Newsom slams judge who overturned California's assault weapons ban as state appeals ruling -- State officials are appealing a federal judge’s ruling last week that declared California’s assault weapons ban unconstitutional, pitching the state into a fresh legal battle over a prohibition that has been in place for 32 years. Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Proposed tax on California gun sales resurfaces after Democrats blocked it -- Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, said he’ll revive the effort on Thursday, a week after it failed to gain enough Democratic votes to clear the Assembly. He said he’s hoping a logistical change to Assembly Bill 1223 will buy him time to lobby for it. Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/10/21

Skelton: California is sitting on a massive surplus. It’s time for Newsom to spend on gun control -- Sacramento’s vault is overflowing with tax money, and a big chunk of it should be spent on efforts to reduce shooting deaths. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Vaccine  

You’ll still need a mask at work after California’s COVID reopening on June 15. Here’s why -- A California state board on Wednesday withdrew proposed updates to its COVID workplace safety rule, meaning the current regulation — which requires masks to be worn at all times indoors, as well as outdoors if less than six feet away from others — will stay in effect for now. The proposed updates had called for relaxing masking and social distancing requirements and letting workers not wear masks indoors if everyone else around them is fully vaccinated. Jeong Park in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/10/21

Who can stop wearing masks, and where: California’s COVID reopening rules explained -- With California set to reopen its economy fully on June 15, wearing a mask will become optional in many public settings. After weeks of discussions, officials on Wednesday offered the clearest outline yet of what is to come. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Can you spread COVID if you’re vaccinated, have no symptoms and test positive? -- For much of the pandemic, the keen sensitivity of the primary test for COVID-19 has been a blessing, detecting even small amounts of the virus that can spread silently among people who might not feel sick. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/10/21

Cannabis dispensary offering 1-cent products as COVID-19 vaccine incentives -- Add cheap weed to California’s growing list of vaccination incentives. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Virus  

The new coronavirus Delta variant: Why some are worried, and some are not -- As California heads to a full reopening on Tuesday, federal officials are expressing concerns about the highly infectious Delta variant circulating in the U.S. and dozens of other countries worldwide. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

School  

Bay Area school reopenings still have cloud of uncertainty despite unity from health officials -- Yet across California and in some Bay Area communities, doubts linger about what classes will look like in the fall and whether there will be enough wiggle room in state law for districts to limit a return to in-person instruction. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/10/21

Policy & Politics 

Newsom recall will cost California taxpayers $215 million, state officials say -- An analysis released Thursday projects the recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom will cost at least $215 million, less than what elections officials initially estimated but a large enough price tag that local governments across California will need the state to pick up the tab. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Forgetting Joe Manchin: Democrats ran on bipartisanship and some are regretting it -- Democrats might want to think twice about ripping West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin for wanting to appear bipartisan — many of them ran on a promise to do the same. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/10/21

Katie Hill fights to make revenge porn a federal crime and ponders another run for office -- Katie Hill has faced deep lows since resigning from Congress after nude images of her were disseminated around the globe without her consent. She feared for her physical safety during her divorce; she had suicidal ideation, nightmares, mounting legal debt and anxiety about being recognized. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Caitlyn Jenner, once an ‘American hero,’ struggles to win support from California voters -- Caitlyn Jenner’s initial ascent into American social strata was astronomical. Before 1976, she was relatively unknown: a dyslexic kid from Westchester, New York, who had traveled to Iowa on a football scholarship before heading to California to pursue athletic glory. Lara Korte in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/10/21

White, Asian families have most to gain if Congress restores tax break Trump capped, report says -- Black and Hispanic families in California would get far less of a benefit than white and Asian households if Congress repeals the federal income tax deduction limits on state and local taxes, a study of the impact finds. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/10/21

Will psychedelics become legal in California? -- Amid growing scientific research into therapeutic uses for psychedelic drugs and a progressive push to soften punishment for drug crimes, California lawmakers are considering a bill to legalize magic mushrooms, Ecstasy and several other hallucinogenic substances. Marissa Garcia CalMatters -- 6/10/21

Street  

‘He scares me’: VTA documents show coworker worried future mass shooter could ‘go postal’ -- Samuel Cassidy’s workplace behavior was investigated four times before May 26 shooting. Nico Savidge in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/10/21

Jobs  

California unemployment claims: fewest since COVID closures began -- California workers filed the fewest unemployment claims since just before government agencies began to order wide-ranging business shutdowns to combat the coronavirus, a welcome counterpoint to the dreary statewide economy. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/10/21

Housing  

Lumber is wildly expensive now. Even picnic table prices are through the roof -- The cost of a common commodity has scrambled summer plans, and it’s not gas: Soaring lumber prices are making new homes, renovations and even simple picnic tables drastically more expensive. Andrew Khouri, Carly Olson, Andrew Mendez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Sacramento’s latest answer to inflated rents: These downtown apartments are 267 square feet -- There’s a growing belief that one answer to Sacramento’s soaring rents and to the state’s affordable housing crisis is to think small. Really small. Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/10/21

Homeless  

Q&A: How Councilman Mike Bonin plans to fix Venice’s homelessness crisis -- After spending weeks reporting on the homelessness crisis in Venice, Times reporters Benjamin Oreskes and Doug Smith sat down with Councilman Mike Bonin, who has represented the area since 2013. Benjamin Oreskes, Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Education  

California has the largest drop in spring college enrollment numbers in the nation -- California leads the nation with the largest drop in spring 2021 college enrollment numbers largely due to a steep decline in community college students, who have particularly struggled with pandemic hardships, according to a report released Thursday. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Develop  

Developers funded Sacramento County climate action plan. Environmentalists see a conflict -- Sacramento County leaned on developers last year to help fund its long-delayed climate action plan, raising conflict of interest concerns among environmentalists who say the early drafts do not have enough detail to be an effective blueprint for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Michael Finch II in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/10/21

California Policy and Politics Thursday Morning  

Cal/OSHA will propose allowing vaccinated workers to stop wearing masks -- Members of a California workplace safety board suggested they will move to allow fully vaccinated employees to stop wearing masks while on the job, putting proposed health rules in agreement with recommendations issued by federal and state health officials. Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ Don Thompson Associated Press -- 6/10/21

California going with honor system for post-June 15 masking rules -- California will mostly rely on the honor system to enforce new masking rules that let vaccinated people forgo face coverings in almost all settings starting next Tuesday, when the state fully reopens, public health authorities said. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/10/21

Here’s where you have to wear a mask in California after June 15th -- As the state gears up to reopen businesses without capacity restrictions on June 15th, it will align its mask guidance with that of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those changes will pave the way for fully vaccinated residents to cast off their face coverings during the majority of everyday activities, while those who are not vaccinated must keep wearing them indoors. Fiona Kelliher in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/10/21

Governor Newsom again urges state regulator to reconsider new COVID workplace mask rules -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom today again urged workplace-safety regulator Cal/OSHA to reconsider its controversial new rules requiring workers vaccinated against COVID to keep wearing masks if any co-workers in the same room are unvaccinated, when the state reopens next week. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/10/21

Vaccine  

Anti-vaccine protesters stormed a Marin town hall. Are public meetings safe post-COVID? -- Shortly after the town hall began, according to the live-streamed video of the gathering, anti-vaccination activists stormed the door, disrupting the event. For several minutes, Huffman pleaded with the group to respect the other attendees as the protesters displayed crude signs decrying vaccinations and public health mandates and chanted “medical freedom now.” Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/10/21

Open  

You can still buy ‘Hamilton’ tickets in Sacramento. But you might have to sit by yourself -- It’s the hottest ticket Sacramento has seen in years. Naturally, the computers have been struggling to keep up. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/10/21

Water  

Pulling out trees, trucking water for cows: Farmers take drastic measures in drought -- Almond growers are pulling still-productive trees out of the earth in enormous numbers, and a Fresno County vegetable farmer made the local TV news after discing under rows of green asparagus he couldn’t irrigate. Dairy farmers are trucking in water for their cows, and beef operations are cutting back on production. Tara Duggan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/10/21

Mandatory water restrictions approved for 2 million residents of Santa Clara County -- Santa Clara County on Wednesday became the most populous county in California to impose mandatory water restrictions, saying that the worsening drought poses a significant threat to the local groundwater supplies that provide nearly half the drinking water for 2 million residents. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/10/21

SF Bay Area drought: Here are the water restrictions in your county -- One of the largest water districts in the San Francisco Bay Area announced mandatory restrictions Wednesday and declared a water shortage emergency, signaling the seriousness of drought conditions across the region and state after two consecutive dry winters. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/10/21

PG&E   

California drought has moved up 2021 wildfire season far ahead of schedule, PG&E warns -- California’s drought is accelerating the start of the 2021 wildfire season — and intensifying the pressure on PG&E Corp. to prevent more mega-fires of the sort that drove the state’s largest utility into bankruptcy. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/10/21

Policy & Politics 

Police reform bill to strip bad cops of badges stuck on who should decide -- The legislative push to establish a system in California for stripping badges from bad cops has become a battle over how much authority law enforcement should be given to regulate itself. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/10/21

California Latino leaders criticize Kamala Harris’ ‘Do not come’ message to migrants -- Two Democratic leaders of the California Latino Legislative Caucus on Wednesday criticized Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent remarks discouraging Guatemalans from traveling to the U.S-Mexico border during her first foreign visit to Guatemala this week. Kim Bojórquez and David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/10/21

Newsom and California lawmakers approved to receive pay raise amid improving economy -- Gov. Gavin Newsom, California legislators and other state elected officials were approved to receive a 4.2% salary increase this year after a state panel cited improving state finances and higher raises going to rank-and-file state workers as factors in the decision. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

She’s been at City Hall six months. Now Nithya Raman is being targeted for recall -- Voters in Southern California have launched yet another bid to remove a politician ahead of the regular election cycle — this time targeting a Los Angeles city councilwoman who’s been in office for just six months. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Bierman: Harris’ Latin America trip shows complications and contradictions in immigration strategy -- Vice President Kamala Harris ended her trip to Guatemala and Mexico Tuesday by repeating something she has been saying for months: Most people who flee Central America for the United States do not want to leave their homes, and would not do so if they felt safe and economically secure. Noah Bierman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Street  

From murder to Aryan Brotherhood to documentary star, he now faces EDD fraud charges -- Michael Lynne Thompson spent 45 years in California prisons after his conviction in two murders in Orange County in 1973, eventually becoming a leader in the notorious Aryan Brotherhood prison gang before he turned on the group. Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/10/21

DA investigators say Contra Costa sheriff’s deputy made inconsistent statements after 2018 fatal shooting -- As they continue to investigate the 2018 killing of a 33-year-old man by a Contra Costa Sheriff’s deputy, District Attorney investigators say they’re focusing on inconsistent interview statements and testimony by the deputy, Andrew Hall, who is now facing manslaughter charges in the fatal shooting. Nate Gartrell in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/10/21

4 Glendale police officers placed on leave after video appears to show use of force during arrest -- Footage of the incident, which was obtained by news outlets, shows three men — including one in a police uniform — punching and kicking a person in the face while he is on the ground. A woman in plainclothes restrains the detained person’s legs. Leila Miller in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Man convicted of 1980 El Cerrito murder gets chance at parole at Newsom's request -- The state Supreme Court authorized Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday to grant clemency, and parole eligibility, to a man who has been serving a life-without-parole sentence for murdering an El Cerrito restaurant worker during a 1980 robbery. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/10/21

Employee charged with stealing COVID-19 vaccine cards valued at $10,000 -- An employee of a Los Angeles County mass vaccination site is facing a grand theft charge for allegedly stealing more than 500 blank COVID-19 vaccine cards. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Homeless  

With Sacramento County Order Protecting Homeless Camps Expiring, Advocates Call For More Help -- Since early in the COVID-19 pandemic, a Sacramento County public health ordinance has allowed unhoused individuals to live in their vehicles and tents without penalty. It also banned law enforcement from removing “life necessities” such as tents, food supplies and bicycles from people experiencing homelessness. Sammy Caiola Capital Public Radio -- 6/10/21

Landlords and Tenants  

L.A. is poised to ban tenant harassment. Here’s what the proposed law covers -- Los Angeles is poised to ban landlords from harassing tenants, under a new law meant to beef up legal protections for renters facing coercion and mistreatment. The ordinance will be drawn up by city lawyers after the Los Angeles City Council backed the plan Wednesday. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Education  

Little action on building state website to track districts’ spending -- California school districts and charter schools will soon begin to spend record state funding along with more than $50 billion in state and federal Covid relief funding they are receiving this year. A website that’s intended to let the public see how they are using some of that money won’t be up anytime soon. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 6/10/21

California families confronted Covid and became invested in education -- Patience, resilience and a fierce determination to succeed in school — and life. That’s what California families said they learned after enduring a school year like no other. EdSource -- 6/10/21

Students call for UC San Diego Police Department to be defunded, abolished -- The students call on the university to divest police funds and invest in resources for students instead. David Hernandez in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/10/21

Immigration  

San Diego County Supervisors Approve Immigrant Affairs Office -- The office proposed by Board Chairman Nathan Fletcher and Supervisor Nora Vargas will be the first of its kind in San Diego County and is intended to serve as a centralized hub connecting individuals and families to services. KPBS -- 6/10/21

Cannabis  

San Diego to do environmental review for backcountry marijuana businesses -- The review would cover the effects of a future ordinance to expand cannabis cultivation and sale in the unincorporated county, including a “cannabis equity” plan to provide access to the industry for minority business owners. Deborah Sullivan Brennan in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/10/21

Guns  

Bill would ban gun shows at California-owned properties, including fairgrounds -- A popular gun show that’s been held at the OC Fair & Event Center since 1996 might have to find a new venue, if a bill from state Sen. Dave Min, D-Irvine, becomes law. Alicia Robinson in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 6/10/21

Also . . .   

Man inexplicably crawls into a vineyard fan in Sonoma County, gets stuck for two days -- Sonoma County sheriff’s deputies responding to reports of a car left near a vineyard in Santa Rosa on Tuesday made a bizarre discovery: They found the car’s driver nearby — half naked and stuck inside some farm equipment. And he’d been stuck for two days. Nora Mishanec in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/10/21

'Lyft's Got to Look Into Its Own Soul': Judge Weighs Requiring Lyft to Provide Wheelchair Users Equal Service -- A trial to determine if Lyft violates the Americans With Disabilities Act concluded in San Francisco on Tuesday. A pending decision by Judge William Alsup may soon determine if the ride-hail company will be compelled to provide service for those who use powered wheelchairs. Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez KQED -- 6/10/21

Oakland's protected bike lanes on Telegraph Avenue are on the chopping block. Cyclists aren't happy -- Oakland’s first protected bike lane on Telegraph Avenue, near the city’s downtown, could be undone if the City Council approves a recommendation from its Department of Transportation to remove the gray, knee-level circular barriers and replace them with painted buffers. Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/10/21

The Sunset Beach water tower, a local landmark, seeks $4.95 million -- In Sunset Beach stands one of California’s quirkiest homes: an 87-foot-tall structure that serves both as eye candy for PCH passersby and a reminder, in an era of rapid redevelopment, that some things are worth saving. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/10/21

Bitcoin Is Actually Traceable, Pipeline Investigation Shows -- The F.B.I.’s recovery of Bitcoins paid in the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack showed cryptocurrencies are not as hard to track as it might seem. Nicole Perlroth, Erin Griffith and Katie Benner in the New York Times$ -- 6/10/21