Judge blocks key parts of California law drastically restricting sale of new handguns
AP, STEFANIE DAZIO: "A federal judge in Orange County on Monday blocked key provisions of a California law that drastically restricts the sale of new handguns in the state, saying parts of the legislation violate the 2nd Amendment.
A lawsuit challenging the law was filed last year by the California Rifle & Pistol Assn. and other gun rights supporters following a landmark 2022 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that set new standards for evaluating firearm restrictions. The ruling left many laws aimed at regulating and limiting the sale and use of guns — in California and nationwide — at risk of being struck down.
U.S. District Court Judge Cormac Carney, sitting in Santa Ana, wrote Monday that California’s requirements for new handguns are unconstitutional and cannot be enforced. Because of these restrictions, Carney wrote, no new models of semiautomatic handguns have been approved for sale since 2013 and Californians are forced to buy older and potentially less safe models."
Court ruling opens door to gig driver unionization bill, union says
CALMatters, GRACE GEDYE: "A recent court ruling that favored gig work companies may have a silver lining for pro-labor groups.
Last Monday, a California appeals court ruled that Proposition 22 — a 2020 ballot measure that allowed Uber, Lyft, and other platforms to classify their workers as independent contractors rather than employees — was largely constitutional, reversing much of a lower court ruling.
But the court found that one part of the proposition wasn’t valid."
PG&E connection delays add to California’s housing woes, advocates say
BANG*Mercury News, ETHAN VARIAN: "Add waiting for the lights to turn on to the laundry list of delays holding up urgently needed housing in California.
Newly constructed apartment buildings across the northern half of the state are sitting empty for months as Pacific Gas & Electric Co. drags its feet connecting them to the power grid, according to developers and housing advocates. They say the utility’s increasingly slow pace is also driving up building costs, creating yet another challenge to solving the state’s worsening housing crisis.
This month, Scott Wiener, a Democratic state senator from San Francisco, crafted a bill to force PG&E and other utilities to install power hookups at residential and commercial construction sites no more than eight weeks after projects receive the necessary permits. Otherwise, utilities would be required to pay developers to compensate for the wait."
Union-backed bill would make it harder for industries to seek voter veto on new laws
BANG*Mercury News, JOHN WOOLFOLK: "A bill backed by labor unions and environmental groups would make it harder for industries to subject recently passed legislation to voter approval.
The bill, AB 421 by Assemblyman Isaac Bryan, D-Culver City, would make it more difficult to qualify referendums or similar ballot measures that overturn parts of recently passed legislation by requiring some signature gatherers be unpaid volunteers and requiring that information about who is paying for the petitions be disclosed.
“In recent years, we’ve seen some of tools of our democracy subverted from their original intent,” Bryan, who chairs the Assembly Elections Committee, said at a news conference Monday announcing his bill. “Direct democracy is supposed to be the people’s check on corruption and bias in our government; but over the years we have seen increasing abuse of the referendum process.”"
CalPERS to pay $800 million settlement over claims it misled retirees on costs of long-term care insurance
CALMatters, ADAM ASHTON: "CalPERS is preparing to pay out roughly $800 million to settle claims that it misled retirees when it began offering long-term care insurance in the late 1990s and pledged it wouldn’t substantially raise rates on certain plans.
The nation’s largest public pension fund in the 1990s and early 2000s sold long-term care insurance with so-called inflation-protection that members believed would shield them from dramatic spikes in premiums. CalPERS nonetheless hiked long-term care insurance rates by 85% in 2012 and continued to raise fees in subsequent years, straining household budgets for retirees on fixed incomes.
The settlement, tentatively approved by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge earlier this month, would resolve a lawsuit that centers on that steep 2012 fee increase. The settlement cannot take effect until plaintiffs in the class-action lawsuit review it and have an opportunity to submit comments to the court on it in a process that’s expected to take place between April and early June, according to court records."
Powerful winds set to blast California. Here’s how gusty the Bay Area will get
The Chronicle, ANNIE VAINSHTEIN: "Yet another atmospheric river is expected to bring more blustery weather to California, but the Bay Area will likely be largely spared from the most powerful gusts.
The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory Monday morning that extended into much of the Bay Area, alerting residents to the possibility of high winds that could bring down limbs or trees, cause power outages and create driving hazards. But the windiest conditions are likely further south, around the Central Coast and Southern California.
Gusts of up to 50 mph are possible in places where the wind advisory is in effect, from the north end of Concord to King City, the weather agency said."
More wind and heavy rains headed for the Bay Area on Tuesday
BANG*Mercury News, AUSTIN TURNER: "The sun eventually shined over the Bay Area after the first day of spring had a cloudy start Monday, but another storm was expected to roll through the region on Tuesday.
A messy morning commute was in store for the entirety of the Bay Area as high winds and heavy rain were forecast to peak in the mid-morning, according to NWS meteorologist Miles Bliss.
“The winds will peak Tuesday morning kind of in a 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. time frame and they’ll stay up until the early afternoon,” Bliss said. “The rain will follow kind of a similar pattern. That’ll come a little earlier, it could start as early as 4 a.m. and last into that 8-10 a.m. time frame as far as peak rates go.”"
Heavy rain to hit Southern California; thousands flee flooding in Central Valley
LA Times, HAYLEY SMITH, LUKE MONEY, IAN JAMES: "A weary, storm-soaked California is bracing for another bout of heavy rain and snow, power outages and potential flooding this week as a cold weather system takes aim at the state.
Light rain was falling in many regions Monday, the first day of spring, with precipitation expected to gain strength early Tuesday and linger into Wednesday.
Unlike recent warm atmospheric river storms that pulled moisture from the tropical Pacific, the incoming system will be a “cold, powerful, dynamic storm coming out of the northwest,” said David Sweet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard. The greatest effects are expected in Southern California."
How many days has it rained in Sacramento this year? Here’s a look at seasonal records
Sac Bee, BRIANNA TAYLOR: "The past three months in California — record rainfall, cold streaks and a massive snowpack — couldn’t be farther than the dry, warm winter predicted.
If this winter feels rough, said meteorologist Eric Kurth with the National Weather Service, it’s probably because of the cold, gloomy weather mixed with ongoing atmospheric river storms. According to the Sacramento rain meter, it’s rained nearly half of the year so far. It’s rained 37 of the last 78 days — or 47% of the time.
In Sacramento, it rained every day for the first 11 days in January."
Harris unveils $197 million for wildfire resilience as California’s fire season looms
LA Times, COURTNEY SUBRAMANIAN: "Storm-ravaged Californians are still digging out from historic levels of snowfall and girding for more heavy rain this week. But Biden administration officials are looking ahead to a wildfire season that could bring more devastation once the state dries out.
Vice President Kamala Harris detailed $197 million in new federal grants on Monday to help fortify high-risk communities against wildfires.
More than 100 communities scattered across 22 states and seven tribes will receive funding to supplement pay for wildland firefighters and provide housing for fire personnel as part of the Biden administration’s wildfire defense grant program."
What’s the total cost to swap out gas heat for electric? One Bay Area homeowner says almost $20,000
The Chronicle, CLAIRE HAO: "Bay Area regulators voted last week to phase out gas furnaces and water heaters over the coming years — despite strong concerns about adding financial burdens to residents in a region already saddled with extremely high costs-of-living.
The new regulations prohibit the sale or installation of water heaters and furnaces that emit nitrogen oxides (NOx) after 2027 and 2029, respectively. In practice, this means that existing homes must transition to electric water heaters and heat pumps – the only appliances that comply with the zero NOx standard – after their gas appliances reach the end of their lifecycle. The regulations also apply to new construction.
Electric water heaters and heat pumps are generally more expensive than their gas counterparts. People in older houses may also face additional costs such as electrical panel upgrades, ductwork, re-wiring or permits, though there are thousands of dollars of rebates and tax credits available at the federal, state and local level to offset some of the cost differential."
Creature of island mythology is real — and a new species, researchers in France say
Sac Bee, ASPEN PFLUGHOEFT: "Bounded by stunning beaches and punctuated with rugged mountains, inhabitants of a small French island in the Mediterranean have long relied on agriculture and livestock herding. For just as long, folktales have warned of a creature lurking nearby.
Stories of the ‘Ghjattu Volpe’ have been passed down in Corsica’s island mythology, the French Office for Biodiversity said in a March 16 news release. Literally translated, the creature’s name means “cat-fox.”
“The cat-fox is part of our shepherd mythology,” researcher and wildlife official Carlu-Antone Cecchini told AFP in 2019."
How immune are we? Why answering this question is essential for post-pandemic life
LA Times, MELISSA HEALY: "The pandemic’s formal end on May 11 marks neither victory nor peace: It’s a cessation of hostilities with a dangerous virus that is still very much with us.
To maintain such an uneasy truce, Americans will have to stay protected enough to prevent humanity’s viral foe from staging a break-out of our shaky accord.
Providing that assurance, in turn, assumes scientists and public health officials all agree on what it means to be “protected enough,” and that they can tell whether people are meeting that mark."
California ethnic studies classes are sparking controversy as mandate looms
The Chronicle, JILL TUCKER: "The angry emails poured into central office inboxes at San Mateo Union High School District. More than 800 missives from inside and outside the community complained about the district’s ethnic studies courses, saying the curriculum promoted left-wing dogma aimed at turning teens into angry activists.
Superintendent Randall Booker didn’t believe that was true, but told The Chronicle the complaints stemmed from fear and misunderstanding about a course that older generations had never heard of and included topics that were taboo in public schools for decades.
In the wake of the pushback, Booker defended the district’s ethnic studies class at a February school board meeting. He felt the class was important — not just because it’s crucial for students to learn about the past. What he was seeing too frequently in the present — the white supremacy stickers, swastikas and the n-word on campuses and students using bigoted language on social media — alarmed him."
Are kids collateral damage in California culture wars?
EdSource, DIANA LAMBERT: "Counterfeit dollar bills featuring a caricature of a Black man and racist comments circulated at a Sacramento secondary school. A 10-year-old girl was called a “slave“ by a classmate in Orange County. Bay Area high school students filmed themselves laughing and repeating an anti-Black racial slur. All this month in California.
Black students are more often the target of racial hostility than any other group of students, according to “Educating for a Diverse Democracy in California,” a joint report by the UCLA Institute for Democracy, Education and Access and the Civic Engagement Research Group at UC Riverside. As part of the study, the researchers surveyed 150 California principals about how the political dynamics of communities have impacted schools.
Sixty-six percent of the principals reported they are aware of racist comments made against Black students on their campuses; a third said such incidents are frequent. These verbal attacks speak to the presence of anti-Black racism that undermines the ability of young people to learn, said John Rogers, one of the study’s authors."
Last-minute talks fail, massive LAUSD strike and school shutdowns set for Tuesday
LA Times, HOWARD BLUME: "Last-minute efforts failed to avert a Tuesday strike that will shut down Los Angeles public schools and lead to a disruption of learning, vital meal services and the daily lives of some 420,000 children and their families in the nation’s second-largest school system.
L.A. schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho called the walkout an unnecessary harm to students that will compound the setbacks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2019 teachers strike, when six school days were lost.
Union leaders called the strike an unfortunate but necessary step to uplift workers and ultimately students as well."
Strike set to close Los Angeles Unified schools
EdSource, KATE SEQUEIRA: "Nearly 800 schools across Los Angeles Unified will close Tuesday as essential workers across the sprawling district head out to the picket lines Tuesday for the first of a three-day strike, officials said. Efforts to reach a last-minute contract settlement have failed so far, according to both sides.
Families are expected to be scrambling for alternative day care and learning centers as nearly 30,000 SEIU Local 99 special education assistants, bus drivers and other essential workers strike to protest alleged unfair practices by the district. The 35,000-member union United Teachers Los Angeles will join Service Employees International Union Local 99 in walking out in solidarity.
Los Angeles Unified Superintendent Alberto Carvalho acknowledged that the strike would occur early Tuesday morning and urged families to prepare. At a news conference Monday evening, he said he felt “compelled to be very honest with the community and, at this point, remove hope in terms of possibly avoiding the strike tomorrow and formally announce that all schools across LAUSD will be closed tomorrow.”"
Sharon Adesokan named UCOP’s first Health Care Facilitator
Daily Californian, LAUREL SPEAR: "On March 13, the UC Office of the President, or UCOP, announced the naming of Sharon Adesokan as its first Health Care Facilitator, or HCF.
UC Health allows members to choose from six coverage options, and the HCF helps members navigate this process. As experienced and educated counselors, HCFs help UC employees understand UC healthcare plans. HCFs assist employees with any issues that arise with billing, Medicare, plan coverage, patient rights and any other healthcare-related issues they may face.
HCFs work as representatives and advocates for people with complex medical needs, those requiring help understanding healthcare, and all UC employees generally. They work one-on-one with employees to provide assistance free of charge."
Fox chairman Rupert Murdoch’s new fiance has ties to California’s Central Valley
Sac Bee, GARTH STAPLEY: "It’s gratifying to see Modesto’s strong ties to Rupert Murdoch’s fiancee, Ann Lesley Smith.
She is the widow of Chester Smith, who made a name for himself in country music but spent most of his life as a broadcasting icon right here in Modesto.
Some locals will recall that Ann Lesley Smith a few years ago had her own radio program here at AM 1360 KFIV. In various statements on her recent engagement, she credits familiarity with media in Modesto for paving the path to Murdoch’s heart."
Amazon to lay off another 9,000 workers, including some at this S.F. subsidiary
The Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "Amazon is laying off another 9,000 office workers in the second major downsizing for the tech giant since the fall, bringing its total cuts to around 27,000.
The office worker layoffs include more than 400 at its San Francisco-based video game streaming division Twitch, along with its Amazon Web Services, People Experience and Technology and advertising divisions.
Twitch said “user and revenue growth has not kept pace with our expectations.”"
How much a $100,000 salary is actually worth across America
Bloomberg, JO CONSTANTZ: "For many, reaching a six-figure salary is a watershed moment, yet it’s an illusory milestone: In reality, your take-home pay is much lower after taxes and factoring in the sky-high cost of living in many major cities. That’s especially true with slowing wage gains and nearly two years of persistent inflation.
So where should you live if you want to maximize your salary? Consider Memphis, Tennessee. SmartAsset, a consumer-focused financial information provider, analyzed 76 of the largest U.S. cities to see where $100,000 goes furthest, and the “Home of the Blues” topped the list with a take-home pay of a little over $86,000.
The state of Tennessee doesn’t tax earned income. So after federal and local taxes, a Memphian making $100,000 takes home about $74,500. But because the city’s cost of living is almost 14% lower than the national average, those earnings are actually worth over $10,000 more after making the adjustment for cost of living."
Mobile home parks offer refuge from California’s housing squeeze. Who’s watching them?
CALMatters, MANUELA TOBIAS: "Bobby Riley moved to Stockton Park Village to live out his days in peace.
In 2018, the 87-year-old retired construction worker tucked his used camper trailer into the farthest lot of the horseshoe-shaped mobile home court off a tree-lined street in the outskirts of Stockton. The community’s handyman, Buzz, helped him build a porch and a patio to ground his trailer and enclosed it with a white wooden fence. He set up a swingset on the grassy common area across the way for when his granddaughter, Brooke, came to visit.
But the little piece of heaven he sought soon became a living hell."
‘Makes absolutely no sense’: S.F. supervisors question evictions from supportive housing
The Chronicle,m JOAQUIN PALOMINO, TRISHA THADANI: "San Francisco supervisors pressed city officials Tuesday to find solutions for the concerning number of formerly homeless people who have been evicted from the same supportive housing programs that pulled them off the streets — a pattern that one supervisor said “defies logic.”
The Board of Supervisors committee hearing, called for after a Chronicle investigation exposed the revolving door back to the streets, heard frustrations from city leaders and formerly homeless people alike on the practice of evicting people who fall behind on rent, while failing to provide a safety net for those who are forced to leave.
“It’s alarming to me that once someone’s housing is in jeopardy ... the city does not have any real programs to make sure that folks don’t end up back on the streets,” Supervisor Dean Preston, a former eviction defense attorney, said in an interview after the hearing. “I mean, my office has stepped in to just rent a hotel room for someone because there’s no city program, which makes absolutely no sense.”"
Housing towers are coming to downtown Berkeley — whether the city wants them or not
The Chronicle, JOHN KING: "Downtown Berkeley, more than any spot in the Bay Area, shows how statewide housing policies could soon alter the scale of our local cities — for better or worse.
Six buildings of 16 to 28 stories are proposed in the central core, a setting where only one structure above 13 stories has been built since 1971. An eclectic two-block-wide corridor of buildings of various dimensions and architectural styles would be joined by chunky structures of a much different scale, three at heights that rival UC Berkeley’s Campanile.
One reason for the shift is that more Berkeley residents – and those in other Bay Area cities – now accept that the region needs to provide homes for all types of people. But there’s another factor at work: Legislators in Sacramento have passed a raft of bills to make it easier for developers to build residential buildings, meaning that cities like Berkeley have little choice."
Planes fly too loudly and too low over Bay Area national parks, lawsuit says
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Federal park officials have ignored environmental laws for aircraft overflights and allowed commercial planes to fly too low and too loudly over four national parks in the Bay Area, advocates said in a new court filing.
The parks are the Golden Gate National Recreation Area in San Francisco and Marin counties; Point Reyes National Seashore; Muir Woods in Mill Valley, and the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park at Fisherman’s Wharf.
Despite a court order requiring plans to minimize airborne noise and other disturbances in national parks with 50 or more commercial overflights a year, the environmental advocates said, rules submitted in January by the National Park Service and the Federal Aviation Administration allow flights over the parks to continue at their same number — as many as 2,548 a year — and the same volume."
LAPD officer convicted of perjury, filing false report in 2019 DUI arrest in Hollywood
LA Times, SALVADOR HERNANDEZ: "A Los Angeles police officer was convicted Monday of perjury for filing a false police report about a 2019 driving-under-the-influence stop in Hollywood.
Jurors deliberated for two hours before finding Officer Alejandro Castillo, 50, guilty on two felony counts. He faces up to four years and eight months in state prison, according to the L.A. County district attorney’s office.
“When an officer lies in the course of their investigation it can have devastating consequences including wrongful incarceration and sometimes wrongful convictions,” Dist. Atty. George Gascón said in a statement. “We cannot have the people we entrusted to take away a person’s liberty lying in their official capacity.”"
Pair of brawls among teens at S.F. mall leads to calls for action on youth violence
The Chronicle, JOEL UMANZOR: "A pair of violent brawls involving dozens of adolescents at a San Francisco mall have prompted a call to action to address rising youth violence, with a proposed hearing on this issue at the Board of Supervisors.
At least two minors were injured in the pair of fights at Stonestown Galleria shopping center last week.
San Francisco District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar said Monday she is planning on calling for a hearing to address the escalating issue."
What should be the official animal of San Francisco?
The Chronicle, PETER HARTLAUB: "San Francisco has always been a city that loves pomp and ceremony — our City Hall is literally plated in gold. The city has named an official flower, official songs and an official cocktail. But somehow in the 173-year history of the city of St. Francis — patron saint of animals — no one in S.F. has bothered to declare an official city animal. We’re here to right this wrong. Heather Knight and I teamed with our Total SF podcast listeners to pick 16 finalists for the (Unofficial) Official Animal of San Francisco™, voters weighed in the past two weeks, and now we have our Final Four!
rBison, butterflies, coyotes and the San Francisco garter snake are out. Sea lions, parrots, crabs and Claude the albino alligator (from the California Academy of Sciences) remain. Voting ends Thursday at midnight. We'll determine our two finalists this week and name the champion by the end of March.
Want to see who's winning this round? Your “Total SF” hosts will have updates on Twitter @PeterHartlaub and @hknightsf. Use the hashtag #OfficialAnimalSF. Read the voting rules and vote for your favorite below!"
President Biden to Award National Medals of Arts to Bruce Springsteen, Gladys Knight, Jose Feliciano
Pitchfork, NINA CORCORAN: "Bruce Springsteen, Gladys Knight, and Jose Feliciano have been announced as recipients of the National Medals of Arts, according to a White House press release. President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will award them the trophies tomorrow (March 21) at 4:30 p.m. EST at the White House alongside fellow recipients Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mindy Kaling, and Vera Wang, among others. The event will be live streamed at the White House’s website.
“The National Medal of Arts recipients have helped to define and enrich our nation’s cultural legacy through their life long passionate commitment,” said National Endowment for the Arts chair Maria Rosario Jackson. “We are a better nation because of their contributions. Their work helps us see the world in different ways. It inspires us to reach our full potential and recognize our common humanity. I join the President in congratulating and thanking them.”
Also receiving 2021 National Medals of Arts are Judith Francisca Baca, Fred Eychaner, Antonio Martorell-Cardona, Joan Shigekawa, the Billie Holiday Theatre, and the International Association of Blacks in Dance."
Is Trump going to be arrested? Answers to questions about the former president’s legal troubles
LA Times, JON HEALEY: "Donald Trump set an unenviable record while occupying the White House, becoming the first president to be impeached twice by the House of Representatives.
His legal troubles have only mounted since then.
On Saturday, Trump said on his social media network Truth Social that he will be arrested Tuesday in connection with a case brought by Manhattan Dist. Atty. Alvin Bragg. The former president cited “illegal leaks” out of Bragg’s office as the source of his information; his attorney later said there’s been no formal notice from the prosecutor, and Bragg declined to comment."
