| | | | |  | | By Jeremy B. White, Chris Ramirez, Juhi Doshi and Graph Massara | THE BUZZ — LIKE TEARS IN THE RAIN: Rain rarely falls in Los Angeles, but storm clouds are shrouding Mayor Eric Garcetti's political future. Concern is mounting on Capitol Hill around the viability of Garcetti's India ambassadorship nomination. As the Senate considered making Garcetti emissary to the world's biggest democracy, consternation was initially confined to the GOP: Republican Iowa Sens. Joni Ernst and Chuck Grassley both placed holds on Garcetti's nomination this month over allegations that Garcetti knew of sexual misconduct in his office (something he has denied), including by former top aide Rick Jacobs (which Jacobs has denied). Grassley said on Tuesday that a GOP investigation would delay a vote until late April at the earliest.
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Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti speaks at a news conference. | AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez | But Democrats have their doubts, too — and it goes beyond "reservations." POLITICO's Christopher Cadelago and Laura Barrón-López report that the Biden administration dispatched a State Department emissary to mollify anxious Democratic Senate staffers about Garcetti. Perennial swing vote Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has not made up her mind — once again raising the prospect that the Arizona Democrat could deny her party a unified vote, which would effectively torpedo Garcetti's chances in a 50-50 Senate. Angeleno observers have wondered from the jump if the Jacob allegations would preclude Garcetti's move to New Delhi. The mayor seemed to be on a glide path after a largely laudatory initial Senate hearing. That drama-free affair reinforced the White House's support for Garcetti; the mayor served as a prominent Biden surrogate in 2020, breaking with some California Democrats. An administration representative reiterated on Tuesday that Garcetti still has the administration's confidence, saying both the State Department and the White House were calling senators on his behalf. But it's clear the Senate isn't so sanguine. — MOVIN' ON: Meanwhile, the race to be Garcetti's successor as mayor of America's second-largest city is intensifying. Affluent developer Rick Caruso reported giving his campaign another $2 million on Tuesday, as the Republican-turned-Democrat looks to carve out a lane as the centrist, public safety-oriented choice. BUENOS DÍAS, good Wednesday morning. The Supreme Court is hearing a case today concerning the Private Attorneys General Act, a law that is deeply loathed by California business interests because it allows private lawsuits against employers. Automakers and other business interests are also working to get a PAGA repeal measure on the ballot. Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte. QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Of course in a universe where people get their news, usually from clicks and headlines and soundbites and Instagram videos, if there's an intense focus on me — and not just me, but other progressive prosecutors in Los Angeles, in Chicago — in a way that is divorced from empirical evidence and data, then of course there are going to be people who not only support a change, but are living in fear that is based not in data or empirical reality, but based on what they see on TV or in headlines … "If elites spend millions of dollars , as they've done here, to promote fear, to exploit the kinds of tragedies that occur in every jurisdiction, to undermine reforms or to suggest to people that an individual is responsible for the kind of things that happen in every major city in America, then of course the perception is going to be influenced by that." San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin tells Puck News what he thinks is driving a recall attempt. BONUS QOTD: "To see something like this, it's pretty damn outrageous. I don't think it reaches to that level of impeachment yet." Rep. Juan Vargas on the controversy shadowing Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, via POLITICO. TWEET OF THE DAY: Assembly member @BuffyWicks shelves workplace vaccine mandate legislation: "While I'm disappointed in the opposition to our bill by public safety unions, it's my hope that they'll ultimately come to the table to make sure all of their workers are vaccinated—& that every job sector in CA has the tools necessary to keep their workers safe from COVID." WHERE'S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO NATIONAL SECURITY DAILY : Keep up with the latest critical developments from Ukraine and across Europe in our daily newsletter, National Security Daily. The Russian invasion of Ukraine could disrupt the established world order and result in a refugee crisis, increased cyberattacks, rising energy costs and additional disruption to global supply chains. Go inside the top national security and foreign-policymaking shops for insight on the global threats faced by the U.S. and its allies and what actions world leaders are taking to address them. Subscribe today. | | | | | |  | Top Talkers | | PLACE YOUR BETS — The 'Holy Grail' of gambling could break American sports betting wide open , by POLITICO's Jeremy B. White in The Fifty: Voters in the nation's most populous state will get a chance in November to unleash the massive new industry — and provide a jolt to other holdouts. … The battle pits FanDuel and Draft Kings, platforms that have dominated the new market, against incumbent tribes who warn their very sovereignty is at stake. Rival interests have moved hundreds of millions of dollars into a campaign that could challenge spending records. — " California lobbyist found dead; Placer County deputies shot suspect at her home," by the Sac Bee's Rosalio Ahumada: "Authorities are investigating the deaths of a California lobbyist and her boyfriend after their 19-year-old adopted son ran out of their Loomis home with a handgun and was shot by Placer County sheriff's deputies." — "Calif. group votes to limit reparations to slave descendants," by the AP's Janie Har: "California's first-in-the-nation task force on reparations voted Tuesday to limit state compensation to the descendants of free and enslaved Black people who were in the U.S. in the 19th century, narrowly rejecting a proposal to include all Black people regardless of lineage." | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — COPS FOR BONTA: Attorney General Rob Bonta is denying challenger and Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert a monopoly on law enforcement union support, with the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association backing Bonta for a full term. The organization — whose membership includes California Department of Justice agents who ultimately answer to Bonta — previously donated money to both Bonta's predecessor, former AG Xavier Becerra, to Schubert's DA bids and to former LADA Jackie Lacey, who lost to progressive DA George Gascón. FOLLOW THE MONEY — "Cop cash: California law enforcement gives big to campaigns," by CalMatters' Jeremia Kimelman: "As of Monday, nearly $1 out of every $6 donated by law enforcement groups has gone into the attorney general's race, specifically to Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert." WHAT'S AT STAKE — "California's Midterms Bring Plenty of Forks in the Road for Criminal Justice Reforms ," by Bolts Magazine's Daniel Nichanian: "At stake are issues like whether the state continues to send people to death row—with a competitive DA race in Riverside County, one of the most aggressive jurisdictions in the entire country when it comes to seeking the death penalty—or whether minors should be prosecuted as though they are adults, a major fault line in Santa Clara County's heated DA election." | | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | SO MUCH FOR THAT: For the second straight year, an effort to require California businesses to mandate employee vaccination has stalled without a vote. Assemblymember Buffy Wicks announced on Tuesday that she was pulling her bill, specifically faulting public safety unions that have resisted the idea. Wicks was among a group of Democratic lawmakers who pursued a similar proposal at the end of last year's session. PUMP PRICES — "Breaking down California's 'Mystery' High Gas Prices, " by the Wall Street Journal's Allysia Finley: "In 2012, a gallon of gasoline in California cost about 30 cents more than nationwide. This could be entirely explained by its higher taxes and specialized reformulated blend. The latter adds an estimated 10 to 15 cents per gallon." — " California Grapples With Regulation of Known Carcinogen Ethylene Oxide," by Capital & Main's Dan Ross: "It's unclear how many facilities use and release ethylene oxide. The California Air Resources Board doesn't maintain a full statewide list." TALK ABOUT BURNOUT — Public conservators say Newsom's mental health courts will increase their workload, by POLITICO's Victoria Colliver: The public conservatorship group wants the governor to include $200 million in ongoing funding in the budget as part of a request they've made for several years. But even that won't be enough. — " Will There Be Enough Teachers For California's Ambitious Plans For Its Youngest Students?" by CalMatters' Elizabeth Aguilera: "Ultimately, California school districts will need to hire an additional 11,000 new credentialed teachers for transitional kindergarten classrooms and 25,000 to 26,000 teaching assistants, according to Berkeley Children's Forum." WATER WARS — " California plan would pay farmers to grow less to save water," by the AP's Adam Beam: "The result, combined with other measures, would be up to an extra 824,000 acre feet (1 billion cubic meters) of water each year flowing through the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta." — " Facing discipline after text message review, Northern California sergeant, captain retire," by the Sac Bee's Jason Pohl: "One message joked about corralling homeless people into a burning building. Other messages, which were sent while on-duty, included jokes about female colleagues and about putting mentally ill women in demeaning sexual situations." RECKLESS SPENDING — "California Has Too Much Money in Its Budget," by the Prospect's David Dayen: "The experience in California simultaneously speaks to the need to take care in crafting public policy and the need to radically overhaul a failed experiment in direct democracy." — "'Large-scale fraud' and lax oversight plague California's hospice industry, audit finds," by the LA Times' Ben Poston and Kim Christensen: "The fraud is costing taxpayers. State auditors estimated that hospice agencies in L.A. County likely overbilled Medicare by $105 million in 2019 alone." DATA WATCH — "California teacher pay is not keeping up with inflation. See average pay for every district," by the Sac Bee's Phillip Reese: "[I]nflation rose by about 5% from May 2020 to May 2021, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, meaning that California teachers typically saw their real wages drop." —"A Bay Area sheriff defended a convicted deputy. Now some are calling for his resignation," by the SF Chronicle's Joshua Sharpe: "The sheriff said it was 'abhorrent' for Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton to prosecute the deputy — or any other peace officer — 'for a split-second tactical decision.'" FIRE FIGHTS — "California doesn't have enough firefighters for a bad wildfire season. Why? Because they're paid terribly," opines Kevin Frazier in the SF Chronicle: "Many federal wildland firefighters make less than an entry-level California In-N-Out Burger employee." SEEING BOTH SIDES — "Without deal to end strike, Sacramento school district and union leaders must step aside," via the Sac Bee's editorial board: "Good unions know how to fight for member interests without harming the public, but many in California have lost sight of that balance. Teachers unions have become the worst examples, and it's students and families that are hurt most." — "Preliminary plan moves Tenderloin into District 5, " by Mission Local's Will Jarrett and Lydia Chávez: "This would raise the median income – and perhaps alter concerns about development – in District 6. At the same time, District 5 would shrink considerably, absorbing the Tenderloin but losing tracts in Haight-Ashbury, Cole Valley, and the Inner Sunset."
| | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | GETTING ACQUAINTED — "Jamaica PM to meet with VP Kamala Harris as White House works on Caribbean relationships," by the Miami Herald's Francesca Chambers: "[Prime Minister Andrew Holness] will be the first Jamaican leader to visit the White House since a 1995 working visit by former Jamaican Prime Minister P.J. Patterson." | | SILICON VALLEYLAND | |
CLOUDY SKIES — "Pentagon expects to award up to $9 billion in cloud contracts in December," by CNBC's Amanda Macias and Jordan Novet: "The Joint Warfighter Cloud Capability, or JWCC, initiative represents a new path for the U.S. military that would rely on multiple cloud providers, rather than a single one."
NEW HORIZONS — "Uber closes in on historic partnership with local taxi company," by the SF Examiner's Kellen Browning: "The company is close to a completing an agreement with a San Francisco partner, Flywheel Technologies, to allow Uber passengers in the city to call a taxi through the Uber app, according to four people familiar with the matter and a video presentation by the city's transportation agency that was viewed by The New York Times." — " Judge approves Activision Blizzard $18 million settlement in sexual harassment suit," by NPR's Andrew Limbong. | | HOLLYWOODLAND | |
— "DeSantis: Disney bringing 'California values' to Florida in objecting to parental rights bill," by Fox News' Charles Creitz.
| | MEDIA MATTERS | | — "The Establishment of Emma Eun-joo Choi," by Vanity Fair's Delia Cai. — "Los Angeles Times Names Laurie Ochoa General Manager and Daniel Hernandez Editor of Food," via the LA Times. — " Sacramento Bee offices hit by early-morning break-in and theft," by the Sac Bee's Michael McGough. — "CalMatters hires Lopez to cover environment and climate policy, " by Talking Biz News' Mariam Ahmed. — Courtney Subramanian is now a White House correspondent for the L.A. Times. She previously was a White House correspondent for USA Today.
| | MIXTAPE | |
— "California to Parole Man Who Kidnapped 26 Children on School Bus," by NYT's Neil Vigdor.
— "The Great SoCal House Hunt," via the LA Times. — " Turpin investigation interviewed more than 85 people, reviewed 2,600-plus documents so far," by the Press-Enterprise's Jeff Horseman. — "Many California state workers prefer remote work in Sacramento, survey results show, " by the Sac Bee's Noor Adatia. — "Bombshell abuse allegations continue to rock elite Thacher School," by the NY Post's Kirsten Flemming. | | Transitions | | — JR Kane is now government and civic relations program manager for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, coming from the office of Sen. John Barrasso.
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