LA Times's LOUIS SAHAGUN: "The lush plains east of Yosemite National Park offer a window into a bygone California — a place where sage grouse welcome the arrival of spring with theatrical mating rituals and cattle graze on verdant pastures."
"For nearly a century, these lands have been made green thanks to annual flooding by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, helping maintain cattle forage and keeping alive a culture of ranching in southern Mono County."
"But those days may have come to an end in August."
READ MORE related to Energy & Environment: Long road still ahead to fund new California water storage projects -- Water Deeply's JAY LUND
A Delta farmer says the state poisoned his crops. Is California's water supply safe?
Sacramento Bee's RYAN SABALOW: "For years, state boats have sprayed thousands of pounds of herbicides into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to kill invasive aquatic weeds. And, for years, California officials have insisted they closely monitor their chemical use to protect the ecologically fragile estuary and the drinking and irrigation water the Delta supplies to millions of Californians."
"A pending court case casts fresh doubt on those claims."
"For two consecutive summers, Joe Aiello’s bell pepper crops near Brentwood in Contra Costa County wasted away and died."
Anti-vaccine advocates flexing muscle
From Capitol Weekly's CHUCK MCFADDEN: "The anti-vaccine movement is alive and well in California."
"Despite legal requirements for vaccination and a preponderance of clinical evidence showing that vaccines are effective in protecting children from measles, mumps and rubella, among other diseases, there are pockets of resistance across the state."
"And oddly enough, at least some, if not most, of the pockets are located in the more affluent, well-educated areas of the state – places such as Marin and Santa Monica, says state Sen. Richard Pan, the legislature’s leading vaccine proponent."
Newsom's 'cradle-to-career' education pledge will require sweeping changes in California
EdSource's KARIN FISCHER: "Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, California’s likely next governor, is calling for an all-out assault to change the state’s educational outcomes, one that starts before birth and extends through school, college and into the workplace."
"This cradle-to-career strategy is the central organizing principle of Newsom’s education platform, bringing together parts of the educational system that are not currently connected and linking them seamlessly."
"What’s needed, said Newsom in response to a set questions from EdSource, is a “new way of thinking about education as a lifetime pursuit."
Kevin de Leon wants to crash Senate 'country club' to battle Trump
The Chronicle's JONATHAN WILDERMUTH: "Kevin de León, Los Angeles state senator and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, was on a roll."
"As a featured speaker at a San Francisco event spotlighting Latino leadership on climate change, de León switched easily between English and Spanish, pointing to California’s environmental record and charging that President Trump “pollutes now and asks questions later."
\"Latino environmental leadership is on this stage, he shouted out to the standing-room-only crowd, pointing to the dozen or so other speakers."
The one-two strategy in SF's District Six supervisor race gets money behind it
The Chronicle's MATIER & ROSS: "Mayor London Breed’s allies are taking a page out of the playbook her mayoral opponents used — launching a “tag team” ad campaign urging voters to cast ballots for two candidates running for the seat held by soon-to-be-termed-out Supervisor Jane Kim.""
The move mirrors the “one-two” ranked choice approach used by Kim and former state Sen. Mark Leno in their unsuccessful bid to knock out the moderate Breed in the June
race for mayor."
"In this case, the race features two moderate candidates — Christine Johnson and Sonja Trauss — against progressive-backed candidate Matt Haney."
State Assembly District 15 candidate Jovanka Beckles holds campaign event
Daily Californian's ALEXA VANHOOSER: "State Assembly District 15 candidate Jovanka Beckles spoke at a community talk in Berkeley on Saturday that included the perspectives of multiple speakers involved in local politics."
"Chants of “sí, se puede” and “all power to the people” echoed throughout the Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School auditorium as local host, activist and event moderator Andrés Soto kicked off Beckles’ community-driven event."
"On primary election night, the California secretary of state’s website showed the election to be a close call, with Oakland City Councilmember Dan Kalb initially up 200 votes. Beckles then proceeded to overtake him by 300 votes, causing Kalb to withdraw. After narrowly securing her spot on the ballot against Kalb, Beckles will face opponent Buffy Wicks in the November election."
Voters want a gas tax repeal. Many California leaders call it a horrible idea.
DAN SCHNUR in a Special to the Bee: "No politician would ever promise to make our commutes longer. No voters beg for more crowded highways. Everybody hates traffic. The question is what should we do about it?
And more specifically, how should we pay for it?"
"We asked the California Influencers, a group of policy and political experts, to weigh in on Proposition 6, which would repeal last year’s gasoline tax and vehicle fee increases to repair roads and fund other transportation projects. While the majority of them spoke against the measure, the wide range of opinions on the volatile topic provide a valuable framework for the campaign ahead."
California's DMV to undergo audit after all
Sacramento Bee's BRYAN ANDERSON: "Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday directed his administration to conduct an audit into California’s embattled Department of Motor Vehicles."
"The agency has faced issues and controversy over rising wait times, aging technology and improper voter registration."
"In a letter sent to DMV Director Jean Shiomoto, the Department of Finance acknowledges the DMV has made progress in addressing ongoing issues but says recent developments have “underscored the need for further analysis."
National parks bearing brunt of climate change, scientists find
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "Disappearing glaciers were an early sign of trouble for the nation’s wildlands."
"But the mark of global warming on the American landscape didn’t end there. Devastating wildfires have since ravaged Yosemite. Rising seas have encroached on the Point Reyes Peninsula. Vast stands of trees have died in and around Kings Canyon."
"A study released Monday finds that the country’s national parks, which were designed to set aside and protect the most pristine and coveted spots in the United States, are being hit disproportionately by climate change."
Hows the search for the East Area Rapist helped revive another serial killing cold case
Sacramento Bee's SAM STANTON: "Two years ago, as investigators were in their fourth decade of searching for a suspect in the East Area Rapist/Golden State Killer attacks, six California prosecutors sent a letter to Nevada’s attorney general with a simple request:"
"Start taking DNA samples from Nevada inmates who had been in custody before that state’s DNA collection law took effect."
"Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert and the other DAs were looking for a needle in a haystack, hoping to find an inmate in another state whose DNA matched that from the killer’s decades-long crime spree in California."
READ MORE related to Prisons & Public Safety: Should police be forced to release body cam videos? Gov. Brown must decide -- SARAH RAVANI, Chronicle
New sexual abuse allegations roil Kavanaugh nomination
LA Times's LAURA KING/SARAH D WIRE: "Brett Kavanaugh’s embattled nomination for the Supreme Court faced further disarray Sunday night after an explosive new account emerged of alleged sexual misconduct when he was in college, putting the White House on the defensive and the judge’s confirmation in fresh doubt."
"Scrambling to respond, the White House and Kavanaugh issued swift denials of the report. Some Republicans on Capitol Hill said they were shellshocked even as they blamed Democrats for what they described as a political takedown based on scurrilous allegations."
"Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the panel would “attempt to evaluate these new claimshttps://www.sfchronicle.com/science/article/National-parks-bearing-brunt-of-climate-change-13252197.php” but did not publicly respond to a call by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, to immediately postpone confirmation proceedings until the FBI could investigate."
READ MORE related to SCOTUS: GOP troubles with women get worse after Trump defends Kavanaugh on sexual assault accusation -- LA Times's MICHAEL FINNEGAN; With one key phrase, Kavanaugh may have signaled his stroingest view yet of abortion law -- The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO
LA Times's TRACY WILKINSON?ELI STOKOLS/LAURA KING: "President Trump had a stormy debut at the annual United Nations gathering of world leaders last September."
"From the podium of the packed U.N. General Assembly, he blasted North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un as “Rocket Man,” threatened to “totally destroy” North Korea and warned of global peril from “loser terrorists” and the “wicked few.”"