Conservative judges slam Ninth Circuit ruling on campaign finance
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "Five conservative judges on the federal appeals court in San Francisco accused the court Wednesday of flouting U.S. Supreme Court protections for economic free speech by upholding a state’s limits on political contributions. The case involved a Montana law, but the judges were inviting a new ruling by the high court that might also apply to campaign finance limits in California."
“Donor contributions are a form of political speech that merit the respect the First Amendment requires,” Judge Sandra Ikuta wrote in an opinion dissenting from the refusal by a majority of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to grant a new hearing in the case. She said the Supreme Court has required evidence of “actual or apparent quid pro quo corruption” — trading money for votes — to justify contribution limits, but the appeals court has concocted its own, more lenient standard."
Investigator who used DNA database to catch Golden State Killer suspect will write a book
The Chronicle's CATHERINE HO: "Paul Holes, the retired Contra Costa County investigator who led an elaborate effort to track down the man suspected of being the Golden State Killer by using a genealogy site, has hired an agent to negotiate a deal to sell the rights to his story."
"Holes, who traced DNA from a crime scene to distant relatives of the suspect, plans to write a book about his work on the case, said his representative, Peter Clemente of XG Productions, a talent management company that specializes in true crime."
"Holes recently retired from the Contra Costa County’s district attorney’s office and had been tracking the Golden State Killer — also known as the East Area Rapist, who police say killed 12 people and raped 45 between 1976 and 1986 — for 24 years."
READ MORE related to Golden State Killer: Arrest of Golden State Killer suspect could unlock other cold case mysteries -- LA Times's ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN/PAIGE ST. JOHN; Vallejo police have sent Zodiac Killer DNA to a lab. Results could come in weeks -- Sacramento Bee's ANITA CHABRIA
Doctor defends private Stephon Clark autopsy as lawyers release photo of corpse
Sacramento Bee's SAM STANTON: "The private pathologist who said Stephon Clark had been shot six times in the back by Sacramento police issued a full-throated defense Wednesday night, rejecting the Sacramento County coroner’s autopsy findings that he was wrong as “inaccurate.”"
"Dr. Bennet Omalu, a prominent pathologist hired by Clark’s legal team, released a black and white photo of Clark’s corpse with bullet wounds and said the county autopsy report that found only three bullet wounds in the back was wrong."
“Experts may have different opinions, but a picture is a picture,” Omalu wrote. “A picture does not have an opinion.”
Trump's EPA fuel economy plan could have far-reaching consequences for climate and air
LA Times's EVAN HALPER: "The Trump administration's plan to scrap vehicle fuel economy rules would lead to a surge of oil consumption that independent researchers warn threatens to paralyze the ability of the United States to make crucial progress in confronting climate change."
"The administration's blueprint, as detailed in a confidential draft that was leaked to lawmakers and the media last week, would propel Americans to consume up to hundreds of thousands of barrels of additional oil daily and spend billions of dollars more on fuel, and leave cars and trucks sending more greenhouse gases into the atmosphere than they do today, according to a study released Thursday by Rhodium Group, a research firm that tracks the progress nations are making in meeting climate goals.":
Election 2018: Ted Gaines seeks tax board seat
MARK DEVAUGHN in Capitol Weekly: "Republican state Sen.Ted Gaines remembers the day when Democratic presidential contender Jimmy Carter visited Sacramento."
"As the 1976 presidential race heated up, Carter’s appearance offered a defining moment for the future legislator working as a Gerald Ford campaign volunteer."
Remember the Alamo: California Republicans face an existential moment
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "The California Republican Party convention begins Friday in San Diego, and the expectations for the weekend are — if we’re being polite — modest. If we’re being real, they’re lower than dirt."
"The party faces an existential moment. With only 25 percent of California voters registered as Republicans, it’s Battle of the Alamo time."
"“They need to energize their base enough to hold onto the last remaining bits of red territory in California,” said Thad Kousser, a professor of political science at UC San Diego."
READ MORE related to State Politics: Radically different polls suggest uncertainty in California governor, Senate races -- CPR's BEN BRADFORD
Candidates flip roles in SF District 8 supervisors race
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "It was supposed to be a typical contest to represent an upscale district in San Francisco. One candidate, the moderate incumbent, had the weight of City Hall behind him. The other, a progressive challenger, was trying to win on grit and hustle."
Tuolumne County becomes third in state to oppose California sanctuary law
CPR's RICH IBARRA: "Tuolumne County supervisors passed a resolution to declare it not a sanctuary jurisdiction, becoming the third state county — and the first in Northern California — to oppose California’s sanctuary law."
"San Diego and Orange counties previously passed similar resolutions."
"Supervisor Karl Rodefer voiced his opinion at the board meeting on Tuesday that he was following the voters’ wishes. “The vast majority of our residents in Tuolumne County don’t support the concept of a sanctuary Tuolumne County,” he said."
SF will try new approach for conservatorships for the most troubled
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWANL "San Francisco may soon change the way it deals with people who drift along city streets, addled by drugs or suffering from severe mental illness."
"On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an ordinance to give the city attorney authority over conservatorship proceedings, the process of forcing mentally ill people into treatment or putting them in the care of a guardian. Those cases are currently overseen by the district.
SF mayoral candidate Angeka Alioto loses appeal and public financing
The Chronicle's DOMINIC FRACASSA: "San Francisco mayoral candidate Angela Alioto may be headed to court to protest a ruling by the Ethics Commission barring her from participating in the city’s public financing program, which provides candidates up to $975,000 in campaign funds."
"In a letter to the Alioto campaign on Wednesday, the commission’s executive director, LeeAnn Pelham, said that Alioto had again failed to qualify for the program. To do so, mayoral candidates have to prove they’ve raised $50,000 in campaign contributions from at least 500 city residents in amounts of between $10 and $100."
Cultivating clout: Cannabis money flows into California politics
CALMatters' LAUREL ROSENHALL: "Lobbyists in slick pinstriped suits and burly veterans with tattooed arms crowded into a Capitol hearing room this week as lawmakers considered a bill to make it easier for Californians to buy legal marijuana. One supporter said people need more access to the “beautiful sacred plant.” But at its core, this was a business dispute—a question of whether legislators would allow cannabis companies to reach more customers, and make more money."
"The committee passed the bill—to stop cities from banning delivery services that sell pot to customers at their doorsteps—despite objections from cities and counties that favor local control. And the standing-room-only crowd that showed up to push for it revealed the new reality in California, where cannabis interests have become a formidable lobbying force."
"As marijuana companies seek laws more favorable to their industry, they are using the traditional tools of politics: hiring well-heeled lobbyists and donating money to politicians. Cannabis is big business in California, with sales expected to hit $3.7 billion by the end of the year, according to BDS Analytics. The industry’s spending on California politics soared in 2016, when voters made it legal for adults to use the drug."
Average gas price in California predicted to hit $4 a gallon
SFGate's AMY GRAFF: 'The price of gas is now above $3.50 a gallon in all major cities across California. And in San Francisco where the average is the highest in the state at $3.71, you might have already paid more than $4 at a pricier station."
"As oil prices soar, the price of gas is expected to swell even higher in coming weeks: This summer the average price of gas in California is forecast to hit $4 a gallon, USA Today reports."
State auditor says UC missed deadline to fix problems found in year-old probe
The Chronicle's NANETTE ASIMOV: "A year after a scathing state audit found that the University of California president’s office squirreled away $175 million for preferred projects rather than disclosing the money to the public, a new report concludes that the office missed the April 30 deadline for complying with the recommended fixes."
"At stake is whether students will see their tuition rise next fall. Failure to comply with the audit deadline places at risk not only UC’s request from the state for a $140 million budget boost, which the university says would eliminate the need for a tuition increase, but also $50 million the governor withheld last year on condition that UC comply with the auditor’s recommendations and other requirements."
Report: SFPD Chief Blll Scorr interviewing for LAPD top job
The Chronicle's EVAN SERNOFFSKY: "San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott is reportedly interviewing for the job of top cop at the Los Angeles Police Department."
"Scott — a former deputy chief in Los Angeles who left to take the police chief job in San Francisco in January 2017 — could be looking to go back, according to the Los Angeles Times, which cited an anonymous source."
READ MORE related to Prisons & Public Safety: LAPD chief calls foir change to controversial retirement program -- LA Times's GUS GARCIA-ROBERTS/JACK DOLAN/RYAN MENEZES; Vegas police release first video of offichers breaching door of mass shooter at Mandalay Bay -- LA Times's DAVID MONTERO
Want a car with a backup camera? Now they're not just for pridier models, thanks to federal mandate
LA Times's JACLYN COSGROVE: "As thousands of passenger vehicles roll off the assembly line this week destined for the U.S. market, each of them will be equipped with backup cameras — the result of a long-awaited federal rule that went into effect Tuesday."
"The technology, which has already become standard in many vehicles, is expected to further reduce the number of injuries and fatalities caused by so-called backover crashes."
"An estimated 210 people die and 15,000 are injured each year because of backover crashes, federal data show. Children younger than 5 account for 31% of backover deaths each year, and adults 70 and older account for 26%."
Trump tries to contain damage from Giuliani's disclosures on hush money for Stormy Daniels
LA Times's NOAH BIERMAN: "In a series of tweets early Thursday, President Trump tried to contain the legal and political fallout from his attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani’s revelations that Trump paid hush money to porn actress Stormy Daniels, which the president had previously denied."
"The president, in the tweets, portrayed his nondisclosure agreement with the actress as the sort of thing “very common among celebrities and people of wealth.”"
"Trump’s postings are unlikely to answer multiple questions he and his advisors will face during the day. On Wednesday night, Giuliani told Sean Hannity on Fox News that Trump had reimbursed attorney Michael Cohen $130,000 for paying off Daniels shortly before the 2016 election"
