California’s scorcher: ‘Heat dome’ brings broiling conditions. But a few areas will be spared
LAT's GRACE TOOHEY: "After months of below-average temperatures and weeks of unseasonably wet weather, California’s first heat wave of the year is marking an abrupt transition into summery heat, with record-breaking, triple-digit temperatures expected this week.
The next few days — particularly Wednesday and Thursday — could offer a preview for the summer season, which is expected to bring higher temperatures than typical across the state’s interior — creating potentially dangerous conditions for both human health and wildfire management."
READ MORE -- California's heat wave is about to peak. Which areas will see record temps? -- Chronicle's GREG PORTER
California’s largest reservoir project in decades clears environmental court challenge
Sacramento Bee's ARI PLACHTA: "California is one step closer to building its largest water storage facility in nearly 50 years, after a court ruled in favor of the Sites Reservoir project following a challenge by environmental groups.
The Yolo County Superior Court issued the 65 page ruling late last week, marking a possible end to the project’s environmental litigation. The relatively quick ruling stands in contrast to a typical, multi-year litigation period under the Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)."
California made it easier to vote, but some with disabilities still face barriers
CALMatters's YUE STELLA YU, SAMEEA KAMAL: "Lisamaria Martinez isn’t sure when she last voted in person. But she remembers the boots she wore that day — her “fabulous,” new navy blue boots with chunky heels, which gave her blisters on her mile-long walk back home from the polling place.
It was part of her “confidence attire” to feel empowered because on most election days, Martinez — a blind voter in Alameda County — said she had to show poll workers how to help her use the voting machine. She needed them to take her seriously."
What Biden’s border order means for California
CALMatters's WENDY FRY: "President Biden’s long-predicted executive actions restricting asylum claims at the U.S.-Mexico border could take effect at midnight in remote parts of California where some migrants gather in open-air camps to await federal processing.
White House officials argue the new measures announced today will bring much-needed order to the border, while advocates for migrants argue the changes could cause the California border to become more chaotic and deadly as migrants seek increasingly remote areas to cross undetected and illegally."
Get your health care through Covered California? Beware of this tax peril
CALMatters's ANA B. IBARRA: "Every tax season hundreds of thousands of Californians are hit with an unexpected bill: They owe hundreds of dollars or more to the IRS because they accepted more money in subsidies for health insurance than they were allowed.
The chargeback can sting. Collectively, 415,000 California households owed the IRS close to $690 million in 2021 in charges related to the health care subsidies, according to agency data from the most recent year available. That is roughly $1,662 per person or family. Many people who end up owing money live in lower-income households."
Older men die by suicide at steep rates. Here’s how the VA is trying to change that
LAT's EMILY ALPERT REYES: "It was a Friday morning and George McCune had roused himself to make the 2.4-mile trip from his Northridge home to the Veterans Affairs campus in North Hills.
The 77-year-old was greeted there that March day by the usual crew training for the Golden Age Games: There was Roger, 82, who had piled up medals in javelin, discus and shot put. Bob, who had just gotten his cochlear implant. Becky, 71, bent on defeating her “nemesis” — a guy just six days her junior — in pingpong."
Why do teens have sex early? UCSF study suggests these factors play a role
LAT's CATHERINE HO: "In one of the first studies to examine the link between children’s sexual behavior and their social connections at home, school and neighborhoods, a new study led by a UCSF pediatrician has found that teenagers who have closer relationships with their family and neighbors are less likely to start having sex at a young age.
The findings could help public health officials, parents and communities tailor their conversations about sex to better reach young people than traditional sexual education at schools has been able to do — and potentially reduce the risks associated with having sex at a young age, such as sexually transmitted infections, unplanned pregnancies and depression."
A veteran’s journey with chronic pain and kratom (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly's MARCELLE MORFIN: "I am a 48-year-old Army veteran from Woodland, CA. By many accounts, I am a typical person – married with children, maintain close friendships, love my relatives, and have a daily routine. At the same time, my life is a story of both desperation and resilience in the face of chronic pain.
In April 2017, the effect of spinal cord compression and a debilitating back injury incurred during my military service in 2006 became unbearable. I found myself trapped in a cycle of agony, unable to escape the constant torment that consumed my days and nights."
California wants to make it easier to become a preschool teacher. Could this help Sacramento?
bN: "As California continues to expand its free public preschool program to include all 4-year-olds, the state must find a way to staff these classrooms with qualified educators — a difficult task, considering the statewide teacher shortage. To address this need, the Commission on Teacher Credentialing introduced a new pre-K through third grade credential that could accelerate some teachers’ paths to the classroom.
Last month, the Commission’s Committee on Accreditation approved the first teacher preparation programs to offer the PK-3 Early Childhood Education Specialist Instruction Credential at the San Diego County Office of Education, Cal State Fresno and San Jose State University. Local agencies are not too far behind — Sacramento State University is set to start offering the credential in fall of 2025, according to its website."
Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office wants more military equipment. How much will it cost?\
Sacramento Bee's MARCUS D. SMITH: "Drones and less-than-lethal ammunition are at the top of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office’s request for military equipment in the coming year.
During a Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, Capt. David Becwar presented the Sheriff’s Office annual military equipment use report, mandated by Assembly Bill 481 signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2021 that requires transparency by law enforcement agencies for military equipment inventory and usage for the year."
‘Like a little slap’: SFPD’s newest restraint tool has arrived
The Chronicle's MICHAEL BARBA: "Police Chief Bill Scott stood with his arms outstretched, disobeying an order from one of his officers to get on the ground as a row of bright-green lights flashed on his clothing. With a loud pop, a strong cord zipped toward him and wrapped tightly around his thighs.
“I felt it a little bit,” Scott said. “It’s like a little slap."
Behold the S.F. dogscape: How canines are transforming our city’s landscape
The Chronicle's JOHN KING: "Big-city terrains can be viewed in multiple ways. Look upon them as history lessons. Architectural collages. They highlight economic disparities and serve as cultural barometers.
Or consider this facet of today’s San Francisco. Taking shape before our eyes is — a dogscape."
How shots instead of pills could change California’s homeless crisis
CALMatters's MARISA KENDALL: "As Dr. Rishi Patel’s street medicine van bounces over dirt roads and empty fields in rural Kern County, he’s looking for a particular patient he knows is overdue for her shot.
The woman, who has schizophrenia and has been living outside for five years, has several goals for herself: Start thinking more clearly, stop using meth and get an ID so she can visit her son in jail. Patel hopes the shot — a long-acting antipsychotic — will help her meet all of them."
L.A. County wants to cap rent hikes at 3%. Landlords say that would push them to sell
LAT's REBECCA ELLIS: "A proposal that aims to spare tens of thousands of tenants in Los Angeles County from significant rent hikes moved forward Tuesday despite outcry from some landlords.
The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted 3 to 2 to ask staff to draft a change to rent stabilization rules. Under the proposal, many landlords in unincorporated L.A. County would be barred from raising rent by more than 3% a year. Small property owners could increase rent by up to 4%, while owners of luxury units would be capped at 5%."
Sacramento’s latest homelessness count shows a decline. Here’s how much it dropped
Sacramento Bee's T HERESA CLIFT: "Sacramento has roughly 3,000 fewer homeless people on its streets and in its shelters than it did two years ago, a new report has found. There are now an estimated 6,615 homeless people living in Sacramento, a steep 29% decrease from the 9,278 people volunteers counted during the preceding survey in 2022. Elected officials are touting the new number — no longer higher than San Francisco’s — as a sign that efforts to combat the homeless crisis are finally working.
Kim Jong Un ‘polite’ and Trump ‘practical’? Former leader’s kind words cause an uproar
LAT's MAX KIM: "In the spring of 2018, not long after North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un declared that his country was in the “final stage” of developing an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the United States, then-South Korean President Moon Jae-in set out to play peacemaker.
When the two men met for the first time that April, Moon found Kim softer than his reputation suggested."
