Gov. Brown's gifts have decreased noticeably as his term has progressed.
Sacramento Bee's CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO: "Gov. Jerry Brown’s gift haul for the last year includes nearly $1,900 in travel-related expenses to Yale University, where the 1964 law school graduate took a long-weekend respite from the fall campaign to receive the prestigious Award of Merit."
"Brown’s gift disclosure report, filed with state officials on Wednesday, was noticeably thinner than his submission two years ago, when the Democratic governor listed nearly $21,000 in travel expenses, much of it funding his well-publicized trip to Paris for global-climate talks."
"Mixed among the comped dinners and lunches Brown reported receiving last year was a ticket valued at $104 from the Sacramento Kings. Brown attended the opening of the Golden 1 Center on Oct. 27, appearing on the big screen during the game against the San Antonio Spurs."
READ MORE related to Local: Democrat Ed Hernandez lays off Donald Trump in 'lite gov' campaign -- Sacramento Bee's CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO; Heavy losses send Sacramento County, Doug Ose back to negotiating table over Gibson Ranch -- Sacramento Bee's ELLEN GARRISON; California's Senate Democrats created a new GOP star when they booted Janet Nguyen -- LA Times' GEORGE SKELTON; In LA's Council District 7 race, no one's 'running away with this' -- Daily News' ELIZABETH CHOU
A Fresno judge has ruled that gun groups are within their rights to post state lawmakers' personal information on the internet.
Sacramento Bee's CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO: "Attorneys for the California Legislature are weighing whether to appeal a federal court ruling that could allow gun rights advocates to publish the personal information of individual lawmakers."
"Diane Boyer-Vine, the state’s legislative counsel, said Wednesday that her office was reviewing the preliminary injunction issued by U.S. Chief District Judge Lawrence O’Neill of Fresno."
"O’Neill had moved to halt a California law that restricts the internet publishing of home addresses or phone numbers of elected or appointed officials who feel their safety is threatened, or if the elected officials or their representatives demand that they not be published."
READ MORE related to Public Safety: ICE, DEA conduct drug raid in SF's Sunset district -- The Chronicle's MICHAEL BODLEY; With fiery determination, Chatsworth woman fulfills dream of becoming LA firefighter -- Daily News' WES WOODS; Ex-LA deputy believed orders to obstruct FBI probe came from former Sheriff Lee Baca -- Daily News' SUSAN ABRAM
California's increasing dam danger is underscored by a lack of federal funding.
Sacramento Bee's SEAN COCKERHAM: "Experts say California’s Oroville dam crisis demonstrates the life-and-death urgency of federal spending to upgrade aging dams. But there are doubts about whether President Donald Trump will agree."
"California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird told the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday that further deterioration of the nation’s aging flood control and water infrastructure systems will put lives at risk."
"He said the Oroville crisis, in which nearly 200,000 people were ordered to evacuate last month out of fear of catastrophic flooding, had brought necessary attention to the issues."
Placerville's vice mayor requested, then redacted, a resolution aimed at opposing the official recognition of California as a sanctuary state.
Sacramento Bee's RYAN LILLIS: "The vice mayor of Placerville sought a City Council vote on Tuesday to oppose a state Senate bill that would make California a de facto “sanctuary state” for undocumented immigrants."
"The resolution was pulled from the agenda after a majority of people in the standing-room-only crowd in the City Council chambers said they opposed Vice Mayor Wendy Thomas’ proposal."
"Thomas said in an interview that her resolution opposing Senate Bill 54 is not anti-immigrant but was instead borne out of concerns that the Trump administration will cut off funding to local and state governments that do not enforce federal immigration laws."
READ MORE related to Immigration: Churches could offer sanctuary from mass deportations, says Sacramento bishop -- Sacramento Bee's STEPHEN MAGAGNINI; State lawmakers aim to provide attorneys to immigrants facing deportation. But who gets the help? -- LA Times'JAZMINE ULLOA; 'Merit-based' immigration could help tech firms but hurt families -- The Chronicle's TRISHA THADANI
POTUS 43 George W. Bush warns that the recent wave of political 'isolationism' is the real threat to our national security.
AP's MICHAEL R. BLOOD: "Former President George W. Bush on Wednesday warned against an "isolationist tendency" in the U.S. that he called dangerous to national security, at a time when the current president has faced questions about its commitment to the country's international partnerships."
"The 43rd president was speaking at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, to promote his new book, "Portraits of Courage," a volume of his paintings of military veterans."
"Bush's remarks come at a time when Europeans have been skittish that President Donald Trump may promote isolationist policies. Last month, Vice President Mike Pence reassured allies in Europe about the U.S. commitment to NATO and the country's willingness to maintain its ties around the globe."
READ MORE related to Beltway: Sessions spoke twice with Russian envoy despite denying any contact during hearings -- WaPo's ADAM ENTOUS/ELLEN NAKASHIMA/GREG MILLER; Democrats see a path to salvation in the Sunbelt -- and Newt Gingrich's backyard -- LA Times' EVAN HALPER; Republicans still waiting for Trump to take charge on Obamacare and taxes -- LA Times' LISA MASCARO; Congressional leaders call for Atty. Gen. Sessions to step aside from Russia investigation -- LA Times' LISA MASCARO; Are journalists brave enough to overcome Trump? -- The Chronicle's DAVID TALBOT; Kremlin: Sessions controversy an impediment to new relations -- AP's JIM HEINTZ; Pelosi, other Dems urge Sessions to resign over his contact with Russians -- The Chronicle's KAROUN DEMIRJIAN; President George W. Bush talks Trump, veteran paintings at Reagan Library -- Daily News' MATTHEW CAREY
Recently posted images show just how battered and bruised Oroville Dam spillway is after all the recent inclement weather.
Sacramento Bee's STAFF: "Aerial photographs taken by The Sacramento Bee’s Randy Pench from a helicopter flying over Lake Oroville, Oroville Dam and its wrecked spillway and the clogged Feather River below the dam show the damage caused by record flows released from the lake as the region was hammered by relentless February storms."
"The devastation was evident on Wednesday, March 1, 2017."
READ MORE related to Environment: Sierra snowpack 'pretty phenomenal' but is it record breaking -- Sacramento Bee's RYAN SABALOW/PHILLIP REESE; Fukushima cleanup chief urges better use of probe robot -- AP's MARI YAMAGUCHI; California's spring salmon season may be limited -- The Chronicle's TARA DUGGAN; Santa Rosa records 52 inches of rain in 1 year, most in history -- The Chronicle's MiCHAEL BODLEY
A recently discovered stowaway delayed an international flight bound for San Francisco for hours.
AP: "How he squeaked through security is anyone's guess."
"A little mouse made for a big delay on a British Airways flight from London to San Francisco."
"The passengers were all buckled up and ready to go when the crew told them that a mouse-spotting meant they couldn't take off."
READ MORE related to Transportation: Coroner identifies three adult victims of Riverside plane crash -- LA Times' BRITTNY MEJIA
A local 6th grader finds himself headed to the National Spelling Bee after a nail-biting 13-round competition.
Sacramento Bee's ROBIN OPSAHL: "Samhita Kumar won her way to Washington, D.C. Wednesday with the word “tuatara,” – the name of a New Zealand reptile – after a long-fought battle with 60 other local students in the California Central Valley Spelling Bee."
"The spellers competed at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center in front of family, teachers and classmates in hopes of advancing to the Scripps National Spelling Bee in May. Kumar, a sixth-grader at Winston Churchill Middle School, said her favorite part is that no matter how much you study and practice there’s always a luck factor – something she said helped her win the final round."
"I was just hoping I would get a word I knew and be able to spell it,” Kumar said. “I made my best guess and hoped it was right.”
READ MORE related to Education: Without providing details, Trump and DeVos continue to promote 'school choice' plan -- EdSource's LOUIS FREEDBERG; UC community reacts to release of documents showing 124 cases of sex misconduct -- Daily Californian's ASHLEY WONG/AUDREY MCNAMARA; Southern California schools are saluting Dr. Seuss -- Daily News' STAFF
Medicare, Medicaid. What's the difference? Quite a bit, actually -- and it's all closely intertwined with the ACA.
LA Times' NOAM N. LEVEY: "It’s the program that everyone confuses with Medicare."
"But Medicaid, the half-century-old government health plan for the poor, is actually bigger than its more famous cousin, covering some 70 million Americans at any one time."
"Expanding Medicaid was a central pillar of the Affordable Care Act, helping to bring health coverage to more than 20 million previously uninsured people."
READ MORE related to Health: A California fight for universal health care -- Capitol Weekly's LISA RENNER; LA keeps building near freeways, even though living there makes people sick -- LA Times' TONY BARBOZA/JON SCHLEUSS; Health Insurance: What if you could take it with you? -- California Healthline's JULIE APPLEBY; Syphilis among California newborns spikes amid broader STD epidemic -- California Healthline's ANNA GORMAN; State fires contractor after problems put California HIV patients at risk -- California Healthline's ANNA GORMAN
San Francisco has filed a suit against Hertz rental car company, claiming that the company gouges its clients for bridge tolls.
The Chronicle's MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "For many visitors to San Francisco, a drive across the Golden Gate Bridge is a must. But if they’re driving a Hertz rental car, they’re being ripped off, the city attorney’s office says."
"In a suit filed Wednesday, City Attorney Dennis Herrera charged that the rental car giant and a business partner have been fraudulently deceiving tens of thousands of customers into paying what amounts to millions of dollars in extra fees over the past four years “for the simple act of crossing San Francisco’s iconic Golden Gate Bridge.”
"At the heart of the suit, filed in San Francisco Superior Court, is a toll-paying product, Plate Pass, that the suit says comes with vehicles rented by Hertz Corp. Hertz and its toll-processing partner, American Traffic Solutions, describe Plate Pass as an optional tool to allow customers to cross the Bay Area’s bridges hassle-free. But Herrera says customers have little choice but to use the toll-paying product and end up being hit with surprise credit card charges several weeks after they return home."
READ MORE related to Economy: Snap IPO tests the very notion of shareholder democracy -- The Chronicle's THOMAS LEE
