Adam Schiff, the California congressman who usually works under the radar, has gone front-and-center in the Trump-Russian surveillance investigation.
CW's CHUCK MCFADDEN: "In an overheated political environment where it’s dangerous to stand between some politicians and a television camera, the national spotlight has suddenly fallen on a low-key Californian who implores Donald Trump to be truthful."
"He is Adam Bennett Schiff, 56, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, which is looking into possible Russian influence on the 2016 presidential election, as well as unsubstantiated claims by President Donald Trump that the Obama administration “wire tapped” Trump Tower. It has put the committee — and Schiff — on the national stage."
"During the past several weeks Democrat Schiff has been on PBS, Meet the Press, CNN, NPR and the New York Times, among others. It is a marked departure for Schiff, a former, below-the-radar state lawmaker who is barely remembered in Sacramento."
Los Angeles' Department of Water and Power training program has high costs--$40m, to be exact--but low graduation rates are creating staffing shortes and increased overtime costs, according to a recent audit.
LA Times' JEFF LANDA/MATT HAMILTON: "An audit of the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's training programs found that the utility spends $40 million a year on apprenticeship programs, but low graduation rates have created staffing shortages and driven up overtime expenses."
"The findings from City Controller Ron Galperin's office, based on data from the last five years, show that only about 51% of those enrolled in three of its apprenticeship programs graduated. The audit also pointed out that the DWP does not require graduates to work at the utility, and that some with the highest training are recruited elsewhere."
"The municipal utility, the largest in the nation, spends about $440,000 to $665,000 per graduate to train electrical workers, but the low graduation rate meant that only 300 trainees were hired between 2010 and 2015, according to the audit."
READ MORE related to Local: 100-year-old SF woman dies after years of eviction battles -- The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI; SF on hook for big payout after losing lawsuit to ex-Herrera deputy -- The Chronicle's MATIER & ROSS; Record number of local sales tax hikes take effect Saturday -- The Chronicle's KATHLEEN PENDER; Long before deadly fire, Oakland halfway house was hive of trouble -- The Chronicle's CYNTHIA DIZIKES/J.K. DINEEN/KURTIS ALEXANDER; California would virtually eliminate money bail under proposed legislation -- Sacramento Bee's ALEXEI KOSEFF; Politicos punch holes rather than repeal old liquor law -- Sacramento Bee's DAN WALTERS; Tim Draper wants to change the state: 'This is not Calexit. This is Cal-fix-it.' -- Sacramento Bee's CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO; Lawsuit filed by former staffer of Councilwoman Angelique Ashby goes to trial -- Sacramento Bee's ANDY FURILLO
Infamous terrorist Carlos the Jackal has received a third life term for his alleged involvement in a grenade attack in 1970's France that left many dead and scores wounded.
LA Times' CHRISTINA BOYLE: "Carlos the Jackal, the self-proclaimed “professional revolutionary” who was once the most-wanted man in the world, was sentenced to a third life sentence Tuesday for the 1974 bombing of a Paris shopping arcade."
"The Venezuelan-born criminal denied the charges and criticized the court for the “absurdity of a trial 43 years after the events," but was found guilty by five judges after a two-week hearing and more than four hours of deliberation."
"He has always denied the charges and his lawyers have indicated that they will appeal."
READ MORE related to Public Safety: David Daleiden, activist from secret Planned Parenthood videos, charged with 15 felonies -- Sacramento Bee's CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO; Antiabortion activists face 15 felony charges over undercover videos that targeted Planned Parenthood -- LA Times' MATT HAMILTON; Innocent man freed after spending 20 years behind bars for attempted murder in a Compton shooting -- LA Times' MARISA GERBER; Oakland man sold counterfeit Xanax, laundered profits overseas -- The Chronicle's MICHAEL BODLEY; Vasquez-Oliva used blunt-force instrument, knife in quadruple homicide -- Sacramento Bee's DARRELL SMITH/NASHELLY CHAVEZ
In wake of the Trump anti-climate hardline, states involved in the climate change battle are scrambling to bolster their future strategies.
LA Times' EVAN HALPER: "Donald Trump’s plan to bring an abrupt halt to America’s crusade against climate change will test California and other states like never before as they seek to wrest control of the nation’s energy future from a hostile White House."
"The energy plan Trump unveiled on Tuesday left no doubt that the states are now on their own — and that the White House is already poised to weaken some of their pioneering efforts."
"Left uncertain, though, is whether Trump can unilaterally relinquish the nation’s role as a global leader in the fight to curb emissions, or whether the progressive states — with an assist from legally savvy environmental groups — can preserve that mantle."
READ MORE related to Environment: Decades-old war over Yucca Mountain nuclear dump resumes under Trump budget plan -- LA Times' RALPH VARTABEDIAN; Davis considers ban on Styrofoam food, beverage containers -- Sacramento Bee's CATHY LOCKE; Folsom's Johnny Cash Trail to be completed in early fall -- Sacramento Bee's CATHY LOCKE
Speaking of Trump, he's tanking in the polls only 2 months in -- but his supporters says not to dismiss him just yet.
LA Times: "It's been five months since the euphoria of a Donald Trump rally at the local arena brought optimism to this former Democratic stronghold. The snow from a long winter has begun melting into the rocky soil, and the digital sign in a torn-up parking lot blinks hopefully: “Warm days are coming.”
"President Trump has yet to deliver jobs or the repeal of Obamacare. But here, in an area crucial to his unexpected election victory, many residents are more frustrated with what they see as obstruction and a rush to judgment than they are with Trump."
"Give him six months to prove himself, said an information technology supervisor. Give him a year, said a service manager. Give him four years, said a retired print shop owner."
READ MORE related to Beltway: Hillary Clinton calls on women, tech employers to fight for equality -- Mercury News' MARISA KENDALL; In Trump's defense against a defamation lawsuit, he cites a case Bill Clinton lost -- LA Times; When Ecuador elects a new president, will Julian Assange still have a safe haven at its London embassy? -- LA Times' CHRIS KRAUL/PABLO JARAMILLO VITERI; The House just voted to wipe away the FCC's landmark Internet privacy protections -- WaPo's BRIAN FUNG; Congress guts internet rule on privacy, giving providers right to snoop for data -- Sacramento Bee's TIM JOHNSON; Hillary Clinton, 'out of the woods,' speaks up during S.F. visit -- The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI; 'Stop shaking your head': Spicer scolds reporter who asked how Trump administration plans to revamp its image -- Yahoo News' DYLAN STABLEFORD
Toshiba's nuclear energy company, Westinghouse Electric Co., has filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy in the United States.
AP: "Japan's embattled Toshiba Corp. says its U.S. nuclear unit Westinghouse Electric Co. has filed for bankruptcy protection."
"Toshiba said in a statement Wednesday that it filed the chapter 11 petition in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of New York. The move had been largely expected."
"Toshiba is expecting a loss of $4.3 billion for April-December of last year, including a $6.2 billion hit from its embattled nuclear business."
READ MORE related to Economy: It's not dead yet, House Republicans insist of effort to repeal Obamacare -- Sacramento Bee's LESLEY CLARK
A dreamer, thought to be the first swept up in the Trump admin crackdown on undocumented residents, has been ordered released by a Seattle federal judge after spending 6 weeks in incarceration.
LA Times' RICK ANDERSON: "Daniel Ramirez Medina, 23, thought to be the first “Dreamer” swept up in the Trump administration crackdown on immigration violators, was ordered released by a federal judge Tuesday after spending six weeks in detention."
"Today the judge affirmed that Daniel does not pose any risk to public safety,” Luis Cortes, one of Ramirez’s attorneys, said in a statement. “We are thrilled he will soon be home with his family.”
"Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arrested Ramirez on Feb. 5, having come to arrest his father, a repeat immigration violator, at their suburban Seattle apartment. Asked about his status, the Mexico-born Ramirez explained he was in the U.S. under the protection of President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program."
READ MORE related to Immigration: Hundreds of protestors greet US immigration enforcement chief in Sacramento -- Sacramento Bee's RYAN LILLIS/STEPHEN MAGAGNINI; Sanctuary cities aren't as popular as you might think in California -- Sacramento Bee; Immigration boss offers explanations to raucous Sacramento crowd -- The Chronicle's HAMED ALEAZIZ
Sacramento Bee's RORY APPLETON: "Attorneys for the Fresno Unified School District and a fourth-grade teacher suing her bosses for allowing a radio host to accuse her of pornography at a public meeting, delivered their opening statements to a jury Monday, officially beginning a trial with both free speech and sexual harassment questions."
"The trial centers around Mai Summer Vue, a teacher at John Muir Elementary, who believes the district should have protected her from sexually explicit allegations made by local Hmong radio host Pao Xiong at the May 28, 2014, school board meeting. The district contends that free speech laws required staff to allow Xiong to take the podium, and it asserts that no sexual harassment took place during Vue’s workday."
"In January, Judge Alan Simpson ruled that Vue had a right to present her case before a jury “given the extreme nature of his (Xiong’s) statements and their apparent falsity."
READ MORE related to Education: Expansion-renovation of Sacramento State's University Union begins with demolition -- Sacramento Bee's BILL LINDELOF