California has underestimated the epic potential of future flooding, research shows
LAT's GRACE TOOHEY: "For well over a century, the Great Flood of 1862 has remained among California’s worst natural disasters — a megastorm that’s been used as a benchmark for state emergency planners and officials to better prepare for the future.
A dreaded repeat of the flood — which killed at least 4,000 people and turned the Central Valley into a 300-mile-long sea — would probably eclipse the devastation of a major California earthquake and cause up to $1 trillion in damage, some experts say."
Gavin Newsom stays mum on Donald Trump conviction, uses the opportunity to fundraise
Sacramento Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "While Gavin Newsom’s office did not comment on former President Donald Trump’s conviction in the hush-money trial, the California governor used Trump’s nearly $35 million post verdicts campaign fundraising haul to urge voters to give to President Joe Biden’s re-election campaign.
In an email sent Friday morning by a political action committee affiliated with Newsom with a subject line that read “A dangerous moment for Joe Biden,” the governor reminded supporters about a federal fundraising deadline that day."
CA Senate preserves big corporate tax breaks that benefit some cities
CALMatters's RYAN SABALOW: "Some of the most liberal and conservative members of the state Senate agreed recently that if you buy an iPhone in Los Angeles it shouldn’t help pay for police in Cupertino.
But the bipartisanship wasn’t enough to pass a bill that would change the rules allowing corporations wide discretion to choose who gets their online sales taxes, forcing cities to compete by offering companies huge tax kickbacks to win their favor."
The Micheli Minute for June 3, 2024
Capitol Weekly's TIM FOSTER: "Lobbyist and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome."
Forget the first 220 failures to split California. This developer has a new plan to secede
CALMatters's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "The man who would finally break up California is a real estate developer from Rancho Cucamonga.
Jeff Burum knows this may sound crazy. He heard that response two years ago, before he persuaded politicians and voters in San Bernardino County to study the possibility of seceding."
Wildfire scorches 14,000 acres, prompting evacuations in the Central Valley
LAT's CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD, MARISA GERBER, ANABEL SOSA: "A wind-driven wildfire in San Joaquin County reached 14,168 acres by Sunday night, prompting evacuations in some areas, officials said.
The Corral fire near the city of Tracy, east of San Francisco, is 50% contained, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said."
Corral Fire near Tracy 50% contained as I-580 reopens, evacuations are downgraded
The Chronicle's ANTHONY EDWARDS, DAVID HERNANDEZ: "The wind-fueled Corral Fire near Tracy was 50% contained Sunday, another sign of progress as evacuation orders were downgraded and Interstate 580 reopened.
The fire, which grew to more than 14,000 acres, destroyed a home near the Tracy Golf and Country Club, Cal Fire Battalion Chief Josh Silveira said Sunday as crews continued to assess the extent of the wildfire’s damage."
Arts education: Will misuse of funds undermine the Proposition 28 rollout?
EdSource's KAREN D'SOUZA: "At first, Caitlin Rubini, a veteran dance teacher at a school north of Sacramento, was thrilled when Proposition 28 passed with its promise of bringing arts education to all California students. Participation in the arts can help students recover from trauma, make social connections and increase engagement in school, research has long shown, all critical issues in the post-pandemic era. This kind of boost may have the greatest impact on children from low-income families, experts say, the very cohort Rubini teaches.
Her excitement turned to devastation when she heard that the dance classes she teaches at El Dorado county’s Union Mine High School are slated to be axed next year due to budget cuts, despite all the extra state funding, roughly $1 billion, now earmarked for arts education every year."
California teachers are using AI to grade papers. Who’s grading the AI?
CALMatters's KHARI JOHNSON: "Your children could be some of a growing number of California kids having their writing graded by software instead of a teacher.
California school districts are signing more contracts for artificial intelligence tools, from automated grading in San Diego to chatbots in central California, Los Angeles, and the San Francisco Bay Area."
These high schoolers learned about the value of money. Should every California student?
Sacramento Bee's JENNAH PENDLETON: "Senior Journee Dean waved keychains and other free swag at her classmates, urging them to check out their on campus branch of SAFE Credit Union. Dean and other student branch workers spent their lunch period answering their peers’ questions about the basics of personal finance, like how to start budgeting and why they should have an emergency savings fund. They ultimately convinced several students to sign up for their first ever bank accounts.
The operational Cordova High School branch is staffed by student interns like Dean and is designed for students to take care of their banking needs at school. Kids can open accounts and make deposits at the branch, but the most valuable part of the location may be as a resource center where students can go to learn about personal finance from their peers."
Urged on by LGBTQ+ activists, California cities weigh stricter smoking rules
The Chronicle's STEPHANIE STEPHENS: "California has long been at the forefront of the fight against smoking, but some local officials in the San Francisco Bay Area, backed by activists who are especially concerned about high rates of smoking in the LGBTQ+ community, are spearheading proposals to further restrict how tobacco is sold and where it is smoked.
In the city of Vallejo on the northeastern edge of San Pablo Bay, Council Member Peter Bregenzer is leading an effort to crack down on smoke shops, which he says make it much too easy for children to smoke and vape. In Oakland, Council Member Dan Kalb is weighing a new ordinance that would extend smoking bans to all apartment and condominium buildings, as well as bar patios."
Big expansion of UC strike over pro-Palestinian protests: Irvine, San Diego, Santa Barbara next
LAT's JAWEED KALEEM: "The UC union representing 48,000 graduate teaching assistants, researchers and other academic workers said Friday that it would expand its ongoing strike next week by calling on thousands of workers at UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine to walk off the job, a major escalation of labor tensions that would involve six of the system’s 10 campuses.
The decision by leaders of United Auto Workers Local 4811 comes as the union and University of California are battling before a state labor board over the legality of the strike — and are awaiting a ruling on the issue. The union alleges its rights were violated by the UC’s actions during pro-Palestinian protests and encampment crackdowns."
Who should be the next LAPD chief? Public shrugs as city asks for input
LAT's LIBOR JANY: "Not long after LAPD Chief Michel Moore announced his retirement in January, the guessing game started up at department headquarters about who would replace him.
Factions formed behind the early contenders. Many in the command staff have since taken to scrutinizing Mayor Karen Bass’ interviews and public appearances for hints about her thinking as she prepares to choose the next chief. Officers have spent the past few months sifting through rumors about potential candidates on private Facebook groups."
Muni workers reject S.F. labor contract, opening the door for a summer strike
The Chronicle';s RACHEL SWAN: "Transit workers in San Francisco have rejected a tentative labor agreement with the city, opening the door for a summer strike.
According to documents reviewed by the Chronicle, 990 members of the Transport Workers Union local chapter 250A, — which represents more than 2,000 light rail and bus operators, fare inspectors and mechanics, among other transit system employees — voted last week on the next three-year contract, with 377 approving, and 613 in opposition."
Why a Bay Area transit rescue plan is on hold
CALMatters's SAMEEA KAMAL: "A long-term fix for Bay Area transit agencies’ budget woes is on pause, after the proposal’s authors announced Friday they
would try to resolve disagreements between agencies and other stakeholders within the region before bringing the bill back.
Senate Bill 1031 by Democratic Sens. Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Aisha Wahab of Fremont authorized a Bay Area ballot measure in 2026 or later to help raise revenue for transit agencies. It also required a study of whether it makes sense to consolidate the more than two dozen transit agencies that serve the nine-county region."
As Hunter Biden’s gun case starts jury selection, president says he has ‘boundless love’ for him
AP: "President Joe Biden’s son Hunter arrived at court on Monday for jury selection in a federal gun case against him after the collapse of a deal with prosecutors that would have avoided the spectacle of a trial so close to the 2024 election. First lady Jill Biden arrived shortly after, entering the courthouse in support of her son.
Joe Biden said that as president he wouldn’t comment on the criminal trial but as a dad he has “boundless love for my son, confidence in him, and respect for his strength.”
Mexico elects leftist Claudia Sheinbaum as the first female president in its history
LAT's KATE LINTHICUM, PATRICK J. MCDONNELL: "Claudia Sheinbaum, a U.S.-educated scientist-turned-politician, was elected Sunday as Mexico’s first female president, shattering gender barriers in a country known for a culture of machismo and high rates of violence against women.
“In 200 years of the Mexican republic, I have become the first woman president,” she told supporters in her acceptance speech, describing her victory as a win for all women. “I did not arrive alone,” she said. “We all arrived.”"
