Jury finds Monsanto's "Roundup" a major factor in man's cancer
AP's SUDHIN THANAWALA: "Roundup weed killer was a substantial factor in a California man's cancer, a jury determined Tuesday in the first phase of a trial that attorneys said could help determine the fate of hundreds of similar lawsuits."
"The unanimous verdict by the six-person jury in federal court in San Francisco came in a lawsuit filed against Roundup's manufacturer, agribusiness giant Monsanto. Edwin Hardeman, 70, was the second plaintiff to go to trial out of thousands around the country who claim the weed killer causes cancer."
"Monsanto says studies have established that Roundup's active ingredient, glyphosate, is safe."
READ MORE related to Energy & Environment: Monsanto's Roundup found by jury to be likely cause of cancer in second Bay Area man -- The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO; Where to find the super blooms in California -- LA Times's SWETHA KANNAN/PRIYA KRISHNAKUMAR; Midwest floods disrupt livestock feed supplies from California farms -- Sacramento Bee's TIM SHEEHAN
A California battle over swordfish -- and gill nets
CHUCK MCFADDEN in Capitol Weekly: "Conservationists are pushing a $1 million effort this summer to change the way swordfish are caught off the California coast by phasing out the use of gill nets. They are the mile-long nylon nets used to catch swordfish but that also ensnare other species, causing conservation organizations to seek an end to their use."
"Commercial fishermen can use gill nets now, with a drift gill net shark and swordfish permit from the Department of Fish and Wildlife. But a new California law will officially ban gill nets as of January 2023."
"The law requires the department to establish a voluntary “permit transition program” that will reimburse fishermen for giving up the use of gill nets. The state has set aside $1 million in public money for the program and an additional $1 million will be sought in private donations."
UC should expel students and revoke degrees after admissions scandal, lawmaker says
LA Times's TARYN LUNA: "With two University of California campuses mired in the college admissions scandal, a leading state legislator on Tuesday urged officials to quickly revoke degrees and expel students admitted under fraudulent circumstances."
"I think the university has to take some extraordinarily strong action to expel these students and to take back those degrees because otherwise what is the disincentive for doing this?” said Assemblyman Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee, during a hearing in Sacramento."
"Officials representing the UC system said they were waiting for more information and evidence from federal authorities and the conclusion of an internal investigation to take action against students involved in the scandal."
READ MORE related to Operation Varsity Blues: No soccer experience, but she still got a spot on elite UCLA team in admissions scandal -- LA Times's MATTHEW ORMSETH/RICHARD WINTON; Will UC expel students implicated in scandal? -- The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF
Border Patrol says detention centers are full -- and starts releasing migrants
LA Times's MOLLY HENNESSY-FISKE/MOLLY O'TOOLE: "The Border Patrol released 50 recently apprehended migrants here Tuesday, the first of several hundred border-crossers who officials say will soon be freed because there is no room to hold them."
"Normally, the Border Patrol would transfer the migrants to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be “processed” and in many cases placed in detention facilities. But officials said that both agencies have run out of space due to a recent influx of Central American families."
"Immigrant advocates suggested the release was intended to create chaos at the border and further President Trump’s argument that there is a national emergency there."
A pilot who hitched a ride on a Lion Air 737 saved that plane. The next day, the same Boeing jet crashed
Bloomberg's ALAN LEVIN/HARRY SUHARTONO: "As the Lion Air crew fought to control their diving Boeing Co. 737 Max 8, they got help from an unexpected source: an off-duty pilot who happened to be riding in the cockpit."
"That extra pilot, who was seated in the cockpit jumpseat, correctly diagnosed the problem and told the crew how to disable a malfunctioning flight-control system and save the plane, according to two people familiar with Indonesia’s investigation."
"The next day, under command of a different crew facing what investigators said was an identical malfunction, the same jetliner crashed into the Java Sea, killing all 189 aboard."
California military bases could lose up to $1.1B under Trump's border wall plan
Sacramento Bee's EMILY CADEI: "Several Northern California and Central Valley military bases could have construction funding pulled to build President Donald Trump’s border wall, according to a list of projects the Pentagon released Monday night."
"Among them: $107 million for a new hanger at Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield and $10.7 million for improvements for the California Air National Guard installation at the Fresno Yosemite International Airport."
"Those projects were not included on the list of potential funding targets circulated by House Democrats last month."
California is growing so much cannabis it could crash the market
Sacramento Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "California has too many marijuana farms — growing too much product — and if nothing is done it will devastate the industry, according to a 2019 cannabis harvest projection."
"Vessel Logistics, a San Francisco-based cannabis distribution company, found that more than 1,142 acres of cannabis farms hold state permits. They can produce up to 9 million pounds of crop every year, but the permitted wholesale market can realistically support 1.8 million to 2.2 million pounds."
"Thus, even when a 50 percent cut in production is accounted for, a significant oversupply is unavoidable in 2019,” the report concluded. "
New voting system in SF for November election allows 10 ranked choices
The Chronicle's DOMINIC FRACASSA: "San Francisco’s Department of Elections is planning to embark on a marketing blitz starting this summer to get the word out about big changes to the city’s voting system."
"Last week, the Board of Supervisors approved an $8.46 million contract through March 2023 for new voting equipment that city officials said would be more secure, easier to use and more accessible to people with disabilities. The contract, with Dominion Voting Systems, has two one-year extension options, which would cost $2.1 million per year."
Sacramento City Hall holds the line in tobacco industry's fight against flavor ban
Sacramento Bee's THERESA CLIFT: "Sacramento is poised to ban the sale of flavored tobacco products – including menthol cigarettes and e-cigarette cartridges – after elected officials Tuesday rejected a counter-proposal from the tobacco industry."
"The counter-proposal, presented to the City Council’s Law and Legislation committee Tuesday by former council member Rob Fong, included a list of new requirements that would have made it harder for shops to sell tobacco products to minors instead of banning the sale of all flavored tobacco products."
"If you pass the (flavor) ban ... you will put dozens and dozens of local small businesses out of business in the city of Sacramento,” Fong, a consultant for the Vapor Technology Association, told the committee Tuesday."
Nunes faces long odds in Twitter lawsuit
The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH: "Rep. Devin Nunes could be waiting a long time to see any of the more than $250 million he’s seeking from Twitter and others for what he called “defamation” and “insulting words,” lawyers unconnected with the Central Valley Republican’s lawsuit said Tuesday."
"Nunes charged in the suit that the operators of two parody Twitter accounts and a Republican political consultant who opposes President Trump used Twitter “to post hundreds of egregiously false, defamatory, insulting, abusive, hateful, scandalous and vile statements about Nunes."
"So what? suggested Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles."
Police Commission rules that officers violated LAPD policy in 2018 mall shooting
LA Times's CINDY CHANG: "The man ran through the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw shopping mall, armed with a foot-long kitchen knife."
"It was a Tuesday evening, and the mall was crowded with shoppers."
"When he wouldn’t drop the knife, two Los Angeles police officers began shooting at the man. After he fell to the ground and tried to get up, still gripping the knife, each officer sent one more bullet his way."
$25M in private funds to help build waterfront park in SF's Bayview
The Chronicle's JOHN KING: "One of San Francisco’s long-elusive recreational goals — a large and lively waterfront park on the city’s southeastern edge — is $25 million closer to becoming reality."
"The grant from the John Pritzker Family Fund, a local foundation, will pay for environmental remediation as well as design and partial construction of an 8-acre park along India Basin, in the Bayview district."
READ MORE related to Development, Housing & Homelessness: Turns out SF's big, new hospital on Van Ness didn't draw development as predicted -- The Chronicle's JK DINEEN
DA declines to charge SF GFiants CEO Larry Baer over altercation with wife
The Chronicle's EVAN SERNOFFSKY: "The San Francisco district attorney’s office declined to file charges Tuesday against Giants CEO Larry Baer after a physical altercation between the baseball executive and his wife was caught on video."
"After a careful review of the relevant evidence, including multiple videos, statements from several witnesses and the parties themselves, the evidence does not support filing criminal charges,” said Alex Bastian, a district attorney’s office spokesman."
"Police and prosecutors were investigating the March 1 incident in which Baer caused his wife, Pam, to fall to the ground while struggling over a cell phone in an outdoor plaza in Hayes Valley. TMZ purchased publishing rights to a cell-phone video that shows Baer appearing to grab the phone from his wife’s hand while she sits in a chair. The two tumble over and Pam Baer is heard screaming, “Oh, my God, no, help!"
READ MORE related to Business & Economy: The Fox lot is one asset Murdoch wouldn't sell to Disney -- with good reason -- LA Times's ROGER VINCENT; Disney-Fox deal is complete; CEO Bob Igor's big swing could change media industry -- LA Times's MEG JAMES
Shocking details emerge as De La Salle grad's fraternity hazing death case settles
The Chronicle's MATTHIAS GAFNI: "Hours after he’d been ordered by his fraternity brother to consume a third of a bottle of 100-proof rum, former De La Salle High baseball player Ryan Abele had a blood alcohol level nearly four times the legal limit."
"The 18-year-old was prodded awake, then he staggered toward the basement stairs for mandatory clean-up at the Sigma Nu fraternity house at the University of Nevada-Reno. Someone yelled for him to “Get the f— down the stairs.”
READ MORE related to Education: UC hospitals, campuses statewide brace for third strike in 11 months Wednesday -- Sacramento Bee's CATHIE ANDERSON; New training for California preschool teachers to help bilingual children prepare for kindergarten -- EdSource's ZAIDEE STAVELY
