At RNC, vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance calls Trump ‘America’s last, best hope’
LAT's SEEMA MEHTA, FAITH E. PINHO: "In his first public address as the Republican vice presidential nominee, Sen. J.D. Vance kept the focus on his boss — a trait shared by those who tend to stay in former President Trump’s favor.
Speaking Wednesday night at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, Vance used his upbringing in Middletown, Ohio — made famous by his memoir, “Hillbilly Elegy” — to highlight points from the Trump campaign. He decried inflation, promised to prevent the U.S. from becoming involved in foreign wars and pledged to stop “importing foreign labor.”"
READ MORE -- J.D. Vance plays up his youth and working-class roots in RNC speech -- The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI; Before going MAGA, Vance made big money in San Francisco’s tech world -- LAT's FAITH E, PINHO
GOP sticks to the message that migrants are dangerous
LAT's ANDREA CASTILLO: "On stage at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, supporters of former President Trump painted migrants who cross the U.S.-Mexico border as dangerous gang members, sex traffickers and terrorists who put American families “at great risk.”
“Joe Biden’s surge has also led to a surge in violent crimes committed by illegal migrants,” a narrator says in a video shown at the convention. “Horrific crimes, murders, gang attacks against our police, child sex crimes and the brutal killing of a nursing student on her college campus.”"
California helped give the GOP control of the House in 2022. Biden’s decision could swing districts in 2024
CALMatters's YUE STELLA YU: "As Democrats in California and across the country scramble to decide if they want President Joe Biden to remain in the race, a concerned U.S. Rep. Mike Levin of San Juan Capistrano had two options: Speak out, or hold back.
Both were the wrong choice in the eyes of the Republicans seeking to unseat him in November in one of California’s swingiest districts."
Why Hispanic immigrants who support Trump are embracing his hardline border stance
Sacramento Bee's GABRIELA HENRIQUEZ STOIKOW, SYRA ORTIZ BLANES: "Having flown to Miami from California to see Donald Trump speak in person, Teresa Algarín waited eagerly with her nephew at the former president’s golf resort in Doral last week, sporting a t-shirt custom-designed to show her Cuban roots and her support for this year’s Republican presidential nominee.
Displayed proudly on her chest were the words “Santiagueros for Trump,” an homage to Santiago de Cuba, where she lived before coming to the U.S. 54 years ago. “God bless Trump and this country,” she said."
Inland Empire leaders see ‘buffet of hate’ as discriminatory attacks and bias increase
CALMatters's DEBORAH BRENNAN: "Hate crimes have risen in recent years, but the scapegoats vary with the political winds, several experts said Tuesday at a panel discussion about combating hate in the Inland Empire.
“Hate crimes have gone up in every presidential election year,” said Brian Levin, cofounder of the Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism."
In ‘generational moment,’ Port of L.A. faces shifting winds in business and politics
LAT's DON LEE: "The Port of Los Angeles has long been the single busiest seaport in the Western Hemisphere, employing thousands of Southern Californians and playing a critical role in the vast supply chain that underpins both the California economy and that of the United States as a whole.
Together with neighboring Port of Long Beach in the San Pedro Bay, it handles a whopping 40% of all the container traffic from continental Asia."
Heat dome returns to California. Here’s which cities will be hottest
The Chronicle's GREG PORTER, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "The massive ridge of high pressure responsible for the heat dome that shattered records across California this month is making a comeback. Starting Thursday, most of California, including the Bay Area, will experience a return of hot weather with an even more prolonged warmup next week.
Heat advisories are in place for Thursday and Friday in the North Bay, East Bay and Santa Clara valleys. Areas like San Jose, Walnut Creek and Santa Rosa will see temperatures spike into the mid- to upper 90s, particularly on Friday, which is expected to be the hottest day of the week."?
READ MORE -- Triple-digit temperatures are returning to Sacramento area — along with heat risk -- Sacramento Bee's HANH TRUONG
California must go bold on offshore wind (OP-ED)
FRAN PAVLEY in Capitol Weekly: "California is a global leader in tackling climate change and developing clean energy, helping drive economic growth while reducing emissions to create a cleaner, healthier tomorrow. We are now at a critical juncture to accelerate our climate and clean energy progress just as we faced at the outset of our world leading policy in Assembly Bill (AB) 32. This summer, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) faces a pivotal choice that could make or break the next clean energy industry – offshore wind.
For decades, California has spurred innovation and growth in clean energy technology through legislation and bold action. In 2002, AB 1493, was the first bill to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from cars. In 2006, I authored AB 32, a bill championed and signed into law by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that created a multi-sector approach to substantially reduce pollution. These were all difficult measures to move forward due to fears over costs and technology risk, but now, because of policy initiatives like these and the landmark Senate Bill (SB) 100, solar and energy storage are booming and low-emission cars are dominating the market."
Insurance crisis hits Bay Area businesses, with some dropped over ‘crime scores’
The Chronicle's ROLAND LI: "Nenna Jenner thought she had a good deal.
Jenner, owner of downtown Oakland bar Feelmore Social, signed on last year for business insurance from Berkshire Hathaway for $654 per month. The plan covered security risks, workers’ compensation and liquor liability."
California says ICE detainees have labor rights. They earn $1 a day scrubbing bathrooms
CALMatters's JEANNE KUANG: "Even with all the industries where Californians went on strike during last year’s “hot labor summer,” some of the most active sites of organizing in the state may well be a pair of private immigration detention centers in the Central Valley.
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The Mesa Verde and Golden State Annex facilities, operated by The GEO Group, a Florida-based federal detention contractor, have been a hotbed of activism since the pandemic. But it’s not The GEO Group’s staff agitating for better pay and working conditions."
California sent a mentally ill man to a state hospital. Then it charged him $760,000
CALMatters's JOCELYN WIENER: "The first bill arrived in Sultan Khan’s mailbox two years after his release from Napa State Hospital. Khan had received psychiatric treatment there for three years after pleading not guilty by reason of insanity to a criminal charge stemming from an assault.
He stared in disbelief at the paper in front of him."
Surging California wastewater readings signal ‘very high’ COVID levels
The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI: "As severe heat drove Bay Area residents indoors, a ripple effect may have triggered a spike in coronavirus infections and COVID-19 diagnoses across the region.
California is now one of seven states where wastewater levels of the coronavirus have soared to the “very high” mark for the first time since winter, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
You may not know the name, but Bill Baird is the ‘father’ of birth control
LAT's JEFFREY FLEISHMAN: "Bill Baird has been called many things: butcher, murderer, pied piper of sex, unholy deviant. It’s hard to imagine the 92-year-old man on the white couch once evoked so much wrath. But it was a dangerous time when Baird — who was shot at and punched, who lost his family and was jailed — won a 1972 Supreme Court decision that legalized contraception for unmarried women, earning him the nickname the “father” of birth control.
The privacy issues raised in Eisenstadt vs. Baird were cited less than a year later when the court voted to protect a woman’s right to abortion in Roe vs. Wade. Baird was elated but prescient about what was to come. He knew the persuasions of preachers and the power of the Bible to provoke America’s morality police. He warned a complacent abortion rights movement that the victory was in danger from a well-organized Christian right that would galvanize the Republican Party."
5 California hospitals made national ‘Honor Roll.’ Here’s why — and where to find them
Sacramento Bee's BRIANNA TAYLOR: "California is home to some of the best hospitals in the nation, according to U.S. News & World Report.
A total of five medical centers in the Golden State landed on the publication’s list of 20 best hospitals in the United States in 2024-25, released Tuesday."
New law requires Cal State to overhaul response to Title IX complaints
EdSource's AMY DIPIERRO: "What began as reports detailing the failure of the California State University to deal with Title IX complaints has led to a new state law requiring that the system take action. Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed the first two bills in a legislative package addressing sexual harassment and violence on college campuses.
Of the bills Newsom signed, the first, Assembly Bill 1790, requires Cal State to implement recommendations in a July 2023 report from the California State Auditor. The audit found the system had “not adequately or consistently addressed some allegations of sexual harassment.” Universities are required to resolve sexual harassment complaints under Title IX, the federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex in schools."
California first grader punished for Black Lives Matter drawing. Were her First Amendment rights violated?
The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "A California 7-year-old was banned from drawing pictures at school and forced to sit out recess for two weeks for adding “any life” below Black Lives Matter on a picture she drew and gave to a Black friend, punishments that led to a federal lawsuit.
At the core of the case, which could see its way to the Supreme Court, is a simple question: Do first graders have First Amendment rights?"
California passed a law to fix unsafe homeless shelters. Cities and counties are ignoring it
CALMatters's LAUREN HEPLER: "Now that the Supreme Court has granted cities more power to ban sleeping outside, homeless Californians face a crucial decision: Try to get into a shelter, or risk going to jail.
Those able to find a shelter bed will step into a world rife with reports of violence, theft, health hazards — and a lack of accountability. Public records obtained by CalMatters show that most cities and counties have seemingly ignored a recent state law that aimed to reform dangerous conditions in shelters."
Old nuclear missile silo plagues Placer County minds. What lurks outside their homes?
Sacramento Bee's ELISE FISHER: "Stan Everhart looked out from his backyard in Sun City Lincoln Hills and saw an open field — green and lush in the rainy seasons and more like dry kindling in the summer, peppered with a few trees along the horizon and the occasional rabbit sprinting through. At one point in the distance, the landscape slopes upwards, blocking his view of a mostly abandoned road and what lies beyond.
Recently, his view has changed. Now, along the perimeter of his neighbor’s fences thick yellow poles jut out from the ground, each surrounded by three more poles that act as a barrier. Perhaps a bit unsightly, Everhart knows that they are an important part of a cleanup effort he and his neighbors have been petitioning for over the last two years."
