Judge halts landmark California law aimed at protecting kids online
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "A state law that would limit online businesses’ use of information they gather from users younger than 18, and require them to take steps to protect the minors’ privacy, was blocked Monday by a federal judge, who said it appears to violate the companies’ freedom of speech.
AB2273 by Assembly Member Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, passed both legislative houses unanimously last year and was due to take effect next July. Modeled on a recent law in Great Britain, it would require businesses to report to the state on any product or service they offer on the internet that is likely to be accessed by those under 18, and provide plans to reduce any harms minors might suffer. It also prohibits businesses from collecting most types of personal information about users under 18, including their physical locations."
Gavin Newsom high on Kamala Harris — even though they could both seek the presidency someday
Sacramento Bee, DAVID LIGHTMAN, MAGGIE ANGST: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Vice President Kamala Harris would seem to be on a political collision course in a race for the White House someday, but Newsom on Monday had lavish praise for his California colleague.
Newsom told CNN interviewer Dana Bash that President Joe Biden and Harris’ administration is a “master class in terms of performance — bipartisan deals on infrastructure, bipartisan deals on guns and debt ceiling, on the CHIPS and Science Act.”
A Chat With Viviana Becerra, COS to Attorney General Rob Bonta
Capitol Weekly, TIM FOSTER: "Viviana Becerra was one of the new names this year on Capitol Weekly’s annual Top 100 List. As Chief of Staff to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, she oversees the Office of Communications, Office of Native American Affairs, Office of External Affairs, Community Awareness, Response, and Engagement Team, and the Office of Legislative Affairs. While Becerra may be new to the list, she is already a capitol veteran, despite the fact that she has yet to hit 40.
She sat down with hosts Rich Ehisen and Tim Foster to talk about her journey to the AG’s office and what it’s like to to work for a high energy pol like Attorney General Bonta."
BANG*Mercury News, GRACE HASE: "Three Santa Clara councilmembers have filed several ethics complaints against Stand Up For Santa Clara — a self-proclaimed “grass-roots watchdog organization” that they claim is connected to Mayor Lisa Gillmor.
Vice Mayor Kevin Park and Councilmembers Anthony Becker and Suds Jain recently filed complaints with the city and the California Fair Political Practices Commission — the state ethics body — claiming the group is a “political operation” and has failed to be transparent with its political spending or advertisements. The trio also filed a complaint with the IRS, questioning its non-profit status."
El Niño typically means wet California winters. These charts show what might be in store
The Chronicle, JACK LEE: "The official arrival of El Niño conditions raises fears for another wet California winter. But these conditions don’t guarantee that the state will face torrential downpours and floods, as it did during the infamous El Niño winters of 1982-83 or 1997-98, experts say.
“That, I think, is one of the huge misconceptions,” said Jan Null, a meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services and adjunct professor at San Jose State University."
California weather: Get ready for a wild midweek swing
The Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "Fall officially begins Friday night, and Northern California will certainly feel the changing of the seasons this week. A mix of weather conditions is in store from the Bay Area to the Sierra Nevada.
The Bay Area will see partly cloudy skies with seasonal temperatures through Wednesday, but changes are coming for the second half of the week. By Thursday, north winds are expected to clcof the season in the high Sierra."
Thousands of Californians are losing Medi-Cal every month. What to do if you lose coverage
CALMatters, SHREYA AGRAWAL: "Tens of thousands of Californians are losing health insurance every month as the state resumes checking people’s eligibility for Medi-Cal, which it suspended during the COVID-19 public health emergency.
About 16 million people in California will be evaluated for eligibility from June 2023 to May 2024. About half of those up for a review were automatically renewed because officials were able to verify their information in the system. Others were sent yellow renewal packets that they were supposed to fill out and send back to their county Medi-Cal office."
Charts show Cal State admissions rates for every high school in California
The Chronicle, NAMI SUMIDA: "Each year, more than 160,000 in-state students apply to the California State University system. As the country’s largest four-year public university system, Cal State educates more than 400,000 undergraduates across its 23 campuses that stretch across the state — about 170,000 more students and twice as many campuses as the state’s more renowned higher-education system, the University of California.
While most Cal State campuses receive thousands of applications each year, three schools stand out as being the most popular and competitive to get into. CSU Long Beach, San Diego State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo have particularly high numbers of applications and low admit rates compared to other Cal State schools."
How these bills before Gov. Gavin Newsom could change education in California
EdSource, STAFF: "Within the past week, the Legislature dispatched hundreds of bills, including several dozen affecting TK-12 and higher education.
Important education bills heading to Gov. Gavin Newsom include extending the ban on suspending students for willful defiance in high schools, creating more training for bilingual teachers, requiring gender-neutral student bathrooms by 2026, and enticing retired teachers to return to the classroom for the next few years."
BANG*Mercury News, ANDRE BYIK: "Parents in Castro Valley are sharply criticizing school administrators for delaying an investigation amid early signs of improper behavior by a high school music teacher who was charged this week with sexually abusing a student.
Visual and performing arts teacher Keita Hasegawa, 31, was booked Thursday at Santa Rita Jail and is scheduled for arraignment Monday, according to online jail records. He remained in custody Friday."
Elon Musk says X, formerly Twitter, could charge all users for access
The Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "Elon Musk said X, formerly Twitter, could start charging all users for access in a potentially momentous change for the social network.
“The single most important reason that we’re moving to having a small monthly payment for use of the X system is it’s the only way I can think of to combat vast armies of bots,” Musk said in a talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that was broadcast online on Monday."
BANG*Mercury News, JASON MASTRODONATO: "If there was any uncertainty about the future of the San Francisco Giants broadcast booth, it’s been dispelled.
Broadcast partners for 30 years, Duane Kuiper and Mike Krukow will continue calling Giants games for the foreseeable future, they told former Oakland Tribune columnist Dave Newhouse in this week’s Ultimate Sports Guide newsletter."
Suspect arrested in killing of L.A. County sheriff’s deputy in Palmdale
LA Times, RICHARD WINTON, NATHAN SOLIS, GRACE TOOHEY, SALVADOR HERNANDEZ: "A 29-year-old man was arrested early Monday in the killing of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who was shot in the head near the Palmdale station late Saturday, officials said Monday morning.
After deputies released information Sunday about a “vehicle of interest” in the slaying of Deputy Ryan Clinkunbroomer, Sheriff Robert Luna said community members came forward with information that helped investigators identify Kevin Cataneo Salazar as the suspect. That led deputies to his home on the east side of Palmdale, where he was arrested early Monday."
Suspect in L.A. deputy killing heard voices, had attempted suicide, mother says
LA Times, SALVADOR HERNANDEZ, NATHAN SOLIS, TERRY CASTLEMAN: "Before he was arrested in the slaying of a Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy, a 29-year-old Palmdale man suspected in the killing was diagnosed with schizophrenia, heard voices and twice tried suicide, his mother said Monday.
Kevin Cataneo Salazar of East Palmdale was arrested Monday morning at the family home, according to vehicle records and neighbors who witnessed the arrest."
Another stillborn baby found in S.F. toilet points to desperate conditions: ‘It’s hell out here’
The Chronicle, KEVIN FAGAN: "Jasmine Byron lives in a squalid shack of metal racks and tarps roped together in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, heaped with clothes and enough foraged stuff to fill more than a dozen shopping carts. At 37, she believes she’s pregnant again.
Living on the street, the prospect distresses her. And the discovery of a stillborn fetus last month in a public toilet at UN Plaza — confirmed by the Chronicle this past week — struck a raw nerve."
The California conundrum: Fewer people, more homes, but an acute housing shortage
LA Times, ANDREW KHOURI: "In the last decade, California home prices and rents have soared, an upswing that’s put homeownership further out of reach and helped drive thousands into homelessness.
This escalation coincided with a unique moment in California history. For much of the last decade, the state’s population growth was historically low."
Buying a San Francisco home took 3 years of income in 1970. Here’s today’s number
The Chronicle, CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "Five decades ago, Richard Nixon was president, the Transamerica Pyramid was nearing completion and the typical home in San Francisco cost just over $28,000.
That wasn’t an insignificant amount of money in 1970 — roughly $209,000 in 2022 dollars — but it was far less than the seven digits San Francisco homes are worth now. And it made for a far smaller ratio, according to census data, than currently exists between household income and home values."
Millennials and Gen Z can’t afford homes. Is this prefab ADU a solution?
LA Times, LISA BOONE: "On a quiet cul de sac in suburban Los Angeles, the installation of Martin Guevara and Grace Kuo’s prefab accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, caused quite a stir in the neighborhood.
“It was like a block party,” said Guevara, 68. “All of our neighbors came out to watch.”"
5 Americans freed in Iran prisoner swap after years of captivity
LA Times, TRACY WILKINSON, COURTNEY SUBRAMANIAN: "Five American citizens held for years in Iran under what U.S. officials describe as brutal conditions were freed Monday and allowed to fly out of the country, the result of months of secret negotiations, President Biden said.
In exchange, Iran will gain access to $6 billion in Iranian oil revenue that has been frozen, and five Iranian citizens imprisoned in the U.S. will be released."