Democrats supporting Loretta Sanchez for the U.S. Senate Race say the Democratic party has given an unfair monetary and advertising advantage to her opponent, Kamala Harris.
PHIL WILLON with L.A. Times: "California Democratic Reps. Janice Hahn of San Pedro and Lucille Roybal-Allard of Downey on Monday ripped into the leadership of the California Democratic Party for being willing to launch a negative campaign against Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Loretta Sanchez."
"The party has spent more than $560,000 to support Sanchez’s rival in the Senate race, Democrat state Atty. Gen. Kamala Harris. A top party strategist told the Los Angeles Times that a negative attack against Sanchez, who has represented Orange County in Congress for two decades, has not been ruled out."
"It is outrageous that the California Democratic Party has spent over half a million dollars to defeat Democrat Loretta Sanchez and is planning to spend more in the next few weeks when there are contested races against Republicans across the state,” Hahn and Roybal-Allard said in joint statement released by the Sanchez campaign Monday afternoon."
The venerable State Bar of California, the agency that among other things protects the public against lawyers' misconduct, is running out of money -- fast.
JOHN HOWARD with Capitol Weekly: "Blocked by lawmakers at the 11th hour and facing a fiscal emergency, the State Bar of California has gone directly to the state Supreme Court seeking authority to levy dues on thousands of attorneys."
"The Bar, which filed the request Friday, said it would go out of business early next year without the money generated by the dues. The Bar has about 500 employees and an annual budget of $146 million."
Absent the court’s intervention, the State Bar said it “will be without the necessary revenue to continue beyond early next year.” The Bar asked for authority to require active attorneys to pay $315 each in annual dues. There are about 186,000 active practicing attorneys in California, and thousands more who are not active and who pay dues at a reduced level."
Bernie Sanders makes another visit to California, but this time it's not to blaze the campaign trail or endorse a candidate.
CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO with Sacramento Bee: "Borrowing a page from an old campaign playbook, proponents of November’s prescription drug pricing measure launched their fall TV ad campaign with a figure familiar to voters:Sen. Bernie Sanders."
"In the ads for Proposition 61, which would prevent California from spending more on prescription drugs than the lowest price paid by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Vermont senator and former presidential candidate suggests the time is long overdue for Americans “to stand up to the greed of the pharmaceutical industry."
"Proposition 61 is a very, very important step forward,” Sanders says,” describing the measure as a “real blow against this greedy industry that will reverberate all over America."
The cannabis legalization effort apparently has just as many enemies as it does friends.
PATRICK MCGREEVY with L.A. Times: "Come November, medical pot dispensary operator Lanette Davies won’t be joining others in her industry in voting for Proposition 64, a measure that would legalize the recreational use of marijuana."
"The initiative could create a flood of new customers for Davies’ nonprofit Canna Care pot shop, which is located in the back of an industrial park on the outskirts of Sacramento. But Davies fears the Nov. 8 ballot measure will result in big corporations driving out small operators, and the government setting steep taxes and fees on cannabis that will put it out of reach for many of her mostly low-income customers."
"Because of the double taxation and the permit fees, you are not going to have affordable medication,” Davies predicted as her customer bought a $33 bag of Jedi Kush marijuana. “The people who are going to suffer are those who are disabled, who are on low incomes. They are not going to be able to get life-saving medicine.”
Speaking of ballot initiatives, the Sacramento Bee takes a look at what makes Gavin Newsom's gun control measure different than Kevin de Leon's.
MATTHEW ARTZ with East Bay Times: "When Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom launched his gun control initiative last year, he began gearing up for a fiery confrontation with the National Rifle Association."
"It came instead from the Democratic leader of the state Senate, Kevin de León."
"Arguing that gun control would be better addressed by lawmakers, de León rallied the Legislature before its summer break to enact a series of laws two of which effectively duplicated the two biggest ticket items on the ballot measure: background checks for ammunition purchasers and an outright ban on large-capacity magazines that are often used in mass killings."
Last week, Gov. Brown signed a bill into law that would convert all public single-stall bathrooms into commodes that accomodate all gender identities.
REVATI THATTE with Daily Californian: "On Sept. 29, Gov. Jerry Brown signed bill AB 1732 into law, requiring single-user restrooms that are open to the public to be all-gender inclusive, which comes after a long string of protests for gender-neutral restrooms by students at UC Berkeley."
"AB 1732 requires all restrooms in places of public accommodation to be all-gender. According to the office of Assemblymember Phil Ting, the bill mainly affects transgender and gender fluid people but also aids parents and caregivers of opposite-gender children and women, who tend to have to wait for available restrooms even if a designated-male single-user restroom is available."
"Civil rights are the strongest when they are inclusive across the gender spectrum,” said Assemblymember Ting in an emailed statement. “That is why we need strong protections in place to prohibit discrimination on the basis of gender and gender identity.”"
Lee Baca, former Los-Angeles-Sheriff-turned-#WorstWeekCA-top-contender has requested his criminal trial unfold in another county so that his prosecution is not tainted by bias.
SUSAN ABRAM with L.A. Daily News: "Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca said in court documents he wants his case to be heard by a different judge in either Orange or Riverside County because he doesn’t believe he’ll get a fair trial in connection with a jail corruption scandal."
"Three motions were filed by Baca’s attorneys last week in federal court. One motion requested that U.S. District Court Judge Percy Anderson be disqualified for harboring a biased view of Baca’s involvement of abuse of inmates in Los Angeles County jails."
"Baca plead guilty in February to lying to investigators in an April 2013 interview when he said he did not know that Sheriff’s Department officials planned to approach an FBI special agent who was investigating the abuses. Baca, who retired in 2014, had still been the sheriff during the FBI investigation."
Meanwhile, the National Parks Service continues to sift through the harassment scandal that has crippled Yosemite's professional image.
LOUIS SAHAGUN with L.A. Times: "A federal official who had been accused of protecting her husband from charges that he mismanaged Yosemite National Park during an ongoing harassment scandal announced her retirement on Monday.
""Patty Neubacher, deputy regional director for the Pacific West Region, which covers 56 national parks in six states, came under scrutiny in recent months as the Interior Department and Congress investigated widespread allegations of bullying, intimidation and harassment of employees throughout the national park system."
"Her husband, Don Neubacher, on Thursday announced his retirement as superintendent of Yosemite National Park, where employees and former employees had complained of a systemic failure to investigate and address allegations of harassment at the iconic California landmark. Some employees alleged that Patty Neubacher had used her position to protect the superintendent."
Government transparency expands as the state seeks to formally punish prosecutors who break the rules in criminal prosecutions.
CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD with L.A. Times: "In an ongoing controversy in the Orange County courthouse involving accusations of prosecutorial misconduct, a new law will ratchet up penalties for California prosecutors who tamper with evidence or hide exculpatory material from the defense."
"Under the law, which was introduced by Assemblywoman Patty Lopez (D-San Fernando) and signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Friday, a prosecutor can receive up to three years in prison for altering or intentionally withholding evidence that defendants might use to exonerate themselves. Previously, those acts were considered misdemeanors."
"I hear so many stories about innocent people across California, and across the country, who have been wrongfully convicted,” Lopez said. “I just hope that when people think the rules don’t apply to them, they will think twice before they abuse their power."
This week's podcast sees the editors of Capitol Weekly sitting down with former congressman Doug Ose.
STAFF with Capitol Weekly: "Former congressman Doug Ose was one of the first prominent California Republicans to endorse the candidacy Donald J. Trump. Capitol Weekly visited Doug at his office at Gibson Ranch Monday to chat about the state of the race, following a wild week for the Republican candidate. Ose weighs in on Trump's taxes, the role of the media, Kathleen Kennedy Townsend - and casually namechecks more world leaders in 10 seconds than Gary Johnson has in the past year."
LISTEN TO MORE related to Podcasts: California Politics Podcast: Legislative Hangover -- Politics California on Soundcloud
The first responders on the scene where Joseph Mann was ultimately shot and killed in July appear to paint a much different picture than the police officers who provided back up just minutes later--and now legal experts say the department finds itself entangled in a serious challenge.
ANITA CHABRIA with Sacramento Bee: "When the first Sacramento police officers answered a 911 call for an armed mentally ill man in July, they remained calm and attempted to de-escalate the unfolding situation in North Sacramento."
"Their reserved approach contrasts starkly with two officers who arrived four minutes later and attempted to run over the suspect before chasing him on foot and shooting him 14 times, based on a Sacramento Bee review of separate dashcam videos."
"The different approaches may prove legally challenging for the two officers who pulled their triggers and are now under investigation, according to Edward Obayashi, a use-of-force expert and attorney.
