Not one California metro has an average gas price under $5. But where is it cheapest?
BRIANNA TAYLOR, SacBee: “Not a single California metro has an average regular gas price lower than $5 a gallon.
The cheapest price the state is seeing is $5.42. And its price recently fell. Hanford-Corcoran, located in the south-central San Joaquin Valley and about three and a half hours away from Sacramento, is the cheapest metro to fill your tank in California, according to the American Automobile Association.
And it’s more than 50 cents cheaper than the most expensive California metro, San Luis Obispo ($5.93 per gallon).BART ridership hit a post-pandemic high last week. Is it because of high gas prices?
The Chronicle, NAMI SUMIDA: "BART ridership hit a daily pandemic record last Thursday, with nearly 129,000 people entering BART stations across the Bay Area that day.
The recent rise in ridership has coincided with a spike in gas prices, leading some observers to suggest that Bay Area residents are turning to public transportation as an economical alternative to driving — even BART made this connection in a post on Twitter.
While it’s possible BART’s numbers are increasing more than they would have due to high gas prices, it’s difficult to see that in the data. A Chronicle analysis of weekly data going back to the start of this year shows little evidence to suggest a relationship between the two. Though both ridership and gas prices have trended upwards, the magnitude of the increases on a weekly basis are largely uncorrelated: BART ridership has steadily increased, even while average gas prices grew very little until last week’s jump."
Capitol Weekly Podcast: Gas prices, Russia and energy security
CW Staff: “With the average gasoline pump price approaching six bucks a gallon in California, we called Cathy Reheis-Boyd, President of the Western States Petroleum Association, to explain how we got here and what happens now.
Plus – who had the Worst Week in California Politics?”
California drivers won’t see a gas tax holiday any time soon after GOP move fails
LINDSEY HOLDEN, SacBee: “California Republicans failed on Monday to force a vote on suspending California’s gasoline tax, but vowed to press on in the weeks ahead.
They say they’re trying to give drivers relief at the pump immediately to help them cope with soaring prices. Democrats, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have also said they want to help California motorists. But they’re not open to suspending the state’s gas tax, which they increased with Senate Bill 1 in 2017.
That tax hike — which is used to pay for roads and infrastructure — also survived a 2018 repeal effort.”
California gas prices reach $5.75 a gallon Tuesday but falling oil prices could mean cheaper fuel in the weeks ahead
Mercury News, SUMMER LIN: "Another record was broken Tuesday in California for the highest average gas price at $5.75 a gallon — the highest in the country — but a dramatic drop in crude oil prices are signaling the cost to fill up at the pump could be on the way down in the weeks ahead, according to experts.
California average gas prices went up by one cent Tuesday and is nearly 30 cents more expensive than it was a week ago, according to the American Automobile Association. The highest national average price was recorded Friday at $4.33 a gallon.
But compared to previous weeks, gas prices have relatively leveled off, increasing from $5.74 a gallon Monday to $5.75 Tuesday across California. In San Francisco, the average remained $5.87 both Monday and Tuesday. Average prices across the Bay Area either dipped or stayed the same, going from $5.78 to $5.77 in San Jose, $5.8 in Oakland both days, $5.71 to $5.72 in Santa Cruz/Watsonville and $5.9 to $5.88 a gallon in San Rafael."
Newsom to Disney: ‘Door is open’ to bring Florida jobs back to California
SCNG-OC Register, BRADY MACDONALD: "Gov. Gavin Newsom piled a little extra kindling on a firestorm engulfing Disney CEO Bob Chapek and his handling of Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” legislation by reminding the Mouse House that California’s door remains open if the Sunshine State continues to prove uninviting.
“Disney, the door is open to bring those jobs back to California — the state that actually represents the values of your workers,” Newsom tweeted over the weekend."
Chapek has been caught in the middle of a media firestorm for his handling of Disney’s response to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill that would prohibit primary school classroom discussion about sexual orientation and gender identity. The Florida Senate has passed the controversial LGBTQ school measure and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has signaled he will sign the bill. “
California Lawmakers Have Solved Berkeley’s Problem. Is CEQA Next?
SHAWN HUBLER, NY Times: “California lawmakers on Monday headed off an enrollment freeze at the University of California, Berkeley, that threatened the growth not only of the iconic campus but also of public education institutions across the state.
The legislation, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom hours after its passage, will override a court order that would have forced Berkeley to cut thousands of students from its planned on-campus fall enrollment. Its swift enactment was lauded by Carol Christ, the university’s chancellor, “on behalf of the thousands of students who will benefit from today’s vote.”
So problem solved, right?”
Outlaw Jesse James lived at this big California ranch. $38M listing heads to auction
DAVID CARACCIO, SacBee: “A 14,750-acre ranch in San Luis Obispo County—where outlaws Jesse James and Frank James worked and lived while nursing bullet wounds from a bank robbery—is heading for auction in April after being listed for $38 million, according to Hall and Hall.
Hall and Hall is handling the auction in cooperation with California Outdoor Properties.
California history lessons aside, the diverse ranch at 5909 East Pozo Road in Santa Margarita offers an expansive family compound with a main 5,500-square-foot, seven-bedroom, four-bath “hacienda;” a 4,400-square-foot bunk house; and a 2,000-square-foot guest home.”
‘Perfect storm’ is causing coronavirus cases to rise in Europe. Should California be worried?
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: "Even as California and the Bay Area drop most coronavirus restrictions amid a precipitous decline in cases, COVID-19 is on the rise again in the United Kingdom and other parts of Europe as the omicron subvariant BA.2 spreads.
Throughout the pandemic, the U.K. has generally served as a harbinger of what’s to come for California, first with the alpha variant, followed by delta, and most recently with omicron. Given the pattern, does the U.K.’s latest spike signal a new surge here in the coming weeks?
The short answer from Bay Area experts: Yes and no."
Karen Bass is running for mayor as a progressive. But some L.A. leftists are frustrated
LAT, DAVID ZAHNISER and JULIA WICK: "For some of L.A.'s most outspoken left-leaning activists, the first sign of trouble came when U.S. Rep. Karen Bass unveiled her plan for ending homeless encampments on the city’s streets and sidewalks.
Bass, a progressive Democrat running for mayor, promised to house 15,000 people in her first year. But she also assailed “the violence that takes place in broad daylight” at encampments, saying she would make sure outreach workers receive backup from law enforcement or other security personnel — an approach opposed by some homeless advocates.
Leftist organizers were also troubled when Bass told a homeowner group she would not repeal a city law that allows council members to set up no-encampment zones around schools, parks and other facilities."
A first school day without mask mandates, except in L.A., where teachers union is in talks
LAT, HOWARD BLUME and MELISSA GOMEZ: "Across Los Angeles County and throughout California, students and teachers on Monday had the option to take their masks off in class or keep them on — and their decisions varied. A major exception was L.A. Unified, where a mask requirement remains in place and under negotiation with the teachers union.
For those with a choice, the end of mandates brought on a range of emotion and opinions — joy and relief, caution and uncertainty, or firm insistence on maintaining this most visible of safety measures.
It was largely masks-off for the young students at a Westside Catholic school and largely masks-on for students at Montebello High School. And it was masks-on for all in the state’s two largest school systems, L.A. Unified and San Diego Unified, although San Diego students can go mask-free on April 4."
Many Bay Area students still masked as state mandate lifts
Mercury News, JOHN WOLFOOLK/JULIA PRODIS SULEK/JUDITH PRIEVE/ELIYAHU KAMISHER: "It was supposed to be mask-free Monday for California school kids, but you couldn’t tell from watching Willow Glen Middle School eighth grader Trish Ha as she darted off to her first class. Though San Jose Unified School District adopted the state’s new mask-optional guidance, Ha was having none of it.
“I’m still going to wear my mask,” the 14-year-old said. “I don’t want to take it off because people might be a bit reckless.”
Ha was hardly alone. Mask-wearing has become so baked in that nine out of 10 kids at San Jose Unified opted to keep them on Monday, said district spokeswoman Jennifer Maddox, and many of the few who showed up bare faced slipped theirs back on to avoid standing out. Allegiance to masks was on display throughout the Bay Area on Monday, the first school day since the statewide K12 mask mandate lifted over the weekend."
Revised California math proposal: Despite pushback, little change
CalMatters, JOE HONG: "The California Department of Education on Monday published its second crack at a new Mathematics Framework, a set of guidelines for math instruction that last year became the center of both a culture war about progressive education and an academic debate over how the state’s public schools should teach math.
The upshot: Despite lots of pushback, the drafters haven’t changed much.
The new draft of the proposed framework — a non-binding series of recommendations — largely doubles down on the key goals of making math more relatable and closing the achievement gaps for Black and Latino students."
Instagram, TikTok could get sued for addicting kids under California proposal
NYT, SUSANNAH LUTHI: "Big Tech companies could face a slew of lawsuits for harming children under a new California proposal that takes the toughest industry-accountability stance yet on the mental health toll of intense social media use.
The bipartisan measure from Assemblymembers Jordan Cunningham (R-Templeton) and Buffy Wicks (D-Oakland), which rolls out on Tuesday, would hold social media companies legally liable for deploying features and apps that addict children to their detriment. Significantly, the legislation is retroactive, which would put the companies at legal risk for any past damage their products caused for teens and younger children.
In an exclusive interview about the bill, Cunningham compared its potential effect to the landmark legislation against Big Tobacco’s marketing to kids."
Two-thirds of L.A. County Asian Americans fear racial attacks, survey finds
LAT, JEONG PAR: "Two-thirds of Asian Americans in Los Angeles County are worried about being a victim of a racial attack, and a strong majority want police funding increased or kept the same, according to poll results released Tuesday.
The poll also found high political engagement, with 92% saying they were very or somewhat likely to vote in this year’s midterm elections.
Asian Americans make up 11% of registered voters in L.A. County and 9% in the city of Los Angeles."
Contra Costa Sheriff defiant in wake of deputy’s conviction, even as audit of policy, training practices are requested
LAT, RICK HURD: "The historic conviction and sentencing of a deputy in Contra Costa County did not sit well with the county’s sheriff, and now prosecutors in California are asking for an audit of his disciplinary practices and training.
It all stems from an email to staff that Sheriff David Livingston sent to his staff following the sentencing of former Deputy Andrew Hall, who was convicted of fatally shooting 33-year-old Laudemer Arboleda in Danville on Nov. 3, 2018. Livingston criticized Contra Costa County District Attorney Diana Becton and called the six-year prison sentence handed to Hall on March 4 a “sad day.”
“For our district attorney to charge a deputy sheriff, or any peace officer, for a crime based on a split-second tactical decision is abhorrent,” he wrote. “It is even more abhorrent for that same district attorney to later repost photos of her re-election campaign social media that show her smiling and proclaiming that she ‘charged the officer.'”"
LAFD chief deputy allegedly drunk during a major fire gets no discipline, $1.4-million payout
LAT, PAUL PRINGLE: "Last spring, a high-ranking official in the Los Angeles Fire Department alleged that its top administrative commander, Chief Deputy Fred Mathis, appeared to be intoxicated while he was overseeing the agency’s operations center during the Palisades fire.
The officer reported that Mathis admitted to her that he had been drinking, according to LAFD records.
Now, The Times has learned that a private law firm hired by the city to investigate the May 18 episode found that Mathis was likely intoxicated at the department’s headquarters at City Hall East."
