Sen. Feinstein makes it official: She will retire at the end of her current term
LA Times, JENNIFER HABERKORN: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein, California’s longest-serving senator, will not run for reelection next year, marking the end to one of the state’s most storied political careers.
Feinstein said Tuesday she plans to remain in office through the end of her term.
“I am announcing today I will not run for reelection in 2024, but intend to accomplish as much for California as I can through the end of next year when my term ends,” Feinstein said in a statement."
Who will replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein? Meet the potential candidates
LA Times, SEEMA MEHTA: "Even before Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a historic force in California politics, announced Tuesday that she would not seek reelection in 2024, ambitious Democratic politicians had begun lining up to replace her.
Feinstein, 89, has been in the public eye for more than a half-century, notably since she became San Francisco’s leader after the 1978 assassinations of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk. In recent years, she has faced mounting questions about her mental acuity and her old-school brand of bipartisanship that is viewed as outdated in today’s bitterly divided era. These factors led Democrats to leap into the race to replace her before she announced her intentions — a move that would previously have been considered impolitic."
Race to replace Feinstein already taking shape
Capitol Weekly, CHUCK MCFADDEN: "Political junkies, rejoice!
With a year and a few weeks to go until the March 5, 2024 California primary, the race to replace California’s Sen. Dianne Feinstein is already beginning to take shape.
Incumbent Democrat Feinstein had for months been noncommittal on whether she would run for reelection. She’s 89, and with a growing chorus of whispers about her declining cognitive abilities those seeking to replace were clearly hoping she would decide to retire from politics after five terms."
Newsom suspends environmental laws to store more Delta water
The Chronicle, ALASTAIR BLAND: "Facing an onslaught of criticism that water was “wasted” during January storms, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday suspended environmental laws to give the go-ahead to state officials to hold more water in reservoirs.
The governor’s executive order authorized the State Water Resources Control Board to “consider modifying” state requirements that dictate how much water in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta is allowed to flow into San Francisco Bay."
The gas bill is $907.13? Sticker shock for Californians as prices soar
LA Times, LAURA J. NELSON: "Brent Eldridge had heard that prices for natural gas were high this winter, but nothing prepared him for how bad it could be.
When he opened the envelope from Long Beach’s utility department, he couldn’t believe the total: $907.13, nearly eight times higher than his bill at the same time last year.
“It made me want to puke,” said Eldridge, 48, a pastor."
California’s snowpack is melting faster than ever before, leaving less available water
LA Times, HAYLEY SMITH: "For decades, Californians have depended on the reliable appearance of spring and summer snowmelt to provide nearly a third of the state’s supply of water. But as the state gets drier, and as wildfires climb to ever-higher elevations, that precious snow is melting faster and earlier than in years past — even in the middle of winter.
That’s posing a threat to the timing and availability of water in California, according to authors of a recent study in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, which found that the effects of climate change are compounding to accelerate snowpack decline.
“As wildfires become larger, burn at higher severities, and in more snow-prone regions like the Sierra Nevada, the threats to the state’s water supply are imminent,” said Erica Siirila-Woodburn, a research scientist with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and one of the authors of the study."
Warming shelters open as cold, Siberian air mass slides into Bay Area
BANG*Mercury News, JAKOB RODGERS: "A mass of cold air sliding down from Siberia and the Gulf of Alaska prompted a freeze warning for parts of the Bay Area on Tuesday night, leading officials in the South Bay to begin opening warming shelters to house people living alongside creek beds.
Overnight temperatures could approach record lows in parts of the Bay Area on Tuesday night, with forecasts calling for temperatures to dip into the 30s for parts of the Peninsula and the East Bay and below freezing in the South Bay, according to the National Weather Service. Oakland could tie its record low temperature of 38 degrees on Tuesday night, while San Francisco is expected to come within a few degrees of its record low of 37 degrees, according to Rick Canepa, a National Weather Service meteorologist.
The San Jose International Airport is forecast to reach 34 degrees, though areas further from downtown may see temperatures dip to 30 degrees, Canepa said. The city’s record low temperature for Feb. 15 is 28 degrees, which was set in 1893."
After a cold outbreak, here’s where temperatures in the Bay Area will recover the fastest
The Chronicle, GERRY DIAZ: "This week’s cold front unleashed some relentlessly freezing temperatures on the inland valleys of the North Bay, East Bay and South Bay, where nighttime temperatures fell to the 20s. Even San Francisco’s west side and the Oakland Hills got a taste of the cold snap, with morning lows falling to the 30s just before sunrise.
Thankfully, this arctic blast is on its way out the door as a storm system slowly approaches from the north. This system will usher more clouds and moisture toward Northern California, acting like a shield against the relentless cold air. Unfortunately, this shield will take some time to set up, leaving parts of the Bay Area exposed to another round of bitterly cold weather tonight."
‘Most aggressive balloon ban’: California city’s proposal would prevent sale and public use
SCNG, ERIKA I. RITCHIE: "An ordinance before the Laguna Beach City Council would ban the sale of balloons and their use on public property.
The ban, up for a vote Feb. 21, includes fines of $100 to $500, officials said. It applies to latex as well as Mylar balloons.
Three local grocers – Pavilions, Ralphs and Gelsons Market – each sell hundreds of helium-filled balloons a year and store supervisors agreed the loss of sales would significantly cut business in their floral departments."
Overtime costs soared at DWP’s security unit amid lax oversight, watchdog report finds
LA Times, DAKOTA SMITH: "Supervisors at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s security division bolstered their paychecks by working regular hours at overtime rates, according to a report from the utility’s Office of Inspector General.
The report, which studied overtime payout at the Security Services Division over a five-year period, found both a lack of oversight and a lack of set policies.
“Written policies regarding overtime [at the security division] are largely nonexistent,” the report noted. It also said that “individuals self-reported overtime work without any apparent effort by respective managers to assess whether the time was actually worked or whether the use of overtime was appropriate.”"
The Chronicle, SAM WHITING: "Rev. Amos Brown convened a town hall meeting Tuesday to employ Valentine’s Day in an appeal for the city to embrace reparations, as recommended in a recent study by a civic committee.
“On this Valentine’s Day, a day that symbolizes love, compassion, care and concern, I submit that this city has not loved its African Americans enough,” Brown announced to a gathering of reporters at Third Baptist Church. “Any person who does not think African Americans are worthy of reparations is the personification of evil.”"
‘This is a first’: Why a 5-hour heart transplant at UCSF made history
The Chronicle, SAM WHITING: "It was only at the end of the five-hour heart transplant that attending cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Amy Fiedler looked up from her patient and realized the significance of the moment.
There was not a man in the operating room, including the person on the operating table."
COVID in California: Coughing, other symptoms last 6 months for many virus hospital patients
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "As governments at all levels continue rolling back what’s left of pandemic rules and restrictions, the Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously to let unvaccinated city employees come to work without having to be tested. The World Health Organization says noncooperation by China has forced the global body to halt its probe into the origins of the coronavirus. And a new federal study finds that nearly half of hospitalized COVID patients have symptoms like coughing, chest pain, and fatigue six months after their admission."
Undocumented fentanyl dealers in S.F. could be easier to deport under new proposal
The Chronicle, TRISHA THADANI: "Some immigrants convicted of selling fentanyl in San Francisco would lose protections from the city’s sanctuary laws, potentially making it easier to deport them, under legislation proposed Tuesday by Supervisor Matt Dorsey.
The lawmaker said his proposal is a “hard line” against those selling the super-powerful synthetic opioid that has claimed more than 1,400 lives in San Francisco since 2020. While Dorsey’s proposal aligns with recent moves by the mayor and district attorney to seek more punishment for fentanyl dealers, it may draw opposition from advocates of the sanctuary law, which under most circumstances bars city authorities from assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, known as ICE."
Mexico, U.S. officials call for action after investigation into counterfeit medicine
LA Times, CONNOR SHEETS/KERI BLAKINGER: "Officials from Washington, D.C., to Mexico City have begun calling for action after an “alarming” Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that some pharmacies in Mexico are selling counterfeit medication laced with powerful narcotics including fentanyl and methamphetamine.
Some lawmakers in the U.S. urged federal agencies to investigate, while others advocated pressuring Mexican authorities or considering new legislation. In Mexico, a federal prosecutor said her office plans to investigate the findings, which she described as “a new modus operandi” that raises concerning questions, including whether pharmacies are knowingly breaking the law.
The Times first detailed the phenomenon earlier this month, after reporters traveled to three cities in northwestern Mexico and tested 17 pills purchased over the counter from pharmacies. Twelve tested positive for fentanyl or methamphetamine."
UCLA is asking for the public’s help in finding signs of extraterrestrial intelligence
LA Times, CORINNE PURTILL: "Imagine that you live alone in a dark, hilly wood that stretches for miles in all directions. You know your own forest well, having hiked and surveyed it as far as your feet and your tools allow. In all these explorations, you have never met another soul. For all you know, you’re the only person there is.
Then one day, at the top of the highest point in your forest, you see a light in the distance. It’s too far away to tell who or what is generating it. You have no idea if it’s meant to catch your attention, or if you’re merely observing the activity of something that has no idea that you are there.
But the light confirms a suspicion you’ve harbored for some time: You are not alone."
Billions are needed to repair, renovate and maintain Cal State’s buildings
EdSource, ASHLEY A. SMITH: "Billions of dollars are needed to fully repair, maintain and renovate academic buildings and facilities across the 23 campuses in the California State University system, according to a legislative report.
But that is money that the system, and the state, don’t have readily available. Meanwhile, some students have complained about unbearable heat waves in classrooms without air conditioning and canceled classes due to flooded buildings.
A Legislative Analyst Office report published last month warned that capital renewal in the CSU, such as replacing roofs and heating systems and updating air conditioning systems, would require $3.1 billion over the next 10 years. That’s in addition to a $6.5 billion backlog of regular maintenance left undone that has continued to grow."
How California’s colleges prepare for active shooters
LA Times, DEBBIE TRUONG/RICHARD WINTON/TERESA WATANABE: "The video starts with a simple white background and a phrase that is all too recognizable to American college students: “RUN. HIDE. FIGHT.”
It’s part of a tool distributed by California State University to prepare students and employees for the possibility of an active shooter on one of its 23 campuses. These directions to run, hide and fight were also sent in text alerts Monday night to thousands of students, staff and others within the campus community at Michigan State University after a gunman opened fire, killing three students and injuring five others.
In the aftermath of this most recent college shooting, students expressed horror but not shock — having grown up as part of a generation that experiences gun violence with haunting regularity."
Black Placerville teen’s mother sues over years of alleged racial abuse at school
Sac Bee, SAM STANTON: "Every day that Ashley Lewis sends her 16-year-old daughter off to high school she feels the same sense of dread.
“I feel like I’m just sending her to prison, almost like I’m just waiting for her to hit the prison yard and hope that she has the one good person to have her back, or she’s going to get attacked,” she said.
Lewis, 36, is a single mother of two who moved to El Dorado County from North Highlands in 2012. She had hoped the change would lead to a better life for her and her children."
‘Unusual’ stowaway on celery shipment is concerning first for California port, feds say
Sac Bee, DANIELLA SEGURA: "An “unusual” stowaway was found on a shipment of fresh celery to California, according to a federal agency.
After the shipment arrived, an officer asked for “an intensive agriculture inspection,” wherein agricultural specialists found two pests while examining a shipment at Otay Mesa Port of Entry on Jan. 16, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a Feb. 13 news release.
The specialists found “one live chrysomelidae and one live lepidoptera,” the agency said."
These California state departments are hiring in Sacramento County. See the jobs and pay
Sac Bee, BRIANNA TAYLOR: "The state of California is hiring in the departments of education, motor vehicles, California highway patrol and more.
State jobs are known for offering competitive benefits and enrollment in the nation’s largest state public pension plan. Many of the following jobs have specific requirements, which are linked.
Sift through some of the highest paying Sacramento County-based jobs available on the CalCareers website, posted in the last seven days, as of Feb. 13:"
Silicon Valley stays sturdy despite ‘gloom and doom’ of tech layoffs: report
BANG*Mercury News, GEORGE AVALOS: "Silicon Valley’s economy and job markets remain sturdy despite being jolted by a steady drumbeat of Bay Area layoffs orchestrated by tech and biotech companies, according to a report released Tuesday.
Yet the region has come to rely disproportionately on just a few companies, according to researchers for the 2023 Silicon Valley Index, who determined that three firms — Google, Apple and Facebook owner Meta Platforms — account for nearly one out of every five tech jobs in Silicon Valley.
Despite the widening reports of tech and biotech layoffs in the Bay Area, the Silicon Valley region, defined as Santa Clara County, San Mateo County and the Fremont area, is still adding jobs, according to the new report from Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a San Jose-based think tank."
Despite tech layoffs and remote work, Silicon Valley's economy not in ‘crisis’ mode
The Chronicle, CAROLYN SAID: "Silicon Valley is a region in flux, but one that maintains strong economic underpinnings, despite layoffs, the pandemic and the dramatic increase in working from home, according to an annual report from Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a nonprofit business and community group.
“There is no way we can construe this as a crisis,” said Russell Hancock, the group’s CEO, in a press briefing on Tuesday about the Silicon Valley Index. “The only way we can accurately depict this is as an adjustment.”"
Why a lawsuit could double the cost of the Golden Gate Bridge suicide net, now facing more delays
The Chronicle, RACHEL SWAN: "A long-anticipated Golden Gate Bridge suicide barrier, intended to catch jumpers in a web of marine-grade steel, is now mired in a lawsuit that could more than double its cost as construction falls further behind schedule.
The contractors building the net sued the Bridge Highway and Transportation District in San Francisco Superior Court, claiming that design flaws, worker safety requirements and “extensive” deterioration of the span have raised the project cost from $142 million to $392 million. These complications also delayed completion of the project by at least five years, the suit said, pushing the anticipated date from 2021 to 2026."
U.S. government will pay Tesla to open its charger network to non-Tesla EVs
LA Times, RUSS MITCHELL: "Tesla has agreed to open up its charging network to non-Tesla electric vehicles after the U.S. government said it would foot the bill.
Elon Musk, Tesla’s chief executive, promised to provide 7,500 open-access chargers in the U.S. by the end of 2024, according to Biden administration officials. Taxpayer dollars will pay for the conversion of existing Tesla chargers or the construction of new ones to accommodate cars built by Ford, GM, Hyundai, Kia, Volvo, Volkswagen and other electric car makers."
Feds open investigation into United flight to SFO that nearly nose-dived into the ocean
The Chronicle, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate an incident last December in which a United Airlines flight nearly nose-dived into the ocean shortly after taking off from a Maui airport, the agency announced Tuesday afternoon.
The flight plunged to within 775 feet of the ocean shortly after taking off on Dec. 18, according to flight tracker data posted by FlightRadar24."
Map shows exactly how walkable every Bay Area neighborhood is
The Chronicle, CHRISTIAN LEONARD/ERIKA CARLOS: "In a “walkable” neighborhood, people can get to work, school, restaurants, the grocery store and generally go about their day on their own two feet — no car required.
But how do you actually measure which places are more “walkable”?
The Environment Protection Agency (EPA) created a walkability index that ranks every U.S. census block group — neighborhoods that generally contain between 600 and 3,000 people — by four measures:"
In Trump probe, U.S. seeks to pierce attorney-client privilege
AP, ERIC TUCKER: "Justice Department prosecutors investigating the mishandling of classified documents at former President Trump’s Florida estate are seeking to pierce the attorney-client privilege and want to again question one of his lawyers before a grand jury, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday night.
The privilege protects lawyers from having to tell prosecutors about confidential conversations with clients. But prosecutors can get around that privilege if they can convince a judge that the communications were made in furtherance of a crime — a doctrine known as the crime-fraud exception.
Prosecutors have questioned M. Evan Corcoran before a grand jury, but he repeatedly invoked attorney-client privilege in declining to answer questions, according to the person who spoke with the Associated Press and insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation."
From oil to coffee: A prince’s campaign to rebrand Saudi identity
LA Times, NABIH BULOS: "As diplomatic victories go, it may not seem like much: The United Nations recognized the Khawlani coffee bean as part of the “intangible cultural heritage” of Saudi Arabia.
But for the country’s rulers, the designation late last year capped an all-out push to instill some national pride in their beloved bean."