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One firefighter killed and another injured in shooting at Agua Dulce fire station; deputies surround burning home -- One firefighter was killed and another was injured when a gunman opened fire Tuesday morning at a fire station in the Agua Dulce area, officials said. The shooting incident — the details from which are still emerging — occurred at Los Angeles County Fire Department station 81 in the Santa Clarita Valley. Richard Winton, Priscella Vega, Lila Seidman, Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/1/21
Mayor Breed wants to spend $1 billion on homelessness in San Francisco over next two years -- Mayor London Breed is proposing more than $1 billion in new funding to address homelessness over the next two years — a staggering amount that she hopes will finally make a dent in the city’s most vexing problem. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/1/21
California's EDD is so hard to reach that unemployed people are paying go-betweens to do it for them -- It’s so tough to contact California’s Employment Development Department about unemployment benefits that a cottage ßindustry has sprung up of intermediaries offering to help desperate jobless people reach the agency — for a fee. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/1/21
They survived mass shootings. Years later, their journeys continue -- A tragically familiar pattern of coping and mourning lies ahead for those affected by killings at San Jose VTA rail yard. Shwanika Narayan, Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/1/21
Virus
California to consider ending some workplace mask requirements -- The proposal would allow workers in a room to take off masks if everyone in a room is fully vaccinated and do not have COVID-19 symptoms. Masks would still be required if anyone in a room was not fully vaccinated, according to the proposal. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/1/21
Bay Area pediatricians start to give COVID shots, the next phase of vaccinations -- Inside a Larkspur pediatrician’s office with an ocean landscape on one wall and bright plastic chairs nearby, Ryan Youngberg turned his head to the right as a medical assistant stuck his left arm with the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/1/21
8 California counties including Sacramento move to looser COVID restriction tiers -- Sacramento County as well as Nevada, San Joaquin and Solano counties departed the tighter red tier and moved to the looser orange level. The looser orange restrictions mean restaurants, movie theaters and churches can now open at 50% indoor capacity, up from 25% in the red tier. Bars, breweries and distilleries that do not serve meals, shuttered indoors in Sacramento County for the vast majority of the pandemic, can open indoors and outdoors at 25% capacity. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/1/21
Open
Disneyland won’t be locals-only for long. Navigating the reduced-capacity lines -- On June 15, Disneyland will open to out-of-state visitors and there will be no capacity limits imposed by the state (though it’s unknown if staffing can be fully ramped up so quickly). This means ticketholders have a unique opportunity to experience a less-crowded theme park. Christi Carras in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/1/21
Hollywood Bowl to allow full-capacity crowds and is waiting for updated mask guidance -- Single-event tickets went on sale Tuesday for the Hollywood Bowl’s summer concert season, with the famed venue planning full-capacity crowds thanks to the upcoming lifting of COVID-19 health restrictions. The item is in the Orange County Register -- 6/1/21
Policy & Politics
L.A. fire commissioner says union pressure led Garcetti to remove him from panel -- The decision to replace Andrew Glazier on the Board of Fire Commissioners when his term expires this month has led to a messy and dramatic episode at City Hall, exposing tensions between the fire union and the five-member commission. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/1/21
Conflict over S.F. and YBCA’s guaranteed income for artists shows tension in movement for racial equity -- When San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced a guaranteed income pilot program for artists that would be administered by Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, many in the city’s arts and culture industry were enthusiastic. Lily Janiak in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/1/21
Street
Suspect in Norco BB gun shootings pleads not guilty, bail now $1 million -- Also Tuesday, bail was raised for Jesse Leal Rodriguez from $750,000 to $1 million Riverside County Superior Court records show. He remains jailed at Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside. Brian Rokos in the Orange County Register -- 6/1/21
Number of drug overdoses in San Diego County jails jumps sharply -- In 2018, there were 11 overdoses on drugs in San Diego County jails, Sheriff’s Department records show. Already this year there have been 53 overdoses, including a 12-day spate in May in which 20 people at four different jails were administered naloxone, emergency medication to keep them from dying. Jeff McDonald, Kelly Davis in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/1/21
Sutter Health
Layoffs. Losses. Lawsuits. ‘Rules are being rewritten’ for California healthcare giant -- Sutter Health has been the pre-eminent hospital chain in Northern California for decades — respected but also feared. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/1/21
Workplace
Tahoe’s workforce is getting squeezed out of the housing market. There’s a plan to help -- The median home price in the north Tahoe and Truckee areas has risen 103% since last spring and now stands at more than $1.3 million, according to new data from Placer County’s Community Development Resource Agency. Molly Sullivan in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/1/21
Can you stop going to the DMV? How the department wants to eliminate visits -- During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the California Department of Motor Vehicles was forced to close its doors and shift to a primarily digital approach. Now, the director of the DMV says the department is looking to make some of those changes permanent in a bid to become “more modern and agile.” Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/1/21
Education
Can California withstand a teacher retirement boom? -- California schools could be facing the largest number of teacher retirements ever, but factors like enrollment drops should take the sting out of it. Eli Wolfe CalMatters -- 6/1/21
Also . . .
West Nile-positive mosquitoes detected in Sacramento County, officials say -- Local mosquito control officials said Tuesday that workers have confirmed Sacramento County’s first two positive cases of West Nile virus in mosquitoes of 2021, in the same area the virus was recently detected in dead birds. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/1/21
Lyme-carrying ticks thriving on California coast, study finds -- The research, published after four years of field work in the Bay Area, indicates that the reach of tick-borne illnesses like Lyme disease is greater than previously thought and a concern that those headed to the beach or walking on a bluff should keep in mind. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/1/21
After decades of rocky seas in Long Beach, Queen Mary in danger of sinking. Can it be saved? -- After years of neglect by a string of operators, the Queen Mary is so creaky and leaky that it needs $23 million in immediate repairs, according to a trove of court documents and inspection reports released last month. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/1/21
Lazarus: This solar company wouldn’t let a dead woman out of her contract -- A solar-power company sold a 25-year contract to a 91-year-old California woman. After she died, the company refused to cancel her contract. David Lazarus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/1/21
California Policy and Politics This Morning
Misinformation remains the biggest hurdle as vaccination effort turns to cash incentives -- San Diego County will soon reach 2 million residents who have had at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine. But in a region with more than 3.3 million residents, that means there are still more than 1 million who have not yet come forward to get stuck. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/1/21
As COVID wanes, L.A. marks Memorial Day with gatherings, reconnections but still some caution -- Karen Warech and her husband Evan savored the holiday atmosphere Monday at the Santa Monica Pier — a hopeful sign that life as they knew it before the COVID-19 pandemic was finally coming back. Sarah Parvini, Harriet Ryan, Michael Finnegan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/1/21
Virus
Only 4 states are now in COVID 'high risk' level. Here's how they compare to California -- With the country increasingly opening up and air travel hitting its highest levels since the pandemic broke out, the U.S. showed continued signs of progress toward normalcy over Memorial Day weekend — bolstered by data from the coronavirus infection front. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/1/21
Policy & Politics
Cleaner air and racial justice versus jobs: The battle over fossil fuels hits the Bay Area -- Petaluma Mayor Teresa Barrett knew exactly what was going on when a coalition of multinational oil companies spent roughly $78,000 to support her opponents in her last re-election campaign. That kind of cash stood out in a city where there is a $200-per-person cap on campaign donations. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/1/21
Walters: Divisive Oakland freeway may be demolished -- Jerry Brown, who had served two terms as governor of California and had run unsuccessfully for president three times and the U.S. Senate once, re-entered politics in 1997 by declaring his candidacy for mayor of Oakland. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 6/1/21
Street
Sheriff’s deputy shot, motorcyclist killed after desert chase -- A motorcyclist was fatally shot and a sheriff’s deputy was wounded by gunfire on Monday after a high-speed chase in Yucca Valley, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department. Michael Finnegan in the Los Angeles Times$ Joe Nelson in the San Bernardino Sun$ -- 6/1/21
Reward climbs to $400,000 for information on apparent road-rage killing of 6-year-old in Orange -- A reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the gunman in an apparent road rage shooting that left a 6-year-old dead in Orange climbed to $400,000 on Sunday, as the hunt for the suspect extended into its second week. That figure is up from $310,000 on Wednesday. Eric Licas in the Orange County Register -- 6/1/21
Ransomware hack puts sensitive Azusa Police Department documents online -- Late this winter, an international hacking syndicate suspected of conducting ransomware attacks around the globe turned its attention to the police department in the San Gabriel Valley city of Azusa. Through means that remain unclear, the hacking group DoppelPaymer appears to have infiltrated computers in the 63-officer department and gained access to critical data. A demand for money followed. Harriet Ryan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/1/21
L.A. County sheriff’s deputy charged with sexually abusing teenage niece -- A veteran L.A. County sheriff’s deputy was charged earlier this year with sexually abusing his underage niece in San Bernardino County, according to court records and interviews with the alleged victim’s family. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/1/21
Suspect identified in attack on Asian SFPD officer in possible hate crime -- The suspect in the attack on an Asian police officer in Chinatown on Friday has been identified as 33-year-old Gerardo Contreras, an apparently homeless man, and he has been booked into city jail. Kevin Fagan, Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/1/21
Huge American flag stolen from California veterans cemetery -- Authorities said a huge American flag and several smaller flags were stolen from a Southern California veterans cemetery over the Memorial Day weekend. Les’ Melnyk, a spokesperson for the Department of Veterans Affairs’ National Cemetery Administration, said the garrison flag at Los Angeles National Cemetery was reported stolen sometime late Sunday or early Monday. Associated Press -- 6/1/21
Driver shot in road rage incident on 101 in San Fernando Valley -- A man in a red Lexus SC400 suffered a minor gunshot wound to his right arm during a shooting that escalated from road rage Monday morning on the Ventura (101) Freeway in Studio City, authorities said. The shooting was reported at 3:33 a.m., the California Highway Patrol reported. The item is in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 6/1/21
Housing
California eyes shuttered malls, stores for new housing -- California state lawmakers are grappling with a particularly 21st-century problem: What to do with the growing number of shopping malls and big box retail stores left empty by consumers shifting their purchases to the web. A possible answer in crowded California cities is to build housing on these sites, which already have ample parking and are close to existing neighborhoods. Adam Beam Associated Press -- 6/1/21
Education
California bilingual programs ready to grow after slowing during pandemic -- The pandemic slowed down many California school districts’ expansion of bilingual education programs, putting some new bilingual programs on hold. But now, several school districts are resuming their plans and enrolling students in new bilingual immersion programs in the fall. Zaidee Stavely and Betty Márquez Rosales EdSource -- 6/1/21
Environment
30,000 milkweeds planted around California in effort to save Western monarch butterfly -- The Western monarch butterfly is disappearing before our eyes. The number of graceful, black-and-orange winged insects overwintering in coastal California this year dropped to under 2,000, compared with more than 29,000 the year before. And that was already a fraction of its previous population. Tara Duggan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/1/21
Fire
California Drought Could Mean Peak Fire Season Months Earlier Than Usual -- Moisture levels in fire fuels like grass and brush are below average across most of the state. Forests are filled with dead trees, which are prime for catching fire. And the meager snow pack has largely soaked into the ground instead of flowing into lakes and rivers. Experts say this sets the stage for a dangerous wildfire season that could spark major fires weeks or months earlier than usual. Scott Rodd Capital Public Radio -- 6/1/21
Also . . .
Court Hearing Examines Whether San Quentin’s Deadly COVID-19 Outbreak Could Have Been Prevented -- “I feared for my life,” said Ellis Hollis, who testified from inside San Quentin State Prison, where he is currently incarcerated. “Our lives was in jeopardy.” Hollis is one of hundreds of men who are suing over the conditions inside San Quentin during the height of the COVID-19 outbreak there last summer and afterward. Monica Lam KQED -- 6/1/21
A fight over Jim Crow Road divides rural Northern California town -- As the story goes, a Native Hawaiian man came as a Gold Rush pioneer to a mountainous swath of Sierra County to strike it rich. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/1/21
Thousands in Bay Area pay respects to nation's military fallen on Memorial Day -- Some laid flags at headstones, others left flowers. From the deck of the Hornet aircraft carrier floating museum in Alameda, veterans tossed a wreath into the water to remember sailors and Marines lost in battle at sea. Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/1/21
Here’s how Japanese Americans who fought for the U.S. in World War II are being honored -- His eyes meet yours in the printed image, a helmeted soldier dressed for battle. Not the dogface GI of Hollywood lore, but the face of the more than 30,000 Japanese American soldiers who fought and served in World War II. Darrell Smith and Paul Kitagaki Jr. in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/1/21
Plane makes emergency landing on 101 Freeway in Westlake Village -- Nobody was injured when the single-engine Cessna landed in the southbound lanes near Lindero Canyon Road just before 7 p.m., said Michael Pittman, a supervising fire dispatcher at the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Michael Finnegan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/1/21
Chutzpa
Arellano: Will L.A. flatten a legendary Boyle Heights tortilla factory? -- A family-run tortilla factory in Boyle Heights is in danger of closing amid an eminent domain dispute with the city over relocation fees for its tortilla machines. Gustavo Arellano, Christina House in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/1/21