham in one of the United States’ most competitive House contests. But the difference is small enough that most experts continue saying the 10th District race is impossible to call. Garth Stapley in the Modesto Bee -- 10/6/18

For L.A. candidates seeking public money, it won't be enough to just agree to debate, officials say -- For decades, Los Angeles city candidates who wanted to tap into public money for their campaigns have had to agree to debate their opponents. But actually participating in a debate has never been required, according to the Ethics Commission. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/6/18

CHP: Stephon Clark protester hit by sheriff’s SUV was at fault in collision -- The 62-year-old woman struck by a Sacramento County Sheriff’s SUV last March during a protest over the police killing of Stephon Clark caused the accident that injured her and left her with nearly $43,000 in medical bills, a California Highway Patrol investigation has found. Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/6/18

Leaders of Tea Party and Indivisible share passion, patriotism and tactics -- Shortly after President Barack Obama entered the White House in 2009, a group of citizens fed up with big government and excessive spending started a modern day Tea Party movement aimed at stopping a liberal political agenda. Sandra Emerson in the Orange County Register -- 10/6/18

Seized in crackdown against global drug ring, Sacramento man facing 60 years in prison -- A Sacramento man – who prosecutors believe is part of a Chinese drug ring – was charged with 10 counts of money laundering and the conspiracy to manufacture marijuana Friday after law enforcement officials found around 300 marijuana plants in properties he owned, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Claire Morgan in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/6/18

Death-row inmate stabbed to death in San Quentin State Prison -- An inmate facing a death sentence for killing a 14-year-old girl was stabbed to death Friday morning while in the recreation yard of San Quentin State Prison, authorities said. Lauren Hernandez in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/6/18

Shoring up of Transbay center will extend beyond Fremont Street area, officials say -- As workers try to repair two cracked beams over Fremont Street at San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center, they will begin shoring up a similar crossing above First Street that has not cracked, officials said Friday. Evan Sernoffsky in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/6/18

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions  

Living wage measure would not apply to the Disneyland Resort, city attorney says -- Disneyland Resort would not be subject to an Anaheim ballot measure that requires all hospitality businesses that accept a city subsidy to pay workers a living wage, according to a legal opinion by the Anaheim city attorney. Hugo Martin in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/6/18

Big plans to turn San Francisco aquarium into world-class climate leader -- The $200 million proposal by Bay.org, which was established 37 years ago as the Bay Institute, is to fill the aquarium with interactive exhibits, holographic-like images and computer-generated multilingual displays in addition to, of course, tanks full of swimming fish and other marine animals. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/6/18

Abrupt warehouse shutdown strands 250,000 mattresses, leaves workers without jobs -- Nearly a dozen employees of a Fresno warehouse that took in hundreds of used mattresses and box springs each week for recycling are waiting to hear when – or if – they will receive their final paychecks after being laid off with no warning. In the meantime, about 250,000 mattresses are sitting in storage in Fresno as wrangling continues over whether they will be recycled or dumped. Tim Sheehan in the Fresno Bee -- 10/6/18

Wildfire  

Overheated catalytic converter sparked deadly Ferguson Fire -- U.S. Forest Service investigators said Friday that “superheated” pieces of a vehicle’s catalytic converter ignited dry roadside vegetation, causing the blaze this past summer that killed two firefighters and scorched more than 90,000 acres of the Sierra National Forest. Lauren Hernandez in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/6/18

Immigration, Border, Deportation 

Federal Judge Rules for San Francisco and California in 'Sanctuary' Case -- A federal judge in California struck down an immigration law Friday that the Trump administration has used to go after cities and states that limit cooperation with immigration officials. The ruling by District Judge William Orrick also directed the U.S. Department of Justice to give California $28 million that was withheld over the state's immigration policies. San Francisco is expecting two grant awards of $1.4 million following the ruling. KQED -- 10/6/18

Judge Appoints Monitor to Ensure Safe Conditions for Kids in Immigration Custody -- A federal judge in Los Angeles named an independent monitor Friday to oversee conditions for children being held in immigration custody. Tyche Hendricks KQED -- 10/6/18

Education 

UCI College Republicans say administrators putting up roadblocks to Milo Yiannopoulos talk -- Members of the College Republicans club at UC Irvine are looking forward to another on-campus appearance by controversial speaker Milo Yiannopoulos – but they’ve hit some snags with the administration and say the school is using bureaucracy to squelch their First Amendment rights to free speech. Roxana Kopetman in the Orange County Register -- 10/6/18

Environment 

Irvine quit using synthetic pesticides in 2016, now a farm bill could block such local restrictions -- In the past three years, Irvine went from treating its parks and nature areas with more than 50 pounds and about 60 gallons of synthetic weed and pest killers annually, all the way down to zero. Alicia Robinson in the Orange County Register -- 10/6/18

California beaches are supposed to be public. So why is the Hollister Ranch coast an exception? --When California ordered property owners to provide beach access for all, Hollister Ranch made the case that the pristine coastline west of Santa Barbara deserved an exception. Rosanna Xia in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/6/18

Also . . . 

‘I didn’t want it to be all creepy guys throwing ones’: Stormy Daniels strip show draws women -- Any other Friday night, Gold Club Centerfolds, a strip club on the outskirts of Sacramento, would be sparsely populated — mostly with men. And politics would be left at the door. Angela Hart in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/6/18

POTUS 45  

How Trump saved Kavanaugh -- The president was convinced that the cost to his administration and the GOP would be too great if he abandoned the judge, aides said. Christopher Cadelago Politico -- 10/6/18

‘Willing to go to the mat’: How Trump and Republicans carried Kavanaugh to the cusp of confirmation -- Again and again, President Trump was instructed not to do it. A cadre of advisers, confidants and lawmakers all urged him — implored him, really — not to personally attack the women who had accused Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexual assault. So he did it anyway. Philip Rucker, Ashley Parker, Sean Sullivan and Seung Min Kim in the Washington Post -- 10/6/18

Beltway 

A Justice Kavanaugh's impact will be felt quickly, likely creating a more conservative Supreme Court -- A Justice Kavanaugh will almost surely create a significantly more conservative majority on the high court and shift the law to the right on a wide front — from abortion and affirmative action to environmental protection, gun rights, immigration, property rights and religion. David G. Savage in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/6/18

 

-- Friday Updates 

Brenda Tracy brings searing story of sexual assault to Bay Area football teams -- Brenda Tracy wanted to start a conversation. To tell her story. To be heard. She didn’t know she would be stepping directly into a national inferno. Tracy is a rape survivor. Twenty years ago, when she was 24, she was gang-raped by four men, including two Oregon State football players. Ann Killion in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/5/18

Prop. 11: Measure would require EMTs, paramedics to stay on-call during breaks -- Ambulances parked outside of fast food restaurants or coffee shops are a common sight as uniformed paramedics and medical technicians take a break between calls. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/5/18

Even in California, Electric Vehicle Sales Are Meager. Campaign Looks to Change That -- Electric cars have been on the market for some time now but surveys show that even in California adoption has been slow. Amel Ahmed KQED -- 10/5/18

How high is too high? California to allow taller buildings near state Capitol -- As Sacramento’s skyline began to inch higher in the 1990s, state officials decided to take steps to keep the city’s premier piece of architecture — the golden-domed Capitol — from being drowned out.  Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/5/18

With bill signings, Gov. Brown makes his final mark on California education -- Gov. Jerry Brown wrapped up his final legislative session this week, and in doing so became the most prolific decider of laws in California history. During his 16 years as governor — two terms spanning the late 1970s and early 1980s, and two terms this decade — he signed a total of 17,851 bills and vetoed 1,829. David Washburn and John Fensterwald EdSource -- 10/5/18

UC Davis irradiated beagles during the Cold War. Now it’s agreed to clean the laboratory landfill -- In the early years of the nuclear age, scientists at UC Davis began studying the impact of radiation on beagles in a laboratory complex a mile south of the main campus. The lab and an adjacent landfill became a Superfund site, a toxic stew of chemicals, contaminated soils and dangerous metals such as hexavalent chromium and strontium-90. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/5/18

Meet Young Kim, an Asian American immigrant woman running for Congress under Trump's Republican party -- Some other year, under some other president, Republican Young Kim might have been a shoo-in to represent a majority-minority congressional district containing pieces of Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Christine Mai-Duc in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/5/18

California beaches are supposed to be public. So why is the Hollister Ranch coast an exception? -- When California ordered property owners to provide beach access for all, Hollister Ranch made the case that the pristine coastline west of Santa Barbara deserved an exception. Rosanna Xia in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/5/18

See 100 years of California wildfires in 1 minute -- Next week is the anniversary of the start of the the Tubbs Fire, which killed 22 people and burned more than 5,000 homes and other structures in Napa, Sonoma and Lake counties, including 2,800 homes in Santa Rosa. Paul Rogers, Paiching Wei in the San Jose Mercury -- 10/5/18

Fox: Can Newspaper Endorsements Help Elect a Statewide Candidate? -- Running as a No Party Preference or independent candidate for his old job as state Insurance Commissioner, Steve Poizner racked up newspaper endorsements at an impressive clip. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 10/5/18