Three co-workers running for the same Senate seat? That’s awkward
LA Times, CAMERON JOSEPH: "Soon after Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) jumped into the race for the Senate seat held by Dianne Feinstein, he asked freshman Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Los Angeles) for her support. He’d backed her 2022 campaign, and she was happy to endorse him.
Just a few weeks later, Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) announced she’d be running against Schiff. Kamlager-Dove told Lee that she would endorse her too."
Experts Expound: The race to replace DiFi
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "Who will be California’s next U.S. Senator?
“Schiff.”
“It is difficult to predict at this stage who will win the ‘24 US Senate race. Adam Schiff has benefited tremendously from the bone-headed House Republicans’ censure of him, and it looks like he will have more money than God. I think he certainly makes the run-off. Lee’s fundraising has been anemic, and I’m not sure how well Porter sells statewide, she’s kind of an acquired taste. All in all, if I had to bet, I would put my money on Schiff.”"
Newsom vs. DeSantis (PODCAST)
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis agreed last week to a debate – an odd turn of events given that DeSantis is a presidential candidate, and Newsom is not. If the two are not running for the same office, they are both attempting to win the hearts and minds of American voters. But, is this the way to do it?
We asked longtime Democratic strategist Garry South to weigh in on the pros and cons of the debate, and what’s at stake. Plus – Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics?"
Ninth Circuit overturns butterfly knife ban, citing Supreme Court guns ruling
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Citing the Supreme Court’s ruling that severely limited states’ authority to regulate guns, a federal appeals court on Monday struck down Hawaii’s ban on butterfly knives, pocket knives with folding blades that can be quickly joined into a single blade and used as a weapon.
The ruling, if it stands, could also be used to overturn California’s prohibition on carrying butterfly knives in public that have blades longer than 2 inches."
The reenactment rule in California
Capitol Weekly, CHRIS MICHELI: "California’s Constitution, in Article IV, Section 9, provides “A section of a statute may not be amended unless the section is re-enacted as amended.” What does that mean? Why do we call it the “reenactment rule”?
According to the courts, the purpose of the constitutional reenactment rule, which prohibits amending a section of statute unless the section is reenacted as amended, is “to avoid enactment of statutes in terms so blind that legislators themselves are deceived in regard to their effect.” The rule applies to bills which are amending existing statutes."
Waiting game: Asylum seekers at California border at more risk during court fight
CALMatters, WENDY FRY: "María Guadalupe Cruz has been trying every day since January to get on the Biden administration’s electronic waitlist, so she could seek asylum in the United States for her and her family.
The 32-year-old mother left Honduras in 2021 with her husband and two children after local gangs tried charging a “war tax” on her home that she couldn’t pay, she said."
Thousands of city workers have gone on strike. Bass says L.A. is ‘not going to shut down’
LA Times, DAVID ZAHNISER: "Workers, managers and elected officials braced for one of the biggest labor actions to hit Los Angeles city government in a generation — a one-day walkout by the union that represents traffic officers, gardeners, mechanics, custodians, lifeguards, engineers and scores of other government jobs.
Service Employees International Union Local 721, which represents more than 7,000 city workers, began its strike at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday to protest what it described as unfair labor practices by city negotiators and a failure by management to remain at the bargaining table."
San Jose municipal workers vote to strike after city rejects proposed wage increase
The Chronicle, MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "San Jose workers are going on strike for three days, claiming low wages and poor retirement benefits have led to chronic understaffing in the city.
In an election held last week, 99% of city workers voted to approve a three-day strike Aug. 13-15, according to the Municipal Employees’ Federation, American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees, Local 101, one of the unions representing city workers. The strike, announced Monday, would apply to workers anywhere from local libraries to the San José Mineta International Airport."
Authorities investigate Cabazon helicopter crash that killed 3: ‘This should never happen’
LA Times, STAFF: "A spray of pink retardant marked a rocky hillside in Riverside County on Monday where, only hours earlier, two firefighting helicopters were involved in a rare and fatal collision while battling a small blaze — and it could be years before officials determine how it happened.
The tragedy in the skies over Cabazon left three people dead and authorities scrambling to discern what could have gone wrong. The two choppers struck each other at 6:55 p.m. Sunday, with one crashing and the other landing safely."
Here’s how tropical moisture could arrive in California this week
The Chronicle, GERRY DIAZ: "Two areas of low pressure are headed for the West Coast this week, and both are likely to have far-reaching effects on temperatures and humidity.
The first low-pressure system is forecast to raise a deep marine layer along most of the California coast, setting off a cooling trend Monday and Tuesday. The low pressure leaves the West Coast by Wednesday, leaving the door wide open for the second system."
Major Bay Area school districts scramble to fill teaching jobs as classrooms reopen
The Chronicle, JILL TUCKER: "Oakland’s public schools threw open their doors to more than 34,000 students for the first day of school Monday, the excitement of seeing friends and carrying new backpacks filled with unused pencils at least temporarily overshadowing struggles to staff classrooms.
Amid the hugs and smiles and first playground rebukes to push dawdling students to class, district officials acknowledged they were short 60 classroom teachers across the district, out of about 2,300 positions overall, leaving thousands of Oakland students without permanent instructors Monday morning."
Cal, Stanford fans lament demise of Pac-12, loss of generations of tradition
The Chronicle, SAM WHITING: "The shocking news that the once all-powerful and glorious Pacific-12 Conference would soon be whittled down to the Pac-4 made it a sad Monday morning for quarterbacks already gearing up for the college football season.
“Cal and Stanford have a great sports history, and they are being treated as irrelevant. I really worry about both of them,” said Joe Starkey, the longtime California Golden Bears football radio broadcaster who now describes himself as a Cal fan. “It is breaking the fans’ hearts more than anything else, but I think we will rally around the school. We’ve been mistreated, and we deserve better.”"
Paper wings and a prayer: SFUSD program wants to close STEM gap for Black students
The Chronicle, DAPHNE YOUNG: "Ibrahim Maxie released the green rubber band that launched his team’s paper and balsa wood glider into the sky. The glider made it about four feet in mild wind before nosing down in the park in Mission Bay.
“I was so excited to see how far it would fly,” Ibrahim said, “although it hit the ground pretty fast.”"
Los Angeles Unified to boost support for basic needs in upcoming academic year
EdSource, MALLIKA SESHADRI: "The Los Angeles Unified School District is gearing up for the 2023-24 academic year and plans to transform its strategy from building structures and coherence to accelerating student success by expanding basic services including housing, health care, meals and transportation.
District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho addressed district supporters at a packed Walt Disney Concert Hall in a theatrical display on Friday that included student music and dance performances from various campuses."
College students with Hollywood dreams see industry strikes as key to livable careers
CALMatters, RYAN LOYOLA: "When the Writers Guild of America strike started May 2, midway through Teddy Alvarez-Nissen’s internship for a production company in Burbank, fewer scripts started coming in and his work as a reader slowed considerably. As the strike went on, the third-year film student at the University of Southern California became curious about the specific terms that were being negotiated. When he looked at the fine print, he discovered the union was fighting for what was, in his mind, the bare minimum — standards he thought were already in place.
“That does scare me as somebody going into the industry,” said Alvarez-Nissen, who’s graduating in 2025. “I think we’ve all known about the stereotype of the studio that takes advantage of people or the producers that just want to get as much money as possible. It’s an illustration of how much worse the problem is than we thought it was and why it is important to be striking.”"
What it’s like to live in California’s hottest real estate market right now
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: "While home prices are still on the decline in many parts of San Francisco and Los Angeles, some other areas in California are seeing real estate price boomlets — with one Southern California county in particular leading the state.
Data from real estate listings site Zillow reveals that out of the top 25 California ZIP codes with the largest home value increases over the past six months, 10 were in San Diego County."
William Friedkin, director of ‘The Exorcist’ and ‘The French Connection,’ dies at 87
LA Times, CHRISTI CARRAS: "William Friedkin, a master of suspense and leading figure of the 1970s New Hollywood movement who was known for directing films such as “The Exorcist” and “The French Connection,” has died.
Friedkin died Monday in Los Angeles, his widow, Sherry Lansing, confirmed to the Los Angeles Times. CAA, which represents Lansing, said Friedkin died at home from heart failure and pneumonia. He was 87."
