Newsom’s Prop. 1 holds narrow lead in California primary
LAT's TARYN LUNA: "Proposition 1, a statewide bond measure that Gov. Gavin Newsom championed as critical to solving the state’s mental health and homelessness crisis, holds a narrow lead in California’s primary election, but the contest was too close to call Wednesday with votes still being counted across the state.
The measure redirects an existing tax on the rich under the state’s 20-year-old Mental Health Services Act to fund services for people with substance abuse disorders and includes a $6.4-billion bond to build more than 10,000 treatment beds."
Nancy Pelosi’s backing was a ‘Willy Wonka ticket’ for Adam Schiff in California Senate race
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "One key person to thank for Rep. Adam Schiff advancing to the general election in November — and to blame, in part — that California will not have a female senator for the first time in three decades: Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
Her early endorsement of Schiff over two highly qualified female candidates immunized the 63-year-old white male candidate from concerns that if he won, California would be represented for the first time since 1991 by two men: Schiff and Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla."
How Trump propelled Schiff to the general election — and likely a Senate seat
LAT's BENJAMIN ORESKES, SEEMA MEHTA and LAURA J. NELSON: "For all of California’s ills and hardships, nothing animated the state’s left-leaning electorate in this year’s Senate race more than the specter of former President Trump returning to the White House.
The omnipresence of Trump’s legal travails and his dominance in the Republican presidential primary ensure his shadow over the 2024 election will remain through November, and only increase Rep. Adam B. Schiff ‘s already heady chances of becoming California’s newest U.S. senator."
Does Steve Garvey have a shot against Adam Schiff for U.S. Senate?
CALMatters's YUE STELLA YU: "Adam Schiff has likely punched his ticket to the U.S. Senate.
Placing first in California’s top-two primary as of today, the Democratic U.S. representative is heading into the November election against former L.A. Dodgers legend Steve Garvey — the Republican in second place, but a long shot at winning a California statewide election."
Barbara Lee is beloved in her Oakland district — and that backfired on her Senate bid
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "Winning a Senate race was always going to be an uphill battle for Rep. Barbara Lee. Raising big money was her biggest hurdle in attempting to become the fourth Black woman to ever serve in the Senate.
Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff and Republican Steve Garvey advanced to the general election Tuesday. Lee trailed in fourth place, behind Democratic Rep. Katie Porter."
Laura Friedman takes early lead in race for Schiff’s former House seat
LAT's JULIA WICK: "As initial vote counts rolled in on Tuesday night, Assemblymember Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) took an early but decisive lead in the race to replace outgoing Rep. Adam B. Schiff in a coveted Los Angeles-area House seat.
Friedman still had a strong lead as of 2 a.m. Wednesday morning, when the most recent tranche of results were shared by the Los Angeles County registrar-recorder’s office. Republican intensive care physician Alex Balekian was in second place."
With Liccardo in the lead and Simitian, Low battling for second, here’s what’s to come in the too close to call race to replace U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo
BANG*Mercury News's GRACE HASE: "With California’s 16th congressional district election already the most expensive House race in the state’s primary, money could once again prove to be key as voters look toward November to decide which of the three candidates left battling should replace U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo.
Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has emerged as the front runner in the race, while Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and state Assemblymember Evan Low are jockeying for the second spot in the general election, according to the latest election results."
Will California follow Oregon’s ‘strategic’ approach to psychedelics?
Capitol Weekly's RICH EHISEN: "Jim Carraccio was desperate. After decades of cognitive therapy, his struggles with PTSD and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder were as acute and debilitating as ever. So it was time to take a trip.
Literally and figuratively."
California agrees to long-term cuts of Colorado River water
CALMatters's RACHEL BECKER: "Bracing for an ever-growing gap between supply and demand of Colorado River water, three Southwestern states today unveiled an agreement that would cut California’s portion by about 10% in most years.
California, Nevada and Arizona submitted their plan to the federal government, which is weighing how to manage the drought-plagued river after 2026, when another historic deal expires. The decision will shape long-term management of a vital water source for 40 million people, including 30 tribal nations and 5.5 million acres of agriculture."
The Klamath River salmon die-off was tragic. Was it predictable?
CALMatters's RACHEL BECKER: "A recent large die-off of young salmon released into the Klamath River shocked and dismayed state biologists, reinforcing that human efforts to restore nature and undo damage can be unpredictable and difficult to control.
The tiny Chinook salmon turned up dead downriver just two days after they were released from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s brand new Fall Creek Fish Hatchery, built to supply the Klamath River as it undergoes the largest dam removal in history."
Cyber attack on payments processor affects Bay Area health care providers
The Chronicle, CATHERINE HO: "Kaiser Permanente and John Muir Health are among the health care providers nationwide affected by a cyber attack on Change Healthcare, a widely used payments processing vendor in the health care industry.
A ransomware group calling itself BlackCat hacked into Change Healthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth, in February. It shut down parts of Change Healthcare’s electronic operations, rendering hundreds of hospitals and other medical practices unable to pay their bills on a wide range of critical items and services, including rent and lifesaving drugs."
UC applications rise after downturn last year, driven by California students
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "Applications for the upcoming fall term at the University of California system rose 1.5% compared to last year, with more than 250,000 students vying for places in the nine campus system, including first year students and transfers.
The increase comes after a dip in applications across the UC system for the fall of 2023, when numbers fell by 2% after hitting record highs in 2022. Officials attribute this year’s uptick to a rise in applications from California residents, students from historically underrepresented groups and transfer students from community, state and private colleges nationally and internationally."
Clearing the way: How Virginia colleges are getting community college students to university degrees
EdSource's MICHAEL BURKE: "Steve Perez faced a daunting challenge as he considered where to attend college.
The first in his family to pursue a higher education, Perez was “basically all on my own.” Rejected from his top choice, Virginia Tech, he was considering community college near his hometown of Falls Church, Virginia. But he worried whether he would be able to successfully transfer to a four-year university, knowing it would be up to him to take the right courses and successfully apply for admission."
Budget deal for NASA offers glimmer of hope for JPL’s Mars Sample Return mission
LAT's CORINNE PURTILL: "A bipartisan congressional agreement on NASA’s final budget for the current fiscal year offers a glimmer of hope that the space agency’s ambitious but troubled effort to bring pieces of Mars to Earth can recover from devastating cuts that led to hundreds of layoffs at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in La Cañada Flintridge.
This week, the House and Senate appropriations committees finalized a deal that would grant a minimum of $300 million for the Mars Sample Return mission, which is managed by JPL. That’s a steep drop from the $822.3 million NASA spent on the program last year, and less than one-third of what the Biden administration requested."
‘Rust’ shooting: Hannah Gutierrez found guilty of involuntary manslaughter
LAT's MEG JAMES: "A New Mexico jury has found “Rust” movie armorer Hannah Gutierrez guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2021 accidental shooting death of the cinematographer on the troubled Alec Baldwin western.
Wednesday’s verdict in Santa Fe came after about two hours of deliberation by the 12-person jury. Earlier in the day, jurors were asked to review evidence presented during Gutierrez’s 10-day trial to determine whether she had acted recklessly, or with “willful disregard” for the safety of others, while overseeing guns and ammunition on the set of the movie nearly two and a half years ago."
Californians face higher costs for goods and services than before the pandemic despite inflation slowing
CALMatters's LEVI SUMAGAYSAY: "Pandemic-era inflation has fallen from its peak two years ago, but the costs of many goods and services continue to rise and are still higher than before the onset of COVID-19, a couple of closely watched economic indicators show.
Prices have grown about 20% overall since 2020, according to an analysis by the California Legislative Analyst’s Office based on the most recent consumer price index data. Over the past couple of months, prices in California appear to have risen slightly more than the country as a whole, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics."
This California county is testing AI’s ability to prevent homelessness
CALMatters's MARISA KENDALL: "You’ve likely heard about AI powering driverless cars, writing term papers and creating unsettling deep fakes.
Can that same technology also prevent people from becoming homeless?"
Voters in car-centric L.A. approve Measure HLA to make room on streets for bikes, buses
LAT's RACHEL URANGA: "Backers of a citizen-sponsored ballot initiative that forces Los Angeles to add hundreds of miles of bike and bus lanes — to make streets safer for pedestrians and bicyclists — declared victory on Wednesday.
Measure HLA was leading by a wide margin, according to semifinal results released by the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk on Wednesday."
