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Ad buy urges funding for SNF Board + Schubert endorsement + Min weighs in on shooting

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

AS LAWMAKERS WEIGH BUDGET TALKS, A SEVEN-FIGURE AD BUY

California lawmakers have a little less than a month to hash out a budget to send to Gov. Gavin Newsom, and SEIU Local 2015 is launching a seven-figure ad buy across radio and digital media to call on them to include funding for a Skilled Nursing Facility Quality Standards Board aimed at giving workers a seat at the table in developing wage, safety and equity standards along with employers and the state.

“Low pay, dangerous conditions, and the crushing stress of working in understaffed nursing homes have already driven 16,000 California nursing home workers away from the work they love since the start of the pandemic,” said SEIU Local 2015 President April Verrett in a statement. “California’s commitment to equity and dignity for all is only as strong as our commitment to the most undervalued workers and vulnerable elders and people with disabilities: Legislators must prioritize quality nursing home care in this budget.”

The 30-second spot, titled “Disappear” highlights concerns about the disappearance of workers in Skilled Nursing Facilities.

The union has partnered with Sen. Henry Stern, D-Canoga Park, and Assemblyman Miguel Santiago, D-Los Angeles, to introduce budget legislation for what SEIU Local 2015 says is an “urgently needed solution.”

The union points out that California’s population is aging rapidly, with an estimated number of people in the state older than 65 expected to grow by 4 million by 2030.

FORMER CORRECTIONS CHIEF ENDORSES SCHUBERT FOR AG

In the race for California attorney general, no party preference candidate and Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert has racked up another endorsement, this time from the former head of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

“Anne Marie Schubert is who Californians need as Attorney General to bring back a commitment to public safety,” said Ralph Diaz, former Secretary of CDCR, in a statement. “She is a leader in fighting against the early prison release policies that are putting violent criminals back into our communities before they are adequately rehabilitated.”

Diaz took over the department in 2018, and left in 2020, as California’s prisons were facing skyrocketing COVID-19 infections leading to dozens of deaths.

Diaz, an appointee of Gov. Newsom, was replaced by Kathleen Allison, who previously served as undersecretary of the department.

SOCAL STATE LAWMAKER WEIGHS IN ON SUNDAY’S SHOOTING

Sunday saw yet another mass shooting in America, this one in the quiet Southern California retirement community of Laguna Woods.

The shooter, a Las Vegas man, was motivated by political hatred toward the Taiwanese community, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The shooting took place in State Sen. Dave Min’s home district, and Min issued a statement about it on Monday.

“What happened yesterday to Taiwanese parishioners is traumatic and devastating to the entire Orange County community. The third mass shooting in three days, this attack was meticulously thought out and, as we are learning, could have been much more severe in light of new information that the gunman had not only locked the church doors but was armed with high caliber magazines and Molotov cocktails,” Min said.

Min pointed out that the shooting represents a battle on two fronts: the rise of gun violence in America and also the rise of hate crimes.

“It is time we put a stop to this nightmare. The political and ethnic divisions that fueled this mass shooting must be a call to action for all of us to come together and heal divisions through dialogue and shared understanding. We cannot allow the crisis of hate to go unchecked while extremists take up arms against our communities,” he said.

Min also praised Dr. John Cheng, who died while attempting to restrain the shooter.

“We must honor Dr. Cheng’s legacy by building bridges across racial, ethnic, and religious lines to make sure that this type of tragedy never happens again,” Min said.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Was exposed to COVID last week so by rules of the Senate had to quarantine today and cancel my big press conference this morning at the Capitol on my Free Prison Phone calls :( :( :(“

- Sen. Josh Becker, D-San Mateo, via Twitter.

Best of the Bee:

  • California’s wine country and two Sacramento Valley counties will see a dramatic increase in wildfire risk over the next three decades, according to a new report from a climate-change think tank, via Ryan Sabalow.

  • An agreement in which CalPERS would have paid up to $2.7 billion to settle a lawsuit over the cost of its long-term care coverage has been scrapped, creating new uncertainty for tens of thousands of policyholders, via Wes Venteicher.

  • A Los Angeles judge has ruled that California’s 2018 law requiring gender diversity on corporate boards is unconstitutional, via Andrew Sheeler.