Roe v. Wade

How a SCOTUS decision on abortion rights would impact California

The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "The Supreme Court appeared likely Wednesday to roll back and quite possibly overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 ruling that declared a constitutional right to abortion, a reversal that would divide the country and send millions of pregnant women on trips to California and other states where abortion remained legal.

In nearly two hours of arguments on a Mississippi law that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy — about nine weeks before Roe’s viability standard — the court’s six conservatives signaled that they were prepared to uphold the law. At least four of the justices suggested going further and allowing each state, or Congress, to decide when or whether women could terminate their pregnancies.

SF Archbishop wants Roe vs. Wade to fall -- unlike most Californians

The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "Like many Californians, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone was watching the Supreme Court Wednesday as it heard arguments in a Mississippi case that abortion rights advocates say could lead to the procedure becoming virtually illegal in as many as 26 states.

But unlike 77% of Californians — including 59% of Republicans — Cordileone opposes the landmark 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling that guaranteed the right to an abortion. He wants abortion to be illegal in all cases, in accordance with the church’s teachings.

And if it is not, Cordileone — like he did on same-sex marriage a decade ago — is prepared to continue to lead the national political fight against abortion, including by challenging the two most powerful Democrats in the country, both of whom happen to be fellow Catholics — President Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. He thinks neither should be able to receive Holy Eucharist because of their support for abortion rights."

As drought worsens, officials say mandatory water cuts likely coming for urban Californians

DALE KASLER, SacBee: "With the drought showing no signs of abating, California officials announced Wednesday they plan to deliver almost no water from the State Water Project to begin next year — and suggested that mandatory cutbacks in urban usage could come if conditions stay dry.

Karla Nemeth, director of the Department of Water Resources, said the various cities and farm-irrigation districts that belong to the State Water Project — the elaborate state-run network of reservoirs and canals — are getting “essentially a zero allocation” to start 2022.

While conditions could improve if the winter turns wet, it marks the first time that the project has announced a zero allocation initially for the upcoming year. The project delivered a 5% allocation in 2021.

CalPERS says these 5 retirees broke pension rules with part-time jobs. What did they do wrong?

RANDY DIAMOND, SacBee: "The California Employee’s Retirement System cites dozens of retirees each year for violating a law that limits employment after stopping work and collecting a pension.

But the pension system has almost exclusively gone after individual employees who seek out post retirement jobs.

In 2017, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System began a new effort: examining retirees who were placed by a third party company, Regional Government Services Authority, in consultant jobs at at California local governments affiliated with CalPERS.

Rise in COVID cases among youth at California correctional facilities worries advocates

LAUREN HERNANDEZ, Chronicle: "Forty-nine youths who are currently lodged at state juvenile correctional facilities have active cases of COVID-19, and community justice organizations are calling for improvements at the juvenile justice division amid what they call a “dangerous new outbreak.”

Authorities with the Division of Juvenile Justice, which is part of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, wouldn’t say where the coronavirus cases were located,

citing confidentiality.

Spokesperson Mike Sicilia told The Chronicle that “upticks in youth cases have been noted in the past couple of weeks,” but said that because of “youth privacy” the division was unable to disclose more than the aggregate total.

California lockdown unlikely in light of omicron variant, Newsom says, urging vaccinations

LARA KORTE, SacBee: "Despite the finding of a new COVID variant, California can likely avoid repeating the shutdowns it saw in 2020 if residents continue to get vaccinated and get their boosters, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday.

Federal health officials hours earlier confirmed the first case of the omicron variant in California.

Appearing at an event in the Central Valley, Newsom did not announce any statewide mandates or policy changes in light of the new variant, which is still being studied by experts.

Prosecute shoplifters under existing laws, governor says

DON THOMPSON, AP: "Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday in no uncertain terms that he thinks shoplifters should be prosecuted under existing California laws, as he called out local officials whom he said have been reluctant to do so.

He was responding to a recent run of large-scale thefts in California and across the nation in which groups of individuals shoplift en masse from stores or smash and grab from display cases. Single operators have also been a growing problems for retailers who say the thieves face little consequence.

Newsom, a Democrat who has boasted of his criminal justice reform efforts, promised that the proposed budget he sends to state lawmakers next month will “significantly increase our efforts to go after these retail rings.”

Will Bay Area mask mandates remain in place or tighten now that omicron is here? Here's what officials say

The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "The discovery of the omicron coronavirus variant in the Bay Area could deal a setback to the progress the Bay Area region has made over the past few weeks in tamping down infections and moving toward loosened restrictions.

Officials in San Francisco, where the first case of the new, highly transmissible variant in the country was confirmed on Wednesday — in a vaccinated traveler who returned to the city after a trip to South Africa — said all mitigation measures, including the universal indoor mask mandate, will stay in place indefinitely.

“I’ve had a lot of requests for when we can loosen, and we were starting to look at that, but for now, we’re going to hold,” said Dr. Susan Philip, the San Francisco health officer, in an interview. “We’re not going to loosen anything at this moment.”"

SF school officials say no time left to return to merit-based system

The Chronicle, JILL TUCKER: "San Francisco education officials have been scrambling to address a recent judge’s ruling that tossed out a permanent change to the admission process at Lowell High School and are now proposing a one-year extension of the new lottery system.

There is no time to go back to the previous admission process based on test scores and grades for the next school year, said Superintendent Vince Matthews.

“We recognize that in light of the recent court decision, families are anxious to know what the admissions process will be for applying to Lowell for the 2022-2023 school year,” he said in a statement. “It would be logistically impossible to establish and implement any selective admission criteria prior to the application of Feb. 4 so I am recommending we maintain our current admissions practice at Lowell for the upcoming year.”"

What we know about the San Francisco patient with first U.S. Omicron variant case

LUKE MONEY, MAURA DOLAN and RONG-GONG LIN II, LA Times: "A person in San Francisco has been identified as having the first recorded case of the Omicron variant in the United States, health officials said Wednesday.

Both California and federal officials suspect the coronavirus variant is likely in other parts of the country by now. They say its presence is a cause for concern but not panic.

The infected individual returned home from South Africa on Nov. 22, officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

How the pandemic transformed SF's libraries

The Chronicle, NAMI SUMIDA: "Millions fewer books were borrowed from San Francisco’s public libraries due to the pandemic. According to annual circulation data from the San Francisco Public Library, total circulation fell by 23% during the 2021 fiscal year — a time period spanning July 2020 to June 2021. Much of this decline was in physical materials, which were unavailable during pandemic lockdowns.

In March 2020, all library branches closed their doors to the public. They remained closed until August 2020, when they started offering a front-door pickup service where members could collect physical materials requested in advance. It wasn’t until May 2021 that the libraries started allowing visitors into buildings — a celebratory moment for both members and staff. Still, members were encouraged to keep visits short. The library even removed furniture so people wouldn’t sit down to read.

With all library buildings closed for months, cardholders were unable to borrow books, magazines, DVDs and other physical items. As a result, the 2021 fiscal year saw an unprecedented 64% drop in circulation of physical items. Digital circulation, on the other hand, increased by 29% to reach over 6 million, exceeding physical circulation for the first time. Digital materials, like e-books, audiobooks and streaming content, were available for loan throughout the closures."

Caltrain stop in Redwood City is focus of major redevelopment project

The Chronicle, J.K. DINEEN: "The redevelopment of downtown Redwood City over the past decade has been a study in stark contrast.

To the east of the Caltrain tracks, the historic downtown has been booming — growing more urbane and busier with more than 2,500 new apartments popping up, restaurants opening, and — pre-COVID — an increasing number of commuters stepping off the train and walking next door to tech firm Box.com’s corporate headquarters.