Atmospheric river stalls over Monterey, triggers mudslides and is set to hit L.A.
SUZANNE RUST and ERIN B. LOGAN, LA Times: "The West Coast’s enormous atmospheric river stalled over Monterey County on Wednesday, triggering mudslides and threatening other areas even farther north, with the storm expected to swing southward Thursday, posing risks to parts of Southern California burned by last year’s wildfires.
Although the most torrential rains stalled over Monterey and Big Sur, weather forecasters say isolated but severe storms still threaten the area — and officials are maintaining evacuation orders throughout the region.
“We can expect some pretty robust showers ... tonight that could lay down rates that could meet our thresholds for flash flood warnings for the post-wildfire debris flows,” said Brian Garcia, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service, during a Santa Cruz County news conference, Wednesday."
California Supreme Court allows high-ranking justice to be removed from office
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "Jeffrey Johnson, a state appeals court justice who was found by a disciplinary agency to have sexually harassed attorneys, staff and a court colleague, lost his state Supreme Court appeal Wednesday and will become the highest-ranking California judge ever removed from office for misconduct.
With no recorded dissents, the justices denied review of a 9-0 decision by the state Commission on Judicial Performance last June ordering Johnson’s removal from the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles, where he had served since 2009.
“Justice Johnson’s misconduct has severely tarnished the esteem of the judiciary in the eyes of the public,” the commission said. “Given his lack of candor during this proceeding, we do not have confidence that he has the fundamental qualities of honesty and integrity required of a judge.”"
Here's how much rain, snow has fallen in Northern California as storm rages across region
Sac Bee's DALE KASLER: "The fierce winter storm bombarding Northern California is bringing more wind than rain so far.
The strongest storm of the season dumped 0.35 inches of rain on Sacramento Tuesday night, the National Weather Service said. But that’s far from a massive drenching; the record for the date was 1.35 inches in 1997, the year of the last major flood in greater Sacramento.
And it still left Sacramento with an extremely dry month as drought-like conditions persist; the region has received just 1.23 inches of rain in January, well short of the average of just under 4 inches. Still, Tuesday was the rainiest day of the season for Sacramento."
READ MORE related to Air/Climate/Environment: These dramatic satellite images show storm hammering the Bay Area -- The Chronicle's JESSICA FLORES; Wicked winter weather: See photos, video of storm damage in the Sacramento region -- Sac Bee; Incoming storm to bring plenty of rain to SoCal -- Daily Breeze's NATHANIEL PERCY
Biden halts new oil drilling on federal lands. Here's what major climate move means for California
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "President Biden, acting quickly to differentiate his climate agenda from his predecessor’s, rolled out a slate of environmental directives Wednesday, including a far-reaching suspension of new oil and gas development on federal land and waters.
The indefinite moratorium is widely viewed as a first step to halting the granting of federal drilling leases permanently, and it marks a milestone in California’s half-century fight to keep the federal government from expanding fossil fuel extraction across the state.
Oil and gas companies, which operate largely off the Southern California coast and in the flatlands of Kern and Monterey counties, are already fighting the move. Environmentalists and climate activists stand behind it."
California's new COVID vaccine plan leaves behind vulnerable homeless, inmates
Sac Bee's ALEXANDRA YOON-HENDRICKS: "In a major change to California’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution program this week, two high-risk groups — incarcerated individuals and homeless residents living in congregate shelters — have been dropped from prioritization plans.
The announcement made by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday has left advocates scrambling for answers, and deeply concerned about the potentially deadly consequences of further delaying vaccines for individuals who are particularly susceptible to catching the virus because of where they live and what their health conditions are.
“It’s shocking that they’re not prioritized but it’s not surprising,” said Anthony Menacho, executive director of Sacramento Street Medicine, a program that offers medical services to homeless residents."
READ MORE related to Vaccine: Blue Shield to take over California COVID-19 vaccine distro campaign -- The Chronicle's CATHERINE HO/ALEXEI KOSEFF; Poll shows 71% of Californians want to get vaccinated. That may not be enough -- The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI; No bathrooms. No seating. Endless lines. Struggling seniors face vaccine misery -- LA Times's HAYLEY SMITH
LA has avoided a NY-level COVID-19 hospit al meltdown as conditions improve
LA Times's RONG-GONG LIN II/LUKE MONEY: "Just weeks ago, Los Angeles County’s hospitals were overwhelmed and on the brink of a worst-case catastrophic scenario, with plans ready if doctors needed to ration healthcare.
But with the region now in its fourth week of declining hospitalizations, it was clear Wednesday that the county was decisively on its way out of its third surge of the pandemic, its deadliest yet.
Yes, hospitals this week are still under pressure — scheduled surgeries are still suspended, and there’s still a shortage of medical staff, with hospitals relying on nurses drafted from clinics, contract agencies and the federal and state governments. L.A. County’s hospitals are still under great strain, with nearly three times as many COVID-19 patients as it did during the peak of the summer wave. The state has opened up two surge hospitals — in Sun Valley and Hawaiian Gardens — that have been used to relieve the strain on other facilities."
Are Biden ties with Senate Reeps enough to win COVID relief bill votes?
Sac Bee's FRANCESCA CHAMBERS/ALEX ROARTY: "President Joe Biden is counting on his personal relationships with veteran Republican senators to help his first major proposal — a massive coronavirus relief package — overcome legislative gridlock and become law.
But even the best of friendships might yield little progress in the current Congress, a place that has changed rapidly since Biden last held a Senate seat there a dozen years ago, longtime lawmakers and seasoned Capitol Hill operatives said.
“It’s become a lot more partisan,” said Republican Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, who served with Biden for more than 20 years. “A lot less respect by a lot of people of traditions in the Senate, precedents, rules.”"
He fought Trump's attacks on ACA. Now, California AG Becerra hopes to vanquish COVID-19
LA Times's GEORGE SKELTON: "California Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra scoffs at critics who claim he’s unqualified to be U.S. Health secretary — and help vaccinate America — because he’s not a medical professional. He’s merely a politician.
And he’s right. The Department of Health and Human Services is loaded with doctors and medical experts. What’s most needed to head the sprawling agency with 80,000 employees is a strong leader who can organize and achieve.
Based on Becerra’s history, President Biden chose the right man."
Former Baldwin Park councilman to plead guilty in graft case, assists federal probe
LA Times's MICHAEL FINNEGAN: "A former longtime member of the Baldwin Park City Council has agreed to plead guilty to taking bribes in exchange for his vote to ratify a police union’s contract with the city, authorities announced Wednesday.
Ricardo Pacheco, 58, was initially charged in March, but the case was kept secret as he began cooperating with the FBI in its continuing investigation of public corruption in the San Gabriel Valley, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Los Angeles. Pacheco, first elected to the council in 1997, resigned in June as part of his plea agreement.
In court files unsealed Tuesday, Pacheco admitted that he took $37,900 in bribes from a Baldwin Park police officer in 2018. Pacheco was serving as the city’s mayor pro tem at the time, and the officer was working undercover for the FBI."
Closing up 5 California prisons would free up money to house former inmates, Democrat says
Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "A California Democrat wants to keep former inmates off the streets by using money saved from closing several California prisons in the next four years to fund re-entry housing.
California’s prison population currently hovers around 94,000, a number the Legislative Analyst’s Office predicts will hold steady for the next several years due to recent efforts to reform the criminal justice system.
The numbers, down by tens of thousands of inmates from just a year ago, should allow California to close at least five prisons by 2025, the analyst’s office wrote in a November report. That could help the state save up to $1.5 billion."
Man with pipe bombs may have plotted to harm Gov. Newsom, FBI says
Sac Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "A Napa County man FBI agents believe was targeting Gov. Gavin Newsom, Facebook and Twitter was charged Tuesday with illegally possessing homemade bombs, according to a criminal complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for Northern California.
The man, Ian Benjamin Rogers, was charged with unlawful possession of an unregistered destructive device after investigators found five pipe bombs inside a gun safe in his business in Napa County.
Text messages on Rogers’ phone indicate he believed Donald Trump won the 2020 election and that he planned to “go to war” and attack Democrats “to ensure Trump remained in office,” FBI Special Agent Stephanie Minor wrote in the affidavit."
The next challenge for SF school district? Choosing new names for a third of its schools
The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "A third of San Francisco schools will get a new name in the coming months, ending a years-long process to reconsider the country’s racist past and eliminate the name of slave owners and colonizers on band uniforms and high school diplomas.
The controversial decision by the board Tuesday night to rename 44 school sites garnered national attention and split the city, with some criticizing the timing and process during a pandemic and others arguing change needs to happen now to recognize the ongoing racism and trauma affecting students of color.
Students and school board members said it was time that children stopped walking into elementary schools named after former President Thomas Jefferson, a slave owner, or former Mayor Adolph Sutro, who denied Black people access to his Sutro Baths, the saltwater pool facility near Ocean Beach built in 1896, which burned down in 1966."
READ MORE related to Education: LA County's K-6 schools could reopen in weeks, if coronavirus stats comply -- Daily News's RYAN CARTER; What happens to children who missed kindergarten during COVID-19 crisis? -- EdSource's KAREN D'SOUZA
$18M for 101 Freeway wildlife crossing intended to save SoCal mountain lions
SoCal News's CITY NEWS SERVICE: "The fundraising campaign to create a wildlife crossing over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills has reached the $18 million mark, putting the groundbreaking within sight, organizers announced Wednesday.
The total raised by the National Wildlife Federation’s #SaveLACougars campaign includes a recent $1.4 million gift from a private donor.
“The incredible support of people from around the world has allowed us to advance this project from a visionary idea to an impending reality. This past fall, we released new design visualizations, Caltrans will have the blueprints for the crossing completed this summer, and if fundraising remains strong, we will break ground in November,” said Beth Pratt, California regional executive director for the National Wildlife Federation and leader of the campaign."
Some Republicans drift back to Trump, see no need for punishment for riots
LA Times's JENNIFER HABERKORN: "A day after they made clear they don’t support convicting former President Trump in next month’s impeachment trial, Republican senators showed scant interest in censuring or reprimanding him in any way for his role in inciting the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol.
Forty-five Republicans on Tuesday supported a procedural vote on a measure calling Trump’s impeachment trial unconstitutional.
In interviews this week, several Republicans said they see no need to formally condemn Trump’s actions, a sign of the former president’s enduring support from elected Republicans. The trial, suggested Sen. Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the longest-serving Republican, is punishment enough."
Right-wing Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio went undercover for police, records show
LA Times's MOLLY HENNESSY-FISKE: "Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group whose members have been charged in connection with the Capitol attack Jan. 6, once served as an undercover informant for law enforcement, according to a former prosecutor and court records.
Former President Trump drew national attention to the Proud Boys during a debate in September when he called on them to “stand back and stand by.” Tarrio has since raised their profile even further, appearing at pro-Trump protests to challenge federal authorities and getting arrested in Washington, D.C., ahead of the Capitol attack on suspicion of destroying a Black Lives Matter banner at a church.
In a court transcript from Tarrio’s Miami sentencing hearing after he pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in 2014, a prosecutor, FBI agent and Tarrio’s attorney said he had helped authorities prosecute more than a dozen people in cases involving drugs, gambling and human smuggling."
The search for ancient Martian life will begin in three weeks
Daily News's BRADLEY BERMONT: "Aiming for a precarious and hazard-laden crater next to an ancient riverbed on Mars, NASA and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at Caltech will try to land the most sophisticated rover built to-date, Perseverance, hoping to find fossilized clues of ancient life and lay the groundwork for future manned missions to the red planet.
The search begins in just three weeks, as scientists and engineers prepare for a Feb. 18 landing — or, rather, they’re preparing the rover to land itself — and hoping it comes down in one piece.
“I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I’m saying landing is the most critical and dangerous part of the mission,” Allen Chen, a systems engineer in the Entry, Descent, and Landing Systems group at JPL in La Cañada Flintridge, said during a media event on Jan. 27."