California Assembly passes bill allowing Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes
LAT's JULIA WICK: "A bill that would allow Amsterdam-style cannabis cafes in California passed the state Assembly Monday afternoon on a 49-4 vote and is headed to the Senate. But even if the Legislature’s upper chamber approves AB 1775, legalization remains far from a sure thing.
Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed a prior iteration of the bill in October, citing the state’s long-standing smoke-free workplace protections."
What drives California’s budget decisions? A lot of politics, not as much data
CALMatters's SAMEEA KAMAL: "Frustration came through loud and clear as legislators hurled question after question at the head of the state’s homelessness interagency council: Why, after years of planning and billions of dollars invested, is there so little to show for the effort?
“You come into a budget committee and there’s no numbers,” Assemblymember Phil Ting, a San Francisco Democrat, said at the May 6 Assembly committee hearing. “Why is it taking so long?”"
Police Story: Brian Marvel of PORAC
Capitol Weekly's STAFF: "Crime has been a big issue in California in recent years, and we have seen a significant number of high profile bills dealing with issues like fentanyl, human trafficking and organized retail theft in recent years. While legislation out of Sacramento may help with some Public Safetly issues, recruitment and retention problems plague many Law enforcement agencies in the state. And, no wonder – despite competitive salaries and benefits, many officers still can’t afford to live in the communities they serve.
We’re joined today by Brian Marvel, President of the Police Officers Research Association of California, which represents about 80,000 public safety personnel in this state – PORAC is the largest law enforcement organization in the state and the largest statewide association in the country. Marvel has been wearing a badge for a quarter century and spoke with us about what’s changed during his time in uniform, PORAC’s goals for diversifying departments and what legislation he and his organization are watching this year."
Cal Chamber’s job killer list shrinks, but does its influence?
Capitol Weekly's RICH EHISEN: "When the California Chamber of Commerce added Sen. Steve Glazer’s SB 1327 – a proposal to tax revenue from the sale of digital advertising as a way to help fund local newsrooms – to its annual list of “Job Killer” bills on May 7th, the measure became only the 14th this year to receive the designation.
If that number doesn’t change, it would mark the fewest number of bills to receive the moniker since 2001, when only 12 bills were on the list. Even that was a significant increase over the previous year, when the chamber did not find cause to label any bill a job killer, the only time that has happened since the list was instituted in 1997."
Super PAC funded by Michael Bloomberg helped pay for Congressional District 16 recount
BANG*Mercury News's GRACE HASE: "A Super PAC funded mainly by ex-New York City mayor and billionaire philanthropist Michael Bloomberg transferred more than $100,000 to a Super PAC that funded the astounding Congressional District 16 race, new campaign finance filings show.
The two-and-a-half-week voter-requested recount in the race to replace U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo kicked off on April 15. The recount of more than 182,000 votes broke a tie between Assemblymember Evan Low and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, sending Low into the general election to face former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo."
At GOP convention, ex-Trump lawyer says battle to keep California legal license cost $750k
Sacramento Bee's NICOLE NIXON: "John C. Eastman, an ex-attorney for former President Donald Trump, told Republicans at last weekend’s state GOP convention that his legal bills for a fight with the California State Bar have so far cost $750,000.
The prominent conservative lawyer could lose his license to practice in California after a judge recommended he be disbarred for “exceptionally serious ethical violations” stemming from his alleged role in advising Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence about strategies to overturn the 2020 presidential election."
California’s General Sherman, the world’s largest tree, may be at risk
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "California wildfires aren’t the only thing killing the state’s majestic giant sequoia trees. So is a little-known bark beetle.
Researchers in the Sierra Nevada, the only place where the giant sequoia naturally grows, have found several of the world’s largest trees unexpectedly infested with beetles, some dying from the attacks."
New ‘verdict’ is in: 1935 Lindbergh kidnapping trial may have railroaded the wrong guy
The Chronicle's KEVIN FAGAN: "Bruno Hauptmann got a new day in court Monday, nearly a century after he was convicted of kidnapping and killing aviation hero Charles Lindbergh’s baby, and the verdict was overwhelming: The guy got a raw deal when he died in the electric chair in 1936 at age 36, and the state of New Jersey should reopen the case to see about posthumously exonerating him.
That was the 38 to 5 vote after a two-hour mock trial in Marin County Superior Court in San Rafael, and the no votes were tepid at best because nobody was arguing after the hearing was over. Which is saying a lot, considering the “jurors” were all lawyers, judges and academic or legal folks with similarly strong opinions."
California lawmakers move to delay new health care worker minimum wage as budget deficit looms
Sacramento Bee's LINDSEY HOLDEN: "California lawmakers may delay for a month a planned wage hike for health care workers as negotiations continue over how to implement the new minimum wage law at a time when lawmakers are struggling to deal with a big budget deficit.
Lawmakers on Monday moved to gut the language in Senate Bill 828 and replace it with an urgency bill that will push the date for the first in a series of pay increases from June 1 to July 1. Urgency bills take effect immediately after Gov. Gavin Newsom signs them."
UC academic workers’ strike begins as pro-Palestinian activism enters new phase
LAT's JESSICA GARRISON, JAWEED KALEEM and HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS: "Hundreds of academic workers at UC Santa Cruz became the first to walk off their jobs Monday, a rolling strike that immediately disrupted university operations as picketing union members forced classes online and restricted access to campus.
United Auto Workers Local 4811, the largest union in the UC system, represents 48,000 graduate student teaching assistants, tutors, researchers and other academic workers. Members voted to strike last week over alleged free speech violations and how the system leaders have cracked down on pro-Palestinian protests throughout campuses."
READ MORE -- Pro-Palestinian protesters move UC Santa Cruz encampment, join striking workers -- LAT's SALVADOR HERNANDEZ, JESSICA GARRISON
Why UC grad students are going out on strike
CALMatters's MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: "More than 1,500 graduate students, teaching assistants and researchers are expected to walk off the job at UC Santa Cruz today, launching the first labor strike over the University of California’s response to pro-Palestinian protests in the past month.
Workers will picket from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the two main roads leading into campus, disrupting package deliveries and transit into the university that’s become a hotbed for labor activity in the past few years."
Here’s how much you have to earn in California to qualify as middle class, new study says
Sacramento Bee's BRIANNA TAYLOR: "The household income required to be considered middle class in the United States varies depending on where you live. In California, the price is high.
As of 2022, middle-class household income ranged between $61,270 and $183,810 in the Golden State, according to a recent analysis from personal finance site GoBankingRates."
How one Safeway controversy kicked off the spread of gas station bans around the Bay Area
BANG*Mercury News's SIERRA LOPEZ: "When Pinole made news last month for being the first East Bay city to ban new gas stations, the small community of 18,000 was tapping into a trend that has been spreading through the Bay Area for the last three years.
It all started when Petaluma became the first city in the country to ban new gas stations in 2021. But the activists who originally launched that first effort had no idea it would turn into a movement — in fact, JoAnn McEachin, a Petaluma resident who helped start the group NoGasHere a decade ago, says she had no intention of becoming an activist at the time, and she wasn’t even opposed to new gas stations in general."
Potential tough-on-crime ballot measure promises less homelessness. Experts aren’t convinced
CALMatters's MARISA KENDALL, YUE STELLA YU: "Homelessness gets top billing in a measure likely to make it onto your November ballot. Whether the measure has anything to do with homelessness is debatable.
The initiative proponents are calling the “Homelessness, Drug Addiction, and Theft Reduction Act” would increase penalties for some drug and theft crimes, by rolling back Proposition 47 — the criminal justice changes California voters passed a decade ago. It also would force some people arrested three or more times for drug crimes into treatment."
Oakland rent prices see steep declines, driven by this neighborhood
The Chronicle's CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "All you had to do to save $400 a month on a downtown Oakland apartment was wait.
Early in the pandemic, the Uptown — a 665-unit apartment complex a block from Oakland’s 19th Street BART station — offered a one-bedroom, 650-square-foot rental for $2,310 a month, according to a June 27, 2020, capture of the apartment’s website from the Internet Archive."
San Francisco is getting speed enforcement cameras. Here’s how they’ll work
The Chronicle's ALDO TOLEDO: "Scofflaw drivers in San Francisco will soon get speeding tickets from enforcement cameras set to be installed this year across high-risk corridors.
At least 33 cameras will automatically catch and ticket speeding drivers by the end of 2024. Speed enforcement cameras were not permitted in California, but Gov. Gavin Newsom signed traffic safety legislation in October to allow them as a pilot project in five cities, including San Francisco and Oakland."