ALEXEI KOSEFF with Sacramento Bee: "First he tried to convince Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom to remove his gun-control initiative from the November ballot. Now, in the waning days of the election, California Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León is putting his name, and his face, behind Newsom’s Proposition 63 – and Newsom’s camp is magnanimous (with tongue firmly in cheek)."

"Voters in the Bay Area, Newsom’s home turf, have begun to receive a mailer from de León asking them to “Keep Our Kids Safe from Guns!” and support Proposition 63."

"The colorful pamphlet includes several pictures of de León and touts his work on gun and ammunition regulation, an issue he has taken ownership of in the Legislature. Among the laws mentioned is Senate Bill 1235, instituting background checks for ammunition purchases, a measure de León pursued this year that was amended at the last minute to supersede a similar provision in Proposition 63."

ALICE WALTON and DAVID ZAHNISER with L.A. Times: "Two Los Angeles-area elected officials and several neighborhood activists called Sunday for an investigation into campaign donations made by people with ties to a developer who secured City Hall approval for a controversial 352-unit apartment complex last year."

"The Times reported that dozens of donors with direct or indirect connections to real estate developer Samuel Leung gave more than $600,000 to L.A.-area politicians as his $72-million project was being reviewed. Of those who donated, 11 told The Times they did not give or do not remember doing so — raising questions about whether they were the true source of the money."

"Los Angeles City Councilman Joe Buscaino said the city’s Ethics Commission should investigate whether donors were reimbursed — a practice that would violate city, state or federal laws, depending on the campaign. He also promised to give back “any funds that are found to be inappropriate."

PAUL MITCHELL with Capitol Weekly: "The 2016 General Absentee Vote Tracker, brought to you by Political Data and CA120, is up. And over two million voters have already returned their ballots."

"This year, a great deal of national attention is being paid to the rate of early voting, and politicos from both sides of the partisan aisle are using this data to make predictions in the presidential, congressional and state contests. (To see the best collection of national early voting data, visit the US Election Project)"

"We have been tracking early voting for several election cycles in California, so we know that while the early data can be extremely useful, it is also prone to misinterpretation."

SARAH D. WIRE with L.A. Times: "When Rep. Jeff Denham started this latest campaign, most observers thought he would probably win."

"The third-term Republican running to represent the Modesto area in Congress is up against Democratic beekeeper Michael Eggman, the same man he beat just two years ago by 12 points. And Denham won his seat in 2012 even as a majority of his constituents voted for President Obama."

"But with Donald Trump as the deeply divisive Republican nominee for president and no Republican running for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat, those same observers are now wondering if keeping a GOP House member in office will be enough of a motivation for voters to go to the polls or lick the mail-in ballot stamp. Denham hopes it will be."

MICHAEL R. BLOOD with AP: "Republicans and Democrats in California are struggling to keep voters motivated in advance of Election Day, but for different reasons."

"Donald Trump was a longshot from the start in the strongly Democratic state, which hasn't backed a GOP candidate for the White House since George H.W. Bush in 1988. Despite boasting he could win California, nonpartisan polling suggests Trump could be headed for a historically poor showing that could drag down other endangered Republicans."

"Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, is fighting a growing sense of inevitability that could dampen turnout, while trying to sway undecided voters who may see her as uninspiring. Or worse. Wavering voters could be chilled, or Republicans energized, by the disclosure last week that the FBI will investigate whether there is classified information in newly discovered emails that appear to be related to the agency's probe of Clinton's email practices."

READ MORE related to Beltway: Did the FBI director break the law when he told Congress about Clinton-related emails? Maybe. -- AMBER PHILLIPS with Washington Post

Some speculate that the economy is 'running out of oomph' and may head towards another downturn.

JONATHAN LANSNER with Daily News: "Will the election or other economic tricks upset the treats the business climate has been producing?"

"As we celebrate ghosts and goblins and candy corn, the economy continues to generate “mixed signals,” as some economic patterns suggest the recovery’s oomph is running out. It’s scary to think another downturn is on the horizon."

ELLEN KNICKMEYER with AP: "California water agencies that spent more than $350 million in the last two years of drought to pay property owners to rip out water-slurping lawns are now trying to answer whether the nation's biggest lawn removal experiment was all worth the cost."

"Around the state, water experts and water-district employees are employing satellite images, infrared aerial photos, neighborhood drive-bys and complex algorithms to gauge just how much grassy turf was removed. They also want to know whether the fortune in rebates helped turn California tastes lastingly away from emerald-green turf."

"How well did it work? That's really key when we're working on historic investments," said Patrick Atwater, a project manager at the California Data Collaborative, a coalition of utilities and other water-related entities grappling with the question."

ALISHA KIRBY with Cabinet Report: "Following years of declining interest among young people for joining the teaching profession, a report released last week shows enrollment in educator preparation programs significantly increased last year–though not yet enough to fill California’s teacher shortage."

"The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing found that enrollment increased 10 percent during the 2014-15 school year, likely due to a number of efforts put forth by lawmakers to recruit new educators."

"“The uptick we are seeing in enrollment is a promising sign–one that we hope will continue and even expand in light of the $30 million that the governor and the legislature invested in teacher recruitment this year,” Mary Vixie Sandy, executive director of the CTC, said in an email. “However, it is only a first step."

New face of Prop. 63

The Roundup: