The Roundup

In abrupt turnaround, California to let school districts decide how to enforce mask rules

HOWARD BLUME and MELISSA GOMEZ: "The complications of managing COVID-era education took a dramatic turn Monday, when state officials issued a rule barring unmasked students from campuses, and then, hours later, rescinded that rule — while keeping in place a mask mandate for all at K-12 schools.

Instead, the latest revision allows local school officials to decide how to deal with students who refuse to wear masks, a spokesman for Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday night.

The statewide policy that prohibited unmasked students from campus had been intended to provide helpful clarity for local educators as they work to provide a safe environment for staff and students."

READ MORE about Mask Policies: Health officials backtrack after saying California schools should ban maskless students -- HANNAH WILEY, SacBee; California K-12 students who refuse to wear masks will be barred from campuses, state says-- LINH TAT, Mercury News; California’s mask rule for schools prompts controversy -- ADAM BEAM, AP; 

Why is California still requiring masks at school? Here's what parents and experts say -- KELLIE HWANG, SF Chronicle

Newsom loses court fight to be listed as a Democrat on recall ballot

Sac Bee, LARA KORTE: "Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom will not have his party affiliation next to his name when voters receive their recall ballots in a few weeks, a Sacramento Superior Court judge ruled on Monday.

Superior Court Judge James P. Arguelles said in his ruling that the secretary of state’s office does not have a responsibility to repair a mistake made by Newsom’s attorneys.

Arguelles further wrote that a 2019 state law regarding elections does not compel candidates to identify party affiliation."

READ MORE on NEWSOM: Newsom won’t be listed as a Democrat on recall ballot, judge says -- PHIL WILLON, LA Times;  Gavin Newsom denied request to add his political party to recall ballot -- ALEXEI KOSEFF, Chronicle; Judge: Newsom can’t be listed as Democrat on recall ballot -- DON THOMPSON, AP

California's COVID response totaled $8.5B in direct costs last year, report says

Sac Bee, MICHAEL MCGOUGH: "The state of California will have directly spent about $12.3 billion fighting the COVID-19 pandemic by next June, a recent state budget report estimated, including more than $8 billion over the past year.

The 11-digit price tag spread out over three fiscal years, first reported on by CalMatters, includes roughly $3 billion in mask contracts and other supply procurements, $1.9 billion in testing contracts, $1.7 billion in relief for the homeless and other vulnerable populations, and $1.6 billion for California’s prison system.

The state also projects a three-year total of nearly $1.4 billion will end up being spent on the vaccination campaign and about $1.3 billion on medical surge costs by the end of this fiscal year, which runs through June 2022."

Lawmakers okay $2.7B for zero-emission vehicles

Capitol Weekly, ERIC FURTH: "California lawmakers have approved a dramatic expansion of the state’s commitments to all-electric vehicles, with the goal of ultimately increasing the number of electric and zero-emission cars on the road.

The $2.7 billion piece of the 2021-22 state budget was sent to the Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk on June 28. Newsom has not yet acted on it.

The plan strengthens California’s zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV) programs and builds upon language already contained the state’s anti-pollution Clean Transportation Program."

How an Oregon wildfire almost derailed California’s power grid

SAMMY ROTH, LA Times: "The first sign of trouble came at 4:22 p.m. Thursday.

Warning of “extreme temperatures across much of California,” officials urged the state’s tens of millions of residents to use less electricity the next evening, to make sure power demand didn’t outstrip supply and cause the lights to go out.

It was the third Flex Alert of a young summer that’s felt more like August or September as heat waves shatter records and wildfires devour the landscape, symptoms of a climate in chaos. And unlike the first two calls for energy conservation, this one would nearly bring the Golden State’s electric grid to its knees — all because of a wildfire in southern Oregon."

As wildfires intensify, California gets a grim reminder about far-reaching toxic smoke

Sac Bee, DALE KASLER: "The deadliest wildfire in California history spewed a toxic cocktail of air pollution that could be detected 150 miles away.

A study released Monday by the California Air Resources Board said the 2018 Camp Fire subjected area residents to unhealthy levels of particulate matter, zinc, lead and other dangerous chemicals.

The report came as California struggles with the early onset of another difficult wildfire season, with more than 142,000 acres burned already."

University of California will consider raising tuition for the first time since 2017

NANETTE ASIMOV and OMAR SHAIKH RASHAD: "The University of California’s Board of Regents is picking up where it left off when the pandemic hit, and will vote July 22 on whether to raise undergraduate tuition for the first time since 2017, beginning a year from now.

But the proposal is different from earlier tuition increases — which have often sparked massive student protests — because it would raise the price annually only on first-year students and new transfer students, allowing them to keep that tuition level for up to six years. University officials hope that graduated approach will be more palatable for students than the double-digit hikes that were common a decade ago at the height of the recession.

SUSIE NEILSON, Chronicle: "The Bay Area needs to build over 440,000 units of housing between 2023 and 2031 to keep pace with its population, an average of nearly 50,000 units a year, according to the Association of Bay Area Governments. 

But over the last three years, it’s constructed an average of under 25,000 units annually. That’s because the region is one of the hardest places in the country in which to build homes, thanks to restrictive zoning, intensive permitting procedures and state laws that have historically allowed local groups to block residential development.

A pair of researchers at the University of Pennsylvania set out to understand just how much these type of restrictions cost home buyers. To quantify this, they estimated the difference between what homeowners in large metropolitan areas across the U.S. are willing to pay for additional land they can have as part of their own lot — but cannot build on or subdivide so they can sell to someone else — and what prospective home builders in those areas are willing to pay for the same amount of land to construct single-family homes on. 

Weather eases but Californians told to save power as blackout threat looms from Oregon fire

Sac Bee, DALE KASLER: "The manager of California’s electricity grid has issued another Flex Alert for Monday afternoon, pleading with residents to conserve power even as the intense weekend heat wave begins to fade.

Although grid operations went smoothly Sunday, without any call for conservation, the continued blackout threat from an Oregon wildfire prompted the Independent System Operator to urge Californians to turn up their thermostats and take other energy-saving measures Monday from 4 to 9 p.m.

The National Weather Service issued another “excessive heat warning” for parts of the Sacramento Valley and foothills, with temperatures reaching as high as 112 degrees in some parts of the Valley. The hot weather was easing in some areas, with Sacramento’s high temperature forecast at 97 degrees."

CalPERS banks 21% investment return, tripling its target for funding state pensions

Sac Bee, WES VENTEICHER: "Riding a stock market surge, CalPERS on Monday reported a 21.3% return on its investments over the last fiscal year, reaching a record high-value of $469 billion.

The return represents a sharp turnaround from the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, when the fund’s value plunged by tens of billions of dollars before rebounding.

Altogether, CalPERS’ portfolio gained $80 billion over the past 12 months, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System announced in a news release."

California community college students will soon be required to take ethnic studies

EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "A new course requirement in ethnic studies is officially coming to California’s community colleges.

The board of governors overseeing the state’s 116 community colleges voted unanimously Monday to amend the system’s general education requirements by adding an ethnic studies class. 

The requirement will be in place for students pursuing an associate degree and could take effect as soon as fall 2022, although it will more likely go into effect in fall 2023. Under the requirement, students will have to take a class in Native American studies, African American studies, Asian American studies or Latina and Latino studies."

US drilling approvals increase despite Biden climate pledge