Cal Fire's new fire risk maps mean big changes for California homeowners
The Chronicle, JULIE JOHNSON/HARSHA DEVULAPALLI: "California fire officials released long-awaited maps on Monday showing fire risk in cities across the Bay Area and along the northern coast of California.
The maps, which are still in draft form, will have major implications: They will guide where stricter fire-resistant building and landscape rules apply, and are an update to fire risk maps issued more than a decade ago. For example, the state’s pending ban of plants and other combustible materials within five feet of homes will apply to properties categorized on the new maps (i.e., in local responsibility areas) as having “very high fire severity hazard.” That includes parts of Bay Area cities like Berkeley, Oakland, Tiburon, Mill Valley, Santa Rosa, San Bruno, San Jose and Palo Alto."
How artists are helping LA fire survivors find hope and comfort
Capitol Weekly, LISA RENNER: "As people struggled to cope with the immense loss from the Los Angeles fires earlier, artists stepped into offer help.
They taught free classes to victims of the fire, drew pictures of destroyed houses and offered much-needed entertainment to give people a break from the devastation."
Reporter Brian Joseph’s new book on sex trafficking in the USA (PODCAST)
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "Brian Joseph has worked as a newspaper reporter and investigative journalist for two decades, writing for Capitol Weekly, the Orange County Register, the Sacramento Bee and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, among other publications. He recently released his first book: Vegas Concierge: Sex Trafficking, Hip Hop and Corruption in America. Using public and private records as well as exclusive, first-person accounts from primary sources, the book shows how prostitutes and pimps ply their trade, how law enforcement agencies trip up and their investigations become compromised, and how self-interest corrupts news organizations and the corridors of power. He spoke with us about what drove him to write the book, the connection to Hip Hop and corruption, and what news organizations have gotten wrong in coverage of the issue. Plus: Who Had the Worst Week in California Politics?"
Sacramento’s latest budget deficit is $62 million. Here’s how officials want to lower it
Sac Bee, MATHEW MIRANDA: "Sacramento finance officials have proposed a strategy to reduce the city’s looming $62 million budget deficit by nearly half.
The proposal will be part of the city’s latest budget update this week, which shows a slight improvement from the previous estimated shortfall of $77 million. The forecast was helped by recent homeless services funding from the California Department of Housing and Community Development."
Federal judge blocks Trump administration immigration policy at West Sacramento temple
Sac Bee, STEPHEN HOBBS: "A federal judge in Maryland has blocked the use of a new and controversial immigration policy at certain places of worship across the country, including a Sikh temple in West Sacramento.
Quaker and Baptist groups in other states, along with Sikh Temple Sacramento, are suing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security after the agency rescinded a guidance that immigration officials were to avoid enforcement actions at or near places of worship as policy."
How California schools, colleges are responding to Trump’s DEI crackdown
LAT, JAWEED KALEEM/HOWARD BLUME: "With educators facing a federal deadline to abolish race-specific programs or risk funding cuts, California public universities and schools are defending diversity efforts while carefully avoiding clashes with the Trump administration, prompting confusion over the future of traditions including culturally themed dorm floors, Black student graduation ceremonies and scholarships for Latinos.
In a Feb. 14 letter, the U.S. Department of Education told all K-12 school districts and higher education institutions to end the use of race in “admissions, hiring, promotion, compensation, financial aid, scholarships, prizes, administrative support, discipline, housing, graduation ceremonies, and all other aspects of student, academic, and campus life.” It laid out a new federal anti-discrimination enforcement policy, threatening to pull federal dollars from schools that do not fall in line."
Sacramento schools crafted a plan after a racist test went viral. Why this teacher has doubt
Sac Bee, JENNAH PENDLETON: "Luther Burbank High School teacher Erinn Leone has been looking for disciplinary reform in her school district since a fellow teacher launched into a racial slur-filled rant in her presence and she felt burdened with the responsibility of resolving the situation.
Then when her school received national attention after a biology teacher administered a final with racist questions targeting specific students, Leone felt it was time to share her story and push for change."
LAT, JENNY JARVIE: "A spark from a malfunctioning transmission line ignited a blaze. Before long, gale-force winds whipped the flames into a mighty firestorm that tore through the Sierra Nevada foothills at the rate of one football field a second.
By 8 a.m. Nov. 8, 2018, when embers began to rain down on the town of Paradise, most residents had not been ordered to evacuate — even though an hour and a half had passed since the fire was first reported in a remote wooded area seven miles away."
Even in wet years, wells are still dry. Why replenishing California’s groundwater is painfully slow
CALMatters, ALASTAIR BLAND: "After abundant rain and moderate snowfall this year in the northern half of the state, California’s largest reservoirs are holding more than 120% of their historical average. But underground, the state’s supply of water for drinking and irrigating crops remains depleted.
Even after multiple wet winters, and despite a state law that’s supposed to protect and restore the state’s precious groundwater, thousands of wells — mostly in rural, low-income communities in the San Joaquin Valley — have gone dry because of over-pumping by growers."
Temperatures to soar across the Bay Area as February ends on a warm note
The Chronicle, GREG PORTER: "Get ready for some temperature sticker shock over the last few days of February. The Bay Area’s three-day warmup begins in earnest Tuesday, when temperatures will rise into the 60s and 70s.
On Monday, a powerful storm slammed into the Pacific Northwest, making for a pretty satellite picture and blasting the region with rain, snow and wind. Behind that storm system, which also led to light showers in the North Bay, the air mass has cleared out across the West Coast, even bringing chilly temperatures Tuesday morning to parts of the Bay Area."
Southern California’s wild winter continues with record-threatening heat, then a chance of rain
LAT, GRACE TOOHEY/JOSEPH SERNA: "Southern California’s recent unusually warm temperatures are expected to ramp up over the next couple of days, peaking by midweek, when some areas will see highs reach into the low 90s.
“There’s a possibility that a few locations could hit their daily record — or possibly exceed it,” said Paul Steward, a National Weather Service meteorologist in San Diego. He said a widespread ridge of high pressure will continue to strengthen through Wednesday, which is expected to be the region’s warmest day. Temperatures are forecast to be 15 to 20 degrees above normal, Steward said."
Video: ‘Mind-blowing’ super pod of 2,000 dolphins spotted off California coast
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "A rare sight off California’s coast left marine enthusiasts in awe over the weekend, as thousands of dolphins congregated in an unusual super pod off Monterey.
On Friday, Monterey Bay Whale Watch shared a video of their encounter with over 2,000 Northern right whale dolphins, mixed with Pacific white-sided dolphins, spread out for miles."
Daniel Lurie wants more control of S.F. police oversight. Will he get it?
The Chronicle, JD MORRIS/ALDO TOLEDO: "Mayor Daniel Lurie may be about to assert greater control over the San Francisco Police Department by ousting a member of the agency’s oversight body to make way for a more politically aligned replacement.
Lurie has asked the Board of Supervisors to ratify his decision to fire Max Carter-Oberstone from the Police Commission and a vote is expected Tuesday afternoon. Not all supervisors have publicly commented on what they will do, but several have said they will back the mayor’s decision, and Lurie’s aides are confident they have enough support."
Can one man help wipe out S.F.’s drug markets? City officials want to find out
The Chronicle, MAGGIE ANGST: "David Kennedy has devoted his life to developing new approaches to curb gun violence and dismantle open drug markets.
In Boston, interventions adopted under Kennedy’s direction led to a 63% decline in youth homicides. And in High Point, N.C., the city almost entirely eliminated open drug use and dealing over three years and saw a steep decline in violent crime, according to studies."
‘A volunteer jail:’ Inside the scandals and abuse pushing California’s homeless out of shelters
CALMatters, LAUREN HEPLER: "The records catalog the chaos inside California homeless shelters.
In Salinas, internal emails say the staff at one brand-new shelter grabbed the best donations for themselves and helped friends and family jump the line for housing. In Los Angeles, court records show a leading nonprofit hired a man who was convicted of attempted murder to work security at a shelter, where he committed three sex crimes in one day."
They were arrested for sleeping outside while homeless. Now, these Californians are headed to trial
CALMatters, MARISA KENDALL: "Wickey Twohands woke up early on the day he was scheduled to go on trial for sleeping outside.
First, he dropped off all his possessions — a bedroll, blankets, clothes and some food — at a friend’s house for safekeeping. Then the 77-year-old caught a bus to the courthouse in downtown Fresno. He arrived an hour early, before his lawyer or even the judge, and took a seat on a bench in the hall to wait."
Teens are spilling dark thoughts to AI chatbots. Who’s to blame when something goes wrong?
LAT, QUEENIE WONG: "When her teen with autism suddenly became angry, depressed and violent, the mother searched his phone for answers.
She found her son had been exchanging messages with chatbots on Character.AI, an artificial intelligence app that allows users to create and interact with virtual characters that mimic celebrities, historical figures and anyone else their imagination conjures."
Bay Area FasTrak scams are surging — again: ‘It’s been nonstop’
The Chronicle, RACHEL SWAN: "
Road toll scams that besieged the Bay Area and and other parts of the country last year have ramped up again, with insistent text messages that demand payment — and sometimes threaten penalties.
A Chronicle reporter received three such missives since December, purportedly for not paying fees to use toll lanes. Other Bay Area drivers have shared screenshots of similar messages on social media, asking about their validity. Some say they are getting hammered multiple times a month, and note the language in these texts has evolved: fewer spelling errors, increasingly detailed instructions, and a more intimidating tone."