In California, the death penalty is sought only in rare cases — and Half Moon Bay shooting might be one of them
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s moratorium on executions in California, county prosecutors can still seek the death penalty in a state whose voters narrowly rejected initiatives to abolish capital punishment in 2012 and 2016. So it came as no surprise when San Mateo County District Attorney Stephen Wagstaffe announced Wednesday that Chunli Zhao, charged with murdering seven people at two farms in Half Moon Bay on Monday, could face death if convicted, though Wagstaffe said he has not decided yet whether to seek a death sentence.
But while the death penalty remains on the books, it has become increasingly rare in court. Juries in California issued only 16 death sentences from 2018 through 2022, and none in the Bay Area. There were 90 death sentences issued statewide from 2012 through 2017 and five in the Bay Area. And the state has not executed a prisoner since 2006, when a federal judge ruled that flawed lethal injection procedures and inadequate staff training had created an undue risk of a prolonged and agonizing execution."
3 California mass shootings force grieving Asian Americans to ask painful questions
LA Times, ANH DO/JEONG PARK/DEBBIE TRUONG/SUMMER LIN/CINDY CHANG: "Their motives for mass murder appeared to be different — workplace enmity, law enforcement officials said, or personal resentment, or a political conflict in a homeland across the ocean.
But they were all Asian men of retirement age, who within the past year have been accused of expressing their bitterness by spraying fellow Asians with bullets, in the very places where Asian immigrants go to escape isolation.
Even as they grieve the victims, Asian Americans across the country are grappling with a new reality. Someone who looks like their grandfather, who traveled a similar immigrant path, is suspected of committing a singularly American act — opening fire on a group of innocent people, at a Taiwanese church last May, at a ballroom dance studio in Monterey Park on Saturday and in the coastal agricultural community of Half Moon Bay on Monday."
‘Living in shipping containers’: Half Moon Bay shooting reveals poor conditions on California farms
The Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG/ELENA KADVANY/NORA MISHANEC/JESSICA FLORES: "Workers killed in a massacre at two mushroom farms in Half Moon Bay on Monday worked for low wages and were living in conditions the San Mateo County district attorney described as “squalor.”
Local nonprofit Ayudando Latinos a Soñar visited one of the farms, California Terra Garden, regularly to provide workers and their families with food and supplies, “because of the high cost of living and the low income that they make,” said Executive Director Belinda Hernandez-Arriaga."
‘Oh my God, he killed him!’ Farmworkers share firsthand account of start of Half Moon Bay rampage
BANG*Mercury News, JULIA PRODIS SULEK/ALDO TOLEDO/MARISA KENDALL/LAUREN KOONG: "Erlin Ortiz and her sister Miriam had just finished their shift packing mushrooms at the California Terra Gardens farm and were sitting in their car ready to run an errand when the horror unfolded before them.
Right next to the greenhouses, co-worker Chunli Zhao — his back to them — pulled a gun from his red knapsack and pointed it at a fellow Chinese farmworker, shouting in his native Mandarin something they didn’t understand. Desperately, step by step, the farmworker backed up, Ortiz said, covering his face with his arms.
But the gunman shot him anyway."
Half Moon Bay mass shooting suspect once tried to suffocate co-worker, court records allege
The Chronicle, MATTHIAS GAFNI/HANNAH HAGEMANN/MALLORY MOENCH: "The Half Moon Bay mushroom farm worker suspected of killing seven co-workers in a fit of workplace rage had previously been accused of threatening to split another co-worker’s head open with a knife and trying to suffocate the man a decade ago at another Bay Area job, according to court records obtained by The Chronicle.
In 2013, Yingjiu Wang filed for a temporary restraining order against 66-year-old Chunli Zhao, telling a judge his roommate and co-worker at a San Jose restaurant had physically assaulted him and made death threats days earlier. A judge granted the order, which is no longer in effect. Efforts to reach Wang were not immediately successful."
Here are the 7 victims who were killed in the Half Moon Bay shootings
LA Times, ALEXANDRA E. PETRI/SALVADOR HERNANDEZ/LUKE MONEY/TERRY CASTLEMAN: "The San Mateo County coroner has identified six of the seven victims killed in Monday’s shootings in Half Moon Bay.
The victims are identified as Zhi Shen Liu, 73, of San Francisco; Marciano Jimenez Martinez, 50, of Moss Beach; Qi Zhong Cheng, 66, of Half Moon Bay; Ai Xiang Zhang, 74, of San Francisco; Jing Zhi Lu, 64, of Half Moon Bay; and Ye Tao Bing, 43, whose residence was unknown.
Jose Romero Perez, a Mexican national, was reported among the dead by Reuters, which spoke to his cousin, Jose Juarez. His younger brother, Pedro, was also shot and is hospitalized, according to the report."
‘Shameful’: Swalwell slams McCarthy decision to remove him from key committee as their feud escalates
The Chronicle, SHIRA STEIN: "Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Castro Valley, said Wednesday that his removal from a key committee by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, is an abuse of power intended to “smear his political opponents,” as their ongoing feud continues to escalate.
Swalwell condemned McCarthy’s political punishment of him and fellow House Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff, D-Burbank, and Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, in a press conference Wednesday after McCarthy removed Swalwell and Schiff from the Intelligence Committee and threatened to pull Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee."
Judge orders release of Paul Pelosi attack footage
AP, ADAM BEAM: "Footage of the attack on former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband will be released to the public after a judge on Wednesday denied prosecutors’ request to keep it secret.
San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen M. Murphy ruled there was no reason to keep the footage secret, especially after prosecutors played it in open court during a preliminary hearing last month, according to Thomas R. Burke, a San Francisco-based lawyer who represented The Associated Press and a host of other news agencies in their attempt to access the evidence.
The San Francisco District Attorney’s Office handed over the evidence to Murphy on Wednesday following a court hearing. Murphy asked the court clerk’s office to distribute it to the media, which could happen as soon as Thursday."
Roseville official’s scheme to use taxpayer money on an employee’s tuition lands him in jail
Sac Bee, SAM STANTON: "A former Roseville water official was sentenced Wednesday to nearly a year in prison and two years of probation over what prosecutors say was a scheme to hire a young woman and use city money to pay for her law school tuition and other expenses.
Kenneth James Glotzbach, 55, was sentenced to 360 days in prison by Placer Superior Court Judge Eugune Gini Jr. despite arguments by Glotzbach’s defense attorney that the defendant’s 23-year career is in tatters and he has already faced public humiliation.
Defense attorney Barry Zimmerman argued that there was nothing wrong with the hiring of the woman, and that Glotzbach’s mistake was in trying to get the city to pay for her law school tuition."
Federal regulators reject Diablo Canyon license renewal request from PG&E. What happens now?
Sac Bee, MACKENZIE SHUMAN: "Federal regulators on Tuesday rejected a request from PG&E that would have eased the utility company’s efforts to keep operating California’s last nuclear power plant longer.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) sent the utility company a letter on Tuesday spelling out the steps it must take to keep operating Diablo Canyon Power Plant past 2025, when it’s scheduled to close.
PG&E originally applied for license renewal for Diablo Canyon in 2009 — only to withdraw and terminate that application in 2018 after announcing plans to close the San Luis Obispo County nuclear power plant and replace it with other forms of carbon-free energy."
California weather to be shaped by an ‘omega block’ this week. Here’s how it impacts the Bay Area
The Chronicle, GERRY DIAZ: "The warm, dry winds over the foothills and mountains across California will continue to ferry above-average temperatures to the Bay Area. This warming trend started earlier in the week as a ridge of high pressure over the Pacific Ocean began marching toward the West Coast.
That same ridge is forecast to expand today, and will quickly block any moisture and low-pressure systems that are trying to move into California. Over the next couple of days this “omega block” will become the dominant weather pattern, bringing rounds of offshore winds to areas of the state that were dealing with extreme flooding just weeks ago."
4.2 earthquake, flurry of aftershocks off Malibu coast rock Los Angeles
LA Times, ALEXANDRA E. PETRI: "Los Angeles County was rattled early Wednesday morning after a magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 10 miles off the coast of Malibu, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
The initial quake was reported at 2 a.m. A magnitude 3.5 aftershock struck just three minutes later, followed by a magnitude 2.8 at 2:22 and a magnitude 2.6 at 2:38, the USGS said. The first earthquake occurred at a depth of about nine miles.
“This morning’s M4.2 quake off the coast of Malibu is a reminder that we live in #earthquake country,” the L.A. County Office of Emergency Management said in a tweet."
COVID in California: Huge study finds vaccines safe and effective for kids
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "Asian restaurants have suffered a huge financial toll during the pandemic due to stigmatization fueled in part by the racist rhetoric of then-President Donald Trump, a new study finds. The World Health Organization says it is still too early to treat COVID shots like seasonal flu shots — one annual seasonal jab, as U.S. regulators have proposed. The CDC is shifting its criteria on how it counts COVID deaths, which could reduce the number of deaths linked to the virus."
New COVID boosters cut risk of XBB.1.5 infection in half, study finds
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "The updated COVID-19 boosters cut the risk of getting sick from newer omicron subvariants, including the fast-spreading XBB.1.5 strain, by about half.
In the first study of the shots’ real-world effectiveness, researchers at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that the bivalent vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna continue to protect against the coronavirus despite its evolving evasiveness."
More Californians are dying at home. Is this another ‘new normal’ created by COVID?
Kaiser Health News, PHILLIP REESE: "The COVID-19 pandemic has spurred a surge in the proportion of Californians who are dying at home rather than in a hospital or nursing home, accelerating a slow but steady rise that dates back at least two decades.
The recent upsurge in at-home deaths started in 2020, the first year of the pandemic, and the rate has continued to climb, outlasting the rigid lockdowns at hospitals and nursing homes that might help explain the initial shift.
Nearly 40% of deaths in California during the first 10 months of 2022 took place at home, up from about 36% for all of 2019, according to death certificate data from the California Department of Public Health. By comparison, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data shows that about 26% of Californians died at home in 1999, the earliest year for which data on at-home deaths is accessible in the agency’s public database."
Parents are rethinking education – and that’s a good thing (OPINION)
Capitol Weekly, TAB BERG: "Education in California is experiencing a once-in-a-generation transformation, as tens of thousands of parents make crucial decisions about how and where their children learn. From reexamining curricula to exploring school choice options and non-traditional learning models, parents are eager to find better or supplementary learning environments for their children.
During the past two years, California families faced the academic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic – and an inside peak of what was really happening in their classrooms. As a result, parents are more involved in their children’s education than ever – and choosing new schools, reconsidering options more frequently, and exploring new or non-traditional learning options.
California parents are not alone. A survey this month by the National School Choice Awareness Foundation showed that 53.7 percent of parents throughout the country have recently explored or are currently considering new options for their child’s education. According to the survey, Black parents (64.5 percent), Hispanic parents (64.6 percent), and parents aged 18-29 (63.3 percent) were most likely to reconsider new schools for their children."
Four-day school week gaining popularity nationally. Why isn’t it happening in California?
EdSource, DIANA LAMBERT: "School districts across the country are increasingly turning to four-day school weeks to save money, increase student attendance and recruit new teachers. But the trend isn’t taking hold in California. Only two tiny, remote California school districts, Leggett Valley Unified in Mendocino County and Big Sur Unified in Monterey County, have shortened the week for students.
The four-day week isn’t feasible for most schools in the state. California’s Education Code requires schools to hold classes five days a week or have their funding reduced. Over the years state legislators have given exemptions to a handful of school districts in remote areas of California, although they must still meet the requirement for annual instructional minutes. Some of the districts that gained approval for a four-day week have reverted to a five-day schedule and others never instituted the truncated week.
The state of California gave Leggett Valley Unified permission to operate on a four-day schedule almost 14 years ago. Students at Whale Gulch School were the first in the district to move to a shortened week. The off-the-grid school, in the area known as the Lost Coast, serves 50 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The school generates electricity with solar panels, and water is kept in storage tanks fed by a pipe that brings stream water from the top of a mountain through a “crazy filtration system,” said Superintendent Jeff Ritchley."
Cal State contends with 'unprecedented' enrollment declines
EdSource, ASHLEY A. SMITH: "Decreases in Cal State enrollment have officials worried.
Interim Chancellor Jolene Koester first warned last year that enrollment projections were down across the 23 campus system. She now concludes that those drops are real and can undermine Cal State operations.
“Our enrollment projections are unprecedented and deeply concerning,” Koester said, during the CSU board of trustees meeting Tuesday."
Teachers at elite UCLA Lab School strike, saying model campus culture is changing
LA Times, ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE: "For decades, UCLA Lab School, an elite pre-K-through-sixth-grade school nestled in a quiet corner of the UCLA campus, has offered a nurturing environment for students whose parents won a coveted spot for their child.
Run by the university’s School of Education and Information Studies as its hands-on education laboratory, multiple expert teachers curate lessons based on evolving practices. The student body is diverse, students are selected for admission, and tuition is up to $25,000 with about a third of students on financial aid, the school website says.
But the teachers — who welcome UCLA researchers into their classrooms, conduct studies themselves and report their findings to educators — have become dispirited over working conditions and went on strike Wednesday morning. Their public actions offer rare insight into long-simmering conflicts at a school dedicated to modeling the best practices in education."
School official to depart after 6-year-old shot teacher
AP, DENISE LAVOIE: "The superintendent of the Virginia school district where a 6-year-old boy shot and wounded his teacher will leave his role after reaching an agreement with the district to leave the job, school officials announced Wednesday.
George Parker III has been sharply criticized by parents and teachers since a first-grader at Richneck Elementary School brought a 9mm handgun to school on Jan. 6, then shot and seriously injured his teacher, Abigail Zwerner, 25.
The school board announced his departure following a closed-door special meeting Wednesday evening."
Hearst Foundations announce major grants to Bay Area nonprofits
The Chronicle, SAM WHITING: "The Hearst Foundations announced it would award nearly $1.4 million in grants to nine organizations across the Bay Area as part of the philanthropic organization’s effort to support nonprofits working across a range of disciplines.
The largest grant — $300,000 — was awarded to the California Academy of Sciences to support its Thriving California education program."
Electric air taxi firm launches big San Jose expansion and is in hiring mode
BANG*Mercury News, GEORGE AVALOS: "An electric air taxi company has completed a leasing deal in San Jose that will enable the cutting-edge tech firm to soar into a local expansion and hire more workers.
Archer Aviation has leased an office and research building in North San Jose that’s about a half-mile away from the company’s current headquarters in the Bay Area’s largest city.
The company leased the entire building at 77 Rio Robles, a complex that totals 68,300 square feet, according to documents filed with the Santa Clara County Recorder’s Office in early January."
Google mass layoffs: Here’s how many Bay Area workers are losing jobs
The Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "Google’s mass layoff of 12,000 workers will affect at least 1,845 workers in California, including 1,608 in the Bay Area, according to state filings.
The cuts span offices across the company’s Mountain View headquarters, which saw the majority of cuts in the state with 1,436 employees affected; San Bruno, home to the headquarters of YouTube; and Palo Alto. Los Angeles and Irvine also saw cuts. No jobs were affected in San Francisco, where the search giant has numerous offices near the Embarcadero."
L.A. County extends eviction moratorium by 2 months
LA Times, REBECCA ELLIS: "With Los Angeles County’s pandemic eviction moratorium set to lapse in days, the Board of Supervisors has voted to extend the countywide renters protections once more.
The moratorium will now expire at the end of March. This, county leaders say, will be the last time they push the end date.
The moratorium, first put in place at the coronavirus pandemic’s outset, was initially set to end Jan 31. With some on the board still worried about the lingering financial impacts of the pandemic, county leaders voted Tuesday to extend the countywide moratorium through March 31."
California bill empowers counties to create homeless death review committees
Sac Bee, ANDREW SHEELER: "Too often, the death of a homeless person passes without notice.
A California lawmaker has proposed a bill that would empower county governments to take notice, and to better coordinate the services they offer to local homeless populations.
Assembly Bill 271, by Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva, D-Fullerton, authorizes — but does not require — counties to establish homeless death review committees to identify the root causes of homeless mortality and to improve coordination of services for that population, according to a legislative summary of the bill."
Sacramento Assemblyman introduces bill to ban homeless encampments near parks and schools
Sac Bee, JENAVIEVE HATCH: "Assemblyman Josh Hoover, R-Folsom, has introduced legislation that would prohibit homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools, daycare centers, parks, and libraries.
Assembly Bill 257 is one of the first measures proposed by Hoover, who was elected last November in a tight race with then-incumbent Assemblyman Ken Cooley.
“This bill is all about keeping our public spaces safe for the most vulnerable people in our community, which is our kids,” said Hoover on Tuesday. “It’s critical that we make sure all our kids feel safe walking to school.”"
California Supreme Court rejects lawsuit against 2018 transit funding measure. These Bay Area projects will benefit
The Chronicle, RICARDO CANO: "The California Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit that challenged a 2018 ballot measure aiming to raise billions of dollars for transit and highway projects through toll hikes at seven state-owned Bay Area bridges.
The Supreme Court’s ruling Wednesday ends a yearslong legal dispute that prevented transit agencies from accessing funds raised through Regional Measure 3, which Bay Area voters approved nearly five years ago with 55% of the vote."
Donald Trump to be allowed back on Facebook after 2-year ban
AP, BARBARA ORTUTAY/JILL COLVIN: "Facebook parent Meta said Wednesday it will restore former President Donald Trump 's personal account in the coming weeks, ending a two-year suspension it imposed in the wake of the Jan. 6 insurrection.
The company said in a blog post it is adding “new guardrails” to ensure there are no “repeat offenders” who violate its rules, even if they are political candidates or world leaders.
“The public should be able to hear what their politicians are saying — the good, the bad and the ugly — so that they can make informed choices at the ballot box,” wrote Nick Clegg, Meta’s vice president of global affairs."
