California Policy and Politics Tuesday

Owner to give up two of S.F.’s largest hotels as city’s ‘path to recovery remains clouded’ -- The owner of two of San Francisco’s biggest hotels — Hilton San Francisco Union Square and Parc 55 — has stopped mortgage payments and plans to give up the two properties, in another sign of disinvestment in hard-hit downtown. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/6/23

S.F. Mayor Breed urges Biden to step up action on fentanyl, supports bill with tough penalties -- Breed and her counterparts also came out in support of a polarizing federal bill called the HALT Fentanyl Act, which would permanently classify the powerful synthetic opioid as a Schedule 1 drug. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/6/23

Newsom threatens DeSantis with kidnapping charges after migrants flown to Sacramento -- Gov. Gavin Newsom took his feud with Gov. Ron DeSantis to new heights on Monday, seemingly threatening him with kidnapping charges after California officials say South American migrants were sent to Sacramento by the state of Florida as a political stunt. Mackenzie Mays, Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ Trân Nguyễn, Olga R. Rodriguez Associated Press -- 6/6/23

New federal charge in S.F. corruption scandal alleges $20K bribe to hire a city worker -- Another bribery charge involving former San Francisco Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru was filed Monday by federal prosecutors accusing a man of trying to buy an engineering job with a $20,000 payoff to Nuru. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/6/23

Republicans walk off Assembly floor during Pride Month celebration -- Republicans in the California Assembly walked off the floor Monday to protest a Pride Month celebration that included a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a queer and transgender group known for its colorful style of drag and philanthropic work. Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Hannah Wiley in the Los Angeles Times$ Maya Miller in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 6/6/23

Pride march headed for Santee in the wake of YMCA protests over transgender rights -- Months after hundreds gathered in the eastern San Diego County community of Santee to oppose letting transgender people use locker rooms aligning with their gender identity, a local church is organizing a Pride march in the city. Blake Nelson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 6/6/23

Conservative and pro-LBGTQ sides ready for Glendale school board battle -- The national debate over how gender and sexuality identity should be taught to children, and protected in schools, has come to Glendale Unified School District and is likely to draw a contentious crowd at its Tuesday, June 6 school board meeting. Clara Harter in the Orange County Register -- 6/6/23

Metrolink partially suspends Orange County train lines due to landslides — again -- Service had restarted a week ago after an earlier closure, but transportation officials again closed tracks between San Diego and Orange counties on Monday morning after discovering a landslide beneath the Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens. Vanessa Arredondo, Phil Diehl in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 6/6/23

Walters: New economic study puts it plainly: California’s competitive edge is declining -- Has California lost its mojo? Dan Walters CalMatters -- 6/6/23

Workplace

A ‘hot labor summer.’ Hollywood unrest continues as actors approve strike vote -- And, on Monday night, SAG-AFTRA announced that its members have voted overwhelmingly (by a 98% margin) to give their leaders authority to call a strike if they can’t negotiate a new contract — even before negotiations are scheduled to begin Wednesday. Anousha Sakoui in the Los Angeles Times$ Nicole Sperling in the New York Times$ -- 6/6/23

CO2

Levels of heat-trapping carbon dioxide in the air hit another peak and show no signs of slowing -- The root cause of global warming is showing no signs of slowing as heat-trapping carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere increased to record highs during its annual spring peak, jumping at one of the fastest rates on record, officials announced Monday. Seth Borenstein Associated Press -- 6/6/23

Wildfire

New wildfire ‘smelling sensors’ could help protect this vulnerable part of Bay Area -- A new network of air quality sensors is being tested in the wildfire-prone Oakland hills that could help crews corral blazes before they get out of control, officials say. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/6/23

Education

In California's youth justice system, many high schoolers graduate with grade-school reading skills -- Nearly a third of all assessments given were for grade levels K-6, though not a single student during those five years was below eighth grade. Betty Márquez Rosales, Daniel J. Willis EdSource -- 6/6/23

Street

New detail emerges on driver in crash that killed champion cyclist in S.F.'s Presidio -- U.S. Park Police officials suspected that the driver of a vehicle that struck and killed a champion cyclist in San Francisco’s Presidio in April was intoxicated at the time of the fatal crash, according to records reviewed by The Chronicle. Nora Mishanec in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 6/6/23

Also

Oakland A’s fans raise $27,000-worth of shirts for reverse boycott -- Oakland Coliseum denizens are planning a reverse boycott on June 13 to tell the world that Oakland A’s fans won’t go down silently amid plans to move the team to Las Vegas from its home of 55 years. Shayna Rubin in the East Bay Times$ -- 6/6/23

How Hackers Can Up Their Game by Using ChatGPT -- Artificial intelligence, by mimicking the writing style of individuals, can make cyberattacks much harder to detect. Cheryl Winokur Munk in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 6/6/23