Donald Trump could learn a thing or two from Gov. Brown on the necessity of bipartisan legislation.
LA Times' CATHLEEN DECKER: "As his party’s healthcare plan imploded Monday night, President Trump could look across the country to the state he seems to disdain the most and see success forged by the very thing he ran against: old-fashioned politics."
"California Gov. Jerry Brown and legislative Democrats worked with Republicans to craft a climate change measure that found just enough support among Republicans to pass even though many in the party continue to oppose it."
"The victory was surely propelled by the Democratic advantage in the Legislature, but undeniably benefited from the singular focus of an executive steeped in government experience and willing to publicly plead and deliver concessions to get his measure over the line."
One unhappy group in the cap-and-trade negotiations backed environmental justice -- a concept that advocates said got short-shrift. But their concerns were met, too -- at least in part.
From JULIE CART at Calmatters: "As the quieter ‘companion bill’ to Monday’s cap-and-trade extension legislation, Assembly Bill 617 sought to placate environmental justice advocates who have increasingly complained that the state’s globally ambitious climate policy overlooks a local problem: poor California communities living in the shadow of polluters."
"The bill, sponsored by Democratic Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia of Bell Gardens, was touted as the less-grandiose partner to cap and trade, whose expansive reach allows California polluters to offset their emissions by reducing them in another state."
"Her measure is aimed closer to home, attempting to, as she put it, “address air pollution in the most burdened communities.” That would include Garcia’s district, where residents are hard-hit by environmental degradation."
READ MORE related to Environment: The future of California's signature tool to fight climate change is secure -- but the political battles are just beginning -- LA Times' MELANIE MASON; 8 California Republicans defy national party line, support climate change regulation -- Daily News' KATY MURPHY/PAUL ROGERS
Speaking of bipartisanship, or not, an alleged affair between two prominent Republicans is sparking a political attack against one of them for his vote to support the cap-and-trade bill.
From the Bee's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "Incensed that Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes supported a Democratic plan to renew a key climate change policy, California conservative activists are calling for his resignation and raising allegations of an affair with his predecessor."
“He is a terrible leader, and he does not represent Republican values and principles,” said Joseph Turner, who published a post about Mayes on his website, American Children First, over the weekend. “I think he should do the honorable thing and resign.”
"The post included a letter that the estranged husband of former Assembly Republican Leader Kristin Olsen, of Riverbank, sent to the Assembly in April, seeking an investigation into whether any state resources were used to conceal a relationship between Olsen and Mayes. The matter was referred to the Assembly ethics committee."
Rep. Duncan Hunter, a San Diego-area congressman, is spending a lot of money on legal bills. Really a lot.
LAT's SARAH D. WIRE tells the tale: "Under investigation by the FBI for possibly misusing campaign funds, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) has spent $336,664 with seven law firms this year."
"Hunter's most recent campaign finance report shows $152,859 in spending and $114,412 in debt to seven law firms in the San Diego and Washington areas in the months since the House Ethics Committeedisclosed the FBI's investigation in late March to explain why it was not pursuing its own probe of the San Diego-area congressman."
"The fifth-term Republican raised just $155,625 in the same time frame, nearly the same amount he paid out in legal fees, according to his campaign finance report."
The Obamacare repeal's failure to push through the Senate has amped the pressure up on ranking Republicans.
LA Times' NOAM N. LEVEY/LISA MASCARO: "Congressional Republicans, their campaign to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act in shambles, face mounting pressure to work with Democrats to make fixes to the 2010 healthcare law rather than roll it back."
"But it remains unclear whether the White House and GOP leaders are prepared to reach across the aisle to stabilize insurance markets and shield Americans from rising healthcare costs, especially if that also means being seen as betraying their years-long promise to repeal Obamacare."
READ MORE related to Health: Will health bill's collapse force GOP to work with Democrats? -- The Chronicle's CAROLYN LOCHHEAD; SoCal patients uneasy about future of health care after Senate bill fails -- Daily News' COURTNEY PERKES
A former USC medical school dean's double life has sparked outrage at the college where he once taught.
LA Times' SARAH PARVINI/MATT HAMILTON: "Acknowledging widespread concern on campus, USC President C.L. Max Nikias said Tuesday the university would “examine and address” a report in The Times that its former medical school dean abused drugs and associated with criminals and drug users."
"Nikias, speaking about the controversy for the first time in a letter to the campus community, said that “we understand the frustrations expressed about this situation” involving Dr. Carmen A. Puliafito and “we are working to determine how we can best prevent these kinds of circumstances moving forward."
READ MORE related to Education: Cal State instructor accused of assaulting GOP students reinstated -- Daily News' ANDREW EDWARDS
The BART transportation system has a serious inadequacy working against it: surveillance equipment that is half-a-century old.
The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI/MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "All of BART’s rail cars may be outfitted with working cameras, but more than 100 of them feature technology that was current in the 1970s — including some still using the Betamax format, The Chronicle has learned."
"BART officials say that all of the cameras work, produce usable video and are regularly inspected and replaced when needed. But the officials can’t project when — if ever — they’ll all be replaced."
"A video security expert said the older cameras, which record using the VHS and Beta formats, are not only outdated but also produce poor-quality video. The tapes, cameras and viewers all degrade as they’re used."
Immigrants are a large part of what makes California's economy so robust and strong, and nearly half of them work in STEM related careers.
Daily News' LISA M. KRIEGER: "Forty-two percent of California’s workers in science, technology, engineering and math occupations were born in a foreign nation, according a recent analysis."
"The American Immigration Council, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, studied the occupational, gender, educational and geographic distribution of foreign-born STEM workers in the United States, using 2015 survey data by the U.S. Census Bureau."
"Nationally, about one-quarter of the nation’s STEM workforce is foreign-born, according to the report, “Foreign-born STEM Workers in the United States.” It has grown significantly in recent years, doubling from 11.9 percent in 1990 to 24.3 percent in 2015, according to the advocacy group, which studies immigration to the United States."
After nearly 20 years of deliberations, Newhall Ranch finally gets greenlit.
Daily News' SUSAN ABRAM: "After almost two decades of controversy, plans for two of five villages that make up the 21,500-unit Newhall Ranch development in the Santa Clarita Valley received approval Tuesday from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, clearing the way for the start of construction on what has been called the largest subdivision of its kind in the nation."
"The board’s 4-0 vote to certify plans for the Landmark and Mission villages means that barring any more legal wrangling, construction on 5,500 homes and apartments, as well as office space and elementary schools may start this fall, according to developers."
"Nearly 70 people from a range of groups from the Santa Clarita Valley attended Tuesday’s downtown Los Angeles public hearing, including those from the Chamber of Commerce and the Fernandeño Tataviam Band of Mission Indians. Most were invited to the meeting by developers to speak in support of the project, saying it would create thousands of jobs, boost sales tax revenues, add much-needed housing, and show that the area is at the forefront of green-friendly development."
OP-ED: Housing in California faces a host of regulatory challenges and burdens, including frequent abuse of the CEQA laws.
GEOFF MCINTOSH in Capitol Weekly: "Either reduce the torrent of regulatory burdens on California home builders or face a future of high housing costs and stunted economic growth. So concludes Loren Kaye, president of the California Foundation for Commerce and Education, who penned one of several articles issued last month through the Center for California Real Estate (CCRE)."
"In Fostering Growth and Opportunity in California for a Strong Middle Class, Kaye nails it when he says policymakers have not adequately addressed permitting, zoning, and litigation burdens, most notably reforming the California Environmental Quality Act, and eliminating its use as a political tool to prevent much needed housing projects from being built."
"Consider: For the first time, California’s median home price surpassed $550,000[i] in May, according to a report issued by the California Association of REALTORS®. At the same time, California’s home ownership rate of 54 percent landed it last in the nation."
