Abortion Tourism Vs. Protecting Reproductive Rights?

Netter News Community,

Good morning and happy official start to summer! We hope you have a fantastic Memorial Day weekend.

California is the state with the most active duty and reserve military members- more than 180,000 of you. Let's take a moment to thank all of you for your service and honor those who are no longer with us.

As always there is the quirky, the consequential, and the headline news from California on this Friday, so let’s get it started.

Netter News Team

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND- THE LAKE EFFECT

It’s Memorial Day weekend, and many of you will be hitting our state’s beautiful lakes for boating, waterskiing, and much-needed family time.

You may think, wow, these lakes sure look beautiful- they are full, bursting at the seams from the non-stop rain we’ve been getting across the state.

By the Numbers

The Sierra Nevada snowpack, usually supplying 30% of the state's water, is at 110% of normal. Reservoirs are even higher, partly due to last winter's consecutive "Atmospheric Rivers” and snow storms.

Drought- What Drought. Let’s Focus on Water Storage

California is NOT in a drought, but you wouldn’t know that by listening to some state lawmakers. The real questions we need to be asking them is about water storage.

The Public Policy Institute of California suggests that California could have stored more water last year if there were improved methods for transporting water from full rivers to groundwater recharge sites, along with better coordination among landowners, local agencies, and other stakeholders. 

What’s the 411

• Many of California's big reservoirs are managed for flood control and water storage.

• They deliberately release water to prevent flooding during winter storms. 

• At Lake Shasta alone, enough water has been released from the lake to fill 540,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools!

• Water is continually wasted because space is needed to rein in winter storm runoff.  

Billion Dollar Projects

There are a lot of big ideas in the works to store water to help with future droughts, but all these come with big price tags and so far, little action.

• In 2014, Proposition 1 allocated $2.7 billion for water storage projects. The California Water Commission is responsible for distributing these funds among eight projects, none of which are operational as of now.

• The Sites Reservoir project, expected to cost over $4.4 billion, is planned in the western Sacramento Valley. It aims to store up to 1.5 million acre-feet of Sacramento River water. It’s not yet under construction.

• Newsom’s controversial Delta Conveyance Project which cost estimates now exceeds $20 billion!  

POLITICS, ECONOMY, EDUCATION & SCIENCE

“ABORTION TOURISM” VS. REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS

Thursday at the state capitol Governor Newsom signed what he called an “Emergency Bill” to authorize doctors from Arizona to perform abortions in California. The Governor said it was necessary to protect the reproductive rights of women in Arizona. Critics said this amounts to ‘abortion tourism’.

NEWSOM TO RAISE TAXES ON BUSINESSES?

Speaking of the Governor, a stinging commentary by Dan Walters of CalMatters points out that in the fine print of his chaotic budget, you will find several indirect tax increases on business, that over the next few years could raise as much as $18 billion to make up for the massive trouble the state is in.

DMV ONLINE-ONLY SERVICES

If you hate going to the DMV, you are not alone. And it appears the state doesn’t want you going to their DMV locations anyway.

Starting June 3- the following tasks will NOT be offered in person at the DMV and online only:

• Vehicle registration renewal that is not past the due date.

• Driver’s license renewal that does not require an in-person visit.

• requests for copies of vehicle registration records, which show ownership history.

• Requests for copies of driver’s license records, which show a driver’s history.

• Replacing a lost or stolen driver’s license or identification card.

FORMER- MLB PITCHER TO BE TRIED FOR MURDER

We haven’t heard much about this murder case, so we thought we’d bring it to your attention before you see it on Dateline (because this case is made for Dateline). It involves a former Major League Baseball pitcher, Daniel Serafini, who is accused of murdering his father-in-law and shooting his mother-in-law.

Who is Daniel Serafini

• Serafini pitched in the MLB from 1996-2007, for the Twins, Padres, and Rockies, just to name a few.

• He was kicked out of the big leagues for taking steroids.

• Serafini was also on a reality show for a time as well, where he admitted to losing $14 million in bad investments.

Lake Tahoe Murder Investigation

• Serafini’s in-laws, Robert Spohr and Wendy Wood were shot in their Lake Tahoe home in 2021.

• Wendy Wood survived the shooting, but later committed suicide a year after the attack.

• For a time, this is all detectives had to go on, a hooded suspect was seen leaving the couple’s home after neighbors reported hearing six shots fired.

The Arrests

• November 2023, nearly two years after the crime, Serafini and this woman, Samantha Scott were arrested in connection with murders.

• This week in Placer County, a judge ruled there is enough evidence to move the case to trial.

• Prosecutors revealed that Scott is the former nanny of Serafini and his wife!

• Prosecutors allege Serefini was inside the house, waiting for the couple before the killings.

• Prosecutors also said that Scott picked up Serafini after the killings.

• The suspects have pleaded not guilty to the charges

GRAB THE BUG SPRAY

While many people are leaving California for other states, something else is flocking to the Golden State: mosquitoes🦟. Five California cities are claiming top spots on Orkin’s Top 50 Mosquito Cities List. 

• 🦟Los Angeles (1)

• 🦟San Francisco (9)

• 🦟Sacramento (22)

• 🦟 San Diego (27)

• 🦟Fresno (50)

But Seriously…

This is not a list we want to be on, as health officials have identified an invasive mosquito species that can carry dangerous diseases in several counties across the state.

NEARLY $89K BEACH FINE

Word of warning if your holiday weekend plans take you to the beach: Don’t go clamming in Pismo! Turns out, clamming is highly regulated in California.

Not Sea Shells by the Sea Shore

🦪A Fresno family learned the hard way- they thought their kids were just collecting sea shells, but turns out they were harvesting live clams. Oops!

🦪Department of Fish and Wildlife officers gave their mom a citation, which later turned into a massive fine of nearly $89,000!

🦪Fortunately, the mom pleaded her case to a reasonable judge who knocked the fine down to $500.00 

HOT TAKES

🚨 ALCATRAZ STRIKE: It’s one of San Francisco’s most iconic desitnations. And now, the workers who run the ferry service between Alcatraz Island voted to authorize a strike just days before the start of the busy summer tourist season.

🚨 AIRLINES SLASH PRICES: Three low-cost airlines have lowered ticket prices by more than a third- just for this week only. And the deals impacts three NorCal Airports.

🚨 TICKETMASTER LAWSUIT: The US government said Live Nation and Ticketmaster need to split and have filed an antitrust lawsuit to break up the entertainment companies. 29 states, including California, are part of the suit.

🚨 DAILY WEED USE: This might not surprise you as more states legalize weed, but more Americans say they use marijuana daily more than they drink alcohol.

🚨 ADHD EPIDEMIC: A new study estimates that 7.1 million American children, roughly 1 in 9, have been diagnosed with ADHD. That’s an increase of one million kids since 2016. The increase could mean more parents are seeking care for their kids.

🚨 DIGITAL DECAY: If you're searching for an online article from 2013, it may be gone forever. A new study found that nearly 40% of web pages from 2013 are no longer accessible due to "digital decay."

GOLDEN STATE GLOW

• 🌴 Talk about WOW:  This 11-year-old is graduating from college. Thursday night, Athena Elling became the youngest graduate ever from Irvine Valley College, breaking the record set by her brother, Tycho, last year. Athena is graduating cum laude with an associate’s degree in liberal arts. Congrats Athena!

• 🌴 Southern California’s biggest Memorial Day Bash kicks off today: LA Fleet Week. This is a free, family-friendly celebration of our nation’s Sea Services. It’s located at the Port of Los Angeles and the LA waterfront. If you haven’t been, do go, it’s a great time for all.

 🗓THIS DAY IN CALI-HISTORY

May 24: 

• 1866: Fun fact, 157 years ago, Berkeley California was named after an Irish philosopher named George Berkeley, the Bishop of Cloyne.

• 1978: Management consultant Marilyn Loden first coins the term “glass ceiling” to describe the invisible career barriers for women. The Napa Valley woman didn’t realize how much that term would revolutionize how women are perceived in the workplace.

• 1987: 300,000 people walked across the Golden Gate Bridge at the same time to mark the 50th Anniversary of the iconic San Francisco landmark in 1987. Reports indicate the span temporarily flattened from the weight!