Gut unions, boost private education? 2022 ballot proposals aim at California labor
Sacramento Bee, JEONG PARK: "A billionaire venture capitalist wants California public unions gutted.
Multiple proposed initiatives, including one involving a former Trump cabinet member, call for California to give about $14,000 a year to parents sending their kids to private schools.
Education reform advocates are gearing up for an initiative enshrining in the California Constitution the right to a “high-quality” public education for every student, which could lead to legal battles with school districts and teachers unions."
SF hotel workers demand jobs back as occupancy rates creep back
The Chronicle, CHASE DIFELICIANTONIO: "Before the pandemic, Claudia Valencia worked at the Hilton San Francisco Union Square hotel as a housekeeper, cleaning rooms five days a week. She liked the work, which paid close to $30 an hour and gave her access to affordable medical care for herself and her family.
When she was laid off last year because of the pandemic she figured it might be for a few months. But a year and a half later, she hasn’t been able to return to her old job even close to full time, only picking up one shift since the hotel, the largest west of Las Vegas, checked in its first guests since last year in May.
On Thursday, hundreds of members of Valencia’s union, Unite Here Local 2, marched in downtown San Francisco and cities across the country to demand a return to pre-pandemic levels of work."
Pandemic's global death toll surpasses 5 million
AP, CARLA K JOHNSON: "The global death toll from COVID-19 topped 5 million Monday, less than two years into a crisis that has not only devastated poor countries but also humbled wealthy ones with first-rate healthcare systems.
Together, the United States, the European Union, Britain and Brazil — all upper-middle or high-income countries — account for one-eighth of the world’s population but nearly half of all reported deaths. The U.S. alone has recorded over 745,000 lives lost, more than any other nation.
“This is a defining moment in our lifetime,” said Dr. Albert Ko, an infectious disease specialist at the Yale School of Public Health. “What do we have to do to protect ourselves so we don’t get to another 5 million?”"
Confused about mask rules in the Bay Area? Here's the latest for each county
The Chronicle, GWENDOLYN WU: "The pandemic mask picture will look noticeably different in parts of the Bay Area as of Monday.
The biggest change is in Marin County: Starting Monday, officials there will lift all indoor mask restrictions for people fully vaccinated against COVID-19. It’s the first such move in the region after Marin met a set of coronavirus transmission and vaccination benchmarks agreed to by most Bay Area counties.
Meanwhile, Alameda and Contra Costa counties will join San Francisco and Sonoma counties Monday when they ease their mask mandates for fully vaccinated people in some indoor settings."
Will Rep. Ami Bera lose Elk Grove--and his seat--through California redistricting?
Sacramento Bee, GILLIAN BRASSIL: "Rep. Ami Bera easily won his last two elections to the United States House of Representatives by at least 10 percentage points.
But just five years ago, he was in a fight for his political life against Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones after Bera’s father was sentenced to a year in prison for violating campaign finance laws.
Bera would be in a tough spot again if California’s once-a-decade political redistricting commission approves a plan for his seat that looks like the early visualization it released this week."
NorCal could see more rain Monday -- but don't expect another deluge
Sacramento Bee, VINCENT MOLESKI: "Sacramento and other parts of Northern California are expected to see some modest rain Monday.
Chances for rain throughout the region could start Sunday night and are expected to last through Monday. The National Weather Service’s Sacramento office expects the city will receive less than a tenth of an inch of rain.
It’s a pittance compared with last week’s record-setting ”bomb cyclone,” which triggered localized flooding in Sacramento and dumped more than five inches over the city in a single day."
New warning for dangerous 'sneaker waves' along coast
The Chronicle, RITA BEAMISH: "The coastline again has turned dangerous for anyone not paying attention, the National Weather Service is warning. “Sneaker waves” were expected to arrive Monday along with a northwest swell heading to the Bay Area’s coastal region.
“There will be an increased risk of sneaker waves into the late afternoon with swells of 3-4 ft at 16-17 seconds. Never turn your back to the ocean,” Weather Service officials tweeted on Sunday.
These waves are “deadly, larger-than-average swells that can suddenly and without warning surge dozens of feet higher up the beach than expected. Beachgoers encountering sneaker waves can be knocked down and dragged into the cold turbulent ocean.”"
SF Immigration Court fast-tracking caes in what critics are calling 'a deportation conveyor belt'
The Chronicle, TAL KOPAN/DEEPA FERNANDES: "A San Francisco immigration judge took less than an hour on Tuesday to order 23 people deported. But none of the immigrants was present and it’s unclear whether they knew about the hearing — even as they were deported for missing it.
The proceedings are part of a recently enacted effort the San Francisco Immigration Court says it’s undertaking to find immigrants it loses track of. Instead, advocates say the court has set up a deportation conveyor belt, one that fast-tracks removal orders before immigrants can make their case to stay in the country.
The practice appears to have started this summer, when immigration attorneys became aware of a subset of hearings being scheduled for immigrants whose mail was being returned as undeliverable. The court was notifying immigrants of the hearings by sending mail to the same incorrect addresses, practically ensuring few would show up."
Why are most Afghan evacuees still housed at US military camps?
LA Times, MOLLY HENNESSY-FISKE: "When Taliban fighters hunting for Ahmad Shoaib Durgee knocked on his door in Kabul, Afghanistan, he scrambled to escape with his family of six to reunite with his sister in Sacramento.
Two months after they were flown to the U.S., they remain among 53,200 evacuees held at Ft. Lee, Va., and seven other military camps nationwide.
Durgee, 37, who qualified for a visa because he had worked as a security guard for American officials, says he feels fortunate to have been evacuated to a camp where he doesn’t have to live in a tent. But he’s itching to leave the military housing. After hearing that those headed to California face longer waits, he changed his requested destination to Richmond, Va., where he has friends."
USC's 'Greek experience' under fire even as fraternities gain in popularity post-pandemic
LA Times, TERESA WATANABE/COLLEEN SHALBY: "Ralph Sun, a USC senior and fraternity member, can detail the ways Greek life has enriched him. The brotherhood gave him an instant friend group for backpacking, tailgating and sorority mixers; a support system during academic and personal struggles; a sense of purpose volunteering at a skid row shelter and at beach cleanups.
But he is now confronting the dark side of fraternities as campus outrage explodes over multiple allegations of drugging and sexual assault during parties at the USC chapter of Sigma Nu. Sun said the allegations shocked him and he quickly joined unprecedented and sustained demonstrations to stand with sexual abuse survivors and demand Greek system reforms, including a march of hundreds to fraternity and sorority row on West 28th Street.
“The Greek experience has provided a lot to me and I hope it will be here for generations of Trojans to come,” said Sun, a member of a fraternity he declined to name. “In order for that to happen, we have to own up to our checkered past and make our community a safe and inclusive space for everyone.”"
American Airlines cancels hundreds of flights, some at Bay Area airports
The Chronicle, JESSICA FLORES: "American Airlines canceled nearly 1,600 flights this weekend, including more than 800 on Sunday, due to bad weather and staffing shortages, the company said.
About 20 of the flights canceled Sunday by midday were at two of the Bay Area’s largest airports — San Francisco International and Mineta San Jose International — according to airport officials and flight tracking website FlightAware.
The American Airline cancellations began Thursday after severe winds struck the Dallas/Forth Worth International Airport, a major hub for the airline, and cut available runways from five to two, according to airline spokesperson Shannon Gilson. As a result, some crews were stuck out of position, further disrupting flight schedules."
Netflix employees file federal labor charge over Dave Chappelle controversy
LA Times, TRACY BROWN: "Two Netflix staffers who were critical of Dave Chappelle’s latest comedy special, “The Closer,” have filed a labor charge with the National Labor Relations Board, alleging the streamer retaliated against them for protected concerted activities.
Filed Wednesday on behalf of senior software engineer Terra Field and former product manager B. Pagels-Minor, the complaint alleges that Netflix took action against the employees in order “to quell [them] from speaking up about working conditions including, but not limited to, seeking to create a safe and affirming work environment for Netflix employees, speaking up about Netflix’s products and the impact of its product choices on the LGBTQ+ community, and providing support for employees whom Netflix has treated in an unlawful and disparate manner.”
“We recognize the hurt and pain caused to our trans colleagues over the last few weeks,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement to The Times. “But we want to make clear that Netflix has not taken any action against employees for either speaking up or walking out.”"
California's political map is changing, but one constant remains: raising lots of money to win
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "Joseph Rocha and Tamika Hamilton are two House candidates who share little in common aside from their military backgrounds, their humble roots and their drive to succeed against long odds.
As California’s redrawn political maps started to emerge last week, both Rocha and Hamilton illustrate the challenges newcomers face to break into one of the most exclusive clubs in the nation, no matter what those maps look like: Congress. Incumbent House members won 94% of their races last year in California.
One reason incumbents win so often: Unless you’re rich or are tapped into a network of wealthy benefactors, your road to oust an incumbent is even steeper. The winning candidates in California’s 53 House races spent an average of $4.5 million on their campaigns in 2020, according to an analysis done for The Chronicle by the nonpartisan OpenSecrets."
Biden to urge action at UN climate summit but without legislative victory back home
LA Times, ANNA M PHILLIPS/CHRIS MEGERIAN: "When President Biden addresses world leaders Monday at the United Nations’ global climate summit, he will promise action to a room full of heads of government who have come to Scotland with low expectations, despite scientists’ warning that the world is dangerously overheating.
Congress’ failure to pass significant climate legislation before the summit got underway has left Biden in a weaker negotiating position than the White House had hoped. Major emitters like China, India and Russia have balked at setting more ambitious goals to slash carbon emissions. And a meeting of the Group of 20 in Rome ended Sunday with an agreement that critics said fell far short of meaningful action to curb rising temperatures.
Speaking Friday before the summit began, António Guterres, the U.N. secretary general, cautioned: “Let’s be clear — there is a serious risk that Glasgow will not deliver.”"