Rough & Tumble ®
A Snapshot of California Public Policy and Politics
 
 
   
 
 

California Policy and Politics Saturday

UC worker strike to hit UCLA, Davis next. A looming question: Is this walkout legal? -- The University of California academic workers’ strike is expected to amp up Tuesday with walkouts at UCLA and UC Davis after a state labor board declined to immediately stop it, ruling that a university complaint did not meet the legal standard required for its intervention. Howard Blume, Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/24

Far From the Protests, Some Students Try to Meet in the Middle -- They sat scattered in a classroom after hours on chairs attached to desks, 15 undergraduates at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, trying to make sense of the world and its discontents, starting with the recent campus Israel protests. Molly Ball, Ruby Wallau in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/25/24

Politics & Policy

Gavin Newsom pounces as Republicans come to Big Oil’s defense -- Nineteen Republican attorneys general asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday to block lawsuits from California and four other states attempting to make major oil companies pay for climate change damages. Wes Venteicher Politico -- 5/25/24

California lawmakers advance apology for slavery, funding frameworks for reparations -- California lawmakers moved several reparations bills, including an apology for slavery. But several other bills died. Wendy Fry CalMatters -- 5/25/24

Wealthy S.F. mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie declines public funding -- The announcement comes amid what is expected to be one of most expensive mayoral races in San Francisco history, a crowded race in which candidates have together already raised millions of dollars ahead of the November election. Aldo Toledo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/24

Workplace

Kaiser doctors in Northern California vote to unionize -- Medical residents at Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California hospitals have voted to unionize, becoming the first group of doctors in the health system to do so — and the latest in a nationwide trend of young physicians joining organized labor to seek better working conditions. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/25/24

San Diego’s life science industry has a new challenge: Too much space -- San Diego’s world-renowned life science cluster broke a new record at the start of the year: The vacancy rate for lab and office spaces hit 14 percent — an all-time high. Natallie Rocha in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/25/24

Hotel strike nears end as union reaches more tentative deals with holdouts -- More striking hotel workers edge toward finish line after seven more hotels reach tentative agreements. Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/24

Homeless

California big city mayors call for continued state homelessness funds -- Several California big city mayors urged Gov. Gavin Newsom and lawmakers this week to continue state funding to combat homelessness, money that they said has been a lifesaver for thousands of people on the streets of the Golden State. Vik Jolly in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/25/24

Education

San Diego Unified superintendent under internal investigation -- The district won’t say what prompted the investigation, which began last month and is expected to cost about $100,000. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/25/24

LAUSD caves to public outcry: No more timed testing for 4-year-olds -- Following a public outcry from parents and teachers, the Los Angeles Unified School District has decided to make timed reading tests optional for most transitional kindergarten students. Jenny Gold in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/24

Staying Afloat

As more Californians fall behind in making debt payments, one group stands out -- Stubbornly high inflation and interest rates are taking an increasing toll in California as the state experiences rising unemployment and slowing wage gains. And those feeling it the hardest: the largest and perhaps most budget-minded generation of them all. Don Lee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/24

Street

Burglary gangs are literally planting cameras in Southern California yards to spy on residents, police say -- A Temecula electrician was left scratching his head this month when he discovered two devices, including a camera with a lens poking through a leaf taped to it, hidden in the planter in his front yard. The camera was pointed toward a neighbor’s home. Brian Rokos in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/25/24

San Diego Border Patrol agent sentenced for helping move drugs, migrants across border while on duty -- Hector Hernandez, who was arrested last year following a sting operation, was sentenced in San Diego federal court to seven years and three months in prison. Alex Riggins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/25/24

Also

Suspected cyber attack continues to hobble operations at Palomar Health Medical Group -- Nearly three weeks after experiencing a suspected cyberattack and shutting down its computer network, Palomar Health Medical Group continues to operate without fully functional systems, and patients say they are experiencing longer wait times for everything from scheduled appointments to prescription refills. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/25/24

New Mexico judge denies Alec Baldwin’s motion to dismiss criminal case in ‘Rust’ shooting -- Baldwin’s trial on the felony charge is expected to begin in July. If convicted, he would face a prison sentence of up to 18 months. He has pleaded not guilty. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/25/24

 

California Policy and Politics Friday

Updating...

Environmental review of Burbank-Palmdale high-speed rail released -- If approved by the High-Speed Rail Authority’s board of directors next month, the entire route between Los Angeles and San Francisco would be environmentally cleared for construction. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/24

S.F. faces deep budget cuts as Mayor Breed prepares to close massive deficit -- San Franciscans are about to find out how big a hit city services could take as Mayor London Breed and local legislators prepare to close another huge deficit. Chase DiFeliciantonio, Aldo Toledo, J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/24

Newsom turns to suburban moms to bankroll Arizona abortion plan -- The Democratic governor Thursday signed into law a bill that temporarily allows Arizona abortion providers to practice in California in order to help cope with an influx of patients crossing the state border in the two years since the Supreme Court ended nationwide abortion rights. Mackenzie Mays in the Los Angeles Times$ Rachel Bluth Politico -- 5/24/24

Garofoli: ‘The dirty little secret in this town’: GOP voters could decide S.F. mayor’s race -- Only 7% of San Francisco’s registered voters are Republicans, but the city’s top GOP leaders say the party is poised to play an outsize role in deciding who the city’s next mayor will be by doing something that may appear mind-blowing: endorse a Democrat. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/24

Biden helps California move closer to cannabis cafes -- The cannabis industry hopes changes at the federal level will help convince Gov. Gavin Newsom — who stumped for the 2016 legalization push — to get on board. Alex Nieves Politico -- 5/24/24

California would face larger future budget deficit if savings lag, analysis finds -- A nonpartisan California agency is cautioning lawmakers that savings from a cut to state operations proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom may not materialize and that would pose a larger deficit in the next budget year. Vik Jolly in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/24/24

California lawmakers speed retail theft bills ahead of Prop. 47 ballot measure deadline -- California lawmakers plan to expedite their bills to address retail theft — an effort to derail a movement to put a question on the November ballot that would toughen a law that made certain lower-level crimes misdemeanors. Lindsey Holden in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/24/24

Jury rules against Black Lives Matter co-founder in LAPD ‘swatting’ lawsuit -- A Los Angeles civil jury ruled against Black Lives Matter-L.A. co-founder Melina Abdullah on Thursday, finding that two police officers were not liable for their response to a reported hostage situation in her home that turned out to be a false alarm. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/24

Fact check: California lawmaker statements about parents of transgender children are wrong -- A California Republican lawmaker made a series of false statements Wednesday, in response to a Democratic bill that would stop school districts from forcing school staff to inform parents that their child is transgender. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/24/24

Recall effort against Sen. Aisha Wahab falls apart -- A group trying to force an election to kick the Fremont Democrat out of office didn’t submit the necessary signatures in time. It and the Secretary of State’s office dispute what went wrong. Sameea Kamal CalMatters -- 5/24/24

Amid allegations against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, lawmaker wants to expand domestic abuse prosecutions -- Music mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs may be eligible to be prosecuted in alleged abuse of his girlfriend in 2016 under newly introduced California legislation. Anabel Sosa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/24

How California and the EU work together to regulate artificial intelligence -- California policies could have a huge effect on AI going forward. The EU wants to advise and coordinate. Khari Johnson CalMatters -- 5/24/24

Walters: Decadeslong Delta tunnel water project may finally be nearing a historic decision -- The notion of bypassing the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to move water from Northern California to Southern California has been kicking around for decades. It finally seems to be approaching the critical moment. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 5/24/24

Navarro

Jailed Trump Adviser Peter Navarro Says He Doesn’t Want a Pardon: ‘I Have No Regrets’ -- From a federal prison, former aide plots new MAGA agenda. Alex Leary in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/24/24

Campus

‘Denied’: UC fails to get a court order to stop academic workers’ strike; union hails decision -- The state labor board late Thursday declined to stop the University of California academic workers’ strike, ruling that a UC complaint did not meet the legal standard required for its intervention. Howard Blume, Jaweed Kaleem in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/24

Hundreds arrested and suspended: How California colleges are disciplining faculty and students over protests -- What are the academic and legal costs of civil disobedience for California’s college protesters? Christopher Buchanan, Christina Chkarboul, Atmika Iyer, Briana Mendez-Padilla, Jacqueline Munis, Jada Portillo, Hugo Rios, Elizabeth Wilson, Amelia Wu, Mikhail Zinshteyn CalMatters -- 5/24/24

Four takeaways from UCLA Chancellor Gene Block’s testimony on campus antisemitism, protests -- UCLA chancellor Gene Block was interrogated by a congressional committee Thursday for his handling of a Palestinian solidarity encampment. Republicans and some Democrats used the hearing as a chance to score political points. Jenny Jarvie in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/24

Police descend on UCLA after protesters erect new pro-Palestinian encampment -- More than two dozen officers in riot gear descended on UCLA Thursday afternoon, facing off with pro-Palestinian protesters who had erected a new encampment on campus hours earlier. Hannah Fry, Caroline Petrow-Cohen, Connor Sheets, Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/24

Student encampments end at San Jose State University and University of San Francisco -- The camp at Stanford University remained standing Thursday. Nollyanne Delacruz in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/24/24

Workplace

Walmart chops 500-plus jobs at two Bay Area tech hubs as layoffs widen -- Retail titan offers some workers relocations to Arkansas. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/24/24

Homeless

Newsom promised 1,200 tiny homes for homeless Californians. A year later, none have opened -- Gov. Gavin Newsom said he’d send tiny homes to San Jose, Los Angeles, Sacramento and San Diego County. Why haven’t any materialized yet? Marisa Kendall CalMatters -- 5/24/24

Downtown SF

Here’s Mayor Breed’s new plan to bring university campuses to downtown S.F. --As San Francisco’s recovery continues to be a critical issue in a competitive election year, two mayoral candidates are presenting plans to bring a satellite university campus into some of the vacant space downtown. Laura Waxmann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/24

Insurance Win

Insurance companies score big win on COVID coverage in state high court -- the California Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday that businesses that were forced to shut down because of COVID-19, or had to cancel concerts or sporting events during the pandemic, did not suffer property damage that was covered by insurance. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/24

Water Rates

San Diego County is on track for much higher water rates. Expect your bill to go up — but by how much? -- Water authority officials said their financial future looks so bleak that the proposed increases are badly needed and delaying them isn’t an option. A vote is set for June 27. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/24/24

Street

Fontana pays nearly $900,000 for ‘psychological torture’ inflicted by police to get false confession -- Detectives grilled Thomas Perez Jr. for 17 hours, deprived him of medications and threatened to have his dog killed if he didn't confess to killing his father, who was actually alive. Tony Saavedra in the Orange County Register -- 5/24/24

Skipped inspections, lax maintenance: Regulators blame Sheriff’s Department for fire that killed deputy -- State inspectors have fined the L.A. Sheriff’s Department more than $300,000 for failures leading to the 2023 fire that killed Deputy Freddy Flores. Keri Blakinger in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/24

Will these drones ‘revolutionize’ 911 response? L.A. suburb will be first to test -- Several Southern California law enforcement agencies use drones in a variety of scenarios including hostage situations, missing persons and 911 response. Caroline Petrow-Cohen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/24

Burglars beware: Police are using ‘bait houses’ in this wealthy California town -- Faced with an uptick in home burglaries, police in Atherton decided to plant traps to snare burglars. Salvador Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/24

Also

A Test of Cloud-Brightening Machines Poses No Health Risk, Officials Say -- After halting a test of controversial technology to fight global warming, the city of Alameda, Calif., said it had found no “measurable health risk” from the giant salty-mist-spraying fans. Christopher Flavelle in the New York Times$ -- 5/24/24

It inspired ‘Love Boat.’ Now the 1950s luxury liner is sinking in the California delta -- ​​This past week, as an old, giant cruise ship sank in the California delta, so too did the dreams of Chris Willson. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/24

Dead baby sea lions showing up along California coastal islands. Researchers aren’t sure why -- On May 7, Patrick Robinson took a boat out to Año Nuevo Island to survey the sea lions that come to birth on this rocky outcropping north of Monterey Bay. Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/24