Updating . .   

Garofoli: ‘Democrats had better get their act together’: Efforts to combat inflation aren’t resonating with Latino voters -- Democrats are blowing their opportunity to show voters how they’re taking on inflation — and their fumbling is tuning out the voters they desperately need to win: Latinos. “Democrats,” Jacqueline Martinez Garcel, CEO of the Latino Community Foundation told me, “had better get their act together.” Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/15/22

Millennials vs. boomer. Who will succeed L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl? -- That set the stage for Bob Hertzberg (D-Van Nuys) and Henry Stern (D-Malibu), state senators who represent parts of the Valley, to mount campaigns. They are running against West Hollywood City Council Member Lindsey Horvath, who is backed by Kuehl, and three other candidates in a race where homelessness and crime have emerged as defining issues before the June 7 primary. Andrew J. Campa, Jeong Park in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/22

Walters: Newsom’s electric car nirvana collides with reality -- Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Air Resources Board publicly boasted last week about making great strides toward eliminating fossil fuels and their greenhouse gases. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 5/15/22

COVID  

How the Bay Area kept its death rate low -- Six-hundred-fifty-thousand Americans would still be alive. If the United States had the Bay Area’s death rate from COVID-19, 350,000 people would have died so far — not 1 million, the astounding number of deaths the country will reach this month, about as many as the entire population of San Jose. Harriet Blair Rowan and John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/15/22

Climate  

Rice is Sacramento Valley’s gift to the world. Can it withstand California’s epic drought? -- Don Bransford has been growing rice in the fertile Sacramento Valley for 42 years. Not this summer. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/15/22

Wildfire  

In California’s high-risk fire country, Airbnb offers guests no warning or escape plan -- The cellphone began buzzing before dawn. Becca Rutledge looked outside and saw the orange glow of the Woolsey fire as it roared toward her family’s Airbnb rental home in the Santa Monica Mountains. Ben Poston, Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/22

Homeless  

Sacramento County to propose rules limiting where homeless can camp, supervisor says -- Although specific ordinance language is still being drafted, the proposal would prohibit camping near “sensitive infrastructure,” which could include flood-control facilities and highway overpasses, and near sites the county creates to house homeless residents, such as tiny home communities, Supervisor Rich Desmond said in an interview last week. Patrick Riley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/15/22

Sacred Ground  

The fight against COVID, a chaplain says, unfolded on ‘sacred ground’ -- Like any hospital, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center is filled with operating rooms, examining rooms, nurses’ stations and labs. But to Kevin Deegan, the hospital’s senior chaplain, it also contains sacred places — places where profound, heartbreaking and loving things occurred as the pandemic took hold. Francine Orr in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/22

 

California Policy and Politics Sunday Morning  

Pro-choice marchers throng S.F.’s Market Street, demand abortion protections -- Traffic came to a standstill Saturday morning along Market Street in San Francisco, where thousands of people packed the thoroughfare, determined to show they weren’t going to accept the U.S. Supreme Court’s recently leaked draft decision to overturn Roe v. Wade without a fight. Andres Picon in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/15/22

Protesters rally for abortion rights in California and across the U.S. -- Hundreds of rallies took place across the United States, including in Long Beach, Pasadena, Sherman Oaks, Palos Verdes and Santa Ana, as well as in San Francisco, San Diego, Washington, New York, Chicago and Austin, Texas. Louis Sahagún, Michael Finnegan, Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ Brooke Staggs, Javier Rojas and Mike Sprague in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/15/22

Abortion rights rally kicks off Planned Parenthood bus tour at Sacramento state Capitol -- The Planned Parenthood National Day of Action “Bans Off Our Bodies” rally in Sacramento was one of nearly 400 rallies planned across California and the U.S. sparked by the Supreme Court’s leaked draft ruling threatening Roe v. Wade. Dominique Williams in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/15/22

San Diegans join in nationwide marches for abortion rights -- With the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision in doubt, more than 1,000 abortion rights supporters gathered Saturday morning in downtown San Diego and later took to the streets in a boisterous but peaceful march that packed seven city blocks. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/15/22

Policy and Politics  

Trump endorses Kevin Kiley for California’s 3rd Congressional District seat -- Former President Donald Trump on Saturday endorsed Kevin Kiley for California’s 3rd Congressional District seat, telling voters the assemblyman has helped fight the “radical maniacs in Sacramento.” Trump called Kiley, a Republican from Rocklin, “a conservative champion in the California State Capitol.” David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/15/22

Street  

Shots fired at Lake Merritt hours after abortion rights rally -- The sound of gunfire reverberated around Lake Merritt on a hot Saturday afternoon that had drawn hundreds of residents to the popular Oakland waterfront for an abortion rights rally earlier that day. Cynthia Dizikes, Raheem Hosseini in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/15/22

Homeless  

Pushback on housing funding illustrates division on homeless programs -- A housing program that just last week was in jeopardy of winding down appears to have been given new life after the San Diego Housing Commission raised concerns that the city was more focused on temporary homeless solutions such as shelters rather than housing, Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/15/22

Housing   

One type of home loan has become cheaper than others as rates spike. Here’s what it means for Bay Area real estate -- As if buying a home wasn’t tough enough, the recent surge in mortgage rates is making it even harder, especially for buyers who need conforming loans, which have shot up faster than rates on larger “jumbo” loans this year. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/15/22

Lopez: Did you strike gold selling your house? Maybe you should share the wealth -- The modest South Pasadena house went on the market at just under $1.2 million and sold for a hair above $2.5 million, and when I wrote about it last month, I wasn’t surprised by the reaction. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/22

Water  

What about my koi pond? A wealthy L.A. enclave copes with water restrictions -- The questions came fast and furious for nearly five hours Wednesday night, offering a glimpse into the world of wealth, worry and water. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/15/22

Wildfire  

Drones hunting down hot spots of Coastal fire that ravaged Laguna Niguel neighborhood -- The Coastal fire remained at 200 acres and containment increased to 60% by Saturday evening as firefighters used drones with thermal imaging to seek out hot spots to prevent portions of the fire from igniting again, authorities said. Nathaniel Percy and Caitlin Antonios in the Orange County Register -- 5/15/22

 

Saturday Updates   

‘We have to do more.’ Newsom wants $65 million to set up California mental health courts -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom is prepared to invest significant state funds in his ambitious mental health courts plan — $65 million this year and $50 million annually for years to come. Newsom has been pitching his Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court, or CARE Court, proposal since March. But his May budget revision on Friday was the first time he put a dollar amount on it. Lindsey Holden in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/14/22

COVID  

Why is the COVID case rate in San Francisco so much higher than the U.S. right now? -- Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, said that San Francisco’s current high case rates are likely due to the city being relatively protected from the disease for the last two years, combined with city residents taking more risks as local pandemic-era restrictions and messaging wane. Susie Neilson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/14/22

Policy and Politics  

Embattled DA Gascón reverses course on controversial zero-bail policy -- In an abrupt policy about-face amid an aggressive recall effort, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón has lifted an order that prohibited prosecutors from seeking cash bail for defendants charged with nonviolent crimes. Scott Schwebke in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/14/22

Climate  

Here’s why whales have started hanging around San Francisco Bay -- Before 2016, guests on a popular whale watching tour had to sail far offshore for photos of whales. But these days, migration patterns of endangered humpbacks have altered so much that the boat stays almost entirely within the bay. Tara Duggan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/14/22

Workplace   

At Tech Companies, the Rebellion Against the Return to the Office Is Getting Serious -- Employees who fled the Bay Area and other high-cost tech hubs earlier in the Covid-19 pandemic—or who just prefer to work from home—now face hard choices: move back, try the super commute, or hold out for a concession or new job elsewhere. Katherine Bindley in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/14/22

Staying Afloat   

Knight: ‘Everything was a battle’: S.F. homelessness nonprofit leader leaves Bay Area as cost of living soars -- San Francisco residents know the sadness of seeing a steady stream of friends and colleagues leave the city, frustrated by the exorbitant cost of living and the inability of our leaders to address the desperation on our streets despite a $13 billion budget. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/14/22

Also . . .   

New tech aims to keep e-scooters off S.F. sidewalks. Will it work? -- Lime, Scoot and Spin, San Francisco’s three permitted scooter operators, recently began deploying scooters equipped with varying technology meant to detect and slow down riders on sidewalks. Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/14/22