California is steeling itself against a GOP-led assault against Obamacare.
Bay Area News Group's TRACY SEIPEL: "Hell hath no fury like a president scorned. And with the embarrassing collapse of the GOP-controlled Senate’s plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, many health care experts predict that Donald Trump and his administration will do whatever it takes to “let Obamacare fail,” as the president put it last week."
"But the people who run the state’s Obamacare insurance marketplace say they have their own plans in place to make sure hundreds of thousands of Californians don’t lose their health coverage."
"We have pieced together good ideas that have come from health plans and advocates — four or five elements, all about protecting consumers,’’ said Peter Lee, Covered California’s executive director."
Speaking of health, Sen. John McCain will be headed back to the Senate today for a key procedural vote, following surgery that forced the senator to take some time off.
Sacramento Bee's TERESA WELSH: "Less than a week after announcing he has brain cancer, Sen. John McCain will return to the Senate as Republicans prepare to vote on Obamacare repeal and replacement."
"The 80-year-old Arizona senator will be back on Capitol Hill Tuesday."
“Senator McCain looks forward to returning to the United States Senate tomorrow to continue working on important legislation, including health care reform, the National Defense Authorization Act, and new sanctions on Russia, Iran and North Korea,” McCain’s office said in a statement released Monday night."
READ MORE related to Beltway: Rep. Adam Schiff fires back after President Trump calls him 'sleazy' on Twitter -- Daily News' BRENDA GAZZAR
The Democrats have unveiled a counter-strategy to Trump's 'Make America Great Again'/'The Art of the Deal'. The Dems' retort? "A Better Deal". Hmmmm.....
The Chronicle's CAROLYN LOCHHEAD: "Adopting a bolder populist message to take to voters in next year’s midterm elections, Democrats on Monday rolled out what they called a “Better Deal” economic agenda that attempts to unify the party around the concerns of working-class men and women."
"They said their plan to “build an America in which working people know that somebody has their back” attempts to unite the party across the disparate racial, class and cultural divides that have fractured it in the past. In several areas, from a $1 trillion infrastructure proposal to a plan to force pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, the plan is tailored to reclaim the populist mantle from President Trump, who embraced such ideas during his campaign for the White House."
"“Democrats know a better deal for hardworking men and women demands bigger, braver thinking,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said as she and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer showcased the new agenda in Berryville, Va., a small town an hour outside Washington in a district held by a Republican they are targeting in next year’s election."
An activist involved in last year's anti-fascist melee at the Capitol Park has had his bail reduced.
Sacramento Bee's DARRELL SMITH: "A Sacramento judge on Monday reduced activist Michael Williams’ bail to $50,000 for his alleged role in last year’s brawl between white supremacists and counter-demonstrators at the State Capitol."
"Visiting Sacramento Superior Court Judge Joseph Orr dropped Williams’ bail by $450,000 after Williams’ attorney Linda Parisi argued that her client has led a “relatively crime-free life” for decades."
"Williams, 56, is charged with assault with a deadly weapon and participating in a riot. Parisi disputes these charges, saying Williams was acting in self-defense as a member of the “Brown Berets,” a group that provided security for counter-demonstrators at the neo-Nazi rally on the grounds of the Capitol."
Forbes is touting Sacramento has a 'natural destination' for tech businesses and other carryovers from the Bay Area.
Sacramento Bee's MATT KAWAHARA: "Could Silicon Valley soon expand to include Sacramento?"
"Forbes, the prominent business publication, ran an editorial over the weekend that depicted the capital city as a natural – even enticing – destination for tech businesses and workers looking to leave the crowded Bay Area hub."
"This concept is not altogether new. Many residents fleeing high Bay Area housing costs already are settling in the capital. Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg has vowed to make Sacramento a center for jobs, and part of that strategy is attracting Bay Area tech companies that want to cut costs but stay in California"
Young women are being empowered to explore tech careers, but many feel intimidated by Silicon Valley's notorious 'bro culture.'
The Chronicle's MARISSA LANG: "At the center of a brightly lit conference room inside the offices of a Silicon Valley software firm, a college student lowered her voice, leaned over to the woman on her right and made an admission: “I’m scared."
"The young woman, 21-year-old Michelle Ahn, is a junior at UC Berkeley. She’s a computer science major and an instructor with Girls Who Code."
"And she’s afraid of entering the workforce not because she doesn’t think she can get a job or do the work she wants to do, but because she’s heard about what happens to women in tech. The stories of harassment, discrimination, assault."
Al Gore has been promoting climate change awareness, but after failing to convert Trump on the Paris Accord, Gore says that the rest of the world is poised and ready to pick up the slack.
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Former Vice President Al Gore thought there was a chance that President Trump wouldn’t pull out of the Paris climate accord after conversations they had in Trump Tower in New York and in the White House."
"But even though Trump ultimately decided to make the United States the only major country to ignore the international agreement to lower carbon emissions, Gore said he has been heartened by the international reaction since then."
"I was deeply concerned that other countries might have used it as an excuse to pull out of the Paris agreements,” Gore said Monday during an appearance at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco to promote his new movie, “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power."
READ MORE related to Beltway: From 'fake media' to Clinton, Trump brings political attacks to the Scout Jamboree -- WaPo's JOHN WAGNER/JENNA JOHNSON; Trump labels Attorney General Jeff Sessions 'beleaguered' -- WaPo's JENNA JOHNSON
Slain openly gay San Francisco Supervisor Harvey Milk could soon get an SFO addition bearing his name.
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN/DOMINIC FRACASSA: "Former Mayor Willie Brown has a bridge named after him, and now slain Supervisor Harvey Milk might get an airport terminal."
"The proposal to put Milk’s name on the domestic side of San Francisco International Airport will go before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. It’s a scaled-back version of a more sweeping plan that former Supervisor David Campos put forward four years ago to name the entire airport after the gay icon."
"Campos hit unexpected resistance when he pressed for a charter amendment that would have put the Harvey Milk Airport question to voters. When other politicians bristled, Campos gave up."
Porter Ranch protesters are urging Gov. Jerry Brown to shut down the Aliso canyon gas facility.
Daily News' SUSAN ABRAM: "Shouting “shut it all down!” nearly 200 protesters gathered in Porter Ranch on Monday evening to urge Gov. Jerry Brown to lean on state regulators to close the Aliso Canyon gas fields once and for all."
"The demand for action came on the same day Los Angeles County officials asked a superior court judge to stop state regulators from allowing the reopening of the Aliso Canyon gas fields, just above the Porter Ranch community, and to prohibit any immediate attempt to resume natural gas injections."
"Porter Ranch residents filled the corners of Tampa Avenue and Rinaldi Street with signs that read “Jerry Brown! Shut Aliso Down!” and “Brown ain’t green,” to show their disapproval with the governor’s almost silent stance on the issue."
Former LA County Sheriff Lee Baca has filed an appeal with the U.S. 9th Circuit, triggering an automatic stay of sentence to keep Baca temporarily out of prison.
Daily News' SUSAN ABRAM: "A motion was filed on behalf of former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca on Monday, asking the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to allow bail pending a request for another trial."
"The filing automatically triggers a temporary stay, meaning Baca does not have to surrender to the federal Bureau of Prisons on Tuesday."
"Baca’s attorney, Nathan Hochman, said his client should be allowed to remain at home while his appeal for a new trial is pending, because he is “75 years old and suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and is not a danger to the community nor a flight risk.”
