As Gov. Gavin Newsom takes action on a slew of gun control bills, truckers are accusing him of failing to respond to a controversial state labor law they’ve been protesting for weeks, halting almost all operations at the Port of Oakland’s shipping terminals and snarling an already severely backlogged supply chain.

First up: the gun bills. Newsom on Thursday signed into law a package of legislation tightening California’s strictest-in-the-nation gun regulations — and on Friday approved the pièce de résistance, a bill modeled on Texas’ abortion law that would allow private Californians to sue anyone who manufactures, distributes or sells certain illegal firearms.

Among the eight proposals Newsom greenlighted, which add to a pile he signed last week:

“None of us can afford to be complacent in tackling the gun violence crisis ravaging our country. … California will continue to lead on lifesaving policies that provide a model for action by other states and the nation,” Newsom said in a press release announcing the bill signings.

Meanwhile, another crisis is building at the Port of Oakland, where truckers have since Monday been protesting AB 5, a state labor law that requires companies to reclassify many of their independent contractors as employees. The law has thrown into jeopardy the legal status of California’s approximately 70,000 independent truck owner-operators, even as labor groups say it will protect them from wage theft and other abuses.

The demonstrations — which follow protests last week at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach — have shut down trucking operations at three of the Port of Oakland’s four marine cargo terminals since Monday afternoon, Robert Bernardo, the port’s director of communications, told me Thursday. The protests have also blocked hundreds of unionized dockworkers from entering, according to labor leaders. That’s forced the port’s largest marine terminal operator to halt work on board ships and docks due to a shortage of labor, Bernardo said.

Truckers say they plan to continue blocking the West Coast’s third-busiest container port until Newsom agrees to meet with them and listen to their concerns about the law’s impact on their business model, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Bernardo said it’s not clear when trucking operations will resume at the Port of Oakland: “We have no idea because we don’t know what the truckers are gonna do. … We want a resolution. Any extended disruption of the Oakland seaport is going to be costly in terms of local jobs and businesses that rely on goods movement. … In this business, time is money.”

If the disruptions continue, he added, shipping companies are going to start taking their business elsewhere, such as ports in Georgia and Virginia.

The coronavirus bottom line: As of Monday, California had 9,752,509 confirmed cases (+0.8% from previous day) and 92,292 deaths (+0.1% from previous day), according to state data now updated just twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. CalMatters is also tracking coronavirus hospitalizations by county.

California has administered 78,156,577 vaccine doses, and 71.5% of eligible Californians are fully vaccinated.

Some California children in foster care qualify for federal benefits totaling hundreds of dollars a month because they’re from low-income families and have disabilities or one or both of their parents died. But county child welfare agencies regularly reimburse themselves for caring for these foster youth by applying for and taking their Social Security benefits — money that advocates say should instead be going to the children, CalMatters’ Jeanne Kuang reports.

Although a growing number of states are considering putting a stop to this practice, California isn’t among them — despite its recent focus on building financial safety nets for foster youth. State and county child welfare officials say that intercepting children’s Social Security payments is legal and emphasize they’re using the money as intended: to provide for foster children as if they were their parents. The situation poses a challenge for child advocates, who want foster youth to receive the full amount of their benefits but say the reimbursements are a financial incentive to counties to screen children for eligibility so they can receive the money as adults.

Meanwhile, some long-term foster youth are poised to receive state money via trust funds California is setting up for low-income children who lost a parent or primary caregiver to COVID-19. The first-in-the-nation program for so-called COVID orphans — of which California has an estimated 32,000, 66% of whom are Latino — will seed the accounts with money that will grow until the children turn 18, at which point they can use the funds for school, housing or other needs, CalMatters’ Elizabeth Aguilera reports. California has allocated $100 million for the program, though details of eligibility and deposit size still have to be worked out.

Advocates say the program is a stepping stone to a larger goal of providing trust funds for all low-income children who qualify for Medi-Cal — the state’s health care program for the poor — regardless of COVID’s impact on their families.

Here’s three pieces of California housing news, three ways:

Voters will decide whether California breathes easier: Proposition 30 would raise billions of dollars to curb air pollution by taxing the 0.1% of Californians most able to afford it, restoring clean air to the low- and middle-income families who most need it, argue Nick Josefowitz, chief policy officer for SPUR, and Shane Ysais, a Chino Hills and Moreno Valley resident.

California to allow cryptocurrency campaign donations. // Associated Press

Commentary: Newsom conveniently forgets his role in UCLA’s Big Ten move. // Los Angeles Times

UC regents order review of UCLA’s Pac-12 exit after Newsom demands explanation. // Los Angeles Times

Santa Cruz County to end pandemic ‘penny bail’ releases. // Mercury News

Convicted killer set free under Prop. 57 arrested on gun, drug charges. // Los Angeles Times

New D.A. Brooke Jenkins fills more key positions. Here’s who will investigate police misconduct. // San Francisco Chronicle

S.F. closes Mission BART plaza as it confronts drugs, illegal vending. // San Francisco Chronicle

Police target drug users in Tenderloin crackdown. // San Francisco Standard

Sex trafficking in Sacramento County draws in thousands each year, study shows. // Sacramento Bee

Knott’s Berry Farm to require chaperones after teen brawls. // Associated Press

Two California fugitives flee FBI to luxury Montenegro exile. // Los Angeles Times

California grand jury indicts 3 school staff in 2018 death of 13-year-old autistic boy. // Sacramento Bee

San Diego will steer contracts to women and people of color — but it’s legally risky. // San Diego Union-Tribune

S.F. Mayor Breed vetoes law to end single-family zoning, arguing it will actually hurt housing production. // San Francisco Chronicle

EPA might deny California’s clean truck waiver. // E&E News

Millbrae sues High-Speed Rail Authority over proposed station. // San Francisco Examiner

Californians’ energy costs could rise and fall with judge’s solar call. // Mercury News

California just invested millions in lab-grown meat, becoming the first state to back the unproven industry. // San Francisco Chronicle

Foster City’s plan to kill more than 100 geese, potentially by spinal dislocation, is moving forward. // San Francisco Chronicle

Will San Francisco cut ties with PG&E over wildfire fund? // San Francisco Examiner

Crews gain on Washburn fire; Yosemite to reopen an entrance. // Los Angeles Times

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