California is about to become the world’s 4th largest economy. Here’s how and when
Sac Bee, ANDREW SHEELER: "If California were a nation, it would be the world’s fifth largest economy. Soon, it may become the fourth.
The Golden State is on track to overtake Germany for the No. 4 spot, according to an opinion column from Bloomberg News editor-in-chief emeritus Matthew Winkler. It became the fifth largest economy in 2015, surpassing the United Kingdom, France and Brazil.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom was quick to take a victory lap Monday afternoon."
Registered to vote? Today is last day for Californians to register online for Nov. 8 election
LAT, MELISSA HERNANDEZ: "California voters looking to cast their ballots in the Nov. 8 midterm election have until 11:59 p.m. Monday to register online.
Eligible voters can register at registervote.ca.gov. Voters will need to provide their legal name, address and political party preference.
To be eligible, voters must be a U.S. citizen and resident of California, at least 18 years old on election day, and not currently serving a state or federal prison term for a felony conviction. As of 2020, the Voting Rights Restoration for Persons on Parole Amendment allows California residents on parole for felony convictions to register and cast a vote."
5 takeaways from Newsom’s only debate this election, from gas prices to the White House
Sac Bee, MAGGIE ANGST: "For the first and only time before the 2022 California gubernatorial election, Gov. Gavin Newsom faced off against his Republican challenger, state Sen. Brian Dahle, in a debate on Sunday.
Dahle, a Republican farmer from rural Lassen County, is vying to unseat Newsom, who is running for a second, four-year term as governor. Newsom was first elected to the state’s highest public office in November 2018 and handily won a Republican-led recall effort in September 2021. Dahle has served as a state legislator since 2012.
If you weren’t able to tune in for Sunday’s debate, here are five major takeaways:"
Oil companies are pumping money into state races following Newsom’s push to tax profits
The Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG/DUSTIN GARDINER: "After Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to tax their windfall profits, oil companies have spent millions to convince voters to elect their chosen candidates to the Legislature, hoping to stack the deck in their favor.
Since Oct. 7, when Newsom announced plans to call a special session for lawmakers to consider his tax proposal, oil companies have spent more than $5.8 million to influence eight key races that will determine the composition of the Legislature. The candidates they support come from both parties, and in some cases are Democrats running against other Democrats.
Newsom called the special session to combat what he sees as “price gouging” at the gas pump. Tension between the governor and the industry has been building for months, as Californians face skyrocketing fuel prices."
Democratic registration is rising in California, but not with this one group
The Chronicle, LEILA DARWICHE: "In over 75% of California cities, the share of voters registered as Democrats rose from 2020 to 2022. But cities where the vast majority of residents identify as Hispanic saw the opposite trend.
Hispanic voters are a key constituency for Democrats in California, where 58% were registered to the Democratic party in 2020 according to the Public Policy Institute of California, and only 16% are registered as Republicans. Analysts trace this back to anti-immigration policies Republican officials championed in the ’90s.
Areas with high percentages of Latino residents still have higher shares of registered Democrats than California. But these areas are changing in ways the state is not."
Newsom commits to second term as governor. But presidential ambition often breaks promises
Sac Bee, MAGGIE ANGST: "Gov. Gavin Newsom doubled down Sunday on his declaration of “sub-zero interest” in a 2024 presidential candidacy, pledging in a debate with his GOP opponent to serve a full second term if re-elected as expected next month.
“Yes,” Newsom told moderator Marisa Lagos of KQED when asked if he’d commit to serving all four years. Speculation about Newsom’s White House ambitions has been brewing for years.
It peaked this summer with his campaign’s attack ads against red state governors and a withering assessment of his own party’s messaging, including a swipe at President Joe Biden as being “hardwired for a different world.”"
Inflation relief debit cards to be sent out to Californians starting today
LAT, NATHAN SOLIS: "Debit cards with inflation relief payments will be mailed out to millions of Californians starting Monday and should arrive in mailboxes over the next few weeks to help ease the pain of increased prices.
The California “Middle Class Tax Refund” program aims to soften the blow of rising inflation through a one-time payment, ranging from $400 to $1,050 for couples who filed jointly on their 2020 state income tax return and $200 to $700 for those who filed independently.
Eligible residents will need to have filed their 2020 tax return by Oct. 15, 2021, meet the state’s adjusted gross income limits and not have been claimed as a dependent in 2020. Individuals will also have to have lived in California for six months or more in 2020 and be a California resident when the payment is issued."
Though wage theft is a crime, few California DAs file charges for it
CALMatters, JEANNE KUANG/LIL KALISH: "It took two shifts to clean the five-story central Los Angeles office building where Edith Lopez worked as a janitor.
From morning to dusk she vacuumed, wiped down kitchens and took out trash, and her employer, Pacific Commercial Co., paid her like a regular employee. Then from 5 to 10 p.m. she did the same but Pacific classified her as an independent contractor and paid for those hours with personal checks that left out typical payroll deductions such as income tax or Social Security withholding, she said.
Over her eight years working for Pacific Commercial the company sometimes paid her late and cut her hours, she said, and she didn’t receive any time-and-a-half overtime premiums. Lopez, a single mother who emigrated from Durango, Mexico, fell behind on rent and worried about supporting her three daughters. A doctor warned the 52-year-old that stress was causing her blood pressure to spike."
State Sen. Wiener, Jewish leaders pressure Adidas to drop Kanye West over antisemitic threats
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "State Sen. Scott Wiener added his voice Monday to the chorus calling for Adidas to sever ties with Kanye West over the rapper’s recent antisemitic threats.
Despite widespread condemnation, the sportswear brand has not indicated its intention to drop the rapper from its label.
West, who now goes by Ye, was suspended from Twitter and Instagram earlier this month for antisemitic rhetoric in several posts that violated the social networks’ hate speech policies. In one Twitter post, the rapper said he would go “death con 3” on Jewish people, the Associated Press reported, citing internet archives."
Kanye West assails Jews, abortion in new interview with Lex Fridman
LAT, AUGUST BROWN/ANOUSHA SAKOUI: "In a sprawling new podcast interview with MIT research scientist Lex Fridman, Kanye West made yet another series of incendiary and false statements about the Holocaust, abortion and the Jewish people.
West, who now performs as Ye, has been on an antisemitic tear through right-wing media and the podcast circuit, and his hate speech during the past weeks has cost him deals with talent agency CAA and fashion label Balenciaga, while his lucrative partnership with sportswear giant Adidas is under review. Kim Kardashian condemned her ex-husband’s antisemitic remarks on social media Monday, following a local demonstration on Sunday by a hate group that referenced West’s tirades.
In a two-hour-and-26 minute interview published Monday, which touched on subjects ranging from engineering to the media to his relationship with Kardashian and her former boyfriend Pete Davidson, West appeared in a jovial if erratic mood. He described having dinner at a Cheesecake Factory the night before and sitting next to a veteran, with whom he discussed politics."
Hollywood talent agency CAA cuts ties with Kanye West after antisemitic tirade
LAT, ANOUSHA SAKOUI/WENDY LEE: "The fallout facing the rapper formerly known as Kanye West has continued to grow as one of Hollywood’s biggest agencies has stopped representing him.
CAA ended its relationship with Ye this month following his recent antisemitic outbursts in various interviews, according to a person with knowledge of the situation who was not authorized to speak publicly.
CAA is the latest business to scrap or suspend its relationship with the rapper over his remarks. Other leading entertainment industry figures, including Endeavor CEO Ari Emanuel, called on all companies that work with the musician to cut ties with him after Ye tweeted that he wanted to go “death con 3" on Jewish people."
Men accused of killing D.A. Jenkins’ relative seek to block her office from their case
The Chronicle, MEGAN CASSIDY: "Two men accused of killing a relative of San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins asked a judge to prevent her office from prosecuting the case, arguing that Jenkins’ previous statements have made it impossible for them to get a fair trial.
Defense attorneys for Stevie Mitchell and Sincere Pomar, both 20, requested that the case instead be handed over to California Attorney General Rob Bonta, even though the state office has already denied a similar request by Jenkins in a case involving the brother of Mayor London Breed.
But Pam Herzig, Mitchell’s lawyer, said Jenkins apparently did not disclose to the attorney general’s office how she publicly and frequently excoriated the case’s handling under her predecessor and former boss, Chesa Boudin."
Mosquito Fire, California’s largest blaze of 2022, contained after more than 6 weeks
Sac Bee, MICHAEL MCGOUGH: "The Mosquito Fire, which burned dozens of homes in the foothills east of Sacramento en route to becoming California’s largest wildfire this year, is officially fully contained, more than six weeks after it started.
Crews boosted containment to 100% as of Saturday evening, the U.S. Forest Service said.
The Mosquito Fire torched 76,788 acres, or 120 square miles, after sparking near the Oxbow Reservoir at Tahoe National Forest on Sept. 6. It jumped the Middle Fork of the American River twice – north to south, then south to north – in its first two weeks, and destroyed 78 buildings, most of them homes, while damaging 13 others."
Supreme Court’s decision on affirmative action in admissions could affect California private colleges
EdSource, EMMA GALLEGOS: "Next Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear arguments about whether considering race as a factor during the admission process is lawful — a decision that could have a big impact on the admissions practices of private colleges in California and the institutions outside the state that many Californians attend.
California banned affirmative action in its public universities in 1996 through Proposition 209, but there are high stakes for Californians in the Supreme Court case, said Michele Siqueiros, president of The Campaign for College Opportunity.
“Some maybe think that this national conversation about affirmative action in college admissions doesn’t affect our state because of the Prop. 209 ban, but they are mistaken for many reasons,” she said Monday during a media briefing on the case."
California test scores show deep pandemic drops; 2 in 3 students don’t meet math standards
LAT, PALOMA ESQUIVEL/HOWARD BLUME: "Two out of 3 California students did not meet state math standards and more than half did not meet English standards on state assessments taken in the spring, reflecting sizable drops in performance compared with the year before the pandemic, when large numbers of students were already struggling to meet grade-level expectations.
The test results are even more devastating for Black, Latino, low-income and other historically underserved students — 84% of Black students and 79% of Latino and low-income students did not meet state math standards in 2022.
The dismal results provide further evidence of the profound challenges facing California schools as educators focus on helping children recover from deep pandemic setbacks with multibillion-dollar investments in public education. The scores have also amplified the troubling fact that even before the pandemic, 60% of California’s students were testing below grade level in math and nearly half in English."
S.F. private schools didn’t land in the top 50 of a national ranking. Here’s what the data doesn’t tell you
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "The recent U.S. high school rankings to come out of education website Niche featured 12 Bay Area schools in the top 100 “ best private high schools.”
East Bay and Peninsula private schools fared particularly well in the ranking, with eight of the 12 in those areas and five of them landing in the top 20 - including the top-ranked Bay Area school, College Preparatory in Oakland, at No. 8. Meanwhile, there were only two San Francisco schools in the entire top 100: University High School at No. 68, and Lick-Wilmerding at No. 72.
High school rankings don’t typically play as large a role in parents’ decision-making as college rankings, experts said — factors like geographic closeness to home and reviews from friends and family tend to have more of an impact on high school choice."
El Monte Police Chief Ben Lowry dies at 45 of unspecified ‘health issues’
LAT, CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ: "El Monte Police Chief Ben Lowry died Monday of unspecified “health issues,” department officials said. He was 45.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Lowry family during this difficult time,” acting Chief Jake Fisher said in a release. “We are all at a loss and mourning a great leader, man, husband, son, friend, and colleague.”
Lowry, who had served as interim chief since December, was officially appointed to the post in June."
Veterinarian contradicts Sheriff’s Department account of K-9 death
LAT, ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN: "After a lawsuit was filed last week alleging that the death of a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s dog had been covered up, sheriff’s officials fired back, saying it was a bogus claim.
The department made public a memo detailing the findings of an internal inquiry into the 2020 incident. The memo, sheriff’s officials said, showed that the department had looked into what had happened and cleared the dog’s handler of negligence.
The memo cited a veterinarian, Yolanda Cassidy, who worked at the animal hospital where Spike, a black Labrador trained to detect accelerants used by arsonists to start fires, was brought for treatment after being left in a car for several hours. Cassidy, the report said, told a sheriff’s investigator the K-9 could have died from a number of things, including “heat, aspiration, and underlying medical conditions.”"
Sacramento police collect 275 guns at buyback: ‘I just want to get it out of my house’
Sac Bee, ROSALIO AHUMADA: "Otis Jenkins had two rifles stored in a closet, way back where it would be tough for anyone to find, in his Sacramento home. That’s what he thought.
One day, his 4-year-old granddaughter asked him about the rifles she found in the closet. The old rifles collecting dust in his closet weren’t loaded, and Jenkins’ granddaughter wasn’t injured. But he learned you can’t hide much from a child, including a gun.
“If you think you’re hiding something from them, you’re wrong,” Jenkins said. “They’ll find it.”"
Thousands of apartments may come to Santa Monica, other wealthy cities under little-known law
LAT, LIAM DILLON: "Earlier this fall, a developer submitted plans for 4,500 apartments in Santa Monica — more new housing than the pricey, beachfront city has built in all of the previous decade.
And because of a little-used provision in state law that kicks in when cities fail to produce a housing plan to accommodate projected population growth, Santa Monica officials may be powerless to stop the construction.
The tactic now could be deployed by developers in more than 100 Southern California cities that are out of compliance with the state requirements. According to experts, it is most likely to be used in wealthier areas with little housing production and high potential profits."
Proposal for new Sacramento homeless shelter would put cabins in warehouse, allow parking\
Sac Bee, THERESA CLIFT: "The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors will Tuesday consider spending about $23 million to buy a property for a new, large homeless shelter in North Highlands.
The project, located at 4837 Watt Ave., would place unhoused people in cabins inside a 130,000-square-foot warehouse, and also provide outdoor spaces for people living in vehicles, according to a county staff report.
The rest of the details, including the number of people who could be served and estimated operational costs, are expected to be disclosed ahead of a follow-up board vote Nov. 15, said county spokeswoman Janna Haynes."
Has Berkeley declared a ‘war on cars’? One bike lane has come to symbolize a larger battle
The Chronicle, RACHEL SWAN: "The signs popped up on newspaper racks and in the front window of an organic deli in North Berkeley, warning of a bike lane that would presage the end of democracy — at the behest of an all-powerful bike lobby.
Berkeley “has declared war on cars, street parking and small businesses,” read the notice at Magnani’s Poultry, which sits on a snug, tree-lined stretch of Hopkins Street where officials plan to build the two-way bicycle path next year, installing barriers and rows of parked cars to separate it from traffic. Confined to the south side of the road, the path would necessitate removal of some 60 parking spaces.
Merchants lament the project, saying it would drive out their most reliable customers. Ardent cyclists say it doesn’t go far enough — some want protected paths on both sides of the road; a few dream of banning cars altogether."
Construction of L.A. Metro’s Westside Purple Line halted over safety issues
LAT, RACHEL URANGA: "Los Angeles transit officials have shut down construction on part of the Westside’s $2.4-billion Purple Line Extension for two weeks amid a litany of “serious safety concerns” that have injured dozens of workers since July 2021.
Workers have fallen off ladders, crushed fingers, slipped in mud, been struck by falling slurry and hit in the face by a failed hose while building a 2.6-mile phase of the Purple Line, a nine-mile subway that will eventually run from Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue to the West Los Angeles VA Medical Center.
Metro officials say they have warned the project contractor, Tutor Perini O&G, about unsafe conditions at the underground site, but the substandard conditions remained."
Like scary movies? It turns out they might be good for your mental health
The Chronicle, MATHIAS CLASEN: "Fear gets a bad rap. It’s a so-called negative emotion, one that supposedly stands between us and our dreams. But fear is also the engine in a whole range of pleasurable activities and behaviors — which inspire what we can call recreational fear.
Once you start looking for it, you’ll find recreational fear everywhere. From an early age, humans love being jump-scared by caregivers (peek-a-boo!). Young humans are drawn to scary stories, perform daredevil tricks, ride rollercoasters and play horror video games. Indeed, most of us never quite lose our peculiar attraction to recreational fear — even if we eschew slasher flicks.
How come?"
