Updating . .   

‘Indirect bribes’ went to family members of officials in City Hall corruption case, feds say -- When the U.S. attorney’s corruption case targeting Los Angeles City Hall first broke into view, much of the public’s attention focused on vivid descriptions of cash bribes, escort services and lavish trips to Las Vegas. David Zahniser, Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/21

Will Nancy Pelosi call it quits? Here's one way to tell -- The question of whether House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will retire after next year is a momentous one for more than just Washington. Her decision has far-reaching implications in her San Francisco district, where everyone and their chihuahua is likely to run when the seat opens up. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/2/21

With Eli Broad’s era past, L.A. needs fewer kingmakers and more inclusive, diverse civic builders -- When Eli Broad imagined the future of Los Angeles, he saw a thriving metropolis whose cultural and artistic resources matched the tastes, appetites and ambitions of its residents. As one of its wealthiest residents, he was able to shape and finance his personal dream of what Los Angeles should be. Thomas Curwen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/21

COVID  

So coronavirus vaccines aren’t perfect. They’re still very, very effective -- A rising number of people who’ve been vaccinated are getting infected with the coronavirus. But is that surprising, and should it be cause for concern? The short answer, according to local researchers: No. Jonathan Wosen in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/2/21

'You just get used to being locked down': Pandemic anxiety is keeping people home as the Bay Area reopens -- Liu knows the facts — the broad protection the vaccine offers, the low transmission rates in San Francisco, the relative safety of outdoor activities — but it’s hard to shake a year’s worth of accumulated anxiety. “The facts are one thing,” she says, “and the emotions are another.” She’s not sure how to align the two — or even whether she can. Ryan Kost in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/2/21

Policy & Politics 

Arnold Schwarzenegger Is No Longer the Governor of California. Right? -- Amid a pandemic and a recall, Mr. Schwarzenegger has been in demand at his Los Angeles mansion, embracing his unlikely role as California’s “elderly statesman.” Shawn Hubler in the New York Times$ -- 5/2/21

LA County DA George Gascon is center stage in national revolution to reform justice system -- 'There are many who are looking at Los Angeles as a bellwether,' says the leader of a group of reform-minded district attorneys. Tony Saavedra in the Orange County Register -- 5/2/21

Smolens: Faulconer doesn’t grab headlines, but makes the rounds on recall circuit -- Olympic champion and transgender activist Caitlyn Jenner is running, actor Randy Quaid says he’s considering it, and the recall election for Gov. Gavin Newsom has qualified for the ballot. Michael Smolens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/2/21

Jenner says transgender girls in women’s sports is ‘unfair’ -- Caitlyn Jenner, the former Olympic champion and reality TV personality now running for California governor, said she opposes transgender girls competing in girls’ sports at school. Associated Press -- 5/2/21

Newsom: Recall Pushed By 'Extreme Right Wingers' Must Be Defeated -- Only days after a recall campaign aimed at Gov. Gavin Newsom passed its highest hurdle yet toward making the ballot, California Democrats used their annual party convention to rally grassroots activists around fighting what many described as a Republican power grab. Scott Shafer KQED -- 5/2/21

McManus: Biden never declared war on meat, but Republicans didn’t let truth ruin a good attack -- The big story on Fox News last weekend was Joe Biden’s purported “war on meat” — a breathless disclosure that the president plans to limit every American to 4 pounds of steaks a year. Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/21

USC  

For USC women, largest-ever sex abuse payout leaves bitterness, vast disparities -- Two women, both Asian Americans raised in Southern California, enrolled in USC graduate programs a few years apart. Matt Hamilton, Harriet Ryan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/21

Greener Grass  

The Bay Area is losing Latino homeowners. Where are they going? -- Realtors and lenders say some longtime Latino homeowners are seizing the moment to sell their Bay Area homes and move to emerging low-cost markets like Houston, Phoenix or Boise, Idaho. Lauren Hepler in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/2/21

COVID Economy   

OpenTable data shows how San Francisco's restaurant rebound compares to other cities -- Restaurant reservations are down, on average, 70% in San Francisco compared to 2019, the lowest rate of any U.S. city, according to new OpenTable data released this week. Elena Kadvany, Nami Sumida in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/2/21

Street  

‘Safe space’ email after Chauvin verdict turns into reply-all melee at California agency -- A mass email sent by a California environmental agency to announce a “safe space” discussion after Derek Chauvin’s murder conviction sparked a reply-all marathon as employees voiced support for police, accused management of “caving to the mob” and asked to be removed from a “racially based” email list. Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/2/21

'It was traumatizing': Black drivers more likely to be stopped by police in Berkeley, audit finds -- Michael Lang left the Bay Area four months ago after he was stopped at gunpoint by police in Berkeley in a case of mistaken identity for a carjacking suspect, leaving him traumatized. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/2/21

Education  

San Diego school districts still face deficits despite flood of COVID cash -- San Diego County’s school districts received huge infusions of federal cash this year to cope with COVID and did not lose any state funding — yet many still are facing long-term budget deficits, and some still have to make budget cuts. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/2/21

Cannabis  

San Diego may loosen cannabis rules to help minorities gain a piece of lucrative industry -- San Diego is launching a comprehensive analysis of its laws governing cannabis businesses to see how they could be loosened to allow more minorities and low-income residents to become part of the lucrative industry. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/2/21

Also . . .   

L.A.'s history is often whitewashed, romanticized and censored. A new push to tell the truth -- Los Angeles, as the writer Octavia Butler once mused in a notebook, “forms and shatters, forms and shatters.” This has never been a place with a conventional relationship to its history. Julia Wick in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/21

California Policy and P  olitics Sunday Morning  

Turmoil shakes California National Guard with firing, suspension of top generals -- Turmoil has gripped the leadership ranks of the California National Guard, with the firing of the general who commanded its air branch, the suspension of a second key general, and new limits placed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on the organization’s use of fighter jets for civilian missions. Paul Pringle, Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/21

COVID Economy  

Parking meter use shows the unevenness of S.F.'s pandemic recovery -- A Chronicle analysis of more than two years of city parking data found that while citywide parking-meter transactions, any time someone makes an initial payment for parking, have rebounded closer to matching their 2019 monthly totals, there remains a wide variance in meter transactions within the city’s neighborhoods. Ricardo Cano, Nami Sumida in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/2/21

Policy & Politics 

California Democrats, including Newsom and Harris, speak out against recall -- One after another, nearly every speaker at the California Democratic Party convention — a lineup that included the vice president of the United States as well as a grocery clerk — showered effusive praise on Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday as he fights an effort to oust him from office. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ Ben Christopher CalMatters Kathleen Ronayne Associated Press -- 5/2/21

Walters: Is Newsom making any difference on fracking? -- British journalist James Bartholomew is widely credited with creating the phrase “virtue signaling” to describe positioning oneself on the popular side of an issue without actually doing anything about it. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 5/2/21

Police break up fight outside fundraiser for Orange County D.A. in Costa Mesa -- Costa Mesa police were called after a fight broke out between protesters and attendees of a political fundraiser for Orange County Dist. Atty. Todd Spitzer this week, authorities said. Alex Wigglesworth, Priscella Vega in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/21

S.F. Public Works finance official retires while $100 million garbage scandal keeps rolling on -- Julia Dawson stepped down from her $234,000-a-year position as deputy director for finance after seven years, department spokeswoman Rachel Gordon confirmed Saturday. Steve Rubenstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/2/21

San Diego County reimagines youth detention with new, school-like campus -- At a glance, San Diego County’s new $130 million Youth Transition Campus looks like a school campus, with clusters of one-story buildings, angled roofs and an open layout waiting for grass and trees. Deborah Sullivan Brennan in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/2/21

Newton: Eli Broad, leader for a city that doesn’t want to be led -- The story of Eli Broad and Los Angeles has something of the dynamic of the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. As a young man, Eli came to L.A., full of conviction and ambition and certitude, and arrived in a place that was famously — then and now — resistant to leadership. Jim Newton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/2/21

Street  

Peaceful May Day protests followed by violence, arrests in Oakland -- While May Day rallies around the Bay unfolded peacefully with speeches and car caravans to honor workers’ rights and the labor movement, an anti-police demonstration in downtown Oakland Saturday night grew tense, resulting in the arrests of multiple people in connection with assaulting police officers and injuring a TV news employee. Martha Ross in the San Jose Mercury$ Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/2/21

Water  

'Beyond depressing': What happened to Phoenix Lake? A favorite Bay Area spot is barely there -- Tucked among the trees at the foot of Mount Tamalpais, Phoenix Lake is among the smallest but perhaps prettiest jewels in a strand of reservoirs spread across Marin County. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 5/2/21

Pandemic Lockdown Exposes the Vulnerability Some Californians Face Keeping Up With Water Bills --As California slowly emerges from the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, one remnant left behind by the statewide lockdown offers a sobering reminder of the economic challenges still ahead for millions of the state’s residents and the water agencies that serve them – a mountain of water debt. Gary Pitzer Western Water -- 5/2/21