Updating . .
Private-equity money backs an effort to overturn California law intended to help the poor -- A company backed by private equity is financing a campaign to repeal California’s landmark criminal justice reform intended to help the poor. The new law would abolish the state’s bail-bond companies, and in response, a handful in the industry have raised more than $2.5 millfion to repeal the measure. Peter Whoriskey in the Washington Post -- 10/29/18
Inglewood election pits mayor against clergyman — and NBA franchise against entertainment firm -- Inglewood city elections were once the stuff of lawn signs and candidate forums. But as a wave of development transforms Inglewood into a destination for pro sports and entertainment, November’s mayoral race has become a contentious fight not just between political rivals but also between some bold-face names with sway far outside the city limits. Angel Jennings in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/29/18
Fox: A Major Reason to Protect the Initiative Process -- At the Valley Industry and Commerce Association (VICA) annual conference last Friday a member of the audience, after listening to a discussion of the initiatives on the ballot and the initiative process in general, asked the panel why we even have the initiative process. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 10/29/18
Shrugging off blame, Trump reverts to divisive rhetoric after shooting -- President Trump, rather than taking on the traditional task of unifying the nation after a deadly shooting rampage, reverted to his usual rhetoric Monday morning, attacking the media as “the true Enemy of the People” and stirring up fear of immigrants. Eli Stokols and Noah Bierman in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/29/18
Give them a place to park or force them out? City’s RV residents under spotlight -- Officials in San Francisco City Hall are weighing solutions to a new phase of the homeless crisis, illustrated by scruffy RVs that spread from the Mission to the Bayview — some clearly empty, others with laundry bags dangling from their door handles and children’s bicycles affixed to their roofs. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/29/18
This Northern California mountain lion is a serial killer — of horses -- Local ranchers who believe this part of rural Modoc County has too many wild horses for the local ecology must, grudgingly, tip their hats to the mountain lion. They wish more of the area’s cougars had a gift for mowing down horses. It might alleviate the messier issues that come whenever humans have to get involved. Jaclyn Cosgrove in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/29/18
Bernie Sanders backs CA rent-control measure, candidate Jovanka Beckles -- Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders followed his stop in the Bay Area over the weekend with endorsements Monday of a state ballot measure that would lift restrictions on residential rent control and a progressive Assembly candidate running against a fellow Democrat for an open East Bay seat. Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/29/18
Devin Nunes attacks opponent Andrew Janz over student loan debt -- Rep. Devin Nunes is opening up an unusual new line of attack on his well-funded Democratic challenger: his student debt. Casey Tolan in the San Jose Mercury -- 10/29/18
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Businesses pose issue if Newsom becomes California governor -- Before he was a politician, California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom was a businessman, and over the years he became a millionaire through his holdings in wineries, bars, restaurants, hotels and liquor stores. Jonathan J. Cooper Associated Press -- 10/29/18
Alleged member of Southland white supremacist group surrenders to FBI in protest attacks -- A 38-year-old wanted for his alleged role in a Southern California white supremacist group’s assaults at political rallies across the state surrendered to federal authorities Sunday afternoon. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times Christopher Weber Associated Press -- 10/29/18
Survivors of 1999 attack at Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills reflect on mass shooting in Pittsburgh -- Loren Lieb and Donna Finkelstein were on their way to Lancaster on Saturday to campaign against a congressional candidate who opposes strict gun control laws when the two women received a call with news about a mass shooting in a Pittsburgh synagogue. Brittny Mejia and Maya Lau in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/29/18
Interfaith vigil offers comfort, unity after Pittsburgh shootings -- They would have liked to prevent the gunman who shot up a Pittsburgh synagogue from getting guns in the first place, and they would have liked to erase the hateful rhetoric before it inspired him to kill 11 congregants. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/29/18
Tom Steyer accuses senior Republican Kevin McCarthy of antisemitism -- The Democratic donor Tom Steyer on Sunday denounced as antisemitic a now-deleted tweet from Kevin McCarthy, the No2 Republican in the House of Representatives, that said Steyer and two other wealthy donors were trying to buy the November midterm elections. Doina Chiacu and Susan Cornwell Reuters -- 10/29/18
Feud erupts over language of California gas tax measure -- After Los Angeles County residents got an automated phone call reporting a mistake was on their November ballot, county officials issued an alert to voters that there was no such error. Amy Taxin Associated Press -- 10/29/18
Ad blames Denham for Trump’s trade war. That’s a stretch -- An ad by Democratic candidate Josh Harder against incumbent U.S. Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Turlock, tries to directly link him to tariff policies enacted by President Donald Trump that have harmed farmers in the district. Kate Irby in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/29/18
Ad misleads on Democratic candidate’s venture capitalist past -- A Republican campaign committee is running a TV advertisement that implies California House Democratic candidate Josh Harder took part in business decisions as a venture capitalist that raised health care premiums and exposed consumers’ personal information. Kate Irby in the Fresno Bee -- 10/29/18
Rent control could be coming to California. Do old arguments apply? -- San Diego is not exactly a paradise for renters. Nearly six in 10 San Diegans pay one-third or more of their income in rent, making the area the fourth most cost-burdened out of 500 metro areas. Average asking rent here is $1,784 a month, a 25 percent increase from just four years ago. Phillip Molnar in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 10/29/18
Taylor: Oakland’s pot equity program withering on the vine -- Oakland’s long-touted program to help black and brown pot entrepreneurs succeed alongside bigger marijuana businesses is dead. Officially, it’s around still. But it may as well not be. Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/29/18
California immigrants worried about health care under Trump green card plan -- Patients at La Clinica de la Raza have caught wind of a recent Trump administration proposal that could make it harder for legal immigrants to get a green card if federal immigration officials think they’re likely to use Medicaid or other public benefits in the future. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/29/18
San Francisco spends $300,000 to register noncitizen voters — a whopping 49 sign up -- San Francisco’s effort to get noncitizen parents to the ballot box is pretty much a bust the first time out, with only 49 signing up to vote in the Nov. 6 election. Back in July, the city began registering noncitizens — including undocumented immigrants — to vote in school board elections. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 10/29/18
What to watch for in the midterms: California leaders assess what’s at stake -- For months, we have asked the California Influencers, a group of policy and political experts, to identify the most important item on this November’s ballot. Dan Schnur in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/29/18
Walters: Another conflict brewing over work disability costs -- Gavin Newsom loves high-concept, almost edgy, approaches to governance – not unlike a younger Jerry Brown during his first governorship four decades ago. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 10/29/18
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
Millennials rush to these California cities for high pay, plentiful jobs -- What are the best metro areas for millennials to find jobs and higher pay? Turns out, of the top 50 cities in the United States, six of the best for millennials are in California, according to recent studies. Don Sweeney and Abbie Bennett in the Sacramento Bee -- 10/29/18
Before It Turns to ‘Jello,’ Embarcadero Seawall May Get Voter-Approved Upgrade -- In recent decades, San Franciscans have embraced the reborn Embarcadero waterfront as kind of front yard, and at noon on a weekday it crowds with tourists, skateboarders, entrepreneurs and other locals. Molly Peterson KQED -- 10/29/18
No large CalPERS exit fee for charter schools -- An old line about local governments in CalPERS — “You can check in, but you can’t check out” — usually refers to an often prohibitively high termination fee to pay future pension costs. Ed Mendel Calpensions.com -- 10/29/18
Housing
Farm-fresh housing in Silicon Valley: Innovative plan to combine housing, farmland nears vote -- In a first for the Bay Area, developers hoping to break ground on a new housing complex next year are wooing potential residents by offering a quirky but increasingly popular perk. It’s not a golf course, health club or even a pet spa — the big draw will be a farm, and access to all the tomatoes, zucchini and kale you can eat. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury -- 10/29/18
Immigration, Border, Deportation
Wait times for citizenship applications stretch to 2 years -- More than 700,000 immigrants are waiting on applications to become U.S. citizens, a process that once typically took about six months but has stretched to more than two years in some places under the administration of President Donald Trump. Amy Taxin Associated Press -- 10/29/18
Education
Donations reach $50 million in race for California state superintendent of schools -- Heading down the stretch in a record $50 million campaign for state superintendent of public instruction, Marshall Tuck has a more than 2-to-1 money advantage over his opponent, Assemblyman Tony Thurmond, in combined direct contributions and funding by independent groups supporting the candidates. John Fensterwald and Daniel J. Willis EdSource -- 10/29/18
Health
Here’s what happened after California got rid of personal belief exemptions for childhood vaccines -- Health authorities in California have more power to insist that a dog is vaccinated against rabies than to ensure that a child enrolled in public school is vaccinated against measles. Karen Kaplan in the Los Angeles Times -- 10/29/18
POTUS 45
Trump, GOP defiant amid allegations that incendiary rhetoric contributed to climate of violence -- President Trump and his Republican allies remained defiant Sunday amid allegations from critics that Trump’s incendiary attacks on political rivals and racially charged rhetoric on the campaign trail bear some culpability for the climate surrounding a spate of violence in the United States. Robert Costa and Felicia Sonmez in the Washington Post -- 10/29/18
Trump mocks Democratic megadonor Tom Steyer, the target of a pipe bomb, as ‘stumbling lunatic’ -- President Trump on Sunday lashed out at billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer, ridiculing him as a “stumbling lunatic” days after Steyer was targeted by one of more than a dozen pipe bombs sent to prominent critics of the president. Felicia Sonmez and Paul Kane in the Washington Post -- 10/29/18
Beltway
The powerful weapon House Republicans handed Democrats -- A GOP rule change handed unilateral subpoena authority to many House committee chairmen. Democrats cried foul, but now they hope to use it against Trump. Anthony Adragna Politico -- 10/29/18