Why are gas prices so high in CA in spring and summer? What’s behind cost spikes
Sac Bee, VERONICA FERNANDEZ-ALVARADO: "Summer is around the corner, which means many Californians are beginning to plan road trips and vacations.
However, upcoming changes in gas prices could make travelers hesitant about hitting the road."
California sets aside $170 million to thin vegetation, forests to help prevent wildfires
CALMatters, ALEJANDRO LAZO: "Gov. Gavin Newsom today signed new legislation that will provide more than $170 million in state funding to help prevent wildfires while signing an order aimed at speeding up the work by easing environmental permitting.
The funding — which the Democratic governor said was part of a broader effort to better protect communities ahead of peak fire season — comes as the state is under extraordinary pressure after the January infernos that devastated Los Angeles communities."
What to know about California reparations: Is the state’s apology the beginning or the end?
CALMatters, WENDY FRY/ERICA YEE/RYA JETHA: "Some five years after the police murder of George Floyd, shifting political winds at both the state and national level raise the question of whether California will ever enact reparations or if the effort is destined to stall out.
Efforts to implement some legislation fell short during last year’s legislative session amid a bitter split within the Legislative Black Caucus over slow progress. This year, Gov. Gavin Newsom is widely seen as shifting politically to the right following a string of nationwide victories for President Donald Trump and his fellow Republicans."
A $16 billion question: How did San Francisco’s budget get so huge?
The Chronicle, J.D. MORRIS/NAMI SUMIDA: "San Francisco’s budget has been on an unstoppable trajectory for the past few years, growing tremendously even as the city has faced serious fiscal challenges.
At about $16 billion, the current budget is 67% larger — adjusted for inflation — than it was during the first year of Ed Lee’s mayorship in 2011, a Chronicle analysis found."
Newsom launches tourism campaign to bring Canadians back to California
LAT, CLARA HARTER: "Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a tourism campaign on Monday urging Canadians to “come experience our California Love” after seeing a dip in in visits from the United State’s northern neighbors who say they’ve been alienated by President Trump’s policies.
In a video posted on social media, Newsom focuses on the allure of the Golden State while distancing it from Trump’s administration."
Oakland special election: 5 things to watch as voters pick new leaders amid a fiscal crisis
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI/SARA LIBBY: "Tuesday is Election Day in Oakland, when voters will choose a mayor to serve out the rest of recalled Mayor Sheng Thao’s term, a new City Council member and decide whether to raise sales taxes to help patch a hole in Oakland’s budget.
There are nine candidates on the ballot for the mayor’s race, but two front-runners: former Rep. Barbara Lee and former City Council Member Loren Taylor. Given the name recognition she has accumulated by appearing on Oaklanders’ ballots for the last three decades (including her stint in the Legislature), the race has been Lee’s to lose. But it is expected to be close, as Taylor tries to tap into the 60% of Oaklanders who recalled Thao in November as the core of those frustrated with Oakland’s dysfunctional government and might be looking for something different."
CT scans may be more harmful than previously thought, UCSF study finds
The Chronicle, CATHERINE HO: "CT scans, a widely used medical imaging technology to diagnose diseases, may be more harmful than previously thought, and account for about 5% of new cancer cases annually in the U.S. population, according to new research led by UCSF scientists.
That puts CT (computed tomography) scans — which expose patients to ionizing radiation, a known carcinogen — on par with alcohol consumption and excess body weight in terms of contribution to cancer risk, according to the study, which is slated for publication Monday in JAMA Internal Medicine."
A Kaiser strike by mental health workers drags on — setting a US record — as talks resume
CALMatters, JOE GARCIA: "Nearly six months into their labor union dispute against Southern California Kaiser Permanente, eight mental health care workers banded together last week in an organized five-day hunger strike to highlight their cause.
“Kaiser’s trying to starve us out, that’s clear — so, give them what they want,” said Adriana Webb, a member of the National Union of Healthcare Workers who chose to subsist solely on water and electrolytes from Monday morning through Friday evening. “I feel hungry for equity. I feel hungry for change. How is this any different?”"
Can a baby struggle with their mental health? How this hospital is helping L.A.’s youngest
LAT, JENNY GOLD: "A major initiative at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles aims to address a critical but much overlooked need: mental health care for families experiencing the complex flood of joy, fear and upheaval during the first few years of a child’s life.
Myriad issues can emerge or become exacerbated in a family after a baby is born, including maternal postpartum depression, sleep problems, attachment issues between caregivers and children, early signs of behavioral challenges, domestic conflict between parents, and housing insecurity that often worsens as a family grows. If a child also experiences a medical issue, including an extended hospital stay, a serious birth defect or a developmental delay, these problems can be compounded."
Bay Area is home to the largest share of women giving birth at 40 or older in the U.S.
The Chronicle, JACK LEE: "Nowhere in the United States has a larger share of women giving birth at 40 or older than the Bay Area, according to data from the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The hot spot is Marin County, where in 2023, 11.3% of women who gave birth were at least 40 years old. That’s the highest percentage among all U.S. counties with a population of at least 100,000. San Francisco County had the second-highest share, where 10.9% of women who gave birth were 40 and older."
Trump administration freezes $2.2 billion in grants to Harvard over campus activism
LAT, MICHAEL CASEY: "The federal government says it’s freezing more than $2.2 billion in grants and $60 million in contracts to Harvard University, since the institution said Monday it won’t comply with the Trump administration’s demands to limit activism on campus.
In a letter to Harvard on Friday, the administration called for broad government and leadership reforms, a requirement that Harvard institute what it calls “merit-based” admissions and hiring policies as well as conduct an audit of the study body, faculty and leadership on their views about diversity."
House Democrats demand briefing after immigration agents try to enter L.A. elementary schools
LAT, ANDREA CASTILLO: "Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) and other House Democrats are demanding that Department of Homeland Security officials justify their attempts last week to speak with students at two Los Angeles elementary schools.
Garcia and 17 other Democrats signed a letter sent Friday to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, requesting a briefing about the operation."
Bay Area churches help Christian migrants amid Trump's push for mass deportations
The Chronicle, KO LYN CHEANG: "Every Sunday, D.N., an asylum seeker from Uganda, drives her two children an hour from their East Bay city home to the San Francisco church where they worship. Even after she’s worked nearly all night driving for Uber, she never misses church the next morning.
Her faith has kept her hopeful, she said, as she fears deportation."
‘That was awesome!’ California’s earthquake early warning system let many know about Monday’s temblor
LAT, RONG-GONG LIN II: "Monday’s magnitude 5.2 temblor marked another success for California’s earthquake early warning system, with users in some areas saying they received alerts on their phones before they felt shaking.
The alerts in some cases provided pivotal seconds of lead time — a heads-up that could be crucial in the event of a major earthquake."
Bay Area weather: Cooldown begins today. Here’s where to expect fog
The Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "After the mercury spiked to the 80s in inland portions of the Bay Area on Monday, a significant cooldown is expected Tuesday.
Tuesday’s highs will struggle to surpass 70 degrees in eastern Solano, Contra Costa and Alameda counties. Walnut Creek and Livermore may reach only the upper 60s, a considerable drop from Monday’s temperatures in the low 80s. Nut Tree Airport in Vacaville reached 88 degrees Monday, making it the warmest day since October."
Oakland’s government ‘ghosted’ a volunteer cleanup crew. So they cleared 23 tons of trash themselves
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "For eight hours on Saturday, dozens of volunteers cleared mountains of trash dumped on East 12th Street in Oakland, filling, by day’s end, two dump trailers with discarded refrigerators, mattresses, couches and even a dead chicken in a cage.
The volunteers, organized by the Urban Compassion Project, were expecting the assistance of Oakland Public Works, which had committed in an email to sending a garbage truck to transport the trash to the city dump. The Chronicle reviewed the emails exchanged between the Urban Compassion Project and Public Works officials in which officials told organizers that the city would provide the truck and were “excited about future collaborations.”"
L.A. County Sheriff’s Department spent $458 million in overtime last fiscal year. Here’s why
LAT, KERI BLAKINGER: "The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department spent $458 million on overtime during the last fiscal year, a ballooning figure that department officials say is driven by rising vacancy rates, increasing labor costs and expanding responsibilities.
County data show that the number of new deputies hired each year plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic and has not fully recovered. At the same time, the number of deputies leaving the department rose, only returning to pre-pandemic levels last year."
