Newsom hits the road to campaign for Biden in Idaho, building his own base in red states
LA Times, HANNAH WILEY: "At a private fundraiser in the middle of Donald Trump’s America, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was on a mission to help President Biden.
Newsom, who hit the road during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, told a group of roughly 50 Democrats gathered in the backyard of a mansion overlooking the Boise foothills Saturday to make the “powerful case for why we should be passionate, enthusiastic about Biden’s reelection.”"
AB 331: a lesson for future regulation of automated decision tools
Capitol Weekly, MOLLY JACOBY: "Artificial intelligence is reshaping the workforce, largely by shifting decision making processes into the hands of automated decision tools. The impact of this transformation has understandably drawn calls for robust regulation of the use of AI, but to date there is little to no government oversight on the development and deployment of automated decision tools.
But not for a lack of effort.
This year, numerous bills have emerged that are aimed at regulating AI in varying capacities. Bills still circulating through the legislature include SB 721, by Sen. Josh Becker, D-San Mateo, which would create the California Interagency AI working group, and AB 302, by Assemblymember Christopher Ward, D-San Diego, which would require the Department of Technology to conduct inventories of high-risk automated decision systems used by state agencies."
Another bus carrying dozens of migrants from Texas arrives at Union Station in downtown L.A.
LA Times, JACK HERRERA: "Another bus carrying dozens of migrants from Texas arrived Saturday afternoon at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, courtesy of the governor and taxpayers of the Lone Star State.
The 41 asylum seekers arrived about 12:40 p.m. and were received by the L.A. Welcomes Collective, a network of nonprofit, faith and immigrant rights groups, officials said in a statement. The migrants are from Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Cuba, Venezuela, Belize and Nicaragua."
With end of heat wave in sight, Bay Area finds cool ways to cope
The Chronicle, ZARA IRSHAD: "The Bay Area’s first major heat wave of the summer sent residents in search of ways to cool off on Sunday, with temperatures in some areas topping 100 degrees ahead of relief that’s expected to show up after the start of the week.
The National Weather Service maintained its heat advisory along the inland Bay Area and Central Coast."
‘It’s a disaster’: California farmer faces ordeal as pistachio farm sits underwater
LA Times, IAN JAMES: "A few years ago, Makram Hanna took his savings from years of work in real estate and decided to make a big investment together with relatives and two other families. They bought 1,270 acres of farmland in Kings County, and in 2021 they planted pistachio trees.
Many of those trees, which have yet to produce a crop, now sit under 2 feet of water.
Thousands of Bay Area customers without electricity, weather cited as cause
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "Thousands of Pacific Gas & Electric customers in the Bay Area were without power Sunday night due to weather factors, though the utility did not say specifically how the summer’s first major heat wave was implicated.
With the advent of hotter-than-usual temperatures, topping 100 degrees in some areas over the weekend, PG&E’s outage map showed pockets of outages that spread across communities primarily in the East and South Bay regions. Among the largest blackouts were those reported in Richmond, Orinda and Boulder Creek."
Water toxins and rattlers: Why some East Bay outdoor fun comes with a warning
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "Toxic algae blooms and rattlesnakes are prompting cautionary warnings for outdoor recreation in some parts of the East Bay as summer temperatures rise.
Park officials shut down the swimming beach at Lake Temescal in the Oakland hills and the Niles swim area at Horseshoe Lake in Fremont last week due to blue-green algae contamination, a bacterial bloom in which the water-borne plants release toxins that can cause rashes, infections and gastrointestinal problems. While the duration of each bloom differs due to environmental factors such as daily temperatures and average rainfall, officials said summertime closures in previous years lasted up to nine weeks."
Tax dollars made this enticing native plant habitat. Why can’t we get inside?
LA Times, JEANETTE MARANTOS: "Welcome to the first issue of the L.A. Times Plants newsletter, with a list of this month’s plant-related activities and events upcoming events.
But first, today’s lesson in Los Angeles’ changing landscapes is a modern-day parable about the joys and challenges of creating native habitats on public lands.
U.S. Supreme Court rejects student loan forgiveness
EdSource, CAROLYN JONES: "The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down President Joe Biden’s ambitious plan to erase $400 billion in student debt — affecting about 43 million borrowers nationwide including about 3.5 million in California.
The court ruled 6-3 that Biden lacked the authority to permanently waive up to $20,000 in debt for each person who borrowed money to attend college, and that a move of such magnitude should have gone through Congress. The court also ruled that the HEROES Act, a 20-year-old law that allows the secretary of education to waive student loans during a national emergency, does not apply."
Cal State proposes regular tuition hikes to forestall budget gap
CALMatters, MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: "Multiple years of tuition increases are likely heading to California State University students as the 23-campus system seeks desperately needed cash to afford its academic mission.
The institution on Thursday published its proposal to begin raising undergraduate and graduate school tuition by 6% annually starting in the fall 2024 academic year."
Students expecting a ‘fight to the death’ to get a spot in Stanford’s new Taylor Swift class
BANG*Mercury News, GRACE HASE: "Stanford student Ava Jeffs is in her professor era.
The rising sophomore and lifelong “Swiftie” — a term used to describe fans of pop music icon Taylor Swift — is creating the curriculum for a new English class that examines the singer’s songwriting over the course of her career. Swift is in the middle of a record-setting global tour, dubbed “The Eras Tour,” which takes fans through a more than three-hour journey through her 10 albums."
Troubled nursing home chain owner gets new licenses just before state reforms take effect
CALMatters, MARISA KENDALL: "The state is moving forward with licensing two dozen nursing homes whose primary owner’s companies have a lengthy track record of problems – as uncovered by a CalMatters investigation – despite a new law designed to provide better oversight of the facilities.
The nursing homes in question are owned by Los Angeles businessman Shlomo Rechnitz, who owns dozens of California facilities through a web of companies."
Thousands of hotel workers across Southern California walk off the job
LA Times, HELEN LI, SUHAUNA HUSSAIN, SUSANNE RUST, HANNAH FRY: "Thousands of workers at hotels across Southern California walked off the job Sunday, demanding higher pay and better benefits and beginning what could be the largest U.S. strike for the industry in recent memory.
The strike affects roughly 15,000 cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellmen and front-desk agents at hotels in Los Angeles and Orange counties, including the JW Marriott in the L.A. Live entertainment district and luxury destinations like the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica."
What’s behind the hotel workers’ strike days before national holiday
CALMatters, ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE: "Thousands of Los Angeles hotel employees walked off their jobs Sunday morning, two days before Independence Day, after contract negotiations stalled, union officials said.
The strike may be one of the largest in Los Angeles history and is part of a string of union actions affecting various California industries this year. Labor leaders point rising expenses in California as one reason for union action, but some employers say unions are merely seeking to increase their political influence."
Staff cuts, long commutes, rising costs: Hotel workers say they simply can’t keep up
LA Times, HELEN LI, SUHAUNA HUSSAIN: "Thousands of Southern California hotel workers took to picket lines Sunday, wearing red union T-shirts and chanting for others to join their fight for better wages and benefits in a region they say has become increasingly unaffordable.
“I couldn’t sleep last night,” said Diana Rios Sanchez, a supervisor and former room attendant at the InterContinental in downtown Los Angeles, where picketing started as early as 6 a.m."
SAG-AFTRA agrees to extend negotiations with studios, averting a strike for now
LA Times, ANOUSHA SAKOUI: "SAG-AFTRA, Hollywood’s biggest union, has agreed to extend negotiations with the studios to allow more time for the two sides to hash out an agreement that could avert a second industry strike.
Hollywood writers have been on strike since May 2, and many have predicted actors would join them on the picket lines."
Tesla: The cars that racism built? Black workers claim lawsuits have not stopped discrimination
BANG*Mercury News, ETHAN BARON: "Complaint after complaint alleging anti-Black racism at Tesla’s factory in Fremont has not stopped such abuse and discrimination, with Black workers segregated into the hardest, most dangerous, lowest-paid jobs and subjected to a barrage of racist treatment, language and images, according to claims in recent court filings and employee interviews.
Black workers at the plant — Tesla’s biggest California facility, which employs thousands to build its four electric car models — alleged such abuse often began soon after they started, excited at landing a job at the famed automotive pioneer. In declarations filed by more than 200 current and former workers at the factory in connection with an Alameda County lawsuit against Tesla that now seeks class-action status, workers said they quickly learned that working for Tesla meant facing rampant, extreme racism."
S.F. 311 received more than a million calls since start of 2022. Here are the most common complaints
The Chronicle, ADRIANA REZAL: "In the last year and a half, San Franciscans have called in more than 1 million complaints to the city’s 311 service hotline. A breakdown of those calls shows that some of the most common complaints were about trash, illegal dumping and graffiti — issues the city has struggled to keep up with since the pandemic as the public works department faced staffing shortages.
“We had been challenged by vacancies in our street cleaning operation, which were exacerbated during the global COVID pandemic,” said Rachel Gordon, a spokesperson for Public Works. “But we have been making good progress in recent months to replenish the ranks.”"
Acclaimed Bay Area artist who ‘revitalizes’ spaces accused of owing hundreds of thousands of dollars in rent
The Chronicle, ANNIE VAINSHTEIN: "Oakland visual artist Binta Ayofemi’s dream was to activate dormant spaces in Oakland and San Francisco, two cities long tarnished by racist redlining and urban redevelopment, and transform them into vibrant centers of Black culture and art.
The acclaimed artist, who received SFMOMA’s prestigious SECA award for rising artists last year, sought to realize her ambitions largely through renting and renovating vacant commercial spaces in Oakland and San Francisco through her nonprofit organization, Ground Urban.
These Bay Area lawmakers oppose raising bridge toll fees to bail out BART, transit. Here’s why
The Chronicle, RICARDO CANO: "Several Bay Area lawmakers say they don’t support a bill that would temporarily raise tolls on seven state-owned bridges to give BART and other transit agencies more money to avoid service cuts.
That’s the main aim of Senate Bill 532 by San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener, unveiled June 23. The proposal, if passed by two-thirds of the Legislature and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, would increase bridge tolls by $1.50 — resulting in $9.50 tolls through 2028 — to raise $900 million for regional transit agencies struggling to recover riders after the pandemic."
