L.A. City Council meeting erupts in chaos, with one protester arrested
LAT, DAVID ZAHNISER/JULIA WICK: “A Los Angeles City Council meeting erupted into chaos on Tuesday, with a public speaker climbing over a bench and onto the council floor to confront council President Nury Martinez, prompting police to fill the chamber.
Officers apprehended a second member of the public on the council floor moments later, while activists screamed at police and at least one audience member sprayed water from a bottle on officers. One audience member was arrested, police said.
Martinez abruptly recessed the meeting, leaving dozens of activists in the room chanting “Abolish 41.18!” — a reference to the city law prohibiting homeless encampments at libraries, freeway overpasses and other locations. Shortly after 11 a.m., an LAPD captain declared an unlawful assembly within the chamber, prompting scores of protesters to file out.”
Mercedes driver involved in 13 prior wrecks before Windsor Hills crash that killed 5, D.A. says
LAT, RICHARD WINTON/NATHAN SOLIS/NOAH GOLDBERG: “The nurse accused of killing five people last week when her Mercedes plowed into traffic at a busy Windsor Hills intersection had been involved in 13 previous crashes, Los Angeles County prosecutors alleged Monday in charging her with murder.
Authorities revealed new details about Thursday’s crash and about the driver, Nicole Lorraine Linton, 37, whose permanent address is in Texas and who is currently renting a room in Los Angeles while working as a traveling registered nurse.
Prosecutors said they are reviewing multiple previous crashes linked to Linton — both in and out of California — including one in 2020 that involved bodily injury in which two cars were totaled. They provided few additional details, however.”
Newsom to Legislature: Act fast to enact new climate change targets
CALMatters, RACHEL BECKER/JULIE CART: “Ramping up goals for tackling climate change, Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked the Legislature to accelerate greenhouse gas cuts, set new interim targets for reaching 100% clean electricity and codify safety zones around new oil and gas wells.
Newsom also is seeking regulations from the state Air Resources Board that would govern controversial projects that would remove carbon dioxide from the air and sequester it underground.
The governor’s memo on his beefed-up priorities — including measures that he would like the Legislature to enact this session — was sent to the leaders of both houses in the past week, according to Alex Stack, a Newsom spokesperson.”
Capitol Weekly’s Top 100 of 2022
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: “The sad thing about the pandemic is that we’re actually getting used to it.
This is the third Top 100 list in the era of COVID-19 and – amazingly – our 14th overall. (There’s just no getting rid of us.)
Despite the obvious handicaps – mano-a-mano gossip sessions in coffee shops were jettisoned, for example, and it’s hard to hear people talking through masks, anyway – we think we managed to come up with a good list that meets our basic objectives: Depict the unelected political hierarchy reasonably faithfully, have some new faces, offer a few surprises and have fun.”
Trump to testify Wednesday in New York financial investigation, he says
AP, MICHAEL BALSAMO/MICHAEL R. SISAK: “Former President Trump will be questioned under oath Wednesday in the New York attorney general’s long-running civil investigation into his dealings as a real estate mogul, he confirmed in a post on his Truth Social account.
Trump’s testimony comes amid a flurry of legal activity surrounding him, taking place just days after FBI agents searched his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida as part of an unrelated federal probe into whether he took classified records when he left the White House.
The New York civil investigation, led by Atty. Gen. Letitia James, involves allegations that Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, misstated the value of prized assets such as golf courses and skyscrapers, misleading lenders and tax authorities.”
Can COVID rapid tests really detect if you’re contagious with new omicron variants?
The Chronicle, ANNIE VAINSHTEIN: “The alarming spread of omicron subvariants — particularly BA.5, which has quickly become the dominant coronavirus strain in the U.S. — has again put a spotlight on how well COVID-19 rapid antigen tests work at this stage in the pandemic.
While some early research and anecdotes have suggested that at-home test kits may not be as good at spotting omicron’s sneaky subvariants, Bay Area infectious disease experts say the rapid antigen tests are still an effective way to diagnose infection.
But they add that variants like BA.5 only drive home the importance of using rapid antigen testing as effectively as possible to avoid a false negative result.”
As monkeypox cases spiral, U.S. will stretch supply of vaccine by giving smaller doses
LAT, RONG-GONG LIN II/LUKE MONEY/MELODY GUTIERREZ: “As monkeypox cases continue to climb among high-risk people, federal officials on Tuesday announced that they will stretch limited vaccine supplies by giving just one-fifth the current dosage.
The move effectively quintuples the supply of monkeypox vaccine, a priority in hard-hit areas such as Los Angeles County and San Francisco, where the virus has been rapidly speading among men who have sex with men. Vaccine doses remain in short supply.
“In San Francisco, honestly, it’s a little bit like ‘The Hunger Games’ when it comes to accessing vaccination,” said state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). “It is heartbreaking.””
‘Absolutely ridiculous’: LGBT leaders vent frustration over lack of access to monkeypox antiviral drug
The Chronicle, DUSTIN GARDINER: “While a national shortage of vaccines has choked efforts to combat the spread of the monkeypox virus, public health officials say an antiviral medication has shown promise to alleviate symptoms for infected people.
The problem: They cannot prescribe the medication Tecovirimat, also known as Tpoxx, without completing hours of paperwork because the FDA has classified it as an investigational new drug to treat monkeypox.
That bureaucratic hurdle is just one example of why state legislators, physicians and LGBTQ advocates say they remain deeply frustrated by what many call the federal government’s “flat-footed” response to the rapidly spreading virus that has infected at least 1,310 people in California, including 501 in Francisco.”
Bounty hunting: Foes of guns and abortion resurrect an old idea
CALMatters, NIGEL DUARA: “In Texas and California, new laws call on the people of each state to watch and report their neighbors — and reap a reward for doing so. Unusual, yes — although it’s a concept that dates back to the earliest days of the American republic.
But what do Civil War-era legislators raging about sick mules and wet gunpowder have to do with Texas Senate Bill 8, its “heartbeat” abortion law, and California Senate Bill 1327, its newest gun act?
They all set out bounties, with the state entrusting its citizens to enforce the law and promising remuneration to those who do.”
Commentary: Gambling, special interests could spend half a billion dollars to buy your vote in November
LAT, LAUREL ROSENHALL: “Brace yourselves, Californians.
The onslaught of political advertising that will fly at us this election season is shaping up to be more intense than ever, with most of it trained on two dueling measures to permit sports betting. Gambling interests have already anted up roughly $350 million to wage campaigns for and against Propositions 26 and 27 on the November ballot. It’s a stunning sum of money, even for a state that’s used to big-dollar campaigns, and experts expect the total haul may grow to half a billion dollars by the time the election is over.
That dwarfs the $224 million spent on the 2020 ballot measure that Uber and Lyft pushed to change state labor law — which, at the time, broke the record as the most expensive campaign in California history. Ride-hailing apps were willing to spend so much because the proposition amounted to an investment, allowing them to save money in the long term by not treating their drivers as employees.”
S.F. D.A. Brooke Jenkins said she volunteered in the Boudin recall. But a group linked to a recall backer paid her more than $100,000
The Chronicle, DOMINIC FRACASSA/MEGAN CASSIDY: “San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins was paid more than $100,000 by a nonprofit organization formed by a Silicon Valley billionaire who helped bankroll the recall of her predecessor, Chesa Boudin, newly filed city records show.
Jenkins, who was appointed last month by Mayor London Breed, has said she volunteered to work on the recall campaign, which took shape before she quit her job as a prosecutor in the District Attorney’s Office. She became a powerful voice against Boudin, her former boss.
But in a statement of economic interest filed with the city, Jenkins disclosed receiving a payment of more than $100,000 for consulting work with Neighbors for a Better San Francisco, a 501c3 nonprofit organization that promotes better public safety and good governance. Federal tax law expressly prohibits 501c3 organizations from participating in virtually all political activity.”
What’s new this school year? Changing Covid protocols, universal TK, later start times and more
EdSource, DIANA LAMBERT: “Earlier start times for middle and high school students, the expansion of transitional kindergarten, more after-school programs and the opening of more community schools are just some changes students and staff will have to adjust to this school year, while still dealing with Covid-19 safety protocols and persistent staff shortages.
Despite the challenges, educators seem confident that the experience of the last two years and increased resources will help them navigate another year of Covid-19, as well as new state programs.
“I am looking forward to another year of in-person instruction,” said Corey Willenberg, superintendent of Oroville Union High School District in Butte County. “We are going to offer kids and families a fantastic education despite the hurdles we are facing.” “
Christian group that bars gay, transgender students from leadership asks court to force San Jose Unified to reinstate it
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: “Because the Fellowship of Christian Athletes prohibits gay, lesbian or transgender students from serving as leaders, the San Jose Unified School District refuses to recognize it as an official student organization. On Tuesday, a lawyer for the group argued to a federal appeals court that the district is violating freedom of speech and religion.
While the district proclaims that it has an inclusive “all-comers” policy, “this is a some-comers policy that favors secular groups,” attorney Daniel Blomberg told a panel of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at a hearing in Seattle. Under both the U.S. Constitution and federal law, he said, “you can’t discriminate based on the content of the speech.”
But Stacey Leyton, a lawyer for the school district, said it has not interfered with the fellowship’s right to express its views. To be officially recognized, however, “it must not exclude students from leadership or from membership” based on their sexual orientation, gender identity or other categories such as race and sex, she told the court. Official student organizations are listed in the school yearbook and can keep funds in a school bank account.”
San Francisco hopes to finally start closing the math gap in city schools
The Chronicle, JILL TUCKER: “The 20 soon-to-be San Francisco fourth-graders sat on the classroom rug Tuesday and puzzled over the math word problem: If you have 14 stickers want to give three to each friend, how many friends will get stickers?
“This is garbage,” said one student, frustrated by what he and many of his peers described as an impossible scenario.
“So how do we solve this garbage?” the John Muir Elementary School teacher asked.”
The best-selling car in California is the Tesla Model Y. Here are the other top models
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: “Two Tesla models are the top-selling new cars in California so far this year, a marker of continued growth for electric vehicles in the state, according to a new report from the California New Car Dealers Association.
The Model Y, the smaller of Tesla’s two SUVs, is California’s No. 1 seller in 2022, with 42,320 registrations through June, the report said. In second place: the Tesla Model 3 sedan, with 38,993 units sold.
The two Teslas beat competitors in all classes, “even the most popular pickup trucks,” the report said.”
Former Contra Costa County sheriff’s volunteer arraigned on multiple gun charges
The Chronicle, JORDAN PARKER: “A Clayton man was arraigned in Martinez on multiple gun charges Tuesday, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office said.
John Michael King was charged with two felony counts of possession of assault weapons and one felony count of manufacturing or assembling an unregistered firearm. Officials said they found that King illegally manufactured a .22 caliber rifle and was in possession of a .223 assault rifle and a .556 pistol.
King plead not guilty in a court hearing Tuesday.”
Unprecedented FBI search of Trump’s home shows seriousness of information sought
LAT, SARAH D. WIRE: “Few specifics are known about what the FBI sought during Monday’s daylong search of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
But one thing is clear: For federal investigators to seek a search warrant and conduct an unannounced search of the property while Trump was not present indicates they believe the evidence they sought was worth any expected political blowback.
The onslaught began quickly after the former president publicized the search, with his allies demanding more information and rallying around calls for an investigation of the events,
which they decried as a partisan witch hunt and an abuse of power.
Republican House leaders have promised to conduct investigations of the Justice Department and FBI if they win control of the House in November.”
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago: How does the FBI get a warrant to search a home?
AP, ALANNA DURKIN RICHER: “News that FBI agents descended on former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home and searched it has spawned accusations of a politicized law-enforcement organization doing the bidding of the Biden administration in targeting political enemies.
The reality is that the process of obtaining a search warrant is a controlled by a checklist of requirements before a judge signs off on a decision to invade someone’s home.
Experts say that even the decision to seek a warrant to search a former president’s property would probably have to have been approved by top officials at the Justice Department.”
UC Berkeley engineers supply Chernobyl scientists with radiation detection systems
Daily Californian, CHANYOUNG CHUNG: “Nuclear engineers at UC Berkeley have sent critical radiation detection systems to scientists in the Chernobyl area, who have suffered setbacks due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
According to Kai Vetter, a campus nuclear engineering professor, the shipment aims to assess radioactive contamination in the area. In the long term, scientists also hope to reestablish a laboratory with state-of-the-art equipment in Chernobyl.
“With the invasion from the Russian army, all of the equipment was stolen and removed,” Vetter said. “After, they had no means in Chernobyl to assess what they wanted to assess before.””
