Trump is having a bad week. Will it matter in the election?
LAT's NOAH BIERMAN: "Former President Trump’s tough week showed as well as any to date why he is facing a new and unprecedented reality as a presidential candidate — as he ping-ponged among a dizzying array of court appearances, judicial rulings, competing allegations and subsequent grievances.
By Thursday, he was complaining about the overlap in his busy legal schedule, railing that Judge Juan M. Merchan, who is presiding over his hush-money case in New York, wouldn’t let him leave that trial to attend a Supreme Court hearing in Washington, D.C., over whether he can face criminal prosecution for trying to overturn the 2020 election. That decision also could affect Trump’s classified-documents case in Florida."
Six California House races that could help determine control of Congress
LAT's JULIA WICK: "Over 2,000 miles west of the nation’s Capitol, the battle for control of the House of Representatives in 2025 is being waged in farmland along Highway 99, fast-growing commuter communities north and east of Los Angeles and Orange County beach towns and inland suburbs.
While Republicans currently have a razor-thin majority in the House, partisan makeup of next year’s Congress will almost certainly be decided this November — at least in part — by a handful of hypercompetitive California races."
Evan Low up by one vote over Joe Simitian as the Congressional District 16 recount continues
BANG*Mercury News's GRACE HASE and HARRIET BLAIR ROWAN: "The tie in the Congressional District 16 race has been broken yet again as more preliminary results for the ongoing recount pour in — Assemblymember Evan Low is now up one vote over Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian.
Since April 15, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties have been recounting the more than 182,000 votes cast in the March primary race to replace U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo. San Mateo County wrapped up its counting on Wednesday afternoon with no vote changes for either Low or Simitian, though a number of ballots that were challenged are still being adjudicated."
As budget cuts loom, Bay Area big city mayors urge Newsom to spare homelessness funding
BANG*Mercury News's ETHAN VARIAN: "As California stares down a massive budget deficit, the mayors of the Bay Area’s largest cities are urging Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers to avoid cuts to homelessness services and dedicate $1 billion a year to helping local governments manage the crisis.
This week, the California Big City Mayors coalition, including the mayors of San Jose, Oakland and San Francisco, called on state officials to continue funding a program that since 2019 has sent $4 billion to cities and counties to combat homelessness."
Thieves snatch Rep. Adam Schiff's luggage in S.F. He gives dinner speech without a suit
The Chronicle's KEVIN FAGAN: "Hello to the city, goodbye to your luggage. That was Senatorial candidate Adam Schiff’s rude introduction to San Francisco’s vexing reputation for car burglaries Thursday when thieves swiped the bags from his car while it sat in a downtown parking garage.
The heist meant the Democratic congressman got stuck at a fancy dinner party in his shirt sleeves and a hiking vest while everyone else sat in suits. Not quite the look the man from Burbank was aiming for as he rose to thank powerhouse attorney Joe Cotchett for his support in his bid to replace the late Dianne Feinstein in the U.S. Senate."
California legislators must prioritize patients over profits
Capitol Weekly, DR. SAMY METYAS: "Trying to manage a chronic disease can be overwhelming. Getting access to medications to treat the disease should not be. No one should have to choose between putting food on the table or getting life-saving medication to manage their health.
Increasingly, patients are experiencing challenges accessing medications prescribed by their physician due to a health insurer practice called “copay accumulators.” People I treat who are living with serious, complex chronic illnesses such as osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and lupus, as well as patients with HIV, cancer, autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis and hemophilia often rely on specialty medications to manage their conditions and maintain their health for which there is no generic alternative drug available.. As a result, many patients living with serious chronic conditions have turned to patient copay assistance programs run by charitable organizations or pharmaceutical manufacturers for help paying copayments and coinsurance for specialty drugs since they have difficulty paying their health plan annual cost-sharing obligation on their own."
PG&E CEO defends rising utility bills as earnings increase
The Chronicle's JULIE JOHNSON: "Pacific Gas and Electric Co. defended the company’s electricity rate hikes, despite widespread outrage from Californians shocked by soaring monthly utility bill charges.
In a call with investors Thursday, PG&E announced that its earnings rose to $732 million in the first quarter of 2024, up from $569 million a year earlier — translating to earnings per share of $0.34, compared to $0.27 a year earlier."
California’s home insurer of last resort could see ‘substantial’ rate increase
The Chronicle's MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "Californians on the FAIR Plan — the state’s “insurer of last resort” — can expect to see their rates rise sharply in the near future, the plan’s president testified Thursday.
“There’s going to be a substantial increase. That’s as much as I can share,” FAIR Plan President Victoria Roach told the Little Hoover Commission, a state oversight committee."
Millions of Californians weigh options after losing an affordable internet subsidy
CALMatters's KHARI JOHNSON: "Alfredo Camacho and his three daughters started a new routine last week: Every evening they go to the parking lot outside a nearby library to get Wi-Fi access. The kids do homework and download YouTube videos, while Alfredo checks his email and searches job listings.
Camacho and his daughters ages 9, 12, and 15 live in Guadalupe, a town of roughly 9,000 on the Central Coast of California. They used to rely on the Affordable Connectivity Program, a $30 to $75 monthly credit for high-speed internet, but that ends this month."
Steve Garvey calls pro-Palestinian student protesters ‘terrorists’
CALMatters's YUE STELLA YU: "Steve Garvey, one of the final two candidates for California’s U.S. Senate seat, called pro-Palestinian protesters who build encampments on college campuses “terrorists,” as tension over the Gaza war intensifies.
Garvey, a Republican, made the statements today in Los Angeles about the University of Southern California — a day after police arrested almost 100 anti-war protesters on campus on trespassing charges during a largely peaceful demonstration Wednesday."
Dual admission programs a tool for addressing state’s transfer challenges, panel says
EdSource's BETTY MARQUEZ ROSALES: "A group of education leaders and experts representing both community colleges and four-year universities agreed during EdSource’s Wednesday roundtable discussion that dual admission might be one of the most promising solutions to California’s broken transfer systems.
About 2 million students are enrolled in the state’s 116 community colleges, yet just 10% of them transfer to a four-year university within two years, according to research from the Public Policy Institute of California, or PPIC."
Rural counties far from universities struggle to recruit teachers
EdSource's DIANA LAMBERT: "Nine rural California counties, most struggling with student achievement and teacher recruitment, are in teacher education deserts, according to a report released Tuesday from the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools.
Alpine, Del Norte, Imperial, Inyo, Lassen, Modoc, Mono, Sierra and Siskiyou counties do not have teacher preparation programs within 60 miles of their county offices of education, according to the report, “California’s Teacher Education Deserts: An Overlooked and Growing Equity Challenge.”"
You’re gonna need a bigger number: Scientists consider a Category 6 for mega-hurricane era
LAT's CORINNE PURTILL: "In 1973, the National Hurricane Center introduced the Saffir-Simpson scale, a five-category rating system that classified hurricanes by wind intensity.
At the bottom of the scale was Category 1, for storms with sustained winds of 74 to 95 mph. At the top was Category 5, for disasters with winds of 157 mph or more."
Yosemite just finished several big visitor projects. Here’s what’s new
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "The first spine-tingling sight for millions of Americans visiting Yosemite National Park each year is Bridalveil Fall, the thundering 620-foot waterfall on dramatic display during the drive into Yosemite Valley.
For those wanting a closer look at the falls, however, the base has been shut down for most of the past five years. Park crews have been addressing a slew of problems, from overcrowded and crumbling trails to a lack of places to see the falls and use the bathroom. As one Yelp review put it, “the falls themselves are 5 stars. The hike is 0 stars.”"
Stunning satellite images show just how big Death Valley’s lake really was. See them
Sacramento Bee's BROOKE BAITINGER: "Visitors to Death Valley National Park have had more time to see the park’s temporary lake than experts estimated, and photos on social media show the lake is still going strong.
Now new satellite images from NASA show the rare lake in the middle of the desert in California was actually quite a bit deeper than previously thought — which might explain its staying power."
How a migrant farmworker built generational wealth, penny by penny
LAT's XAVIER MARTINEZ: "My grandmother told me about the missing notebook.
It had a blue cover, she said, and was unmarked except for “cuaderno de trabajo” written in the italicized superscript taught in elementary schools around Mexico. Kept by my grandfather when he labored on farms and orchards in the United States, the notebook recorded where he had worked, how much money he earned and — most important — where that money went."
California ranks among most expensive states for single people, families. Who is No. 1?
Sacramento Bee's BRIANNA TAYLOR: "California is one of the most expensive states in the country to live comfortably, even if you’re single, according to a new SmartAsset study.
The Golden State ranked No. 3 on the financial tech company’s list of the most expensive states in the United States for single adults, based on income."
Tech workers leaving San Francisco have a favorite destination — and it isn’t Austin
The Chronicle's CONNOR LETOURNEAU: "Like many other Silicon Valley tech workers, Sanchit Gupta started to think about moving away during the COVID-19 pandemic. But instead of relocating to a more affordable place like, say, Austin, Texas, he dreamed about New York City.
With world-famous nightlife, a robust dating scene and a thriving tech community, it seemed the ideal spot for someone like Gupta. In addition to being a single 20-something and self-described “night owl,” he was a product manager with some disposable income."
LA court strikes down controversial California law abolishing single-family zoning
BANG*Mercury News KATE TALERICO: "A controversial housing law that abolished single-family zoning across California has been ruled unconstitutional by a Los Angeles County judge — but the narrow ruling is likely to be appealed by the state.
Passed in 2021, SB 9 allows single-family homeowners to split their lots in two and build two homes on each lot — allowing up to four units in each lot previously zoned for just one."
Are California police missing domestic violence murders? New bill would let families review cases
CALMatters's RYAN SABALOW: "Joanna Lewis’s family never believed she took her own life.
In 2011, investigators found her hanging from a bath robe’s belt inside a closet. The Solano County Cororner’s Office declared her death a suicide. But Lewis, 36, had previously sought restraining orders against her husband, Vacaville pastor Mark Lewis, accusing him of domestic violence."
Airlines will be required to automatically refund passengers for major flight changes under DOT rule
LAT's COLLEEN SHALBY: "Airlines will be required to automatically issue cash refunds to passengers when flights are canceled or significantly delayed under a new Department of Transportation rule.
The new refund rule also will apply to significant wait times for checked bags and when extra flight purchases, such as Wi-Fi, aren’t provided on board."
LAX plans to update terminal and gate numbers ahead of Olympics
LAT's COLLEEN SHALBY: "Los Angeles International Airport has designated $43 million to improve the way travelers navigate the airport, which will include a renumbering of terminals, gates and stations ahead of the 2028 Olympics.
The project will focus on how travelers get from terminal to terminal, gate to gate and move between the upcoming Automated People Mover, rental car facility and parking lots."
S.F. parking control officers revolt against plan for ‘intensive’ ticket sweeps
The Chronicle's RICARDO CANO: "Dozens of parking control officers picketed outside the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s Van Ness Avenue headquarters Thursday afternoon to protest the city’s plans to ramp up parking enforcement.
SFMTA officials said this month that they would soon begin “intensive” parking enforcement sweeps across the city to deter unsafe violations for pedestrians and cyclists. The plan calls for deploying extra parking control officers in each of the 11 supervisorial districts in the city on a rotating basis."
