Thanks to effective legislating, California lawmakers may soon pass affordable housing bills.
LA Times' GEORGE SKELTON: "Democrats are about to achieve one of their top priorities for this legislative session: passing bills to confront California’s affordable housing shortage."
"It’s a two-year session and this is only the first year. So if the Legislature and Gov. Jerry Brown can pull off a housing victory in the next few days, as they expect, it’ll be relatively swift action and something to high-five about."
"Already this year, the Legislature has passed Brown’s top two priorities: a fuel-tax increase to pay for major road repairs, and an extension of the state’s unique climate-fighting cap-and-trade program that requires polluters to buy permits to emit greenhouses gasses."
Meanwhile, Berkeley City Councilmember Ben Bartlett runs for California 15th State Assembly District on platform of affordable housing
Daily Californian's SAKURA CANNESTRA: "Berkeley City Councilmember Ben Bartlett, who previously filedhis candidacy for the California 15th State Assembly District election in 2018, formally announced his campaign Wednesday morning."
"Bartlett grew up in Berkeley and was introduced to an activist lifestyle from an early age by his parents, who were both advocates for social justice. He was elected to the City Council last November, replacing Max Anderson in representing District 3."
"If elected, he plans to focus on increasing affordable housing and initiating policy reforms across the state, based on housing issues he’s seen as a council member."
California's goal: An electricity grid moving only clean energy
LA Times' CHRIS MEGERIAN: "California lawmakers are considering a future without the use of fossil fuels to generate electricity, a step that would boost the renewable energy industry and expand the scope of the state’s battle against global warming."
"If approved at the end of the legislative session next month, the proposal would eventually ensure only clean energy moves through the state’s electricity grid, a goal nearly unmatched anywhere in the world."
"It would accelerate the adoption of renewable energy by requiring utilities and other electricity providers to obtain 60% of their power from resources such as the sun and wind by 2030. Then it would task regulators with phasing out fossil fuels for the remaining 40% by 2045."
READ MORE related to Environment: Bay Area weather: Potentially deadly temperatures expected Labor Day weekend -- ERIC KURHI/MARK GOMEZ
As Houston floodwaters recede, returning residents make some grim discoveries.
LA Times' MOLLY HENNESSY-FISKE: "The woman’s body was revealed as floodwaters receded, washed up against the green metal fence surrounding her apartment complex."
"Neighbors knew who she was: Kiesha Williams, a nurse and single mother of two whom they had watched drown as they frantically called 911."
"They wondered how many more victims remained entombed in flooded apartments."
READ MORE related to Hurricane Harvey: Threats rise from reservoirs, rivers -- The Chronicle's SUSAN CARROLL/DUG BEGLEYSHELBY WEBB; Maps show what Harvey's impact would look like in other US states -- San Antonio Express-News' KELSEY BRADSHAW/CHRIS EUDAILY; Floodwaters drop in Houston as Harvey takes a second swipe -- AP's NOMAAN MERCHANT/JUAN LOZANO; Texas chemical plant poised to explode amid Harvey flooding -- AP's EMILY SCHMALL/REESE DUNKLIN; Harvey death toll surpasses 30; more fatalities expected -- AP's TAMARA LUSH/JUAN A. LOZANO
An undocumented dad detained by ICE since February has been released and reunited with his family.
Daily News' BRENDA GAZZAR;" Outside a desert jail Wednesday evening, there were tears. Embraces."
"Six months after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez while he took his daughters to school one February morning, he was a free man."
"On Wednesday, an immigration judge ordered him to be released on $6,000 bond, bail was posted and he was released from the Adelanto Detention Center."
READ MORE related to Immigration: ICE frees more than dozen immigrant workers held captive in Hayward -- East Bay Times' MATTHIAS GAFFNI/REBECCA PARR
Yosemite's south entrance closed because of wildfire
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "Yosemite National Park’s southern entrance was shut down Wednesday because of a fast-moving wildfire that burned seven structures and prompted authorities to close Highway 41 just outside the park."
"The Railroad Fire, which ignited Tuesday afternoon north of Oakhurst, had charred 1,200 acres of foothills in and around the Sierra National Forest as of Wednesday evening, according to the U.S. Forest Service. High temperatures and strong winds were expected to fuel further growth, officials said. The cause of the fire was under investigation."
"Mandatory evacuations were in place for the small community of Sugar Pine, close to the fire’s origin, as well as nearby Sugar Pine Camp and Fish Camp. The popular Teneya Lodge was closed to visitors."
Piedmont's embattled ex-mayor is leaving the City Council
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "Piedmont’s embattled councilman and former mayor, who gave up his honorary mayor’s post Sunday after being criticized for insensitive Facebook posts, announced Wednesday that he’s stepping down from the City Council altogether."
"Jeff Wieler, 65, told The Chronicle that he had become a distraction for the city and wanted to do the right thing. His critics had claimed that it was not enough for him to resign as mayor, a mostly ceremonial job that is assumed by one of the council members and not an elected position."
"Frankly, I’m tired of being a problem for the city,” Wieler said. “When you spend a quarter of a century trying to help make a great city even greater and you see that you’re causing damage, it’s time. I felt that this has gone on long enough."
Trump could pay a price if he hands out pardons in the Russia probe as he did for Joe Arpaio
LA Times' DAVID G SAVAGE: "President Trump’s granting of a full pardon to former Sheriff Joe Arpaio was seen by many legal experts as a sign of what may come in the special counsel’s inquiry into Russia’s meddling in last year’s presidential race and possible collusion with the Trump campaign."
"Trump has insisted the investigation led by former FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III is a “witch hunt” and should be shut down, the sooner the better. Some predict that the president will use his power to pardon anyone at any time for nearly any reason to make the investigation moot."
"Kim Jong Un was not the only leader testing his weapons” last week, said Bill Yeomans, a veteran Justice Department lawyer now working with the liberal Alliance for Justice, referring to the North Korean leader’s missile launch a day after Trump pardoned Arpaio, the former sheriff of Maricopa County in Arizona."
READ MORE related to POTUS45/Beltway: Trump called him 'my African American.' But he condemns the president's treatment of black America -- LA Times' MARK Z BARABAK; Trump pushes tax overhaul to 'bring back Main Street' -- AP's CATHERINE LUCEY/KEN THOMAS; Trump order undermines rebuilding better for future floods -- MICHAEL BIESECKER/JOAN LOWY
Speaking of Trump, Senator Feinstein is being criticized by her own expressing her hopes that Trump still can be an agent for change, if only he would try.
The Chronicle's JON WILDERMUTH: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s rare kind words for President Trump have Democrats in an uproar and left her scrambling Wednesday to explain that she really didn’t mean it when she told a San Francisco audience Trump still “can be a good president."
"Look, this man is going to be president, most likely for the rest of this term,” she said during an hour-long, question-and-answer “conversation” with former East Bay Rep. Ellen Tauscher at the city’s sold-out Herbst Theatre Tuesday night. “I just hope he has the ability to learn and to change. And if he does, he can be a good president. And that’s my hope."
"The statement, even with the caveats, shocked the Feinstein-friendly crowd at the Commonwealth Club event, which reacted with stunned silence punctuated by quiet exclamations, scattered boos and nervous laughter."
California Sen. Kamala Harris plans to back Medicare-for-all legislation
LA Times' SARAH D WIRE: "Sen. Kamala Harris will co-sponsor a Medicare-for-all plan proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), she told Californians at a town hall in Oakland on Wednesday."
"The freshman Democratic senator from California has previously said she supports the concept of universal healthcare, but this is the first time she has explicitly said she would join Sanders when he files the bill. The House version of the measure, sponsored by Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), has 117 sponsors, including 27 California Democratic House members."
"The idea of single-payer healthcare has grown in popularity among Democrats since the 2016 election, with some members of the so-called Sanders wing of the party urging Democrats to use support for it as a litmus test in 2018."
Trump wants to cut college work study amid calls to boost job aid to public campuses
EdSource's LARRY GORDON/MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: "Whittier College junior Iyesha Ferguson learned the advantages of a federally subsidized work-study job — especially compared to dishing out pizza off-campus."
"Her work-study position at the college website and communications office allows her to earn up to $2,000 a year and pick up Internet skills, all with flexible hours so she can study for exams and complete class projects. In contrast, she recently quit a local pizza restaurant job because scheduling was rigid and her grades suffered. “It took a lot of time away from my school things,” said the English major from Chicago."
"So she is delighted to hold down the 15-hour-a-week campus job that pays $10.50 an hour and helps her afford books, transportation, telephone and other costs that her hefty scholarship grants and loans don’t cover. But she is worried that the 2017-18 budget put forward by President Trump in March would sharply cut back the federally subsidized work-study program nationwide and could mean hundreds of thousands of students like her will have to delay buying textbooks or reduce college enrollment to part-time. "
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And now for some fun: Can YOU name the people on the Top 100 Cover?
From Capitol Weekly: "Just who are all those people on the cover of Capitol Weekly’s 2017 Top 100 Book? We’re having a contest to see if anyone can name all 59 of the Californians on the cover. The winner will receive a $150 gift certificate to Frank Fat’s! To enter, email your list of 59 names, using the numbers in the attached image as a guide, to: top100@capitolweekly.net by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8, 2017."
