With the pandemic waning, Californians are ready to travel this summer
The Chronicle, GREGORY THOMAS: "Californians won’t lose a second summer to COVID.
After 15 months of being housebound, with vaccines flowing and the state’s official reopening date of June 15 shining like a beacon in the near distance, eager travelers are locking in summer vacation plans that will help fuel a recovery for the state’s beleaguered travel industry.
“We’re confident saying a corner has been turned,” said Erin Francis-Cummings, president and CEO of Destination Analysts, a San Francisco market research firm that produces weekly consumer surveys on traveler confidence."
State lifting crowd limits on pro sports
Sac Bee, JASON ANDERSON: "Fans are beginning to wonder if NBA summer league basketball will return to Sacramento as the state lifts capacity restrictions on professional sporting events in the weeks to come.
The NBA recently announced the Las Vegas Summer League will be held Aug. 8-17 at MGM Grand. That event was preceded by the California Classic in Sacramento when the Kings rolled out their own summer showcase in 2018 and 2019, but that isn’t expected to happen this year.
The Kings will participate in the Las Vegas Summer League, but the organization currently isn’t planning to host the California Classic, a team source told The Sacramento Bee. The Kings have not made a formal announcement about this year’s event or their plans for future."
Race, income have dramatic effect on pollution exposure
OPINION, Capitol Weekly, DAN WITZLING and JIM KENNEDY: "The science is clear. There is no way to effectively protect the health of vulnerable and unserved communities without confronting how factors like race and income impact exposure to the air quality threats created by fossil fuels.
For example, in AB 617 designated community air protection program areas, incidents of cancer among non-Hispanic Black residents living in transportation corridors are far greater than among their non-Hispanic white neighbors. It comes as no surprise that these particular neighborhoods, sitting along major transportation routes, are exposed to carcinogens found in fossil and diesel fuels at a higher rate."
San Jose gunman faced disciplinary hearing for 'inappropriate racial remarks,' report says
The Chronicle, STAFF: "A shooting Wednesday morning at a light-rail yard near downtown San Jose left 10 people dead, including the gunman.
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The gunman, a Valley Transportation Authority employee, appears to have left no note, no explanation for why he shot nine coworkers, but investigators have found a common theme among his past: He hated his workplace. He had been accused by an ex-girlfriend of raping and abusing her, often during violent “mood swings,” court records show."
Half of the world's COVID deaths gone uncounted? Here's why some experts think so
LA Times, AMINA KHAN: "If there’s one thing about COVID-19’s death toll that researchers seem to agree on, it’s that the official count is probably way too low.
But the extent of the undercount is a source of contention.
That may help explain why, when the influential Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle released a new model this month suggesting that the true number of COVID-19 deaths around the world was more than double the figure from the World Health Organization, response from other experts was mixed."
Legislators crafting deal to reduce numbers of out-of-state students at UC
EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "Leaders in California’s Legislature hope to strike a deal by next week on a proposal to drastically reduce the number of out-of-state and international students who enroll at the most competitive campuses of the University of California each year.
Doing so would make room for more California residents at the university system at a time when in-state students are applying to UC in record numbers.
Legislative leaders are pushing a plan that would gradually reduce the share of out-of-state students admitted each year over a 12-year span beginning in 2022-23. That proposal, which was introduced by the Senate’s budget subcommittee on education earlier this month, calls for the system to cap out-of-state enrollment at 10% of incoming freshmen by 2033-34, both systemwide and at each campus, freeing up 4,584 slots by 2033-34 for California students."
SF fire chief sues city overdiscrimination, retaliation in 'good old boys' club
The Chronicle, MALLORY MOENCH: "San Francisco Assistant Fire Chief Nicol Juratovac filed a civil lawsuit against the city this week alleging discrimination, harassment and whistleblower retaliation. Her previous internal complaint to the city’s human resources department was handled by an ex-manager who admitted to forging a settlement with a different employee.
Juratovac, a 23-year veteran of the fire department, is the first female, Asian-American and LGBTQ assistant chief.
Her complaint, filed in San Francisco Superior Court Monday, alleges “a culture of corruption, sexism, homophobia and sexism prevalent” within the fire department, creating a “good old boys” mentality. The lawsuit said Juratovac sought to change the culture by blowing the whistle on exam cheating, racism, safety violations and a raucous drinking party at a fire station attended by on-and off-duty firefighters."
SF's siezures of deadly fentanyl are skyrocketing, Is it impacting supply?
The Chronicle, YOOLYUN JUNG: "Fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 25 to 50 times more powerful than heroin, is a relative newcomer to the recreational drug market, but in recent years has been responsible for more overdose deaths in San Francisco than any other drug. Its cheap production cost, widespread availability and lethality pose new and unique challenges to authorities and service providers trying to combat the opioid epidemic.
In response, local and federal law enforcement agencies have cracked down on fentanyl dealers and operations, seizing an increasing amount of it from the streets and border crossings each year. But that hasn’t necessarily cut off supply. Instead, researchers say the amount of seizures merely serve as a proxy to indicate the rising level of supply and demand.
“When the supply is up, seizures go up,” said Dr. Daniel Ciccarone, a professor at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine who has studied fentanyl’s supply chain. “Trying to stop drug supply doesn’t work as well as we’d like to think,” he added."
With Biden's first budget, annual federal spending would top $6T
LA Times, DON LEE/ELI STOKOLS: "The $6 trillion in federal spending that President Biden will propose Friday in his budget request for the coming fiscal year reflects both ambitious goals for reinvigorating the economy through government action and a head-on challenge to his Republican opponents in Congress.
By seeking billions of additional dollars for new infrastructure, aid to education, help for middle-class families, new environmental programs and a host of other domestic initiatives, Biden promises to ramp up economic growth and make the United States more competitive globally, boost the long-stagnant incomes of most American workers and combat climate change.
And by proposing the largest annual federal budget in constant dollars since World War II, he is laying down a political gauntlet to Republicans who are betting they can obstruct his initiatives and break Democrats’ shaky majorities in Congress in next year’s midterm election."