Sacramento’s top stories: Lumber on the I-5, school contract standoff and more

From a reported hate-motivated attack in Lavender Heights to a freeway-clogging lumber spill, Sacramento’s top stories Friday touched safety, schools, commuting and state politics. Here’s a fast recap of what happened and why it matters.

Read more Police arrest five people in two burglary incidents at Woodland’s County Fair Mall

• Joseph “Joey” Sais, a Sacramento City Hall staffer, said four men shouting homophobic and racist slurs attacked him outside a nightclub last weekend, prompting new city promises of improved lighting and surveillance cameras at 20th and L Streets in Lavender Heights. Sacramento Police are investigating as a felony assault with a possible bias motive, but no arrests have been made. Local leaders say the case may be hard to solve because of poor lighting and camera coverage, and the annual Rainbow Festival returns Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

• Sacramento City Unified fell two years behind on $3.15 million in special education bills owed to the Sacramento County Office of Education, while the county office withheld just under $3.15 million in special education property tax revenue from the district. Trustees approved the contracts 7-0 Thursday but criticized the county office’s approach, with Trustee Taylor Kayatta calling it “pretty startling by someone who’s trying to supposedly help us with our cash problem.” The district is grappling with a $222 million structural deficit, and its unrestricted contribution to special education has more than doubled since 2018-19.

• A big rig collided with the center divider on southbound Interstate 5 near the J Street exit about 5:35 a.m. Friday, spilling lumber across lanes and snarling the downtown Sacramento commute. The crash blocked the No. 1 and No. 2 lanes of northbound I-5, and one person was taken to Sutter Medical Center by the Sacramento Fire Department. One northbound lane remained closed at 8:20 a.m. as crews prepared to remove the heavily damaged truck.

• Right-wing content creator Nick Shirley announced Friday he is suing California over Assembly Bill 2624, the “Safe at Work Act” authored by Bonta, D-Oakland, which lets immigration service providers remove their names and addresses from the public record. Conservative group America First Legal filed the complaint on Shirley’s behalf, naming Attorney General Rob Bonta and Secretary of State Shirley Weber as defendants and arguing the law violates the First Amendment. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the bill, which critics have dubbed the “Stop Nick Shirley Act,” last month.