Low-income jurors could make $100 a day under new California bill
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Criminal defendants have the right to be tried by a jury of their peers, but that can be difficult for low-income defendants whose counterparts can’t afford to serve on jurors’ $15-a-day wages. So San Francisco has a pilot program increasing some jurors’ pay to $100 a day, and the lawmaker who sponsored the program is now proposing to expand it statewide.
“No person should be dissuaded from serving on a jury just because of financial hardship,” said Assembly Member Phil Ting, D-San Francisco. “We ask every American to be part of a fair and equitable justice system, and we should figure out how to provide compensation to them so they can do their civic duty.”"
California’s population dropped by 500,000 in two years as exodus continues
LA Times, TERRY CASTLEMAN: "The California exodus has shown no sign of slowing down as the state’s population dropped by more than 500,000 people between April 2020 and July 2022, with the number of residents leaving surpassing those moving in by nearly 700,000.
The population decrease was second only to New York, which lost about 15,000 more people than California, census data show.
California has been seeing a decline in population for years, with the COVID-19 pandemic pushing even more people to move to other parts of the country, experts say. The primary reason for the exodus is the state’s high housing costs, but other reasons include the long commutes and the crowds, crime and pollution in the larger urban centers. The increased ability to work remotely — and not having to live near a big city — has also been a factor."
What can Feinstein get done on guns before she leaves the Senate? Not much
The Chronicle, SHIRA STEIN: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s career has been defined by gun violence and her efforts to prevent it – from the double assassination that made her mayor of San Francisco, to a recall effort over her gun proposals, to yet another mass shooting at a college campus that took place just 17 hours before she announced her retirement Tuesday. She said that as she closes out her final year in office, she hopes to do more “to fight the epidemic of gun violence” – but stakeholders and experts believe the prospects for further progress before the end of 2024 are dim.
Bilking all expectations, Congress passed bipartisan gun violence prevention legislation in 2022, the first successful gun control effort since Feinstein’s landmark assault weapons ban in 1994. But that was with a Democratic-controlled House and Senate. With Republicans again in the House majority, more action is unlikely."
Court strikes down California law that bans employers from requiring arbitration
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "A federal appeals court reversed itself Wednesday and struck down a labor-backed California law that would prohibit employers from requiring their workers to take workplace disputes to binding arbitration, rather than contacting regulators or filing suit.
The ruling by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco followed the path of the Supreme Court and employer advocates in supporting arbitration, a common requirement in large companies’ employment agreements."
Karaoke arrest charge fuels claim that Santa Clara DA reneged on reform pledge
BANG*Mercury News, ROBERT SALONGA: "Legal fallout over a loud karaoke party in an Evergreen garage last fall has spurred public defenders to claim the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office reneged on a 2020 promise to curb a swath of resisting arrest charges, which by the office’s own admission led to historically discriminatory prosecutions.
At issue is the case of Thuan Le, who was charged late last year with a misdemeanor and what is known as a standalone resisting arrest charge — a “naked 148” in court parlance — meaning that Le was accused of obstructing or impeding a police officer but not of any other accompanying crimes.
To the county Public Defender’s Office, that constitutes a violation of one of District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s touted “Bend the Arc” prosecutorial reforms he instituted three years ago, in the wake of a national reckoning on criminal-justice conventions inspired by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis."
Oakland declares state of emergency after cyberattack hobbles critical government tech
The Chronicle, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "Oakland officials declared a state of emergency after a cyberattack that first hit city technology systems last week continues to make it impossible to pay parking fees, fines and taxes online or connect by phone with most city departments.
Calls to 911 and city emergency services are still going through, city officials said, but response times to emergency calls have been delayed, according to a tweet from the Oakland Police Department."
It’s not just Disney: Hollywood slashes jobs as streaming bubble pops
LA Times, BRIAN CONTRERAS/ANOUSHA SAKOUI: "Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger said last week that the Burbank company will be slashing 7,000 jobs as the firm’s streaming efforts continue to lose money and the wider economy wallows through a downturn.
But the House of Mouse isn’t alone in tightening its belt. Across the media and entertainment industry, companies are shedding staff, winnowing budgets and looking to shore up cash on hand as they steer out of the pandemic and into an uncertain future.
Warner Bros. Discovery cut hundreds of jobs over the last year, including at CNN; Netflix followed a similar tack. Now United Talent Agency, NBCUniversal and Paramount Global are laying off employees too, as are tech companies — a sector that’s increasingly entangled with media and entertainment interests. Meanwhile, Regal Cinemas is shuttering theaters across the country."
This Bay Area city is the fastest growing in California. Here’s why it’s booming
The Chronicle, SUSIE NEILSON: "Most cities in the Bay Area have stagnated or shrunk in recent years, thanks to soaring home prices, declining birth rates and steep increases in out-migration. But not Dublin.
From 2010 to 2020, this East Bay bedroom community became a boomtown, growing its population from 46,000 to nearly 73,000 — a 58% increase. Dublin wasn’t just the fastest growing city in the Bay Area over that time period; it was the fastest-growing city in all of California, and the 12th-fastest-growing city of 50,000 people or more in the U.S. The city’s population growth was essentially flat from 2020 to 2021, while the rest of the region’s population declined."
Oakland mayor fires police chief after report finds misconduct over officer investigations
The Chronicle, SARAH RAVANI: "Mayor Sheng Thao fired Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong on Wednesday after an investigation found that the chief mishandled two officer misconduct cases, the latest setback for a department struggling with violent crime, staffing woes and an inability to complete court-ordered reforms.
Armstrong’s firing comes about a month after Thao and the city administrator announced they had placed him on paid leave, citing a report by an independent law firm that the chief had violated department rules because he didn’t review evidence from two misconduct cases before closing the investigations. The mayor acted after Armstrong spent a month publicly demanding his job back, arguing he’d been unfairly accused and that the report’s findings were without merit."
L.A.’s new city controller is monitoring police. The LAPD union wants ground rules
LA Times, DAVID ZAHNISER/LIBOR JANY: "When protesters took to the streets to speak out against police killings last month, Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia swung into action, sending members of his executive team to monitor the LAPD at back-to-back events.
High-level staffers in the controller’s office went to three consecutive days of protests in downtown, Hollywood and Venice, gathering “first-hand impressions of conditions on the ground” and seeking an understanding of “how our tax dollars are being spent,” according to Mejia and his media spokesperson.
Now, those activities are drawing criticism from the Police Department’s biggest union, which contends that Mejia’s monitors pose a safety risk by approaching officers at inappropriate moments. In a letter sent Friday, the Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents more than 9,200 officers, asked City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto and LAPD Chief Michel Moore to set up a meeting with Mejia and the union to create protocols for interactions between his team and rank-and-file officers."
Federal prosecutor joins LAPD probe into handling of Les Moonves sex assault allegations
LA Times, RICHARD WINTON: "A federal corruption prosecutor has joined the LAPD investigation into allegations that the department mishandled a sexual assault complaint against former CBS executive Leslie Moonves, Los Angeles police told The Times.
It is the latest revelation after a stunning report by New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James revealed that former Cmdr. Cory Palka and perhaps others in the Los Angeles Police Department worked to keep a lid on explosive allegations against Moonves at a time when top media and film figures were being ousted by #MeToo accusations.
LAPD Chief Michel Moore launched an investigation in November after it was disclosed that Palka tipped off CBS executives about a confidential complaint made in 2017 by a former employee involving two alleged incidents with Moonves in the 1980s."
L.A. County deputy charged with murder in high-speed crash that killed 12-year-old boy
LA Times, RICHARD WINTON/REBECCA ELLIS: "A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy has been arrested and charged with murder and vehicular manslaughter after an off-duty high-speed crash that killed a 12-year-old boy more than a year ago.
Ricardo Castro, 28, is accused of speeding in his pickup truck on Nov. 3, 2021, when he T-boned a car turning left at an intersection, killing Isaiah Rodriguez in that vehicle’s passenger seat and injuring the boy’s 19-year-old sister, according to authorities. Castro was off duty at the time of the crash.
Isaiah died at a Long Beach hospital, and his sister was treated for broken bones."
Tesla’s move to open its superchargers to other electric vehicles has big implications for California
The Chronicle, JULIE JOHNSON: "Road trips in electric vehicles are about to get easier in California and elsewhere.
Tesla has agreed to open some of its fast superchargers to other models of electric cars by the end of 2024, freeing up a reliable and highly coveted network of plugs along American roads."
Epic snowpack, Presidents’ Day holiday spell traffic nightmare for Tahoe-bound drivers
BANG*Mercury News, ELIYAHU KAMISHER: "With Presidents’ Day arriving just in time for near-perfect ski conditions and many Bay Area schools let out for their mid-winter break, Lake Tahoe-bound drivers can expect sunshine — but a perfect storm of traffic this weekend.
The notoriously jammed stretch between the Bay Area and the Sierra Nevada takes about three and a half hours on a typical day, either through Interstate 80 or Highway 50. This weekend drivers should ready themselves for upwards of five hours on the road if they start the journey at peak travel times.
Traffic is expected to heat up Friday around noon and turn highways into parking lots by the late afternoon for skiers leaving the Bay Area. Monday around noon will also see a crush of weekenders returning to the Bay Area."
China threatens U.S. entities over downing of balloon
AP: "China said Wednesday it will take measures against U.S. entities related to the downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the American East Coast.
At a daily briefing, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin gave no details and did not identify the targets of the measures.
China says the balloon was a unmanned weather airship that was accidentally blown off course and accuses the U.S. of overreacting in bringing it down with a missile fired from an F-22 fighter jet."
