COVID in California: Energy Department said to believe virus likely came from Chinese lab leak
The Chronicle, RITA BEAMISH/AIDIN VAZIRI: "San Francisco ends its public health emergency for COVID-19 on Tuesday, just over three years after it was put into place. Here's what that means. The state budgt and legislative analyst has quantified the huge toll that the pandemic took on downtown San Francisco -- it lost nearly 150,000 daily office workers due to the shift to remote work and online shopping."
California COVID state of emergency ends soon. What it means for Sacramento residents
Sac Bee, BRIANNA TAYLOR: "Perhaps you heard California’s COVID-19 state of emergency is ending — or maybe you didn’t.
Tuesday marks almost three years since California Gov. Gavin Newsom declared COVID-19 a public health emergency, giving his administration broad power to issue mandates and use state funds to fight the virus.
What does the end of the emergency declaration mean for Sacramento residents?"
California Lottery stands behind $2 billion Powerball winner despite claim ticket was stolen
BANG*Mercury News, CLARA HARTER: "The California Lottery insists that Edwin Castro is the rightful winner of the record breaking $2.04 billion Powerball jackpot, despite a lawsuit filed by a man who claims the winning ticket was stolen from him.
Castro became the subject of overnight fame when he was announced as the Powerball winner on Feb.14. He won the largest prize in U.S. lottery history. Joe’s Service Center in Altadena, where the winning ticket was sold, also basked in glory.
However, Pasadena resident Jose Rivera, claims that he purchased the ticket from Joe’s Service Center on or around Nov. 7, 2022, and that it was stolen from him by a man he knows only as “Reggie.”"
Bonta bill would bar “geofence” warrants
Capitol Weekly, BRIAN JOSEPH: "It sounds like something out of a George Orwell novel: Government agents tracking people who search the web for abortion services or gender-affirming care.
But in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling striking down Roe v. Wade and red states’ growing opposition to certain kinds of healthcare services for transgender individuals, many on the left are worried about such “dragnet digital surveillance” and the kind of chilling effect they could have on vulnerable populations.
This led Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, D-Oakland, to introduce Assembly Bill 793, which seeks to bar tech companies from complying with new, controversial keyword search warrants that law enforcement agencies can use to reveal the sensitive online search results and/or geocoded locations of computer and smartphone users."
California lawmakers revive effort to ban involuntary servitude as punishment for crimes
LA Times, HANNAH WILEY: "Last year, voters in Vermont, Oregon, Tennessee and Alabama approved historic ballot measures that removed slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for crime from their state constitutions, which could lead to limitations on forced prison labor. They joined a growing list of states that passed similar initiatives in recent years, including Nebraska, Utah and Colorado.
But in California, voters never got the chance.
Several months before the Nov. 8 election, lawmakers killed a proposal that would have asked voters to eliminate an exception in the state Constitution that allows for involuntary servitude for criminal punishment."
California Republicans will have rare power in 2024. Now they just need a Senate candidate
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "Three well-known California Democrats are already running full-fledged Senate campaigns, but is there a Republican in California who wants to run for Senate?
So far, the answer is no. And none appears on the horizon."
How much weed can you legally possess in California? Here’s a refresher on the law
Sac Bee, JACQUELINE PINEDO: "California legalized recreational cannabis use in 2018 — and years later the state had nearly 800 dispensaries, according to Statistica, a market consumer data website.
How much marijuana can you legally hold in California? Here are the rules for personal use:"
California MMA fans would subsidize pensions for retired fighters under a proposed law
Sac Bee, ANDREW SHEELER: "Former MMA champion Ronda Rousey went 12-2 over the course of her fighting career. These days, she’s fighting for fellow retired mixed martial artists.
Rousey spoke out in an ESPN interview published Thursday in support of a proposed California law to create a pension fund for retired MMA fighters.
“MMA is a sport that I think you have a much shorter shelf life than any other sport,” Rousey said in the interview. “...Your body takes so much more of a heavier toll.”"
‘Extremely dangerous’ blizzard to pummel Sierra. Here are the impacts and timing
The Chronicle, JESSICA FLORES/SAM WHITING: "The Sierra Nevada is hunkering down as snow again pelts the region, bracing for a dangerous blizzard that weather officials expect to close roads, fell trees and cut power, with whiteout conditions making travel “near to impossible.”
Sunday's burly weather system brought subfreezing temperatures and blew in snow that shut down part of I-80 during the evening commute, meteorologists reported. A blizzard warning is in effect from Monday morning into early Wednesday morning — a serious notice that weather officials haven't issued since January 2021."
Epic winter storm turns Southern California snow white; more rain and snow on the way
LA Times, RUBEN VIVES/REBECCA ELLIS/LILA SEIDMAN/HANNAH FRY: "Vandi Mahoney watched television images of snow falling across parts of Southern California the last few days as a massive winter storm moved through the region, but on Sunday she just had to see it for herself.
Standing at Kenneth Hahn State Recreational Park, the 25-year-old was in awe of the snow-covered Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains. Peak after peak was blanketed in sparkling white snow under a sunny blue sky and puffy clouds.
“Usually you can see far away a little hint of snow, but this is, wow. It’s not the scenery of the snow itself but just the beauty of Los Angeles: the clouds, the sky, the sun, and on top of that we got these snowy mountains, too,” she said."
More rain, wind and snow headed for Bay Area, blizzard expected in Lake Tahoe
BANG*Mercury News, GABRIEL GRESCHLER/JAKOB RODGERS: "A storm that could lash the Bay Area with more rain and wind early this week also could bring fierce, blizzard-like conditions to the Sierra Nevada mountains, prompting officials to issue stark warnings to those hoping for a snow-filled escape this week.
The system is at the tail end of a bout of cold air coming down from western Canada that pummeled portions of Northern California this past week with record-breaking snowfall. As a result, temperatures in the Bay Area could remain unseasonably chilly while the Sierra is buried in several feet of new snow – further adding to this season’s banner mountain snowpack.
“It’s looking like it could be definitely one of the snowiest years we’ve had in a couple of decades,” said Andrew Schwartz of the UC Berkeley Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, which has already measured 37 feet of snow atop Donner Pass this season."
L.A. County residents without power since Friday ask why the city can’t do better
LA Times, LAURA NEWBERRY: "The Wachs family’s power went out at 10:20 p.m. on Friday, just before the ferocity of this weekend’s epic storm peaked, lashing Southern California with record winds, rain and snow.
By 7 p.m. on Sunday — 45 hours after they lost electricity and hot water — the family of five’s home in Tarzana was still cold and dark. Hannah Wachs and her husband, Jeffrey, spent Saturday checking the power utility’s outage map over and over again, tracking the ever-changing estimate of when their lights would come back on, and whether a crew had been assigned to fix their blackout.
“My husband and I would get different robo calls from LADWP,” Wachs said. “His call said the power would come back on at 2:30 p.m., but then I would get another call a few minutes later saying that it would be a long time before anything happened.”"
PG&E delivers bill shocks to customers amid soaring natural gas prices
BANG*Mercury News, GEORGE AVALOS: "Soaring prices for natural gas and this winter’s icy blasts have jolted unsuspecting PG&E customers with brutal — and fast-rising — monthly utility bills.
“I almost fell over when I got my bill,” said Nicole Murray, of Pleasanton, who was astounded at the total for PG&E gas and electricity services. “It was horrifying.”
For years, Murray said her PG&E bill typically ranged from $300 to $400 a month. Starting late in 2022 and so far in 2023, her PG&E bill is closer to $800 a month."
Thinking about switching out your gas stove? Here’s what you need to know
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "As California moves toward an all-electric future, some in the Bay Area may be interested in swapping out their gas stove for an electric one.
Bay Area regulators want to phase out gas furnaces and water heaters, but are not currently considering banning gas stoves. California has a far higher average of households that use natural gas for cooking — in 2020, the latest available data, it was at 70%. The U.S. average was 38%, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration."
California community colleges rely too much on part-time faculty and misspend funds, audit finds
EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "California’s community colleges do not employ enough full-time faculty and in some cases districts are misspending state funds allocated for those faculty instead on too many part-time adjuncts, according to a newly released report from California’s state auditor.
The audit, ordered last year by state lawmakers, probed hiring practices for full-time faculty at four community college districts: Foothill-De Anza, Kern, Los Rios and San Diego. Auditors also reviewed how those districts have spent state dollars, including $100 million provided by the Legislature in 2021 to help districts hire more full-time faculty.
California has had a longstanding goal that 75% of community college classes should be taught by full-time faculty, but the audit found that the districts are falling well short of that. At the San Diego district, just 50% of instruction is taught by full-time faculty. The district with the highest share, Sacramento-based Los Rios, was still only at 63%."
What an off-the-radar teachers union election means for the education of L.A. children
LA Times, HOWARD BLUME: "When L.A. schools Supt. Alberto Carvalho wanted to extend the academic year, the teachers union stopped him. When his predecessor, Austin Beutner, wanted more live Zoom teaching during the pandemic, the union also stopped him. And when the district was preparing to reopen campuses for in-person learning, the union demanded that teachers first have the opportunity to be fully immunized against COVID-19.
When it comes to local schools, United Teachers Los Angeles wields significant influence. This week its members are deciding who will wield power within the union in an election sure to affect public education at a critical moment for students’ academic recovery from the pandemic.
The 35,000-member union of teachers, counselors, librarians and nurses is likely to have a say in any renewed efforts to extend the school year or school day, which affects working hours. Union leaders also will bargain over how and where to lower class sizes and weigh in on whether to shorten winter break from three weeks to two weeks. There’s also been a decades-long push and pull over who controls what happens at schools as far as teacher assignments, hiring and spending."
California high school ‘scheme’ used fake documents to get basketball players on team, report says
BANG*Mercury News, SARAH HOFMANN: "Fake documents were used for four years in a scheme to “register ineligible student-athletes” to play on powerhouse boys basketball teams at Riverside’s Poly High School, a school district report shows.
The elaborate plot was led by former head coach and current Poly teacher Yancy Dodson, alleges the report, which states Dodson admitted that since 2018 he joined with people in local basketball circles “to facilitate the submission of the false documents.”"
Twitter reportedly fires dozens more employees — this time loyalists are affected
The Chronicle, ANNIE VAINSHTEIN: "Twitter reportedly rolled out another round of layoffs over the weekend, this time with longtime loyalists of the company and CEO Elon Musk among the affected employees.
The company laid off at least 200 employees across various departments, according to the New York Times, which cited three people familiar with the matter and said the layoffs accounted for about 10% of the company."
Funding cuts, ridership dips, a ‘fiscal cliff’: What’s happening with California public transit?
Sac Bee, MAGGIE ANGST: "Public transit is a lifeline for low-income Californians, essential for increased housing density and the key to realizing the state’s goal of drastically reduced carbon emissions.
But the state’s major public transit agencies are facing a myriad of issues — from slumped ridership to proposed state funding cuts to a looming “fiscal cliff.” They’re looking to California lawmakers for a solution.
Transit systems and their advocates argue that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposed budget would steer the state in the wrong direction and jeopardize efforts to convince more Californians to leave their cars at home and hop on a bus or train. They’re trying to convince legislators to double down on their investments and allocate new money to help maintain current service levels."
Elon Musk defends Dilbert cartoonist Adams after racist rant
The Chronicle, ANNIE VAINSHTEIN: "Days after Dilbert comic strip creator Scott Adams was criticized across the country for going on a racist tirade against Black people on YouTube, Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk came to his defense over the weekend.
In a Twitter thread overnight Saturday responding to news that Adams had said Black people are a hate group and he doesn’t want to have anything to do with them, Musk replied that “the media is racist” against “whites and Asians.”"
Jimmy Carter’s final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
LA Times, JENNY JARVIE: "Just a few hours before President Carter underwent his first radiation treatment for brain cancer, he spoke of his hope, in the time he had left, to purge the world of a parasitic worm disease.
That was in 2015.
“I’d like the last Guinea worm to die before I do,” the 39th president told reporters at the Carter Center. “We know where all of them are, so obviously that would be my top priority.”"