Newsom mobilizes emergency crews as storm bears down on California
LAT, GAVIN J QUINTON: "Southern California is heading into the New Year with another round of rain, renewed flood risks and what forecasters say is a near-guarantee of a wet Rose Parade.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday that the state had again pre-positioned fire, rescue and emergency crews in areas most at risk for flooding, mud and debris flows, with special attention to recent burn scar areas."
Capitol Briefs: A hint of what’s on tap for 2026
CAPITOL WEEKLY, STAFF: "AI, billionaires tax and CEQA reform initiatives enter circulation: California Secretary of State Shirley Weber announced that proponents of three new proposed ballot measure have been cleared to being gathering signatures. The trio of initiatives would:
Require risk assessments and risk labels for artificial intelligence (AI) products likely to be used by children. The proponent of the measure, James P. Steyer, must collect signatures of 546,651 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot."
Newsom’s 2025: Wildfire crisis, budget cuts and bombastic opposition to Trump
CALMATTERS, JEANNE KUANG: "It’s been a year of highs, lows and an ever-brighter national spotlight for Gov. Gavin Newsom.
All eyes were on Los Angeles as wildfires tore through the city in January. Newsom, having just responded to President Donald Trump’s reelection by calling a special legislative session to fund lawsuits against him, was suddenly forced into a more conciliatory stance as he sought federal aid for fire recovery that has still not materialized. To close a tough budget deficit exacerbated by the prospect of steep federal cuts, he angered some in his own party with cuts to the state health coverage of undocumented immigrants. To explore Democrats’ losses in 2024, he alienated progressives while courting right-wing activists on his podcast."
California’s budget outlook is grim. Here’s what you need to know
CALMATTERS, YUE STELLA YU: "Gov. Gavin Newsom opened this year with a rosy forecast: Buoyed by $17 billion more in revenue than previously planned, the state would have a modest surplus of $363 million for fiscal year 2025-26, he told reporters in January.
But life turns on a dime."
Scared of artificial intelligence? New law forces makers to disclose disaster plans
CALMATTERS, KHARI JOHNSON: "Tech companies that create large, advanced artificial intelligence models will soon have to share more information about how the models can impact society and give their employees ways to warn the rest of us if things go wrong.
Starting January 1, a law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom gives whistleblower protections to employees at companies like Google and OpenAI whose work involves assessing the risk of critical safety incidents. It also requires large AI model developers to publish frameworks on their websites that include how the company responds to critical safety incidents and assesses and manages catastrophic risk. Fines for violating the frameworks can reach $1 million per violation. Under the law, companies must report critical safety incidents to the state within 15 days, or within 24 hours if they believe a risk poses an imminent threat of death or injury."
How CalMatters kept our government transparent and our leaders accountable in 2025
CALMATTERS, SISI WEI: "In 2025, Californians used CalMatters’ and The Markup’s journalism to spark measurable change in the state and across the country.
State and federal lawmakers introduced eight new bills addressing issues ranging from government corruption to patient health insurance protections and wage theft."
L.A. City ignored fire safety as it permitted development in high risk areas, lawsuit alleges
LAT, NOAH HAGGERTY: "The City of Los Angeles repeatedly ignored state wildfire safety regulations as it permitted new development in areas with severe fire hazards, a lawsuit filed Dec. 23 in the L.A. County Superior Court alleges.
The lawsuit, brought by the State Alliance for Firesafe Road Regulations and the Federation of Hillside and Canyon Associations, provided 75 examples of building permits and other plans approved by the city that the lawsuit alleges violate requirements known as the state’s “minimum firesafe regulations.”"
This family fought for 100 years to free a California river
CHRONICLE, BRONTE WITTPEN: "For generations, Amy’s family had lived in the village of Rek-woi, in what’s now California’s Del Norte County, maintaining harmony with the river and never taking more than what was needed."
It’s only December but this SoCal desert escape is already blanketed in wildflowers
LAT, RAUL ROA: "Wildflower seekers typically must wait until February or March to see blankets of color in Borrego Springs but, thanks to the early autumn rain, the blooms are arriving early. Last weekend, visitors walking through Anza-Borrego Desert State Park and nearby areas found tall, bright sunflowers, deep pink desert sand-verbena, basket evening primrose and even elusive desert lilies, which thrilled photographers like myself.
I headed out there Sunday morning with a friend. The go-to location for seeing wildflowers in the area is Henderson Canyon Road, just northeast of the town of Borrego Springs, and it did not disappoint. Both sides of the road were full of colorful blooms."
CHROINCLE, CYNTHIA DIZIKES/JOAQUIN PALOMINO: "California health officials have moved to strengthen oversight of for-profit psychiatric hospitals in response to a Chronicle investigation into patient abuses at the facilities, issuing new sanctions and more than a million dollars in fines related to the newspaper’s reporting.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has made mental health care a centerpiece of his administration, saying the state should intervene in more people’s lives. But reporters found that California has increasingly turned to profit-driven companies that make money by relying on lean staffing, while exposing thousands of patients to substandard and dangerous care.
Since the Chronicle began publishing its “Failed to"
PG&E rates actually going down in 2026. Here’s how much
CHRONICLE, JULIE JOHNSON: "Pacific Gas and Electric Co. bills will drop by about $8 monthly starting Jan. 1 for typical residential customers with both electric and gas service, This family fought for 100 years to free a California riveraccording to an end-of-the-year rate adjustment the company filed with state regulators Tuesday.
That estimate includes a $7 decrease in monthly electricity costs and a $1 drop for gas for households compared to December."
Ex-CapRadio GM is linked to $460K in questionable spending. Why wasn’t it caught?
SACBEE, ISHANI DESAI: "Three entities — including Sacramento State and the California State University system — tasked with oversight of NPR-affiliate Capital Public Radio failed for years to stop the alleged misuse of funds by its general manager, now under criminal investigation on suspicion of embezzlement.
Former general manager Jun Reina is linked to spending at least $460,800 of donor money on activities, such as international travel, fine dining and home renovations, which were not backed up by expense reports or receipts, according to a 2024 forensic examination commissioned by Sacramento State, which holds the licenses for CapRadio. The radio station is an auxiliary of Sacramento State, meaning it operates as a separate nonprofit that serves the university’s mission."
Long-stalled S.F. tower with over 1,000 homes approved, could become city’s 3rd-tallest building
CHRONICE, ROLAND LI: "A long-stalled San Francisco tower planned at 10 S. Van Ness Ave. has received city approval to rise to 820 feet, potentially making it the city’s third-tallest building.
Planning Department officials signed off on developer Crescent Heights’ revised plan with 1,019 apartments on Dec. 17. The 67-story project benefited from Senate Bill 423, which fast-tracks approval for projects near transit and with affordable housing, plus California’s density bonus law."
This Long Beach studio is designing America’s cheapest EV truck
LAT, CAROLINE PETROW-COHEN: "In an echoing Long Beach studio, an ambitious team of designers is trying to reinvent how electric vehicles are made.
Slate Auto has assembled a team of EV engineers from Tesla, Rivian and elsewhere to develop America’s least-expensive EV truck. In the warehouse space near construction supply shops and a Western-themed bar, designers have built clay models and prototypes of a customizable EV truck that could cost half as much as the competition."