Updating . . .

A ‘tech bro and a poker bro’ have a plan to legalize California sports betting — if they can convince tribes -- Two entrepreneurs pushing to legalize online sports betting in California have run into a major obstacle: Native American tribes who would be the main beneficiaries but recoil at the prospect of self-interested outsiders trying to set the agenda for sovereign tribal nations. Jeremy B. White Politico -- 11/10/23

Garofoli: Democrats are ‘bed-wetting’ even amid electoral wins. Is the anxiety justified? -- Democrats are notorious bed-wetters — a political colloquialism that roughly translates to irrationally overreacting to stuff that could happen, but hasn’t. And they’re doing it again right now. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

Barabak: Newsom gets no California love for his political ambitions. Maybe he should try elsewhere -- Bill Clinton was a man of large appetite and no small ambition when he served as Arkansas governor, a job he assumed at the age of 32. So it was hardly a surprise when, 14 years later, Clinton launched a bid for president. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/23

Voters sent a clear message on abortion; Republicans don’t want to hear it -- Voters in four states used elections this week to once again send a clear message: They oppose restrictions on abortion rights, and they’re not easily distracted. David Lauter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/23

Nancy Pelosi’s husband to take the stand in attacker’s trial -- The 83-year-old husband of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will have to recount the night he was struck in the head with a hammer by a conspiracy-obsessed attacker in the couple’s home last year. Dustin Gardiner Politico -- 11/10/23

Election offices are sent envelopes with fentanyl or other substances. Authorities are investigating -- The letters were sent to elections offices in the presidential battlegrounds of Georgia and Nevada, as well as California, Oregon and Washington, with some being intercepted before they arrived. Four of the letters contained fentanyl, the FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service reported in a statement to elections officials Thursday. Christina A. Cassidy, Ed Komenda, Gene Johnson Associated Press -- 11/10/23

Neo-Nazis are exploiting the Israel-Hamas conflict to stoke another crisis: a ‘race war’ -- By many measures, it was a feeble showing. Seven or so members from White Lives Matter’s California chapter hid their faces and displayed their antisemitism through signs reading “No More Wars for I$rael” and promoting 2017’s Hitler-deifying fauxumentary “Europa: The Last Battle” from a bridge in Walnut Creek. Raheem Hosseini in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

Oakland’s leaders pressured to support ceasefire in Gaza as warfare continues -- City leaders are feeling pressure from residents to support a call for a ceasefire in Gaza as the death toll among Palestinians rises amid Israel’s continuing retaliation after the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas. Shomik Mukherjee in the East Bay Times$ -- 11/10/23

S.F. supervisor, current and former judges say challenges are a political attack on the judiciary -- As two San Francisco judges face election contests from challengers whose supporters plan to label the judges as soft on crime, a city supervisor and several current and former judges voiced concerns Thursday about the prospect of a political attack on the judiciary. St. John Barned-Smith, Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

Roseville high schools pass new ‘balanced’ parents’ rights policy, skirting gender identity -- While Roseville’s policies make no mention of gender or gender identity, they do require that parents get more information about their students’ on-campus behavior. Jenavieve Hatch in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/10/23

Biden faces expanding list of potential challengers in reelection bid -- The president was already struggling with broad unpopularity and growing Democratic doubts about his standing ahead of 2024. Matt Viser, Michael Scherer in the Washington Post$ -- 11/10/23

Trump says on Univision he could weaponize FBI, DOJ against his enemies -- During a sit-down interview with the Spanish television giant, the former president also defended migrant family separations at the border. Maegan Vazquez in the Washington Post$ -- 11/10/23

Tuesday Was Great for Democrats. It Doesn’t Change the Outlook for 2024 -- A pattern continued with success in low-turnout elections, which favors highly engaged voters. Presidential years tend to be different. Nate Cohn in the New York Times$ -- 11/10/23

APEC

Before World Leaders Arrive, San Francisco Races to Clean Up -- San Francisco had the air this week of teenagers frantically cleaning up after a house party with their parents on the way home. Heather Knight in the New York Times$ -- 11/10/23

Housing

Here’s where San Jose may lose thousands of homes because of ‘builder’s remedy’ -- San Jose stands to lose more than 4,000 new housing units if developers in Northern California’s largest city move ahead with a legal mechanism allowing them to scale back their projects, a Mercury News review found — an outcome that policymakers and housing experts say they never expected. Gabriel Greschler in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/10/23

Cannabis

Cal State East Bay offers cannabis online training certification programs, and registration is still open -- Cal State East Bay is the latest college — and first in the California State University system — to offer online training certification programs for people interested in working in the expanding cannabis industry. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/23

Dead Trees

California’s drought is over but forests are still dying. What’s happening? -- A third or more of the trees in parts of the Lake Tahoe area have died over the past year, a catastrophic toll that reflects the continuing effects of climate change and drought, even as rain returns. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

Meet the daring tree climbers needed to replant 1.5 million acres of California’s burnt forests -- On an October day in Plumas National Forest, Alex Lemnah traverses the canopy of an incense cedar nearly 100 feet off the ground, listening carefully for the sound of a branch snapping under his feet. Ari Plachta in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/10/23

RoboTaxi

Data shows Cruise and Waymo’s sudden driverless taxi expansion in S.F. -- The CPUC data compiled by the Chronicle details, for the first time, how the two companies have chosen to scale their driverless taxi operations in San Francisco. Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

Also

Destined to die in prison, he vowed to change his life. How he found redemption and his freedom -- Jarad Nava, sentenced to 162 years in prison for a crime he committed when he was 17, has a second chance in life and is now working for an influential committee of the California Senate. Hannah Wiley in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/23

Tri-City Medical Center in Oceanside hit by cybersecurity attack -- Tri-City Medical Center is diverting ambulance traffic to other hospitals Thursday as it copes with a cybersecurity attack that has forced it to declare “an internal disaster” as workers scramble to contain the damage and protect patient records. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/10/23

MLK Community Hospital says it could soon be unable to pay its bills -- The nonprofit hospital, which was established to replace the closed King/Drew Medical Center, lost more than $42 million in the budget year that ended in June, according to officials at the privately run facility. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/23

Shyong: Once flush with Chinese tourism dollars, San Gabriel Valley searches for a new normal -- As the China U.S. relationship fluctuates, the San Gabriel Valley faces a new normal in which it can no longer depend on Chinese tourism dollars. Frank Shyong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/23

California Policy and Politics Friday

David DePape trial: Defense argues Nancy Pelosi was not his primary target -- The federal trial of David DePape, the man accused of attacking Paul Pelosi last year in his San Francisco home, opened Thursday morning with a disorienting — and false — statement from the defense attorney: “Tom Hanks, the actor, raped a 13-year-old girl.” Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Hannah Wiley in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/23

Prominent S.F. developer and two others charged with alleged bribery in widening corruption scandal -- Federal authorities charged three current and former executives from a San Francisco-based design and engineering firm on Thursday, accusing them of bribing employees from the city’s Department of Building Inspection. St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

Bitwise co-founders face federal charges alleging $100-million fraud scheme -- Federal authorities have charged the co-founders of Fresno startup Bitwise Industries with fraud months after the company laid off all of its employees and shut down without explanation. Jaimie Ding in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/23

Oil companies top big year in lobbyist spending -- With three months left to go, more than $358 million has been spent this year on lobbying California’s Legislature, agencies, and Public Utilities Commission. Jeremia Kimelman CalMatters -- 11/10/23

Congress debating $850,000 for CapRadio, but Sacramento State questions how to spend it -- Congresswoman Doris Matsui has included an $850,000 appropriation for Capital Public Radio’s proposed move downtown in a House bill now under debate, but how the troubled operation will spend the money and whether it actually moves is still unclear. David Lightman, Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/10/23

Tree nursery replaces trash and tents underneath San Francisco freeway -- Drivers heading to and from the Bay Bridge in San Francisco will now glimpse a new green oasis in the middle of Interstate 80, after Gov. Gavin Newsom, San Francisco Mayor London Breed and others unveiled a new tree nursery on a South of Market parcel below the freeway interchange Thursday. Danielle Echeverria, Tara Duggan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

O.C. declares emergency after Tustin hangar fire spews asbestos, heavy metals into the air -- Tustin schools were closed Thursday after officials confirmed asbestos was found in ash and debris from a fire that burned at a large and historic World War-II hangar. Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ Brooke Staggs in the Orange County Register -- 11/10/23

Calmes: Trump promises vengeance and power grabs if he wins in 2024. Here’s the plan -- In the wake of this week’s terrifying news of the New York Times/Siena College polls showing Donald Trump beating President Biden in must-win battleground states, keep in mind two words and spread them: Insurrection Act. Jackie Calmes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/23

APEC

APEC is already causing traffic nightmares in downtown San Francisco -- Road closures and traffic detours for the APEC summit aren’t scheduled to take effect until Monday but security fences went up Thursday, resulting in road blocks on Fourth Street. Michael Cabanatuan, J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

Workplace

The SAG-AFTRA strike is over, but few expect Hollywood to quickly bounce back -- Interviews with more than a dozen industry veterans — including executives, talent agents and producers — revealed deep anxiety about the turmoil in the business as consumers switch to streaming, abandoning lucrative pay-TV bundles that have long buoyed the industry. Some said 2023 might be remembered as a lost year of production and an industry tipping point. Meg James, Wendy Lee, Christi Carras in the Los Angeles Times$ Alyssa Lukpat in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/10/23

Tech layoffs: Google, Amazon, Snap and Zillow announce new job cuts -- In the latest round of corporate downsizing, several tech industry heavyweights announced additional staff reductions this week. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

UFW wins first farmworker union vote under new California law -- The United Farm Workers, which represents nearly 7,000 workers, won a unionization vote in Stanislaus County. It’s the first such win in six years and first under a law that went into effect in May. Nicole Foy CalMatters Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/10/23

California’s scientist union plans to stage the first-ever strike by state civil servants -- After three years of fruitless bargaining, followed by an impasse declaration and mediation talks, the California Association of Professional Scientists will stage a rolling three-day strike Nov. 15-17, the union announced Thursday in an email to members. Maya Miller in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/10/23

Though critical to the economy, California’s young workers toil in low-wage work -- Young people are stuck earning low wages, working long hours — often while going to school — and often without benefits or work protections. Their hardships may hamper the state’s economy for years to come, researchers said. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde CalMatters -- 11/10/23

Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic lays off 185 employees, 18% of workforce -- Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic space tourism firm has laid off about 18% of its employees as it faces turbulent headwinds in the capital markets, the company says. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/23

Cruise lays off workers days after company announced recall of entire robotaxi fleet -- Cruise has laid off contracted workers who were responsible for maintaining its robotaxi fleet, days after the autonomous vehicle company announced a fleetwide software recall. The company said Thursday’s layoffs don’t impact any full-time workers directly employed by Cruise. Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

AI

Big Tech wants AI regulation. The rest of Silicon Valley is skeptical -- A growing group of venture capitalists, CEOs and others say regulation will snuff out competition. Gerrit De Vynck in the Washington Post$ -- 11/10/23

C02

A surprising green technology rises in the San Joaquin Valley -- A California startup just opened a plant in Tracy showcasing a new way to battle climate change: pulling carbon out of the air with limestone and storing it in concrete. Clare Fonstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

Education

Stanford loses fourth top administrator in less than a year -- Stanford’s vice provost for student affairs announced that she will step down at the end of the fall quarter with plans to return to her home state of Oregon. Danielle Echeverria in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

Street

He was jailed 23 years ago for murder. The evidence pointed to his brother. A judge has now set him free -- Prosecutors and investigators zeroed in on Miguel Solorio after an 82-year-old woman was shot and killed in 1998, but attorneys argued detectives ignored evidence that pointed to another man. Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/23

San Jose police chief seeks decertification of cop who sent racist texts -- San Jose Police Chief Anthony Mata said Thursday the department was “committed to ensuring” that the officer who quit after sending racist text messages was stripped of his certification, thus preventing him from seeking employment at another department. Jordan Parker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

East Bay attorney convicted of embezzling $400K from PG&E fire victims -- In 2013, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. agreed to pay $400,000 to settle two cases with families affected by a fire north of Sacramento. Instead, their lawyer spent the money on himself, the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office argued. Megan Fan Munce in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

Husband arrested after body part found in dumpster; wife and in-laws missing -- LAPD detectives say they suspect that Samuel Bond Haskell IV of Tarzana killed his wife and also may have killed his in-laws, who are missing. Richard Winton in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23

Driver charged in 2022 wrong-way crash that killed and injured L.A. County sheriff’s recruits -- Nicholas Gutierrez was charged with vehicular manslaughter and nine counts of reckless driving in the 2022 wrong-way wreck that left one recruit dead and several others seriously injured. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/10/23

Also

‘A cruel joke’: California father freed from prison can’t go home to family after ICE deports him -- Ramon Ruelas grew up in California and served a decade in prison. Now free, he can’t live with his wife and daughter, who are U.S. citizens. Lawmakers want California to stop handing former inmates like him to ICE. Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed the bills. Justo Robles CalMatters -- 11/10/23

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak released from hospital following a stroke -- Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak was hospitalized in Mexico City on Wednesday after suffering a minor stroke while attending the World Business Forum, a high-profile summit for executives. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/10/23