Fort Bragg, a California city named for a Confederate general, considers changing its name
LA Times's JAKE SHERIDAN: "The City Council of Fort Bragg, a small Northern California city named after Braxton Bragg, a Confederate Army general and slave owner, is pondering putting a town name change on the November ballot.
The move by the Mendocino County town of nearly 7,400 comes in response “to many requests (some local and many not) that the city of Fort Bragg, Calif., change its name to avoid any connotation associated with Confederate Army Gen. Braxton Bragg,” a post on the city’s Facebook page read. The discussion is set for June 22.
The post, which has received more than 900 contentious comments decrying and praising the call for conversation, comes amid a national reckoning with racism following protests against police violence. Since George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police, protesters and policymakers have torn down Confederate statues, and namesakes and icons associated with racism and white supremacy have faced intense scrutiny."
SCOTUS humliates Trump team after week of high-profile rejections
The Chronicle's TATIANA SANCHEZ/BOB EGELKO: "Immigration advocates and state officials praised the Supreme Court’s rejection Monday of the Trump administration’s challenge to California’s sanctuary law restricting law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration agents.
The two central features of California’s law prohibit police, sheriff’s deputies and state officers from notifying federal agents of the release dates of undocumented immigrants in their custody and bar them from holding the immigrants beyond the end of their sentences so that agents can pick them up for deportation. The restrictions do not apply to inmates convicted of violent crimes.
Over the dissents of Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, the court denied review of a lower-court ruling that concluded the 2018 state law does not interfere illegally with federal immigration policy."
Regents put their hats in the ring: affirmative action needs resurrection
The Chronicle's RON KROICHICKL "University of California regents, in a symbolic but landmark vote Monday, unanimously endorsed a state amendment to repeal Proposition 209, the affirmative action ban approved by state voters nearly 24 years ago.
The move adds growing momentum to Assembly Constitutional Amendment 5, which passed the Assembly last week by a vote of 60-14. The amendment — which would strip language from the state Constitution prohibiting the consideration of race and sex in public education, employment and contracting — next moves to state Senate on June 25, where it needs two-thirds approval to pass.
If that happens, the measure then would appear on the November ballot — and California voters would decide, by a simple majority, whether to keep or repeal Prop. 209."
Governor to the plebs: Fret no longer, we've a handle on the pandemic
The Chronicle's DUSTIN GARDINER: "Gov. Gavin Newsom gave a broad defense Monday of the accelerated reopening strategy in much of California, despite concerns from some public health experts that the state could see new coronavirus outbreaks.
Newsom said that even as California’s economy has begun reopening since May 8 and people have ventured outside their homes more, including over the Memorial Day weekend, the number of patients hospitalized and in intensive care units with coronavirus-related illness has remained stable.
“There’s a certain point where you have to recognize you can’t be in a permanent state where people are locked away for months and months and months on end, to see lives and livelihoods completely destroyed without considering the health impact of those decisions,” Newsom said at a news conference."
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Newsom's plan to mail ballots to all California voters temporarily blocked by judge
The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH: "A Sutter County judge granted a request Friday by two GOP legislators to temporarily block an executive order by Gov. Gavin Newsom that would require that all active California voters receive a mail ballot for the November election.
The order provoked a fiery response from Secretary of State Alex Padilla, who dismissed the assemblymen’s legal challenge as “a reckless publicity stunt.”
The temporary restraining order by Superior Court Judge Perry Parker, which was sought by Assemblymen James Gallagher of Nicolaus (Sutter County) and Kevin Kiley of Rocklin (Placer County), sets a June 26 hearing in Yuba City to determine whether Newsom overstepped his emergency powers making the change in the election rules in May."
GSK suspect DeAngelo could plead guilty and avoid execution
Sac Bee's SAM STANTON/DARRELL SMITH: "Lawyers in the Golden State Killer/East Area Rapist case believe they have reached a deal under which suspect Joseph James DeAngelo Jr. will plead guilty to 88 murder, rape and other charges at a June 29 hearing and avoid a death penalty trial with a life sentence imposed instead, four sources have told The Sacramento Bee.
Details of the agreement, which has not been formalized in court documents filed in the case, still are being worked out, as is the final decision on where the hearing will take place.
Hearings in the case to date have been held in a cramped courtroom on the first floor of the Sacramento County Main Jail that can accommodate only several dozen people."
BLM brass, protesters urge LA politicians to explore legislative possibilities for defunding police and improving community-level social safety
LA Times's DAVID ZAHNISER/DAKOTA SMITH: "In an extraordinary face-to-face meeting, a coalition of activists led by Black Lives Matter-Los Angeles urged members of the City Council on Monday to end the city’s reliance on police officers and embrace new strategies for keeping neighborhoods safe.
Seated in the council chamber at City Hall, activists told council members they have an opening to move money away from the L.A. Police Department and into mental health counselors, gang intervention workers and other public employees who can address trauma and prevent violence from breaking out.
“The world is speaking right now,” said Melina Abdullah, co-founder of Black Lives Matter-L.A., her voice choked with emotion. “They’re saying we don’t want a system of policing that puts targets on the backs of Black people especially, but also is a regular assailant and traumatizer of our entire community."
READ MORE related to Public Safety, CJR, and the DPM**: 3 big California police unions release national reform plan to remove racist officers -- The Chronicle's TATIANA SANCHEZ; Sacramento mayor wants new IG to investigate use-of-force incidents -- Sac Bee's THERESA CLIFT; LA sheriff Alex Villanueva touts unenforceable policy reforms on social media amid a personal history of anti-transparent behavior and oversight obstruction -- LA Times's ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN; Authorities vow deeper probe of Robert Fuller's hanging death; FBI + Xavier Becerra will provide oversight of public inquest as well as engage in own private inquiries -- LA Times's LUKE MONEY/ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN/ANITA CHABRIA; Federal judge in Oakland hears of prison staff brutality against disabled inmates -- The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO; Boudin bans prosecutions based on sole testimony of untrustworthy cops -- The Chronicle's MATT KAWAHARA
How Democrats are fighting for the preservation of programs in spite of deficit
Sac Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "Last week, powerful California lawmakers in the Capitol wore masks with a message: “Invest. Don’t cut.”
The masks underscored their preferences for how they want to navigate the unprecedented situation brought on by the coronavirus outbreak, which has forced the Legislature to implement new safety protocols and rethink the budget.
Even with an estimated $54 billion budget deficit looming, Democrats who control the California Legislature plan to pass a budget Monday that attempts to avoid slashing funds for education and health care by delaying cuts in hope of future economic relief."
Proposed legislation would fast-track economically sustainable transit
The Chronicle's CAROLYN SAID: "Transportation projects focused on public transit, bikes and pedestrians — but not cars — would get fast-tracked for construction under a bill Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, plans to announce on Monday.
His goal is two-fold: ramp up sustainable transportation and stimulate the economy.
“If we’re going to claw our way out of this economic collapse, public investment in infrastructure is a crucial strategy, and we need to get that investment out and implemented fast,” Wiener said. “We can’t afford delays."
The Huckster's Guide to Grifting Newsom's Pandemic Marketplace
Sac Bee's JASON POHL/RYAN SABALOW: "In early April, Gov. Gavin Newsom launched a website where people and companies could help California gear up for the coronavirus pandemic.
The portal was designed as a marketplace for middlemen, manufacturers and business giants to pitch deals and donations with the state, which was scrambling to obtain medical supplies to fight COVID-19.
For some, the site was a chance to clear out their closets."
AG Becerra calls for legislation to decertify police responsible for serious misconduct
The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY: "California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Monday called for legislation that would help decertify police officers for serious misconduct — a type of accountability platform that has been long missing in a state that prides itself on criminal justice reforms.
The decertification tool was one of a host of police reform recommendations Becerra announced during a virtual news conference, along with de-escalation and use-of-force policies that would cover all law enforcement agencies in California.
While many of the recommendations will already be enacted into law in January, the state’s authority to strip officers of their badge has only recently begun to gain traction amid a national reckoning on police misconduct, particularly in communities of color."
Bay Area facing huge bill from California at worst possible time
The Chronicle's DUSTIN GARDINER/TRISHA THADANI: "A year after San Francisco officials clashed over how to spend an extra $185 million, the state says a big chunk of the so-called windfall money was not theirs to begin with.
San Francisco could be forced to repay about $180 million to a county education fund, going back to 2018, and lose an additional $60 million every year going forward. State officials say it’s because the city essentially took money that belonged to schools.
The state says four other Bay Area counties — Santa Clara, Marin, Napa and San Mateo — did the same thing. They could face equally grim financial consequences, even as the coronavirus pandemic shreds their budgets."
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SF Mayor Breed, supervisors seek new business tax structure to bolster city's revenue
The Chronicle's DOMINIC FRACASSA: "San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Tuesday will introduce a sweeping proposal for the November ballot to reform the city’s complex patchwork of business taxes and potentially unlock around $300 million in revenue that has been collected, but remains off-limits and unspent because of ongoing legal disputes.
The measure largely reflects the conclusions of an examination of the city’s business taxes that began last summer. That review, reflecting input from city leaders and the business community, was intended to shape a ballot measure that would simplify and stabilize the tax system, while potentially bringing in more money.
But with the city and much of its business community confronting an unprecedented economic collapse brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Breed’s measure, which would raise an estimated $300 million for the general fund over the next two fiscal years, takes on added urgency."
Education's new epidemic: hungry children
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "Barely two weeks into the coronavirus shelter-in-place order, teachers and administrators noticed a crisis unfolding at Oakland’s Esperanza Elementary School.
Four out of 5 families at the school reported at least one parent out of work. Restaurants were closing, construction jobs had temporarily stopped, and caretakers and house cleaners were idled. As students and their parents slid deeper into poverty, school officials saw a level of desperation that seemed to have no end and no bottom. It had gripped the quiet East Oakland neighborhood surrounding Esperanza, and quickly spread throughout much of the Bay Area.
“We had started doing wellness checks,” Principal Cristina Segura said. “And within the first couple weeks we learned ... how much our families were struggling, and how much they were going to be dependent on any sort of assistance."
Bipartisan pugilism continues over fed education aid
EdSource's LOUIS FREEDBERG: "Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill continue to spar over the need for more federal education aid.
How the legislative battle is resolved could have profound consequences for California’s efforts to save its public education system from budget cutbacks, or to keep many school districts from going deep into debt or having to make deep cuts in their budgets—or both.
Last month, Democrats in the House of Representatives voted to approve the HEROES Act that could result in close to $60 billion in direct emergency aid to schools nationally. However, it would need approval in the U.S. Senate, and there is no indication that the GOP leadership there is ready to consider additional support any time soon. According to some reports, the Senate will take up legislation authorizing additional funding only in late July — if then."
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