The Roundup

PATT MORRISON, LA Times: "Time was that when you went to the beach — 60, 70, 100 and some years ago — the sand wasn’t the only thing that was white. The people on the beach, down to virtually every last square inch of skin, were white too.

A whites-only ocean didn’t seem to raise eyebrows then, never mind questions. Public swimming pools that allowed people of color at all often let them in on only one day a week, just before the pool was drained and refilled. You couldn’t very well drain the Pacific Ocean and refill it after Black people swam in it, so local governments and unofficial forces managed to make public beaches off limits to some of the public.

The relentless promoters of early Los Angeles pitched L.A. to potential residents and investors as the “white spot” of the nation — with its double meanings: a place free from unsavory civic corruption, free from unions and free from the unpleasantries of integration."

Remote work drives wedge between companies, employees

LOLA WATTS, Capitol Weekly: "Within their homes and offices, tensions are rising between employers and employees.

At least for now, COVID-19 levels appear to be declining, and some major companies have begun to push their employees to return to the office following an extended period of working from home.

Tesla’s Elon Musk told employees he was implementing an in-office 40-hour work week, and said their options were to do it, “or quit.”  Meanwhile, Google was enforcing pay cuts on employees who choose to work remotely. The transition back to in-person work is being pushed by numerous employers across the country."

COVID in California: Reinfections account for 1 in 7 coronavirus cases in state

The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI/RITA BEAMISH: “California’s COVID-19 case rates seem to be stalled again, at a high level, after a period of fluctuating numbers and a few days that looked like the situation might be improving.

But tourism, San Francisco’s biggest industry, finally appears to be pulling out of the pandemic doldrums and returning to the city.

And President Biden is back in isolation, one of the small percentage of people who get “rebound” COVID cases after they take the antiviral Paxlovid treatment.

‘We just keep punishing.’ Californians with criminal records still face housing barriers

  HANNAH WILEY and MACKENZIE MAYS, LA Times: "Cynthia Blake lives cramped in a tiny studio apartment in Long Beach, in a space divided into four units that used to be a church. There is no bathroom inside her home; it’s outside in a different part of the building.

Blake, 53, remembers the $1,050 apartment being advertised for a long time, as interest in the odd setup was low. Still, she felt she had to lie to be considered a potential renter: she did not check the box that asked if she had ever been convicted of a crime.

If she had, there’s a good chance her application for the apartment would have been denied, and her time living on the streets prolonged — a part of her life that she said made her two-year stint in prison for felony drug charges feel like “a relief.”

Supervised drug sites could be legal in S.F., Oakland and L.A. if governor signs bill

The Chronicle, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: “A bill that aims to reduce overdoses by allowing city-run supervised drug consumption sites in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles narrowly passed the state Senate on Monday and is headed to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk.

Should Newsom sign the legislation, the three cities and Los Angeles County could allow organizations to operate overdose prevention programs where people could use illegal drugs under the supervision of trained staff and receive referrals to treatment programs. Participants would get clean supplies but bring their own drugs.

The governor’s office would not comment on whether he would sign the bill, saying only, “Legislation before the Governor will be evaluated on its merits.” Former Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a similar bill in 2018, but Newsom said at the time that he was open to a pilot program.”

What divides L.A. converges on the 6th Street Viaduct

LAT, RACHEL URANGA: “In its short life, the 6th Street Viaduct has turned into so many competing things to so many people: Soaring civic landmark or roadway to gentrification. Altar to the city’s car culture or TikTok playground for general mayhem and lawlessness. Panoramic promenade for Boyle Heights abuelitos or glaring reminder of the lack of public space there and in so much of the city.

Basically, is it an architectural and cultural wonder or a symbol of so much that is wrong with Los Angeles?

The more-than-half-mile, $588-million span connecting the Arts District to the historic Eastside and Whittier Boulevard has become a new totem for the city’s fissures over transit, policing, housing, equity, culture and land use.”

New batch of CSU records shows professors disciplined for sexual harassment

EdSource, THOMAS PEELE/ASHLEY A. SMITH/DANIEL J WILLIS: “Fifty-four faculty members, coaches and other non-mangagement employees at 12 California State University campuses were found to have committed violations of sexual misconduct and discrimination policies in cases resolved between 2017 and 2021, some resulting in firings and resignations, new information released by the university system shows.

The violations included unwanted sexual advances, including requests for sex, unwanted touching and kissing, and discrimination based on gender and race, according to the records. The case summaries were released in the wake of recent controversies over how the 23-campus system, the nation’s largest four-year public university, has handled sexual harassment complaints and disciplined employees.

The records reveal cases involving 54 employees, six of whom committed two or more offenses. They include 38 people with academic job titles, such as professor or assistant professor, and almost all of them involve complaints by students. Cases from another five CSU campuses will be released later this month. The remaining six campuses had no records of such misconduct, a university official said.”

S.F. school board member Ann Hsu faces official admonishment over racist remarks

The Chronicle, JILL TUCKER:” “The San Francisco school board has scheduled a special meeting Tuesday to decide whether to admonish fellow board member Ann Hsu over racist comments she made about Black and brown parents in the district.

Hsu has faced a barrage of criticism and calls for her resignation from powerful political groups in the city since the statements came to light in late July.

In response to a candidate questionnaire about educating marginalized students, Hsu responded that “unstable family environments” and “lack of parental encouragement to focus on learning” were among the biggest challenges in educating Black and brown students.”

Visitors ‘devastated’ areas around the world’s tallest tree. Now it’s off-limits

The Chronicle, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: “Hyperion, the world’s tallest tree, rising 380 feet in Redwood National and State Parks, now has a viewing price almost as steep as its uppermost branches.

Anyone caught in the area of the towering coast redwood is now subject to a $5,000 fine or six months behind bars.

The National Park Service recently imposed the penalty after the area around the soaring Sequoia sempervirens — its scientific name — was being trampled and trashed by visitors who hiked into the closed section of the park.”

S.F. audit rips parks department for costly overruns in Portsmouth Square garage renovation

The Chronicle, SAM WHITING: “A sharply worded San Francisco audit admonished the city’s Recreation and Park Department for poor oversight of the Portsmouth Plaza Parking Garage renovation, which the audit said exceeded its budget and was never adequately completed.

The report, sent to both the Recreation and Park Commission and parks department General Manager Phil Ginsburg, said the parks department failed in its responsibility to ensure that the nonprofit Portsmouth Plaza Parking Corporation (PPPC) correctly managed the garage renovation.

“The audit found that the PPPC Board was ill-equipped to effectively manage the renovation project, causing it to be $4.5 million (52 percent) over budget, completed a year late, and missing at least $1 million worth of planned work,” stated the report by Mark de la Rosa, Director of Audits with the Office of the Controller. “As the project owner, Rec & Park was responsible to oversee the garage renovation project on the City’s behalf, a responsibility that cannot be delegated.””

Column: Is the Inflation Reduction Act really a victory for Biden? The outraged GOP acts like it is

LAT, JONAH GOLDBERG: “In an era of ugly legislative gridlock, it’s easy to forget that progress isn’t necessarily pretty.

Last week, Washington got blindsided by the unveiling of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. For Democrats it was a moment of spontaneous joy, while Republicans reacted with instantaneous outrage.

In brief, here’s what happened. The Senate passed, on a bipartisan basis, the Chips and Science Act, which would spend up to $280 billion to subsidize domestic microchip production. The bill is flawed, but justifiable on national security grounds. Then almost immediately afterward, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) announced their Inflation Reduction Act, which is mostly a vastly scaled down version of the old Build Back Better package that Manchin almost singlehandedly blocked for more than a year.”