Updating . .   

California could move to end some COVID-19 mask and distancing rules for workers -- The proposal, which the Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board will consider during a meeting that began at 10 a.m., reflects the latest possible relaxation of the tried-and-true techniques long thought essential in thwarting coronavirus transmission. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ Jeong Park in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/3/21

Freedom from masks is coming for the vaccinated. Will it push skeptics to get their shots? -- It’s never been easier to get vaccinated for COVID-19. Clinics are plentiful and increasingly mobile — and so many doses are available that California is even offering cash prizes of more than a million dollars in hopes of enticing holdouts. Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

California's vaccine lottery isn't boosting falling numbers -- California’s offer of cash prizes totaling $116.5 million to residents who get COVID-19 vaccinations may not be having the impact Gov. Gavin Newsom wanted. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

Here’s how to access Healthvana and other COVID-19 vaccination records -- Even if you end up putting your COVID-19 vaccination card through the wash, fret not — you can still access your records. Madalyn Amato in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

Busted: 3 dangerous social-media myths about COVID-19 vaccines -- Some COVID-19 vaccine myths are outrageously false. Yet they spread like wildfire on social media and can play a role in persuading some people to hold off on getting a shot. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

Outdoor dining, to-go drinks could be here to stay -- Even as the state prepares to lift coronavirus restrictions on June 15, some changes such as outdoor dining and to-go drinks will likely remain in many California cities. And many small businesses are embracing the extensions. Miranda Green CalMatters -- 6/3/21

His lonely war in Room 533: How a COVID patient fought to keep his life from crumbling -- As a boy in Compton, Richard Perry raised pigeons that were bred to tumble in the air. Now, as he lay in a hospital bed fighting to breathe, drifting in and out of consciousness, he saw his birds somersaulting across the sky. Joe Mozingo, Francine Orr in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

Summer is back: Pandemic-weary tourists about to descend on San Diego -- Auto Club, San Diego tourism officials expect plenty of road trips and overnight stays this summer, but short-term, not all is rosy. Lori Weisberg in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/3/21

Jobs  

California unemployment claims rise, now 67% above normal -- Unemployment claims in California have risen to their worst levels in more than a month and are now far above the amount that was typical before the start of coronavirus-linked business shutdowns, the federal government reported Thursday. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/3/21

Death Penalty  

California’s top court weighs overturning hundreds of death penalty sentences -- For decades, California’s highest court has left it up to individual jurors to decide whether certain circumstances increase the severity of a crime and thereby warrant the death penalty in murder cases that qualify for the ultimate punishment. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ Scott Schwebke in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/3/21

Guns  

Skelton: California already has strong gun laws. But to save lives we have to use them -- If we really want to reduce mass shootings — all gun violence — we’ve got to become snitches on our co-workers, family members and maybe exes. When they’re acting scary — threatening people, talking about wanting to kill, beating up someone — we’ve got to rat them out to law enforcement. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

Policy & Politics 

Companies lobbying Gavin Newsom help fund his wife’s nonprofit — and her salary -- A week after he was elected governor in 2018, Gavin Newsom went to a trendy music hall in San Francisco’s Mission District where his wife, filmmaker Jennifer Siebel Newsom, was the center of attention. Lance Williams and Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/3/21

Slammed by COVID-19 shutdown, San Luis Obispo boosts Newsom recall -- Though in-person service came and went at the Paso Robles winery Paix Sur Terre during the pandemic, alcohol consumption skyrocketed, making for winemaker Ryan Pease’s “best year ever.” Faith E. Pinho in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

Tito Ortiz was hailed as Huntington Beach’s Donald Trump. Where does the city go now? -- From the moment Tito Ortiz entered the political arena in Huntington Beach, some of his supporters saw him as the local government version of Donald Trump. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

Eric Swalwell hired an investigator to serve Capitol riot lawsuit to GOP lawmaker. It still hasn't worked -- East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell works in the same building as his colleague Rep. Mo Brooks, whom he is suing over the Jan. 6 insurrection. But that hasn’t helped him serve the Alabama Republican with the lawsuit — in fact Swalwell says he has had to hire a private investigator, to no avail. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

Spend the surplus: This game puts you in charge of California’s budget -- With $25 billion in federal stimulus en route and an estimated California budget surplus of $76 billion, per Gov. Gavin Newsom (the Legislative Analyst’s Office puts it around $38 billion), lawmakers are making bold plans to spend that cash down. But suppose it were up to you: How would you spend California’s budget surplus? John Osborn D’Agostino CalMatters -- 6/3/21

Sacramento will require many buildings to run entirely on electricity -- New low-rise buildings in Sacramento will be required to run entirely on electricity by 2023, the City Council decided Tuesday. To address climate change, 44 other cities in California have adopted electrification ordinances, but Sacramento is the first city in the Central Valley to do so, Mayor Darrell Steinberg said. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/3/21

After Myanmar military coup, Burmese in California struggle to seize the world’s attention -- Banny Hong sighed as he sat at his Burmese restaurant on a recent weekday, recounting the violence that has swept through his homeland since a military coup nearly three months ago. Sarah Parvini in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

Water  

Here's where the Bay Area's water actually comes from, and what to expect during California's drought -- With three quarters of the state now in extreme drought zones, dwindling water supplies are forcing many California water agencies to take restrictive measures to conserve water. In the Bay Area, Marin County was the latest to declare a state of emergency as parched conditions had ranchers trucking in water from elsewhere. Yoohyun Jung, Nami Sumida in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

Street  

Firefighter, 44, killed in Agua Dulce station shooting mourned as investigation continues -- Family members and colleagues on Wednesday, June 2, mourned the Los Angeles County firefighter who authorities say the day before was killed when an off-duty coworker shot him at their station in Agua Dulce. Coroner officials identified the slain veteran firefighter as Tory Carlon, 44, of Santa Clarita. Josh Cain in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 6/3/21

Police arrest man in S.F. hit-and-run that killed 29-year-old software engineer and critically injured her partner -- San Francisco police have arrested a 57-year-old motorist suspected in Tuesday’s hit-and-run crash that killed software engineer Lovisa Svallingson and critically injured another pedestrian at a San Francisco intersection, authorities said Friday. Nora Mishanec in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

They were starting a life together. That ended after a hit-and-run on S.F.'s dangerous streets -- With time to spare before the evening’s show, Lovisa Svallingson and Daniel Ramos walked through Civic Center on a recent night on their way to the comedy club where Ramos was scheduled to perform. Transplants from Denver, the couple was starting a life together in the Bay Area. Nora Mishanec in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

Northern California man sentenced 6 months for assault on two Southwest flight attendants -- A Yuba City man has been sentenced to six months in prison for assaulting two flight attendants in December 2019, federal prosecutors announced this week. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/3/21

California prison population shrinks, but spending keeps going up — to $112,000 per inmate -- Gov. Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal projects the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation will spend an average $102,736 on each inmate for the fiscal year that ends June 30. The figure is projected to rise to $112,691 per inmate next fiscal year. Wes Venteicher in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/3/21

Education  

A third Cal Poly? Gavin Newsom calls for transformation of struggling CSU campus -- Humboldt State University, located in Arcata on California’s North Coast, has faced declining enrollment numbers for years with fewer and fewer students opting for the remote campus in the redwoods. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/3/21

Caltrain    

Caltrain electrification delayed to 2024, and the price tag is rising too -- The project transitioning Caltrain from diesel locomotives to sleek electric trains between San Jose and San Francisco is going to take two years longer than expected to finish, while its price tag is growing by more than $300 million, railroad officials announced Thursday. Nico Savidge in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/3/21

California Policy and Politics Thursday Morning  

Largest California state worker union will give $1m to anti-recall effort after emergency vote -- The board of directors of California’s largest state employee union voted Wednesday night to give $1 million to fight the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom, authorizing the donation weeks before a newly elected president who is opposed to the donation takes over. Wes Venteicher in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/3/21

Huntington Beach City Council names new mayor pro tem after Tito Ortiz steps down -- The Huntington Beach City Council unanimously chose Barbara Delgleize to replace Tito Ortiz as mayor pro tem for the rest of the year during a special meeting Wednesday, June 2. The meeting was called after Ortiz, who had held the post, abruptly resigned from his council seat Tuesday. Alicia Robinson in the Orange County Register Leila Miller in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

Amid India reports, Garcetti says conversations with Biden will remain private -- Since the news broke that he might be President Biden’s pick for U.S. ambassador to India, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has waved off the reports, calling them speculative. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

In Compton, voters poised to choose experience over history for mayor -- It was a campaign for Compton mayor pitting a 70-year-old councilwoman with years of political experience and a 26-year-old real estate agent with a chance to become the city’s first Latino mayor. On Wednesday, the veteran seemed poised to win. Kailyn Brown in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

California bill calls for $7 billion in COVID-19 bonuses for healthcare workers -- California lawmakers are considering legislation that would require hospitals, clinics and skilled nursing facilities to pay medical professionals $10,000 in “hero pay” for their work during the COVID-19 pandemic. But some employers and business groups have bristled at the $7-billion price tag, calling the bill “dangerous and costly.” Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

A fight is breaking out over how to spend money from San Francisco's real estate tax -- When voters approved a tax hike on San Francisco’s most expensive property sales in November, they likely thought the funds would go directly to rent relief and affordable housing — as advertised in the campaign. But in fact, the money was technically a general tax, meaning that it goes into the general fund and can be used for any city services. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

Riverside County community choice energy program becomes first in California to file for bankruptcy -- A community choice energy program serving six towns in Riverside County has filed for bankruptcy protection after just one year in business, but officials with two energy programs in the San Diego area that launched recently say they are in no danger of a similar fate. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/3/21

Katie Hill ordered to pay $220,000 in attorneys’ fees in revenge porn case -- Former Rep. Katie Hill has been ordered to pay about $220,000 in attorneys’ fees to a British tabloid and two conservative journalists she sued in her unsuccessful revenge porn lawsuit. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

Open  

California settles pandemic challenge by churches -- The state of California has agreed to pay more than $2 million in legal fees in a settlement with churches that challenged pandemic closure orders. Church lawyers who successfully took their appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court said Wednesday that the state has agreed not to impose restrictions on houses of worship that are more stringent than those for retail businesses. Associated Press -- 6/3/21

Street  

California Supreme Court considers standards used by juries to impose death penalty -- In response to a rare inquiry from the state Supreme Court on the rules for death penalty trials in California, defense lawyers argued Wednesday that laws in effect since the 1970s violate defendants’ constitutional right to a unanimous jury verdict on whether they should live or die. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

San Jose: New video shows moments leading up to police killing of Demetrius Stanley -- Stanley was shot after pointing a gun at a plainclothes officer; family and supporters contend he didn’t know he was confronting police. Robert Salonga, Fiona Kelliher and Jason Green in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/3/21

Coroner releases VTA mass shooting victims’ cause of death -- The Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office on Wednesday released the cause and manner of death for each of the nine victims of last week’s mass shooting at a Valley Transportation Authority light rail yard in San Jose. The victims all died of “multiple gunshot wounds” and their deaths have been ruled homicides, according to the coroner’s office. Jason Green in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/3/21

San Jose mass shooting: Victims’ families say goodbye, express ‘need to know what happened’ -- What do they tell 3-year-old who cries out at night for his father? Julia Prodis Sulek in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/3/21

Mom who pled guilty to torture-murder of Gabriel Fernandez, 8, asked to be resentenced. A judge denied it -- A judge this week rejected a resentencing request by a Palmdale woman who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of her 8-year-old-son, who died after months of beatings, starvation and torture, including being forced to eat cat feces and sleep handcuffed in a small wooden drawer. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/3/21

Judge blocks suit to shut down OC district attorney’s DNA database -- An Orange County Superior Court judge on Wednesday, June 2, rejected a lawsuit by professors and students at UCI Law School seeking to shut down the district attorney’s one-of-a-kind DNA collection program. Tony Saavedra in the Orange County Register -- 6/3/21

Oakland police urge caution after spike in carjackings -- Oakland saw at least six carjackings over a 3-day span this week, continuing a worrying uptick in the violent car robberies throughout the city, police said Wednesday. Nora Mishanec in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

Oakland George Floyd protests: 4 days, 35 police violations and 1 mea culpa -- Oakland’s police chief said Wednesday that his officers violated the department’s use-of-force policy 35 times during last year’s George Floyd protests, and that he is meting out discipline. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

Workplace  

Even vaccinated California workers may have to keep masks on -- California is set to fully reopen in less than two weeks and do away with virtually all mask and social distancing requirements for vaccinated people, but those who regulate workplaces in the state aren’t ready to go that far and that has business groups upset. Don Thompson Associated Press -- 6/3/21

Homeless  

New report says Bay Area homelessness could be solved with $11.8 billion -- With the pandemic ending and governments signaling they might devote more money toward homelessness, a leading research organization is boldly putting a dollar amount on what it thinks it would take to whisk every unhoused person in the Bay Area off the streets: $11.8 billion. Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

Education  

S.F. schools see enrollment drop as families flee the district -- San Francisco’s public schools are facing an exodus of families during a crisis-filled and difficult pandemic year, which could mean long-lasting fallout for city schools, potentially pitching the district into deeper financial distress in years to come. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

Stanford clears student after ‘satirical’ mocking of Federalist Society -- Facing forceful criticism and many questions, Stanford University moved Wednesday to allow a law-school student full graduation privileges after the student’s “satirical” letter, sent months ago, provoked the ire of a conservative student organization and a strong defense from a student-rights group. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/3/21

More San Diego Unified students missed classes, received poor grades during COVID -- The COVID-19 pandemic and resulting school closures pulled down grades and increased chronic absenteeism in San Diego Unified schools, according to statistics district leaders revealed this week. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/3/21

Gov. Newsom Wants Transitional Kindergarten For All 4-Year-Olds. What Does That Mean? -- Children in California could have a new stepping stone into kindergarten under one of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposals in his May 14 updated budget. Janelle Salanga Capital Public Radio -- 6/3/21

Budget proposal would ease testing requirements for California teachers -- California teachers may soon have more flexibility when it comes to the tests they are required to take to earn a credential. Diana Lambert EdSource -- 6/3/21

Environment  

10% of world's giant sequoias killed in California's 2020 Castle Fire -- The shocking figure, which underscores the increasing threat to California’s iconic conifer in a warming, fire-prone world, comes as research teams begin to survey the massive burn area of the Castle Fire in the southern Sierra Nevada. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

Water  

Drought ravages California’s reservoirs ahead of hot summer -- Each year Lake Oroville helps water a quarter of the nation’s crops, sustain endangered salmon beneath its massive earthen dam and anchor the tourism economy of a Northern California county that must rebuild seemingly every year after unrelenting wildfires. Adam Beam Associated Press -- 6/3/21

Folsom residents asked to voluntarily reduce water use amid California’s drought -- The request comes less than a month after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a state of emergency executive order to mitigate the effects of the drought in 41 of California’s 58 counties. Molly Sullivan in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/3/21

Oil  

Bay Area air quality board delays vote on controversial anti-pollution rules -- After hearing five and a half hours of public commentary, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District postponed its scheduled vote Wednesday on whether to require refineries to install technology that would greatly reduce the amount of pollution they emit. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

Also . . .   

S.F. police arrest Mohammed Nuru in attempted robbery at a food bank -- Mohammed Nuru, the former director of San Francisco Public Works at the center of a federal corruption case, was arrested on suspicion of attempted robbery after a report that he brandished a knife at a person Wednesday morning, according to San Francisco police. Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21

Ready to give up Amazon? These S.F. residents ditched chain stores to support struggling small businesses -- Brian Quan kicked off the month of May with a visit to Arsicault, the Inner Richmond bakery famous for its flaky croissants. He ended the month with a trip to Z Cioccolato, the North Beach candy and fudge shop where he purchased “a bunch of Smarties.” Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/3/21