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Presented by Solar Rights Alliance: Jeremy B. White and Lara Korte’s must-read briefing on politics and government in the Golden State | | | | |  | | By Lara Korte, Jeremy B. White, Sakura Cannestra and Owen Tucker-Smith | Presented by Solar Rights Alliance | THE BUZZ: The man charged in the attack on Paul Pelosi had other political targets in addition to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, police testified yesterday. Wednesday’s preliminary hearing for David DePape revealed new details about the Oct. 28 attack at the Pelosis’ San Francisco Home. The then-speaker of the House was in Washington when a man broke into her home and attacked her 82-year-old husband with a hammer, leaving him with a skull fracture. During the hearing, a San Francisco police officer who interrogated DePape, who has pleaded not guilty to state and federal charges, said the assailant planned to go after other high-ranking public figures. They included President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden, and Gov. Gavin Newsom. He also hoped to target actor Tom Hanks, according to testimony from SFPD Lt. Carla Hurley. DePape has a well-documented affinity for conspiracy theories, including embracing and spreading falsehoods about the 2020 election. As Jeremy reported earlier this year, online posts from DePape show him immersed in bigoted and fringe topics, including posts that feature antisemitic language, allege the existence of a “communist” agenda in schools and repeat many QAnon tropes. | 
David DePape, right, records the nude wedding of Gypsy Taub outside City Hall on Dec. 19, 2013, in San Francisco. | Eric Risberg/AP Photo |
The attack on Paul Pelosi has shaken California and D.C., and highlighted the growing number of threats directed at public officials. Members of Congress faced more than 9,625 threats and concerning statements reported in 2021, according to figures from the Capitol Police. In California, electeds including state Sen. Scott Wiener and Rep. Eric Swalwell were also the targets of threats this year.
DePape faces state charges of attempted murder, burglary and elder abuse, which carry the possibility of decades in prison, if convicted. Prosecutors on Wednesday played Paul Pelosi’s 911 call, when he tried to alert the dispatcher without angering the intruder, and can be heard asking for Capitol Police, who were not at the home that night because the speaker was away. The agency, which is responsible for protecting members of Congress, faced scrutiny in the wake of the attack, and questions about how it protects lawmakers’ family members. Christine Pelosi, one of the couple’s five children, attended the hearing Wednesday. Prosecutors also presented the hammer allegedly used by DePape and showed brief body cam footage that captured the attack. Officers can be heard telling the suspect to drop the hammer, to which he replies “uh, nope,” before hitting Pelosi and being tackled by police. It was enough for San Francisco County Superior Court Judge Stephen Murphy. He ruled there was enough evidence for DePape to stand trial on all charges. Next stop: the arraignment on Dec. 28. BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. We’ve got some big climate change votes on the agenda today. The California Public Utilities Commission is set to vote on a net metering proposal that environmentalists worry could severely hinder rooftop solar power. And members at the California Air Resource Board, or CARB, will cast final votes on the scoping plan, California’s years-long roadmap to mitigating climate change. QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It would only be an accomplishment if I am not the last.” Pelosi remarking on her legacy as the first woman speaker of the House during her portrait unveiling on Wednesday. TWEET OF THE DAY | 
Today's Tweet of the Day. | Twitter |
WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.
| | | | A message from Solar Rights Alliance: The California Public Utilities Commission is considering a proposal that would cut California’s most successful solar program by 75% overnight. It’s a bad idea that hurts consumers, green jobs, and California’s clean future. California needs a lot more rooftop solar, not less. Tell the CPUC to stop the attack on solar. Learn more and take action at savecaliforniasolar.org. | | | |  | TOP TALKERS | | APPROPRIATE FOR ALL AGES — “Tech industry group sues to block California children’s safety law,” by the Washington Post’s Cat Zakrzewski: “California’s law is the latest battleground in the state’s efforts to control the actions of tech companies after years of inaction in Washington.” — “As hate crimes continue to rise, LAPD chief blames social media, Kanye West,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Libor Jany and Richard Winton: “The new statistics, presented at Tuesday’s Police Commission meeting, showed that with less than two weeks left in the year the city will almost certainly top 2021’s total of 615 reported hate crimes.” DELVING HISTORY — “California reparations task force dives into what is owed,” by AP’s Sophie Austin and Janie Har: “Economists hired by the task force are seeking guidance in five harms experienced by Black people: government taking of property, devaluation of Black-owned businesses, housing discrimination and homelessness, mass incarceration and over-policing, and health.” | | CAMPAIGN MODE | | RECOUNT IN SD-16? — Sen. Melissa Hurtado has already been sworn in for another term in the Legislature, but her GOP opponent David Shepard isn’t giving up. The Republican on Wednesday said he has filed paperwork to start a recount in Senate District 16 — where he lost by 20 votes. | | | | POLITICO APP USERS: UPGRADE YOUR APP BY DECEMBER 19! We recently upgraded the POLITICO app with a fresh look and improved features for easier access to POLITICO's scoops and groundbreaking reporting. Starting December 19, users will no longer have access to the previous version of the app. Update your app today to stay on top of essential political news, insights, and analysis from the best journalists in the business. UPDATE iOS APP – UPDATE ANDROID APP. | | | | | | | CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR | | — “Accused of illegally evicting Black and Latino renters, SoCal city, sheriff to pay $1 million,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Liam Dillon and Ben Poston: “Federal prosecutors hailed the case against the city of Hesperia and San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department as a landmark effort to combat policies popular in California and across the country that encourage landlords to evict or exclude tenants with criminal histories or brushes with law enforcement.” — “‘Catastrophic staffing shortage’ hits California’s rural police first, and hardest,” by CalMatters’ Nigel Duara: “Sheriff ends daytime patrols in Tehama, reflecting officer shortage throughout California and national trend. Law enforcement blames low pay and tougher regulations; lawmakers and civil rights advocates disagree.” KICKOFF TIME — “UC Regents vote to allow UCLA to leave Pac-12 for Big Ten; subsidy could come later,” by the Mercury News’ Jon Wilner and Michael Nowels: “The subsidy issue will be determined after the Pac-12 finalizes its coming media rights deal, and the board vote stipulated that the subsidy, if imposed, would be between $2 million and $10 million.” — “Will new California law make it legal for pedestrians to jaywalk? Here are the details,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Brianna Taylor: “The upcoming law decriminalizes walking outside of a designated crossing point starting Jan. 1, unless there’s an immediate danger between the pedestrian and a vehicle.” CAN’T FACE IT — “LAPD doesn’t fully track its use of facial recognition, report finds,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Libor Jany: “The report, by the LAPD inspector general’s office, found that LAPD personnel used facial recognition software in an effort to identify criminal suspects nearly 2,000 times last year.” — “To cut fossil fuels, California needs power lines, fast. Building them takes a decade,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Ari Plachta: “More wind and solar power is coming online all the time. But years-long permitting processes across multiple agencies, community opposition, and high costs mean it can take a decade to build the infrastructure needed to move it.” YEARS-LONG WAIT — “627 days, just for the permit: This data shows the staggering timeline to build homes in S.F.,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Dustin Gardiner and Susie Neilson: “The typical applicant currently waits a staggering 627 calendar days before obtaining a full building permit from the city to construct a multifamily housing project, and 861 days before gaining the same approval for a single-family residence, the analysis found.” DRIPPED DOWN — “Drought emergency declared for all Southern California,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Hayley Smith and Ian James: “Officials said the call for conservation in Colorado River-dependent areas could become mandatory if drought conditions persist in the coming months, which some experts say is likely.” | | | | A message from Solar Rights Alliance:   | | | | | BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL | | STAVING THE HEAT — “As California cools, federal government poised to pass last-minute laws to address wildfires,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Gillian Brassil: “[California Sen. Alex] Padilla, Newsom and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein met with Department of Defense and Biden administration officials to discuss removing the cap at no cost to the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the U.S. Forest Service.” — “Despite Trump’s Lobbying, McCarthy’s Speaker Bid Remains Imperiled on the Right,” by the New York Times’ Catie Edmondson, Maggie Haberman and Annie Karni: “Mr. McCarthy has embarked on the kind of grueling campaign that lawmakers in both parties jockeying for the post have sometimes been forced to perform.” PADILLA EYES A WATER FIGHT: Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif) has his eye on water — and a potential clash with fellow Democrats and top Biden officials over climate resources amid the mega-drought hitting the West. In a new letter with Sen. Dianne Feinstein and a group of Western Democratic senators dealing with drought in their states, Padilla is pressing Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to make water more of a priority as USDA prepares to roll out $20 billion worth of funding from the Inflation Reduction Act. The $4 billion in drought funding already earmarked in the IRA is insufficient, lawmakers argue. | | SILICON VALLEYLAND | | CRYPTO FRAUD: A Southern California man pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to wire fraud involving an online investment website. Per federal authorities, Ryan Mark Ginster started Socialprofimatic.com in 2018 with the intent of misleading investors about cryptocurrency opportunities. Over the course of 38 days, the site received 9,026 deposits of bitcoin totaling approximately 98.12089739 BTC, valued at the time at approximately $844,667, and now worth more than $1.6 million. He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. — “ Twitter Suspends Accounts Sharing Live Locations, Including the Tracker of Elon Musk’s Private Jet,” by the Wall Street Journal’s Joseph De Avila: “In a tweet later on Wednesday, Mr. Musk said: ‘Real-time posting of someone else’s location violates doxxing policy, but delayed posting of locations are ok.’” AN AD AND A BIRD — “Twitter is considering forcing users to let the company sell their data and phone numbers to advertisers, in potential breach of Apple rules,” by Business Insider’s Pete Syme: “Many users never turn this feature off in the first place, but the company is also considering forcing users to share more data, which can then be sold to advertisers, Platformer's report said.” — “QAnon, adrift after Trump’s defeat, finds new life in Elon Musk’s Twitter,” by the Washington Post’s Drew Harwell: “Musk mocked the suggestion that the tweet could be interpreted negatively but offered no clarification. Among QAnon promoters, though, the message was clear: Musk was speaking to them.” ADD ‘EM UP — “Bed Bath and Beyond store, tech firm are among new Bay Area layoffs,” by the Mercury News’ George Avalos: “Quanergy, which has developed new uses for lidar technology; and Bed Bath & Beyond, a high-profile retailer, are included in a fresh crop of businesses that have posted WARN notices to alert the state Employment Development Department of plans to cut jobs.” | | | | A NEW POLITICO PODCAST: POLITICO Tech is an authoritative insider briefing on the politics and policy of technology. From crypto and the metaverse to cybersecurity and AI, we explore the who, what and how of policy shaping future industries. We’re kicking off with a series exploring darknet marketplaces, the virtual platforms that enable actors from all corners of the online world to traffic illicit goods. As malware and cybercrime attacks become increasingly frequent, regulators and law enforcement agencies work different angles to shut these platforms down, but new, often more unassailable marketplaces pop up. SUBSCRIBE AND START LISTENING TODAY. | | | | | | | HOLLYWOODLAND | | — “Hollywood is in flux but these executives sound an optimistic note on the future of streaming, movies,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Ryan Faughnder and Anousha Sakoui: “Studios and streamers continue to spend billions of dollars on movies and TV shows for all formats, but worries about inflation and a possible recession have triggered a slowdown in the advertising market and rounds of layoffs and cost-cutting at many companies.” | | MIXTAPE | | MOVEMENT MAPPING — “Maps show where California’s Asian Americans live and how that’s changed over time,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Nami Sumida. — “Thousands of working Californians can slash health insurance premiums after IRS rule change,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Cathie Anderson. HEADS UP — “Arrows fall on Southern California neighborhood,” by the Associated Press. — “Real estate tycoon active in Bay Area, downtown San Jose is detained in England,” by the Mercury News’ George Avalos. — “Nurses at Alta Bates Summit plan to strike,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Jordan Parker. — “A year after opening 600 rooms to L.A.’s unhoused, the Cecil Hotel is still mostly empty. Here’s why,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Jaimie Ding. | | TRANSITIONS | | — Adela Amador will be chief of staff for Rep.-elect Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.). She most recently was deputy chief of staff/legislative director for Rep. Josh Harder (D-Calif.). — Ben Pimentel, who has worked for Protocol, Insider, Marketwatch and the San Francisco Chronicle, is joining the San Francisco Examiner as a tech reporter. | | IN MEMORIAM | | — “Stephen ‘tWitch’ Boss, ‘Ellen’ show’s dancing DJ, dies at 40,” by the Associated Press. | | BIRTHDAYS | | Lauren French of Rep. Adam Schiff’s (D-Calif.) office and House Intel … Lenny Young of Rep. Julia Brownley’s (D-Calif.) office … Jeff Le of Conduent … Devon Kearns | | | | A message from Solar Rights Alliance: A very successful solar program called “net energy metering” keeps rooftop solar growing and affordable in California. Net energy metering compensates solar consumers for the excess energy they produce and share back to the grid. Because of net energy metering, solar is growing fastest among working and middle class consumers.
But, big utilities like PG&E hate losing profits when more people go solar. Utilities are pushing a plan at the California Public Utilities Commission that would slash the value of net energy metering by 75% overnight.
The extreme attack on solar makes solar unaffordable for working class Californians, schools and churches. It risks green jobs and small businesses. And it slows California’s progress to 100% clean energy.
California needs a lot more rooftop solar, not less. Tell the CPUC to stop the attack on solar. Learn more and take action at savecaliforniasolar.org. | | | CALIFORNIA POLICY IS ALWAYS CHANGING: Know your next move. From Sacramento to Silicon Valley, POLITICO California Pro provides policy professionals with the in-depth reporting and tools they need to get ahead of policy trends and political developments shaping the Golden State. To learn more about the exclusive insight and analysis this -only service offers, click here. Want to make an impact? POLITICO California has a variety of solutions available for partners looking to reach and activate the most influential people in the Golden State. Have a petition you want signed? A cause you’re promoting? Seeking to increase brand awareness amongst this key audience? Share your message with our influential readers to foster engagement and drive action. Contact Jesse Shapiro to find out how: jshapiro@politico.com.
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