Disney says Kimmel will return to the air on Tuesday, six days after suspension
REUTERS, DAWN CHMIELEWSKI/DAVID SHEPARDSON/STEVE GORMAN: "Disney (DIS.N), opens new tab said on Monday it would return comedian Jimmy Kimmel to late-night television on Tuesday, six days after his show was threatened with a regulatory probe and suspended over comments he made about conservative activist Charlie Kirk's assassination.
Disney's move to restore the "Jimmy Kimmel Live" show to the lineup of its ABC network represented the highest-profile challenge yet from a communications company to an escalating crackdown by U.S. President Donald Trump on his perceived media critics through litigation and warnings regulatory action."
Nexstar TV stations will not run ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after return to ABC
LAT, MEG JAMES: "Television station giant Nexstar Media Group said it will not run “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” as the Walt Disney Co. brings the ABC comedian back to television Tuesday night.
Disney on Monday reversed its suspension of the late-night talk show after the host’s comments about the shooting death of conservative activist Charlie Kirk set off a political firestorm."
A quick hit: Who Had the Worst Week in CA Politics? (PODCAST)
CAPITOL WEEKLY, JOHN HOWARD/TIM FOSTER: "Host Rich Ehisen is on vacation, so original CW Podcast Host John Howard joins Tim Foster in the studio to chat about the news and his life post-Capitol Weekly. We also look at a laundry list of Worst Week candidates including a politician who was unceremoniously booted from office, a California company facing a political backlash, a news organization reminded once again of their past malfeasance, and many more."
He’s back! Schwarzenegger aims to terminate gerrymandering once again in California
LAT, SEEMA MEHTA: "Former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who championed the creation of an independent commission to draw California’s congressional districts, returns to state voters’ TV sets on Tuesday in a new ad opposing a November ballot measure by state Democrats to boost their party’s ranks in Congress.
A committee opposing Proposition 50, which would replace districts drawn by an independent commission with ones crafted by partisans, plans to spend $1 million per day airing the ad statewide. Schwarzenegger describes the ballot measure as one that does not favor voters but is in the interest of entrenched politicians."
Harris seemed to touch a nerve with Newsom, but says he has ‘a great sense of humor’
LAT, SEEMA MEHTA: "Kamala Harris picked her way through several sticky subjects in a Tuesday night TV interview, including her account of being ghosted by Gov. Gavin Newsom when she called for his support during her brief, unsuccessful 2024 presidential campaign.
On the eve of the public release of her book detailing that campaign, Harris spoke with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow on her relationship with Newsom as well as the redistricting ballot measure Californians will vote on in November — and she also hailed “the power of the people” in getting Jimmy Kimmel back on ABC."
Trump taps ‘Tough Patriot’ — L.A. lawyer known for crypto, guns — as 9th Circuit judge
LAT, SONJA SHARP: "He’s never held public office or donned a judge’s robes, but an arch-conservative Los Angeles County attorney is racing toward confirmation on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, accelerating the once-liberal court’s sharp rightward turn under President Trump.
A competitive target shooter with a background in a cryptocurrency, Eric Tung was approached by the White House Counsel’s Office on March 28 to replace Judge Sandra Segal Ikuta, a Bush appointee and one of the court’s most prominent conservatives, who is taking senior status."
Amid a data center boom, California lawmakers pass a bill to track water use
LAT, IAN JAMES: "Companies that run data centers are facing increasing scrutiny for guzzling water in the dry western U.S. as artificial intelligence fuels a boom in the industry.
California legislators passed a bill this month that would require the facilities to report their projected water use before they begin operating and thereafter certify how much they use annually. The bill is now awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature."
California’s marijuana industry gets a break under new law suspending tax hike
CALMATTERS, NADIA LATHAN: "Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed a bill to roll back taxes on recreational weed in an effort to give some relief to an industry that has struggled to supersede its illicit counterpart since voters legalized marijuana almost 10 years ago.
The law will temporarily revert the cannabis excise tax to 15% until 2028, suspending an increase to 19% levied earlier this year. The law is meant to help dispensaries that proponents say are operating under slim margins due to being bogged down by years of overregulation."
‘The original slow food people’: Why this California tribe spent $500,000 on a global food gathering
LAT, STUART LEAVENWORTH: "On a balmy day last week south of Sacramento, a group of women took turns grinding and preparing acorn flour, and then used fire-heated stones to cook it with water in woven baskets. It was a slow and sweaty process compared with how they prepare meals at home. They did it to pay homage to how their ancestors cooked and sustained themselves over the centuries.
But these women — members of the Wilton Rancheria — were not looking back, they were looking forward. This weekend, Sacramento will host a major international gathering affiliated with the “slow food” movement, and to the surprise of some, the Wilton Rancheria is the top sponsor of the three-day Terra Madre Americas. The event is expected to draw roughly 100,000 people for culinary demonstrations, panels on sustainable agriculture and food politics, live music, and of course, delicious food."
California and Trump are headed to a standoff over ICE officer mask ban
CHRONICLE, BOB EGELKO: "California has decided to unmask both federal and state law enforcement officers within its borders, but some answers remain hidden, at least for now: Will the law hold up in court? And if it does, how will it be enforced?
The first question is already subject to heated debate: whether the state’s authority to enforce its laws equally against everyone outweighs the federal government’s assessment of the rights of its immigration agents to conceal their features while making arrests."
California law forbids ICE from making arrests at courthouses. Officers are showing up anyway
CALMATTERS, NIGEL DUARA: "Jennifer isn’t saying her brother is a saint. Far from it. He was convicted of domestic violence last year and entered a one-year intervention program. He graduated July 23 in a Fresno county courtroom where a judge told him he had done a good job.
Minutes later, while leaving the courthouse, five men and one woman in plain clothes approached him."
Trump blames Tylenol for autism, dismaying experts
LAT, CORINNE PURTILL: "President Trump blamed the over-the-counter drug acetaminophen, commonly known by the brand name Tylenol, as a significant factor in the rise of U.S. autism diagnoses on Monday, at a news conference in which he offered often inaccurate medical advice for the nation’s children and pregnant women.
“Taking Tylenol is not good. I’ll say it. It’s not good,” Trump said, flanked by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz."
Political Strategists Don’t Dispense Medicine — Pharmacists Do (OP-ED)
CAPITOL WEEKLY, MARIA LOPEZ: "As someone who has owned and operated several neighborhood pharmacies for more than 2 decades while serving a large Latino population, I take offense at the claim that SB 41 is “political optics” or that it somehow harms Latino communities. The reality is the exact opposite: SB 41 is the only bill on the table that begins to hold Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) accountable for the damage they are doing to patients, families, and pharmacies across California.
Let me be very clear: PBMs are not heroes keeping drug prices down. They are middlemen skimming billions of dollars off the top of prescriptions, while reimbursing pharmacies below cost and steering patients into their own difficult to navigate PBM owned mail-order pharmacies. PBMs are unregulated as evidenced by an FTC report and pharmacy industry experts. These practices are exactly what’s driving local pharmacies out of business. Contrary to the author’s opinion."
California county sought a mental health facility. Years later, it doesn’t exist
SAC BEE, ISHANI DESAI: "Distance did not matter to Melanie Klinkamon when searching for her missing daughter.
Klinkamon’s adult child had a mental breakdown during the COVID-19 pandemic, disappearing for months and even at times leaving California. During one such episode, Klinkamon sought help for her daughter, who was eventually diagnosed with schizoaffective bipolar disorder."
New laws restrict immigration officers from entering California schools
EDSOURCE, ZAIDEE STAVELY: "Immigration enforcement officers will now have to present a warrant or court order signed by a judge to enter a school campus in California or question a student, and schools and colleges will have to notify all students, faculty and staff when immigration officers are on campus.
These changes are the result of two bills, Assembly Bill 49 and Senate Bill 98, which were signed into law Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Both bills attempt to protect immigrant students and families and alleviate fears that the Trump administration will conduct immigration enforcement on school campuses after ending a long-standing policy not to conduct immigration enforcement at or around schools or churches. Some research has found that attendance drops when families are afraid that immigration enforcement will occur on campus."
Ground-breaking California study examines synthetic turf safety (OP-ED)
CAPITOL WEEKLY, SCOTT GERBER: "California takes a back seat to no one on protecting environmental safety and public health. And so, when the state’s experts weigh in on an issue, their voices carry.
Across the nation, there are questions about the use of synthetic turf fields with crumb rubber infill. People are understandably interested about the impact on the health and safety of their children and other family members."
Federal judge orders 500 health science grants at UCLA restored, rebuffing Trump’s suspensions
CALMATTERS, MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: "A federal judge in California today ordered the Trump administration to restore 500 National Institutes of Health grants that it suspended at UCLA in July over accusations the campus tolerates antisemitism.
Judge Rita Lin’s decision provides researchers at the university a major respite as UCLA and University of California leaders contend with Trump’s demands for a $1.2 billion settlement over a litany of accusations, including that the campus permits antisemitism. It’s a claim that more than 600 Jewish members of the University of California community in a public letter say is “misguided and punitive.” Meanwhile, UCLA’s leadership highlighted its efforts to combat antisemitism days before Trump’s settlement demands."
This program is using augmented reality to teach preschoolers spatial awareness
LAT, KATE SEQUEIRA: "The preschoolers were fascinated, looking at their classroom through the lens of an iPad camera, watching animated images pop up as a cheerful voice told them: Feed apples to a pig behind a haystack. Select the carnival ride located between two sets of balloons.
While the game delighted these 3- and 4-year-olds, they were actually participating in a serious research project that is developing an important foundation for their future in math — spatial thinking and its integrated vocabulary, a skill typically overlooked in early education."
Clovis Unified teachers face choice between CTA-backed or independent union
EDSOURCE, LASHERICA THORNTON: "Teachers in the Clovis Unified School District are within reach of becoming unionized — the closest they’ve been in decades. Now, they have a choice of two suitors.
Despite many attempts, the district is California’s largest school system without a teachers union."
Phil Ginsburg, head of S.F. Rec and Park, to step down
CHRONICLE, JD MORRIS/SAM WHITING: "Phil Ginsburg, the longtime leader of the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department who oversaw an ambitious expansion of the city’s cherished open spaces, is stepping down after 16 years on the job.
The city announced Monday that Ginburg is leaving his position as Rec and Park general manager to become the next president of the Resources Legacy Fund, an environmental nonprofit."
Sacramento Zoo seeks city’s nod to expand longtime Land Park site
SAC BEE, DARRELL SMITH: "Sacramento Zoo is seeking the city’s permission to expand its Land Park footprint in what would be the site’s largest expansion since the 1960s, zoo officials announced Monday.
The Sacramento Zoological Society’s request involves two parcels: a 1.4-acre plot at the zoo’s northern boundary; and a second, larger 4.4 acres across Land Park Drive from the zoo — now-vacant land that once was home to the zoo’s pony rides. The zoo’s request would expand the zoo to 20.1 acres from its present 14.1 acres, a 41% increase."
Bay Area braces for weather whiplash. Here's how hot it could get before dramatic cooldown
CHRONICLE, ANTHONY EDWARDS/GREG PORTER: "Tuesday could be the hottest day so far this year in Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco as each city makes a run at 90 degrees or beyond. The hottest parts of the Bay Area are forecast to reach the triple digits.
Officials issued a heat advisory Monday evening for the Bay Area from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, warning that temperatures will reach up to 100 degrees in the East Bay and mid-to-upper 90s across the shoreline and the Santa Clara Valley."
Sacramento County developments of ‘enormous concern’ to Sutter County’s growth
SAC BEE, JAKE GOODRICK: "A new housing development spearheaded by Sacramento County could add thousands of homes and residents just outside of Sacramento’s city borders, affecting land with conservation protections in place while raising concerns from officials and residents in the capital.
But the project — and two more down the pike — may also prove detrimental to decades of planning by Sutter County, adding hurdles while restricting the scope of Sutter Pointe, a decades-long housing plan just north of the Sacramento County line."
California housing market: These are the most — and least — expensive ZIP codes
CHRONICLE, CHRISTIAN LEONARD/ALEJANDRA AREVALO: "Tracking the Bay Area housing market can be tricky. The region has some of the highest housing costs in the U.S., but prices and trends can vary greatly between cities and even neighborhoods. That can make it challenging for both home buyers and sellers to understand what they should expect from the market, and how it’s changed.
The Chronicle’s home values tracker aims to help with that, using data released monthly from real estate companies Redfin and Zillow. The map above shows which ZIP codes have the highest home values and current sales prices, and if you click on a particular ZIP, you can see whether they’re increasing or decreasing. You can also zoom to other parts of California to see how prices compare in places like Los Angeles and the Central Valley."
Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office seeks approval to buy military equipment
SAC BEE, EMMA HALL: "The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will review a request from the Sheriff’s Office to purchase military equipment, including a Lenco Bearcat, an armored vehicle that costs $300,000.
The Sheriff’s Office seeks this equipment to replace older inventory as needed, according to the county’s report. In addition to the Bearcat, the Sheriff has asked for 27 drones — 19 to expand the current fleet and eight for its first responder program. And the Sheriff’s Office is requesting a Boston Dynamics SPOT Robot, a four-legged robot used to reach unattainable areas."
She’s accused of leading this S.F. police nonprofit to its demise. Now she wants a payout
CHRONICLE, MICHAEL BARBA: "A former nonprofit executive accused of embezzling more than $100,000 from a San Francisco police-funded charity is suing the shuttered organization, alleging she is owed thousands in unpaid wages.
Kyra Worthy, the fired executive director of the nonprofit San Francisco SAFE, sued her former employer and its last board chair, Dan Lawson, in San Francisco Superior Court on Friday seeking a roughly $26,000 payout. Prosecutors say the nonprofit’s bank accounts were essentially depleted by the time Worthy was fired."
