Fulton County grand jury indicts Trump, Giuliani, other associates in 2020 election investigation
LA Times, SARAH D. WIRE: "Former President Trump has been indicted in Georgia after an investigation by Fulton County Dist. Atty. Fani Willis into efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results. Eighteen others were also indicted, including Trump’s personal lawyers Rudolph Giuliani and Sidney Powell, and former Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Trump was charged in the sweeping 98-page indictment with racketeering and a dozen other felonies, including solicitation of violation of oath by a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery and false statements and writings."
Trump and 18 allies charged in Georgia election meddling as former president faces 4th criminal case
AP, KATE BRUMBACK, ERIC TUCKER: "Donald Trump and 18 allies were indicted in Georgia on Monday over their efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss in the state, with prosecutors using a statute normally associated with mobsters to accuse the former president, lawyers and other aides of a “criminal enterprise” to keep him in power.
The nearly 100-page indictment details dozens of acts by Trump or his allies to undo his defeat, including beseeching Georgia’s Republican secretary of state to find enough votes for him to win the battleground state; harassing a state election worker who faced false claims of fraud; and attempting to persuade Georgia lawmakers to ignore the will of voters and appoint a new slate of electoral college electors favorable to Trump."
Maui fire death toll at 99 with one-quarter of Lahaina searched: ‘Obviously no survivors’
LA Times, ALEXANDRA E. PETRI, RONG-GONG LIN II, FAITH E. PINHO: "Nearly a week after a wildfire incinerated the historic town of Lahaina, killing at least 99 people, search efforts are intensifying. As teams have combed through just 25% of the devastated area, the death toll is expected to climb significantly.
Twenty cadaver dogs and more than 90 FEMA workers are leading the search through the ash and rubble, Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said Monday. The identities of several of the victims are expected to be released publicly starting Tuesday, Pelletier said."
We survived the Paradise fire. For Lahaina survivors, escape from hell will mark them forever
LA Times, JAIME O'NEILL: "My wife and I will soon observe the fifth anniversary of the Camp fire that wiped out the town of Paradise in the foothills of Northern California, taking our home and everything we had except for the car we were in and the very few things we gathered as the fire drew nearer.
Five years is long enough that we have almost begun to forget. Until another even more deadly fire wipes another town from the face of the Earth: Lahaina."
How this woman’s home survived Lahaina fires as everything around burned
The Chronicle, SAM WHITING: "Pattie Tamura was reading the news in bed at her Noe Valley home early Monday morning when she saw a picture of the devastated Lahaina waterfront in Maui that caused her to immediately reach for her phone and fire off a group text to her siblings and cousins.
“Look,” it read, in text beneath a screenshot of the newspaper image. “Grandpa’s house made the newspaper.”"
Could California’s powerline strategy have saved Maui?
BANG*Mercury News, LISA M. KRIEGER: "As Hawaii’s electric utility faces scrutiny for active power lines that fell in high winds during last week’s catastrophic fires, Pacific Gas & Electric says it’s prepared to cut the power as a precaution to prevent wildfires in California this fire season.
Its customers could see four “public safety power shutoffs” in the coming months, the utility said, darkening the homes of an estimated 320,000 homes and businesses."
Gavin Newsom, activists hold crosstown debate over book bans and transgender student policy
Sac Bee, GRACE SCULLION, SHAANTH KODIALAM: "It didn’t take long for the school-focused culture wars to take center stage in Sacramento. On Monday, lawmakers’ first day back from summer break, the battle lines were clearly drawn in competing political events.
On the Capitol lawn, a coalition of parental rights activists condemned proposed legislation that would make it more difficult for school boards to ban books and increase state oversight to ensure diverse curriculum materials. Other measures would grant transgender students the ability to self-emancipate from unaccepting parents and fine people who disrupt school board meetings."
Girl Power with Robin Swanson
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "We are joined today by Robin Swanson, a political strategist and communications expert with more than 25 years of experience in both DC and Sacramento. She is also the co-founder and president of #WinLikeaGirl, a bipartisan group that spotlights the often unrecognized achievements of women who work in politics.
Swanson shares the #WinLikeaGirl origin story, talks about the reluctance of some women to showcase their own achievements and how the group is helping to bring women to the center stage."
Convoluted ‘California Blackjack’ battle may finally go to court
Capitol Weekly, RICH EHISEN: "A long-simmering and incredibly convoluted fight over “California Blackjack” may finally be decided in court, thanks to a bill pending in the Legislature.
Senate Bill 549 by Sen. Josh Newman, D-Fullerton, would give California’s gaming tribes legal standing to sue California cardrooms over an arcane system they employ to offer Blackjack, which the tribes insist is in violation of state law."
The Micheli Files: Should legislative intent statements be codified?
Capitol Weekly, CHRIS MICHELI: "On occasion, California legislators include statements of intent, or make findings and declarations, in their bills. When reviewing these bills, readers will see that, in most instances, these statements are “uncodified,” meaning that they are not codified (i.e., placed in a Code). In more limited cases, these statements are codified along with the other, substantive statutory provisions. This raises the question whether these legislative statements should be codified or not.
Essentially, codified laws are all of the statutes that are contained in the Codes of the State of California. There are 29 Codes in California, beginning with the Business and Professions Code and ending with the Welfare and Institutions Code, with 27 other Codes in between. Codified laws are those that are of general applicability and are permanent in nature. There are over 155,000 statutes contained in those 29 Codes."
We’re on the path to clean drinking water in the Central Valley, but there’s more work to do
Capitol Weekly, TOM BARCELLOS: "To live and farm in the Central Valley for three generations means water is a constant topic of conversation around the dinner table. While water quantity and water quality are serious and often daunting problems, I see reason for hope.
Important work is already underway on my family dairy farm and across the Valley to protect our drinking water. We are taking the time to celebrate the small victories but are ready to get back to work with the state and other local interests to keep up the momentum."
Recess is over, Californians demand climate action from state legislators (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, IRENE KAO, MIKE YOUNG: "In the final week of what became the hottest month in history, it was reported that California is not on track to reach our 2030 climate goals to reduce emissions to 48% below 1990 levels. As we experience more extreme heat, droughts, water scarcity, and intense wildfires, California’s role as a climate leader for the nation and world is called into question. Our state legislature and Governor Newsom must now pass key climate bills to reduce emissions at the sources, hold polluters accountable for their climate impact, and support climate resiliency in frontline communities. Our recent poll confirms that our communities are demanding these solutions that will accelerate our progress towards the state’s climate goals.
While polls rarely reflect the state’s diversity, ours was administered in-language, and ensured the demographic communities that have seen higher rates of growth in the last decade, like voters of color, were included. The results were telling and closely mirror recent headlines: the majority of California voters not only believe that climate change is real (63%), but also notice the effects of climate change have become more severe (73%). What Californians don’t agree on is the state’s preparedness – more voters doubt that the state is prepared to effectively address climate change."
Millions of California trees are dying; Joshua trees are just the latest victims
LA Times, HAYLEY SMITH: "Californians watched in dismay this month as the York fire seared through Mojave National Preserve, igniting a delicate desert landscape that may never fully recover.
The fire chewed through stands of beloved Joshua trees, torching their tops and potentially incinerating their roots. Park officials fear that millions may have been burned in the fire, though the precise number of those killed will be hard to discern from the piles of ash that remain."
Can teachers be legally liable if district policy requires they break the law?
BANG*Mercury News, DIANA LAMBERT: "Teachers working in California school districts with conservative school boards are increasingly finding themselves with a difficult decision: violate district policy and risk losing their job, or potentially disobey federal and state laws and policies and take a chance on ending up in court.
Last Monday was the first day of school at Chino Valley Unified campuses since the passage of a controversial board policy that would require teachers, counselors and administrators to notify parents if a child asks to be identified by a different gender or name, or to access a bathroom or take part in a program not aligned with the gender on their official records."
S.F.’s top-paid employee makes $640K. Here’s what every city worker gets paid
The Chronicle, NAMI SUMIDAL: "One might expect the top-paid government employee in San Francisco to be the mayor, particularly given the city’s “strong mayor” system. But while London Breed’s $350,000 salary is the highest among California mayors, she’s far from being the top-paid government worker in town. More than 200 full-time employees made more in total earnings than Breed last year.
Among them are physician administrators, medical examiners and investment managers, but also police officers and deputy sheriffs, many of whom doubled their earnings by working thousands of overtime hours."
Former Oakland Police Chief Armstrong claims Mayor Sheng Thao retaliated against him in firing
The Chronicle, SARAH RAVANI: "Former Oakland Police Chief LeRonne Armstrong has filed a legal claim against the city over his firing in February – claiming that Mayor Sheng Thao and other city leaders retaliated against him and criticizing the federal monitor who oversees the police department.
The claim, filed July 17 and obtained by The Chronicle, states that Thao, and former city administrators Ed Reiskin and Harold G. Duffey retaliated against him by placing him on administrative leave and terminating him after he made “whistleblower complaints” against a federal monitor overseeing the department."
Private clean-needle program in Santa Cruz County illegally approved, court says
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "A privately run clean-needle program in Santa Cruz County, aimed at limiting the spread of HIV and other drug-borne diseases, was illegally authorized in 2020 by state health officials who failed to consult with local law enforcement agencies, the program’s chief opponents, a state appeals court ruled Monday.
The decision by the Third District Court of Appeal in Sacramento does not impact other needle-exchange programs throughout the state, which were authorized by the Legislature in 2005 and exist in many counties, including San Francisco. The ruling also does not affect a separate needle and syringe program in Santa Cruz County that is administered by county officials."
