Thunderstorms to hit Bay Area amid intense storm system. See timeline of impacts
The Chronicle, GREG PORTER: "A powerful storm brought heavy rain to the Bay Area overnight, but that was just the first round of precipitation from the system. More rain, including showers and thunderstorms, is expected Thursday afternoon as the storm enters its second phase.
By Thursday afternoon, the center of the storm system will be nearly stationary, spinning just offshore of Crescent City (Del Norte County). Cold air aloft and relatively mild, wet conditions at the surface will create an unstable atmosphere, making it easy for storms to develop quickly. Some cells may even begin to rotate, a precursor to tornadic development, but tornadoes are not expected."
READ MORE -- Brunt of atmospheric river storm hits L.A. today: Timing, trouble spots, evacuations and more -- LAT, RONG-GONG LIN II/HANNAH FRY/CLARA HARTER; Parts of Sacramento area under flood warning as river levels rise. How much rain will we get? -- Sac Bee, CAMILA PEDROSA
New data shows Pacific Palisades, Altadena face heightened mudslide risk as storm pounds fire zones
LAT, HANNAH FRY/RONG-GONG LIN II: "With the most powerful rainstorm of the season set to soak Southern California on Thursday, the first assessment of mudslide danger since the January firestorms shows that both the Pacific Palisades and the Altadena burn areas face significantly heightened risk of debris flows in the coming days and months.
In the San Gabriel Valley, where the Eaton fire charred a deadly and devastating path — leveling more than 9,400 structures including many homes — a state report noted that there’s a high likelihood that heavy rain could generate large, damaging post-fire flooding and debris flows."
Crushed by boulders, drowned in mud: How debris flows endanger LA’s fire-ravaged communities
CALMatters, JULIE CART/ALASTAIR BLAND: "Sterling Klippel is awed by the beauty of nature but spends his working days resisting its power.
Casting worried glances at a gray sky above the Sierra Madre Dam in the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, Klippel, a beefy and upbeat man, was patiently describing the complexities of Los Angeles County’s flood protection system."
Edison knew before Eaton fire that cutting power risked igniting blaze, records show
LAT, CONNOR SHEETS: "On Jan. 7, as fierce winds whipped across the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains, residents frantically called Southern California Edison, imploring the utility to turn off power around Altadena to keep electrical equipment from sparking a wildfire.
Minutes after 6 p.m., witnesses spotted a fire under an Edison transmission tower in Eaton Canyon. Since then, there has been intense scrutiny from both investigators and experts about whether that tower ignited a fire that destroyed more than 9,000 structures and killed 17 people."
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is confirmed as the nation’s health secretary
LAT, AMANDA SEITZ: "The Senate on Thursday confirmed Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent lawyer and vocal vaccine critic, as the nation’s health secretary, controlling $1.7 trillion in spending for vaccines, food safety and health insurance programs for roughly half the country.
Despite several Republicans expressing deep skepticism about his views on vaccines, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) was the lone Republican to vote against Kennedy’s nomination."
California court rules against baker in revival of same-sex wedding cake disputes
CALMatters, JEANNE KUANG: "A Kern County baker violated California law when she refused to sell a cake to a lesbian couple for their wedding, a state appeals court ruled this week in a suit brought by the state’s Civil Rights Division.
If the scenario sounds familiar, that’s because it’s central to a series of cases that have for years been shaping the nation’s legal debate over free speech and anti-discrimination laws."
Long barred by Democrats from California’s Latino Caucus, GOP lawmakers create their own group
Sac Bee, NICOLE NIXON: "Long shut out of California’s Latino caucus, Republican lawmakers are launching their own group for a growing class of GOP Latinos in the state Capitol.
“Latino families in California have been priced out of the California Dream,” said Sen. Suzette Valladares, R-Santa Clarita, one of the founders of the new California Hispanic Legislative Caucus. “There are millions of Latino voices that are not being represented in Sacramento, let alone by the current Latino Caucus.”"
Did confusing language doom California’s anti-slavery amendment? Lawmakers want to try again
CALMatters, JOE GARCIA: "California’s Legislative Black Caucus and the Reparations Task Force continue their fight to scrape away at the last vestiges of legalized slavery remaining within the state constitution.
Assemblymember Lori Wilson, a Democrat from Suisun City, this month introduced a new constitutional amendment aimed at abolishing the everyday de facto slavery practices that persist inside California prisons."
Another poll predicts high support for Kamala Harris in 2026 for governor. Will she run?
Sac Bee, LIA RUSSELL: "Another poll named Kamala Harris as a strong contender should she choose to run for governor of California next year.
In a poll published Thursday, Emerson College said a majority of likely Democratic primary voters would support the former Vice President in 2026."
Immigrant rights activists vow to disrupt ICE raids in California
LAT, RACHEL URANGA: "A band of largely left-leaning organizations has vowed to disrupt immigration enforcement operations in Southern California, as fear grows that officials will execute large-scale raids.
Leaked documents provided to The Times last week showed law enforcement planned to carry out operations before the end of February focusing on people that do not have legal status in the country or already have pending orders of removal."
‘Our hospital is full to the brim’: California overwhelmed by severe flu season
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "California is grappling with an unusually severe flu season this winter, with hospitalizations rising and concerns that the outbreak could last for weeks.
The situation is particularly dire in the Bay Area, where Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UCSF, said flu activity has reached alarming levels. “2025 is the year of flu in the Bay Area,” he said, highlighting the overwhelming number of cases impacting emergency departments."
Trump opens Title IX investigation into California high school sports governing body
Sac Bee, ANDREW SHEELER: "President Donald Trump’s Department of Education on Wednesday announced that it is opening a Title IX investigation into the California Interscholastic Federation, a statewide governing body that oversees sports at more than 1,500 high schools, for its policy of allowing transgender girls to play female sports.
Title IX is the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in schools and universities that receive federal funds."
CALMatters, MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: "Fewer California high school seniors are completing federal financial aid applications than in past years, which some analysts say is a sign that students may fear the Trump administration will use their sensitive data for immigration enforcement.
The number of seniors completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, has dropped by about 48,000 students, or 25%, as of last week, compared to this point last year. In both years, the California deadline for state financial aid — such as waivers to fully cover tuition at public universities plus other awards — is early March."
UCLA suspends Students for Justice in Palestine after vandalism at UC regent’s home
LAT, JAWEED KALEEM: "UCLA administrators said Wednesday they were suspending two Students for Justice in Palestine organizations after masked pro-Palestinian campus activists protested outside the Brentwood home of University of California Regent Jay Sures last week, vandalizing his property and surrounding his wife while she was in her car.
Chancellor Julio Frenk said in a campuswide message the decision by the UCLA Office of Student Conduct was an interim suspension while internal judicial procedures over the groups — Students for Justice in Palestine and Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine — took place."
Bankrupt retailer to shut a dozen Bay Area stores among 500 total closures
The Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "Bankrupt fabrics and craft retailer Joann Inc. plans to close a dozen Bay Area stores as part of around 500 closures around the country, according to a court filing on Wednesday.
The Ohio-based company filed for bankruptcy in January for the second time in 10 months and is seeking a buyer. Like many retailers, Joann suffered a consumer spending drop-off amid high inflation, in contrast to the pandemic spending boom a few years earlier. It reported $615 million in debt."
Bay Area woman bought her first home after being homeless. Then the racial slurs started
The Chronicle, SARAH RAVANI: "The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an incident as a hate crime after a Black San Leandro homeowner reported that someone painted “No Black” on her fence.
Sonia Reed, 52, purchased her first home on Upland Road in an unincorporated neighborhood in the foothills east of San Leandro in December, and said she has since been harassed by neighbors. The formwerly homeless grandmother said neighbors have told her they don’t want Black people to live in the neighborhood, and have called her racial slurs."
Drivers in these S.F. neighborhoods got the most tickets for parking in unmarked ‘daylighting’ zones
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "San Francisco transportation officials this week scrapped plans to issue $40 tickets to drivers parked in unmarked “daylighting” zones near crosswalks — that is, within 20 feet of the “approach” side of a crosswalk. Instead, they’ll keep issuing warning citations that carry no fine, a practice the transit agency began late last year.
In just over six weeks, SFMTA parking officers have issued more than 3,000 $0 tickets for the violation on illegally parked cars — roughly the same number of tickets issued for violations like parking in yellow zones, blocking driveways or parking on sidewalks, a Chronicle analysis found."
Sacramento pays settlement to controversial former fire chief who alleged wrongful termination
Sac Bee, MATHEW MIRANDA: "The city of Sacramento has paid a $300,000 settlement to former Fire Chief Gary Loesch, who spent much of his tenure embroiled in controversy.
Former City Manager Howard Chan ousted Loesch in May 2022 for reasons including “incompatibility of management style” and “failure to foster a homogeneous and inclusive work environment and culture,” according to previous reporting by The Sacramento Bee."