The rich buying names on college buildings is 'legal bribery,' Gov. Newsom says
LA Times's PHIL WILLON: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Friday that the college admission scandal extends beyond the recent charges against rich parents buying entrance to elite colleges and suggested it should include the "legal bribery" of billionaires buying naming rights on university buildings."
"The governor did not mention the University of California system specifically, but seemed to allude to it and other universities statewide."
"His comments come just days after a slew of well-known Hollywood actors, business titans and college athletics officials were indicted as part of a widespread corruption scheme involving the admission of students to top universities using falsified test scores and athletic profiles."
California is awash in cannabis cash. Some is being used to bribe public officials
LA Times's PATRICK MCGREEVY: "Sheriff Jon Lopey was startled when the mysterious stranger offered him $1 million if he would keep deputies away from certain illegal cannabis farms in Siskiyou County."
"Lopey called in the FBI, and, later, deliveries of envelopes stuffed with thousands of dollars in cash were recorded by cameras and microphones hidden on the sheriff's cluttered, wooden desk. Two people were later indicted by a federal grand jury for attempting to bribe the elected sheriff."
"I was surprised and offended that a citizen would believe a law enforcement administrator would compromise his ethics and morals by accepting money,” said Lopey, whose rural county abuts the Oregon border and strictly outlaws outdoor pot farms."
California GOP's vanishing act gets worse with latest voter numbers
The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH: "When Jessica Millan Patterson was chosen to run the California Republican Party last month, she promised to bring the moribund group back to political life by attracting more people to the GOP."
"California’s latest voter registration figures show just how difficult that task is likely to be."
Chaotic wildflower crowds create 'public safety crisis' in California town, mayor says
Sacramento Bee's JARED GILMOUR: "An idyllic “super bloom” of wildflowers in one Southern California city has devolved into something more menacing, according to local leaders: “The Poppy Apocalypse."
"Lake Elsinore in western Riverside County is near Walker Canyon, where tourists from the Los Angeles area and beyond have rushed this month to take in hills bursting with California poppiesand other wildflowers. But with those crowds have come headaches for locals — and injuries."
"We’re short-handed,” Lake Elsinore Mayor Steve Manos wrote Saturday on Facebook. “One of our employees was hit and run by a driver. A rattlesnake bit a visitor. Residents have been screaming at the people directing traffic.”"
Pelosi tells women to 'know your power'
The Chronicle's LAUREN HERNANDEZ: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged a room packed mostly with women to “know your power” in community organizing, government and their influence on younger generations in an intimate conversation in San Francisco on Saturday."
"Dozens of women, some with children in their arms or tugging at their hands, filed into the Wing, a women’s co-working space overlooking the bustling Financial District."
2020 Dems begin sharpening criticism of Beto O'Rourke
AP's WILL WEISSERT: "Back when he was still just teasing a presidential run, Beto O'Rourke told Vanity Fair he was "born to be in" the race. Now that he's campaigning to far greater media attention and much larger crowds than many Democrats who've been competing longer, they are taking offense at the former Texas congressman's sense of entitlement."
"Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar drew the sharpest such contrast on Sunday, saying "I wasn't born to run. But I am running" while acknowledging, "Oh, that's the Beto line."
"No, I wasn't born to run for office, just because growing up in the '70s, in the middle of the country, I don't think many people thought a girl could be president," Klobuchar said on NBC's "Meet the Press."
READ MORE related to POTUS46: SF meets Andrew Yang, a presidential candidate who's attracting support from Millennials -- The Chronicle's PETER FIMRITE; Gilibrand formally joins Democratic race for president -- LA Times's MICHAEL FINNEGAN
Capitol Weekly Podcast: State Sen. Tom Umberg on the death penalty
STAFF: "California state Sen. Tom Umberg is one of the most prominent Democrats to break with Gov. Gavin Newsom on the governor’s decision this week to put the death penalty on hold in the Golden State. A former federal prosecutor, a U.S. Army officer and military prosecutor — as well as a veteran of the Legislature where he served several terms as a member of the Assembly — Umberg now represents the 34th Senate District, centered in Orange County."
News of a death penalty moratorium elicits a muted reaction at San Quentin
LA Times's MARIA L LA GANGA: "Douglas “Chief” Stankewitz got up Wednesday in the early morning darkness. That’s when he meditates and exercises and reads. He turned on the television and caught the Channel 7 news. It was around 5:30. And he heard."
"Gov. Gavin Newsom planned to declare a moratorium on the death penalty that day, dismantle the death chamber. Because capital punishment, Newsom said, is immoral and expensive. Kills the innocent along with the guilty. Targets the black, the brown, the poor."
“I just thought, ‘It’s about time, about time someone stepped up who had the power and authority to do so’,” Stankewitz said."
Sacramento cops arrested GSK suspect in 1996, then let him go
Sacramento Bee's SAM STANTON: "Authorities arrested Joseph James DeAngelo last April as the Golden State Killer/East Area Rapist suspect, and they said the former police officer had never before been on their radar as a suspect."
"But DeAngelo had been arrested 22 years earlier and held in the Sacramento County Jail for three and a half hours on unrelated charges before being released and sent on his way, The Sacramento Bee has learned."
"DeAngelo, who was 50 at the time, was arrested in a sting operation on April 16, 1996, that targeted individuals with outstanding warrants and notified them that they had won free Super Bowl tickets they could pick up at an office in Sacramento. DeAngelo was one of the suspects who responded, and ended up jailed on allegations he had held up a gas station."
Sac State bans Delta Chi fraternity for three years following hazing investigation
Sacramento Bee's VINCENT MOLESKI: "Sacramento State’s Delta Chi fraternity had its recognition revoked Saturday following an investigation by the university into two anonymous tips alleging hazing."
"Having an unrecognized status means Delta Chi cannot use university facilities or resources, participate in university activities, or receive funding from student government, according to the student organization handbook."
"Per the handbook, Delta Chi may appeal the decision by 5 p.m. March 20, according to a statement from the university."
READ MORE related to Education: SAT and ACT take hit in bribery sccandal, but many colleges no longer require them -- The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER; Admissions scandal reinforces stereotypes but elite colleges admitting more low-income students -- LA Times's TERESA WATANABE
Is Amazon killing retail? Or is retail killing itself?
The Chronicle's SHWANIKA NARAYAN: "It’s not even three months into 2019, and 10 retailers have filed for bankruptcy, including clothing companies Gymboree and Charlotte Russe in San Francisco. The effect is visible on the streets, with hundreds of stores shuttered and thousands of workers laid off."
"The sector is on pace to surpass the closures and restructurings it experienced during the recession. But these failures come as retail spending hit a record $6 trillion in 2018, according to U.S. census figures, not an economic downturn."
Things look good for SF supervisor Peskin's deal to tax Uber and Lyft rides
The Chronicle's PHIL MATIER: "By this time next year, Uber and Lyft passengers in San Francisco will be paying a new surcharge on every trip if voters approve a deal cut in a North Beach restaurant by Supervisor Aaron Peskin and representatives of the ride-hail giants."
"The goal is to raise $30 million a year to deal with traffic congestion, brought on in large part by the ride services themselves."
Stephon Clark lived and died in Meadowview. A year later, has the neighborhood changed?
Sacramento Bee's SAWSAN MORRAR: "The brick home on 29th Street in south Sacramento has seen some changes in the last year. The Meadowview house owned by Stephon Clark’s grandmother was painted, the exterior refinished and the large brick cross over the garage door restored."
"Some residents say not much else has changed in the neighborhood since Clark was shot and killed by Sacramento police in his grandmother’s backyard."
"The Clark killing, which occurred a year ago March 18, had a profound and lasting impact on Sacramento, sparking mass protests, passionate debate and soul-searching. Since then, Meadowview has seen grassroots efforts to improve the lives of youths and families in the neighborhood."
Oakland's police chief had a critical goal for 2019. Then came a dispute over a shooting
The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY: "As the year began, Oakland Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick offered a list of goals for 2019 — and she saved perhaps the most ambitious for last."
"By the end of the year, Kirkpatrick told the city’s Police Commission, she hoped to finally bring her agency into compliance with a federal judge’s order for reforms stemming from a 2-decade-old brutality case. The so-called Riders scandal has cost Oakland millions in taxpayer dollars and done immeasurable harm to the police force’s reputation."
Rupert Murdoch begins his Hollywood goodbye
LA Times's MEG JAMES: "Thirty-four years ago, Rupert Murdoch showed up in Hollywood with $250 million, buying a stake in the 20th Century Fox film studio — even though he had little interest in making movies."
"The scrappy Australian newsman, then known for his clamorous tabloids, was viewed with suspicion. Skeptics assumed he was a corporate raider intent on stripping value from the studio. Instead, Murdoch rescued a threadbare operation from financial ruin and turned it into the centerpiece of a growing empire that has reshaped the entertainment industry."
"Now, Murdoch is dismantling his life’s work: a kingdom worth more than $100 billion. On Tuesday, his largest company, 21st Century Fox, will be broken apart. Walt Disney Co. will absorb Fox’s legendary movie and television production studios, with their deep trove of titles that includes “Avatar,” “Deadpool,” “Family Guy” and “The Simpsons.” The Murdoch family will create a new entity, simply known as Fox, that will include Fox News Channel, the Fox broadcast network, national Fox Sports channels, TV stations and the 50-acre Fox studio lot in Century City."
