Category: Northern California

Newsom Sets Aside $1 Million for Mandatory Dyslexia Screening for California’s Children

California may soon implement mandatory dyslexia screenings for its second-grade students, thanks to a budget provision by Gov. Gavin Newsom. In his latest proposed 2023–24 state budget, released on May 12, the governor set aside $1 million for the age group to undergo screening for dyslexia beginning with the 2025–26 school year. Newsom said that…


Wife Says California Doctor Purposely Drove Family Off Cliff: Court Record

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—The wife of a California radiologist accused of trying to kill his family when he drove his Tesla off a cliff along the Northern California coast told rescuers her husband was depressed and needed a psychological evaluation, according to a newly unsealed search warrant affidavit. The San Francisco Chronicle reported Wednesday that Neha…


Walgreens Reaches $230 Million Opioid Settlement With San Francisco

San Francisco said on Wednesday it reached a $230 million settlement with Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. over its role in the city’s opioid epidemic. The settlement came nine months after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said the drugstore chain could be held liable for having “substantially contributed” to an opioid epidemic that…


Newsom Sets Up Soviet-Style Hate Snitch Line

Commentary We’ve seen this before. California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently established a new hotline, CAvsHate.org, which “provides a safe, anonymous reporting option for victims and witnesses of hate acts,” according to his office’s announcement. “Here in California, we are sending an unequivocal message that hate will not be tolerated,” said the governor himself.  “We stand firm…


Newsom’s Revised Budget Maintains 5 Percent Funding Raises for UC, CSU Systems to Boost Graduation Rate, Enrollment

Gov. Gavin Newsom is maintaining his pledge to give another year of funding increases to California’s two university systems amid a projected $32 billion state budget shortfall. In a revised 2023–24 state budget—presented on May 12—Newsom kept intact his plan to give both the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) systems a…


Elizabeth Holmes Will Start 11-year Prison Sentence on May 30 After Losing Her Bid to Remain Free

SAN FRANCISCO—Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes will remain free through the Memorial Day weekend before surrendering to authorities on May 30 to begin her more than 11-year prison sentence for defrauding investors in a blood-testing scam. U.S. District Judge Edward Davila set Holmes’ revised prison-reporting date after her lawyers proposed it in a Wednesday filing….


Elizabeth Holmes Loses Latest Bid to Avoid Prison and Gets Hit With $452 Million Restitution Bill

SAN FRANCISCO—Disgraced Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes appears to be soon bound for prison after an appeals court Tuesday rejected her bid to remain free while she tries to overturn her conviction in a blood-testing hoax that brought her fleeting fame and fortune. In another ruling issued late Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Edward Davila ordered Holmes…


California Senators Consider Bill Making Kindergarten Mandatory

California legislators are considering a bill that would make kindergarten mandatory for children. Senate Bill 767—which would require children to have completed one year of kindergarten before being admitted into first grade, beginning with the 2024–25 school year—is set for a May 18 hearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee. The bill previously passed the state…


New Bill to Ban ‘Sell By’ Date on Food Labels in California Receiving Bipartisan Support

A California bill that would remove “sell by” dates on food—to cut down on consumers needlessly throwing away otherwise still edible products—is working its way through the legislative process, having recently passed in two committees and is now waiting to be heard by a third, which reviews bills that have fiscal impacts. Assembly Bill 660,…


California Dumps Nearly Half of Its Hazardous Waste Out of State

California is revealing new information to the public that shows the eco-friendly state is dumping tons of toxic waste in other states every year. Since 2010, California has dumped nearly half of its hazardous waste out of state—mostly in Utah, Arizona, and Nevada—according to the state’s latest figures (pdf). Thirteen more states also have received…