Despite fear of Trump, California considers sharing control of power grid
The Chronicle's DAVID R. BAKER: "A web of power lines stretching from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific weaves all the Western states and Canadian provinces into one vast electric grid."
"But control of that grid is anything but unified."
"Thirty-eight separate organizations, known as balancing authorities, run their own portions, some as big as states, others as small as counties. The California Independent System Operator, a nonprofit corporation, controls the grid throughout most of the Golden State, its experts monitoring the flow of electricity from a darkened room in Folsom (Sacramento County) lit by a wall of data screens."
It's the 21st century -- time for SF to learn how to do a speedy vote count
The Chronicle's WILLIE BROWN: "I never thought I would grow tired of the daily 4 o’clock vote updates after a city election. But it’s 2018, and we really shouldn’t have to go through what we went through in San Francisco after the voting ended June 5."
"I understand that because mail ballots can be postmarked through election day and still be counted, it’s going to be a couple of days before we know the outcome of a close contest. But even by the end of last week, several thousand ballots from San Francisco’s election remained to be tallied."
"It doesn’t take anywhere near that long to account for the movement of billions of dollars in financial institutions all around the world. Here, it takes us two weeks or more to add up 225,000 votes. It’s a good thing Mark Leno gave up in the mayor’s race, or we’d still be enduring this farce."
Sacramento DA Schubert changes political affiliation and is no longer a Republican
Sacramento Bee's MARCOS BRETON: "Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert is no longer a Republican."
"Schubert said Friday that she formally changed her political affiliation to "no party preference" on Tuesday, a week after winning re-election."
"Schubert said she made the decision months ago but decided to wait until after her contentious primary battle with Democrat Noah Phillips, whom Schubert defeated soundly to win a second term."
READ MORE related to Local Politics: London Breed's election as SF mayor brings hope to dwindling black community -- The Chronicle's DOMINIC FRACASSA/HAMED ALEAZIZ; OP-ED: Interview with SF Mayor-elect London Breed -- The Chronicle's JOHN DIAZ
OP-ED: Helping communities cope with climate change
SONA MOHNOT in Capitol Weekly: "Growing up in New Orleans, summertime brought mixed feelings. It meant the end of the school year and endless snow cones, but also the beginning of hurricane season. Here in California we experience extreme heat in the summer and floods and fires throughout the year, all made worse by climate change. Unless we take action now to prepare our communities, many will suffer, some more than others."
"Low-income communities of color already suffer from historic racial and economic injustice and are now on the frontlines of climate change, feeling its impacts first and worst. As I began researching the field, I found little information on how to proactively protect people and communities from climate disasters, compared to the heaps of strategies focused on protecting natural systems like wetlands or infrastructure like roads."
Saga of same-sex marriage in California: It's legal, but it hasn't been without a fight
OC Register's KURT SNIBBE: "June is big month for weddings, and for legislation about same-sex marriage. On June 16, 2008, clerks in several California counties began issuing marriage licenses to thousands of same-sex couples. That decision was fought in the courts for five years. In 2013 the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the state’s right to allow same-sex marriage. Two years later, the Supreme Court ruled that states cannot prevent same-sex couples from marrying."
"Since 2007, the percentage of people who favor same-sex marriage has nearly doubled."
Figures show about 2,000 minors separated from families
AP's COLLEEN LONG: "Nearly 2,000 minors have been separated from their families at the U.S. border over a six-week period during a crackdown on illegal entries, according to Department of Homeland Security figures obtained by The Associated Press."
"The figures show that 1,995 minors were separated from 1,940 adults from April 19 through May 31. The separations were not broken down by age, and they included separations for illegal entry, immigration violations or possible criminal conduct by the adult."
READ MORE related to Immigration: Republicans risking conservative backlash over immigration -- AP's STEVE PEOPLES; Immigrants feeling gangs prefer taking chance for US asylum -- AP's ELLIOT SPAGAT/ANIA SNOW; Texas Border Patrol center where immigrant families are separated draws lawmakers, protests -- LA Times's MOLLY HENNESSY-FISKE; Trump adviser says 'nobody likes' migrant family separation policy -- AP; H-1B: Bay Area residents view work visa more faborably than nation as a whole -- BANG's ETHAN BARON; Democrats rush to border to decry family separation -- Bloomberg News
Many coastal properties may be flooded out by 2045, climate report warns
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "That oceanfront property in Stinson Beach you’ve dreamed about may not be so perfect after all."
"A report published Monday finds that nearly 4,400 homes in Marin County might not make it beyond a 30-year mortgage because of encroaching seawater."
"According to the publication by the Union of Concerned Scientists, Marin County leads the state in the number of parcels that could literally be underwater by 2045 because of climate-driven sea level rise. Across California, more than 20,000 homes are at risk."
Unemployment rate in Sacramento region falls to record low
Sacramento Bee's MOLLY SULLIVAN: "The unemployment rate in the Sacramento metropolitan region fell to 3.3 percent in May, the lowest it’s been since 1990, according to state data."
"Between April and May, 3,300 jobs were added in the region, bringing the total to 993,800 jobs, the Employment Development Department said in a press release."
Here's the profile of 100 homeless people who moved from Sacramento streets to housing
Sacramento Bee's CYNTHIA HUBERT: "They lived outdoors for an average of four years, but some of them were homeless for decades. Nearly 90 percent of them had physical disabilities. Sixty percent had mental illnesses."
"Yet 100 people who enrolled in the city's controversial "triage" shelter in North Sacramento have managed to transition to stable housing since the facility opened in early December."
READ MORE related to Homelessness & Housing: Rent control decision coming to California voters -- Sacramento Bee's ANGELA HART
Scooter firms' SF permit applications revealed: They promise to behave
The Chronicle's CAROLYN SAID/MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "The dozen companies seeking to operate motorized scooter rental businesses in San Francisco promise a well-behaved, cooperative atmosphere — a sharp contrast to the unregulated chaos of scooters being ridden and dumped on sidewalks that occurred over the past couple of months."
"In permit applications to the Municipal Transportation Agency obtained by The Chronicle Friday, the firms vowed to snatch scooters illegally dumped on sidewalks, provide significant discounts to low-income riders, offer etiquette tips and free helmets, remove scooters from the streets each night, and pick up two-wheelers that have fallen."
"The 12 companies are competing for up to five permits the MTA may issue to businesses renting electric-powered stand-up scooters within the city limits. A pilot program will allow up to 1,250 scooters total during the first six months and as many as 2,500 in the next six."
READ MORE related to Transportation: Building LA's rail system will create thousands of jobs. Can a transportation boarding school fill them? -- LA Times's LAURA J. NELSON
Trump adviser Roger Stone reveals new meeting with Russian
AP's JILL COLVIN: "Special counsel Robert Mueller is examining a previously undisclosed meeting between longtime Donald Trump confidante Roger Stone and a Russian figure who allegedly tried to sell him dirt on Hillary Clinton."
"The meeting between Stone and a man who identified himself as Henry Greenberg was described in a pair of letters sent Friday to the House Intelligence Committee and first reported by The Washington Post."
"Stone and Michael Caputo, a Trump campaign aide who arranged the 2016 meeting, did not disclose the contact in their interviews with the committee. But they now believe the man was an FBI informant trying to set them up in a bid to undermine Trump's campaign. Greenberg could not immediately be reached for comment, but in a text to the Post he denied he was working for the FBI when he met with Stone."
READ MORE related to POTUS45/KremlinGate: Giuliani: Trump may pardon targets of special counsel if he thinks they 'have been treated unfairly' -- LA Times's DAVID WILLMAN
