State

CALIFORNIA—On Thursday, June 18, the California Senate passed a bill by a vote of 30 to 5 that would make ethnic studies a graduation requirement for all students at the 23 Cal State University (CSU) campuses. The bill has been in the Senate chamber for over a year, but the discussion regarding ethnic studies in schools started in 2014 when...

CALIFORNIA—The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team will not be able to bring their equal pay lawsuit to the U.S. Appeals Court in San Francisco due to a ruling by a federal judge in a Los Angeles court on Tuesday, June 23. Legal battles relating to equal pay on the national soccer teams began more than four years ago. On March 30,...

CALIFORNIA—This November, a rent control measure called the Rental Affordability Act (RAA) will be on the ballot for California voters to decide on, as was approved by California’s Office of the Secretary of State on February 3. The Secretary of State approved the ballot measure after verification of a petition asking to qualify the RAA for the November ballot. The...

CALIFORNIA—On Thursday, June 18 the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 860, which will ensure every registered California voter with a mailing address receives their ballot in the mail for the upcoming November election. The governor signed the bill in the interest of public safety and equal access to voting in the era of the Coronavirus.   The...

CALIFORNIA—Twenty-one California travelers were arrested for breaking Hawaii’s 14-day mandatory quarantine for out-of-state travelers. They have been pressed with charges, and have been sent back home to California. All 21 travelers are members of a group called Carbon Nation. The leader of the group is named Eligio Bishop, 38, and he has referred to the group as a cult. Earlier...

CALIFORNIA—San Mateo County has received approval from the state of California to resume indoor dining, county officials announced on June 16. No official reopening date has been announced, and officials said that although the county has been given the OK to reopen, they must draft a revised health order for restaurants that will be released later this week. San Mateo...

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO—On Tuesday, June 16 authorities reported that a South San Francisco police officer was knocked unconscious while attempting to arrest a man for weapons charges. Officers were called after receiving a report of a disturbance at an apartment building on the 600 block of Commercial Avenue at 7:40 a.m. Upon arrival, they were told by a woman that...

FREMONT—Following CEO Elon Musk’s order to re-open his Fremont Tesla factory in May against health guidelines, several Tesla workers have tested positive for the coronavirus on June 9. For privacy reasons, the exact number of employees who tested positive will not be disclosed. Starting in March, Musk was an outspoken critic via Twitter about the shelter-in-place orders, posting criticisms about...

CALIFORNIA—After nearly three months, wineries in Sonoma are now open to the public. Various wineries have had different experiences throughout the time that they have been operating during COVID-19. While wholesale purchases have been up during quarantine, smaller wineries have lost up to 43% of sales since the pandemic began. This is due to events being cancelled, fewer visitors,...

VALLEJO—Two women were killed, and three others were injured after a drive-by shooting incident that occurred in Vallejo. The incident occurred on Tuesday, June 9, when two shooters exited a vehicle and opened fire on a toddler’s birthday party.  At around 10 p.m., officers from the Vallejo Police Department responded to a call between Wendy and Amelia Streets. Upon arriving...