Gavin Newsom's No. 1 election wish: A Republican opponent
The Chronicle's MATIER & ROSS: "The rise of Republican John Cox to the No. 2 slot in recent polling for the gubernatorial race is sweet news for Democratic front-runner Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom."
"Newsom would much rather have an old-fashioned Republican vs. Democrat general election matchup than go against a fellow Democrat in November, be it former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, state Treasurer John Chiang or former state schools chief Delaine Eastin."
READ MORE related to State Politics: Kevin de Leon has proven energy, but Feinstein still has the clout -- LA Times's GEORGE SKELTON
Reeling from Stephon Clark protests, Sacramento police hit with new abuse lawsuit
Sacramento Bee's SAM STANTON: "As marchers were taking over downtown Sacramento's streets Friday with protests against the shooting death of Stephon Clark, the Sacramento Police Department was facing another challenge: the filing of a new federal lawsuit accusing one of its officers of sexually molesting an African American woman two years ago during an arrest."
"The lawsuit, filed in federal court Friday afternoon on behalf of Candida Johnson, accuses Officer Patrick Mulligan of groping her bra and groin area during his March 2016 arrest of her in connection with a report of a stolen cell phone."
"Johnson did not respond to requests for comment Sunday. Mulligan adamantly denied the claims in the suit."
READ MORE related to Stephon Clark Shooting: Protesters rage at police, but not at their boss. Can he satisfy the community and the cops? -- Sacramento Bee's ANITA CHABRIA; Al Sharpton says he plans to come to Sacramento for Stephon Clark's funeral -- Sacramento Bee's DON SWEENEY; Kings and Celtics wore Stephon Clark shirts on Sunday. 'These things have to stop.' -- Sacramento Bee's JASON JONES; Stephon Clark's family pastor says community shouldn't 'punish the good officers' -- Sacramento Bee's ELLEN GARRISON
Death of Nancy McFadden shakes state government
Capitol Weekly's CHUCK MCFADDEN: "Nancy McFadden, who died late Thursday at 59 from ovarian cancer, was the perfect high-level staffer — discreet, smart, and possessed of a wide range of knowledge along with a keen political antenna."
"As unknown to the public as she was important in California’s government, McFadden literally ran the state day-to-day."
"McFadden, Gov. Jerry Brown’s chief of staff, was involved in just about everything, from extending cap-and-trade to overhauling California’s infrastructure. She was the go-to person for Brown staffers when they needed the final push toward the governor’s approval. Brown almost never went ahead with anything unless McFadden was aboard."
Under pressure, Assembly pitches alternatives to single-payer health care
From the SacBee's ANGELA HART and TARYN LUNA: "California Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon is refusing to advance this year a controversial single-payer health care bill that would dramatically reshape the state's health care financing and delivery system. Instead, he's orchestrating an alternative, narrower approach that seeks to achieve universal coverage and make Obamacare more affordable."
"Rendon this year gave lawmakers in his house "autonomy to come up with a package" of health care bills, he said in a recent interview. Now, without engaging the other side in the Senate, the Assembly has unveiled a major legislative push on health care that would expand coverage and lower consumer costs while laying the groundwork for a future system financed by taxpayers."
"Five Assembly lawmakers late Friday released 14 bills they're expected to promote as a package this year. Together, they would offer financial assistance to people struggling to pay for soaring insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs, require health insurers to spend more on patient care instead of profits, create a public insurance option and offer health coverage to undocumented immigrants."
Taxpayer giveaway or fair pay? Riverside mayor sues his own city over the city manager's contract
LA Times's PALOMA ESQUIVEL: "As Riverside Mayor Rusty Bailey sees it, City Manager John Russo's new contract is a giveaway of taxpayer money."
"Bailey tried to veto the seven-year pact last month after it was approved by the City Council, only to be told by the city attorney that he doesn't have that power. So Bailey has asked a court to set aside the contract unless the council overrides his veto."
"When is enough enough?" he said recently. "The new contract is beyond any other contract."
The 'nightmare' California flood more dangerous than a huge earthquake
LA Times's RONG-GONG LIN II: "California’s drought-to-deluge cycle can mask the dangers Mother Nature can have in store."
"During one of the driest March-through-February time periods ever recorded in Southern California, an intense storm dumped so much rain on Montecito in January that mudflows slammed into entire rows of homes. Hundreds of homes were damaged or destroyed, and at least 21 people died."
They fled the world's worst war zone to live in Sacramento. Then, the door slammed shut.
Sacramento Bee's PHILLIP REESE/STEVE MAGAGNINI: "During the waning years of the Obama administration, Sacramento served as a beacon for refugees fleeing war-torn Syria, welcoming dozens of new arrivals each week."
"No longer."
"The capital accepted 275 Syrian refugees during the 2015-16 fiscal year, according to U.S. State Department data obtained by The Associated Press. So far this fiscal year, it has accepted zero."
Cannabis entrepreneurs lining up to cash in - even in states that haven't legalized yet
Daily Morning News's MELISSA REPKO: "DALLAS — As state after state loosens laws on the sale of marijuana, a whole industry has sprung up to serve the fast-growing market for cannabis and related products."
"Even in Texas, which hasn’t legalized marijuana, some entrepreneurs are planting their flags early, wagering that the Lone Star State will one day have its own “green rush."
"While for legal reasons they operate mainly on the periphery of the industry, there’s plenty of business to be had — selling everything from cannabis oil tinctures to the flooring used in greenhouses that grow marijuana."
Financial watchdog won't back off on oversight of Montebello schools, county says
Whittier Daily News's MIKE SPRAGUE: "Montebello school board President Joanna Flores’ request that the Los Angeles County Office of Education back off its oversight of her financially troubled district has been rejected."
"In a letter sent March 7 to Debra Duardo, Los Angeles County Office of Education superintendent, Flores complained the fiscal adviser assigned to the school district is going too far in his oversight of the district."
"While the district understands the need for continued oversight, the district is concerned that (Mark Skvarna, former Baldwin Park Unified superintendent and now a consultant with the county) may be overstepping his authority and is inappropriately interfering with district governance,” Flores wrote."
READ MORE related to Education: Measures to fund child care reach the ballot in two California counties -- EdSource's CAROLYN JONES; Gavin Newsom says increased higher education spending should be top priority in California budget talks to avoid tuition hikes -- EdSource's NICO SAVIDGE
Thousands mistakenly enrolled during state's Medicaid expansion, feds find
CHL's CHAD TERHUNE: "California signed up an estimated 450,000 people under Medicaid expansion who may not have been eligible for coverage, according to a report by the U.S. Health and Human Services’ chief watchdog."
"In a Feb. 21 report, the HHS’ inspector general estimated that California spent $738.2 million on 366,078 expansion beneficiaries who were ineligible. It spent an additional $416.5 million for 79,055 expansion enrollees who were “potentially” ineligible, auditors found."
"Auditors said nearly 90 percent of the $1.15 billion in questionable payments involved federal money, while the rest came from the state’s Medicaid program, known as Medi-Cal. They examined a six-month period from Oct. 1, 2014, to March 31, 2015, when Medicaid payments of $6.2 billion were made related to 1.9 million newly eligible enrollees."
Airbnb hosts face conundrum when it comes to insurance
The Chronicle's KATHLEEN PENDER: "In a groundbreaking announcement, Fannie Mae said last month it would accept Airbnb income on certain mortgage applications. But for hosts, getting the insurance Fannie requires is just as confusing and complex as ever."
"Under Fannie’s pilot project, borrowers who rent their primary residence on Airbnb can use their hosting income to qualify for a mortgage when they refinance with three lenders including giant Quicken Loans. If the pilot goes well, Fannie will expand the program within 90 days."
"The problem: Borrowers whose loans are backed by Fannie Mae must have insurance that covers the home from fire and other hazards, but standard homeowner policies don’t usually cover customers who regularly rent out their primary residence on Airbnb or other short-term rental sites."
READ MORE related to Development & Economy: Plan to dramatically increase development would transform some LA neighborhoods -- LA Times's DAVID ZAHNISER/LIAM DILLON/JON SCHLEUSS; Winemakers, renters, high-speed rail: all could take a hit in a Trump trade war -- McClatchy DC's EMILY CADEI; OP-ED: Why is renting a bike suddenly such a big deal? Maybe it's the tech economy at work -- SGV Tribune's STEVE SCAUZILLO
Rent control gains traction as housing costs 'crush' tenants
OC Register's JEFF COLLINS: "Clipboards in hand, signature-gatherers are fanning out across four Southern California cities this month, turning up at supermarkets and metro stops and apartment complexes to pitch a measure for the November ballot that they say will be salvation for renters."
"But for landlords, their pitch is blasphemy."
"At issue is whether the cities of Long Beach, Inglewood, Glendale and Pasadena should join a tiny band of California cities that already have rent control and “just cause” eviction laws that prevent landlords from ousting tenants in good standing."
SF mayor pulls plug on support for police union's Taser measure
SF Chronicle's MATIER & ROSS: "San Francisco Mayor Mark Farrell is dropping his support for the police union’s Taser ballot measure, saying it’s no longer needed."
"I have always said that I would support a (Taser) policy that works best for the community and for our officers, and the plan approved by the Police Commission does exactly that,” Farrell said."
"With the commission’s vote this month approving rules for police use of the stun guns, the Police Officers Association’s Proposition H “is unnecessary,” Farrell said."
Former Cambridge Analytica workers say firm sent foreigners to advise US campaigns
WaPo's CRAIG TIMBERG/TOM HAMBURGER: "Cambridge Analytica assigned dozens of non-U.S. citizens to provide campaign strategy and messaging advice to Republican candidates in 2014, according to three former workers for the data firm, even as an attorney warned executives to abide by U.S. laws limiting foreign involvement in elections."
"The effort was designed to present the newly created company, whose parent, SCL Group, was based in London, as "an American brand" that would appeal to U.S. political clients, according to former Cambridge Analytica research director Christopher Wylie."
"Wylie, who emerged this month as a whistleblower, provided The Washington Post with documents that describe a program across several U.S. states to win campaigns for Republicans using psychological profiling to reach voters with individually tailored messages. The documents include previously unreported details about the program, which was called "Project Ripon" for the Wisconsin town where the Republican Party was born in 1854."
READ MORE related to Psychological Warfare: Facebook faces scrutiny for pulling Android call, text data -- AP's TOM KRISHER
On National Medal of Honor Day, remembering some who went beyond the call of duty
OC Register's KURT SNIBBE: "National Medal of Honor Day is Sunday, March 25, marking the 155th anniversary of the day the first decoration was awarded. More than 3,400 people have received the medal by distinguishing themselves beyond the call of duty."
"The Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s website has more information on the medal and its recipients."
He was immortalized by Hunter S. Thompson for the wrong reasons. Now hear his story
Sacramento Bee's MARCOS BRETON: "He was an activist who confronted police brutality decades before the advent of Black Lives Matter. He was a friend and foil to legendary journalist Hunter S. Thompson. He was a native son of the Central Valley who struggled with his heritage and identity before becoming a revolutionary lawyer and a counterculture hero."
"Oscar Zeta Acosta isn't a household name, but a new PBS documentary airing Sunday should go a long way in making his remarkable life and legacy better known. Directed by Phillip Rodriguez, "The Rise and Fall of Brown Buffalo" does what great documentaries do: It informs while it entertains, filling your mind with challenging, provocative ideas."
"The hourlong documentary charts Acosta's personal and political development, starting with his childhood in Riverbank – near Modesto – and running through his time as a Chicano rights author, a civil rights activist and a radical legal force. To tell the story, Rodriguez combines historical footage of Acosta with re-created live-action sequences that feature actors as well as a few well-known California political figures."
Mueller probe witness secretly backed UAE agenda in Congress
AP's DESMOND BUTLER/TOM LOBIANCO/BRADLEY KLAPPER: "A top fundraiser for President Donald Trump received millions of dollars from a political adviser to the United Arab Emirates last April, just weeks before he began handing out a series of large political donations to U.S. lawmakers considering legislation targeting Qatar, the UAE's chief rival in the Persian Gulf, an Associated Press investigation has found."
"George Nader, an adviser to the UAE who is now a witness in the U.S. special counsel investigation into foreign meddling in American politics, wired $2.5 million to the Trump fundraiser, Elliott Broidy, through a company in Canada, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. They said Nader paid the money to Broidy to bankroll an effort to persuade the U.S. to take a hard line against Qatar, a long-time American ally but now a bitter adversary of the UAE."
"A month after he received the money, Broidy sponsored a conference on Qatar's alleged ties to Islamic extremism. During the event, Republican Congressman Ed Royce of California, the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced he was introducing legislation that would brand Qatar as a terrorist-supporting state."
READ MORE related to POTUS45/KremlinGate: How Stormy Daniels' candor and humor in her '60 Minutes' interview showed 'a woman to be reckoned with' -- LA Times's MEREDITH BLAKE; Turnover, face by face -- The Chronicle's JOHN BLANCHARD/LOIS KAZAKOFF; US to expel 60 Russian diplomats, punishment for poison attack in Britain -- LA Times's TRACY WILKINSON
