A pedestrian crosses an empty intersection in San Francisco financial district at evening rush hour on May 7, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters
Nearly three months after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered the state to shelter in place, his approval rating has skyrocketed to a record 65%, even as many Californians say they believe the worst of the pandemic is yet to come.
Sixty-nine percent of black Californians said the worst is yet to come, compared with 53% of Asians and Latinos and 41% of whites — likely a reflection of the fact that the pandemic has taken a disproportionate tollon African Americans. (The survey was completed May 26, one day after the death of George Floyd.)
Mark Baldassare, CEO of PPIC: “Californians’ perceptions and experiences with the COVID-19 crisis demonstrate the deep fault lines based on income and race and ethnicity in California today.”
Amid the pandemic, President Donald Trump’s approval ratings have remained at a low but stable 35% in deep-blue California, with positive marks from 83% of Republicans and 41% of independents.
Support for Trump in California’s November election also seems stable. The poll shows him trailing Joe Biden by 24 points; he lost the state to Hillary Clinton by 30 points in 2016.
Newsom in a recent interview with California Sunday Magazine: “Our president’s voice, particularly in more conservative parts of this state, is profound. And so, having the (Republican leadership in the state Legislature) know that they can reach out to me … working with the White House — I think all of these matter in California, where 25 counties went for Trump. Twenty-five.”
Other stories you should know
1.Protests spread to suburbs and richer white communities
A protester kneels in front of police in Walnut Creek on June 1. Photo by Jose Carlos Fajardo, Bay Area News Group
Protests over the death of George Floyd are springing up in California suburbs and wealthy, predominantly white communities — a stark contrast to the 1992 unrest in working-class South Los Angeles following four police officers’ acquittal in the beating of Rodney King, the Los Angeles Times reports. This time, South LA has been largely left untouched and the protests have been largely peaceful, spreading to upscale areas in Beverly Hills, Long Beach, Santa Monica, Hollywood and the Fairfax District, as well as the Bay Area cities of Walnut Creek and Emeryville.
On Wednesday,LA officials said they plan to cut the city’s police budget by up to $150 million and reinvest that money in communities of color.
2.Changes could be in the works for California police officer training
Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor of the state community college system, wants to review police officers’ training. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters
California police officers could see big changes in their training curriculum if Eloy Ortiz Oakley, chancellor of California’s 115 community colleges, gets his way, CalMatters’ Mikhail Zinshteyn reports. And the changes could have a profound impact: Around 80% of the state’s police officers receive some training at a community college, according to the system. Oakley called Wednesday for a systemwide curriculum review to ensure it reflects the experiences of people of color and challenges racial bias.
Oakley: “The death of George Floyd prompted us, me, many of us, to answer the question, ‘What can we do?’” Improving police officer instruction “is certainly one place where we can do something.”
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