This photographer has documented presidents and CEOs. His latest client? Gavin Newsom
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!
NEWSOM EMPLOYS A TOP FLIGHT PHOTOGRAPHER FOR OVERSEAS TRIP
One of the biggest takeaways from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent trip to China wasn’t environmental policy or his high-profile sitdown with President Xi Jinping. It was the governor’s decision to rock a pair of aviator sunglasses in a photo that instantly turned internet infamous.
The image of Newsom staring dramatically off into the distance made the rounds online, drawing snark from some and speculation from others.
The man behind the camera, as reported by Politico, was San Francisco-based former photojournalist Charles Ommanney, who has a plum $5,000-a-month contract with the state to capture the governor in action. Ommanney has shot pictures of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama — the latter in an iconic image with his feet up on the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.
He also has photographed Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg.
Ommanney has been working for the state since June, said governor spokeswoman Erin Mellon.
“Modern communications is not just written. It includes photos, videos, social media and more. Photos are a critical component to communicating with the public,” Mellon said in an email to The Bee when asked whether hiring Ommanney was a necessary expense. “The actual story is the fact that Governor Newsom didn’t have a photographer for the last 5 years. Since the Governor took office we’ve relied on staff who were not hired as photographers to capture images of the administration’s work.”
Still, it’s hard not to get the sense that Newsom’s decision to use Ommanney comes as the governor is rumored to be considering a future run for president.
To be fair, Newsom isn’t the only California official to get a paid photographer.
The Senate is currently hiring — at a pay rate of up to $14,084 a month — for a photographer to document that chamber. And the Assembly, too, has photographers to shoot the daily business on the floor.
CALIFORNIA MIGHT GET MONEY FOR OPIOID OVERDOSE TREATMENT
Via Gillian Brassil...
California could receive $95 million for opioid overdose treatment and prevention as part of President Joe Biden’s plan for combating the opioid epidemic, White House officials said Wednesday.
Biden asked Congress as part of a funding request last week for more than $1.5 billion that states would use on addiction treatment, overdose prevention and recovery measures.
“With an American dying from drug overdose every five minutes, 12 every hour and nearly 300 every single day,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, “Congress has no time to waste.”
The money would filter through the State Opioid Response grant program. The administration said the program so far has provided treatment services to over 1.2 million people and helped states purchase nearly 9 million overdose reversal medication kits.
Officials estimated that $95 million would go to California based on population and need. Separately, Native American tribes would get $250 million, according to the White House. States would need to request the money they’re deemed eligible for, assuming Congress approves of the funding.
More than 10,900 people in California died from an opioid overdose in 2021, the most recent year that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has data.
Illicit fentanyl is the primary culprit. A potent synthetic opioid, fentanyl in a medical setting is used for severe pain associated with advanced forms of cancer. It is up to 100 times stronger than morphine and impossible to differ from similar drugs by sight, smell or taste, making it potentially deadly if someone taking a counterfeit pill doesn’t know it is present.
Biden also asked Congress for $1.2 billion to counter illicit drug trafficking by adding more federal agents at the border, bolstering drug detection machines and supporting illicit fentanyl tracing by the Department of Justice.
“Now some Republican members have talked about how we need to strengthen the border,” Gupta said on a call with reporters. “Well, this is their chance.”
Most illegal fentanyl comes through southwest ports of entry, said Sen. Bob Casey, D-Penn., on the call. The majority of illicit fentanyl in the U.S. starts in China, according to an unclassified U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency report. DEA Administrator Anne Milgram told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this year that Mexican cartels buy and process that fentanyl into pills disguised as other drugs.
The funding request is one of many the Biden administration pressed on Congress as lawmakers work to pass spending measures and avert a government shutdown before Nov. 18.
The California Department of Public Health recommends reading the Overdose Prevention Toolkit for the most current information on handling an overdose. Naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan, can reduce or reverse the effects of opioids. If you think someone is overdosing, follow these steps:
Call 911 and give naloxone.
Keep the person awake and breathing.
Lay the person on their side to prevent choking.
Stay with the person until 911 responders arrive.
ASSEMBLY REPUBLICANS WANT LEGISLATURE TO BACK HOMELESS CAMP REMOVAL
The Assembly Republican Caucus is calling on Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins to side with Grants Pass, Oregon in its U.S. Supreme Court case seeking to lift the prohibition against localities clearing homeless encampments when there is inadequate shelter space available.
The case in question, City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, seeks to determine whether clearing homeless encampments is cruel and unusual punishment.
“These rulings ignore the dangerous and unsanitary conditions in these encampments, including violence and rampant drug use, and the impact these encampments have on neighborhoods and businesses,” the letter reads in part.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Progressivism is rooted in the people’s voices, and we work to create a more equal society for all.”
- Assemblyman Alex Lee, D-San Jose, in a statement announcing he has been named chair of the Legislative Progressive Caucus.
Best of The Bee:
Consumer interest rates now look to remain stable — though at their highest levels in years — headed into the holiday season, as the Federal Reserve said Wednesday it would not increase its target interest rates, via David Lightman.
If you want to spook a California state employee, just utter the words “revenue shortfall,” via Maya Miller.
