The Supreme Court rejects a nationwide opioid settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma
AP's MARK SHERMAN: "The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a nationwide settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma that would have shielded members of the Sackler family who own the company from civil lawsuits over the toll of opioids but also would have provided billions of dollars to combat the opioid epidemic.
After deliberating more than six months, the justices in a 5-4 vote blocked an agreement hammered out with state and local governments and victims. The Sacklers would have contributed up to $6 billion and given up ownership of the company but retained billions more. The agreement provided that the company would emerge from bankruptcy as a different entity, with its profits used for treatment and prevention."
READ MORE -- Supreme Court upsets $10 billion opioid settlement because it shields the Sacklers -- LAT's DAVID G. SAVAGE; Supreme Court rejects Idaho’s appeal -- for now --- to ban abortions in medical emergencies -- LAT's DAVID G. SAVAGE; Supreme Court blocks EPA rule to limit air pollution from Midwest states -- LAT's DAVID G. SAVAGE
Newsom announces deals to keep two measures off November ballot
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "Gov. Gavin Newsom announced tentative agreements Tuesday to keep two more initiatives off the November state ballot, both related to health care. He said state legislation could accomplish the same goals with different sources of funding.
One measure would have established a new state agency, the California Institute for Pandemic Prevention, to oversee research into detection and prevention of future outbreaks of diseases, with additional funding for public health programs and improvements in school facilities to limit transmission of diseases."
California oil industry drops high-profile ballot challenge to drilling ban near homes, schools
Sacramento Bee's ARI PLACHTA: "A California oil industry group said Wednesday it would withdraw an initiative from the November ballot challenging a state law that bans drilling within 3,200 feet from homes, schools and businesses.
Instead, the group said it would challenge the law in court."
Bill banning parent notification policies in California schools gains momentum amid protest
Sacramento Bee's JENAVIEVE HATCH: "After two hours of protest and emotional testimony Wednesday afternoon, the Assembly Committee on Education approved a bill that would prevent California school boards from passing parental notification policies that require school staff to “out” trans students to their parents if the student requests to use different pronouns or go by a different name.
Assembly Bill 1955, sponsored by Assemblyman Chris Ward, D-San Diego, passed the Senate earlier this month, and received support from education committee chair Al Muratsuchi, D-Torrance, and the committee’s other Democratic members. Muratsuchi is a co-sponsor of the bill. The bill will now head back to the Assembly and, if it passes, to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk."
California is ignoring a key solution to soaring rates and blackouts (OP-ED)
EDSON PEREZ in Capitol Weekly: "Imagine having a fully stocked modern toolkit in your garage but opting to pay extra for rusty, outdated tools for home repairs. That’s what’s happening in California’s power system. Despite skyrocketing electricity costs, the state is paying for outdated, expensive, and inefficient fossil gas power plants (also known as “peaker” plants) to provide power on hot days, instead of paying everyday Californians to take advantage of the smart clean energy technologies already in many of our homes.
Much of the energy bills Californians pay go toward peaker plants, which run only during high-energy demand periods and sit idle most of the time. The state has committed $1.2 billion from 2024 through 2026 just to keep these peaker plants on standby."
Doxxing victims in California may gain right to sue to ‘bring some power back’
CALMatters's JENNA PETERSON: "When Kathie Moehlig’s personal information was leaked online five years ago, she didn’t believe she had enough options to fight back.
“There was no recourse that I had to be able to go and have this individual held accountable for the risk at which they put myself and my family,” said the founder of TransFamily Support Services."
A ‘lifeline’ for California’s rural schools is about to expire. Why is it stalled in Congress?
CALMatters's CAROLYN JONES: "Rural schools in California already struggle with declining enrollment, staffing shortages and wildfires. Now they’re facing the possible loss of money they’ve relied on for more than a century.
The Secure Rural Schools program, which brings extra money to counties with large swaths of untaxable public land, faces an uncertain future in Congress as it awaits renewal. Despite bipartisan support, the program has yet to pass on its own or as part a larger funding bill. If it doesn’t pass, it will expire."
Retiring UC Berkeley chancellor sounds off on protests, enrollment, housing
LAT's TERESA WATANABE: "UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ took the helm seven years ago, amid roiling discontent over free speech conflicts, financial woes, sexual assault scandals and a leadership crisis under her predecessor.
During her tenure, the crises never seemed to let up. The pandemic hit. Another budget shortfall opened. Opposition exploded over her housing plan at People’s Park. Ever-increasing enrollment strained the campus. Pro-Palestinian protests tore the community apart."
Los Angeles Unified safety concerns are growing. Here’s what board members have to say.
EdSource's MALLIKA SESHADRI: "Members of the Los Angeles Unified School District school board continued to discuss student safety Tuesday — and are still a ways away from determining whether to revamp its police presence on individual campuses.
A safety task force — which previously recommended each campus choose whether to have police stationed at their site — made a presentation to the board regarding the district’s approach to student safety, including community-based safety methods such as restorative justice. It will continue to meet in the coming school year."
S.F. police test first-ever device to detect fentanyl in saliva during public intoxication arrests
CALMatters's MEGAN CASSIDY: "A first-of-its-kind device that can detect fentanyl and other drugs on the spot will soon be used to assist in San Francisco’s public intoxication arrests, the latest addition to what has been a yearlong, multiagency crackdown on the city’s open-air drug markets.
The Dräger DrugTest 5000, a system that tests saliva samples for drugs like amphetamines, cocaine and opiates, has for years been marketed to law enforcement as a roadside tool in DUI investigations.?
Charts show most detailed data on how California’s population is changing by county
The Chronicle's NAMI SUMIIDA: "San Francisco’s young population has plummeted since the start of the pandemic, with no other California county seeing such a large decline, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census.
The data shows the population of San Franciscans under 30 decreased by 18% from April 2020 to June 2023, with the largest declines among 0-to-4 year-olds (-15%) and those ages 25 to 34 (-20%)."
With false promises, Florida sent migrants to Sacramento a year ago. Where are they now?
Sacramento Bee's MATHEW MIRANDA: "On a recent sweltering June afternoon, Jorge Gil Laguna smiled as he walked into his shoddy motel to greet Olglaivis Barrios.
Markers of their last year in Sacramento surround the young Venezuelan couple. Heaps of donated clothes, shoes and purses in the corners. Barrios’ laptop, gifted to her last July, lay on the small dining room table. And a framed photo of a classic blue car, given to Laguna by a former employer, hung on the wall."
Bay Area will decide California’s biggest housing bond ever
CALMatters's BEN CHRISTOPHER: "The largest affordable housing bond in California history is officially headed to the November ballot — just not for all Californians.
On Wednesday, commissioners of the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority — a first-of-its-kind regional agency with the ability to borrow and spend taxpayer dollars — agreed to ask voters across the nine counties of the Bay Area to approve an IOU of up to $20 billion dollars. The bulk of the funds would go toward the construction of new subsidized housing projects, with the rest to be spent buying up existing units (to make or keep them affordable) and on housing-related infrastructure."
Downtown S.F. has 12 thriving colleges hiding in plain sight. Here’s how they’re helping the city
The Chronicle's NANETTE ASIMOV: "Colleges loom large in the renaissance dreams for San Francisco’s struggling urban core.
A Chinese university blossoming in downtown San Francisco. University of California students flocking into the Financial District. Hundreds of people studying at a historically Black college satellite campus in the Market Street mall abandoned by Nordstorm."
L.A. County juvenile halls are so violent that many officers are skipping work
LAT's REBECCA ELLIS: "On the night that a young person stole a key, scaled a wall and briefly escaped, 100 probation officers were scheduled to work at Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall.
About 60 of them never showed up.
Even after two dozen additional officers arrived, the staffing remained “dangerously low,” enabling the chaotic escape on Nov. 4, according to a report by the Los Angeles County inspector general’s office."