‘Drought still far from over.’ Sierra snow survey shows results of dry January
DALE KASLER, SacBee: "The Sierra Nevada snowpack is dwindling, and California’s drought is worsening. A once-promising start to winter has given way to grim predictions about a third year of tight water supplies.
The California Department of Water Resources’ monthly survey of snow conditions Tuesday revealed a substantial loss of snow from a month earlier, following a bone-dry January.
“Our snowpack has hit this flatline and we’re not getting any snow,” said Sean de Guzman, manager of the state’s snow surveys, after his crew completed its measurements at Phillips. “We’re starting to get more concerned.”
California Reps. McCarthy, Pelosi, Porter and Schiff among nation’s biggest fundraisers
SEEMA MEHTA, LA Times: "As elected officials and candidates prepare for the midterm elections, new financial reports show California members of Congress continue to rake in millions of dollars.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Reps. Katie Porter and Adam B. Schiff are among the most prodigious fundraisers in the nation, according to campaign finance disclosures filed Monday.
The reports also offer a view of which candidates are showing strength in districts that are expected to be hotly contested by both parties, including in northern Los Angeles and southern Orange counties."
UCLA instructor’s behavior alarmed students before threats of mass campus violence
LAT, BY ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE, NATHAN SOLIS, RICHARD WINTON, TERESA WATANABE: "To his students at UCLA, the warning signs about lecturer Matthew C. Harris seemed abundant and longstanding.
By the spring 2021 quarter, the philosophy lecturer had gained a reputation as odd and quixotic, speaking haltingly, changing his syllabus willy-nilly and spending the first four weeks of his “Philosophy of Race” class without once showing his face over Zoom.
Things got weirder as the term progressed, students said, leading up to a final exam that included an essay question about the hate-filled manifesto of Christopher Dorner, a former LAPD officer whose 2013 shooting rampage killed four people and wounded three others. Students were asked to consider the “oppression, disrespect and loss of dignity” suffered by the homicidal ex-cop."
BMW driver pulled over going nearly 140 mph on Sacramento freeway, CHP says
MICHAEL McGOUGH, SacBee: "A driver was caught traveling nearly 140 mph on Interstate 80 in Sacramento over the weekend, California Highway Patrol officials said.
An officer’s radar clocked the driver of a black 2008 BMW 5-series sedan at 138 mph on westbound I-80 near Interstate 5 just before 2 a.m. Saturday, the CHP North Sacramento office said in a Tuesday social media post.
The driver, a 40-year-old West Sacramento man, was ticketed for speeding over 100 mph, driving with a suspended license and driving without proof of insurance — all infractions, according to a copy of the ticket posted by the CHP with the driver’s name and other identifying information redacted."
California school officials could mandate searches of backpacks, lockers under shooting threat
HANNAH WILEY, LA Times: "Two months after four people were killed and seven injured during a Michigan high school shooting, a California lawmaker said he will introduce a bill that would require school administrators to collect information from parents about guns stored at home and would mandate backpack, locker and car searches if there is a credible threat or danger of mass casualty.
State Sen. Anthony Portantino (D-La Cañada Flintridge), author of several California gun safety laws, said he decided to introduce the legislation after the Nov. 30 shooting at Oxford High School reignited a national conversation over how to prevent such incidents.
That shooting occurred despite teachers reporting concerning behavior by the 15-year-old suspect, Ethan Crumbley, the day before and morning of the shooting, including searching for ammunition on his cellphone during class. He also had a graphic drawing that depicted a gun."
California’s first surgeon general resigns
The Chronicle, Lauren Hernandez: "Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, who was appointed as California’s first-ever surgeon general in 2019, has resigned, governor’s officials said on Tuesday.
In a statement provided to The Chronicle, Gov. Gavin Newsom said that Harris’ “expertise and leadership in championing equity, mental health and early childhood development have been instrumental in advancing the health and well-being of Californians.”
When Burke Harris was named as the surgeon general in January 2019, governor’s officials said she would “urge policymakers at every level of government and leaders across the state to consider the social determinants of health, especially for children.”"
‘Enjoy the skiing while we can’: Tahoe’s winter resorts face a future of climate change
DALE KASLER and CHRIS BIDERMAN, SacBee: "They’ve been skiing at Lake Tahoe for more than a decade, and love the area so much they’re thinking of buying a vacation home here.
But on a recent afternoon, with the sun beating down on the slopes of Sugar Bowl and the temperature approaching 50 degrees, Michael and Courtney Clamp of Santa Rosa were second-guessing the idea.
“We’ve always talked about buying a vacation home,” Michael Clamp said as his daughter Piper devoured a basket of chicken fingers near the base of Sugar Bowl’s famed Mt. Judah. “But I don’t know if that’s a great investment with the winters becoming less reliable.”
Judge refuses to toss charges against Northern California man in Jan. 6 Capitol riot case
SAM STANTON, SacBee: "A federal judge on Tuesday refused to dismiss five felony counts against Sean McHugh, a Northern California man accused of taking part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and using bear spray against police officers, setting the stage for McHugh to face trial starting in May.
U.S. District Judge John D. Bates issued the order in Washington, D.C., rejecting McHugh’s contention that five of the 10 counts he faces should be tossed out because the laws he is accused of violating are too vague and that he was merely expressing his First Amendment rights.
Bates, in a 47-page order citing dictionary definitions, the Federalist Papers and decisions by other judges, wrote that “even a criminal code written by God could not satisfy McHugh’s test for vagueness."
Global warming goes to sea — heat waves hit oceans worldwide
The Chronicle, Tara Duggan: "While much research focuses on the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems in the near and distant future, a new study by the Monterey Bay Aquarium finds that global warming had reached a turning point in 2014, when over half of the world’s oceans experienced extreme heat.
Using what it calls an “atlas of extreme heat” to map out global ocean temperatures over time, the study was published Tuesday in the journal PLOS Climate. It helps put into context the marine heat waves that occurred off the California Coast in recent years that disrupted the ecosystem and caused closures of the Dungeness crab and other fisheries. It’s also a reminder that climate change is not a future abstract occurrence but something that is already happening, coauthor Kyle Van Houtan said.
“We weren’t shocked but we were surprised by the distribution of extreme heat throughout the world,” said Van Houtan, a former chief scientist at Monterey Bay Aquarium. “The numbers fluctuated over time but steadily increased.” But when they crossed the threshold of 50% of the world’s oceans experiencing extreme heat, he added, “You’re at a place where what used to be extremely rare is normal.”"
Aameda’s waterfront is being transformed. The rest of the Bay Area should take notes
The Chronicle, John King: "The perspective on San Francisco from Alameda Point is unlike any other that you will find along the bay.
Not too far in the distance is the tall skyline, with Yerba Buena Island surprisingly large and the Bay Bridge unexpectedly grand. In the foreground, a wide cove is lined by still-active Naval reserve ships to the south and, to the west and north, low buildings dotting former mudflats filled to create military land before World War II.
These juxtapositions of rough and refined, urban and nature, hint at why developers for 20 years have sought to remake the western two-thirds of the former Alameda Naval Air Station. After numerous false starts, the first pocket of new construction is wrapping up — and it shows how our bay shoreline can accommodate change while serving people who don’t necessarily live or work there."
Now or who knows when: Parents and experts debate when kids can ditch masks in schools
The Chronicle, JILL TUCKER: "The debate over required masking in schools has reached a fever pitch across the state as a growing number of previously pro-mask parents, physicians and experts urge health officials to make the face coverings optional in a “return to normalcy” for children.
They say mandated masks on children are overused as a public health device in a low-risk population that may suffer some ill consequences from wearing them all the time. But the other side, equally passionate, says masks are a low-cost, low-risk intervention with high rewards in terms of protecting not only children, but also their families, teachers and the community at large.
The battle has become ugly in recent weeks, dividing Bay Area communities — including people who previously fought together to expand mitigation efforts such as masking and vaccines. Now they find themselves angry enemies, the vitriol and threats on full display across every social media service.
"
Here’s how to build affordable housing in S.F. It’s time to learn from the example
The Chronicle, Heather Knight: "He slept in the airport. He slept in a tent under the Bay Bridge. He slept in homeless shelters. He slept in a dirty, run-down Single Room Occupancy hotel in the Tenderloin where the communal bathroom wasn’t big enough to accommodate his wheelchair and the elevator regularly broke down, stranding him.
Two months ago, Timothy Isaiah, 57, finally moved into his own apartment. He has a large, private bathroom and a small kitchen. The two elevators work. The facility is bright, clean and secure. At first, Isaiah was so excited, he couldn’t sleep.
“I couldn’t believe it was happening to me,” he said, beaming as he pet his chihuahua, Kelly. “I couldn’t ask for a better place.”"