Ron Herrera resigns as L.A. Labor Federation head amid furor over leaked recording, sources say
LAT, MATT PEARCE/ANOUSHA SAKOUI/MARGOT ROOSEVELT: “Facing outrage over a controversial leaked audio recording with top L.A. city officials, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor President Ron Herrera offered his resignation at a Monday night meeting with the federation’s executive board, which accepted, according to two sources close to the situation.
Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, head of the California Labor Federation and former head of the AFL-CIO’s San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, confirmed to The Times that Herrera offered his resignation to the board. “We are focused on rebuilding solidarity and trust in the worker movement,” she said.
A spokeswoman for the county federation did not immediately respond to a request for comment."
The fall of Nury Martinez: A blunt talker undone by her words
LAT, BENJAMIN ORESKES /EMILY ALPERT REYES: “When Nury Martinez was growing up in Pacoima, the child of immigrants from the Mexican state of Zacatecas, she watched politicians from afar.
They were white Jewish men, she said, even as the neighborhood became more and more Latino. Her own parents — her mother a seamstress turned factory worker, her father a dishwasher who was deported the year Martinez was born — had bought their home from a white family that left the San Fernando Valley for Kern County.
Their neighborhood was represented by “the Katzes of the world, the Bermans of the world,” Martinez said, alluding to Valley politicians such as former state Assemblyman Richard Katz and former Rep. Howard Berman. “I never saw them in the community or at the grocery store with us. I just saw them on TV.”
In Nury Martinez’s district, Angelenos react with disgust to news of racist recording
LAT, NATHAN SOLIS: “A quiet outrage simmered in Nury Martinez’s council district Monday after a leaked audio recording in which she is heard making racist statements as she, two other Los Angeles City Council members and a powerful labor leader disparage other politicians.
Though many residents in Van Nuys, Panorama City and North Hills were unaware of the scandal surrounding Martinez, who has represented their district since 2013, those who knew of Martinez’s racist comments were not coy with their feelings.
“She’s a racist. Plain and simple,” said Joe Salas, a plumber who has lived in Van Nuys for 17 years. “She shouldn’t be in office. That’s someone who does not speak for everyone. It makes me want to vote in the next election, so I can vote her out of office.””
California hired a consultant to monitor PG&E’s wildfire safety woes. Here’s what it found
DALE KASLER, SacBee: "PG&E Corp.’s efforts to improve wildfire safety continue to run into headwinds, including aging equipment, damaged power poles and hazardous trees that went undetected by the utility’s crews, according to a consulting firm hired by California officials.
In addition, consultant Filsinger Energy Partners said PG&E’s progress on wildfire safety is being hindered by the global supply chain crisis, which is making it harder for the utility to find replace infrastructure and equipment that are growing obsolete. Filsinger’s report to the Public Utilities Commission was released Monday afternoon.
The commission hired the Denver-based consultant as part of PG&E’s plan to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization in 2020 — a bankruptcy prompted by the company’s struggles to contend with billions of dollars in liabilities caused by a flurry of massive wildfires.
California Voter Guide for November 2022 Election
The Chronicle, STAFF: “In the November 2022 election, Californians will be voting on seven propositions, including one on kidney dialysis (yes, again) and two competing measures on sports betting. Plus, voters will decide who will fill all of California's statewide offices, from governor to state controller to attorney general and more.
Go here to see latest news on the California election and Bay Area local measures.
There are a whopping 14 San Francisco propositions for voters to consider across a wide range of issues, including Prop. H, a proposal to move the city’s mayoral elections to presidential election years, and Prop. M, a vacancy tax. Voters in Oakland will be electing a new mayor, and there are dozens of races and ballot measures across other counties.”
30 Days Out From the 2022 Election – Paul Mitchell
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: “CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Political data-cruncher, and frequent Capitol Weekly Podcast guest, Paul Mitchell joins us to read the political tea leaves, 30 days out from the 2022 election. Hang on!”
Jennifer Siebel Newsom to testify about sexual assault in Harvey Weinstein trial
The Chronicle, SABRINA PASCUA: “Jennifer Siebel Newsom — an American documentary filmmaker, actor and wife of Gov. Gavin Newsom — will take the stand as one of several accusers in the rape and sexual assault case of Harvey Weinstein. Siebel Newsom will testify in the trial that began Monday, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
“Like many other women, my client was sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein at a purported business meeting that turned out to be a trap,” Siebel Newsom’s attorney Elizabeth Fegan said in a statement.
“She intends to testify at his trial in order to seek some measure of justice for survivors, and as part of her life’s work to improve the lives of women.””
What would Shirley Weber do next as California secretary of state?
CALMatters, ALEXEI KOSEFF: “It did not take long after Gov. Gavin Newsom handily defeated a recall attempt last year for California Democrats to begin calling for changes to overhaul a process that they complained had been weaponized.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber, a Democrat appointed by Newsom in 2020 as the state’s chief elections officer, was among them, offering several ideas of her own to the Legislature earlier this year.
But when the dust settled on the legislative session in August, all of the bills proposing revisions to how California removes a governor from office had stalled, with little public explanation for why lawmakers dropped their efforts.”
Santa Clara police chief pushes D.A. to investigate City Council’s dealings with 49ers
The Chronicle, LANCE WILLIAMS/RON KROICHICK: “Santa Clara Police Chief Pat Nikolai asked District Attorney Jeffrey Rosen on Monday evening to launch an investigation into the “most critical findings” of a civil grand jury’s report on the conduct of five City Council members and their dealings with the San Francisco 49ers.
The report, officially released about 5 p.m. on Monday, alleged the council majority regularly “put the 49ers’ interests ahead of the city’s interests” and suggested it may have violated city and state ethics laws.”
Coalition says 'science of reading-aligned' core curricula barely used in California
EdSource, ALI TADAYON: “At a time of rising interest nationwide in phonics-focused reading instruction, few California districts are using so-called “science of reading” curricula as their basis for teaching elementary reading, according to a new report.
The California Reading Coalition, which advocates for phonics-based reading instruction, analyzed the 2020-21 English language arts curriculum for 331 of the largest districts in the state to find that 81% of them used the same three core reading programs from the State Board of Education’s 2015 list of pre-approved ELA curricula, and only five districts adopted core curricula that the coalition deemed to be aligned with the “science of reading” movement.
The most-used curricula still incorporate “science of reading” practices and research, but are jampacked with lessons and material in order to serve a wide range of schools. Schools and teachers can benefit from having the freedom to customize their own program, but less experienced teachers or under-resourced schools risk having a less cohesive program, according to the coalition.”
Overwhelming demand for online classes is reshaping California’s community colleges
LAT, DEBBIE TRUONG: “Steven Gallegos keeps a demanding schedule. As student body president at East Los Angeles College, he pitches ideas for improving mental health services and distributes groceries to students in need. That’s on top of maintaining high grades in hopes of transferring to UCLA.
Yet for all his involvement, Gallegos, 46, has not set foot in a classroom this semester. Instead he takes all his courses online, stealing time to complete exams and participate in class discussions between student government duties and serving as the main caregiver for his aging mother.
“Pretty much wherever I have time, that’s where I do my work,” he said.”
Cal State universities are trying to lure more applicants. Here’s why
The Chronicle, RACHEL SWAN: “Officials at the California State University system are confronting a new challenge that no one could have foreseen in past years: a surplus of enrollment spots.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature significantly boosted funding for state universities in this year’s budget, with a $365 million increase in annual spending, and a one-time windfall of $1.1 billion for the system — enough to secure space for 10,000 more full-time students next year.”
Seeing bioluminescent water in the Bay Area is an amazing experience. Here’s how to do it
The Chronicle, TARA DUGGAN: “Shreenivasan Manievannan did not expect to see anything otherworldly when he went out to shoot some night photography at Sharp Park Beach in Pacifica last month. But he ended up capturing a display of bioluminescence, a sparkly, magical glow that illuminates the water when there is an algae bloom and other conditions are just right.
“I was able to see the glow popping out in the surf, basically whenever there was a disturbance of the water,” said Manievannan, who takes night photos partly as an advocate for International Dark-Sky Association, which aims to prevent light pollution.
Manievannan lives near Sharp Park, and earlier that evening, he had noticed the water to be a murky reddish brown color instead of the usual green-blue. When he returned at darkness, he took video and still photos of crashing waves illuminated by a neon-blue glow with a layer of fog still visible overhead and Pacifica Pier in the distance.”
Two bizarre weather systems are creating what's called a 'rex block' in the Bay Area today
The Chronicle, GERRY DIAZ: “Fog, mist and a cool breeze. It’s now the second week of October and Bay Area residents are still seeing morning fogs seep into the streets, rather than the autumn that's normally marked by some of the hottest temperatures of the year.
This chilly outlook will continue to be fueled by a unique weather pattern that’s holding out over the West Coast.”
