Harris' 2020 exit sets off scramble for her big-money donors
Sacramento Bee's DAVID CATANESE/BEN WIEDER: "Kamala Harris’ sudden exit from the 2020 presidential race will set off a furious campaign for her donors from California, the delegate and financial capital of the Democratic primary."
"Party strategists and fundraisers see the money and loyalty splitting among three of the top four candidates — a dynamic driven by diverging preferences of ideology, viability and a desire to elect the first female president."
"Campaign finance data analyzed by McClatchy found that Harris shared the most big-money donors with Elizabeth Warren. The pair had more than 2,100 itemized contributors in common through the end of September, the most recent public numbers available. Still, more than 1,700 donors gave to both the California senator and Pete Buttigieg. And Harris has more than 1,000 of the same contributors as Joe Biden."
Where Harris' campaign went wrong
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "California Sen. Kamala Harris had trouble making it clear what she stood for as a presidential candidate — and ultimately, that helped to sink her campaign two months before voters in Iowa start casting their first-in-the-nation ballots."
"She started out trying to appeal to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party that Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have cornered. But she soon backed away from one of the proposals that matters most to voters on the left — a government-run health care system advocated by Sanders that Harris herself had co-sponsored in the Senate."
"At the same time, Harris did little to appeal to centrists in the Democratic Party who are gathering behind former Vice President Joe Biden and, lately, Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind. Even her campaign’s high point — Harris’ verbal evisceration of Biden in a candidates debate — turned out to be a Pyrrhic victory."
VP, AG? Here's what could be next for Harris
Sacramento Bee's KATE IRBY/EMILY CADEI/SOPHIA BOLLAG: "With Sen. Kamala Harris dropping out of the 2020 presidential race Tuesday, she returns her full attention to the Senate a month before the body is likely to start considering impeaching President Donald Trump."
"But it’s not the end of her political ambitions for president, and a possible vice presidential pick isn’t out of the question, according to multiple Democratic political strategists who have followed Harris closely."
"She clearly has higher aspirations than the Senate,” said Steve Maviglio, a Sacramento-based political consultant. “It would not shock me to see her take another run at this, whether it be in 10 years or six years from now."
Prosecutors expect to seek at least a year in prison for Rep. Duncan Hunter after guilty plea
LA Times's SARAH D WIRE: "Rep. Duncan Hunter pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of conspiracy to misuse campaign funds and is expected to resign from Congress before facing a prison sentence."
"Hunter, who will be sentenced March 17, faces a maximum of five years in prison. Prosecutors plan to seek a minimum of one year and likely more, Assistant U.S. Atty. Phil Halpern said."
"I made mistakes and that’s what today was all about,” Hunter told reporters after the hearing."
Why Rep. Hunter's guilty plea is good for state GOP
The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH: "For Republicans, San Diego-area Rep. Duncan Hunter’s guilty plea Tuesday to a single felony count of misusing campaign funds is a rare bit of light in an otherwise dreary week of impeachment headlines."
"And why is a federal conviction of a Republican congressman good news for the GOP? Call it addition by subtraction."
"With Hunter, 42, originally scheduled to go to trial in January on 60 felony counts, Republicans were looking forward to a primary campaign where the incumbent was accused of stealing “hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds that he and his wife used to maintain their lifestyle,” in the words of a Justice Department statement on the congressman’s guilty plea."
LA Times's SARAH D WIRE/JENNIFER HABERKORN: "Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee approved the report of their two-month investigation into President Trump’s conduct toward Ukraine on Tuesday, concluding that “the evidence of the President’s misconduct is overwhelming” as they barrel toward an expected vote to impeach him."
"Not only did Trump improperly pressure Ukraine in an effort to extract political favors, the report says, but he also obstructed the congressional investigation of his actions."
"It would be hard to imagine a stronger or more complete case of obstruction than that demonstrated by the President since the inquiry began,” the report says. The committee approved the report by a 13-9 party-line vote, forwarding the case to the Judiciary Committee, which has the job of formally drafting articles of impeachment."
Impeachment's next phase will put these Northern Californians front and center
The Chronicle's TAL KOPAN: "House Democrats will turn over the job of building the impeachment case against President Trump to the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, putting three Northern California lawmakers at the center of the historic fight over whether to unseat the president."
"With the House Intelligence Committee having summarized the findings of marathon hearings into whether Trump pressured Ukraine to investigate his political rivals by withholding military aid, the Judiciary Committee now plays a key role — deciding whether to draft articles of impeachment. Committee Democrats are likely to do so, possibly in time for the full House to vote by the end of the year. Republicans are uniformly opposed."
"Here are the key Northern Californians on the Judiciary Committee who will be front and center as the process plays out, starting with a preliminary hearing Wednesday:"
READ MORE related to POTUS45/Impeachment: Impeachment heads into uncertain phase as Judiciary Committee takes the reins -- The Chronicle's JENNIFER HABERKORN; Californian voters strongly support impeaching Trump, poll shows -- The Chronicle's DAVID LAUTER
Fishing groups sue federal agencies over latest water plan for California
The Chronicle's PETER FIMRITE: "The fracas over California’s scarce water supplies will tumble into a San Francisco courtroom after a lawsuit was filed this week claiming the federal government’s plan to loosen previous restrictions on water deliveries to farmers is a blueprint for wiping out fish."
"Environmental and fishing groups sued the the National Marine Fisheries Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Monday for allegedly failing to protect chinook salmon, steelhead trout and delta smelt."
"They believe the voluminous government proposal, known as a biological opinion, sacrifices protections for the imperiled fish without adequate justification so that Central Valley farmers and Southern California cities can have more water."
Biden nabs endorsement from congressman Ami Bera as 2020 primary approaches
Sacramento Bee's BRYAN ANDERSON: "A top California Democrat has made a decision about which 2020 presidential candidate he’ll support, and it’s not Kamala Harris."
"Rep. Ami Bera, D-Elk Grove, revealed on Tuesday that he’ll endorse former Vice President Joe Biden, becoming the fourth member of the state’s congressional delegation to do so."
"We need to nominate and elect a candidate who is ready to hit the ground running on Day 1, and that candidate, at the end of the day, is Joe Biden,” Bera said."
Stanford says college admissions scandal mastermind approached 7 coaches
AP: "A review found that the mastermind behind the college admissions bribery scandal had approached seven coaches at Stanford University about potential sports recruits over the past decade, the school president said Tuesday."
"Only one coach, the former head of the sailing program who pleaded guilty earlier this year, went along with the scheme proposed by college consultant William “Rick” Singer, according to an independent investigation the university funded."
"Singer directly or indirectly approached seven Stanford coaches about potential recruits between 2009 and 2019” but the investigation found no evidence that any athletic department employee aside from the sailing coach “agreed to support a Singer client in exchange for a financial consideration,” according to the statement by university President Marc Tessier-Lavigne."
Richmond council delays vote on whether to ban coal shipments from port
The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI: "The Richmond City Council won’t decide whether to ban coal shipments until next month after a meeting Tuesday night ended without a vote."
"The council was expected to vote on an ordinance that would have banned coal from being shipped out of a private port, but instead councilmembers pushed the vote to January after hearing from labor unions and the company that operates the port."
"Richmond’s ordinance would give businesses three years to phase out coal and petroleum coke, a byproduct of oil refining. The legislation targets a port operated by Levin-Richmond Terminal Corp., which last year loaded almost 1 million metric tons of the fuel bound for Japan and South Korea."
DA files criminal charges against former Oakland Coliseum authority chief in naming rights conflict
The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI: "The Alameda County district attorney has filed criminal charges against the former head of the special agency that oversees the Oakland Coliseum complex for allegedly violating state conflict-of-interest laws while negotiating the naming rights of the stadium."
"Scott McKibben was charged with a felony and misdemeanor count of violating conflict-of-interest laws by seeking a $50,000 payment for helping negotiate a settlement for the Coliseum naming rights with RingCentral, according to charging documents."
"In a text message to The Chronicle, McKibben said that neither he nor his attorney have been alerted of the charges. He declined to comment further."
California could lose housing leverage over cities under court ruling
The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "A judge’s ruling in San Mateo County is raising fears among developers and advocates for more housing construction that the state will lose its leverage for forcing cities to build their way out of California’s affordability crisis."
"The judge said the city of San Mateo was not obligated to follow a state law on housing approvals because it is a charter city — a system that gives local governments greater control over their own affairs. There are more than 120 charter cities in California and housing is tight in many of them, including San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose."
"The ruling did not create a binding precedent for California. But it has prompted a legal challenge from groups concerned that it will make it easier for cities to reject new housing. It even caught the attention of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called the ruling “misguided."
He went from buffalo wings to cannabis and became the talk of LA's cannabis industry
LA Times's EMILY ALPERT REYES: "As a businessman, Karim Webb won acclaim for opening a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in a stretch of South Los Angeles that other investors had avoided, bringing new jobs to the area."
"He has been honored by Black Enterprise magazine, tapped to serve on charitable boards, and praised effusively by L.A. leaders. When he was chosen as a city airport commissioner, Councilman Marqueece Harris-Dawson declared “there is no more stand-up citizen of our city."
"Now Webb has turned his focus to the contentious world of cannabis — and abruptly become the target of envy and suspicion as marijuana entrepreneurs compete for a limited number of L.A. licenses."
LAPD officer under investigation for allegedly fondling dead woman's breasts
LA Times's MARK PUENTE/RICHARD WINTON: "A veteran Los Angeles police officer is under investigation after his body-worn camera captured him allegedly fondling a dead woman’s breasts."
"The officer, who is assigned to downtown’s Central Division, was placed on leave once supervisors reviewed the footage during a random inspection, LAPD officials said."
"The incident occurred when the officer and his partner responded to a call about a possible dead woman in a residential unit, sources said. Once the two officers determined the woman was dead, one officer returned to the patrol car to retrieve something. During that time, the accused officer turned off his body-worn camera and allegedly fondled the woman’s breasts, LAPD officials said."
WH delays expansion of Agent Orange benefits, leaving 80,000 veterans to wait
McClatchy's KATE IRBY/TARA COPP/FRANCESCA CHAMBERS: "The Trump administration should stop blocking Vietnam veterans with bladder cancer and three other diseases the government does not recognize as tied to Agent Orange from getting the benefits they deserve, two California congressmen said in a letter to the White House on Monday."
"House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano, D-Riverside, and Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, sent a letter to White House Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney saying his decision to block bladder cancer, Parkinson’s-like symptoms, hypothyroidsism and hypertension from being added to a list of conditions that are tied to Agent Orange was “despicable."
"My grandfather served in Vietnam, was exposed to Agent Orange, and died from cancer as a result of his service – but his story is not uncommon. I refuse to stand by and let other veterans die because they didn’t get the health care they need,” Harder said. “Some bureaucrat shouldn’t be able to block health care for all these folks just to save a buck. It’s rotten, and it’s not who we are."