Blackout blackmail?

'Blackout blackmail' or last resort? PG&E defends NorCal power cut

Sacramento Bee's DALE KASLER: "A wine country innkeeper lost thousands of dollars worth of business from lost diners and guests. A Placerville farm couple had trouble getting water to its livestock because the electric pumps on their wells weren’t operating. A small-town grocery in Lake County was left with a freezer full of spoiled food."

"The fire chief in Calistoga — and a prominent consumer advocacy group — said the whole exercise probably wasn’t necessary."

"All across Northern California, residents and some officials were grumbling Wednesday about PG&E’s decision to shut off power to reduce wildfire risks as high winds buffeted much of the region earlier in the week."

READ MORE related to Energy & Environment: West Coast quake warning system now operational, with limits -- AP; State high court rejects Berkeley group's suit to drain Hetch Hetchy Reservoir -- The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO; How do you build a safer city after California's worst wildfire? Santa Rosa officials say the answer may have to waitc -- LA Times's LAURA NEWBERRY; A simple earthquake flaw can invite financial catastrophe. Most California homeowners ignore it -- LA Times's RONG-GONG LIN II; Trump blames wildfires on California forest policy, threatens to withhold funds from state -- LA Times's SUSANNE RUST/LOUIS SAHAGUN; Why California law requires a clear benefit for groundwater recharge -- Water Deeply's MATT WEISER

SF area has the worst roads in the nation, per new report

The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "The Bay Area has the worst roads in the nation, according to a new report by TRIP, a Washington, D.C.-based transportation research group, that seeks to bolster a campaign by California transit officials to preserve the state’s recent gas tax hike."

"Seventy-one percent of the streets in San Francisco, Oakland and nearby cities are dilapidated, and the average motorist loses $1,049 a year in repair costs from driving on the bumpy pavement, the report said. The San Jose area has the second-worst roads, with 64 percent in poor condition."

"Researchers at TRIP evaluated arteries and freeways in the nation’s most populous cities, separating them by size. The San Francisco-Oakland area had the highest share of poor roads in cities with a population of 500,000 or greater. Eastern Contra Costa County ranked worst among mid-size urban areas, with a population of 200,000 to 500,000. Fifty-seven percent of its roadways are badly deteriorated."

READ MORE related to Transportation: Initiative to repeal gas tax hike sparks debate over how transportation funds are spent in California -- LA Times's PATRICK MCGREEVY

CSU system just set a record for graduations. And more students 'Finish in Four'

Sacramento Bee's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "California State University awarded a record number of bachelor’s degrees last year, amid an ongoing push to double its four-year graduation rate."

"The university announced Wednesday that its students earned 105,431 bachelor’s degrees between summer 2017 and spring 2018, an increase of 7 percent from the year before. Graduation rates also climbed to their highest levels ever: More than 25 percent of first-time freshmen finished in four years, while nearly 38 percent of transfer students completed their degree in two years."

"We’ve moved the number of bachelor’s degrees earned by our students in a dramatic way,” Chancellor Timothy White said in an interview. “We are here to serve Californians and here to serve California’s future, and we are making good progress."

READ MORE related to Education: Berkeley Council of Classified Employees files lawsuit against Berkeley Unified School District -- Daily Californian's ALEXANDER TEODORESCU; Cal State system reports improvement in graduation rates -- EdSource's LARRY GORDON

'Always backpedaling.' De Leon tells Feinstein that Democrats need a 'new way of thinking' 

Sacramento Bee's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "Facing increasingly long odds to unseat five-term incumbent Sen. Dianne Feinstein, challenger Kevin de León subtly jabbed Wednesday at his opponent’s record, but largely avoided direct attacks in the only scheduled meeting between the two Democrats."

"The “conversation” with the candidates for U.S. Senate, hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California for a small audience in San Francisco, was exceedingly low-key. They were given few opportunities to respond to each other’s answers and traded even fewer barbs."

"De León, who lambasted the event format when it was announced, tried at times to draw distinctions with Feinstein, particularly on his support for a single-payer health care system and her vote to authorize the war in Iraq. Yet he rarely mentioned Feinstein by name, largely focusing his fire on congressional Democrats who he said were “always backpedaling” in their fights with Republicans and President Donald Trump."

READ MORE related to Senate: De Leon has run against Feinstein from the left, but much of his support comes from Republicans, new poll finds -- LA Times's SARAH D WIRE

Why taking back the Senate won't get much easier for Dems after 2018

McClatchy DC's ADAM WOLLNER/ALEX ROARTY: "Democrats are the underdogs in the battle to control the Senate this year, and if they are unable to limit their losses in the upper chamber, they could be stuck in the minority for many years to come."

"Kyle Kondik, the managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics, told the Beyond the Bubble podcast Tuesday that even though Republicans will be defending significantly more Senate seats in 2020 than 2018, Democrats will likely still have few pick-up opportunities."

"This Senate map sets up the next one in that if Republicans are able to make a two or three seat net gain this year, which seems possible, they could effectively shut out the Democrats in 2020 even if the environment is bad for Republicans,” Kondik said."

Why do California voters prefer Gavin Newsom? It has to do with Donald Trump, new poll finds

The Tribune's ANDREW SHEELER: "Opposition to President Donald Trump is giving Democratic Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom a boost in the race for governor, while Trump’s support is a liability for Republican businessman John Cox’s campaign, according to a new poll released Wednesday."

"The USC Dornsife/Los Angeles Times poll found Newsom with a double-digit lead. A majority of likely voters — 54 percent — said they will vote for Newsom or are leaning towards doing so. Only 31 percent said they will vote for Cox or are leaning towards voting for him."

"The poll found that two-thirds of likely voters disapproved of the job that Trump is doing. Of those who said that support or opposition to Trump is “a major driver” in who they will vote for governor, two-thirds are supporting Newsom."

Commentary: Forget naysayers: Public pension funds doing fine

DAVE LOW in Capitol Weekly: "Another round of alarmist commentary is being spread by those who begrudge a secure retirement for those who teach in our classrooms or heroically labor on the front lines of wildfires.  Amidst their negativity Californians may have missed a bit of positive news last month."

SF's Historic Preservation Commission OKs sleek design for new street toilets

The Chronicle's ASHELY MCBRIDE: "San Francisco came one step closer Wednesday to replacing the 22-year-old forest green JCDecaux public toilets and advertising kiosks that dot the city."

"The six members of the Historic Preservation Commission present voted unanimously to approve sleek new designs by SmithGroupJJR, a local architecture firm."

"There are 25 public toilets and 114 kiosks scattered across the city, with six toilets and 34 kiosks located in historic landmark or conservation districts."

Bay Area businessman pleads guilty in bid-rigging scheme to defraud US government

The Chronicle's DOMINIC FRACASSA: "Bay Area businessman Derf Butler pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiring to defraud the federal government as part of a bid-rigging scheme tied to a renovation project at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, U.S. Attorney Alex Tse said."

"A federal grand jury indicted Butler in April on charges that he and others conspired to defraud the U.S. Department of Energy, which was seeking to renovate a building on the Lawrence lab’s campus. Butler also pleaded guilty to a charge of making false statements to federal investigators."

"The charges stemmed from a scheme that began in 2013 in which Butler orchestrated a conspiracy involving contractors submitting phony, inflated bids for the renovation project, Tse said. The scheme was designed so that a particular developer — who was actually an undercover FBI source — could submit the lowest bid and win the contract."

Contractor sues Transbay center authority for $150M, claiming breach of contract

The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "The contractor that oversaw construction of the shuttered Transbay Transit Center in San Francisco is suing the authority that owns the facility for $150 million, claiming its faulty design documents and general unresponsiveness led to delays that caused the project cost to soar."

"The suit covers the $2.2 billion center’s construction phase and makes no mention of the current problems facing the facility, which remains closed as the Transbay Joint Powers Authority investigates cracks found in two steel support beams last month. But the action is the latest in a series of lawsuits stemming from the project’s delays and cost overruns, and it blames the authority for “mismanagement, failures, and delays."

"Over the course of engineering and construction work that began a decade ago and culminated with a grand opening celebration in August, general contractor Webcor/Obayashi had to issue more than 12,000 requests for information and 1,603 change order requests to fix errors or omissions in the project design, the lawsuit says. It rebukes the authority for responses it says “were often late” and included code updates, clarifications or significant revisions that seemed to illustrate deficiencies in the construction drawings."

Detective in Harvey Weinstein case encouraged accuser to delete data from her phone

LA Times's JAMES QUEALLY/RICHARD WINTON: "The detective who was once at the center of the sexual assault case against Harvey Weinstein told one of the disgraced mogul's accusers to delete information from her cellphone before turning it over to prosecutors, according to a document made public Wednesday."

"New York Police Department Detective Nicholas DiGaudio, who led Weinstein into a Manhattan courthouse in handcuffs earlier this year, gave the advice after the woman said she was concerned some of her personal communications could wind up in a court file, records show."

"Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Joan Illuzzi-Osborn disclosed the information in a letter to Weinstein's legal team, which was made public Wednesday. A spokesman for the district attorney's office said it would not comment further on the matter."

Sheriff gone rogue. Welcome to Sacramento County, where he calls the shots

Sacramento Bee's MARCOS BRETON: "It was heartening on Tuesday to see community members speak out against a rogue sheriff of Sacramento County who rejects any independent oversight of his department unless he can control it. It was heartening to hear some members of the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors refuse to kowtow to Scott Jones’ arrogant defiance of any accountability that he can’t define himself."

"But nothing was really solved. Some supervisors want to maintain an independent inspector general who can review officer-involved shootings, jail deaths and other serious issues without the sheriff having the ability – as he does now – to shut down the whole process if he hears something he doesn’t like. But other supervisors - Sue Peters and Sue Frost - are clearly Jones enablers. And county staff? Not exactly profiles in courage."

"This should be simple, right? Good governance monitored by civilians. Transparency. Unfettered access to information that is in the public interest. Why is that so hard to achieve?"

READ MORE related to Prisons & Public Safety: You can now text 911 in Sacramento County. Here's when that is appropriate, and how to do it -- Sacramento Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH

Stormy Daniels to make SF stop at Penthouse Club

The Chronicle's TONY BRAVO: "Look to the skies. Those clouds gathering and the thunder rumbling over North Beach can only mean one thing: Stormy Daniels is on the horizon."

"The adult film actress-director and noted Trump litigant is coming to San Francisco Nov. 9 and 10 for two shows at the Penthouse Club and Restaurant on Broadway’s strip club micro-hood in North Beach. The Penthouse “Pet of the Century” has been on a tour of clubs across the United States (read Maghan McDowell’s account of why she drove to Sacramento to see her earlier this month)."

"At the same time, Daniels’ lawsuits against President Donald Trump for invalidation of the nondisclosure agreement about their alleged 2006 affair and for defamation have been in process. On Monday, federal Judge James Otero dismissed the lawsuit Daniels filed for defamation and ruled Daniels pay the president’s legal fees. (Daniels’ attorney Michael Avenatti has already filed an appeal to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals)."

ICE subpoenas immigration lawyer in leak hunt

The Chronicle's TAL KOPAN: "The Trump administration has subpoenaed an immigration attorney in an attempt to determine who leaked an internal memo that laid out how Immigration and Customs Enforcement should implement Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ decision to restrict political asylum for victims of domestic violence and gang crimes."

"The attorney said he doesn’t intend to reveal his sources or any other information about how he obtained the memo."

"The subpoena was sent to Colorado-based immigration attorney Daniel Kowalski, who is also the editor of Bender’s Immigration Bulletin, an immigration law journal published by LexisNexis. It demands that Kowalski hand over “all information” related to the memo he posted in July, including when, how and where he got it. The summons asks for “contact information for the source of the document.”