California's capital is the fastest-growing 'big city' in California, coming in at just under 2 percent growth last year.
Capital Public Radio's RANDOL WHITE: "Sacramento is the fastest-growing big city in California, according to numbers released Monday by the state finance department."
"The state capital grew by nearly one-and-a-half percent last year, the highest percentage among California's ten largest cities."
"While Sacramento is adding new residents, housing is not being added as quickly."
READ MORE related to Economy: Medical marijuana gets reprieve from feds in spending bill -- OC Register's BROOKE STAGGS; Mnuchin defends proposal to eliminate tax deduction that benefits Californians -- including himself -- LA Times' JAMES RUFUS KOREN; California population grew to 39.5 million in 2016 -- AP's SOPHIA BOLLAG; Housing construction is on the rise in California, but it's still not enough -- LA Times' ANDREW KHOURI
Four female sheriff's deputies sued their department for harassment and now Sacramento County is pulling the plug on its appeal.
Sacramento Bee's DARREL SMITH: "Sacramento County has abandoned its appeal of a multimillion-dollar verdict awarded to four female sheriff’s deputies last year for retaliation and harassment by their superiors, court documents show."
"Attorneys for the law firm Porter Scott, representing the county in the years-long legal battle against sheriff’s lieutenants Annica Hagadorn and Dawn Douglas, sheriff’s deputy Jodi Mendonca and sheriff’s Sgt. Tracie Keillor, filed the papers Wednesday after formally appealing the verdict in Sacramento Superior Court in January."
"A year ago, in May 2016, Sacramento Superior Court jurors awarded more than $3.5 million to the veteran deputies who claimed in a 2010 lawsuit that their superiors retaliated against them for speaking out about discrimination and preferential treatment in the ranks."
A second juvenile has been arrested in connection with last week's BART train mob-robbery.
BAN's RICK HURD: "A second teen suspected in a mass robbery on a BART train last month was arrested last week after police say he was involved in separate robbery."
"The 15-year-old Oakland boy was taken into custody on Friday after a robbery in the 6200 block of Camden Street and a subsequent vehicle pursuit, authorities said. He already had a warrant out for his participation in the April 22 mob robbery aboard a train at the Coliseum station in Oakland."
"Seven people were robbed and two of them beaten after approximately 50 to 60 youths jumped the fare gates and attacked passengers in a train car and on the platform.
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Sacramento auhorities are ready to contribute more than a quarter million dollars to undocumented immigrant legal defenses.
Sacramento Bee's RYAN LILLIS/ANITA CHABRIA: "Sacramento leaders are poised to spend up to $300,000 to boost the city’s status as a sanctuary for undocumented immigrants, even as the federal government threatens to crack down on jurisdictions providing such immigrant protections."
"The City Council will vote Thursday on a proposal to invest in an education and legal defense network for undocumented immigrants, with the money coming out of a general fund that supports most core city services. The plan under consideration would also strengthen Sacramento’s status as a sanctuary city by turning into law privacy policies that prohibit city employees – including police – from making inquiries into immigration status."
“It is a modest investment, but it is a very important investment,” said Mayor Darrell Steinberg. “It says very clearly to our community, especially those who are affected by these unconstitutional orders, that ‘we are going to stand with you.’ We have to back up our values with real action to help people who feel at risk and who may be actually at risk."
Activists continue to march as May Day strikes focus on threats to immigration and science.
Bay Area News Group's TATIANA SANCHEZ/CASEY TOLAN/RAMONA GIWARGIS: "Rallying against federal policies that have left many feeling threatened and angry, tens of thousands of protesters across the Bay Area took to the streets Monday in massive May Day demonstrations that led to arrests, worker strikes, school walkouts and the shutdown of businesses."
"With new urgency under the Trump administration, protests from San Francisco to Morgan Hill and around the nation echoed the historic May Day rallies of 2006 that put immigration on a national stage for years to come."
READ MORE related to Public Safety: LAPD's May Day strategy: Relationships, numbers and invisibility -- LA Times' MARISA GERBER/VERONICA ROCHA/KATE MATHER/RICHARD WINTON
AG Jeff Sessions couldn't have a more staunch opponent than California, so what does that mean for life for us here in the future?
Sacramento Bee's CHRiSTOPHER CADELAGO: "No one in the Trump administration is better positioned in the coming months to upend the direction of California than Attorney General Jeff Sessions."
"Pick an issue, and he doesn’t agree with the majority of state residents. He thinks the Supreme Court made a “colossal” mistake in its 1973 decision affirming a woman’s right to have an abortion, though he says he would respect Roe v. Wade. As a senator, he voted repeatedly against bills to expand gay rights."
"He is no fan of gun control. He wants to withhold money from “sanctuary cities” that shield illegal immigrants from federal authorities. While it remains unclear how he will ultimately act, Sessions strongly opposes legalizing marijuana, as California voters did last year. California leaders are moving to reduce penalties for nonviolent offenders. Sessions has rejected such efforts throughout his career."
OP-ED: Campaign tools: Digital media, geo-fencing -- and more.
CHRIS NOLAN in Capitol Weekly: "For years, the Silicon Valley mantra was “The Internet changes everything.” These days it’s more accurate to say “The Internet is always changing.”
"That’s why the conventional wisdom about online ad targeting and other digital means of finding voters can easily slip out of date. Things are always changing."
"For a few years, some vendors claimed to be able to match voter data to ad placements with a success rate of more than 60%."
Capitol Weekly Podcast: George Skelton
STAFF: "Fifty years ago this week, Black Panther Party co-founder Bobby Seale led an armed delegation of Oakland Panthers into the California state Capitol in a bid to derail a proposed gun control bill. There was little security then, and people in the Capitol were taken by surprise. Gov. Ronald Reagan was in Capitol Park with some school kids and he was quickly hustled away. There were hearings going on and the usual glut of tourists in the corridors. The event made international news: Photos of the Panthers in their black leather jackets and berets brandishing shotguns and other long guns were published around the world. Los Angeles Times columnist George Skelton, then a young news reporter, was in the Capitol when the Panthers entered on May 2, 1967. In this episode of the Capitol Weekly podcast, Skelton shares his memories of that historic day with John Howard and Tim Foster."
LAUSD will ignore Trump admin educational changes and continue utilizing Michelle Obama's healthy meal plan for students.
Daily News' ANTONIE BOESSENKOOL: "Changes could be coming to school lunches under President Donald Trump’s administration, but the Los Angeles Unified School District said it will keep serving healthy meals to students."
"On Monday, Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue announced changes to federal nutrition standards, partially rolling back rules championed by former First Lady Michelle Obama as part of her healthy eating initiative. Schools won’t have to cut more salt from meals just yet, and some will be able to serve kids fewer whole grains, under the changes Perdue unveiled at a visit to Catoctin Elementary School in Leesburg, Va."
"Also, an upcoming requirement to lower sodium levels in meals will be delayed, and waivers will still be allowed for the requirement that all grains on the lunch line must be 50 percent whole grain. Schools could also serve flavored 1 percent fat milk instead of the nonfat now required."
The UC system has received praise for diverse enrollment quotas despite recent controversy surrounding poor budget practices.
EdSource's LARRY GORDON: "A new national report praised University of California campuses and the University of Southern California for enrolling large numbers of low-income students who receive federal Pell grants. But the study criticized many other elite schools for falling far short."
"The nine UC campuses, USC and several other California colleges with selective admissions criteria surpass the recommendation that Pell grant recipients comprise at least 20 percent of their undergraduates, according to the report being released Tuesday by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce."
"Even the UC campuses with the toughest admission competition enroll far more than that suggested level: UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC San Diego show Pell ratios of 31.4 percent, 35.9 percent and 40.1 percent each, the survey noted. UC Riverside and UC Merced go as high as 57.5 percent and 61.5 percent, respectively."
Spring flooding may be a possibility because of this year's heavy Sierra snowpack.
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "The historic snow that piled up in the Sierra this winter has started to come down a mountain melt-off that’s swelling rivers and creeks with a dazzling, and potentially dangerous, flow of water."
"Several waterways, including Yosemite Valley’s Merced River, are expected to approach and even surpass flood stage in coming days as a warm spell keeps overnight lows on many snow-covered peaks above freezing for the first time this year, accelerating the thaw."
"Water experts say the heavy spring runoff will likely continue until summer, testing California’s flood management efforts in what is a delicate balance between keeping enough water behind dams to prevent downstream surges and releasing enough to make space for the incoming melt."
