Updating Wednesday . .   

California preps for abortion pill ruling -- Gov. Gavin Newsom and a cadre of Democratic lawmakers want to be clear: They will protect medication abortion in California no matter what the U.S. Supreme Court decides on the issue — they’re just not entirely sure how. Lynn La CalMatters -- 4/19/23

Climate bills on fossil fuel divestment, emissions disclosure make headway -- California lawmakers advanced several climate bills intended to hold companies accountable for pollution contributing to atmospheric warming Tuesday, as opponents questioned whether the measures could make a tangible impact. Ari Plachta in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/19/23

California bills to expand state tax credits could send $1 billion to low-income families -- As pandemic relief dollars dwindle, low income families still need help recovering, advocates say. Two bills would expand California’s earned income and young child tax credits for families making as much as $30,000. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde CalMatters -- 4/19/23

Without Senator Dianne Feinstein, nominees for federal judgeships in California must wait -- A fully-functional Senate Judiciary Committee could speed up the process to fill federal judge vacancies in California. But right now, that committee is not fully functional, and it’s unclear what will happen to the nominees. Gillian Brassil, David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/19/23

Democrats still face Feinstein dilemma as replacement bid fails -- But the 89-year-old senator enjoys the support of powerful allies, including President Biden and Nancy Pelosi. Liz Goodwin, Maeve Reston, Cleve R. Wootson Jr. in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/23

He’s rich. He’s pugilistic. And he’s quietly paying to get Gavin Newsom’s attention -- On the surface, it gives off the appearance of an organic movement of concerned citizens. A draft letter intended for Gov. Gavin Newsom demands that he do more to help lower the exorbitant cost of housing in California. Christopher Cadelago Politico -- 4/19/23

RJR uses California as test market for skirting upcoming national menthol cigarette ban -- Sales of cigarettes that mimic menthol are soaring in California after the state outlawed most flavored tobacco — a sign that the industry is undermining the new law and raising doubts about the Biden administration’s plans to ban menthol cigarettes later this year. Katherine Ellen Foley, Rachel Bluth Politico -- 4/19/23

Los Gatos revokes commissioner’s censure over ‘rich, white, anti-housing men’ comments -- Los Gatos Town Council voted Tuesday to revoke its censure of a planning commissioner after the American Civil Liberties Union threatened to sue the town for violating that commissioner’s First Amendment rights. Hannah Kanik in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/19/23

Al Sharpton calls on AG Garland to investigate Antioch police, protect mayor -- Reverend Al Sharpton is urging U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate the Antioch Police Department and provide protection for Mayor Lamar Thorpe after racist texts between officers suggested Thorpe be shot during a 2020 protest after the murder of George Floyd. Jordan Parker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/23

Housing

California needs more homes. So why are these sitting vacant? -- Blocks from homeless communities, 115 houses owned by the state highway authority are trapped in legal limbo and red tape. Erica Werner in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/23

Workplace

Bay Area tech layoffs: 4,000 at Meta to lose jobs this week -- Meta was expected to cut thousands of employees from their payrolls this week as the tech giant moves ahead with plans to layoff around 21,000 people. Chase DiFeliciantonio, Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Naomi Nix in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/23 -- 4/19/23

Tech firms try to muzzle workers with NDAs, SEC tipsters say -- Some top U.S. technology companies are forcing workers to sign allegedly illegal labor agreements, according to complaints filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, despite years of enforcement by the agency against the practice. Sabrina Willmer, Austin Weinstein Bloomberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/23

Water

1After the deluge: Floods may taint more drinking water in California -- Nitrate contamination of well water has been a decades-long problem in the San Joaquin and Salinas valleys — and now stormwater has flushed more fertilizer and manure into aquifers. Alastair Bland CalMatters -- 4/19/23

Street

LAPD officer gets 10-day suspension; first to be disciplined for fireworks explosion -- Nearly two years after the Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad blew up a South L.A. neighborhood during the detonation of a cache of fireworks, officials say the first officer involved has been disciplined. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/23

Breathe

Los Angeles gets F grade for air quality once again in national report -- Despite tremendous progress in reducing air pollution over the last several decades, 98% of Californians live in communities with unhealthy levels of smog or fine particles, according to a new report released by the American Lung Association. Tony Briscoe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/23

Develop

Think the 55-story tower near S.F. Zoo is too crazy? These past plans were even more bold -- The proposed 55-story residential tower out near Ocean Beach and the San Francisco Zoo is many things, including wildly out of place. The initial design is ludicrous, not alluring. John King in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/23

Soda Tax

Here’s how much soda sales dropped after Oakland imposed a tax on sugary drinks -- Purchases of soda and other sugary drinks dropped 27% in Oakland in the first 2½ years after the city adopted a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, according to a new study by UCSF researchers. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/23

iPhone Lockout

The iPhone Setting Thieves Use to Lock You Out of Your Apple Account -- The recovery key was designed to make Apple IDs safer. Instead, these victims permanently lost family photos and other precious digital possessions. Nicole Nguyen, Joanna Stern in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/19/23

Also:

Have you used Facebook in the past 16 years? You may qualify for payment -- Facebook users in the United States can file for compensation as part of a $725 million data privacy settlement. Kelsey Ables in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/23

A Team So Bad the Fans Will (Briefly) Come Back -- The Oakland Athletics have been historically inept and have played in front of sparse crowds. A reverse boycott hopes to send a message that the fans are not the problem. Benjamin Hoffman in the New York Times$ -- 4/19/23

California Policy and Politics Wednesday

Mayor Karen Bass’ first budget: more cops, more hotel rooms for L.A.’s homeless population -- The mayor’s spending plan for the coming year includes a key strategy for rebuilding the LAPD: persuading 200 recently retired officers to come back. David Zahniser, Julia Wick, Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ Linh Tat in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 4/19/23

Democrats still face Feinstein dilemma as replacement bid fails -- But the 89-year-old senator enjoys the support of powerful allies, including President Biden and Nancy Pelosi. Liz Goodwin, Maeve Reston, Cleve R. Wootson Jr. in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/23

Senate Dems wrestle with Feinstein resignation chatter -- They’re not actively calling for the absent 89-year-old senator to give up her seat. But with judicial nominees stalled, Democrats can’t wait indefinitely either. Burgess Everett, Jennifer Haberkorn, Katherine Tully-Mcmanus Politico -- 4/19/23

Feinstein’s absence imperils Biden’s labor secretary pick, a fellow Californian -- Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s extended absence from the Senate could imperil the confirmation of fellow Californian Julie Su to become the next labor secretary. Shira Stein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/23

How Julie Su’s successes and setbacks in California shape her contentious nomination for Labor secretary -- But underlying that battle is a referendum on California itself and the unique place it holds in the national psyche, a state that is at once a liberal beacon and conservative bogeyman. Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/23

Without Senator Dianne Feinstein, nominees for federal judgeships in California must wait -- A fully-functional Senate Judiciary Committee could speed up the process to fill federal judge vacancies in California. But right now, that committee is not fully functional, and it’s unclear what will happen to the nominees. Gillian Brassil, David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 4/19/23

Becerra violated Hatch Act by advocating for senator’s election, report finds -- Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated a law that restricts political activities of federal employees when he advocated for the election of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute event in the fall, the Office of Special Counsel has determined. John Wagner in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/23

L.A. County warns of possible $3-billion hit to budget from sex abuse claims -- Los Angeles County officials revealed their $43-billion recommended budget for the upcoming fiscal year this week — a spending blueprint they promised would keep the region’s social safety net intact even as the county prepares to pay a steep price for how poorly officials have historically handled the jails and juvenile halls. Rebecca Ellis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/23

One California Republican signed onto a brief supporting abortion pill ban -- That included only one California House member: Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale (Butte County). House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Bakersfield Republican, did not sign the brief. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/23

Walters: Imperial Valley nears day of reckoning for use of distressed Colorado River -- As Colorado River flows decline, California’s share of its water, and particularly that of the Imperial Irrigation District, face potential cutbacks by the federal Bureau of Reclamation. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 4/19/23

Breathe

EPA quietly signals to California it can set stricter train emissions rules -- A little-noticed proposal in the Environmental Protection Agency’s new auto emissions rules would let California go farther than the federal government in limiting emissions from diesel-powered trains. Maxine Joselow, Vanessa Montalbano in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/23

Reparations

Mayor Breed opposes $50 million request to create S.F. reparations office -- But Breed did not say Tuesday where she stood on any of the dozens of specific actions that a committee has recommended San Francisco take to make reparations a reality, including potential cash payments. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/23

Workplace

S.F. police get pay boost and retention bonuses amid struggling recruitment and crime fears -- San Francisco supervisors approved a police union contract Tuesday that will raise pay and retention bonuses to lure and keep officers, at a cost of $166 million over three years, as the city scrambles to fill positions. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/23

‘Top shot’ LAPD officer sues chief, department over social media demand -- LAPD Officer Toni McBride alleges in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that Police Chief Michel Moore demanded she delete her social media posts or “he would destroy her career.” Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/23

S.F. real estate tech company lays off another 560 workers, on top of 550 cuts last year -- The online buyer and seller of homes, headquartered in San Francisco, has been hurt by rising mortgage rates and weakening pricing. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/23

Schooled: LA superintendent gets crash course in California union politics -- Los Angeles schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho seems to have learned an early lesson about California politics: Public employee unions hold serious sway. Blake Jones Politico -- 4/19/23

Meta to unveil fresh round of job cuts among highly skilled staff -- The company’s reductions will be focused on engineers and other technical workers who help build products. Naomi Nix in the Washington Post$ -- 4/19/23

Inintellectual Property Risk

Alleged ‘brazen’ theft of startup’s documents should be Silicon Valley wake-up call, fired worker says -- A longtime Silicon Valley tech executive claims in a new lawsuit that a Mountain View financial-technology firm stole intellectual property from its San Francisco rival so easily that every startup should fear the same thing happening to them. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/19/23

Street

Journalist seeks dismissal of lawsuit over photos of LAPD officers -- Lawyers for a journalist sued by the city of Los Angeles over his role in the publication of photographs of undercover LAPD officers are seeking to have the case dismissed as unconstitutional and retaliatory. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/23

$21M worth of fentanyl pills seized from shipment of green beans at Otay Mesa crossing -- A seizure of 3.5M fentanyl pills took place around 7:20 p.m. at the Otay Mesa border crossing when a Customs and Border Protection officer inspected a tractor trailer carrying green beans, federal officials said. Caleb Lunetta in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/19/23

Business owners speak out against violent crime in Oakland’s Fruitvale district -- Frustrated business owners and residents in Oakland’s Fruitvale area this week urged city leaders to create a public-safety plan to increase security in the Fruitvale Transit Village and business corridors, where at least three separate shootings occurred in the last month. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/23

Transit

Robot shuttles at San Jose airport? Major transit plan moves forward -- Driverless pods would connect airport and Diridon Station at a cost of up to $500 million. Gabriel Greschler in the East Bay Times$ -- 4/19/23

The last overnight train between L.A. and S.F. ran in 1968. A startup wants to bring it back -- A luxury overnight train between Los Angeles and San Francisco would be a railway red-eye, but with private accommodations for people to sleep through the night. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/19/23

Traffic Trifecta

Why San Francisco is bracing for a traffic nightmare this week -- Thursday is shaping up to be a congested traffic nightmare in San Francisco, with home games for the Warriors and Giants — and 4/20 celebrations all converging on the same day. Nora Mishanec in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/23

Housing

Mayor Breed introduces legislation to speed up S.F.’s housing production, by reducing planning meetings -- The bill, co-sponsored by Supervisor Joel Engardio, takes aim at the conditional use approval process that requires housing developers to make frequent appearances before the Planning Commission. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/23

Education

Key California legislator proposes raising teacher pay by 50% over 7 years, paid for by state funding -- Al Muratsuchi, the new chairman of the Assembly Education Committee, is seeking to raise pay statewide for teachers and other school workers by 50% over the next seven years. To pay for it, he’s proposing to increase base funding under the Local Control Funding Formula, also by 50%, in legislation he introduced last week. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 4/19/23

COVID

Do I need the new COVID-19 booster? Vaccines get an overhaul from FDA -- With COVID-19 a fading worry, the Food and Drug Administration made significant changes Tuesday in its vaccine authorization, eliminating the original formula, shifting to favor a single dose of the updated shot and allowing new boosters for older and sicker people. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/19/23

Biden Administration Will Fund Program to Keep Covid Vaccines Free for the Uninsured -- The program, which will include a partnership with pharmacy chains, will help cover the cost of vaccinating patients when the shots move to the commercial market later this year. Sheryl Gay Stolberg and Noah Weiland in the New York Times$ -- 4/19/23

Toiletgate

Knight: 'Toiletgate 2.0': $1.7 million now buys two toilets in S.F. instead of just one -- San Francisco supervisors agreed Tuesday to accept $1.7 million in state money originally slated to pay for one public toilet that will now — after considerable backlash — pay for a whopping two toilets. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/19/23

Yosemite

What the huge Sierra snowpack means for Yosemite’s waterfalls -- Records amounts of snow in Yosemite National Park high country bring wonder and danger. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/19/23

Also:

Secret Service captures unlikely White House intruder: two-year-old boy -- Secret Service agents acted fast on Tuesday to capture a fast-moving White House intruder: a two-year-old boy who wriggled through fencing on the north side of the building, prompting a brief security shutdown. Martin Pengelly The Guardian -- 4/19/23