Edison stock turns volatile as growing blame for wildfires lands on the power company
LAT's ROGER VINCENT: "Southern California’s catastrophic fires have rocked the stock of Edison International, the parent company of Southern California Edison, as accusations and lawsuits about the utility’s potential role in starting the fires mount.
Shares of Edison International closed up 5% at $61.30 on Wednesday after plunging 23% this month, making it one of the worst performers on the Standard & Poor’s 500. The rebound came after Ladenburg Thalmann analysts upgraded their rating of the stock to neutral from sell, saying that their target price of $56.50 a share reflected worst-case outcomes associated with the current wildfires."
Crews make progress after lull in winds, but ‘off the charts’ dryness approaches (LIVE UPDATES) (VICTIM MEMORIAL)
LAT's STAFF: "Winds are expected to continue dissipating this week, but it’s shaping up to be a short reprieve for fire-scarred Southern California.
There’s a growing risk that significant fire weather could return in Los Angeles and Ventura counties starting early next week."
READ MORE -- What California’s hydroclimate whiplash means for wildfires -- The Chronicle's JACK LEE; L.A.’s ‘off the charts’ dryness keeps risk of new fires high. Rain is desperately needed -- LAT's RONG-GONG LIN II
Los Angeles fire aid will not be tied to Trump legal fund, Democratic lawmakers say
Sac Bee's NICOLE NIXON, STEPHEN HOBBS: "California Democrats on Wednesday continued to be on the defensive about their plans for a special session to prepare the state for the incoming administration of President Donald Trump.
In their latest move, they walked back a statement from a top state Senator that funding for $50 million in legal defense would be tied with aid for people affected by the fires in the Los Angeles area."
Gov. Newsom extends rental price gouging protections until early March
LAT's ANDREW KHOURI: "Gov. Gavin Newsom extended price gouging protections on rental housing Thursday amid calls for authorities to prosecute landlords jacking up rent in the wake of Los Angeles County’s devastating fires.
Under California law, price gouging protections kick in during a state of emergency and generally bar landlords, hotel and motels from charging more than 10% more than what they were charging or advertising before the crisis."
LA wildfire response from California lawmakers: Lots of ideas, few details
CALMatters' YUE STELLA YU: "Expediting homeowner insurance claims. Fast-tracking rebuilds. Ensuring fire aid for undocumented immigrants. Boosting penalties for arsonists.
As wildfires continue to blaze through Los Angeles County, state lawmakers are quick to announce ideas to provide disaster aid and prevent future wildfires, touting their plans in press conferences, news releases and social media posts."
‘Not enough builders’: How L.A. fires could squeeze Bay Area
The Chronicle's NORA MISHANEC: "The construction industry is anticipating years of disruption from the Los Angeles fires that could make it much harder to build, even in the Bay Area.
For years, contractors in the Bay Area have struggled to find workers to do remodeling or repairs, and soaring material prices have kept the region among the most expensive places to build in the country."
READ MORE -- After the Eaton Fire, will Altadena’s thriving Black and Latino communities be able to rebuild? -- The Chronicle's CONNOR LETOURNEAU; Why California keeps putting homes where fires burn -- CALMatters' BEN CHRISTOPHER
Exclusive data shows which home insurers have most policies in L.A. fire areas
The Chronicle's MEGAN FAN MUNCE, SRIHARSHA DEVULAPALLI: "Two insurers — State Farm General and the California FAIR Plan — cover more homes in the areas where the Los Angeles fires have burned than any others, according to a Chronicle analysis.
They’re also the two insurers experts are most concerned could run out of money after a major fire."
AG nominee Pam Bondi under fire from Padilla, Schiff over Trump pardons, immigration
Sac Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff engaged in fierce verbal combat Wednesday with Attorney General-designate Pam Bondi, as they fought over her views on the 2020 elections, immigration and presidential pardons.
At one point, a frustrated Bondi told Schiff “You were censured by Congress for comments just like this that are so reckless.”"
Ex-Sacramento city manager will continue to receive city salary for a year with new job title
Sac Bee's ROSALIO AHUMADA: "The Sacramento City Council last month rejected the renewal of Howard Chan’s city manager contract, but he will still receive a city salary of more than $300,000 for a year under a new job title.
Chan’s last day as city manager was Dec. 31 after his request for a contract extension failed following months of criticism over his high salary and decision-making. On his LinkedIn page, Chan on Tuesday night announced, “I’m happy to share that I’m starting a new position as Special Advisor to the City Manager at City of Sacramento!”"
Have we escaped the annual winter COVID surge? Here's what experts say
The Chronicle's CATHERINE HO: "For the past four years, almost like clockwork, the start of holiday season has been marked by an unwelcome guest: sharply rising cases of COVID-19 and seemingly everyone coming down with a telltale cough or fever.
The uptick in infections, regionally and nationally, typically began around Thanksgiving and rose through Christmas and into the new year, prompting public health officials to caution people against holiday gatherings if feeling ill, and to wear masks in crowded places if they were at risk of developing severe symptoms."
Let the latest scramble begin for California school construction money
EdSource's LASHERICA THORNTON, JOHN FENSTERWALD: "The record 205 school districts that passed construction bonds in November will spend 2025 vying for matching money from a $10 billion state bond that will meet only a small portion of the demand for financial help.
Novices at navigating state agencies, especially small districts, may find the process of claiming a share of state funding will be lengthy, complex and potentially overwhelming, said Julie Boesch, administrator for small school district support for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools. Boesch singlehandedly shepherded a renovation project through the funding process as superintendent and principal of Maple Elementary, a one-school district in Kern County."
Republican bill would ban transgender girls from high school sports in California
LAT's HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS: "On the first day of the California Legislature’s new session, Assemblymember Kate Sanchez, an Orange County Republican, introduced a bill that would ban transgender high school students from competing on girls’ sports teams.
“Young women who have spent years training, sacrificing and earning their place to compete at the highest level are now being forced to compete against individuals with undeniable biological advantages,” Sanchez, of Rancho Santa Margarita, said in a video posted to social media."
Online censorship in schools is ‘more pervasive’ than expected, new data shows
CALMatters' TARA GARCIA MATHEWSON: "Aleeza Siddique, 15, was in a Spanish class earlier this year in her Northern California high school when a lesson about newscasts got derailed by her school’s internet filter. Her teacher told the class to open up their school-issued Chromebooks and explore a list of links he had curated from the Spanish language broadcast news giant Telemundo. The students tried, but every single link turned up the same page: a picture of a padlock.
“None of it was available to us,” Aleeza said. “The site was completely blocked.”"
129 SFUSD students caught up in special ed fiasco that could cost over $1 million
The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "San Francisco schools owe some of the most vulnerable district students thousands of hours in legally required special education services they should have received last semester. The district will now have to pay up for that lost time, spending an estimated $1.18 million on private tutors or after-school staffing.
The cost is only part of the fallout from the district’s budgeting fiasco last summer that left special education programs without the funding to pay for 252 necessary teachers, aides and other staff, a crisis that contributed to the resignation of the superintendent and helped prompt a mayoral rescue team to assist in righting the district’s ship."
The Chronicle's NANETTE ASIMOV: "UCSF abruptly canceled a two-day anti-racism class for doctors and nurses that was to be taught in February by a consultant who was targeted by right-wing groups that called his provocative content racist, the Chronicle has learned.
The cancellation, confirmed by the San Francisco medical school last week, followed questions from the Chronicle about allegations made against the consultant, Dante King, and his accredited online class, “Understanding the Roots of Racism and Bias: Anti-Blackness and Its Links to Whiteness, White Racism, Privilege, and Power.”"
What will Mexico do if Trump tries to mass deport non-Mexicans across the border?
LAT's PATRICK J. MCDONNELL: "Mexican authorities have repeatedly vowed to welcome back their citizens should the incoming Trump administration proceed with threats of large-scale deportations.
“It’s our obligation,” said President Claudia Sheinbaum, who has outlined plans to boost assistance for millions of Mexican citizens facing potential deportation from the United States — and increase aid for those forced back to Mexico."
Trump loves tariffs. But here’s why he might spare wine
The Chronicle's ESTHER MOBLEY: "Donald Trump has made it abundantly clear that he plans to instate tariffs on imported goods after he is inaugurated as president on Monday. “To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff, and it’s my favorite word,” he told Bloomberg in October.
American restaurants, wine importers and wine retailers have been bracing for the possibility that imported wines, especially from France, could be among the Trump administration’s targets. The wine industry is already tariff-weary, having been subject to rounds of fees on European wines in 2019 and 2021 — years when many American wine businesses were already straining to make ends meet."
Fearing AI will take their jobs, California workers plan a long battle against tech
CALMatters' KHARI JOHNSON: "The current frenzy around artificial intelligence has spread like a shockwave.
It started among engineers inspired by a 2017 research paper. Next came venture capitalists eager to profit from a new boom. They were followed by government officials racing to impose regulations."
S.F.’s economic ranking plummets in key report, marking ‘brutal wake-up call’
The Chronicle's CHASE DIFELICIANTONIO: "The San Francisco area saw the most precipitous drop among any large metropolitan area in an annual economic ranking tallying U.S. metropolitan areas' economic trends.
Before the pandemic, the regions of San Francisco and San Jose regularly topped the list, released by the nonprofit Milken Institute, which measures performance based on factors like job and wage growth, economic opportunity and equality, housing affordability and a host of other factors."
Downtown S.F. office prices bottomed out in 2024. Here’s why that’s a good thing
The Chronicle's LAURA WAXMANN: "It’s been a brutal few years for San Francisco’s battered commercial real estate market, with values dropping and interest waning. And, it’s difficult to tell if things are getting better in the city’s commercial corridors: While city leaders and business owners tout San Francisco’s return, various reports continue to share data suggesting that change is incremental, at best.
For commercial broker Zach Haupert, proof that the city’s devastated real estate market is finally making a turn lies in the number of deals he’s completed. The years after the start of the pandemic were marked by a dearth of building sales, but, last year, his team at Touchstone Commercial Partners sold 17 commercial buildings and oversaw over 100 lease deals in the city. One deal in the sought-after Jackson Square neighborhood exceeded even the undaunted real estate veteran’s expectations around pricing: a 9,000-square-foot office building traded hands for roughly $600 per square foot."