California storms have done wonders for Lake Tahoe's famous clarity
The Chronicle, TARA DUGGAN: "Weeks of frigid air temperatures in the Sierra have caused Lake Tahoe’s water to “mix” for the first time since 2019, as cold water at the surface sinks to the lake’s 1,600-foot depths, bringing clearer water up.
That means that the historically crystal-clear lake, which has grown murkier over the past several decades, is the clearest it has been in four years. The lake’s clarity, which is a sign of its overall health and typically drops to 60 or 70 feet deep, now goes down to 115 feet.
But it won’t last long, said Geoffrey Schladow, a professor and director of the UC Davis’ Tahoe Environmental Research Center."
Tahoe snow crushes homes as atmospheric river raises more fears
The Chronicle, RACHEL SWAN: "Dusk had just settled on the forested slopes of South Lake Tahoe when Spencer Benlien heard an ominous crack.
He looked up to see large fissures forming in the ceilings of his home, a ranch house that buckled, overwhelmed by winter storms and a giant ice dam that had formed on the roof. Within moments, the trusses had splintered. Plaster, boards and insulation were falling on the kitchen and living room.
“I heard a ‘boom’ and realized we had to go,” Benlien recalled on Wednesday, a week after his house collapsed. He recalled running upstairs to rescue his mother and then hearing the screams of his 14-year-old sister, who was paralyzed with terror as wood and other rubble fell on top of her. Benlien grabbed her and pulled her out the sliding glass door of the kitchen, his hands cut from blocking the falling debris."
New storm could bring more peril to California rivers already hit by deadly flooding
LA Times, HAYLEY SMITH: "A powerful storm barreling toward California from the tropical Pacific threatens to trigger widespread river flooding throughout the state as warm rain melts a record accumulation of snowpack and sends runoff surging down mountains and into streams and reservoirs.
Although state officials insist they are prepared to manage runoff from what is now the 10th atmospheric river of a deadly rainy season, at least one expert described the combination of warm rain, epic snowpack and moist soils as “bad news.”
“We’re expecting rain in the areas where there was snow, and the rain is warm, and it will melt the snow that is already there,” said Alistair Hayden, a former division chief at the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. “So what’s going to run into the rivers is not just the rain that’s falling from the sky — it’s going to unlock some of the precipitation that fell as snow, so it could be big.”"
12 have died since massive snowstorms cut off California mountain towns, official says
LA Times, GRACE TOOHEY/SUMMER LIN: "Michelle Hake’s sister had been snowed in for days, alone in her Big Bear home. Her family said it wasn’t clear just how urgent her medical needs had become during last month’s record-setting snowstorms and the treacherous days that followed.
She “needed medical attention in the midst of the storm, and we could not get that to her,” Hake said. Her family called for an emergency wellness check Monday.
“We were too late,” she said."
Northern California spring predictions have arrived. Here’s what the experts are saying
Sac Bee, HANH TRUONG: "Spring might be coming in less than two weeks, but winter rain is not slowing down. Wet weather pounded through the Northern California region for most of the season, and according to forecasts, it looks like it’ll carry into the start of spring. Here’s what to know about weather predictions for the springtime, which starts on March 20 and runs through May."
D.A. Brooke Jenkins reverses position on sanctuary ordinance
The Chronicle, JOEL UMANZOR: "District Attorney Brooke Jenkins announced Wednesday she asked District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani to table two proposed ordinances that would have created exceptions to the city's sanctuary ordinance – which Jenkins sought as part of her drive to extradite two fugitives who fled from the U.S.
One of the fugitives is wanted for murder in a domestic violence case and the other is wanted for child rape, Jenkins said."
COVID in California: A quarter of Americans do not trust the CDC, survey finds
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "Were the strict lockdowns in the spring of 2020 worth it in the fight against COVID-19? New research says they halved the spread of the disease and boosted the use of face masks, but at a cost to the U.S. economy of nearly $28,000 per infection prevented. A new study finds that 26% of Americans don’t trust health recommendations issued by the CDC. The WHO fired its Asia director amid allegations of racism. And a small group of anti-vaccine protesters forced the closure of a school clinic in the town of Sonoma when they “became unruly.”"
Gov. Gavin Newsom tests positive for COVID-19 after trip to Baja California
Sac Bee, MAGGIE ANGST: "Gov. Gavin Newsom tested positive for COVID-19 days after returning from a personal trip to Baja California, his office said Wednesday night. The governor is exhibiting “mild symptoms” while First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom has tested negative, according to spokesperson Alex Stack. Newsom will work remotely and self-isolate for at least five days, in accordance with the latest guidance from the California Department of Public Health, Stack said."
Where are masks still needed in California? Here’s what rules will (and won’t) change
Sac Bee, BRIANNA TAYLOR: "Pandemic-related measures across California will wind down starting next week, leaving people curious about the upcoming guidance on masks when the last mandates sunset in April. Bee reader John Long reached out to our California service team with this question: Will masks be required in stores and businesses? Or in Food banks/soup kitchens?” Statewide mask rules will change in high-risk and healthcare indoor settings, according to the California Department of Public Health."
California won’t renew $54M Walgreens contract amid abortion drug fight
The Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG: "California won’t renew a $54 million contract with Walgreens as planned after the retailer announced it would stop selling abortion drug mifepristone in some states, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Wednesday.
The announcement comes two days after Newsom vowed to stop doing business with Walgreens after the company caved to requests from conservative attorneys general to stop selling mifepristone.
“California will not stand by as corporations cave to extremists and cut off critical access to reproductive care and freedom,” Newsom said in a statement. “California is on track to be the fourth largest economy in the world and we will leverage our market power to defend the right to choose.”"
S.F. woman went to hospital hours before giving birth to stillborn baby at city tent site
The Chronicle, MALLORY MOENCH: "A homeless San Francisco woman who had a stillbirth in a portable bathroom at a city-sanctioned tent site outside City Hall was treated at a hospital the previous evening and was back at the site by the morning, records show. People close to her said she told them afterward that her full-term pregnancy was not detected.
The woman told authorities at the site after she gave birth that she had not known she was pregnant, according to the city medical examiner’s report on the incident last year. The organization running the site, a person who helped the woman at the site and her neighbor at the site said they also didn’t know.
A cleaning crew found the infant inside the toilet of a portable restroom at the site in Civic Center around noon on Jan. 7, 2022. The 9-pound boy died from complications of funisitis, an inflammation of the umbilical cord, with pneumonia, according to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner. The baby’s body contained multiple drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine."
How an FBI agent’s wild Vegas weekend stained an investigation into NCAA basketball corruption
LA Times, NATHAN FENNO: "The FBI agents arrived in Las Vegas with $135,000 and a plan.
They took over a sprawling penthouse at the Cosmopolitan, filled the in-room safe with government cash and stocked the wet bar with alcohol. Hidden cameras — including one installed near a crystal-encrusted wall in the living room — recorded visitors.
In the heart of a city known for heists and hangovers, the four agents were running an undercover operation as part of their probe into college basketball corruption that investigators code-named Ballerz."
As S.F., L.A. lose population, these California cities are booming. We mapped it all
LA Times, TERRY CASTLEMAN: "Brian Harrington was looking for a bigger house in 2021. He and his wife were expecting a baby and were able to work from home.
They settled on the Riverside County community of Menifee, about 54 miles from their Anaheim home.
Harrington, who works as a public relations consultant for Bitcoin startups, searched online for “homes in low 600s Southern California” and was directed to the fast-growing corridor of communities along Interstate 15 and 215."
Suspect dead after allegedly shooting 3 LAPD officers in Lincoln Heights
LA Times, RICHARD WINTON/CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ/ANDREW J CAMPA: "Three Los Angeles Police Department officers were shot Wednesday night and a suspect was dead following a confrontation in the city’s Lincoln Heights neighborhood, police officials said.
The incident occurred around 6 p.m. on North Broadway at Mission Road. All three officers were expected to survive.
Officers with the Hollenbeck station were called around 3:50 p.m. to the 3800 block of Broadway on Wednesday afternoon to search for a parolee at large, LAPD Assistant Chief Al Labrada said Wednesday night at a news conference held outside L.A. County-USC Medical Center."
Is anyone investigating Trump allies’ multi-state effort to access election systems?
LA Times, SARAH D WIRE: "As news trickled out that former President Trump’s supporters had organized to access federally protected election machines, and copied sensitive information and software, election expert Susan Greenhalgh waited for FBI or Justice Department leaders to announce an investigation.
“It just seemed so stunning that we thought, well of course there’s going to be a big reaction and the government is going to investigate,” said Greenhalgh, senior advisor on election security for the nonprofit Free Speech For People.
When months passed with no such announcement, Greenhalgh and over a dozen other election experts wrote a 14-page letter to Justice Department leaders in December outlining what they called a “multi-state conspiracy to copy voting software” and asking the agency to open an investigation."
Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell hospitalized after fall
AP, MARY CLARE JALONICK/LISA MASCARO: "Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell was hospitalized after tripping at a local hotel, a spokesman for the senator said.
The Kentucky senator, who's 81, was attending a private dinner in Washington on Wednesday when he tripped. He was admitted to a hospital for treatment, spokesman Doug Andres said.
McConnell's office did not provide additional detail on his condition or how long he may be absent from the Senate."
‘Shut your mouth’: GOP senator clashes with union leader during hearing
The Hill, KARL EVERS-HILLSTROM: "Teamsters President Sean O'Brien got into a heated argument with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) during a Wednesday Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on union busting tactics. O'Brien told Mullin he was "out of line" after the GOP senator said that the union leader was "sucking the paycheck" out of workers to earn his salary, which was roughly $193,000 in 2019. "Don't tell me I'm out of line," Mullin responded. "You need to shut your mouth.""