Alaska Air pilot charged with attempted murder said he was on mushrooms. Could that impact his case?
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Being drunk or stoned isn't a defense to most criminal charges, like driving while intoxicated or assaulting someone. But attempted murder — the most serious charge against the off-duty pilot who allegedly tried to shut down the engines of a plane on a San Francisco-bound flight — requires proof of an intent to kill, which may be difficult if the defendant was high on mushrooms.
Joseph David Emerson of Pleasant Hill was charged in an Oregon court Monday with 83 counts of attempted murder, one for each passenger on the flight, and one count of endangering an aircraft. Prosecutors also filed 83 charges of reckless endangerment as a backup to the attempted-murder charges. And federal prosecutors, in a separate case, charged Emerson on Tuesday with interfering with a flight crew. He has pleaded not guilty to all of the charges."
READ MORE -- Bay Area pilot accused of trying to crash airliner told crew ‘I’m not OK,’ and told cops he had taken psychedelic mushrooms -- BANG*Mercury News, JOHN WOOLFOLK/MIKE FRANKEL/JAKOB RODGERS
Captain of the dive boat where 34 died is on trial. Is he criminally negligent?
LA Times, RICHARD WINTON: "Four years after a fire killed 34 people in a dive boat off the coast of Santa Barbara, the boat’s 71-year-old captain is on trial to determine whether he is criminally responsible for their deaths.
Jerry Boylan was negligent when he failed to institute a roving night watch or conduct proper fire drills aboard the Conception before it caught fire in the deadliest maritime disaster in recent U.S. history, prosecutors say. Jury selection began Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, where he faces one count of neglect or misconduct by a ship officer."
California tries new tack to support LGBTQ+ inclusion
Capitol Weekly, LOLA WATTS: "The road to hell is often paved with good intentions, at least according to Senate President pro Tempore and LGBTQ+ community leader Toni Atkins.
Which is why Atkins sponsored legislation this year (SB 447) to overturn a California bill adopted in 2016 (AB 1887) that prohibited state-funded travel to other states that had adopted anti-LGBTQ+ laws."
Here’s how much abortions have increased in California post-Dobbs
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "Abortions have increased 6% in California since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, according to a new national study released Tuesday.
But those new patients are not all from out-of-state, experts say. Many are Californians."
U.S. media blocked from California Gov. Gavin Newsom meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping
The Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom met with Chinese President Xi Jinping during his first full day in the capital city Beijing.
Chinese officials physically blocked American media members from attending the meeting while Chinese media members entered. The 45-minute meeting took place in the Great Hall of the People, a palatial building with a massive entry hall adorned with yellow curtains and a red carpet Newsom and his delegation strode on their way to the meeting."
News Analysis: The House Republican civil war shows Trump’s power — and its limits
LA Times, ERIN B. LOGAN: "Kevin McCarthy needed 15 tries to become speaker of the House. The first man who hoped to succeed him pulled out of the contest before the House voted on his nomination. The second tried and failed three times to secure the gavel.
On Tuesday, House Republicans’ humiliation continued when Tom Emmer of Minnesota pulled out of the contest after just four hours as the GOP’s fourth nominee for speaker this year."
LA Times, BRITTNY MEJIA, HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS: "Galia Mizrahi walked past rows of freshly dug graves, preparing to bury two loved ones killed when Hamas attacked southern Israel.
The 55-year-old had left her home in Tarzana less than two weeks earlier for the country of her birth, her heart “aching to be here for [her] family” as Israel plunged into war.
First measurable snow of the season heading for California. See how much will fall
LA Times, HAYLEY SMITH: "An early season snowstorm is headed for portions of Northern California and the Sierra Nevada this week, with forecasts of gusty winds, widespread freezes and potential travel challenges, weather officials said.
The storm is expected to sweep into the Golden State from the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday and into Thursday, dropping up to 3 inches of snow at elevations of about 6,000 to 8,000 feet along the crest of the Sierra. The snow could fall from northern California to as far south as Yosemite Valley, including the Tahoe Basin."
Tahoe will see drastic changes as climate warms. Here are the details
The Chronicle, KURTIS ALEXANDER: "The snow season at Lake Tahoe, which famously draws millions of skiers to the area’s powdery slopes each year, is likely to shrink by at least a month, and perhaps three months, by the end of the century, according to a recent report on the impacts of climate change on the region.
Temperatures around the lake, projected to rise as much as 9 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, will simply be too warm at the beginning and end of the traditional ski season for the snow to fall, the report says. What’s already on the ground will also melt more quickly.
California’s San Joaquin Valley is on the front line of climate change. How will it adapt?
LA Times, HAYLEY SMITH: "One March morning in the small Central Valley town of Woodlake, Joshua Diaz was getting out of bed when he noticed that his carpet was bubbling and that his tile floor had grown slick. He tried to open his front door but felt pressure and saw water slipping through its seams.
“There was more water outside than inside,” Diaz recalled. “We were surrounded.”"
Just seeing a sick person can trigger your immune system, California professor finds
OC Register, TERI SFORZA: "You’re in an elevator with someone sneezing and dripping and hacking and coughing. You back into a far corner, horror on your face and revulsion in your gut.
That’s normal!"
California colleges miss the deadline to offer student parents priority registration
CALMatters, ATMIKA IYER, BRIANA MENDEZ-PADILLA: "It was well past 8 a.m. by the time Elisa Arquieta finished dropping off her daughter at middle school and her younger two children at her university’s child care center. Only after dropping them off did she realize it was also well past the opening of fall class registration for her and the rest of her Cal State Long Beach classmates.
Arquieta eventually logged on to her student portal to find the final two classes required for her degree completely booked. As a fourth year student and with no other choice but to waitlist the courses, Arquieta became nervous, wondering how this would affect her graduation date."
Undocumented California families could have an easier time applying for college aid. Here’s how
Sacramento Bee, MATHEW MIRANDA: "The Free Application for Federal Student Aid is undergoing its most significant changes in nearly 30 years, and one of the new regulations will directly impact undocumented families.
College students must file the form, better known as FAFSA, each year to get financial aid from the federal government. Many states and universities also base their own assistance on the form."
Fresno teachers vote to strike; negotiations with district continue
EdSource, LASHERICA THORNTON: "Thousands of educators in Fresno Unified have voted to strike, the Fresno Teachers Association announced Tuesday morning.
From last Wednesday to Monday, more than 4,000 FTA members had the opportunity to cast their votes on whether to strike. Nearly 3,700 voted with 93.5%, or over 3,400 educators, voting yes."
UC Riverside’s new health center at forefront of national student wellness trend
EdSource, LARRY GORDON: "Anewly built $36 million student health clinic at UC Riverside aims to provide a wide array of medical and mental health services in an attractive building that showcases views of nearby mountains. The two-story Student Health and Counseling Center includes a food pantry, a pharmacy, an outdoor balcony for meditation and waiting rooms that look like hip hotel lobbies.
And beyond serving Riverside students, it may become a national model of how campuses are investing more resources to keep their students physically and emotionally well in the post-pandemic era, experts say."
How many people could live in Solano County’s new city? Here’s latest projection
The Chronicle, JK DINEEN: "In her weekly report to residents last week, Rio Vista City Manager Kristina Miller noted that she had met with planners from California Forever, the group of Silicon Valley investors proposing a new city in eastern Solano County.
Then she threw out a jarring bit of information."
Sacramento one of US cities that needs ‘most wealth to live comfortably,’ US News says
Sacramento Bee, BRIANNA TAYLOR: "It cost more to live in Sacramento than it does in Washington D.C., Portland or Denver, according to a new housing cost ranking.
U.S. News & World Report ranked Sacramento No. 15 out of 25 most expensive places to live in the nation behind San Jose, Seattle and New York City. The median home price in the capital city is $619,981 and the median monthly rent is $1,465."
A $7.5-million find: Overlooked Getty estate sale map turns out to be 14th century treasure
LA Times, HANNAH FRY: "Alex Clausen is a map dealer.
And although that designation may not, at first read, exude adventure and romance, Clausen really is a modern-day treasure hunter. He doesn’t sail the seas in search of sunken ships and pirate booty. But from his perch at Barry Lawrence Ruderman Antique Maps Inc. in La Jolla, he has made some impressive discoveries."
Oakland is counting on millions from the sale of the Raiders training facility — but no one wants it
BANG*Mercury News, SHOMIK MUKHERJEE: "The athletics compound that once served as the headquarters for multiple professional sports teams, including the Raiders, has been sitting empty for months, with no one willing to buy it.
That could spell trouble for Oakland, where officials are expecting the sale to yield millions of dollars by next year. The revenue would help patch up what city leaders calll the largest budget deficit in Oakland's history."
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "An investigation ordered by Gov. Gavin Newsom into the hotly contested death sentence of Kevin Cooper concluded in January that Cooper was clearly guilty of the 1983 murders of a married couple and two children in San Bernardino County. Now Cooper’s lawyers, in their own report to Newsom, say the investigation was a one-sided effort that ignored evidence of innocence and racism.
The study Newsom commissioned, labeled as a report from an independent counsel, was “riddled with confirmation bias and a steadfast commitment to ‘stick to the script’ the prosecution has been peddling for the last 40 years,” attorney Norman Hile and his colleagues said in a 77-page rebuttal they have sent to the governor."
Two state agencies ground Cruise driverless cars for public safety
CALMatters, LEVI SUMAGAYSAY: "Citing public safety concerns, two state agencies on Tuesday suspended driverless car company Cruise’s licenses to test and deploy its vehicles, and its ability to carry passengers, immediately grounding its fleet of about 150 robotaxis in San Francisco.
The Department of Motor Vehicles was the first to say it had immediately suspended the General Motors-owned company’s licenses to test and deploy its fully autonomous vehicles. In response to CalMatters’ request for comment on the DMV’s move, the California Public Utilities Commission said it has also suspended Cruise’s ability to carry passengers in driverless vehicles."
Inside the Cruise crash that got the robotaxis pulled from S.F. Was there a coverup?
The Chronicle, RICARDO CANO, ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH: "At roughly 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 2, a driver crossing Market Street in San Francisco struck a female pedestrian and then fled the scene. The force of the collision on Fifth Street hurled the victim into the path of a Cruise driverless taxi, which braked hard but ran the woman over. When emergency crews arrived, they found the woman still under the rear tires, forcing them to free her by using the “jaws of life” hydraulic rescue tool.
What the robotaxi did during those crucial seconds — and what the company did in the days afterward as it sought to respond to the accident — are now the subject of investigations by state and federal authorities that could represent a landmark moment for an emerging technology. "