California officials join Texas sheriff in calling for federal investigation into DeSantis migrant flights
LA Times, MACKENZIE MAYS: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta are calling for the U.S. Department of Justice to open an investigation into the transportation of migrants to Sacramento as part of a program overseen by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Thirty-six migrants were sent from Texas to Sacramento in June, a move for which the Republican presidential hopeful has taken credit. While DeSantis has defended the Florida taxpayer-funded flights, saying they are part of a “voluntary relocation” program, he has been accused of using humans as political pawns in a national debate about immigration policy."
Gavin Newsom, AG Rob Bonta, Texas sheriff call for federal investigation into migrant flights
Sacramento Bee, MATHEW MIRANDA: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Attorney General Rob Bonta and the sheriff of Bexar County, Texas, are demanding more answers for the flights that have transported Latin American migrants to Sacramento and Massachusetts over the last nine months.
On Thursday, Bonta tweeted a letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland that calls for a Department of Justice investigation into the program funded by the state of Florida."
California and manufacturers strike deal over zero-emission trucks
CALMatters, RACHEL BECKER: "California and major truck manufacturers announced a deal today that would avoid a legal battle over the state’s landmark mandate phasing out diesel big rigs and other trucks.
In return, the Air Resources Board will relax some near-term requirements for trucks to reduce emissions of a key ingredient of smog to more closely align with new federal standards."
Here we go again: ‘Intense heat wave’ expected next week across Southern California
LA Times, GRACE TOOHEY: "Another stifling heat wave is expected to hit Southern California next week, with forecasters warning it will likely be hotter and last longer than the Fourth of July weekend spike in temperatures.
Warming is expected to begin Monday as a strong high pressure system builds over the southwest U.S., with triple-digit temperatures expected across the region by Wednesday, according to David Sweet, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Oxnard."
Youth are the key to reimagining California’s approach to mental health (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, KASSY POLES, DR. MARK GHALY: "Across California, youth struggle with mental health. A CDC survey found nearly half the state’s high school students had ongoing feelings of sadness or hopelessness, a rate that has risen by more than 50 percent since 2015. People feeling the most impacted by this crisis are youth who already face major barriers – such as youth of color, those living in low-income communities and LGBTQ+ youth.
We have both experienced this crisis from different perspectives. A youth advocate and advisor who has dealt with the mental health system firsthand, who knows what it’s like to experience depression while being told that she’s not sick enough for care. And a pediatrician and father with decades of experience helping kids impacted by mental illness, who now leads the California Health and Human Services Agency. And we have reached the same conclusion: California must reimagine its approach to mental health, and young people must be at the table as collaborators and co-creators as we do."
Got COVID from a loved one who was at work? Their employer owes you nothing, California court rules
CALMatters, NIGEL DUARA: "A Bay Area woodworking employee caught COVID on the job and brought it home during the height of the pandemic. His wife contracted the illness and her symptoms were severe – at one point, she needed a respirator to breathe.
But she cannot claim workers’ compensation injuries from the infection, the California Supreme Court ruled today in answer to questions from a federal appellate court, because while doing so would be a moral good, that good is outweighed by the potential flood of litigation that would force businesses to close, tie up courts and send commercial insurance rates skyrocketing."
What the newly approved Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi means for patients
The Chronicle, CATHERINE HO: "The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Thursday granted full approval for the Alzheimer’s drug Leqembi, also known by its generic name lecanemab.
Unlike previously approved Alzheimer’s drugs, which aim to improve brain function, lecanemab is the first that appears to slow the course of the disease. In clinical trials, the medication – given by intravenous injection every two weeks for 18 months – appeared to slow cognitive decline by 27%. That meant patients, on average, extended their ability to perform activities of daily life by five to six months compared to those who took the placebo."
Proposed California laws could remove hurdles to becoming a teacher
EdSource, DIANA LAMBERT: "California teacher candidates would get paid while student teaching, and the state would begin a public relations campaign to recruit new teachers to the profession, if two new bills pass the Legislature and are signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. The bills are among a raft of legislation that lawmakers are considering during the 2023-24 legislative session to make it easier for people to become teachers.
Before earning a credential, California teachers are required to complete 600 hours of student teaching. The lack of pay for this work has long been considered a major roadblock for teacher candidates, who must still pay tuition, for books and supplies plus other living expenses, while completing student teaching and taking teacher preparation courses."
These California colleges admitted legacy students who didn't meet basic requirements
The Chronicle, SARA LIBBY: "The University of Southern California, Pepperdine University and Vanguard University each admitted a handful of students over the past four years who had connections to alumni or wealthy donors but who did not meet the school’s minimum admissions requirements, state records show.
USC reported offering admission to eight students over the course of four years who were related to donors or alumni but didn’t meet admission requirements. Two students admitted to USC in the 2021-2022 academic year did not meet the school’s minimum math requirement; the other two had not submitted proof they graduated from high school. One student admitted in the 2022-2023 school year did not submit proof of high school graduation but the university noted in a report to the state that she was a Syrian refugee, and “we have no reason to believe that she did not graduate.”"
Southern California hotels hit by strike say union is unlawfully pushing housing agenda
LA Times, SUHAUNA HUSSAIN: "Amid tense negotiations over new contracts for thousands of local hotel housekeepers, receptionists and cooks, a group of Southern California hotels filed an unfair labor practice charge accusing Unite Here Local 11 of striking over policy proposals that have “nothing to do” with the employees it represents.
The group has taken issue specifically with the union’s demands that hotels support housing initiatives, both politically and materially. In negotiations, the union has asked hotels to publicly endorse a measure set for the 2024 ballot that would require hotels in Los Angeles to rent vacant rooms to unhoused people. The union has also urged hotels to agree to impose a 7% fee on all guest room sales to create a fund that would assist hospitality workers in obtaining affordable housing."
California’s fastest-growing city is now majority Asian
The Chronicle, ADRIANA REZAL: "The Asian population is growing across the United States, and three cities in the Bay Area’s Tri-Valley have some of the fastest-growing Asian communities.
Dublin, Pleasanton and San Ramon were among the 10 largest cities with at least 30% of their population identifying as Asian that had the highest growth since 2010, an analysis of census data shows."
After years of ups and downs, Los Angeles moves forward on creation of a public bank
LA Times, CHARLOTTE KRAMON: "Los Angeles is taking another step toward opening a city-owned public bank that would support projects driven by public interest.
The City Council voted last week to fund a feasibility study for the bank after advocates argued it would do better than private banks to serve Black and Latino communities, small businesses, green energy initiatives and affordable housing projects."
Why S.F.’s ‘doom loop’ fears are ‘premature,’ according to city economist
The Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "San Francisco's economic recovery from the pandemic has stagnated for months in key areas, including employees’ return to the office, public transit ridership and housing costs.
But Ted Egan, the city’s chief economist, said the city showed strength in some metrics like job growth, and signs of a “doom loop” — a vicious cycle of residents fleeing, forcing city service cuts and plunging tax revenue — aren’t borne out by data."
Lam Research chops East Bay jobs as tech layoffs mount in Bay Area
BANG*Mercury News, GEORGE AVALOS: "Lam Research has chopped well over 500 Bay Area jobs this year after disclosing fresh East Bay layoffs that reduced the company’s workforce and produced a grim new milestone for the tech sector.
Tech companies have now announced plans over the last 18 months to cut well over 25,000 jobs in the Bay Area, including more than 15,000 this year, according to this news organization’s analysis of official filings with the state’s labor agency."
How GQ erased its article that was critical of Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav
LA Times, JONAH VALDEZ: "Within hours after it was published this week, a GQ article that took critical aim at David Zaslav, chief executive of Warner Bros. Discovery, had vanished.
The men’s magazine removed the 1,400-word piece from its website on Monday without an explanation to its readers, a move uncommon in news media. Several days later, competing media outlets caught wind of its disappearance and began to unravel the unusual editorial step."
My house or my beach? Why California’s housing crisis threatens its powerful coastal commission
CALMatters, BEN CHRISTOPHER: "California lawmakers have been busy over the last decade trying to make it easier to build homes across a housing-strapped state. But there’s an 840-mile-long exception.
In an undulating band that generally runs 1,000 yards from the shoreline, the 12 members of the California Coastal Commission have the final say over what gets built, where and how."
Judge: Trump can be deposed in former FBI agent’s suit
CNN, KATELYN POLANTZ: "A federal judge ruled Thursday that Donald Trump can be deposed in the lawsuit ex-FBI agent Peter Strzok brought against the Justice Department for his wrongful termination after the Russia investigation.
In the lawsuit, Strzok alleges Trump’s political vendetta against him – whom Trump criticized in tweets – led to his wrongful termination, and that the Justice Department wrongfully released text messages he exchanged with former FBI lawyer Lisa Page. Page is also suing. Trump has denied wrongdoing."
