Bernie Sanders takes California, but the big Super Tuesday winner is Joe Biden
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Bernie Sanders won California, but Joe Biden revived a presidential campaign that was on life support less than a week ago, taking more than half the 14 Super Tuesday states by reuniting the coalition of African American and suburban voters that helped Barack Obama win the White House.
Sanders and Biden were running one-two in California, with the Vermont senator holding a 10-point lead over the former vice president. But Biden shocked Sanders in Texas — Super Tuesday’s second-biggest delegate prize behind California and a state where polls had shown Sanders out in front.
Sanders’ campaign is organized and well funded enough to battle Biden for the ideological soul of the party all the way to the Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee in July. Biden, however, leaves Super Tuesday with momentum."
LA elections chief apologizes for long lines, chaotic balloting as voters vent
LA Times's JOHN MYERS/SONALI KOHLI/BENJAMIN ORESKES/LIAM DILLON/JULIA WICK: "Los Angeles County’s new voting system was marked by long lines, snafus and growing anger among voters, with some waiting hours to cast ballots that continued well into the night.
“This was a challenging day for a lot of voters in L.A. County, and I certainly apologize for that. That’s something that has to be better,” said Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters Dean Logan.
“It was a heavy lift,” Logan said of the switch to the new system. “I had hoped for a smoother transition."
Why counting California's ballots will take weeks
Sac Bee's BRYAN ANDERSON: "If you thought it took a long time for the Iowa caucus results to come in, you haven’t seen anything yet.
That’s because it will take weeks for county elections officials to tally up all the votes, thanks to rules designed to make voting more accessible than ever before.
For the first time, Californians could register to vote and cast ballots at any polling place on or before Election Day."
Prosecutors get more space to document former Rep. Duncan Hunter's crimes
LA Times's MORGAN COOK: "Federal prosecutors received a court’s approval this week for extra space in a public memorandum, which they requested to provide an “expansive factual summary” of the criminal conduct for which former Rep. Duncan Hunter is to be sentenced later this month.
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas J. Whelan granted a motion that prosecutors filed Friday asking to exceed any page limits for their sentencing memorandum, if they need extra space to recount Hunter’s crimes. Prosecutors said an expansive factual summary was necessary to counter Hunter’s public statements downplaying his culpability and shifting blame to others, including his wife.
Defense lawyers also will be allowed to file a memorandum longer than the usual 25 pages, according to the ruling Monday."
$15B education bond championed by Gov. Newsom behind in early returns
Sac Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "The $15 billion school bond measure Gov. Gavin Newsom championed was trailing with just 43 percent of the vote in Tuesday night election returns.
Votes will continue to come in over the next few days, and full results likely won’t be available for weeks.
Fortunes could change for the measure, especially because early votes tend to skew conservative. But as of 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, prospects look dim. The measure, which appeared as “Proposition 13” on California ballots, needs to secure a majority of the vote to win."
READ MORE related to Education Measures: State's largest school bond in history headed for defeat -- The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER; Los Rios bond measure trailing in multiple counties -- Sac Bee's SAWSAN MORRARMeasure H: Election Results -- Sac Bee's SAWSAN MORRAR
Coronavirus and kids: What Bay Area parents and pregnant women need to know
The Chronicle's MALLORY MOENCH: "When the coronavirus hit the Bay Area, Novato mom Naomi Thorne pulled out all the hand sanitizer bottles she had. She’s avoiding indoor play areas and making sure to spray her 2-year-old Everett’s hands even at outdoor parks. At an recent work event with a buffet, she was so nervous to use the utensils that she went to the bathroom to wash her hands afterwards. She and her wife Katherine, both real estate agents, decided to not shake hands with prospective buyers at house tours.
Although she usually does so out of respect, she’s ready to explain herself: “I don’t really care what reactions I get, I have a small child,” she said.
Thorne doesn’t really know how worried she should be about the health risks. She’s been more immediately alarmed by the empty shelves at Trader Joe’s and the tumbling stock market."
READ MORE related to COVID-19 Pandemic: As coronavirus cripples global supply lines, more US firms looking to leave China -- LA Times's DON LEE; Coronavirus hits critical moment in US: More deaths, spread likely to accelerate -- LA Times's SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA/RICHARD READ/RONG-GONG LIN II/COLLEEN SHALBY
GSK would plead guilty if death penalty is off the table, lawyers say
LA Times's PAIGE ST JOHN: "Attorneys for the man accused of being the Golden State Killer said Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. would be willing to plead guilty if prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty, according to new court papers.
The statement from the public defenders representing DeAngelo appears as a footnote in a 41-page dismissal motion filed in Sacramento County Circuit Court late Monday night and obtained by the Times on Tuesday.
“Mr. DeAngelo is 74 years old. He has offered to plead to the charges with a lifetime sentence,” the statement says."
Katie Valenzuela leads Councilman Hansen in Sacramento council race
Sac Bee's THERESA CLIFT: "Katie Valenzuela could unseat City Councilman Steve Hansen for the high-profile seat representing downtown, midtown and Land Park.
In early returns Tuesday night, with more than 6,000 votes counted, Valenzuela led Hansen by a narrow margin of 51 percent to 48 percent. The results will be updated at 2 a.m. on Wednesday, with another update scheduled for Friday.
But it’s far from over, said Hansen, who expects another 20,000 ballots to be counted from the district’s 39,000 registered voters. Nobody who cast a vote Tuesday – the first Super Tuesday presidential primary for California voters – has been included in the results released so far, Hansen said."
Proposition E, new limits on office development, has sizeable lead
The Chronicle's ROLAND LI: "A San Francisco ballot measure to put new limits on office development was holding a hefty lead Tuesday night.
Proposition E, which would tie allowable office construction to the amount of affordable housing built in the city, was ahead 55% to 45% with nearly 100% of precincts reporting. The measure needs a simple majority to pass, but an unknown number of mail-in ballots were still outstanding.
Nonprofit sponsor Todco sought to reduce office growth if the city failed to meet state affordable housing goals, where it has consistently fallen short."
SF tax on vacant storefronts too close to call
The Chronicle's SHWANIKA NARAYAN: "A San Francisco ballot measure that would tax landlords of buildings with vacant storefronts — believed to be one of the first proposals in the nation to explicitly target empty stores — was slightly leading but too close to call Tuesday night.
Under Proposition D, landlords who keep stores empty for more than six months would be subject to a vacancy tax. The measure was put on the ballot by Supervisor Aaron Peskin in an effort to curb storefront vacancies dotting San Francisco streets.
Peskin said he wanted to change “bad actor” behavior by landlords by pressuring them to fill spaces to avoid paying the tax. He said the measure would create incentives for landlords to reduce rents to entice tenants into those storefronts."
Marin, Sonoma County voters say no to SMART train tax measure
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "North Bay voters on Tuesday defeated a sales tax measure that aimed to infuse the struggling SMART train with needed cash.
Measure I would have extended a quarter-cent sales tax in Marin and Sonoma counties to 2059. It is set to expire in 2029. The tax raises an average of $40 million a year — not enough to bolster SMART’s plans to build three stations, 25 miles of track and 11 miles of bike trail, even as officials try to beef up service and attract new riders.
The failure most likely means cutbacks for Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit, the 2-year-old passenger rail service that provides an alternative to stop-and-go traffic on Highway 101. Faced with mounting construction costs, SMART officials say the line could deplete its reserve funds by 2024 without the tax renewal."