Sacramento protest planned + Porter bags big endorsement + Let the water flow, letter says
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
SACRAMENTO PROTEST PLANNED FOR TUESDAY
The California Capitol will be the scene for the first of 50 planned protests, one for each state, in a collaboration between One Mom’s Battle and Breaking Code Silence.
“The mission of the nationwide protests will be to raise awareness on the shortcomings of the present-day family court system with an emphasis on the need for legislative change,” according to a statement. “Together, advocates plan to call for a ban on court-ordered reunification camps which are a subsection of the highly controversial troubled teen industry (TTI) and the alienation industry.”
Advocates argue that abusive parents use a debunked psychological concept called “Parental Alienation Syndrome” to manipulate family courts into forcing children into “reunification camps,” where the child is separated from their preferred parent and denied all contact with them for weeks, months or even years.
The organization notes that the “alienation industry” is rejected by the American Psychological Association, the American Medical Association and the World Health Organization.
The protest is set to begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the west Capitol steps, and will continue until noon.
PORTER CLAIMS HER FIRST BIG ENDORSEMENT
Ordinarily, a candidate’s announcement of a former law professor’s endorsement would hardly qualify as news. But when that former professor is Sen. Elizabeth Warren? Well, that merits mention.
The Massachusetts senator, a favorite of progressives, announced Thursday that she is backing Rep. Katie Porter’s bid for U.S. Senate.
“I met Katie long before either of us imagined we’d be serving as elected officials. Even as a young student in my consumer law class, she showed a deep-down commitment to making a difference in people’s lives,” Warren said in a statement released by the Porter campaign. “In the years since then, she’s taken on Wall Street and giant corporations that cheat the American people. Katie delivers because she’s smart and she has a backbone made out of steel. She is exactly who Californians need as their next Senator.”
Porter is running for the seat held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who is widely expected not to seek another term.
Porter’s campaign noted that the representative regularly works with Warren in Congress, including stopping big banks from funding Russia’s war on Ukraine and co-authoring legislation to reduce gun violence.
“We’ve worked together to take on payday lenders, Big Oil companies, and large corporations that cheat consumers,” Porter said in a statement.
Other Congressmembers rumored to be considering a run for Feinstein’s seat include Reps. Adam Schiff, Barbara Lee and Ro Khanna.
FONG WRITES NEWSOM, CALLING FOR MORE WATER FOR THE CENTRAL VALLEY
What is all that rainwater for, if not to put to use?
Assemblyman Vince Fong, R-Central Valley, has written a letter to California Gov. Gavin Newsom asking just that, urging the governor to relax state water restrictions to reach drought-stricken farms in his district.
“Rivers are reaching capacity and runoff is rampant while farms remain dry. Operational constraints are restricting flows through the Delta when water is needed most in the Central Valley,” Fong wrote in the letter.
Fong wrote that by acting quickly to capture stormwater during this historic rainfall period, the state could allow the flow of 80,000 acre feet of water.
“When Mother Nature blesses us with rain, we need to save the water, instead of dumping it into the ocean. This water could be stored, refill groundwater basins, and revitalize entire communities that have suffered for years during the drought,” wrote Fong, who vice-chairs the Assembly Budget Committee.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Climate hawk here. Getting super annoyed by the gas stove story: Trial balloon, outrage, balloon pop, outrage machine continues unchecked, ‘well actually,’ nitpickers nuance, blah blah blah. Find a policy that can be changed and get to work.”
- RL Miller, founder of Climate Hawks Vote, via Twitter.
Best of The Bee:
California’s string of hazardous rain storms has moved the needle in the state’s drought conditions, regardless if its slight relief is temporary, via Brianna Taylor.
California residents may soon be able to store their driver’s license or state ID on their smartphone, via Andrew Sheeler.
Attorney General Merrick Garland has appointed a special counsel to investigate President Joe Biden’s handling of classified material, after the president’s attorneys found stashes of documents in unsecure locations in Washington and Delaware, via Michael Wilner.
An audit of narcotics smuggling in four California prisons found drug-sniffing dogs are not used enough to search inmates, visitors, mail and staff as dope continues to get into these detention facilities, via Rosalio Ahumada.
Cannabis-infused doggie treats and other pet foods have been available in California for years. But safety standards for CBD products, including oils and capsules, still only cover the state’s two-legged residents, via Andrew Sheeler.