Newsom’s signature move at the California Capitol: Jam the Legislature
LA Times, TARYN LUNA: "In a talk at a climate summit in New York, Gov. Gavin Newsom in September said he “had to jam” his own Democratic Legislature in order to pass a series of climate bills in the final days before lawmakers adjourned last year.
The comment frustrated his legislative allies back in California and prompted Newsom to embark on an apology tour to smooth things over."
California Democrat opposed stronger fentanyl penalties. Now he wants $5B to fight overdoses
Sac Bee, LINDSEY HOLDEN: "A top California Democrat who opposed a Republican-led push to create stronger penalties for fentanyl dealers is seeking billions of state dollars to combat overdose deaths.
Assembly Public Safety Committee Chair Reggie Jones-Sawyer, D-Los Angeles, is seeking $5.2 billion in bond funding for what he calls a “comprehensive approach, instead of a bill-by-bill approach” to California’s fentanyl overdose crisis."
Dirt Road Dem: Roger Salazar’s Rubicon
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "Sacramento political communications expert Roger Salazar has deep roots in Democratic politics: he was the press secretary for Governor Gray Davis and, deputy press secretary for Vice President Al Gore’s 2000 presidential campaign, and assistant press secretary in the Office of President Bill Clinton from 1995 to 1999.
But Salazar has even deeper roots in the off-roading/Jeeper community: The earliest known photo of his father shows Salazar senior in front of the family’s 1946 Willys Jeep. There has been a Jeep in the Salazar family continuously for nearly 75 years."
A politician allegedly said he wanted to shoot up Anaheim City Hall. Officials kept it quiet
LA Times, ADAM ELMAHREK, NATHAN FENNO, GABRIEL SAN ROMAN: "Two years ago, an Anaheim City Council member was embroiled in a scandal over violent and misogynistic texts he wrote, which leaked to a local blog.
City leaders, expressing shock, denounced Jordan Brandman’s texts, and some residents called on him to resign. He stepped down in disgrace nearly two months later, in August 2021."
Public agencies choose cash injections over spending control (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, MARC JOFFE: "When customers stop patronizing a business, it usually downsizes or even closes. Government agencies used to follow that approach, but, more recently in California, they have found a better alternative: use the political process to get more state funding. While great for an agency’s employees and contractors, this new paradigm is leading to a bloated public sector.
California public school enrollment has been declining while funding has been rising rapidly. This is the unintended consequence of Proposition 98, a teacher’s union backed measure passed in 1988, which guarantees that about 40% of state revenue goes to schools irrespective of how many students are attending them. As the tech sector generated a gusher of income tax and capital gains tax revenue, K-14 education benefited handsomely."
S.F. Mayor Breed’s brother’s sentence reduced in case of woman’s death. Here’s when he could be released
The Chronicle, GABE CASTRO-ROOT: "A judge on Monday resentenced Napoleon Brown, the brother of San Francisco Mayor London Breed, to a shorter prison term in a decades-old case involving a woman’s death in a crash on the Golden Gate Bridge.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Brendan Conroy reduced Brown’s sentence to 31 years and four months from 44 years for involuntary manslaughter, armed robbery and carjacking. Brown has already served nearly 22 years in prison, according to Brown’s attorney, Marc Zilversmit."
It’s not just London Breed’s brother: Hundreds have been resentenced under new state laws
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "The laws a judge cited Monday to reduce the sentence of San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s brother for a 2000 killing have been used hundreds of times since 2019 to shorten terms for crimes that state law no longer defines as murder or manslaughter, lowering the state prison population and costs over the opposition of prosecutors.
Under California’s “felony-murder” law, anyone who participates in a felony, such as drug dealing, armed assault or drunken driving, can be convicted of murder if someone dies, and sentenced to life in prison — or death, if the crime is robbery, burglary, rape or child molesting, among other offenses. But legislation in the past five years has sought to reduce sentencing for those with lesser participation in crimes that proved to be fatal."
California leads the nation in gun violence research. But now the entire field is at risk
LA Times, OWEN TUCKER-SMITH: "Last summer, the California Department of Justice accidentally published the personal information of roughly 192,000 firearm owners to the open internet. Gun owners protested; Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta apologized and launched an investigation.
But perhaps the most surprising aspect of the leak is that the data existed in the first place."
California’s opioid deaths increased by 121% in 3 years. What’s driving the crisis?
CALMatters, ANA B. IBARRA, ERICA YEE, NIGEL DUARA: "It is nearly impossible to escape reminders of today’s boiling opioid epidemic — the billboard advertising Narcan on your commute, a local news story of a teen’s accidental overdose, or the ever-growing public debate over how to best address it.
In just three years, between 2019 and 2021, California’s opioid-related deaths spiked 121%, according to the state’s health department. The vast majority of these deaths were linked to fentanyl, an extremely potent synthetic opioid."
Its patients are ‘literally a captive market.’ Is this California health care giant failing them?
The Chronicle, SUSIE NEILSON: "A health care company specializing in jails has rapidly expanded in California in recent years, securing dozens of lucrative public contracts while facing allegations in lawsuits and government investigations that it provides substandard care to its uniquely vulnerable clients.
Wellpath provides health care in 34 of California’s 56 county jail systems, including in four of the Bay Area’s nine counties. The number vastly exceeds any other correctional provider in the state. In multiple instances, the for-profit company has secured multimillion-dollar county contracts without facing a single competitive bid, raising questions about whether local taxpayers are getting a good deal."
Bay Area ‘aunties’ from China can charge $10K a month. Who are they and why are they in such demand?
The Chronicle, LINGZI CHEN: "Before she takes on a new job, Lisa Liu sends a list of 27 items in Chinese to the potential clients she’ll be living and working with in the Bay Area — nine for the new mothers and 18 for their new babies.
The services Liu provides as an in-home nanny run the gamut. She’ll start in the maternity ward and transition into the home, preparing three meals for the sleep-deprived mothers, helping them out of bed and showing them the proper way to breastfeed, change and bathe infants."
California among the most affordable states in terms of energy costs
BANG*Mercury News, PAICHING WEI: "California is one of the most expensive states to live in, but in terms of energy costs, it is surprisingly one of the most affordable in the country.
A study done by WalletHub has revealed that the state ranks 46th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in total energy costs for 2023. California residents pay, on average, $408 per month for electricity, natural gas, motor vehicle fuel and, if they use it, home heating oil."
It hit 120 degrees in this California town. For the homeless, ‘it’s a miserable life out here’
LA Times, RUBEN VIVES, AKIYA DILLON, IRFAN KHAN: "At a homeless encampment dubbed the Lost City, hidden behind a cluster of pine trees off Highway 95, Charles Johnson was sweltering.
He was drenched in sweat, worsening the heat rash on his back and arms. His sunburned skin ached."
Berkeley’s 37-year nuclear ban has limited everything from investments to post-it notes. Could it be changed?
BANG*Mercury News, KATIE LAUER: "Tattered signs along Berkeley’s city limits discreetly greet newcomers with three facts about the city: it sits on Ohlone territory, has a population of 112,580 people and is a “nuclear-free zone.”
Now that “Oppenheimer” has hit theaters, global film audiences know how the UC Berkeley physicist called the “Father of the Atomic Bomb” lived and worked in the East Bay for 14 years."
The search for California’s rare wolverine
BANG*Mercury News, LISA M. KRIEGER: "Eight weeks after last being seen, a rare wolverine might live on in the Sierra Nevada wilderness. Or not.
Hopes were buoyed by many separate sightings this spring along a 200-mile expanse of deep snow in the mountains between Truckee and Big Pine. The state’s second confirmed specimen in a century, the animal created great jubilation among conservationists with its arrival."
These 4 invasive species threaten California water systems — and populations may be rising
Sac Bee, HANH TRUONG: "There’s a possible rise of invasive animals in California, as the state continues to face consequences from downpours that plagued the state last winter and spring.
The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services issued an announcement Friday about a potential surge in invasive species due to storm-related flooding."
The hidden cost of California’s hot workplaces: 20,000 job injuries a year
CALMatters, NICOLE FOY: "With more heat waves expected this summer, California officials are trying to assess the long-term economic impact on workers and businesses — and what more can be done to protect workers bearing the brunt of extreme temperatures.
Although California is one of the few states with heat standards protecting outdoor workers, advocates and workers say enforcement is still a struggle. Meanwhile the state has been trying for years to create indoor workplace heat rules."
A politician’s downfall reveals a Disney exec and a secret ‘cabal’s’ power over Anaheim
LA Times, ADAM ELMAHREK, GABRIEL SAN ROMAN, NATHAN FENNO: "As an Anaheim City Council member, Jordan Brandman enjoyed relationships with lobbyists and corporate power brokers that went well beyond cozy.
He was so close to Disneyland’s director of external affairs that they affectionately called each other “twin” and traded messages saying they loved each other. A lobbyist representing the city’s police officers union managed investments for Brandman, more than quadrupling the money he had put in."
Not just writers and actors: Crew workers struggle through Hollywood’s summer of strikes
LA Times, ANOUSHA SAKOUI, STACY PERMAN: "For a quarter of a century, Andi Brittan has worked steadily as a set decorator on movies and TV shows, but as Hollywood began to slow down this year in anticipation for what has become known as the summer of labor strife, she hasn’t worked a single production job.
Mid-City-based Brittan’s most recent big show was Prime Video’s Emmy-nominated “Daisy Jones & the Six” last year. To make ends meet, she has been taking on side gigs, like teaching set decorating to high schoolers. “It’s been a huge struggle,” she said. “At this moment, I’m not really making ends meet.”"
Elon Musk wants to change the Twitter HQ sign — but there’s confusion over S.F.’s permit requirements
The Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "A worker began removing letters from the decade-old Twitter headquarters sign above San Francisco’s Market Street on Monday after the company’s name was changed to X. Then, the police showed up.
A police officer told The Chronicle that building management had called the police and said they weren’t informed about the sign change at 1355 Market St., and work was paused. Police then said there was a misunderstanding, and the worker continued work and removed an “i” from the “@twitter” sign, before stopping again, leaving an “er” on one side of the sign."
Ancient Petrified Forest in Sonoma County to go up for sale with $12 million asking price
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "An ancient fossilized forest in Wine Country is about to hit the market after a century of ownership by the same family.
The Petrified Forest, a 500-acre tract in Sonoma County, home to redwood trees preserved by a volcanic eruption at nearby Mount St. Helena more than 3 million years ago, will be listed for $12 million this week, said Eric Drew of Healdsburg Sotheby’s International Realty."
Police shortage in one Bay Area city may be declared ‘emergency’
BANG*Mercury News, DANIEL EGITTO: "City staff members are recommending that Vallejo declare a state of emergency because so few police officers remain in the city.
The recommendation, according to city documents, comes as the Vallejo Police Department “has now reached a critical stage in staffing,” with just 43 sworn officers to patrol the entire city. Declaring a state of emergency would broaden City Manager Mike Malone’s responsibilities and obligate him to “take all reasonable and legal steps to ensure that all available resources are provided to the police department.”"
Oakland Airport expansion reflects the Bay Area’s changing demographics
BANG*Mercury News, WILL MCCARTHY: "When the Oakland International Airport announced plans for a major expansion last week, the potentially profound implications for the Bay Area may not have been obvious — it’s long operated in the shadow of major airline hubs in San Francisco and San Jose.
But in fact, the often-overlooked airport may finally be catching up to the major role that aviation has played in the East Bay — and that the East Bay has played in aviation."
These street intersections are San Francisco’s car break-in hot spots
The Chronicle, ANNIE VAINSHTEIN, ADRIANA REZAL: "At the corner of North Point and Larkin streets in San Francisco, you can see a steady stream of tourists walking in and out of Ghirardelli Square, carrying ice cream cones and shopping bags and strolling to and from the glistening waterfront.
But alongside the buzz of tourism, it is also where more cars are broken into than at any other intersection in the city."
Caltrans testing new ramp lights to prevent wrong-way crashes: Roadshow
BANG*Mercury News, GARY RICHARDS: "Q: Another innocent person was killed by a wrong-way driver in Santa Rosa earlier this month. Once an idiot starts driving up the offramp, there are no signs telling the idiot to stop and turn around. Maybe the signage is too costly? What is a life worth? What do you think? -- Tom Lustig, Mountain View
A: The state has been testing red lights on onramps and offramps to try to curb wrong-way driving. More testing will be done, but early indications are that these lights are very effective at reducing wrong-way crashes."
