Why California politicians will keep drawing their own election districts
CALMatters, SAMEEA KAMAL: "California’s push to have independent panels — not politicians — draw election districts has floundered into a more piecemeal approach.
Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoed the most ambitious bill passed by state lawmakers, Assembly Bill 1248, which called for independent redistricting commissions in every city and county across the state with more than 300,000 residents, and every school or community college district with more than 500,000."
Governor Newsom signs bill outlawing multi-state double voting inspired by Santa Clara County case
BANG*Mercury News, ROBERT SALONGA: "Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a bill explicitly outlawing California residents from voting here and in another state for the same election, closing a loophole brought to light by the case of a Santa Clara County elected official who had repeatedly voted in elections held on the same day.
Assembly Bill 1539 makes it a misdemeanor for someone whose primary residence is in California to vote in another state where they also claim residency. The new law, signed Tuesday, was authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, and was sponsored by the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office."
Rating Newsom’s U.S. Senate picks
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "With the selection of Laphonza Butler, Gov. Gavin Newsom has now appointed both of California’s sitting U.S. Senators. It has hardly been a process without controversy, and so we asked our panel of experts this simple question: On a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best, 1 the worst) rate how the governor has handled making these picks.
“5 – 10 on the first, 0 on the second.”"
California Republicans are hoping Steve Garvey is in a league of his own (COLUMN)
LA Times, GEORGE SKELTON: "There are two new major questions about California’s U.S. Senate race. And the answers will determine the shape of the contest.
One, will former baseball star Steve Garvey be a political big leaguer or a bust?"
Can legislation affect pending litigation?
Capitol Basement, CHRIS MICHELI: "Sometimes a question is raised about the potential impact of legislation on pending litigation in state court. As a general rule (sometimes referred to as a “custom and practice”), the California Legislature prefers not to enact legislation that specifically makes a determination one way or the other regarding ongoing litigation that is pending at the same time that a piece of legislation is being considered.
Nonetheless, there are times when the Legislature specifically intends to resolve a legal dispute by legislation. In either case, it is an appropriate policy avenue for the Legislature to take. Moreover, it is a lawful approach. Part of the decision to be made by the Legislature is whether to apply the law change only prospectively, or also apply it retroactively."
In ominous sign, Breed orders mid-year budget cuts as S.F.’s economy struggles
The Chronicle, J.D. MORRIS: "Mayor London Breed has instructed her administration to propose mid-year budget cuts of at least 3% from San Francisco’s general fund and take other cost-saving measures due to the city’s grim fiscal outlook as it struggles to bounce back from the pandemic.
Breed said in a letter to her department heads Wednesday that City Hall “simply cannot wait until next year’s budget process to begin to address our growing structural deficit” that officials estimate could reach at least $500 million by the 2025-2026 fiscal year. The city’s budget is currently $14.6 billion annually."
Tia Orr helped SEIU California ‘re-write the rules’ in 2023
Capitol Weekly, BRIAN JOSEPH: "By any accounting, SEIU California had a very good year. Some might say a monster year.
In 2023, the executive director of SEIU California has led the 700,000-member labor organization to a series of notable victories in the California Legislature. Among the bills she helped shepherd to the governor’s desk were:"
At far-right roadshow, Trump is God’s ‘anointed one,’ QAnon is king, and ‘everything you believe is right’
LA Times, SARAH D. WIRE: "Between rows of portable toilets, a line of strangers waited to be baptized in an aluminum horse trough. One by one, they emerged from water heated all day by the Nevada sun, united in purpose as new soldiers for Donald Trump.
Nearby, Christian rock blared from a large tent where pastors standing before the main stage prayed and laid hands on attendees of the ReAwaken America Tour, a far-right religious roadshow now in its third year."
How the carpenters’ union broke the California logjam over new housing laws
LA Times, HANNAH WILEY: "Every few months over the last two years, a sea of California carpenters has clogged the state Capitol to voice their support of high-profile housing legislation, their yellow and orange vests, hard hats and work boots in stark contrast to the suits, dresses and fancy shoes more customary in the hallways and hearing rooms of Sacramento.
Their grassroots lobbying has paid off with major legislative wins, including a pair of housing construction bills that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Wednesday."
From Texas’ border to California: A tale of two cities’ response to migrants arriving unexpectedly
CALMatters, JUSTO ROBLES, ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE: "Aura Silva was among 36 migrants who in early June were driven from Texas’ border to New Mexico and then flown to Sacramento. She had no family there to take her in and no knowledge of how to find shelter. She had just learned about the capital city several days before, after crossing the U.S. border.
The Diocese of Sacramento and partner organizations stepped in to help, offering clothes and food to the 31-year-old Colombian mother and her fellow travelers. The next few days, the migrants slept at a synagogue before being placed in a hotel."
There's only one place in California to get the ‘ring of fire’ eclipse view. And it's getting packed
The Chronicle, CLARE FONSTEIN: "There’s only one place in California with the potential to fully view Saturday morning’s solar eclipse, and it’s in one of the state’s most sparsely populated counties.
Modoc County (population 8,700, with just one incorporated city, in the far northeastern corner of California) is expecting a surge of visitors, who will be able to see the “ring of fire” accompanying the annular eclipse — if clouds don’t get in the way."
Charts show stark differences in how El Niño impacts California
The Chronicle, JACK LEE, GERRY DIAZ: "El Niño typically brings wetter-than-average conditions to Central and Southern California in the winter. But data shows that individual El Niño seasons can vary widely across the state because many factors drive precipitation patterns.
“El Nino is the big superstar of the team,” said Jan Null, a meteorologist with Golden Gate Weather Services and adjunct professor at San Jose State University. “But you have these other players coming off the bench.”"
Gavin Newsom is working to lower the cost of insulin. Why did he veto a cap on copays?
CALMatters, ANA B. IBARRA: "Gov. Gavin Newsom has made lowering the cost of prescription drugs a signature health care issue, but over the weekend, he rejected a bill that would have provided some relief for diabetics by capping what they pay for insulin.
His reasoning: California is already working on a separate effort to manufacture and distribute insulin at a cheaper price."
Newsom signs bill creating new transfer pilot program between UC and community colleges
EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "In a bid to make it easier for California’s community college students to transfer to the University of California, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Tuesday to create a new transfer pathway between the two systems.
The transfer pathway created by Assembly Bill 1291 will start as a pilot program at UCLA, with students getting priority admission if they complete an associate degree for transfer in select majors beginning in the 2026-27 academic year. The specific majors haven’t yet been determined, but UCLA will have to identify at least eight and another four by 2028-29. At least four of the majors will be in a science, technology, engineering or math field."
Stanford, UC Berkeley respond to Israel-Hamas war amid campus debates
The Chronicle, NANETTE ASIMOV: "Leaders, faculty members and students at Stanford and UC Berkeley sought Wednesday to navigate the tension that has arisen on their campuses, and at many universities across the nation, as some student groups respond to the Hamas attack on Israeli civilians by saying it was either justified or inevitable in light of Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
On Wednesday, dozens of faculty members, including three Nobel laureates, sent a letter to Stanford leaders condemning what they called the university’s tepid response to the crisis and to pro-invasion sentiments expressed on campus."
LAUSD considers adjusting its Black Student Achievement Plan amid complaint
EdSource, MALLIKA SESHADRI: "The Los Angeles Unified School District is considering broadening the language associated with the Black Student Achievement Plan in an attempt to avoid investigation by the U.S. Department of Education, a move supporters fear could steer the focus of the program away from Black student achievement and wellness.
The potential change in the Black Student Achievement Plan comes after Parents Defending Education, a conservative group with a track record of challenging schools’ efforts to promote equity, filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education in July, claiming the program violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment because it only supports Black students."
College application season is here. So is the struggle to find out if AI wrote students’ essays
CALMatters, CAROLYN JONES, MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: "Artificial intelligence might be the new frontier in technology, but Toby Reed, a senior at Fremont High in Oakland, has no doubts about whether to harness its powers — at least on his college application essay.
“No. It’s blatantly plagiarizing,” said Reed, who, like hundreds of thousands of other California seniors, is in the process of applying to colleges. “It’s bad enough stealing content, but with ChatGPT you’re not even stealing from a real person.”"
SAG-AFTRA, studio negotiations break down. Gap ‘too great,’ AMPTP says
LA Times, MEG JAMES, WENDY LEE: "Talks between actors union SAG-AFTRA and Hollywood studios broke down Wednesday, with the entertainment companies saying negotiations on a new contract have been suspended. The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers, which represents the major studios in labor dealings, said the talks had been called off because the sides remained too divided.
“After meaningful conversations, it is clear that the gap between the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA is too great, and conversations are no longer moving us in a productive direction,” the studio alliance said in an emailed statement Wednesday night."c
Gavin Newsom signs YIMBY-backed law to fast-track homebuilding
The Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG, CLARE FONSTEIN: "California is expanding a housing law that has led to the construction of thousands of new units amid the state’s ongoing housing crisis, under a measure signed Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The law extends a policy enacted in 2017 that requires cities that fall behind on their state housing goals to streamline approval of some projects. That law was set to expire at the end of 2025 but will be extended, with modifications, until 2036."
How Section 8 vouchers fail Sacramento’s unhoused. One woman has waited 14 years for housing.
Sacramento Bee, THERESA CLIFT, GILLIAN BRASSIL: "The first time Kristi Phillips applied for a Sacramento Section 8 housing voucher, she was pregnant with her son Ty.
Now, Ty is 14. She’s still on the waiting list."
LAPD assistant chief faces termination but no criminal charges after stalking allegation
LA Times, LIBOR JANY, RICHARD WINTON: "A high-ranking Los Angeles Police Department official has been demoted and is facing the possibility of termination after being accused of stalking a fellow officer with whom he was romantically involved, even as San Bernardino County prosecutors announced they would not file criminal charges in the case.
Al Labrada, a 30-year department veteran, has been on leave since earlier this month amid allegations that he used an Apple AirTag to track the movements of the officer. On Monday, Chief Michel Moore confirmed that he had demoted Labrada from assistant chief to the lower position of commander. Labrada was also directed to a board-of-rights disciplinary hearing — an indication the department is seeking to fire him."
S.F. mayor orders city to stop ticketing stolen vehicles after Chronicle story
The Chronicle, ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH, SUSIE NEILSON: "Mayor London Breed on Wednesday ordered the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency to stop ticketing stolen vehicles and to instead notify their owners that their cars had been found.
The directive came hours after a Chronicle story revealed that parking control officers generally do not compare the license plates of vehicles parked illegally to databases of stolen cars, even though some other cities perform such checks."
As a possible Israeli ground invasion looms, Gazans rush to buy food and struggle without power
LA Times, JOSEPH KRAUSS, WAFAA SHURAFA: "Palestinians lined up outside bakeries and grocery stores in Gaza on Thursday after spending the night surrounded by the ruins of pulverized neighborhoods darkened by a near-total power outage. Israel launched new airstrikes and said it was preparing for a possible ground invasion.
International aid groups warned that the death toll in Gaza could mount after Israel stopped all deliveries of food, water, fuel and electricity and after the tiny enclave’s crossing with Egypt closed. The war — which was ignited by a bloody and wide-ranging assault on Israel by Hamas militants — has already claimed at least 2,600 lives on both sides."
