If you wondered if there could be any new wrinkles in this year's presidential race, how about this: Republican Donald Trump will be the 'standard bearer' for two parties on California's November ballot, after being elected party nominee by the American Independent Party -- the first time such an event has happened in 'at least 80 years'.
L.A. Times' John Myers writes: "Donald Trump will be presented to California voters on Nov. 8 as the nominee of two different political parties, after leaders of the ultra-conservative American Independent Party voted to select the New York real estate developer as its standard bearer."
"It will be the first time a presidential candidate is listed on the California ballot as the choice of two parties in at least 80 years, state election officials said."
“We are the demographic that Trump is appealing to,” said Markham Robinson, the secretary of the American Independent Party of California. “We are heeding the voice of our voters.”
SEE MORE related to General Election: Do you know your ABC's? You'll need them for SF ballot measures -- Emily Green and Lizzie Johnson with SF Chronicle; GOP loses voter edge in Riverside County -- Jeff Horseman with O.C. Register
Meanwhile, hackers have released contact information on 39 California Democrats in the House after hitting the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Sarah D. Wire with L.A. Times writes: "Phone numbers and email addresses for at least some of California's 39 House Democrats were among the details published online last week after the apparent hacking of of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee."
"House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi over the weekend warned House Democrats and their staffs not to let their families answer the phone after email addresses and cellphone numbers belonging to nearly 200 members of the caucus were posted."
"Several California members said they have been bombarded with spam and prank calls. Others didn't want to speak publicly about it, worried it might inspire more people to contact them."
SEE MORE in Cybersecurity: SF Hotel among properties that may have been hit by hackers -- AP in The Chronicle
Many tech companies in Silicon Valley and the Bay Area are offering the day off on Nov. 8 -- as well as other initiatives--as an incentive to get employees to the polls.
Marisa Kendall in Silicon Beat writes: "Silicon Valley is gearing up to rock the vote this November."
"And for many valley techies there will be no excuses — such as a pesky job to report to — to keep them from the polls this year."
"As part of a growing push to drive more Bay Area voters to the polls, tech startups are launching voter registration campaigns, partnering on voter turnout initiatives and even pledging to give employees the day off on Nov. 8."
A former U.S. Representative with a law practice in San Diego is feeling a backlash after a lawsuit claims immigration fraud.
Jeff McDonald with L.A. Times reports: "Long before Duncan L. Hunter served 14 terms in Congress, he ran a law practice serving underprivileged families in the Barrio Logan neighborhood of San Diego."
"Now a case he worked on decades ago has prompted a lawsuit in San Diego Superior Court against the the former House Armed Services Committee chairman."
"Pedro Aguila and his two adopted children, Maria and Julio, sued Hunter this year, alleging he failed to follow through on an agreement to secure American citizenship for the two when they were formally adopted."
Hollywood has been known to practice 'ageism' or restricting roles from potential actors simply because of age, but now there's a new bill that may help actors hide their age on employment websites.
Patrick McGreevy reporting for L.A. Times writes: "Addressing concern about age discrimination in Hollywood, the state Senate on Monday approved a bill that would allow actors to keep their ages from being disclosed on websites that provide employment services to the entertainment industry."
"The bill sought by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists was approved on a 25-12 vote even though several Republican members said it is meaningless because actors' ages are widely available on the Internet on sites including IMDB.com."
"We’re making laws that can’t be fully enforced,” state Sen. Joel Anderson (R-Alpine) said."
The wildfire decimating Lake County may be the product of arson.
Evan Sernoffsky with SF Chronicle writes: "County officials arrested a Clearlake man Monday on 17 counts of arson related to numerous fires — including the raging 4,000-acre Clayton Fire that has so far claimed 175 buildings and displaced hundreds of people."
"County Sheriff Brian Martin and California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Chief Ken Pimlott announced the arrest of Damin Pashilk, 40, at a community meeting of about 200 people at a casino doubling as a Red Cross shelter south of the blaze."
"People screamed as they heard that the fire that is causing so much heartache may have been deliberately set."
MORE related to Environment: What's behind Lake County's back-to-back wildfire catastrophes? Blame the drought -- Adam Ashton and Phillip Reese in Sac Bee.
The U.C. Student Association has undergone an administrative overhaul after holding an election for a new president and executive officers.
Suhauna Hussain with Daily Californian reports: "The UC Student Association elected its 2016-17 president and other executive officers at a conference Friday."
"UC Davis doctoral student Ralph Washington Jr. was chosen to serve as the association’s president, while Brenda Gutierrez will take over as board chair. The elections took place at the UCSA’s annual UC Student Congress conference in Pomona, California."
"“If we claim to be one UC and we aim to function as one UC, we need to make sure we’re advocating on behalf of students on all 10 campuses,” Washington Jr. said, adding that UC Merced is sometimes neglected. “I want to make sure one campus isn’t left to languish in the middle of the central valley.”
And with school starting just around the corner, opponents of the new mandatory vaccination-for-education law are making their voices heard.
Loretta Kalb with Sacramento Bee writes: "As Sacramento area school districts step up efforts to ensure that kindergartners and seventh graders get vaccinated so they can attend class, a federal judge in San Diego is weighing whether to temporarily block the law that eliminated parents’ ability to exempt their children from shots by citing personal beliefs."
"Rebecca Estepp, spokeswoman for the nonprofit Education 4 All Foundation, said U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw announced he expects to decide the week of Aug. 22 whether to temporarily halt Senate Bill 277 while a lawsuit goes forward. The foundation is one of 21 plaintiffs in the suit."
"Last week, scores of students missed the opening days of classes in the Sacramento region because they showed up without their proof of vaccinations. A number of large districts have yet to start fall classes. San Juan Unified starts its fall semester on Thursday and Sacramento City Unified starts classes Sept. 1."
The state Assembly has approved a major change to police property-siezure limits when dealing with criminal -- and sometimes, non-criminal -- asset recovery.
Marisa Lagos reporting for KQED writes: "California lawmakers took a major step toward reining in a controversial practice that has allowed law enforcement agencies to keep cash and other property seized during traffic stops — even if the owner was never convicted of a crime."
"On a bipartisan 66-8 vote, the state Assembly passed Senate Bill 443 Monday, nearly a year after the same house soundly defeated the measure. The difference? This year, powerful law enforcement groups that lobbied hard in 2015 to kill SB 443 stayed neutral after intense negotiations and some significant changes.
"The fundamental question is, should the government be able to permanently take your cash or other properties without proving you have committed a crime?” said Theshia Naidoo, a staff attorney with the Drug Policy Alliance, which co-sponsored the measure."
California motorists are relishing the recent drop in fuel prices, but the state's drivers traditionally pay more than those in other states.
From the Chronicle's David R. Baker: "Californians currently spend 49 cents more per gallon than the national average, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. For most of the last year, that difference exceeded 60 cents. Several times last summer, it topped $1."
"California routinely has some of the highest pump prices in the United States, the result of high taxes and the use of a pollution-reducing gasoline formula not sold elsewhere. But the premium we pay historically hovered between 25 and 35 cents per gallon. Relatively new expenses related to California’s fight against global warming have added about 15 cents to that premium, but it can’t explain the elevated prices that have persisted for 18 months."
"By one estimate, the unusually wide gap between California’s gasoline prices and the national average has cost the state’s drivers more than $10 billion."
