News you don’t want to miss for June 25:
1. The Oakland Schools Police Department will soon be no more after Oakland Unified School District trustees voted on Wednesday night to eliminate the force and redirect its funding to other school programs, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. $$
2. Tony Thurmond, the state superintendent of public instruction, believes some type of law enforcement is needed at public schools to keep students safe, the Associated Press reports. Thurmond called for a “re-imagining” of police at public schools that would focus on protecting students from violent incidents, but stray from disciplining them.
3. A 40-year-old veteran was tased five times by Alameda police officers in 2018 and lost consciousness, and later died in the hospital, according to records obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle. The City of Alameda settled a claim with the mother of the man earlier this year for $250,000. $$
4. Former Richmond police chief Chris Magnus resigned as head of the Tucson Police Department after video was released of an in-custody death of a man that included three of its police officers, AZCentral reports. Magnus was viewed a police reformer during his tenure in Richmond.
5. California voters will be asked in November to overturn Proposition 209, the 1996 initiative that banned affirmative action for state college admissions, hiring and contracts, Calmatters reports. State legislators approved placement of the state constitutional amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot on Wednesday.
6. A McDonald’s restaurant on Telegraph Avenue in Oakland that suffered from an outbreak of covid-19 among its employee will remain closed, a judge ordered, according to the East Bay Times. Employees contend the owner of the franchise failed to enact sufficient health and safety measures during the pandemic. The restaurant has been closed since May 26.
7. The number of cases of covid-19 at San Quentin State Prison has recently skyrocketed from four dozen to more than 450. Health experts warn the situation at the jail could spread to the entire Bay Area, if not remedied soon, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Specifically, they have called for reducing the prison’s jail population by one-half. $$
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