Updating . .
Suit accusing government of violating some immigrants’ abortion rights tossed out -- A federal magistrate in San Francisco has dismissed an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit accusing the government of violating the rights of young, undocumented immigrants to abortion and contraceptive care by placing them in shelters run by Catholic organizations. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/12/18
Prop. 5 offers tax breaks for older home buyers but could shortchange schools and cities -- After Robert Holland’s knee surgery a few years ago, he’s had a harder time climbing the stairs in his trilevel home in the Tujunga neighborhood of Los Angeles. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/12/18
Orange County transit workers warn of service and job cuts if Californians vote to repeal gas tax hike -- An initiative to repeal an increase in California’s fuel taxes and vehicle fees may force a reduction of bus service in Orange County and elimination of some transit jobs, officials and union leaders said Friday. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/12/18
Major projects at risk if voters kill California gas tax hike, officials say -- More than 400 transit infrastructure projects would be jeopardized if California’s gas tax hike gets killed in November, with plans shelved, construction frozen in place and millions of taxpayer dollars vaporized, according to officials with state and local transportation agencies. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/12/18
Tech execs go head to head on Twitter over ballot measure to help homeless -- Two San Francisco tech moguls got into a heated exchange of tweets Friday over a city ballot measure aimed at ending homelessness. Melia Russell in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/12/18
New Technology, Housekeeping Among Concerns in Hotel Strikes -- Robots delivering room service, check-in kiosks with facial recognition technology and "smart" speakers that serve as an in-room concierge. The hotel of the not-so-distant future sounds like something out of a sci-fi novel, but it's drawing real world anxiety for some of the thousands of Marriott hotel workers on strike across the U.S. this month. Philip Marcelo Associated Press -- 10/12/18
California Lung Cancer Death Rate Less Than National Average -- California has a 28 percent lower lung cancer death rate than the rest of the country thanks to statewide policies against tobacco, a study concluded. As far back as the 1980s the state highlighted the link between smoking and cancer and introduced the nation's first tobacco control program. Associated Press -- 10/12/18
CA120: An ‘OMG’ blue wave in California politics -- California is at the epicenter of what could be a Democratic wave, and that’s amazing. In this election cycle, we are seeing something really astounding, yet many are treating it as if it was normal. Paul Mitchell Capitol Weekly -- 10/12/18
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Meet Ken Alex, Gov. Jerry Brown’s climate concierge -- During 36 years in state service, Alex has operated outside the warmth of the spotlight, and he is far from a household name. But insiders say he may be the most consequential environmental authority California has ever known. Julie Cart Calmatters -- 10/12/18
L.A. City Councilman Mitchell Englander to vacate his seat -- Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander said Thursday that he will step down at the end of the year to take a job with a sports and entertainment firm, becoming the second council member in recent years to quit before finishing his term. Emily Alpert Reyes and David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/12/18
Politifact CA: Fact-checking claims about California’s rent control measure Prop 10 -- Listen to the No on Prop 10 ads — about California’s much-debated rent control measure — and you’d think it’s a deeply flawed initiative that will drive the state’s housing crisis ever-deeper. Click over to the Yes on 10 spots and you’d get the impression renters in California desperately need this measure to pass. Chris Nichols Politifact CA -- 10/12/18
Political Breakdown: San Francisco DA George Gascón Discusses Decision Not to Seek Re-Election and Reflects on His Push for Criminal Justice Reforms Marisa Lagos, Scott Shafer KQED -- 10/12/18
He ‘kept the Democratic cats herded:’ Former California legislator Tom Hannigan dies -- Former California Assemblyman Thomas Hannigan, a respected Solano County leader who spent decades in office, died Tuesday. He was 78. Hannigan, a Democrat, rose to the powerful majority leader position in the lower house, spending 26 years in elected office. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/18
Asthma, diabetes, heart disease: Central Valley health care is personal and political -- Poor air and water quality, pesticides, food deserts and lack of accessible recreational spaces form a toxic cocktail plagues California’s Central Valley — and that’s made the area’s too-close-to-call House races virtual referenda on health care policy. Kate Irby in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/18
Southern California Republicans are avoiding ‘the T-word’ -- His last name has five letters, but Republicans running for office in Southern California are as reluctant to mention “Donald Trump” as they are to drop one of the few still forbidden four-letter words in public. Jeff Horseman and Kevin Modesti in the Orange County Register -- 10/12/18
Republicans Hope Orange County's Historic Anti-Tax Sentiments Can Hold Off Blue Wave -- In an attempt to stave off a serious wave of Democratic House challengers, Republicans in Orange County are turning to a tried and true tactic: stoking resentment of taxes handed down by Sacramento. Guy Marzorati KQED -- 10/12/18
Survivor accuses Oakland Diocese of sheltering abusive priest -- Members of the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests stood in midday sunshine on a sidewalk outside the shadowed doors of the Diocese of Oakland. George Kelly in the San Jose Mercury -- 10/12/18
Trump says Nunes should get Medal of Freedom for his handling of Russian investigation -- President Donald Trump said Thursday that Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom – the highest civilian award given in the U.S. – for his handling of the House Intelligence Committee’s investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. Rory Appleton in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/18
Devin Nunes is attacking his district's newspaper before the midterms. It's a page from Trump's playbook -- For years, Rep. Devin Nunes and the Fresno Bee got along just fine. But now, facing his first serious election challenge in years, the Central Valley congressman is on the attack — not against his Democratic opponent, but his district’s largest newspaper and what he calls its “band of creeping correspondents.” Jazmine Ulloa in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/12/18
A police legend falls: Oakland Chinatown gang expert admits taking bribes -- Harry Hu, a legendary Oakland police gang expert and Asian organized crime investigator, has pleaded guilty to taking bribes from his longtime confidential informant in exchange for helping him avoid prosecution, federal court documents show. David DeBolt and Angela Ruggiero in the San Jose Mercury Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/12/18
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Music industry hails passage of the Music Modernization Act -- American politics may be polarized, but a new law signed by President Trump on Thursday suggests that liberals and conservatives agree on the need for a better system to compensate musicians and songwriters in the digital era. Randall Roberts and Randy Lewis in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/12/18
San Diego will appeal costly pension ruling to U.S. Supreme Court, citing former mayor's free-speech rights -- San Diego will make one last legal attempt to keep the city’s 6-year-old pension cuts in place by filing an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court on 1st Amendment free-speech grounds. David Garrick in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/12/18
A top black judge claimed discrimination. California upheld her firing -- The first black woman to be the chief judge at the California Public Utilities Commission lost a bid to reclaim her job this week when the State Personnel Board rejected her argument that she experienced racial discrimination and whistleblower retaliation in her eight years at the energy regulator. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/18
California state worker union accepts contract with 10 percent pay hike -- A small California state employee union decided on Thursday that a contract with two more consecutive years of 5 percent raises was too good to pass up in the waning months of Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration. The California Association of Professional Scientists approved the contract by a vote of 802 to 339. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/18
Over 15,000 UC health care workers could soon go on strike — here’s what we know -- AFSCME Local 3299 announced Thursday morning that the 15,000 patient-care technical workers in its ranks voted to authorize a strike against the University of California after reaching a deadlock in labor contract negotiations. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee Kevin Smith in the Orange County Register -- 10/12/18
Tech execs reconsider Saudi ties amid Khashoggi affair -- The fate of a prominent critic of Saudi Arabia has put a spotlight on the Middle Eastern kingdom’s relationship with Silicon Valley — and the oceans of venture capital dollars flowing into tech from its petroleum-infused fortune. Melia Russell and Sophia Kunthara in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/12/18
California Utilities Have Spent $1.6 Billion On Efficiency Programs Since 2006, Study Finds -- The study’s authors report that 38 utilities — ranging from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to small companies serving less than 400 customers — avoided the need for two 500-megawatt power plants and saved 6,500 GWh of electricity. Publicly-owned utilities provide power to almost one-quarter of California’s population. Ezra David Romero Capital Public Radio -- 10/12/18
Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds
State energy board adds new fee to customers of services like CleanPowerSF -- The expansion of San Francisco’s CleanPowerSF program could be scaled back after state energy regulators on Thursday decided to raise the fees customers pay when joining the program. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury -- 10/12/18
Counties are forgiving millions in juvenile detention fees owed by families — but not San Diego -- A year ago, juvenile justice reform advocates in California notched another significant win in a years-long campaign to rework the system when Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation banning counties from charging fees to parents and guardians of youths charged with crimes. Greg Moran in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/12/18
Homeless
L.A. typhus outbreak adds fuel to the debates over homelessness and housing -- A man hospitalized for dehydration a few months ago at Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center started suffering a severe fever, and doctors weren’t sure why. The patient was homeless, a clue to doctors that he might have typhus. Every year people contract flea-borne typhus in Southern California, mostly in Los Angeles County. Doctors did a blood test. Soumya Karlamangla in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/12/18
Why did downtown Sacramento benches vanish overnight? Homeless advocates have an idea why -- The benches that lined the K Street corridor had disappeared. Homeless men and women who usually had occupied the seats were sitting on sidewalks, leaning on railings and propped alongside planters. Fernandez, a longtime activist for the poor, was outraged. Cynthia Hubert in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/18
San Francisco police impound homeless man’s car for unpaid parking tickets. Judge says give it back -- A federal judge has ordered San Francisco police to return a homeless man’s car that they towed and impounded because of thousands of dollars in unpaid parking tickets that the owner couldn’t afford to pay. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/12/18
Transit
Officials can’t predict reopening date for San Francisco’s Transbay Transit Center, park -- Transbay Transit Center officials said Thursday they’re working as quickly as they can to get the building’s cracked support beams repaired but still don’t have a date for resuming bus service or reopening the popular rooftop park. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/12/18
California agency fines BART $1.3 million over track worker deaths -- The California Public Utilities Commission fined BART $1.3 million Thursday for safety violations that resulted in the deaths of two track workers who were struck and killed by a train in 2013. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle Matthew Green KQED -- 10/12/18
Fewer people are getting onto OCTA’s buses, so officials hope they’ll use its ride-sharing service, OC Flex -- Unlimited curb-to-curb rides within a designated zone will be offered for $5 a day, paid in cash at the van, or $4.50 if using the agency’s app. Two vans, each carrying up to eight passengers, will travel around each zone for pickup and drop off. The service is akin to Lyft Line or UberPool, although neither operates in Orange County. Jeong Park in the Orange County Register -- 10/12/18
BART will quadruple power washings to tackle grime at Mission Street stations -- The three-year, $982,800 contract with Puma Washing Inc. would boost overnight cleanings at the 16th Street and 24th Street BART stations from one to four hours. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/12/18
Education
Teacher who recounted Trump aide eating glue as a child is suspended -- A teacher who recounted how a senior aide to President Trump ate glue as a third-grader is in trouble with her employers. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has placed veteran teacher Nikki Fiske on “home assignment” while it decides what to do, if anything, about disclosures she made about a young Stephen Miller. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/12/18
A future in flux: what next for the California Department of Education? -- The next state superintendent of public instruction will face a big challenge: making the case for a bigger role for the California Department of Education. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 10/12/18
Environment
The fight is on at Hollister Ranch, as coastal officials delay development in push for beach access -- After more than three decades of stops and stalls, the state this week made clear the fight for beach access at Hollister Ranch is far from over. Rosanna Xia in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/12/18
POTUS 45
Congress is on the line in 2018. But groups are already spending on Trump 2020 -- Even as Republicans fight to keep control of Congress, at least six political action committees have spent more than $9 million to promote Trump’s re-election on TV, by phone, by mail and online since he took office, according to a McClatchy analysis of Federal Election Commission filings through Tuesday. Ben Wieder and Anita Kumar in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/12/18
Is there such a thing as too much Trump? -- The ever-present president reflects a new media strategy, driven by the president’s natural impulses. Annie Karni Politico -- 10/12/18
Beltway
Democrats agree to confirmations of 15 Trump judges -- Senate Democrats accepted an offer Thursday from Senate Republicans to confirm 15 lifetime federal judges in exchange for the ability to go into recess through the midterms, allowing endangered Democrats to campaign. Burgess Everett Politico -- 10/12/18
-- Thursday Updates
California senators will try to block White House judicial nominees for the 9th Circuit -- Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris complained Thursday that they did not sign off on three White House nominees for open California seats on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and said they would oppose their confirmation in the Senate. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times Emily Cadei and Kate Irby in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/11/18
How Kavanaugh’s addition to the Supreme Court could affect California -- Brett Kavanaugh’s elevation to the U.S. Supreme Court could solidify its conservative majority for a decade or more and affect issues as profound as climate change, abortion, health care and the scope of presidential power. And for California, the stakes also include an array of pending and future legal battles on topics ranging from immigration to vehicle emissions, net neutrality and the 2020 census. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/11/18
Californians have new privacy protections. Google wants Republicans to weaken them -- Two weeks ago, the nation’s tech titans came to Washington to urge Congress to pass legislation that would override the data privacy law California’s legislature passed in June. On Wednesday, privacy advocates got their chance to push back. Emily Cadei in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/11/18
U.S. Senate candidates Dianne Feinstein and Kevin de León to meet for moderated discussion next week -- U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein and California state Sen. Kevin de León will meet Wednesday for a conversation moderated by the Public Policy Institute of California. But is it a debate? Feinstein’s campaign says it is, De León’s team says it is not. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/11/18
El Niño conditions growing increasingly likely this winter -- The likelihood this winter of an El Niño — the weather pattern marked by warm Pacific Ocean waters that can affect California’s rainfall — is increasing. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury -- 10/11/18
Fox: Proposition 13 is “On the Table.” What Does That Mean? -- In the gubernatorial debate when asked if Proposition 13 was “on the table,” Gavin Newsom responded, “Everything is on the table.” So Newsom’s going after Proposition 13? Maybe, but I think he plans to take on the state’s tax structure a bit differently. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 10/11/18
Here’s why gas prices are climbing toward $4 a gallon -- Ouch. For the first time in four years, gas prices are climbing back to the $4 a gallon range, hitting $3.81 statewide on Wednesday. That’s the highest price we’ve paid all year, and more than 80 cents higher than this time last year. A survey of 300 stations saw San Francisco’s Metro prices about $3.92. Gary Richards in the San Jose Mercury -- 10/11/18
The invisible children of California -- California has hundreds, perhaps thousands, of children that cannot be accounted for. They are among the estimated 45,704 unaccompanied undocumented minors who were apprehended by federal authorities between Oct. 1, 2017 and Aug. 31, 2018 as they tried to enter California through its southern border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Scott Soriano Capitol Weekly -- 10/11/18
DMV fines almost 500 drivers caught misusing disabled parking placards -- The majority of those offenses were found during five sweeps at the Los Angeles County Fair, which resulted in 443 citations. Those who were caught had their placards confiscated and face fines that range from $250 to $1,000. Sarah Parvini in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/11/18
Former police Explorers who say Irwindale cop sexually abused them get $4-million settlement -- The Irwindale Police Department and a group that runs the agency’s Explorer program for teens has agreed to pay $4 million to settle a lawsuit with three women who say they were sexually abused by a former police officer who served as the program’s advisor. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/11/18
Ex-ER psychiatrist: More inpatient treatment needed in San Francisco -- A five-minute stroll around downtown San Francisco makes it obvious the city has a huge number of people with mental health problems. And it’s not unusual to see homeless people who appear mentally ill wearing hospital gowns or identification bracelets, signaling they’ve just been released from the hospital and are back on the streets. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/11/18