The latest North State and California news on our airwaves for Wednesday, Feb. 16.
Recalls have increased since the start of the pandemic; but unlike Shasta County’s, most are not successful
Over the last decade most recall efforts did not make it to the ballot, but those that did were likely to succeed. That’s according to Joshua Spivak, a senior fellow at the Hugh L. Carey Institute for Government Reform at Wagner College. Spivak specializes in the history of recalls and tracks recall elections across the country. He said the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in recall efforts nationwide.
"The COVID pandemic and the different ways to fight it led to some of the biggest changes in people's lives in U.S. history,” Spivak said. “More than World War II in many ways, and it did make sense that there may be a reaction, and that reaction was a recall."
Spivak said that despite the increase in recalls since the start of the pandemic, there has not been an increase in successful ones so far.
Listen to the full story in today’s Headlines.
— Alec Stutson, NSPR
Toxic fuel cleanup in Redding still ongoing
Residents are being urged to avoid some waterways due to ongoing cleanup efforts after a tanker truck overturned on Jan. 21 in Redding. The truck spilled more than 6,000 gallons of mixed petroleum products into storm drains and several drainages, reaching the Sacramento River.
The Shasta County Department of Resource Management warned in a press release Tuesday that there is still residual diesel and gasoline in the soil in the affected area. People are urged to avoid drinking water from the river and fishing or swimming south of the Cypress Bridge and in the Anderson-Cottonwood Irrigation District Canal, downstream of the South Street Bridge.
— Ken Devol, NSPR
Patricia Guerrero nominated to serve on California’s Supreme Court
Gov. Gavin Newsom Wednesday nominated Justice Patricia Guerrero to the California Supreme Court. Guerrero is the daughter of Mexican immigrants, whose parents moved from Mexico to Southern California's Imperial Valley desert.
For the past five years, Guerrero has served as a justice on the 4th District Court of Appeals. She was also an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of California from 2002 to 2003, worked for a private law firm for ten years, and served as a San Diego County Superior Court judge from 2013 to 2017.
If the Commission on Judicial Appointments approves the nomination, Justice Guerrero would be California's first Latina Supreme Court justice — replacing Justice Mariano Florentino Cuéllar, who resigned last fall to join the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Read the full story.
— CapRadio Staff
California lawmakers propose bills to crack down on COVID-19 misinformation
Two new bills would target misinformation and disinformation online and in the doctor’s office.
The first would require social media companies to make their algorithms public.
Research has shown false information can spread faster than truth online. Democratic state Sen. Richard Pan said that has been devastating during the pandemic.
“It should not be left to a handful of essentially very rich tech executives to decide what happens to our society and how we respond to a pandemic,” Pan said.
The bill is sure to get pushback from tech companies who say their algorithms are protected intellectual property.
Lawmakers also introduced a measure that would allow the California Medical Board to investigate and discipline doctors who spread false information about COVID-19.
— CapRadio Staff
Poll shows voters are mixed on Gov. Newsom’s performance
A new Berkeley IGS poll shows Californians are decidedly mixed on whether they approve or disapprove of the job Gov. Gavin Newsom is doing.
The poll is essentially a report card on Newsom’s performance and there were some especially bad marks on how he handled two issues. Just 20% of respondents gave him excellent or good grades for how he’s handled crime. Only 11% said they liked the job he's doing when it comes to homelessness.
Berkeley IGS Poll Director Mark DiCamillo said it's not just Republicans who are unhappy.
"Some Democrats are starting to view the problems that are facing the state as problems that … the governor should be doing something about, and they're getting frustrated," DiCamillo said.
One upside for Newsom, two-thirds of voters think the situation with the pandemic is getting better.
— Scott Shafer (KQED), The California Report
Stories from NPR partner stations are edited by NSPR Staff for digital presentation and credited as requested.
In other news
- What’s going on with California’s mask rules for schools?: “For at least the next two weeks, California schoolchildren will remain masked in classrooms — but officials say changes are likely on the horizon.” — CapRadio
- Do-over: Cal State resubmits application, increasing affordable student housing projection by 800 beds: “After the California State University system realized it misread the fine print for a new state grant to build affordable student housing, officials went back to the drawing board, ran new numbers, and told lawmakers they have a plan to develop more discounted student homes.” — CalMatters
- San Francisco police linked a woman to a crime using DNA from her rape exam, D.A. Boudin says: “The San Francisco police crime lab has been entering sexual assault victims’ DNA profiles in a database used to identify suspects in crimes, District Attorney Chesa Boudin said Monday, an allegation that raises legal and ethical questions regarding the privacy rights of victims.” — San Francisco Chronicle
- Oroville Council listens to sober living presentation: “The Oroville City Council heard a presentation from principal planner Wes Ervin regarding sober living facilities in its meeting Tuesday night, with Ervin saying sober living environments are the best solution from a therapy and re-entry standpoint.” — Chico Enterprise-Record
- Tehama County Supervisors approve new chief administrator: “Personnel Director Coral Ferrin asked the Tehama County Board of Supervisors Tuesday to approve an employment agreement with Gabriel Hydrick to be the county’s new chief administrator.” — Red Bluff Daily News
- County employee COVID mandates in limbo with Moty’s absence: “His absence proved critical late in Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting when an amendment to state COVID-19 rules for Shasta County employees failed to move forward due to a 2-2 deadlock.” — Redding Record Searchlight
- Forest Service awards $140 million contract to Firestorm: “This contract award was part of several made throughout the country for Type 2 Initial Attack qualified wildland firefighter crews.” — Plumas News
- Officials report Sutter County COVID death: “The latest COVID-19 death to be reported from area health officials was an unvaccinated Sutter County resident who was in their late 60s.” — The Appeal Democrat
In case you missed it
- Chico mayoral recall process has signatures to move forward, organizers say — NSPR, Headlines (Feb.15)
- Tim Garman likely to be seated as new Shasta County District 2 Supervisor — NSPR, Headlines (Feb.15)
- Study finds Western megadrought is the worst in 1,200 years — NPR
- Chico school board to choose final map for redistricting process — Chico Enterprise-Record
- Red Bluff council on final stretch on cannabis ordinances — Red Bluff Daily News
- MJUSD introduces changes to equity policy — The Appeal Democrat
- California launches ambitious effort to transform Medi-Cal to ‘whole person care’ — CalMatters
- Ketanji Brown Jackson, a judge who defies stereotypes, is on Biden's SCOTUS list — NPR
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