Yesterday, James Comey gave what was undoubtedly some of the most anticipated testimony in the Beltway since the Watergate hearings as he laid out the case that Donald Trump not only lied about his reason for firing him, but that the ex-FBI director himself had also deliberately leaked his notes through a third party in order to kick-start the process of getting a special prosecutor named.
WaPo's MARC FISHER: "For his performance of a lifetime, James B. Comey, finally free to speak his mind about the president who sacked him, decided to play two roles at once: The prototypical G-man, always on the straight and narrow, dedicated only to truth and justice, and the aggrieved victim of an undisciplined, line-crossing president."
"In both roles, the play ends with Comey, the deposed FBI director, in a new and uncomfortable place — as the whistleblower, warning the nation about a president who schemes, lies and seeks to corrupt public servants under the guise of loyalty."
"For more than 2 ½ hours before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday, Comey, stern and unsmiling, rocked back and forth between stirring paeans to the men and women of the bureau (“Thank you for standing watch”) and a righteous role as the one person with sufficient standing and spine to call out President Trump (“I was honestly concerned that he might lie about the nature of our meeting”)."
READ MORE related to Kremlingate/Beltway: Comey: White House lied about me, FBI -- WaPo's DEVLIN BARRETT/ELLEN NAKASHIMA/ED O'KEEFE; The Trump internet was pretty thrilled with the Comey hearing -- WaPo's ABBY OHLHEISER; Comey disputes NYT article about Russia investigation -- NYT's MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT/MARK MAZZETTI/MATT APUZZO; GOP's emerging Trump defense: A Naif in the Oval Office -- WaPo's MIKE DEBONIS; OP-ED: Comey was playing chess -- NYT's EMILY BAZELON/ELIZABETH GOITEIN; British Shock: PM May's election gamble appears to backfire -- AP's JILL LAWLESS/GREGORY KATZ; Did Russia interfere in the 2016 elections? No doubt, Comey says -- McClatchy DC's MATTHEW SCHOFIELD; Was Trump's request of Comey to 'lift the cloud' evidence of obstruction? -- The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO; In a credibility contest with Comey, Trump has a problem -- The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI; Former FBI chief Comey says he was fired to stop Russia inquiry, and accuses Trump of 'lies, plain and simple' -- LA Times' DAVID S. CLOUD/JOSEPH TANFANI; Montana Republican Greg Gianforte, charged with assaulting reporter, apologizes, but will voters forgive and forget in 2018? -- LA Times' MELISSA ETEHAD; Trump to evangelicals: We're 'under siege,' will be stronger -- AP's DARLENE SUPERVILLE
Gov. Brown and legislators have reached a tentative budget deal, according to Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco.
Sacramento Bee's JIM MILLER/ALEXEI KOSEFF/TARYN LUNA: "Majority Democrats and the Brown administration have reached a tentative deal on a new state budget that expands a tax credit for the poor, includes more money for Medi-Cal doctors, and preserves a college scholarship plan the governor’s office had wanted to end, the Assembly’s budget leader said Thursday."
"Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, described a “tentative, broad-stroke agreement” to reporters that will be ironed out by the Legislature’s budget-writing panel at its next meeting. The budget conference committee, which had been scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. today, now has no scheduled time to meet."
"I think the winners are the people of California,” Ting said."
READ MORE related to Local: Loser challenges vote for California Democratic party chair -- The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN; Bay area political events -- The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI
Mad at Gov. Brown's recent gas tax increase? You ain't the only one.
Sacramento's CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO: "California voters overwhelmingly oppose a recent tax and fee package pushed by Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democratic-dominated Legislature to pay for road repairs, a new poll finds."
"The gas tax law, which ushers in a 10-year program to raise more than $52 billion for transportation projects, is so unpopular it could backfire on Democrats in upcoming elections."
"Fifty eight percent of voters oppose Senate Bill 1, including 39 percent who say they strongly reject the legislation, according to the survey from UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies. Only 35 percent favor the law, which raises taxes on gasoline and diesel and hikes vehicle registration fees to fix roads and highways."
READ MORE related to Transportation: Sacramento transit officials have been watching you. Now they want to talk -- Sacramento Bee's TONY BIZJAK
Xavier Becerra tells Trump, "hands off our national monuments."
LA Times' BETTINA BOXALL: "Caalifornia’s attorney general argued Thursday that President Trump has no legal authority to revoke or modify national monuments created by previous administrations."
"In an 11-page letter to the Interior Department, state Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra vowed “to take any and all legal action necessary” to preserve six California monuments, including one in Los Angeles’ backyard, that the Trump Administration may attempt to revoke or shrink."
"In April, Trump signed an executive order directing Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to review all national monuments that were created since 1996 and are larger than 100,000 acres, or were expanded “without adequate public outreach.”
READ MORE related to Environment: There's a reason it's gray when we wake up; we call it June gloom -- LA Times' PAUL DUGINSKI; $150 million Porter Ranch mixed-use development -- The Vineyards -- breaks ground -- Daily News' DANA BARTHOLOMEW
The siblings of a mentally ill man who was shot by police nearly a year ago have filed a second lawsuit Thursday over the police's use-of-force policy and whether or not they have revised/made changes to its rules.
Sacramento Bee's ANITA CHABRIA: "The five siblings of a mentally ill black man fatally shot by police in North Sacramento nearly a year ago filed a lawsuit Thursday in their continuing efforts to learn if the officers who fired the shots were disciplined, and what if any changes the department has made to lower its use of force."
"From the very beginning we’ve been asking for accountability from these officers,” said Robert Mann, brother of Joseph Mann, the 51-year-old shot by police. “It’s been almost a year now and nothing has been done. We are looking for action.”
"The lawsuit is the second filed by the Mann family. Earlier this year, the city settled a suit with Mann’s father for $719,500, said Sacramento City Attorney James Sanchez."
The Trump administration's attitude towards immigration and refugees was highlighted after ICE closed detention alternatives for asylum-seekers fleeing war-torn lands that have entered the US illegally.
AP's FRANK BAJAK: "The Trump administration is shutting down the least restrictive alternative to detention available to asylum-seekers who have entered the U.S. illegally, The Associated Press has learned."
"Immigration activists consider the move a callous insult to migrants fleeing traumatic violence and poverty — nearly all the program's participants are Central American mothers and children — by a White House that has prioritized deportations that break up families over assimilating refugees."
"This is a clear attempt to punish mothers who are trying to save their children's lives by seeking protection in the United States," said Michelle Brane of the nonprofit Women's Refugee Commission. "I think it's crazy they are shutting down a program that is so incredibly successful."
READ MORE related to Immigration: Are immigrants tuned in to Becerra's anti-Trump role? -- Capitol Weekly's KAINA LOWMAN
Sacramento's median rent appears to have raised nearly 8% since the same time last year, the third-highest increase in the entire nation.
Sacramento Bee's RYAN LILLIS: "Are friends posting a lot lately on Facebook about skyrocketing rents in Sacramento? There’s data suggesting the stories aren’t isolated incidents."
"Rents in the city of Sacramento are up a whopping 7.4 percent this year compared with 2016 – the third-highest increase in the nation, according to analysis by real estate firm Apartment List."
"Sacramento is seeing the highest rent hikes of any major California city. Only Arlington, Texas, and Reno have seen bigger jumps this year."\
READ MORE related to Economy: LA may let marijuana businesses grow to the tune of $50 million in tax revenue -- Daily News' ELIZABETH CHOU; Verizon expected to cut 2100 jobs at Yahoo/AOL after merger closes -- LA Times' ALEXA D'ANGELO; This Caltech researcher just became an astronaut, here's what she's thinking -- San Gabriel Valley Tribune's JASON HENRY
Capitol Weekly Podcast: Paul Mitchell
CW: "California’s political pollsters face profound change, and it all has to do with the way we use our phones."
"A decade ago, better than nine out of 10 California households with telephones relied on land lines for their service — a scant 5 percent used cell phones for their home connection."
"This year, nearly half of all households rely on cell phones, and that trend likely will accelerate as we enter the next election cycle. This change affects the way political surveys are handled."
A Los Angeles Unified wrestling coach has been charged with sexually assaulting four students.
LA Times' RICHARD WINTON: "A wrestling coach at a Los Angeles Unified high school was charged Thursday with sexually assaulting four students during the last three years, authorities said."
"Terry Terrell Gillard, 56, is accused of committing the abusive acts starting in 2014, against children he met through the wrestling team at John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office."
READ MORE related to Education: Advocates of 3-year teacher tenure face big decision -- EdSource's JOHN FENSTERWALD; Through observation and play, toddlers take on science -- EdSource's ASHLEY HOPKINSON; Altadena community split on whether Pasadena Unified should continue to house a private school -- Daily News' HAYLEY MUNGUIA; 1 in 5 Cal State students graduate in 4 years -- Bay Area News Group's EMILY DURUY; Graduations across the San Fernando Valley send seniors on their way -- Daily News' ANTONIE BOESSENKOOL
