Here's what's happening in the Bay Area, as curated by KALW news:
Badge of Dishonor: Top Oakland Police Department Officials Looked Away as East Bay Cops Sexually Exploited and Trafficked a Teenager // East Bay Express
“The OPD and other East Bay law-enforcement agencies have positioned themselves as national leaders in the fight against human trafficking and the sexual abuse of children. But O'Brien and other East Bay cops betrayed this reputation with their exploitation of Guap. Officers trafficked her among their ranks and used the minor for sex for half a year.
“The scandal is unprecedented: According to multiple sources close to the department and the city of Oakland, and documents obtained by the Express, at least fourteen Oakland police officers, three Richmond police, four Alameda County sheriff's deputies, and a federal officer took advantage of the teenager. (The Express is not publishing her real name because she was a minor when her abuse began.)”
-----
New California budget adds millions for welfare programs // KCRA Sacramento
“California lawmakers on Wednesday approved a state budget that boosts funding for safety net programs while socking away billions of dollars to prepare for a recession.
“The $122.5 billion spending plan also increases funding for universities under the condition that they admit more California residents.
“It sets aside $400 million for low-income housing but only if lawmakers can agree to speed housing developments in some areas.”
-----
San Francisco Will Add New Centers for the Homeless // Mission Local
“The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a measure Tuesday that requires the city to build six more so-called Navigation Centers in the next two years to get more homeless residents off the streets.
“The vote follows the success of the nationally-lauded 75-bed Navigation Center located on Mission Street near the 16th Street BART Plaza. It is a transitional shelter that focuses on moving small groups from encampments off the street and into permanent housing which opened in March 2015 and had moved 128 individuals into permanent housing as of March this year, and sent another 126 home to family or friends.”
-----
DA Refuses To Work With Beleaguered Judge In Stanford Sex Assault Case // CBS San Francisco
“The backlash over why a judge sentenced a Stanford student to only six months in jail for a sexual assault is growing.
“Transcripts from the sentencing reveal the now infamous Judge Aaron Persky handed down the short sentence because he found defendant Brock Turner’s remorse to be genuine.
“Now, not only are jurors refusing to serve in the Santa Clara County judge’s courtroom, the District Attorney’s office is refusing to work with him.”
-----
Tech Titans Voice Support For Gov. Jerry Brown's Controversial Plan To Speed Housing Development // SFist
“A gaggle of powerful members of the tech sector have banded together to support an effort, spearheaded by Governor Jerry Brown, to override local planning reviews and affordable housing requirements for new developments, in order to jumpstart housing development statewide. The Business Times reports that over 80 prominent members of the tech and business community have signed a letter put forth by pro-business group Bay Area Council in support of Brown's "as of right" proposal.
“Under the bill, according to the Times, any new development with 20 percent affordable housing would be exempt from most local review laws — as long as the proposed tenants in those units make no more than 80 percent of median income in the area. The bill would also clear hurdles for developments with only 10 percent affordable housing that are near certain forms of public transit.”
-----
The Gun Lobby’s Rainbow Coalition // SF Weekly
“Before Sunday morning, when a man named Omar Mateen armed with an AR-15 assault rifle entered an Orlando, Fla., gay nightclub — one he apparently used to frequent — and shot 49 people to death, Stallard and other LGBT gun rights advocates were front-and-center in California's squabble over gun control. And even after the massacre in Orlando, opponents of a ballot initiative that would tighten gun control in California are using the rainbow flag as cover.”
