California lawmaker stripped of duties after sexual harassment investigation
From SacBee's HANNAH WILEY: "A California Republican was stripped of his committee assignments Wednesday after a workplace investigation substantiated claims he inappropriately touched and offered individuals “political favors in exchange for sex.”
The Legislature’s Workplace Conduct Unit launched last year an investigation into claims that Assemblyman Bill Brough, R-Dana Point, had behaved inappropriately.
The Assembly Rules Committee announced on Wednesday that the panel had substantiated claims that date back to last summer."
READ MORE on Brough case: California GOP lawmaker loses duties after harassment found -- DON THOMPSON, AP; Assemblyman Bill Brough loses committee assignments after sexual misconduct investigation -- PATRICK MCGREEVY, LA TIMES; State investigation concludes Assemblyman Bill Brough offered political favors for sex -- BROOKE STAGGS, OC Register.
Newsom faces growing concerns that he's reopening California too quickly
From VICTORIA COLLIVER and CARLA MARINUCCI, Politico: " Gov. Gavin Newsom’s rapid reopening strategy is drawing concerns from lawmakers and public health officials who fear the governor is basing decisions more on political pressure than science.
Newsom’s reopening plan started just over two weeks ago with a handful of rural counties with relatively few cases allowing restaurant dining and shopping in stores. Now, most of the state has been given the go-ahead to reopen churches, malls and hair salons. And gyms will get guidance within "a week or so," the governor said Wednesday.
It's too fast for Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda), a moderate “pro-business” Democrat. He argues the governor is caving into political pressure while ignoring dangerous “blind spots” in the state's health data. He said the governor’s first priority should be mandating widespread testing that will provide the necessary information to attack the virus on all fronts."
Southern California school districts react to new guidelines for reopening
ROXANA KOPETMAN, LA Daily News: "Students, teachers and staff should expect to wear masks when schools reopen. They also will need to maintain social distancing on campus and on school buses. And at least some of the instruction will be offered online, not in a classroom.
These are some of the recommendations that California State Superintendent of Schools Tony Thurmond says will be part of the state’s guidelines for local school officials to use as they make plans to open their districts in the 2020-21 school year.
Though Thurmond didn’t offer those guidelines during a Facebook Live chat on Wednesday, he said they are coming in early June, perhaps as soon as next week. He also mentioned some other details – temperature checks for students and staff, and so-called blended education, meaning a mix of in-person and online instruction."
California lawmakers break from Newsom’s budget, extend deadline for federal cash
JOHN MYERS, LAT: "California Senate Democrats are poised to reject $14 billion in budget cuts proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month, choosing instead to craft a spending plan that looks for other ways to erase the state’s deficit and assumes additional money for schools and social services will come from the federal government by early September.
The proposal relies on an alternate approach to Newsom’s plea for additional funds from President Trump and Congress, said legislative sources who asked not to be identified because they weren’t authorized to discuss the document. It also proposes some different cuts than those in Newsom‘s plan, refusing some of the governor’s cuts to child care provider rates and affordable housing programs.
A spokeswoman for Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) declined to comment on the budget proposal Wednesday. The budget plan is expected to be formally ratified by the Senate Budget Committee on Thursday."
California fights fires amid COVID-19 and a tight budget
From SABRINA ZUNICH, Capitol Weekly: "Strapped California, facing an unprecedented budget crisis as it battles COVID-19, is setting aside hundreds of millions of dollars to fight wildfires. Already, more than 1,300 fires — mostly small — have been reported as the hottest, driest months of the year approach.
“From a fiscal standpoint, we’re preparing for another bad fire year,” said Finance Department spokesman H.D. Palmer.
The Legislative Analyst’s Office, the Legislature’s nonpartisan fiscal adviser, projected an increased fire risk due to “increased development in fire‑prone areas, unhealthy forest lands, climate change, and the role of utility infrastructure management.”
Orange County reports 5 new deaths as coronavirus hospitalizations hit new high
LAT's LUKE MONEY: "Orange County health officials reported five additional coronavirus-linked fatalities Wednesday, raising the region’s death toll to 136.
The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized countywide also hit a new high — 274 — in the latest update. That figure includes 101 people who were in intensive care, down slightly from the previous report.
Fifty-four of those who have died were residents of skilled-nursing facilities, according to the Orange County Health Care Agency."
Cash, casinos and a sexual harassment payout: Former LA City Council staffer to plead guilty
From the LAT's DAVID ZAHNISER, JOEL RUBIN and EMILY ALPERT REYES: "For years, George Esparza was known as one of Los Angeles City Councilman Jose Huizar’s closest aides, driving him around town, attending to him at events and serving as his special assistant.
On Wednesday, the 33-year-old former Huizar staffer agreed to plead guilty in the ongoing corruption investigation at City Hall, becoming the closest associate of the councilman so far to be snared in the federal “pay-to-play” probe.
In a deal with prosecutors, Esparza will admit to participating in an audacious scheme to hit up real estate developers for cash, luxurious trips, political contributions and other bribes in exchange for help with major development projects, court records show. He will plead guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge."
Nearly 700 Chino inmates to be transferred to coronavirus-free prisons
BRIAN ROKOS and RICHARD K. DE ATLEY, San Bernardino Sun: "State prison officials said Wednesday, May 27, that they will transfer almost 700 high-risk inmates out of the California Institution for Men in Chino, saying that the novel coronavirus has spread to “every housing unit” in the facility, where nine prisoners who contracted the disease have died.
All of those 691 prisoners being transferred have tested negative for the disease. They will be sent to some of the approximately two dozen California prisons where no coronavirus cases have been confirmed. All nine state inmates who have died had been lodged in the Chino men’s prison.
The transfer was announced in a document jointly filed in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, Oakland Division, by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra and The Prison Law Office, which is representing the inmates."
Is BART running out of money? Budget showing serious shortfalls
RACHEL SWAN, Chronicle: "BART, the transit system long known for its sprawling map and packed trains, now faces a grim reality: It’s running out of money.
Confronted with the worst financial crisis in the agency’s 48-year history, agency staff managed to scrape together a $915 million budget to survive for one year. A full third of its projected revenue comes from one-time sources, including emergency stimulus funds, federal reimbursements for coronavirus-related expenses and a deferred payment for new railcars.
Internally, the agency has discussed drastic measures, including the possibility of closing stations, though spokeswoman Alicia Trost said that idea “never advanced to a stage that it would make sense.”
In COVID’s first month, San Diego home prices rose fastest in California
From PHILLIP MOLNAR, U-T: "San Diego County not only saw prices increase in March during the first month of the COVID-19 pandemic, it outpaced all markets in California.
Home prices in the San Diego metropolitan area had risen 5.2 percent in a year, the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices reported Tuesday. It was the highest annual increase since last summer.
Prices increased 4.4 percent nationwide even as millions of people started losing their jobs. All 19 cities in the index showed gains. Detroit was not included in March’s data because its recording office closed because of the pandemic. Also, many of the transactions covered in March’s report began before the virus caused widespread closures."
