Former Gavin Newsom chief of staff federally charged with stealing from Xavier Becerra
Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG/BOB EGELKO: "Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, has been charged with stealing $225,000 from a campaign account held by Xavier Becerra, who was then secretary of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden.
An indictment issued by a federal grand jury in Sacramento last Friday alleges that Williamson conspired with Becerra’s former chief of staff Sean McCluskie, former high-ranking Capitol aide and lobbyist Greg Campbell and two unnamed people to take the funds from Becerra’s former political campaign account under the false pretense that they were payments to McCluskie’s wife to monitor the account."
READ MORE -- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff arrested in FBI public corruption probe -- Sacramento Bee, LIA RUSSELL/SHARON BERNSTEIN/NICOLE NIXON; Dana Williamson, Newsom’s former Chief of Staff, three others, indicted for corruption -- Capitol Weekly, STAFF; New revelations emerge in corruption probe of ex-advisors for Newsom, Becerra -- LAT, SONJA SHARP/MELODY GUTIERREZ/KEVIN RECTOR/KATIE KING; Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff indicted on public corruption charges -- CALMatters, MAYA C. MILLER
Trump signs bill ending longest government shutdown in U.S. history
LAT, ANA CEBALLOS: "President Trump on Wednesday night signed into law a spending package that will end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, a legislative victory for Republicans who did not budge on Democrats’ demands on healthcare.
“Today, we are sending a clear message that we will never give in to extortion,” Trump said during a bill signing ceremony in the Oval Office."
Newsom is running alone, for now. Is he vulnerable from the left?
LAT, MICHAEL WILNER: "Before flying to Brazil this week, showing up for the United States at an international summit skipped by the Trump administration, California Gov. Gavin Newsom made a stop in Texas. The redistricting fight that had started there had come to a halt in California thanks to the governor’s action. “Don’t poke the bear,” Newsom told an elated crowd of Democrats.
In Washington, a handful of Senate Democrats had just voted with Republicans to reopen the government, relenting on a fight for an extension of healthcare tax credits. Newsom lashed out harshly against his party colleagues. “Pathetic,” he wrote online, later telling The Times, “you don’t start something unless you’re going to finish.”"
Bracing for the fallout from weed tax suspension
Capitol Weekly, LEAH O'TARROW: "When voters approved Proposition 64 and legalized adult use of marijuana in the state, there was hope that the illegal market would cease to exist and tax dollars would flow into the state to fund youth education programs and more. Seven years later, the industry says it’s struggling to stay afloat.
In response, Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) introduced Assembly Bill 564, which suspends the scheduled increase in the cannabis excise tax, aiming to stabilize the industry."
Immigrants with health conditions may be denied visas under new Trump administration guidance
Chronicle, AMANDA SEITZ: "Foreigners seeking visas to live in the U.S. might be rejected if they have certain medical conditions, including diabetes or obesity, under a Thursday directive from the Trump administration.
The guidance, issued in a cable the State Department sent to embassy and consular officials and examined by KFF Health News, directs visa officers to deem applicants ineligible to enter the U.S. for several new reasons, including age or the likelihood they might rely on public benefits. The guidance says that such people could become a “public charge” — a potential drain on U.S. resources — because of their health issues or age."
Detained immigrants sue over alleged inhumane conditions at California City ICE facility
Chronicle, JESSICA FLORES: "Seven immigrants held at the newly opened detention center in California City (Kern County) filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration Wednesday, alleging inhumane conditions in which detainees do not have access to adequate food, water and medical care.
The detainees alleged that immigration officials at the CoreCivic California City Immigration Processing Center have restricted family visits, denied access to attorneys with weeks-long delays, neglected people with disabilities by not providing sign language interpreters and have excessively put detainees in solitary confinement, according to the lawsuit. People have been held in dirty units with freezing temperatures, and some have had their prayer mats, head coverings and holy texts confiscated, the lawsuit alleges."
U.S. Catholic bishops issue rare statement on immigration enforcement: ‘We are disturbed’
LAT, RUBEN VIVES: "For the first time in 12 years, U.S. Catholic bishops issued a unified statement Wednesday to support the country’s immigrants and oppose the Trump administration’s ”indiscriminate mass deportations of people.”
The special statement was issued during the bishops’ annual gathering in Baltimore. It was the first time since 2013 that the bishops had collectively voiced their concerns over an issue. The last time they did so was in response to the federal government’s contraceptive mandate."
They rely on landlines for emergencies. AT&T’s political moves in California could take those away
CALMatters, YUE STELLA YU/MALENA CAROLLO: "Upon hearing her husband’s call for help, Cynthia Halliday came flying upstairs. He was rushing toward the outdoor deck, gasping for air. He was having a heart attack.
Halliday held him and dialed 911 with her cellphone. The dispatcher answered, but within seconds, she said, the call disconnected due to poor reception. Halliday screamed for help, loud enough for her next-door neighbor Larry Williams to hear and dial from his copper landline. This time, it got through."
CALMatters, KRISTEN HWANG: "At 3:30 on a July morning, Emily Meyers’ water broke. Her son was coming five weeks early. Meyers and her husband jumped in the car and raced from their home in Greenville, population 387, to Reno, Nev. where they had planned to deliver. It was a two-hour drive along mostly narrow, two-lane highways shared with logging trucks.
They didn’t make it in time. Their son, Grant, was born in the car 13 minutes from the hospital to two stunned parents."
LAT, MELODY PETERSEN: "Edison International Chief Executive Pedro Pizarro said Wednesday that the utility expects the first Eaton fire victims who have agreed not to sue the utility to get their settlement offers later this month.
In an interview, Pizarro said that the utility decided to create the program to pay victims before the fire investigation was complete to get money to them more quickly and because it has become more apparent that the company’s equipment ignited the inferno that killed 19 people."
Epic SoCal atmospheric river storm threatens mudslides but could snuff out fire risk
LAT, RONG-GONG LIN II/CLARA HARTER: "Evacuation warnings were set to go into effect across Los Angeles County on Thursday evening as an atmospheric river approached Southern California, bringing with it the potential to put an early end to fire season while also bringing fresh risks of flooding and mudslides.
Under the storm scenario deemed most likely by forecasters, downtown L.A. would see 2.62 inches of rain Friday morning through Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. However, the forecast remains unsettled and varies widely."
Updated atmospheric river forecast shows 60+ mph wind gusts in Bay Area. Here’s what to expect
Chronicle, GREG PORTER: "A powerful Pacific storm fueled by a water-laden atmospheric river will start to impact the Bay Area Wednesday night, bringing damaging winds, heavy rain and even a slight chance of thunderstorms or waterspouts.
The latest model runs show a slower system than previously expected, and that change means the worst of the storm will now hit between 4 a.m. and 10 a.m. on Thursday, causing significant impacts for the morning commute."
Chronicle, LAURA WAXMANN: "An ongoing legal dispute between the ownership group of San Francisco’s Transamerica Pyramid and a glitzy members-only club that was supposed to fill the iconic building’s first three floors reached new heights this week, with claims that investments into the group’s holdings were used to fund their “lavish” lifestyles.
Attorneys for the CORE Club moved to amend their complaint— which was filed in a New York Court last year and sought to terminate the club’s lease for the pyramid while accusing building owner Michael Shvo and his partners of “self-dealings” and fraud in regard to the deal — to accuse the Manhattan-based developer and Germany’s largest pension fund of violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO."
Beloved Bay Area holiday traditions you can’t miss this season
Chronicle, STAFF: "The holiday season in the Bay Area is full of beloved traditions — old and new — that capture the spirit of the season.
From San Francisco Ballet’s “The Nutcracker” to “The Golden Girls Live! The Holiday Episodes” the region comes alive with music, dance and plenty of cheer. Whether sacred or silly, check out these events before the new year."
BART’s fiscal crisis could close 9 stations. So why are people pushing for a new one in Oakland?
Chronicle, RACHEL SWAN: "BART is facing a budget crisis of unfathomable magnitude. But that hasn’t stopped political leaders from pressing for a new train station.
This one would sit at the edge of a vibrant neighborhood in East Oakland, on property tantalizingly close to the waterfront but hemmed in by the Nimitz freeway. Train tracks already criss-cross the area, making it ripe for new infrastructure. All that’s missing is the money."
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, powerful voice for Black equality, is hospitalized
LAT, CLARA HARTER: "Trailblazing civil rights leader the Rev. Jesse Jackson was hospitalized in Chicago on Wednesday due to symptoms from the neurodegenerative condition progressive supranuclear palsy.
His hospitalization was confirmed in a statement by the Rainbow PUSH Coalition, a social justice organization founded by Jackson."