Updating Tuesday . . .

Charles Manson follower entitled to parole, court says — overruling Newsom -- A state appeals court said Tuesday that Charles Manson follower Leslie Van Houten is entitled to be released on parole after more than 50 years in prison, overruling Gov. Gavin Newsom. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/30/23

This California town was already dying. Then the state moved to close its prison -- California is unwinding the prison-building boom of the 1980s and 1990s. The cuts are falling on small towns that banked on government jobs to anchor their communities. Nigel Duara CalMatters -- 5/30/23

Charity set up to support San Diego mayor’s office withholds finances, other records from disclosure -- The project, called For All Of Us, collected money at the mayor’s behest from companies that have business interests before the city. Jeff Mcdonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/30/23

There’s a new movement for La Jolla to secede from San Diego. Why now? And who might benefit? -- Efforts to make La Jolla its own city separate from San Diego date back to the 1940s and emerge roughly once a decade. But previous tries have lacked funding, stopped short of proposing specific boundaries and typically focused on one or two issues. David Garrick, Emily Alvarenga in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/30/23

Gavin Newsom tells tech industry group to drop its lawsuit: ‘Enough is enough’ -- Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a letter to NetChoice CEO Steve Del Bianco, urging him to drop his organization’s lawsuit challenging California’s AB 2273, the 2022 law requiring social media companies to implement privacy protections for child users. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/30/23

California Takes On Candy Makers With Bill Opponents Call the ‘Skittles Ban’ -- The state Assembly has passed a bill that would ban use of five chemical additives in food products, including a coloring agent found in Skittles—with its “taste the rainbow” slogan—and Red 3, which is used in packaged cookies, frostings and other snacks. Kristina Peterson in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/30/23

Democrats hope the Senate could finally have more than one Black woman -- Retirements by Senate incumbents in Maryland, Delaware and California created a rare trifecta of open seats in blue states. Even more unusual is the fact that a Black woman is a top contender in each field. Ally Mutnick Politico -- 5/30/23

How Republicans in California could decide Dianne Feinstein’s successor -- It’s no secret that progressives are angling to take over the Senate seat in the liberal bastion of California. But the most crucial bloc of voters may end up being Republicans. Steven Shepard Politico -- 5/30/23

U.S. Senate hopefuls sweet-talk Democratic faithful -- U.S. Senate contenders Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam Schiff tried to win over activists at the California Democratic Party convention. Party delegates and elected leaders also honored former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Sameea Kamal CalMatters -- 5/30/23

Debt-Ceiling Deal Does Little to Change Direction of Federal Spending, Economy -- A proposed deal to lift the federal debt limit would have only a small effect on the cooling U.S. economy or still-high inflation, according to economists, because it does little to reduce government spending that grew rapidly during the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath. Jeffrey Sparshott in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/30/23

Water

State asked to stop diverting iconic Mono Lake’s water to Los Angeles -- Environmentalists say it’s past time for California water officials to halt Los Angeles’ diversion of Mono Lake’s tributaries. But L.A. officials insist that water is a tiny but vital part of the city’s water supply. Alastair Bland CalMatters -- 5/30/23

Judge orders halt to Ballona Wetlands restoration project -- A judge ordered the state to suspend any project activity and prepare a ‘legally adequate’ environmental impact report ‘if it chooses to proceed.’ Louis Sahagún in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/30/23

Congestion Pricing

The freeway was born in L.A. But it might not always be free to drive on -- Metro is set to release a congestion pricing study this summer that looks at charging people to drive key freeways and roads. Rachel Uranga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/30/23

Workplace

How much do top Hollywood executives make? Their pay surged to $1.4 billion during the pandemic -- A Times survey tallies the paydays for the heads of Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix and more. The issue has become a hot topic on picket lines during the writers’ strike. Brian Contreras in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/30/23

No kidding: California overtime law threatens use of grazing goats to prevent wildfires -- Hundreds of goats munch on long blades of yellow grass on a hillside next to a sprawling townhouse complex. They were hired to clear vegetation that could fuel wildfires as temperatures rise this summer. Terry Chea Associated Press -- 5/30/23

Downtown San Jose lands several new merchants as area rebound sprouts -- A burst of leases bringing new ventures to several spots is raising hopes that downtown San Jose’s post-coronavirus recovery has finally begun to take root. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/30/23

Your Favorite Book Won’t Be Turned Into a TV Show Anytime Soon -- Authors whose books are being adapted into movies and TV shows are the latest to be affected by the Writers Guild of America’s strike. Sarah Krouse, Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/30/23

Seagate

Seagate sells its vast Fremont campus in deal worth hundreds of millions -- Seagate Technology has sold its vast tech campus in Fremont for hundreds of millions of dollars, although the high-tech firm also has struck a deal to lease the site it just unloaded — at least for now. George Avalos in the East Bay Times$ -- 5/30/23

Housing

Downtown S.F. condos selling at lowest prices in six years, data shows -- As Bay Area home prices begin to tick back up, condominiums in San Francisco’s downtown market are still selling at reduced prices, a sign of the area’s struggle to recover from the pandemic. Danielle Echeverria in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/30/23

Can ‘social housing’ help solve California’s housing crisis? -- A state bill seeks to create publicly owned housing that’s affordable for people of a range of income levels. Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/30/23

Santa Clara County reports 1% dip in homeless population, 37% spike in unhoused families identified -- Despite moving thousands of homeless people into permanent homes last year, Santa Clara County saw its unhoused population remain virtually unchanged, even as the number of homeless families spiked, according to preliminary results from its latest “point-in-time” count. Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/30/23

A Tale of Paradise, Parking Lots and My Mother’s Berkeley Backyard -- Plans to build apartments have sparked a fight between progressive newcomers and nostalgic old-timers — with surprising allegiances in a writer’s hometown. Daniel Duane in the Washington Post$ -- 5/30/23

Street

Deputy accused of being in ‘Executioners’ gang reveals tattoo in court, names names -- Some witnesses offered the names of everyone they’d seen with the so-called Executioners tattoo. One provided pictures of a desk decorated with the group’s symbol. Another explained the voting process used to decide who could get a tattoo. Keri Blakinger in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/30/23

In downtown L.A., Bass’ plan to clear encampments faces crime, addiction and resistance -- Weeks after the Inside Safe program focused on the streets around El Pueblo, the area still has about two dozen tents. Other areas face similar issues. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/30/23

With fentanyl deaths soaring, L.A. County is giving out drug pipes and other supplies -- Pipe handouts and other harm reduction can be a bridge to treatment, and cut infection and disease, including HIV. But pipes are controversial, not just in GOP circles but on Skid Row, a drug “recovery zone” that saw the worst of the crack epidemic. Gale Holland in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/30/23

Also

Companies Push Prices Higher, Protecting Profits but Adding to Inflation -- Corporate profits have been bolstered by higher prices even as some of the costs of doing business have fallen in recent months. Talmon Joseph Smith, Joe Rennison in the New York Times$ -- 5/30/23

A.I. Poses ‘Risk of Extinction,’ Industry Leaders Warn -- A group of industry leaders warned on Tuesday that the artificial intelligence technology they are building may one day pose an existential threat to humanity and should be considered a societal risk on par with pandemics and nuclear wars. Kevin Roose in the New York Times$ -- 5/30/23

California Policy and Politics Tuesday

McCarthy rallies support for debt deal amid hints of mutiny -- Speaker Kevin McCarthy hunkered down in a mostly desolate Capitol building on Monday to build support for his debt limit compromise, dogged by claims of promises he made to become speaker. Jennifer Scholtes Politico -- 5/30/23

‘Terrible public policy’: Why the debt deal infuriates climate activists -- The deal keeps intact spending in Biden’s landmark climate bill, but it expedites a natural gas pipeline backed by Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.). Timothy Puko in the Washington Post$ -- 5/30/23

Walters: How will California deal with budget deficits that seem here to stay? -- California faces a large budget deficit for the forthcoming fiscal year and chronic shortfalls for years thereafter. How to deal with them is going to be a major problem for the state’s politicians. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 5/30/23

Wash Away

Can California’s coastline be saved? Study shows up to 70% could be wiped out by 2100 -- The U.S. States Geological Survey used two decades worth of satellite imagery of Ocean Beach in San Francisco — combined with models of sea levels rising from 1.6 to 10 feet due to global temperature increases — to estimate how the entire state’s coastline will shift in the next century. Hannah Kanik in the San Jose Mercury$ Laylan Connelly in the Orange County Register -- 5/30/23

Metrolink, Amtrak resume full service through Orange County after landslide -- The construction also enabled daily Pacific Surfliner trains to resume service, with trains to and from San Diego no longer requiring a bus connection between Irvine and Oceanside. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/30/23

Green

California’s Electric-Truck Drive Draws Startups Building Charging Networks -- A clutch of companies are spending hundreds of millions of dollars to lease or buy land, install charging infrastructure and in some cases even order dozens of heavy-duty electric trucks to jump-start the nascent industry. Paul Berger in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 5/30/23

Mechanical sails? Batteries? Shippers forming ‘green corridors’ to fast-track cleaner technologies -- It’s among the world’s busiest container shipping routes — a stream of vessels packed with furniture, automobiles, clothing and other goods, traversing the Pacific between Los Angeles and Shanghai. John Flesher Associated Press -- 5/30/23

Workplace

San Diego set for strong summer tourism season -- San Diego International Airport Authority CEO Kimberly Becker said the facility was already seeing a 12% increase in passenger volumes for the year compared to this time in 2022. John Carroll, Carlos Castillo KPBS -- 5/30/23

Develop

They created a ‘safe space’ in South L.A. But can this beloved plant shop survive ‘gentrification?’ -- Sandra Mejia and her husband, Bantalem Adis, opened the Plant Chica to greenify South L.A. Now, they might have to leave to make way for new construction in a changing neighborhood. Kailyn Brown in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/30/23

COVID

For covid long-haulers, the pandemic is far from over -- Ever since January, when President Biden announced plans for a springtime end to the coronavirus public health emergency, Frank Ziegler has been wrestling with what that would mean for covid long-haulers like him. Frances Stead Sellers in the Washington Post$ -- 5/30/23

Street

Arson, domestic violence probes underway after fire at UC Berkeley housing in Albany -- Police say they responded to disturbance call and found two victims, with a third resident still inside their apartment that caught fire soon after. Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury$ Cynthia Dizikes in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/30/23

Witness recounts horror of stabbing at S.F. Chinatown bakery -- Chinatown community leader Ding Lee was just about to help himself to coffee in AA Bakery around 9:45 a.m. Monday, as he does almost every day at the cafe on Stockton Street, when he heard the screaming. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/30/23

Education

Therapy dogs changed the culture of mental health in this Central Valley district -- If students at Selma High School in Fresno County ever had to vote on their favorite things on campus, Jeter and Scout – two cockapoos – serving as Selma Unified’s therapy dogs, would be the top picks. Lasherica Thornton EdSource -- 5/30/23

Also

A somber Memorial Day ceremony at Los Angeles National Cemetery -- The Los Angeles National Cemetery hosted its first public Memorial Day event since 2019, after halting for the pandemic. The community streamed through the rolling lawns of white headstones to honor loved ones and other veterans. Jay L. Clendenin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/30/23

Anti-war group's Memorial Day display highlights 'true cost' of war -- The pop-up "Hometown Arlington West Memorial" has become a semiannual event for the San Diego chapter of Veterans for Peace. "One of our tenets is to show the real cost of war," said David Patterson, a Vietnam veteran who served in the Air Force. Andrew Dyer KPBS -- 5/30/23

‘A hallowed place’: Memorial Day ceremony at S.F. military cemetery honors fallen troops -- “This is a hallowed place,” said retired Col. Christopher Starling of the U.S. Marine Corps, one of several speakers who took the podium during the hourlong ceremony. “Every one of these headstones has a story, and it’s up to us to remember them.” Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/30/23

What did California lose in the war on terror? More than any other state in the U.S. -- No state has lost as many as California; 776 men and women who called the Golden State home have died, 11% of the nation’s casualties. Nearly 20% of California’s war dead were old enough to die for their country but too young to buy a drink. They left behind 453 children.The item is in in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/30/23