President Joe Biden issues emergency declaration for California following storms
Sac Bee, DAVID LIGHTMAN/MAGGIE ANGST: "President Joe Biden Monday issued an emergency declaration for California to help people and local officials coping with the storms that have battered the state, an action that will speed federal help.
Biden’s declaration means that federal agencies will get involved immediately in helping state and local agencies coordinate and relief efforts. Gov. Gavin Newsom had requested the assistance. In announcing the request on Sunday, Newsom also pledged to set aside $202 million in state funds for flood safety investments in his upcoming budget proposal, which he will release on Tuesday.
Storms have drenched the Sacramento area as well as much of California. Twelve people have died as a result of flooding and other storm-related damage."
California storm: Fierce weather has taken 14 lives in state, Newsom says
The Chronicle, STAFF: "California was slammed by yet another atmospheric river on Sunday night, bringing heavy rains and damaging winds to areas that have already seen heavy precipitation over the past weeks.
In the face of yet more fierce storms predicted for this week that could lead to more flooding, landslides and power failures, Gov. Gavin Newsom asked President Biden to declare an emergency to help with California's storm response. The combination of runoff from the New Year’s Eve storm and Wednesday’s bomb cyclone has saturated soils across the region, as burn scars in the Santa Cruz Mountains, North Bay highlands and coastal region south of Big Sur struggle to absorb the excess moisture.
The National Weather Service issued a flood watch lasting through Tuesday for the Bay Area, Sacramento Valley and Monterey Bay to account for the upcoming storms. A high wind warning was issued for the Bay Area and Central Coast, from Cloverdale in northern Sonoma County to the southern Monterey County border, until 4 p.m. Monday. The entire Bay Area and Central Coast were at moderate risk of excessive rainfall Monday, the weather service said."
Mass evacuations in Montecito as storm pounds L.A. with intense rain, flooding
LA Times, CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ/NOAH GOLDBERG/LUKE MONEY/ALEXANDRA E. PETRI/RONG-GONG LIN II: "A powerful winter storm barreled into Southern California on Monday, forcing the mass evacuation of Montecito and other communities exactly five years after mudslides in the same area left 23 people dead.
Pounding rain wreaked havoc throughout the coastal counties north of Los Angeles, bringing flooding, road closures and tragedy, including the death of a motorist who entered a flooded roadway and the presumed death of a 5-year-old boy who was swept away by floodwaters in San Luis Obispo County.
The storm, which was expected to move through Los Angeles, Orange and other southern counties through Tuesday, dumped more than 16 inches of rain in some mountain areas Monday and prompted pleas for people to stay indoors."
Battered coastline, flooding rivers trap residents, bring misery in Santa Cruz County
LA Times, SUSANNE RUST/SUMMER LIN/MARISA GERBER: "The parking lot behind JJ’s Saloon was coated in three inches of mud. It was midday Monday and the Santa Cruz County saloon had now flooded three times in 10 days.
The latest flooding was all from direct rain, bartender Jeff Ferreira said, but last week Soquel Creek had risen over its banks and gushed into downtown.
“Had to be a couple of feet,” the 56-year-old bartender said as he pulled up a video from a few days earlier showing the water-logged lot behind the saloon."
BANG*Mercury News, JAKOB RODGERS/GABRIEL GRESCHLER/MARISA KENDALL: "Emergency officials in Santa Clara County kept a weary eye on high-flowing creek beds Monday after the latest atmospheric river storm dropped another couple inches of rain on the waterlogged Bay Area.
While numerous towns to the west of the Santa Cruz Mountains reported widespread river flooding, mudslides and damage to buildings on Monday, some local leaders across the South Bay voiced cautious optimism at appearing to have escaped the worst from the latest atmospheric haymaker to come ashore. Despite some local flooding and road closures, for example, San Jose officials said the city has avoided any widespread damage from creeks topping their banks."
Deadly deluge: California flooding risk rises
CALMatters, SAMEEA KAMAL: "In the last 10 days, 12 people have died in California storms and flooding — more than the number of civilians who died in wildfires in the last two years.
With that remarkable and sobering fact, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Sunday that he will include an additional $202 million for levees and other flood protection in the proposed state budget he plans to unveil Tuesday. That would be on top of more than $700 million in flood infrastructure California has invested in since 2019, according to Wade Crowfoot, secretary of the state’s Natural Resources Agency. The federal government has also put in $2.4 billion since then, he said.
Newsom also said he’s seeking a federal emergency declaration to get “the full support of the federal government in our efforts, which we have all the confidence that we’ll receive based upon the conversations with the White House.” The Biden administration announced this morning that President Biden approved the request. The federal designation is in addition to the statewide declaration by the governor last Wednesday."
California storms: When will we get a breather?
BANG*Mercury News, LISA M. KRIEGER: "We needed the rain, but now we need to know: When will we get a break?
The powerful train of Pacific storms battering California with record rainfall and major flooding will slow, perhaps even stop, meteorologists say — but not until the second half of January.
In the meantime, expect the weather drama to continue. At least three more storms – ranging from moderate to significant — are predicted over the next seven to 10 days, flooding more landscapes that are already saturated with rainwater."
This video shows how one flooded California home kept water out with A+ sandbagging
The Chronicle, JULIE JOHNSON: "On Monday, when floodwaters inundated a Pescadero neighborhood, they ran past one split-level home — and did not get in.
The secret?"
Timeline: When will it stop raining in Southern California?
LA Times, RONG-GONG LIN II: "Southern California will see continued rain through Tuesday and again starting Friday night into Sunday.
The intense downpours in Santa Barbara County prompted an evacuation order in Montecito amid flooding and mud sliding off hillsides.
Large swaths of the Southland including San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Ventura and Los Angeles counties were under flood warnings."
Why natural gas prices — and bills — are soaring in Southern California
LA Times, ROB NIKOLEWSKI: "Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric have issued stark warnings to customers that their January natural gas bills could double, citing factors for historically high wholesale costs that include sinking inventories, supply constraints and a cold start to winter that has soaked the West Coast.
But in many other parts of the country, natural gas futures prices have plunged, with traders Friday seeing a 17-month low at Henry Hub, a Louisiana natural gas pipeline that serves as the benchmark for the North American natural gas market on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
“It’s the exact opposite of what’s happening in California today,” said Robert Yawger, managing director and energy futures strategist based in New Jersey at investment firm Mizuho Securities."
Landslides are wreaking havoc in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Here’s why they’re happening
The Chronicle, JACK LEE: "Downpours from an atmospheric river storm triggered landslides in the Santa Cruz Mountains Monday, burying highways in heaps of mud and trapping residents in place.
The damage is the consequence of weeks of rain fueled by atmospheric rivers."
‘Don’t jump in puddles’: Sewage is overflowing into San Francisco Bay and city streets during storms
The Chronicle, TARA DUGGAN/CLAIRE HAO: "Millions of gallons of storm water mixed with raw sewage made its way into creeks, the bay and city streets during recent heavy rainstorms that overwhelmed dozens of Bay Area sewers and some treatment plants.
Some raw sewage seeped out of manholes or backed up sewer drains, calling into question even the idea of kids splashing in their rainboots.
“Don’t jump in puddles. Especially in San Francisco — you want to be careful that there (could be) sewage in that,” said Eileen White, executive officer of the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board, referring to flooded areas when the city’s unique sanitary system that combines storm water and wastewater is backed up during heavy rain."
Calpers makes $1 billion bet on small funds as new CIO reshapes pension
Bloomberg, DAWN LIM: "The California Public Employees’ Retirement System is making a $1 billion wager that small private equity firms without the heft of the biggest buyout institutions can boost the pension giant’s returns and clout.
Calpers, the largest public pension fund in the US, will invest $500 million each with TPG Inc. and GCM Grosvenor to help launch funds backing up-and-coming private equity firms, pension officials said. Those funds could take stakes in smaller investment managers and direct money to those run by women and minorities, as well as offer seed funding to newer firms.
Calpers Chief Investment Officer Nicole Musicco says Calpers’s latest investments aren’t related to affirmative action or politics. Instead, she hopes that by forging ties with private equity managers while they’re young, Calpers will become one of the first calls made when choice deals arise."
California governor to announce belt-tightening budget
AP, ADAM BEAM: "Days after the start of his second term, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday will announce his plan to cover a multi-billion dollar budget deficit in what could signal the end of a decade's worth of economic growth in the nation's most populous state.
Newsom, a Democrat, has been warning of a potential budget shortfall for more than a year, and the Legislative Analyst's Office said last in November the shortfall could be around $25 billion.
In September, Newsom publicly scolded lawmakers for sending him dozens of bills that, when added together, would have allowed billions in new spending. Newsom vetoed those bills, saying he has “made it crystal clear that we are seeing economic headwinds.”"
‘We came a long way’: Sheng Thao sworn in as Oakland’s new mayor
The Chronicle, SARAH RAVANI: "Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao promised at her inauguration Monday to build a safer, more affordable and more equitable city, while urging residents to come together to tackle the city’s challenges.
Thao, the daughter of refugees and the first Hmong American mayor of a major U.S. city, choked up as she took the stage at the Paramount Theater to a standing ovation. She was joined by her son, Benedict, who performed a song on the cello before she spoke. Her father, other family members, staff and friends also gathered to celebrate her swearing-in.
“I couldn’t have done this obviously without my dad and my mom, my stay-at-home mom who didn’t know how to drive, didn’t have a license... helped take care of 10 really naughty children,” she said, noting that her mother was unable to attend because she’s ill."
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan taps labor-backed councilmember for vice mayor role
BANG*Mercury News, GABRIEL GRESCHLER: "Newly sworn-in San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has chosen a labor-backed candidate for the city’s vice mayor position, a move that is seen as a way to bridge the divide between his pro-business roots and the council’s progressive wing.
In West San Jose’s Rosemary Kamei, Mahan’s could find a reliable ally on a council that came out in full force for his labor-backed opponent, Cindy Chavez, during a fierce fight for the mayorship this past November. The mayor, who said he wants the city to tighten its focus on issues like homelessness and public safety, faced a difficult defeat at the end of the year after councilmembers decided to fill two vacant seats through appointment, despite Mahan advocating for a special election."
D.A. Jenkins criticizes judge for prior release of minor accused of killing Japantown security guard
The Chronicle, ANNIE VAINSHTEIN/ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH: "San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins criticized a San Francisco juvenile court judge Monday, saying the judge dismissed her office’s recommendation by previously releasing a 15-year-old boy now accused of killing a security guard in Japantown.
In a statement, Jenkins wrote that that after the boy faced charges in a previous case, her office sought to intervene by holding him in custody where “he could have begun rehabilitative services,” but the court ruled otherwise. Jenkins did not identify the judge."
EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona was back in California this week, his latest trip to the state as he visited Los Angeles for a series of events honoring teachers. That included Monday evening’s college football national championship game at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, where K-12 educators from across the country were honored on the field for excellence in teaching.
Cardona has a lot on his plate. A new Congress was just sworn in, including a House with a Republican majority that could make it difficult for President Joe Biden to advance his pre-K-12 agenda. Meanwhile, nationwide test scores in reading and especially math were down significantly in 2022, prompting renewed calls to help students who fell behind during the pandemic.
On the higher education front, Cardona is preparing for the Supreme Court to hear arguments next month on whether the Biden administration can legally forgive billions in student debt loans. Just last week, the departments of Education and Justice filed a legal brief with the court defending the administration’s authority in forgiving those debts."
Why hospitals are struggling to meet earthquake safety deadline
CALMatters, ANA B. IBARRA: "Jerold Phelps Community Hospital in Garberville, California is one of the smallest in the country. Its mere nine acute-care beds serve a community of about 10,000 people in southern Humboldt County. The next closest emergency room is about an hour’s drive north.
Despite its small size, the hospital is facing a hefty price tag to meet the 2030 retrofit deadline required under the state’s seismic safety standards — about $50 million for a new single story hospital that would replace its 1960s building.
Although it’s been decades since California implemented its strict seismic safety requirements, paying for those upgrades continues to be a tough task, especially for smaller facilities with limited resources and funding, according to hospital officials across the state. Like Jerold Phelps Community Hospital, two-thirds of California hospitals have yet to meet the looming state seismic deadline that requires hospital buildings to be updated to ensure they can keep operating after an earthquake."
What to know about filing your 2022 tax return, as IRS warns of smaller refunds for some
The Chronicle, KATHLEEN PENDER: "It’s almost tax time, and as usual, many people will find a batch of baffling changes on their 2022 returns.
Most of the major changes affecting individuals this year, however, don’t stem from new tax laws, but from the expiration of tax breaks designed to help people weather the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. The Internal Revenue Service warns that people losing certain tax credits “will likely receive a significantly smaller refund compared with the previous tax year.”"
$7 a dozen? Why California eggs are so expensive — and increasingly hard to find
LA Times, SONJA SHARP: "Golden State shoppers are shelling out extreme prices for eggs, amid an outbreak of bird flu that has killed millions of hens and left local grocers struggling to stock cartons that comply with California law.
“I literally just came from another store, because they were out,” said Princess Hodges, 23, who managed to snag an 18-pack at Food4Less in West Adams after striking out at a nearby Ralphs. “I was extremely surprised, because it’s a staple.”
Egg cases were bare across Los Angeles County this week, from Trader Joe’s in Long Beach to Amazon Fresh in Inglewood, Target in MidCity to Ralphs in Glendale. Those such as Hodges who found cartons were shocked by the sudden spike in price."
S.F. health care company to lay off 200 as job cuts continue
The Chronicle, CHASE DIFELICIANTONIO: "Carbon Health, a San Francisco company that provides urgent and primary care through clinics in California and elsewhere, will lay off more than 250 people, company CEO and co-founder Eren Bali tweeted.
“We’re unwinding major initiatives like public health, (remote patient monitoring), hardware, chronic care programs to focus on our core primary care & urgent care service. And we’ve reduced our global work force by more than 200 people,’’ Bali wrote. He said he was still optimistic about the future, but that “the current market conditions force us to be more diligent.”"
Niles: Theme parks hope new rides and roller coasters will win fans in 2023
Theme Park Insider, ROBERT NILES: "We are just days away from the opening of Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway and the start of the Disney100 celebration at Disneyland, as well as the preview of Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Hollywood. But plenty of other noteworthy attractions will be opening at major theme parks across the country in 2023.
Let’s start our imaginary road trip in San Diego, where SeaWorld continues its transformation into San Diego’s roller coaster capital with the opening of Arctic Rescue this spring. This triple-launch coaster from Intamin will feature seats that you straddle, like on a snowmobile. The concept is that you are rescuing animals in the Arctic, and the coaster won’t rise over 30 feet from the ground as the ride emphasizes twists and turns over big drops and airtime.
San Diego’s weather won’t fool anyone into believing they’re riding in the Arctic, however, so I am more curious to see how the same type of coaster plays at SeaWorld’s sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg. DarKoaster will feature four launches and run indoors, in the former Curse of DarKastle building at the Virginia theme park. That old dark ride offered an original story and characters, which I am looking forward to revisiting on this new coaster."
These Are the Cities Where Rent Has Gone Down Most
The Street, VERONIKA BONDARENKO: "A city in California has seen some of the biggest rent price decreases this year.
If the real estate market has been through a rough few years, those navigating the rental market have even more stories -- from the Phoenix homes now renting for as much as similar properties in the Bay Area to the New Yorkers who, after getting a deal during the pandemic, saw their rent raised by as much as 65%.
Many of these stories come down to high demand and decades of underbuilding. Locations such as Phoenix, Miami, and certain parts of North and South Carolina were particularly popular destinations for those leaving urban centers during the pandemic. They were, as a result, subject to some of the most drastic increases."
21 vital ADU tips from people who’ve built them in L.A.
LA Times, LISA BOONE: "Now that the housing crisis in California has made density a virtue, the ability to build accessory dwelling units, or ADUs, on single-family lots is opening up a new way of living for many Los Angeles residents.
But building an ADU isn’t easy, with numerous permitting delays, headaches and surprises. “ADUs are tricky and require professional expertise to strategically work through a variety of complex issues,” says architect Melissa Shin, who has built several ADUs throughout Los Angeles. Common dilemmas include difficult compact floor plans, tricky site conditions, code compliance, planning requirements, sanitation and utility connections and upgrades.
The Times has featured a wide range of Los Angeles residents who have built small homes on their single-family lots to accommodate disabled adult children, aging parents, children and grandchildren, tenants and the demands of working from home."
Advocates say San Francisco is still sweeping homeless camps against court order
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Advocates for the homeless in San Francisco say the city has continued to remove unhoused people from encampments without providing shelter for them, in defiance of a federal magistrate’s order.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu issued an injunction Dec. 23 — barring San Francisco police and other officers from sweeping homeless encampments, citing their occupants for sleeping in public and seizing their belongings — while she considers a lawsuit against the city. Federal appeals courts have ruled that the Constitution’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits local governments from making it a crime to sleep on a street or sidewalk when no homeless shelters are available."
Why Virginia police hired ‘catfish’ cop Austin Lee Edwards
LA Times, SUMMER LIN/ERIN B. LOGAN: "In a previously unreported letter obtained by The Times, the head of the Virginia State Police detailed errors in his agency’s hiring of Austin Lee Edwards, the now-deceased “catfish” cop who killed three people in Riverside in late November.
Although Edwards had told the agency about his 2016 visit to a psychiatric facility, the agency failed to search databases for his mental health history before hiring him as an officer, Col. Gary Settle, the state police superintendent, wrote in the letter, which was addressed to a post office box associated with Virginia’s inspector general.
Edwards left the state police after nine months and joined the Washington County Sheriff’s Office as a deputy. He was employed there in November, when he drove to Riverside and killed the mother and grandparents of a 15-year-old girl whom police say he had “catfished” online."
Analysis: Biden’s Mexico visit comes amid tension on immigration, fentanyl, energy
LA Times, PATRICK J. MCDONNELL/KATE LINTHICUM: "In the first visit to Mexico by a U.S. leader in almost a decade, President Biden met with Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Monday to discuss trade, the drug war and record levels of illicit immigration in a wide-ranging conversation that was mostly cordial but at one point turned testy as the Mexican leader demanded his U.S. counterpart do more to help the region.
“End with this forgetfulness, this abandonment, this disdain toward Latin America and the Caribbean,” López Obrador told Biden in a meeting at the National Palace in Mexico City. López Obrador said Biden was uniquely poised to improve life across a region beset by inequality, telling him that “you hold the key in your hand.”
Biden responded by saying that the United States had invested “tens of billions of dollars” in Latin America in the last 15 years, while also donating more than any other country globally to causes worldwide."
4 deals Kevin McCarthy made to become speaker, explained
LA Times, KWASI GYAMFI ASIEDU/JON HEALEY: "Rep. Kevin McCarthy won his 15th bid to become speaker of the House, but only at great cost.
To win the votes he needed to secure the gavel, McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) had to agree to a series of House rule changes that weakened the power of his post. On Monday night, the House approved those rules, which will govern how the chamber runs until the next election.
Here’s a rundown of the most important concessions McCarthy made — including but not limited to key changes to House rules."
Differences in the Trump, Biden classified document discoveries
The Hill, BRETT SAMUELS: "The White House on Monday disclosed that lawyers for President Biden discovered what they called a "small number" of classified documents last November in an office Biden had used between his time serving as vice president and president.
The documents were turned over the next day to the National Archives, and the White House said it is cooperating with the Department of Justice as it conducts a review of the documents.
The news quickly drew comparisons to former President Trump, who has been in hot water over his potential mishandling of classified materials upon leaving office two years ago."