Why won’t Democrats face their aging problem?
Chronicle,JOE GAROFOLI: "Like an elder parent who doesn’t want to give up the car keys, the Democratic Party is resisting facing the uncomfortable topic of aging.
And that will continue to hurt Democrats with their “trust issues” with voters. An April Pew Research poll found that 64% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning voters hold a favorable view of the Democratic Party."
Lawmakers attack governor’s plan to streamline Delta tunnel
CALMatters, RACHEL BECKER: "Fifteen California lawmakers from both parties are up in arms over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s latest proposal to to use the budget process to fast-track the Delta tunnel — a deeply controversial, $20 billion plan to replumb the estuary and funnel more water south.
With the clock ticking for the Legislature to pass a budget bill tackling the state’s $12 billion deficit, Newsom dropped a spending plan last week that would add sweeping changes to permitting, litigation, financing, and eminent domain and land acquisition issues aimed at speeding approval of the massive project."
Special Episode: California Insurance Crisis – The State of the Insurance Industry (PODCAST)
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at California Insurance Crisis, which was held in Sacramento on Wednesday, May 14, 2025
This is Panel 1: The State of the Insurance Industry, featuring Amy Bach of United Policyholders; Rex Frazier, Personal Insurance Federation of California; Meredith Fowlie, UC Berkeley."
It’s not just Biden. There’s a history of presidential health cover-ups
LAT, MARK Z. BARABAK: "Suddenly, it’s 2024 all over again.
Once more we’re litigating Joe Biden’s catatonic debate performance, his lumbering gait, his moth-eaten memory and his selfish delusion he deserved a second term in the White House while shuffling through his ninth decade on earth."
READ MORE -- Villaraigosa blasts Harris and Becerra for not speaking out about Biden’s decline -- LAT, SEEMA MEHTA
Judge orders Trump administration to retain custody of Asian immigrants removed to South Sudan
LAT, RACHEL URANGA: "A federal judge on Tuesday evening ordered the Trump administration to maintain custody of immigrants that lawyers say were removed from a Texas detention facility and abruptly sent to conflict-ridden South Sudan.
U.S. District Judge Brian E. Murphy in Massachusetts ordered the administration to keep the individuals within the custody of immigration officials so that they could be returned if the court determined their deportation was unlawful."
READ MORE -- Trump’s attempt to speed deportations in California hits another roadblock in court -- CALMatters, WENDY FRY/MOHAMED AL ELEW/SERGIO OLMOS
Edison executives made false statements on wildfire risks, lawsuit claims
LAT, MELODY PETERSEN: "Edison International officers and directors misled the company’s investors about the effectiveness of its efforts to reduce the risk of wildfire in the months and years before the devastating Eaton fire, a shareholder lawsuit claims.
The lawsuit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, points to repeated statements that the utility made in federal regulatory reports that said it had reduced the risk of a catastrophic wildfire by more than 85% since 2018 by increasing equipment inspections, tree trimming and other work aimed at stopping fires."
Signs of human error grow in failure to evacuate Altadena during fire. But who is to blame?
LAT, GRACE TOOHEY/JENNY JARVIE: "It is perhaps the most pressing unanswered question from Los Angeles’ January firestorm: How did officials fail to issue timely evacuation alerts for residents in west Altadena, where all but one of 18 Eaton fire deaths occurred?
Nearly five months after the deadly fire decimated Altadena, two possible scenarios have emerged as to what went wrong that chaotic night. Either there was some human error along the chain of command issuing evacuations or there was some type of technical error in sending the alerts."
Her miscarriage showed the limits of California’s abortion protections. Where you live matters
CALMatters, KRISTEN HWANG: "Anna Nusslock never wanted to be the face of a new kind of reproductive rights battle in California, but when a small Catholic hospital refused to provide an abortion that would end her miscarriage, Nusslock girded herself for a long and difficult conflict.
Nusslock felt her civil rights were being violated, she said, even as she lay in the hospital bed curled in on herself, bleeding and mourning the loss of her twin girls. The doctor had said that her pregnancy needed to be terminated immediately to protect her from infection and other serious complications but hospital policy prohibited it, according to two lawsuits filed by Nusslock and California Attorney General Rob Bonta."
Want a Bay Area starter home? In these 59 cities, it’ll cost you at least $1 million
Chronicle, JESSICA ROY: On the hunt for a starter home? If you’re looking in the Bay Area, come armed with a hefty down payment: In 59 cities, the average starter home will set you back at least $1 million, according to a recent analysis from Zillow.
For this analysis, “starter home” is defined as the typical home in the bottom third of home values in each city. In addition to single-family homes, the analysis includes condos, town houses and other types of multifamily housing. Zillow analysts looked at all the home values in that tier and then calculated the average value among them to find the “typical” starter home value."
What it’s like to live in the Bay Area’s most diverse neighborhood
Chronicle, OLIVIA CRUZ MAYEDA/CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "The Bay Area’s most racially diverse neighborhood doesn’t have a plaque or a blue ribbon announcing its superlative. But on a warm Saturday in April, its unique diversity was obvious.
Green plums swung from their boughs in Guillermina Alejo’s garden, where she was trimming shrubs as her three grandsons stood by, each slightly taller and older than the next. Around the corner, Neesha Magar and Sharmila Rai were chatting in gilded saris by a table heaped waist-high with grapefruits, the laughter of the two women joining with the acoustic strumming from the Baptist church. On the southern boundary of the neighborhood, JáRed Morgan was grilling burgers under a lush willow tree while wearing a Golden State Warriors jersey when he suddenly proclaimed to the block: “They’re free!”"
Classic car community rallies support behind ‘Leno’s Law’
Capitol Weekly, ELLIE APPLEBY: "Is the latest legislative effort to exempt classic cars from California’s emissions laws about to run out of gas?
The answer to that question could come as early as Friday when the Senate Committee on Appropriations weighs in on SB 712, also known as “Leno’s Law” for its support from former Tonight Show host and noted car enthusiast Jay Leno."
Cameras are already catching more than 1,000 S.F. speeders a day. Here’s which location has the most
Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA/RACHEL SWAN: "Speed cameras are already catching more than 1,000 San Francisco drivers violating speed limits each day, according to data released by SFMTA — and that’s with fewer than half of them functioning in April.
The first batch of warnings issued to motorists in April provided a stark illustration of what safety advocates have characterized as ingrained, brazen behavior. In the course of the month, the cameras, strategically placed in areas with a history of speeding and crashes at or near areas like school zones and commercial corridors, snapped license plate photos of almost 32,000 vehicles that exceeded a posted speed limit by at least 11 mph."
