Bonta :“My office continues our work to get illegal guns off our streets , hold those responsible for gun violence accountable, and push for — and defend in court — commonsense gun laws.”
San Francisco has taken an increasingly tough stance on rampant drug dealing in the Tenderloin during the day — only for it to come back to life at night . Today, Mothers Against Drug Deaths is putting up a billboard in Union Square that calls on the city to “close open-air drug markets” and is considering launching an international campaign. And the city of Los Angeles on Friday settled a massive federal homelessness lawsuit by agreeing to provide shelter for 60% of the unhoused population in each of its 15 districts — though Los Angeles County is pushing back on the city declaring it responsible for serving those who are severely mentally or physically ill or struggle with substance abuse.
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Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton :“This historic California court decision declared unconstitutional one of the most blatant and significant attacks in the modern era on constitutional prohibitions against discrimination.” The Secretary of State’s office, which is empowered to charge noncompliant companies, didn’t respond to a request for a comment Sunday.
Drought. The Sierra Nevada snowpack — which provides a third of California’s water supply — was just 38% of average statewide on Friday, marking its lowest level since 2015, when the state was at the height of its last drought, CalMatters’ Rachel Becker reports . The dwindling supply prompted federal officials to slash allocations — again — for municipal and industrial users that rely on water from the Central Valley Project. And state regulators unveiled draft emergency regulations that would allow them to continue restricting the amount of water users can divert from the Russian River watershed .Fire. The dismal snowpack could signal an early start to California’s fire season, experts say — and a heat wave expected to sweep much of the state later this week probably won’t help. Meanwhile, the Newsom administration unveiled a plan to increase forest resilience by expanding the use of prescribed burns, including those once practiced by Native Americans . And a new study found that California could, by 2100, see twice as many massive wildfires followed by rainstorm-induced mudslides and flash floods as it does now. Agriculture. Due to a variety of pandemic-related supply chain problems, California farmers haven’t been able to export as much of their almond crop as usual — costing the industry $2 billion and pushing small farmers to the financial brink, the San Francisco Chronicle reports .Recycling. Californians would temporarily get twice as much money for redeeming their empty bottles and cans under a new Newsom administration proposal seeking to leverage the bottle deposit program’s more than $600 million surplus to help meet the state’s goal of recycling 80% of beverage containers. “This surplus belongs to California consumers and we want to get that money back in their pockets through bonus recycling credits and more convenient redemption options,” said CalRecycle director Rachel Machi Wagoner . The plan requires legislative approval, but not all lawmakers seem impressed .
Where’s all the money coming from? As Ben reports , contribution records filed with the state reveal a few surprises, including the first sign of a new, aggressive electoral strategy by the ridesharing giant Uber, plus some surprisingly big donations from a single towing company in Sacramento.
