California Senate taps new leader
LA Times, TARYN LUNA: "The California Senate will get a new leader after Democrats on Monday tapped a North Coast lawmaker as the next president pro tem of the upper house, marking a transition at the Legislature’s top ranks from leaders who represent urban population centers to rising power for politicians from largely rural districts.
State Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) will take over for Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) at a yet-to-be-determined date in 2024, according to a statement issued by the two leaders. The transition in the Senate comes after a busy weekend of political wrangling over the succession. McGuire, 44, solidified his position with the support of Atkins, who terms out of office next year."
The Supreme Court might not have struck down California gun restrictions after all
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "When the Supreme Court overturned New York’s restrictions on carrying guns in public last year, it was widely believed that the ruling would strike down comparable laws in California, five other states and the District of Columbia. California legislators, assuming the law to be unenforceable, are working on a measure that would instead limit the categories of people who could carry handguns and the places they could be carried.
But in an unexpected development, a state appeals court says California’s law differs from New York’s and remains valid."
Surfing, political advertising and The Troubles: A chat with Sean Duggan
Capitol Weekly, TIM FOSTER: "Last week, Keep It A Secret, a documentary that tells the story of the pioneers of surfing in Ireland, premiered on Irish television following a spate of film festival appearances. If the reviews are any indication, the film is headed for success: Ed Powers of The Irish Times raved, writing, “[The] broadcaster should urgently commission a drama based on the wonderful Keep It a Secret…” This is all heady news for first-time director Sean Duggan, who made the film in his spare time while working as the vice president of political advertising for Sirius XM.
At its heart, Keep it a Secret is an inspiring story of a small group of enthusiasts who built something out of nothing, literally creating a surfing culture that had never existed in the island. While Californians have been surfing for almost a century, and Hawaiians for decades before that, Irish surfers really didn’t start paddling out until about the time Van Morrison and friends were recording “Gloria.” And, just as the sport began to catch on in the island, politics – both internal to the surfing community, and external, in the form of The Troubles – intruded."
Mark Ridley-Thomas sentenced to 42 months in prison
LA Times, MATT HAMILTON, JULIA WICK: "A federal judge has sentenced Mark Ridley-Thomas, once a towering figure in Los Angeles politics, to 42 months in prison, marking a devastating coda to his long career as a local power broker and advocate for civil rights and racial equity.
The sentence was issued Monday morning by U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer, who presided over Ridley-Thomas’ criminal trial in March. In addition to the 3½-year prison term, the former politician was fined $30,000 and will be subject to three years of supervised release."
Here’s which days will be the hottest and coldest in Bay Area this week
The Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "A temperature roller coaster is on tap for the Bay Area this week. Temperatures will begin near normal Monday, and climb to well above normal by Wednesday before a cooldown begins Thursday and continues Friday.
Wednesday is expected to be the warmest day of the week when inland areas reach the mid-90s to lower 100s and coastal areas warm to the mid-70s to lower 80s. But by Friday, temperatures will be 5-10 degrees below normal, with highs in the 60s on the coast and upper 70s to lower 80s inland."
Near record heat to hit SoCal, raising fire danger just a week after tropical storm
LA Times, GRACE TOOHEY: "Temperatures are expected to soar into the triple digits in many parts of Southern California during the first half of the week as forecasters warn of dangerous heat, especially in the valleys.
The three-day heat wave is expected to peak Monday and Tuesday, when highs across the region will reach into the upper 90s and 100s, according to the National Weather Service."
Santa Clara County asks judge to increase fines owed by San Jose church for violating COVID orders
BANG*Mercury News, GRACE HASE: "In the latest development in the lengthy legal between Santa Clara County and Calvary Chapel, a judge rejected a Santa Clara County bid to increase the $1.2 million court ordered fines owed by the San Jose church for ignoring public health mandates at the height of the pandemic.
During a court hearing last Thursday, the county argued the earlier dollar amount was reached in error. The county began fining the Hillsdale Avenue church in August 2020 for holding indoor services with maskless congregants — a violation of public health orders at the time."
Attorney General files suit against Chino Valley Unified to stop ‘forced outing policy’
EdSource, DIANA LAMBERT: "California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit today against Chino Valley Unified asking the San Bernardino County Superior Court to end a district policy that requires school staff to tell parents if their child asks to be identified by a different gender or name, or accesses a bathroom or program that don’t align with the gender on their official records.
The lawsuit also asks the court to issue a preliminary injunction to halt the district policy immediately to protect the safety of transgender and gender-nonconforming students in the school district while the court case proceeds."
LA Times, MACKENZIE MAYS: "California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit Monday against the Chino school district, ordering an end to a policy that requires notifying parents if their children change their gender identity, alleging it is discriminatory and violates civil rights and privacy laws.
The “parental notification” policy, which has been proposed by a handful of conservative-leaning districts in California, puts transgender and gender-nonconforming students in “danger of imminent, irreparable harm” by potentially forcibly “outing” them at home before they’re ready, according to the lawsuit."
BANG*Mercury News, ELISSA MIOLENE: "The battle over transgender rights is heating up in California as the state sued a Southern California school district on Monday while conservatives launched an effort for a statewide ballot measure.
Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against Chino Valley Unified School District over its parental notification policy that took effect in July and requires district schools to alert parents if a student begins using a name or pronoun different from the one on their official records. The same day, Republican lawmakers and conservative activists rallied at the state Capitol to announce they are starting signature-backed ballot initiatives for three bills targeting transgender students after a recent related bill failed to gain ground in the Democrat-controlled legislature."
UC Riverside professor accused of faking Native American heritage will resign
LA Times, NOAH GOLDBERG: "David Shorter still remembers a haunting interaction he had with Andrea Smith in the late 1990s after she helped disband his Native studies reading group while they were in graduate school at UC Santa Cruz.
Smith, who said she was Cherokee, told Shorter and others that they should not have a reading group in which no one was Native. Her word as a Native woman carried weight, and the group fell apart."
Farmers Insurance lays off 2,400 workers as insurers pull back from California
LA Times, SAM DEAN: "Farmers Insurance, one of the nation’s largest property and casualty insurers, is laying off 2,400 workers, representing 11% of its total workforce.
The Los Angeles-based company cited a need to reduce operational costs and focus on “long-term sustainable profitability” in an announcement Monday to explain the job cuts."
S.F. commissioner behind ‘doom loop’ tour resigns in defiant letter to Mayor Breed
The Chronicle, JD MORRIS, ROLAND LI: "A San Francisco commissioner who created a controversial planned tour that intended to show attendees downtown’s worst “doom and squalor” resigned from his city position on Monday.
Alex Ludlum is stepping down from the city’s Commission on Community Investment and Infrastructure after emails affiliated with the so-called Downtown Doom Loop Walking Tour indicated he had organized the event, which was canceled shortly before it was supposed to occur over the weekend."
Maps: Here’s what we know about the new city proposed in the Bay Area
The Chronicle, ANNIE VAINSHTEIN, EMMA STIEFEL: "The saga surrounding a group of mysterious investors who have spent more than $800 million to buy up thousands of acres of farmland in rural Solano County has gripped Bay Area residents, local politicians and federal government agencies. Last week, the Chronicle reported that the investors were revealed to be a group of Silicon Valley notables who seem to be gearing up to build a new city.
Here is what is known about the effort, according to Chronicle reporting:"
Federal jury awards $23.8 million to mother of man shot by LAPD
LA Times, RICHARD WINTON: "The mother of a 32-year-old Navy veteran who was fatally shot by two Los Angeles police officers while holding a metal bar that was mistaken for a machete should receive $23.8 million in compensation, a federal jury concluded, delivering one of the largest payouts ever awarded in a case involving an LAPD shooting.
The jury decided unanimously on Friday that officers Fred Sigman and Christopher Montague used excessive and unreasonable force in shooting Jesse Murillo. The Los Angeles city attorney’s office will probably appeal the verdict, although no official decision has yet been made."
Emeryville mall brawl: Teen stabbed in West Elm store as police investigate social media posts
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "A gathering of hundreds of teenagers at Emeryville’s Bay Street shopping complex that resulted in brawls and at least one stabbing appears to have been organized on social media, police said Monday.
The mall melee that sent one teen to the hospital with stab wounds was likely prompted by a social media posting calling teenagers to “meet up” at the East Bay shopping center, said Oliver Collins, a captain with the Emeryville Police Department, citing police interviews with participants. The contents of the posting were unclear and Collins did not name the social media platform used to issue the call to gather."
In Oakland's crime wave, unique problem hits waterfront: ‘Pirates’
The Chronicle, RACHEL SWAN: "Jonathan DeLong was sleeping in a berth of his sailboat at the shore of Oakland’s Jack London Square when he heard a thump. Startled awake, he knew trouble was right outside.
A woman stood on the dock in the inky darkness while a man glided toward DeLong’s sailboat in a dinghy, both seemingly intent on boarding. To DeLong, the scene was familiar: Countless times, he’d seen people prowl the bay on small watercraft, using bolt cutters or angle grinders to burglarize boats, or to pry open the fiberglass “dock boxes” where estuary residents keep their supplies."