| Good morning, and welcome to the Essential California newsletter. It’s Tuesday, May 25. I’m Maria L. La Ganga.
It’s a difficult balance, and California parents say it’s been out of whack for years. Their tax money goes to support the University of California, the nation’s premier public research university system. But most of their accomplished kids can’t get in, because equally accomplished kids from other states and countries want to learn there too.
Now, the state Senate has unveiled a plan to cut enrollment for non-California freshmen nearly in half over the next decade, starting in 2022, writes my colleague Teresa Watanabe. Three state records fuel the proposal.
The first two are all about money. Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to use some of California’s record $75-billion surplus to give the UC the largest funding increase in its 153-year history. And the third? This has been a record application year, and public outcry over a massive number of rejections has reached peak volume.
“It’s not about ending out-of-state students … We just have to make sure there’s enough spaces for in-state students,” Sen. John Laird (D-Santa Cruz) told Watanabe. His Senate subcommittee on education discussed the plan this month.
The UC has given the proposal — which would cut the system-wide level of nonresident students to 10% from 19% — the thumbs-down. Students from other states and other countries enrich the educational experience, and the system’s budget. Because they pay more to attend, they bring in more than $1 billion annually in supplemental tuition.
Despite the pandemic, the UC system’s nine undergraduate campuses received nearly 250,000 applications for fall 2021, up 16.1% over the previous year. As Watanabe wrote in January, that includes “remarkable surges in Black, Latino and other underrepresented students seeking admission, putting the system within reach of dismantling long-standing admission barriers and building a student body that reflects the state’s diversity.”
Unfortunately, there are fewer than 47,000 freshman slots systemwide, and the most sought-after campuses — UC Berkeley and UCLA — admitted less than 20% of the students who applied for fall 2020.
“When we go to our districts and talk to our constituents, access to the University of California is a front-and-center issue that we hear about,” Assemblyman Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento) told Watanabe. His budget subcommittee has long prodded the system to admit more homegrown scholars, and he thinks 10% is still too many nonresident freshmen.
If you want to read it and weep, head to the UC system’s “freshman admit data” site and see how tight the competition is for yourself. Helpful hint: If you really want to be a UC undergraduate, apply to Merced. In 2020, the overall “admit rate” was 85.4%.
Go, Bobcats!
[Read the story: “A bold plan for UC: Cut share of out-of-state students by half amid huge California demand” in the Los Angeles Times]
And now, here’s what’s happening across California:
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L.A. STORIES
LAUSD schools will reopen fully, five days a week in the fall. Los Angeles schools Supt. Austin Beutner committed to reopening campuses full time on a normal schedule in the fall, in perhaps his clearest statement yet to students and families.
How clear was he? This clear:
“That means elementary school students will be on campus five days a week for a full day of in-person instruction with their teacher and classmates,” the superintendent said. “Middle school and high school students will be on campus five days a week for a full schedule of instruction, changing classrooms for each period. For both elementary and secondary students, after-school programs will be available from the end of the school day until 6 p.m.” Los Angeles Times
LAUSD Supt. Austin Beutner. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)
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Half of L.A. County residents 16 and older are now fully vaccinated for COVID-19. That’s an encouraging milestone as the region — along with the rest of California — prepares to fully reopen in a few weeks.
“It is truly thrilling to see us reach this landmark, and I want to thank everyone who’s done their part to get us to this point,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Monday.
But in a county the size of Los Angeles, that leaves millions more people who have yet to reach that level of protection — a gap health officials are racing to close before June 15, when the state will lift coronavirus-related limitations on business capacity, as well as physical distancing requirements for attendees, customers and guests at almost all businesses and other institutions. Los Angeles Times
THE CORONAVIRUS
How to convince someone to get the vaccine. There’s a COVID-19 vaccine available for everyone who wants one. But what about the people who don’t? If your friend, neighbor, co-worker or loved one hasn’t gotten their shot yet, they probably have a reason. Identifying that reason is key to getting them to get inoculated, experts say. We can help you with that tough conversation. Los Angeles Times
POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT
Another summer of California power outages poses a threat to Newsom as he faces the recall. Each time the power goes out, frustrated Californians look for someone to blame. That could spell trouble for Newsom, who will appear on a recall ballot during another hot and dry season and as California voters brace for electricity outages around the state. Los Angeles Times
Timing could be everything when it comes to the recall. The conventional wisdom is that California Democrats will want to hold off the recall election for as long as possible — and probably aim for a November vote. Why? To give the state — economy, healthcare, schools — as much time as possible to bounce back before voters are asked to weigh in on the fate of Newsom. But Steve Glazer, the Democratic East Bay state senator, took to Twitter to warn that Team Newsom should not tempt fate — and he’s urging them to schedule that recall election as soon as possible. Politico
One year after the killing of George Floyd and the largely peaceful protests it spawned, the Black Lives Matter movement has achieved mainstream recognition in the United States and beyond, with protests last summer hitting all seven continents. But the movement now faces the same challenge many grassroots efforts have: how to move beyond the recognition toward concrete solutions. Los Angeles Times
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CRIME AND COURTS
A former UCLA gynecologist faces additional charges of sexually abusing patients. A grand jury indictment unsealed Monday brought additional charges against Dr. James Heaps, the former UCLA gynecologist charged with sexually abusing seven female patients. Heaps was immediately remanded into custody, with a judge setting his bail at $1.19 million. He now faces a total of 21 felony counts, and his maximum prison sentence was increased by 24 years on top of the 67 years he was facing if convicted of all offenses. Los Angeles Times
Reality TV star says wine country mayor committed sexual battery: Florida police are investigating an accusation that Dominic Foppoli, who on Monday officially resigned as Windsor’s mayor, committed “sexual battery” with his “hands/feet/teeth” at a home in Palm Beach, according to new documents released Monday. An attorney for Farrah Abraham, a 29-year-old social media influencer and former reality television star, said Foppoli injured Abraham during the alleged March 2021 assault. Abraham is one of nine women who have accused Foppoli, a 39-year-old politician and winemaker, of sexual assault or sexual misconduct. Foppoli did not respond to a request for comment Monday. San Francisco Chronicle
HEALTH AND THE ENVIRONMENT
California is seeing a COVID-19 baby bust. What is causing it? The humble IUD, shorthand for intrauterine device, is just one of many reasons California is expected to see almost 50,000 fewer births in 2021, the nadir of a national COVID-19 “baby bust” that has sparked political backlash and left young families and would-be parents drowning in demographic quicksand. While Californians put off pregnancy in many other ways — among them prescription-free pills, self-injected hormones, and higher rates of abstinence and abortion — experts say the tiny T-shaped device helped an unprecedented number ghost the stork in recent months. Los Angeles Times
That dead whale has — finally — been hauled away from Bolsa Chica beach for dumping. The beach is all clear of the big rotting whale. The whale washed ashore at Bolsa Chica State Beach last week after it was towed out to sea in San Diego when it was found draped over the hull of an Australian Navy destroyer following joint training exercises. Over the weekend, it was cut apart and scooped up by heavy loaders and hauled off to the Marine Corps Air Station Miramar. Orange County Register
CALIFORNIA CULTURE
The Queen Mary, that iconic California hotel and attraction, is in danger of capsizing. One of Southern California’s most recognizable landmarks, the historic Queen Mary, a luxury art deco ship that has been living a second life as a hotel in Long Beach, is in danger of capsizing, according to a recent inspection report. The once grand vessel has fallen into extreme disrepair in recent years, including “broken handrails, carpets held together with duct tape, corroded fire hoses and a rusted submarine in danger of sinking.” SFGATE
The Queen Mary, Long Beach’s dowager landmark, continues to decay. (Luis Sinco / Los Angeles Times)
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No, those strange lights seen over Bay Area aren’t UFOs. Some Bay Area residents were startled Saturday evening to see a mysterious row of bright lights gliding across the sky. But they were not UFO sightings. Rather, it seems most likely they were a chain of Starlink satellites, part of a program being developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company to provide high-speed internet access to people living in remote areas. San Francisco Chronicle
For the record: Monday’s newsletter stated that Rob Bonta was California’s top cop before he served as a Democratic Assembly member. He became state attorney general after serving in the Assembly for nine years.
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CALIFORNIA ALMANAC
Los Angeles: partly cloudy, 82. San Diego: cloudy, 73. San Francisco: windy, 61 . San Jose: partly cloudy, 70. Fresno: sunny, 90. Sacramento: sunny, 82.
AND FINALLY
Today’s California memory comes from Christine DeCarlo:
My Golden State memory combines attributes I associate with this state. They are sunshine, beautiful topography, empathy, and … a horse. My beautiful boy Kyd was blessed by a Buddhist monk while riding many years ago on land preserved by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. I think his internal love was evident externally, which is what prompted the blessing. There is nothing more quintessentially California than being in nature. I celebrate Kyd’s life because he provided me with decades of the ability to live blessed with love and joy. I still mourn his death.
If you have a memory or story about the Golden State, share it with us. (Please keep your story to 100 words.)
Please let us know what we can do to make this newsletter more useful to you. Send comments to [email protected]. |
