State Supreme Court blocks Trump tax-disclosure law
From Capitol Weekly's BRYNDON MADISON: "The state Supreme Court on Thursday struck down a new law that would have required presidential candidates to disclose their tax returns in order to be listed on California’s primary election ballot."
"The Legislature cannot bar a legally certified contender from the primary election, “even if that candidate fails to disclose five years worth of federal tax returns,” the court said."
"California Democrats have long sought President Trump’s tax returns, and the new law would have required Trump to make public his returns. Several other jurisdictions, including a House committee and state authorities in New York, also want access to Trump’s returns. Those cases remain pending."
Dangerous L.A. apartments that could collapse in an earthquake are being fixed quickly
From the LAT's JON SCHLEUSS and RONG-GONG LIN II: "An earthquake safety revolution is spreading along the streets and back alleys of Los Angeles, as steel frames and strong walls appear inside the first-story parking garages of thousands of apartment buildings."
"The construction is designed to fix one of the most dangerous earthquake risks: Wood apartment buildings collapsing because the skinny poles propping up parking at the ground level are not strong enough to withstand the shaking."
"Now, 27% of Los Angeles’ 11,400 dangerous wood-frame apartments are retrofitted to better resist earthquakes. Retrofit progress has been steady across the city, a Times analysis of city records shows. Among the regions with the most “soft-story” buildings, 29% of the apartments on the Westside and in the San Fernando Valley are retrofitted, and 26% have been completed in central L.A., which includes Hollywood, Mid-City and Koreatown. The Westside, Valley and central L.A. regions are home to more than 80% of the soft-story buildings in the city."
California Gov. Newsom makes move to halt Trump water grab
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "California’s water wars escalated Thursday, as state leaders vowed to fight the Trump administration over plans to ship more water to Central Valley farms."
"Gov. Gavin Newsom and members of his administration announced that they were preparing a lawsuit against the federal government to prevent California’s rivers and wildlife from being cheated out of vital supplies."
"State leaders said boosting agricultural deliveries, a longtime campaign promise of the president, could upend fragile watersheds and threaten such protected fish as the iconic chinook salmon and delta smelt."
PG&E restores power to nearly all customers after latest shutoff
Sacramento Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH: "PG&E gave the weather “all clear” Thursday morning, and restored power for more than 50,000 customers affected by Wednesday’s shutoff across parts of Northern California."
"The go-ahead to end the so-called public safety power shutoff was issued at 2 a.m. Thursday as Wednesday’s winds eased, and all customers are expected to be restored “by tonight or sooner,” PG&E said in a statement shortly after 8 a.m."
"The blackouts hit customers in portions of 11 counties: Napa, Sonoma, Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lake, Mendocino, Shasta, Solano, Tehama and Yolo. By 5 p.m., nearly all of the 51,036 homes and businesses were restored with roughly 546 customers still without power."
Obama would run a different kind of campaign today, he tells Bay Area donors
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Former President Barack Obama said Thursday he would run differently if he were on the ballot now, as he urged today’s Democratic presidential candidates to be “bolder” about attacking structural problems such as income inequality."
"If I were running today, I wouldn’t run the same campaign I ran in 2008,” Obama said at a Los Altos Hills fundraiser where tickets cost $10,000 to $355,000. Among the 100 donors who paid their way in was Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry."
"I want candidates now to propose policies beyond what we were able to get done then, because the politics have changed,” Obama said."
California lawmaker spent campaign cash on Asia vacation. Regulators say fines aren't big enough
Sacramento Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "A former California lawmaker’s misuse of campaign cash for an Asia vacation and a Hawaii home remodeling project was “so egregious” that it warrants a “hellacious” penalty beyond what state law allows, a state campaign finance regulator said."
"The rebuke was directed at former Assemblyman Joseph Canciamilla, who misspent $130,000 in political funds and was forced to pay the maximum penalty state law allows for a campaign finance violation, $150,000."
"The Fair Political Practices Commission on Thursday affirmed the penalty, but commissioners said the fine wasn’t enough. They said they’ll consider asking the Legislature to increase the allowable penalty so that “future Canciamillas will pay an even steeper price."
Sending unsolicited nude photos could become a crime in California
Sacramento Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "Long considered the bane of online dating, sending unsolicited nude photos could soon be against the law in California."
"State Sen. Ling Ling Chang, R-Diamond Bar, announced that she plans to partner with dating app Bumble to introduce a bill in January that would make such unwanted photos punishable with a fine."
"We’re in a digital world, and it is critical we protect online users,” Chang said in prepared remarks. “I’ve heard the horrific stories of women who have been victimized and digitally harassed. This is absolutely unacceptable. We need to send a message that this culture of online harassment must go.”"
Building permits for new homes surge after slow start in Newsom's first year
Sacramento Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "California’s rate of approving new housing permits jumped in September after slumping for much of this year, the state Department of Finance announced Thursday."
"The number of permits increased 21.9 percent from August to September, according to the Department of Finance. That reflects a 47-percent increase in multi-family building permits like apartment complexes and a 2.3-percent decrease in single-family units."
"The state is now on track to approve permits for 111,000 housing units this year, according to the department. That’s still fewer than last year, when the state approved permits for 117,000 residential units, said Irena Asmundson, chief economist at the Department of Finance."
Breed, SF city attorney endorse George Gason's opponent in LA's DA race
The Chronicle's DOMINIC FRACASSA: "Mayor London Breed and City Attorney Dennis Herrera endorsed incumbent Jackie Lacey in the Los Angeles County district attorney race Thursday, throwing an unsubtle dig at George Gascón, who resigned as San Francisco’s district attorney in October to challenge Lacey for the seat."
"In a joint statement, Breed and Herrera praised Lacey’s track record and qualifications in a thinly veiled condemnation of Gascón’s time in office."
"During San Francisco’s recently concluded district attorney race, Breed was unsparing in criticizing Gascón, blaming him and his administration for San Francisco’s recent glut of car break-ins and other street issues, despite a drop in violent crime in the city. Gascón’s staff administration routinely pointed to a paucity of arrests as the root of the problems."
SF 'vacancy tax' to fight empty storefronts headed to March ballot
The Chronicle's TRISHA THADANI: "Should San Francisco tax landlords with empty storefronts in the city’s beloved shopping districts?"
"That’s a question heading to voters on the March ballot."
"The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Thursday to put the measure in front of voters. Since it was a special meeting before the Thanksgiving break, only eight supervisors were able to attend — but it was still enough to place the tax on the ballot."
Sacramento students censored over artwork supporting BLM, ACLU says
Sacramento Bee's SAWSAN MORRAR: "A San Juan Unified School District elementary school teacher is under fire for throwing away student artwork and making students redo their posters due to their political nature, according to civil rights and free speech advocates."
"The American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Northern California sent a letter to the San Juan Unified School District saying four students and a parent were censored and retaliated against for expressing support for Black Lives Matter. The students were in their right to create artwork and that throwing the posters away violated their free speech, the ACLU said."
"The incident took place Sept. 16, when a parent volunteer taught an art lesson at Del Paso Manor Elementary School through the district’s Art Docent Program. The program invites parent volunteers to deliver district developed artwork lessons to elementary classrooms and “conduct discussions that open the children’s eyes to the wonderful world of art,” according to the district."
Sacramento sheriff attacks McClatchy, as company's pension and debt burdens pile up
Sacramento Bee's DALE KASLER: "Scott Jones, the sheriff of Sacramento County, could barely hide his glee: His nemesis The Sacramento Bee and its parent, The McClatchy Co., are in serious financial trouble, with the company’s stock price collapsing and talk of bankruptcy in the air."
"It is clear that when they abandoned any semblance of remaining journalistic stock they had, in favor of the sensationalist agenda-driven journalism that they are today, their other stock predictably followed,” Jones said Thursday in a Facebook post."
"Jones has sparred with The Bee over numerous issues, including the newspaper’s success in winning a court order forcing the sheriff to release thousands of pages of disclosures about disciplinary proceedings against his deputies. The Deputy Sheriff’s Association posted a video, also on Facebook, crowing about McClatchy’s problems."
The Chronicle's JOAQUIN PALOMINO/JILL TUCKER: "Marie shivered beneath a thin blanket on her first night in juvenile hall, her only view an occasional glimpse of a guard checking on her through the window in her cell door."
"Her crime was minor: refusing to obey police officers who came into her bedroom to question her about skipping school. Three weeks earlier, the 16-year-old girl had been caught shoplifting a bottle of cognac."
"Over the next year, another shoplifting charge and a string of probation violations landed her back in Marin County’s juvenile lockup for a total of 222 days, records show. That’s about four months longer than the typical adult would spend in jail after a felony drug conviction."
OC deputies fired after audit finds widespread evidence mishandling
Sacramento Bee's DARRELL SMITH: "Hundreds of Orange County Sheriff’s Department deputies held onto evidence for days, weeks and more before booking it, results of a two-year internal audit uncovered by the Orange County Register show."
"Four of the deputies have been fired and seven more disciplined for improperly booking evidence in the wake of findings that could throw one of California’s largest criminal courts into crisis."
"Sheriff’s officials followed with a statement Monday, owning up to “systemic problems with evidence being booked outside policy."