California housing crisis affecting middle class the most: It's 'a broken system'

For all of its claims of being an economic paradise, California is a failure when it comes to housing.

Not just low-income, affordable housing, but middle-income, working-class housing for teachers, firemen and long-time residents hoping to live anywhere near work.

"California has a housing crisis. We can't provide housing to our citizens," said Rita Brandin, with San Diego developer Newland Communities. "In Georgia, Texas and Florida, it can take a year and a half from concept to permits. In California, just the process from concept to approvals, is five years – that does not include the environmental lawsuits faced by 90 percent of projects."
Numbers tell the story of California's housing crisis.
* 75 percent of Southern Californians can't afford to buy a home, according to the state realtors association.
* 16 of the 25 least affordable communities in the US are in California, according to 24/7 Wall Street.
* Officials this year declared a homeless emergency in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Orange counties.
* 56 percent of state voters say they may have to move because of a lack of affordable housing. One in four say they will relocate out of state, according to University of California Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies.
 * A median price home in the Golden State is $561,000, according to the realtors association. A household would need to earn $115,000 a year to reasonably afford a home at that price, assuming a 20 percent down payment. Yet, two thirds of Californians earns less $80,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
* The household income needed to afford a median-priced home in the Silicon Valley town of Palo Alto is $450,000.
* In San Francisco, a median priced home is $1.5 million, according to the Paragon Real Estate Group.
* Home prices in California are twice the national average, and 70 percent can't afford to buy a home, according to state figures.
* Median household income in L.A. is $64,000. That's half what is necessary to buy a home.
*1 in 10 residents are considering leaving because they can't afford a place to live, according to a state legislative study, while US Census figures show 2 million residents, 25 and older, have already left the state since 2010.
* In 2016, 30 percent of California tenants put more than 50 percent of their income toward rent and utilities, according to the California Budget & Policy Center. Economists consider 30 percent the limit.
* California needs to double the number of homes built each year to keep prices from rising faster than the national average, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office.
"The biggest tragedy of California is we have stopped building houses for the middle class," said Borre Winkle with the Building Industry Association of San Diego. "Think of California's housing market as a martini class. We're building some affordable housing at the low end. Absolutely nothing in the middle and the top end is high-income housing, which subsidizes low-income housing. So that is a broken system."
In 2016, the cities of Houston and Dallas built more homes, 63,000, than the entire Golden State, which built 50,000, according to US Census Bureau figures.
"Supply and demands works," said USC real estate professor Richard Green. "People want to be here and we're not accommodating them with new housing and so the cost of the housing goes up."

"The biggest tragedy of California is we have stopped building houses for the middle class," said Borre Winkle with the Building Industry Association of San Diego. "Think of California's housing market as a martini class. We're building some affordable housing at the low end. Absolutely nothing in the middle and the top end is high-income housing, which subsidizes low-income housing. So that is a broken system."  (REUTERS)

The lack of housing is a statewide problem for which many share the blame. Current residents adamantly oppose any new project because it will aggravate traffic, already the worst in the nation. Environmentalists oppose growth because most new projects require a lot of land, which they feel contributes to sprawl. They favor infill projects of higher density, just the sort existing residents oppose.
Politicians are caught in the middle. They know businesses needs a growing population to meet labor needs, but are afraid to vote for new housing for fear of being voted out of office.
"Our long-term growth and prosperity is absolutely and fundamentally dependent upon housing that folks can afford," said Elizabeth Hansburg, a young mother who started a “Yes in My Backyard,” or YIMBY chapter in Orange County. “If we want Orange County to be prosperous in the future, we have to have housing that people can afford to live in."
YIMBY members show up at city council and planning commission meetings and advocate for more housing. They counter the typical “Not in My Backyard” groups that typically kill projects by exerting political influence.
"I just thought to myself, there is no one providing a counter argument to this. All the elected officials are hearing is no we don't want this," Hansburg said. "And I thought we needed to balance that conversation in the public sphere. Somebody needed to be there saying: ‘Yes we do want this.’ We do have a housing shortage."
According to a study commissioned by the Building Industry Association at Point Loma Nazarene University, up to 40 percent of the cost of a new home is attributable to the 45 regulatory agencies that govern home building in California.
"California is a state that just absolutely loves regulations. And the problem of housing in California is one of regulatory overreach," Winkel said. "In San Diego, 40 cents on the dollar of production of housing goes to regulations alone. It's not uncommon to have $100,000 in impact fees on a single-family house and try to sell a house with that type of cost burden."

California residents adamantly oppose any new building project because it will aggravate traffic, already the worst in the nation.  (REUTERS)

The Newland Sierra project near San Diego is still trying to build a mixed-use community with 2,100 new units on a parcel of 1,900 acres. But builders say they are only developing 775 acres, leaving 61 percent open space.
Yet, environmentalists and local opposition are already threatening to sue, or gather signatures to take the project to a vote.
"NIMBYism has now become a tool for special interests to stop projects," Brandin said. "There's an anti-growth attitude that really creates this roadblock to providing homes and that is creating a disparity. We are leaving out our working class who have to commute hours, sometimes two hours beyond our borders, to work in our city."
A similar, albeit larger project in Los Angeles fought environmental lawsuits for 20 years.
"Very often these lawsuits are not won, but it extends the time it takes to do the development and in development time really is money," Green said. "The thing about environmental groups is they just don't trust developers, period. We're one of the fastest-growing states in the country when it comes to jobs and we're not building any housing. California has the second lowest rate of homeownership in the country. Only Hawaii is lower."

Comey edits revealed: Remarks on Clinton probe were watered down, documents show

Newly released documents obtained by Fox News reveal that then-FBI Director James Comey’s draft statement on the Hillary Clinton email probe was edited numerous times before his public announcement, in ways that seemed to water down the bureau’s findings considerably.

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., chairman of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, sent a letter to the FBI on Thursday that shows the multiple edits to Comey’s highly scrutinized statement.

In an early draft, Comey said it was “reasonably likely” that “hostile actors” gained access to then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s private email account. That was changed later to say the scenario was merely “possible.”
Another edit showed language was changed to describe the actions of Clinton and her colleagues as “extremely careless” as opposed to “grossly negligent.” This is a key legal distinction.
Johnson, writing about his concerns in a letter Thursday to FBI Director Christopher Wray, said the original “could be read as a finding of criminality in Secretary Clinton’s handling of classified material.”
He added, “The edited statement deleted the reference to gross negligence – a legal threshold for mishandling classified material – and instead replaced it with an exculpatory sentence.”
The edits also showed that references to specific potential violations of statutes on “gross negligence” regarding classified information and “misdemeanor handling” were removed.
EX-MUELLER AIDES' TEXTS REVEALED: READ THEM HERE
The final statement also removed a reference to the “sheer volume” of classified information discussed on email.
“While the precise dates of the edits and identities of the editors are not apparent from the documents, the edits appear to change the tone and substance of Director Comey’s statement in at least three respects,” Johnson wrote Thursday.
That includes, Johnson said, “repeated edits to reduce Secretary Clinton’s culpability in mishandling classified information.”
Johnson continued, “In summary, the edits to Director Comey’s public statement, made months prior to the conclusion of the FBI’s investigation of Secretary Clinton’s conduct, had a significant impact on the FBI’s public evaluation of the implications of her actions.”
Johnson referenced newly revealed anti-Trump text messages exchanged between FBI officials who at one point worked on the Robert Mueller Russia probe.
Fox News has confirmed that one of those officials, Peter Strzok, a former deputy to the assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, was the person who changed the language from “grossly negligent” to “extremely careless.”
REPUBLICANS TURN FOCUS TO MCCABE OVER TEXTS ON 'INSURANCE' AGAINST TRUMP
“This effort, seen in light of the personal animus toward then-candidate Trump by senior FBI agents leading the Clinton investigation and their apparent desire to create an ‘insurance policy’ against Mr. Trump’s election, raise profound questions about the FBI’s role and possible interference in the 2016 presidential election and the role of the same agents in Special Counsel Mueller’s investigation by President Trump,” Johnson said.
According to Johnson, Comey emailed a draft statement to top FBI officials clearing Clinton of criminal wrongdoing in May of 2016 -- two months before the FBI completed two dozen interviews, including with Clinton herself.
“I’ve been trying to imagine what it would look like if I decided to do an FBI only press event to close out our work and hand the matter to the DOJ,” Comey wrote at the top of the draft. “To help shape out discussions of whether that, or something different, makes sense, I have spent some time crafting what I would say, which follows. In my imagination, I don’t see me taking any questions. Here is what it might look like.”
Comey delivered his statement on the Clinton case in July 2016, calling her actions “extremely careless” while recommending against criminal charges.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee is doing oversight of the Justice Department's Office of Special Counsel's investigation into whether Comey violated the Hatch Act with his statement. The Hatch Act limits the political activities of federal employees.

Republicans turn focus to FBI's McCabe over texts on 'insurance' against Trump

Peter Strzok and Lisa Page exchanged anti-Trump texts for months.  (Getty/FBI)

Top Republicans are turning their focus to FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe as they scrutinize a host of anti-Trump texts exchanged between two bureau officials, raising questions about one in particular that seemed to reference an “insurance policy” against a Trump presidency. 

That text was revealed on Tuesday night when the Justice Department released hundreds of messages between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page, who were romantically involved and at one point worked on Robert Mueller's Russia probe. 

Video

Goodlatte: Strzok texts show 'strong bias' in Clinton probe

“I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office - that there’s no way he gets elected - but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk,” Strzok texted on Aug. 15, 2016. “It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40.”
Some lawmakers surmise "Andy" is a reference to Andrew McCabe, and now want to know about his communications with Page and Strzok.
“This [text] is the one that concerns me the most,” House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., said on “Fox & Friends” Thursday, one day after Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein defended the Mueller probe in testimony before Goodlatte's committee.
“Andy is presumably Andrew McCabe ... and this text is very troubling because it suggests that they’re doing something, they have a plan to take action to make sure that Donald Trump does not get elected president of the United States at the highest levels of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.”
Strzok, who was a counterintelligence agent at the FBI, was removed from Mueller's team after the discovery of the texts and re-assigned to the FBI’s human resources division. Page also was briefly on Mueller’s team, but returned to the FBI over the summer.
When asked about the "insurance policy" text message and whether it referred to McCabe, a Justice Department spokesperson told Fox News they could not comment on the nature of the messages -- but that Strzok has been cleared to be interviewed by Congress.
ROSENSTEIN STANDS BY MUELLER AS REPUBLICANS FUME OVER 'INSIDER BIAS' 
The FBI also told Fox News they had no comment on whether that text message referred to McCabe or someone else.
Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, also raised concerns about that message, penning a letter Thursday to Rosenstein -- who oversees the special counsel probe since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself earlier this year.
“Some of these texts appear to go beyond merely expressing a private political opinion, and appear to cross the line into taking some official action to create an ‘insurance policy’ against a Trump presidency,” Grassley wrote Thursday. “Presumably, ‘Andy’ refers to Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. So whatever was being discussed extended beyond just Page and Strzok at least to Mr. McCabe, who was involved in supervising both investigations.”

Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe announces the results of the national health care fraud takedown during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington, U.S., July 13, 2017.  (Reuters)

Grassley requested the Justice Department turn over records by Dec. 27 relating to “the conversation” that allegedly occurred with Strzok and Page in McCabe’s office, and all records relating to McCabe’s communications with Strzok and Page between Aug. 7 and Aug.  23, 2016.
“Any improper political influence or motives in the course of any FBI investigation must be brought to light and fully addressed,” Grassley wrote. “Former Director [James] Comey’s claims that the FBI ‘doesn’t give a rip about politics’ certainly are not consistent with the evidence of discussions occurring in the Deputy Director’s office around August 15, 2016.”
That text was just one of 10,000 messages the Justice Department was reviewing between Strzok and Page -- and hundreds turned over to Congress that contained anti-Trump and other politically charged comments.

Video

Deputy AG Rosenstein grilled by House Intel Committee

DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz said that the “politically-oriented” messages between the two were found in his office’s initial search, which led to the watchdog requesting all their messages through the end of last November. The messages were produced by the FBI on July 20 of this year. Muller and Rosenstein were informed about them a week later, on July 27.
WATCHDOG REVEALS HOW EX-MUELLER AGENTS' ANTI-TRUMP TEXTS CAME TO LIGHT
Some of the other anti-Trump text messages called then-candidate Trump a “menace” and a “loathsome human.”
Lawmakers peppered Rosenstein with questions on Capitol Hill Wednesday over the appearance of an “insider bias” on Mueller’s team, zeroing in on the text messages between Strzok and Page.
But Rosenstein stood by Mueller, whom he appointed, and stressed that he has discussed the appearance of “bias” with Mueller.
“It’s our responsibility to make sure those opinions do not influence their actions,” Rosenstein said. “I believe Director Mueller understands that, and recognizes people have political views but that they don’t let it [affect their work].”
Rosenstein underscored that he had oversight over the special counsel probe.
“I know what he’s doing,” Rosenstein said of Mueller’s investigative actions, noting that he would take action should the special counsel do something “inappropriate.”  “He consults with me about their investigation, within and without the scope.”

False Harassment Cartoons

Trump rips ‘Lightweight’ Gillibrand over resignation call, says harassment claims ‘false’

President Trump slammed "Lightweight" Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand early Tuesday after the New York Democrat sought his resignation in connection with allegations of sexual misconduct -- claims the president called “false” and “fabricated.” 

The president was reacting to claims revived by three female accusers during a press conference and TV interview on Monday, amid an apparent effort to shift the sexual harassment spotlight from Congress to the White House. 

The women, who had previously accused the president of sexual misconduct, called for a congressional investigation into the president. Gillibrand, who helped lead calls for Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., to resign over groping allegations, in turn said on CNN that Trump should resign as well.
“Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office ‘begging’ for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump. Very disloyal to Bill & Crooked-USED!” Trump tweeted Tuesday.
Gillibrand fired back: "You cannot silence me or the millions of women who have gotten off the sidelines to speak out about the unfitness and shame you have brought to the Oval Office."
At a press conference later in the day Tuesday, Gillibrand called Trump's comment a "sexist smear" and an attempt to "silence" her "voice." Other female lawmakers jumped to her defense, with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., asking via Twitter, "Are you really trying to bully, intimidate and slut-shame @SenGillibrand?" 
Moments before engaging with Gillibrand, Trump also rejected the accounts of the three women who spoke Monday -- claiming the focus is on them because Democrats could not prove any Russia collusion.
“Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia –so now they are moving onto the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS!” Trump tweeted.
Trump has long rejected accusations from over a dozen women who have made such claims against him.
The three women reviving their claims spoke on NBC’s “Megyn Kelly Today” and in a press conference in New York City.
“I ask Congress to put aside their party affiliations and ask that they investigate Trump’s history of sexual misconduct,” Rachel Crooks, who claims Trump kissed her on the lips 12 years ago when she was a 22-year-old receptionist at a company in Trump Tower, said during the press conference. “If they were willing to investigate Senator Franken, I think it’s only fair they do the same for Trump.”
TRUMP ACCUSERS BAND TOGETHER, SEEK CONGRESSIONAL PROBE OF 'SEXUAL MISCONDUCT'
The women also called for Trump’s resignation, but acknowledged that was unlikely, and pushed for a congressional probe into the allegations against the president.
“In terms of resigning, it’s probably the right thing to do,” Crooks said. “But I can’t imagine he will. I think the congressional investigation is the only thing we can ask for.”
Two other women – Jessica Leeds, who claims Trump started “kissing and groping” her on a flight in the 1970s, and Samantha Holvey, a former Miss USA pageant contestant – also spoke publicly on Monday.
The White House continues to defend the president, decrying the claims as “false.”
“These false claims, totally disputed in most cases by eyewitness accounts, were addressed at length during last year’s campaign, and the American people voiced their judgement by delivering a decisive victory,” a White House spokesperson said in a statement Monday. “The timing and absurdity of these false claims speaks volumes and the publicity tour that has begun only further confirms the political motives behind them.”
Last month, Gillibrand also said in an interview with The New York Times that Bill Clinton should have resigned the presidency over his affair with Monica Lewinsky.
THE LEFT TURNS ON BILL CLINTON, BIDEN OVER BEHAVIOR TOWARD WOMEN 
She brought up Trump in the same interview.
“I think in light of this conversation, we should have a very different conversation about President Trump, and a very different conversation about allegations against him,” she said.

Kentucky State Rep. Dan Johnson commits suicide after sexual assault accusations emerge, officials say

A state representative in Kentucky shot and killed himself Wednesday evening, officials said -- just days after a report emerged in which a woman said he sexually assaulted her when she was 17.

Rep. Dan Johnson, a preacher and a Republican, shot himself on a bridge in Mt. Washington, southeast of Louisville, Bullitt County Sheriff Donnie Tinnell told WDRB. His body turned up on a riverbank near the bridge and the weapon reportedly was found at the scene. He was 57.

Earlier Wednesday evening, WDRB said Johnson took to Facebook to post about the accusations leveled against him, claiming they were “false” and “only GOD knows the truth.”
On Monday, the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting published an account from a woman claiming that Johnson sexually assaulted her in the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2013.
The woman said she attended a party at his home on the night of the incident. She reportedly fell asleep on a sofa and woke up to Johnson kneeling over her, before she claimed he assaulted her. The woman said she reported the incident but Louisville police closed the case without charges.
Johnson told reporters on Tuesday that the accusations were “totally false.” But leaders of the state Republican and Democratic parties had called for the representative to resign.

His Facebook post added that PTSD “24/7 16 years is a sickness that will take my life, I cannot handle it any longer. IT Has Won This Life. BUT HEAVEN IS MY HOME.”
The post also read, “I LOVE GOD and I LOVE MY WIFE, who is the best WIFE in the world,My Love Forever ! My Mom and Dad my FAMILY and all five of my kids and Nine grandchildren two in tummies and many more to come each of you or a total gift from GOD stay strong.”
Michael Skoler, president of Louisville Public Media, which owns the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting, said everyone at the organization is "deeply sad."
"Our aim, as always, is to provide the public with fact-based, unbiased reporting and hold public officials accountable for their actions," Skoler said. "As part of our process, we reached out to Representative Johnson numerous times over the course of a seven-month investigation. He declined requests to talk about our findings."

“Just terrible news from Kentucky tonight on the passing of Rep. Dan Johnson. I cannot imagine his pain or the heartbreak his family is dealing with tonight. Kelley and I pray for his loved ones,” Sen. Rand Paul tweeted.

Watchdog reveals how ex-Mueller agents' anti-Trump texts came to light

GOP members of the House Judiciary Committee press Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein over political bias exhibited in texts between FBI officials Peter Strzok and Lisa Page; chief intelligence correspondent Catherine Herridge reports from Capitol Hill.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and Special Counsel Robert Mueller were told in July that two FBI officials working on Mueller's Russia probe had exchanged a number of anti-Trump text messages throughout the 2016 campaign, according to the Justice Department's watchdog.

DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz revealed the information one day after Fox News obtained more than 375 of the messages between Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. The messages were published ahead of Rosenstein's Wednesday appearance before the House Judiciary Committee.

Strzok, a former deputy to the assistant director for counterintelligence at the FBI, was fired by Mueller and reassigned to the FBI’s human resources division after the exchanges with Page were discovered. Page was briefly on Mueller’s team, but has since returned to the FBI.
In a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Homeland Security Committee Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Horowitz said his office requested text messages from the government-issued phones of several FBI employees involved in the Hillary Clinton email investigation.
Strzok played a key role in the email probe, changing former FBI Director James Comey’s early draft language about Clinton’s actions from "grossly negligent" to "extremely careless" and conducting the FBI interview of Clinton over the July 4 weekend in 2016.
According to Horowitz, "politically-oriented" text messages between Strzok and Page were found in his office's initial search. That led to the watchdog requesting all messages between the two through the end of last November. Those messages were produced by the FBI on July 20 of this year and Mueller and Rosenstein were informed about them a week later, on July 27.
The following day, Horowitz's office requested additional messages between Strzok and Page between December 2016 and July 28. Those messages were received on Aug. 10.
In all, more than 10,000 messages between Page and Strzok were turned over to the Justice Department watchdog. They included discussions of how to "protect the country from that menace," referring to President Trump.
One of the most notable messages, from Aug. 15, 2016, came from Strzok.
"I want to believe the path you threw out for consideration in Andy’s office — that there’s no way [Trump] gets elected — but I’m afraid we can’t take that risk," said Strzok, possibly referring to then-Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe. "It’s like an insurance policy in the unlikely event you die before you’re 40."
The context of the message was unclear.
Another exchange, from April 2 of that year, appears to show efforts by Strzok and Page to conceal some of their conversations about Clinton during the height of the email investigation.
"So look, you say we text on that phone when we talk about Hillary because it can't be traced," Page wrote. "You were just venting, [because] you feel bad that you’re gone so much but that can’t be helped right now."

In YouTube video, Roy Moore bucks calls to concede in Alabama Senate race

Republican Roy Moore is still not conceding defeat in Alabama’s special election for a U.S. Senate seat -- 24 hours after Democrat Doug Jones claimed victory.

In a video posted to YouTube on Wednesday evening, Moore says his campaign is still waiting for the election results to be certified by the Alabama secretary of state.

Moore notes in the video that military and provisional ballots remained to be counted.
Ballots from overseas can continue to come in until noon next Tuesday, Secretary of State John Merrill said, according to AL.com.
Merrill said final results will be certified by the state canvassing board between Dec. 26 and Jan. 3, AL.com reported.
Election results showed that Jones defeated Moore by 49.9 percent to 48.4 percent.
In most of the remainder of the nearly five-minute-long video, Moore thanks supporters and then lists numerous ills that he believes are plaguing the country.
“Abor​t​ion, sodomy, and materialism have taken the place of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” he says.
“Even our political process,” he later notes, “has been affected with baseless and false allegations which have become more relevant than the issues which ​a​ffect our country.”
He later laments that the Alabama race was “tainted by over $50 million from outside groups who want to retain power and ​their ​corrupt ideology.
“No longer is ​this about ​​Republican or Democrat​ic​ control,” he adds. “​It has truly been said that there is not a dime's worth of difference between them. It is about a Washington establishment which will not listen to the cries of its citizenry​.”