Updating . .   

California wants more electric cars. But many public chargers don’t work -- If electric cars are to transform California, it needs to be easy to charge them. There’s a hitch: More than a quarter of public charging stations in the Bay Area don’t work, according to a recent survey. Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/22

Water  

California’s water conservation has been a bust so far. Will drought restrictions work? -- Almost a year after Gov. Gavin Newsom pleaded with Californians to voluntarily cut their water use by 15% amid a worsening drought, water conservation figures are still nowhere near that mark. Jaimie Ding in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/22

COVID  

Bay Area is California’s COVID hotspot as cases rise again -- If you’re worried about COVID, it might be time to dig out that mask again. California’s case rates have nearly tripled since late March, and in a newly emerging dynamic, the Bay Area’s rates are higher than the state’s. Harriet Blair Rowan, John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/7/22

Millions of people suffer from long COVID. Why is there still no treatment? -- Shelley Hayden of Sonoma has a case of long COVID so serious that her “brain is broken,” she said. The 54-year-old marketing coach asked not to be interrupted in conversation so she wouldn’t lose her train of thought. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/22

Policy and Politics  

Lopez: Karen Bass wants to end homelessness. Are know-how and connections enough? -- In 1990, a physician’s assistant who worked in the emergency room at L.A. County-USC Medical Center saw impoverished and homeless patients on a daily basis, and she wanted to do something about conditions in the neighborhoods they came from. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/22

Bay Area author offers to replace books South Dakota school board plans to destroy -- Bay Area publisher and author Dave Eggers is offering high school seniors in the Rapid City, S.D., area free copies of the 400 books the school board plans to destroy. On Tuesday, May 3, in a meeting that drew national attention the board voted to purge five titles it deemed inappropriate for its students from classrooms, including Eggers’ “The Circle.” Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/22

Essential Politics: If you care about abortion, these are the states to watch -- For decades, abortion has provided a near-perfect issue for Republicans: Hard-line rhetoric mobilized strongly antiabortion voters, but hard-line legislation got blocked by courts before it could alienate the rest of the electorate. That’s about to change dramatically. David Lauter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/22

Workplace   

Union Station workers to get more security after outcry over attacks -- More than a dozen janitors and workers who have been verbally and physically attacked at Union Station by homeless individuals will get better security, transit officials said this week. Rachel Uranga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/22

NFL to investigate Raiders after team accused of fostering hostile workplace -- The NFL said Friday it will investigate allegations against the Las Vegas Raiders and their owner, Mark Davis, related to issues in the workplace. The allegations were made by Dan Ventrelle, who said he was fired Friday by Davis as team president. Mark Maske in the Washington Post$ -- 5/7/22

Guns  

San Diego sees first conviction under new ghost guns ordinance -- A 23-year-old man tossed gun as he ran from police in December — two months after an ordinance banning possession of the guns went into effect. Teri Figueroa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/22

Street  

How should Sacramento police use military gear? The city wants to hear from you -- A new California state law, Assembly Bill 481, requires law enforcement agencies to seek out community feedback on the acquisition, funding, and use of military equipment. The law requires the department to list model numbers, acquisition costs, ongoing maintenance costs and costs to replace equipment. Marcus D. Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/7/22

Arellano: Cops, not books? This town’s library may become a police station -- When I visited this small Central Valley town on a recent Friday afternoon, the most happening place by far was the public library. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/22

Homeless  

Oakland will get millions to solve the ‘inhumane’ crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it’s not enough -- Over the last seven years, Oakland’s Wood Street encampment has exploded in size. The encampment spans nearly 25 city blocks with about 300 people living under freeways in tents, RVs and makeshift shelters amid burned out vehicles, mounds of trash and dirt. The encampment is now so huge that some residents drive buses and motorcycles to get from one end to the other. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/22

Exodus  

The most popular cities on Redfin for Bay Area residents looking to move away now -- More than two years into the pandemic, the Bay Area and California continue to see an unprecedented population decline, with outmigration one of the major factors fueling the trend — but where exactly are Bay Area residents looking to move now? Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/22

 

 

California Policy and Politics Saturday Morning  

‘Risk of further outages’: California warns of blackouts as another hot summer looms -- Officials said California has made considerable progress in shoring up the grid, including the addition of nearly 4,000 megawatts of battery storage in just over two years. But climate change is creating ever-worsening heat waves, and supplies are tightening all over the West, making it harder for the state to import electricity in a pinch. Wildfires can knock transmission lines out of commission. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/7/22

Water  

Arizona officials warn of risks on Colorado River that could eventually hit California -- Federal projections show Lake Mead and Lake Powell, the country’s two largest reservoirs, will keep on declining in the coming months, reaching a shortage level likely to trigger larger water cuts in 2023 for Arizona, Nevada and Mexico — and which could also eventually force similar reductions in California. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/22

COVID  

A guide to help you keep track of all the Omicron subvariants -- Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans can be forgiven if they’ve lost track of the latest coronavirus variants circulating nationally and around the world. We’ve heard of the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron variants, but a new Greek-letter variant hasn’t come onto the scene in almost half a year. Louis Jacobson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/22

The White House, warning of a fall surge, plans for how to provide vaccines if there’s no more Covid aid -- The White House has been asking Congress for $22.5 billion in emergency aid to continue responding to the pandemic, but Republicans have insisted on a much lower number — $10 billion — and have stripped $5 billion in global aid from the request. Sheryl Gay Stolberg in the New York Times$ -- 5/7/22

Workplace   

Contract talks near for thousands of West Coast dockworkers -- Contract negotiations between 22,000 workers at 29 West Coast ports and representatives of shipping companies will begin next week with automation and its impact on jobs emerging as a major point of contention amid supply chain issues. John Antczak Associated Press -- 5/7/22

Policy and Politics  

They remember a time before Roe. Now the Bay Area’s members of Congress are leading the charge to protect abortion rights -- As abortion may once again become illegal in large swaths of the country, no delegation to Congress may have as much personal connection to the issue as the Bay Area’s. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/22

Trump’s lawsuit against Twitter over account suspension gets rejected by S.F. federal judge -- Former President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against Twitter for revoking his account after the January 2021 Capitol riot was rejected Friday by a federal judge in San Francisco, who said Trump provided no evidence that the social media platform had colluded with congressional Democrats to violate his constitutional rights. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/22

Homeless  

Will new S.F. program catch people with addiction and mental illness before they fall through the cracks? -- For years, people struggling with addiction or mental illness have bounced from the streets to emergency rooms and jail cells in San Francisco, often failing to get connected to the long-term care they need. Mallory Moench, J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/22

Housing   

Angel Stadium deal fine print: 80% less affordable housing near ballpark -- In order to preserve the Angel Stadium land sale, the city of Anaheim made a deal last week. Angels owner Arte Moreno agreed to pay $96 million to the city, which would use that money to fund affordable housing projects elsewhere in Anaheim. Bill Shaikin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/7/22

Education  

Fresno Unified schools promise big changes following student-led anti-racism protests -- Fresno Unified officials on Friday made a number of commitments to hundreds of students who marched from Edison High School to downtown Fresno to protest racism in schools. Brianna Vaccari in the Fresno Bee$ -- 5/7/22

California College of the Arts bids farewell to Oakland -- A hundred years after the California College of Arts and Crafts made a leafy spot in North Oakland its home, students, faculty and alumni bade farewell Friday to the campus, which has relocated in recent years to a more spacious campus in San Francisco’s Mission Bay. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/22

Willie Mays  

Even at 91 years old, Giants great Willie Mays has time for birthday cake -- There’s something about Willie Mays and cake that go so perfectly together. Back in Mays’ early days in New York when he was summoned from his Harlem apartment by neighborhood kids to play stickball in the streets, he’d usually end each session by treating everyone to ice cream. Or, even better, cake and ice cream. John Shea in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/22

Climate  

To fight climate change, California approves seaweed that cuts methane emissions in cow burps -- California dairy farms will soon be able to feed their cows seaweed to fight climate change after the state department of food and agriculture approved the use of a seaweed feed shown to reduce methane emissions from cow burps, the first in the U.S. to do so. Tara Duggan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/22

Also . . .   

Appeals court OKs out-of-state foie gras producers selling to Californians -- California's ban on foie gras, produced by force-feeding ducks and geese, does not prohibit out-of-state marketers from selling the product to Californians, a federal appeals court ruled Friday, upholding a judge's 2020 decision that narrowed the scope of the 2012 state law. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/22

Plane crash in Marin Headlands leaves 2 dead -- The area where the plane crashed, northwest of the Golden Gate Bridge, was obscured by fog, though the Park Service did not immediately provide a cause for the crash. It happened away from roads and trails and did not impact access to the park or traffic, officials said. Andres Picon in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/7/22

 

Friday Updates   

California prepares for energy shortfalls in hot, dry summer -- California likely will have an energy shortfall equivalent to what it takes to power about 1.3 million homes when use is at its peak during the hot and dry summer months, state officials said Friday. Kathleen Ronayne Associated Press -- 5/6/22

Governor, legislators won’t budge in high-speed rail dispute -- California Democrats are locked in one of the most consequential disputes in modern state history over the future of the Los Angeles-to-San Francisco high-speed rail project after a decade of troubled construction. Ralph Vartabedian CalMatters -- 5/6/22

Abortion  

California measures aim to protect women who travel here for abortions from prosecution, subpoenas in their home states -- California lawmakers are working to shield women who travel to the Golden State for abortions from legal liability if their home states ban the procedure, part of an effort to make the West Coast a safe haven for people seeking abortions and the doctors who help them. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/6/22

As women react to Roe v. Wade news, their ages color their outlooks -- Growing up during America’s deeply polarizing and increasingly vitriolic debates about Roe v. Wade, Emma Dauplaise, 27, a law student at Santa Clara University, always had a lingering fear that abortion rights could be revoked. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/6/22

COVID  

‘If I get something from you I could die’: Some immunocompromised Cal State students feel left behind as COVID safeguards loosen -- They can’t afford to take off their masks: Immunocompromised students and campus staff are highly susceptible to COVID-19, and with mask mandates dropping, some believe their schools don’t value their safety. Julian Mendoza CalMatters -- 5/6/22

Bill advances to let California teens get vaccinated without parental consent -- California kids 12 and older are one step closer to being able to get vaccinated without parental consent after a key legislative committee on Thursday passed a controversial bill on a 7-0 vote despite hundreds of people expressing fierce opposition. Emily Hoeven CalMatters Lindsey Holden in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/6/22

California COVID numbers hit highest point since February; Bay Area sees worst rates -- Coronavirus infections have continued a steady climb in California since early April, and while the curve of new cases remains less steep than winter’s omicron variant surge, the rising spread of two contagious subvariants is still prompting concern about a fresh wave of virus cases. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/6/22

COVID in California: These 4 Bay Area counties are in the CDC’s ‘yellow’ coronavirus tier -- San Francisco, Santa Clara, Marin and San Mateo counties had all fallen within the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s “yellow” tier as of Friday morning, signaling that more than 200 cases had been reported in the last week out of every 100,000 residents. Aidin Vaziri, Dominic Fracassa in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/6/22

COVID-19 infections are spiking after high school dances in Sacramento. Is prom safe? -- Will you go to prom with me? Not if you have COVID. At least six Sacramento-area schools have reported significant upticks in COVID-19 infections within two weeks of holding large school dance events. Michael McGough and Sawsan Morrar in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/6/22

More than 32,000 kids lost parents to COVID in California -- Across the nation, more than 200,000 children have lost at least one parent or caregiver to COVID since the pandemic started. Californian kids make up 32,500 of those losses. The unimaginable loss of a parent is one thing. Economists say another difficulty is the loss of household income to take care of the kids. Gwendolyn Wu in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/6/22

Here’s how many San Francisco police officers have been fired for refusing to get COVID vaccines -- Ten San Francisco police officers have been fired to date for failing to receive COVID-19 vaccines, and 13 others may soon follow, according to records provided by the city’s Department of Human Resources. Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/6/22

There’s a lot at stake for the CDC in the mask mandate appeal -- About the only thing that’s clear so far is that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s mask requirement for people traveling on planes, trains and buses is not likely to make a comeback anytime soon. The Department of Justice’s appeal of the Florida judge’s decision to the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals could take weeks or months. Julie Appleby Kaiser Health News in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/22

In China, if You’ve Got Mail, It Might Arrive With a Whiff of Sanitizer and a Covid-19 Test -- Chinese authorities are putting packages through an extensive cleansing process as a part of the country’s zero-Covid regime. Wenxin Fan in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/6/22

Policy and Politics  

Prosecutors decline to file charges against 2018 Villanueva donors -- Los Angeles County prosecutors have declined to file charges against donors to Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s 2018 campaign, saying there was insufficient evidence to prove that contributions were illegally orchestrated. Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/22

Chabria: A Texas woman needed an abortion. Here’s how far California went to help her -- The first sign of Stephanie’s pregnancy was nausea, as it so often is — that particular debilitating queasiness that knocked her off her feet, sometimes all day, days at a time. Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/22

Gas  

Newsom: Gas rebate would be delayed until October under Legislature plan -- After a flurry of proposals from Sacramento in March to send money back to Californians, a rebate check could still be nearly five months away under plans promoted by legislative leaders, Gov. Gavin Newsom warned, as he argued that his contentious plan linking financial relief to car ownership is the quickest alternative to landing money back in wallets. Eliyahu Kamisher in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/6/22

Water  

A drought so bad it exposed a long-ago homicide. Getting the water back will be harder than ever -- As a metaphor for the uncomfortable truths this drought has laid bare, the body in the barrel is grimly apt. Corinne Purtill in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/22

At California’s second biggest lake, the latest fallout of drought is gruesome -- At California’s second biggest freshwater lake, the latest fallout of drought is gruesome: dead fish in nearby stream beds that have run dry. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/6/22

Workplace   

A bid to stop freeway expansions in California hits a roadblock: Organized labor -- After more than 60 years and 15,000 miles of highway and interstate construction in California, momentum is growing to end the state’s freeway expansion era. Liam Dillon, Ben Poston, Rachel Uranga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/22

Street  

Records reveal most detailed account of Dave Chappelle attack, but motive a mystery -- Records from the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office reveal new details about the chaotic moments Tuesday night when a man with a replica gun and knife leapt onto the stage at the Hollywood Bowl and attacked Dave Chappelle. Richard Winton, Gregory Yee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/22

A U.S. agency will stop selling target dummies that resemble Black men. An Oakland artist is the reason why -- Later this month, police agencies and the U.S. military will no longer be able to buy a target dummy resembling a man of African descent through a federal government website. Justin Phillips in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/6/22

Clean Slate  

Online stories can haunt people forever. Sacramento Bee launches ‘Clean Slate’ program -- Beginning Friday, people who have committed minor criminal offenses or who have had charges dropped against them can request to have articles published about them reviewed. A team of Bee journalists, after investigating the case, will assess what changes may be warranted. Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks and Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/6/22

Cannabis  

Are pot consumption lounges coming to Sacramento? The City Council will hear a proposal -- Sacramento’s cannabis manager is recommending that the City Council consider allowing dispensaries to operate pot consumption lounges, saying that the spots could be popular both with tourists and locals who want to smoke outside their homes. Randy Diamond in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/6/22

Homeless  

San Clemente looking at prohibiting bike repair in public areas to combat thefts -- San Clemente city officials are looking to regulate the repair and sale of bicycles and bicycle parts in public areas as a way to address bike thefts and growing homeless encampments with reported chop shops. Erika I. Ritchie in the Orange County Register -- 5/6/22

Environment  

City of L.A. to test for possible toxic waste near Lincoln Heights housing development -- In response to community outcry, the Los Angeles City Council has ordered that additional testing for potential toxic waste be performed outside the boundary of an embattled housing and retail development in the Lincoln Heights neighborhood. Jonah Valdez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/22

Also . . .   

A widow, a warehouse, an urban farm: Questions of justice flare in Bay Area land dispute -- For more than half a century, Satoko Nabeta has lived in a small, well-kept house at the edge of plant nurseries on a breezy, forlorn block in North Richmond. Jessica Garrison in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/22

Feds move to seize $63-million L.A. mansion linked to corruption scandal involving Armenian politician -- For sale: a French chateau-style mansion in one of Los Angeles’ most exclusive neighborhoods, Holmby Hills, complete with 11 bedrooms, 27 bathrooms and an asking price of $63.5 million. Matt Hamilton, Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/6/22