Gavin Newsom plans to cut $2 billion in public broadband projects
CALMatters's KHARI JOHNSON: "Gov. Gavin Newsom’s newest budget proposal calls for $2 billion in cuts to public broadband projects meant to bring high-speed internet to all Californians and close the digital divide.
The reduction is part of Newsom’s updated plan to close a $44.9 billion shortfall."
Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal ditches promise to fund 5 years of growth for UC and Cal State
CALMatters's MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: "Chalk it up to California dreaming: Not even three years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom promised California’s public universities five years of annual growth in state support totalling more than $2 billion.
But the governor’s updated budget plan for next year instead aims to cut the University of California and California State University by a combined $200 million in response to the state’s project multi-billion-dollar budget deficit."
Climate change is central to both Pope Francis and Newsom. But do Catholic voters care?
LAT's TARYN LUNA: "Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom’s speech on climate change at the Vatican this week gives him an opportunity to align himself and his party with Pope Francis, an influential figure among American Catholics and a leader in the fight against global warming.
But the California governor and the pope’s messages about reducing emissions may not sway American Catholics voting in the 2024 election, especially a monumental presidential contest that could alter national and global climate policies for generations."
READ MORE -- When Newsom flies to Italy, a little-known nonprofit will foot the bill. Here’s what to know -- Sacramento Bee's ANDREW SHEELER
Alameda County DA Pamela Price recall election scheduled for November
The Chronicle's DAVID HERNANDEZ: "Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price is set to face a recall vote in November.
The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to consolidate the recall vote with the general election on Nov. 5, setting the stage for six months of campaigning for and against Price and her progressive policies."
Local View: A chat with Robb Korinke (PODCAST)
Capitol Weekly STAFF: "Robb Korinke is a Long Beach, California-based political consultant, specializing in candidate and ballot measure campaigns. He is also the co-founder (with Mike Madrid) of GrassrootsLab, and co-publisher of several local politics-focused publications, including CaliforniaCityNews.org, CaliforniaCountyNews.org. He has also recently joined the California Target Book as a co-editor. With those bonafides he’s one of our first calls whenever we want to talk local politics.
And, with the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act on the November 2024 ballot – or not – it was time to call Robb. The measure, backed by the California Business Roundtable, would dramatically change California governments’ ability to levy taxes and assign fees, and – of paramount importance for locals – would raise the margin for local tax measures from a simple majority to two thirds. But, will it stay on the ballot?"
California’s beleaguered wine industry finally gets some good news
The Chronicle's ESTHER MOBLEY: "The U.S. wine industry is struggling, but a new comprehensive report suggests that better times could be on the horizon.
The volume of wine sales declined last year, but according to the new report, most of the nation’s wineries predict that the market will grow by 10% over the next decade. And while a phenomenon known as “pantry loading” — in which Americans stocked up on lots of wine during the pandemic and still haven’t drunk through it — has depressed sales in the last couple of years, “the data suggests that we should be approaching the end of that,” said Adam Beak, managing director and head of Bank of Montreal (BMO)’s Wine & Spirits Group. Once people drink through their pantry, he said, they will buy wine again."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speeds up money for mental health ballot measure he championed
Sacramento Bee's VIK JOLLY: "More than $3 billion will be available in July to build or refurbish mental health treatment centers as part of an accelerated release of money from a voter-approved bond measure, a step California Gov. Gavin Newsom is taking as part of his strategy to curb homelessness and address mental health.
Standing at a podium with a sign that read “Treatment not tents” outside a mental health facility tucked in a hillside in Redwood City, Newsom announced the availability of the money and promised quick decisions on development applications, saying that the state is “at a hinge moment.”"
UC has $32 billion in assets targeted by pro-Palestinian protesters, but no plans to divest
EdSource's MICHAEL BURKE: " The University of California disclosed Tuesday that it has $32 billion invested in assets that pro-Palestinian protesters demand the university divest, including weapons manufacturers that sell to Israel.
The university, however, has no plans to sell off those assets, despite the recent protests and encampments across the UC system, a spokesperson reiterated Tuesday."
UC Berkeley Gaza protesters take down camp after reaching tense détente with university
The Chronicle's ELI ROSENBERG, NANETTE ASIMOV: "Pro-Palestinian protesters who have camped out at UC Berkeley since April with a set of demands for the university agreed to dismantle their encampment on Tuesday after administrators came forward with a set of modest concessions.
The agreement hailed the end to a tent village around Sproul Hall that had swelled to nearly 200 tents at its peak."
College campuses can’t hire undocumented students. How that might change in California
CALMatters's MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN, ADAM ECHELMAN: "In January, the University of California Board of Regents broke the hearts of undocumented students by halting a proposal to allow them to work on campus. A few days later, David Alvarez had a plan.
The Democratic assemblymember from Chula Vista huddled with student organizers and decided to draft a bill to compel the UC, as well as the community colleges and California State University, to do what the UC regents would not."
Getting California kids to read: What will it take?
EdSource's KAREN D'SOUZA: "Leading literacy experts agreed that more young California students need to learn how to read, but they couldn’t reach a concensus on how to make it happen.
While several participants in EdSource’s May 14 Roundtable discussion, “Getting California Kids to Read: What Will It Take?” suggested they would work together to pass a literacy bill, they also acknowledged that their disagreements remain in the details."
San Francisco is the nation’s most dramatic ‘leadership hub.’ Here’s what that means
The Chronicle's NAMI SUMIDA: "Four years have passed since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and remote work, yet Bay Area workers are more disconnected than ever.
A recent analysis on cross-metro work — when a worker lives in a different metropolitan area than their manager — found that an increasing number of Bay Area workers are in these long-distance work relationships."
‘Jane Fonda Day’ hits a nerve with the Vietnamese community. L.A. County will change the date
LAT's HANNAH FRY: "Citing her advocacy for social justice and environmental sustainability, Los Angeles County leaders last month declared April 30 as “Jane Fonda Day.”
The backlash was immediate."
This California bill aims to stop theft at self-checkout lanes. Why are stores against it?
The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY: "A California bill that aims to reduce theft by rolling back grocery and drug stores’ reliance on self-checkout lanes has been met with opposition from the state’s retailers — one of the main groups the bill is designed to protect.
While supporters of the Retail Theft Prevention and Safe Staffing Act said the bill would thwart would-be shoplifters and protect employees from sometimes hostile confrontations, the bill has also prompted blowback from retailer groups who say its measures are overly burdensome and lack evidence that they would reduce theft."
Inflation improves slightly in April, but high cost of housing remains a big obstacle
LAT's DON LEE: "Government data released Wednesday show that inflation eased a bit in April, but remains at a relatively high level. The latest report isn’t likely to lift the grim mood that much of the public has toward an otherwise solid economy.
Though incomes have generally risen more than consumer prices, the overall rate of inflation remains stubbornly high. It dropped a notch in April but was up 3.4% from a year ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said."
The shocking state of the restaurant industry: ‘We can’t afford to be open. We can’t afford to be closed.’
LAT's STEPHANIE BREIJO: "In October, Lauren and Peter Lemos locked the doors of their Chinatown sandwich shop for what they thought would be the last time. In late March they flipped Wax Paper’s lights back on — not due to newfound success or a windfall but because they couldn’t afford to shut down.
“After closing Chinatown we realized we still have our lease, we still have our [federal] loans from the SBA, from COVID, the bills are still coming in,” Lauren Lemos said. “We can’t even afford to close. We can’t afford to be open, we can’t afford to be closed.”"
The mild-mannered LAPD cop who moonlighted as a hitman
LAT's CHRISTOPHER GAFFORD: "The city’s dirtiest cop was also the most colorless, with a forgettable face and a personality as vague as fog. At 77, he has been in lockup for 38 years, more than twice as long as he wore a badge. He has been a tame and quiet inmate, just as he was known — until his capture — as a tame and quiet policeman.
At Mule Creek State Prison, he attends 12-step programs and reads fantasy novels. He has a paralegal certificate, a sister-in-law with a guest house, and a job offer at a law firm if he should ever get out."
