California Democratic Party leader steps down amid Angel Stadium probe
SEEMA MEHTA, LA Times: "A California Democratic party leader linked to a sprawling corruption investigation of the proposed sale of Anaheim Stadium land announced late Sunday her resignation from state and national party offices.
“The controversy over my role is now a hindrance,” state party secretary Melahat Rafiei wrote in a letter to the state and national chairmen of the Democratic Party. “The rush to judgment that is all too prevalent in politics these days has made clear to me that, for now, the best course of action for me and for the party is to resign from my positions.”
Rafiei, who has been accused of trying to bribe public officials in a mushrooming federal corruption probe, is also leaving her post as a member of the Democratic National Committee. She did not respond Sunday to a request for comment, but acknowledged in the letter that she was a confidential witness in the FBI probe of the proposed $320-million sale of Angel Stadium land."
READ MORE on Melahat Rafiei resignation: Melahat Rafiei resigns from DNC, fair board roles amid fallout from Anaheim corruption probe -- BROOKE STAGGS, OC Register
Study: Cal State system needs to increase staff pay
EdSource, ASHLEY A. SMITH: “The California State University system does a poor job of paying non-faculty staff and employees across the 23 campus system, according to a new, independent study.
The study, which will be explored in more detail next week during the CSU Board of Trustees meeting, found the system has failed to keep up with institutions nationwide across higher education in staff pay. The system also lacks consistent and updated job classifications, and there is no consistency in how the university system advances or increases individual wages and salaries.
The study’s recommendations would require $287 million in ongoing funding to put in place.”
Gas cards for guns? More than 100 people took that deal from Sacramento Police Department
BENJY EGEL, SacBee: "As California’s average price of gasoline soared beyond $6 per gallon last week, Sacramento Police offered people a way to save at the pump: turn in their guns.
More than 100 people turned in a total of 134 guns for $50 gas gift cards on Saturday, the Sacramento Police Department announced in a news release.
People dropped off their firearms at department headquarters from noon to 4 p.m. as part of an organized event. No ID was required and no ammunition was accepted. Each gun had to be fully functional.
‘NIMBYism is destroying the state.’ Gavin Newsom ups pressure on cities to build more housing
SOPHIA BOLLAG, Chronicle: "Gov. Gavin Newsom defended his administration’s work on housing and homelessness during an interview with The Chronicle’s editorial board Thursday, promising to crack down on local opposition to housing projects.
“Taxpayers deserve more in terms of results, not just inputs,” Newsom said. “They want to see results.”
In the last few years, Newsom has been responsible for putting more state funding into housing and homelessness programs than any other recent governor. His previous budgets have poured billions in funding to increase housing production and help get homeless people off the streets, but Californians aren’t yet seeing results they want, as they continue to rank housing and homelessness as top concerns."
A Republican has a shot at becoming California state controller. Yes, you read that right
LAT, GEORGE SKELTON: “You won’t read this very often: A Republican is favored to win a California statewide election.
Lanhee Chen is likely to finish first in the June 7 primary and advance to the November runoff for state controller. But then the odds are he’ll turn into a pumpkin and lose to a Democrat.
That said, he has the best chance of any Republican in many years to capture a statewide office in Democrat-dominant California.”
Kaiser behavioral health care on the hot seat after California complaints
CATHIE ANDERSON, SacBee: "In an unexpected move, the California Department of Mental Health Care informed Kaiser Permanente that it will be examining whether the company is providing adequate mental health care services to its 9.4 million California members.
“This non-routine survey is based on complaints received from enrollees, providers, and other stakeholders concerning the plan’s behavioral health operations,” said Amanda Levy, the department’s deputy director of health policy and stakeholder relations.
Levy said regulators would evaluate Kaiser’s internal and external provider networks, timely access to care, processes for intake and follow-up appointments, appointment scheduling processes, levels of care and associated decision-making processes, medical record documentation and retention practices, and monitoring of urgent appointments."
Historic state budget blueprint faces crucial hurdles
Capitol Weekly, CHUCK MCFADDEN: “Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing a multi-billion-dollar package of monetary goodies for Californians, but how much of it will become reality is now up to legislators.
The clock ticks: Lawmakers have less than a month to approve the 2022-23 budget, an unprecedented, nearly $300 billion document, and send it to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who will then act on it by July 1, the start of the new fiscal year.
Despite the pandemic, an uncertain economy, spiraling home prices, a number of fiscal scandals and concerns for the future, California reported nearly $100 billion in additional revenues, much of it in the form of taxes paid by millionaires and billionaires.”
California is about to begin the nation’s largest dam removal project. Here’s what it means for wildlife
The Chronicle, KURTIS ALEXANDER: “After decades of negotiation, the largest dam-removal project in U.S. history is expected to begin in California’s far north next year.
The first of four aging dams on the Klamath River, the 250-mile waterway that originates in southern Oregon’s towering Cascades and empties along the rugged Northern California coast, is on track to come down in fall 2023. Two others nearby and one across the state line will follow.
The nearly half-billion dollars needed for the joint state, tribal and corporate undertaking has been secured. The demolition plans are drafted. The contractor is in place. Final approval could come by December.”
California is beginning to bury its power lines to prevent wildfire
Mercury News, LISA M. KRIEGER: “Etched in dirt, a narrow furrow is the only clue that the grasslands of Lime Ridge Open Space will soon be restored to their original splendor, cleared of dangerous power lines that could ignite nearby subdivisions.
The undergrounding project, costing $3.75 million a mile, represents the beginning of a 10,000-mile-long effort by Pacific Gas and Electric to bury the state’s distribution lines to cope with the growing risk of winds and wildfires linked to global warming.
“It is a one-time investment to eliminate essentially all ignition risk related to power lines, with the added benefit of reducing reliability issues,” said Jamie Martin, who oversees PG&E’s undergrounding initiative. “It’s permanent risk reduction.””
High winds in forecast drive another red flag fire warning for Sacramento Valley
Sac Bee, BENJY EGEL: “The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for the Sacramento Valley beginning Monday morning, a sign that the weekend’s scattered grass fires may turn into something more serious.
Northern winds of 15 to 25 mph and gusts of 25 to 35 mph will begin as early as 11 a.m. Monday and could last until 8 p.m. Tuesday from Fairfield to Redding, according to the weather service. Daytime humidity will be at least 5% to 12%.
“Renewed periods of northerly winds combined with low afternoon humidity values will result in critical fire weather conditions,” the service posted to Twitter.”
Health concerns raised over toxicity of gas used at 5 Southern California facilities
Pasadena Star News, JASON HENRY: “A Los Angeles County supervisor is calling for the temporary shuttering of a medical device sterilizing plant and the investigation of other similar facilities elsewhere in Southern California after the region’s air quality agency detected unsafe levels of a cancer-causing gas in Vernon.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District began investigating Sterigenics in Vernon in March in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s changing views on the toxicity of ethylene oxide, a gas used by Sterigenics and others to sterilize medical equipment, according to an AQMD spokesperson.
Unannounced inspections in April found ethylene oxide (EtO) concentrations were at such a high level near the company’s 50th Street location that nearby workers could have a risk of cancer that is four times higher than the average in the region.”
Laguna Woods church shooting adds to history of hate, but hope isn’t lost
OC Register, ANDRE MOUCHARD: “San Bernardino. Poway. El Paso. Atlanta. Buffalo.
And on May 15, in the lunch hall of a Presbyterian church favored by older Taiwanese Americans, Laguna Woods.
In recent years and days, each of these cities, as well as dozens of others, has been a backdrop for the highest of high-profile hate crimes; with some residents targeted for mass murder because of their religion, ethnicity or race.”
Biden administration races to salvage Summit of Americas in Los Angeles
LAT, COURTNEY SUBRAMANIAN/TRACY WILKINSON: “A brewing boycott over the invitation list to this year’s Summit of the Americas, a hemispheric gathering held every three to four years and planned for Los Angeles next month, has the Biden administration scrambling to avoid an embarrassment that could erode U.S. influence in the region.
The trouble began when the administration decided initially to exclude antidemocratic leaders from Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela, drawing the ire of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. The Mexican leader said he would not attend the summit unless all countries in the Western Hemisphere were included. Other Latin American leaders quickly echoed the warning.
The summit comes at a critical time for the administration, which is seeking to counter China’s growing clout in the region, repair relationships damaged during the Trump administration and stem the flow of migrants at the southern U.S. border.”
COVID in California: World Health Organization chief says pandemic is ‘most certainly not over’
The Chronicle, RITA BEAMISH: “The coronavirus pandemic is “not over anywhere until it’s over everywhere,” the head of the World Health Organization says — and it’s “most certainly not over.” People who work as political signature gatherers found a new way to make a buck during the pandemic: pop-up coronavirus test sites. The mushrooming spread of coronavirus mutations is presenting an unwelcome prospect — that the virus could outrun measles as the most contagious of all known infections.
WHO chief warns ‘we lower our guard at our peril’
The COVID-19 pandemic is “most certainly not over,” the head of the World Health Organization warned Sunday, despite a decline in reported cases since the peak of the omicron wave. He told governments gathered in Geneva for WHO’s annual meeting that “we lower our guard at our peril.”
The director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said “declining testing and sequencing means we are blinding ourselves to the evolution of the virus.” He also noted that almost 1 billion people in lower-income countries still haven’t been vaccinated. While 60% of the world’s population is vaccinated, “it’s not over anywhere until it’s over everywhere,” he said.”
Bay Area COVID patients flag ‘Paxlovid rebound’ after taking antiviral treatment
The Chronicle, CATHERINE HO: “When Berkeley resident Myriam Misrach tested positive for the coronavirus last month, she started taking the COVID antiviral pill Paxlovid the same day. Over the five-day course of treatment, her cough and shortness of breath mostly faded, but a couple days after taking the final pill, her symptoms came roaring back.
For 48 hours thereafter, she also had a fever, headache, nausea, runny nose and lost her sense of taste, she said. And she once again tested positive for the virus — despite having tested negative and feeling much better just a few days prior.
“I had everything in the book,” said Misrach, 66, who is vaccinated and boosted. “It was not at all a mild case.””
Senior living: Long COVID-19 symptoms often overlooked in seniors
Daily News, JUDITH GRAHAM: “Nearly 18 months after getting COVID-19 and spending weeks in the hospital, Terry Bell still struggles with hanging up his shirts and pants after doing the laundry.
Lifting his clothes, raising his arms, arranging items in his closet all leave Bell short of breath and often trigger severe fatigue. He walks with a cane, only short distances. He’s 50 pounds lighter than when the virus struck.
Bell, 70, is among millions of older adults who have grappled with long COVID-19 — a population that has received little attention even though research suggests seniors are more likely to develop the poorly understood condition than younger or middle-aged adults.”
Santa Clara County has its first competitive DA race in more than a decade: Here’s what you need to know about the candidates
Mercury News, ROBERT SALONGA: “The June primary will host the first competitive race for Santa Clara County District Attorney in 12 years, with incumbent Jeff Rosen facing challengers after running uncontested in his last two re-election bids.
As Rosen, career public defender Sajid Khan and Daniel Chung, a prosecutor who recently worked under Rosen, move closer to election day, they have presented three distinct visions for the top law-enforcement position in the South Bay.
How he defines himself: Rosen was first elected in 2010 and is positioning himself as the only candidate with the established ability to lead the state’s second-largest district attorney’s office. He also touts himself as the only candidate who has worked with law enforcement in investigations, in contrast to his opponents, whom Rosen points out do not have meaningful experience trying cases.”
California Rep. David Valadao voted to impeach. Can he keep his seat if Trump stays quiet?
LAT, MELANIE MASON: “The moment Rep. David Valadao and nine other House Republicans voted to impeach then-President Trump for inciting an insurrection at the Capitol, they were all engulfed in a wave of backlash — outraged conservatives back home, challengers eager to oust them, and Trump’s constant commentary casting doubt on their political futures.
These days, Valadao is distinctly not like the others, for one key reason: Trump has not said a word publicly against him or his reelection bid.
Valadao’s district is widely considered to be one of the country’s most competitive in the battle for control of the House this November. For Republicans, especially House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield, holding the seat is central to the goal of capturing a decisive majority. Democrats, eyeing their significant registration advantage in the district, see one of the few real chances to oust a GOP incumbent.”
Labor groups donate heavily to Contra Costa County supervisor candidates
Mercury News, SHOMIK MUKHERJEE: “With no incumbent standing in their way, five candidates armed with growing campaign chests are fighting to distinguish themselves in the wide-open race for the District 4 seat on the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors.
And unless one of them collects more than 50% of the vote in the June 7 primary, the top two ballot winners will face off against each other to succeed retiring Supervisor Karen Mitchoff, who has represented Concord, Walnut Creek, Pleasant Hill and Clayton since 2011.
The candidates are BART board director Debora Allen, Concord City Council members Carlyn Obringer and Edi Birsan, Pleasant Hill Councilman Ken Carlson and healthcare advocate Roxanne Garza.”
L.A. County sheriff candidates ride ‘anyone but Villanueva’ wave, but lack name recognition
LAT, LIBOR JANNY : “In some ways, the race for Los Angeles County sheriff is shaping up as a test of how many controversies voters will tolerate from incumbent Alex Villanueva.
His relationship with county leaders has hit new lows.
The jails are in disarray. Allegations of a cover-up and retaliation hang over an incident in which a deputy knelt on the head of a handcuffed inmate.
Those recent missteps have created an opening for a crowded field trying to unseat the sheriff. If only the public knew who the other eight candidates are.”
Gun violence costs Santa Clara County $72 million, according to public health report
Mercury News, GABRIEL GRESCHLER: “Santa Clara County incurs $72 million in costs associated with gun violence every year, according to a newly released report by the Department of Public Health.
The report, which investigated gun violence incidents going back to 2000, measured the impact on the county’s medical and mental health infrastructure, emergency services and law enforcement. The data did not include costs associated with incarceration or to the private sector.
Much of the gun violence in the county are suicides, which account for 60 percent of the deaths over the last two decades. Thirty-four percent are from assaults or homicides, while the remaining 4 percent come from law enforcement interventions. Males make up 89 percent of all firearm deaths.”
‘NIMBYism is destroying the state.’ Gavin Newsom ups pressure on cities to build more housing
The Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG: “Gov. Gavin Newsom defended his administration’s work on housing and homelessness during an interview with The Chronicle’s editorial board Thursday, promising to crack down on local opposition to housing projects.
“Taxpayers deserve more in terms of results, not just inputs,” Newsom said. “They want to see results.”
In the last few years, Newsom has been responsible for putting more state funding into housing and homelessness programs than any other recent governor. His previous budgets have poured billions in funding to increase housing production and help get homeless people off the streets, but Californians aren’t yet seeing results they want, as they continue to rank housing and homelessness as top concerns.”
Tenants struggle to find rentals as vacancies linger near 22-year lows
OC Register, JEFF COLLINS/LINH TAT: “Liza Asner jumped into action the moment a five-bedroom house in Winnetka came up for rent.
It’s large, has plenty of communal space for her family and a good-sized yard for her dogs, Rooney and Baby Huey.
“Whatever you have to do, Sam, get us this place,” she told her real estate agent. “Tell (the landlord) I’ll give him the whole year up front.””
UC system takes another step toward keeping students debt-free
CALMatters, MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: “The University of California is vowing to offer its California undergraduates a debt-free college experience by 2030 as part of an overhaul of how the system views college affordability.
To get there, the system of 230,000 students seeking bachelor’s degrees is relying on a mix of state and federal support, revenues from recent tuition increases, and students working part-time to cover the full cost of an education. Students from wealthier households would also rely on parental support.
The system’s governing body, the Board of Regents, took another step toward that debt-free goal Thursday by voting to prioritize part-time work over taking out loans as part of the UC’s official financial aid policy. The change is subtle but is yet another instance of the UC signaling that its students should be able to earn a bachelor’s degree without the need to borrow within the next several years.”
A greenway haven grows alongside the Highway 101 soundwall
The Chronicle, SAM WHITING: “Mang-Git Ng was waiting for his Sunday morning craft coffee at Hey Neighbor in the Portola when he pushed open an unlocked chain-link gate and was amazed at what he saw: Pressed between the Highway 101 soundwall and the backs of businesses on San Bruno Avenue was a landscaped, terraced park, two long city blocks from end to end, yet intriguingly narrow enough to draw him in.
“I’m always down to explore new places in the city. It’s what makes San Francisco so cool,” said Ng, 33, a tech worker who lives in the Castro. “This is a good use of space next to the freeway that would otherwise be dead.”
And that’s what it has been since the 1960s — just a Caltrans easement used as a dumping ground for junk rolled down the embankment before the sound wall went in, and used as a neighborhood dump for appliances and stuff too large for the bin. But in the last four years it has been emptied out and back- filled with soil and plants, and timber for the terrace and gravel for the walkway. Now it is a neighborhood park so new that it does not yet have a name.”
New Sacramento homeless site to open at Regional Transit lot after breakthrough with agency
Sac Bee, THERESA CLIFT: “A long-delayed effort to open a safe parking lot for homeless individuals to live in their vehicles at a Sacramento Regional Site site is on track to open this year after a breakthrough between the city and the commuter agency.
The Roseville Road Regional Transit light rail station parking lot, near the I-80 overpass, will contain space for unhoused individuals to live in about 70 vehicles, with access to bathrooms, showers, food, water, 24/7 security, and help finding housing.
The City Council included the site in its $100 million homeless siting plan it approved in August, but its opening stalled, partly because it needed approval from not only the city, but also Regional Transit, Caltrans, and multiple federal agencies.”
With Russians gone, Kyiv’s suburbs struggle to return to being ‘a happy place’
LAT, PATRICK J. MCDONNELL: “The soccer mom parks her car just past the charred ruins of the town cultural center, a hollow, bombed-out remnant of better times. Her son bounds out toward the green fields freshly daubed with white boundary lines.
“He and I lived through it all together,” says Valentyna Shleyuk, 32, gesturing toward her son, Artemi, 9, now scampering to join other youths on the spruced-up playing field. “The bombings, the occupation, the destruction. We were hiding all the time in the basement. He understood what was happening. But he always wanted to come out to play.”
In the mostly abandoned town of Borodyanka, where Russian bombs, shelling and battles hammered rows of Soviet-era apartment blocks, the seemingly mundane sight of kids kicking balls on a neatly groomed pitch counts as a jarring moment. The hard-hit towns outside of Kyiv are having a difficult time returning to any sense of normality.”
Russian sentenced to life in Ukraine’s 1st war crimes trial
AP, ELENA BECATOROS/OLEKSANDR STASHEVSKYI/ RICARDO MAZALAN: “A Ukrainian court sentenced a 21-year-old Russian soldier to life in prison Monday for killing a civilian, sealing the first conviction for war crimes since Moscow’s invasion three months ago.
Sgt. Vadim Shishimarin pleaded guilty to shooting a 62-year-old man in the head in a village in the northeastern Sumy region in the early days of the war.
He testified that he shot Oleksandr Shelipov after being ordered to do so. He told the court that an officer insisted that Shelipov, who was speaking on his cellphone, could pinpoint their location to Ukrainian forces.”
