California regulators approve fourth PG&E rate increase of the year
The Chronicle's KATE GALBRAITH: "Pacific Gas & Electric Co. bills will rise again this year after California regulators approved an increase.
The rate hike, amounting to $6 per month for customers, will go toward recouping roughly $944 million that PG&E is paying due to bad storms in 2022-2023 as well as for wildfire mitigation. It is scheduled to be in effect for 17 months."
Project 2025 to California: Report abortion data or lose billions in Medicaid
CALMatters's MONIQUE O. MADAN: "Project 2025, the 900-page conservative playbook for the next Republican president, issues an ultimatum for California: track and report abortion data to the federal government or risk losing billions in Medicaid funding for reproductive health.
California is one of only three states that do not report abortion data to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
Will Alvarado-Gil’s party switch effectively disenfranchise her constituents?
Capitol Weekly's BRIAN JOSEPH: "California’s Fourth Senate District covers 25,000 square miles, basically 1/6th of the state. It stretches from Death Valley in the South to Truckee in the North and juts out West to grab Modesto, the district’s largest metropolitan area.
In all, the rural district touches an astonishing 13 counties that include some of California’s most bountiful agricultural lands, to say nothing of its nearly 1 million residents."
Can the public be excluded from legislative committee hearings or floor sessions?
Capitol Weekly's CHRIS MICHELI: "Some in the Capitol community believe there are unnecessary limitations on the public’s ability to access some of the committee hearings and floor sessions of the California Legislature. Are these limits on public participation permissible under state laws?
Article IV, Section 7(c) sets forth the first applicable law. This provision of the state Constitution provides:"
Beleaguered S.F. department head takes leave of absence after Chronicle investigation
The Chronicle's ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH, MICHAEL BARBA, J.D. MORRIS: "The top San Francisco official tapped by Mayor London Breed to oversee a multimillion-dollar social equity program took a leave of absence Thursday, city officials said hours after a Chronicle investigation raised questions about her department’s spending.
The official, Sheryl Davis, executive director of the San Francisco Human Rights Commission, administers the Dream Keeper Initiative that Breed launched in 2020 to invest tens of millions of dollars into community-based organizations that support the Black community."
As an S.F. supervisor, Mark Farrell wanted to fund a pet cause. He repeatedly turned to companies with business at City Hall
The Chronicle's MATTHIAS GAFNI, MICHAEL BARBA: "In the fall of 2015, then-San Francisco Supervisor Mark Farrell was on the hunt for private donations to a pet cause: opening schoolyards to children on the weekends.
Among those Farrell asked to chip in were the developers behind two of the biggest proposed housing projects in his district, TMG Partners and Prado Group. Farrell personally directed the developers to give a combined $17,500 for his schoolyards cause to the San Francisco Parks Alliance, a nonprofit organization that was helping to administer the program and would later be chaired by his wife."
Sacramento state worker is victorious in latest ‘Jeopardy!’ episode. Here’s how much he won
Sacramento Bee's ISHANI DESAI: "It wasn’t looking good for Sacramento resident Mark Palmere on Thursday’s episode of “Jeopardy!”
One of his two opponents, reigning champion Will Weiss, tiptoed on the precipice of amassing enough money for the game to be called a runaway. That’s the term used when a player has more than double the score of the next closest competitor, meaning they cannot bet enough money during the third and final round to overtake the leader."
Strengthening enforcement against illegal flavored vaping products (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly's DAMON CONNOLLY: "As students return to campus this month, the presence of vaping is becoming normalized and more prevalent. It’s shocking that our youth’s awareness about the harm these products can cause remains stubbornly low.
The U.S. Surgeon General has warned that vaping poses significant risks: including damage to the heart, lungs and parts of the brain that control attention and learning, as well as an increased risk of addiction to other substances. Beyond their physical health, vaping can also negatively impact a student’s academic success. A 2021 study found that students who began to use e-cigarettes missed assignments, skipped classes, and reported lower GPAs than those who didn’t use tobacco products."
What a $10,000 Martha’s Vineyard rental says about S.F. department’s spending
The Chronicle's MICHAEL BARBA, ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH: "In early June, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission’s then-executive director, Sheryl Davis, responded to an email from a local nonprofit director who had sent her a receipt for a $10,274 house rental on Martha’s Vineyard and wanted the city to pay her back.
“Can you split the invoice?” Davis asked Westside Community Services CEO Mary Ann Jones. “Half before June 30 and the other half after July 1?”"
Rancho Palos Verdes is known for landslides. It’s also home to Trump’s golf course
LAT's HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS: "A mile west of Trump National Golf Club in Rancho Palos Verdes, a road sign warns: “Use Extreme Caution. Constant Land Movement.”
A few blocks away, a sign just off Palos Verdes Drive South touts The Estates at Trump National Golf Club Los Angeles, where potential residents can “build your custom dream home.”"
Firefighters gaining control over destructive Southern California wildfires
LAT's JOSEPH SERNA, SUMMER LIN: "Little by little, firefighting crews in Southern California are gaining control over three wildfires that have destroyed dozens of buildings, burned more than 100,000 acres and kept countless residents out of their homes for days.
On Friday, containment of the 51,884-acre Bridge fire increased to 3% after days of marching its way north over the Angeles and San Bernardino National forests with crews unable to contain any of its perimeter. More than 5,000 structures remain threatened by the flames and dozens of buildings destroyed."
California remains in puzzling ‘earthquake drought’ despite recent shaking
LAT's RONG-GONG LIN II: "Despite an unusual number of modest earthquakes this year in Southern California, the state overall remains in the midst of a drought of major earthquakes.
There have been no significant damaging earthquakes underneath California’s most populous cities in the last 30 years."
Stanford’s new president takes charge at a tumultuous time. He told us changes are ahead
The Chronicle's NANETTE ASIMOV: "On the last day of classes at Stanford University this spring, a dozen students broke into the president’s office to wreak havoc. Outside, their allies defaced stone buildings with threats against the police, America and Israel.
The vandalism not only capped a tumultuous year of pro-Palestinian protests against the war in Gaza, but also served as a difficult welcome to Jonathan Levin, who took over as Stanford’s 13th president on Aug. 1."
These Bay Area colleges are debuting new mega dorms to house thousands. Here's what they look like
The Chronicle's SAM WHITING: "Nicolas Perry is the type of college student who irons his shirts for class, so when the San Jose State University junior learned that the former Fairmont hotel tower was being offered as a dormitory option, he checked that box.
“I consider myself a clean person, so the idea of no one living here before appealed to me,” said Perry as he slipped his hotel-style card key into the door."
Are California prisons stiffing inmates on $200 release payments? Lawsuit says they are
CALMatters's CAYLA MIHALOVICH: "John Vaesau was counting on the $200 he was entitled to by law upon leaving Folsom State Prison in June 2023, after 33 years. He was surprised when he received none of it.
“They just threw me out like a piece of garbage,” Vaesau said. “Like after all that time, it was nothing to them.”"
The under-the-radar proposal to end homelessness in Los Angeles for $20 billion
LAT's LIAM DILLON, DOUG SMITH: "It would cost $20.4 billion to end homelessness in Los Angeles in a decade, a price tag requiring local, state and federal governments to more than double their spending on the problem, according to a draft budget analysis from city housing officials.
The money would produce 36,000 permanent housing units for homeless residents with chronic health needs and build or subsidize 25,000 additional apartments for very low-income residents. The proposal assumes the city maintains nearly 17,000 beds in shelters and other interim housing locations through 2029 before ramping down."
No sleeping bags, keep moving: California cities increase crackdown on homeless encampments
CALMatters's MARISA KENDALL: "It’s been a little more than two months since the U.S. Supreme Court gave cities the green light to crack down on homeless encampments. Already, Santa Monica is considering barring its homeless residents from using sleeping bags, San Joaquin County is poised to force unhoused people to move 300 feet every hour, and Fresno has made it illegal to camp anywhere at any time — even if no shelter is available.
At least 14 California cities and one county have passed new ordinances that prohibit camping or updated existing ordinances to make them more punitive, another dozen are considering new bans, and at least four have dusted off old camping bans that hadn’t been fully enforced in years."
New 113-unit affordable housing project planned for Sacramento. Here’s when it will open
Sacramento Bee's CATHIE ANDERSON: "A new 113-unit affordable housing option for low-wage families, the San Juan Apartments, will open in 2026.
The $67 million development at 5700 Stockton Blvd. near Fruitridge Avenue is being built on a vacant lot once home to the San Juan Motel, city officials said."
