Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom eyes the next rung up the ladder.
Sacramento Bee's CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO: "Up a narrow staircase above his wine shop, Gavin Newsom glides across the cramped office before making his way to its showpiece."
"Off to the side sits a mop sink that city inspectors made him install even though he argued the floors were carpeted."
"I fought this, and lost,” said Newsom, the state lieutenant governor and frontrunner to succeed Gov. Jerry Brown next year. The 49-year-old Democrat raises one arm and grins, defiantly. “When you fight bureaucracy, make sure you have money and patience – and I didn’t have either."
READ MORE related to State: These political newbies are stepping up to run for Congress, and many say it's because of Trump -- LA Times' CHRISTINE MAI-DUC; John Chiang is the no-drama candidate for governor in the Trump era, and you're probably saying his name wrong -- LA Times' MICHAEL FINNEGAN
California officials continue receiving death/racist threats from detractors.
Sacramento Bee's TARYN LUNA: "The letter begins with “Dear Corrupt Mexican” and ends with “hurry up and die.” It’s signed “White Power."
"The words were typed on a note card and sent to Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León’s Capitol office earlier this year. His staff members put the letter in a file now full of racist and threatening mail in the receptionist’s desk."
"The Senate leader says backlash comes with the territory as an elected official. Since his freshmen year in the Assembly, radical opponents occasionally add derogatory ethnic slurs and references to their complaints, he said."
The former head of the Office of Government Ethics says that Trump is making American democracy look like a kleptocracy. Since "kleptocracy" means rule of thieves, this doesn't sound good.
The Guardian's DAVID SMITH: "The former head of the US government ethics watchdog has warned that Donald Trump’s conflicts of interest put the country at risk of being seen as a “kleptocracy”."
"Speaking to the Guardian, Walter Shaub, who quit this month as director of the Office of Government Ethics (OGE), condemned the president for using his hotels and other properties for government business in what is in effect a free advertising campaign."
"His actions create the appearance of profiting from the presidency, and the appearance here is everything, because the demand I’m making is so much more than ‘have a clean heart’. It’s: ‘Have a clean heart and act appropriately,’” Shaub said."
READ MORE related to Beltway: Russia urges US to mend ties even as it slashes US diplomatic staff -- AP's VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV.
America's airlines are fighting the airports over a proposed fee that the airports say is needed to improve facilities.
Sacramento Bee's TONY BIZJAK: "U.S. airlines and the nation’s airports are locked in battle this summer over a proposed $4 fee increase airports want to impose on fliers."
"Airports are asking Congress to let them increase the “passenger facility charge” that fliers pay when they purchase a ticket. Airport representatives say it’s needed to improve aging and outmoded aviation facilities, such as New York’s LaGuardia, the airport that President Donald Trump famously called “third world” last year."
"Airlines, though, are lobbying hard against the proposal, characterizing it as a “massive tax hike, crafted in secret."
READ MORE related to Economy: The case for cassettes: still bumping in 2017 -- The Chronicle's PETER HARTLAUB ; Clean energy industry workshops to be held at 5 CSU campuses -- Daily News' STAFF
Sacramento just bested LA on a list of the top 25 large cities to live in.
Sacramento Bee's NOEL HARRIS: "We’re No. 21!"
"While it’s not the top spot, it’s certainly better than being No. 62, or last place in this case."
"WalletHub, a site that specializes in credit reports, recently conducted a survey of the best big cities to live in. Taking the largest 62 U.S. cities and using 50 key indicators including economy, quality of life and safety, it concluded that Sacramento ranked 21st overall with a score of 56.81, just 0.13 below Raleigh, N.C."
School times in California may soon change.
Sacramento Bee's HAWKEN MILLER: "Knikki Royster starts her workday as a juvenile court teacher in San Diego at 7:30 a.m., and she’s not sure what to do if her two kids can’t start high school until an hour later."
"I don’t like the idea of my kids having to walk to school. I prefer to drop them off,” Royster said. They would have to walk a mile to school. “I want that supervision in the morning. ... When you don’t allow parents to do their job, we start making systems that don’t work for parents and hurt the family."
"Working parents like Royster are wondering about new routines as the idea of later school starting times gains traction in California. Sen. Anthony Portantino’s Senate Bill 328, which would prohibit middle schools and high schools from starting earlier than 8:30 a.m., is cruising through the Legislature and faces final votes when lawmakers return next month. The debate also is playing out in school board meeting rooms around the state. In the area, some schools in Davis and Sacramento have already moved to the later start time."
A high court ruling could threaten California's high speed rail project.
LA Times' MAURA DOLAN/RALPH VARTABEDIAN: "California’s high-speed train project is likely to continue to be buffeted by environmental challenges as a result of a decision by the state’s top court."
"In a 6-1 ruling last week written by Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, the California Supreme Court decided that federal rail law does not usurp California’s tough environmental regulation for state-owned rail projects."
"The decision has broad significance, lawyers in the case said."
READ MORE related to Transportation: North Bay's SMART commuter rail system to roll after long delays -- The Chronicle's LIZZIE JOHNSON
Can higher wages fix California's agricultural labor crisis? Maybe.
From Lisa Krieger in the Mercury News: " All over California, there’s a desperate labor shortage on farms, ranches, processing and packing houses."
"But at Christopher Ranch — the nation’s largest producer of fresh garlic and co-founder of this weekend’s Garlic Festival — every job is filled. Even now, at the peak of harvest season, all 600 of its packing and processing positions are claimed."
"Its simple yet oh-so-complex and controversial remedy: a pay increase. Faced with 50 empty positions last summer, in January it hoisted entry-level wages 18 percent, from $11 to $13 an hour — and applications flooded in, creating a wait list of 150 people. Another increase is promised next year, to $15 an hour."
