Poll: California could be Trump’s ace in nomination fight; he’s way ahead
LA Times, LAURA J. NELSON: "No matter the results of the Iowa caucus on Monday night, new polling suggests that Republicans vying for the presidential nomination face the equivalent of a brick wall on Super Tuesday, in the form of former President Trump.
In California, one of 15 states holding Republican primaries on March 5, two-thirds of voters considered likely to take part in the Republican primary said they would cast their ballot for Trump, according to the latest UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll, co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times. That’s up from an already dominant 57% in October."
Gavin Newsom inducts history-making politician into California Hall of Fame
Sacramento Bee, ANDREW SHEELER: "Former longtime Democratic Assembly Speaker Willie Brown Jr. is set to join several other prestigious Californians in entering the California Hall of Fame.
Brown, who served as speaker from 1980 to 1995 — a whopping 15 years — was the first Black man to hold that position. And he wasn’t done making history when he left the Legislature. He went on to become the first Black mayor of San Francisco, serving from 1996 to 2004, when he was succeeded by a certain Gavin Newsom, the man who would go on to induct Brown into the Hall of Fame."
Home insurance woes take center stage in fight for Feinstein’s Senate seat
BANG*Mercury News, JOHN WOOLFOLK: "California homeowners battered by the meltdown of the Golden State’s home insurance market will have a new place to voice their frustration in 2024 — at the ballot box.
The troubling issue is emerging as a key focus in the tight race for the U.S. Senate, drawing hopes and concerns — and possibly money — from consumer groups, industry leaders and soon voters in disaster-stricken parts of the state."
CA120: Asian, Latino voters heading in opposite direction
Capitol Weekly, PAUL MITCHELL: "Asians and Latinos in California are the two fastest growing ethnic populations on the voter file. But they appear, politically, to be headed in slightly different directions.
For decades, Latinos have been a consistent base of support for Democrats, particularly since the Proposition 187 campaign of the mid-1990s, promoted by then Governor Pete Wilson as a way to engage / enrage voters going into the contentious 1994 gubernatorial election."
What is a substantive change in the law?
Capitol Weekly, CHRIS MICHELI: "Whether a bill proposes to make a substantive or non-substantive change in law has several implications. For example, with an introduced bill, a non-substantive bill is referred to as a “spot bill” and cannot be referred to a policy committee for consideration until a substantive change in law is made by that bill. In addition, with an amended bill, a substantive amendment may result in the amended bill being re-referred to a policy committee in either house of the Legislature.
Is this a substantive change in the law?
This section shall not be construed to does not place any person dealing with the corporation on notice of, or under any duty to inquire about, the existence or content of a statement filed pursuant to this section."
Why Iowa? Small state has outsize role in picking the president
LA Times, SEEMA MEHTA: "In sub-zero temperatures, Iowans will gather Monday in churches, high school gyms and community centers to select the GOP presidential candidate they want to be their standard-bearer in November. Once again, a tiny sliver of the American public — a group smaller than the population of Huntington Beach — will create global headlines about the first presidential nominating contest of the year.
Why does Iowa — an agrarian, elderly, overwhelmingly white state with relatively few residents — play such an outsize role in the presidential race? Especially when California is so much more representative of the nation’s demographics and future?"
The planet experienced an astonishing change last year. But California was an outlier
The Chronicle, JACK LEE: "Scientists are in consensus that last year was Earth’s hottest on record. But 2023 played out differently in the western United States, especially in California, where temperatures were below normal, thanks to an especially cold and wet winter.
On average, California climate is in line with the rest of the planet and “very likely will continue to do so in the future,” said Dan Cayan, a climate scientist with UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “But we do have these interruptions just because of the wiggles in the jet stream.”"
READ MORE --- Will the arctic air mass blasting the rest of the country affect California? -- The Chronicle, CHICH SCHRAGER
BANG Correspondent, CHIARA VILLANUEVA: "Pointing a silver telescope toward the evening sky, Fadi Saibi prepared for a special observation session in the backyard of his Sunnyvale home. It took just a couple of taps to pair his phone with the telescope and lock onto a cosmic object. The target: TOI-4600c, a planet near the constellation of Draco, orbiting a star some 815 light-years from Earth.
“I was concerned because I have some trees in my backyard,” Saibi said. “But after checking, it seemed like there was good visibility.”"
Advocates, education leaders speak out on Newsom’s initial plan for state budget
EdSource, STAFF: "This week, Gov. Gavin Newsom presented the first pass on the 2024-25 state budget.
It includes his ideas for addressing an $11 billion drop in funding for TK-12 and community colleges and a larger projected general fund deficit affecting child care and higher education."
California schools will soon get $1 billion for arts and music. Are they ready to use it?
BANG*Mercury News, ELISSA MIOLENE: "Bright and early one recent morning, Jessica Sheldon stood before a crowd of third graders in Sunnyvale. She was playing a ukulele as a microphone hung from her ear — and she was coaching the kids to dance.
“Right, left, right, together,” Sheldon chanted, as the students hopped across the floor."
In rare move, S.F. Mayor Breed condemns Board of Supervisors’ Gaza cease-fire resolution
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "In a rare move, San Francisco Mayor London Breed has condemned the Board of Supervisors for passing a resolution that calls for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, saying their vote does not represent the city.
The mayor’s rebuke on Saturday came four days after the board voted 8-3 in favor of the resolution, which called for the cease-fire, the delivery of humanitarian aid and the release of all hostages in the region. Spearheaded by Supervisor Dean Preston, who is Jewish, the resolution drew an outpouring of public feedback, including from hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators who packed City Hall when it was introduced late last year. "
‘Where is my son?’ Scammers using AI put Bay Area family through terrifying ordeal
The Chronicle, CHASE DIFELICIANTONIO: "Amy Trapp was in her office at the Mill Valley school where she works when she got a call from an unknown number.
She picked it up, thinking it might have something to do with the school fire drill from earlier in the day. Instead, a familiar voice — one she knew better than any other — was on the line."
University of California considers S.F. for expansion in wake of Mayor Breed’s plea
The Chronicle, LAURA WAXMANN: "The University of California is considering expanding its presence in San Francisco after Mayor London Breed reached out to persuade the university system to grow its footprint downtown.
A spokesperson for the UC Office of the President — which serves as the Oakland-based headquarters for the university system’s 10 campuses, five medical centers and three affiliated national laboratories — said the system is “exploring opportunities to advance their research, public service, and education mission through an expanded presence in San Francisco.”?"g