Gig law doesn't apply to independent truck drivers, California judge rules
LA Times's JAMES F. PELTZ: "California’s new gig-economy law does not apply to the thousands of independent truck drivers in the state because the controversial measure is preempted by federal law, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ruled."
"The state law, known as Assembly Bill 5, or AB 5, was intended to curb businesses’ use of independent contractors by establishing a test that effectively makes it harder for companies to claim that workers are independent contractors instead of employees who are entitled to legal minimum-wage rates and benefits such as workers’ compensation."
"Two years ago, Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer sued three port trucking companies owned by NFI Industries, alleging that the businesses exploited their drivers by misclassifying them as independent contractors and making them absorb thousands of dollars in costs that should be borne by employers."
The rape crisis among California's farm workers
SCOTT SORIANO in Capitol Weekly: "Of all the state’s residents, California’s 265,000 female farm workers are among the most vulnerable when it comes to sexual assault and rape."
"Farm worker survivors of sexual assault and those who are there to help them, California’s rape crisis centers, face many obstacles: Survivors’ lack of English proficiency, immigration status, nature of employment, fear of employer retaliation, and distrust of authorities."
"These problems are further complicated by a failure to prosecute those accused of sexually assaulting or raping farm workers, criminal networks engaged in human trafficking and extortion, and a lack of reliable data on these crimes."
Californians support 'amnesty' for high-capacity gun magazine owners, survey says
Sac Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "A majority of Californians, including gun owners, support an “amnesty” program where high-capacity firearm magazine owners can turn them in, “no questions asked.”
"More than 62 percent of Californians surveyed said that they favor such a program, which 51 percent of gun owners also said they supported."
"The results, published in JAMA Network Open, come from the Violence Prevention Research Program at University of California, Davis. Researchers interpreted data from an online survey of 2,558 California adults that was conducted by Ipsos Public Affairs."
Someone shot an endangered wolf in NorCal. Will new rewards lead to killer?
Sac Bee's RYAN SABALOW: "Federal officials and an environmental group this week issued rewards totaling $7,500 for the unsolved 2018 killing of an endangered wolf in Modoc County, California’s first wolf poaching investigation since the predators returned to the state."
"On Dec. 2, 2018, Oregon wildlife biologists notified California officials that a black-furred yearling male they’d labeled OR-59 had traveled from a pack in northeast Oregon and crossed the state line into Modoc County."
"The biologists were able to track its movements because the wolf was wearing a GPS collar, which biologists had put around its neck a few months earlier when they’d trapped it for study in northeast Oregon."
California has protections against Trump rollback of environmental rules
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "The Trump administration’s sweeping plan to ease environmental review of highways, power plants and other big projects may be less consequential in California, where state law puts checks on new development."
By no means, however, would California go unaffected. Logging, drilling and mining in the Golden State, as well as building a wall at the nation’s southern border, could be much easier to do if the president has his way.
The White House announced Thursday it is moving ahead with rollbacks to the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act, a landmark law designed to reduce the negative effects of development."
PG&E's big penalty for California wildfires could create tax write-off
Sac Bee's DALE KASLER/RYAN SABALOW: "The record $1.675 billion penalty PG&E Corp. has agreed to pay for the deadly 2017 and 2018 wildfires could generate a big tax deduction for the beleaguered California utility."
"A hearing officer at the California Public Utilities Commission has told PG&E to spell out how much of the penalty it believes it can deduct from its federal or state taxes, and “what would be the corresponding tax savings” by reducing the company’s taxable income."
"PG&E has until Friday to answer. A utility spokeswoman declined to say Thursday what the response will be."
READ MORE related to Wildfires: See how the fires in Australia compare to some of California's worst fires -- Sac Bee's JAYSON CHESLER
Trump and Garcetti, enemies in public, are quietly working out a deal on homelessness
LA Times's NOAH BIERMAN/BENJAMIN ORESKES/DAKOTA SMITH: "Senior Trump administration officials have made quiet but significant progress toward a potential deal with Los Angeles officials that would provide federal funds and land to help shelter the city‘s and county’s growing homeless population."
"The movement follows a series of phone calls involving Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger."
"The positive tone, much of it behind the scenes, comes as a sharp contrast to President Trump’s bellicose anti-California rhetoric at political rallies and on Twitter. At times, the president has appeared to threaten to invoke sweeping emergency powers to force local officials to “clean up their act” rather than offer federal help."
Californians' home mortgage deduction would be capped under new bill
The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "California homeowners with big home loans and vacation properties would owe higher taxes under new legislation to raise money for programs to get the state’s homelessness crisis under control."
"The bill by Assemblyman David Chiu, D-San Francisco, would cap a state tax break for mortgages to the interest paid on the first $750,000 of a loan for a primary home. It would eliminate the deduction altogether for mortgage interest on second homes."
"Chiu’s office estimates the changes would bring in $400 million to $500 million per year, which would be set aside as dedicated funding for shelters, permanent supportive housing and other homelessness services."
Fact Check: Are state Reeps having voter reg changed without consent?
Sac Bee's BRYAN ANDERSON: "A California Republican lawmaker claimed on Thursday that a “flood of registered Republicans” in her county have had their party switched because of actions taken by the Secretary of State’s Office."
"Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, is echoing inaccurate sentiments spread within conservative circles across the state that California elected officials are purposefully disenfranchising Republican voters by switching them to no party preference without consent."
“We’ve had a flood of registered Republicans in SD28 receive notification that they’re now NPP,” Melendez wrote on Twitter. “They did not change their party. The Secretary of State appears to have done it for them anyway."
Feinstein backtracks on impeachment dig at Pelosi: 'I did not mean to say that'
The Chronicle's DUSTIN GARDINER: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made clear Thursday that she’s in no hurry to send articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate, as her longtime colleague Sen. Dianne Feinstein backtracked on earlier criticism that it was time for the Senate to get the case."
"Pelosi, D-San Francisco, has refused to forward the articles since the House voted on Dec. 18 to approve them, arguing she needs to know ground rules for how the GOP-led Senate will conduct Trump’s trial."
“No, I’m not holding them indefinitely,” Pelosi said at a news conference. “I’ll send them over when I’m ready, and that will probably be soon."
Iowa's small Latino population looms large in 2020 election
LA Times's EVAN HALPER: "Bernie Sanders sounded awkwardly gringo in naming the Latino politician he thanked for introducing him, and he bungled the Spanish title of his own event, dropping the “con” from “Unidos con Bernie.” Yet it only seemed to endear “Tio Bernie” to the Latino voters gathered in this Iowa town to see him."
"In a state often criticized as too white to hold such political influence, Latinos are key to the coalition that Sanders is trying to assemble in his bid to win the Iowa caucuses that open the Democrats’ presidential-nominating contest on Feb. 3."
"With Iowa very much up for grabs — no single Democrat has emerged as a dominant front-runner here — the state’s small but growing population of Latinos is getting unprecedented attention. Sanders is just one of the candidates investing heavily in appealing to the group, as Latinos become an increasingly influential and vocal presence throughout the state, organizing and winning local races in key communities."
Fed court in SF considers two Trump restrictions on immigration rules
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "A Trump administration lawyer asked a federal appeals court in San Francisco on Thursday to allow enforcement of a ban on U.S. entry for hundreds of thousands of legal immigrants who lack private health insurance. But two of the three judges expressed doubt that President Trump was acting within his legal authority."
"The same panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals seemed undecided, however, in a second immigration case involving about 26,000 Central Americans who tried to enter the United States at legal ports of entry before new rules took effect in July denying asylum to virtually all Central Americans. They were turned back by immigration officers and forced to wait in Mexico, then were ruled ineligible under the new policy."
"Both cases are part of a broader dispute over Trump’s clampdown on immigration, particularly from Latin America."
Boeing messages show employee unease on 737 Max
BLOOMBERG: "Boeing Co. released a new batch of internal messages in which company employees discussed deep unease with the 737 Max while ridiculing senior managers, customers and regulators."
“This airplane is designed by clowns, who in turn are supervised by monkeys,” said one company pilot in messages to a colleague in 2016, which Boeing disclosed publicly late Thursday. The company had already provided the documents to lawmakers and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration."
"The communications threaten to upend Boeing’s efforts to rebuild public trust in the 737 Max, which has been grounded since March after two deadly crashes. The Democratic chairman of a U.S. House of Representatives committee overseeing an investigation of the Max called the messages “incredibly damning."
BART to dispatch 10 unarmed officers to help keep peace on trains
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "BART will dispatch 10 new community service officers to patrol the trains, help defuse conflicts, roust people sleeping on seats and convey a sense of security — a more aggressive “ambassador” program than what the agency had considered before a fatal stabbing on the system in November."
"Proponents had conceived of the program as a form of restorative justice that could help build trust with riders who fear police officers, but that concept divided the agency’s board of directors for more than a year. The new plan looks more like traditional law enforcement."
"The ambassadors, who will begin work next month, will be administered and vetted by the BART Police Department. They will receive training in resolving disputes and controlling their own biases, but they won’t be armed and they won’t have the power to arrest or detain people."
House votes to restrain Trumps' actions against Iran
The Chronicle's MATTHEW DALY: "Reigniting a debate over who has the power to declare war, the Democratic-controlled House on Thursday a resolution Thursday asserting that President Trump must seek approval from Congress before engaging in further military action against Iran."
"The war powers resolution is not binding on the president and would not require his signature. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi nonetheless insisted it “has real teeth” because “it is a statement of the Congress of the United States.”
"The measure will “protect American lives and values” by limiting Trump’s military actions, Pelosi said."
Intelligence indicates Iranian missile downed Ukrainian jetliner, US and Canadian officials say
LA Times's DAVID S CLOUD: "The Ukrainian jet that crashed near Tehran this week, killing all 176 people on board, was probably shot down accidentally by Iranian surface-to-air missiles, U.S. and Canadian officials said Thursday."
"U.S. intelligence analysts reached the conclusion after reviewing satellite images and other intelligence that indicated Iran forces fired two Russian-made SA-15 antiaircraft missiles at the jet shortly after it took off from Tehran’s airport, a U.S. official familiar with the finding said."
"Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had made public similar conclusions earlier in the day."
