Why Gavin Newsom’s gun control constitutional amendment hasn’t gone beyond California
CALMatters's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "One year after Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed changing the U.S. Constitution to place new restrictions on gun ownership, no other states have joined his campaign for a 28th amendment.
Even as Newsom continues to tout the effort — largely through social media advertisements that encourage people to sign a “petition” and donate to his political action committee — it appears to have gained little traction outside of California. Legislative leaders in several other large states controlled by Democrats told CalMatters that calling for a constitutional convention to adopt the amendment has not come up for discussion among their caucuses."
California could end ban on funding homeless sober living. Are Democrats moving right on drugs?
Sacramento Bee's JENAVIEVE HATCH: "For years, progressive California Democrats have championed a “Housing First” approach to homelessness and drug addiction that prioritizes getting people into housing first, and connecting them to necessary addiction and recovery services once they’re off the street.
But a new bill, authored by Assemblyman Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, a member of the Legislative Progressive Caucus, seeks to complement that approach by redirecting some state housing funds to go toward drug-free sober living spaces — a practice California banned in 2016 with a law that bars the state from funding housing services that mandate sobriety."
Trump rally and fundraiser offered a split screen of his San Francisco support
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "San Francisco, of all places, was a split screen of supporters for Donald Trump on Thursday.
It was hard to tell which side of the screen was more mind-blowing to see in a region whose residents contributed $116 million to Joe Biden’s campaign four years ago."
Capitol Briefs: Psychedelics are baaaack!
Capitol Weekly's STAFF: "Psychedelics legalization effort returns in limited form: The effort to legalize the use of some psychedelics in the treatment of mental health disorders is not dead after all. On Thursday, Sens. Brian Jones (R-San Diego) and Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park) introduced a bill (SB 803) to establish a pilot program to allow the use of psilocybin or psilocyn for treating mental health disorders in military veterans and first responders.
The measure is a much narrower version of a proposal earlier this year from Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) that would have legalized statewide the use of the psychedelics in a clinical setting. That measure, SB 1012, did not get out of the Senate this year.""
Special Episode: Covering California, Panel 2 – The Business of Journalism
Capitol Weekly's STAFF: "This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at Capitol Weekly’s conference COVERING CALIFORNIA: The Future of Journalism in the Golden State, which was held in Sacramento on Thursday, May 30, 2024
This is PANEL 2 – THE BUSINESS OF JOURNALISM – REDEFINING THE MODEL
Panelists: Senator Nancy Skinner; Chris Argentieri, Los Angeles Times; Neil Chase, CalMatters; Steve Stuck, Urban Edge Consulting"
Capitol Spotlight: Robert Hanna, Assembly Republican Caucus
Capitol Weekly's LISA RENNER: "Working in the midst of a fast-paced environment with different requests coming at him all the time, Robert Hanna sometimes feels like an air traffic controller.
As manager of the Office of Member Support and Outreach for the Assembly Republican Caucus, Hanna works with many different departments connected to legislative research, communication strategy, and policy analysis daily to meet the everyday needs and requests asked of his team from all 18 Republican member offices."
Northern California weather: Sea breeze to bring cooler conditions this weekend
The Chronicle's ANTHONY EDWARDS: "The high-pressure system responsible for California’s first heat wave of 2024 is on its way east, opening the door for cooler marine air to push into the Bay Area this weekend.
This cooldown will be accompanied by gusty west winds in the afternoon and evening, blowing from the Pacific Ocean through the Golden Gate and along the delta toward Sacramento. This effect, known as the sea breeze, is a common summer phenomenon, but the strength of the winds can vary considerably."
Money-making L.A. hospitals quit delivering babies. Inside the fight to keep one labor ward open.
CALMatters's KRISTEN HWANG, ANA B. IBARRA AND ERICA YEE: "Detranay Blankenship was 16 weeks pregnant when she found out she was expecting. The days passed quickly, and soon she was 7 centimeters dilated at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital.
The 26-year-old first-time mom wasn’t sure what to expect during labor, but the team at MLK’s maternity ward soon felt like family. Every hour midwife Angela Sojobi bustled in to check on her progress and offer cheerful words of encouragement. When it was time to push, a nurse lowered the lights and flipped on the soothing sound of rain."
California’s highest court rejects ‘people as pollution’ argument for UC Berkeley housing
CALMatters's BEN CHRISTOPHEbR: "The three-year legal battle over the fate of a 1,200 unit housing project and the question of whether the noise of undergrads should be treated as an environmental pollutant under California law ended this morning when the state Supreme Court ruled the “lawsuit poses no obstacle to the development of the People’s Park housing project.”
The unanimous ruling, written by Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero, puts a coda on a debate that has in many ways been resolved for months. Last year, state lawmakers rushed to exempt UC Berkeley’s contentious housing project from legal challenge, resolving many of the thorniest legal questions in advance of the state’s highest court."
Round 3: UC takes striking academic workers to Orange County court in bid to halt walkout
LAT's JAWEED KALEEM: "The fate of an ongoing strike by UC academic workers at a critical time of the year with finals underway could be decided Friday morning in an Orange County courthouse.
University of California officials have twice failed before the state Public Employment Relations Board to halt the United Auto Workers Local 4811 union strike that kicked off nearly three weeks ago at UC Santa Cruz and has spread to six campuses, including UCLA and UC Irvine."
Going police-free is tough and ongoing, Oakland schools find
EdSource's MONICA VELEZ: "Across the Oakland Unified School District, the mantra for school staff is to call city police only as a last resort. If a disturbance occurs, they should rely first on in-house staff who don’t carry guns and can’t arrest anyone.
Since voting in June 2020 to disband its police department, Oakland has pursued one goal — to defuse conflict and avoid bringing in police and exposing students to the possibility of arrest. Oakland’s preference is for restorative justice, which emphasizes circle-of-trust interactions to improve how students treat one another."
Mark Farrell had a mixed record on homelessness as S.F. mayor. Now he wants another shot
The Chronicle's J.D. MORRIS, MAGGIE ANGST: "When Mark Farrell launched his campaign for San Francisco mayor this year, he drew on his previous time in public office to make a bold promise for how he would respond to one of the city’s most entrenched issues: homelessness.
Farrell, a 50-year-old venture capitalist who was twice elected to the Board of Supervisors, credited himself with clearing every large tent camp in the city during the half year he served as appointed mayor in 2018. He promised to accomplish the same goal within one year if he defeats incumbent London Breed and three other major candidates in November."
Crime stats disappear from public view amid LAPD records system overhaul
LA Times's LIBOR JANY: "It’s hard to say which way crime in Los Angeles is going these days.
The Police Department has stopped posting crime numbers to its public website after rolling out a new recordkeeping system and changing the way it counts burglaries, assaults and other crimes."
Three decades after infamous testimony in O.J. Simpson trial, Mark Fuhrman barred — officially — from law enforcement
The Chronicle's DEMIAN BULWA: "Nearly three decades after his infamous court testimony weakened the prosecution’s murder case against O.J. Simpson, former Los Angeles police detective and media personality Mark Fuhrman likely has no desire to return to the law enforcement trade in California.
Now, even if he wants to, he cannot — officially."
‘Good ole boys’ Pasadena police gang attacked, demeaned nonwhite officers, suits claim
LA Times's RICHARD WINTON: "Several current and former Pasadena police officers and supervisors — all of them people of color — suffered assaults, discrimination and retaliation by a pair of department cliques, one of which is dubbed the Good Ole Boys Club, according to a series of lawsuits filed against the department.
Three allege they were assaulted by colleagues. Officer Jarvis Shelby said he was placed in a headlock by a commander in August. Lt. Sam De Sylva said he was kicked so hard in the leg by another lieutenant that he needed surgery. And retired Lt. Carolyn Gordon said she was shot in the groin with a paintball gun during training, an injury that caused internal bleeding."
$2.7 million meant to build homeless housing ended up with L.A. nonprofit, court records say
LA Times's ANNA SCOTT an DOUG SMITH: "When Gov. Gavin Newsom launched his $3.4-billion Project Homekey homeless housing program, L.A.-based real estate developer Shangri-La Industries and the Santa Monica nonprofit Step Up on Second Street were among the top recipients of its largesse.
The organizations were awarded more than $114 million in Homekey funds to convert seven motels in San Bernardino, Ventura and Monterey counties into studio apartments for formerly homeless tenants."
First fatal black bear attack in California history as woman was mauled in home
The Chronicle's GREGORY THOMAS: "California wildlife officials confirmed this week that the first human fatality caused by a black bear in the state’s history occurred last fall in rural Sierra County.
The victim, a 71-year-old woman, was found mauled to death in her home in Downieville in November. At first, the Sierra County coroner believed that a bear had mangled the woman’s body posthumously, according to the Mountain Messenger. But a follow-up pathology report from Placer County released in May showed that, in fact, the woman’s death was caused by a violent confrontation with a bear."
Pat Sajak says goodbye on ‘Wheel of Fortune’: ‘It’s been an incredible privilege’
LA Times's MAIRA GARCIA: "“Wheel. Of. Fortune.”
After those words cue the start of an episode, it’s difficult to think of another person making their way from behind the puzzle board on one of America’s most popular game shows. But that’s what will happen after Friday evening when Pat Sajak, the longtime co-host of “Wheel of Fortune,” signs off one final time.""
