Updating . .   

Gavin Newsom’s inflation relief package could drive up prices even more, experts say -- An $18.1 billion inflation-relief package proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom will put salve on key pain points for Californians most affected by rising gas and grocery prices but also likely will cause prices to tick up just a tad more, leading economists. The Newsom package also won’t likely stave off a possible recession, the fear of which tanked the markets on Wednesday, experts said. Cathie Anderson and David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/22

A ‘no party preference’ prosecutor could shake up California attorney general’s race -- As a prosecutor, Anne Marie Schubert has thrived on being able to pull off what seemed impossible. Schubert, who has served as Sacramento County’s district attorney for eight years, has a reputation for poring over long-forgotten cases and detailed DNA evidence. Hannah Wiley in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

Skelton: California attorney general is one of few key races on the ballot. It’s worth our attention -- Except for governor, the most important statewide elective office in California is attorney general. And there’ll be a pivotal vote on the job in the June 7 primary. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

Big oil backers and bobblehead ads? Sacramento’s Senate race heats up as PACs weigh in -- Sacramento drivers who’ve recently stopped near a busy Curtis Park intersection may have spotted a billboard featuring a suit-wearing bobblehead. Lindsey Holden in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/22

Former L.A. public defender picked to lead federal Access to Justice office -- During a college internship at the Orange County Public Defender’s office, Rachel Rossi was sent to the local jail. She was given a simple instruction: Ask people who had recently been arrested what they need. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

Secret retreats and a powerful ‘cabal’: Corruption probe reveals who really runs Anaheim -- A year and a half ago, two power brokers in Anaheim discussed a critical question on the phone: Who should they invite to a secretive gathering of Anaheim business leaders, consultants and politicians? Nathan Fenno, Adam Elmahrek, Gabriel San Román in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

Arellano: Corruption scandal shows that in Anaheim politics, there are no angels -- I arrived early to Tuesday’s Anaheim City Council meeting, expecting to find an overflow crowd wielding metaphorical pitchforks and torches. Evidently, so did the powers that be. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

Workplace   

Acrimony, threats, absent doctors: L.A. County and USC clash over hospital management -- For years, a contentious dispute between Los Angeles County’s healthcare leaders and the University of Southern California has seethed behind closed doors, injecting tension and acrimony in the operations at one of the nation’s busiest public hospitals that climaxed during the COVID-19 pandemic. Matt Hamilton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

Latinos hold only 3% of California’s public company board seats despite diversity push -- Latinos held only 3% of California public company board seats at the end of 2021, lagging behind other minority groups that made larger gains in the previous year, according to a new report. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/22

COVID  

New coronavirus mystery: Some are getting COVID-19 again even after taking Paxlovid -- Some coronavirus-positive patients who have completed treatment of the anti-COVID drug Paxlovid are rebounding into illness, and experts are urging people to be cautious if they develop COVID-like symptoms again and become infectious. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/19/22

Almost as contagious as measles: Coronavirus spins out worrisome new mutations -- The relentless evolution of new variants could propel the coronavirus to overtake measles as the most contagious of all known infections and propel new COVID surges around the world. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/22

COVID Economy  

S.F. hotels see tourism comeback with highest occupancy, room rates of pandemic -- April hotel occupancy reached a pandemic era high of 67.2% in April and the average daily room rate was $226.59, also the highest of the pandemic, according to San Francisco Travel, the city’s tourism bureau. Occupancy is almost double 2021’s 35.5% level but lags 2019’s record high of 82.9%. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/22

Street  

Inside the Laguna Woods church shooting: A stranger lurking, ‘evil’ and heroes rising -- Behind the pulpit of the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, Pastor Billy Chang was in his element. Hailey Branson-Potts, Hannah Fry, Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

San Francisco’s juvenile hall was scheduled to close last year. So why are kids still locked up there? -- Three years ago, the Board of Supervisors made the landmark decision to shut down its juvenile hall by the end of 2021, becoming the first major city in the nation to do so. Yet the Youth Guidance Center, as it’s officially known, remains open. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/22

Co-owner of beloved Oakland Filipino restaurant killed in shooting -- The victim was identified by the restaurant on their social media accounts as Jun Anabo, the co-owner of the Filipino restaurant Lucky Three Seven. The restaurant did not respond to requests from The Chronicle for comment. “We have entered a time of uncertainty. And although Jun would want us to keep it moving and keep it pushing … we find ourselves lost without him,” the restaurant said in an Instagram post. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/22

Homeless  

Oakland wins $11 million to turn Coliseum hotel into homeless housing -- The project, dubbed The Inn at Coliseum, will allow the city to buy a 37-room hotel, rehabilitate it and convert it into long-term housing. It’s the latest award under Newsom’s Homekey initiative, which doles out funding to help cities and counties turn hotels, dormitories and other buildings into homes for unhoused people. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/19/22

Homelessness is up 10% in San Diego County. ‘More miserable out there than I have seen in years’ -- Homelessness has increased in San Diego County, and it’s especially apparent in several cities where tents and makeshift structures fill sidewalks, canyons and freeway offramps. Gary Warth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

Water  

With severe drought, an urgent call to rework the Colorado River’s defining pact -- One hundred years after a landmark agreement divided the waters of the Colorado River among Western states, the pact is now showing its age as a hotter and drier climate has shrunk the river. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

Can you keep your grass green during California drought? Tips for Sacramento homeowners -- California cities are enforcing water-saving measures, summer heat has crept in early and your lush green grass is probably starting to wither. Hanh Truong in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/22

Environment  

Wildlife officials truck Chinook salmon to cooler waters in emergency move to help them spawn -- The spring-run Chinook, listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, are being moved from traps at the base of Keswick Dam to Clear Creek in the Sacramento River. Christian Martinez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

Storied California redwood grove ‘almost loved to death’ reopens this weekend, with new boardwalk -- A grove of ancient redwoods that had suffered a decade’s worth of damage from tourists in California's far north has been retrofitted with a new boardwalk to shield it from further abuse. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/22

California Policy and Politics Thursday Morning  

California Supreme Court clears the way for Newsom to grant clemency to NFL star’s father, convicted of murder in 2005 -- The state Supreme Court cleared the way Wednesday for Gov. Gavin Newsom to grant clemency and an early parole hearing to Kenneth Clark, a pro football player’s father who was convicted of a 2005 murder in San Bernardino and sentenced to 55 years to life in prison. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/22

Garcetti wanted 9,735 cops. But L.A. won’t be able to hit that target -- The Los Angeles City Council scaled back Mayor Eric Garcetti’s spending plan for the Police Department on Wednesday, after receiving a report that said his target for police hiring cannot be achieved. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

LA council OKs $11.8B budget featuring $87 million LAPD increase -- The Los Angeles City Council on Wednesday, May 18, approved an $11.8 billion budget for the 2022-23 fiscal year, with an $87 million increase to the Los Angeles Police Department, as well as a second year of historic spending of over $1 billion related to homelessness. The item is in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/19/22

Mayor London Breed vows to fight for more police officers in upcoming San Francisco budget talks -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed said Wednesday she’ll push for police academy classes and investment to recruit and retain officers in the upcoming city budget amid public safety concerns from residents and businesses. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/22

Helping mentally ill people: The debate over ‘involuntary treatment’ -- Lee Davis says flatly that without involuntary treatment for her raging psychosis, she would be dead. “It saved my life.” A mental health activist, she chairs the Alameda County Mental Health Advisory Board, which advises the board of supervisors and county officials on mental health policy. Sigrid Bathen Capitol Weekly -- 5/19/22

How CalMatters readers would spend the state’s budget surplus -- We spoke to Californians about their spending priorities for the state’s record-breaking surplus — priorities they picked while playing our 2022 budget game. Itzel Luna CalMatters -- 5/19/22

What would Ron Galperin do as California controller? -- In a 75-minute interview with CalMatters, Ron Galperin, a Democrat running for California controller, touts his experience as city controller in Los Angeles. He pledges to bring some of his innovations statewide and calls homelessness an existential crisis. Sameea Kamal CalMatters -- 5/19/22

Workplace   

85% of California fast-food workers have experienced wage theft, study finds -- When Alicia Lara picked up a second job and started working at the Jack in the Box in North Highlands in 2018, she regularly found herself forced to work through legally mandated breaks. Alexandra Yoon-Hendricks in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/22

Street  

Shootout at East Palo Alto park filled with children leaves one person dead, three injured -- One person was killed and three others were injured in a shooting involving multiple gunmen at an East Palo Alto park bustling with children and families on Tuesday evening, authorities said. Police are asking witnesses to come forward with any information and footage to aid in their investigation. Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/22

Feds probe Tesla Autopilot in Newport Beach crash that killed 3 -- Federal authorities are investigating whether a Tesla involved in a crash that left three people dead and three others injured last week in Newport Beach had its Autopilot system activated at the time of the wreck. Gregory Yee in the Los Angeles Times$ Ryan Felton in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/19/22

Homeless  

Homeless families living in vehicles are filling this quiet S.F. neighborhood. Here’s what the city plans to do -- San Francisco officials are pushing to open a “safe parking” site for at least 50 homeless households living in their vehicles on the streets surrounding Lake Merced. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/22

Housing   

Bay Area’s biggest new housing development once again in trouble -- The new developer of the Bay Area’s largest housing development, the 13,000-unit reuse of the Concord Naval Weapons Station, now says the project is not economically feasible and is demanding a series of extensions and financial guarantees in order to proceed with the plan. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/22

Why do so many L.A. apartments come without fridges? Inside the chilling mystery -- How L.A. became a fridge-less aberration is one of the region’s more mysterious, least delightful eccentricities, along with absurdly long street parking signs or frigid days at the beach in June. Longtime renters, landlords, appliance store owners and property managers don’t know exactly how it happened. But it did. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

Wildfire  

Critical fire conditions coming to Northern California, forecasters say -- Low humidity and gusty winds are coming to Northern California on Thursday and Friday, significantly elevating the fire risk in the region, according to forecasters. National Weather Service offices for the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento each issued warnings Wednesday. Gregory Yee in the Los Angeles Times$ Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/19/22

Homeowners sue SoCal Edison, claiming faulty equipment sparked Coastal fire -- A group of homeowners is suing Southern California Edison, claiming that its equipment was to blame for a blaze that destroyed more than 20 homes in Laguna Niguel last week. The fire swept through an upscale neighborhood on May 11, spurred by robust coastal winds and dry brush starved of moisture due to a drought gripping the West. Nathan Solis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

Education  

How can California improve the working conditions of community college adjuncts? -- The second class status of part-time faculty at California’s community colleges is a decades-long problem that demands novel solutions. With conditions worsening, state and local leaders need to find new ways to address the problem, panelists said Wednesday during an EdSource roundtable. Michael Burke EdSource -- 5/18/22

Updated state computer system frustrates districts during student testing period -- A major upgrade last month in the state’s primary student data collection system, CALPADS, has caused disruptions and data errors for many districts at one of their busiest times of the year. Statewide leaders representing districts told the state that some of the districts considered the system “unusable.” John Fensterwald EdSource -- 5/18/22

Finishing in Four Years -- Graduating students in four years, or six years at the latest, is the goal at many public universities nationwide. This series examines strategies that helped two campuses to make significant progress especially for Black and Latino students. EdSource -- 5/18/22

Also . . .   

Disney labels rainbow merchandise ‘Pride Collection’ for the first time: ‘This is how it’s done!’ -- For years, Walt Disney Co. has courted LGBTQ+ visitors to its theme parks, selling rainbow-colored souvenirs and hosting groups that organize annual “Gay Days” celebrations. But Disney this week started marketing and promoting merchandise under the name Pride Collection for the first time, a big branding move for a company that has become a conservative target for its support of LGBTQ+ rights. Hugo Martín in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/19/22

These havens were once cool, hidden spaces in downtown S.F. Some have gone off limits -- Even before the pandemic, some of the coolest public spaces in downtown San Francisco were easy to miss — perched on tall buildings or tucked inside towers, off the map unless you were in the know. John King in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/19/22