California Policy & Politics This Morning
PG&E-friendly wildfire bill being prepared by state lawmakers in wake of lethal Butte County inferno -- Even before the cause of the deadly Camp Fire is determined, California lawmakers are drafting legislation to shield PG&E from massive liabilities connected to the blaze. George Avalos in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/21/18
Floods ‘on steroids’ could bring new dangers to wildfire areas. Are Malibu, Paradise at risk? -- First came fire. Now the floods? With late-season wildfires increasingly common in California, the twinning of the two catastrophes is becoming an alarmingly regular fear. Officials in both Northern and Southern California are planning this week for the possibility of a second set of disasters while still battling the flames of the first. Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/21/18
Trump promised California $500 million extra for fire prevention. It was an error -- After touring the devastation of the Camp Fire in Paradise, Calif. on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that the federal government would provide an additional $500 million in funding to the 2018 farm bill for forest management to help mitigate future fires. Back in Washington, however, no one seems to know what he’s talking about. Emily Cadei in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/21/18
Lopez: In a season of suffering and loss, small gestures of goodwill at Agoura Hills donation center on eve of Thanksgiving -- Carol Erickson needed a pair of shoes, so she dropped by the emergency donation center in Agoura Hills. All she had when she left her home in the Santa Monica Mountains were four pairs of pants, four shirts and the sandals on her feet. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
Walters: The ‘Trump effect” worked well for Democrats -- Blowout. The full dimensions of this month’s Democratic sweep emerged last weekend when the last of the major races were settled, all in favor of the party that already dominated California politics. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 11/21/18
Record number of women candidates win in California’s 2018 election -- On election night, Susannah Delano, executive director of Close the Gap CA, a group focused on increasing the share of women in the state legislature, made a prediction: “2018 will be the biggest single leap for women in state history.” Now the numbers are in. Ben Christopher Calmatters -- 11/21/18
Alex Villanueva inches closer to an upset in race for L.A. County sheriff -- Alex Villanueva, the retired cop who’s commanded a startling lead in the election for Los Angeles County sheriff, edged closer to triumph Tuesday, stretching his margin to nearly 87,000 votes ahead of incumbent Jim McDonnell. Maya Lau in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
Bail bond industry moves to block sweeping California law, submitting signatures for a 2020 ballot referendum -- If the signatures are verified by elections officials, the law signed by Gov. Jerry Brown in August would be suspended until voters decide whether to overturn it, allowing bail agents to continue doing business before the industry’s future in California is decided. Jazmine Ulloa in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
Bullet-train land acquisitions are moving so slowly a judge hearing the cases calls it a ‘lifetime job’ -- Once a month, Judge Edward M. Ross packs his car and drives 200 miles to preside over the biggest government taking of private land for one project in recent California history. Ralph Vartabedian in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
Gavin Newsom has 3,100 jobs to fill. Find out how to get one -- You don’t necessarily have to be a political hack to land one of the 3,100 state jobs that Gov.-elect Gavin Newsom will get to fill when he takes office. You might have to give up your personal life to do it, though. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/21/18
California Supreme Court recommends Gov. Jerry Brown pardon former state Sen. Roderick Wright -- The California Supreme Court on Tuesday paved the way for Gov. Jerry Brown to consider a pardon for former state Sen. Roderick Wright, who resigned after he was convicted in 2014 on felony charges of lying about living in his district. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/21/18
Capitol Weekly Podcast: Dennis Mangers -- Dennis Mangers, a former lawmaker who represented Orange County’s 73rd Assembly District for two terms, was elected in 1976 — swept to power in a Democratic wave that followed the Watergate scandals. Link here -- 11/21/18
Fox: LA County Keeps Rent Control Debate Alive -- Proposition 10 on the statewide ballot that would have allowed local governments the power to establish broader rent control laws was defeated decisively with 60% of the voters saying no. With such an overwhelming defeat, that means the issue is buried, right? Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 11/21/18
Wildfire
Paradise narrowed its main road by two lanes despite warnings of gridlock during a major wildfire -- After a fast-moving fire swept into town a decade ago, burning more than 200 homes and trapping thousands of fleeing residents on gridlocked mountain roads, a grand jury called on officials to improve evacuation routes. Paige St. John, Rong-Gong Lin II and Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
Number of people missing in Camp fire jumps to 870 -- The number of people unaccounted for in the destructive Camp fire rose to 870 on Tuesday after investigators were able to work through a backlog of voicemails, authorities said. The surge comes as the death toll increased to 81, with two bodies recovered inside structures in the Butte County town of Paradise. Of the 81, authorities said they had tentatively identified 56 people. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times Vincent Moleski in the Sacramento Bee Jason Green in the San Jose Mercury -- 11/21/18
“I don’t want to see any more of them die”: No legislator has confronted the effects of wildfire like this forensic dentist -- The sun was beginning to set as Jim Wood stepped out of the examination room at the Sacramento morgue and padded into the lobby, white surgical booties covering his shoes. He’d keep working there late into the night but was taking a short break from the solemn task of identifying bits of human remains gathered from the rubble of the horrific Camp Fire. Laurel Rosenhall Calmatters -- 11/21/18
California's tab to fight Camp and Woolsey fires tops $118 million -- California’s costs to fight two deadly wildfires that ignited less than two weeks ago have already topped $118 million — a sizable financial hit to a program that needed an unexpected cash infusion just two months ago. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
These ashes have a story to tell: Building assessment teams examine the devastation of the Camp fire -- The survivors of the Camp fire aren’t the only ones with a story to tell about the fire that destroyed Paradise. Buried among the charred ponderosa pines and scorched rubble are clues to what transpired when a small fire broke out nearby on the morning of Nov. 8 and swallowed the California town of nearly 27,000 residents in a matter of hours. Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
In Paradise, the grim search for bodies after California fire: 'We’re finding remains in various states' -- The search-and-rescue team took a break as it waited for an excavator to moved debris from a pair of charcoal gray vehicles sitting next to a burned home in Butte Creek Canyon in Chico. Nearby, a line of fire trucks and sheriff’s vehicles drove past the group, their occupants waving. The sun was starting to dip. Monday was coming to an end. Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
Heavy rains could wash away human remains in Paradise, searchers fear -- Four members of the Oakland Fire Department’s Urban Search and Rescue Task Force removed a charred mattress spring and began combing through a mixture of ash, dirt, shredded wood and pieces of roofing tiles. Using their gloves to move around the blackened dirt, they looked for human remains. Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
Emergency officials fret over potential evacuations as rain threatens Woolsey fire communities with mudflows -- Dozens of victims of the Woolsey fire trickled in to the Conrad H. Hilton Foundation building in Agoura Hills throughout the day Tuesday, many of them seeking help rebuilding lives that have been shattered by the destructive blaze that burned through Los Angeles and Ventura counties over the last two weeks. Joshua Cain in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/21/18
Anxiety and nightmares grip evacuees in Paradise fire zone -- Inside the cafeteria of Bidwell Junior High School, 63-year-old Deborah Laughlin sipped on coffee and scooped up some apple pie. A lot was on her mind. Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
‘Wallywood’ camp grows in Walmart lot in Chico. Walmart asks them to go -- Wallywood is taking on a life of its own, but not if Walmart can stop it. Tuesday evening, hundreds of fire survivors began to bed down for another cold night in the parking lot of the Walmart in Chico, where a community of Camp Fire evacuees has set up an unofficial and unorganized shanty town. Molly Sullivan and Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/21/18
Plenty of Shelters But No New Temporary Housing As Butte County Braces for Rain -- Although nine temporary emergency shelters have been set up for Butte County residents, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said there are still no trailers or other temporary housing units on the way, as the region prepares for its first major rainfall since the deadly Camp Fire forced thousands to flee their homes. Jeremy Siegel, Polly Stryker KQED -- 11/21/18
Inside Pulga, Artist Refuge at the Center of the Camp Fire -- Six inches of ash settled on the ground beneath smoke so thick, it cloaked the stars. That’s what remained of Betsy Ann Cowley’s two-story house when she returned to Pulga last Monday, four days after the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in California history started less than a mile from her doorstep in rural Butte County. Sam Lefebvre KQED -- 11/21/18
Where to go? Camp Fire evacuees look to life after shelters -- Cindy Boyd and her family of three, evacuees from the deadly Camp Fire, are cramming into a one-bedroom apartment shared with three others in Rohnert Park. Morgan Randall, along with his wife and three-month-old baby, are sharing a room in a stranger’s home in Chico that they found through friends of friends. With Randall’s family, there are eight staying in the home. Erin Baldassari and Annie Sciacca in the San Jose Mercury -- 11/21/18
Their houses were spared by Camp Fire, but ‘lucky’ ones debate whether to stay -- She moved into this home with her sister and her sister’s husband in July because of how gorgeous and quiet the neighborhood was, surrounded by trees and hills. Her house remained a relic of the neighborhood’s past — its Halloween decorations still hanging and lemon tree untouched. But now any semblance of serenity outside her property is gone, replaced by an apocalyptic scene of charred hills, leveled homes and the banging of cleanup crews. How can you call that home? Trisha Thadani and Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/21/18
Federal government needs more authority to properly manage nation's forests, Trump Cabinet members say -- Federal agencies need more authority to choose how and where to cut down trees, remove dying vegetation and where to ignite prescribed burns if communities in the wildland-urban interface want to avoid another catastrophic disaster like the Camp fire, two of President Trump’s Cabinet secretaries said Tuesday. Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
Hiltzik: Trump's and Zinke's wildfire remarks set records for environmental misrepresentations -- California officials may have thought they could teach something about wildfires to President Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke by walking them through the fire zones. It didn’t take long for their hopes to be dashed. Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions
A ‘job killer’ family leave bill is now law for small business. Here’s how it’s working out -- When Ghuan Featherstone was poring over options for a paternity leave before the recent birth of his fourth daughter, he liked what he heard from a human resources representative at the Inglewood general contracting company where he works. Martha Groves Calmatters -- 11/21/18
NASA orders safety review of SpaceX and Boeing, reportedly due to Elon Musk marijuana video -- SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk’s infamous pot toke on a comedian’s webcast reportedly was no joke to NASA, which will launch a safety review next year of SpaceX and Boeing Co.’s efforts to build capsules to take NASA astronauts to the International Space Station. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
Indian Entrepreneurs With No Green Cards Pursue Silicon Valley Dreams Elsewhere -- Immigrants start and/or lead many of the biggest companies in Silicon Valley: Google, Oracle, Microsoft, etc. But with immigration reform in Congress stuck in neutral, a growing number of would-be entrepreneurs are choosing to pursue their Silicon Valley dreams someplace else. Rachael Myrow KQED -- 11/21/
Transit
Valley’s Amtrak grappling with ridership declines, despite earlier times -- Amtrak’s San Joaquin trains that roll daily through Fresno en route to Bakersfield, Oakland and Sacramento marked their eighth consecutive year carrying at least 1 million passengers, and maintained their status as the sixth busiest passenger rail route in the nation. Tim Sheehan in the Fresno Bee -- 11/21/18
Cannabis
Milpitas City Council supports permanent cannabis ban -- The Milpitas City Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to move toward permanently banning all cannabis businesses in the city, after a discussion in which many people expressed opposition to the businesses, and one woman was arrested. Joseph Geha in the San Jose Mercury -- 11/21/18
Immigration, Border, Deportation
DHS secretary sets 'record straight' on migrant caravan during San Diego visit -- Standing on a beach near the concertina wire-topped fence that divides the U.S. and Mexico, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristjen Nielsen on Tuesday fought back against assertions that Central American migrants bound for the United States as part of a caravan were docile women and children fleeing violence. David Hernandez and Kristina Davis in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/21/18
Education
Butte County Schools Planning Next Steps For Kids Displaced By The Camp Fire -- There are plans in place to get kids displaced by the Camp Fire back in the classroom soon, but where and how are to be determined. Superintendent Tim Taylor says there as many as 5,700 school children in Paradise, Concow, and Magalia who have been affected by the fires. Bob Moffitt Capital Public Radio -- 11/21/18
Foster youth and black students are the most likely to be suspended in school, new data show -- Black students are more than twice as likely to be suspended as students overall in San Diego County, while foster youth are almost five times as likely to be suspended, according to a new batch of suspension data released by the state on Monday. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/21/18
Paradise educators find resilience amid fire's destruction -- They can’t dwell on what the fire has taken from them, or the losses still to come. So they focus on Dec. 3. That’s the day people responsible for the Paradise Unified School District want school to be back in session. David Washburn and Diana Lambert EdSource -- 11/21/18
Guns
Hundreds gather to honor Noel Sparks, killed in Thousand Oaks mass shooting -- When Noel Sparks was born, in the summer of 1997, her parents decided to name her after her father’s sister. Sparks’ aunt, Colette Noel Sparks, had died at age 16 in a house fire in Westlake Village. So in her memory, they called the baby Noel Colette Sparks. Soumya Karlamangla in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
Also . . .
Actress says Michael Avenatti had been violent toward her before, court documents show -- The 24-year-old actress who accused Michael Avenatti of domestic violence last week claims he had been abusive to her before, according to court records made public Tuesday. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
DA’s ruling: The deadly shooting on Highway 50 was lawful -- The Sacramento County District Attorney ruled Tuesday that deputies were justified in the fatal shooting of an emotionally disturbed African American man on the shoulder of Highway 50 in Rancho Cordova more than a year ago. Marcos Breton in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/21/18
Flower vendor sues Riverside County Sheriff's Department over alleged unlawful arrest due to her race -- Joaquina Valencia’s attorneys said sheriff’s deputies targeted the woman because of her race and used excessive force when they arrested her. The lawsuit — which names two deputies, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and Riverside County — alleges that Valencia posed no threat and was unarmed before deputies forced her to the ground. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/21/18
POTUS 45
Trump Wanted to Order Justice Dept. to Prosecute Comey and Clinton -- President Trump told the White House counsel in the spring that he wanted to order the Justice Department to prosecute two of his political adversaries: his 2016 challenger, Hillary Clinton, and the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey, according to two people familiar with the conversation. Michael S. Schmidt and Maggie Haberman in the New York Times -- 11/21/18
Trump says he can’t imagine anyone but himself as Time Person of the Year -- President Trump was asked by a reporter Tuesday about Time magazine’s Person of the Year issue, which comes out every December. And he had one answer for who should be Person of the Year: “Trump.” Eli Rosenberg in the Washington Post -- 11/21/18
Beltway
Conservative nonprofit with obscure roots and undisclosed funders paid Matthew Whitaker $1.2 million -- In the three years after he arrived in Washington in 2014, Matthew G. Whitaker received more than $1.2 million as the leader of a charity that reported having no other employees, some of the best pay of his career. Robert O'Harrow Jr., Shawn Boburg and Aaron C. Davis in the Washington Post -- 11/21/18
Democrats Plan to Investigate Ivanka Trump’s Use of Private Email Account -- President Trump, who campaigned in 2016 by aggressively criticizing Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, dismissed as “fake news” on Tuesday questions about a similar practice by his daughter Ivanka Trump during her early days working in the White House. Maggie Haberman and Nicholas Fandos in the New York Times -- 11/21/18
-- Tuesday Updates
Fixing state’s fire problem: Costly, complex, next to impossible -- Residents of this foothill town have long known that their community was a tinderbox waiting to blow. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/20/18
Disaster after disaster, California keeps falling short on evacuating people from harm’s way -- Leigh Bailey, 54, was awakened not by her phone, warning her about an incoming fire that would soon destroy her town, but by a neighbor pounding on her door. Joseph Serna, Paige St. John and Rong-Gong Lin in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/20/18
Thousands of homes incinerated but trees still standing: Paradise fire’s monstrous path -- Located in the Sierra foothills at an elevation that favored Ponderosa pines, Paradise might have seemed susceptible to the ravages of a forest fire. But what Pangburn realized is that the Camp fire had changed its character upon entering the town — and in that revelation lay the hope for preventing tragedies such as this from happening again. Thomas Curwen and Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/20/18
‘The height of character’: Volunteers set aside sorrow and exhaustion to search for Camp Fire victims -- They are retired SMUD engineers and school principals. One is a full-time mom, another a professional farrier. Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/20/18
Fact Check: Trump administration blames ‘radical’ environmentalists as Camp Fire toll rises. Experts disagree -- The Trump administration Tuesday resumed its attack on environmental groups it blames for California’s deadly wildfires — even as policy experts called the criticisms misguided. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/20/18
Rainy season brings mudslide danger to Southern California’s fire-ravaged neighborhoods -- It didn’t take long for Don Fauntleroy’s relief to be overtaken by dread. After surviving the flames, his home is in danger again, this time from the rains. Like others across the 100,000-acre Woolsey fire burn area, the 65-year-old cinematographer has been rushing to fortify his Malibu property against what could come rushing down from the steep, charred hillside above. Tony Barboza in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/20/18
Death toll rises as rain brings new dangers to California’s burn zones -- Melissa Duncan and her husband went to Walmart to buy a large blue tarp and placed plastic under their new home, a donated tent pitched in the parking lot of the Glenn County Fairgrounds in Orland, in preparation for Wednesday’s storm. “People are almost at their breaking point,” Duncan, 36, said about others staying at the fairgrounds. “Some days are harder than others. We’ll come out better for it, if only humbled.” Corina Knoll, Ruben Vives and Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/20/18
When you’re in your 70s and just survived California’s deadliest wildfire, how do you start over? -- Some losses cannot be tallied on an insurance claim form. Maria L. La Ganga in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/20/18
Stunned residents start returning to Paradise in fire’s terrible aftermath -- A handful of residents returned to their homes in the burn zone Monday, among the first allowed back since the Camp Fire tore through town Nov. 8, some walking up to unscathed houses while friends and neighbors stood in disbelief in front of piles of ash and twisted metal. Trisha Thadani, Evan Sernoffsky and Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/20/18
Utilities cause hundreds of fires every year. Here’s where they were and how many -- As the Camp Fire burns in Butte County, public attention is transfixed on the risk many Californians face when it comes to wildfires. Thousands of people who live in the so-called wildland-urban interface — the border between rural areas and cities — have been affected in recent years as the same scenario plays out with stunning familiarity. Michael Finch II in the Sacramento Bee -- 11/20/18
Huizar returns to City Council but stays mum on the FBI probe -- Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar showed up for his first council meeting since FBI agents raided his home and office, but declined to discuss the federal investigation that broke into the open two weeks ago. David Zahniser and Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/20/18
Solana Beach dives deeper into single-use plastics ban -- Solana Beach, one of the first cities in the state to ban single-use plastic bags and polystyrene food containers, has some new targets. Disposable plastic straws, stirrers, spoons, forks and knives would be prohibited at restaurants, coffee shops and other vendors, under a proposal discussed Tuesday by the Solana Beach City Council. Phil Diehl in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/20/18
Election fraud scheme on L.A.'s skid row got homeless to sign fake names for cigarettes, cash, D.A. says -- Nine people face felony charges in connection with a fraud scheme in which they offered cash or cigarettes to homeless people on skid row in downtown Los Angeles in exchange for hundreds of fake or forged signatures on ballot petitions and voter registration forms, prosecutors said. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/20/18
Trump administration’s own analyses indicate many of its new regulations will hurt vulnerable Americans -- President Trump’s push to roll back federal regulations will take a significant toll on Americans’ health and finances, according to a surprising source — the Trump administration itself. Noam N. Levey and Evan Halper in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/20/18
Just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, ‘Little Dog,’ ‘Weasel’ and other militia members keep an eye out for migrants -- Robert Crooks is up before sunrise on a hill he calls “Patriot Point,” walkie-talkie in hand and loaded semiautomatic handgun holstered on his right hip. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times -- 11/20/18
Bay Area Democrats look to be major players in next year’s House -- Even as the final votes are being tallied in the midterm elections, it’s clear that Democrats’ majority in next year’s House will be a boon for the Bay Area’s congressional delegation. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/20/18
Fox: The CA GOP’s Alamo -- What’s left of the California Republican Party could be making a last stand in 2020 to uphold a core foundation held by the state’s GOP for half-a-century and more: checking the rise of taxes. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 11/20/18
Longtime San Francisco drinking spot Lefty’s finds new home, hopes for hit with changed atmosphere -- Two years after getting booted from its historic Union Square home, the baseball-themed hofbrau Lefty O’Doul’s will celebrate its reopening Tuesday in a new home across from Pier 39 at Fisherman’s Wharf. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/20/18
Facebook, Instagram users are freaking out as sites go down -- Facebook has another bit of egg on its face: The global social-networking powerhouse has powered down for some users in the United States, Europe and South American. The problem was first reported by the third-party site Down Detector on its outage map, and Facebook has acknowledged the problem and said it was working to restore both its services. Patrick May in the San Jose Mercury -- 11/20/18