Inflation looms large in Biden’s approval rating. What do Californians say?
LA Times, MELANIE MASON: “Roughly 6 in 10 California voters give President Biden poor marks on his handling of inflation, according to a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, even as his overall job approval marginally improved in the last two months.
The survey, which was co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times, found that voters in the state had mixed reviews of the president, with displeasure over his economic performance cutting against a more positive assessment of his record on the international stage. Still, with 50% of respondents signaling approval, Biden notched higher ratings than his vice president, Kamala Harris, or the two congressional leaders from California, Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.
The poll captures an electorate deeply pessimistic about the future. Two-thirds of registered voters believe the country is on the wrong track, while just 26% think it is heading in the right direction. Republicans are nearly unanimously bleak, with 92% having a negative outlook on the nation’s trajectory. A substantial majority — 65% — of voters not affiliated with a political party agree, as do 51% of Democrats.”
Cluster of S.F. Bay Area showers could slow the start of fire season
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: “This week’s on-and-off rain showers are not only bringing much-needed moisture to the parched Bay Area, they could even delay the start of fire season, according to the National Weather Service.
While the storms expected to pass through Northern California this week are all expected to be relatively small — dropping only around a quarter of an inch of rain through most parts of the Bay Area — taken together, the storms will likely bring enough moisture slow the start of fire season, said Matt Mehle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Wildfires in California tend to spread quickly because grasses and brush are extremely dry as a result of enduring drought conditions, which means that they serve as fire fuels that easily ignite. The upcoming rain will allow “the finer fuels,” like grasses, to “grow and green up,” making them less likely to catch fire as easily, Mehle said.”
Suspect sought as shooter in Sacramento gang gunfight has long history of gun violations
SAM STANTON, SacBee: “The suspected shooter Sacramento police are seeking in last week’s gang battle downtown has a lengthy record of illegal possession of firearms and was associated with one of the six people shot dead in the melee, court records show.
Mtula Payton, 27, is being sought as one of five people police believe opened fire near 10th and K streets, wounding 12 and killing six. Two of the other suspected shooters, brothers Dandrae and Smiley Martin, are being held on weapons charges, and Sacramento police said late Tuesday they are believed to be among the shooters.
Payton’s criminal history includes an October 2014 case in which he was charged with illegal possession of a 30.06 rifle and ammunition that he was prohibited from having because of a juvenile court conviction, Sacramento Superior Court records say.”
Prison, probation, a missed warrant: Sacramento shooting suspects’ troubled route to K Street
JASONPOHL, DALE KASLER and SAM STANTON: “Inside a rundown Phoenix motel room on the morning of July 18, 2016, Dandrae Martin twice used his hands to choke the mother of his child.
Because she refused to work as a prostitute, he also stepped on her neck, twice. He threatened to kill her before she ran from the room and a passerby called for help. During the assault, their 2-year-old son was asleep on the bed, and a 1-month-old tucked in a carrier.
After Phoenix police arrested him, Martin told investigators that he wanted to “forget about” the violence from that morning and move on, according to court records.”
VTA’s vaccine mandate looms. Hundreds may lose their jobs
ELIYAHU KAMISHER, Mercury News: “For months, the Valley Transportation Authority lacked a COVID vaccination requirement for its employees, even as the virus surged and every other Bay Area transit agency cracked down. But now that cases have plummeted, it is about to implement a tough policy that could lead to the firing of hundreds of unvaccinated workers.
According to the latest tally provided by the VTA 379 employees — nearly 20% of the total workforce — have not reported receiving a single dose of the vaccine. Of these employees, 59 have received exemptions on medical and religious grounds. While some are expected to submit vaccination records this month, the rest face the possibility of losing their jobs in the coming weeks, a move that would exacerbate staffing shortages and could lead to cuts in light rail and bus service in Santa Clara County.
The mandate, effective April 29, comes months after most Bay Area transit agencies wielded the threat of terminations to boost their own vaccination rates and protect anxious passengers. In the end, BART and Muni resorted to firing or forcing the early retirement of a combined 127 employees, a small fraction of their staffs. Both agencies now have vaccination rates above 99%.”
Biden boosts Ninth Circuit diversity with Mendoza nomination
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: “Salvador Mendoza Jr., a federal judge in Washington state, was nominated by President Biden on Wednesday to the Ninth U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco, continuing Biden’s record of rapid and diverse judicial selections.
Mendoza, 51, was appointed to the U.S. District Court by President Barack Obama in 2014 after a year as a state court judge. A UCLA Law School graduate, he spent a year with the Washington state attorney general’s office and a year as a county prosecutor, then practiced law privately for 14 years before becoming a judge.
Biden said Mendoza, if confirmed by the Senate, would be the first Hispanic judge from Washington on the Ninth Circuit, the nation’s largest federal appeals court. The court’s chief judge, Mary Murguia, is Latina, and her 28 colleagues include Judges Consuelo Callahan and Gabriel Sanchez, a Biden appointee.”
Has omicron XE arrived in California? Here’s what we know about the new coronavirus subvariant
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: “Even as the highly transmissible BA.2 omicron subvariant extends its dominance across the U.S., including the western region that incorporates California, a new coronavirus mashup combining BA.2 and the original omicron strain is gaining attention.
Omicron XE, which was first detected in the United Kingdom, has been found in the U.S. and, most recently, in Japan. While much is still unknown about the subvariant and what effect it will have on COVID-19’s spread, here’s what we know so far.
The XE variant is what experts call a “recombinant” of the BA.1 and BA.2 variants. Its name derives from the “X” prefix assigned for recombinants, said Stacia Wyman, senior genomics scientist at the Innovative Genomics Institute at UC Berkeley.”
California Joshua tree is not threatened, regulators say. It could bring more development
LA Times, LOUIS SAHAGUN: “State biologists on Wednesday recommended against designating the western Joshua tree as threatened with extinction, saying claims in a petition filed by environmentalists about the effects climate change will have on the living symbols of the California desert are premature.
A final decision by the state Fish and Game Commission on the petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity is expected in June. If the Joshua tree is not listed as threatened, it will be up to local jurisdictions to set limits on development of commercial, residential and solar and wind projects across thousands of acres of southeastern California’s sunniest real estate.
About 40% of the western Joshua tree’s range is on private land, where state endangered-species laws would apply, according to the petition. The area includes the rapidly growing cities of Palmdale, Lancaster, Hesperia, Victorville and Yucca Valley.”
Why wildlife officials are warning Northern California dog owners to keep their pets away from raw freshwater fish
The Chronicle, LAUREN HERNANDEZ: “State wildlife officials are warning dog owners of the dangers of their dogs consuming salmon, steelhead, trout and other freshwater fish that are infected with potentially fatal bacteria primarily found in Northern California waters.
Salmon Poisoning Disease can impact dogs and potentially kill them after they consume raw or cold smoked fish, including freshwater fish carcasses, that are infected by a “bacteria-like organism” which is transmitted by a flatworm, also known as a fluke, California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials said in a news release.
These kind of parasitic flatworms are naturally found in Northern California waters, with “most of the north state” being considered by state officials to be “native range for the fluke.” Wildlife officials said that trout stocked in “some waters” in the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s North Central Region are more likely to be infected with the flukes that cause the disease, and acknowledged that “all fish caught or originating from streams in Northern California could potentially be infected.””
An SFPD cop pulled over a self-driving car. What the viral incident means for the future of S.F.
The Chronicle, CAROLYN SAID: “When a traffic cop stopped a robot car on the streets of San Francisco this month, the interaction vividly exposed the divide between the present and the future.
“Ain’t nobody in it; this is crazy,” a perplexed SFPD officer was heard saying on a bystander’s video that went viral.
The autonomous Chevy Bolt from San Francisco’s Cruise was stopped for failing to have its headlights on. It briefly halted for the police, and then took off, crossing an intersection and pulling over in front of a Chinese restaurant, which Cruise later explained as it going “to the nearest safe location for the traffic stop as intended.””
CSU provost faced retaliation after reporting harassment by president’s husband, records claim
LA Times, COLLEEN SHALBY/ROBERT J LOPEZ: “California State University paid $600,000 this year to settle a claim with a Sonoma State provost who reported retaliation and sexual harassment allegations involving the campus president and her husband, according to records in the case obtained by The Times.
Lisa Vollendorf, then the university’s provost, reported to Cal State system officials that several women alleged they were sexually harassed by Patrick McCallum, a prominent higher education lobbyist who is married to Sonoma State University President Judy Sakaki, a legal claim filed with Cal State shows.
Though not a CSU employee, McCallum is an official university volunteer who participates in campus events with his wife. Vollendorf is a longtime higher-education administrator and was recently appointed as president of SUNY Empire State College in New York.”
Principal at elite Lowell High School resigns, slamming SFUSD in farewell letter
The Chronicle, JILL TUCKER: “The principal of San Francisco’s academically elite Lowell High School announced his resignation Wednesday, slamming district leadership in a letter to the community.
Principal Joe Ryan Dominguez, who took the helm of the school in the fall, announced his intent to leave at the end of the school year.
“The decision to leave SFUSD is solely based on my desire to apply my passion for education in a district that values its students and staff through well organized systems, fiscal responsibility and sound instructional practices as the path towards equity,” he said in the letter to the school community. “Change is difficult and our campus has seen more than its fair share of it in the last several years.””
Is L.A. witnessing the end of the ‘Latino paradox’?
LA Times, ANDREW J CAMPA/RONG-GONG LIN II/EMILY ALPERT REYES: “For years, public health experts have observed how Latinos have overall better mortality rates than white residents, despite being more likely to have lower incomes, chronic health issues and decreased access to healthcare.
Now, the historic COVID-19 pandemic has upended the so-called Latino paradox in Los Angeles County.
For the first time in the last decade, the mortality rate for Latinos in Los Angeles County became worse than that of white residents, starting in 2020 — the first year of the pandemic — and worsening the next year.
What does a $1.5 million home look like across California? Take a look at these five properties
The Chronicle, RICARDO CANO: “One San Francisco home featuring a spacious outdoor patio and wide windows that bathe its living room in natural sunlight is walking distance to Stern Grove Park and a 15-minute train ride from the Pacific Ocean.
Ninety-five miles away, another home that includes a kitchen island with marble countertops and a roomy backyard with lemon and orange trees sits near one of the state capital’s wealthiest enclaves.
Both single-family homes are listed at about the median price for what a single-family home in San Francisco sells for these days — $1.5 million.”
