Will Hastings College be renamed? + New billboards in Sac + A new surgeon general

Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

BILL TO RENAME HASTINGS COLLEGE GOES TO NEWSOM’S DESK

California lawmakers have sent a bill to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk that would rename the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

The school will be known as University of California, College of the Law, San Francisco, or UC Law, San Francisco.

AB 1936 passed the Senate unanimously; it provides for the Yuki and Round Valley Indian Tribes, whose ancestors Serranus C. Hastings killed, to have a say in how the school is renamed.

“The events of the past cannot be undone, but hopefully this piece of legislation will bring about meaningful changes and healing for the Yuki people and the people of Round Valley,” said Assemblyman James Ramos, D-Highland, who authored the bill.

The name change has the support of the Hastings College Board of Directors.

ENVIROVOTERS UNVEIL NEW SACRAMENTO-AREA BILLBOARDS

A California environmental group is running a pair of billboard ads aimed at persuading lawmakers to approve a package of bills.

The California Environmental Voters, also known as EnviroVoters, have paid for billboards near Sacramento International Airport and the Golden 1 Center to rally support for bills awaiting a final vote, including SB 260, the Climate Corporate Accountability Act; SB 1137, Banning Oil Drilling in Our Neighborhoods; AB 2133, Accelerating Our Climate Targets; AB 2316, Making Community Solar Affordable and Accessible; and AB 2201, the Community Drinking Water Protection Act.

“Big Oil’s profits have never been bigger, and it’s because they are squeezing California’s working families. While we struggle to pay the bills, greedy oil executives are throwing money at our representatives to stop action on local air quality, environmental justice, and clean energy,” EnviroVoters CEO Mary Creasman said in a statement.

NEWSOM NAMES NEW SURGEON GENERAL

Six months after Nadine Burke Harris resigned from the post created for her in 2019 by Gov. Newsom, the governor has named a new Surgeon General: Dr. Diana Ramos, 55, of Laguna Beach.

“Dr. Ramos is a distinguished leader in medicine and a trusted public health expert who brings a lifetime of experience protecting and promoting the health of vulnerable communities. I look forward to her partnership...” Newsom said in a statement announcing the pick.

Ramos previously served as public health administrator for the California Department of Public Health’s Center for Healthy Communities, where she had been since 2021.

Her new post, which pays $216,420 annually, requires Senate confirmation.

Newsom created the California Surgeon General position on his first day in office. The job serves as “a key spokesperson on public health issues throughout the state and advises the Governor on efforts to address health risks and challenges as effectively and as early as possible,” according to Newsom’s office.

Burke Harris announced that she was leaving the job in February, saying that she wanted to prioritize her family, including her four children.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“People keep asking why I’m calling out DeSantis and these Republican governors. The answer is simple: I don’t like bullies.”

- California Gov. Gavin Newsom, via Twitter.

Best of the Bee:

• Thousands of people joined United Farm Workers in Sacramento on Friday to pressure Gov. Gavin Newsom to sign a bill that would make it easier for farmworkers to vote in union elections, via Mathew Miranda.

• Gov. Gavin Newsom says that, in its current form, he does not support a United Farm Workers-backed bill that supporters say would give farmworkers more opportunities to vote in union elections — however, the office is still in negotiations, via Melissa Montalvo.

• Former Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez cut short her family vacation last month to a close deal she considered critical to her new position leading California’s largest union: Bringing a small union with a powerful message into the fold of the state’s labor movement, via Mathew Miranda.

• California’s state scientists have been working for more than two years without a contract, and they’ll continue to do so after negotiations failed Wednesday in advance of a key legislative deadline, via Wes Venteicher.

• Republicans are warning people: The new Democratic-written tax and spending law is going to mean a bigger tax burden, whether you make $40,000 or $400,000. Independent analysts find that’s just not so, via David Lightman.

This story was originally published August 29, 2022 at 4:55 AM.