California Legislature approves concealed-carry limits, teeing up possible Supreme Court fight
LA Times, HANNAH WILEY: "A year after Democratic infighting tanked a high-profile gun-control bill in Sacramento, California lawmakers successfully approved legislation on Tuesday to limit who can carry firearms in public, setting up a likely legal challenge that could reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
State Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-Burbank) introduced Senate Bill 2 in response to a Supreme Court ruling last year that struck down restrictive and subjective concealed-carry laws as unconstitutional, leaving California and a handful of other Democratic-led states scrambling to rewrite their gun laws."
California passes new concealed-carry restrictions
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Responding to a Supreme Court ruling that declared a right to possess firearms in public, California lawmakers passed legislation Tuesday that would allow adults over 21 to carry concealed handguns if they have no serious criminal record, have completed a training course and keep the weapons out of “sensitive places” such as schools, parks, playgrounds and banks.
The state Senate voted 28-8 to approve SB2 by Sen. Anthony Portantino, D-La Cañada Flintridge (Los Angeles County), sending it to Gov. Gavin Newsom, a cosponsor of the measure along with state Attorney General Rob Bonta. It would take effect in January."
For more than 20 years, California lawmakers wouldn’t let their staffers unionize. That’s about to change
CALMatters, SAMEEA KAMAL: "The effort to allow California’s legislative staff to unionize — at least 23 years in the works — is nearly across the finish line.
But to win enough support from their bosses, significant changes are still being made: New lawmakers would be able to dismiss their predecessor’s staffers. In July, the bill was amended to push back when the union could organize from 2024 to 2026."
Could California soon have a union for legislative staff? Lawmakers will decide this week
Sacramento Bee, MAYA MILLER: "Yesenia Jimenez remembers a time not too long ago when the idea of a legislative union felt like a faraway dream.
Few people spoke openly about it when she first started at the Capitol as a Senate fellow in 2019. Jimenez, who later became an Assembly legislative aide, recalled hearing about a bill that would give staff the right to unionize. But more seasoned legislative employees told her that the proposal didn’t stand much of a chance. Many staffers at the time, she said, were fearful that voicing their support for a union, even privately, could damage their careers."
California lawmakers ratify state worker contracts, but senators criticize last-minute deals
Sacramento Bee, MAYA MILLER: "Most of California’s state workers are on track to see raises in their paychecks soon, after legislators in the California Assembly and Senate gave their stamp of approval to new union contracts that govern pay and working conditions.
The contracts still require Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature before they can take effect, though the governor’s approval is all but guaranteed given that CalHR represented him at the bargaining table."
Climate bill on Newsom’s desk would force companies to reveal carbon footprint
CALMatters, ALEJANDRO LAZO: "California’s Legislature today approved a closely-watched, first-in-the-nation bill that would force large companies to disclose their annual emissions of greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.
Gov. Gavin Newsom will now decide the fate of Senate Bill 253. Newsom spokesperson Daniel Villasenor declined to comment today on whether he will sign it."
Central procurement will help make California’s clean energy transition more affordable (OPINION)
Capitol Weekly, MATT BAKER: "As consumer advocates, our top priority is to keep household electricity bills affordable. Historically, our work has focused on scrutinizing utility investment proposals and providing solutions for policymakers to consider. Looking forward, we’ll continue to find new and creative ways do this critical work and strive to lower customer costs to achieve a clean energy future. California is trailblazing an uncharted path toward a carbon-neutral economy and away from fossil fuels. As we progress, we must adhere to some best practices.
We must find ways for customers to use the grid more efficiently by using more electricity at optimal times of day. This can minimize overall electric rates (or prices) by tapping economies of scale and maximizing existing infrastructure."
The race to prevent a wildlife disaster at California’s revived Tulare Lake
The Chronicle, TARA DUGGAN: "Scientists and veterinarians are racing to prevent a wildlife disaster from getting worse in Tulare Lake, where hundreds of birds are dying from avian botulism in its stagnant waters.
The lake that reemerged in the San Joaquin Valley during winter flooding, which was partly brought on by snowmelt, after decades of dormancy has become a warm and stagnant breeding ground for toxins that cause paralysis and death. It’s common for avian botulism to strike water fowl when temperatures rise in summer and fall. But in 1983, the last time Tulare Lake emerged to such a large size after winter flooding, the disease killed more than 30,000 birds."
A climate scientist wanted to start a debate in academia. He set off a bigger firestorm
LA Times, ALEX WIGGLESWORTH: "For climate change deniers, it was confirmation of a long-held suspicion: Scientists cannot be trusted.
Days after publishing research that found global warming had boosted the risk of fast-growing California wildfires by 25%, scientist and lead author Patrick T. Brown announced that he’d withheld the full truth to maximize the article’s chances of being published in the journal Nature."
A $25 minimum wage is in sight for California health care workers under new legislative deal
CALMatters, ANA B. IBARRA: "Tens of thousands of California health care workers stand to see their minimum wage climb to $25 an hour over the next several years in an amended legislative proposal that has support from both labor groups and employers.
The new deal gives workers the assurance of rising wages while offering an incentive to their employers: A 10-year moratorium on local measures that aim to increase compensation for medical workers."
New COVID-19 vaccinations are coming, CDC says. The shots will likely be available this week
LA Times, RONG-GONG LIN II: "The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday recommended that much of the American public receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine, marking a new phase in the years-long battle against the coronavirus.
Should everything move forward as expected, the shots from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech could be available for everyone age 6 months and up in vaccine clinics, pharmacies and doctor’s offices later this week. CVS Health said the new shots will be available in some of its pharmacies as early as Wednesday."
How to time your COVID, RSV and flu vaccines to avoid ‘tripledemic’
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "Americans will have more reasons to roll up their sleeves this fall as vaccines are available for three respiratory viruses that typically overwhelm hospitals and kill thousands of people annually. Hoping to avoid another “tripledemic” of COVID-19, influenza and the respiratory syncytial virus, public health officials are urging everyone to consider what shots are right for them ahead of a potential surge of illnesses.
Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday endorsed the new COVID-19 shots for everyone 6 months of age and older. Dr. Mandy Cohen, the agency’s director is expected to sign off on the panel’s recommendation, making the vaccines available to the public as early as Wednesday."
Popular nasal decongestant doesn’t actually relieve congestion, FDA experts say
AP, MATTHEW PERRONE: "The leading decongestant used by millions of Americans looking for relief from a stuffy nose is no better than a dummy pill, according to government experts who reviewed the latest research on the long-questioned drug ingredient.
Advisors to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Tuesday against the effectiveness of the key drug found in popular versions of Sudafed, Dayquil and other medications stocked on store shelves."
The inspiration for California’s ‘grand experiment’ at community colleges? Wisconsin
CALMatters, ADAM ECHELMAN: "In many parts of northeastern Wisconsin, locals can count the number of stop lights in town. Wooded lakes and cornfields dot the landscape, drawing tourists and loggers.
Lately, though, this region has gained a reputation among California educators seeking to chart a new direction in higher education. Their goal is to fundamentally restructure how California’s community colleges measure learning. Instead of using traditional methods, like attendance and grades, the new system focuses exclusively on a set of skills that students must master."
Improve community college transfer with dual admissions, clearer pathways, say college leaders
EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "Creating a more streamlined transfer pathway and expanding initiatives such as dual enrollment and dual admissions could help increase the number of California students who successfully transfer from community college to a university, officials from the state’s public higher education segments said Tuesday.
“Really. the key is that across all three of our systems, that we have a more unified process for designing pathways and programs together … so that these pathways naturally flow from the community college system into the CSU, into the UC,” Aisha Lowe, an executive vice chancellor for California’s community college system, said during a panel discussion hosted by the Public Policy Institute of California."
A plan to guarantee community college transfer to California’s public universities died. Now it’s back
CALMatters, MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: "It’s rare for a California bill to come back to life after enduring a quiet legislative death, but a shelved effort to help more community college students transfer to the University of California suddenly has new legs.
Spearheading this last-minute revival is bill author Assemblymember Kevin McCarty, a Democrat from Sacramento, who told CalMatters in an interview that his office spent weeks crafting the legislation with representatives from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office."
Cal State trustees decide this week on 6% tuition rate hike, but with a sunset provision
EdSource, ASHLEY A. SMITH: "California State University trustees will decide this week on whether students will see a 6% tuition rate increase over the next five years.
But ahead of their Wednesday vote, the nation’s largest public university system has already tweaked the proposal: Any tuition rate increase will sunset after five years and be reevaluated for the 2029-30 academic year."
Sunol school can fly only U.S., state flags under rule that critics say targeted Pride
The Chronicle, ERIN ALLDAY: "Trustees for the Sunol Glen School Unified School District, which serves about 270 K-8 students attending a single public school in the East Bay, voted Tuesday night to forbid the display of banners other than the American or California state flags – a move denounced by many parents and staff as an attack on LGBTQ Pride flags specifically.
After a tense meeting turned tumultuous around 9 p.m., the board president kicked out the roughly 150 people attending the meeting in the Sunol Glen School cafeteria. The vote took place half an hour later without an audience, remnants of rainbow boas and handheld Pride flags littered across the floor."
Disney and Charter end fight. But how long will the cable bundle survive?
LA Times, RYAN FAUGHNDER: "The traditional cable bundle, which has long provided the underpinning of the television business, survived the dispute between Walt Disney Co. and Charter Communications. On to fight another day.
Charter had threatened that the battle could have resulted in a permanent blackout for ESPN and other Disney-owned channels for the 15 million customer homes that subscribe to its Spectrum service. Instead, the carriage dispute was resolved in time for Aaron Rodgers’ regular-season debut with the New York Jets on ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” marred by a reportedly season-ending injury for the star quarterback early in the game against the Buffalo Bills."
Dreamforce 2023: AI hype draws huge crowds to San Francisco — here’s how it went
The Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "Spanish, French and Japanese could be heard around downtown San Francisco’s Moscone Center on Tuesday, as the massive Dreamforce conference drew over 40,000 people, including many visitors from around the world.
The city’s biggest tech conference and self-proclaimed biggest AI event in the world was a jolt to the city’s streets, flooding the area around Yerba Buena Gardens with lanyard-wearing tech professionals cramming past security checkpoints and shutting down a block of Howard Street."
California legislature passes bills removing roadblocks for new housing
BANG*Mercury News, KATE TALERICO: "The California State Legislature on Monday passed two bills intended to streamline housing permitting, despite opposition from some communities arguing the bills will strip them of local control.
The first, Senate Bill 423, would extend a 2017 state housing law set to expire in 2026 that allows developers to bypass certain parts of the permitting process in cities that are behind on meeting state-mandated housing goals. While the existing law only applies to subsidized affordable housing, SB 423 allows developers of mixed-income multifamily housing to take advantage of the streamlined process, too."
Ninth Circuit casts doubt on evidence seized during an SFPD pretext stop
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "After San Francisco police spotted a car with a broken taillight in the Tenderloin neighborhood in 2019, they questioned the driver about drugs, searched the car, and found pills and a handgun. Those actions are commonly described as a “pretext stop“ — pulling a driver over for a minor offense in hopes of uncovering evidence of serious crimes.
While California is considering a ban on most pretext stops, federal law allows them. But on Tuesday, a federal appeals court said the San Francisco officers had failed to offer a valid reason for prolonging the stop and interrogating the driver."
San Jose approves $3.3 million settlement for George Floyd protest injuries
BANG*Mercury News, ROBERT SALONGA: "San Jose will pay more than $3 million to a group of people who sued the city and police department over injuries they suffered during the infamous 2020 George Floyd demonstrations downtown, with the bulk of the funds going to a man who lost an eye when police fired a projectile at him while trying to disperse a crowd.
On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved the payout after reviewing two settlement agreements that first surfaced in federal court records and city records at the end of last month. A few weeks earlier, a federal judge ruled that five of the eleven original plaintiffs could take their injury claims to trial, which led to a deal being reached."
DMV lets teens, new residents take their driver’s license knowledge test online
The Chronicle, MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "Aspiring drivers and new residents can now skip the line and opt to take their California driver’s license knowledge test from home.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles announced last week that it was expanding its remote testing option to driver’s license applicants under the age of 18 and individuals moving to California from other states. Previously, the option was only available for drivers or motorcyclists renewing their licenses or new applicants over the age of 18."
Traffic citations in San Francisco declined by 97% in eight years. Here’s why
The Chronicle, ALDO TOLEDO: "The San Francisco Police Department reported a 97% decline in traffic citations over the past eight years as the city continued to struggle with fatalities and injuries on its roads, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said Tuesday.
Mandelman sent a letter of inquiry in May asking SFPD to describe the barriers and challenges it faces in restoring traffic enforcement to 2014 levels, the same year the city adopted its Vision Zero policy, which aims to eliminate all traffic deaths in the city by 2024. The letter also asked for the department to create a plan to boost citations for Focus on the Five violations, the five most common causes of traffic collisions and injuries."
Trump demands recusal of federal judge hearing 2020 election subversion case
LA Times, SARAH D. WIRE: "Lawyers for former President Trump on Monday demanded the recusal of the federal judge presiding over his 2020 election subversion case, saying her past comments about the Jan. 6 insurrection undermine public confidence in her neutrality.
It is unusual for a defendant to win a recusal motion, particularly after a trial date has been set."
Speaker McCarthy launches Biden impeachment inquiry without a House vote
LA Times, KWASI GYAMFI ASIEDU, COURTNEY SUBRAMANIAN: "House Speaker Kevin McCarthy moved to open an impeachment inquiry into President Biden on Tuesday, bowing to pressure from hard-line Republicans who had threatened to oust him if he did not escalate the GOP investigations into the president’s family business dealings.
McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) said at a news conference that GOP-led House probes had found “serious and credible allegations” against the Biden family that “paint a picture of a culture of corruption.”"
