Here's what's happening in the Bay Area, as curated by KALW news:
California legislature passes strict school vaccine bill // KRON
“State lawmakers on Monday sent Gov. Jerry Brown a controversial vaccine bill that would impose one of the strictest school immunizations laws in the country.
"The bill would require mandatory vaccinations for most children in public schools, in a move to end exemptions from state vaccine laws based on religious or other personal beliefs.
The Senate approved the legislation on a 24-14 vote.
If it becomes law, California would join Mississippi and West Virginia with such strict vaccine requirements in place."
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Muni fares set to go up Wednesday // SF Examiner
“Muni fares are set to go up once again, starting Wednesday.
Monthly adult fast passes with BART access will jump from $80 to $83, “Muni only” adult passes will jump from $68 to $70, and lifeline monthly passes for those with low incomes will bump from $34 to $35.
Even The City’s beloved cable cars will become a smidgen more expensive, with a price increase from $6 to $7.
"The increases from the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency are tied to inflation. In 2010 the SFMTA Board of Directors voted to tie Muni’s fares to the Automatic Consumer Price Index. According to the SFMTA, the automatic CPI increases fares are based on a “set formula,” calculated from the Bay Area Consumer Price Index and the SFMTA’s labor costs.”
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Former UC Berkeley students outline claims in Title IX sexual assault lawsuit // Inside Bay Area News
“Attorneys for three women who allege they were sexually assaulted by individuals affiliated with UC Berkeley turned up the heat on the university Monday, announcing at a news conference that they are filing "a very public civil lawsuit" alleging gender discrimination, negligence and fraud.
Janet Gilmore, a university spokeswoman, said campus officials have not seen the lawsuit and couldn’t comment on its allegations. She says the school is committed to fighting sexual assault on campus.
"The three women are part of a group that filed a federal complaint in February, claiming the university violated federal anti-discrimination laws by failing to protect them against sexual harassment and assault."
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Rolling back the decades at the Bay Area’s drive-in theatres // SF Chronicle
“On the way to the movies in his pickup, Aaron Roofener decided to stop and pick up a full-length couch that he spotted on a street corner. Admission to the theater was $7.50 per person. The couch got in free, which meant he must have been at Concord’s Solano Drive-In, which turns into a tailgate party on summer nights.
"In addition to bringing your own couch, you can bring your own food and drink. You can also get away with setting up tables and chairs on the asphalt and holding a block party or birthday party or family reunion. These are just some of the benefits that have caused an unlikely resurgence of the drive-in. The Solano has seen its revenue jump 43 percent in the past two years, and revenue is holding steady at the Capitol in San Jose."
These are the last two drive-in theaters in the Bay Area, and both operate under the West Wind brand. Open-air cinemas numbered 4,000 or more in the 1950s. Now they are down to about 350 nationwide.”
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Judge orders gallery seating open for Oakland council meetings // Inside Bay Area News
“An Alameda County judge issued a temporary restraining order Monday ordering the council to reopen its upper-level galleries to the public after complaints from a union.
The galleries overlooking the council chambers had been closed for nearly two months following a City Hall takeover on May 5 by activists upset with the city's decision to sell publicly-owned land to be developed into luxury condos.
The closing of the galleries, which can hold about 100 people, became a constant talking point during council meetings, with citizens routinely scolding the city for restricting access to the chambers. Critics claimed the city was violating public meeting laws, including Oakland's Sunshine Ordinance and the Brown Act, by shrinking the public's space.
Members of the public who arrived to speak at sometimes marathon-length council meetings often had to wait in overflow rooms or watch on a small television outside the chambers."
