California tribes seek to stop plans for state’s largest reservoir in decades
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "In the sun-drenched hills of Colusa County, where California leaders are pushing for construction of the state’s largest reservoir in decades, Charlie Wright sees more than a dusty valley destined to hold water.
Wright, who is tribal chairman of the Kletsel Dehe Wintun Nation, sees pieces of his people’s past on this sparsely populated land on what is today cattle country 70 miles northwest of Sacramento."
Supreme Court turns down challenge of California labor lawsuits by Uber, Lyft
LAT's DAVID G. SAVAGE: "The Supreme Court refused Monday to hear appeals from ride-hailing companies Uber and Lyft, which were asking to block California state labor lawsuits that seek back pay for tens of thousands of drivers.
Without comment, the justices turned down appeals from both companies. At issue, they said, was the scope of the arbitration agreements between drivers and the companies."
Inside the cordial — but not close — relationship between Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi
The Chronicle's SHIRA STEIN, JOE GAROFOLI: "Kamala Harris and Nancy Pelosi are two of the most powerful female lawmakers in the world. They came up in the same 7-by-7-mile-wide Machiavellian political environment and broke barriers at every turn in their careers.
But it would be a mistake to assume that they’re close allies, or that Harris would lean heavily on Pelosi for advice or support if she becomes president. While the two women have a cordial and respectful relationship, they are not personally close and have only been allies when the situation requires it, according to the nearly three dozen political insiders, lawmakers and consultants who spoke with the Chronicle about their relationship."
What you need to know about California’s ballot propositions
CALMatters's STAFF: "California voters only decided one proposition on the March primary ballot — Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mental health measure that barely passed — but will get their say on 10 in November.
With your choices, you’ll help steer state policy on crime, health care, rent control and more. You can change the state constitution on gay marriage and involuntary labor. You’ll also decide whether to add $20 billion to the state debt. (If you’re wondering why you’re being asked to decide some rather complicated issues, here’s our explainer on that.)"
Major-league debt and mortgages: Inside the California Senate candidates’ finances
LAT's LAURA J. NELSON: "The late California Sen. Dianne Feinstein was among the wealthiest members of Congress, with a Bay Area real estate empire valued in the tens of millions of dollars.
Whoever wins the Nov. 5 election to be California’s next senator will have a very different financial picture."
Special Episode: Proposition 36 – Increased Penalties For Theft and Drug Crime
Capitol Weekly's STAFF: "On Wednesday, September 11, 2024, Capitol Weekly hosted the California Ballot Forum: 2024 Election Preview. Through spirited discussion and reasoned debate, proponents for each side explored the strengths and weaknesses of the proposals in a conversation moderated by a journalist.
If passed, would allow felony charges for possessing certain drugs and for thefts under $950, if defendant has two prior drug or theft convictions. Fiscal Impact: State criminal justice costs likely ranging from several tens of millions of dollars to the low hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Local criminal justice costs likely in the tens of millions of dollars annually."
The Micheli Minute for October 7, 2024
Capitol Weekly's STAFF: "Lobbyist and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome."
‘Give Sheng Thao the chance she deserves’: Oakland mayor launches campaign to save job
The Chronicle's JESSICA FLORES, SARAH RAVANI: "Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao launched a campaign Sunday to fight her recall in November — less than a month before voters will decide whether to remove her from office.
“Oakland, this is our time to reject the pettiness, to put people over politics, to not let wealthy outsiders and opportunists shape our destiny nor divide us,” she said at the rally outside the Rockridge BART Station. “This is our town, and this town is not for sale.”""
L.A. City Council districts could be radically reshaped by state attorney general’s probe
LAT's DAVID ZAHNISER, DAKOTA SMITH: "Three years ago, a prominent Latino civil rights group offered up a plan to strengthen Latino voting power by dramatically redrawing Los Angeles City Council district boundaries.
The Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund wanted to ensure that eight of the council’s 15 districts had a significant number of voting-age Latinos. MALDEF’s proposal, submitted during a once-a-decade redistricting process, would have required wrenching changes to all but a handful of districts."
California adds college financial aid options
CALMatters's LYNN LA: "If colleges worked the way they should, Joe Villa would have thousands of dollars of federal financial aid by now. But he’s never received a penny.
I’ve been talking to Villa for over a year now, trying to figure out why."
Detailed data on every UC and Cal State
The Chronicle's STAFF: "A record-breaking 4 million students in the U.S. and 450,000 seniors in California will apply to college this fall, making the 2024-2025 season even more competitive than years past. UCLA’s acceptance rate has plunged, and Cal Poly SLO is now more difficult to get into than about half the UCs. Undergraduate campuses once deemed a “safety” (or “likely”) may now be “targets” or “reaches.” Counselors call the most selective schools “super reaches,” since even students at the top of their class may not get in.
This database of colleges shows how you may stack up against high school peers. Look up data on applicants to each campus from your school, research colleges rising in popularity, and see the best transfer pathway to each UC."
Bay Area heat wave is fading, but these areas are still set for dangerously hot weather
The Chronicle's GREG PORTER: "All good things must come to an end, or so the saying goes. The recent heat wave might not have been altogether good, but it will indeed start to end on Monday.
After a blisteringly hot weekend in San Francisco, where the temperature hit 97 degrees on Sunday, making it the hottest day of the year so far, some relief is in the cards for Monday."
The Bay Area's population changed drastically since the pandemic. Charts show exactly where people migrated
The Chronicle's HANNA ZAKHARENKO, CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "San Francisco lost tens of thousands of residents during the early pandemic as remote work policies and layoffs pushed many of them to places with lower costs of living. And thanks to the best available data on migration, we know where they went.
In addition to collecting Americans’ taxes, the IRS collects some of the most detailed information on where Americans are moving. The numbers take some time to be released — the 2022 data came out only recently — but they provide a granular look at migration trends."
‘I would have been a great mom’: California finally pays reparations to woman it sterilized
CALMatters's CAYLA MIHALOVICH: "Geynna Buffington knew she had little time to become pregnant once she was released from prison at age 40. For over a year, she tried to have a baby. She didn’t know pregnancy would be unlikely because of a procedure she had nearly a decade earlier.
In 1998, while Buffington was incarcerated at Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla, she underwent an “endometrial ablation” in order to treat what a prison doctor had told her was an abnormal pap smear. The procedure destroys the uterine lining and should not be done for people who have any desire for future childbearing, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists."
How busy are the Bay Area's highways today? See hour-by-hour data for the top commutes
The Chronicle's HARSHA DEVULAPALLI, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "Any Bay Area commute can seem like torture, especially for folks who grew accustomed to working from home during the pandemic. But most commutes by car in the region are now much faster than they were five years ago — especially in the morning — according to a Chronicle analysis of Caltrans traffic data.
The Chronicle looked at six heavily used Bay Area commute corridors, comparing April 2019 — about a year before the pandemic lockdown — with April 2024, as an increasing number of people returned to offices."
In their own voices, Israelis and Palestinians reflect on a catastrophic year
LAT's LAURA KING, BILAL SHBAIR: "For some, it was a loved one killed, perhaps more than one. Or a cherished home destroyed. A neighborhood, a livelihood: vanished, along with a sense that life could ever again be safe or secure. A landscape of loss, extending as far as the eye can see.
A year after the attacks of Oct. 7, some Israelis and Palestinians recently reflected on the state of their lives and that of their respective societies. Here, in their own voices, is a chronicle of a calamitous year.
