READ MORE related to The End of an Era: DiFi: Wait till after midterms to replace Justice Kennedy -- The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI
CA120: Deconstructing California's top-two primary
PAUL MITCHELL in Capitol Weekly: "With the close of the 2018 primary election cycle, we get another chance to see how campaigns have evolved under California’s top-two open primary system."
"The most noteworthy change appears to be the manner by which campaigns are extending their reach across the partisan aisle. But they are not doing it in the way that the authors of the Top Two Candidates Open Primary Act, which took effect in 2011, intended."
California public worker unions face tough times after SCOTUS ruling
The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH: "Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision barring public employee unions from collecting representation fees from nonmember workers is about more than the First Amendment grounds Justice Samuel Alito cited in his opinion for the court’s 5-4 conservative majority."
"It is likely to cause a serious financial hit for the unions, something that could minimize political help for their largely progressive allies."
"In an early morning tweet, President Trump was quick to focus on the political aspects of the decision."
READ MORE related to Unions: Court case will cost California unions big money immediately. Then the real fight begins. -- Sacramento Bee's ADAM ASHTON
Big scramble over privacy plan
Capitol Weekly's CHUCK MCFADDEN: "The pressure is on: High-stakes, closed-door maneuvering involving lawmakers and the fate of a November ballot initiative is roiling the Capitol."
"The initiative would boost privacy rights for millions of online customers. But it won’t go directly to voters at all, the sponsor promises, if a bill emerges from the Legislature and makes it to the governor’s desk by Thursday, June 28."
READ MORE related to Right to Privacy: 'The most far-reaching privacy law in the country' heads to vote in California Legislature -- Sacramento Bee's BRYAN ANDERSON
Termed-out Gov. Brown signs his final California budget
The Chronicle's MELODY GUTIERREZ: "Gov. Jerry Brown signed a $139 billion general fund budget Wednesday, marking the 16th and final spending plan his pen will touch."
"The termed-out Brown signed the budget in Los Angeles without a single line-item veto, sending hundreds of millions of dollars in new funding to public schools and to programs that reduce homelessness while expanding tax credits for the poor and creating an online community college."
READ MORE related to Gubernatorial: Jerry Brown approves $201B California budget, says it fulfills his fiscal pledge -- Sacramento Bee's ADAM ASHTON
Surprise defeat of Rep. Joe Crowley may signal Democratic unease about Pelosi's leadership team
LA Times's SARAH D WIRE: "The stunning primary defeat of New York Rep. Joseph Crowley, a 10-term incumbent once seen as a likely replacement for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, is forcing Democrats to again address their inner divisions, including questions about who will lead them if they regain control of the House in 2018."
"Grumbling about whether Pelosi and other long-serving Democratic leaders should step aside has been getting louder in recent years, with a surprising number of new Democratic candidates saying this year that they would not back the San Francisco Democrat for speaker."
After winning the No. 2 spot by 125 votes, Rouda has to make up ground to unseat Rohrabacher
LA Times's CHRISTINE MAI-DUC: "In the early morning hours after the June 5 primary, Democrat Harley Rouda declared victory in California’s 48th Congressional District."
"I look forward to defeating Dana Rohrabacher,” he said in a statement, even though he was only a few dozen votes ahead of fellow Democrat Hans Keirstead for a shot at unseating the 15-term Republican incumbent."
Lawmakers should not stifle innovation
OPINION: DOROTHY ROTHROCK in Capitol Weekly: "California takes great pride in being at the forefront of innovation. The state’s bold regulatory initiatives set standards for the rest of the country and our manufacturers research anddevelop world-leading solutions to particular problems almost daily. There is no doubt that California is the world’s leading edge of innovation, product safety and modernization."
"It’s curious then that a strongly anti-innovation bill is making its way through the Legislature. Assembly Bill 2998 by Assemblymember Richard Bloom, D-Santa Monica, would eliminate any flame retardant substance or functional technology from being used in upholstered furniture, mattresses, or children’s products."
Judge's ruling on migrant children in custody gives families few answers
LA Times's JAZMINE ULLOA/SARAH D WIRE/ELIZA FAWCETT: "Activists went without food near the border in Texas, protesters banged pots outside an immigration agency office in Washington, and Congress prepared to go on break after rejecting a potential fix as the saga of migrant children in federal custody dragged on Wednesday for another day without resolution."
"A day after a federal judge in San Diego ordered the Trump administration to reunite 2,042 migrant children taken from their parents and put into detention facilities at the border, no plan for bringing the families back together had emerged and the administration still had a chance to appeal the ruling."
SoCal's coastal communities could lose 130 feet of cliffs this century as sea levels ris
LA Times's ROSANNA XIA: "It’s not just beaches and sand that are disappearing as the ocean pushes inland. Sea level rise is also eating away at California’s coastal cliffs."
"The question is by how much, as Californians have heavily developed and continue to build along the edge of the Pacific."
California extends film and TV tax credit program to 2025
LA Times's DAVID NG: "In a major win for the local movie and TV production industries, California has extended the state’s film tax incentive program to 2025, adding five years to the program that has helped stem the tide of runaway productions to states including Georgia, Louisiana and New York."
"The measure, which was part of Gov. Jerry Brown’s $201.4-billion budget plan that was signed Tuesday, will maintain the $330 million in annual tax credits handed out to selected productions. But it includes more tax credits for independent films and additional incentives for projects that hire labor outside the 30-mile radius around Los Angeles."
A European view of California's stem cell agency
Capitol Weekly's DAVID JENSEN: "Some folks in Europe are worried about stem cell research, particularly about organizations like California’s $3 billion stem cell agency."
"The alarm was sounded just yesterday in Horizon, which calls itself “The EU Research and Innovation Magazine."
State budget has nearly $400M for science, math education -- but not teacher training
EdSource's CAROLYN JONES: "Science education got a boost in the 2018-19 state budget, but the plan stops short of funding training for teachers in California’s ambitious new science standards — something education leaders had been pushing for."
"The budget, which the Legislature approved this month and Gov. Brown signed Wednesday, includes a $6.1 billion increase in funding for K-12 schools. It calls for nearly $400 million for programs promoting science, technology, engineering and math education, ranging from STEM teacher recruitment to after-school coding classes to tech internships for high school students."
"But it doesn’t set aside money specifically to train teachers in the new science standards. Districts must apply for grants or use money from their general funds."
Cheech Marin's Chicano art museum given $9.7 million from state of California
AP: "Just months after California legalized recreational marijuana the state is giving stoner comedian Cheech Marin's Chicano art museum $9.7 million."
"The money was rolled up in the $139-billion California budget for 2018-19 that Gov. Jerry Brown signed Wednesday."
