Out of the crowd: Gomez, Ahn look toward a runoff in LA's CD34.
From the LAT's Christine Mai-Duc: "Assemblyman Jimmy Gomez will advance to a runoff for the 34th Congressional District, according to the Associated Press. Fellow Democrat and former L.A. city planning commissioner Robert Lee Ahn was in second place and claimed victory early Wednesday morning, as thousands of votes separated him from the rest of the huge field.
"The two top finishers among the 24 in the race will meet in a June 6 runoff."
"It appeared to be a surprising victory for the relatively unknown Ahn and was a predictable one for Gomez, who had locked up dozens of endorsements from elected officials, including Becerra, who gave up his seat to become California’s attorney general earlier this year."
READ MORE related to Local: Jimmy Gomez is currently in the lead -- LA Daily News; Inspectors' demand that extension cord be removed may have led to fatal Oakland fire -- East Bay Times' DANIEL BORENSTEIN; Ronald Reagan was president the last time the California Legislature was so popular -- Sacramento Bee's CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO; City wins in lawsuit filed by ex-staffer of councilwoman Angelique Ashby -- Sacramento Bee's ANDY FURILLO; LA County supervisors looking into how to discipline its bad workers -- LA Times' MELISSA ETEHAD; Ahn and Gomez appear headed to a runoff in LA's congressional race -- LA Times' CHRISTINE MAI-DUC
LA councilman is seeking new ways to curb burglaries and target the perpetrators.
Daily News' ELIZABETH CHOU: "Councilman Mitch Englander is hoping a monetary reward will generate tips to help police catch the crews responsible for the spate of “knock-knock” burglaries that have gripped neighborhoods throughout the city."
"Residents have been hit hard with residential burglaries in the past three months, according to Englander."
"The councilman said he believes the reward can prompt people to turn in the culprits. He is planning to introduce a motion Wednesday aimed at helping the Los Angeles Police Department combat these types of burglaries."
READ MORE related to Public Safety: Hate crimes rise 15 percent in LA with uptick in LGBT victims -- Daily News' BRENDA GAZZAR; Will East Bay jail give ICE space under 'sanctuary state' bill? -- The Chronicle's KIMBERLY VEKLEROV; Survivors seek healing,criminal justice reforms during victims' rights week event -- Sacramento Bee's NASHELLY CHAVEZ; Civil rights groups alarmed at Justice Department's review of local police settlements -- LA Times' DEL QUENTIN WILBER/KEVIN RECTOR
$2.1m in funding has been added to Los Angeles' homeless camp clean-up program.
Daily News' ELIZABETH CHOU: "The City Council voted Tuesday to increase funding for homeless encampment clean-ups by $2.1 million, after sanitation crews burned through this year’s budgeted money due to high-demand."
"City crews have been working overtime to respond to requests throughout the city to clean up homeless encampments, city officials said this week. The additional funding, approved on a 10-0 vote, is meant to tide the city over until the end of June, when the latest fiscal year ends."
"The additional funding nearly doubles the initial budget of $1.38 million that went to three clean-up programs, including “Operation Health Streets,” which deploys cleaning and outreach crews to Venice and Skid Row."
Bids to build Trump's border wall are interwoven with innovative ideas that would do more than just prevent people from crossing over illegally.
AP's ELLIOT SPAGAT: "One bidder wants to cover President Donald Trump's border wall with solar panels. Another suggests building a wall large enough for a deck that would offer tourists scenic views of the desert."
"In the competition to build the wall, traditional bids are interspersed with more whimsical ideas."
"As Tuesday's deadline for bids passed, U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined to identify bidders or say how many there were, which is standard practice in government contracting. The federal government expects to announce around June 1 which companies will be hired to build prototypes."
The Trump administration has thrown an environmental lifeline amid a groundswell of anti-environment, anti-science controversy.
LA Times' BETTINA BOXALL: "In another U-turn from existing environmental policy, the Trump administration has eased the way for a controversial California desert water project that President Obama’s team had blocked."
"Federal directives drafted under Obama had erected a major obstacle to Cadiz Inc.’s long-standing plans to pump Mojave Desert groundwater and sell it to urban Southern California."
"But in a March 29 memo, an acting assistant director at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management revoked two legal guidances that underpinned the agency’s 2015 decision that Cadiz could not use an existing federal railroad right-of-way for a new water pipeline to carry supplies from the project’s proposed well field to the Colorado River Aqueduct."
LA County employees are under the whim of the Board of Supervisors who are trying to figure out how to protect worker's rights while still being able to hold them accountable if needed.
Daily News' SUSAN ABRAM: "A rule that blocks Los Angeles County employees from being discharged or reassigned will be reviewed after the Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to find ways to hold them accountable while also protecting their rights."
"The board’s vote means several departments will review and possibly suggest amendments to a hearing process “to allow discharges, reductions, promotions or reassignments of Los Angeles County employees to different positions if they are found to previously have made false statements, misrepresentations and omissions of material facts in internal investigations."
"The issue mostly focuses on civil servants and was first discussed last year. But recently, Los Angeles Sheriff Jim McDonnell disclosed that the county rule prevented him from submitting the names of 300 problem deputies to the district attorney’s office. In some cases, these are deputies who could provide evidence that would help a defendant."
San Francisco's new school superintendent is set to start making over $300k a year.
The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "The San Francisco school board officially hired the district’s new superintendent, paying him the same $310,000 salary as his predecessor."
"The board voted unanimously on a three-year contract for Vincent Matthews, which also includes comprehensive benefits and other compensation."
"Matthews was paid $250,000 as the state administrator for the Inglewood school district in Southern California, helping the district dig out of financial turmoil."
Meanwhile, the governor's latest transportation budget drawing fire.
The Chronicle's MELODY GUTIERREZ: "The Democratic plan to fix California’s roads faces major opposition from environmental and health advocates who are furious about a provision in the legislation that they say would give the trucking industry a significant break from pollution regulations."
"Intense lobbying of moderate Democrats in recent days casts doubt on whether Gov. Jerry Brown and the Democratic leaders who unveiled SB1 last week will secure the two-thirds majority votes needed in each house to pass the bill. The bill would raise $52 billion over 10 years with new taxes and fees to repair the state’s bridges and roads, and leaders set a Thursday deadline to get the legislation passed."
