California Today: A Run-Down of the Final California Governor Debate

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/09/us/california-today-california-governor-debate.html

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Six candidates for governor of California met on Tuesday for their final debate before the June 5 primary. Here are a few takeaways.

1. The gas tax passed by the Legislature clearly divides Democrats from Republicans. The Democrats — Gavin Newsom, the lieutenant governor; Antonio Villaraigosa, the former mayor of Los Angeles; John Chiang, the state treasurer; and Delaine Eastin, a former Assembly member — are for it. The two Republicans — Travis Allen, a member of the State Assembly, and John Cox, a business executive — oppose it.

Mr. Cox: “You can’t keep picking the pockets of the taxpayers of this state.”

Mr. Newsom: “I applaud the courage of the Legislature that did the right thing.”

2. The four Democrats opposed the immigration compromise backed by Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, to provide money for a border wall in exchange for protecting so-called Dreamers from deportation. “Absolutely not,” said Mr. Chiang. “California is about building bridges, not walls.”

3. Gov. Jerry Brown can rest just a little easier about the fate of his high-speed train, assuming any of these Democrats are elected (a pretty good bet): They all said it was a good idea. By contrast, Mr. Allen said it would “never be built.”

4. President Trump. Surprise. Ms. Eastin called him a “racist misogynist.” Mr. Villaraigosa was also critical, but said: “Talking and tweeting about Trump every day is not going to solve poverty, fix schools and make our streets safer.” (That’s a shot at Mr. Newsom, for those keeping score.)

Mr. Cox said he made a mistake voting for a Libertarian instead of Mr. Trump for president. (His excuse: He thought Mr. Trump wasn’t really a conservative.)

5. Mr. Newsom and Mr. Villaraigosa apologized again for extramarital affairs.

Mr. Allen invoked Mr. Newsom’s affair with the wife of an aide when he was San Francisco mayor by saying, “If you can’t trust Gavin with his best friend’s wife, how can you trust him with your state?”

But Mr. Newsom pushed back, saying he found it difficult to hear “a devout supporter of Donald Trump talk about the issue of sexual harassment.”

“I was honest about it, I was open about it,” he said. “I was wrong.”

(Please note: We regularly highlight articles on news sites that have limited access for nonsubscribers.)

• George Deukmejian, a two-term California governor who was admired by Republicans and Democrats alike for his willingness to cross party boundaries, has died at his home in Long Beach. He was 89. [The New York Times]

• A small earthquake was felt widely in Southern California, but there were no reports of damage. [The Associated Press]

• Bill Scott is one of three finalists under consideration to become the next Los Angeles police chief. He left the L.A.P.D. more than a year ago to become police chief in San Francisco. [The Los Angeles Times]

• Late last year President Trump announced plans to sharply reduce the size of two national monuments. And from its offices in Ventura, Patagonia got ready for a fight. [The New York Times]

• Soon after four people — three of whom were black — left a home in Rialto that they had rented on Airbnb, several police cars had arrived. A neighbor said she thought they were burglars. [The New York Times]

• The Sacramento metropolitan area is expected to lead the country this year in growth of new apartments. [The Sacramento Bee]

• Why hasn’t the Tenderloin gentrified like the rest of San Francisco? [KQED]

• A new proposal would add 138 piers — including 10 that are public — to Lake Tahoe’s 72 miles of shoreline. [Capital Public Radio]

• Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has unveiled a new Wildfire Safety Operations Center as part of its response to the fires last fall. [The San Francisco Chronicle]

• Pizza Hut is expanding a beer delivery test to nearly 100 restaurants in Arizona and California this month. [Reuters]

• Uber unveiled its flying-car concept at its second annual Elevate Summit in Los Angeles. [The Mercury News]

Inside ISIS and the Making of “Caliphate”

May 31, in San Francisco

Join the Times reporter Rukmini Callimachi in conversation with the San Francisco-based Times cybersecurity correspondent Sheera Frenkel and the reporter Andy Mills as they discuss her audio series “Caliphate.”

Visit timesevents.nytimes.com for tickets and details.

An article this week noted California had overtaken Britain as the world’s fifth-largest economy and discussed the milestone. There are things to brag about, like the state’s large cash surplus, and then there are the challenges: traffic, homelessness and soaring home prices. The story drew passionate responses from readers both inside and outside the Golden State.

Here are a few:

“I’ve lived in the Bay Area since 1985 — moved here from Chicago. Yes, housing prices are insane, yes, the traffic can be intolerable. But the benefits for me and my family are worth it. The art and music scene are world class. It’s a relatively short drive to real wilderness, spectacular wineries or stunning ocean vistas. I’m here to stay. For my money, nowhere else in the country quite compares.”

-Curt Hill, El Sobrante, Calif.

I live on a court with an African-American family, a Filipino family, a Mexican family, three white families and a lesbian couple. We all get along and enjoy our community. I can hike in Tahoe or be walking on a beach with a one-to-two-hour drive. California offers more diversity both culturally and ecologically than any place I have ever visited. I love to travel but I will never live anywhere else.

-Pat, Roseville, Calif.

I’m a native Californian (San Diego) educated in a state university in the 1970s and 80s, and taught at the University of California, Berkeley for 23 years. I lived in the East Bay, and the day it took me 2.5 hours to drive 11 miles to San Francisco at 11 a.m. was the last straw. We retired to New Mexico with clean air, and saved 40 percent off our budget immediately, and we can drive the 15 miles to the airport — a clean and uncrowded one — in 20 minutes any time of day.

-M. S. Shackley, Albuquerque, N.M.

California is a great place to be rich. It’s become a less good place to be an average American with average American expectations: that you can afford to marry and raise your kids in a house with a yard in an adequate public school district.

-Steve Sailer

Go ahead, talk your trash about California. I don’t even own a set of snow tires.

-Boris Roberts, Santa Maria, Calif.

California Today goes live at 6 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com.

California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley.