'We have to become more Trumplike,' California Republican activists say
Sacramento Bee's CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO: "California Republicans are anticipating a tough election next year."
"Their candidates competing in premier races for U.S. Senate and governor will have to strain to advance past the primary. Their prospects in down-ballot statewide races are no better. In the Legislature, it’s uncertain whether they can muster the victories to break Democratic supermajorities that render the GOP powerless to stop tax increases. Seven House Republicans are defending districts won by Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump last year."
"But for one weekend, party activists at a convention in Orange County shouted and cheered and enveloped themselves in a sentimentality that has mostly eluded them in California: That feeling of winning, and having a voice, again."
Gov. Brown order allows federal help in clearing hazardous waste from state's fires
Sacramento Bee's NASHELLY CHAVEZ: "An executive order issued by Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday will allow U.S. Environmental Protection Agency workers to help clean up hazardous waste left by fires that scorched several parts of the state in the past weeks."
"Brown declared a state of emergency in the state’s Butte, Lake, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, Yuba, Mendocino, Nevada and Orange counties earlier this month in response to the wildfires, which have resulted in the destruction of more than 8,400 structures, according to Cal Fire."
"California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said preliminary damage estimates from the fires will exceed $1 billion in losses, while Brown said the damages could be in the tens of billions of dollars."
READ MORE related to Wine Country Fires: As flames fade, wine country grapples with emotional scars of evastating fires -- LA Times' SOUNYA KARLAMANGLA; This California lobbylist lost his home in the fires. All he wanted was for the governor to sign his bill -- and he did -- LA Times' GEORGE SKELTON; Underground power lines don't cause wildcfires, but they're really expensive -- The Chronicle's DAVID R. BAKER
Senate race: Delving into DiFi
Capitol Weekly's CHUCK MCFADDEN: "Dianne Feinstein’s long political life has been marked by gunfire, victories, toughness and tragedy. The smart money says it’s not over yet."
"Feinstein, now 84 and the oldest member of the U. S. Senate, has announced she will run for re-election in 2018, seeking her fifth full term. Her decision put an end to months of buzz about her political plans."
"Senate Leader Kevin de León announced he will challenge her in the 2018 top-two primary, and other Democratic challengers may arise, too. (A story on the Sextant Strategies-Capitol Weekly poll examining the race can be viewed here. The poll’s toplines can be seen here."
Feinstein shrugs off critics: 'I've been challenged before'
The Chronicle's MATIER & ROSS: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein has a message for state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León and anyone one else who might want to run against her next year: Bring it on."
"I’ve been challenged before. That doesn’t bother me,” the state’s senior senator told us. “Michael Huffington spent something like $33 million to try to unseat me in 1994, so I pretty much assume that it comes with the territory."
"Feinstein waited until this month to announce that she will run for another term. She’s 84, and there had been speculation that she will step aside."
It's 'boys club' at the California Capitol, say women working there
Sacramento Bee's TARYN LUNA: "When the California Legislative Women’s Caucus sent out a survey earlier this year to gain insight into the issues facing women who work at the Capitol, it had an overarching question: Is the place one big “boy’s club?”"
"The answer was a resounding “yes.” The more than 200 women staff members who filled out the survey on average gave a seven out of a possible 10 on the boy’s club question. Also telling, the women gave a flat five (indifference) when asked if they were comfortable reporting harassment transgressions to human resources officials in the Assembly or Senate."
"The caucus disseminated the online survey in February to 1,500 female staff members months before hundreds of women in the Capitol community turned a spotlight on the political culture in Sacramento this week and called for an end to men leveraging their powerful positions to degrade and mistreat them. Over 300 women have joined the “We Said Enough” campaign since Tuesday."
Trump's promise on tax cuts: 'NO change to your 401(k)'
LA Times' SARAH D. WIRE/SAMEEA KAMAL: "President Trump pledged Monday morning via Twitter that there would be no changes to the 401(k) retirement savings plans as Republicans in Congress pursue an overhaul of the tax code."
"Actual text of a tax overhaul bill hasn’t been written, much less become public. Members of Congress haven’t reached consensus on what cuts to make or where to make them. Trump signaled that tweaks are still being made."
"On Sunday, Trump raised expectations about the timetable for completing tax reform, indicating that he expects the as-yet unwritten overhaul of the tax code on his desk by Thanksgiving."
READ MORE related to Potus45/Beltway: McCain issues veiled criticism of Trump's Vietnam war deferment -- AP
It may be back to the drawing board for Jerry Brown's Delta tunnels
The Chronicle's MATIER & ROSS: "Despite a personal push from Gov. Jerry Brown, the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s Board of Directors gave a resounding “no” the other day to helping to pay for his plan for two 35-mile tunnels under the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to help deliver water to the Central Valley and Southern California."
"The district was being asked to kick in $620 million to the project. The seven-member board’s vote against the idea was unanimous."
"I don’t want to hand ratepayers a huge bill without the voters having their say,” said board Chairman John Varela."
Newsom, Villaraigosa tell differences over universal health care
Sacramento Bee's CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO: "The two leading Democrats for California governor on Sunday split over how to achieve universal health care, with Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom defending his support for a government-run, single-payer system and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa dismissing as “pie in the sky” plans that don’t include viable financing methods."
"At a union-sponsored health care forum, Villaraigosa credited the Assembly speaker for sidetracking a universal health bill, Senate Bill 562, in Sacramento, because it didn’t include a funding mechanism. He supports the concept, but argued the state’s immediate focus should be on protecting the 5 million people who could lose their coverage if Republicans and President Donald Trump succeed in repealing Obamacare."
"“As governor, you gotta make the tough choices, you can’t just say ‘I want pie in the sky,’ because that doesn’t put food on people’s tables,” he said, advocating for a public option that allows people to buy into the existing Medi-Cal program."
How Mayor Eric Garcetti is taking his LA gig national
AP: "Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is taking his argument on the road, but he doesn’t want you to assume he’s steering himself toward the White House."
"At least not yet."
"I have a job I love,” Garcetti said as he makes the rounds at the Democratic National Committee’s annual meeting in Nevada on Saturday. But the 46-year-old mayor adds that he wants Democrats to have “a wide open field” in 2020, and he argues that the party needs “new energy” and “a generational moment” at all levels if it hopes to counter President Donald Trump.
House Dem leaders keep picking favorites in open primaries
McClatchyDC's ALEX ROARTY: "Democratic leaders in the House are throwing money to their favored candidates in open primaries despite objections from a liberal base that wants the party’s establishment class, after 2016’s embarassing defeat, to leave these choices to voters in 2018."
"Top House leaders and their political action committees have already cut big checks to candidates in a dozen primaries without a Democratic incumbent, part of a coordinated effort to boost certain challengers over their rivals. The favored candidates — including two who won the Democratic nomination in the district just last year — face primary opponents in nearly every case."
"The contributions are not a new practice from Democratic congressional leaders, but at a time of increased activism inside the party, they risk a backlash that could hurt the party leaders and the candidates they support."
2 years after massive gas leak, Porter Ranch residents wonder what's next for Alsiso Canyon field
Daily News' SUSAN ABRAM/BRENDA GAZZAR: "Perhaps some day, every well up in Aliso Canyon will sit empty and dry, with no trace— not one molecule— of natural gas left in the hills above Porter Ranch."
""But a shadow of doubt and worry would likely still linger among the residents who live below."
"Two years ago, the well known as SS-25 ruptured, sending more than 100,000 metric tons of natural gas spewing into the air. The people of the Porter Ranch area still remember how the methane and mercaptans snarled their breathing and gnarled their stomachs. They recall that they’ve endured headaches and nosebleeds since. And, many allege, they remember how little has been done since to answer so many lingering questions."
