The Dems continue to scramble in key congressional races to survive the top-two primary.
From WaPo's DAVID WEIGEL and AMY GARDNER: "Confused and frustrated, a growing number of Democrats are blaming their own party as they seek to avert a drubbing in Tuesday’s congressional primaries here that would leave their candidates shut out of the November ballot in some races — and with a narrower path to win control of the House of Representatives."
"In three Orange County districts, a surfeit of enthusiastic candidates and conflicting messages from Democratic organizations and allies have converged to complicate the party’s road to victory. All three districts are held by Republicans, and all three are widely seen as crucial to Democratic efforts to pick up the 23 seats they need nationwide to win the House majority."
"Democrats have had internal conflicts in other states, but the circumstances in California are far more convoluted because of the state’s “top two” nominating system, in which the two highest vote-getters are elevated to the November ballot, irrespective of party affiliation. Two Democrats could make the general election ballot — or two Republicans, as happened in a 2012 House race."
Newsom, Cox, likely to advance in California governor's race, poll says
Sacramento Bee's ANGELA HART: "A new poll shows San Diego Republican John Cox holds a seven-point advantage for second place among likely voters in the governor's election Tuesday, signaling that voters prefer him and Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom to face off in the November general election."
"The poll by UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies also found Newsom expanding his lead, with 33 percent of likely voters backing the San Francisco Democrat. Support for Cox, a businessman, grew to 20 percent, while former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's backing grew to 13 percent. The percentage of undecided voters dropped from 13 percent in April to 7 percent in the current poll."
"We think it's likely to be Cox against Newsom in the general election," said Mark DiCamillo, director of the poll."
READ MORE related to Gubernatorial: Before John Cox was Trump's choice for governor, he was on a quixotic mission to remake California's Legislature -- LA Times's MELANIE MASON
California Senate passes bill to create banks for pot businesses
The Chronicle's CATHERINE HO: "The state Senate on Wednesday passed a bill to create a state-chartered bank for California cannabis businesses, which would allow licensed merchants to write checks to pay taxes, fees and vendors — rather than use large amounts of cash, as they currently do."
"The measure SB 930, introduced by state Sen. Robert Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, now heads to the Assembly."
Jerry Brown has weak argument for 'large' prison guard raises, analyst says
Sacramento Bee's ADAM ASHTON: "Gov. Jerry Brown's administration has a "weak justification" for the short and sweet tentative contract offer it struck with the state's union for correctional officers, a new report from the Legislative Analyst's Office says."
"Brown is offering a 5 percent raise to the California Correctional Peace Officers Association, which would be the best wage increase for the 27,000 employees it represents since 2006."
"The analyst says that "large" wage increase might be unnecessary."
What about the Central Valley? Candidates share their thoughts on the California divide
Sacramento Bee's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "The New York Times in an article this week explores "the sharp cultural divisions between the valley and more coastal regions" and how that split is affecting Democrats' efforts to defeat Republican congressmen in several targeted House seats."
"Echoing a common complaint of Central Valley residents, the article quotes a Hanford-area resident who laments that "politicians in the rest of the state do not fully understand what rural life is like."
"I don't think they get us and I don’t think they consider us very much. They're always worried about everyone else," she said."
Cristina Garcia accuser appeals investigation that cleared her of groping allegation
Sacramento Bee's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "The man who accused Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia of drunkenly groping him at a legislative softball game is appealing the results of an Assembly investigation that did not substantiate his claims."
"Daniel Fierro, a former legislative staffer, said in February that Garcia cornered him after the game in 2014, squeezed his butt and attempted to grab his crotch. The Bell Gardens Democrat took an unpaid leave of absence for three months while the Assembly looked into the allegations but returned to the Capitol last week after she was cleared of the groping charge."
"Mr. Fierro objects to the investigation and the determination on the grounds that the investigation was not impartial or conducted in good faith, and did not afford Mr. Fierro due process," attorney Robin D. Dal Soglio wrote in a letter Wednesday to Debra Gravert, the chief administrative officer of the Assembly."
Why SF is stuck with a deluge of needles
The Chronicle's MATIER & ROSS: "San Francisco hands out more free syringes to drug addicts — 400,000 a month and growing — than New York City, which has 10 times the population."
"The San Francisco Department of Public Health oversaw the distribution of an estimated 4.5 million syringes last year, through various programs aimed at reducing HIV transmission and other health risks for injection drug users. Many of the needles wind up discarded on city streets, in parks and at homeless encampments. And they cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to retrieve."
Patton Oswalt talks in Citrus Heights about his wife's book on the Golden State Killer
Sacramento Bee's NASHELLY CHAVEZ: "The men who helped publish the late Michelle McNamara’s book “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” talked about the role she played in investigating the decades-old Golden State Killer case during a Q&A session at the Citrus Heights Barnes & Noble on Wednesday night."
"Comedian and actor Patton Oswalt, McNamara’s husband and the person who worked to get the book published after her death in 2016, attended the event, along with roughly 450 true crime fans and Sacramento-area residents who packed into the bookstore."
"The group gathered just miles away from the home where Sacramento County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Joseph DeAngelo, 72, in his home over a month ago in connection to the unsolved serial killings and more than 50 rapes attributed to the notorious Golden State Killer."
SFPD's texting scandal: Court rules officers can be disciplined for racist messages
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "San Francisco police officers who exchanged racist, sexist and homophobic text messages in 2011 and 2012 — calling African Americans “monkeys” and encouraging the killing of “half-breeds,” among other slurs — can be brought up on disciplinary charges, a state appeals court ruled Wednesday, overturning a judge’s decision that police officials had waited too long."
"The texts, which surfaced publicly in 2015, cast a cloud over the Police Department and prompted the district attorney’s office to re-examine thousands of cases the officers had handled. Wednesday’s ruling reopens the possibility that as many as nine officers, who have been on paid leave since December 2015, will lose their jobs."
READ MORE related to Prisons & Public Safety: Activists demand San Francisco city attorney end gang injunctions -- The Chronicle's EVAN SERNOFFSKY
California is now paying for people to test their drugs for fentanyl
LA Times's SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA: "As the death toll from the nation’s opioid crisis swells, California officials have launched an experiment: paying for people to test their drugs for fentanyl."
"Fentanyl, an opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin, is responsible for a growing number of overdose deaths each year. Typically manufactured as a white powder, it can be mixed into other drugs such as heroin and cocaine without the user knowing, but with extreme consequences."
"Fentanyl can kill you at first use — that’s why there’s incredible urgency,” said Dr. Kelly Pfeifer, who studies the opioid epidemic at the California Health Care Foundation."
Officials endorse safety at SF Shipyard development site
The Chronicle's JK DINEEN: "Mayor Mark Farrell wants to set the record straight: He absolutely would recommend the San Francisco Shipyard development to friends or relatives looking to buy a condominium, regardless of the escalating scandal over the botched cleanup of the Superfund site."
"On Wednesday, the mayor, who was recently quoted saying he would be loath to suggest that a friend or relative buy a unit there, joined a considerable entourage of city staffers for a tour of Parcel A at the former Hunters Point Naval Shipyard. The area, on a sunny, windblown hilltop overlooking vast expanses of asphalt and old Navy buildings — most of them mothballed more than 40 years ago — is being built up and is the only part of the San Francisco Shipyard development that already has residents."
Trump plans to go ahead with steel, aluminum tariffs on EU
AP's KEN THOMAS/ANGELA CHARLTON: "President Donald Trump's administration is planning to impose tariffs on European steel and aluminum imports after failing to win concessions from the European Union, a move that could provoke retaliatory tariffs and inflame trans-Atlantic trade tensions."
"U.S. and European officials held last-ditch talks in Paris on Thursday to try to reach a deal, though hopes are low and fears of a trade war are mounting."
"Global trade is not a gunfight at the OK Corral," France's finance minister quipped after meeting U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. "It's not about who attacks whom, and then wait and see who is still standing at the end."
READ MORE related to POTUS45/KremlinGate: Saving Sessions: Inside the GOP effort to protect the AG -- AP's JONATHAN LEMIRE/ERIC TUCKER/LISA MASCARO; Ex-FBI Deputy Director McCabe wrote memo on Comey firing -- AP; As Trump summit appears closer, Kim Jong Un meets with Russian foreign minister -- AP
