From CalMatters Capitol reporter Alexei Koseff:

After abandoning plans to place a competing measure on the November ballot, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday that he would campaign against an initiative to increase penalties for some drug and theft crimes in California.

Newsom accused supporters of the initiative — which would roll back provisions of Proposition 47, approved by voters a decade ago to reduce California’s prison population — of misleading voters about their true intentions and the consequences of their proposal, which he said would cost the state billions of dollars it does not have.

• Newsom, during a press conference in Sacramento: “It's really drug policy reform that brings us back decades. I'm very concerned about that. I hope people take a close look at what they're proposing.”

Prop. 47 raised the threshold for numerous property crimes, including shoplifting, to be considered a felony to $950 and reduced personal use of most illegal drugs to a misdemeanor.

Blaming those changes for a purported rise in organized retail theft, law enforcement groups and major retailers qualified the November measure, now known as Prop. 36, to make a third offense of theft a felony regardless of the amount stolen. It would also mandate that people with repeated convictions for possessing certain drugs, including fentanyl, seek treatment or serve up to three years in prison.

Many liberals balked at the harsh approach. Newsom and legislative leaders maneuvered last month to negotiate the measure off the ballot and develop their own softer alternative before running out of time.

Newsom suggested Wednesday that the retail theft framework of Prop. 36 is a distraction, noting that the measure does not touch the $950 felony threshold. He said its true aim was to undo progress on drug policy, potentially sending thousands more people back to prison and costing the state hundreds of millions annually that could be spent on other priorities.

• Newsom: “How are you going to pay for it? Where are the billions of dollars going to come from? What programs?”

The governor also indicated that he will oppose Prop. 35, an initiative to lock billions of special tax dollars into the state’s health insurance program for low-income residents. It has put Newsom at odds with longtime allies in the medical community, who qualified the measure to stop the state from continually reappropriating that money.

• Newsom: “This initiative hamstrings our ability to have the kind of flexibility that's required at the moment we're living in. I haven't come out publicly against it. But I'm implying a point of view. Perhaps you can read between those many, many lines.”

From CalMatters Capitol reporter Jeanne Kuang:

A California labor agency on Wednesday moved to impose a union contract on agricultural powerhouse The Wonderful Company amid the company's attempt to overturn a controversial new union at its Kern County properties.

The Agricultural Labor Relations Board ordered The Wonderful Company to meet with the United Farm Workers and a mediator, who under state law could set the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.

The Wonderful Company, known for its pistachios, POM pomegranate juices and Halos mandarins, has engaged in a legal battle with the United Farm Workers and the labor board over whether the union can represent 600 nursery workers in Wasco. 

The board in February certified the United Farm Workers as the workers’ union there, the third farm unionized since last fall by UFW under a new, President Joe Biden-endorsed state law making it easier for farmworkers to form unions. 

The Wonderful Company quickly filed objections, accusing the union of tricking workers into signing union cards. The union fired back, accusing the company of manipulating workers into recanting support. The labor board’s general counsel in April also filed a complaint accusing The Wonderful Company of holding mandatory meetings to persuade workers against unionization, a violation of state law. 

As that dispute played out over a series of board hearings, The Wonderful Company has resisted bargaining and in May filed a lawsuit in Kern County Superior Court seeking to overturn the unionization law entirely.

The company says it shouldn’t be forced into a contract when the union’s status is up in the air. In its Wednesday order the board refused to temporarily pause bargaining despite the pending objections and pending lawsuit. 

• Seth Oster, The Wonderful Company spokesperson: “This very outcome, where workers are being compelled to work under a union contract dictated by the UFW and the state while the legitimacy of the union majority is an open issue, is the reason we are challenging the Card Check law in state court.”

After missing an initial March deadline, the California Energy Commission approved Wednesday a major plan to generate power from offshore winds. As CalMatters environmental reporter Julie Cart explains, the plan includes installing hundreds of giant floating wind turbines that are as tall as 70-story buildings off two shores in northern and southern California. 

Humboldt Bay in the north will have two projects, totaling 207 square miles, and Morro Bay will have three projects, totaling 376 square miles. Collectively, these projects have the potential to power about 1.5 million homes.

The ambitious undertaking is expected to cost billions in public and private money: The commission estimates that upgrading California ports alone will cost as much as $12 billion. But the state hopes wind farms will produce 4.5 gigawatts by 2045 — enough to power 25 million homes and provide about 13% of the state’s electricity.

Five energy companies will assess the project sites, which is expected to take five years. It will then take an additional two years to carry out designs, construction and environmental and technical reviews.

Learn more about the offshore wind project in Julie’s story.

Speaking of the environment: Julie and CalMatters’ Rachel Becker also report that Gov. Newsom and Cal Fire officials repeated the sobering warnings that Californians have come to expect: It’s very hot, wildfires are burning, it’s dangerous, please be careful.

Cal Fire Chief Joe Tyler said at a Wednesday news conference that while there have been fewer individual wildfires so far this year statewide, the number of acres burned is greater than the five-year average.

Some 95% of wildfires are caused by people, Tyler said, so he urged vigilance when working with tractors, trimmers, towing, welding equipment and lawnmowers. 

• Tyler: “When mowing, mow before 10 o'clock in the morning, mow when the humidities are high as it dries out throughout the day.”

Wildfire season: Check out CalMatters’ wildfire tracker for live updates on active fires, a FAQ and other information. And find out more on wildfires in our updated explainer.

Roughly 160 California schools are either designing or building schoolyards with more trees and gardens to shade students from rising temperatures. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde of CalMatters’ California Divide team and producer Robert Meeks have a video segment on Alejandra’s story on advocates pushing for greener schoolyards as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here. 

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal and is available on YouTube.

California Voices

CalMatters columnist Jim Newton: Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has done much to take responsibility for the city’s homelessness crisis, but as demands for housing continue, it may exhaust the good will of those who have supported her work so far.

CalMatters columnist Dan Walters is away.