LAT, ROB NIKOLEWSKI: "The chief operating officer for the California Independent System Operator — which manages the electric grid for about 80% of the state — says California’s ambitious clean energy goals can be reached. But he also warns there will be plenty of bumps on the road.
“I’m optimistic because I’m starting to see coordinated, strategic thinking at various levels about the challenge,” said Mark Rothleder, COO and senior vice president at the system operator."
Here’s why gas always costs more in California
CNN, SAMANTHA DELOUYA: "Gas prices in the United States have slid from their all-time peak in fall 2022, but there are drivers in at least one state who still pull up to the pump and cringe.
The current average gas price in the US is $3.10. In California, it’s $4.49, according to AAA."
This Central Valley congressional district could be Democrats’ easiest California pickup
Sacramento Bee, GILLIAN BRASSIL: "In November 2022, just 564 votes separated the candidates in California’s 13th Congressional District, a purple stretch of San Joaquin Valley farmland.
Rep. John Duarte, R-Modesto, won what turned out to be the second-closest House race in the United States over former Assemblyman Adam Gray, D-Merced. Both are running again, as the only candidates in the March 5 primary, and Democrats are making the seat one of their highest priorities in the nation to flip."
Many candidates vying to replace Loloee on Sacramento City Council. Who’s funding them?
Sacramento Bee, THERESA CLIFT: "A long list of candidates are running to replace Sean Loloee in the Sacramento City Council’s 2nd District, and new documents give voters a glimpse into who’s funding their campaigns.
The winner will replace Loloee, who resigned earlier this month amid criminal federal labor charges regarding his grocery store business."
Powerful storm to bring flooding rain and strong wind to California this week. Here’s a timeline
The Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "Two more warm days, potentially with record-breaking high temperatures, are expected throughout the Golden State on Monday and Tuesday. But a potent storm is on the horizon Wednesday, and it is shaping up to be the strongest so far this winter.
The storm is on track to bring heavy rain and gusty winds to Northern California during the day Wednesday, the Bay Area that evening and the Los Angeles area on Thursday. Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego can expect considerable of rain, with up to 6 inches in the coastal ranges, through Friday."
Moss is blanketing the Bay Area right now. Here’s what to know
The Chronicle, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "As the winter rain drips down, a bright green furry plant is springing to life all around the Bay Area and Northern California.
Moss is appearing seemingly everywhere — on roads and sidewalks, in gardens, on the sides of trees and the tops of roofs — spurred on by the abundance of damp weather and sunless skies."
Tribal leaders cite problems with California’s Feather Alert for Native people who go missing
LAT, ANABEL SOSA: "When Yurok tribal member Danielle Ipiña-Vigil disappeared in San Francisco last summer, her family requested that state police issue a Feather Alert — an emergency notification meant to help authorities locate Indigenous people who go missing in California.
But the request was denied, making Ipiña-Vigil one of three known cases of Native people living in California who went missing in the last year and for whom a Feather Alert request was dismissed. Since the system began a year ago, authorities have issued just two of the five Feather Alerts requested, according to the California Highway Patrol."
In a milestone, California says those with COVID-19 can leave home sooner — but there’s a catch
LAT, RONG-GONG LIN II: "California’s relaxed COVID isolation guidance marks a milestone in public health messaging about the pandemic: Even newly infected people no longer need to isolate if they have no symptoms, or they can leave home sooner if the illness starts improving quickly.
California’s stance is even looser than that of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which advises isolating for at least five days after the onset of symptoms or, if asymptomatic, after the first positive test."
Gov. Newsom’s budget proposal calls for expanding arts ed pathway
EdSource, KAREN D'SOUZA: "Faced with an ongoing teacher shortage, many California arts education advocates have been championing the use of career technical education (CTE) to attract new arts teachers to help fulfill the state’s historic arts mandate. The sticking point has been that the credential has only been applied to secondary classrooms, leaving elementary students out.
That may change if Gov. Gavin Newsom’s initial 2024-25 state budget becomes law. This proposal, subject to change in May, when the numbers are revised in response to shifting economic conditions and policy issues, calls for the Commission on Teacher Credentialing to create a new Elementary Arts and Music Education pathway for career technical education teachers. This expansion would allow more working artists to share their expertise with California students, a move many arts advocates praise."
These charts show which Californians go to the most selective colleges
The Chrionicle, NAMI SUMIDA: "These are the 70 most attended four-year colleges among Asian American, Black, Hispanic and white undergraduates in California.
Each represents a college, ordered by undergraduate enrollment for the 2021-22 academic year and colored by type of institution."
Fontana’s Black mayor is cracking down on Latino street vendors. Is it racist or just good business?
LAT, PRISCELLA VEGA: "At meeting after meeting, activists, social justice groups and residents took their turn at the lectern in the Fontana City Council chambers in the fall to sound off against Mayor Acquanetta Warren. Their denunciations of the city’s first Black mayor were relentless, and their anger resonated beyond the council chambers.
For months, Warren had been the driving force behind a crackdown on street food vendors selling goods without proper permits. Under a series of regulations approved by the City Council, unlicensed sellers could be arrested on misdemeanor charges. Their food and equipment were now fair game to impound and trash."
‘It’s killing us’: Damage to Pacifica pier is crushing local businesses
The Chronicle, MEGAN FAN NMUNCE: "After Pacifica’s pier shut down due to storm damage, local businesses said they were relying on each other and the local community to weather what, for some, has been a dramatic downturn in business.
The historic location has been shut down since Dec. 28, after high tides and massive waves damaged the far end of the pier, as well as its guardrails and supports. Ever since, local merchants say the lack of tourists coming to fish or walk down the pier has caused a drop-off in foot traffic through the area."
She just wanted to transfer her car’s title with California DMV. It turned into a ‘nightmare’
The Chronicle, ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH: "Victoria Ernst thought it would be easier back in 2022 to buy the car she was leasing rather than shop around for a new one.
So in July of that year, she bought the Honda Clarity hybrid, and went to the California Department of Motor Vehicles to give them a check for $1,147 to cover the title transfer fee."
Biden vows to respond after 3 U.S. troops die in drone attack by Iran-backed militia
AP: "President Biden said Sunday that the U.S. “shall respond” after three American troops were killed and dozens injured in an overnight drone strike in northeast Jordan, near the Syrian border. Biden blamed Iran-backed militias for what were the first U.S. fatalities after months of strikes by the groups against American forces across the Middle East, amid the Israel-Hamas war.
The president, who was traveling in South Carolina, asked for a moment of silence during an appearance at a Baptist church."