California’s child farmworkers: Exhausted, underpaid and toiling in toxic fields
LAT, ROBERT J. LOPEZ: "The summer sun burned through the clouds in the Salinas Valley, where a bounty of berries and leafy green vegetables grows across this rich farmland renowned as the “Salad Bowl of the World.” Jose, a quiet 14-year-old, was squatting and bending over for hours with other workers in a sprawling strawberry field.
The pickers, many of them also minors, snapped berries from plants and placed them in plastic cartons, eight of them in a cardboard box. They moved quickly along the long rows that lined the field."
Exclusive: Gov. Gavin Newsom reacts to ex-aide’s arrest — ‘real surprise and shock’
Sac Bee, LIA RUSSELL: "The recent arrest of Capitol powerbroker Dana Williamson took Gov. Gavin Newsom completely by surprise, he said Wednesday in his first remarks since the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicted his former chief of staff on 23 counts of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, lying to the FBI, falsifying tax returns and obstruction.
FBI agents arrested Williamson, who served as Newsom’s chief of staff from December 2022 to November 2024, last Wednesday at her Carmichael home. Prosecutors accused her, lobbyist Greg Campbell and former Deputy State Attorney General Sean McCluskie of orchestrating a scheme to pad McCluskie’s salary by stealing $225,000 from dormant campaign accounts belonging to former Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is now running for governor in 2026."
Asylum approvals plummet at S.F. immigration court during Trump’s second term
Chronicle, CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "The San Francisco immigration court now grants relief in less than half of asylum cases, reflecting a drastic change for a court long considered one of the most favorable to people seeking refuge.
That change started at the tail end of the Biden administration, but it’s picked up steam since President Donald Trump returned to office."
New CA bill would let people sue ICE agents who violate rights
CALMatters, LYNN LA: "A San Francisco state senator unveiled legislation Tuesday that aims to give Californians the right to seek damages from federal agents, as President Donald Trump’s administration continues to ramp up immigration enforcement across the U.S.
The bill authored by Sen. Scott Wiener, a Democrat and congressional hopeful, would enable people to file a lawsuit or seek redress against local, state and federal officers for violating their constitutional rights."
Sacramento OKs Coyote Creek solar project despite tribal backlash
Sac Bee, CHAEWON CHUNG: "Malissa Tayaba, vice chairperson of the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, stepped forward from her seat Tuesday afternoon and stood before the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors and more than 150 speakers waiting their turn to deliver testimony on what has become one of the county’s most controversial solar projects.
“My tribe, along with other tribes in the region with ancestral connections to this location, voiced our concerns a multitude of times, to no avail,” Tayaba said."
Trump’s tariffs are crushing small businesses like mine (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, FABRICE MOSCHETTI: "As an immigrant from France, I came here to build a life and a business. That’s what I’ve done. I got married, raised a family, and for many years I have been living my version of the American dream.
At Moschetti Coffee Roasting in Vallejo, California, we’ve been roasting and delivering fresh coffee beans to Bay Area restaurants since 1990. That’s 35 years of roasting coffee beans daily, working with a team of 13 people. We’re a small business, but we’re part of a much larger story."
Trump faces a ticking clock on healthcare costs
LAT, MICHAEL WILNER: "Republicans won a significant political victory this month when moderate Senate Democrats joined them to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, relenting from a showdown over the rising costs of healthcare.
But the fight is already back on, with mere weeks to spare before the Trump administration faces a potential uproar from the public over the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits on New Year’s Day, when premium costs will skyrocket."
California researchers warn teens not to use AI chatbots for emotional support
Sac Bee, KATE WOLFFE: "Children’s safety advocacy organization Common Sense Media and Stanford Medicine’s Brainstorm Lab for Mental Health Innovation are not mincing words with new recommendations for families when it comes to using artificial intelligence for emotional support: “don’t.”
“This is one of those things where there is a difference between people liking something and it being good for them,” said Robbie Torney, the group’s senior director of AI programs. Beyond encouraging teens to not use AI for companionship, the organization also wants industry to self-regulate."
Autistic kids are at higher risk of suicide. Why don’t their parents and doctors know?
LAT, CORINNE PURTILL: "When Anthony Tricarico was diagnosed at 7 with autism spectrum disorder, his parents, Neal and Samara, were told that he might need extra support at school, so they made sure he got it. When doctors suggested therapies for his speech and motor skills, they sought those out too.
But when their kind, popular, accomplished boy began to experience depression and suicidal ideation as a teenager, no one told them that the same thinking patterns that powered many of Anthony’s achievements might also be amplifying his most harmful thoughts, or that the effort of masking his autism could be hurting his mental health."
He built a nursing home empire despite state investigations. Now, lawsuits are piling up
CALMatters, JOCELYN WIENER: "In February 2024, a Los Angeles County jury awarded $2.34 million to an 84-year-old nursing home resident named Betsy Jentz, finding that the facility had violated her rights on 132 occasions, at times leading to serious injuries.
Six months later, an Alameda County jury found another facility had violated the rights of 71-year-old James Doherty, Sr. more than 1,400 times. That included seven instances in which staff failed to transport him, causing him to miss chemotherapy treatments, court documents said. Doherty died following the development of a large pressure sore. His family was awarded $7.6 million."
UC regents vote to continue annual tuition hikes, despite student opposition
EdSource, EMMA GALLEGOS: "Despite fierce protest from students, the University of California Board of Regents on Wednesday voted to renew its policy of regular annual tuition hikes largely tied to the cost of inflation.
Regents approved the tuition hike 13-3 and requested to review the plan in seven years. The renewed policy is a continuation of what UC calls its tuition stability plan that went into effect in 2022. As before, the amount that tuition is raised each year depends largely on inflation, but there are key differences."
READ MORE -- UC continues annual tuition hikes despite student appeals. Here’s how much it will increase -- CALMatters, MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN
Natomas teachers threaten to strike, alleging low pay and unsafe conditions
Sac Bee, JENNAH PENDLETON: "After months of contract negotiations and public protests, Natomas teachers are threatening to strike if district leaders do not soon agree to raise wages, offer better health benefits and improve classroom conditions.
Hundreds of Natomas Unified School District teachers and supporters rallied in the district parking lot Wednesday night, chanting and clanging cowbells as the school board conferred with their labor negotiator in closed session inside the district office."
Oakland students protest for safety measures after school shooting
EdSource, VANI SANGANERIA: "More than 100 students at Skyline High School in Oakland walked out of class on Tuesday, nearly a week after a 15-year-old student survived being shot on the school campus, according to reporting by ABC7 News.
The Nov. 12 shooting, allegedly by two juveniles with ghost guns who are now in police custody, led to the third lockdown at Skyline High School this year. Junior Blake Rogers told ABC7 News that the need for greater safety measures pushed her to organize the protest."
More rain is heading for Los Angeles. When will the Southern California storms end?
LAT, RONG-GONG LIN II: "Don’t put away those umbrellas just yet: Even more rain is expected to hit Los Angeles on Thursday, continuing what’s been an unusually early and wet start to the rainy season.
About half an inch to an inch of rain is forecast to fall throughout the coastal and valleys areas of Los Angeles County. Although not nearly as potent as the storm that soaked the region over the weekend, rain could be strong enough to force the cancellation of outdoor events, according to the National Weather Service office in Oxnard."
Fog could complicate Thanksgiving travel. Here’s an early look at California’s forecast
Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "Thanksgiving is now near enough on the horizon that meteorologists can start forecasting the weather pattern for the holiday weekend.
The good news for travelers: Pre-Thanksgiving weather is shaping up to be dry throughout California. After Thursday’s rainmaker, dry conditions are favored to emerge by Friday in San Francisco and Saturday in Los Angeles. The rain-free weather will continue until Thanksgiving."
Major S.F. Bay cleanup of long-defunct gas plant sites begins near Fisherman’s Wharf
Chronicle, JULIE JOHNSON: "Just offshore from tourists snapping photos near the iconic Pier 43 Ferry Arch, excavators on floating barges plunged huge mechanical fistfuls of rocks below the surface of the San Francisco Bay to cover up the waterfront’s industrial past.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has begun removing contaminated mud in the bay near Fisherman’s Wharf left behind from a long-defunct manufacturing plant that made a type of gas once used to light lamps in turn-of-the-century parlors."
Sacramento County development threatens a giant, shy snake. Why does that matter?
Sac Bee, JAKE GOODRICK: "Even the elusive giant garter snake may have trouble hiding in the empty expanse of dirt and mud as it was earlier this month at a conservation property on the Sutter County end of the Natomas Basin.
Any movement or sign of life stood out in the still, barren landscape where rice once grew, tucked away northeast of Sacramento International Airport. The stark contrast of dryness for what its planners intend as lush wetlands habitat was by design, temporary and soon to change, as water fills the earthen bowls and vegetation covers the land now brown."
Exclusive: Affluent S.F. neighborhood targeted as developer plans to turn Safeways into housing
Chronicle, LAURA WAXMANN: "Known for its steep narrow streets, laid-back retail strip and storybook cottages, Bernal Heights has resisted change for decades.
Now, with a developer pitching to build 370 units and a new enlarged Safeway on the flats below Bernal’s western slope, the affluent district where property values have soared but few new homes have been built could be poised for its biggest transformation in decades."
18 prisoners seek reduced sentences under California’s rarely used Racial Justice Act
LAT, CONNOR SHEETS: "When California lawmakers approved the Racial Justice Act in August 2020 — just months after a Minneapolis police officer killed George Floyd — many backers had high hopes it would help undo years of disproportionately lengthy sentences handed down to people of color.
The law allows convicted defendants to challenge the length of their prison terms if they can demonstrate racial disparities or discriminatory practices in the California jurisdiction where their case was prosecuted."
A top candidate for S.F. police chief was once nearly killed by London Breed’s cousin
Chronicle, MICHAEL BARBA: "Derrick Lew said he tried to pull his gun, but that it was too late. Just a few feet outside his San Francisco police car, the suspect he’d been pursuing reached under his clothing, drew a Glock .40-caliber pistol, and fired.
The young officer twisted his body away in the driver’s seat and threw himself over the center console and on-board computer, taking cover as glass from the shattered window flew through the vehicle, he would later recall."
Dog bites are on the rise in San Francisco
Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "Last summer, a dog attacked a 3-year-old in San Francisco’s Marina District. Later that year, three dogs attacked a pedestrian in the Fillmore district, according to police.
And just this month, San Francisco police officers shot a dog that bit an officer and a bystander before that on Market and Fourth streets. The officers also shot the owner of the dog, who struggled with the officers before they shot him, according to officials. Both the dog and the owner were expected to survive."
Up to 61,000 truck drivers in California could soon lose their licenses. Here’s why
CALMatters, ADAM ECHELMAN: "New federal regulations could leave California with 61,000 fewer truck drivers as the Trump administration bans certain immigrants from operating large vehicles. With fewer truck drivers on the road, consumers may see higher shipping costs, too.
Following an executive order from President Donald Trump in April, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy began cracking down on truck drivers by creating new regulations that prevent refugees, asylum seekers, and those with Deferred Action for Child Arrivals, or DACA, from holding commercial trucking licenses. The administration is also increasing enforcement to penalize those who have limited English proficiency."
