Sunday, September 28, 2025
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Sen. Lena Gonzalez’s SB 48 to Protect Schools from Deportation Threats Passes Senate

 

SACRAMENTO — In the face of continued attacks on our immigrant communities, Majority Leader Gonzalez’s (D-Long Beach) Senate Bill (SB) 48 the Safe Access to Schools Act, which is a California Latino Legislative Caucus Priority bill, passed the Senate on a 28-7 vote.

Since the start of the Trump administration, a flurry of federal actions has targeted immigrant communities across our nation and state. From attempts to end birthright citizenship to a lack of due process rights in deportations, immigrant families are being singled out and stripped of their rights — going against the core values of justice and inclusion that have long guided and shaped California.

In April this year, immigration enforcement officials sought and were denied access to two elementary schools in Los Angeles County. Targeting minors on school campuses for immigration enforcement has a chilling effect on our communities — with devastating consequences. Families live in fear of being torn apart, students stay home out of anxiety and threat of deportation, and schools suffer as attendance drops and funding declines.

In response, Senator Lena Gonzalez, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and a robust coalition of parents, teachers, school staff, local educational agencies, and community leaders have been actively advocating for Senate Bill 48 to advance through the legislature and ensure greater protections for students and families.

“Today’s Senate vote in support of the Safe Access to Schools Act is a huge win for our students and all California families,” said Senator Lena Gonzalez. “Amid the chaos, uncertainty and cruel attacks on our immigrant communities, this bill moving forward—is a powerful signal of hope and reassurance. Every child deserves a safe place to learn, and every California family deserves to be treated with dignity and respect. I’m deeply grateful to the teachers, parents, and community members who have championed this bill, to State Superintendent Thurmond for his leadership, and to my Senate colleagues for helping to advance this critical legislation. Now I urge my colleagues in the Assembly to help carry this bill across the finish line and send it to the Governor’s desk.”

“As educators, we work hard to build a sense of safety in our schools because we know students can’t do their best learning when they fear for their own personal wellbeing,” said Jeffery Freitas, President of CFT—A Union of Educators and Classified Professionals, AFT, AFT-CIO. “SB 48 will ensure that students, regardless of their backgrounds, are safe at school and able to access the quality education they deserve. We are thankful to Senator Lena Gonzalez for authoring this critical legislation, and look forward to Assembly passage in the coming weeks.”

Barragán Briefs: Senator Addresses Chemical Plants Safety Failures and Speed Limits Drop Near Harbor Area Schools

Rep. Barragán Calls on JCI Jones Chemicals to Improve the Safety of Harbor Gateway Facility

HARBOR GATEWAYLast week, Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44) sent a letter to JCI Jones Chemicals, Inc. or JCI to express concern with the company’s repeated failure to properly maintain equipment and address other unsafe conditions at their chemical plant in Harbor Gateway.

In the letter, the Congresswoman raised alarm with Clean Air Act violations and other safety issues identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency or EPA during past inspections of JCI’s facility in Harbor Gateway. Unsafe conditions found during the last site inspection in 2024 included corroded pipes and valves, a dilapidated roof structure, improper storage of hazardous materials. Additionally, the Congresswoman expressed concerns with the company’s lack of progress toward meeting an updated requirement of the federal risk management program or RMP for nearly 12,000 chemical plants nationwide, including the JCI facility in Harbor Gateway, to install community notification systems.

To address these concerns and improve the safety of the facility, the Congresswoman requested JCI to commit to the RMP regulations by maintaining all equipment on site, fully enclose the facility with proper equipment to mitigate an accidental chemical release, provide an update in the next sixty days on JCI’s plans to install a community notification system, and engage with the local community on the company’s actions to improve the safety of the facility.

“My constituents and I are alarmed that JCI has not made greater efforts to improve the safety of this facility where hazardous materials are stored and moved through for transit to other locations,” wrote Rep. Barragán. “These conditions are unsafe and unacceptable.”

New 15 MPH Speed Limits Enforced Near Local Schools

The Los Angeles City Council recently approved a new safety measure to protect our children and reduce traffic-related injuries near schools: speed limits will drop to 15 mph near 201 schools during school drop-off and pick-up hours.

Installation of new signs will begin soon and take 6 to 10 weeks. Several schools in California’s 44th Congressional District are included in the plan. Find the locations below and remember — slow down in school zones.

San Pedro
Barton Hill Elementary

Oliver St (Pacific Ave to Oliver St)

Wilmington
Broad Ave Elementary
Broad Ave (Lomita Blvd to Bonds St)
246th St (Avalon Blvd to Lakme Ave)

Gulf Ave Elementary
L St (Wilmington Blvd to McDonald Ave)
Denni St (Wilmington Blvd to McDonald Ave)
Gulf Ave (M St to Opp St)
Ronan Ave (M St to Opp St)

Harry Bridges Span School
M St (Marine Ave to Lakme Ave)
L St (Avalon Blvd to Lakme Ave)

Hawaiian Ave Early Education Center
E St (Hawaiian Ave to Mar Vista Ave)

Scholarship Prep South Bay
249th St (Avalon Blvd to Broad Ave)

Harbor Gateway
Halldale Elementary School
Halldale Ave (Carson St to 213th St)
Normandie Ave (Carson St to 213th St)
216th St (Normandie Ave to Denker Ave)

Harbor City
Harbor City Elementary School
254th St (Western Ave to Belle Porte Ave)
255th St (Western Ave to Belle Porte Ave)
President Ave (253rd St to 256th St)
Senator Ave (253rd St to 256th St)

Vermont Christian School
255th St (Vermont Ave to Dodge Ave)

DPR Proposes Regulations for Tracking Reportable Pesticide Use Near Schools

 

The California Department of Pesticide Regulation or DPR released proposed regulations to implement Assembly Bill (AB) 1864, signed by Gov. Newsom on September 25, 2024, to require field identification and reporting on pesticide use near schools to provide greater transparency and ensure compliance with existing regulations that restrict agricultural pesticide use near schools and licensed child day care facilities.

As of Jan. 1, 2018, DPR adopted regulations to place restrictions on the application methods or timing used to apply pesticides to agricultural fields within 1/4 mile of a schoolsite: public K-12 school or licensed child day care facility. The regulations also require the operator of the agricultural field within 1/4 mile of a schoolsite to provide the schoolsite an annual notification of expected pesticide applications.

The proposed regulations would require:

A separate site identification number for the portion of an agricultural field that lies within 1/4 mile of a schoolsite

Restricted material permit applications, notices of intent, and pesticide use reports for agricultural fields within 1/4 mile of a schoolsite to include the specific method of applying the pesticide

Notices of intent submitted for the use of California restricted materials on agricultural fields within 1/4 mile of a schoolsite to include allowable dates and time ranges during which the application can occur

Additionally, the proposed regulations will expand existing restrictions to include private K-12 schools with an enrollment of six or more pupils.

Participate

DPR has opened a public comment period on the proposed regulations through July 14, 2025. Comments may be submitted online through DPR’s public comment portal SmartComment, sent by email to regulations@cdpr.ca.gov, or by mail to:

Lauren Otani, Regulations Coordinator

Department of Pesticide Regulation

1001 I Street, P.O. Box 4015

Sacramento, California 95812-4015

The proposed regulations and rulemaking documents are now available at DPR’s Proposed and Recently Adopted Regulation webpage.

City of Long Beach Civil Service Department Merges with Human Resources Department

 

LONG BEACH — The City of Long Beach has announced the merger of the civil service department with the human resources or HR department to form one hiring department following the voter approved passing of charter amendment Measure JB in November 2024. This merge, which officially went into effect May 6, 2025, streamlines and modernizes the city’s hiring processes to create a more efficient, community-centered, and responsible city government that supports merit-based hiring practices to attract, retain and develop high quality, diverse talent and improve the quality of public services to the community it serves.

The new singular and restructured HR department will manage all employee recruitment and hiring processes, implement local preferences in the classified service, and achieve a goal of hiring most positions within 90 business days. Additionally, as part of Measure JB, an independent civil service employee rights and appeals commission was established. This new commission, which will be in effect starting July 1, will adjudicate classified employee disciplinary appeals and resolve complaints regarding the civil service rules. More information about this commission will be announced by the city at a later date.

The city also established a new talent management bureau within the HR department to include both classified and unclassified positions and further streamline and strengthen its recruitment efforts. The majority of transferred employees and resources were placed in the talent management bureau to enhance collaboration and better serve departments’ hiring needs. All former civil service employees employed at the time of the merger remain employed in the city and were offered jobs either in human resources or other departments, as agreed to during the implementation plan.

Photos From the Edge 13 – Washington Square Park

Photos by David Bacon

https://davidbaconrealitycheck.blogspot.com/2025/05/photos-from-edge-13-washington-square.html

Before Washington Square was a park, the Yelamu tribe of the Ramaytush Ohlone people lived along the Bay, and traveled up into what was then dunes and grassland, studded with oak trees. After the San Francisco peninsula was taken from them by the first Mexican settlers arriving from the south, cattle rancher Juana Briones grew potatoes on this small patch. Those who came after her used it as a dump and a cemetery.

When the Italians and Chinese came, the city created a park that marked the border of their neighborhoods in North Beach and Chinatown. Today, a century and more later, you can still hear breakneck conversations in those languages at the tables in front of Victoria Pastry, across Filbert Street.

The park was a home for immigrants and artists. As a teenager fresh from Udine in north Italy, Tina Modotti must have wandered through the trees intoxicated by dreams of becoming an actress. She starred in North Beach’s Italian dramas, before heading first to Hollywood, and then to Mexico where she transformed herself into a Communist photographer. Finally she gave up her art to guide refugees from Spain after its Civil War. Even though the U.S. government never let her return to North Beach and her family there, I imagine Washington Square Park still filtered into her sleep once in a while, to remind her of those first dreams.

I came to Washington Square Park as a teenager, cutting high school and walking down Grant Street, looking for the beatniks. I was a little late. The Coffee Gallery, where Alan Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti recited poetry to jazz, was closed and gone. Sometime during the years when I wandered through, seeking a way out of Cold War conformity, Erik Weber must have taken his famous photograph of Richard Brautigan, standing in the park next to his muse, Michaela Le Grand. I never saw them, but the photograph was the cover for Trout Fishing in America. The sardonic grace of Brautigan’s nonconformity suited my own. It made his book a treasured item in the small collection I hauled with me from one apartment to the next, in those wandering years of my own youth.

The other day I went back to Washington Square Park with my camera. I had no great ambition. I just took photographs of the people I found.

Governor Supports Court Ruling Against Unlawful Tariffs as Pro-Business & Safety Tariff Reform Bills Advance in Senate

 

Gov. Newsom’s Statement on Court Decision Affirming Trump’s Tariffs Unlawful

SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom issued the following statement after a federal court ruled today that President Trump exceeded his use of emergency powers to enact broad-sweeping tariffs that hurt states, consumers, and businesses:

“Like we said when we filed our lawsuit, theseT tariffs are illegal, full stop,” said Gov. Newsom “The court agreed today that Donald Trump overstepped his authority with his unlawful tariffs, which have created chaos and hurt American families and businesses.”

On April 16, Gov. Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit arguing that President Trump lacks the authority to unilaterally impose tariffs through the International Economic Emergency Powers Act, creating immediate and irreparable harm to California, the world’s fourth largest economy, and nation’s leading manufacturing and agriculture state. Today’s decision was issued as part of a separate lawsuit filed by private parties and other states, but aligns with California’s arguments.

 

Majority Leader Gonzalez’s PRICE Act Passes Senate with Broad Coalition Support

SACRAMENTO – Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez’s (D-Long Beach) Senate Bill (SB) 263 – Protecting Residents, Industries, and California’s Economy or the PRICE Act – passed the Senate on a 33-1 vote May 28 as rapidly changing tariff policies impact California workers, families, and businesses.

In recent months, new tariffs have been implemented, paused, delayed, retracted, and reinstated, creating economic uncertainty for consumers and businesses, threatening the supply chain, and increasing prices. Recent estimates show that new tariffs could lead to price increases such as: $5,000-$10,000 more for a new car, a $300 increase in annual premiums for car insurance, an additional $9,200 more to build an new home, and other price increases amounting to nearly $5,000 per household.

California must assess the impacts of these tariffs on affordability, employment, key industries, and other economic factors to ensure policymakers have the comprehensive data needed to inform policy decisions. SB 263 would direct specified state agencies to study those impacts.

“SB 263 is a commonsense, forward-thinking response to tariff chaos from the federal government,” said Majority Leader Gonzalez. “Californians are feeling the squeeze from nonstrategic, rapidly changing tariffs. From our Ports to our kitchen tables, the uncertainty, rising prices, and supply chain issues are harming our state’s economy and worsening the financial burden on families already struggling with a rising cost-of-living.”

SB 263 now heads to the Assembly, with support from a broad coalition of stakeholders.

Majority Leader Gonzalez Bills to Ensure Oversight of Driver Assistance Technology Passes Senate

SACRAMENTO – Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez’s (D-Long Beach) Senate Bill (SB) 572, which would ensure that California maintains access to critical vehicle safety data, passed the Senate May 28 on a 28-5 vote.

Currently, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration or NHTSA requires manufacturers to report collisions involving vehicles with Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems or ADAS – which have features including lane centering and adaptive cruise control. NHTSA uses this data to investigate and pursue enforcement against manufacturers when there are safety issues with the driver assistance technology, to ensure unsafe vehicles are taken off public roads or that defects with the technology are addressed.

Layoffs at NHTSA due to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and opposition to crash reporting requirements from Tesla executives and the Trump transition team put this important public safety policy at risk. Recent changes to NHTSA’s collision reporting policy maintained reporting requirements for vehicles with Level 2 advanced driver assistance features, but heightened uncertainty about the future of this essential safety data collection.

“Without collision reporting requirements at the federal level, we lose a powerful tool to ensure the safety of rapidly advancing driver assistance technology,” said Majority Leader Gonzalez. “SB 572 ensures that California consumers and regulators won’t lose access to public safety data if the federal government fails to hold manufacturers accountable for the safety of their vehicles.”

There is currently no state oversight for Level 2 ADAS vehicles, which have been involved in 747 collisions in California according to NHTSA data – over 500 more than any other state. If the federal government ceases requiring crash reporting for these vehicles, SB 572 will require manufacturers to instead report collisions to the Department of Motor Vehicles or DMV, and require the DMV to make crash statistics public and transmit the data to NHTSA and the National Transportation Safety Board.

“We applaud Senator Gonzalez for her leadership in promoting transparency regarding potential safety defects in vehicles with Level 2 advanced driver assistance systems. If the federal government’s top auto safety agency abandons its role in requiring timely reporting about crashes involving semi-autonomous vehicles, it will be vitally important for California to fill that safety gap,” said Rosemary Shahan, President of Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety.

UCLA Health and Supervisor Hahn Introduce Mobile Stroke Units to Strengthen Public Health Response

TORRANCE—In a significant expansion of emergency stroke care across Los Angeles County, Supervisor Janice Hahn and UCLA Health May 29 unveiled two new highly-advanced mobile stroke units that will respond to medical emergencies across LA County, allowing stroke specialists to diagnose and treat stroke patients in the field – saving brain function and lives.

“After a stroke, every minute counts,” said Supervisor Hahn, a long-time advocate for the Mobile Stroke Unit program. “The faster we can get patients the treatment they need, the better their chances of survival and of avoiding long-term brain damage. With three Mobile Stroke Units now serving LA County, we’re giving more residents a fighting chance to recover fully after a stroke and live healthy lives.”

A mobile stroke unit is a specially-equipped ambulance, built with a mobile CT scanner, point-of-care lab tests, telehealth connection with a vascular neurologist, and therapies, all designed to deliver proven stroke treatments to patients faster than ever before. Physicians on the unit can administer clot-busting drugs to patients in the field, long before they get to an emergency room.

The two new mobile stroke units join an existing unit that UCLA Health has operated in partnership with LA County since 2017 and has responded to more than 2,000 calls and treated more than 360 patients. The new ambulances will allow the program to provide more coverage to 33 communities on the Westside, the South Bay, Long Beach, and the Gateway Cities and to eventually expand its coverage area. Beginning in August, the third ambulance will serve the San Fernando Valley, which has been identified by the stroke rescue program as one of the major geographic areas with high incidence of stroke.

For every minute that passes following the onset of a stroke, 2 million brain cells die. A study published in 2021 in the New England Journal of Medicine found that treatment in a mobile stroke ambulance leads to better patient outcomes, both immediately and three months later.

With her work championing mobile stroke units, Supervisor Janice Hahn is building on the legacy of her father, Supervisor Kenny Hahn. The late-Supervisor started the nation’s first paramedic program which began as a way to treat heart attack patients in the field, before they arrived at a hospital, improving their health outcomes. Her father later suffered a stroke and was partially paralyzed for the rest of his life.

Nationwide, nearly 800,000 people experience a stroke each year — one every 40 seconds, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC. Around 87% of these are ischemic strokes, in which blood flow to the brain is blocked by a clogged artery or blood clot. The remainder are hemorrhagic strokes, which occur when a blood vessel in the brain ruptures and bleeds. Mobile stroke ambulances have the capabilities to treat both types.

The UCLA Mobile Stroke Unit acquired the two new ambulances with funds from two philanthropic donations. The Brett Torino Foundation donated $6 million to add the second ambulance, which will serve the San Fernando Valley. Heidi and Larry Canarelli of Las Vegas donated an additional $6 million for UCLA to acquire the third ambulance that will be stationed in Westwood.

Port of Long Beach Awards $355,000 in Scholarships to Support Future Workforce

 

The Port of Long Beach last week presented $355,000 in scholarships to 190 local high school and college students interested in studying and training in port-related fields including engineering, environmental science, maritime law and technical trades.

The scholarships were announced at the port’s annual Celebrating Education event, which brings together students, educators, policy makers and business leaders to highlight the port’s education outreach programs and recognize the accomplishments of students involved.

“Trade is a pillar of economic vitality in our country, and that’s even more true in Southern California,” said Port of Long Beach CEO Mario Cordero. “With 691,000 jobs here connected to the Port’s operations, or 1 out of 17, it’s important to introduce young people and continuing students to careers in the maritime industry. We are committed to not only investing but expanding our educational outreach so the Port and community continue to thrive.”

Since 1993, the port has awarded more than $2.2 million in scholarships to students pursuing careers in international trade and goods movement. This year’s scholarships went to students from local high schools, Long Beach City College, Cal State Long Beach and Orange Coast College.

The port also announced new educational partnerships. At the high school level, the port is starting its third high school pathway program in partnership with the Long Beach Unified School District, called the BEACH Pathway at Long Beach Polytechnic High School. Launching this fall, the four-year program will welcome 125 students into a curriculum supporting the Port’s Zero Emissions, Energy Resilient Operations, or ZEERO Program. Adopted in 2023, the ZEERO program seeks to advance efforts by the commercial maritime and goods movement industry to fight climate change.

The port will also expand its partnership with LBCC by supporting two programs, one new, during a “Summer of Learning” at the college:

  • The new Bright Path Program is an eight-week paid, noncredit college electrical program for high school students created in partnership with LBCC and the Harbor Freight Tools for Schools program to introduce 25 students to the electrical trades career path. It was developed in partnership with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and the Electrical Training Institute.
  • The Trades Summer Camp for high school students includes hands-on exploration activities introducing students to skilled trades. The free, noncredit weeklong courses are held at LBCC’s Trades, Technology and Community Learning Campus. The port is providing funding to expand the camps from 200 to 400 available spots annually and providing transportation for students in surrounding portside communities.
  • In addition to the program support, the port is sponsoring a new LBCC Tools scholarship, assisting graduating students in skilled trades in purchasing tools to launch their careers by providing $1,000 to each recipient. An initial 11 students are receiving the award.

Details: www.polb.com/education.

California Unveils Lifesaving Heat-Ranking System, Invests $32 Million to Fight Extreme Heat

 

SACRAMENTO — Summer is around the corner and temperatures soared to record highs this past weekend.

Gov. Gavin Newsom in May announced the launch of CalHeatScore, a cutting-edge tool to forecast and rank heat severity risks and connect Californians with resources to stay safe during extreme heat events. With CalHeatScore, California becomes the first state in the nation — and one of the only jurisdictions in the world — to launch a heat-ranking system. The announcement comes as the Trump Administration makes life-threatening cuts to the federal government’s weather monitoring apparatus.

CalHeatScore, developed by the California Environmental Protection Agency’s office of environmental health hazard assessment or OEHHA, brings together ZIP-code level data to provide locally tailored guidance. The tool identifies groups most susceptible to extreme heat — such as older adults and children — and provides tips for staying safe, such as how to recognize signs of heat illness. The tool additionally integrates other important data sets, like locations for the nearest cooling centers.

Gov. Newsom additionally announced $32.4 million to support 47 California communities in lifesaving extreme heat mitigation efforts. The Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program aims to support local, tribal, and regional efforts to combat dangerous heat exposure by building long-lasting infrastructure solutions and strengthening community resilience needed to withstand extreme heat events.

In a hotter, drier world, connecting Californians with extreme weather information and resources has never been more important – especially as the federal government cuts critical programs providing pertinent information on weather.

First-in-the-nation heat-ranking tool

The new CalHeatScore tool will be leveraged across state government, providing early warning that allows resources to be mobilized with greater speed and precision to communities that need it. To ensure the new tool works for Californians, the state will continue gathering input from the public, which will be used to shape future updates.

 

In 2021, the California Department of Insurance’s Climate Insurance Workgroup recommended California build a system to rank heat waves to better communicate the deadly risks to Californians and help communities prepare, similar to how tropical storms and hurricanes are described by “category” level.

As part of a broader climate package in 2022, Gov. Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2238 by Assemblymember Luz Rivas to codify CDI’s recommendation by requiring the state to develop a statewide extreme heat ranking system.

ALERT: Proposed Oil and Gas Drilling Ordinance, Public Comment

 

Following the recent court ruling and the city council’s action to rescind the citywide Oil and Gas Drilling Ordinance No. 187,709 (adopted in 2022, Council File No. 17-0447-S2), Los Angeles City Planning invites you to attend a stakeholder meeting to discuss the reinstatement of oil and gas drilling policies for the City of Los Angeles, informed by Assembly Bill (AB) 3233.

The city is moving forward to reinstate an ordinance that continues to prohibit new oil and gas extraction and phase out existing operations citywide. The work program that city planning will present at this meeting will cover the reinstatement ordinance and key policy objectives that were established by Ordinance No. 187,709.

This initial meeting is the first of two stakeholder meetings that will take place as an opportunity to understand the proposed work program, ask questions, and provide your valuable feedback as we progress through the legislative process, which will also include a public comment period and environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act.

We encourage your participation in this important first step to share your input.

First Stakeholder Meeting for Oil and Gas Drilling Ordinance

Time: 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.June 3,

Details: Register

Enter Webinar ID: 896 9610 0579 and Webinar Passcode: 161331