Return-to-office order, Vang’s lead. Top Sacramento stories you may have missed

From a new return-to-office policy, to an indigenous tribe reclaiming ancestral land, here’s a roundup of the top Sacramento Bee stories from this past week.

• Gov. Gavin Newsom’s order to bring state workers back to offices four days a week is hitting roadblocks as several departments lack sufficient space to accommodate returning employees. The Employment Development Department and California Department of Public Health have acknowledged space constraints, while unions and workers are ramping up opposition to the mandate.

• A former Sacramento City Unified kindergarten teacher has filed a lawsuit alleging her predominantly minority class at David Lubin Elementary was segregated from two white teachers’ classes during lunch, recess and field trips. Lanisha Barney also claims she was denied disability accommodations and was terminated on June 13 while on approved medical leave, according to her complaint against the district.

• The Glenn County Sheriff’s Office will end its $2.3 million law enforcement contract with the City of Willows on June 30, saying the actual cost of services is $3.4 million annually and the arrangement is unsustainable. After the contract expires, calls for help from Willows residents will be routed to the California Highway Patrol or the Willows Fire Department, the Sheriff’s Office announced.

• The Mechoopda Indian Tribe of Chico Rancheria has reclaimed 450 acres of ancestral land in Butte County after roughly seven years of negotiations. The return, within the Big Chico Creek watershed, marks one of the tribe’s largest land restorations since it began rebuilding its land base in 1996.

• Sacramento Councilmember Mai Vang is leading the primary for California’s 7th Congressional District with 30.9% of the vote, narrowly ahead of longtime Democratic incumbent Rep. Doris Matsui at 29.1% (as of Tuesday, June 9). Both will advance to November in what is shaping up to be Matsui’s toughest electoral challenge since she arrived in Congress more than 20 years ago.