Supporters of SB50 fire back after ads liken housing bill to 'Negro removal'
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "A provocative mailer by a deep-pocketed Los Angeles activist equates a state housing bill with “Negro removal,” a comparison that prompted state Sen. Scott Wiener and San Francisco Mayor London Breed to fire back Thursday."
"The ad, paid for by Michael Weinstein, appeared on cable television, snowballed on social media and popped up in mailboxes throughout the city this week. It features a picture of famous black author James Baldwin with a quote about San Francisco’s urban renewal policies, which displaced thousands of African Americans from the Fillmore."
"San Francisco is engaging ... in something called urban renewal, which means moving the Negroes out. It means Negro removal,” says the quote, attributed to Baldwin in 1963."
READ MORE related to Homelessness & Housing: California's teacher housing crunch: Rising rents in coastal areas outpace pay -- LA Times's DIANA LAMBERT/DANIEL J WILLIS; A safe space -- The Chronicle's KEVIN FAGAN; Build 10,000 houses for homeless in 10 years? LA is closer, but it'll have to stretch funds -- LA Times's DOUG SMITH; Small solutions for big problem -- The Chronicle's JOHN KING
Outside public view, panel faces tight deadline to recommend reforms of California's charter school law
EdSource's LOUIS FREEDBERG: "Each Thursday a group of educators and representatives of labor unions meets — out of the public eye — for several hours at the California Department of Education building in Sacramento to take on arguably the most contentious current issue on California’s education reform landscape: charter school reform."
"Known as the Charter Task Force, it was set up by newly elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond in March. Gov. Gavin Newsom requested the task force in the wake of the Los Angeles Unified teachers’ strike and after the school board there called for a “comprehensive study” of various aspects of charter schools in the district, including their “financial implications."
"The 11 members of the task force, with Thurmond facilitating their discussions, have what some might view as a nearly impossible task — coming up with recommendations by July 1 on tough issues that have been simmering in California for years, but have exploded on the state’s public policy agenda largely as a result of heightened teacher activism in Los Angeles, Oakland and other districts."
California is paying tens of millions of dollars to settle claims from deadly wildfire
From the SacBee's ANDREW SHEELER: "California is preparing to pay at least $25 million in insurance and legal claims stemming from a deadly 2016 fire that ignited on state-managed property in Kern County."
"The state outlined its payments to Erskine Fire victims in a budget appropriations bill that cleared a Senate committee earlier this month. Large legal settlements that stretch department budgets must receive approval from the Legislature."
"The fire is known as the most damaging blaze in Kern County’s history. It ignited at an archery range near Lake Isabella, killing two people and injuring three more.. It left hundreds of buildings destroyed and nearly 47,000 acres burned."
OP-ED: Homes in California's burn zones must adopt fire-safe code
Sacramento Bee's EDITORIAL BOARD: "After the apocalyptic Camp Fire reduced most of Paradise to ashes last November, a clear pattern emerged."
"Fifty-one percent of the 350 houses built after 2008 escaped damage, according to an analysis by McClatchy. Yet only 18 percent of the 12,100 houses built before 2008 did."
"What made the difference? Building codes."
Mounting lawsuits against Juul reminiscent of early tobacco litigation
The Chronicle's CATHERINE HO: "The 15-year-old girl’s path to nicotine addiction is familiar to many teens of the “Juul generation”: Initially drawn to the vapor’s sweet mango flavor, she started taking puffs from a Juul e-cigarette when she was 14, not knowing it contained nicotine, the same addictive substance found in tobacco cigarettes."
"Those are among the claims the girl’s parents, Erin and Jared NesSmith, made in a lawsuit filed in Florida last week against Juul. Their complaint also says the girl, identified as A.N., has had seizures after vaping — a potential side effect of nicotine poisoning if one accidentally swallows liquid nicotine. The suit also names Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris, which is seeking regulatory approval to invest $12.8 billion for a 35 percent stake in Juul."
"The NesSmiths’ suit is the latest of four actions brought against Juul in Florida, New York and Pennsylvania since last year, in which parents of teenagers say their children did not know Juul products contained nicotine when they started using them, and later became addicted."
Avenatti accused of embezzling nearly $2M that NBA player paid ex-girlfriend
LA Times's MICHAEL FINNEGAN: "When Hassan Whiteside of the Miami Heat wired $2.75 million to Michael Avenatti in January 2017, the pro basketball player intended most of the money to go to his former girlfriend, Alexis Gardner."
"Avenatti was Gardner’s attorney. An actress and barista, she’d hired him just a few weeks before to negotiate a settlement of a potential lawsuit against Whiteside. It’s unclear what she would have alleged. Avenatti quickly struck a $3-million deal, and the $2.75 million was Whiteside’s first payment."
"Avenatti, prosecutors say, was entitled to take just over $1 million in legal fees, leaving the rest for Gardner."
Quirky law keeps pristine Palo Alto park restricted to residents
The Chronicle's MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "The lush green hills, valleys and oak groves of Palo Alto’s 1,400-acre Foothills Park were populated with wildflowers, deer and lawbreakers on a mostly sunny day last week."
"The scofflaws included small children who screamed happily as they hiked around Boronda Lake, a retired couple out for a morning walk, a woman taking pictures of poppies and lupine, and a woman enjoying lunch and the sweeping view from her car parked on Vista Hill, elevation 950 feet."
"All were in violation of the Palo Alto Municipal Code, which declares: “Only residents of the city and regular or part-time city employees, members of their households related by blood, marriage, or adoption, or their accompanied guests are entitled to enter on foot or by bicycle or vehicle and remain in Foothills Park."
Trump called on spy chiefs as Mueller probe began
AP's DEB REICHMANN/SUSANNAH GEORGE: "Two months before special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed in the spring of 2017, President Donald Trump picked up the phone and called the head of the largest U.S. intelligence agency. Trump told Mike Rogers, director of the National Security Agency, that news stories alleging that Trump's 2016 White House campaign had ties to Russia were false and the president asked whether Rogers could do anything to counter them."
"Rogers and his deputy Richard Ledgett, who was present for the call, were taken aback."
"Afterward, Ledgett wrote a memo about the conversation and Trump's request. He and Rogers signed it and stashed it in a safe. Ledgett said it was the "most unusual thing he had experienced in 40 years of government service."
Democrats see grounds for impeachment in Mueller report as Trump allies claim exoneration
LA Times's LAURA KING: "Several leading Democratic lawmakers said Sunday that impeachment of President Trump must at least be considered on the basis of behavior detailed in the Mueller report released last week, while the president’s allies aggressively pressed their contention that Trump was exonerated."
"Rudy Giuliani, the president’s lawyer, said there was nothing wrong with accepting information from the Russians, and insisted that Trump would not have been guilty of criminal obstruction even if he had fired Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel who spent nearly two years investigating Russian links to the Trump campaign."
"But Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Burbank), who has been one of Trump’s fiercest critics, redoubled his criticism of the president, saying the report depicted presidential conduct that was as bad as or worse than Watergate, the scandal that forced the resignation of President Nixon."
George Zimmerman banned from Tinder dating app
AP: "The ex-neighborhood watch volunteer who killed an unarmed black teen in Florida in 2012 has been banned from the dating app Tinder."
"An emailed statement from Tinder cited users' safety as a reason for removing George Zimmerman's profile."
"An article by Tampa, Florida, weekly Creative Loafing says Zimmerman used a fake name on the dating app."
