Laphonza Butler sworn in as California’s newest U.S. senator
LA Times, ERIN B. LOGAN/FAITH E. PINHO: "Laphonza Butler is California’s newest senator, following a historic swearing-in ceremony with Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday afternoon in the U.S. Capitol.
Flanked by Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), Butler raised her right hand to take the oath of office."
Exclusive: California Sen. Laphonza Butler defends consulting work with Uber, living in Maryland
The Chronicle, SHIRA STEIN: "Sen. Laphonza Butler said she believes Uber drivers and other gig workers deserve the full benefits of employment, but did not specify what her work with the company entailed.
Butler defended her work for the ride-hailing company and addressed some of the other criticism of her record that has emerged in the days since Gov. Gavin Newsom announced her appointment, and discussed her vision for her time in the Senate in an exclusive, wide-ranging interview with the Chronicle on Tuesday."
With Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s death, will the lawsuits over her late husband’s estate continue?
The Chronicle, CAROLYN SAID: "With the death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, what will happen to the bitter legal dispute over the vast estate of her late husband, financier Richard Blum?
The senator’s daughter, Katherine Feinstein, 66, acting with her mother’s power of attorney, filed three lawsuits against the co-trustees of Blum’s estate in June, July and August, alleging that they owed her mother millions of dollars, and were improperly enriching Blum’s three daughters from a previous marriage at Sen. Feinstein’s expense."
Nancy Pelosi booted from her honorary Capitol office by interim GOP speaker
The Chronicle, JORDAN PARKER: "In his first action as speaker pro tempore, Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) ordered speaker emerita Nancy Pelosi to vacate her Capitol hideaway office Tuesday evening, according to a spokesperson for her office.
“The speaker pro tempore is going to re-assign H-132 for speaker office use. Please vacate the space tomorrow, the room will be re-keyed,” read an email, reviewed by the Chronicle, from an aide on the House Administration Committee to Pelosi’s office."
If L.A. adds City Council seats, how would it work? These charts show the possibilities
LA Times, DAVID WHARTON/ABHINANDA BHATTACHARYYA: "Beset by scandal — four criminal cases and the leak of an embarrassing secret audiotape in just four years — the Los Angeles City Council could take an important step toward transforming itself this week.
An ad hoc committee is expected to recommend broad outlines for expanding the council, a process that would slice the city’s 15 existing districts into smaller pieces and add an elected representative for each new segment. The council could more than double in size."
Riling PG&E, San Jose approves its own electric utility, will study feasibility
BANG*Mercury News, GABRIEL GRESCHLER: "In a major shake-up of the South Bay’s energy landscape, the San Jose City Council on Tuesday officially approved the creation of a city-run electric utility in response to Pacific Gas & Electric’s questionable track record and demand for more power supply — a decision that could become one of its most consequential this year.
San Jose councilmembers voted unanimously to establish a new department called “San Jose Power” that may one day provide electric lines to future development in the city’s downtown and northern neighborhoods around transportation, housing and industrial centers."
News Analysis: California knows earthquakes. This week, a temblor reshaped the state’s politics
LA Times, DAVID LAUTER/BENJAMIN ORESKES: "At 3:04 p.m. Tuesday, Laphonza Butler walked across the floor of the U.S. Senate, stood facing Vice President Kamala Harris and took the oath to defend the Constitution, making official her emergence as a powerful new figure in California’s leadership.
At the same moment, on the other side of the Capitol, the fate of a long-tenured figure in the state’s power structure stood in the balance, as members debated Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s effort to keep his post."
California Forever’s first foray into Solano County politics was all about water. It didn’t end well
The Chronicle, JK DINEEN: "For the first time since their plan to build a city in Solano County became public, representatives of California Forever went to a local government and asked for permission to do something.
For the billionaire city-builders, it was a big-time bust."
Heat wave to scorch California. Here’s where hottest spots will be
The Chronicle, GERRY DIAZ: "California residents from the Bay Area to San Diego can expect temperatures to soar beginning midweek as an October heat wave takes hold. An area of high pressure will limit the sea breeze to the shoreline this week, setting off hot and dry winds that will promote afternoon temperatures in the lower 90s as early as Wednesday."
Questions dog new UC Board of Regents appointee
Capitol Weekly, BRIAN JOSEPH: "An esteemed author and scholar as well as a long-time tribal leader, Greg Sarris would seem to be a natural fit on the UC Board of Regents.
Sarris, 71, taught English and writing at three California universities, UCLA, Loyola Marymount and Sonoma State, for more than 30 years and authored several well-regard books, including Grand Avenue, a collection of short stories that was adapted into an HBO miniseries co-executive produced by Robert Redford. In 2020, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences."
Cal State student workers get the OK to hold a union vote
CALMatters, HELENA SAN ROQUE: "California State University student workers are one step closer to unionizing after announcing today that the California Public Employment Relations Board has deemed there is enough student support to trigger a union vote.
After vetting thousands of union cards submitted by student assistants, the board notified the CSU Employees Union on Sept. 27 they met the threshold following a wave of organizing this past year. Over 19,300 student assistants will soon vote on forming one of the largest student worker unions in U.S. history. Their ranks would more than double the size of the employees union, which already represents 16,000 support staff across the 23 campuses."
Learning at Temecula Valley Unified suffers as censorship fears rise
EdSource, MALLIKA SESHADRI: "May 12 began as a typical school day for Temecula Valley High School drama teacher Greg Bailey.
But when he opened his mailbox, he found a printed copy of an email, sent on May 7, complaining that he taught the Pulitzer Prize-winning play “Angels in America” by Tony Kushner, which deals with the AIDS epidemic in New York during the 1980s."
Sexual harassment audit has changed my view of my campus
EdSource, OLIVIA KEELER: "How could the school where I feel so supported also have one of the worst sexual assault report rates of all California State University campuses?
A detailed audit conducted and released by the state of California on July 18 has uncovered the mishandling of sexual assault reports and investigations on CSU campuses."
S.F. just approved the ‘most expensive homeless response’ ever
The Chronicle, ALDO TOLEDO: "San Francisco leaders voted to extend a safe parking site lease at Candlestick Point, but city analysts said the staggering projected costs of the program would make it “by far the most expensive homeless response” in San Francisco.
Supervisors Tuesday voted unanimously to extend the Bayview Vehicle Triage Center lease for another two years at a cost of $312,000 a year. That’s only a fraction of the millions the city is expected to pay in operating costs for 35 recreational vehicles on an empty lot in the Bayview."
Severely congested Bay Area highway is about to see first phase of $1.6 billion revamp
The Chronicle, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "Transportation officials are preparing to take the first step in a long journey that will lift Highway 37 above projected sea-level rise and relieve traffic congestion on the critical North Bay route.
Environmental studies are being completed, funding has been lined up and initial designs released for the first phase of the project, targeting a low-lying area of Highway 37 in Marin County where it crosses Novato Creek and makes its way northeast to Atherton Avenue."
Column: McCarthy’s fall was sudden, but a long time coming
LA Times, MARK Z. BARABAK: "“How did you go bankrupt?” a character asks in one of Ernest Hemingway’s classic novels. “Gradually,” was the famous response. “Then suddenly.”
And so it is for the politically and morally bankrupt Kevin McCarthy."
Hunter Biden’s gun charges may be unconstitutional, lawyer says. What’s he accused of?
Sacramento Bee, BRENDAN RASCIUS: "Hunter Biden was arraigned on gun charges in federal court on Oct. 3, but his lawyer says the case is unconstitutional and he has grounds for dismissal.
The criminal charges — the first-ever to be brought against a sitting president’s child — stem from Biden’s purported purchase of a handgun."