Covered California policyholders are downgrading their plans as new enrollees plummet
CHRONICLE, SARA DINATALE: "The number of new Covered California enrollees has plunged about 32% compared with where it stood a year ago, and the state’s Affordable Care Act marketplace is bracing for the eventual loss of 400,000 policyholders, most of whom will be priced out.
Tens of thousands of Covered California policyholders are facing skyrocketing costs to maintain the health insurance coverage they held last year, following the end of enhanced federal health care tax credits that the Republican-led Congress and President Donald Trump allowed to expire. The loss of the subsidies, which lowered out-of-pocket costs for health plans, forced a record-breaking federal government shutdown last year, but Democrats so far haven’t succeeded in restoring them."
Trump in Davos says NATO should allow the US to take Greenland but he won't use force
AP, JOSH BOAK/WILL WEISSERT/AAMER MADHANI: "President Donald Trump insisted he wants to “get Greenland, including right, title and ownership,” but said he wouldn’t employ force to achieve that — using his speech Wednesday at the World Economic Forum to repeatedly deride European allies and vow that NATO shouldn't try to block U.S. expansionism.
“What I’m asking for is a piece of ice, cold and poorly located,” Trump said, declaring of NATO: “It’s a very small ask compared to what we have given them for many, many decades.”"
READ MORE -- Hundreds protest Trump at San Francisco’s Civic Center -- CHRONICLE, ALDO TOLEDO
Newsom calls global leaders ‘pathetic’ for Trump complicity
LAT, MELODY GUTIERREZ: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom sharply criticized world leaders while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, this week, faulting them for their “complicity” and failure to confront President Trump’s aggressive posture on issues such as Greenland and trade.
Speaking to reporters there, Newsom urged European and other global leaders to “stand tall and firm” and to “have a backbone,” bemoaning that too many have been “rolling over” in the face of Trump’s actions and rhetoric."
Newsom touts gains against EBT theft as Trump presses blue states on benefits fraud
CALMATTERS, JEANNE KUANG: "Two years after a wave of public benefit thefts that left low-income Californians scrambling to pay rent and afford food each month, Gov. Gavin Newsom is touting a significant decline in the reported amount stolen.
The thefts still amounted to more than $4 million a month last fall in both the CalFresh food assistance and CalWorks cash welfare benefits programs, according to a press release from Newsom’s office. That’s down from two years ago, when public benefits recipients were reporting $20 million a month stolen from their accounts. The state uses taxpayer money to reimburse victims when they report theft."
California’s newest ICE center has 1,400 detainees. What Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla saw there
CALMATTERS, WENDY FRY: "Democratic U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff today conducted an oversight visit at the state’s newest and largest immigrant detention center, located in California City, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles.
In remarks to reporters, both highlighted what they described as inadequate medical care at the site."
Progressive former S.F. supervisor joins race for California Insurance Commissioner
CHRONICLE, MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "Former San Francisco Supervisor Jane Kim is joining the race for California’s Insurance Commissioner with bold proposals to get the government even more involved in making home insurance available and affordable — including becoming an insurer itself.
The position of Insurance Commissioner, one of just eight elected statewide offices in California, was traditionally an overlooked job. But rapidly rising premiums, dropped policies and devastating wildfires have elevated the race into a highly watched contest. In an interview with the Chronicle, Kim, a progressive, pitched herself as a candidate who can negotiate with powerful interests to deliver the best deal possible for everyday consumers."
Top legislator says state ‘must do better’ on housing after Newsom budget plan
SAC BEE, STEPHEN HOBBS: "The chair of the California Assembly’s budget committee said Tuesday that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s current spending plan for the upcoming fiscal year does not go far enough on housing and homelessness.
“The lack of resources for housing in the governor’s budget is impossible to ignore and it does not reflect our prior commitments or our values,” Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, D-Encino, said during the committee’s first hearing of the year. “We can and must do better regardless of our budget situation.”"
A big S.F. tax fight is headed to the ballot. Daniel Lurie wants to stop it
CHRONICLE, J.D. MORRIS: "A political fight over how much San Francisco should lean on big businesses to close a city budget gap widened by President Donald Trump may be headed to voters in the coming months.
But not if Mayor Daniel Lurie gets his way."
State legislators rushed SB 131—the time to fix it is now (OP-ED)
CAPITOL WEEKLY, JENNIFER GANATA: "In the closing days of last year’s budget negotiations, California lawmakers approved Senate Bill 131, a far-reaching policy change that reshaped the state’s environmental review system with little warning and even less public discussion. Folded quietly into the budget, SB 131 carved out a sweeping exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) for a broadly defined category labeled “advanced manufacturing.” It marked the first time the Legislature has so broadly exempted whole classes of industrial, often polluting, development from California’s bedrock environmental law.
The full danger to California’s communities of passing SB 131 will depend on how quickly lawmakers fix their mistake."
Celebrity PR firm helped LAFD shape messaging after Palisades fire
LAT, ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN/PAUL PRINGLE: "In the months after the Palisades fire, the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation raked in millions of dollars in charitable donations to pay for training and equipment for firefighters, as LAFD leaders publicly complained about not having enough money to keep the city safe.
But some of the funds were quietly spent on something that had little to do with firefighting: a celebrity public relations firm to help LAFD leaders shape their messaging after a disaster in which their missteps figured prominently, The Times has learned."
Why California universities are still ‘on edge’ after Newsom proposed large budget increases
EDSOURCE, MICHAEL BURKE: "California’s university systems are entering a pivotal stretch of budget negotiations, hoping to secure hundreds of millions of dollars in new state funding that they say is needed to support enrollment growth and make up for years of less-than-promised support.
In his budget proposal unveiled this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom included $350.6 million in new funding for the University of California and $365.7 million for California State University. That would amount to about a 7% increase in state funding for both systems."
Suit against LAUSD alleges ‘overt discrimination’ against white students
LAT, HOWARD BLUME: "A long-running effort to help disadvantaged students of color in Los Angeles schools is under legal challenge by a group that claims the nation’s second-largest school system is discriminating against white students.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court, targets efforts to bring resources to underserved schools going back decades and rooted in battles over forced and voluntary integration."
READ MORE -- Lawsuit claims LAUSD desegregation policy harms white students -- EDSOURCE, MALLIKA SESHADRI
California weather brings rain for some, clouds and cooldown for most
CHRONICLE, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "For the first time in nearly two weeks, rain is in the California forecast as a rogue weather system — albeit weak — spins toward the California coast.
For the Bay Area, rain chances are slim. Weather impacts from the system will probably be limited to increased cloud cover Wednesday. A short-lived sprinkle cannot be ruled out late Wednesday into early Thursday, but shower chances are greatest south of Santa Cruz."
America’s most trusted company is in California, Forbes says. See which one
SAC BEE, BROOKE BAITINGER: "California is home to 16 of the United States’ most trusted companies — including the No. 1 most trusted business in the nation.
That’s according to Forbes, which released its 2026 ranking of the Most Trusted Companies in America on Nov. 13."
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California crypto startup moves to South Dakota as debate over proposed wealth tax heats up
LAT, QUEENIE WONG: "California cryptocurrency startup BitGo has moved to South Dakota ahead of its initial public offering and amid a heated debate about a proposed ballot measure to tax billionaires.
The company that had been based in Palo Alto is now based in Sioux Falls, S.D., according to a December filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission."
Our video tests prove generative AI still sucks at dancing. See for yourself
CALMATTERS, KHARI JOHNSON/LEVI SUMAGAYSAY/MOHAMED AL ELEW: "Bird singing and dancing, as practiced by the Cahuilla Band of Indians, tell a story about the creation of the world, and how the Cahuilla migrated to their current home in Southern California. Moving the same way your ancestors did, perhaps on the exact same land, makes you feel part of the past, present, and future all at once, said tribal member Emily Clarke. She’s done bird dance with her loved ones since she was 7 years old—an act, she said, not only of spirituality but also of perseverance, since bird dance is among the acts of Native American culture nearly eradicated by colonization and U.S. government policy.
So when Clarke heard that some generative artificial intelligence models, like Google’s Veo 3 and OpenAI’s Sora 2, can mimic the dance, her first thought was that it was wrong, distasteful and disrespectful. Then she wondered briefly if automated forms of bird dance could help preserve her culture—before deciding they can’t, since they will never replicate the conversations and community bonds that have helped give Cahuilla bird dance its distinct style and impassioned practitioners."
Copper thefts turned these upscale L.A. streets pitch dark. Frustrated residents are fighting back
LAT, GAVIN J. QUINTON: "It’s been months since a swath of Hancock Park lost its streetlights — and it’ll be several more long months of what residents say are “pitch black” streets and roaming burglars before there’s a fix.
So neighbors have been improvising."
‘Not acceptable’: BART publishes report on 9 major disruptions over a few months
CHRONICLE, RACHEL SWAN: "Officials at BART have published a “root cause” investigation into nine recent service disruptions, all of which occurred on a core route from the Transbay Tube into downtown San Francisco.
The new report, which goes before the Board of Directors on Thursday, diagnosed what ailed the transportation system in these incidents. Some triggered delays while others unleashed scenes of panic, particularly when riders found themselves trapped inside a smoky train car in a dark tunnel beneath the bay."
