California boom is slowing, Newsom warns as 2020 budget writing begins
Sacramento Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "California’s longest-ever period of economic growth is slowing, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday, warning that next year’s budget may not be as flush as this year’s."
"You’re already seeing the plane land in terms of the the slowdown,” Newsom told reporters. “I think it’s going to reflect in a more sober look at next year’s budget."
"His 2020 budget blueprint is due in January."
PG&E reaches $65M settlement in record-falsification case
The Chronicle's J.D. MORRIS: "Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has agreed to pay $65 million and implement a series of system reforms to settle an investigation from California regulators who said the company repeatedly falsified internal records about its underground infrastructure."
"The penalty will come at the expense of PG&E shareholders, not customers, according to a document published Thursday by the California Public Utilities Commission, whose staff conducted the inquiry into the company’s record-keeping practices."
"PG&E reached the proposed settlement, which it disclosed in a filing and a note to employees it posted online, with commission safety staff and a coalition of California utility employees. The commissioners who oversee the regulatory agency must still sign off on the deal."
READ MORE related to ENERGY: PG&E wants to raise rates to offset SF's new tax to fund homelessness services -- The Chronicle's DOMINIC FRACASSA
Rep. Devin Nunes files $77M lawsuit, alleging Iowa farm story defamed him
AP: "Central Valley Rep. Devin Nunes has filed yet another lawsuit against a major media organization, claiming he was defamed in a magazine story about his family’s Iowa dairy farm."
"Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, filed the $77.5-million lawsuit Monday in federal court in Iowa against Esquire publisher Hearst Magazines and former reporter Ryan Lizza. It alleges a Sept. 30, 2018, story about the farm has caused “injury to his good name and professional reputation."
"Nunes has gone after other media outlets in court, filing similar lawsuits this year against Twitter and newspaper publisher McClatchy Co."
California dam-raising project favored by Trump stumbles after water agency retreats
Sacramento Bee's DALE KASLER: "Opposed by California officials, the Trump administration’s $1.3 billion plan to raise Shasta Dam and increase reservoir storage has run into a roadblock that could delay the project or even kill it."
"The state has called raising Shasta Dam a potential environmental disaster for the nearby McCloud River — and has succeeded in bottling up the project by obtaining court rulings that prevent Westlands Water District from preparing an environmental review required by state law."
"Westlands, the giant farm-irrigation agency in the San Joaquin Valley, wants more storage in Shasta Lake and would be a crucial financial partner in the project with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation."
READ MORE related to Environment: Saving SF Bay may mean filling parts of it in, agency says -- The Chronicle's JOHN KING
Newsom gives California districts more power to block charter schools with new law
Sacramento Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "California school districts will soon have more power to block proposed charter schools under a new law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Thursday."
"Newsom, flanked by respresentatives from both the teachers union and the California Charter Schools Association, described how difficult the negotiations on the bill were."
"There were moments where we honestly thought, ‘this thing’s dead,’” he said after signing the bill"
Political 'deepfake' videos banned in California before elections
The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "Ahead of what is expected to be a contentious election next year, California has made it illegal to distribute deceptively edited videos and audio clips intended to damage a politician’s reputation or deceive someone into voting for or against a candidate."
"On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed without comment AB730, which prohibits the distribution of manipulated clips known as “deepfakes” within 60 days of an election. It gives candidates the right to sue to stop their spread and to seek financial damages, though there are no criminal penalties. The law, which includes exceptions for media organizations and exempts images and audio that disclose they have been manipulated, will expire in 2023."
"Assemblyman Marc Berman, D-Palo Alto, introduced the legislation this summer out of concern that deepfake technology — which uses artificial intelligence to create images that can make someone appear to say or do something they did not — could be deployed on a mass scale to influence the 2020 presidential election."
Ukraine? Impeachment? No, Warren sticks to the plan at San Diego rally
LA Times's MELANIE MASON: " The burgeoning impeachment proceedings against President Trump have knocked Washington and the political world off-kilter with new revelations by the hour. But as Sen. Elizabeth Warren rallied thousands of fans at a seaside San Diego park, there was little sign Trump’s scandals would upend her presidential campaign’s core message."
"The words “Ukraine” and “China” — which have blared nonstop on cable news — went unmentioned. Impeachment was barely discussed. Instead, Warren on Thursday night stuck to her signature vow to use structural change to overhaul government and the economy."
"That consistency was exactly what Isabelle Kay wanted to hear."
Trump ignores Kamala Harris on Twitter. It's here worst-case scenario
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Something surprising happened after Kamala Harris publicly asked Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to ban President Trump from Twitter."
"Trump ignored her. At least on Twitter."
"A White House spokesperson did say that “it is not surprising that Kamala Harris, someone who believes in bigger government and more regulation, would like to silence her political opponents. In fact, it’s rather authoritarian of her."
Warren or Sanders? SF supervisor tries to have it both ways
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren rolled out a list of California endorsers this week as she tries to broaden her footprint in the state ahead of the March 3 Democratic presidential primary."
"Sen. Kamala Harris, however, has long since scooped up most of the big names in her home state, so the Massachusetts Democrat’s roster didn’t have a lot of major players on it. One of the more prominent Bay Area names, for example, was Hayward Assemblyman Bill Quirk."
"Also among the endorsers was San Francisco Supervisor Hillary Ronen."
SF DA Gascon resigning before election, explores run in LA
The Chronicle's EVAN SERNOFFSKY: "San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón announced Thursday he is resigning from office before his term concludes at the end of the year and moving to Los Angeles, where he’s exploring a run for the top prosecutor job."
"In an email to his staff, Gascón said he is resigning effective Oct. 18 — less than three weeks before San Francisco voters decide his successor. Gascón tapped his chief of staff, Cristine Soto DeBerry, to assume his duties when he leaves office."
"I am truly grateful for your support and confidence all these years,” Gascón wrote in the email obtained by The Chronicle. “You stood by me when I asked you to look past what the criminal justice system has always been, and to consider instead what justice could be."
Attorney who paid $75K to rig daughter's ACT exam sentenced to 1 month in admissions scandal
LA Times's MATTHEW ORMSETH: "Already disbarred and removed from his prestigious law firm, Gordon Caplan on Thursday received a final rebuke from the legal system he once sat atop when he was sentenced to one month in prison for conspiring to rig his daughter’s college entrance exams."
"Caplan, a resident of Greenwich, Conn., paid $75,000 to ensure his daughter received a score in the 97th percentile on the ACT. Her test was fixed by William “Rick” Singer, a Newport Beach consultant who has admitted rigging dozens of such exams for his wealthy clients by bribing test proctors and administrators."
"Once a co-chairman of the global law firm Willkie Farr and Gallagher, Caplan, 53, was ordered incarcerated by U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani over the objections of his attorneys, who had argued Caplan was so disgraced, his career so ruined and his family so wounded by his misdeeds that prison wasn’t necessary."
The new face of Sacramento's affordable housing crisis: College students forced to drop out
Sacramento Bee's TONY BIZJAK/SAWSAN MORRAR: "After classes at Sacramento State, when others had gone home, Alvin Prasad would spend the night sleeping in his Honda. He couldn’t afford an apartment and was too tired to drive to his parents’ Modesto home. “In winter, you have a blanket, sometimes it’s not warm enough."
"Criminal justice major Jayda Preyer chose Sacramento for college because rents here were lower than San Francisco. Then the rents here soared. Without family help, she’s in 30-day emergency housing on campus, not knowing what happens next. “I believe in God. I’ll be OK. But it’s very nerve-wracking.”
"Alexandra Lopez is more fortunate. She has an apartment and job, but a recent pay increase disqualified her for a CalFresh food subsidy. She’s among many California students who queue for free food at their campus pantry. “I had to use the money I made to keep a roof over my head. This is hard to experience."
Protesters rally in Sacramento against feared deportation of Cambodians
Sacramento Bee's THEODORA YU: "Around a hundred people gathered at the state Capitol on Thursday to rally against the feared deportation and detention of Cambodian Americans by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)."
"Participants, mostly younger adults and students, held slogans that read “Solidarity with Khmer Refugees” and “Nobody is Illegal on Stolen Land.” Walking along L Street towards the field office of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), protesters chanted, “We are not free unless all of us are free” and other slogans."
"Some drivers passing by flashed thumbs-ups and honked in support. The protesters shouted more slogans after they reached the USCIS Field Office at the John E. Moss Federal Building."
READ MORE related to Immigration: ICE arrests two Cambodians in SF as advocates protest deportations -- The Chronicle's TATIANA SANCHEZ
Kaiser says data breach exposed information on nearly 1,000 Sacramento-area patients
Sacramento Bee's CATHIE ANDERSON: "Kaiser Permanente said Thursday that a data breach had left personal information on 990 Sacramento-area patients exposed to an unknown and unauthorized individual for about 13 hours.
“The exposure was identified by an IT security process and corrected immediately upon discovery,” stated Angela B Anderson, Kaiser’s regional compliance director and privacy and security officer for Northern California, in an email sent to The Sacramento Bee. “We do not have any evidence that the information was viewed, used or copied. Kaiser Permanente takes the protection of our member data very seriously."
"In a letter to Kaiser members, issued Sept. 27, Anderson explained that the unauthorized individual had access to a Sacramento-area provider’s email account, and data in that email account included a combination or some of the following: date or dates of service, age, date of birth, gender, provider name, provider comments, payer name, diagnosis, medical history, benefit information, insurance coverage status, treatment procedure and service provided."
READ MORE related to Health: 'Dank' draws scrutiny as vaping illness spreads -- AP
LAX to end curbside pickup by Uber and Lyft
LA Times's LAURA NEWBERRY: "Frequent fliers, beware. Los Angeles International Airport will soon ban ride-hailing companies from picking up passengers outside its terminals, LAX officials said Thursday."
"Starting on or about Oct. 29, travelers looking to hop on an Uber or Lyft will be taken by shuttle to a parking lot next to Terminal 1, where they can book their rides, said Keith Wilschetz, deputy executive director of the Operations and Emergency Management Division at Los Angeles World Airports. Drop-offs at terminals will still be allowed."
"The decision is in response to worsening congestion at the airport, which is undergoing a $14-billion overhaul of its aging road network and terminals. In recent months, construction has often required LAX to close some lanes. And because airlines have been adding routes, more people are coming to the airport in general, Wilschetz said. Passenger volume increased from 63.7 million in 2012 to 87.5 million in 2018, according to LAX officials."
Joe Biden doesn't punch back at Truimp in SF fundraiser
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Joe Biden’s campaign revolves around returning the country to the way it was before President Trump took office, which explains how he handled Trump’s latest groundless attack on him Thursday — by all but ignoring it."
"The former vice president headlined three fundraisers in the Bay Area after Trump told reporters outside the White House that China should “start an investigation into the Bidens” — the former vice president and his son Hunter — “because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine.”
"Biden barely nodded to Trump’s comments during a fundraiser at the San Francisco home of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who has endorsed him. He briefly touched on the president’s attack after telling donors who paid up to $2,800 to be there that Trump is the first president who outright “lies."
READ MORE related to POTUS: Sanders' health concerns won't keep him off debate stage, campaign says -- The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI
One of the oldest known human settlements is about to be swallowed whole
LA Times's KIM WILLSHER: "Ask shepherd Ramazan Agalday how long his family has lived in the ancient city of Hasankeyf in southeastern Turkey, and his rheumy eyes cloud over."
"I am 80 years old and I was born here. So were all my ancestors before me and their ancestors before them; it’s been a long time,” he says, tapping his walking stick while catching his breath after the steep climb to the man-made caves in the limestone cliffs where he keeps his flock."
"For up to 12,000 years, the Tigris River has sustained the people of Hasankeyf, one of the oldest known human settlements. Now time is running out for the ancient town. Soon a controversial dam project will swell the Tigris until its waters swallow the city whole."
James Franco former students sue, alleging sexual exploitation and fraud at his defunct school
LA Times's CHRISTIE D'ZURILLA: "James Franco and two of his associates are facing a class-action lawsuit alleging that the actor’s Studio 4 acting and filmmaking school was actually a setup to provide them with a stream of young, impressionable women for sexual and financial exploitation."
"The suit, filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court and reviewed by The Times, was brought by former students Sarah Tither-Kaplan and Toni Gaal. It accuses the Oscar-nominated actor — along with business partner Vince Jolivette, Rabbit Bandini Productions and the production company’s general manager, Jay Davis — of sex discrimination, sexual harassment, fraudulent business practices and intimidation, among other things."
"Studio 4 allowed Franco and his entourage to collect tuition for their own personal gain, and stockpile explicit footage of women,” the law firm Valli Kane & Vagnini, which is representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement Thursday. “The school diminished a woman’s role on set to that of a sexual object who could only obtain professional opportunities through gratuitous nudity, explicit sex scenes and succumbing to sexual advances by the men in charge."
READ MORE related to Sexual Misconduct: Accused of sexual assault, former Tinder CEO sues his accuser for defamation -- LA Times's SAM DEAN
