Bay Area schools see families leave cities, flock to suburbs
ALI TADAYON, EdSource: "Thirty years ago, the Bay Area suburb of Dublin’s eastside was little more than miles of ranchland.
Today, it’s lined with new houses and apartments home to thousands of new-to-the area families. On a sunny afternoon, the city of 61,000’s playgrounds, cul-de-sacs and sports fields are buzzing with children, and the roads and strip mall parking lots are packed with minivans and electric cars.
The city’s building boom following the Great Recession resulted in the Dublin Unified School District tripling its number of students since 2000 – the only Bay Area district to do so while the region as a whole saw a 3.7% increase from 2000 and 2019. Along with the rest of the state, Bay Area enrollment plunged around 6.2% during the pandemic to 859,619 students – the lowest it’s been in more than 20 years."
After leak on reversing abortion rights, Orange County women may upend congressional races
SEEMA MEHTA and PRISCELLA VEGA, LA Times: "The Supreme Court’s expected decision to overturn Roe vs. Wade could galvanize Democrats and turn some reliable Republican voters — especially women — blue, according to polls and interviews.
It’s a small bit of hope for Democrats, who are widely expected to lose control of Congress in this year’s election.
Polling shows that women are more likely than men to consider a candidate’s position on abortion when deciding how to vote. Women who are college graduates are also more supportive of abortion rights.
These college-educated women could be pivotal in congressional races in Orange County, where they make up more than 40% of voters — as well as in contests in similar swaths of the nation, such as the suburbs of Atlanta and Phoenix, said Mike Madrid, a GOP consultant who favors abortion rights."
CalPERS board violated open meetings law, judge rules. Ex-board member wants more information
WES VENTEICHER, SacBee: "The CalPERS Board of Administration violated California’s open meetings law when it excluded the public from a discussion two years ago related to the exit of its former investment chief, a judge ruled last week.
The retirement system’s board held a closed-session meeting in August 2020 after the sudden resignation of former Chief Investment Officer Ben Meng. Meng quit after someone filed a conflict-of-interest complaint over his personal investments in Blackstone, a private equity firm in which the pension fund also was invested.
A notice published by the board said the meeting, held 12 days after Meng’s resignation, was closed so board members could discuss a “chief executive officer’s briefing on performance, employment, and personnel items.”
How the pandemic divided the California county where 1 in 300 people died of COVID
RYAN KOST, Chronicle: "The pandemic came late to Tuolumne County.
Health officials there logged cases as early as March 2020, but for all the work preparing for the sort of chaos playing out in New York City and elsewhere, it seemed to miss this picturesque county — “The Gateway to Yosemite” — located about 100 miles east of San Francisco.
The county’s public health department announced the first two deaths on July 27, though it wasn’t until much later that the novel coronavirus began to test the community. The pandemic would hit in three furious waves — one that winter, an unyielding delta wave (by far the deadliest) that stretched from summer to winter of 2021 and an omicron wave at the end of February 2022. By some estimates, the coronavirus has infected 1 in every 4 residents and, at latest count, killed 181 people, an enormous toll for a county of just 55,000 — about 1 in every 300, a figure roughly in line with the national death rate."
What Israel, Las Vegas and other places can teach SoCal about using a lot less water
HAYLEY SMITH and IAN JAMES, LA Times: "Millions of Southern Californians will wake up to the region’s most severe water restrictions ever on June 1, with local water agencies under orders to slash the use of supplies from the State Water Project by 35%.
Many water experts say the cuts are achievable and that reducing outdoor watering to one day a week can help yield immediate savings. At the same time, researchers and water policy experts say the region needs to adapt to the severe drought because climate change, extreme heat and dwindling snowpack will only serve to exacerbate the issues in years to come.
“It’s time for belt-tightening,” said Jonathan Parfrey, executive director of the group Climate Resolve. “We must realize that our beautiful Mediterranean climate is changing, and we must change with it,” said the former Los Angeles Department of Water and Power commissioner."
Benicia orders residents, businesses to immediately cut water use by 30% after pipeline break
The Chronicle, CAROLYN SAID: "Benicia ordered residents and businesses Sunday night to immediately cut their water usage by 30% because of a pipeline break at a water treatment plant.
The Benicia Water Treatment Plant suffered a break in a pipeline overnight, according to a city news release. “Staff is working to locate the break and make repairs as soon as possible,” it said. Water remains safe to drink and use, it said.
Workers discovered the break because it flooded part of the plant, said Sarah Terherst, senior management analyst for the city. They identified the source as a backwash pipe."
After stealing $19,000 worth of watches, suspects flee West Hollywood in a Rolls-Royce
JEONG PARK, LA Times: "Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators are searching for at least four suspects who are believed to have stolen $19,000 worth of luxury watches from two people in West Hollywood early Sunday before fleeing in a black Rolls-Royce.
Deputies responded to a battery call in the 8800 block of Sunset Boulevard about 12:52 a.m., the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.
At the scene, the deputies heard from the female victim, who said the suspects approached her and the male victim and stole watches from both of them, a Rolex valued at $18,000 and Michael Kors valued at $1,000, according to the sheriff’s statement. The suspects were not armed, authorities said."
Pelosi: Is Newsom ‘unaware’ of Democrats’ fight for abortion rights?
The Chronicle, CAROLYN SAID: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Sunday appeared miffed Sunday that Gov. Gavin Newsom, her fellow California Democrat, would accuse the Democratic Party of being too passive on abortion rights.
“I have no idea why anybody would make that statement unless they were unaware of the fight that has been going on,” Pelosi said on CBS’ “Face the Nation” after viewing a clip of Newsom criticizing his own party after news last Monday that the Supreme Court appeared on track to toss out the guaranteed right to abortion. Newsom, in public exasperation, complained: “Where is the Democratic Party? Where’s the party?... We need to stand up. Where’s the counteroffensive?”
Speaking from San Francisco, the city both she and Newsom are from, Pelosi said that she personally has been battling for abortion rights in Congress for decades."
UC and CSU are unaffordable, and a 4-year degree isn’t the only way to succeed, Californians say in poll
TERESA WATANABE, LA Times: "Most Californians believe the University of California and California State University are unaffordable, and they highly value community colleges and vocational training as alternative paths to career success, according to a statewide poll released Monday.
More than three-fourths of state residents surveyed still view four-year degrees as valuable. But they are divided over whether a higher education is still as useful today to achieve better economic opportunities as it was in the past, with 53% saying it is and 45% expressing doubt. And 63% of respondents said multiple pathways, including college and apprenticeships, can help achieve a successful and profitable career, compared with 33% who said four-year degrees were needed.
The findings underscore a significant perception gap between the California public and political and educational leaders who tout the state’s generous financial aid programs and the long-term economic benefits of a four-year degree."
They remember a time before Roe. Now the Bay Area’s members of Congress are leading the charge to protect abortion rights
The Chronicle, TAL KOPAN: "As abortion may once again become illegal in large swaths of the country, no delegation to Congress may have as much personal connection to the issue as the Bay Area’s.
Of the 12 Democratic lawmakers who represent substantial portions of the Bay Area, half are women, all of whom reached adulthood before abortion was legalized nationally by the Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade. Two of them, Reps. Jackie Speier of San Mateo and Barbara Lee of Oakland, are among the few members of Congress who have publicly shared their own abortion stories. At the vanguard of the delegation is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, who often speaks on her support for abortion rights from her perspective as a devout Catholic mother.
Now, in the wake of a leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision that would erase the 50-year-old constitutional right to abortion, this group is leading the charge to codify abortion rights into federal law. The effort won’t be successful, as there remain fewer than the 60 votes required to advance legislation in the Senate. But their voices will be front and center as the nation grapples with a new era of reproductive politics. Adding to the charge will be another highly visible politician from the Bay Area — Vice President Kamala Harris, who has already been a forceful voice for abortion rights for the administration in the aftermath of the leak."
Capitol Weekly Special Podcast, Paul Mitchell: "How Will the Overturn of Roe Affect the 2022 Elections?
CW Staff: "Recently, Politico published a bombshell report: a leaked draft of a Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that established federal abortion rights.
The 98-page draft of Justice Samuel Alito’s opinion for the majority castigates the original decision as “egregiously wrong from the start” and also revokes Planned Parenthood v. Casey. If the draft is accurate, and the Court does upend Roe – which most observers believe it will – that decision may have a profound impact on the 2022 election.
For this Special Episode we asked Paul Mitchell, one of California’s leading political data analysts, to weigh in on the likely effects of the decision.
Paul is a regular contributor to Capitol Weekly, and is by no means a disinterested observer: he is married to Jodi Hicks, the President of Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California."
Late season snow arrives in Sierra
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: "While ski slopes are shuttered and spring flowers are blooming, a late season snow storm hit the Lake Tahoe region, with up to 10 inches of snow expected across the mountains.
Light snow started to fall over the Sierra, just as a Winter Weather Advisory began at 11 a.m. Sunday, according to Cory Mueller, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service location in Sacramento. The conditions were expected to continue until 11 p.m.
“It’s not unusual to see a storm like this in May,” Mueller said. “It’s not unusual to be completely dry in May either. Both can be considered normal for California.”"
If Chesa Boudin is recalled, London Breed will own San Francisco’s crime concerns
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "San Francisco Mayor London Breed hasn’t taken a public position on the recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin. But, politically, she’d better hope Boudin survives it.
For her sake.
If Breed has to pick Boudin’s successor, then she will own the crime issue in San Francisco until she faces voters next year. That’s not a re-election position she wants to be in given how people feel about crime — even if statistics compiled by The Chronicle show many crimes returning to pre-pandemic levels."
With Dr. Dre’s help, a new $200-million Compton High breaks ground
LA Times, JEONG PARK: "With “California Love” playing in the background, Dr. Dre joined Compton school and community leaders this weekend to break ground on a new, $200-million campus for Compton High School.
Dr. Dre, whose real name is Andre Young, has given $10 million for the school’s new performing arts center, which can seat more than 900 people. The facility will be named as the “Andre ‘Dr. Dre’ Young Performing Arts Center,” according to the Compton Unified School District.
“I was an artistic kid in school with no outlet for it,” he said said at Saturday’s groundbreaking ceremony. “I knew I had something special to offer to the world, but with nothing to support my gift, schools left me feeling unseen.”"
Jill Biden, Justin Trudeau visit Ukraine; dozens feared dead in school bombing in eastern battle zone
LA Times, LAURA KING, COURTNEY SUBRAMANIAN: "As air raid sirens wailed repeatedly Sunday in Kyiv and in cities and towns across Ukraine, First Lady Jill Biden made a foray into the embattled country, meeting her Ukrainian counterpart near the Slovakian border.
The day also saw another high-profile Western visit from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who traveled to a suburban town outside Kyiv where evidence has emerged of gruesome atrocities committed by Russian troops during a monthlong occupation.
And U.S. diplomats returned to Kyiv, the capital, for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February, with the U.S. Embassy tweeting a photo of acting Ambassador Kristina Kvien’s arrival."
