Updating Monday

Senate candidates who hope to replace Feinstein try to define themselves as they court Democratic activists -- On the largest stage to date in the race to replace retiring California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the three top Democratic candidates dashed through their state party’s convention this weekend in downtown Los Angeles, courting delegates, meeting with potential backers and trying to build early support in the unpredictable contest. Seema Mehta, Laura J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/29/23

‘We are in the fight of our life.’ California Democratic Convention goers have MAGA on their minds -- The convention was for and about Democrats, but Trump, the GOP’s leading presidential candidate, was the backdrop for a weekend speeches, concerns and calls to action. The party has the former president, red states, congressional seats and MAGA on its mind. Jenavieve Hatch in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/29/23

Skelton: Newsom’s budget math doesn’t add up -- Gov. Gavin Newsom has sent the Legislature a proposed state budget that is unrealistic and spews red ink. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/29/23

Casteless utopia: California religious group backs bill to ban caste discrimination -- The legislation has been met with strong opposition from groups who say it will lead to discrimination against Hindu Americans and those of Indian descent. Several Dalits have also spoken against it, saying they do not wish to be burdened with a caste identity that they feel is irrelevant in this country. Deepa Bharath Associated Press -- 5/29/23

Trump’s welcome of Scott into 2024 race shows his calculus: The more GOP rivals, the better for him -- The contrast underscores not only the fact that Trump sees DeSantis as his most formidable rival, but also basic math: He and his team have long believed the more candidates who enter the Republican primary contest, the better for Trump. Jill Colvin, Steve Peoples Associated Press -- 5/29/23

Retail Exodus?

Is there a retail exodus in San Francisco? Some say Union Square is ‘beating strong’ -- The spate of store closures near Union Square, a tourist destination and the heart of San Francisco’s shopping core, has concerned business leaders and economists alike. Summer Lin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/29/23

Workplace

More High-School Grads Forgo College in Hot Labor Market -- More high-school graduates are being diverted from college campuses by brighter prospects for blue-collar jobs in a historically strong labor market for less-educated workers. Harriet Torry in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/29/23

Raging Rivers

Dangers are high for California river rafting. Here’s what it was like going down Satan’s Cesspool -- The American River is frothing with white rapids, running at heights not seen in years. The river patrol has the daunting task of keeping things safe. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/29/23

Housing

As S.F.’s housing production stalls, this development continues to add affordable homes -- In the decade since construction started at the Shipyard, new buildings continue to pop up on the steep hillside overlooking the bay. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/29/23

Transit

Without state funding, S.F.’s Muni could cut up to 20 bus lines — starting this summer -- The leader of San Francisco’s transit system says high-stakes budget negotiations in Sacramento over a $5 billion transit subsidy will influence whether Muni service will gradually decline as early as this summer. Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/29/23

Street

California health officials confront threat of ‘disastrous’ new street drug -- When San Francisco’s medical examiner announced in February that four people who had recently died of overdoses had the animal sedative xylazine in their systems, public health workers across the state sprang into action. Brian Rinker KFF Health News in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/29/23

Syringe home delivery and pickup proposal raises concerns in Santa Ana -- The Harm Reduction Institute, a nonprofit based in Santa Ana, has applied to the California Department of Public Health to add home delivery and pickup of syringes to its current program. Santa Ana officials say they want no such services to operate in the city. Destiny Torres in the Orange County Register -- 5/29/23

Homeless

580 tons of trash removed from San Diego homeless encampments -- The Hot Spot program launched in October and picks up trash from sidewalks and streets. Unlike abatements, the city tries to prevent valuables from being thrown away. Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/29/23

‘I’ve never seen so much vitriol’: activist Paul Boden on America’s homelessness crisis -- Leading voice demanding rights for the unhoused discusses the history of homelessness and where the US can go from here. Erin McCormick The Guardian -- 5/29/23

COVID

Tracking Bay Area COVID-19 through wastewater testing -- As more people rely on home test kits and fewer on official tests that are tallied by health departments, analyzing the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in sewage has become a crucial means of spotting trends. Jenny Kwon, Amy Chen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/29/23

Also

A World War II soldier is laid to rest, along with a decades-old mystery -- Killed in Germany in 1944, Army Tech Sgt. Matthew McKeon was unaccounted for until recent DNA tests led to a San Diego homecoming, just in time for Memorial Day. John Wilkens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/29/23

Black people may have started Memorial Day. Whites erased it from history -- Thousands of formerly enslaved people put flowers on Union soldiers’ graves on May 1, 1865. For well over a century after the Civil War, the significance of the day was buried. Donald Beaulieu in the Washington Post$ -- 5/29/23

California Policy and Politics Monday

Debt ceiling deal: What’s in, what’s out of the bill to avert US default -- The details of the deal between President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy were released Sunday in the form of a 99-page bill that would suspend the nation’s debt limit through 2025 to avoid a federal default while limiting government spending. Kevin Freking, Farnoush Amiri, Stephen Groves Associated Press -- 5/29/23

Wrinkles and curveballs in the debt ceiling bill -- These are a few of the details that could draw new attention in the coming days, as Congress takes up the bill just days before the deadline to avert a first-ever default on the national debt: Politico -- 5/29/23

Biden, McCarthy turn to selling debt ceiling deal to restive Congress -- Far-left and far-right corners of the House have criticized the compromise but negotiators optimistic about passage. Marianna Sotomayor, Jeff Stein, Azi Paybarah, Tobi Raji in the Washington Post$ -- 5/29/23

Six people are rescued along the American River amid warning to stay out of waterways -- Fire officials said rescue efforts began shortly after 2:30 p.m. downstream of River Bend Park. The Fire Department said a helicopter first located the victims. Three people were safe on shore and three were still in the water and “thankfully all were wearing life jackets.” Alex Muegge in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/29/23

Vacant skyscrapers, empty trains: can San Francisco once again reinvent itself? -- The economic challenges of the city’s downtown have sparked speculation of a so-called ‘doom loop’. But some say its emptiness may be part of the solution. Isabeau Doucet The Guardian -- 5/29/23

Olympic hopeful wrestler injured during Camp Pendleton weapon drill gets record $12 million settlement -- Rich Perry arrived at Camp Pendleton for a USA Wrestling training camp in 2018 with a dream to compete at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He returned home to Pennsylvania in a near-vegetative state, with bone fragments from his shattered eye socket lodged in his brain and his wrestling career extinguished. Alex Riggins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/29/23

State Farm won’t insure new Calif. customers due to wildfires, high costs -- The decision, which won’t impact current customers, went into effect Saturday and signals the growing threats to insurance availability and affordability in the face of climate crisis-fueled disasters, experts told The Washington Post. Anumita Kaur in the Washington Post$ -- 5/29/23

Berkeley awarded $5.1 million to study plan for revitalizing its pier with ferry service -- The Berkeley Marina’s historic pier has remained abandoned, crumbling and fenced off for the nearly eight years since it closed amid deteriorating concrete and corroded rebar from years of weathering by San Francisco Bay’s breaking salt water waves. Katie Lauer in the East Bay Times$ -- 5/29/23

‘We’re at a standstill’: Patients can face agonizing waits for hospital transfers -- Marquez-Soto was at the mercy of a haphazard process that plays out through phone calls and faxes, as smaller hospitals try to find help for patients who need medical procedures that those hospitals cannot provide. Emily Alpert Reyes, Francine Orr in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/29/23

Walters: How California and Florida both use schools to fight the culture wars -- Gov. Gavin Newsom is a self-appointed crusader against the social and educational policies of red states, particularly Florida, describing their governors as repressive authoritarians. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 5/29/23

Homeless

Hitting the streets to stop the hepatitis A outbreak among homeless people -- A mobile team of county nurses has administered more than 500 hepatitis A vaccines to people living on the street in the past few months in an effort to stop the deadly disease from spreading through the homeless population. Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/29/23

How much is too much to pay for hotels to house San Diego’s homeless population? -- The San Diego Housing Commission is pursuing state funding to buy four hotels that, after figuring in rehab costs, could average nearly $400,000 a room. That’s a ‘screaming deal,’ the agency insists. Lori Weisberg, Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/29/23

Environment

Supreme Court scales back clean water protections. What does it mean for California? -- California’s water regulators say the ruling will be harmful for protections nationwide, but the more stringent state protections of wetlands won’t be affected. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/29/23

Also

Military veteran who was shot down in France in WWII celebrates his 100th birthday -- It was Christmas Eve 1944 and Alfred Arrieta was among a nine-member crew aboard a B-17 Flying Fortress, providing support to ground troops in the French countryside during the Battle of the Bulge, one of the bloodiest battles in World War II. Nathan Solis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/29/23

US service members meet therapy horses in Sylmar as part of LA Fleet Week -- Andre Andrews is a New Jersey boy who never had much to do with horses. Yet on the eve of Memorial Day, the U.S. Navy veteran found himself saddling up a white Spanish horse named Travieso — and helping current service members engage in some horse-assisted therapy. Anissa Rivera in the Orange County Register -- 5/29/23

A prostitute’s ghost and bullet holes: In rural California hotels, spookiness is the appeal -- Welcome to your hotel room in rural Northern California. Don’t mind the ghosts — it’s part of the appeal for many of the guests. Hailey Branson-Potts, Genaro Molina in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/29/23