Living hostages and Palestinian prisoners are released as part of ceasefire in Gaza
LAT/WAFAA SHURAFA, SAMY MAGDY, MELANIE LIDMAN: "Hamas released all 20 remaining living hostages held in Gaza on Monday, while Israel began releasing hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as part of a ceasefire pausing two years of war that pummeled the territory, killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, and had left scores of captives in militant hands.
The hostages, all men, arrived back in Israel, where they will reunite with their families and undergo medical checks. The bodies of the remaining 28 dead hostages are also expected to be handed over as part of the deal, although the exact timing remained unclear."
READ MORE -- Trump is in Israel to tout a ceasefire he believes could foster lasting Middle East peace -- LAT/DARLENE SUPERVILLE, CHRIS MEGERIAN
This is ‘a test,’ Obama says of the U.S. under Trump. He gets candid with podcaster Marc Maron
LAT/SEEMA MEHTA: "Former President Obama, speaking on stand-up comedian Marc Maron’s final podcast on Monday, said the Trump administration’s policies are a “test” of whether universities, businesses, law firms and voters — including Republicans — will take a stand for the nation’s founding principles and values.
“If you decide not to vote, that’s a consequence. If you are a Hispanic man and you’re frustrated about inflation, and so you decided, ah, you know what, all that rhetoric about Trump doesn’t matter. ‘I’m just mad about inflation,’” Obama said. “And now your sons are being stopped in L.A. because they look Latino and maybe without the ability to call anybody, might just be locked up, well, that’s a test.”"
Outbursts by Katie Porter threaten gubernatorial ambitions
LAT/SEEMA MEHTA: "The emergence of two videos showing former Rep. Katie Porter in an unfavorable light have cast a cloud over her gubernatorial prospects, feeding perceptions among some that the Irvine Democrat is thin-skinned and a short-tempered boss.
How Porter responds in coming days could determine her viability in next year’s race to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to both Democratic and Republican political strategists."
Offshore oil plan was ‘primed for cash flow,’ but then it hit California regulators
LAT/GRACE TOOHEY: "When a Texas oil company first announced controversial plans to reactivate three drilling rigs off the coast of Santa Barbara County, investor presentations boasted that the venture had “massive resource potential” and was “primed for cash flow generation.”
But now, less than two years later, mounting legal setbacks and regulatory issues are casting increasing doubt on the project’s future."
Newsom signs bills pushing back against Trump’s deportation agenda
Chronicle/DAVID HERNANDEZ: "Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday signed several bills designed to protect immigrant communities in the face of President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation agenda.
The slate of bills is part of an ongoing effort by California leaders to push back against Trump’s policies, particularly his most intense moves to quickly deport undocumented residents — and sometimes even those who are in the process of obtaining legal status."
Gavin Newsom signs CA bill to lower medication costs, rein in insurance middlemen
Sac Bee/KATE WOLFFE: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday signed Senate Bill 41, a bill that would impose regulations on insurance-industry middlemen who are accused of driving up prices for prescription drugs, and driving small pharmacies to close.
The middlemen, known as pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, have been around since the late 1960s and serve as intermediaries between drug manufacturers and health insurance providers. However, secretive and unregulated practices by PBMs, which are heavily consolidated, have led to a chorus of drug manufacturers, pharmacists, and government regulators calling for more oversight."
Insurance commissioner proposes controversial changes to landmark insurance law
LAT/LAURENCE DARMIENTO: "One hallmark of the 1988 ballot measure that governs California’s auto and home insurance code allows the public to review insurer requests for rate increases — and get paid by those same insurers for the costs of doing so.
It’s a provision that has irked the industry ever since the measure, Proposition 103, also established an elected insurance commissioner with the authority over rates."
Judge shuts down California tribes’ latest bid to crush their casino rivals
CALMatter/RYAN SABALOW: "Over the years, casino-owning tribes have spent millions in court, in the Legislature and at the ballot box trying unsuccessfully to force their only competitors out of California’s casino business.
A judge today blocked their latest effort."
New California law expands Newsom’s mental health court. Will it help more people?
CALMatters/JOCELYN WIENER, MARISA KENDALL: "One of Gov. Gavin Newsom‘s marquee mental health programs may broaden its reach despite persistent questions about the number of people it’s helping and whether it’s achieving the goals he set out for it when it launched.
Newsom today signed a law that expands eligibility for CARE Court to include people who experience psychotic symptoms as a result of bipolar disorder. Under the law’s previous constraints, only people with schizophrenia and other limited psychotic disorders were eligible."
UC, CSU released troves of personal employee information to the feds. Now the backlash
LAT/JAWEED KALEEM, DANIEL MILLER: "California universities are facing intense backlash for handing over employees’ personal contact information to the Trump administration as it investigates allegations of campus antisemitism, amping up tensions over government incursions into higher education.
At Cal State, a faculty union filed suit Friday in state court after learning the personal phone numbers and email addresses of 2,600 Los Angeles campus employees were turned over to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which is investigating employee complaints of campus antisemitism. In addition, the EEOC is contacting Jewish faculty across the 22-campus system, prompting campus demonstrations against cooperating with Trump."
New laws aim to ease California’s student housing crunch
EdSource/AMY DIPIERRO: "Alarmed by expensive housing that drives up the cost of college degrees and leaves some students struggling to make rent, California campuses have tried everything from factory-built dormitories to a pilot program that lets students safely sleep in their cars.
Now, a package of laws by state legislators seeks to make it faster to build housing around public colleges and universities by tinkering with land use rules. Proponents hope to encourage community colleges that haven’t previously ventured into housing to dip a toe in the water. And the measures could give higher education new leverage over skeptical neighbors and city governments in the sometimes contentious question of where to house students."
Can early screening help more California kids learn to read? Teachers are finding out
EdSource/ZAIDEE STAVELY: "Teachers across California are rushing to learn how to test students on vocabulary, how well they know their letters and the sounds they make, and how quickly they can name objects or letters in a row.
These are some of the skills to be measured by new screening tests that school districts are using for the first time to evaluate all children in kindergarten through second grade to see if they may be at risk for reading difficulties, such as dyslexia."
‘Winter-like storm’ headed for SoCal, bringing heavy rain, chance of hail and tornadoes
LAT/SAMANTHA MASUNAGA, GRACE TOOHEY: "A “winter-like” storm will move into Southern California late Monday into Wednesday, bringing the chance for widespread, significant rainfall and locally damaging winds that could spur brief tornadoes, the National Weather Service said Sunday.
A flood watch has been issued for much of the region from Monday evening through Tuesday, particularly in areas in and around recent burn scars, including the footprint for the Eaton and Palisades fires."
READ MORE -- California is about to be slammed with rain, thunder and snow. Here’s what to expect -- Chronicle/GREG PORTER
‘Dangerous and reckless’: Yosemite chaos sparks urgent plea to close parks during shutdown
LAT/AIDIN VAZIRI: "Reports of illegal BASE jumping, unauthorized camping and unpermitted climbing in Yosemite National Park have reignited warnings from current and former park officials to close the park during the ongoing federal government shutdown.
“This is exactly what we warned about,” Emily Thompson, executive director of the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, said in a statement Friday. “And this is why national parks need to be closed until the government re-opens. This shutdown is making an already bad situation at national parks and public lands far worse. The situation is dangerous and reckless for our parks, public lands, and the visitors who love them.”"
Why an affordable slice of L.A. paradise might never recover from the Palisades fire
LAT/NOAH HAGGERTY: "As local and state leaders celebrate the fastest wildfire debris removal in modern American history, the Pacific Palisades Bowl Mobile Home Estates — a rent-controlled, 170-unit enclave off Pacific Coast Highway — remains largely untouched since it burned down in January.
Weeds grow through cracks in the broken pavement. A community pool is filled with a murky, green liquid. There’s row after row of mangled, rusting metal remains of former homes."
Why ‘no tax on tips’ may have limited benefits for California workers
CALMatters/LEVI SUMAGAYSAY: "No tax on tips, a campaign promise by President Donald Trump, is now part of the U.S. tax code, but experts across the political spectrum see limited benefits for California workers.
The Treasury Department and the IRS late last month released details of their proposed regulations around the new tax deduction, which Republicans included in their spending bill."
The sneakiest way to cut your bills takes 5 minutes — and doesn’t mean canceling anything
Chronicle/JESSICA ROY: "What do your gym membership, favorite streaming service and utility bills all have in common? They’ve probably gone up in price this year. And the companies behind them are hoping you didn’t notice.
Netflix announced an across-the-board increase back in January. Comcast XFinity bumped Bay Area sports channels to a higher-priced tier. Frontier alerted customers that they “may see a price increase.” The week Disney brought back Jimmy Kimmel from his suspension, it also announced a price bump for Disney+."
Gavin Newsom signs law overhauling local zoning to build more housing
CALMatters/BEN CHRISTOPHER: "Ever since the Legislature narrowly passed a bill last month that will pave the way for more apartment buildings around major public transit stops in the state’s biggest metro areas, the California political universe has been impatiently awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature or veto in a heated statewide game of “will he, won’t he.”
Today, he did."
Home sellers are cutting prices to attract buyers — except in this part of the Bay Area
Chronicle/CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "Housing markets across much of the U.S. are cooling, with many sellers resorting to the unthinkable: Cutting prices.
San Francisco hasn’t gotten the memo."
Nurse who died after Sacramento helicopter crash escorted home to north state
Sac Bee/JAKE GOODRICK: "A medevac helicopter landed Sunday afternoon at a Red Bluff airfield where a collection of first responders and community members waited.
When the skids touched down, a handful of responders in various uniforms carried the flag-draped body of Susan “Suzie” Smith from the kind of air ambulance she worked from for much of her long nursing career, into an ambulance on the ground waiting to drive her to Palo Cedro."
DEA promoted L.A. agent who pointed gun at colleague despite history of issues
LAT/JAMES QUEALLY: "David Doherty was standing at his desk inside the Los Angeles headquarters of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration when a supervisor from another office stormed in hurling profanities.
Doherty testified at a preliminary hearing in a San Fernando courtroom earlier this year that a fellow agent, James Young, got “face to face” with Doherty and challenged him to a fight without provocation."
Where did S.F. streets get their names? We analyzed 554 of them to find out
Chronicle/PETER HARTLAUB, HARSHA DEVULAPALLI, JANIE HASEMAN: "You could travel the length of Stockton Street in San Francisco, from Pier 39 to Market Street, and not hit a single major cross-street named after a woman.
Along the way, there are streets named for male generals, merchants, presidents, explorers, politicians and physicians, as well as California counties and trees. But revered female figures, in a city full of them? Not a one."