In California: Funds pour in for elderly Asian assault victim; lawmakers OK more sick leave
Plus: Becerra is confirmed as health secretary, lawmakers OK more sick leave, and you'll have to walk to the Hollywood sign after all.
In California brings you top Golden State stories and commentary from across the Paste BN Network and beyond. Get it free, straight to your inbox. I'm Julie Makinen, California editor for the USA Today Network, bringing you Thursday's key headlines.
But first, the Hollywood Skyway bites the dust. Warner Bros. has backed away from a proposal to build an aerial tramway to the Hollywood sign, the L.A. Times reports. The $100 million tramway would have taken visitors on a six-minute ride more than 1 mile up the back of Mt. Lee to a new visitors center near the sign, with pathways to a viewing area. Let's hope the idea for gondolas to Dodger Stadium from Union Station isn't dead too.
Model ethnic studies curriculum OKd by state
In a unanimous vote, the State Board of Education on Thursday approved a model curriculum to guide how the histories, struggles and contributions of Asian, Black, Latino and Native Americans — and the racism and marginalization they have experienced in the United States — will be taught to millions of students, the L.A. Times reported.
The vote capped a years-long, divisive debate over ethnic studies coursework in California’s K-12 schools. The new curriculum focuses on Asian, Black, Latino and Native Americans but also accommodates lessons on the Jewish, Armenian and Sikh communities in the U.S.
Thursday's action capped two years of tough conversations, protests and rewrites over which groups should be included and how their stories should be presented. Drafts were alternately pilloried for being left-wing propaganda or capitulating to right-wing agendas.
As of now, the model curriculum serves as a guide for school districts that want to offer ethnic studies. But a bill to make a high school ethnic studies course a graduation requirement is pending in the state Legislature.
Funds pour in for Asian grandmother who fended off attacker
There has been a wave of attacks on members of the Bay Area’s Asian American community recently, including one captured on video of an elderly Chinese woman being assaulted in San Francisco. Now, a GoFundMe drive for the grandmother has raised more than $340,000 in just 15 hours, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
The victim’s grandson, John Chen, set up a fundraiser Wednesday night after the assault that morning left his grandmother with a bruised, swollen face. Police say the suspect also attacked an 83-year old Asian man earlier.
Xiao Zhen Xie, 75, was "very traumatized, very scared" after the encounter, she told CBS San Francisco with her daughter, Dong-Mei Li, helping to translate. Xiao said she was waiting at a stoplight when the suspect punched her in the eye. She picked up a stick and fought back, she said.
Want to help? USA Today has tips on how to be an ally.
Becerra confirmed as Biden's health secretary
The Senate narrowly confirmed Xavier Becerra to be Health and Human Services secretary on a 50-49 vote Thursday making the California attorney general the first Latino to hold the Cabinet position, USA Today reports.
As HHS secretary, he will play a crucial role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. neared 540,000 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, according to data from John Hopkins University. Sen. Susan Collins of Maine was the sole Republican to cross party lines and vote in favor of Becerra. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, did not vote.
In February, Becerra faced two days of contentious Senate hearings, where he stressed he wishes to work in a bipartisan fashion to achieve the ambitious goals President Joe Biden has set to battle COVID-19, including 100 million vaccinations in the administration's first 100 days, "safely and equitably." The country is on track to surpass that goal, possibly crossing the mark later Thursday.
Who might replace Becerra as AG? CalMatters has a look at the likely contenders.
More sick leave?
If you have been sick with COVID, but didn't get paid time off, you might be in luck: The California Legislature on Thursday voted to expand paid sick leave for about 10.4 million workers, AP reported. The lawmakers sent a bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom that mandates up to two weeks of paid time off for things like having coronavirus symptoms, scheduling a COVID-19 vaccine or caring for a child who is doing school at home.
The bill, if it is signed into law, applies to companies with at least 25 employees. The rules would expire on Sept. 30, but are retroactive to Jan. 1. Some companies would have to pay their workers for time off they have already taken.
Newsom continues pushing his side of the story
Opponents of Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday filed more than 2 million signatures with election authorities in hopes of forcing a recall election. As we wait for word on whether that drive will succeed, Newsom is on a PR offensive to counter the recall proponents' complaints.
Thursday, it was AP he was talking with. He acknowledged mistakes in communicating with the public last year before the first loosening of coronavirus restrictions led to an early summer spike in cases, a harsh lesson "that we reflect upon all the time" as the nation's most populous state again embarks on a broad reopening.
The Democratic governor also said he expects to soon expand the list of people eligible for vaccinations and asserted he was right to call the organizers of a recall effort against him partisan extremists. But he would not say when the state's state of emergency would be lifted. Businesses were particularly concerned about the rules applying retroactively, with the Chamber of Commerce calling it "an administrative nightmare" for employers who did not keep track of the reasons why an employee took time off from work.
Vanessa Bryant shares names of deputies
The widow of Kobe Bryant revealed the names of four Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies she accuses of improperly sharing photos of her late husband’s remains at the site of his fatal helicopter crash last year. Posting on her Instagram account, Vanessa Bryant displayed documents from her lawsuit that outline how each of the deputies shared the photos, including at a bar in Norwalk, California, two days after nine people died in the crash, depicting the Los Angeles Lakers legend and his daughter.
In California is a roundup of news from across USA Today network newsrooms. Also contributing: Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, L.A. Times, CalMatters.