Power outages and intense mountain snow showers: Winter storm continues to hit region
Sacramento Bee's CLAIRE MORGAN: "Roughly 600 homes and businesses lost power Saturday night as a winter storm continued to pelt the Sacramento Valley with rain and blanket the Sierra with heavy snow."
"An estimated 350 customers lost power in Land Park and an additional 250 lost power in East Sacramento as of 1 a.m. Sunday, according to SMUD outage reports. Power was restored in the area after an hour, according to SMUD spokesman Chris Capra."
"Capra said a bird stuck in a ground transformer caused the outages."
READ MORE related to Energy & Environment: PG&E renewable energy contracts tied up in bankruptcy battle -- The Chronicle's J.D. MORRIS
Spending on free community college for Californians would pay off big for the state
LA Times's GEORGE SKELTON: "A little-noticed gem in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget would return California partway back to its glory days of tuition-free college."
"It’s a relatively tiny, $40-million item in a $209-billion state budget — and a bargain."
"It certainly wouldn’t return California all the way back to when my generation — and all those before ours — could go to any public college without paying tuition."
READ MORE related to Education: With lawsuits and overspending, another LA Community College bond measure has sparked controversy -- LA Times's TERESA WATANABE
Howard Schultz tells SF audience he is 'not going to be a spoiler'
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Howard Schultz wanted to make sure that his San Francisco audience understood one thing Friday after the former Starbucks CEO’s tough first week of publicly exploring an independent run for the White House:"
"Howard Schultz is not going to be a spoiler,” Schultz said, speaking in the third-person. “And I’m not going to do anything to re-elect Donald Trump."
"The 450 people at the Jewish Community Center San Francisco — who paid $20 for a ticket and copy of Schultz’s new memoir — applauded."
READ MORE related to Schultz 2020: Howard Schultz may run for prez, and some folks are steaming mad about it -- LA Times's MARK Z BARABAK
BLM protest outside Sacramento County Jail in wake of Marshall Miles autopsy report
Sacramento Bee's CASSIE DICKMAN: "Their group was small but their voices could be heard echoing down the street corridors."
"About 25 protesters gathered outside the Sacramento County Main Jail on Saturday afternoon, a day after the autopsy report was released for Marshall Miles, who died days after going unconscious in custody. The demonstration was organized by Black Lives Matter to protest the improper treatment the report said led to the 36-year-old’s death in November."
"The Sacramento County Coroner concluded in the report Friday that Miles died from physical exertion, drug intoxication and restraint by law enforcement, among other factors."
READ MORE related to Prisons & Public Safety: Sacramento police change tracking of misconduct complaints after AG flags inconsistencies -- Sacramentyo Bee's MOLLY SU; Who is Kevin Limbaugh, the man who killed Davis Officer Natalie Corona -- Sacramento Bee's SAM STANTON
Kamala Harris campaign fought to get American flags at Oakland kickoff
The Chronicle's KIMBERLY VEKLEROV: "Sen. Kamala Harris’ campaign was adamant about draping American flags from Oakland City Hall at the kickoff event last weekend for her presidential bid — but it almost didn’t happen."
"After campaign staff hit snags in getting approval, Mayor Libby Schaaf stepped in to give the green light."
"The Beaux-Arts-style municipal building — inside of which the City Council recently stopped saying the Pledge of Allegiance before its meetings and outside of which Occupy Oakland took hold — was awash Sunday in an atypical display of red, white and blue. There were at least seven U.S. flags hanging from City Hall, not to mention others placed around the plaza and podium."
READ MORE related to Harris 2020: Harris learns the perils of presidential front-running -- The Chronicle's WILLIE BROWN
Bay Area restaurant workers collect lost wages as California strengthens protections
The Chronicle's JONATHAN KAUFFMAN: "Gordo Taqueria, which has five popular locations around the Bay Area, has agreed to pay its workers $690,000 in a class-action lawsuit involving allegations of wage violations."
"The case is the latest in a string of similar labor cases involving high-profile Bay Area restaurants, the results of a years-long effort by the California Labor Commissioner’s Office to strengthen protections for workers and collect lost wages."
"In mid-January, for example, Rangoon Ruby’s owners agreed to a settlement that would pay more than 300 workers $4 million in wages and penalties. Last year, La Taqueria paid its workers $500,000 in a similar settlement. Other recent cases involve Burma Superstar, Mango Garden, Mission Beach Cafe and Kome Buffet."
READ MORE related to Development & Economy: California to thrash out gig worker status in upcoming bills -- The Chronicle's CAROLYN SAID
Trump ignites California's paradigm shift
LA Times's JOHN MYERS: "Delaine Eastin, the former California schools chief and legislator whose longshot bid for governor fizzled last year, has been in enough elections to know the difference between a stormy campaign season and a fundamental shift in the political climate."
"Which is why the Democrat told a postelection symposium last week there's something familiar about the political moment at hand. The rhetoric of President Donald Trump, she said, reminds her of when Gov. Pete Wilson championed three conservative ballot measures more than two decades ago."
"They were being poked in the eye by a bully," Eastin said of young and minority Californians in the '90s. "When you look at Trump, what you see is the worst of that, quadrupled."
READ MORE related to POTUS45: Dems ready to deal on border barrier -- just not a 'wall' -- Sacramento Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN
CW Podcast: J.D. Morris on PG&E bankruptcy
Capitol Weekly STAFF: "Pacific Gas and Electric Company, the largest utility in California, filed for bankruptcy protection on Jan. 29, citing billions of dollars in potential liabilities from the giant company’s likely role in sparking a series of devastating California wildfires."
"That means reporter J.D. Morris, who has been covering the issue for the San Francisco Chronicle, is a busy man, indeed. But amid the flurry of court hearings and document dumps, Morris took a few minutes to chat with Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster about the ramifications of PG&E’s bankruptcy and reorganization, including the possibility that the venerable California company may be broken up."
ICE announces seizure of $24M in fake Super Bowl merchandise
Sacramento Bee: "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced on January 31 the seizure of almost 285,000 counterfeit sports-related items worth over $24 million ahead of Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta." (video)