What you need to know about the California budget deal
CALMatters's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "California will make widespread cuts to state government operations, prisons, housing programs and health care workforce development in order to maintain its social safety net as it moves to close a multibillion-dollar budget deficit.
The $297.9 billion spending plan, announced this morning by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Senate President Pro Tem Mike McGuire and Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, also relies on reserves and pauses some business tax credits to address a remaining revenue gap estimated at $56 billion over the next two years."
Protesters rally at Oakland City Hall for Mayor Sheng Thao’s resignation after FBI raid
The Chronicle's NORA MISHANEC: "A small but vocal group of Oakland residents called on Mayor Sheng Thao to resign during a protest on the steps of City Hall on Sunday evening, three days after federal agents raided her home in a probe connected to a politically influential family.
“If we clean out City Hall, we clean out Oakland,” said Patricia Wright Newton, 78, one of two dozen protesters who had gathered to call for Thao’s ouster."
Deep sea mining threatens sea life, environmentalists say. California law has a solution
LAT's SUSANNE RUST: "As diplomats from around the world convene in Jamaica next month to discuss international guidelines on deep sea mining, environmental activists are urging nations to consider a California law they say could mitigate the need to destroy fragile ocean ecosystems.
“Mining the deep sea will destroy one of the most mysterious and remote wildernesses on the planet, all to extract the very same metals we throw in the trash every day,” said Laura Deehan, state director of Environment California Research & Policy Center. “While we work to protect California’s coastal ocean life, we should join in calls to protect the deep ocean before it’s too late.”"
California Democrats to spend millions on Black reparations programs in budget agreement
Sacramento Bee's STEPHEN HOBBS: "The budget agreement California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic leaders announced Saturday sets aside $12 million to help the state implement a series of reparations-related bills lawmakers hope will pass this year.
“That is a win,” Democratic Assemblywoman Lori Wilson, the chair of the Legislative Black Caucus, said in an interview."
How California agencies are keeping misconduct investigations secret despite transparency laws
BANG*Mercury News's KRISTEN TAKETA: "Two months ago, the Poway Unified School Board fired its superintendent of seven years, Marian Kim Phelps, amid a months-long controversy surrounding her daughter’s softball team at Del Norte High School.
But the district wouldn’t say exactly why she was being fired or what she allegedly did. An investigation commissioned by the district found that she had committed misconduct, but the district has refused to release the investigation report."
Summer COVID bump continues as FLiRT variants fuel rise in L.A. County cases
LAT's RONG-GONG LIN II: "The new COVID-19 subvariants collectively nicknamed FLiRT are continuing to increase their dominance nationwide, fueling a rise in cases in Los Angeles County and growth in the coronavirus levels seen in California wastewater.
Taken together, the data point to a coronavirus resurgence in the Golden State — one that, while not wholly unexpected given the trends seen in previous pandemic-era summers, has arrived earlier and is being driven by even more transmissible strains than those previously seen."
How music education sharpens the brain, tunes us up for life
EdSource's KAREN D'SOUZA: "When Amy Richter was a little girl, her father often traveled for work. He often came home bearing gifts of music and record albums. They bonded while poring over all that vinyl, she recalls, exploring the world of music from classical and rock to bluegrass.
Richter’s love of music only grew as she got older, and she studied voice and piano. Diagnosed with dyslexia, she also found that music helped her cope with her learning disability. It helped her gain focus and confidence. That’s why she studied music therapy in college. She knows the power of music to supercharge our brains."
Yosemite trail to Half Dome will be open limited hours starting in July
The Chronicle's GREGORY THOMAS: "A key segment of the wildly popular Mist Trail in Yosemite National Park, which suffered a landslide two months ago, will be closed during certain times to hikers beginning July 1.
Starting from the eastern end of Yosemite Valley, the Mist Trail traces the Merced River through a gorge up to the scenic Vernal Fall and then, a bit farther, to Nevada Fall. It’s a critical path for day hikers heading to the Half Dome cables and also plugs backpackers into the park’s vast granite wilderness via linkups with the John Muir Trail."
California logs biggest job gain since October with 40,000 new jobs, unemployment rate stays up
Sacramento Bee's JENAVIEVE HATCH: "California gained 43,700 nonfarm jobs last month, the state’s biggest monthly increase since October.
The state’s jobs numbers have lagged, logging the nation’s highest unemployment rate in recent months. Despite the May gains, the rate slipped only slightly, to 5.2%, according to the latest jobs report from the state’s Economic Development Department."
Hollywood’s exodus: Why film and TV workers are leaving Los Angeles
LAT's JOSH ROTTENBERG: "Los Angeles has long been a magnet for those chasing their big break in film and TV, drawn by the allure of creative fulfillment and fame. But conversations about a growing exodus are getting louder, as escalating housing costs and dwindling career opportunities push many to pursue their dreams elsewhere.
The city’s entertainment industry workforce has been rocked by a series of unprecedented shocks, from a global pandemic to last summer’s double labor strikes by writers and actors. As the streaming boom has faded, entertainment companies have hemorrhaged jobs, and networks, studios and streamers have pared back their programming slates. With the industry in the grips of a slowdown and the cost of living in L.A. still high, the motto for those struggling to remain in the city has become “Survive till ‘25,” in hopes of a rebound next year."
Pushing to close the funding lag that drains millions from homeless services
LAT's DOUG SMITH: "It was June 7, payday at Reclaim-Possibility, a 22-bed home in South Los Angeles for men released from jail and prison who might otherwise fall into homelessness.
Once again, owner Kalain Hadley had to tell his 10 employees they might not be paid."
Another Folsom police officer is suing the city. Here’s what he’s accusing the department of
Sacramento Bee's MATHEW MIRANDA: "A former Folsom police officer is suing the city, alleging he faced racial discrimination and harassment from colleagues based on his Latino heritage.
The lawsuit, filed June 10 in Sacramento Superior Court by former officer Homer Limon, adds to ongoing claims raised against the department. Last year, Limon was also one of three officers named in another lawsuit centered around racism."
