Severe gusts, mass power outages continue as storm rolls through California
MICHAEL McGOUGH, SacBee: "A massive atmospheric river storm that reached Northern California on Tuesday evening brought extreme wind gusts overnight and is continuing to make an impact Wednesday morning in the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada.
The National Weather Service reported Wednesday morning that gusts peaked well above 60 mph in the Sacramento area within the past 24 hours: 67 mph at McClellan Airport and 63 mph at Sacramento International Airport.
“We’re still seeing wind gusts of 40 to 55 mph, especially along the eastern edge of the Central Valley, but the strongest winds are over,” the NWS Sacramento office tweeted around 5 a.m. “Winds will continue to gradually decrease this morning, but it will remain breezy today.”
The underground COVID economy: Businesses say they sidestepped rules to survive
ANDREA CHANG, LA Times: "The businesses appeared closed, but there were telltale signs of life: light seeping out from behind boarded-up windows, customers coming and going through employee entrances, Instagram posts alluding to in-home appointments.
The COVID-19 shutdown orders imposed in March and again during the holidays crippled large swaths of the California economy. But even before an easing of restrictions announced this week by Gov. Gavin Newsom, some business owners continued to carry on covertly. In Los Angeles and other counties with forced closures, you could still get your nails done and your hair trimmed, practice Pilates inside a studio and eat a restaurant meal with a group of friends — no takeout containers involved.
By continuing to serve customers, the businesses violated the spirit — and in some cases the letter — of public health orders and complicated efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus, health officials said."
Union-backed bill would give more job security to seasonal Cal Fire firefighters
Sac Bee's WES VENTEICHER: "Firefighting careers in California often start with a job as a seasonal wildland firefighter.
The position comes with hard work, difficult conditions and lots of overtime for up to nine months per year. But it lacks the labor protections afforded to full-time, year-round firefighters.
That means employees can work for the state for years only to lose their job over a minor infraction or a misunderstanding, said Tim Edwards, president of Cal Fire Local 2881, the union that represents state firefighters."
Beer battle brewing over distribution
CHUCK McFADDEN, Capitol Weekly: "An under-the-radar tussle is shaping up in California over how beer is being brought to drinkers across the state.
The emerging beer battle pits small craft brewers againzzst big distributors.
On one side are the small, family-owned brewers, who charge that the big distributors don’t want to bother with the relatively small volumes of craft brewers and would be delighted if the beer world was limited to the major brands distributed exclusively by them, never mind small brewers distribution. The small brewers say they have resource and logistical problems in attempting to distribute their product as widely as large distributors can."
Strong storm system barrels into Bay Area, bringing rain, wind and threat of landslides
The Chronicle's VANESSA ARREDONDO: "A strong storm system brought heavy rain and powerful winds to the Bay Area late Tuesday, increasing the risks of mudslides and flash floods that have already prompted evacuations in some parts of Northern California.
An atmospheric river barreled into the West Coast, causing flooding, evacuations and dropping snowfall in the Sierra.
In some places, including San Benito County and Big Sur, the storm was expected to bring up to 10 inches of rain by Wednesday."
Growing racial inequities in L.A. County vaccine rollout raise concern
JACLYN COSGROVE, LUKE MONEY, RONG-GONG LIN II and COLLEEN SHALBY, LA Times: "Just weeks into California’s rocky rollout of the coronavirus vaccine, evidence is emerging of inequities in who is getting the medicine, prompting growing demands that vulnerable communities receive more attention.
Los Angeles County officials said Tuesday they are concerned about low vaccination numbers among healthcare workers in South L.A. and other communities of color, while advocates for essential workers worry that California’s new vaccine priority plan slows their ability to get inoculated despite the dangers inherent in their jobs.
The county Department of Public Health released demographic data Tuesday showing a significantly lower rate of vaccinations for healthcare workers who live in South L.A., home to large populations of Black and Latino residents, compared with other regions."
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How the Bay Area coronavirus variant differs from those in UK, South Africa and Brazil
The Chronicle's KELLIE HWANG: "The new coronavirus variant linked to some recent Bay Area outbreaks is one of several circulating in the U.S. and around the world that are worrying experts amid the race to vaccinate enough people to stem the pandemic.
Concerns were heightened when, earlier this month, the CDC warned that the more transmissible B.1.1.7 variant first reported in the United Kingdom could become the dominant strain by March. On Monday, an individual infected with the Brazil variant was confirmed to be in Minnesota.
On Monday, President Biden extended travel restrictions on Brazil and most of Europe, and banned travel starting Saturday for non-citizens from South Africa due to another variant circulating there."
Republican David Valadao voted to impeach Trump. Now he has 3 challengers for 2022
Sac Bee's KATE IRBY: "The only California Republican who voted to impeach President Donald Trump earlier this month already has three challengers planning bids to unseat him next year, including a Republican who said he’s running because of the impeachment vote.
The early interest signals a tough reelection campaign for Rep. David Valadao, R-Hanford, who defeated Democratic Rep. TJ Cox in November to win a southern San Joaquin Valley district where Democrats outnumber Republicans.
Valadao was one of just 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump over the former president’s role in motivating the mob of his supporters that overwhelmed that U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 as lawmakers met to certify President Joe Biden’s election."
UC Berkeley removes Kroeber Hall name, citing namesake’s ‘immoral’ work with Native Americans
MELISSA GOMEZ, LA Times: "A UC Berkeley campus building will be stripped of its name because of the legacy of its namesake, an anthropologist whose work included the “immoral and unethical” collection of Native American remains, the university announced Tuesday.
Kroeber Hall, named after Alfred Louis Kroeber, will be stripped of its name in a year’s time and will temporarily be called the Anthropology and Art Practice Building.
The university’s Building Name Review Committee announced the decision Tuesday after unanimously voting to remove the name last fall. Last year, the university renamed two other buildings over their namesakes’ controversial legacies of promoting racist rhetoric and colonialist ideas."
‘Manna from heaven’: L.A. officials say Biden funding could get thousands of homeless off streets
BENJAMIN ORESKES, LA Times: "An executive order signed by President Biden last week changed federal funding rules in a way that could potentially lift thousands of homeless Angelenos off the streets as the coronavirus continues to rage.
Local elected officials hope a shift in how the Federal Emergency Management Agency reimburses municipalities will breathe new life into an effort to rent hotel rooms for homeless people who are vulnerable to the virus and struggle to isolate.
“This is a huge opportunity. This is like manna from heaven,” said Councilman Mike Bonin, who on Tuesday introduced a motion asking the city to explore options for renting more hotel rooms. He thinks the city should be thinking of renting thousands or tens of thousands of rooms."
Yolo courts push Feb. jury trials deeper into year on continued pandemic concerns
Sac Bee's DARREL SMITH: "Jury trials set for February in Yolo County will now start later in the year as high COVID-19 rates push the proceedings off of the calendar.
Yolo Superior Court Presiding Judge Daniel P. Maguire cited the county’s current virus transmission rates in announcing the decision Tuesday, calling it “the right thing to do.”
Yolo County has logged nearly 11,100 cases since the beginning of the pandemic including 69 new reports on Monday, according to Yolo County Department of Health data. The county will remain in the state’s purple widespread tier until at least Feb. 2."
L.A. pays tribute on anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s death
RICHARD WINTON and PHOTOGRAPHERS, LA Times: "One year ago today, Kobe Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and seven others boarded a helicopter at John Wayne Airport in Orange County to travel to a youth basketball tournament at the Sports Academy (then named the Mamba Sports Academy, after Bryant) in Thousand Oaks.
But amid extremely foggy weather conditions, the helicopter slammed into a hillside in Calabasas, killing everyone on board.
An icy chill filled the still air Tuesday on that hill. At the spot where the helicopter went down, a white rose was placed upright in the soil next to rocks piled in a figure eight — 8 is one of two jersey numbers Bryant wore during his 20-year NBA career."
The Chronicle's NORA MISHANEC: "Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo withdrew his application for the San Jose police department’s top job Tuesday, one day after he was announced as a finalist.
“Chief Medaria Arradondo has opted to remove himself from the San Jose police chief recruitment process,” San Jose City Manager David Sykes said in a statement Tuesday evening.
Sykes did not give a reason for Arradondo’s abrupt withdrawal."