Newsom is considering Darrell Steinberg for a judge. Sacramento’s mayor might not want it
Sac Bee, THERESA CLIFT: "Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg is in the running for a California Courts of Appeal judgeship, but he likely would not step down as mayor to take it, according to two sources who are knowledgeable about the mayor’s thinking.
Steinberg would likely be interested in a seat on the Supreme Court of California, the two sources said, but there is not currently a vacancy. The sources spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share his plans.
The State Bar of California emailed questionnaires to several members last week to vet Steinberg as a judicial nominee. The email, first reported by Politico and also obtained by The Bee, said Newsom is considering Steinberg for Third District Court of Appeals in Sacramento."
Q&A: Tim Johnson, California Rice Commission
Capitol Weekly, AARON GILBREATH: "This September, 300,000 of California’s 550,000 acres of rice fields lay barren—over half the state’s rice crop. Instead of miles of soft green grasses swaying amid shimmering water, the state’s rice fields were cracked bare dirt, some crowded with weeds. “It is now just a wasteland,” a third-generation rice farmer told the San Francisco Chronicle. Three consecutive years of drought have had an unprecedented impact on the rice industry. What does the future hold?
We spoke with Tim Johnson, the Founding President and CEO of the California Rice Commission, to find out what rice growers are doing to adapt to climate change and how different interest groups are learning to approach water use more holistically in order to get the most out of this limited resource.
It surprises many people that California is one of the world’s best rice producers. Rice first became a commercial crop here in 1912, and nearly every sushi roll made in the U.S. now uses California rice. Funded by industry and overseen by the State Department of Food & Agriculture, the California Rice Commission represents the people who grow and process this rice and supports their interests through legislation, regulation, education, and conservation."
Entire Bay Area under flood watch this weekend as more storms roll in
The Chronicle, JORDAN PARKER: "A flood watch will be in effect for the Bay Area from Friday evening to Saturday evening as more rain arrives in the region, according to the National Weather Service.
Moderate to heavy rain is expected during that time frame, and it could be more than already saturated soils can absorb.
Rapid rises of rivers, streams and creeks are expected, the National Weather Service said, and urban areas and roadways with poor drainage may see flooding."
Two more rainstorms coming to Southern California this week
LA Times, ALEXANDRA E. PETRI/SUMMER LIN: "Despite intermittent showers overnight, Los Angeles is not expected to see significant rainfall until this weekend, forecasters said.
The first of a series of storms moved into the region Tuesday evening, with L.A. County receiving about a half-inch of rain overnight, officials said. The heaviest rain fell further north in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.
“We saw what we expected,” Kristan Lund, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard."
Atmospheric river triggers Lake Tahoe flood watch
The Chronicle, GERRY DIAZ: "The Tahoe area is bracing for what’s sure to be an active weather pattern between Wednesday night and the last weekend of the year. Two powerful winter storms, fueled by a raging atmospheric river, are set to march into the Sierra Nevada.
Much of the region already received a solid coating of snow earlier this week and more is on the way. Heavy rain is forecast to fall on top of fresh snow, intensifying the risk for flooding. A flood watch issued by the National Weather service for the greater Lake Tahoe area will go into effect 7 a.m. Friday and last through Sunday morning."
COVID-related losses count for insurance coverage, court rules in case of S.F. grill
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Businesses in California that had to close during COVID-19 lockdowns have been repeatedly denied coverage for their losses by insurers and the courts. But one policy widely issued by Hartford Insurance expressly covers some virus-caused harms, and a state appeals court says it can apply to a San Francisco restaurant’s revenue losses.
Typical property-damage policies cover businesses for financial losses caused by “direct physical loss of or damage to (their) property.” Nearly all state and federal courts in California, and elsewhere, that have considered the issue have upheld insurers’ denial of coverage, concluding that the business establishments suffered no physical harm to their property from the presence of the coronavirus."
Border scramble: Why California isn’t financially ready for Title 42 to end
CALMatters, WENDY FRY: "The Supreme Court’s latest move allows a short-term reprieve to an anticipated increase in asylum seekers trying to cross from Mexico into California and other states, but recent confusion at the border is a preview of what may soon come should a pandemic-era measure known as Title 42 be lifted in 2023.
The situation, and its use as a political backdrop, has prompted local officials to ask what state resources will be available next year with California facing a potential budget shortfall and the possibility that Title 42 will end.
Title 42 is a Trump-era immigration policy that has continued under President Joe Biden. It allows border agents to rapidly expel migrants at official ports of entry during public health emergencies. The policy has resulted in the expulsion of tens of thousands of people seeking asylum and has discouraged many others from crossing the border."
Concord woman with rare genetic disease granted continued residency through bill signed by Biden
The Chronicle, JOEL UMANZOR: "A Concord woman with a rare genetic condition who was threatened with deportation during the Trump administration will remain in the U.S. after President Biden signed a law on Wednesday allowing her to continue her treatment.
The bill — HR785 — allows Isabel Bueso, 27, and her parents to remain legally in the country for the next two years with the potential for all three to get green cards at any point during that time, according to U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord, who authored the bill.
“Isabel’s medical condition is permanent and her status in the U.S. to get treatment should be too,” DeSaulnier said. “I am so relieved for the Buesos that they will finally get long overdue peace of mind now that President Biden has signed this bill into law so they can spend their time focusing on Isabel’s care instead of unnecessary paperwork and worry.”"
Column: Overdose prevention reaches a critical crossroad in San Francisco. What will Mayor Breed do?
LA Times, ANITA CHABRIA: "Children and drug users filled United Nations Plaza by the Tenderloin on a recent Saturday afternoon, where up until a few weeks ago, the city operated an overdose prevention site.
Little girls in flowing costumes came spilling out of the nearby Orpheum Theater, high off the fantasy of magical royalty after a matinee of “Frozen: The Musical.”
They skipped by a man sprawled on the sidewalk eating a strawberry ice cream cone, aid workers handing out the overdose reversal medication Narcan and police halfheartedly rousting street vendors selling oranges, Christmas lights and cigarettes."
UC strike over, but questions remain over new contracts
Capitol Weekly, SETH SANDRONSKY: "The longest walkout in the history of U.S. higher education is over, but a critical question remains: Will the new contracts do enough to improve the living and working conditions that drove the academic workers to launch the 40-day strike?
On Dec. 23, 19,000 teaching assistants, graders, readers and tutors in United Auto Workers Local 2865, and 17,000 student researchers in Student Researchers United-UAW ratified new labor contracts with the University of California.
The vote tally for UAW 2865 was 11,386 to 7,097 in favor of the agreement. The SRU-UAW vote was 10,057 to 4,640 for ratification. According to the terms of each agreement, the strike is finished. UAW workers can return to their employment with gains in compensation, childcare subsidies and paid leaves, plus new protections against bullying and discrimination."
Colleges experiment with restorative justice in sexual assault cases
CALMatters, ODEN TAYLOR/FELICIA MELLO: "When a sexual assault survivor walks into Alexandra Fulcher’s office at Occidental College, it’s the first step in a process fraught with consequences for both the survivor and the accused.
If Fulcher, the school’s Title IX director, launches an official investigation, the survivor could be asked to recount their trauma and cross-examined about it in a live hearing. Their alleged assaulter could be expelled.
But for the past year, survivors at Occidental have had another option. They can participate in a restorative justice conference with the person who harmed them, in which that person hears about the impact of their actions, takes responsibility and commits to a plan to help repair the harm — and prevent it from happening again."
EdSource's Best of 2022: State and nationwide test scores show pandemic-related declines
EdSource, STAFF: "As expected, both state and nationwide standardized tests scores showed pandemic-related declines this year, with fewer than half of California’s students meeting state standards in English and only a third meeting state standards in math, both significant declines from 2018-19 when the state last required the Smarter Balanced test.
EdSource’s reporting on these key measures provided comprehensive analysis of the data, and also played a key role in pushing California to release the data after the state had previously announced plans to delay its public release."
‘What’s up! I can’t read.’ O.C. resident goes viral after schooling left him functionally illiterate
LA Times, SONJA SHARP: "It was just after dawn, and TikTok’s unlikeliest literary hero was running late.
Oliver James, 34, backed his white Ford cargo van into his favorite spot at Upper Newport Bay Nature Reserve in Orange County, his face aglow in the autumn sunlight as he rushed to set up his first livestream of the day. He tugged a makeshift curtain behind the driver’s seat, snapped his cellphone into a mount by the side mirror, and pulled a gently loved paperback from his knapsack.
“It’s a new day, a new start,” James told the camera, flipping to page 190 in “Anne Frank: Diary of a Young Girl” as hundreds of strangers logged on. “We’re going right up to the top — can’t waste no time!”"
Southwest struggles to recover from historic meltdown as thousands remain stranded
LA Times, ALEXANDRA E. PETRI/GRACE TOOHEY: "Southwest Airlines struggled Wednesday to restore operations after a historic meltdown and continued to ground the majority of its flights, leaving thousands of frustrated fliers stranded at airports around the country and drawing federal scrutiny into the “system failure.”
Southwest canceled 2,508 flights Wednesday, according to the flight tracker Flight Aware, with an additional 2,348 already canceled for Thursday. That follows nearly a week of turmoil that began with a severe winter storm that pounded the nation and challenged air carriers over the holidays.
But as other airlines recovered, Southwest struggled to keep its operation running. The airline has canceled almost 13,000 flights — well over 50% of its services — since Dec. 22, according to FlightAware."g
Southwest lost my kid’s car seat. Tracking it with an AirTag only added to the travel misery
The Chronicle, MEGAN CASSIDY: "On Christmas Day this year, my family and I joined the ranks of perhaps the most unenviable of holiday travelers this season: the Southwest Airlines passenger.
When it comes to travel horror stories, ours was relatively tame. Our flight from my hometown of St. Louis to California made it to a layover in Long Beach before the second leg to Oakland was canceled. With a little wrangling and a lot of credit card use, my partner, 15-month-old daughter and I got a hotel room for the night, a one-way rental car, a new car seat and made the seven-hour trek to the Bay Area the following day.
Our luggage wasn’t so lucky."
New California laws let builders get around zoning to put housing in strip malls. Will it work?
Sac Bee, LINDSEY HOLDEN: "New laws intended to help developers locate housing in old strip malls and parking lots will go on the books later next year as part of an effort to provide builders new tools to deal with the California’s lack of land for new residential construction.
Bills from Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, D-Oakland, and Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Merced, will change zoning to allow housing in areas designated for commercial use. Once the measures take effect in July, developers who comply with certain labor requirements will be able to use land that otherwise would have been more challenging to acquire.
Commercially-zoned sections of California make up a “substantial amount of land,” said David Garcia, policy director at UC Berkeley’s Terner Center for Housing Innovation."
California eliminated single-family zoning to encourage more housing. Why it hasn’t worked
Sac Bee, MAGGIE ANGST: "Elizabeth Olson purchased her ranch-style home on a large corner lot in Sacramento’s South Fair Oaks neighborhood with the dream of building a separate unit on the property for her aging relatives.
A new state law took effect at the start of 2022 making it easier for homeowners like Olson to construct additional units on their single residential lots. Olsen, a single mother who lives with her 4-year-old son Lucas, her aunt and her aunt’s partner, felt like the chips were falling into place.
Nearly a year later, she said she feels farther away than ever from making it happen. After accounting for California’s exorbitant construction costs and interest rates, she estimates that it would take 10 to 15 years to pay off the project — even if she were charging her relatives rent."
UC Berkeley housing at People’s Park could be halted after unusual court ruling
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "The University of California has committed $312 million to turn Berkeley’s historic People’s Park into housing for about 1,100 students and more than 100 of the homeless people who regularly camp on the 2.8-acre site. The project has won approval from officials in Berkeley, after UC agreed to cover the city’s added costs for police and fire services, and from an Alameda County judge, who said it complies with environmental laws.
But while UC Berkeley now provides housing for only 23% of its students, by far the lowest rate in the state system, the project has drawn protests, including from neighborhood groups who want the park preserved as an open space and argue that the university has less-disruptive options to build housing elsewhere. And now a state appeals court, in a preliminary review, says UC Berkeley may have to consider other plans.
The university’s environmental impact report, which concluded that the housing and other planned construction would not cause needless damage, failed to analyze other potential housing sites “that would spare the park from demolition,” the First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco said in a tentative ruling on the neighborhood groups’ appeal, which is scheduled for oral arguments on Jan. 12."
Wish Book: Helping those living on South Bay streets transition to lasting homes
BANG*Mercury News, ETHAN VARIAN: "Before Jennifer Goins fell into homelessness, she owned a house in San Jose and a successful hair salon with more than a hundred clients. But as addiction took hold of her life, she lost the home and the business, eventually finding herself living out of hotel rooms with her two middle school-aged sons.
Her partner, Danny Hays, who was also struggling with addiction, stayed with them, as did his 9-year-old daughter. When the money eventually ran out, the entire family moved into the couple’s car. And when the car was towed, the kids went to stay with relatives, while Goins and Hays were left on the street.
The couple spent their days looking for their next meal or their next fix, and their nights huddled in the doorways of downtown businesses, guarding their few possessions."
LAPD announces $50,000 reward in investigation over deadly street takeover
LA Times, NATHAN SOLIS: "The Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday released video from the scene and announced a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of a driver who killed a 24-year-old woman during an illegal street takeover on Christmas Day.
Elyzza Guajaca was watching the street takeover at the intersection of Florence Avenue and Crenshaw Boulevard in Hyde Park around 9 a.m. with a group of about a hundred people, according to police. Three drivers were performing illegal car stunts when the driver of a black Chevy Camaro lost control and veered into a group of spectators standing on the street corner.
The driver abandoned the car and ran from the scene, police said. Video released by the LAPD showed several people hurt after the collision and one person who is believed to be the driver."
2022 is almost over. These were the biggest political stories of the year
Sac Bee, ANDREW SHEELER: "The year is nearly done, and 2022 brought with it many big political news stories.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom made headlines as pundits weighed in on his presidential prospects, lawmakers debated and passed some controversial bills and, oh yeah, there were also two elections.
Now, as 2022 comes to a close, here is a look back at some of the stories that had the greatest reader interest."
Looking back at California in 2022, in photos
CALMatters, PHOTO TEAM: "How to remember 2022 in California? It was a big election year, but it was filled with so much more — old and new.
The old: Homelessness continued to dominate public debate. The threat of wildfires stayed with us, as did the challenges of climate change. And, yes, COVID still hovered over daily life, including schools.
The new: More activism was organized by labor, wage theft gained more attention and abortion politics took center stage after the U.S. Supreme Court took away the federal constitutional guarantee. And the election brought the most diverse Legislature ever."