Good Morning,

We hope you had a great weekend. Here are the stories we are following today, April 29:

✔  Governor Newsom’s EV charger redistribution network- the smoke and mirror PR campaign

✔  State Democrats take another swing at the Universal Health Care Pinata

✔  Southwest Airlines might change its longtime boarding process and quirky seat assignments

✔  Forget what you know, mall foodcourts are becoming “foodie havens” across SoCal

Cheers!

Netter News Team

EV CHARGING STATIONS SMOKE AND MIRRORS

Early Saturday morning Governor Newsom’s office sent a press release touting a “stat most Californians have likely never heard”: For Every Five gas stations in California, there is now one electric vehicle fast charging station.

The Gov. even did a show and tell via social media.

Hold our beer, Governor

If you listen to the Governor you would think all is well in EV charging land. It’s not. The current statewide system is a mess. And the Governor left out a couple of important points in his social media PR stunt.

Redistribution Network

Right now the state is NOT building more chargers, they are just bogarting Tesla ones already out there. Just call it the charger redistribution network and we can thank Mr. Elon Musk.

This means Teslas will be sharing their already charging systems with other EV drivers. While the California media didn’t point this out, many of you did on X.

Plug and Play?

Will every EV be able to pull up and just charge at Tesla stations? That’s a good question. We found this online, so you might want to check with your manufacturer to see if you need an adapter too.

How We Got Here:

The network of California’s charging stations has a bad reputation for good reason (if you have time read this long investigation about the issue).

The Cliff Notes:

• The EV chargers and apps don’t work most of the time

• There are too long lines if they do work

• The real kicker (and no surprise) California lawmakers dolled out a billion in subsidies to charging companies with no accountability

• Lawmakers didn’t require them to meet performance standards, no financial penalties and no one has followed up for any enforcement.

What’s Next?

Newsom said in the coming years California will build 40,000 new public chargers statewide, creating the most extensive charging and refueling network in America. But will there be oversight with the Democratic-run party in this state as funds are distributed for this project? This should get interesting when EV sales are reported down across California and the globe.

POLITICS, ECONOMY, EDUCATION & SCIENCE

UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE

California lawmakers are taking another swing at the universal health care pinata after previous attempts failed to break it open.

• AB 2200 aims to lay down the groundwork for CalCare, a state-administered single-payer health coverage system.

• Legislative analysts estimated it could upwards of $552 billion to get the program off the ground.

And with the state $73 billion in debt, where are we going to get the money to pay for this?

CAMPUS VIOLENCE

We are one week into encampments, protests, and occupied buildings at campuses across California.

📌Sunday morning at UCLA, pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with Israel supporters, the university reports of “physical altercations”.

📌At USC, protesters returned to Alumni Park with tents and even attacked Tommy Trojan with spray paint. Saturday, the LAPD arrested nearly 100 demonstrators there.

📌Meanwhile, a tense but steady calm held at UC Berkeley where dozens of protesters remain camped out in Sproul Plaza.

📌But look at what protesters did to buildings at Cal Poly Humboldt. Police moved in over the weekend to break up the encampment there and made arrests. University officials have warned anyone on campus without police permission will be arrested. All classes are now online.

WHAT ABOUT THE WAR?

President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke over the weekend about a US lead plan that would call for a ceasefire in Gaza and release several dozen hostages. Israel is open to it. Your move, Hamas.

OAKLAND MAYOR RECALL

It seems like she just took office, but Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is already facing a recall effort and it’s getting big backing from a billionaire tech titan.

Is the backlash against Thao warranted? Did she inherit the mess and deserve more time to cleanup Oakland? Mike delves into the controversy:

SHOPLIFTING SPIKES

No surprise here, the Council on Criminal Justice (a non-partisan research group) tracked shoplifting trends in 24 cities from 2019 to 2023. Rates dropped in all cities except LA and New York (where there were 61% and 64% increases). As we reported, LAPD found shoplifting increased by 81%. Read more here.

ICYMI: Mike highlights the countless reasons why we all stay in California and what makes this state great.

HOT TAKES

🚨PARAMOUNT CHIEF OUT?: Hollywood’s buzzing this morning with rumors that Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish is getting axed today. The first hint: he won’t be on the earnings call today. Second hint: he’s fallen out of favor with Shari Redstone, the powerhouse behind Paramount.

🚨PUBLIC EMERGENCY: After the murder of a woman on a metro train and a string of violent assaults on bus drivers, Los Angeles transit officials have declared a public safety emergency, ramping up security measures.

🚨 ALLSTATE DEMAND: Allstate said it would be open to selling new policies in California again, but only under one condition: it reserves the right to raise rates.

🚨TESLA INVESTIGATION: Did the federal recall of Tesla’s autopilot driving system get drivers to pay attention while driving? According to documents released by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Friday, concerns remain about the recall of all 2 million Tesla vehicles that have been sold!

🚨 SOUTHWEST MULLS CHANGES: Love it or hate it, Southwest Airlines might say goodbye to its longtime boarding process and unique seat assignments. The airline says the change, could take place in the fall, and they are considering it because well, consumers aren’t buying as many tickets on the airline.

GOLDEN STATE GLOW

🌴 Mall food courts are getting a gourmet makeover. From Ventura to San Diego, Southern California malls are becoming foodie havens, redefining the dining experience.

🌴 Parents, be warned: Pixar Fest is on at Disneyland. This means the ‘Might Mouse Ears’ is bringing your favorite Pixar characters and stories to life, like “Toy Story” and “Monsters Inc”. This is all promotion leading up to the release of “Inside Out 2” in June.

🌴Check out the Newport Beach Tiki, spotted on the ‘gram’! The floating party boat perfectly captures the SoCal lifestyle. Just remember to party responsibly if you decide to book it.🌴🚤

 🗓THIS DAY IN CALI-HISTORY

April 29: 

• 1953: In tech history, ABC tried something wild by airing a 3D-TV broadcast of a sci-fi show called Space Patrol on their Los Angeles station KECA-TV (now KABC). The problem was that nobody had 3-D glasses so it was just a blurry mess!

• 1986: Hundreds of firefighters battled a fierce fire at the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles. This was the largest fire of its kind in the US. In the aftermath, thousands of citizens rallied behind the Save the Books campaign to restore what was lost. We recommend watching this story by FOX Los Angeles.

• 1992: And 32 years ago today, Los Angeles erupted in riots following the verdict of the highly publicized trial of four white police officers acquitted of charges stemming from the 1991 beating of Rodney King.