Updating . .   

Ballots and a big decision arrive this week in L.A.’s mayoral race -- Standing outside the Los Angeles Sentinel offices last week, Black faith leaders from South L.A. and U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) took turns proclaiming their support for Rep. Karen Bass in her run for mayor. Benjamin Oreskes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/8/22

Garofoli: If Chesa Boudin is recalled, London Breed will own San Francisco’s crime concerns -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed hasn’t taken a public position on the recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin. But, politically, she’d better hope Boudin survives it. For her sake. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/8/22

Abcarian: The right to abortion is deeply rooted in the Constitution and flows from amends for slavery -- Now that we’ve had a moment to digest the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe vs. Wade, one thing is clear: Words have lost their meaning. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/8/22

Jim Cooper says he’ll work as Sacramento sheriff to toughen up laws, forge partnerships -- He is banking on that experience, his record in the sheriff’s office and eight years in the state Assembly to get him to the job he first sought in 2010, when he lost a close race to outgoing Sheriff Scott Jones. Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/8/22

Jim Barnes vows to bring transparency, new vision if elected Sacramento’s next sheriff -- Today, Barnes has the endorsements of the two major law enforcement unions – the Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs’ Association and the Law Enforcement Managers’ Association – as well as the backing of Jones and former Sheriff John McGinness. But he insists he is not just aiming to follow their policies. Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/8/22

Sacramento’s outgoing sheriff and DA sparred with Black Lives Matter. What comes next? -- Next month’s Sacramento County election marks the end of an era for local law enforcement. Two right-leaning leaders who were front-and-center during protests over police shootings that shook the city are leaving office, opening the door to change in the county’s criminal justice practices. Marcus D. Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/8/22

John Gioia’s opponent brings threats, vitriol into Contra Costa County supervisor’s election race -- The eighth-grade math teacher challenging Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia in the June 7 primary election bluntly describes the incumbent’s tenure in office as “the 24 year term of THE RAT.” That’s the comment Richmond resident and political newcomer Hulan Barnett posted on the private Facebook group “Everybody’s Richmond California.” He’s also intimated a threat of violence against the District 1 supervisor he wants to unseat. Shomik Mukherjee in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/8/22

Want to help decide who controls Congress this year? Here’s what to do in California -- Getting involved in a political campaign usually takes only one click. Click to give $5 to a candidate’s effort. Click to sign up to help explain to people how to register to vote. Click to aid Democrat or Republican parties. David Lightman and Gillian Brassil in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/8/22

If Roe Falls, Is Same-Sex Marriage Next? -- When the Supreme Court heard arguments in December over the fate of the constitutional right to abortion, it was already clear that other rights, notably including same-sex marriage, could be at risk if the court overruled Roe v. Wade. The logic of that legal earthquake, Justice Sonia Sotomayor predicted, would produce a jurisprudential tsunami that could sweep away other precedents, too. Adam Liptak in the New York Times$ -- 5/8/22

COVID  

How the pandemic divided the California county where 1 in 300 people died of COVID -- The mother who lost her daughter knows most of the people who cared for her in the hospital. The man protesting mandates in downtown Sonora is the pastor at the church just a few miles away. The personal stakes are ever-present — even at meetings of the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors. Ryan Kost in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/8/22

Water  

What Israel, Las Vegas and other places can teach SoCal about using a lot less water -- Millions of Southern Californians will wake up to the region’s most severe water restrictions ever on June 1, with local water agencies under orders to slash the use of supplies from the State Water Project by 35%. Hayley Smith, Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/8/22

Wildfire  

‘Unrelenting’ fire seasons putting new mental strain on crews that fight flames -- Firefighter Chuck Stark summed up life in the 2020s for crews at the Contra Costa Fire Protection District and throughout the state: “If I could describe it in one word: Unrelenting,” he said. “There used to be an ebb and a flow to this. Not anymore.” Rick Hurd in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/8/22

Develop  

A landslide destroyed O.C. homes 24 years ago. A developer wants to build there again -- In 1998, after a winter of heavy rains, the hill below Via Estoril collapsed. Several homes slid down, others were destroyed, and the condominiums below were heavily damaged. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/8/22

Exodus  

The most popular cities on Redfin for Bay Area residents looking to move away now -- For the Redfin users who were looking beyond the Bay Area, referred to as “origin leavers,” the biggest draws were other metropolitan areas within the state: Sacramento topped the list, at 20.4%, followed by Los Angeles at 12.5%. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/8/22

Guns  

Semiautomatic and automatic assault rifles among firearms collected at buyback event in Lynwood -- Participants were able to give up their firearms with no questions asked in exchange for gift cards. A total of 365 weapons were collected. Marissa Evans in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/8/22

Supply Chain  

Port Labor Talks Pose New Complication for Supply Chain -- Negotiations over a new contract for 22,400 dockworkers at 29 West Coast ports could take months to resolve, raising more concerns for U.S. importers and exporters. Paul Berger in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/8/22

 

California Policy and Politics Sunday Morning  

Abortion rights activists rally in West Hollywood ahead of Mother’s Day -- Protesters gathered in West Hollywood on Saturday for a march to support abortion rights after the U.S. Supreme Court indicated it is poised to overturn Roe vs. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision legalizing abortion nationwide. Lila Seidman, Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/8/22

Schiff knew Ukraine’s Zelenskyy on paper amid impeachment process, but secret visit was a first -- It was surreal and sobering enough as it was. But it was doubly so for Rep. Adam Schiff. There was Schiff, on a secret trip last weekend led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to the Ukraine, meeting with the nation’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy amid the three-month-old Russian bombardment that has killed and injured thousands and jolted the world. Ryan Carter in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/8/22

Walters: Journalists shed light on thorny California issues -- At its best, journalism provides readers, viewers or listeners with information and analysis that empowers them to become better citizens, and that’s particularly vital in a state as bewilderingly complex as California. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 5/8/22

Where Does the Anti-Abortion Movement Go After Roe? -- The Supreme Court draft opinion signals a new era for the 50-year effort to end the constitutional right to abortion. Next goals include a national ban and, in some cases, classifying abortion as homicide. Elizabeth Dias and Ruth Graham in the New York Times$ -- 5/8/22

Street  

State Bar notifies 1,300 individuals identified in massive data breach -- The State Bar of California has begun notifying thousands of individuals whose names appeared in 322,525 confidential attorney discipline records published online in a massive data breach discovered in February. Scott Schwebke in the Orange County Register -- 5/8/22

LAPD got hundreds of complaints about officers not wearing COVID masks, but punished few -- As the COVID-19 pandemic raged through Los Angeles in 2020 and 2021, infecting thousands of Los Angeles police officers, LAPD officials mandated that officers wear protective masks while at work and when interacting with the public. They also promised to hold those who didn’t accountable. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/8/22

White House drug czar announces new plan to address meth crisis during San Diego visit -- The director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy visited San Diego on Saturday to announce the administration’s plan to address the methamphetamine crisis, both by increasing resources for drug treatment and continuing to target cross-border smuggling operations. Lauren J. Mapp in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/8/22

Homeless  

$5.8 million plan targets homeless camps along Riverside’s Santa Ana River -- Riverside leaders are poised to launch an accelerated, multi-pronged $5.8 million campaign to persuade homeless people to abandon tents in the Santa Ana River bed and move into housing, and clean up their camps. David Downey in the Riverside Press Enterprise$ -- 5/8/22

Education  

Threatening anti-LGBTQ graffiti found in Sacramento high school restroom under investigation -- An anti-LGBTQ slur scrawled on the walls of a bathroom at a Sacramento high school and shared on social media is under investigation by the Elk Grove Unified School District. District officials told The Sacramento Bee that the graffiti was “immediately removed” Thursday by custodial staff at Sheldon High School and was reported to school administrators. Dominique Williams in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/8/22

Also . . .   

What makes San Francisco ‘the City’? You’d be surprised -- John Steinbeck was a master at invoking what writers call a sense of place: Monterey, the Salinas Valley, Cannery Row. “When I was a child growing up in Salinas we called San Francisco ‘the City,’” he wrote. “Of course it was the only city we knew, but I still think of it as the City. And so does everyone else who has ever been associated with it.” Carl Nolte in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/8/22

 

Saturday Updates   

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