Gov. Jerry Brown today starts his three-day visit to Mexico, where he’ll discuss issues of trade and immigration with that country’s leaders.
Judy Lin reports for the Associated Press: “The governor's office announced Sunday that Brown will meet privately with Nieto on Monday about topics including immigration. It comes amid a trade mission aimed at increasing direct investments in California, promoting university exchanges and forming environmental partnerships to combat climate change.”
“The meeting Tuesday with more than a dozen Central American leaders and Los Angeles Archbishop Jose Horacio Gomez comes as a surge of unaccompanied young migrants and families mostly from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have crossed the U.S. border since October.”
And the trip won’t cost California taxpayers a dime.
Chris Megerian and Melanie Mason report for the Los Angeles Times: ” But unlike other state functions, taxpayers won't be paying for Brown's four-day trip. Instead, it's funded by scores of delegates, including business leaders and lobbyists who paid $5,000 each to travel with the governor.”
“The crew includes solar company executives exploring Mexico's energy industry, farmers seeking new markets for their products and some of Sacramento's most influential advocates, like former lawmakers Rusty Areias and Fabian Núñez. There's even a tech company, Lyft, a ride-sharing app that matches drivers and passengers with smartphones.”
Brown’s gubernatorial competitor, Republican Neel Kashkari, is doing what he can to compete with the dynamo incumbent.
Josh Richman reports for The Mercury News: “A Public Policy Institute of California poll released Wednesday showed Brown favored by 52 percent of likely voters and Kashkari by 33 percent -- almost exactly the same as a Field poll found soon after the primary. So Kashkari strives on to convince voters that California, with its struggling public schools and by some measures the nation's highest poverty rate, isn't safe in Brown's hands for four more years.”
“"He's doing what I would do," said Edmond Costantini, a UC Davis political science professor emeritus. "If you're trying to be prudent in terms of spending, it makes a lot of sense. You need to get your name out there, get people curious about you, and it seems the best strategy ... is to look for ways to get free media coverage."”
“But how long can Kashkari keep this up without being drowned out?”
Inmate lawsuits stack over the prison system’s Valley fever epidemic.
Sam Stanton and Denny Walsh report for the Sacramento Bee: “The latest suit, filed earlier this month in federal court in Sacramento on behalf of 58 current and former inmates, accuses the state of knowing for years that its Central Valley prisons were incubators for the incurable sickness, but doing nothing to address the problem.”
“The state has imposed on inmates “a lifelong, crippling, and sometimes fatal disease in addition to their lawfully determined sentences,” the suit claims.”
Tesla’s battery factory could provide a boost to a busted Central Valley community.
Marc Lifsher reports for the Los Angeles Times: “The Golden State was not even in the running until a few months ago, when the Palo Alto company expanded its candidate list that once included only Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas.”
“In May, Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk called California a "long shot" for the massive, 6,500-worker "gigabattery" factory expected to cost as much as $5 billion.”
“But already several areas are being touted for the job. They include Stockton, the East Bay city of Concord, Sacramento, and Imperial County on the Mexico border, east of San Diego.”
A rare lighting strike left one Southern California man dead Sunday.
Jame Queally, Matt Stevens and Teresa Watanabe report for the Los Angeles Times: ""This was a sneak attack that took everybody by surprise," he said. "Coastal Southern California is virtually lightning-proof. Because it's so unusual, people are not sensitized to the dangers.""
"Patzert said the rare conditions would continue through Wednesday and advised people to follow the National Weather Service's warning: "When thunder roars, go indoors."
A National Weather Service analysis of lightning deaths from 2006 to 2013 found that most fatalities occurred during leisure activities, and most victims were males between ages 20 and 29."
