Updating . .
State lawyers say whistleblower report on prison psychiatric care should stay secret -- Lawyers for state corrections officials now are balking at the release of a secret report prepared by the prison system’s top psychiatrist that accuses the state of providing misleading and inaccurate information to a federal judge and attorneys for more than 30,000 inmates. Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/16/18
It's no secret that Rep. Adam Schiff has higher ambitions. What's his next political move? -- In a glittering ballroom in rural New Hampshire, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) riffed about President Trump to the Portsmouth Democratic Club recently, and then with a laugh, accepted their thank-you gift: a guide book on how to compete in the New Hampshire presidential primary. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/16/18
Cal Fire cadets fired for drinking will get their jobs back -- Most of the California state firefighters who were fired last year because they drank alcohol during a training academy will return to work in 2018, according to Cal Fire and their union. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/16/18
Monsanto case: Jurors urge judge not to overturn $289 million award -- Jurors who awarded $289 million to a former school groundskeeper who is dying of cancer are imploring a San Francisco judge to reconsider her tentative decision to overturn most of the damages against Monsanto Co., manufacturer of the weed killer that they found to be the cause of the man’s illness. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/16/18
Gustus: We pushed the sheriff to release a video, and pieces were missing. What’s in it? Your right to know -- People of integrity support the idea that we should hold elected leaders accountable. Those who attempt to obfuscate make us wonder if they have something to hide. Lauren Gustus in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/16/18
Gov. Jerry Brown to Partner With KQED on Oral History Project -- Gov. Jerry Brown has agreed to a series of interviews aimed at documenting his extraordinary life in California, going back to his years in the seminary all the way through his fourth term as governor, which ends in January. Katie Orr KQED -- 10/16/18
Fox: The Incivility Vote -- There have been rumblings of late in certain political circles that enough voters, reacting negatively to the loud, constant protests on the left, will create a backlash to help save some of California’s endangered Republican congressional seats. Similar scenarios have played out in California before. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 10/16/18
California Policy & Politics This Morning
What’s behind all those DMV voter-registration snafus? ‘Motor voter’ may have launched with makeshift computer system -- The DMV gave the public a series of piecemeal explanations as it acknowledged making more than 100,000 errors in recent months in registering Californians to vote. Software problems, it said in May. Human errors from toggling between computer windows, it said in September. Data entry mistakes that were corrected but never saved, it said this month. Laurel Rosenhall Calmatters -- 10/16/18
Duncan Hunter campaign repeats unfounded claim that his opponent is 'a national security risk' -- Rep. Duncan Hunter, the indicted Republican from Alpine, has doubled down on unfounded attacks on his opponent with a letter signed by three retired Marine Corps generals that accused the Democrat of being “a national security risk.” Hunter, who has pleaded not guilty to federal fraud charges of misusing campaign contributions, has labeled Democratic opponent Ammar Campa-Najjar a security risk in a widely condemned ad and has sought to tie Campa-Najjar to radical Islamists. Maya Sweedler in the Los Angeles Times Charles T. Clark in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/16/18
Conservative, Central Valley Rep. Devin Nunes seeks money in Bay Area -- Bay Area Republicans have become part of a Central Valley congressional race, with GOP Rep. Devin Nunes of Tulare bombarding them with a fund-raising mailer, complete with his full-color picture on the envelope. For voters living in the nine counties where Assemblywoman Catharine Baker of San Ramon is the only Republican holding elective office, Nunes’ red-meat appeal is a continuing reminder that San Francisco and Berkeley don’t represent all of California. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/16/18
An L.A. councilman held an $800-per-person fundraiser. The next day, he announced he was stepping down -- When Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander announced he would soon step down to join a sports and entertainment firm, the news stunned many in and around City Hall. His decision was especially surprising to some who had shown up to a fundraiser advertised at $800 per person that Englander staged the night before. Emily Alpert Reyes and David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/16/18
Dialysis Industry Raises $99 Million To Defeat California’s Prop 8 -- Tens of millions of dollars are flowing in to California’s ballot campaigns on rent control and the gas tax increase. But the one raising the most cash, at nearly $120 million, is the lesser known Proposition 8, a measure to regulate dialysis clinics. That’s according campaign finance totals on the California Secretary of State’s website. Chris Nichols Capital Public Radio -- 10/16/18
More women and people of color are running for office. California is leading the way -- California has seen a significant uptick in women and people of color running for state legislative office in the last two years. That’s the finding of a new report,”A Rising Tide? The Changing Demographics on our Ballots,” published by the Reflective Democracy Campaign. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/16/18
Midterms missionaries: Voices inside one of California’s hottest Congressional battlegrounds -- At first glance, Fullerton, California doesn’t look like the kind of place that will determine the future of the Republic. Here you’ll find a prototypically California mix of old oil derricks and hipster coffee shops, strip mall taquerias and Korean barbeque chains, backpack-toting college kids and wealthy retirees on their way to the golf links. Ben Christopher Calmatters -- 10/16/18
Republican national boss to stump for Rohrabacher in Laguna Niguel in razor-thin House race -- Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel will visit Orange County on Wednesday to support the re-election bid of 30-year incumbent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa), who is fighting for his political life in a razor-thin race against Democratic businessman Harley Rouda. Jordan Graham in the Orange County Register -- 10/16/18
Rep. Dana Rohrabacher Debates Democratic Challenger Harley Rouda for First Time -- Immigration, Russia and an apparent contradiction by Democratic Congressional candidate Harley Rouda Monday highlighted the only debate so far in the tight 48th Congressional District race between Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Costa Mesa) and Rouda. Spencer Custodio Voice of OC -- 10/16/18
California Democrats Hope Asian-American Voters Can Help Flip Red Districts -- Asian-Americans are the fastest growing ethnic group in California, now making up more than 14 percent of the population. It's a slice of the demographic pie that has tripled since 1980. Jeremy Hobson NPR -- 10/16/18
November’s election could reshape Orange County Board of Supervisors, break GOP monopoly -- Voters could shake up the Orange County Board of Supervisors in November – and possibly again in 2019 – and might even send a Democrat to the county’s top legislative body for the first time in a more than a decade. Jordan Graham in the Orange County Register -- 10/16/18
Voting already started for Nov. 6 election -- California’s election is three weeks away, but voters already are casting ballots—via mailbox, not ballot box. Five counties—Madera, Napa, Nevada, Sacramento and San Mateo—have done away with traditional polling places and are instead asking voters to send their ballots in the mail or leave them in a drop box or at a vote center. Lisa Renner Capitol Weekly -- 10/16/18
5 things you need to know about the PG&E wildfire power shutdown -- Extremely dry and windy weather conditions prompted Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to shut off power to tens of thousands of Northern California customers Sunday to prevent power lines from possibly sparking a massive wildfire. Here’s what we know so far about the outages: Gwendolyn Wu in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/16/18
Latino motorists describe anger at being stopped on 5 Freeway by sheriff’s unit seeking drugs -- Roni Salguero Casasola had heard from friends in Bakersfield that L.A. County sheriff’s deputies were pulling over Latino motorists on the 5 Freeway heading into Los Angeles. But even those warnings hadn’t prepared him for what happened next. Ben Poston, Andrea Castillo and Joel Rubin in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/16/18
U.S. appeals court expresses concern about sting operations that overwhelmingly target blacks and Latinos -- A federal appeals court made it easier Monday for people snagged in “reverse sting” operations to seek evidence that the government targeted blacks and Latinos. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/16/18
Oakland judge denies release of alleged Charlottesville rioter, white supremacist -- Cole Evan White, 24, of Clayton, was charged this month with inciting a riot and traveling across state lines to incite a riot more than a year after the August 2017 rally, which erupted into clashes between white supremacist groups and counterprotesters. Ashley McBride in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/16/18
Sheriff Scott Jones Can Keep Obstructing Investigations Into Shootings, County Counsel Says -- In a letter to the Board of Supervisors on Monday, the Sacramento County counsel said Sheriff Scott Jones can continue to obstruct independent investigations of his department. The board must obtain a change to the county charter if it wants to stop Jones from blocking Inspector General Rick Braziel’s independent investigations of the department. Bob Moffitt Capital Public Radio -- 10/16/18
Supreme Court: Companies on hook for lead paint removal -- The U.S. Supreme Court turned down an appeal by paint companies Monday, leaving them on the hook for hundreds of millions of dollars to remove potentially dangerous lead paint from older homes in 10 California counties and cities, including San Francisco and Oakland. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/16/18
Digital predators, teen victims, Part 2: After sexual assault, a life is shattered -- Nearly three years after a sexual assault, a teenage girl finally has her opportunity to give voice to thousands of others who have been similarly affected by Internet predators. David Whiting in the Orange County Register -- 10/16/18
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
CBS Television City expected to be sold to Los Angeles investor -- Hackman Capital has been selected by CBS as the winning bidder in a transaction that could be valued at more than $700 million, according to people familiar with the deal who were not authorized to comment about it publicly. The deal is not final, however. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/16/18
Why San Diego airport's plan for $3B makeover has drawn an avalanche of criticism -- More than a decade after voters dashed any hopes of replacing San Diego’s cramped one-runway airport, its overseers are going all in on a $3 billion makeover they say will ease air travel for the millions more passengers who will be coming to Lindbergh Field, with or without an expansion. Lori Weisberg in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/16/18
LA firefighters sue SoCalGas, alleging toxic chemicals from 2015 Aliso Canyon gas leak made them sick -- Nearly 30 firefighters who helped Porter Ranch residents in the hours and days following the massive 2015-16 gas leak at Aliso Canyon have filed a civil lawsuit against Southern California Gas Company, alleging the utility knowingly exposed them to hazardous levels of toxins like benzene and formaldehyde, according to a complaint filed today in Los Angeles Superior Court. Olga Grigoryants in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 10/16/18
High-Speed Rail Could Transform Fresno’s Poorest Neighborhood. Will Trump Get on the Train? -- Some residents fear the imperiled project is just another false promise. Dave Levinthal Center for Public Integrity -- 10/16/18
Taxes, Fees, Rates, Tolls, Bonds
Plan that would increase property tax bills for California businesses qualifies for 2020 ballot -- Californians could face a major decision two years from now about whether to increase property taxes for businesses after a ballot initiative qualified for the November 2020 ballot on Monday. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/16/18
Sacramento, your summer electricity bill is about to jump. Here’s what to do about it -- Sacramento County residents are about to be hit with an electric shock. The average electricity bill likely will jump next summer - 16 percent alone in July - under new pricing the Sacramento Municipal Utility District began rolling out this month. Tony Bizjak and Sharon Okada in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/16/18
Homeless
After outcry from Sacramento homeless advocates, benches to return to K Street -- The benches were removed quietly, sparking an outcry from homeless advocates who said the move was designed to discourage people without shelter from loitering in the area. Disabled people and seniors also complained about the bench removal. Cynthia Hubert in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/16/18
Housing
San Francisco to cover Housing Authority deficit so poor families won’t lose homes -- An audit of the San Francisco Housing Authority has uncovered a deficit that could reach as high as $30 million, a shortfall city officials say they are scrambling to cover by December to protect thousands of low-income families who would face displacement if the funding gap is not filled. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/16/18
Oakland to pay rent for low-income residents at risk of homelessness -- Oakland residents at risk of homelessness could qualify for emergency rent checks and legal representation under a new program announced Monday by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and three Bay Area nonprofits. Gwendolyn Wu in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/16/18
Transit
Fremont Street reopens in San Francisco, Transbay Transit Center remains closed -- Fremont Street returned to the normal course of business Monday beneath the still-closed Transbay Transit Center, as vehicles progressed through South of Market as might be expected during the morning commute. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/16/18
Scooters are back in San Francisco, and already people are behaving badly -- Rental electric scooters, which were banned from San Francisco in June after complaints, returned to city streets Monday. First-day anecdotes indicate the companies still have work to do when it comes to getting riders to respect the rules and others to respect the transportation mode. Melia Russell in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/16/18
City Analysis: Uber, Lyft Are Biggest Contributors to Slowdown in San Francisco Traffic -- There are lots of reasons traffic congestion has gotten worse in San Francisco since 2010. Among them are a surging economy that has added an estimated 150,000 new jobs in the city and a population increase of 70,000. Dan Brekke KQED -- 10/16/18
Cannabis
Court says San Francisco police have to return a man’s seized marijuana -- Anyone over 21 who possesses an ounce or less of marijuana for personal use in California is entitled to keep it, under a 2016 ballot initiative. But if police seize the marijuana during an arrest, could they be prosecuted under federal law for illegal distribution if they gave it back? Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/16/18
Immigration, Border, Deportation
Who's in ICE custody at Otay Mesa Detention Center? At least one person has been there five years, report says -- At least one person has spent more than five years in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody at the Otay Mesa Detention Center, according to data obtained through a records request by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse of Syracuse University. Kate Morrissey in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/16/18
ACLU, others want four Southern California counties to hold public meetings on sheriff cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- The American Civil Liberties Union and immigration advocacy groups are calling on four Southern California counties to be more transparent about their collaboration with federal immigration officials. Sandra Emerson in the Orange County Register -- 10/16/18
Education
It’s now easier for Cal State Long Beach students who have kids to study on campus -- Rainbow-colored toys are scattered across the study hall tables and shelves of children’s books line the room. Students stare at textbooks and laptops, studying for their midterms at Cal State Long Beach. Emily Rasmussen in the Long Beach Press Telegram$ -- 10/16/18
Also . . .
West Nile Virus took Robert Johnson’s life, but not his legacy -- Daniel Kuperberg was still processing how a seemingly simple mosquito bite could ultimately claim the life of the man he called his best friend, Robert Johnson. “So freaking random, out of nowhere…,” he said, just days after L.A. County health officials confirmed on Oct. 10 that Johnson, 53, of Shadow Hills, became the first person in L.A. County to die this year from West Nile virus. Ryan Carter in the Los Angeles Daily News -- 10/16/18
POTUS 45
How Trump bobs and weaves to avoid the truth -- As he so often does, President Trump falsely declared on “60 Minutes” on Sunday night that North Korea and the United States were going to war before he stepped in to thwart it. Interviewer Lesley Stahl was having none of it. “We were going to war?” Glenn Kessler in the Washington Post -- 10/16/18
Beltway
Democrats Surge Ahead of Republicans in Fund-Raising for Key Races -- Democratic candidates are outpacing the fund-raising of their Republican rivals in key congressional races, but huge checks from conservatives assured that their side will remain financially competitive in the weeks before next month’s midterms. Kenneth P. Vogel and Rachel Shorey in the New York Times -- 10/16/18
-- Monday Updates
Woman killed as Santa Ana winds topple trees, cause power outages across the state -- A woman was killed Monday when strong Santa Ana winds caused part of a large eucalyptus tree to break off and fall onto her car at an apartment complex in Tustin. The death is the first reported casualty in Southern California caused by the powerful winds that whipped into the region Monday morning. Hannah Fry and Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/15/18
PG&E power shutdown: No coffee, no gas. But Calistoga takes shutdown in stride -- Zak Hoage would normally be at work by now at a diner in downtown Calistoga, but “normally” wasn’t a word you could use around town Monday. There was no power downtown. None at all. Zilch. Lizzie Johnson and Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/15/18
John Cox wants teachers ‘paid like rock stars and baseball players.’ Why they back his opponent -- Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox has offered up variations of the line throughout his campaign — during interviews, on a debate stage, in a tweet. He said it reflects his appreciation for the “heart, soul and love” his mother poured into teaching in the Chicago public school system. But it often comes with an addendum — “based on merit” — that, if Cox is elected, puts him on a collision course with the teachers unions that dominate education policymaking in Sacramento. Alexei Koseff in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/15/18
60,000 without power as PG&E shuts down lines over wildfire fears -- Tens of thousands of people in 12 counties braced for power failures in the Bay Area and Sierra foothills Sunday night after Pacific Gas and Electric Co. preemptively shut down electricity in anticipation of gusty winds, bone-dry weather and dangerous fire conditions across Northern California. Joaquin Palomino and Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/15/18
One year after California's most devastating wildfire, Santa Rosa is a patchwork of loss and renewal -- It was just one year ago when Tricia Woods lost her home in a single, impossible instant. Laura Newberry in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/15/18
California’s family doctors say Trump’s proposed immigration rule threatens public health -- California’s family physicians are warning federal officials that a proposed change in immigration rules will put public health at risk because it weakens “herd” immunity, especially in the Golden State where one in every two children has a foreign-born parent. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/15/18
When will the flu hit the Bay Area hard? -- The misery of full-on flu season is almost here. Though the avalanche of sniffles and fever hasn’t hit yet, health officials say it’s on its way. Karen D'Souza in the San Jose Mercury -- 10/15/18
L.A. voters will decide whether to eliminate a barrier to a public bank -- Los Angeles voters will decide next month whether to nudge along the budding movement to create a public bank owned by the city. The choice is a seemingly modest one: whether to alter the City Charter to allow L.A. to create a “purely commercial” enterprise. Emily Alpert Reyes and James Rufus Koren in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/15/18
Robocall relief: New $100 million system may help frustrated consumers -- Finally, the big phone companies plan to do something major for us little people, rolling out a $100 million system that could eventually reduce the flood of unwanted robocalls to a trickle. Tracey Kaplan in the San Jose Mercury -- 10/15/18