How John Cox made the money he's using to run for California governor
Sacramento Bee's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "Seeking crossover appeal in a heavily Democratic state, Republican gubernatorial candidate John Cox highlights his experience in the private sector as the salve for California’s problems."
"I’m a businessman, I’m not a politician,” he told the audience at a Jan. 13 debate, in a variation of a theme he has used at campaign events and in previous bids for public office. “We’ve got to sit down and we’ve got to focus on solving problems. That’s what a businessman does. That’s what I’ve done for 40 years."
"So just how successful has Cox been? It’s hard to get a complete picture, though it’s readily apparent that he has built a vast personal fortune."
California's largest new reservoir likely to face water-access limits
Water Deeply's MATT WEISER:"Sites Reservoir, the largest new water storage proposal in California, recently won a commitment of $816 million in state funds to help with construction. It promises to deliver enough water every year, on average, to serve 1 million homes. But regulatory realities looming in the background may mean the project has substantially less water at its disposal."
"The project would inundate an oak-studded valley 8 miles west of Maxwell, a town on Interstate-5 about a 90-minute drive north of Sacramento. For a total construction cost of $5.1billion, the shallow Sites Reservoir could store 1.8 million acre-feet of water."
"Much of the project’s appeal lies in the fact that it is an “off-stream” reservoir, meaning it would not store water by damming a major river. Instead, it would be filled by water pumped from the Sacramento River, 14 miles away, during times of surplus flow. On average, project proponents estimate, about 500,000 acre-feet of water would be available annually for delivery to farms, cities and wildlife refuge areas."
Drunken threat to lobbyist draws reprimand for California lawmaker
Sacramento Bee's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "California Sen. Joel Anderson more likely than not drunkenly threatened to “bitch slap” a female lobbyist, according to a Senate investigation released Tuesday."
"The Senate sent a letter of reprimand to the Alpine Republican, but did not further punish Anderson, who termed out this session and is running for a seat on the state Board of Equalization."
"Your behavior was completely unacceptable,” Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, wrote to Anderson. “The Rules Committee instructs you to interact in a professional manner going forward."
Judge appears likely to block Trump deportation order
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "A federal judge in San Francisco on Tuesday seemed likely to block the Trump administration from deporting the first of more than 300,000 undocumented immigrants who have been allowed to stay in the United States, for decades in some cases, because of catastrophes in their home countries."
"U.S. District Judge Edward Chen, who heard more than two hours of arguments, did not issue an immediate ruling on the government’s attempt to revoke Temporary Protected Status for former residents of El Salvador, Nicaragua, Haiti and Sudan. But he appeared to agree with the immigrants’ lawyers that the revocation was legally dubious for two reasons: as an unexplained reversal of past administrations’ policies, and as a reflection of President Trump’s racial bias."
"Chen, who refused to dismiss the suit in June, is due to rule on an injunction against the administration’s action by Nov. 2, when protections for up to 1,000 Sudanese are due to expire. Deportations to the other three countries are scheduled through 2019."
California Fair Political Practices Commission dismisses complaint over TIlleman posters
Daily Californian's CLARA RODAS: "Berkeley City Council’s District 8 incumbent Lori Droste had her complaint over posters from opposing candidate Russ Tilleman dismissed Sept. 20 by the California Fair Political Practices Commission, or FPPC, because of insufficient evidence."
"Droste submitted the formal complaint against Tilleman, accusing him of violating part of the Political Reform Act on Sept. 10. She alleged he did not properly identify his campaign on the posters, which she called a “smear campaign” against her. The posters criticized Droste over alleged connections with the Berkeley Police Association."
"For me, there are a lot of big potential repercussions (from Droste’s FCCP complaint). I could get fined, and my reputation as a candidate would be gone,” Tilleman said. “She called it a “smear campaign,” but everything in (the posters) was true — that’s informing the voters about her campaign."
CalPERS board rewards CEO with $84,000 bonus, 4 percent raise
Sacramento Bee's ADAM ASHTON: "In a vote of confidence for its embattled chief executive, the CalPERS Board of Administration on Tuesday awarded Marcie Frost a 4 percent raise and an $84,873 bonus."
"Frost’s base pay now is $330,720."
"Her annual performance review fell one month after the financial blog Naked Capitalism reported that a consultant-prepared report in Frost’s job application and subsequent CalPERS promotional materials included misleading information that suggested Frost was enrolled in a degree program at The Evergreen State Collegein Olympia, Washington."
OP-ED: Kidney transplants: Correct the flaw in the system
SHAREEF ALI in Capitol Weekly: "In 1999, my kidneys failed and I started dialysis. But like all kidney patients, I wanted a kidney transplant instead of going to dialysis clinics for the rest of my life. Dialysis is an exhausting process that leaves you at risk of bleeding out or having your blood pressure drop dangerously low. So after seven years of waiting, I finally received a kidney transplant in 2006. That same kidney has kept me alive, and I am grateful I have never had to go back to dialysis."
"Part of the reason I have stayed healthy is because my continuous health insurance pays for the medication to prevent my body from rejecting the transplanted kidney."
"But there is a flaw in our system that could prevent kidney transplant recipients from getting this kind of care. SB 1156, a bill currently awaiting Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature, should be signed into law to correct that flaw and protect patients"
Cracked transit center stirs sinking feeling about SF: 'Move away fast'
The Chronicle's ERIN ALLDAY: "The discovery of a major crack in a support beam forced the shutdown of San Francisco’s brand new Transbay Transit Center during peak commute hours Tuesday — and Twitter users took the news with typical cool-headed aplomb."
"This building is doomed!”
What went wrong at the Transbay Transit Center? Here are some possibilities
The Chronicle's JOHN KING: "It’s too early to know why the structural steel above the Transbay Transit Center’s bus deck is cracked, but here are a few starting points on what might be involved."
"Q: Is such a discovery typical, like the usually innocuous cracks that emerge in a stucco wall?"
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"A: No. “A structural steel beam should never crack,” said Joe Maffei of Maffei Structural Engineering in San Francisco. “It should not crack"
UC Davis agrees to build housing for over 5,000 -- and will pay city if it misses deadline
Sacramento Bee's ALEXANDRA YOON-HENDRICKS: "In a major deal struck by UC Davis, the city of Davis and Yolo County, the university has agreed to build enough housing to accommodate 100 percent of any new enrollment growth among students who are guaranteed housing at the school, or nearly 5,200 beds by fall 2023."
"The legally binding deal, announced Tuesday, marks a symbolic turning point in a years-long back-and-forth between local municipalities and the university over who is responsible for housing the school’s growing student numbers, as the city continues to see rents rise."
"UC Davis will be required to increase its current stock of beds from 9,818 to at least 15,000 by fall 2023, with two shorter-term deadlines of 10,500 beds by next fall, and 12,500 beds by fall 2021. The school will pay Davis and Yolo County $500 apiece for each bed not delivered within six months of every deadline. Any additional enrollment above UC Davis’ previous goal will also have to be covered."
Lead problems in water linger at LA schools, despite years of testing and repairs
EdSource's NICO SAVIDGE/DANIEL J WILLIS: "Lead testing at Miramonte Elementary in Los Angeles Unified last January found six water outlets over the state and federal limit for drinking water. An auditorium drinking fountain tested at 10 times the lead limit."
"Three months later at Audubon Middle School, eight fixtures tested over the lead limit of 15 parts per billion. One water fountain tested at 120 parts per billion."
"District officials say they shut off the fountains that produced the most alarming lead levels at Audubon Middle in Leimert Park and Miramonte Elementary in the Florence-Firestone neighborhood. But they left three water sources in use at each school that tested above lead limits by flushing the outlets, a standard practice in which school staff run water through the tap for 30 seconds at the start of each day."
With growing support from women, Democrats poised for major gains in midterm, new poll shows
LA Times's DAVID LAUTER: "Boosted by growing support among suburban women and widespread antipathy toward President Trump, Democrats approach the midterm election poised to make major gains nationwide, a new USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times Poll shows."
"Democrats had a 14-point margin, 55% to 41%, when likely voters were asked which party’s candidate they would cast a ballot for if the election were held now. If that advantage holds up until election day, just less than six weeks away, it would almost surely be large enough to sweep a Democratic majority into the House."
SF supervisors push forward plan for SoMa despite opposition
The Chronicle's TRISHA THADANI: "The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved the environmental impact report for the Central SoMa plan, which would revamp a portion of downtown San Francisco with 8,550 housing units and a projected 32,500 jobs."
"The 1,000-page report studied the effects that the massive development would have on traffic, parking, shadows, air quality, public health and the potential displacement of current residents and businesses."
"Five groups — SF Blu, the South of Market Community Action Network, Central SoMa Neighbors, Yerba Buena Neighborhood Consortium and One Vassar — argued that the report does not adequately address worsening traffic, air quality and earthquake safety."
California prison captain charged with groping a woman, latest in string of sex allegations
Sacramento Bee's RYAN SABALOW: "A high ranking official at a large north state prison has been charged with groping a woman, the latest in a string of sexual complaints filed against state prison employees that have cost taxpayers at least $15 million in settlements over the last three fiscal years."
"Christopher James Lewis, a captain at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, was charged with a misdemeanor count of sexual battery on Sept 5."
"A two-page misdemeanor criminal complaint filed in Lassen Superior Court says that some time between Sept. 5 and Oct. 7, 2017, Lewis touched “an intimate part” of a woman’s body against her will “for the specific purpose of (his) sexual arousal, sexual gratification and sexual abuse."
Department of Homeland Security officers are patrolling BART trains as part of 'normal' anti-terrorism checks
The Chronicle's LAUREN HERNANDEZ: "Uniformed Department of Homeland Security officers seen patrolling BART trains and stations Tuesday are members of a Transportation Security Administration team, according to BART officials."
"Photos posted to social media, including a tweet by Janice Li, a San Francisco local running for the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors, show a line of at least eight armed, uniformed DHS officials walking in the aisle among seated passengers on a train bound for the Civic Center BART station in San Francisco. Roughly five DHS officials were seen standing in the Powell Street BART station on Market Street on Tuesday morning."
"TEach official was outfitted in a black bulletproof vest emblazoned with the word “POLICE” with a firearm, radio, and flashlight holstered in a black utility belt."
GOP bringing in Arizona prosecutor for hearing
AP: "The Latest on the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh (all times local):"
"10:15 p.m."
"Senate Republicans are bringing in Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell to handle questioning about allegations of sexual assault against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh at Thursday's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing."
READ MORE related to SCOTUS: Bill Cosby and Brett Kavanaugh stories show this is more than just a #MeToo moment. It's a seismic shift -- LA Time's LORRAINE ALI
