California could be first state to hire undocumented college students on campus under new bill
Sacramento Bee's MATHEW MIRANDA: "California would become the first state in the nation to employ undocumented college students without legal work permits, pending a signature from Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The landmark legislation, Assembly Bill 2586, passed the Legislature in a final 41-7 Assembly vote on Monday. The governor, who has not stated a position on the bill, has until the end of September to sign or veto it."
Which 2024 California bills will Gavin Newsom sign into law?
CALMatters's STAFF: "For California laws, the buck does really stop at Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.
While the Legislature approves hundreds of bills each session — and will add to that list before adjourning Saturday — Newsom decides whether they become law."
Europe turns from Trump-proofing to hope as Kamala Harris is anointed Democratic candidate
LAT's LAURA KING: "With Kamala Harris’ formal anointing as the Democratic nominee for president, European allies are relieved by what they see as a diminishing threat of another Donald Trump presidency — but an undercurrent of anxiety remains.
Several weeks ago, when the former president was riding high in the polls after a triumphal Republican convention, the nonstop topic at high-level European gatherings was how to go about “Trump-proofing” institutions that he had often blasted as ineffectual or branded as outright adversaries — including NATO and the European Union."
Lawmakers say Newsom staff ‘inflated’ cost of failed health care bills
CALMatters's RYAN SABALOW, JOCELYN WIENER: "Lawmakers and advocates say Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration is making inflated estimates about the cost of legislation, with some suggesting his subordinates have been trying to kill the bills without making the governor politically accountable for the outcome.
“While people are dying on the streets from a lack of access to behavioral health care treatment, state agencies continue to fabricate exorbitant cost estimates,” Sen. Dave Cortese, a Democrat from Campbell, told CalMatters after one of his mental health proposals died recently in the Assembly Appropriations Committee."
The Townsend Plan: The forgotten movement that shaped Social Security (PODCAST)
Capitol Weekly's STAFF: "In September 1933, in the depths of the Depression, Dr. Francis Townsend wrote a letter to his local newspaper, the Long Beach Press-Telegram. He had an idea that would end the Depression and alleviate the endemic poverty for the nation’s elderly. His plan was simple: the Federal Government should give each American 60 years and older a pension of $200 a month (equivalent to about $4700 today) – with the requirement that they HAD to spend the money within a month. The pensions would be paid for by a nationwide 2% transaction tax.
The idea caught on, spawning 8000 Townsend Clubs with a peak of two million members – 1% of the US population at the time – and roughly 10% of the nation’s senior citizens. California congressman John McGroarty introduced the first Townsend Plan bill in 1935, much to the dismay of the Roosevelt administration, which was then working to pass the Social Security Act. By the late thirties there were over 100 members of a Townsend caucus in congress, and individual states – including California – proposed Townsend-inspired initiatives of their own."
Millions of Californians have medical debt. It wouldn’t hurt your credit under proposed rules
CALMatters's ANA B. IBARRA: "Medical debt weighs heavily on the lives of millions of Californians. It can ding their credit scores and hurt their chances of landing a rental or securing a home mortgage.
Earlier this year, the Biden administration announced a proposal to stop medical debt from showing up on credit reports. That proposed rule is under consideration with an uncertain timeline."
New COVID vaccines are now available. If you got sick this summer, when should you get yours?
The Chronicle's JESSICA ROY: "School’s back in session and the pumpkin spice lattes are flowing. You know what that means: Time to get another COVID shot.
The FDA approved new formulations for this fall’s vaccine last week, and they are already starting to roll out in the Bay Area. The updated shots are tailored to target the so-called FLiRT variants that have dominated the U.S. in recent months: Summer may be ending, but the “summer surge” is still going strong."
VA’s illegal leases on West L.A. campus pose a tough choice for a federal judge
LAT's DOUG SMITH: "Years of litigation now comes down to a brutal choice: to make room for shelter and housing to get thousands of veterans off the streets, should a judge tear up the lease that allows UCLA to operate its Jackie Robinson baseball stadium on veteran land? And the sports complex of an exclusive private school in Brentwood? Or a Los Angeles city park with two baseball fields and a dog-free area?
As the plaintiffs’ case neared its conclusion in the sprawling lawsuit against the Department of Veteran Affairs, U.S District Judge David O. Carter wrestled out loud over what to do about leases the federal government signed for land on the VA’s West L.A. campus that was bequeathed more than a century ago for the use of veterans."
How parents can limit children’s harmful cellphone use at home
EdSource's DIANA LAMBERT: "Children who use cellphones, smartwatches and other personal devices excessively are more likely to have shorter attention spans, be more anxious, have trouble thinking critically, be less physically fit and have problems interacting socially, according to research.
The debate about how much screen time is too much has been ongoing for more than two decades, but it has gained urgency in recent years as young people have become more reliant on cellphones and other devices."In September 1933, in the depths of the Depression, Dr. Francis Townsend wrote a letter to his local newspaper, the Long Beach Press-Telegram. He had an idea that would end the Depression and alleviate the endemic poverty for the nation’s elderly. His plan was simple: the Federal Government should give each American 60 years and older a pension of $200 a month (equivalent to about $4700 today) – with the requirement that they HAD to spend the money within a month. The pensions would be paid for by a nationwide 2% transaction tax.
The idea caught on, spawning 8000 Townsend Clubs with a peak of two million members – 1% of the US population at the time – and roughly 10% of the nation’s senior citizens. California congressman John McGroarty introduced the first Townsend Plan bill in 1935, much to the dismay of the Roosevelt administration, which was then working to pass the Social Security Act. By the late thirties there were over 100 members of a Townsend caucus in congress, and individual states – including California – proposed Townsend-inspired initiatives of their own."
Disneyland fans with disabilities enraged by changes: ‘We had the worst day ever there’
LAT's ANDREW J. CAMPA: "Less than two hours after being dropped off at “The Most Magical Place on Earth,” Florida resident Paula Roland tearfully called her husband to take her and their son Noah home.
That June 5 was supposed to be a once-in-a-lifetime experience at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. But days earlier Noah — a nonverbal autistic child with sensory processing disorder — had been denied Disney’s Disability Access Service, or DAS, pass. The 8-year-old struggles to stand in line for more than 15 minutes, and the pass would have provided him with shorter wait times at attractions."
17,000 California policyholders are losing fire insurance as Liberty Mutual subsidiary pulls back
The Chronicle's MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "A major insurer’s subsidiary is discontinuing its fire insurance line in California — for an odd reason.
Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company, one of Liberty Mutual’s California subsidiaries, is in the process of non-renewing its approximately 17,000 dwelling fire policyholders in the state. The nonrenewals will last through November, after starting in September, according to filings with the California Department of Insurance."
This Bay Area surfing town is struggling to house its workers. A co-op could help
The Chronicle's J.K. DINEEN: "A row of 27 white RVs parked on a dusty parcel off a dirt road is hardly the laid-back sun-kissed surf town vibe that people associate with the West Marin town of Bolinas.
But for locals who understand how the town works — its culture, its economy, its schools — what happens with those RVs and the people who live in them has as much to do with the town’s well-being as the historic downtown’s saloon and hardware store, or the tidal estuary that make up the Bolinas lagoon."
Fences by homes on popular California beach found in violation of local law
The Chronicle's TARA DUGGAN: "Owners of six ocean-facing homes in Stinson Beach who roped off areas of the beach as private property are in violation of county law and must either remove the barriers or obtain permits to keep them, Marin County officials said Monday.
The decision followed an anonymous complaint earlier this month from a person who claimed that owners of six beachfront properties at Stinson had recently used posts and rope to cordon off areas in front of their properties that should be open to the public. Some of the owners reached by the Chronicle said that they have had the fences on a seasonal basis for decades and that they were needed to prevent instances of people climbing onto their decks and even building campfires underneath a home on stilts."
Sacramento closes Camp Resolution, evicting homeless disabled seniors. ‘Failed experiment’
Sacramento Bee's THERESA CLIFT, HANNAH POUKIOSH: "In a first-of-its kind operation, Sacramento police officials Monday declared a homeless camp a crime scene, enclosed it with caution tape, then broke through a metal gate with bulldozers and welding equipment.
\It marked the end of Camp Resolution, a tight-knit camp comprised largely of disabled seniors the city is now calling a “failed experiment.”"
Police brushed him off. So he exposed an international bike theft ring on his own
LAT's JESSICA GARRISON: "The story of how Bryan Hance became one of the most celebrated and cynical investigators of multinational bike theft began in the spring of 2020, in the dark heart of the pandemic.
Bikes were suddenly in short supply, because so many people — trapped at home and afraid of catching COVID on public transportation — wanted to buy them. Predictably, bike theft exploded across the country."
