Prosecutors will make history with opening statements in Trump’s hush money criminal case
AP: "For the first time in history, prosecutors will present a criminal case against a former American president to a jury Monday as they accuse Donald Trump of a hush money scheme aimed at preventing damaging stories about his personal life from becoming public.
A 12-person jury in Manhattan is set to hear opening statements from prosecutors and defense lawyers in the first of four criminal cases against the presumptive Republican presidential nominee to reach trial."
Why haven’t blue states rushed to join Gov. Newsom’s call for constitutional amendment on guns?
BANG*Mercury News's JOHN WOOLFOLK: "Recent ads from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s political action committee continue to push his effort to shake up the national gun debate with a constitutional amendment that would nationalize key California firearm restrictions.
“If Congress and the courts will not take action to help make our communities safer from gun violence, then we — the people — must do it ourselves,” say the ads on social media from Newsom’s Campaign for Democracy."
How a California Senate bill could stifle the state’s legacy of climate ambition
Capitol Weekly's WILL TURNER: "Earlier this month, the California Senate Judiciary Committee advanced Senate Bill 1036, a bill that would cause far-reaching damage to the ability of California – and the world – to fight the climate crisis.
Carbon credits are financial instruments that fund projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions to compensate for emissions that are difficult to reduce elsewhere, thereby helping mitigate climate change. They are particularly valuable in their nearly unique ability to direct private financing to crucial projects like forest protection and reforestation in the developing world. Many of these carbon projects support Indigenous peoples and local communities, recognizing their vital role in preserving and restoring critical ecosystems."
Mayor Breed returns from China touting pandas and potential for more Chinese tourism in S.F.
The Chronicle's DAVID HERNANDEZ: "Mayor London Breed returned to San Francisco on Sunday after a weeklong trip to China, declaring the excursion a success after China agreed to send pandas to the San Francisco Zoo — Breed said she anticipates two will be coming to the city.
“What we set out to accomplish on this trip, I think we did that,” Breed told reporters at San Francisco International Airport, where she arrived with a stuffed panda bear on top of her luggage."
A chat with poverty fighter Jess Bartholow
Capitol Weekly's STAFF: "Longtime poverty fighter Jess Bartholow surprised many when she left her longtime gig with the Western Center on Law and Poverty in 2020 to become East Bay Senator Nancy Skinner’s Chief of Staff. The move made sense: Skinner has long been an outspoken advocate for California’s poor, and was a personal inspiration for Bartholow. But with the senator terming out at the end of this year, Bartholow recently opted for a new post: Director of Govt. Relations for SEIU California, one of the most powerful labor unions in the state and across the country. Bartholow joined us to talk about her journey from a childhood in poverty to the capitol, and gave us a preview of how she plans to tackle her new role."
The San Francisco Influence List: People who are directing the city’s future
The Chronicle's STAFF: "Since the pandemic, San Francisco has been thrust into the global spotlight for its myriad problems: homelessness, the fentanyl epidemic, the affordability crisis and the potential for an economic “doom loop.” These challenges have forced a place known for historic cataclysms and rebirths into one of its most difficult transformations.
The election in November comes at a critical time: Residents are eager for solutions, and the decisions being made have the potential to dramatically alter what it’s like to live in San Francisco. It’s important that you, our readers, understand how things grow from idea to reality, so we are identifying the people directing that process. You might or might not like what they’re doing, but you should know who they are."
The Micheli Minute, April 22, 2024
Capitol Weekly's CHRIS MICHELI: "Lobbyist and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome."
Migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard can sue plane company. What that means for Sacramento
Sacramento Bee's MATHEW MIRANDA: "A first-in-the-nation court ruling may have particular importance in the capital region for a group of 36 migrants who arrived in Sacramento nearly a year ago.
A federal judge in Boston ruled earlier this month migrants flown to Martha’s Vineyard almost two years ago can move forward with a lawsuit against the private plane company that transported them. The ruling determined the migrants sufficiently alleged multiple claims including “false imprisonment,” “emotional distress” and “civil rights conspiracy.”"
UC admissions: Here’s how many students got off UCLA, Berkeley and other wait lists last year
The Chronicle's DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "Spend some time with Bay Area high school seniors this spring, and it won’t be long before the talk turns to college admissions: where they did or didn’t get into, where they’re planning to go in the fall and, for many of them, the waiting list.
During every admissions cycle, tens of thousands of students land on the waiting lists for schools in the state’s prestigious University of California system — and new data for the 2023-24 school year helps show why the outcome can be such an unpredictable nail-biter for freshman hopefuls."
Mayor Bass’ ambitious housing program calls on L.A.’s wealthy. Can she pull it off?
LAT's DAKOTA SMITH: "Los Angeles has always been a city of extremes, but the homelessness crisis is exposing the divide between rich and poor in startling ways.
A-listers in designer gowns and million-dollar jewels parade down the red carpet, blocks from tents where people live in unsanitary conditions. Private jets take off at Van Nuys Airport, soaring over streets lined with RVs and crowded apartment complexes."
Elon Musk and Tesla: Is the CEO’s controversial behavior responsible for company’s struggles?
BANG*Mercury News's ETHAN BARON: "The richest man in the world says and does what he wants. And often, it’s contentious and provocative.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk has attacked U.S. election integrity, embraced White-supremacist propaganda and accused President Joe Biden of treason. He even smoked pot on Joe Rogan’s provocative podcast."
California spends billions on homelessness without knowing the results. A bill could change that
Sacramento Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "AFTER HOMELESS AUDIT, A BILL TO BRING TRANSPARENCY TO SPENDING
Weeks after the California State Auditor released a report critical of the California Interagency Council on Homelessness for failing to track billions in state spending, one of the lawmakers behind that audit — Assemblyman Josh Hoover, R-Folsom — has introduced a bill that would require the Cal ICH to begin doing so by no later than next year."
S.F. prioritized building homes for the ‘missing middle.’ 80% of units sit empty
The Chronicle's JK DINEEN: "For years, San Francisco politicians and housing advocates have fought for the creation of “missing middle” housing for workers with incomes high enough to be middle class in most markets, but who are often priced out of the famously expensive city.
But developers who have recently built apartments aimed at moderate-income families in San Francisco have discovered a harsh reality: The missing middle seems to have gone missing."
He swore to fix some of California’s deadliest jails. He gave up.
CALMatters's NIGEL DUARA: "Four years ago, Paul Parker set out to fix some of California’s deadliest jails. San Diego County was paying out millions of dollars to families whose relatives died in jail, two jail medical staffers were facing criminal charges, and the sheriff in charge insisted nothing needed to change.
Everyone said the right things when Parker was appointed to take charge of the county Civilian Law Enforcement Review Board. He said he was excited. The review board’s chair welcomed his arrival. The board, formed in 1990, had just been given a bigger mandate and more power to investigate in-custody deaths at San Diego County jails."