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A Bay Area train derailing from tracks overheated by an early-summer heat wave, sending at least one person to the hospital. Lightning strikes killing a woman and her two dogs in Southern California and injuring a man pushing a baby stroller in Kern County. A wildfire causing PG&E power outages so persistent that Stanford University on Wednesday canceled summer classes for the rest of the week.
Increasingly extreme weather is pummeling California’s electric grid, which is already struggling to meet demand — prompting fears the state could experience rolling blackouts this summer, two years after a heat wave triggered the first outages in nearly two decades and heightened political pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom to avoid further shutoffs.
How intense is that pressure? Well, as CalMatters’ Julie Cart and Rachel Becker report in this exclusive story, Newsom is pushing legislative leaders to include a far-reaching energy package in a yet-to-be-finalized budget deal that would give a state commission he appoints unilateral control over the development of clean-energy projects, prolong use of California’s four remaining natural-gas power plants, and allocate billions of dollars to fossil fuel power sources.
The dissonance between California’s ambitious environmental goals and reality was also on display Thursday, when the state’s powerful Air Resources Board held a day-long public hearing on its sweeping new strategy for addressing climate change. (Proceedings were temporarily brought to a halt when activists entered the packed hearing room, decrying the state’s blueprint and demanding environmental justice.)
The highly controversial plan would increase electricity consumption by as much as 68% by 2045 — which state officials said would put an immense strain on the power grid absent hefty public and private investments in clean energy, CalMatters’ Nadia Lopez reports.
The coronavirus bottom line: As of Monday, California had 9,264,968 confirmed cases (+0.7% from previous day) and 91,314 deaths (+0.1% from previous day), according to state data now updated just twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. CalMatters is also tracking coronavirus hospitalizations by county.
California has administered 77,234,258 vaccine doses, and 75.6% of eligible Californians are fully vaccinated.
A “shameful” and “dark day in America.” “A sad day for our nation and a setback for public safety.” Those tweets — from Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta, respectively — came in response to a Thursday U.S. Supreme Court decision tossing out New York state’s tight restrictions on who can carry a concealed gun in public. The ruling doesn’t strike down a similar California law requiring residents to show a compelling need in order to carry a concealed firearm, but it does make legal challenges against that system much more likely to succeed, CalMatters’ Ben Christopher reports. And it could have sweeping implications for the rest of California’s strictest-in-the-nation gun laws, some of which are already being contested in court.
Nevertheless, in what has become a familiar refrain in a state increasingly at odds with policies upheld by the nation’s highest court and Republican-led states, California’s Democratic lawmakers are already hashing out a legislative response. Although details are still being worked out, Democratic state Sen. Anthony Portantino of Glendale — into whose existing bill the new legislation will be inserted — told Ben the court’s opinion leaves the door open for states to respond in two possible ways, and the proposal will “attack it from both of those angles.” For more, check out Ben’s story.
Just before the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling today overturning the federal constitutional right to an abortion, state lawmakers on Thursday sent to Newsom’s desk a bill to shield from civil liability anyone who receives, provides or aids abortion care in California. The bill — which will go into effect immediately once Newsom signs it — is part of a package of legislation that advocates say will help California serve as an abortion “sanctuary” for out-of-state patients.
Also Thursday, a proposed amendment to enshrine the right to abortion and contraception in California’s constitution cleared a key Assembly committee, bringing it one step closer to landing on voters’ ballots in November.
But another proposed amendment to ban involuntary servitude — which the California constitution currently prohibits “except to punish crime” — didn’t fare so well. The 20-6 vote in the Senate fell well short of the two-thirds approval threshold needed to advance it to the Assembly, where a supermajority of lawmakers would also have to greenlight it by June 30 for it to land on the November ballot.
State Senate, District 37 (Costa Mesa)
State Senate, District 37 (Costa Mesa)
Sen. Dave Min has taken at least $1.6 million from the Party sector since he was elected to the legislature. That represents 35% of his total campaign contributions.
Sen. Richard Roth has taken at least $2.6 million from the Party sector since he was elected to the legislature. That represents 42% of his total campaign contributions.
State Senate, District 30 (Los Angeles)
State Senate, District 30 (Los Angeles)
Trustee, Los Angeles Community College District
Sen. Sydney Kamlager has taken at least $832,000 from the Labor sector since she was elected to the legislature. That represents 27% of her total campaign contributions.
Yes, California’s primary election was more than two weeks ago, and no, the results still haven’t been finalized — as of Thursday, an estimated 376,500 ballots had yet to be tallied, and in some statewide races it isn’t yet clear which two candidates will advance to the November general election.
Meanwhile, as dust settles from the election, some are expressing dissatisfaction with California’s multiparty top-two primary system, 10 years after it was adopted. GOP Assemblymember Kevin Kiley of Rocklin this week introduced a constitutional amendment to end the system, which he accused of “making a farce of our democracy with gamesmanship, fluke outcomes and the disenfranchisement of independent voters.”
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: California is experiencing its latest episode of “Gas Price Derangement Syndrome.”
Want to solve homelessness? Invest in housing: This budget season, Newsom and the Legislature must allocate steady — not temporary — funding for rental assistance and the creation of permanent supportive housing, argues Mike Herald of the Western Center on Law & Poverty.
Gavin Newsom jumps onto the national stage and Bidenworld takes notice. // Politico
Nancy Pelosi’s husband charged with DUI in California. // Associated Press
Is a Michigan energy firm using dark money to influence California’s climate plans? // Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles may ban new gas stations to help combat climate emergency. // The Guardian
California air pollution ranks worst in nation due to wildfire smoke. // San Francisco Chronicle
The last nuclear plant in California — and the unexpected quest to save it. // The Guardian
California’s top military brass rocked by homophobia, antisemitism, indecent exposure scandals. // Los Angeles Times
California murder conviction overturned due to misuse of jailhouse informant. // Mercury News
State Attorney General Bonta gives Mark Ridley-Thomas backers a chance to fight his removal from L.A. City Council. // Daily News
Supervisor Dean Preston stars on shadowy ‘news’ website created by his political group. // San Francisco Standard
Officials release unprecedented plan to return Bruce’s Beach property to rightful Black heirs. // Los Angeles Times
Lawmakers look to help Veterans Village following investigation. // inewsource
They didn’t get their security deposits back. Now a big L.A. landlord agrees to pay $12.5 million. // Los Angeles Times
A year after Surfside condo collapse, two California startups are creating Carfax-like reports for HOAs. // Mercury News
After year of violence, California and U.S. schools try to tame tensions. // Associated Press
The reading wars return: Bay Area schools grapple with phonics versus sight words approach. // San Francisco Chronicle
Tutoring options in Los Angeles Unified leave families frustrated. // EdSource
Ballot measure that could switch San Diego to ‘ranked choice’ voting delayed to 2024. // San Diego Union-Tribune
Massive blue whales are back off the California coast — along with their cute babies. // Mercury News
Explore 13,000 years of human history on this remote California island. // National Geographic
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