Senate leader Mike McGuire , in a Monday statement: “We’ve been working like hell on the issue of bonds, and we’re in the home stretch. We do have a little bit of wiggle room — bond measures can be added to the November ballot until July 3. We are working with the Secretary of State and Legislative Counsel to ensure we meet the July 3 deadline.”
School backers are pushing a $14 billion bill that would be California’s largest school construction bond in decades . If voters approve, the bond would pay for new roofs, upgraded electrical systems and other repairs at long-neglected schools in mostly rural and low-income areas where passing local bond issues is nearly impossible.
The school bond may be competing for remaining state borrowing capacity, in part, with a proposed climate bond issue . This proposal started at $15.5 billion last year, but has been reduced significantly. Environmental advocates, disappointed by some cuts in the budget deal announced by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders over the weekend, are now pinning their hopes on this bond issue.
Katelyn Roedner Sutter , California state director for the Environmental Defense Fund, in a statement: “California needs a climate bond now to balance our investment in proven climate solutions with the scope of the threats we face from extreme heat, drought, wildfires, and pollution. It is imperative that ongoing negotiations result in a climate bond so Californians can vote to boost climate action.”
“They deserve results and they demand results,” he told reporters in May. “And so when we’re out there promoting these bonds, we need to be mindful of that.”
Health care: An initiative just qualified to expand a program for specialized medical care for children , but Politico reports that children’s hospitals could be close to a deal to pull it in exchange for a budget trailer bill to provide more state money instead.
Public safety: Legislative leaders aren’t talking about it publicly, but KCRA reports they may push through a measure to compete with one already on the Nov. 5 ballot to overhaul Prop. 47 (passed by voters in 2014) and increase punishments for retail theft and drug traffickers.
Election observers (left to right): Susan Wilson, Susanne Baremore and Tom Morehouse watch through a window as poll workers process ballots at the Shasta County elections office in Redding on Nov. 7, 2023. Photo by Fred Greaves for CalMatters
After the contentious 2020 presidential election when former President Donald Trump promoted baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, Shasta County has become embroiled in disputes over election integrity.
Jenny O’Connell , resident: “We can’t just stop talking to each other. ‘ Oh, gee, I’d love for my kid to go, but those other kids are there. I’d love to go to dinner, but the wrong people own that restaurant. ’ It’s going to start breaking down our economy.”
The political divide is similar in other parts of the country, including deep-red Kerr County in Texas and Washoe County in Nevada, and could leave lasting damage to local institutions and civic life. Said one Stanford University political scientist: “Every minute you are spending working on a fake problem you are not working on a real one.”
Advocates say that voters with visual impairments are forced to rely on others to return their ballots.
Secretary of State Shirley Weber opposed a 2022 bill that sought to allow electronic ballot returns for voters with disabilities, citing concerns about cybersecurity threats.
U.S. District Judge Sallie Kim said she was concerned about the timing and implementation of a new voting process. She also questioned lawyers for the council about the impact of requiring the state to authorize a system, but not compel counties to comply.
It’s unclear when she will issue a decision.
Condemnation and security money
A pro-Israel protester uses pepper spray in a crowd of pro-Palestinian protesters during a clash outside of West Los Angeles synagogue on June 23, 2024. Photo by Jon Putman, AP Photo
Gov. Newsom and lawmakers of both parties condemned a protest outside a Los Angeles synagogue that turned violent on Sunday.
Newsom , in a social media post: “There is no excuse for targeting a house of worship. Such antisemitic hatred has no place in California.”
Fights broke out as more than 150 pro-Palestinian protesters and counter-protestors converged on the Adas Torah synagogue and the Los Angeles Police Department eventually deployed 60 officers to clear the area, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Times reported that the initial protesters showed up in response to an ad in the Jewish Journal that promised to provide information on “housing projects in all the best Anglo neighborhoods in Israel.”
Democratic Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco and Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel of Encino, co-chairpersons of the California Legislative Jewish Caucus, called the incident “reprehensible” and said “those who are responsible must be held fully accountable.”
They noted that the state budget agreement announced Saturday includes $160 million in grants over the next two years to protect houses of worship and other nonprofits that are at high risk of attacks or hate crimes. That amount is up from $100 million total in 2021 and 2022.
Wiener and Gabriel , in a Monday statement: “This funding is vital to protecting the Jewish community and others targeted by hate. We remain committed to doing everything in our power to protect the Jewish community and to ensuring that Californians of all faiths and backgrounds can live without fear of violence and harassment.”
David Bocarsly, executive director of the Jewish Political Affairs Committee of California, said security needs have escalated during protests across the state since the Gaza war started last October.
President Joe Biden also weighed in on Monday , issuing a statement that “intimidating Jewish congregants is dangerous, unconscionable, antisemitic, and un-American.”
And lastly: Disabled prison workers
Inmates pass a correctional officer as they leave an exercise yard at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville on June 20, 2018. Photo by Rich Pedroncelli, AP Photo
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Despite what Gov. Newsom and legislative leaders declare, the state’s budget deal is riddled with gimmicks .
Indian Americans, particularly in California, have a responsibility to educate others about the perils of Hindu nationalism, writes Ishaq Syed , who leads the California coalition of the Indian American Muslim Council.
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