Elton John - I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues

San Francisco Sheriff Vicki Hennessy to retire at end of 2019

San Francisco Sheriff Vicki Hennessy, the first woman to lead the nearly 170-year-old law enforcement agency, will not seek re-election in November, ending a four-decade career with the department while leaving it up to her successor to continue reforming the city’s jails in an uncertain political climate.

Hennessy, 66, said she will retire at the end of the year after four years as sheriff. Her decision came after months of reflection after recent painful knee-replacement surgery along with family and personal issues. In the end, Hennessy said, she can no longer dedicate the time required to do the job.

“I’ve devoted over 40 years to the Sheriff’s Department and the city, and that’s a good run,” she said. “I have to now carve out some time for myself.”

Hennessy spoke Thursday morning in her office on the fourth floor of San Francisco’s City Hall, where she detailed her accomplishments, recent department failings and goals she has for her final nine months in office. Whoever becomes the city’s next sheriff will have to negotiate a range of challenges that come with leading the department, such as working to manage the inmate population, improving jail conditions and navigating issues related to immigration enforcement.

Hennessy was elected in 2015 and immediately faced scandal after deputies were accused of holding gladiator-style battles between inmates under her predecessor, Ross Mirkarimi. This year, new allegations of excessive force and misconduct by jail deputies in city jails came to light.



https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/San-Francisco-Sheriff-Vicki-Hennessy-to-retire-at-13724607.php

Erasure - Take a Chance On Me

Venezuela government bars Guaido from public office for 15 years

The Venezuelan government said opposition leader Juan Guaido would be barred from public office for 15 years on Thursday, as it seeks to crack down on the US-backed rival to President Nicolas Maduro.

The move, announced by Auditor General Elvis Amoroso on state television, marked another effort by Maduro's regime to politically sideline Guaido, who is recognized by the US and 50 other countries as Venezuela's interim president.

Amoroso said his office decided "to ban this citizen [Juan Guaido] from all elected public office for the maximum duration under the law."

Venezuela's single-chamber congress, called the National Assembly, is in opposition hands and stands as the sole institution not under the control of Maduro.



https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.france24.com/en/20190328-venezuela-bars-guaido-public-office-maduro

THe Cramps - The Way I Walk

Cory Booker Town Hall Open Thread

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L.A. Mayor Says Kamala Harris Doesn't Have California Locked Up

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said Democratic U.S. Senator Kamala Harris has strong support for her presidential bid in her home state of California, but she doesn’t have it locked up as her competitors aggressively campaign there.

“Everybody’s been here,” Garcetti said in an interview, citing visits by Democratic candidates including New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar, Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, whose rally on Saturday in front of the Los Angeles City Hall drew thousands of supporters. “California will very much be in play.”

California’s presidential primary, historically held in June, has often had less impact than those in other states because the candidate field is thinned by then. The state’s primary has been moved to March next year, which will put it immediately after the traditional early contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina in early February.

As the nation’s most populous state, it also will provide the biggest trove of delegates who will decide the eventual nominee.

“California’s going to wipe out everybody’s gains in other places,” said Garcetti, 48. “It’s good that we’re not going to be just an ATM.”



https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-27/l-a-mayor-says-kamala-harris-doesn-t-have-california-locked-up

Terry McAuliffe leaning toward jumping into 2020 race

McAuliffe has been telling Democratic allies that he is leaning toward jumping into the Democratic presidential race next month, according to three people who have spoken to him. The former governor has long said he would make a decision by the end of March, with a potential announcement later in April.

McAuliffe's possible entry into the 2020 race would make him the third current or former governor -- joining former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee -- and the only Virginian in the crowded field of more than a dozen Democrats.

"I get the sense that he is moving closer," said John Morgan, a longtime donor to Democratic causes and McAuliffe friend. "I think he is very close to it."

Crystal Carson, McAuliffe's spokesman, said that the governor is "seriously considering" a run, but that he has yet to make a decision.



https://www.cnn.com/2019/03/27/politics/terry-mcauliffe-potential-2020-bid/index.html

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Trump Tariffs Shedding $1.4 Billion a Month in Consumer Income, Study Says

President Donald Trump has used tariffs as a negotiating tactic with international governments. But those tariffs might be hurting U.S. consumers more than anyone else, according to a new study.

The tariffs and Trump’s broader trade policies with foreign governments reduced U.S. consumers’ monthly income by $1.4 billion by November 2018, according to a study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and both Princeton and Columbia Universities. The study, which was obtained by CNBC, found that tariff costs were passed on to the goods consumers have been buying. The countries that were slapped with U.S. tariffs didn’t take on any of the cost burden.

Tariffs have been a core component in the President’s negotiations with the Chinese government and others. The Trump administration has argued that tariffs could be used to improve trade deficits with China and protect American intellectual property.

However, the researchers found that with each new tariff on goods from China, the costs associated with that were passed on to U.S. consumers. Between January and November 2018, a total of $6.9 billion in U.S. income was lost to the tariffs, according to the study.

In addition to the costs associated with the tariffs, the researchers found that the U.S. was hit by less variety in imports. Companies operating overseas that didn’t want to face tariffs ultimately decided against exporting to the U.S. And that ultimately gave consumers less choice in the products they bought.


http://fortune.com/2019/03/26/trump-tariffs-income-impact/