'Safe space' email after Chauvin verdict turns into reply-all melee at California agency
Sac Bee, RYAN SABALOW/DALE KASLER: "A mass email sent by a California environmental agency to announce a “safe space” discussion after Derek Chauvin’s murder conviction sparked a reply-all marathon as employees voiced support for police, accused management of “caving to the mob” and asked to be removed from a “racially based” email list.
The “Reply-Allpocalypse” erupted after an employee at the State Water Resources Control Board messaged all 2,376 staff members at the agency and its nine regional water control boards with the subject line: “Employee Support Lunch Through Teams Friday 4/23/2021.”
The email was sent without blind-copying the recipients, allowing anyone to reply to the entire group. Similar mistakes have caused chaos in offices, universities and government agencies across the country for years."
With 2022 election already looming, Alex Padilla burnishes progressive credentials
LA Times, JENNIFER HABERKORN: "Since the moment he entered the Senate, everything in front of Sen. Alex Padilla has appeared to be a crisis.
First it was getting President Biden’s COVID-19 bill approved. Now it’s the Democrats’ infrastructure plan, reforming immigration policy and addressing climate change.
“We have to act with urgency,” Padilla said, repeating that word frequently during a 30-minute interview. Because of “the magnitude of a lot of issues before us, but also the urgency of a lot of issues before us, I can’t help but try to work as hard as I can and as fast as I can.”"
California's population growth has slowed. Blame the exorbitant housing costs
LA Times, GEORGE SKELTON: "California’s population mix is being reshuffled. People are leaving and fewer are arriving from other states. But who are they?"
You might be surprised.
We’re not losing high-income people fleeing exorbitant California taxes. Some, yes. But more affluent people have been moving here than departing."
Black drivers more likely to be stopped by police in Berkeley, audit finds
The Chronicle, SARAH RAVANI: "Michael Lang left the Bay Area four months ago after he was stopped at gunpoint by police in Berkeley in a case of mistaken identity for a carjacking suspect, leaving him traumatized.
Lang, who is Black, had just picked up a food order to deliver to a customer in Berkeley on June 30. When he saw a patrol car behind him, the 27-year-old pulled over to let it pass. The police car didn’t have its sirens or lights on, he said.
The officer stopped beside him, jumped out of his vehicle and pointed his gun at Lang. Other officers responded to the call and held Lang at gunpoint — all the while Lang, confused, kept asking, “What are you pulling me over for?” The officers then handcuffed him."
California Republicans take donations from casino mogul despite sexual misconduct scandal
LA Times, SEEMA MEHTA/MALOY MOORE: "When billionaire casino mogul and top GOP donor Steve Wynn was accused of a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct in the midst of the #MeToo movement, elected officials across the country quickly distanced themselves from him.
The news broke in January 2018, and some Republicans immediately called on their colleagues to return donations from Wynn, who was accused of pressuring employees to perform sex acts.
Sen. Susan Collins told CNN, “I don’t even think it’s a close call to return the money.”
CW Podcast: A chat with Asm. Alex Lee
STAFF: "When we invited freshman Assemblymember Alex Lee (D – San Jose) to come on the podcast we planned to discuss his ambitious policy proposals, like Universal Health Care, a Wealth Tax, and a ban on corporate donations to political candidates. What we didn’t expect was that those discussions would all be in the past tense.
Lee had a rough week: his proposal for a Wealth Tax didn’t make the deadline to get out of committee, and AB20, a bill that would have banned corporate donations to candidates, not only failed to get out of Thursday’s meeting of the Elections Committee, but also earned Lee a public, on-camera dressing down from committee chair Marc Berman (D – Menlo Park), who called the bill “misleading,” and chided Lee for failing to address what he characterized as gaping loopholes in the bill’s language. And AB1400, the Universal Health Care bill, didn’t even make it to this week, having been put on the shelf the week prior (presumably to the relief of Gov. Newsom, who won’t have to take a position before the Recall.)"
Placerville City Council affirms 'Old Hangtown' nickname after removing noose from logo
Sac Bee, VINCENT MOLESKI: "Placerville City Council members last week unanimously voted to approve a resolution affirming the Gold Rush-era nickname “Old Hangtown,” a little over two weeks after they agreed to remove a noose from the city’s logo.
The city has been facing heightened scrutiny for the past year over its historical connection to vigilante executions during the mid-19th century, with critics arguing that the city’s branding is racially insensitive.
Criticism intensified last summer, when a series of large-scale protests against racism and police brutality swept the nation following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. In July, Placerville City Council members deferred action regarding the city’s logo until this year. Earlier this month, the council again took up that same discussion, voting to remove the symbol, which had been depicted hanging from a tree standing behind a miner panning for gold."
Scientists scramble to see why, in rare cases, even the vaccinated can get COVID-19
LA Times. MAURA DOLAN: "Carey Alexander Washington, 80, a practicing clinical psychologist, called his daughter in January as soon as he received his first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
“He was just so excited that he had gotten it,” said Tanya Washington, 49, a resident of Atlanta who works at an investment firm.
Carey received his second shot Feb. 4. A little more than a month later, the South Carolina resident experienced shortness of breath. His internist did not test him for the virus. Carey, after all, was fully vaccinated. The doctor sent him to a cardiologist instead, who also didn’t test for the coronavirus."
California Democrats stay on message in opposing Newsom recall
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "Count one advantage for Gov. Gavin Newsom as the recall campaign against him is ramping up: The Democratic Party is closing ranks around him.
“President Joe Biden and I support him 100%,” Vice President Kamala Harris told delegates at the California Democratic Party’s four-day virtual convention that ended Sunday. “We are going to keep him in Sacramento.”
Newsom must keep California’s 10 million Democrats united if he wants to hold onto his job — but party unity is not a given."
Pandemic anxiety is keeping people home as the Bay Area reopens
The Chronicle, RYAN KOST: "The order on March 17, 2020, was as clear as it was unprecedented: Shelter in place. The Chronicle ran a full-width, front-page headline: “STAY AT HOME.”
So Emily Liu, 25, and her sister did as they were told and kept trips outside the home to a bare minimum as they followed news accounts of the mounting pandemic. “I was basically not going outside at all,” Liu says. “I just had these visions of catching it by accident.”
Now, a year later, both Liu and her sister are fully vaccinated, but not much has changed. They still wipe down the groceries they often have delivered. Liu might pick up dinner, rather than having it delivered, but she’s eaten outside of the house only once in the past year. She did have a friend over to meet the cat she adopted, but they were careful to wear masks and remain physically distant inside. When they drank boba tea together, they did it on a windy rooftop, 6 feet apart."
Here's what UC says about the chances of being plucked from massive waitlists
LA Times, TERESA WATANABE: "Anika Madan, a senior at Sunny Hills High in Fullerton, had a loaded school resume when she applied to six University of California campuses for admission this fall: a 4.6 GPA, 11 college-level courses, student leadership positions and community service building robotic hands for people with disabilities.
She was accepted to UC campuses at Irvine, Riverside and Santa Barbara — but wait-listed at Berkeley, Davis and San Diego.
Once again she is on edge — along with tens of thousands of others — as yet another nail-biting phase of a record-breaking UC admission season begins this week. Campuses are diving into their massive waitlists, selecting students to fill the seats of those who turned down UC offers by the May 1 college decision day. For the waitlisted, this next round is sparking more anxiety, frustration and even defiance as they try to decide whether to hold out for an offer from a favored campus or just move on."
Where are the Bay Area's Latino homeowners leaving to?
The Chronicle, LAUREN HEPLER: "Erika Carrasco has a mantra for would-be homebuyers wary of the Bay Area’s record pandemic-era prices: “Querer es poder,” or, “where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Even amid record national growth in Latino homeownership, breaking into the hyper-competitive local market often means going to extremes. It could be offering $100,000 over the asking price. Maybe waiving your right to a property inspection. Or moving an hour away.
“At this point, it is so ridiculous,” said Carrasco, a 16-year veteran Realtor at San Jose’s Intero Real Estate Services. “For each property, we’ve got 20 offers.”"