Updating . .   

Man charged with murder of boy in road-rage shooting -- Prosecutors in Orange County, California charged Marcus Anthony Eriz, 24, with murder in the death of Aiden Leos, shooting at an occupied vehicle and with sentencing enhancements. Eriz’s girlfriend, Wynne Lee was charged with being an accessory after the fact and illegally carrying a concealed firearm. Amy Taxin Associated Press Richard Winton, Hannah Fry, Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ Nathaniel Percy and Josh Cain in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 6/8/21

VTA shooting: San Jose mayor unveils new plan for gun liability insurance and video recorded gun sales -- Two weeks after a disgruntled VTA employee fatally shot nine of his colleagues at a rail yard near downtown San Jose, Mayor Sam Liccardo has unveiled a plan to enact controversial measures that would require gun owners to carry liability insurance and retailers to video record their firearms sales. Maggie Angst in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/8/21

Suspects in fatal road rage shooting of Aiden Leos face charges -- The two suspects in the road rage killing of 6-year-old Aiden Leos on the 55 Freeway last month are expected to be arraigned Tuesday, but the exact charges they face remain unclear. Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer said a decision would be made around noon on what charges would be filed. Richard Winton, Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/8/21

Border Patrol agents find 5-year-old girl dropped alone at border wall -- U.S. Border Patrol agents found a 5-year-old Guatemalan girl running along the border wall in San Ysidro after she’d been dropped off alone, the agency said Tuesday. About 10:45 a.m. Monday, agents spotted someone leaving the child at the end of a border wall just west of the San Ysidro Point of Entry, the agency said in a news release. Teri Figueroa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/8/21

From Shasta to Folsom, shriveled reservoirs show depths of California’s drought disaster -- Instead of being flush with newly melted snow, Folsom Lake is the driest it’s been in springtime since the epic drought of 1977. Water levels are so low that temporary pumps probably will be installed to help move water out of the stricken reservoir. Dale Kasler, Ryan Sabalow, and Phillip Reese in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/8/21

School  

Some Black parents see less bullying, racism with online learning and are keeping kids home -- Some parents of Black Los Angeles school students opted to keep their children in distance learning after schools reopened in April because they wanted to shield them from inequitable and sometimes harsh treatment on campus, according to a report from a local advocacy group. Laura Newberry, Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/8/21

Will California public schools continue free lunches for all? -- Legislators want to spend $650 million a year to continue a pandemic program for free meals for all California public school students. The proposal will be decided in budget talks this week. Sameea Kamal CalMatters -- 6/8/21

Policy & Politics 

‘It’s click politics’: Social media stars join California recall field -- During California’s first gubernatorial recall in 2003, the notable outsiders were B-list actors, a former baseball commissioner and a couple candidates who made their names in the porn industry. Now, the ones getting noticed include social media stars with an intense, under-the-radar following. Carla Marinucci Politico -- 6/8/21

Homeless  

Asian Americans protest homeless housing near upscale Arcadia, sparking suburban battle -- The caravan of BMWs, Audis and Teslas broke the tranquility of an overcast Saturday morning in an affluent Arcadia neighborhood, where homes sit neatly behind manicured lawns. Andrew J. Campa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/8/21

Sheriff vows to clear Venice homeless camps — even though community is in LAPD’s jurisdiction -- Angeles County sheriff’s deputies will be on Venice Beach Tuesday morning — technically, in the LAPD’s jurisdiction — talking with the homeless and determining what they are doing to move from being homeless to having a place to stay. The item is in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 6/8/21

Street  

In Absentia: No Latino judges in these majority-Latino California counties -- While four mostly Latino counties lack any Latino Superior Court judges, another 13 counties have a more than 30 point gap between the percentage of Latinos in the population and on the bench. Here’s what that means. Byrhonda Lyons CalMatters -- 6/8/21

Housing  

This $22 million home shows just how frenzied the Tahoe real estate market has become -- The Lake Tahoe real estate market has been super hot throughout the pandemic, fueled largely by Bay Area transplants fleeing to the serene alpine setting — and driving up prices astronomically in the process. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/8/21

California homes cost more than ever. What are Gov. Newsom and lawmakers doing about it? -- The median single-family home in the Golden State sold for 23.9% more in March 2021 than it did a year ago, and 5.7% more since December, according to the state Department of Finance. Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/8/21

Also . . .   

S.F. building inspector put on leave in widening City Hall corruption probe -- A senior San Francisco building inspector has been placed on administrative leave after he allegedly failed to report a loan from a politically-connected developer for whom he had performed multiple inspections. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/8/21

Outage at S.F. company Fastly shuts down huge swath of the internet -- A widespread outage at the San Francisco cloud computing company Fastly knocked a sizable number of websites offline across the globe early Tuesday. Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/8/21

San Francisco socialite left behind caviar, yachts and her family to become a nun at age 61 -- Ann Russell Miller spent the better part of 20 years pregnant and more than 60 years rich — really rich. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/8/21

Clark: The debate about critical race theory and the trouble with living in denial -- The debate serves as a distraction from an uncomfortable conversation our country needs to have about the historical and current impact of racism. Charles Clark in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/8/21

Navy says 32 ‘key reliability issues’ plague its littoral combat ship fleet -- The service formed a new task force to streamline fixes, but the ships are still at least two years away from full mission capability. Andrew Dyer in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/8/21

ProPublica: Many of the uber-rich pay next to no income tax -- Amazon founder Jeff Bezos paid no income tax in 2007 and 2011. Tesla founder Elon Musk’s income tax bill was zero in 2018. And financier George Soros went three straight years without paying federal income tax, according to a report Tuesday from the nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica. Paul Wiseman and Marcy Gordon Associated Press -- 6/8/21

Los Angeles County prepares to crack down as peacocks — yes, peacocks — ruffle feathers -- Southern California faces innumerable challenges, from wildfires to homelessness to drought. And then there are the peacocks, which have flourished during the pandemic as efforts to relocate them were delayed and people were stuck at home listening to the birds’ earsplitting shrieks. Erica Werner in the Washington Post$ -- 6/8/21

 

California Policy and Politics Tuesday Morning  

The FBI was behind an encrypted phone company that spied on criminals worldwide -- The massive operation based in San Diego, with cooperation of several countries, led to hundreds of arrests in Australia and Europe. Kristina Davis in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/8/21

‘Breakthrough’ COVID death: Fully-vaccinated Napa woman dies from virus -- A Napa woman has died of COVID-19 despite being fully inoculated, offering a sharp reminder that vaccinated people are not invincible, especially if they are medically vulnerable and the virus is still circulating widely. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/8/21

California has one of the lowest coronavirus transmission levels in the U.S. -- As of Monday, California’s seven-day case rate per 100,000 people was 11, tied with Nebraska for the third-lowest among all states, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/8/21

Gun recovered, new details emerge in apparent road rage killing of 6-year-old Aiden Leos -- California Highway Patrol officials said Monday that they believe they have recovered the gun used to kill 6-year-old Aiden Leos on the 55 Freeway last month, as well as the vehicle from which a passenger fired the deadly shot. Richard Winton, Hayley Smith, Hannah Fry, Leila Miller in the Los Angeles Times$ Amy Taxin Associated Press Nathaniel Percy, Josh Cain, Tony Saavedra and Eric Licas in the Orange County Register -- 6/8/21

Vaccine  

Despite lure of $1.5 million, no stampede to get shots at Bay Area vaccine sites -- But trying to find a person for whom the promise of $50 and a chance at more than a million dollars had pushed them over the edge to get a shot was on par with hunting for a unicorn. Kate Selig in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/8/21

San Diego County tops 2 million with at least one vaccine dose -- Now listed at 2,071,589 on the county’s COVID-19 vaccine tracking website, the total puts the region in easy striking distance of the 2.1 million goal that is 75 percent of the 2.8 million eligible residents age 12 and older, the “herd immunity” goal set by the county health department. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/8/21

Open  

S.F. City Hall reopens to the public with Pride festivities and weddings -- The front steps of San Francisco City Hall were full Monday, with politicians and a marching band, all there to mark the beginning of Pride month, a few days belated, with a flag-raising ceremony. Ryan Kost in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/8/21

S.F. supervisors move to make outdoor parklets permanent, with some changes that Mayor Breed opposes -- San Francisco officials voted Monday to advance legislation making outdoor parklets, the infrastructure behind pandemic outdoor dining, a permanent part of the city’s streetscape. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/8/21

School  

No vaccines for young children, but schools can reopen safely in the fall, a study shows -- The masks, the social distancing, the stick-up-the-nose testing: Those unpleasant coronavirus-controlling measures are far from over for K-12 kids returning to in-school learning after summer vacation ends. Melissa Healy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/8/21

Water  

Water shortage emergency declaration, mandatory restrictions coming in Santa Clara County -- The Bay Area’s most populous county likely will soon face mandatory water use restrictions, as officials from its main provider announced Monday they would declare a water shortage emergency this week. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/8/21

120 houseboats pulled off Lake Oroville as reservoir is expected to reach lowest level ever -- The state's second-largest reservoir in Butte County was at 37% of capacity as of Monday. Photos taken over the Memorial Day weekend show dozens of houseboats sitting on cinder blocks because there wasn't enough water to hold them. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 6/8/21

Battle over Southern California water czar is clash between old vision and new, observers say -- The most important thing to understand: If you’re reading this, you live in a desert. And you can live in this desert because politicians, scientists and engineers have moved mountains, almost literally, to bring you life-giving water. Teri Sforza in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 6/8/21

Policy & Politics 

CA Legislator takes charter school reform bill off the table -- A controversial charter school bill that was meant to prevent the kind of fraud highlighted by the A3 charter school scandal is temporarily dead in the state legislature. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/8/21

Capitol riot lawsuit served to GOP lawmaker who retorts by decrying 'trespass' -- East Bay Rep. Eric Swalwell’s lawsuit has now been formally served to the GOP lawmaker he’s blaming for the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/8/21

Walters: California gun laws headed for legal showdown -- California governors, legislators and voters have been imposing additional restrictions on guns and ammunition, one atop another, for more than a half-century on the theory that they save lives. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 6/8/21

Street  

Contra Costa man died of overdose in isolation cell after hospital visit, coroner says. But no one can explain how he got the fentanyl -- A 30-year-old man died last year of a fentanyl overdose while he was inside an isolation cell at the Martinez Detention Facility, where he’d been for the past 16 hours after a visit from the hospital, a forensic pathologist testified at an inquest hearing last week. Nate Gartrell in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/8/21

‘Bunch of trogs.’ Review of Northern California police squad ‘toxic culture’ is expanding -- The sergeant and officers compared people living on the streets to pigeons. They likened them to troglodytes who could be organized like bowling pins or corralled into a burning building. They joked about decapitating them with helicopter blades while they slept downtown. Jason Pohl in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/8/21

Court upholds conviction in off-duty paramedic’s Oakland murder, rules police didn’t coerce confession from 16-year-old -- An appeals court kept in place a murder conviction for a 24-year-old man who was 16 when he shot and killed Santa Clara County paramedic Quinn Boyer during a 2013 carjacking in Oakland, court records show. Nate Gartrell in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/8/21

PG&E   

City says PG&E's plan for service changes in San Francisco could cost over $1 billion -- San Francisco and PG&E are at it again, this time with city officials pushing back against what they say are expensive changes in the way their infrastructure connects to the utility’s poles and wires. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/8/21

Basic Income  

Oakland's guaranteed income program to start accepting applications -- The program, Oakland Resilient Families, will send $500 cash payments with no strings attached for 18 months. The first round of applications will be for 300 families who live in East Oakland, who must live within a one square-mile boundary. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/8/21

EDD Fraud  

2 from Sacramento arrested on suspicion of EDD fraud totaling over $600,000, DA says -- Police have arrested a Sacramento man and woman on suspicion of filing dozens of fraudulent California Employment Development Department claims totaling more than half a million dollars, as well as stealing identities from multiple victims across the country, the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/8/21

Housing  

S.F. condo sales hit 16-year high with 'ferocious' buyer demand, price discounts -- San Francisco’s pandemic-battered condo market bounced back with a vengeance this spring, scoring its busiest three-month period in at least 16 years as vaccinated buyers rushed back into the city to take advantage of pricing that is still significantly below its 2018 highs, according to a new report from the brokerage Compass. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/8/21

Education  

Orange County schools join with Children’s Hospital to address student mental health needs -- Faced with rates of adolescent suicide and self-harm that have been among the fastest-rising in the country, schools in Orange County have teamed up with a local hospital to boost mental health services on campuses. Carolyn Jones EdSource -- 6/8/21

Environment  

County agricultural conservation program buys time for San Diego’s farmlands -- From the glider on their front porch in Campo, James “Larry” Johnson and his wife Avrilla can look across the cattle ranch their family has run for four generations clear to the hillsides along the Mexican border. Deborah Sullivan Brennan in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/8/21

Climate  

Carbon dioxide levels hit all-time high even as pandemic slowed emissions, Scripps says -- Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide in May surpassed any month since recordkeeping began. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/8/21

Guns  

Who’s the San Diego judge upending California’s gun laws? -- When U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez wrote the very first sentence in his 94-page bombshell ruling that late last week struck down California’s decades-old ban on military-style “assault weapons,” he wasted no time setting the tone that has endeared him to gun rights advocates and infuriated critics such as Gov. Gavin Newsom. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/8/21

Also . . .   

USA Water Polo agrees to nearly $14 million settlement with sex abuse survivors -- Former Olympic medalists and athlete safety advocates called on Congress to overhaul USA Water Polo after the sport’s national governing body agreed for its insurance carrier to reach a nearly $14 million settlement with a dozen young women who alleged they were sexually abused for a five year period by a prominent coach. Scott M. Reid in the Orange County Register -- 6/8/21

Federal judge orders former SF public works director Mohammed Nuru to undergo mental health evaluation after arrest -- Mohammed Nuru, San Francisco’s former public works director and central figure in the city’s widespread corruption scandal, was ordered Monday to undergo a mental health evaluation following his arrest in a bizarre incident last week. Nate Gartrell in the East Bay Times -- 6/8/21

‘Food Hubs’ In Sacramento’s Low Income Neighborhoods Could Combat Hunger, Support Entrepreneurs -- Christopher Argyros says it can be hard to find kitchen space to prep batches of his great aunt’s pickled red onion recipe, which he sells at the Midtown Sacramento farmers’ market. Sammy Caiola Capital Public Radio -- 6/8/21

After 42 years, the original rainbow flag is coming home to San Francisco -- For decades, the primary LGBTQ symbol was a small, pink triangle — first displayed on the uniforms of prisoners at Nazi concentration camps who had been labeled as homosexual. Faith E. Pinho in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/8/21

Monday Updates   

The road rage killing of 6-year-old Aiden Leos: What we know about suspects, shooting -- It was an act of violence that stunned Southern California. A mother was driving with her 6-year-old son on the 55 Freeway on a Friday morning when gunfire rang out. Richard Winton, Rong-Gong Lin II, Lila Seidman, Cindy Carcamo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/7/21

Judge and attorney in pivotal Newsom recall lawsuit were former law partners -- The Sacramento County Superior Court judge whose ruling in November was pivotal to the recall campaign against Gov. Gavin Newsom, providing supporters extra time to gather the necessary petition signatures to trigger a special election, was once a law partner with the attorney hired by the effort’s proponents to plead their case. Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/7/21

When is the Newsom recall election? Maybe sooner than you think -- The date of California’s recall election still is not set, but voters may decide the governor’s fate closer to Labor Day than November. Laurel Rosenhall CalMatters -- 6/7/21

Open  

What will a reopened L.A. County look like? More freedom but also coronavirus tests and rules -- Los Angeles County is eagerly awaiting a full reopening June 15. But despite the excitement, it won’t be a complete return to a pre-pandemic normal. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/7/21

Masks? Social distancing? We answer your questions on California’s new COVID workplace rules -- California has new COVID workplace safety standards, but only after weeks of delay, nine-plus hours of discussion and multiple votes. Jeong Park in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/7/21

Policy & Politics 

Supreme Court rules against immigrants with temporary status -- A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday that thousands of people living in the U.S. for humanitarian reasons are ineligible to apply to become permanent residents. Mark Sherman Associated Press -- 6/7/21

Barbara Ferrer mourns the 24,000 dead in L.A. County and wonders if she did enough -- The pandemic was spreading fast across Los Angeles County. Barbara Ferrer was trying to stop it, but her moves were turning many against her. Jaclyn Cosgrove in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/7/21

California’s rising tide of COVID vaccination records raise privacy concerns -- When California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced cash incentives to spur coronavirus vaccine-hesitant residents to get their shots, he emphasized everyone who received a dose was automatically entered into state databases. Solomon Moore in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/7/21

Skelton: An AR-15 is like a pocket knife? Maybe federal judges shouldn’t get lifetime appointments -- The U.S. district judge began his 94-page ruling sanctioning the AR-15 assault rifle for home and militia use by equating it with a Swiss Army knife. Yes, you read that correctly. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/7/21

Woman with knife disrupts L.A. mayoral campaign launch focused on homelessness -- One of the first in-person events in the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral election centered on the issue likely to animate the entire race: homelessness. Benjamin Oreskes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/7/21

Water  

Mandatory water restrictions coming to Santa Clara County -- Santa Clara County’s largest water provider announced Monday that it is moving forward with plans to declare a water shortage emergency and to urge cities and water companies that deliver water to 2 million residents in and around San Jose to impose mandatory water restrictions. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/7/21

San Diego Water War In The North County -- Two water agencies that serve the Fallbrook and Rainbow areas want to separate from the San Diego County Water Authority. They say they could get better rates elsewhere. Alexander Nguyen KPBS -- 6/7/21

Street  

VTA shooting survivors face long road to recovery, psychologists say -- The calls started less than 24 hours after the VTA rail yard shooting. Seeing yet another tragedy unfold — families crying, police sirens, the knowledge that someone is gone forever — was deeply traumatic for survivors of the Gilroy Garlic Festival mass shooting, said Kasey Halcon, who supervises a center to help people affected by the 2019 shooting. Kate Selig in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/7/21

Gascón promised to review controversial police killings. After 6 months, is he too late for some? -- In his bid to unseat Jackie Lacey as head of the nation’s largest prosecutor’s office last year, George Gascón didn’t simply attack her record of declining to prosecute police officers who killed unarmed people — he promised to go a step further and undo what he saw as her mistakes. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/7/21

Inside the California organization tracking anti-Asian hate incidents -- Stop AAPI Hate, a California-based coalition, has recorded nearly 7,000 hate incidents involving Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders nationwide since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. It’s become a key source of information for the media and for advocates looking to stop the surge of racist attacks. Mallika Seshadri CalMatters -- 6/7/21

As opioid overdoses rise in L.A. jails, inmates get access to lifesaving drug -- The man swayed and stumbled between two bunk beds in a Los Angeles County jail dorm, then collapsed onto another inmate who had fallen to the floor. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/7/21

Two arrested in Davis in possession of over 60 California EDD debit cards, police say -- Police in Davis arrested two suspects Sunday evening after a traffic stop led to a search that turned up drugs, a handgun, stolen mail and California Employment Development Department debit cards belonging to several dozen people, authorities said. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/7/21

Housing  

Sausalito's housing war is happening on the water. In this conflict, eviction means crushed boats -- It was a relatively peaceful morning at Dunphy Park, a tent city near Sausalito’s waterfront — until they got the call. Someone’s boat had been pulled in, and it was about to get crushed. Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/7/21

Environment  

How the pandemic may have helped whales off California’s coast -- It’s no secret that the COVID pandemic shut down the world’s economy, sent millions of people to the hospital and affected everything from birth rates to air pollution levels. But now scientists are discovering how it even changed the ocean off the coast of California. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/7/21

Also . . .   

Why Black Latinos say they live in two worlds: ‘We are here and we are also invisible’ -- Marie Nubia-Feliciano wanted to know about Latino student organizations when she arrived at UC Irvine in 1990 and visited the school’s multicultural center. Kim Bojórquez in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/7/21

Looming ‘Fix 99’ freeway closure may be Sacramento area’s largest ever. Here’s what to know -- Transportation officials and local law enforcement are continuing to brace Sacramento-area commuters for a major construction project that will fully close a busy stretch of Highway 99 for more than four days starting Friday night. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/7/21

Bill Bratton talks L.A. police, George Floyd and his memoir -- Over his three-plus decades running police departments in Boston, New York City and Los Angeles, Bill Bratton branded himself as America’s top cop. Joel Rubin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/7/21

The Zoot Suit Riots Cruise brings back ‘a forgotten era’ -- History lessons come in many forms. For Art Zamora, they’re carried by classic chassis rolling down the streets of Los Angeles. Steve Saldivar in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/7/21

Is Disney’s Avengers Campus worth an hours-long wait? Our expert advice -- In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the so-called normal people are often nonessential. Todd Martens in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/7/21

‘Go for Broke’ Japanese American veterans get a postage stamp marking WWII service -- At 16, Don Miyada was wrenched from his family’s farm near Laguna Beach and sent to a prison camp in Arizona. Anh Do in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/7/21

Connected by love and loss, they reaped what Rodney sowed — and gave it away -- On a spring day when the mustard greens were still tender, Sherril Wells stopped harvesting, raised her arms and danced to Curtis Mayfield’s “Superfly” playing over her SUV’s speakers. Diana Marcum in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/7/21