After Baljit Singh killed a 26-year-old man on a motorcycle with his semitruck, the California Department of Motor Vehicles didn’t suspend his commercial drivers license.
Eleven months later, he crashed his truck again, killing Jenny Chow, a mother of two on the way home from visiting colleges with her son. The DMV still didn’t take any action.
It did, however, go after Chow’s widower, Loren. The DMV threatened to seize his home or garnish his wages. The agency said he was late paying his vehicle registration fee on the SUV that was totaled, by the truck driver it allowed to stay on the road.
- Loren Chow: “The death was completely avoidable. That accident never should have happened.”
In the latest installment of their License to Kill series, CalMatters investigative reporters Lauren Hepler and Robert Lewis turn their focus to how the state handles the people driving 80,000 pound vehicles up and down the state, and across the country.
They found that nearly half of all commercial drivers charged with vehicular manslaughter over a recent five-year period still had a valid license.
“State law empowers the agency to investigate drivers involved in fatal and serious-injury collisions and suspend their licenses,” they write. “But the DMV routinely does nothing.”
You can dig into this story two different ways:
- Read: Why California allows drivers like Singh to stay on the road.
- Watch: Our new documentary with Evident Media to follow along with the reporters as they unravel the story.
Join CalMatters, AAJA Sac, ABC 10 and The Sacramento Observer for a free VotingMatters event Wednesday in Sacramento. The event enables attendees to learn and discuss the upcoming election and focuses on the ballot propositions and insurance commissioner race. Register here to attend in person.
Other Stories You Should Know
About those bonds on your ballot
It’s time for you to decide whether California should issue more bonds — debt — for things that could make the state a better place to live. We’re here to help with two new stories today on ballot measures that call for new bonds.
- Immunology research: Proposition 38 would allocate up to $8.4 billion for scientific research on diseases and cures concerning the immune system. But a deeper look at the proposal reveals that half that money would go to a single institute — the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy — whose principal funder wrote Prop. 38. The proposition’s language also would exempt the institute from having to comply with state transparency laws. Read more from Mikhail Zinshteyn.
- Housing loans: Prop. 37 would allow the state to borrow up to $25 billion to set up a loan program to help people pay for down payments on new homes. Critics argue that the proposal would create a complex lending operation that could also end up reinforcing the state’s existing economic and racial disparities. Read more from Ben Christopher.
Feds allege immigrants voted
Federal officials are charging 28 immigrants with illegally voting or registering to vote in California. They announced the cases just days after the Trump administration sued California and Los Angeles County over allegations of noncitizens registering to vote, writes CalMatters’ Ryan Sabalow.
Prosecutors said the individuals who face charges are lawful permanent residents who are not citizens and are not allowed to vote. Twenty-two are accused of voting in at least one election; five only registered to vote and one submitted a provisional ballot in 2020, prosecutors say.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Monday that if the suspects are guilty, they should be held accountable, but the charges are not proof that there is widespread voter fraud in California.
- Bonta: “Twenty-eight out of 23 million registered voters in California is just … a drop in the bucket numerically. It’s 0.0001% of all the registered voters.”
And lastly: Will a blue wave crash in San Diego?
A former Republican stronghold straddling San Diego and Riverside counties is one of a handful of competitive congressional races in California following the state’s voter-approved redistricting that favors Democrats. The Democratic candidate, Marni von Wilpert, is sticking to her record as a moderate, pro-Israel city councilmember, while her opponent, Jim Desmond, is running as a budget-hawk style conservative. Read more from CalMatters’ Nadia Lathan and Deborah Brennan.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: The mismanagement of the state budget, problematic climate projects and an ongoing homelessness crisis underscore how Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration leaves behind a legacy that overpromised and underdelivered.
CalMatters contributor Robert Greene: Trump’s assertion that he could only lose an election if the system is rigged against him has roots in California, 2008 and redistricting reform.
Other things worth your time:
CA billionaire tax falling short of majority support, poll finds // Politico (free)
CA state workers weigh strike choice // Abridged (free)
Why an ambitious 300-mile trail in Northern CA distresses some Native Americans // Los Angeles Times (paywall)
As Central Valley immigration arrests continue, advocates say ICE is blocking access to legal counsel // KQED (free)
New immigrant student enrollment has taken a nosedive in CA schools // EdSource (free)
SF’s shuttered downtown mall is being eyed for an AI data center // San Francisco Chronicle (gift link)
Latest climate report warns of major upheaval to CA way of life // The New York Times (gift link)
Two firefighters died in Yosemite — for what? // The Atlantic (gift link)
This San Diego airport is the nation’s worst lead polluter. Its planes fly past 30 schools // inewsource (free)
via CalMatters https://ift.tt/EidO9Bo
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