Republican spending bill could deal a huge blow to abortion access in California
THE CHRONICLE, BOB EGELKO: “Access to abortion in California could be substantially reduced if the House passes President Donald Trump’s budget bill.
The legislation, now awaiting a final vote in the House, would eliminate federal Medicaid funding for any type of medical care to organizations that perform abortions.”
THE CHRONICLE, SUSIE NEILSON/MEGAN FAN MUNCE: “A coalition of five states is investigating underinsurance among wildfire survivors after years of costly megablazes across the West, most recently in Los Angeles, and in the wake of a San Francisco Chronicle investigation that laid bare the depth of the issue.
The states’ goals are to share data and explore the possibility of either a national law or state-based regulatory reforms to address underinsurance, California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara told the state Assembly Insurance Committee at a Wednesday hearing. The group includes representatives from New Mexico, Colorado, Oregon and Washington state.”
California legislators propose bipartisan immigration principles amid federal tension
SACRAMENTO BEE, KATE WOLFFE: “California Assemblymember Esmerelda Soria, D-Fresno, wore a black cross-body bag to the Problem Solvers Caucus news conference on Wednesday.
She keeps her passport there, she said, in case she needs to prove her citizenship.”
READ MORE -- Fear of ICE raids forcing many Bay Area organizers to cancel events – THE CHRONICLE, SARAH RAVANI; Kidnappers or ICE agents? LAPD grapples with surge in calls from concerned citizens – LAT, LIBOR JANY
Trump has big plans for America’s next birthday. Historians have questions
LAT, MICHAEL WILNER: “As Americans mark the Fourth of July holiday this weekend, the Trump administration is planning ahead for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence next year, a moment of reflection for a nation beset by record-low patriotism and divided by heated culture wars over the country’s identity.
White House officials are actively involved in state and local planning for the semiquincentennial after the president, in one of his first acts in office, established “Task Force 250” to organize “a grand celebration worthy of the momentous occasion.””
California bars now legally required to offer lids for drinks
LAT, MARIO CORTEZ: “for drinks upon request, a measure intended to prevent drinks from being spiked with drugs.
The law, Assembly Bill 2375, which took effect Tuesday, builds on existing legislation requiring bars to offer drug testing strips. Assembly Member Josh Lowenthal, D-Long Beach, introduced both bills. The new requirement applies to bars and nightclubs with Type 48 liquor licenses, which serve beer, wine and liquor, but not food. Violating it carries no penalty, just a warning for a first offense, and the requirement sunsets in 2027.”
Federal contractors improperly dumped wildfire-related asbestos waste at L.A. landfills
LAT, TONY BRISCOE: “Federal contractors tasked with clearing ash and debris from the Eaton and Palisades wildfires improperly sent truckloads of asbestos-tainted waste to nonhazardous landfills, including one where workers were not wearing respiratory protection, according to state and local records.
From Feb. 28 to March 24, federal cleanup crews gathered up wreckage from six burned-down homes as part of the wildfire recovery efforts led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and its primary contractor Environmental Chemical Corp.”
Dem anti-prostitution bill oils Republican deportation machine (OP-ED)
CAPITOL WEEKLY, SOMA SNAKEOIL: “The last few weeks, my team and I have been on the frontlines, providing medic services in our beloved Los Angeles as the federal government conducts mass kidnappings and perpetrates violence on our immigrant communities and U.S. citizens alike.
The Trump Administration is waging a war – with military troops on the ground – on Los Angeles and the rest of California because we refuse to hand our migrant neighbors over to unidentifiable goons who spit on the Constitution and due process protections we are all afforded in this country. Amidst this climate, AB 379 will cause devastating and irreparable harm in our communities, especially among migrant sex workers and survivors.”
LAT, CORINNE PURTILL: “Weeks after President Trump took office, multiple government webpages referencing gender and sexual orientation abruptly disappeared from the internet.
Many returned after a February court order. But they came with an unusual addition: a disclaimer from the Department of Health and Human Services denying facts provided by its own agencies.”
‘Joy turned into shame’: California’s Latino Caucus agonized over slashing immigrant health care
CALMATTERS, KRISTEN HWANG: “Moments before an important budget vote last week, state Sen. María Elena Durazo stood on the Senate floor and spoke passionately about the plight of immigrants’ health care in California. She lambasted the Legislature’s choice to freeze Medi-Cal enrollment for immigrants without legal status and charge monthly premiums.
The Senate’s budget negotiations and headlines had long since turned toward a different crisis — housing reform — but Durazo stayed firm.”
‘Brazen, midday kidnappings:’ LA immigration sweeps violate Constitution, lawsuit says
CALMATTERS, WENDY FRY/ SERGIO OLMOS: “A lawsuit filed Wednesday by civil and immigration rights groups accuses federal authorities of unleashing an unconstitutional siege by snatching workers and U.S. citizens off Southern California streets and denying them food, water and the right to speak with an attorney.
The federal class action lawsuit aims to immediately stop immigration agents from conducting military-style raids across L.A. that prioritize “numbers, pure numbers,” according to the complaint. It also seeks to get access to counsel for those arrested who are now being held in overcrowded “dungeon-like” facilities where the conditions are deplorable and unconstitutional, the filing says.”
Mental health support centers are reeling from California budget cuts, with layoffs expected
CALMATTERS, JOCELYN WIENER: “Phone lines that provide mental health support to tens of thousands of Californians say they are on the verge of shutting down or dramatically scaling back as a result of cuts in the state’s new budget.
Representatives from the support lines, which are distinct from hotlines that serve people in crisis, say they help thousands of Californians with mental health needs each month.”
California schools reel from Trump’s sudden cutoff of $1 billion in federal funds
LAT, JILL TUCKER: “For months, the leaders of Bay Area schools already dealing with budget deficits and declining enrollment have been pinching pennies, trimming staff and wringing their hands, hoping the federal funding allocated to them months ago would land in their bank accounts as promised in early July.
On June 30, at the 11th hour, the Trump administration announced that $7 billion in grants for after-school programs, literacy instructions and other support services, would remain in Washington, D.C., with the funds “under review” to ensure they aligned with presidential priorities.”
The next big California heat wave is on the way. Here’s where it will hit hardest
LAT, GREG PORTER: “California’s first significant summer heat wave is poised to arrive next week.
After a cooler than normal June and a moderately warm Fourth of July, forecast models are now locking onto a familiar summer pattern: a sprawling ridge of high pressure poised to drive widespread heat across the West by midweek.”
‘Water brings life’: Plans to revive Tulare Lake take shape in the San Joaquin Valley
LAT, IAN JAMES: “Tulare Lake was drained by farmers more than a century ago, and it has reappeared only rarely when floods have reclaimed farmlands in its ancient lake bed in the San Joaquin Valley.
Now, a coalition of tribal leaders, community activists and environmental advocates has begun an effort to restore the lake. They have been discussing a proposal to bring back a portion of its once-vast waters by building a reservoir fringed with wetlands on the west side of the valley, within sight of Interstate 5.”
California lawmakers side with landlords to kill renter eviction relief
CALMATTERS, RYAN SABALOW: “Sen. Aisha Wahab implored her colleagues to think of hospitalized patients and struggling families as she pitched a proposal to give tenants a full two weeks to pay their past due rent before their landlords could start the eviction process.
“This is a very small ask from the state of California,” Wahab, a Democrat representing the Fremont area, recently told her fellow lawmakers. “(It’s) very small to allow people 14 days to either ask for family members and loved ones to give them money to stay housed, to ask their cities or any of the other nonprofits that help people with rental assistance stay housed, or to even be able to wait for their check.””
How social work interns are changing lives at Sacramento public libraries
SACRAMENTO BEE, CATHIE ANDERSON: ““That bench, that’s where I used to sleep,” Paul Jackson said, pointing across the street from the Sacramento Central Library. “I went to sleep over there one night. I woke up with one shoe, and my glasses were gone.”
Blind in one eye and living with seizures, Jackson was alone and struggling with access to services until he met Maria Montano, a social worker at the library. In less than two years, she’s become his lifeline, helping him navigate housing, disability and access to health care.”
California says crime is down. But officials know the data is flawed
THE CHRONICLE, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: “It happened again.
The California Department of Justice this week published a major report, and a corresponding press release, touting a drop in violent crime across the state. But the data underlying the report is substantially flawed — thanks to a big mistake that the DOJ was made aware of last year after Chronicle reporting, but did not fix.”
SFO braces for nearly 1 million travelers during Fourth of July travel surge
THE CHRONICLE, RACHEL SWAN: “Nearly a million travelers were expected to pass through San Francisco International Airport from Wednesday morning through the Fourth of July weekend, which could mean large swarms at security lines — and a frenetic scramble as people rush to their gates.
This rush of people flying to far-flung places is just one illustration of what some experts are calling a national summer travel boom, which may boost the economy while also crowding airports and clogging roads.”
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs not guilty of most serious charges but will remain in custody until sentencing
LAT, RICHARD WINTON/ AUGUST BROWN/ HANNAH FRY: ” Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was found guilty Wednesday of transportation for prostitution but cleared of the most serious charges — racketeering and sex trafficking — following a weeks-long federal criminal trial in New York.
Before his fate was announced, Combs sat surrounded by his legal team reading a printout of Psalm 11, a Bible passage that emphasizes relying on God for protection, even amid adversity.”
Ritchie Valens died too young. His legacy will live on forever
LAT, R.J. SMITH: ““Dance!! Dance!! Dance!! to the music of the Silhouettes Band!!” read the handbill. The Silhouettes featured Ritchie Valens — “the fabulous Lil’ Richi and his Crying Guitar!!” — at a 1958 appearance at the San Fernando American Legion Hall in Southern California.
He was 16 years old. The Silhouettes was Ritchie’s first band, and they launched him into history. But a silhouette itself is an interesting thing: You can see the general shape of something while you hardly know the figure casting the shadow. Valens’ musical story begins with the Silhouettes, and we have been filling in his story, and projecting ourselves onto it, ever since he left.”