.Wednesday’s Briefing: Prosecutors poke holes in Ghost Ship fire arson theory; No-hitter in Oakland

News you don’t want to miss for May 8:




1. Ghost Ship trial: Last week, the defense asserted the horrific warehouse fire that killed 36 people was an arsonist’s plot. On Tuesday prosecutors aimed to poke holes in the theory, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. $$




2. “Oakland is considering banning the use of facial recognition software by city departments, including police, a move that could make it one of the first cities in the country to issue a prohibition on the technology,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports. San Francisco is also poised to do the same. $$




3. Oakland Unified School District officials last month offered a scathing presentation to a state task force for reforming charter schools, EdSource reports. In the presentation, Oakland school officials questioned whether charter schools actually fulfill their original intent to, in some way, offer innovative programs for students. Oakland has the largest proportion of charter school students among large cities in the state with 27 percent attending 45 charter schools.




4. Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing to discontinue taxing tampons and diapers, the Associated Press reports. The proposal is part of the governor’s revised budget and would cost $55 million in tax revenue. The plan is part of Newsom’s “Parents’ Agenda,” which also includes “$134 million expanding child care programs, with $80 million coming from taxes on legalized marijuana, give families with children under 6 a tax credit of $1,000 and expand paid family leave from 6 to 8 weeks.”




5. Too much winning? California has filed 49 lawsuits against the Trump administration and nearly half to halt attempts to rollback environmental regulations, the Los Angeles Times reports. The state has already claimed victory in 15 of the 24 lawsuits against the Environmental Protection Agency. $$




6. The Mormon Temple, nestled high in the Oakland Hills, will open its doors to the public for the first time in 55 years, Berkeleyside reports. Public tours of the temple begin Saturday.




7. Oakland Athletics pitcher Mike Fiers threw the eighth no-hitter in team history in a 2-0 win Tuesday night, the Associated Press reports. It was his second career no-hitter and followed a one-hour and forty-five minute delay when a light standard at the Coliseum failed to fully operate.




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