Pay raise

As many capitol denizen know, California law requires campaigns to report late contributions using the Form 497. And even a casual spin through campaign finance disclosures on the Secretary of State’s website Cal-Access shows that the vast majority of campaigns are diligent about reporting numerous details about the contributions they receive, including the donor’s name, occupation and employer, city and state of residence, and the amount and date of the contribution."

Senate committee goes to the dogs…and cats

Capitol Weekly's RICH EHISEN: "A trio of bills aimed at improving care for animals at shelters cleared the Senate Committee on Business, Professions and Economic Development on Monday.

The trio of bills collectively aim at reducing shelter overcrowding and improving record keeping around animal care while requiring more shelters to publicly report data on a variety of care issues, including the number of animals euthanized."

He owes thousands in taxes. He’s got a controversial past. Why is Steve Garvey running for Senate?

Sacramento Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN: "To understand why Steve Garvey suddenly emerged as a political force and became the quixotic Republican hope for a U.S. Senate seat in Democratic California, just ask Tony Strickland.

Now a Huntington Beach City Council member, Strickland had a Steve Garvey poster in his room at the age of just 4 back in the 1970s, when Garvey was an all-star first baseman for the Los Angeles Dodgers."

Judge rejects changing the name of California’s trans youth ballot measure

CALMatters's CAROLYN JONES: "A group working on a fall ballot initiative that would limit the rights of transgender students lost a round in court Monday when a judge sided with the state in its description of the measure.

Sacramento County Superior Court Judge Stephen Acquisto ruled that Attorney General Rob Bonta’s title, “Restricts Rights of Transgender Youth,” is a fair description of the initiative, which would require schools to notify parents if a student identifies as transgender, ban gender-affirming care for those under 18 and place other limits on students who identify as a gender other than what they were assigned at birth."

Steelhead trout, once thriving in Southern California, are declared endangered

LAT's IAN JAMES"Southern California’s rivers and creeks once teemed with large, silvery fish that arrived from the ocean and swam upstream to spawn. But today, these fish are seldom seen.

Southern California steelhead trout have been pushed to the brink of extinction as their river habitats have been altered by development and fragmented by barriers and dams."

In Grants Pass, Justice Sotomayor sliced through the spin 

LAT's ANITA CHABRIA: "Hello and happy Tuesday. There are 195 days until the election and we’re in the Supreme Court today, where SMS showed up like the new RBG.

That’s Sonia Maria Sotomayor, first Hispanic justice on the court and a lady you don’t want to mess with, as the lawyer for Grants Pass found out (the justices on Monday heard oral arguments in City of Grants Pass, Ore., vs. Gloria Johnson)."

Bass budget would reduce homelessness funding, scale back LAPD hiring goal

LAT's DAVID ZAHNISER, DAKOTA SMITH: "Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass proposed a $12.8 billion budget on Monday that would reduce spending on homelessness initiatives, scale back an effort to hire more police officers and eliminate more than 2,100 vacant positions.

The mayor’s team said her proposed budget for 2024-25 would provide about $950 million to address homelessness, down from the nearly $1.3 billion approved for the current fiscal year. Her spending plan includes $185 million for Inside Safe, Bass’ signature program to move unhoused Angelenos into hotels, motels and permanent housing, down from the $250 million approved for this year."

How L.A. County is trying to remake addiction treatment — no more ‘business as usual’

LAT's EMILY ALPERT REYES: "Gary Horejsi wrestled with the decision before him, knowing a life could be in his hands.

It was the third time that the woman had used drugs or alcohol since coming to CRI-Help, which runs a 135-bed residential facility in North Hollywood where people are treated for substance use disorder."

The Cal Grant expansion for California college students is in jeopardy as the state deficit grows

CALMatters's MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: "When California’s budget surplus was in the tens of billions two years ago, legislators passed a law that would expand the state’s nationally renowned free-tuition and cash aid program to an additional 137,000 college students by fall 2024 — but only if the money is there.

Whether the Cal Grant tuition program grows will play out in the next two months, as state legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom grapple with a budget deficit now estimated at between $38 billion and $73 billion, depending on whom you ask."

S.F.’s war on drugs and stolen goods in the Tenderloin opens new front: corner stores

The Chronicle's MAGGIE ANGST: "Outside of Walid and Ray Algahim’s corner store at McAllister and Seventh streets, more than 100 people gather nightly. They pack the sidewalks on the backside of Civic Center Plaza hawking stolen goods, dealing and using illicit drugs, talking with friends and blaring music.

Throughout the night, people from the crowd cycle in and out of Plaza Snacks and Deli buying chips, soda and coffee as well as glass smoking pipes and lighters, though the store’s top-selling products, according to Walid, are milk and cereal."

San Francisco’s post-pandemic downturn threatens city’s historically strong credit rating 

The Chronicle's LAURA WAXMANN: "Weakness in San Francisco’s commercial real estate market and the slow-moving recovery of economic drivers such as tourism stand to jeopardize the city’s ability to repay its debt, according to S&P Global Ratings.

The financial services firm this week downgraded its outlook on the city’s outstanding general obligation and appropriation debt from “stable” to “negative.” The move comes as office vacancy in San Francisco hit a record 36.6% in the first quarter of the year, exasperating the city’s fiscal challenges in the wake of the pandemic."

Could the Supreme Court make it easier for Bay Area cities and beyond to clear homeless camps?

BANG*Mercury News, ETHAN VARIAN: "Against the backdrop of growing public frustration over a deepening homelessness crisis, the U.S. Supreme Court could soon make it easier for cities in the Bay Area and across the West to clear homeless encampments — even when beds aren’t available in shelters.

Since 2018, federal court rulings have prevented local governments in nine states from arresting or fining people for living on the street if they have nowhere else to go. As a result, when officials move to shut down encampments on public property, they are generally expected to offer shelter or housing. But few cities have the resources to move all their unhoused residents indoors."

A Waymo robotaxi drove on wrong side of a S.F. street. The company says it was to ensure ‘safety’

The Chronicle's RICARDO CANO: "Cyclists captured a Waymo robotaxi driving in an opposite travel lane against oncoming traffic for nearly two blocks in downtown San Francisco — a maneuver the company says the driverless vehicle took to avoid a potential collision.

Footage of the incident, which happened about 9:30 p.m. Friday near Mission and First streets in SoMa, was posted on Reddit over the weekend."

High-speed rail from Nevada to California breaks ground for planned 2028 opening

UPI, CHRIS BENSON: "The Transportation Secretary on Monday was on hand to break ground with other officials on what will be America’s next high-speed railway.

“I’m convinced that the first time Americans actually experience American high-speed rail on U.S. soil, there’s going to be no going back and people are going to expect and demand it all across the country,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNBC Monday."