((SF Chronicle)) // George Hearst Jr., the grandson of William Randolph Hearst, died at a hospital in Palo Alto on Monday. He directed Hearst Corp. for 50 years, overseeing 36 weekly newspapers and approximately 300 magazines and 29 television stations. He became chairman of the board of the international conglomerate in 1996. His son, George R. Hearst, called his father a “silent giant.” Mr. Hearst was 84…
((SF Chronicle))// District officials say San Francisco’s schools are facing a $30 million budget deficit. Although public schools will be receiving $567 million in local, state and federal funds, they will still be seeing cuts primarily to the HR department, administration and the superintendent’s office. In the proposed budget, class sizes are expected to increase, but salaries are not. The school year will be shorter, with staff taking four to five furlough days, but spending on summer school classes will increase by almost 70 percent. No teacher layoffs are planned. The board is expected to reach a decision on the budget by this Saturday….
((Bay Area News Group)) // As state legislators work to hammer out California’s budget, advocates for Healthy Families, an insurance plan that provides 900,000 low-income children with medical, dental and vision care, tried to convince lawmakers to avoid cuts to the program. If the program is cut, kids will have to join the Medi-Cal system, and find new doctors who are often already overwhelmed with the 3.5 million children they already serve. According to Democrats and Governor Brown, the cuts are necessary to avoid cuts to other programs that benefit the poor. They expect a net $13 million savings by the end of the year. Critics, however, disagree the savings will last in the long run…
((Los Angeles Times)) //Immigration law is likely to be a divisive issue in the presidential campaign. While Barack Obama supported the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down central provisions of Arizona’s controversial immigration law, he issued a critical statement about the portion of the law that was upheld, which gives police the ability to check immigration status of people that suspect are in the country illegally.
“No American should ever live under a cloud of suspicion because of what they look like,” said Obama. Romney issued his own statement, saying, “I believe that each state has the duty-and the right-to secure our borders and preserve the rule of law, particularly when the federal government has failed to meet its responsibilities.”
((Mercury News)) // San Francisco 49ers and Santa Clara city officials said the game must go on with construction plans for the future 49ers stadium, despite a sudden $30 million loss of redevelopment funds intended to serve as a down payment on the $1.2 billion project. A Santa Clara Country oversight board voted Friday to withhold the funds, saying the money should be used to pay for education, rather than a sports stadium. The decision could end up in court.
((Bay Citizen)) // Hope for saving Candlestick Point State Recreation Area is fading. Although 126,000 people visited the park during the fiscal year of 2010-2011, and the waterfront park generates half a million dollars annually through parking on 49ers game days, state budget cuts have made this be one of the 16 parks expected to close in July. Lennar Urban, a development company currently working to revamp Hunter's Point Shipyard and Candlestick Point, is interested in investing in the park in the future, but visitors would most likely not be allowed to visit the park until renovations have been completed…