Biden drops out, endorses Kamala Harris as Democratic presidential nominee
LAT's FAITH E. PINHO: "President Biden withdrew from the presidential race Sunday and threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s new standard-bearer, a decision Democrats hailed as the act of a patriot who put his country over his self-interest.
Biden’s announcement ends weeks of hand-wringing among party leaders who urged him to leave the race after a disastrous debate performance last month left many Democrats fearing he was too old for office and unable to defeat former President Trump."
READ MORE -- Biden endorses Kamala Harris: What her California years reveal -- CALMatters's BEN CHRISTOPHER; Kamala Harris on phone with Biden, 100 other Democrats as she makes her case to be nominee -- LAT's SEEMA MEHTA; Kamala Harris’ potential challengers fall in line, clearing way to Democratic nomination -- Sacramento Bee's MICHAEL WILNER, DAVID LIGHTMAN; California Democratic delegates, with more sway in wild election, rally behind Harris -- CALMatters's ALEXEI KOSEFF, JEANNE KUANG; California Gov. Gavin Newsom endorses Kamala Harris for president after Joe Biden drops out -- Sacramento Bee's NICOLE NIXON; Why Nancy Pelosi was key to nudging Biden out: ‘For her, it’s all about winning’ -- CALMatters's BEN CHRISTOPHER
Who could replace Harris as the next vice presidential candidate? Meet her potential choices
LAT's JAMES RAINEY: "If she becomes the Democratic presidential nominee, as many people expect, Vice President Kamala Harris will have a wide variety of potential running mates, many from battleground states crucial to both parties in the 2024 presidential race.
Conventional wisdom suggests the choice of a swing state candidate would be wise, but such a pick is no guarantee the Democrats would carry the state. That thought could open the door to other politicians who have simply shown an ability to appeal to voters across the country’s sharp ideological divide."
READ MORE -- Here’s who Kamala Harris might tap as VP if she wins the Democratic nomination -- The Chronicle's SOPHIA BOLLAG, JOE GAROFOLI; A Harris-Newsom presidential ticket? There’s one big legal hurdle: The 12th Amendment -- Sacramento Bee's NICOLE NIXON
What does Kamala Harris’ record show? From California prosecutor to the vice president
Sacramento Bee's GILLIAN BRASSIL: "Vice President Kamala Harris’ political record — and how Republicans will use it against her — is center stage now that she’s the expected front-runner to top the 2024 Democratic ticket.
President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he would drop out of the presidential contest. He then endorsed Harris to be the Democratic nominee in a post on X."
READ MORE -- Prosecutor to presidential hopeful: The rise of Kamala Harris -- LAT's MARIA L. LA GANGA, HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS
‘Going to have to pray’: Bay Area voters hopeful, concerned over Harris endorsement by Biden
The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY, JESSICA FLORES, DAVID HERNANDEZ, NORA MISHANEC: "After President Joe Biden’s announcements Sunday that he will not seek reelection and has endorsed his vice president as the Democratic nominee, many Bay Area politicians within hours joined the president in throwing their support behind Oakland-born Kamala Harris. The reaction from potential voters in the deep-blue Bay Area, however, was more mixed.
While some residents said they support Harris and were optimistic about her chances of beating former President Donald Trump, others said they feared Harris — who easily ascended through local and state offices — won’t be able mount enough support of a nation far less enthused about California’s brand of politics. Harris was one of the first candidates to drop out of the 2020 presidential bid, though Biden later named her as his running mate."
Mayor Breed voices support for Harris’ candidacy at Embarcadero Plaza dance party
The Chronicle's LINDA LIU: "Less than four hours after President Joe Biden announced that he would withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, thousands of people — including San Francisco Mayor London Breed — came together at a public dance party on Embarcadero Plaza.
Back to Baysics, an EDM event on Sunday, July 21, put forth by Another Planet Entertainment in collaboration with independent house and techno label Dirtybird Records, brought together as many as 12,000 attendees. It was the latest in a series of free outdoor concerts in downtown plazas brought by the Outside Lands producer as part of Breed’s “Roadmap to Downtown San Francisco’s Future” plan."
S.F. mayor’s race: Mark Farrell picks up support from another big-money moderate group
The Chronicle's J.D. MORRIS: "The political fight for key endorsements in the San Francisco mayor’s race is heating up as another well-funded moderate group officially backed Mark Farrell’s campaign and the city’s largest-public sector union came out in favor of Aaron Peskin.
TogetherSF Action, a relatively new advocacy organization linked to billionaire venture capitalist Michael Moritz, announced Monday that it’s supporting Farrell, a former supervisor and interim mayor, as its No. 1 choice over incumbent London Breed and three other challengers."
LAT's LAURA J. NELSON: "Since Congress brought back the legislative process known as earmarking in 2022, few lawmakers have been as successful at securing funds for their district as Rep. Ken Calvert.
Calvert, who has been in Congress longer than any other California Republican, has funneled more than $100 million since then into projects in his Riverside County district."
After Bee report, Sacramento council set to change how it discusses raises for city manager
Sacramento Bee's THERESA CLIFT: "After The Sacramento Bee reported the city of Sacramento may have been violating state law by discussing raises for its city manager in private, the council is set to update its rules.
The update, which the council will consider Tuesday, will clarify that the city’s Human Relations employees are to negotiate raises with City Manager Howard Chan, then bring them to the council to discuss and vote on in public."
Democrats run the California Capitol. When the party backs a bill, lawmakers pay attention
CALMatters's RYAN SABALOW: "The California Democratic Party is a multimillion dollar powerhouse whose endorsements and campaign cash can make or break a politician’s aspirations for state or federal office.
The party, as it turns out, also regularly throws its weight around on individual pieces of legislation in the California Capitol, where Democrats hold supermajorities in both chambers."
The Micheli Minute for July 22, 2024
Capitol Weekly's TIM FOSTER: "Lobbyist and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome."
Californians’ water usage is down 9% and other takeaways from The Times’ updated water tracker
LAT's SEAN GREENE: "California residents are using about 8 fewer gallons of water per day than they did during the last drought emergency, according to newly released state data.
Between April 2023 and last April, urban water users consumed an average of 77 gallons per person per day. That comes out to a 9% decrease since the drought emergency ended in March 2023. This period includes the effects of two consecutive wet winters, the first of which relieved the years-long historic drought that had gripped the western United States since 2021."
It’s a ‘big year for wasps’ in California. Here’s why and how to avoid getting stung
Sacramento Bee's BRIANNA TAYLOR: "As high temperatures persist across parts of California, you may have noticed an uptick of stinging insects zipping around your property.
Wasp season is typically between March and November but the bugs are especially active now after a mild winter and spring."
Broken trust: Cal State is mending how it handles sexual discrimination cases
CALMatters's ELIZABETH WILSON: "Months-long delays. Lack of trust. Failure. These are just a few ways in which investigators a year ago described the inadequate responses to sexual assault and discrimination across the 23-campus California State University system.
Now, the system says it is meeting this month’s deadline for implementing 12 fixes for problems reported in a July 2023 state audit and a law firm review of how its universities have mishandled cases reported under Title IX, the federal prohibition against discrimination on the basis of sex. Cal State spokesperson Amy Bentley-Smith says the university system is on track to meet all 16 fixes outlined in the audit by July 2026. Lawmakers are not taking the system at its word, however. Last week Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill requiring Cal State to implement the state auditor’s recommendations and provide the Legislature a progress report by next summer."
Square footage in this Silicon Valley city is the most expensive in the U.S.
The Chronicle's CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "In the Bay Area, living space comes at a premium. The high cost of housing means that buyers can pay hundreds of dollars for every square feet of a home.
But in few places anywhere in the United States does square footage cost as much as in Palo Alto. The median price for a square foot of a for-sale home was $1,761 in May 2024, the highest of any U.S. city with at least 50 home sales that month, data from real estate brokerage Redfin shows."
Oakland FBI raids: All of the Duongs’ legal campaign finance contributions
The Chronicle's LYDIA SIDHOM, CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "In the weeks following an FBI raid on the home of Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, the Duong family has emerged at the center of the federal probe. The Duong’s family business, California Waste Solutions, is the city’s recycling services provider.
The Duongs — including California Waste Solutions CEO David Duong, CFO Kristina Duong and Vice President Victor Duong — have donated millions of dollars to local, state and federal candidates over the past two decades. The bulk of those funds have gone to federal campaigns, but they’ve also given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Bay Area candidates, according to a Chronicle analysis of campaign donation data."
One S.F. police officer made $456,000 in overtime alone amid a record overtime year
The Chronicle's DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "As a sergeant at the San Francisco Police Department, Dennis Lai makes just under $180,000 a year, a salary comfortably above the city’s median income for a family of four. But that’s only a quarter of what he actually earned last fiscal year.
Lai boosted his salary by earning more than $450,000 in overtime pay. That’s the most overtime earned by a city employee since at least 2013, a Chronicle analysis of data from the San Francisco Controller’s Office found."