AB 257 fight + Outgoing senators honored + Did Secret Service sit on Pelosi threat?
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
FAST FOOD FIGHT AT THE CAPITOL
Supporters and opponents of AB 257, the bill to create a Fast Food Sector Council that would set minimum standards for wages, hours and working conditions in the fast food restaurant sector, have swarmed California’s Capitol this week.
The bill survived the dreaded Senate Appropriations Committee suspense file, and is set to receive a vote on the Senate floor sometime before the end of the legislative session on Aug. 31.
Supporters spent a full 24 hours at the Capitol, sleeping outside the building overnight, while lobbying lawmakers to vote yes on the labor-backed measure, which they argue will help improve conditions in the industry.
The bill is opposed by many franchise owners, who say it will force them to raise their prices for food.
ATKINS HONORS OUTGOING SENATORS
The end of the current legislative term is just a few short months away, and Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, took the occasion Wednesday to honor her outgoing Senate colleagues.
In a Twitter thread, Atkins shared some kind words about Sens. Pat Bates, R-Laguna Niguel; Andreas Borgeas, R-Fresno; Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys; Ben Hueso, D-San Diego; Connie Leyva, D-Chino; Sydney Kamlager, D-Los Angeles; Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore; Jim Nielsen, R-Fresno; Richard Pan, D-Sacramento; and Bob Wieckowski, D-Fremont.
Atkins’ praised Bates’ pragmatic leadership when she headed the Senate Republican Caucus. She also noted Hertzberg’s ability to bring people together as Senate Majority Leader, Nielsen’s honest, straightforward approach as “dean of the Senate,” and Pan’s sacrifices in serving as “the voice of science in the CA Senate.”
SECRET SERVICE KNEW OF THREAT TO PELOSI, NEW REPORT SAYS
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW, is a D.C.-based group that sued former President Donald Trump over alleged violations of the Constitution’s Emoluments Clause. It is out with a new report alleging that the U.S. Secret Service knew about a threat to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, days before the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection yet kept it quiet until after the U.S. Capitol had been breached.
“On January 4, Secret Service agents discovered a Parler account, which we’ve chosen not to name, posting a series of violent threats towards lawmakers. Other profiles with the same name appeared on Twitter, MeWe, Bitchute, Youtube and Facebook,” according to the CREW report.
One post, dated Dec. 31, read, “January 6 starts #1776 all over again…Fight for EVERYTHING,” and listed a series of “enemies,” including Pelosi.
The Secret Service informed the U.S. Capitol Police of the threat at 5:55 p.m. on Jan. 6, hours after the insurrection had begun.
“The language used by the account, as we’ve now seen repeated in recordings released by the January 6th Committee, is a clear call for a violent overthrow of the American government on January 6, 2021,” according to the report.
The report authors, Jordan Libowitz and Lauren White, question why the Secret Service waited two days to inform Capitol Police of the threat.
“In the past month, we’ve learned that the Secret Service failed to prepare for violence on January 6 despite receiving explicit warnings, then deleted key evidence from the day, likely breaking the law. The delay in notifying Capitol Police about the threat to the Speaker of the House only adds to the impression that the agency failed to do its job, and leads to more questions,” the report says.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Liz Cheney’s pronouns are now was/were.”
- Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, via Twitter.
“So you *do* know how pronouns work, Senator.”
- Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, via Twitter.
Best of the Bee:
In past contract negotiations, Kaiser Permanente’s mental health clinicians would warn in advance about walking out for a few days or a week to protest working conditions. This time, they hit the picket lines without setting a date for their return, signaling that the strike will likely continue until the two sides reach a tentative agreement, via Cathie Anderson.
The drought is just three years old, by official reckoning. But the reality is likely worse. Scientists believe California is suffering through a megadrought of a decade or longer — an extended crisis, interrupted by the occasional rainy winter, that ranks with the worst dry spells of the past 1,200 years. It’s anyone’s guess when it will end, via Dale Kasler.
The pay at California’s state mental hospitals is good, but increasingly, it’s not enough to convince employees to endure the violence and forced overtime that come with the work, via Wes Venteicher.
Upon his release from Fresno County Jail Tuesday evening, former Fresno Congressman Terrance John “TJ” Cox said he looks forward to defending himself against a slew of federal charges, via Brianna Vaccari.
This story was originally published August 18, 2022 at 4:55 AM.