Former Republican Assemblyman David Hadley, an anti-Trump GOP moderate, says he is running for governor in 2018.
LA Times' SEEMA MEHTA: "Arguing that California is at a crucial crossroads, Republican David Hadley is announcing a bid to be the state’s next governor. The former assemblyman, who voted against Donald Trump in the fall, is a social moderate and fiscal conservative whose 2018 candidacy could galvanize the GOP establishment in a state where it is at a significant disadvantage."
"Hadley, 52, is the third prominent Republican to enter the field, joining businessman John Cox and Assemblyman Travis Allen. The Democratic field is similarly crowded. In California, voters choose from all of the candidates during the primary and the top two vote-getters advance to the general election, regardless of party."
"I’ve decided that I can fill an important role in this election, I think we can win this race, I think we can bring important changes and important reforms to California, and I think I’m the right guy to do it,” Hadley told The Times. “We can’t have this race be a debate between a Democrat and a socialist."
Lawmakers are trying to fight back against the rhetoric aimed at Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, who has come under fire for refusing to allow a vote on a single-payer health-care bill.
Bay Area News Group's KATY MURPHY: "Since Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon revealed that he had received death threats on social media for his decision to block a single-payer health care bill from advancing this year, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have pushed back against the highly charged rhetoric and violent images targeting the Democrat."
"Labor unions, at least one gubernatorial candidate and lawmakers from both parties have criticized the tenor of the campaign by the California Nurses Association to persuade Rendon to change his mind, including one violent image its leaders circulated — a meme featuring a California bear with a knife bearing Rendon’s name stuck in its back."
“A depiction of violence in any form is unacceptable and inappropriate,” tweeted Assemblyman Rudy Salas, D-Bakersfield, with the image of the bear.
Kamala Harris has moved on to the U.S. Senate in Washington after a successful run as California's Attorney General -- but the transition hasn't been easy. But could a 2020 presidential run be within her grasp?
Capitol Weekly's LISA RENNER: "Getting interrupted on two occasions during nationally televised Senate hearings has proved to be a political boon for Sen. Kamala Harris."
"California’s junior U.S. senator has drawn positive headlines and support on social media for what some perceive as sexist treatment by her Republican male colleagues. Media outlets across the country have identified Harris, a Democrat, as a possible presidential candidate in 2020, though she has said it is too early to think about that."
“She was very early labeled the female Barack Obama,” said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, University of Southern California public policy professor. “She’s articulate, she’s bright and she’s hungry.”
Speaking of Washington, Trump's twitter tantrums could be laying the groundwork for failure for the 45th POTUS, critics contend.
McClatchy DC's TONY PUGH: "President Donald Trump’s campaign to undermine, starve and dismantle Obamacare has hit a critical phase."
"Public support for replacing the Affordable Care Act is slipping and both the Republican House and Senate health bills are deeply unpopular."
"With Congress in need of White House leadership to help shore up support for the repeal effort, Trump instead has vented his frustration on social media."
READ MORE related to Beltway: US Says NK's ICMB launch is 'a new escalation of the threat to the US' and the world -- LA Times' MATT STILES/JONATHAN KAIMAN; N. Korea vows more 'gift packages' of missile tests for US -- AP's FOSTER KLUG; At parades and protests, GOP gets earful about healthcare -- WaPo's DAVID WEIGEL/MURRAY CARPENTER/JULIA O'MALLEY; How close is Russian cyber firm to Russia's spies? -- McClatchy DC's DAVID GOLDSTEIN/GREG GORDON
Schools around the nation are rethinking their approach to meal-debt policies for students in an effort to reduce humiliation that the kids experience from lack of money.
AP's MORGAN LEE: "Teaching assistant Kelvin Holt watched as a preschool student fell to the back of a cafeteria line during breakfast in Killeen, Texas, as if trying to hide."
"The cash register woman says to this 4-year-old girl, verbatim, 'You have no money,'" said Holt, describing the incident last year. A milk carton was taken away, and the girl's food was dumped in the trash. "She did not protest, other than to walk away in tears."
"Holt has joined a chorus of outrage against lunchroom practices that can humiliate children as public school districts across the United States rethink how they cope with unpaid student lunch debts."
The American River will be getting a new, albeit short, bike trail addition.
Sacramento Bee's RYAN LILLIS: "Piece by small piece, a new trail is being built along the American River."
"The Sacramento City Council is set to approve a contract later this month to construct a paved trail running three-quarters of a mile from Sutter’s Landing Park in midtown."
"The new stretch will be constructed on the stone trail running from a skate park at Sutter’s Landing to a railroad trestle near the Capital City Freeway. The $937,952 contract under consideration by the council also includes bike racks, benches and “three acres of habitat restoration on the banks of the American River with native understory vegetation,” according to a city staff report. The council will vote on the contract at its July 18 meeting."
Some of the most influential women in business took sexual harassment head on this year at the annual Female Founders Conference.
The Chronicle's ISHA SALIAN: "The annual Female Founders Conference, hosted by the Mountain View startup accelerator Y Combinator, usually features feel-good speeches from female industry leaders on their professional journey. But this year had a darker subtext, which many of the speakers faced head-on: sexual harassment in Silicon Valley."
"We knew this was happening. Now we are acknowledging this is happening, and now calling it out and holding people accountable. I think that’s a great step forward,” said Padmasree Warrior, CEO of autonomous electric vehicle company NIO. “Now we need to say: How do we stop these things from happening in the first place?"
"The conference, attended by nearly 1,000 female founders and aspiring entrepreneurs, took place at San Francisco’s Herbst Theatre on June 29 — a day before the New York Times reported new accusations of harassment against venture capitalists including Lowercase Capital’s Chris Sacca and Dave McClure of 500 Startups."
A special 'mass casualty response unit' for local law enforcement was assembled after the San Bernardino terrorist attack, and last month's UPS massacre in San Francisco saw that unit spring into action under the public eye for the first time.
The Chronicle's EVAN SERNOFFSKY: "Most of the drivers won’t even enter the building."
"The trauma from a mass shooting at a United Parcel Service distribution center has made going back to work almost unimaginable for many of the nearly 40 workers who witnessed the June 14 massacre."
"San Francisco, though, has been prepared for helping shell-shocked survivors of the rampage that left three UPS drivers and the shooter dead."
READ MORE related to Public Safety: Police step in when SF shelters can't help homeless mom and tot -- The Chronicle's MATIER & ROSS
A quarter-million PG&E customers could see a spike in energy rates come next March.
The Chronicle's DAVID R. BAKER: "If state regulators approve, a quarter of a million Californians scattered across Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s vast service territory will, in March, begin paying different prices for power at different times of day."
"It’s a glimpse of the future."
"Starting in 2019, most Californians will pay “time of use” electricity rates, unless they specifically choose not to. Although some homeowners have already made the switch — particularly, electric car drivers and people who have recently installed solar arrays — most pay tiered rates that charge higher prices for heavy electricity usage."
Speaking of money, San Francisco's budget cuts have forced the city's court system to 'trim some services.'
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "San Francisco Superior Court, faced with a deficit of nearly $5.3 million, says it will close its clerks’ offices at 1 p.m. on Fridays and require court staff to take Fridays off on a rotating basis, without pay."
"The closures will start in September and continue through June, Presiding Judge Teri Jackson said Monday. The unpaid furloughs will begin Aug. 4."
"The deficit arose from a 9 percent cut in state funding for the fiscal year that started July 1, Jackson said. She said four unions representing the workers had accepted the furloughs, which will require each staffer to miss one Friday per month through next June, to avoid layoffs."
Long distance Amtrak trains may be going the way of the Dodo under the Trump administration.
The Chronicle's STEVE RUBENSTEIN: "Americans may have a short time left to take a long train ride."
"The Amtrak trains that roll daily from the Bay Area to Chicago, Seattle and Los Angeles — as well as into the imaginations of the traveling public — might soon be rolling to the scrapyard instead."
"Federal budget cutters once again have their eyes on long-distance Amtrak trains — the ones with bud vases in the dining car and picture windows in the lounge. If the Trump administration has its way, Amtrak will lose about half of its $1.4 billion budget and be forced next year to bump off all its long-distance runs, eliminating service to 23 states, primarily in the West and the South. Short-haul commuter lines such as the Capitol Corridor trains to Sacramento would be all that’s left."
READ MORE related to Transportation: Little things matter to architects on $2.2B transit center -- The Chronicle's JOHN KING; 'A travel ban for a pug? I don't think so!' How an abused puppy made the trip from Iran to America -- LA Times' HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS
Patrick Soon-Shiong is a somewhat-well-known billionaire who has 'woven himself into the cultural fabric of Los Angeles.' But now, Mr. Soon-Shiong's mettle and business acumen are being tested -- a sort of pressure that the entrepreneur seemingly thrives under.
LA Times' JAMES F. PELTZ/MELODY PETERSEN: "Said to be America’s richest doctor, Los Angeles multibillionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong also is a medical entrepreneur, anti-cancer crusader, scientist, inventor, philanthropist, visionary, negotiator and a basketball nut."
"With his fortune and cutting-edge cancer research, Soon-Shiong enjoys a global status at the same time he’s increasingly weaved himself into the cultural fabric of Los Angeles, where he’s one of its wealthiest residents."
"Soon-Shiong has met with President Trump and Pope Francis, and he’s also friends with Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and a familiar courtside presence at Staples Center after buying a minority stake in the team. He also is a major stockholder of the media company Tronc Inc. that owns the Los Angeles Times."
READ MORE related to Economy: SAG-AFTRA reaches contract agreement with AMPTP, avoiding possible strike -- City News Service
Trump's anti-climate hardline could spell disaster for research programs aimed at regressing/stalling global warming.
OC Register's LAUREN WILLIAMS: "Researchers working on climate-oriented science at UC Irvine are cutting or scaling back their programs in anticipation of budget cuts that reflect the Trump administration’s skeptical views about global warming."
"The changes are coming as the school, as well as researchers at other institutions in Southern California, prepares to receive fewer federal dollars once aimed at research and innovations connected to greenhouse gases and the effects of a warming planet."
"The researchers said the new dynamic also could affect climate-oriented research in the future, as they’ve noticed a drop in the number of undergraduate and graduate students applying to work on their projects since the election."
