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Newsom says California needs urgent, aggressive water conservation amid drought -- Gov. Gavin Newsom met with leaders of the state’s largest urban water suppliers Monday and implored them to step up efforts to get people to reduce water use as California’s drought continues to worsen. He warned that if conservation efforts don’t improve this summer, the state could be forced to impose mandatory water restrictions throughout the state. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ Kate Galbraith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Kathleen Ronayne Associated Press -- 5/23/22

California gets new rules covering medical malpractice payments -- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday to raise the amount of money that patients can receive in medical malpractice cases, increasing pain and suffering payments for the first time since lawmakers placed a cap on monetary damages nearly five decades ago. Melody Gutierrez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/23/22

Plastics industry, facing crackdown, targets Democrats with mailers deemed deceptive -- Cheryl Auger was stunned this month when one of her Pasadena neighbors and friends received a flier in the mail featuring her state assemblyman, with a line stating, “Higher taxes on plastic products will enrich corporate interests with no guarantee of reducing plastic waste.” Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/22

S.F. Mayor London Breed won’t march in Pride over parade organizer’s decision to ban in-uniform police officers -- Mayor London Breed announced Monday that she will join San Francisco’s public safety agencies in skipping the Pride Parade this year, unless the event’s organizers reverse a controversial ban on law enforcement uniforms. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/23/22

L.A. County sheriff candidates ride ‘anyone but Villanueva’ wave, but lack name recognition -- In some ways, the race for Los Angeles County sheriff is shaping up as a test of how many controversies voters will tolerate from incumbent Alex Villanueva. His relationship with county leaders has hit new lows. The jails are in disarray. Allegations of a cover-up and retaliation hang over an incident in which a deputy knelt on the head of a handcuffed inmate. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/22

Los Angeles Democrats finally elected their first sheriff. Four years later, they have buyer’s remorse -- A campaign promise to reform a troubled department has given way to four years of scandals, attacks on journalists and conservative rhetoric around crime that has shocked Democrats and endeared him to far-right media figures like Tucker Carlson. It may just propel him to reelection. Alexander Nieves and Lara Korte Politico -- 5/23/22

Meet the 9 candidates vying to become Los Angeles County’s next sheriff -- One challenger claimed to have swum 26 miles in open water to Catalina Island. Another touted his endorsement from Stevie Wonder. Most of the candidates opposing incumbent Alex Villanueva in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s race have said that, if elected, they would seek to repair the fractured relationship with the Board of Supervisors and the Office of the Inspector General. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/22

California Rep. David Valadao voted to impeach. Can he keep his seat if Trump stays quiet? -- The moment Rep. David Valadao and nine other House Republicans voted to impeach then-President Trump for inciting an insurrection at the Capitol, they were all engulfed in a wave of backlash — outraged conservatives back home, challengers eager to oust them, and Trump’s constant commentary casting doubt on their political futures. Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/22

Skelton: A Republican has a shot at becoming California state controller. Yes, you read that right -- You won’t read this very often: A Republican is favored to win a California statewide election. Lanhee Chen is likely to finish first in the June 7 primary and advance to the November runoff for state controller. But then the odds are he’ll turn into a pumpkin and lose to a Democrat. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/22

Water  

‘Everyone loses’: Sacramento Valley struggles to survive unprecedented water cuts -- Sacramento Valley growers protected for decades by their water rights are suffering for the first time during this record-breaking drought. Wildlife refuges are struggling, too. Rachel Becker CalMatters -- 5/23/22

COVID  

Coronavirus cases in California rising fast, with some regions seeing infections double -- Weekly coronavirus cases roughly doubled across wide swaths of California, including Riverside and Santa Barbara counties, as well as the Central Valley and Silicon Valley. They rose by roughly 85% in Orange, San Bernardino and Ventura counties. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/22

Workplace   

These five workers left restaurant jobs in the pandemic. Where are they now? -- A bar director in the restaurant business for three decades quit after a customer spat on her mask. A server seeking stability for his family found a new job as a high school English teacher. A chef who thought he had reached “life fulfillment” at a luxurious restaurant later found an unexpected upside in office work. Samantha Masunaga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/22

Street  

California DOJ investigating double fatal SFPD shooting in the Dogpatch last week -- While state officials declined to release further more information about the case, their presence alone implies two key details that have not previously been made public: At least one of the men who died was possibly killed by police, and may have been unarmed. Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/23/22

Sex abuse suits pouring in as state’s Catholic leaders seek relief from highest court -- California has twice extended the statute of limitations on child sex abuse claims, prompting nine state bishops to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to declare the law unconstitutional. Nigel Duara CalMatters -- 5/23/22

Naloxone helps prevent opioid deaths. Here’s how to find and use it -- Over the past 20 years, opioid-related deaths rose 850% in the United States, reflecting the surge in addictions to narcotic painkillers and the influx of fentanyl and other potent synthetic opioids. Jon Healey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/22

Jewelry store employees fend off smash-and-grab heist in Huntington Beach -- Employees punched, kicked and weaponized a chair to fight off thieves armed with hammers during an attempted smash-and-grab heist on Sunday at a jewelry store in the Bella Terra shopping center in Huntington Beach. Eric Licas in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/23/22

Homeless  

New Sacramento homeless site to open at Regional Transit lot after breakthrough with agency -- A long-delayed effort to open a safe parking lot for homeless individuals to live in their vehicles at a Sacramento Regional Transit site is on track to open this year after a breakthrough between the city and the commuter agency. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/23/22

Housing   

Peninsula official compared YIMBYs to Nazis and then deleted her account -- The president of San Mateo County Harbor District compared pro-housing activists to Nazis in an explosive tweet Sunday, the latest salvo in a battle over whether to build denser housing in a wealthy San Francisco neighborhood. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/23/22

Marin County considers temporary ban on new vacation rentals amid housing crunch -- Marin County supervisors are considering a temporary ban on new residential vacation rentals in its popular, bucolic western region because of a worsening housing shortage. Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/23/22

Also . . .   

TaskRabbit to close all office locations, including S.F. headquarters, as it moves to remote work model -- TaskRabbit, the worker-for-hire app that did for odd jobs what Uber did for ride hailing, announced Monday it would be closing its physical office locations permanently, including its San Francisco headquarters — not because the company is scaling down, but because it’s going fully remote. Ryan Kost in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/23/22

California Policy and Politics Monday Morning  

California Democratic Party leader steps down amid Angel Stadium probe -- A leader of the California Democratic Party who has been accused in a mushrooming federal corruption probe of Anaheim city leaders of trying to bribe public officials announced late Sunday her resignation from state and national party offices. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ Brooke Staggs in the Orange County Register -- 5/23/22

California’s schools chief could cruise to a second term, despite criticism -- Prolonged classroom shutdowns. Pandemic policies that at times frustrated parents and teachers alike. Allegations of a toxic workplace. Questionable hiring practices. Despite it all, state Supt. of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond could end up coasting into reelection. Mackenzie Mays in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/22

Walters: Progressives vie with ‘mod squad’ for power in California Legislature -- Democrats have super-dooper majorities in both houses of the California Legislature, which means its few Republican members are completely irrelevant. However, the Capitol still seethes with political intrigue as left-leaning Democrats vie with moderates for control of the legislative agenda. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 5/23/22

Street  

Truck covered in antisemitic messages in West Hollywood being investigated as hate incident -- Videos posted on social media show a rental box truck, parked Saturday at a gas station in the 7600 block of Santa Monica Boulevard, that was covered with antisemitic phrases such as “Jewish lives matter most” and “resisting the great replacement,” a racist philosophy espoused by white nationalists. Ben Poston in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/22

Video shows L.A. firefighters punching and kicking man accused of trespassing at station -- The Los Angeles Fire Department has launched an investigation into a video posted on social media that shows firefighters punching and kicking a man outside Station 6 in Silver Lake on Friday. The man had allegedly tried to break into the station, said Officer Norma Eisenman, a Los Angeles Police Department spokeswoman. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/22

S.F. looks to calm its streets with Urban Alchemy, a nonprofit that hires the formerly incarcerated. How is it going? -- On any given day, the employees of Urban Alchemy, a nonprofit that puts civilians on the sidewalks to address street-level issues rooted in addiction, mental illness and homelessness, might discourage someone in San Francisco from shooting up in public. Mallory Moench, Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/23/22

Car plows into pedestrians, kills 2 in downtown San Francisco -- A taxi slammed into pedestrians in downtown San Francisco near the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts on Sunday afternoon, leaving two women dead and a man injured, police said. The driver of the car was also injured. Alexandria Bordas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/23/22

Dave Chappelle’s suspected attacker says he was triggered by jokes about transgender and homeless people -- The 23-year-old man accused of attacking comedian Dave Chappelle on stage at the Hollywood Bowl says he was triggered by the comedian’s jokes about transgender and homeless people. The item is in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 5/23/22

Education  

Study: Cal State system needs to increase staff pay -- The California State University system does a poor job of paying non-faculty staff and employees across the 23 campus system, according to a new, independent study. Ashley A. Smith EdSource -- 5/23/22

Freedberg: California education to be spared divisive statewide election battles this year -- Not so long ago, it looked as if California’s education system would be at the center of several explosive, and inevitably expensive, electoral battles this year. Louis Freedberg EdSource -- 5/23/22

Ukraine  

Longtime festival for West Hollywood’s Russian community pivots to help Ukraine’s refugees -- As it has for more than two decades, West Hollywood had planned to put on a festival Sunday to celebrate Russian art and culture in honor of one of the city’s largest immigrant groups. But this winter, after Russia invaded Ukraine, initiating a war that has killed thousands of people and created more than 6 million refugees, mention of “Russia” and “festival” in the same breath turned taboo. Matt Hamilton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/22

Guns  

Gas cards for guns? More than 100 people took that deal from Sacramento Police Department -- As California’s average price of gasoline soared beyond $6 per gallon last week, Sacramento Police offered people a way to save at the pump: turn in their guns. More than 100 people turned in a total of 134 guns for $50 gas gift cards on Saturday, the Sacramento Police Department announced in a news release. Benjy Egel in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/23/22

Environment  

Health concerns raised over toxicity of gas used at 5 Southern California facilities -- A Los Angeles County supervisor is calling for the temporary shuttering of a medical device sterilizing plant and the investigation of other similar facilities elsewhere in Southern California after the region’s air quality agency detected unsafe levels of a cancer-causing gas in Vernon. Jason Henry in the Orange County Register -- 5/23/22