Mass firings across National Weather Service, NOAA ignite fury among scientists worldwide
LAT, GRACE TOOHEY: "As federal job eliminations struck the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service on Thursday, scientists and environmental advocates denounced the cuts, saying they could cause real harm to Americans.
The full extent of the layoffs across NOAA were not immediately clear, but Democratic legislators said hundreds of scientists and experts had been notified of terminated employment. NOAA — which includes the National Hurricane Center and the Tsunami Warning Center — is the latest in a string of federal agencies targeted for cuts by billionaire Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency."
Californians approved $1.5 billion for wildfire prevention. How will the state spend it?
CALMatters, SAMEEA KAMAL: "Go broad or go deep? That’s one of the big questions state lawmakers are debating as they grapple with how to most effectively use $1.5 billion that voters approved last year for projects to reduce the impact of California wildfires.
That money comes from Proposition 4, the November ballot measure that authorized a $10 billion bond to pay for climate-related projects such as water systems and wildfire mitigation."
Proposed federal budget cuts could hit these parts of California hardest
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "As House Republicans work to pass a budget with significant proposed spending cuts, California officials have sounded the alarm, saying that critical government-funded programs like Medicaid and food assistance are likely to end up on the chopping block.
The proposed budget cuts, which are separate from the firings of federal workers being carried out by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, don’t explicitly call out social safety net programs like Medicaid, but the magnitude of the spending slashes means that it is almost impossible the programs will go unscathed."
ICE agents are setting their sights on L.A. What employers need to know
LAT, KAREN GARCIA: "Over the weekend, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials knocked on the doors of a handful of Los Angeles-area homes. And last month, U.S. Border Patrol agents conducted a three-day raid in rural parts of Kern County targeting Latino farmworkers and day laborers soliciting work in the parking lots of big-box stores.
These actions serve as a reminder that ICE and other immigration officials can show up with little or no warning at homes, businesses or in public places."
READ MORE -- California pastor vows to protect immigrants under Trump-era policies ‘no matter the cost’ -- Sac Bee, STEPHEN HOBBS/MATHEW MIRANDA
The winner of the Oakland mayor’s forum is the candidate who walked out
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "I’m confident in declaring Renia Webb the winner of an Oakland mayoral forum held Wednesday — but only because she walked out of the event 21 minutes early, saying she was tired from a long day of teaching, had to tend to a sick child at home and was done with “the games.”
That’s how depressing the event turned out to be."
The Resistance: Capitol Weekly conference recap
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "Panel I: Health Care
In this panel moderated by Samantha Young of KFF Health News, four panelists debated how California legislators can address the challenges posed by federal policy changes affecting the state’s health care system.
Panelists included former Sen. Dr. Richard Pan, Beth Malinowski of SEIU, Amanda McAllister-Wallner of Health Access and former Assemblymember Devon Mathis."
READ MORE -- Special Episode: CA vs. Donald Trump – Keynote by California Attorney General Rob Bonta (PODCAST) -- Capitol Weekly, STAFF
Bill drafting in California: questions and answers
Capitol Weekly, CHRIS MICHELI: "Which types of bills take effect immediately upon being signed by the Governor? Statutes calling elections, statutes providing for tax levies or appropriations for the usual current expenses of the State, and urgency statutes go into effect immediately upon their enactment.
Does an urgency clause bill require specific language? Yes, a statement of facts constituting the necessity must be set forth in one section of the bill."
CCC provides critical assistance fighting L.A. fires (PODCAST)
Capitol Weekly, STEVE SWATT: "Jared Martinez is one of hundreds of young men and women from the California Conservation Corps to be deployed to Southern California while the devastating Palisades and Eaton fires raged out of control. Preventing and responding to fires have been key missions for the Corps since its inception nearly 50 years ago, and as corpsmembers witnessed the overwhelming catastrophe before them, this critical assignment came into sharp focus.
“I do think about the impact,” Martinez says during a brief break. “On the drive over here, I saw all the homes that burned down. It’s really sad seeing that, but knowing that I’m making a difference and doing my part makes me feel good.”"
CALMatters, ANA B. IBARRA: "Perhaps no state has more to lose than California in the federal budget proposal House Republicans passed this week.
That spending plan sets up significant cuts to Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income people. California has taken just about every route and opportunity to expand the Medicaid program. Today, 14.9 million Californians are enrolled in it, and federal funding cuts would almost certainly roll back services and coverage for some of them."
‘Utterly botched’: Glitchy rollout of new California bar exam prompts lawsuit
LAT, JENNY JARVIE: "Test takers seeking to practice law in California experienced chaos this week as the State Bar of California fumbled the rollout of its new attorney licensing test, leaving many unable to complete their bar exams and some filing a proposed federal class action lawsuit.
For some, the online testing platforms repeatedly crashed before they even started. Others struggled to finish and save essays, experienced screen lags, received error messages and could not copy and paste text from test questions into the exam’s response field — a function officials had stated would be possible."
USC scrubs DEI from some webpages as Trump cracks down on campus diversity programs
LAT, JAWEED KALEEM: "As the Trump administration pushes schools to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programs by Friday or face federal funding cuts, USC has scrubbed several references to DEI statements, renamed faculty positions and, in one case, deleted website references to a scholarship for Black and Indigenous students.
The University of Southern California’s actions this month — similar to some other universities throughout the country— appear to be aimed at avoiding federal scrutiny, according to USC faculty and staff and reviews of portions of the USC website archives."
UCLA says more than $1 billion at risk if feds withhold funding
EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "UCLA could be at risk of losing more than $1 billion if the Trump administration follows through on threats to withhold funding from colleges that continue any race-based programs, the university’s chief financial officer said Thursday.
The campus receives about $900 million in direct federal funding for “a range of contracts and grants” and another $200 million for overhead, said Stephen Agostini, UCLA’s CFO, during a virtual town hall Thursday. UCLA held the town hall to discuss federal policy actions and their impacts on the campus."
West Contra Costa compromises on staff cuts, but may have to cut student services instead
EdSource, MONICA VELEZ: "In a move consistent with dozens of California school districts, West Contra Costa Unified board members have had to choose between eliminating staff and services for students or exploding its budget deficit.
At the start of the debate at Wednesday night’s school board meeting, the district had proposed cutting about 177 staffing positions and, after nearly three hours of debate, the board voted 3-1 to cut all but eight. But saving those eight positions jeopardizes funding for services for at-risk students."
‘I’m still nervous’: California’s vital snowpack below normal as winter winds down
The Chronicle, KURTIS ALEXANDER: "The big storms that pounded California in early February, after a terribly dry January, did only so much to boost the state’s lackluster snow levels.
Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, southern Cascades and Trinity mountains will likely hover around 85% of average, for the date, on Friday when state water managers conduct their monthly snow survey."
READ MORE -- It’s been a warm winter, and California’s snowpack shows it -- LAT, IAN JAMES
Google announces more layoffs as employees track cuts in crowdsourced document
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "Google announced hundreds of additional layoffs across several teams this week, including its cloud, advertising, and trust & safety units — with employees tracking the cuts through a crowdsourced document.
A Google spokesperson confirmed that fewer than 200 roles were impacted across various teams, emphasizing that the changes are part of broader efficiency measures, according to Business Insider."
Longest-running parade in California returns to Marysville’s historic Chinatown
Sac Bee, JAKE GOODRICK: "What some believe to be the longest-running parade in California returns this weekend as the 145th Bok Kai celebration takes place in Marysville, a community whose Chinese roots have held firm dating back to the Gold Rush.
Now local efforts have begun to further revitalize the city’s historic Chinatown and long-held tradition, with a goal of pumping its attendance closer to the years when, organizers have said, thousands would travel from across the country and world to attend."
2 new businesses slated for old Raley’s grocery store. What’s coming to Land Park?
Sac Bee, ANNIKA MERRILEES: "Raley’s has lined up new tenants to fill its former store on Freeport Boulevard, which moved down the block to a new Land Park location almost five years ago.
The West Sacramento-based grocery chain closed the supermarket, which had opened in 1959, in 2020 when the company opened a new flagship store a block north at 4690 Freeport Blvd."
State Farm’s CEO and California’s top insurance official just met. Here’s exactly what they said
The Chronicle, MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "State Farm has given Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara a stark choice: approve a rate increase consumer advocates say amounts to $600 per household, or run the risk that California’s largest insurer may drop even more policies across the state.
“The ability, prospectively, to continue to stay behind our policies as we enter fire season, it’s in jeopardy sir, and it’s a very serious situation,” said State Farm General CFO Mark Schwamberger, according to a transcript of a meeting Wednesday between State Farm executives and California Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara."
Former L.A. Fire Chief Kristin Crowley appeals her dismissal by Mayor Karen Bass
LAT, JULIA WICK/DAVID ZAHNISER/DAKOTA SMITH: "Former Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley took the extraordinary step Thursday of appealing Mayor Karen Bass’ decision to dismiss her over her handling of the catastrophic wildfire that destroyed much of Pacific Palisades.
The appeal, which would require the approval of 10 of 15 City Council members, is unlikely to succeed. But it will almost certainly cause further public turmoil for Bass, who has struggled to regain her political footing since the Palisades fire erupted Jan. 7."
A California sheriff is planning to break the state’s sanctuary law. Here’s how
CALMatters, NIGEL DUARA: "The specific way in which the sheriff of a rural Northern California county says he’s going to break state law is by contacting immigration authorities after he arrests someone who is in the country illegally.
It’s equally true to say that Amador County Sheriff Gary Redman believes he’s upholding federal law, specifically the section of the U.S. criminal code that forbids harboring people in the country illegally."
They patrol L.A.’s streets in search of ICE, Trump immigration raids
LAT, RUBEN VIVES: "Driving north on Griffith Avenue in South Los Angeles on Monday morning, Azusena Favela and Adalberto Ríos kept an eye out for unmarked American-brand vehicles with dark tinted windows and government license plates, anything that may point to the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
As Favela turned left on 23rd Street, she noticed a white truck with yellow flashing lights stopped near an intersection in the distance."
Here’s what new data on S.F.’s latest drug market intervention shows
The Chronicle, MAGGIE ANGST/JD MORRIS: "Two weeks after San Francisco set up an outdoor triage center for homeless people and drug users in a parking lot on Sixth Street, the hard-pressed corridor is noticeably calmer.
For the past year or so, the stretch of Sixth Street from Market to Howard streets in the city’s South of Market neighborhood has been a hotbed for open-air fentanyl and cocaine dealing, illegal vending and homelessness, among other issues. But since Mayor Daniel Lurie took office and made it a major focus of his first weeks in office, the illegal activities have somewhat lessened."
READ MORE -- San Francisco drug markets: More than 80 people arrested in large-scale overnight raid -- The Chronicle, MAGGIE ANGST
Inside the mysterious slaying of a Hollywood pimp with Russian mob tattoos
LAT, MATTHEW ORMSETH: "The key to solving a mysterious double homicide in the South Bay city of Lomita was a convicted robber imprisoned 200 miles away.
Robert Eversole had never met Allan Roshanski or Ruslan Magomedgadzhiev, but he told the authorities he knew “everything” about how they died the morning of Oct. 4, 2020."