California reparations task force releases first estimate of damages: up to $1.2M per Black resident
The Chronicle, DUSTIN GARDINER: "Economists advising California’s task force on reparations have, at long last, released an estimate of the damages caused by the state’s history of slavery and its many vestiges of white supremacy: up to $1.2 million per Black resident over a lifetime.
The payment estimates are described as a rough, partial estimate of what it would cost the state to compensate Black people for that legacy of harm, according to a draft of the task force’s final report. But the report states those calculations are not a final recommendation on the total amount of reparations needed.
“Rather, it is an economically conservative initial assessment of what losses, at a minimum, the State of California caused or could have prevented, but did not,” the report states. “(T)he Legislature would then have to decide how to translate loss-estimates into proposed reparations amounts.”"
California reparations task force to recommend ‘down payments’ for slavery, racism
CALMatters, WENDY FRY: "The California Reparations Task Force published documents Monday indicating it plans to recommend the state apologize for racism and slavery and consider “down payments” of varying amounts to eligible African American residents.
The documents, numbering more than 500 pages, do not contain an overall price tag for reparations, but they do include ways the state could calculate how much money African Americans in California have lost since 1850, when the state was established, through today due to certain government practices.
The loss calculations would vary depending on type of racial harm and how long a person has lived in California. The loss estimates range from $2,300 per person per year of residence for the over-policing of Black communities, to $77,000 total per person for Black-owned business losses and devaluations over the years."
Lawmakers want more social media regulation. Here are the legal hurdles that could face
CALMatters, GRACE GEDYE: "When Sophie Szew first downloaded Instagram at her 10th birthday party, she was exposed to a flurry of information that “promoted eating disorders,” she told California lawmakers. By 15, she said, she was following “every starvation regimen recommended” by Instagram’s “explore” page.
Szew, now 20, spoke in Sacramento at a Senate hearing in April in support of an expansive bill making its way through the Legislature. It would hold companies legally responsible for using algorithms and design features that addict young people.
“Standing with me today is a generation that knows all too well what it is like to be harmed by flawed systems,” she said."
Oakland mayor releases $4.2 billion plan amid city’s largest budget crisis in history
The Chronicle, SARAH RAVANI: "Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao released a two-year budget proposal Monday that aims to avoid layoffs by cutting vacant positions — a road map for how she plans to tackle the largest budget shortfall in the city’s history.
Thao’s nearly $4.2 billion plan reorganizes the city by merging some government departments as she attempts to deliver and fund the programs she promised to voters during the campaign. Some of the cutbacks will fall on the police and fire departments, including a reduction in the number of sworn officers compared with earlier hiring plans, despite a rise in the overall police budget."
Bass’ budget proposal for Animal Services is far less than what department requested
LA Times, DAKOTA SMITH: "Mayor Karen Bass’ proposed budget for the Los Angeles Animal Services department is facing pushback from city officials who want more funding for the troubled department.
Larry Gross, president of the commission that oversees Animal Services, contacted City Councilmember Bob Blumenfield last week to urge the hiring of more staff, Gross confirmed to The Times. Blumenfield chairs the city’s budget committee.
Bass’ budget proposed $31.7 million for Animal Services for the fiscal year starting July 1, an 18% increase over this year’s budget for the department. That’s far less that $42 million, or the 56% increase, requested by Animal Services."
California’s historic snowpack remains massive. And it’s not melting that fast
The Chronicle, KURTIS ALEXANDER: "Although it’s well into spring, the snowpack in California’s mountains remains huge, measuring 254% of average in the state’s May 1 snow survey on Monday.
The Sierra Nevada and southern Cascades together have seen near-record accumulation this year, with the snowpack peaking on April 8 and then beginning to decline, state records show, losing just under 20% of its water mass since."
Epic snowpack upends rhythms of life for many species in Sierra Nevada range
LA Times, LOUIS SAHAGUN: "The Big Melt is finally underway in the Sierra Nevada range, and soon there will be few wild places beyond the reach of water sounds: dripping, gurgling and roaring as runoff flows from lofty peaks to sage plains below.
But the whiplash change from extreme drought to epic snowpack is having very different consequences for a variety of species.
“In the ever changing ebb and flow of water in California, no given year is great for all species,” said Joshua Viers, a professor at UC Merced specializing in the hydrology of the Sierra Nevada. “But in a year like this one, which is exceptional by all measures, we are looking at a resetting of the dynamics of the entire ecological canvas from the redwoods to the desert.”"
California flooding: 80% of Sierra Nevada snowpack hasn’t melted yet
BANG*Mercury News, PAUL ROGERS: "The huge Sierra Nevada snowpack, brought by a parade of atmospheric river storms that ended California’s drought this winter, isn’t a thing of the past now that warmer weather is here: 80% of the snow hasn’t melted yet.
On Monday, the state Department of Water Resources revealed that figure after conducting its final manual snow survey of the spring season at Phillips Station, a location in El Dorado County off Highway 50 near the Sierra-at-Tahoe ski resort.
Last year and the year before on May 1, they found bare ground at the site. In 2020, as California’s most recent drought was just beginning, they found a sparse 1 inch of quickly melting snow. On Monday, there was 6 feet of snow there."
Flower Moon, a lunar eclipse and a meteor shower unfold this week. Here's what to know
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: "Three celestial events will unfold Friday: a penumbral lunar eclipse accompanying a Flower Moon, and the peak of the Eta Aquarid meteor shower.
But Bay Area stargazers should keep their expectations in check, astronomers say — especially since the eclipse will come and go while it’s still daylight in the region.
Lunar eclipses occur only during full moons, and Friday night brings the Flower Moon — the nickname for the full moon that occurs in May."
Most California colleges don’t offer rape kits on campus. Students demand better access to care
LA Times, MACKENZIE MAYS: "Weeks before UC Irvine opened its sexual assault forensic exam site, a student needed it.
She walked into the nearest emergency room after her attack only to find out that it did not offer rape test kits. By the time she was rerouted, it was 2 a.m., and the student, exhausted in the throes of trauma, declined to make the trip to Anaheim to the nearest facility offering an exam — more than 19 miles off campus.
“It really hit me hard,” said Eli Pascal, director of UCI’s Campus Assault Resources and Education office, who helped direct the student to services. “What if we had just been open? Would this student had been OK to come back to campus and let us take care of her there?”"
Chico State cuts ties with therapist who counseled both faculty and professor who made alleged gun threats
EdSource, THOMAS PEELE: "Chico State has ended a contract with a mental health counselor hired to help faculty and staff cope with allegations that a biology professor threatened to shoot campus colleagues after university officials learned from court filings that she was also treating that very professor, David Stachura.
The counselor, Christina W.H. Wong, didn’t disclose the apparent conflict of interest to university officials, according to documents and interviews. Wong’s “no longer active in our system and will not receive new referrals,” campus spokesperson Andrew Staples told EdSource.
Wong, a Chico-based licensed clinical social worker, has treated Stachura regularly since October 2021 according to a declaration Stachura filed in state Superior Court as part of his effort to stop the university from obtaining a permanent workplace violence restraining order barring him from campus. She began treating other faculty and staff affected by the alleged threats in January."
Students, families celebrate at West Contra Costa Unified’s first prom for students with special needs
EdSource, ALI TADAYON: "Students with special needs at West Contra Costa Unified were full of smiles and laughter Saturday as they danced and partied at a prom event specifically tailored for them.
Saturday’s event, the first of its kind at West Contra Costa Unified, was planned for students with extensive support needs such as autism and moderate to severe intellectual abilities for whom the traditional prom — with loud music and extensive light displays — might be overstimulating.
Dozens of students and their families attended the event, which featured a sensory room, soft lights and support staff in order to comfort students experiencing sensory overload, which people with disabilities that cause hypersensitivity are prone to."
Low wages, short hours drive many fast-food workers into homelessness
LA Times, ANDREA CHANG: "When Jose de la Torre began delivering pizzas for Papa Johns in 2019, he made $15 an hour and shared a one-bedroom apartment in the Florence-Graham neighborhood with half a dozen other people.
After two years on the job, his hourly rate was the same but his work schedule had been cut — to about 30 hours a week instead of the full 40, he said. Meanwhile, his everyday living expenses had gone up. He began sleeping in his Nissan Altima, parking it near the Papa Johns in Lynwood where he worked.
“I made the choice,” De la Torre, 53, said. “It was either my car and eat, or rent.”"
Hollywood writers strike over streaming pay after talks fail
LA Times, ANOUSHA SAKOUI: "A festering dispute over how writers are compensated in the streaming era came to a head Monday night, as leaders of the Writers Guild of America called on their members to stage Hollywood’s first strike in 15 years.
The boards of directors for the East and West Coast divisions of the WGA voted unanimously to call a strike effective 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, the union said in a statement.
Thousands of WGA members were set to walk picket lines across Los Angeles, New York and other cities Tuesday after the union was unable to reach a last-minute accord with the major studios on a new three-year contract to replace one that expired Monday night."
Facebook owner chops more than 1,500 Bay Area jobs as tech layoffs soar
BANG*Mercury News, GEORGE AVALOS: "Facebook app owner Meta Platforms has disclosed plans to chop more than 1,500 jobs in the Bay Area, layoffs that suggest waves of tech cutbacks in the region have yet to relent.
The most recent Meta Platform layoffs are slated to affect the tech company’s workers in Menlo Park, Sunnyvale, Burlingame, San Francisco and Fremont, according to WARN notices filed on April 24 with the state Employment Development Department (EDD). In March, the company said it would chop 10,000 jobs, on top of the 11,000 layoffs Meta revealed late in 2022. The new WARN notices revealed for the first time how many Meta Platforms jobs would be lost in the Bay Area and in which cities.
Meta Platforms has now revealed plans to eliminate slightly over 4,000 jobs in the Bay Area, based on filings during 2022 and so far in 2023."
Andrea Riseborough flap prompts most significant Oscar campaign rules change in decades
LA Times, JOSH ROTTENBERG: "Following controversy earlier this year over Andrea Riseborough’s surprise lead actress Oscar nomination for the little-seen movie “To Leslie,” the film academy announced Monday that it has updated its regulations around campaigning for the coveted awards.
The new regulations, approved by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 54-member board of governors, clarify rules regarding communications to members to promote particular films and performances, including the use of social media, and limit the number of hosted screenings that are allowed prior to nominations.
Among other changes, the organization also imposed new limits on academy governors’ involvement in lobbying for Oscars, expressly forbidding them from hosting events or screenings for nominated movies or otherwise publicly endorsing any films or performances in contention unless they are directly associated with them."
Decades of failures leave L.A. County facing up to $3 billion in sex abuse claims
LA Times, REBECCA ELLIS: "As California legislators prepared to pass a law providing victims of childhood sexual abuse a new window to file lawsuits, the bill’s chief backer recalls most of the resistance coming from entities with famously troubled histories: school districts, colleges and youth athletic groups, along with some of their insurance companies.
Los Angeles County “just didn’t come up,” said former Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher (D-San Diego), who sponsored the Child Victims Act.
But three years after the law went into effect, L.A. County — responsible for facilities meant to protect and rehabilitate the region’s youth — has emerged in court filings as one of the biggest alleged institutional offenders."
California’s next housing crackdown could force cities to plan more homeless shelters
CALMatters, MARISA KENDALL: "All over California, cities are falling far short when it comes to providing enough shelter for their homeless communities.
More than 69,000 homeless residents live in Los Angeles County, for instance, but that county has just over 21,000 beds in shelters and temporary housing programs.
It’s a similar story in Sacramento County, which counted nearly 9,300 unhoused residents in its last census, but has just over 3,000 shelter and temporary housing beds"
Why bad news for downtown is also bad news for the rest of San Francisco
The Chronicle, JD MORRIS/ADRIANA REZAL: "San Francisco’s financial engine — its downtown — is sputtering.
Before the pandemic, downtown — the Financial District, SoMa and adjacent neighborhoods that comprise the city’s urban core — was responsible for about 70% of San Francisco’s jobs and most of its tax base. About three-quarters of the city’s gross domestic product comes from office work, which has historically been concentrated downtown.
Today, though, the average San Franciscan rarely needs to go downtown. And thanks to COVID-inspired remote work policies, nor do many of the workers across the Bay Area who once crammed into standing-room-only BART cars to commute there every day."
California’s population is still shrinking. These Bay Area counties lost people
The Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG: "California’s population continued to shrink over the last year, according to a state report released Monday.
The total population dropped to an estimated 38.9 million at the start of 2023, down from 39.1 million at the start of 2022, a 0.3% decline.
That reflects a continued decline in population, but one that has begun to slow, particularly in the last six months of last year, said Walter Schwarm, the chief demographer at the California Department of Finance. That’s because pandemic factors that caused California’s population to decrease — including deaths from COVID, reduced immigration because of Trump-era pandemic policies and an exodus of workers able to do their jobs remotely — have all lessened, Schwarm said."
Mortgage fees to rise for buyers with high credit scores, fall for those with lower scores
BANG*Mercury News, ETHAN VARIAN: "Heads up, homebuyers! Big changes have arrived in the way mortgage fees are calculated, and they could offer a windfall — or an unexpected surcharge — for your next home purchase.
Starting Monday, some fees will rise for homebuyers with higher credit scores, while buyers with lower scores will see a fee reduction. In the Bay Area, the change could shift total mortgage closing costs by thousands of dollars.
The move is part of a broader effort by the federal government to “increase support for borrowers historically underserved by the housing finance market.” That includes people of color who have long faced discrimination in homebuying. Still, borrowers with lower credit scores will, for the most part, still pay much larger fees than those with higher scores."
California sues city of Elk Grove for rejecting affordable housing project
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "The state sued the city of Elk Grove on Monday for rejecting plans for 66 units of affordable apartment housing, accusing the Sacramento County community of violating laws that seek to reduce homelessness in California.
A 2017 law, SB35 by Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, requires cities to quickly approve any low-income housing proposal that is consistent with neighborhood zoning if a city has fallen short of the state’s standards for low-income housing.
In denying streamlined approval last July of the proposed Oak Rose Apartments in Elk Grove’s Old Town area, city officials said it conflicted with their zoning rules that required ground-floor space to be reserved for commercial uses such as restaurants and retail stores. But lawyers for the state said those zoning standards were discretionary and had been ignored by the city when it approved the market-rate Railroad Courtyards project, which had residential units on the ground floor."
Copenhagen mayor to California’s ‘Danish Capital’: Stop acting homophobic
LA Times, HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS: "This little tourist town in the Santa Ynez Valley is best known for its Danish windmills, aebleskivers and Viking-themed tchotchkes.
In the self-described Danish Capital of America, friendliness is part of the brand, with Solvang so outwardly idyllic it was the setting for the saccharine Lifetime TV movie “A Very Charming Christmas Town.”
As one city councilman declared: “This is the friendliest goddamn town I’ve ever been in.”"
