Despite eviction moratorium, hundreds of Sacramento renters were kicked out during pandemic
Sac Bee, THERESA CLIFT/MICHAEL FINCH II/ALEXANDRA YOON-HENDRICKS: "Britt Macias sleeps in the cramped front seat of her black two-door Monte Carlo Super Sport most nights, her Doberman mix and pit bull taking up the tiny backseat. Macias, 36, became homeless for the first time after she was evicted from a house in south Sacramento last month.
She is one of roughly 600 people who have been evicted during the coronavirus pandemic in Sacramento County despite temporary state protections meant to keep people in their homes, according to Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office data.
“I feel like I’m knocked down worse than ever,” Macias said. “I feel like the ultimate failure."
READ MORE on HOUSING/HOMELESSNESS/CONSUMER NEWS --- Here's exactly how much money it takes to feel 'wealthy' in SF versus LA and NY -- The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG/NAMI SUMIDA; Homeless camping at beaches and parks? LA proposal stirs outcry from some neighbors -- LA Times, DAVID ZAHNISER
'Better than manna from heaven': Huge California surplus is gift for Newsom as recall fight simmers
The Chronicle, DUSTIN GARDINER: "Gov. Gavin Newsom couldn’t have asked for a better gift to fall into his lap as he prepares to fight a recall election: California’s unexpected $75.7 billion budget surplus.
The record-setting pot of money comes at a pivotal moment for the governor as recall organizers have submitted more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot later this year, and high-profile challengers are competing with him for public attention.
Newsom seized on news of the windfall to crisscross the state this week, pitching his big-idea plans to dole out the money — $600 stimulus checks, a huge influx to combat homelessness, sweeping initiatives to “transform our educational system” and more."
Newsom calls for tourism spending, tax breaks in new economic relief plan
Sac Bee, JEONG PARK: "Gov. Gavin Newsom is ready to spend on tax breaks, tourism and poaching employers from other states as he crafts a multi-billion dollar plan to help businesses recover from COVID-19.
He announced a business relief plan Thursday as part of the state budget proposal he’s unveiling this week. Flush with a historic $75 billion surplus, Newsom and the Legislature have a lot of resources to assist companies and people set back by the pandemic.
Newsom’s proposal would pour an additional $1.5 billion in COVID-19 relief grants for small businesses, building on a previous $2.5 billion allotment he and the Legislature approved earlier this year."
Poll: Feinstein's job approval ratings remain underwater
Capitol Weekly, MARK DICAMILLO: "The latest Berkeley IGS Poll finds that for the second time in four months more of the state’s registered voters disapprove than approve of Dianne Feinstein’s job performance as U.S. Senator. In a statewide poll completed last week 46% of voters said they disapproved of the job Feinstein was doing, while just 35% approve. Another 19% have no opinion. The poll’s late January measure showed similar results.
Feinstein, 87, is currently serving her fifth term in the U.S. Senate. Throughout her more than two-decade tenure in office she had consistently received more positive than negative job performance marks from the state’s voters, typically by wide margins. However, results from eachof the Berkeley IGS Polls conducted this year find that voter opinions of Feinstein have taken a decidedly negative turn.
Although the latest poll finds that Feinstein’s job approval decline spans virtually all segments of the state’s registered voter population when compared to the ratings she received in December 2017, the steepest declines have been among the state’s liberals and voters under the age of 40."
Fully vaccinated people no longer need masks in most places, CDC says. What to know
Sac Bee, KATIE CAMERO: "New recommendations released Thursday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advise that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 “can participate in indoor and outdoor activities, large or small, without wearing a mask or physical distancing,” according to CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
The announcement comes as daily coronavirus cases have been on a steady decline since COVID-19 vaccines rolled out in the U.S., with deaths at their lowest point since last year.
Indoor activities considered safest for vaccinated people to remain maskless include visiting hair salons, going to an uncrowded mall or museum, eating in restaurants and participating in high intensity exercise classes, the CDC notes on its website."
READ MORE VACCINE NEWS --- Will California follow CDC's new vaccine-related guidelines regarding masks and social distancing? -- The Chronicle, CATHERINE HO/AIDIN VAZIRI; What the CDC mask changes mean for travel, shopping, gatherings, outdoor life and more -- LA Times, RONG-GONG LIN II/HAYLEY SMITH
Did COVID-19 escape from a lab? The idea deserves serious scrutiny a second time around, scientists say
LA Times, DEBORAH NETBURN: "Eighteen scientists from some of the world’s most prestigious research institutions are urging their colleagues to dig deeper into the origins of the coronavirus responsible for the global pandemic.
In a letter published Thursday in the journal Science, they argue that there is not yet enough evidence to rule out the possibility that the SARS-CoV-2 virus escaped from a lab in China, and they call for a “proper investigation” into the matter.
“We believe this question deserves a fair and thorough science-based investigation, and that any subsequent judgment should be made on the data available,” said Dr. David Relman, professor of microbiology and immunology at Stanford University who helped pen the letter."
SF City Hall Graft Probe: Longtime permit consultant agrees to pay back money from deals struck with Nuru, Harlan Kelly
The Chronicle, MICHAEL WILLIAMS: "Longtime permit consultant and contractor Walter Wong has agreed to pay back more than $1 million to San Francisco — money he secured through noncompetitive grants and contracts with the city’s Public Works and Public Utilities Commission, the City Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
As part of a tentative settlement agreement, Wong has agreed to pay back $1.45 million in contracts and grants he was awarded through his dealings with former Public Works director Mohammed Nuru and former SFPUC boss Harlan Kelly. Wong has also agreed to pay $317,650 in penalties and fees, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors needs to approve the settlement for it to become final.
Wong, a well-connected contractor and permit expediter, cropped up repeatedly as investigations by the Justice Department and the City Attorney’s Office widened. He was also a prolific political donor and spent considerable time ingratiating himself with city officials, apparently in the hope of securing favors and inside information about city contracts."
UC weighs limited tuition increase for next year
LA Times, TERESA WATANABE: "The University of California is weighing a tuition increase for incoming students beginning next year, but the proposal faced widespread student opposition and sharp questions from regents Thursday.
UC President Michael V. Drake told regents at the virtual board meeting Thursday that the plan would bring financial predictability for families, help struggling campuses maintain educational quality and make a UC education more affordable for many low-income students by raising more revenue for financial aid.
He noted that state funding has lagged behind enrollment growth, increasing by 11% in the last two decades compared with a 67% increase in the number of students served. Overall, per-student funding has declined by 33% during that time, he said."
READ MORE EDUCATION NEWS --- A California program spent millions on devices for distance learning. Here's where it went -- EdSource, SYDNEY JOHNSON/DANIEL J WILLIS; UC Board of Regents approves budget -- The Daily Californian, STAFF
Cal Fire suspends burn permits for Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa counties as dry weather persists
The Chronicle, LAUREN HERNANDEZ: "Cal Fire is suspending burn permits on Monday in three Bay Area counties and portions of two neighboring counties in response to dry, hot conditions that create high wildfire danger in the region, fire officials said Thursday.
The suspension will ban all residential outdoor burning of landscape debris — like branches and leaves — in Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa counties, as well as the western portions of Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties, Cal Fire’s Santa Clara Unit said. It takes effect on Monday, May 17.
The confluence of dry vegetation and warm, dry conditions increases the risk of fire danger in the region, fire officials said."
Ninth Circuit eases path to citizenship for some children of naturalized US citizens
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "With key votes from two appointees of former President Donald Trump, a federal appeals court eased the path to citizenship Thursday for some children of naturalized U.S. citizens, protecting the youths from deportation if they are later convicted of crimes.
The case before the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco involved the meaning of a former law that set conditions for immigrant children residing legally in the United States to become citizens after their parents obtain citizenship.
The law, passed in 1952, said citizenship was available if the child was living in the United States, as a legal permanent resident, when the parent became a naturalized citizen, “or thereafter begins to reside permanently in the United States while under the age of 18.” Legal permanent residents, also known as green-card holders, can live and work in the country and apply for citizenship on their own after five years."
Gyms are mounting as comeback. But are people ready for communal sweating and panting?
LA Times, ROGER VINCENT: "Like many homebound gym fans, Hannah Ebeling was eager to hit the machines again, visiting her Planet Fitness in Tustin three or four times a week since it reopened in March.
“I would try to go on runs,” Ebeling said, “but I missed having that equipment to lift weights. I got bored just running around.”
Still, the college freshman and restaurant hostess has been put off by lines to enter at popular times — “I stopped going when it was most busy,” she said. And working out in a mask has its limits: “If I do the cardio machines, I have to stop because I can’t keep running with the mask on.”"
Prosecutors want to halt new good-time release credits for 76K California inmates
Sac Bee, SAM STANTON: "One week after California prison officials increased the amount of good-conduct credits that thousands of inmates could earn toward release, 41 district attorneys throughout the state have signed onto a petition asking the state to repeal the new rules.
Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert and 40 other DAs sent a letter Thursday afternoon to California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Secretary Kathleen Allison objecting to the temporary emergency rules that went into effect last Friday.
The rules “have the effect of significantly shortening the length of sentence for 76,000 violent and serious offenders” and were adopted on an emergency basis despite the fact that the change was based on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget summary from May 2020, the prosecutors wrote."
READ MORE POLICE/PRISONS/PUBLIC SAFETY NEWS --- 41 DAs petition against potential early release of 76,000 convicts -- The Chronicle, MEGHAN BOBROWSKY
Omar Ameen gets first deportation hearing as lawyer vows to fight his removal to Iraq
Sac Bee, SAM STANTON: "Iraqi refugee Omar Ameen faced his first deportation hearing Thursday, with his lawyer telling an immigration judge in Van Nuys that Ameen will contest the government’s claims that he lied to gain admission to the United States in 2014.
But Ameen, who has been in federal custody since August 2018, will not get a rapid decision on whether the Sacramento County man should be returned to Iraq.
Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Scott Laurent set the next hearing in the case for July 27 following statements by Ameen lawyer Siobhan Waldron that she intends to fight the case with “voluminous evidence.”"
Rep. Liz Cheney's ouster from House leadership amplifies the voice of anti-Trump Republicans
LA Times, JANET HOOK: "House Republicans’ drive to oust Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming from her post as conference chair succeeded in eliminating a discordant voice from the GOP leadership, but it also elevated the voice of anti-Trump Republicans — a tiny faction in the House that could emerge as a significant slice of the electorate.
Former President Trump remains overwhelmingly popular with the GOP rank and file, but in some recent polling, his favorability ratings are beginning to erode. Anti-Trump forces, who for years have struggled to gain traction against the resilient Trump, are hoping to expand their ranks enough to be a factor in close elections to come.
“How many of these college-educated suburban voters now look at the party and say, ‘These guys have gone crazy; I no longer have a home there’?” said Sarah Longwell, a GOP political strategist who founded the Republican Accountability Project, an anti-Trump group."{
Hundreds flee amid escalating Israeli/Gaza tensions as worries of a possible ground incursion continue to foment
LA Times, HANA SALA/NABIH BULOS: "Israel intensified its attacks on the northern part of the Gaza Strip early Friday, spurring hundreds of residents in the densely packed territory to flee their homes amid fears of a ground incursion.
The Israeli military announced a ground and air assault on northern Gaza, massing troops along the Israel-Gaza border and pounding the area with artillery and airstrikes. But it has so far refrained from entering the enclave, from which Palestinian militants have fired hundreds of rockets into Israel.
“There were dozens of artillery shells falling on our house,” said Khouloud Nasser, 40, of the northern Gazan town of Beit Lahiya, who escaped from her home along with dozens of family members at dawn Friday. “We would have died under the rubble if we stayed there.”"
