For all her star power, Kamala Harris is still ‘a blank slate’ to many voters
LAT's NOAH BIERMAN: "Vice President Kamala Harris will make history Thursday night as the first woman of color to accept a major party presidential nomination. But did you know she worked at McDonald’s in college and confronted a bully when she was 4?
As Harris’ campaign tries to reintroduce her to the country at this week’s Democratic National Convention, they are seeking to balance the excitement of a trailblazing candidate with the need to paint her in three dimensions. That means playing up her background as a middle-class child of a single mother as much as her status as the first female and mixed-race vice president."
Eight years after Hillary Clinton’s loss, Kamala Harris will attempt a historic do-over for women
BANG*Mercury News's JULIA PRODIS SULEK: "So much is the same from that night eight years ago in Philadelphia when Hillary Clinton stepped onto the stage in her pure white suit at the Democratic National Convention and basked in the cheers of an ebullient crowd.
The former secretary of state and U.S. senator stood on the precipice of becoming the first woman president in American history and was competing against first-time nominee Donald Trump, the New York developer who had insulted her throughout the campaign."
The ‘loudest’ voice on abortion: What Kamala Harris’ record shows on reproductive rights
CALMatters's KRISTEN HWANG: "At a fundraiser in San Francisco last week, Vice President Kamala Harris spoke bluntly about the future of reproductive rights: California is not immune to a national abortion ban, she said.
“The stakes are high,” Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, said to a cheering crowd at the Fairmont Hotel that included Gov. Gavin Newsom and other high-profile Democrats. She continued the theme this week at the Democratic National Convention, where delegates have stressed their fears that reproductive rights could be curtailed nationwide."
Kamala Harris behind closed doors: 8 moments that California leaders say define the VP
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI, SOPHIA BOLLAG, SHIRA STEIN: "When Kamala Harris accepts the Democratic presidential nomination Thursday night, her speech will serve as an introduction to many Americans who don’t know much about the 59-year-old Oakland-born, Berkeley-raised former San Francisco district attorney.
But many California leaders, particularly those who grew up with her politically in the Bay Area, know Harris well. She calls them to let them know when they messed up. Or counsels them privately when they’re in compromising situations. Or hugs them and lets them cry on their shoulder."
Column: The night Coach Walz overshadowed Oprah, Stevie Wonder and other celebrities
LAT's ANITA CHABRIA, MARK Z. BARABAK: "Democrats turned up the wattage at their convention Wednesday, rolling out celebrities including Stevie Wonder and Oprah Winfrey to vouch for Kamala Harris and poke at Donald Trump and his running mate, JD Vance.
But it was Harris’ vice presidential pick, Minnesota governor, former congressman, high school teacher and football coach Tim Walz, who was the star of Wednesday night’s program."
Controversial labor law doesn’t apply to public employees, California Supreme Court rulesg
LAT's Tribune Content Agency''s SUHAUNA HUSSAIN: "Public agencies in California are not subject to a controversial law that gives workers the power to sue their employers over alleged labor violations, the state's Supreme Court has ruled.
In the unanimous decision issued last week in a case involving a large healthcare system in the Bay Area, justices on California's top court also found that public employers are largely exempt from wage law giving workers the right to daily meal and rest breaks."
Experts Expound: Ballot measures
Capitol Weekly's STAFF: "“The billions in the Christmas Tree-loaded Climate Bond (Prop 4) are touted as being necessary to save the planet, which obviously has the most significant long-term impact. But rent control (Prop 33) might be the most devastating in both the short- and long-haul, as it will drive up the cost of housing, chill new housing construction and be a disincentive for long-term for the availability of housing we’ll need as our state continues to grow.”
“Proposition 36 would take California back to our worst days of expensive and ineffective mass incarceration. The massive cost of returning to over-crowded prisons won’t reduce crime, but will take away from resources that reduce recidivism, addiction and homelessness.”"
Why Riverside County? California lawmakers want to make the Inland Empire an EV manufacturing hub
CALMatters's DEBORAH BRENNAN: "A plan to boost electric car manufacturing and infrastructure in Riverside County aims to jumpstart the region’s economy with highly-paid trade and technical jobs, while tackling persistent air pollution.
Assemblymember Corey Jackson, a Moreno Valley Democrat, is proposing an electric vehicle opportunity zone in the area, to expand training and education programs for EV technicians and engineers."
Protect prescription drug affordability and access in California (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly's STEVEN WANG: "In high school I discovered my passion for scientific subjects. I knew I wanted to turn my passion into purpose. I found a career path in a field of health care where science and helping people meet: pharmacy.
I began working as a pharmacy technician during college and quickly found fulfillment helping patients in need, seeing firsthand the value of building one-on-one relationships."
Longtime Stanford women’s tennis coach Lele Forood steps down
The Chronicle's MARISA INGEMI: "Stanford women’s tennis head coach Lele Forood, the architect of one of college sports’ great dynasties, announced Tuesday that she is stepping down.
Forood led the Cardinal to 10 national championships, most recently in 2019, and a 560-63 record in 24 years as head coach. The course of her Stanford career from player to coach spanned nearly five decades. In 2001, she became the first female coach to win a national tennis title."
California tried to make Google pay news outlets. The company cut a deal that includes funding AI
CALMatters's JEANNE KUANG: "California lawmakers are abandoning an ambitious proposal to force Google to pay news companies for using their content, opting instead for a deal in which the tech giant has agreed to pay $172 million to support local media outlets and start an artificial intelligence program.
The first-in-the-nation agreement, announced today, promises $175 million for local journalism across California over the next five years, but represents a significant departure from the bill pushed by news publishers and media employee unions earlier this year."
S.F. police are pulling over a lot more drivers. These citations have tripled from last year
The Chronicle's DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA, ALDO TOLEDO:: "Nearly every day, Jorge Polanco peers out the window of his small candle shop in San Francisco’s Crocker-Amazon neighborhood, bewildered by dangerous drivers.
Speeding. Ignoring traffic lights. Double parking. At the corner of Geneva and Mission Streets, he said, it feels like “everyone ignores the law.”"
