THE BUZZ: Gov. Gavin Newsom nixed a plan for state-sanctioned drug use sites last yr. Now, San Francisco officials are forging ahead without him.
Mayor London Breed said Wednesday she’s working with Supervisor Hillary Ronen to overturn a city law that gets in the way in which of allowing non-profits to establish protected injection sites, where people can inject drugs in a hygienic environment, with clean needles, under the supervision of individuals trained to forestall overdoses.
Breed and other San Francisco officials say they’re willing to maneuver forward with privately funded sites, despite previous concerns that doing so could have federal consequences. To try this, the Board of Supervisors can have to overturn a 2020 city law that prohibits such overdose prevention programs — whatever the funding source.
For years California progressives have argued for protected injection sites, saying they save lives and stop the spread of disease, but progress has been slow. After Gov. Jerry Brown vetoed a bill in 2018, lawmakers last yr had pinned their hopes on Newsom. But no luck — the governor vetoed the bill by Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) that may’ve arrange pilot programs in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland, citing worries about “unintended consequences.”
Now. San Francisco lawmakers want to Latest York for instance for saving lives. In 2021, town became the primary within the nation to ascertain the sites, that are funded privately and run by a nonprofit called OnPointNYC.
Joined by the leader of the NYC nonprofit last week, Ronen implored to fellow city leaders to take motion.
“The Biden administration and the Newsom administration … usually are not going to throw San Franciscans in jail or cut off our federal funding because we’re saving lives and stopping open-air drug use,” she told city staffers, per the San Francisco Chronicle.
The programs have taken on a recent urgency in recent months as officials are confronted with the overwhelming effects of fentanyl on the drug market. Accidental overdose deaths in San Francisco fell in 2022, in accordance with state data, but Breed noted in a press release that “Fentanyl is difficult us like never before.” Newsom himself has acknowledged the crisis, proposing state funding to place overdose reversal drugs in California schools.
Ronen and Breed’s bill to overturn the 2020 restriction will go before the board on Tuesday. The mayor said in a press release the sites might be a part of a “comprehensive strategy” to save lots of lives and cut down on open-air drug use.
BUENOS DÍAS, good Thursday morning. President Joe Biden will visit the Central Coast today to take stock of the aftermath from the nine atmospheric rivers which have pummeled the state this month. He’ll be joined by Newsom and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.
Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up at [email protected]olitico.com and [email protected] or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “His lies caused regular people like Glen Littleton to lose thousands and thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars.” Attorney Nicholas Porritt in opening arguments Wednesday in a case against Elon Musk, where plaintiffs are in search of damages after a 2018 tweet from Musk about taking Tesla private caused investors to lose billions.
TWEET OF THE DAY:
WHERE’S GAVIN? Surveying storm damage with the president on the Central Coast.
A COMIC BOOK RIVALRY — “California vs. Florida, Newsom vs. DeSantis: Two Americas,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Noah Bierman: “The states have gotten two of the nation’s biggest ideological rivals. Superman has Bizarro, a robust antagonist who resembles him from afar but has the alternative instincts. Florida and California have one another.”
— “California sues firms over insulin prices, joining other states,” by The Latest York Times’ Benjamin Ryan: “With a population of 39 million, California has now turn out to be the most important state to sue the foremost firms on the insulin market, accusing them of illegally inflating the value of the treatment and spawning a financial and public health crisis.”
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Democrat and LGBTQ veteran Joseph Rocha is running for the AD-76 seat set to be vacated by terming-out Assembly member Brian Maienschein. Rocha unsuccessfully ran against state Sen. Brian Jones within the tougher SD-40 last cycle. Rocha launches with endorsements lined up from state Sens. Susan Eggman, Scott Wiener and Caroline Menjivar and Assembly member Rick Chavez Zbur.
BEN MEETS CONGRESS?— As mentioned in our Tweet of the Day, famous Hollywood actor Ben Savage, of “Boy Meets World” fame has entered the race for Rep. Adam Schiff’s seat in CA-30. Savage previously lost a race for West Hollywood City Council, garnering just 6.32 percent of the vote.
TIME FOR REELS? — California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones (R-San Diego) Wednesday announced he and his caucus will deactivate their TikTok accounts, citing worries about national security and the Chinese government. And Jones is urging Newsom to do the identical.
NOT OUT OF THE CLEAR — “California faces catastrophic flood dangers — and a necessity to take a position billions in protection, by the Los Angeles Times’ Ian James: “Giant floods like those who inundated the Central Valley in 1861 and 1862 are a part of California’s natural cycle, but the most recent science shows that the approaching megafloods, intensified by climate change, shall be much larger and more destructive than anything the state or the country has ever seen.”
PRICEY REVIVAL — “High-speed rail to downtown S.F. is back on course — but the value tag keeps going up,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s John King: “Five years after the debut of San Francisco’s grandiose transit center that features only buses and a rooftop park, regional transit agencies are gearing as much as attempt to win the federal funding crucial so as to add rail service to the combo. That recent effort features a recent price tag for the long-promised expansion — $6.7 billion, up from $5 billion in 2016.”
— “Bay Area regulators look to impose sweeping ban on recent natural gas water heaters, furnaces,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Dustin Gardiner: “The ban would apply to recent construction and appliances that homeowners must replace, starting in 2027 for many water heaters and 2029 for furnaces. It will not apply to large water heaters, comparable to those in apartments and industrial buildings, until 2031.”
— “A Sacramento non-profit pulled in thousands and thousands to deal with the homeless. Did it lose its way?” by The Sacramento Bee’s Theresa Clift: “All three unhoused women thought their days on the streets were finally over once they scored rooms in houses from Sacramento Self-Help Housing, a nonprofit property manager that plays an outsized role in town’s and county’s efforts to deal with the homeless. As a substitute, the three women lost their housing for various reasons: two over alleged rule violations, and one over a funding setback on the nonprofit organization.”
FACT CHECK — “Newsom says 95 percent of Texans pay greater than Californians in taxes. But is he correct?” by The Sacramento Bee’s David Lightman: “Asked to supply a source for the assertion, Newsom’s office cited a 2018 study by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a liberal-leaning group. However the group’s spokesman, Jon Whiten, told The Bee ‘We don’t compute a particular percentage of Californians who pay less/more tax than Texans.’”
DEAD END — “Va. Senate Democrats kill effort to repeal electric automobile rule,” by The Associated Press’ Sarah Rankin: “’The vote today shows that (Gov. Glenn) Youngkin-led attacks on Virginia’s bedrock climate laws are a dead end and that he should get on the side of constructing pollution progress and never stand against it,’ said Walton Shepherd, Virginia policy director for the Natural Resources Defense Council.’”
ON THE RISE — “The highest Biden lawyer together with his sights on Apple and Google,” by POLITICO’s Josh Sisco: In only over a yr in office, Jonathan Kanter — one among the 2 most vital players in Joe Biden’s efforts to rein in corporate power — has come after America’s biggest firms with force. As head of the greater than 800-person antitrust division of the Department of Justice, Kanter blocked the world’s largest book publisher from buying a rival and took on the nation’s largest health insurer.
— “Prosecutors to disclose if Alec Baldwin shall be charged in ‘Rust’ shooting” by the Los Angeles Times’ Meg James and Anousha Sakoui: “First Judicial Dist. Atty. Mary Carmack-Altwies, together with special prosecutor Andrea Reeb, plan to issue a written statement Thursday morning, in accordance with the district attorney’s office. A spokesperson for Carmack-Altwies declined to say who, if anyone, shall be charged.”
— Linh Tat is taking on the Los Angeles City Hall beat for the Los Angeles Day by day News
— Good Day LA’s Tony McEwing announced his retirement
— “Eagle delivers 2 eggs in California nest watched by web cam,” by The Associated Press.
— “How the Street Vet got here to take care of homeless pets,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Salvador Hernandez.
— “What we all know in regards to the California massacre that killed 6,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Grace Toohey and Ruben Vives.
— “A recent California housing law has done little to encourage constructing, report says,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Hannah Wiley.
— Former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf shall be interim director of Emerge California, which works to recruit and train women to run for office.
— Former Assembly member Suzette Martinez Valladares shall be executive director of the youth organization LAPD Devonshire PALS
Meta’s Caitlin Rush … Alexis Gay
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