June 12, 2018
Orange County
Voice of OC: New plans For an OC veterans cemetery?
Gov. Jerry Brown said he would back whatever site Irvine picked when he visited both sites and held a news conference last May. He toured the sites with Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk Silva and then-Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon.
OC Register: SoCal emergency room use has actually risen after the passage of Obamacare. Here’s why
As the share of patients with Medi-Cal rose, uninsured ER visitors fell from 18 to 8 percent; visitors with private coverage slipped from 32 to 26 percent.
OC Register: At Southern California Cheesecake Factories, 559 janitors were cheated out of $4.57 million in wages, labor commissioner charges
The restaurant chain was found jointly liable with its janitorial subcontractors for $4.57 million in unpaid minimum wages and overtime, meal and rest period violations, as well as damages, waiting-time penalties and a failure to provide itemized pay stubs.
OC Register: New ‘fire hydrant’ for water-dropping helicopters may cut response time for remote wildfires
Set on a 1,700-gallon metal water tank, the Remotely Activated Snorkel Site uses robot-controlled valves to tap into an area’s municipal water system, allowing quick access for snorkel helicopters that otherwise would have to spend valuable minutes flying to a reservoir or other water source.
OC Register: Who should pay for the cost to cities of opioid abuse?
Last week, Costa Mesa hired Andrews & Thornton, an Irvine law firm that specializes in drug company litigation, to pursue “all civil remedies” against opioid makers, a city report stated.
Labor
AFL-CIO: The anniversary of the Equal Pay Act reminds us to keep working to close the gender pay gap
We will continue to close the wage gap to finish the job of the Equal Pay Act and the pioneers who helped pass it by pursuing laws and policies that ensure women are paid and treated equally.
Labor 411: Costco raises its minimum wage, again
Costco Wholesale Corp. said Thursday it would raise its minimum wage and boost pay for 130,000 U.S. store staff, intensifying the battle for unskilled workers in a tight U.S. job market.
Nation
Politico: Judge clears AT&T-Time Warner merger opposed by federal government
The decision is a significant legal victory for AT&T and Time Warner, which argued that combining forces will allow them to offer more innovative products and better compete with tech giants like Google and Facebook for advertisers and customers.
Publication Date: June 12, 2018