Winter storms brought fluffier snow than usual to the Sierra. Here's why that's dangerous
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "As fierce winter storms continue to pile more snow onto the Sierra Nevada this week, residents and skiers may notice the powder is a little different than usual. Instead of the usual wet, dense blanket known as “Sierra cement,” the blizzard conditions have yielded lighter, fluffier snow.
The snow in the Sierra now is akin to the type more frequently seen in the Rocky Mountains. Beloved by skiers, the less sticky powder is easier to turn in and kicks up like smoke as they wind down the slopes — hence its “cold smoke” nickname."
The epic California snowpack is inching toward record levels
The Chronicle, JACK LEE: "The Sierra snowpack is already at epic levels and snow on tap this week will push it to even greater depths.
“We’re going to end this year with a very large Sierra Nevada snowpack,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and the Nature Conservancy during an online presentation on Monday. “It’s very possible we’ll end up vying for one of the top two snow years on record in parts of the state.”"
Yet more rain is expected to hit California in March. But warmer storms could melt snow
LA Times, HAYLEY SMITH: "Soggy, snow-capped California faces the likelihood of yet another month of wet weather, but what remains uncertain is whether this late winter precipitation will augment weeks of record-setting snowpack, or cause it to vanish should warmer rains arrive.
Last week, a frigid storm transformed portions of the state into a white landscape while toppling trees, prompting power outages, spurring water rescues and leaving some residents trapped by heavy snow.
Now, with forecasts calling for more rain and snow in March — including the potential for at least one more atmospheric river system — California is girding for what comes next."
Aera sells to German energy investor, Canadian pension fund
JOHN COX, Bakersfield Californian: "In a nearly $4 billion deal expected to introduce more renewable and low-carbon energy to local oil fields, a Canadian pension fund joined a German asset management company Tuesday in acquiring Bakersfield-based oil producer Aera Energy LLC from its longtime owners.
The purchase puts California’s second-largest oil producer, launched 25 years ago by subsidiaries of Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Exxon Mobil Corp., in the hands of Hamburg-based energy asset management company IKAV and minority owner Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, headquartered in Toronto.
Both buyers said the acquisition announced by IKAV in September but not concluded until Tuesday morning furthers their common strategy of smoothing California’s transition to greater use of renewable energy while, in the meantime, continuing to produce oil and gas."
Newsom gets good marks in new poll but faces test with budget crisis
LA Times, TARYN LUNA: "Gov. Gavin Newsom is California’s most popular high-profile politician, but that could be tested by voter concerns over his ability to handle the state’s estimated $22.5-billion deficit, according to a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.
The findings provide a “warning signal” to Newsom about the fragility of his political standing among California voters, said Mark DiCamillo, director of the poll.
“It’s true of every governor: When you start having to cut back on the budget, that’s usually a time when voters get more critical of you,” said DiCamillo, who has surveyed public opinion in the state for four decades. “Now, we haven’t gotten there yet. But that’s why we say there’s clouds on the horizon.”"
Heir apparent? Lateefah Simon launches bid for Barbara Lee House seat
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "BART board member Lateefah Simon today launched her campaign for California’s 12th District congressional seat, currently held by Barbara Lee. Lee announced a run for U.S. Senate earlier this month.
The Bay Area district, which Lee won with 87% of the vote in 2022, covers Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville.
Simon, who cites Lee as a mentor, quickly locked up a slate of endorsements from high profile Progressive Democrats, including Attorney General Rob Bonta, Asm. Buffy Wicks, and Sen. Nancy Skinner."
East Bay lawmaker blasts ‘open sore’ at BART, resigns from Senate committee
BANG*Mercury News, ELIYAHU KAMISHER: "One of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system’s leading critics, State Sen. Steve Glazer, announced his resignation from a special committee handling Bay Area transit on Monday, signaling a heated budget battle ahead as the region’s bus and rail agencies lobby for billions of dollars to stave off looming service cuts.
Glazer, an Orinda Democrat, stepped down from the Senate Select Committee on Bay Area Public Transit, which was formed just last week, saying lawmakers and transit leaders are not heeding his call to bolster fiscal oversight at BART, specifically by backing a strengthened inspector general’s office.
In an interview, he called the committee, headed by State Sen. Scott Wiener of San Francisco, a “showpiece for boosters of more transit funding.”"
COVID in California: Brain changes found in long COVID sufferers with persistent fatigue
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "The most recent furor over how the pandemic started continues, with the FBI director now speaking out publicly to affirm the Bureau's conclusion that a lab leak in China “most likely” was the start. San Mateo County on Tuesday joined the state of California and other counties, like San Francisco, in ending its local pandemic state of emergency. Even though the Pentagon no longer demands that service members get vaccinated against the coronavirus, that doesn't mean those who refused the shots when the mandate was in place will not still be punished for disobedience."
L.A. County’s COVID-19 emergency will end March 31
LA Times, LUKE MONEY/RONG-GONG LIN II: "Los Angeles County will end its COVID-19 emergency declaration at the end of March, becoming the latest region to take that step amid improving pandemic conditions.
The move, approved unanimously Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors, came the same day Gov. Gavin Newsom formally rescinded the statewide emergency declaration issued three years ago during the onset of the coronavirus outbreak.
Like their state counterparts, L.A. County officials praised the original March 2020 proclamation for providing necessary authority and flexibility to respond to the outbreak."
California’s COVID-19 state of emergency is over. Has the Bay Area moved on?
BANG*Mercury News, JOHN WOOLFOLK/HARRIET BLAIR ROWAN/VANDANA RAVIKUMAR: "The last remnants of California’s COVID-19 state of emergency expired Tuesday with little fanfare from the governor who proclaimed it almost three years ago, gave daily briefings at the height of the pandemic and issued nearly 600 virus-related provisions along the way.
So are Californians ready to move on?
After 100,000 deaths and more than 11 million cases, the Golden State may no longer be under a state of emergency. But with infections once again on the rise and masked faces easy to spot in cafes and stores around the Bay Area, it is clear COVID won’t be turned off with the flip of a switch."
State, districts and schools all have a role to play in supporting Black students, panel says
EdSource, KATE SEQUEIRA: "Progress has been too slow in building a path to success for Black students, Education Trust–West Executive Director Christopher Nellum said Tuesday at an EdSource roundtable. Much still lies ahead, he added.
“More than any other community, Black families value education. Folks risk their lives for it,” he said.
Nellum joined other educators, advocates and a student on EdSource’s latest panel to discuss what schools, along with the state, should be doing to support California’s Black students who for decades have scored the lowest on state standardized tests among the state’s ethnic and racial groups."
L.A. County agrees to $28.85-million settlement with Bryant family over crash photos
LA Times, KERI BLAKINGER: "Los Angeles County agreed Tuesday to pay $28.85 million to the family of Kobe Bryant, concluding three years of litigation that began after deputies shared graphic photos of the 2020 helicopter crash that killed the Lakers star, his daughter and seven others.
The settlement agreement filed in federal court also resolves pending litigation originally filed in state court and adds to the $15 million a jury had already awarded to the basketball star’s widow, Vanessa Bryant, after a trial in federal court last year.
“Today marks the successful culmination of Mrs. Bryant’s courageous battle to hold accountable those who engaged in this grotesque conduct,” Bryant’s attorney, Luis Li, said in a statement. “She fought for her husband, her daughter, and all those in the community whose deceased family were treated with similar disrespect. We hope her victory at trial and this settlement will put an end to this practice.”"
Most Californians can put off filing taxes until Oct. 16 — but should they?
The Chronicle, KATHLEEN PENDER: "The Internal Revenue Service now says that most people in storm-stricken California don’t have to file their 2022 federal tax return and pay taxes due until Oct. 16 — but should they wait that long?
For people who are due a refund, there’s no reason to put off filing. In recent years, about two-thirds to three-fourths of federal tax returns had a refund coming, according to IRS statistics."
IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasn’t followed: What should you do?
BANG*Mercury News, ETHAN BARON: "The IRS has delayed this year’s federal tax deadline until Oct. 16 for Bay Area residents and business owners as part of a special reprieve for parts of California affected by severe winter storms. But the state has not followed suit, and it’s unclear whether it will.
It’s not the first time the feds have changed the deadline because of inclement weather. The new IRS deadline replaces an earlier storm-related extension for federal taxes until May 15. The deadline for 2022 contributions to Individual Retirement Accounts and Health Savings Accounts was extended to Oct. 16.
In California, tax authorities previously matched the May 15 federal-level extension for all Bay Area counties, but as of Tuesday afternoon they had not conformed to the second IRS delay. The bottom line? While Bay Area residents can technically put off filing their federal tax returns, they may still need to get all of their paperwork in order by spring for state returns."
Workers in S.F. could be eligible for a share of $104 million. Here's how to get it
The Chronicle, NANETTE ASIMOV: "In the use-it-or-lose-it department, tens of thousands of people who work in San Francisco — or used to — have money sitting in a city medical reimbursement fund that they may not know about.
Starting Wednesday, the city will begin tracking accounts that have been inactive for three years. And if those folks don’t activate their accounts by April 2026, the city says, they’ll lose their money forever."
Do you have unclaimed property? California joins program to help people recover cash
The Chronicle, JOEL UMANZOR: "California is now partnering with a national website in order to reunite Californians with their unclaimed property, according to the state controller’s office.
State Controller Malia M. Cohen announced that California has joined MissingMoney.com – a national website database tracking unclaimed property in 48 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico."
L.A. County moves to require quake retrofits as Turkey-Syria death toll exceeds 50,000
LA Times, REBECCA ELLIS/RONG-GONG LIN II: "Los Angeles County took the first step Tuesday toward a mandatory earthquake retrofit order for the types of concrete buildings that collapsed catastrophically in the devastating earthquakes that shook Turkey and Syria, causing many of the 50,000 deaths tallied so far.
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to ask officials to prepare new rules that would require “non-ductile” concrete buildings owned by the county, as well as any located in unincorporated areas, to be retrofitted. Once the new rules go into effect, building owners would have 10 years to complete the retrofits.
The supervisors also ordered officials to create an inventory in unincorporated areas of all “soft-story” residential buildings — structures vulnerable to come tumbling down in the next big earthquake."
A $150,000 ‘executive protection dog’? Rich L.A. homeowners are snapping them up
LA Times, ANDREA CHANG/WALLY SKALIJ: "Before Arteom Bulgadarian bought his Sherman Oaks home, it belonged to baseball star Yasiel Puig, who was burglarized of $170,000 worth of jewelry and other items while he was out of town.
So Bulgadarian, 44, has been vigilant about security since moving in, especially with three young children and a job running an aerospace manufacturing company that often necessitates late nights at the office. He owns several guns and has equipped his nearly 5,000-square-foot, six-bedroom house, set behind an iron gate, with surveillance cameras and an alarm system. A neighborhood watch group patrols the area around the clock.
And then there’s Rocky."
San Francisco is at its most ‘unaffordable’ point in at least a decade. Here’s what that means
The Chronicle, SUSIE NEILSON: "It’s long been true that it’s hard to afford a home in San Francisco, but recently it’s become even more difficult.
For the last decade, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has been tracking homeowner affordability nationwide through a tool it developed called the Home Ownership Affordability Monitor (HOAM) index. If this index is at 100 or greater, that means the region is “affordable” to homeowners, with affordability defined as whether 30% or less of the area’s median household income can cover the annual costs of owning a mid-priced home. These costs include taxes, mortgage payments and insurance."
California has another chance to get it right on solitary confinement
Capitol Weekly, JACK MORRIS: "Solitary confinement is torture. I would know, because I spent more than 25 years in isolation and can attest to its horrors. Solitary confinement damages your mind, body and soul. Humans need each other like they need food and air. When you are isolated, you lose the ability to live as a normal human. I was lucky to survive my time and now have the opportunity and privilege to speak on behalf of so many who did not.
That is why I am joining the California Mandela Campaign to support AB 280 the California Mandela Act by Chris Holden. AB 280 sets clear limits on the use of solitary confinement and provides alternatives to isolation that ensure safety and dignity for incarcerated individuals. The bill sets clear limits on the use of solitary confinement and ends the practices entirely for pregnant people, as well as those in certain age groups and with certain disabilities."
--
To our readers: Thoughts, comments, suggestions about The Roundup? Send them to Roundup editor Geoff Howard at geoff@capitolweekly.net.