Updating . .
Former SFPUC president subject of financial conflict investigation involving $1.25 million -- The former president of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission improperly voted to award two contracts worth a combined $1.25 million that benefited labor organizations with which he was affiliated, a city investigation has found. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/31/19
The bizarre story of the L.A. dad who exposed the college admissions scandal -- Morrie Tobin is a millionaire financier who turned social justice advocate. When he learned the feds were investigating him for stock fraud, he clued them in on an even bigger scam. Joel Rubin, Matthew Ormseth, Suhauna Hussain and Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/19
A Judge Wants to Control PG&E’s Dividends Until It Reduces Risk of Fires -- A federal judge is threatening to prevent PG&E Corp. from resuming dividend payments to shareholders until it reduces its role in sparking California wildfires, an action with little precedent that could have big repercussions for other companies put on probation. Katherine Blunt in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/31/19
Gavin Newsom promised to empty California’s private prisons. Can he do it? -- A movement to abolish prisons run by private companies has grown over the past decade from a fringe position to a rallying cry for liberal presidential candidates — and now, California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/31/19
California has one year before a crucial census count. Money and clout are at stake -- One statistic explains why so many California civic and nonprofit advocacy groups are worried about next year’s U.S. census: 72% of the state’s population belongs to one of the groups historically undercounted during the once-a-decade process. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/19
‘Selfie epidemic’: How Israeli teenager fell to his death in Yosemite -- They warned him not to do it. But Tomer Frankfurter was just two months past his 18th birthday, an outgoing math student from Jerusalem who set off to tour America before starting his compulsory service with the Israeli army and had a taste for adventure. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/31/19
With drivers fuming over low pay, Mayor Garcetti takes heat for celebrating with Lyft -- If Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti had hoped to share in the excitement over San Francisco-based Lyft becoming one of the first gig economy companies to begin trading on public stock markets, he may be disappointed. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/19
San Francisco police search for MAGA hat-wearing man accused in sword slashing -- San Francisco police searched Sunday for the assailant who slashed a man with a sword while wearing a “Make America Great Again” hat. The attack happened Friday night outside the Church of 8 Wheels, a popular roller skating rink in San Francisco’s Western Addition. The victim was struck on the hand with the sword and transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Kimberly Veklerov and Gwendolyn Wu in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/31/19
In gentrifying Echo Park, the VA is forcing these homeless veterans to leave -- For six years, dozens of homeless veterans have recovered from trauma in nine cottages along a winding residential road in Echo Park. The Billets — military jargon for civilian quarters — has been a model. Gale Holland in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/19
Bay Area tech salaries outpaced by rent hikes in some cities -- Rents in the San Jose metro area during the past three years grew by almost 7 percent, while the average tech salary dropped nearly 1 percent. Tech employees fared better in San Francisco and the East Bay, where the average wage increased 14 percent and rents grew by nearly 6 percent. Louis Hansen in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/31/19
Tech IPOs Could Be Boon for California Budget -- Already flush with revenue from its healthy economy and growing number of high earners, California is expecting a tax windfall from a slate of initial public offerings that began Friday with Lyft Inc. Alejandro Lazo in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/31/19
Housing crisis pushing quintuplet family out of Bay Area -- The Kempel family is facing a new challenge. But unlike the Herculean task of bringing healthy quintuplets into the world, Chad and Amy Kempel are now grappling with a much more common but still formidable foe: the Bay Area’s eye-popping housing market. Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/31/19
Biden defends behavior with women, says he never believed he acted inappropriately -- Former Vice President Joe Biden, his yet-to-be-declared presidential candidacy shaken by an allegation he kissed and touched a woman without her consent at a 2014 political event, said Sunday that “never” did he think he had acted inappropriately toward her or other women. Laura King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/19
Sen. Harris not shy about meeting with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee -- Support for Israel has become a hot issue among some left-leaning Democrats, who believe the current Israeli government, led by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is too far to the right and has little interest in making peace with neighboring Palestinians. Phil Matier in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/31/19
Wife of fan beaten at Dodger Stadium describes hearing the attack and pleads for public’s help -- A man was seriously hurt at Dodger Stadium after being beaten in a parking lot fight early Saturday morning after a marathon game. The incident has stunned Dodger fans. And his wife is pleading with the public for help in capturing the attackers. The item is in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/19
California Policy & Politics This Morning
Trump steps in on behalf of Navy SEAL charged with war crimes -- A San Diego-based Navy SEAL charged with killing an injured ISIS fighter in Iraq was released from a military brig and restricted to the base Saturday night, the SEAL’s attorney said, the same day President Donald Trump moved to intervene in his case. Andrew Dyer in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/19
California hiked its gas tax for road repairs, yet ‘poor’ bridges have multiplied, data show -- When large chunks of concrete fell from the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge in February, temporarily closing the major traffic artery across San Francisco Bay, motorists were reminded of longstanding concerns over California’s aging road system that drove the state to raise the gas tax in 2017 to pay for repairs. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/19
The $69-million Coliseum naming-rights deal between USC and United is in limbo -- The sound of cymbals beat through the United terminal at Los Angeles International Airport until the Trojans marching band stopped at Gate 73. There, between a steakhouse and Hudson News, the band waited for the conductor’s whistle. Nearby, three cheerleaders fluttered cardinal red and gold pompoms as puzzled passengers recorded the spectacle on their phones. Marisa Gerber in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/19
A Texan’s Big Bet on a Fossil-Fuel Future for California -- Andrew Beal, a poker-playing billionaire and major Trump backer, could upend California’s carbon-free power goals with a case before federal regulators. Ivan Penn and Thomas Kaplan in the New York Times$ -- 3/31/19
Walters: Three months in, Newsom has only tepid approval -- Gavin Newsom coasted into the governorship last year, defeating his Republican rival by more than a 3-2 margin. It seems a little odd, therefore, that three months into his governorship, he enjoys only tepid popular support. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 3/31/19
Sacramento’s ‘community of victims’ fight law shortening sentences for young killers -- They are a community now, sharing a bond known only by those whose lives have been ravaged by violent crime. Nicole Clavo lost a young son, killed by a gunshot three years ago as he sat at a north Sacramento intersection in a car full of his high school football teammates. The alleged gunman was 15. Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/31/19
How much nuclear power the U.S. generates might surprise you -- The most serious accident in a U.S. power plant occurred 40 years ago, and even though the small radioactive releases had no detectable health effects, the emergency helped heighten awareness and oversight. Kurt Snibbe in the Orange County Register -- 3/31/19
Education
Private colleges wary as California legislator calls for crackdown on legacy admits -- The nationwide scandal involving bribery in college admissions has also illuminated all the legal ways wealthy families can game the system. Now the debate over how to respond has hit the California Legislature, and struck a nerve not just with the state’s public higher education system but also with private colleges. Felicia Mello Calmatters -- 3/31/19
Also . . .
Sword-wielder in ‘MAGA’ hat slashes man outside San Francisco roller rink, police say -- A sword-wielding assailant wearing a red “Make America Great Again” hat slashed a man in the hand during an altercation outside a popular roller-skating rink in San Francisco’s Western Addition on Friday, officials said. Police are searching for the attacker, who fled the scene outside the Church of 8 Wheels on Fillmore and Fell streets, leaving his victim bleeding profusely on the sidewalk outside the crowded skating spot. Gwendolyn Wu and Evan Sernoffsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/31/19
Defendant accused of killing man who lived in Riverside parking lot must stand trial on murder charge -- A man accused of intentionally running over and killing a 60-year-old man who lived in a parking lot in Riverside must stand trial on a first-degree murder charge, a judge ruled Friday, March 29. The item is in the Riverside Press Enterprise$ -- 3/31/19
‘No work, no nothing’: Mourning continues, search resumes 4 days after tow truck crash -- Though the news seems all but certain to be tragic, family members and friends hoping for closure gathered Saturday morning on both sides of the Pioneer Bridge along the Sacramento River, where a tow truck plunged into the water after a collision with a big rig Tuesday night. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/31/19
Given up at birth, Huntington Beach man meets mom 33 years later -- Laurie DeVicariis had good reason to check her DNA. As the mother of two 16-year-old adoptees from Russia, the 60-year-old Murrieta resident wanted to see if any unexpected medical conditions would pop up in her family history that would disrupt her parenting duties. Steve Drumwright in the Orange County Register -- 3/31/19
POTUS 45
AP Fact Check: Trump’s Relentless Drive to Be Given Credit -- President Donald Trump’s relentless drive to be given credit for all manner of things suffused his speech to Michigan supporters this past week. These efforts are largely familiar by now: He counts job gains from the Obama era as his own, rebrands his predecessor’s veterans health care initiative as a Trump achievement, attributes auto factory expansion long in the making to his leadership, and hails a Republican rescue of health care that has not materialized. Calvin Woodward and Hope Yen Associated Press -- 3/31/19
For Trump’s ‘Party of Healthcare,’ there is no health-care plan -- Republicans have no intention of heeding President Trump’s urgent demands for a new health-care plan to replace the Affordable Care Act, fearing the potential political damage that such a proposal could cause in 2020 and hoping he will soon drop the idea, according to interviews with numerous GOP lawmakers, legislative staffers and administration aides. Seung Min Kim and Josh Dawsey in the Washington Post$ -- 3/31/19
Beltway
Joe Biden’s history of unwanted touching threatens to alienate women if he runs for president -- An allegation that Joe Biden inappropriately touched a Nevada state lawmaker is renewing questions about his appeal to women if he seeks the Democratic presidential nomination. Michael Finnegan and Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/19
Beto O’Rourke formally launches 2020 campaign, but where does the hoopla go from here? -- Former Rep. Beto O’Rourke entered the 2020 presidential race two weeks ago with more media attention and hoopla than any of the 14 other Democratic candidates. Janet Hook in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/31/19
-- Saturday Updates
12 hours after wild police pursuit and standoff, northbound I-5 reopens in Burbank -- All northbound lanes of the 5 Freeway in Burbank were reopened Saturday more than 12 hours after a motorist led police on a wild pursuit that ended with a standoff and the arrest of the driver. Esmeralda Bermudez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/30/19
Judge authorizes release of SFPD misconduct records -- San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman’s decision came just weeks after the San Francisco Police Officer’s Association sought to block the department from releasing misconduct records, claiming the passage of SB 1421 applied only to records before the transparency law took effect on January 1. Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/30/19
For first time, L.A. schools have free SAT day for all juniors -- The Los Angeles school district has focused in recent years on boosting high-school graduation rates and sending more students to college. This month, it has taken a big step by having all juniors take the Scholastic Aptitude Test on a school day, for free. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/30/19
Major California labor official accused of ‘gross misconduct’ in nepotism probe -- The former head of the California Department of Industrial Relations in Oakland, which enforces state laws that protect workers, engaged in “gross misconduct” over nearly seven years by “consistently orchestrating personnel decisions that favored her daughter,” according to a report issued by the California State Auditor. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/30/19
New Siblings, Old Secrets -- At-home genetic testing turned four strangers into half siblings. But finding their link to each other — a donor at a Bay Area fertility clinic — upended what they’d known about their families. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/30/19
Dueling campaigns raise money to support, oppose SF’s Embarcadero Navigation Center -- A online fundraiser pooling money to support Mayor London Breed’s proposal to bring a 200-bed Navigation Center to the Embarcadero brought in over $82,000 in just over 24 hours. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/30/19
Credit union liquidated as manager charged with embezzlement -- A credit union that serves employees of the CBS television network has been liquidated as one of its long-time managers faces charges of embezzling $40 million from the institution over a 20-year period, authorities announced Friday. Amanda Lee Myers Associated Press -- 3/30/19
Willie Brown: Nancy Pelosi for president. No, really -- We now have close to 20 candidates and potential candidates crisscrossing the country in pursuit of the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, while the one person with the best chance of winning is right in front of us: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Let’s check the list. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/30/19
A home run? Not quite. Lots of hurdles before the A’s new ballpark rises at Howard Terminal -- There is no Coliseum BART train, no walkway over Damon Slough, no parking or tailgating in A Lot or B Lot. The new path to catch Oakland A’s games is a short walk along a place called “Athletics’ Way” to Howard Terminal. But how long will it really take before fans can make their way into the team’s new waterfront home? David DeBolt in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/30/19
Will Pete Buttigieg resonate with Californians? The ‘millennial mayor’ insists he’s qualified -- Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg is a young mayor making his way onto the national stage. The self-described “millennial midwestern mayor” is 37, openly gay and a military veteran. He insists the nation’s top priority must be restoring the country’s democratic foundations. Bryan Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/30/19