POLITICO California Playbook, presented by Chevron: SANCHEZ gears up -- GRIDLOCK week -- CALIFORNIA as climate model
Presented by
By Carla Marinucci ( [email protected]; @cmarinucci) with Jesse Rifkin ( [email protected])
Buenos Dias and good Tuesday morning, Golden State!
LORETTA MAKING THE MOVES: It’s a new day in California’s 2016 race to fill the seat of retiring U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, with Rep. Loretta Sanchez sending out clear signals she’s ready to aggressively take on fellow Democrat AG Kamala Harris -- and announcing endorsements from a crowd of leading Latino state and federal legislators.
Harris, for months, has dominated the polls, fundraising -- and media -- in the race that also includes three GOP hopefuls, Assemblyman Rocky Chavez of Oceanside, along with former GOP state chairs Duf Sundheim and Tom Del Beccaro.
But now Team Sanchez has hired on a veteran Democratic operative, Luis Vizcaino -- past spokesman for Hillary Clinton and John Kerry presidential campaigns, and a senior advisor to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa -- as campaign spokesman,. And the Garden Grove Democrat’s campaign Monday trumpeted the backing of leaders from California’s Central Valley Monday -- headlined by Rep.Jim Costa (CA-16), former Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante, and former State Assemblywoman Sarah Reyes, as well as a crowd of mayors and House members.
Link to our full story: http://politi.co/1leZWey
MEANWHILE…
--- KAMALA DOWN HOME: AG Kamala Harris’s Thanksgiving letter to supporters with an unusual addition -- “Friends, I know that Thanksgiving is still a few days away, but I wanted to reach out early to share one of my family’s recipes with you.”
“During the holidays, cornbread dressing always has a place on my table. (I’ll also make a stuffing for the turkey, but that’s my mother’s recipe and there’s no way she would want me to share that – she absolutely guarded her recipes!)...This is what I’ll serve to my family on Thursday... Because to me, sharing a meal is what binds us, and there’s no better way to show your love for someone than by cooking for them.”
Link to Kamala’s cornbread recipe: http://bit.ly/1NaGyKw
GRIDLOCK GRIEF: Concerns about infrastructure, mass transportation, and mass traffic jams making headlines around the state this week....
Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-Greenbrae, told POLITICO Monday he’s called for reforms which aim to prevent a repeat of years of delayed Bay Bridge construction, including safety concerns and billions in cost overrruns. His idea: Bar “all bonus payments on mega-projects costing over $1 billion, until all work is completed” -- and verified by an independent third party. We’ll have more on our talk with Levine later this week. First, take a look at the stories making headlines today…
HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS:
WE’RE NO. 1 -- “Study: One third of the nation’s worst traffic bottlenecks are in Los Angeles,” by Los Angeles Times’ Laura J. Nelson: “A study released Monday confirms what every Southern Californian behind the wheel already knows: Freeway traffic jams in the Los Angeles region are some of the worst in the United States. Researchers found that 10 of the nation’s 30 worst freeway bottlenecks are in Los Angeles County, and the U.S.’ second-worst jam is in neighboring Seal Beach. http://lat.ms/1NM7CvQ
NIGHTMARE WEEK -- “Travellers seek to avoid LAX holiday gridlock,’’ by Inland Valley News: “Airports are gearing up for one of the busiest travel times of the year. And, Los Angeles International Airport promises to be a challenge. LAX is predicted to be the busiest in the nation between now and this coming Sunday...and could have some of the country’s worst delays. Last Thanksgiving, 37% of the scheduled flights at LAX arrived late. This Thanksgiving, several LAX terminals are undergoing construction. http://bit.ly/1XmOlpK
HIGH SPEED LINK -- “Project to link Vegas and California with train gets boost,’’ by AP’s Michelle Rindels: Las Vegas-based XpressWest has been working since at least 2005 to secure the complicated government clearances it needs to build a 185-mile rail line between Sin City and Victorville, a city east of Los Angeles in California’s high desert. Eventually, the line would extend 50 miles west to Palmdale, where it would connect with metro lines and the future California High-Speed Rail line stretching north to the Central Valley. Proponents say it could divert 25 percent of car traffic off Interstate 15 and onto the rails, potentially saving 8.5 million gallons of gas each year. http://bit.ly/21d2B9x
METRO WARS -- “Budgets grow, tempers shrink as Beverly Hills metro fight continues,’’ by Jewish Journal’s Eitan Arom: “Half a decade and $10 million into a turf war with the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA), nerves are beginning to fray in Beverly Hills. … Outside its borders, the fight has cemented the city’s reputation as a player with too much money to spend on a game of “not-in-my-backyard.” But inside Beverly Hills, the board of education is facing the opposite charge — that the fight against Metro is an expensive folly, draining money that ultimately should go to kids.” http://bit.ly/1N4POez
--- HIGH MARKS: League of California Cities scorecard gives State Senator Steve Glazer 100 percent, the only state legislator to receive a perfect score. Others scoring above 90 percent: Senators Bob Huff, Tom Berryhill, Fran Pavley and Richard Roth.
-- DON’T SHOP, GIVE: California Forward, the better government organization, is urging Californians to observe today as #GivingTuesday, “a global day of giving back.”
-- Release: “Last year, more than 27,000 organizations in 68 countries came together to celebrate #GivingTuesday. Since its founding in 2012, #GivingTuesday has inspired generosity around the world, resulting in greater donations, volunteer hours, and activities that bring about real change in communities.”
Link to website: www.cafwd.org/GivingTuesday
** Presented by Chevron: California’s DOERS do a lot of flying. As one of the state’s top suppliers of aviation fuel, we help millions of Californians get where they’re going.
http://tinyurl.com/pyfr3ku **
CALIFORNIA IS TALKING ABOUT:
-- THE CLIMATE CHALLENGE -- “California, a Climate model for the world, has work to do at home,’’ by CALMatters’ Kate Galbraith: “When Gov. Jerry Brown arrives in Paris next week for a major international conference on climate change, he will showcase one of the world’s most sweeping programs to cut greenhouse gas emissions….The state’s 2030 goals of getting half of its electricity from renewable sources and reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 1990 levels are also among the most ambitious anywhere.”
-- After the OC Register’s major investigation on Sunday: “Orange Co’s Secret Informant Program,’’ by The Daily Beast’s Jay Michaelson: “Have the Orange County district attorney’s office and its sheriff been lying about a secret jailhouse informant program, which they’ve allegedly used for years to extract highly dubious confessions? That’s what a group of 31 law professors and former prosecutors are claiming—they say countless cases have been affected, and they want the Department of Justice to intervene.”
VALLEYLAND:
SOCIAL NETWORK MOVE -- “ Facebook takes down page calling itself the ‘UC Berkeley White Student Union,’’ by CBSSF: “Students first spotted the page Friday. The site claimed the goal was to “unapologetically provide a safe space for white students to air their true feelings…” about the “challenges European-American students on college campuses face.”
FRAT BOY FIRESTORM -- “An Open Letter to Tinder’s Sean Rad from V.F.’s Nancy Jo Sales,” by Vanity Fair’s Nancy Jo Sales:“You say you’ve actually ‘been attracted to women who are . . . well who my friends might think are ugly.’ See, it’s an appealing attitude like that that gets a guy like you treated like a rock star, like at a recent Web summit in Dublin, where you say you were greeted by ‘screaming’ fans. Being such a big celebrity and all, it’s not surprising that you don’t have time to find out the meaning of certain vocabulary words. ‘Apparently there’s a term for someone who gets turned on by intellectual stuff,’ you said in the Evening Standard. ‘You know, just talking. What’s the word? . . . I want to say ‘sodomy’?” http://bit.ly/1Ib0V4v
FORCE FUN -- “Google Lets You Give Its Apps A ‘Star Wars’ Makeover,” by Tech Crunch’s Sarah Perez: “Want to have a little fun with Google today? Ahead of the forthcoming release of ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens,’ Google has teamed up with Lucasfilm and Disney to build out a new tool that lets you theme its suite of apps, including Gmail, YouTube, Google Maps, Chrome, and many more with either the ‘Light Side’ or ‘Dark Side,’ based on your personal preference.” http://tcrn.ch/1SfeENv
BUS BENEFITS -- “Teamsters pact boosts struggling tech bus drivers’ pay, benefits,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Wendy Lee: “Bus drivers for major companies like Yahoo, Genentech and eBay approved a three-year contract Sunday that gives them higher pay, better benefits and, for the first time, paid holidays, a milestone for some workers who until recently were struggling financially or homeless… The vote marks a rare victory for dozens of Silicon Valley service workers who have missed out on a boom that has brought dramatic wealth to most tech workers.” http://sfchron.cl/1XlGUPI
NESTING INSTINCT -- “Everything You Need to Know About Nest, Google’s Big Bet on the Smart Home,” by Re/Code’s Mark Bergen: “Today, Nest sells the two devices it sold at acquisition — a thermostat and a smoke detector — along with the Nest Cam, an IP video camera rebranded from the company’s $555 million purchase of Dropcam... At its early stage, the smart home industry lacks a communication standard — a way for the myriad impending Internet-connected things to talk to one another. Nest is positioning itself as the provider of that standard.” http://on.recode.net/1SfcyNr
Welcome to the POLITICO California Playbook. GOT A TIP? FEEDBACK? EVENTS? NEWS TO SHARE? LET us know: [email protected] or @cmarinucci
THE POLITICAL FAULT LINES:
OVER BUDGET -- “Ed Lee extends S.F.’s reach over new Transbay Transit Center,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Phil Matier and Andy Ross: “Fears over escalating costs at the $4.7 billion Transbay Transit Center have Mayor Ed Lee’s office taking increased control over the project — starting with limiting the role of the oversight agency’s longtime executive director… The building was originally supposed to cost $1.5 billion, but is now expected to come in at closer to $2.2 billion — and that doesn’t include the largely unfunded $2.5 billion still needed to bring underground Caltrain and high-speed rail tracks into the station… http://sfchron.cl/1I6q4m6
NICHE NEIGHBORS -- “No party voters get extra attention from slate mailers,’’ by Sacramento Bee’s Jim Miller: A shrinking share of California’s 17.7 million voters have a party affiliation, a situation that has helped foster a niche industry of campaign literature tailored to voters without a party preference.
State filings show that, during the last election cycle, dozens of campaign committees paid a total of almost $200,000 to a pair of slate mailers with titles aimed at appealing to the almost one-quarter of California voters without a party preference: the Independent Voters League and the No Party Preference Voter Guide.” http://bit.ly/1QEuCms
SD MAYOR’S SIT-DOWN -- “Faulconer meets with Chiefs owner on stadium,” by the San Diego Union-Tribune’s David Garrick: “San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer spent half an hour on Sunday morning describing local progress on building a new stadium to Kansas City Chiefs owner Clark Hunt during a private meeting at San Diego International Airport…… League owners are expected to decide sometime before March whether to let the Chargers, the St. Louis Rams, the Oakland Raiders or some combination of those franchises move to Los Angeles in 2016.” http://bit.ly/1PVz3aY
WATER RIGHTS -- “Desal plant launches amid ample water,” by the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Morgan Cook: “The $1 billion desalination plant coming online next month in Carlsbad will fit right in with years of careful planning and investment in water supply in San Diego County… It will also worsen a peculiar San Diego problem amid a multi-year drought — oversupply of water.” http://bit.ly/1SffpG7
SPECIAL INTERESTS RULE -- “Know Your Candidate, Part II,” by David Crane on Medium: “Given such massive political spending, it’s not surprising that California has been the epicenter of progressive talk about K-12 education -- but regressive action. More recently, the two largest special interests that capture the vast majority of state spending— government employees and healthcare corporations — teamed up to seek more money for themselves.” http://bit.ly/1NnuYNX
VYING FOR CENTRAL VALLEY -- “Gavin Newsom making overtures to San Joaquin Valley – might go duck hunting,” by the Sacramento Bee’s David Siders: “Three years before the next gubernatorial election, Newsom and his rivals are making inroads into inland California, touring farms, holding receptions and speaking to small crowds. In addition to Newsom, two other Democrats who are expected to run, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former state Controller Steve Westly, have both made excursions in recent months… ‘The Valley is always up for grabs, and I think that’s why people come here,’ said Carol Whiteside, a former Modesto mayor.” http://bit.ly/1NnvzPK
MIKE HONDA’S MISSION -- Release: Rep. Mike Honda, D-San Jose, joined five other co-chairs from around the world in launching the International Parliamentary Coalition for Victims of Sexual Slavery. The move comes on the heels of Honda’s bipartisan bill to prevent Human Trafficking and assist victims of trafficking being signed into law by President Obama earlier this year.
--- Statement from Honda: “Victims of sexual slavery are not collateral damage. Sexual slavery, whether in times of conflict or natural disasters, is not a cultural phenomenon…..We can start by not treating this as an afterthought or a sidebar issue. Ending violence against women must be front and center.”
HOLLYWOODLAND:
STAR POWER -- “Selling Stardom: A talent agent and a trail of unhappy clients,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Daniel Miller: “Venturella is one of the hundreds of talent agents operating on the fringes of Hollywood, where the clients are mostly character actors, fledgling screenwriters, workaday directors, even unknown wannabes…complaints about abuses by second-tier talent representatives grew loud enough in 2009 to prod the state Legislature to pass the Krekorian Talent Scam Prevention Act, which prohibits agents and others who represent performers from charging them any fees other than commissions and reimbursements for some out-of-pocket costs.” http://lat.ms/1XlG4m8
VOIGHT THE VICTOR -- h/t Jewish Insider: “Sheldon and Miriam Adelson presented the “Adelson Defender of Israel Award” to Hollywood actor Jon Voight at the ZOA’s Louis D. Brandeis Awards dinner held Sunday at the Grand Hyatt in NYC. “Voight is the leading Zionist in Hollywood,” Sheldon said before presenting him the award, which he said “looks like a marriage certificate.” The event also featured former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, who Klein called the “Esther of our time” in his introductory remarks.
HUNGER GAMES NOT GREAT - “Mockingjay Part 2 Fell Victim to Blockbuster Fatigue, and Anyone Could Be Next,” by Vanity Fair’s John Lopez: “Although it got higher marks on the Tomatometer than its much-shrugged-about predecessor, the series finale opened down a significant 17 percent from Part 1’s $121.9 million. And Mockingjay Part 2 missed the mark of even the most conservative projections, Lionsgate’s own $110 million estimate.” http://bit.ly/1HilDEV
HIT PARADE -- “Near-Record Eight Albums Debut in Top 10 on Billboard 200 Chart,” by Billboard’s Keith Caulfield:“It’s only the fourth time in chart history we’ve had eight debuts in the region. It last happened on the list dated May 21, 2011. Before that, it occurred on Dec. 4, 2010 and Oct. 17, 2009… #1: ‘Purpose’ - Justin Bieber [first week at #1]. #2: ‘Made in the A.M.’ - One Direction. #3: ‘The Incredible True Story’ - Logic. #4: ‘Church In These Streets’ - Jeezy. #5: ‘I’m Comin’ Over’ - Chris Young. #6: ‘Traveller’ - Chris Stapleton [down from two weeks at #1]. #7: ‘Letters From the Labyrinth’ - Trans-Siberian Orchestra. #8: ‘Beauty Behind the Madness’ - The Weeknd [three weeks at #1]. #9: ‘Know-It-All’ - Alessia Cara. #10: ‘Losing My Religion’ - Kirk Franklin.” http://bit.ly/1PKaLCf
PIXAR’S PRIZE -- “How The Good Dinosaur Got Its Stunning Scenery,” by Wired’s Lexi Pandell: “In the maze of offices at Pixar’s Emeryville, California, headquarters, the lighting section stands out. Overhead bulbs are dimmed—all the better for viewing nuanced effects on computer screens—except for a string of gentle white lights at the front, illuminating the dark blue walls. ..Spend time at Pixar and you’ll hear a regular refrain: The famed animation house wants its films to seem more like live-action flicks than cartoons.” http://bit.ly/1N9iZ4P
EN LA COMMUNIDAD:
NO HABLAN ESPANOL -- “Teaching Spanish to the Kids Isn’t Easy for Second-Generation Parents,” by KPCC’s Leslie Berestein Rojas: “Welcome to the future of Spanish in America… According to the Pew Research Center, by now more than half the nation’s adult Latino population is U.S.-born. Meanwhile, fewer immigrants are arriving from Latin America… What this means is that gradually, the U.S. is seeing a shrinking number of Spanish-speaking households. http://bit.ly/1MN3mMN
LOS ANGELES STORY -- “My Family Came to this Country Legally, But We Were Almost Deported,” by Ben Huh on Medium: “It’s common for people who live through stressful and traumatic moments to forget them. I was no exception. What I do remember are the phone calls with my immigration lawyers, asking them on every call what the U.S. deportation process was like and how much time I might have to pack up my life.” http://bit.ly/21cw4jI
BORDER PLAY -- “Illegal immigrant children, non-Mexicans surge across border at record rate,” by the Washington Times’ Stephen Dinan: “The Southwest border has broken open in recent weeks, with non-Mexicans — and illegal immigrant children in particular — crossing at a record rate in October, according to Border Patrol statistics that suggest the administration’s victory lap earlier this year was premature… Nearly 5,000 unaccompanied children were caught in October, and nearly 3,000 more had been caught in the first half of November — a record pace for those months….the increases are borderwide, with every one of the nine Southwest border sectors showing spikes in what the Border Patrol dubs OTMs, or ‘other than Mexicans.’” http://bit.ly/1I6qYPD
MEDIAWORLD:
---- FROM POLITICO PRO MEDIA -- “TRIBUNE MEDIA IS SELLING 25 ACRES OF PROPERTY that it owns in the Arts District of Los Angeles, the company announced Monday. Jones Lang LaSalle has been tapped to market the property, which includes a printing plant leased by the Los Angeles Times and seven acres of frontage property on Alameda. The L.A. Times has a long-term lease to use the printing plant, so tearing it down wouldn’t be an option for a buyer in the short term.”
--- FROM GOOGLELAND -- “A new site launches today, offering to explore the intersection between news and social media,’’ by Poynter’s Kristen Hare:
“In June, Google News Lab helped create a coalition of online news organizations to explore best practices for news gathering on the social Web. On Monday, the First Draft Coalition launched a new site, First Draft News.
“Social media is probably the most transformative influence on global communications of the last 10 years,” said managing editor Alastair Reid, “but a huge problem of that is the spread of false information. Every week, maybe even every day, major news outlets get caught out by publishing a story based on something from social media that turns out not to be true.”
“CAN’T MAKE THIS UP” DEPT:
THE BIG PROBLEM -- “Butt dials contribute to jammed up city dispath center,’’ by SF Examiner’s Michael Barba: “City dispatchers are jammed up by a growing number of 911 calls, and while an increase in reported crimes is contributing to the problem, there may be another unexpected reason for the jump — butt dials.
“A recent Google study of S.F.’s Department of Emergency Management found that some 29 percent of sampled emergency calls were accidental dials. Of the sample, 197 accidental calls were from cellphones, while only 79 were from lines to a building. http://bit.ly/1QEE6y5
RARE RHINO GONE -- “ With Nola’s death, only 3 northern white rhinos left,” by the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Karla Peterson: “Nola, one of just four endangered northern white rhinos left in the world, died Sunday at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park.. After decades of poaching, there are now just three northern white rhinos left in the world. All three — a male and two females — live on the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya.” http://bit.ly/1jg8obU
WHERE’S ED? San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to make brief remarks at the San Francisco Interfaith Council Annual Thanksgiving Prayer Breakfast, Hotel Kabuki, 1625 Post Street, San Francisco, 7:00 AM
ENDORSEMENTS:
--- In the race for California’s 46th Congressional Distict, former State Senator Lou Correa announced the support of State Assemblyman and California Legislative Black Caucus Chairman Reggie Jones-Sawyer, who represents California’s 59th Assembly District.
-- In the race for 30th Assembly District, Watsonville City Councilwoman Karina Cervantez Alejo announced backing of four more California State Assembly members -- Kevin Mullin, Tom Daly, Jim Wood and Susan Bonilla.
** Presented by Chevron: California’s DOERS do a lot of flying. As one of the state’s top suppliers of aviation fuel, we help millions of Californians get where they’re going. http://tinyurl.com/ov2hfu2 **
FOR MORE political and policy news from California, check out: http://politi.co/1jxQWRl
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