Biden administration approves California electric car mandate
CALMatters's ALEJANDRO LAZO: "The Biden administration today approved California’s groundbreaking mandate phasing out new gas-powered cars just weeks before the incoming Trump administration poses a threat of overturning electric vehicle and climate rules.
The granting of the waiver by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows California to move forward in requiring 35% of new 2026 model cars sold in the state to be zero-emissions, 68% in 2030 and 100% in 2035."
Sacramento City Council votes against extending the city manager. Is new leadership coming?
Sac Bee's MATHEW MIRANDA: "Howard Chan’s time as Sacramento’s city manager is nearing its end after the City Council voted Tuesday to reject his contract extension.
The council voted 6-3 against his requested one-year extension, with Council members Rick Jennings, Lisa Kaplan and Phil Pluckebaum offering their support for Chan. His contract ends Dec. 31 and, though Chan can work without a contract, several council members signaled that this decision means the end of the city manager’s tenure."
S.F. Mayor Breed denied from making key appointments as officials give Daniel Lurie ‘a clean slate’
The Chronicle's JD MORRIS: "Mayor London Breed was unable to make a trio of appointments to key city agencies in the final weeks of her term after San Francisco legislators blocked two of her nominees and a third withdrew at the last minute.
The Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to reject Breed’s proposed appointments to the Municipal Transportation Agency’s board and the quasi-judicial Board of Appeals, opting instead to let Mayor-elect Daniel Lurie decide how to fill those two vacancies after he takes office next month."
LAT's SALVADOR HERNANDEZ: "A new immigration policy adopted by the San Diego County Board of Supervisors was supposed to stop jails from working with federal immigration officials, a move that would potentially hinder President-elect Donald Trump’s promise of mass deportations.
But the county is now locked in a standoff in what could be a preview of local immigration politics after Trump retakes office in January."
California’s attorney general leads a ‘know your rights’ workshop for immigrants
CALMatters's LYNN LA: "As California’s “Trump-proofing” efforts continue, Attorney General Rob Bonta was in Los Angeles Tuesday, issuing new “Know Your Rights” guidance for immigrant communities and warning people about notario fraud.
Bonta reminded immigrants of their rights to an attorney; to access their police report; to apply for secure housing without sharing their immigration status; and to access emergency medical care. Immigrants, regardless of their legal status, have a right to a workplace free of harassment and discrimination, said Bonta."
Q&A: Former Gov. Jerry Brown weighs in on Kamala Harris’ loss, top issues facing California
Sac Bee's NICOLE NIXON: "At 86, former Gov. Jerry Brown’s brutal candor hasn’t diminished a speck.
“There are some people who are dense,” he quipped during a recent sit-down with Public Policy Institute of California head Tani Cantil-Sakauye. “They don’t know a knife from a fork … Even a lot of people who are elected can’t figure out why they got elected.”"
Once a political star, Canada’s Justin Trudeau is fighting for his job amid Trump tariff threats
LAT's KATE LINTHICUM: "When he came to power in 2015, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was hailed as a progressive icon, a charismatic leftist with movie star good looks who promised to reform elections, tackle climate change and legalize marijuana. He quickly became one of the world’s best-known political figures, known for agenda-setting liberal policies — and for taking selfies with enraptured fans.
“He was seen as this Canadian rock star,” said Duane Bratt, a political scientist at Mount Royal University in Calgary."
Troubled California teens gain protections under a new law championed by Paris Hilton
CALMatters's LYNN LA: "Beginning Jan. 1, hundreds of state-licensed residential treatment centers for children and youth up to age 21 operating in California must comply with a new law that brings greater transparency — particularly when they use restraints and seclusion rooms.
After restraining a youth, or putting them in a seclusion room, the facility is required to provide a report to both the youth and to their parent or guardian. The report must include a description of the incident; which staff members were involved; the rationale behind their actions; how long the incident lasted; and other details."
California workforce fund targets programs solving problems
CALMatters's ZAYNA SYED: "Child care centers throughout California struggled to find people with the right credentials to look after their babies, toddlers and preschoolers. At the same time, many people who wanted to become early childhood educators faced difficulties in earning the credentials.
The Service Employees International Union and its partner organizations thought of a fix: creating apprenticeships for these would-be workers that paid for their college tuition, books and tutoring to earn teaching permits and offered them wages for their training."
New report on education experiences of California’s foster youth
EdSource's BETTY MARQUEZ ROSALES: "In a recent report from UCLA’s Center for the Transformation of Schools, three main findings are underscored regarding students with experience in foster care: students had a mix of experiences as they navigated the feeling of belonging while in the foster care system, they had a mix of experiences in high school when it came to support, belonging, and safety, and their support systems were critical when navigating college.
The mix of experiences is part of the issue the report, “Understanding Belongingness, Support, and Perseverance: An Exploratory Study of the Educational Experiences of Foster Youth in California,” seeks to highlight. As the authors state: “When the government assumes custody of children, it effectively steps into the roles of caregivers and parents, and bears a fundamental obligation to provide a safe and supportive living environment.”"
Why many colleges are giving more credit for learning outside the classroom
EdSource's EMMA GALLEGOS: "When she enlisted in the Navy in 2003, Alice Keeney attended naval nuclear power school.
There, she learned how to safely operate the nuclear propulsion plants that powered submarines or aircraft carriers — knowledge that she used when she was deployed outside the Arabian Gulf as a nuclear surface warfare officer in the late 2000s."
California wants to give degrees based on skills — not grades. It’s dividing this college
CALMatters's ADAM ECHELMAN: "California’s community colleges are experimenting with a radical new model of education, but some professors are pushing back. Faculty at Madera Community College have become the most vocal opposition, though issues with the new education model have popped up across the state.
In the new model, known as competency-based education, students don’t receive grades and they don’t have to attend class. They learn at their own pace and can finish the course whenever they can prove that they’ve mastered the requisite skill or “competency.” Advocates, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have called for more competency-based learning, saying that it’s an opportunity to help employers and get older adults who lack a college degree back to school. Similar models already exist in other states, at Calbright College, the state’s all-online community college, and at many private and for-profit institutions."
Santa Ana winds fuel brush fire in Jurupa Valley, challenge crews fighting Franklin fire
LAT's CLARA HARTER: "Fierce Santa Ana winds returned to Southern California on Tuesday, prompting a red flag warning for wide swaths of Los Angeles and Ventura counties and fanning the flames of a Jurupa Valley wildfire that ignited around 8 p.m.
The Jurupa Valley blaze, dubbed the Soto fire, was sparked at Soto Street and Sedona Drive and spread to 30 acres by 9 p.m., according to the Riverside County Fire Department. Evacuation orders were announced for several nearby residential streets and a care and reception center was opened at Patriot High School."
High pressure system brings Bay Area warmer temperatures and potential air quality issues
The Chronicle's GREG PORTER: "The Bay Area will be wedged between two high pressure systems on Wednesday and Thursday and that will keep our weather conditions dry and pleasant for the remainder of the week.
With a stagnant air mass in place, unhealthy levels of air quality may return on both days, especially across San Francisco, the Peninsula and the East Bay. Mornings on both days will also feature lots of low level cloud cover and areas of thick fog, which may constitute a dense fog advisory to be issued during the morning commute."
Scientists are turning fog into water. Here's what it could mean for California
The Chronicle's HANNAH HAGEMANN: "It comes in fingers, walls and waves. Along the San Francisco Bay, it often hangs, oppressive, eviscerating what could be a sunny day. Other times, it’s an apparition, within reach one moment and beyond grasp the next.
Fog — a part of daily life for millions of Californians — is fundamentally fickle. Yet now researchers are trying to more consistently harvest it."
A comeback for California manufacturing? Trump 2.0 raises hopes — and some worries
LAT's DON LEE: "Miriam Mesina de Gutierrez was 19 years old when she got hired at Paulson Manufacturing in Temecula. It was the summer of 2001 and the job was only part time: on an assembly line, applying an anti-fog, anti-scratch coating to face shields for workers in other industries.
Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined where that $6.75-an-hour job would lead. In 2009, Mesina de Gutierrez became Paulson’s human resources manager. Two years later, she moved to international sales. Two more years and she was promoted to vice president of operations."
Affordable California cities to consider if you’re tired of Bay Area prices
The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI: "The San Francisco Bay Area remains the most expensive place to live in the United States, according to federal data. However, if you’re looking to escape the region’s astronomical housing prices and steep living expenses without leaving California, there are still more affordable options — though they come with trade-offs.
Even the “cheapest” areas in the state surpass the cost of living in most U.S. cities, according to new data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. It provides a snapshot of the cost of living differences across 384 metropolitan areas nationwide in 2023, including 26 in California."
Did sheriff’s officials conspire to set up whistleblowing lieutenant?
LAT's ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN, KERI BLAKINGER: "When L.A. County Sheriff’s Sgt. William Morris was investigating a criminal case against a fellow lieutenant based on a rumor, he kept running into a glaring problem: No one could tell him where the rumor had started.
The claim was that Lt. Joseph Garrido had been spotted using a department-issued vehicle to tow his boat to Lake Havasu City in Arizona for a vacation in 2022 — an offense that, if true, could have gotten him disciplined or even prosecuted. It had trickled down from the highest levels of the Sheriff’s Department to land in front of Morris at the Internal Criminal Investigations Bureau in May of that year."
Back in offices, state workers’ parking frustrations returned as state revenues surged
Sac Bee's WILLIAM MELHADO: "When Lacy Bauer started working for the state of California nearly two decades ago, it was immediately clear she needed to secure a coveted monthly parking pass.
At that time, monthly passes were awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis. Parking administrators posted available spots outside one of the main state-owned lots on O and 10th Streets once a month. On the advice of coworkers, Bauer set up camp outside the 10th street garage at 9 pm on a weekday in August 2008 to guarantee she would secure one of the available permits."
California Cybertruck owner’s family calls license plate backlash a ‘misunderstanding’
The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI: "The family of the Tesla Cybertruck owner whose vanity plate ignited controversy after being linked to the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel called the incident a “misunderstanding.”
The debate began last week when the advocacy group StopAntisemitism shared a photo of the plate, “LOLOCT7,” spotted at a busy intersection in Culver City (Los Angeles County). The organization suggested that the plate celebrated the deadly terrorist attack, which it described as a “vile mockery” of the tragedy."