Willie Mays, San Francisco Giants legend and MLB all-time great, is dead
The Chronicle's JOHN SHEA: "Willie Mays, the iconic and endearing “Say Hey Kid” who charmed countless fans with his brilliant athleticism and graceful style and was widely considered baseball’s greatest and most entertaining player, died Tuesday of heart failure. He was 93.
“My father has passed away peacefully and among loved ones,” said Mays’ son, Michael Mays. “I want to thank you all from the bottom of my broken heart for the unwavering love you have shown him over the years. You have been his life’s blood.”"
READ MORE -- How Giants’ Willie Mays changed the game for generations of Black baseball players -- The Chronicle's SCOTT OSTLER
Capitol Briefs: Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines…and a PAGA deal
Capitol Weekly's STAFF: "Governor, lawmakers running out of time: Longtime Capitol lobbyist, McGeorge law professor and Capitol Weekly columnist Chris Micheli notes, Thursday, June 27, is an important day for the California Legislature on several fronts. That day is when the 12 days expire for the Governor to act on AB 107 (Gabriel), the Budget Bill, which also means it is the de facto deadline for having the Budget Bill Junior to the Governor’s Desk. With the 72 hours in print rule, it also means that the BBJ will need to be in print by the morning of June 24.
In addition, we know the following from the Legislative Calendar that June 27th is the last day for a legislative measure to qualify for the Nov. 5 General Election ballot (Elections Code Sec. 9040). So, if the Legislature wants to place a measure, such as a climate bond, on the November ballot, this is the last day to do so. Such a measure will also have to be in print the morning of June 24th."
California to return 2,800 acres of ancestral land to Shasta nation, Newsom’s office says
Sacramento Bee's ESTHER SUN: "The Shasta Indian Nation will regain more than 2,800 acres of ancestral land in northwestern California from the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday.
The transfer includes land previously buried under reservoirs created by Klamath River dams, whose ongoing removal project constitute the largest dam removal in history."
‘I only vape merlot’: What Gavin Newsom’s TV impersonator gets right — and wrong — about the governor
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Gov. Gavin Newsom’s national profile was already going to swell this summer as a top surrogate for President Joe Biden. But Newsom has something that most other surrogates or top officeholders not named Biden or Donald Trump can boast: He’s got somebody regularly doing an impression of him on national TV.
It will raise Newsom’s pop culture profile in ways that his 2013 book, “Citizenville," or his stint hosting Current TV’s “The Gavin Newsom Show” never quite did. Google them, kids."
California races roiled by border, immigration. It could tip control of the House
LAT's ANDREA CASTILLO: "On a recent overcast Saturday in the manicured backyard of a constituent’s home, Rep. Mike Levin (D-San Juan Capistrano) told several dozen supporters about his efforts to bring more sand to local beaches, reduce veteran homelessness and prevent gun violence.
From the crowd, Peggy Aveni whispered to her friend: “What about immigration?” When Levin began taking questions, she immediately raised her hand."
California has a history of racist land seizures. Will reparations bills bring justice?
LAT's TYRONE BEASON: "Few governmental practices have caused more rapid disruption or erosion of generational wealth in Black and brown communities than the discriminatory use of eminent domain — the legal tool cities, counties and other official bodies rely on to unilaterally condemn and purchase private land for public use.
Several reparation bills moving through the state Legislature could help Californians of color who believe their land was taken against their will with racist intent to finally get restitution."
READ MORE -- California is the first state to tackle reparations for Black residents. What that really means -- CALMatters's WENDY FRY, ERICA YEE and RYA JETHA
How a Ticketmaster bill apparently went off the rails
Capitool Weekly's BRIAN JOSEPH: "There is a growing contention from Washington D.C. all the way to California that event ticket seller Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation are an illegal monopoly that lawmakers should rein in, and sooner than later. There are multiple attempts to do just that in the California Legislature, but while this seems like an issue perfectly teed up for supermajority Democrats, pending legislation has instead devolved.
Complex measures like those involved here are classic examples of the messiness of legislative sausage making, the kind that rarely see daylight because the critical figures involved usually can’t or won’t speak publicly."
A DA kept Black women off a jury. California’s Supreme Court says that wasn’t racial bias
CALMatters's SHAANTH NANGUNERI: "One by one, a California prosecutor eliminated five of out six Black women from the jury pool for a death penalty case in which a white carpet cleaner slayed his client, a young mother.
The attorney in Alameda County had a reason for each dismissal. He believed one, for instance, appeared too reluctant to impose a death sentence. Another had a “liberal bent.” After the defense struck the last Black woman, the jury proceeded with no Black members even though Black people made up close to 15% of Alameda County’s population at the time."
California home insurer with 9,000 policies withdraws from state
The Chronicle's MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "Another home insurance company is withdrawing from the California market, but offering its clients a consolation prize — a policy from a less-regulated insurer.
Occidental Fire & Casualty Company North Carolina filed notice with the California Department of Insurance that it would be withdrawing from the California home insurance market. The company first started offering insurance in California in 2013 and had 8,992 homeowners policies as of August 2023."
Critics fault Oakland budget for failing to fix underlying financial problems
The Chronicle's ELI ROSENBERG: "Oakland’s budget crisis is drawing increased scrutiny as the City Council nears a vote on a spending plan and critics take aim at the city’s efforts to address its massive deficit.
An informal group called Citizens Oakland has been circulating a detailed report on the budget that highlights what it says are unresolved financial problems that could haunt the city in the future. Oakland’s leaders are working to close a $292 million gap over the next two years."
A California senior lost $700K to scammers. Now she’s asking the state to slow bank transfers
CALMatters's RYAN SABALOW: "Alice Lin’s husband died, and she found herself alone and caring for a disabled son. Then two years ago, the 81-year-old Alhambra woman said she started getting texts from a stranger on a messaging app.
Over the course of a series of friendly chats, he convinced her to wire $720,000 — her entire life savings — to a cryptocurrency app."
California’s COVID swell shows ‘clockwork’ pattern in rising reinfections
The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI: "As the COVID-19 summer swell intensifies, many people who have previously recovered from the virus are falling ill again due to new variants known as FLiRT.
UCSF infectious disease specialist Peter Chin-Hong notes that this trend is becoming more common with omicron offshoots, as the virus falls into a predictable pattern of surging approximately every six months and evolving to evade protections developed against previous versions."
Behind the scenes, a battle looms over fair funding for school construction
EdSource's JOHN FENSTERWALD: "In the coming days, Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to confirm his commitment to place a state school construction bond on the November ballot.
What he hasn’t committed to yet — but must decide in the next 10 days — is whether to reform a method of sharing state matching money that has long favored property-rich districts over their property-poor neighbors."
Here’s when fog and drizzle will return to the Bay Area
The Chronicle's ANTHONY EDWARDS: "San Francisco’s five-day stretch of fog-free weather is likely to come to an end Wednesday as moist Pacific winds blow back into the Bay Area.
A weak area of low pressure is expected to dip over California this week, reinvigorating the marine layer and possibly squeezing out some drizzle along the coast, especially in San Francisco and San Mateo counties Thursday morning. Drizzle is unlikely inland, but relative humidity will increase as a result of the Pacific air intrusion, marking an end to the elevated fire weather conditions and smoky skies."
Most California orphaned mountain lion cubs can't make it in the wild. This sibling pair got lucky
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "When two mountain lion cubs were found stranded at an apartment complex in rural Fresno County earlier this year — their mother nowhere to be found — wildlife officials weren’t sure they could successfully return the young cats to the wild.
They decided to try anyway."
California hits Amazon with fines under warehouse worker law
CALMatters's JEANNE KUANG: "California workplace regulators are fining Amazon $6 million over alleged violations of a recent warehouse labor law at two of the company’s Inland Empire warehouses.
Labor Commissioner Lilia García-Brower’s office said today that the e-commerce giant failed to notify employees at the ONT8 warehouse in Moreno Valley and ONT9 in Redlands of any productivity quotas they were required to meet, leading workers to be disciplined without knowing why."
Home prices are rising nearly everywhere. Not in Hollywood
LAT's ANDREW KHOURI: "A few blocks from the corner of Western and Melrose, the 1920s bungalow on Lemon Grove Avenue had a certain charm. The original hardwood floors were well kept, the kitchen and bath updated for modern tastes.
For sale at $875,000, the Hollywood listing boasted that the house was featured in the 1970s classic film “Chinatown” and was minutes away from the studios. The world’s most famous sign is visible from the dining room."
