Rep. Duncan Hunter says Democrats and 'deep state' behind indictment, says he's not resigning
From ANDREW DYER and KRISTINA DAVIS in the Union-Tribune: "Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter of Alpine forcefully responded Wednesday to a 60-count indictment filed this week in federal court in San Diego."
"In a 15-minute back and forth with reporters, Hunter invoked a “deep state” conspiracy among “partisan Democrat prosecutors” as the reason why he and his wife, Margaret Hunter, were facing charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, falsification of records and aiding and abetting in the prohibited use of campaign contributions."
"Tuesday’s indictment listed 200 instances in which the Hunters allegedly made personal purchases using campaign funds, including family vacations, meals and everyday household expenses. The $250,000 of improper expenses alleged by prosecutors — from tequila to Taco Bell to “Punky Brewster items” at Target — have become fodder for a steady diet of national news stories."
Hunter indictment spells trouble for California GOP as it looks to hold districts
The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH: "GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter’s indictment Tuesday for alleged misuse of campaign funds is a disaster for California Republicans. Just ask his attorney."
"An indictment before the November election “will result in a solidly Republican district being handed to a Democratic candidate,” Gregory Vega, Hunter’s attorney, wrote in an Aug. 6 letter to Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, unsuccessfully asking him to delay any action that “could swing a solidly Republican seat in the mid-term elections."
"Flipping Hunter’s inland San Diego-area 50th Congressional District seat isn’t anything near a sure thing. His name will appear on the November ballot with a Democratic challenger in a Republican stronghold. But the long-anticipated indictment gives Democrats a huge boost in their effort to grab enough GOP-held districts in California to make a big dent in the 23 seats the party needs to take back control of the House."
Democrats not using the "i" word in midterm campaign -- at least not yet
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Now that President Trump has been implicated by his former attorney in a federal crime, talk of impeaching him would seem to be a godsend to Democrats in the run-up to the midterm elections."
"But the party is divided about whether to go there yet."
"Progressives, including a few dozen House members, the California Democratic Party and the liberal, online hub MoveOn, have called for Trump’s impeachment — for more than a year in some cases."
California tax agency gives business access to the wrong accounts
Sacramento Bee's ADAM ASHTON: "Accountants and business owners across California received emails from the state tax department this week that gave them access to confidential information regarding companies that were not theirs."
"The messages alarmed accountants who worried someone would misuse the access and file information that would trigger an audit or penalty on their companies."
Firefighters on Mendocino Complex endangered by Verizon move to limit data service, fire chief says
The Chronicle's KEVIN FAGAN: "Santa Clara County firefighters were dangerously hobbled by poor internet service while they were helping battle the monstrous Mendocino Complex fire in July because Verizon drastically slowed down the speed of its wireless data during the fire fight, the county’s fire chief contends in a federal court filing."
"Despite having paid for what it thought was an unlimited data plan, the Santa Clara County Central Fire Protection District saw its data flow “throttled” down to 1/200th of its usual speed as it fought the complex — now the biggest wildfire in state history — because Verizon officials said it had exceeded its plan limit, district Fire Chief Anthony Bowden wrote. This primarily hampered a specialized vehicle the department depends on to coordinate its machinery and staff in such emergencies, and Bowden said that put his battalions at risk."
READ MORE related to Fire Season: Soaring overtime fattens paychecks of California cops and firefigfhters. But at a cost -- Sacramento Bee's PHILLIP REESE/ADAM ASHTON
City of Berkeley launches updated online public records portal
Daily Californian's SHELBY MAYES: "The city of Berkeley launched a new online records portal Aug. 15 to provide an easier way to search the city’s website for public records."
"Public documents, such as city council minutes, staff reports, ordinances and resolutions, can now be found on the city of Berkeley website, some dating back to the early 1900s. Users can now search for any public record by category and enter key terms and time ranges for specificity."
READ MORE related to Local: Sacramento City Council passes contentious local-hire ordinance -- Sacramento Bee's ADESUWA AGBONILE
Plan to strip H-1B visa holders' spouses of right to work hits final stage
BANG's ETHAN BARON: "A policy change to strip spouses of H-1B visa holders of their right to work has entered its final review, with senior leaders in the Department of Homeland Security moving toward approval, according to a new court filing."
"The proposed rule change was set in motion by President Donald Trump’s “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, according to Homeland Security."
UC Berkeley researchers build part of solar probe launched by NASA
Daily Californian's YAO HUANG: "The Parker Solar Probe, or PSP, was launched into space Aug. 12. Two of its four instruments, FIELDS and SWEAP, were built by campus researchers."
"The PSP will come closer than any other spacecraft has ever been to the sun by entering the sun’s corona, the outer layer of the sun’s atmosphere."
READ MORE related to Energy & Environment: California tries to fix 'glitches' in campsite reservation system -- The Chronicle's STEVE RUBENSTEIN; Some California counties reject US policy of killing predatory wildlife -- The Chronicle's PETER FIMRITE
Speaking of UC, Davis campus is gaining ground in the war against Alzheimer's.
Sacramento Bee's CATHIE ANDERSON: "Medical researchers know the enemy that 12-year-old Jordan Lang and at least 66 other children are confronting. It’s a gene mutation that also has been linked to autism, Alzheimer’s disease and even cancer."
"What researchers lack is a treatment or cure and — until now — the funding for the work they must do to find one, said UC Davis researchers Kyle Fink and Jan Nolta. Fink points out that other perplexing, rare genetic disorders now have treatments."
"In Columbus, Ohio, for instance, Dr. Brian Kaspar worked with a French team to develop a one-time gene therapy treatment – delivering a missing protein via a virus — that gave muscle control and mobility to infants with a genetic disorder known as spinal muscular atrophy type 1. Typically, the illness gradually paralyzes the children and ends in early death."
California lawmakers consider proposal to bring thousands of homes to BART stations
BANG's KATY MURPHY/ERIN BALDASSARI: "In another attempt to ease the housing crisis gripping the Bay Area, a state proposal to turn some of BART’s vast parking lots into bustling developments with thousands of new homes has pitted housing and business interests against cities and others worried about giving the transit agency new land-use powers."
"The bill, which could be taken up in the state Senate as soon as Thursday, has been touted by supporters as a solution to the Bay Area’s traffic and housing ills — and panned by opponents, including some East Bay cities, as a misguided idea that would undermine local control."
Medical pot on school grounds: Parents, Bay Area legislator making the push
The Chronicle's SAMANTHA YOUNG: "Every day at noon, Karina Garcia drives to her son’s South San Francisco high school to give him a dose of cannabis oil to prevent potentially life-threatening seizures."
"But she can’t do it on campus. She has to take Jojo, a 19-year-old with severe epilepsy, off school grounds to squirt the drug into his mouth, then bring him back for his special-education classes."
"It doesn’t matter that Garcia’s son has a doctor’s note recommending he take the drug, nor that the medication is legal for both medicinal and recreational purposes in California. Marijuana use is strictly forbidden on school grounds because it violates federal law."
How SF's Ferry Building survived and didn't become a 40-story skyscraper
The Chronicle's BILL VAN NIEKERKEN: "The 1948 Chronicle headline “40-Story World Trade Center urged for Ferry Building Site” seems blasphemous now, but the plan almost became a reality decades ago."
"A recent trip to the newspaper’s archive turned up negative packs tucked away for years featuring the Ferry Building, and the stories that went with the late 1940s photos show just how close the Embarcadero landmark came to demolition, with a skyscraper rising in its wake."
Measles case in Contra Costa County sparks concerns of outbreak
The Chronicle's MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "A confirmed case of measles prompted Contra Costa County public health officials on Wednesday to warn residents and visitors they may have been exposed to the highly contagious airborne illness."
"Exposure to the virus would have occurred at the Chow restaurant in Lafayette on Aug. 14 between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m., or at the John Muir Medical Center emergency room in Walnut Creek from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m, officials said in a statement."
"The infected person visited a number of popular indoor venues in Contra Costa County, Los Angeles County and Arizona, and officials in the latter areas have issued their own advisories."
Alameda County DA: 'Dozens' of youth cases being reviewed in fallout from Sheriff's recording
The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY: "
The Alameda County district attorney’s office is reviewing “dozens” of juvenile cases dating back to January following revelations that the county Sheriff’s Office recorded at least one confidential conversation with a youth suspect and his attorney, a prosecutor said Tuesday."
"The announcement comes a day after The Chronicle published a video of a sheriff’s sergeant suggesting he routinely recorded juvenile crime suspects having private legal discussions with their attorneys at a substation in San Leandro."
US, China raise tariffs in new round of trade dispute
AP's JOE MCDONALD: "The United States and China imposed more tariff hikes on billions of dollars of each other's automobiles, factory machinery and other goods Thursday in an escalation of a battle over Beijing's technology policy that companies worry will chill global economic growth."
"The increases came as envoys met in Washington for their first high-level talks in two months. They gave no sign of progress toward a settlement over U.S. complaints that Beijing steals technology and its industry development plans violate Chinese free-trade commitments."
"The 25 percent duties, previously announced, apply to $16 billion of goods from each side including automobiles and metal scrap from the United States and Chinese-made factory machinery and electronic components."
