Should members of Congress stop getting paid during a government shutdown?
SacBee, DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Members of Congress could continue getting paid for their time during the 43-day federal shutdown that ended earlier this month. Now there’s a strong effort to make sure that doesn’t happen if the government is shuttered again.
“It’s time that Congress set an example,” said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., who is leading the effort to restrict members’ pay during shutdowns. The salary could be deferred until a shutdown ended."
Uncertainty clouds future of legislative gender parity
Capitol Weekly, LISA RENNER: "A little less than a year after the California Legislature achieved near gender parity, uncertainty clouds the next chapter. Will the 2026 elections preserve the historic gains, or will the Capitol slide backward?
With at least eight women lawmakers set to exit due to term limits or seeking other offices (and even more possible due to reshuffling from Proposition 50), the next elections could either uphold California’s reputation as a global leader in gender equity or mark the start of a retreat."
Graham Knaus: California State Association of Counties (PODCAST)
Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "Few know the impacts of federal and state actions better than local governments, who are often tasked with implementing those policies. Our guest today is Graham Knaus, CEO of the California State Association of Counties (CSAC), which advocates on behalf of all 58 of California’s counties. He joins us today to discuss CSAC’s upcoming gubernatorial forum and the looming challenges counties face from both H.R. 1, a.k.a. President Donald Trump’s “big beautiful bill,” and the state’s ongoing budget shortfall."
California is about to cut power company profits to historic lows. Your bill will barely drop
CALMatters, MALENA CAROLLO: "With California electric rates stuck at nearly the highest in the nation, the state’s utility regulator is poised to lower the payout shareholders can receive from California’s three large investor-owned power companies.
In a proposed decision, the California Public Utilities Commission recommended dropping the “return on equity” by 0.35% each for Pacific Gas & Electric, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric. If approved, shareholders of all three companies would see a potential return next year of just under 10%. Such returns for PG&E and Edison haven’t dipped below double digits in at least 20 years."
‘A real threat to San Francisco’: Trump cuts will add to budget woes, city report says
Chronicle, ALYCE MCFADDEN: "Trump administration changes to federal benefit programs will cost San Francisco hundreds of millions of dollars each year starting in 2027, according to a new city report published Tuesday.
The “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a sweeping change to domestic tax and funding policy passed by Republicans earlier this year, slashed funding for federal benefits including Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP, and Medicaid and made it harder for people to qualify for the programs. The changes have left local and state governments scrambling to fill the impending gaps as thousands of Americans who rely on the benefits find themselves suddenly in limbo."
Is the U.S. invading Venezuela? Or trying to make a deal?
LAT, KATE LINTHICUM/PATRICK J. MCDONNELL/MERY MOGOLLON: "On the face of it, the United States appears closer than ever to mounting a military campaign to remove President Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela.
President Trump says he has authorized the CIA to conduct covert operations inside the Caribbean nation, and has massed troops, fighter jets and warships just off its coastline."
California braces for early, sharper flu season as virus mutation outpaces vaccine, experts say
LAT, RONG-GONG LIN II: "California could see an early start to the annual flu season, as a combination of low vaccination rates and late mutations to the virus may leave the state particularly exposed to transmission, health experts say.
Already, there are warning signs. Los Angeles County recently reported its first flu death of the season, and other nations are reporting record-breaking or powerful, earlier-than-expected flu seasons."
New antisemitism probe of Berkeley Unified announced by congressional committee
LAT, HOWARD BLUME: "Pressure over antisemitism allegations against the Berkeley school system intensified Monday with the launch of what members of Congress called a “nationwide investigation of antisemitism in K-12 schools.”
The first three districts to fall under scrutiny of the House Committee on Education and Workforce are the Berkeley Unified School District, Fairfax County Public Schools in Virginia and the School District of Philadelphia."
This tool shows which top California colleges are the most expensive
Chronicle, JACK LEE/HANNA ZAKHARENKO/NAMI SUMIDA: "Attending one of California’s top colleges and universities can come with a steep price tag.
For the 2025-26 school year, a first-year student at Stanford University this fall faces a bill of over $96,000 for tuition, housing and other costs, not accounting for financial aid. For California residents, the total cost for cross-town rival UC Berkeley comes in much lower, at around $46,000 — despite higher estimated costs for housing and food."
How schools in San Diego County improved suicide prevention
EdSource, VANI SANGANERIA: "Schools across California may be at risk of losing social workers and counselors due to federal cuts, but in San Diego County, they are using a $7 million state grant to help shape the fight against youth suicide.
Instead of hiring more school counselors and social workers, the San Diego County Office of Education invested in the Creating Opportunities in Preventing and Eliminating Suicide (COPES) initiative, which introduces a suicide risk screener for students who might be at risk of self-harm or suicide."
How did a Sacramento classroom carpet replacement cost $22,000? What receipts show
SacBee, JENNAH PENDLETON: "How did replacing half a classroom’s worth of carpet cost more than $22,000?
That is the question that supporters of former sixth-grade teacher Jeanine Rupert of Phoebe Hearst Elementary School have been asking since she was removed for ripping up her classroom carpet on the last day of the 2024-25 school year."
Cal Fire approach to SoCal’s wildfire crisis could make things worse, court says
LAT, NOAH HAGGERTY: "In a case that calls into question plant clearing techniques that have become fundamental to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, the San Diego Superior Court has ordered the agency to amend a program to reduce wildfire risk across the state because it could make things worse.
The years-long legal action filed by the California Chaparral Institute and Endangered Habitats League against the Board of Forestry and Fire Protection within Cal Fire, highlights deep rifts between ecologists’ and firefighters’ approaches to solving California’s wildfire crisis."
S.F.’s Union Square comeback is taking shape — despite two major question marks
Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "Union Square, San Francisco’s premier shopping district, has grappled with the shocks of remote work and a drawn-out tourism recovery for the past five years, along with public safety and retail theft concerns. A slew of major retailers like Nordstrom and Gap shuttered as a result.
But now the district is finally on the upswing, brokers say, with dozens of new shops, and busy tours with tenants enthusiastic to open in — or return to — the area."
Inglewood Police Department ‘systematically’ violated state public records law, judge rules
LAT, CHRISTOPHER BUCHANAN: "The Inglewood Police Department “systematically” violated state public records laws by disregarding requests for documents related to police misconduct, including fatal shootings, and must now post the information on its website, a judge has ruled.
In 2021, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California sued the department, alleging that it had not produced a single document in response to public records requests made nearly three years before."
Here’s where storms will disrupt Thanksgiving travel the most
Chronicle, GREG PORTER: "A record-breaking 81.8 million travelers are expected to drive and fly this week, setting the stage for the busiest Thanksgiving travel window in history. So what weather awaits, and where will the biggest problems be?
The Upper Midwest travel map on Tuesday splits into two distinct hazard zones."
SFO travel shifts with the seasons. These destinations see a surge in winter flights
Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA/HANNA ZAKHARENKO: "Though the Bay Area has famously mild weather, San Franciscans tend to escape to destinations in even warmer areas like Florida, Arizona and Palm Springs during the winter months, according to a Chronicle analysis of flight data.
But during the summer months, those habits shift, with more touristy destinations in Europe and Canada seeing bumps in flights out of SFO."