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In CA: Disneyland sets reopening date; Coachella and Stagecoach called off for 2020


San Diego bumps up its police spending, despite protests calling for the contrary. Police union leadership is white, OK, but why does that matter? And stay for stories of resiliency, which might be nice to hear right about now.

It's Arlene with news to know this Wednesday. 

But first, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and its country music counterpart Stagecoach, which had been postponed to October, are canceled for 2020.

In California brings you top stories and commentary from across the Paste BN Network and beyond. Get it free, straight to your inbox.  

L.A. police panel rules on Costco shooting; cop unions lack diversity; more carotid hold bans 

The Los Angeles Police Commission found that an off-duty police officer acted outside of department policy when he shot a 32-year-old disabled man to death and injured his parents at a Costco in Corona last year.

Police in many cities are whiter than the populations they serve. When it comes to the leadership of law enforcement's powerful unions, they're even whiter

The head of the Los Angeles police union is white, as are those who lead unions in Atlanta, Washington, D.C., New Orleans and Houston. And California’s statewide Fraternal Order of Police appears to have all white-leadership (and a black chaplain).  

“It is to the detriment of policing, period, that our community is not represented at police union tables,” Sonia Pruitt, chairwoman of the National Black Police Association, an advocacy group for black cops, told The Marshall Project. “If they had leaders who said, ‘Listen, what happened to George Floyd was absolutely terrible,’ officers around the country would follow.”

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The Simi Valley Police Department and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department join a growing list of agencies that will stop using a controversial neck restraint called a carotid hold. The restraint restricts blood flow to the brain, sometimes causing the person to pass out. For years, it has been part of the use-of-force manual for police departments throughout the county and state.

Riverside County took its action a day after a failed attempt by an elected official to launch a review of the department's policies

Calling it dangerous, California Assemblymember Mike A. Gipson, D-Carson, has proposed legislation to eliminate its use. Last Friday, Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the state to stop training officers to use the hold.

Starbucks plans closures, Disneyland announces reopenings and gym life

Starbucks is closing up to 400 of its stores but opening hundreds of others that make it easier to grab and go

Disneyland and California Adventure will begin a phased reopening on July 17. Similar to Yosemite National Park, you'll need to make an advance reservation.

To wear or not to wear a mask at the gym is the debate. Some just won't go.

COVID-19's implications at the border

The Trump administration expelled 2,175 unaccompanied minors between March 21 and June 2, citing the coronavirus pandemic. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection declined to release a breakdown of their ages. 

On a related note, the ACLU on Wednesday filed a suit challenging the Trump administration's decision to block many migrants from entering the country — including those requesting asylum — in the name of public health.

San Diego police department, buoyed by huge raises, increases budget

Despite pleas by some residents to cut funding during a 10-hour meeting, San Diego city leaders boosted police spending by $27 million for the fiscal year that starts July 1.

That brings the total spending to $566 million, budget documents show.

The systemic, generational issues that need to be addressed won't be solved in a single budget, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer told Paste BN in a statement. "We’re going to keep funding our police department but it won’t be business as usual."

Last week, Faulconer banned the use of the carotid restraint by police officers, and he said he supports a ballot measure to increase independent oversight of the agency.

The city's rising police costs can in part be attributed to double-digit pay raises in recent years. Higher salaries in turn lead to higher pension payments — employee compensation is not surprisingly a department's biggest cost.

In 2018, officers were given raises totaling 25.6% by the time the last increase kicked in on Jan 1, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported. Officers with 20 or more years got 30.6%. Officers also get extra pay for working night shifts, having a degree, longevity pay and other factors.

And unlike many departments that are part of the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), San Diego officers still have "3 at 55" which means they can retire after 30 years of work and receive 90% of their highest compensation. 

CalPERS member agencies, which includes most cities in the state, reduced that formula as part of modest statewide pension reforms that went into effect in 2013. 

The median salary (excluding benefits) for a full-time officer in 2018 (the most recent year available) was $110,000, according to the state controller's database on public pay. Once the raises for non-veteran officers kicked in, that would climb to $138,160.

See what your police department employees make: Explore the state's database.

What else we're reading

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wants 11 Confederate statues removed from the U.S. Capitol building.

Some Tesla employees in Fremont have tested positive for the coronavirus, but company officials are pretty mum on details

A COVID-19 outbreak at a Ventura long-term care facility infected 36 people and brought two deaths.

Wildfire season arrives in Ventura County

What never giving up looks like 

If you're feeling like the news is pretty heavy right now, maybe you'd find comfort and inspiration in a live storytelling event on Thursday themed, "Resiliency."

The Paste BN Network's Storytellers Project will stream the show, part of its virtual season, at 5 p.m. PT. It'll be on the project's Facebook page and YouTube channel (where you can also dive into past shows).

The series, called “LIVE, In Your House," debuted April 2, when the COVID-19 pandemic canceled dozens of the project's planned storytelling events.

The “Resiliency” show will feature one of the Storytellers Project’s youngest tellers, 14-year-old Jack Florez of Phoenix, who will share a story about his life with cerebral palsy. He says the message in his story is simple.

“Honestly, just to never give up and keep trying,” he said. “Even though times can be tough, especially right now, power through life and try to keep a positive outlook.”

That's it for today. See you tomorrow.

In California is a roundup of news from across Paste BN Network newsrooms. Also contributing:  Entertainment Weekly, San Diego Union-Tribune, The Marshall Project