Rough & Tumble ®
A Snapshot of California Public Policy and Politics
 
     
 
 
 

California Policy and Politics Sunday

Dueling Gaza protests at UCLA draw hundreds as USC sees peaceful demonstration -- Demonstrators supporting and opposing Israel over the war in Gaza clashed in a large and noisy demonstration at UCLA on Sunday, shouting slogans and pulling at police barricades not far from where pro-Palestinian students have maintained a tent encampment for days. Corinne Purtill, Ian James, Paige St. John, Safi Nazzal, Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/28/24

Feds say he masterminded an epic California water heist. Some farmers say he’s their Robin Hood -- Stolen water is an indelible part of California lore. But the federal case against Dennis Falaschi, longtime head of the Panoche Water District, alleges one of the most audacious water grabs in modern history. Jessica Garrison in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/28/24

USC protests remain peaceful Saturday night after campus is closed; LAPD calls off tactical alert -- Tensions rose on the USC campus Saturday after pro-Palestinian protesters returned with tents and reestablished an encampment in Alumni Park, where 93 people were arrested on Wednesday. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/28/24

Cal Poly Humboldt police move in, but most pro-Palestinian protesters stay put -- Police moved in on pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupying the Cal Poly Humboldt campus over the weekend in defiance of the university’s orders to leave Friday evening, but most protesters remained in place. August Linton, Warren Pederson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/28/24

History lesson: Are student protests the best and most efficient way to spark social change? -- In times of turmoil, student activism has historically sought to spur change, safeguard free speech and protect human rights. But whether these campus demonstrations actually make a difference often depends on the political climate and how protesters organize, behave and adapt, experts say. Kristin J. Bender in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/28/24

Calmes: That scowl. The gag order. A frightened juror. Who’s on trial, a former president or a mob boss? -- Donald Trump has fussed about many things during his criminal trial in Manhattan: the judge, prosecutors, their relatives, witnesses, jurors and of course the media, for reporting on the sparse crowds outside. Jackie Calmes in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/28/24

Lopez: As some nursing homes cry poverty, what can be done about increased staffing requirements? -- If you suspect that you or a loved one might one day end up in a nursing home, and you breathed a sigh of relief when the Biden administration announced increased staffing requirements on April 22, you may need to pull a Larry David and curb your enthusiasm. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/28/24

Abcarian: How Santa Monica’s Rape Treatment Center revolutionized the way we treat victims of sexual assault -- It’s impossible to know how many lives Gail Abarbanel has saved. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/28/24

Chinese tourism to S.F. still lags pre-pandemic levels. Here’s why travel may not recover soon -- Mayor London Breed and S.F. travel officials traveled to China to court Chinese airlines. But government restrictions stand in the way of more visitors. Ko Lyn Cheang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/28/24

Workplace

California Fast-Food Chains Are Now Serving Sticker Shock -- Higher state minimum wage went into effect April 1; chains say burritos and burgers are getting more expensive in response. Heather Haddon in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 4/28/24

Housing

Does your 3% mortgage make you ‘richer’ in California — and should you pay it down? -- Just over 77% of existing mortgages in California are below 4.2%, according to new research from the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Meanwhile, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate recently climbed to 7.17%. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/28/24

Climate

World War II-era ship docked in Alameda testing tool to combat global warming -- Marine Cloud Brightening project on the USS Hornet will see if salt water particles can reflect heat back into space. Caelyn Pender in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/28/24

Steelhead

Here’s why steelhead trout’s endangered status could pump life into Southern California rivers -- When the state attached endangered species status to the iconic Southern California steelhead trout last week, it was like giving an aging Hollywood starlet new billing. Steve Scauzillo in the Orange County Register -- 4/28/24

Chuckwalla

Chuckwalla National Monument would protect swath of California desert and preserve a sacred land -- Indigenous Californians want President Biden to establish a national monument in a stretch of desert that is both an ecological wonder and a window into their cultures. Tyrone Beason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/28/24

Education

Bay Area school board still reeling from Pride flag ban grapples with contentious recall -- Tensions are mounting in the tiny town of Sunol, where the looming recall vote for two school district trustees has cast neighbors against one another and led to heated accusations of homophobia, racism and ethical breaches. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/28/24

Carvalho faults alleged actions of school safety worker who failed to stop fatal fight -- The Los Angeles school district has removed a campus-safety contractor from Washington Preparatory High School after an adult — who apparently worked for the contractor — refused to intervene before a fight that ended with the death of a student, schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho said Friday. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/28/24

Also

Fentanyl overdoses hit a surprising group of San Franciscans: the city’s dogs -- The first time Brandy Martin used the overdose-reversing nose spray Narcan on her bulldog, Jack, he was just 4 months old, she said. Maggie Angst in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/28/24

 

California Policy and Politics Saturday

12 days that rocked USC: How a derailed commencement brought ‘total disaster’ --The crowning of Asna Tabassum as USC valedictorian was supposed to be a time of pride for a university that has tried to shed its old image as a playground for the privileged by bolstering academics and diversity. Jaweed Kaleem, Angie Orellana Hernandez, Matt Hamilton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/27/24

Cal Poly Humboldt closes for remainder of semester amid Gaza protests, occupation of buildings -- Since Monday, hundreds of students have occupied Siemens Hall and Nelson Hall East at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt, in Arcata, leading to the ongoing closure of the campus. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/27/24

At USC, arrests. At UCLA, hands off. Why pro-Palestinian protests have not blown up on UC campuses -- At USC, police in riot gear arrested 93 pro-Palestinian protestors, while UCLA sent in observers who kept their hands off students in a peaceful encampment. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/27/24

Pro-Palestinian protests grow at California campuses as opposing demonstrators clash at UCLA -- Nearly 100 people, including students, were arrested at a peaceful protest at USC. Other college campuses across California have seen an increase in protests related to the Israel-Hamas war. Jaclyn Cosgrove, Angie Orellana Hernandez, Jenna Peterson, Jaweed Kaleem, Melissa Gomez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/27/24

Stanford officials threaten to arrest protesters camping on campus plaza -- Administrators on Friday warned demonstrators who set up an encampment on campus that anyone who remains overnight faces discipline and even arrest. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/27/24

‘Tortured, bureaucratic nonsense’: Congressional District 16 recount will go into a third week -- Mystery, sniping and challenged ballots — all swirl around the extraordinary recount in the Congressional District 16 race as it drags into its third week. Grace Hase, Harriet Blair Rowan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 4/27/24

Why Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 2003 tabloid deal came up at Trump’s hush-money trial -- The former publisher of the National Enquirer brought up a deal he had made with then-gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger during former President Trump’s trial. Seema Mehta in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/27/24

Betting on Trump to fail has made his stock shorters millions -- An AP analysis of data from research firms FactSet and S3 Partners shows that investors using puts and “short selling” have paper profits so far of at least $200 million, not including the costs of puts, which vary from trade to trade. Bernard Condon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/27/24

L.A. supervisors oppose plan to eradicate Catalina deer by shooting them from helicopters -- Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn drafted an opposition response to a proposal to shoot Catalina Island’s invasive mule deer population from helicopters. Andrew J. Campa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/27/24

‘Is this real?’ San Francisco’s panda plan has many hurdles ahead -- Among the challenges for the S.F. Zoo: Financing a $25 million enclosure and the pandas’ daily supply of bamboo. Tara Duggan, Michael Barba in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/27/24

Kaiser

Kaiser Permanente notifies 13.4 million members of data breach. City of Hope also reported breach -- Health insurance giant Kaiser Permanente apologized to 13.4 million of its members that some of their search information may have been inadvertently transmitted to Google, other search engines and media platforms. Nathan Solis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/27/24

Housing

LA Mayor Bass wants affordable housing. But these low-income tenants say at their expense -- A developer plans to use L.A. mayor's rules to demolish a rent-controlled building in Eagle Rock. Linh Tat in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 4/27/24

Insurance

California’s insurance crisis is pushing this iconic mountain area to a tipping point -- State Farm, the largest insurer in California, recently announced that it would drop tens of thousands of policyholders in the state — including roughly 40% of its customers in the Santa Cruz Mountains — due partly to wildfire risk. Hannah Hagemann in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/27/24

Street

4 more L.A. County probation officers put on leave in connection with ‘youth-on-youth violence’ -- The discipline against the four probation officers at the Los Padrinos juvenile hall in Downey was in connection with ‘youth-on-youth violence,’ officials said. Rebecca Ellis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/27/24

Education

Glendale teachers surprised to find their taxes already filed -- fraudulently -- The IRS recently notified teachers, nurses, counselors and other faculty members in the Glendale Unified School District that they could not file their taxes this year because they already had — or at least somebody using their information did. Nathan Solis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/27/24

A San Diego charter school may shut down its high school by the end of this school year -- Families have criticized what they say is a lack of transparency from leadership, which was about to hold a short-notice meeting to vote on closing the high school. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 4/27/24

Also

California’s oldest state park, ravaged by fire, still lacks visitor services. But that’s about to change -- Recent land acquisitions by the nonprofit Sempervirens Fund will provide property to help Big Basin Redwoods State Park develop a new visitor center, hiking trails and park headquarters. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/27/24

An NDA and a prayer to John Lennon’s ghost: How an L.A. guitar repairman fixed a Beatles relic -- How did a 12-string Framus Hootenanny guitar that was owned by John Lennon end up at an L.A. repair shop? Noah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 4/27/24

San Francisco tech billionaire buys the Onion, urges readers to donate $1 -- San Francisco tech billionaire Jeff Lawson confirmed late Thursday that he has acquired the satirical news site the Onion and promptly appealed to its readers for a $1 contribution to keep it running. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 4/27/24