‘Simply catastrophic’: California salmon season to be restricted or shut down — again
CALMatters's RACHEL BECKER: "California’s fishing industry is bracing for another bad year as federal managers today announced plans to heavily restrict or prohibit salmon fishing again, after cancelling the entire season last year.
The Pacific Fishery Management Council today released a series of options that are under consideration, all of which either ban commercial and recreational salmon fishing in the ocean off California or shorten the season and set strict catch limits. The council’s decision is expected next month; the commercial season typically begins in May and ends in October."
How working forests can fight wildfire and floods – while slowing Climate Change (PODCAST)
Capitol Weekly's STAFF: "California has set ambitious climate goals, including phasing out the use of fossil fuels and becoming carbon neutral by 2045. Our guest today is here to talk about the role nature can play in meeting those goals.
Laurie Wayburn is the co-founder and president of the Pacific Forest Trust and the chair of the California Natural and Working Lands Expert Advisory Committee. She was also the lead author of a recent report suggesting the state should invest “as much in nature-based climate solutions as it has in clean energy and transportation.” With proper forest management, California could capture 400 million tons of carbon each year, lower wildfire risk and vastly improve flood protection in the state. But, the $10 Billion price tag may be a hard sell in a down budget, even in climate-conscious California."
High-profile S.F. Asian Americans are jumping off the Mayor Breed bandwagon as rivals seize advantage
The Chronicle's KO LYN CHEANG and J.D. MORRIS: "San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s reelection challengers are seizing on her apparent vulnerability with Asian voters by appointing Chinese American staffers to key campaign roles.
On Saturday, Kit Lam, an influential parent organizer of the 2022 San Francisco school board recall, joined nonprofit founder and Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie’s mayoral campaign as his Asian American and Pacific Islander political director. Lam is the latest in a number of moderate Asian American politicos and community leaders who are rallying behind Breed’s opponents as she faces a tough reelection fight."
California legislative rules and the constitution
Capitol Weekly's CHRIS MICHELI: "Occasionally I have been asked whether the Legislature’s adopted rules – the Assembly Rules, Senate Rules, and Joint Rules – have equal standing as legislative process rules found in the California Constitution. This question is particularly relevant because these three sets of legislative rules flow from a specific grant of authority in the state Constitution.
Specifically, Article IV, Section 7(a) provides: “Each house shall choose its officers and adopt rules for its proceedings.” As a result of this state constitutional provision, both houses of the California Legislature have specific authority, in fact are required to do so, to adopt rules to govern their proceedings."
California families could save thousands of dollars from proposed child tax break. Here’s why
Sacramento Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN: "President Joe Biden’s child tax credit plan would benefit millions of California parents, saving eligible families an average of $2,980, according to data from Washington’s Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.
Biden on Monday proposed reinstating the credit available to qualifying parents during 2021, when it was aimed at easing the economic pain triggered by the Covid pandemic. The credit, which became an important way of lifting millions of children out of poverty, could benefit 8.1 million adults and 6.7 million children in California, ITEP estimates."
Did O.C. oil spill come from natural seepage or drilling? Cause under investigation
LA Times's HANNAH FRY and NATHAN SOLIS: "Coast Guard officials have not determined what caused an oil sheen that appeared off Huntington Beach last week, officials said Monday afternoon.
The sheen was first reported Thursday evening about 2.5 nautical miles off Huntington Beach near two oil platforms, Emmy and Eva. By Sunday morning, officials were no longer seeing a sheen in the water, according to the Coast Guard, but they had skimmed about 85 gallons of oil from the ocean and removed about 1,050 pounds of oily waste and tar balls from the shoreline."
Northern California child with measles may have exposed 300 people
The Chronicle's CATHERINE HO: "A child with a confirmed case of measles may have exposed 300 people from 16 California counties to the highly infectious disease last week, health officials in El Dorado County said Friday.
The child was present at two hospitals, San Joaquin Urgent Care and the UC Davis Health Emergency Department, on March 5. People at the hospital may have been exposed during that time."
Hidden COVID virus found nearly two years after infection
BANG*Mercury News's LISA M. KRIEGER: "Pieces of the COVID virus can lurk in our blood and tissue for almost two years after the initial illness has vanished, a discovery that might offer clues to the mystery of lingering post-infection disability, according to new research from UC San Francisco.
Four years after the U.S. went into lockdown, the worst of the pandemic has passed. But for people with long COVID, the illness remains a daily misery."
Cal State’s online transfer planner aims to ease burden on community college students
EdSource's ASHLEY BOLTER and DELILAH BRUMER: "From complex general education requirements to early application deadlines, transferring from community college to California State University, Northridge proved to be a confusing process for Vanessa Rivera. Now, as a graduate intern at the Los Angeles Pierce College transfer center, Rivera works to support other students on their paths to the CSU system.
“I was a lost college student, and I was really intimidated to seek help,” Rivera said. “This led me to a career path in counseling, (for the) ability to benefit lost college students like I once was.”"
Marchers at UC Berkeley call out antisemitism following protest over speaker
The Chronicle's ELI ROSENBERG: "About 200 students, faculty and other supporters marched at UC Berkeley on Monday to highlight concerns about antisemitism on campus following a violent incident that canceled a speech by a prominent Israeli lawyer last month.
The group met in front of Zellerbach Hall around midday, before marching across campus, where they held a rally in front of one of the university’s oldest buildings, California Hall."
Violent protest at UC Berkeley triggers federal investigation into alleged discrimination
LA Times's KAREN GARCIA, SALVADOR HERNANDEZ and TERESA WATANABE: "Federal authorities have added UC Berkeley to the growing list of colleges across the United States under investigation for alleged discrimination since the onset of the divisive Israel-Hamas war.
The investigation was launched March 5 after protesters violently shut down an event organized independently by Jewish student groups in February. A spokesman for the Education Department declined to comment further on the probe."
Can arts education help children heal from trauma?
EdSource: "The catastrophic Camp Fire roared through Northern California’s Butte County in 2018, charring the landscape, taking 86 lives and destroying countless homes and habitats in the town of Paradise.
The deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history at the time, the fire spread at the rate of 80 football fields a minute at its peak, scorching the hearts and minds of the people who live there, especially the children."
Oscars telecast draws 19.5 million viewers, up 4% from last year
The Chronicle's STEPHEN BATTAGLIO: "A lively Oscars ceremony boosted by two genuine blockbuster best picture nominees in “Oppenheimer” and “Barbie” helped boost the ABC telecast to largest audience since 2020.
The 96th Academy Awards ceremony Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood was watched on ABC by an average audience of 19.5 million viewers, a 4% increase over 2023, according to Nielsen data. Last year’s telecast drew an audience of 18.7 million on average."
Disney plan for long-term major development in Anaheim clears crucial hurdle
LA Times's SUMMER LIN and GRACE TOOHEY: "Disney officials cleared one of the final hurdles Monday for its theme park expansion plan, which they say would jump-start at least $1.9 billion of new development at the Anaheim resort over the next 10 years.
The DisneylandForward project was approved Monday night on a 5-1 vote by the Anaheim Planning Commission after almost three years of reviews and analysis. The project next will go before the City Council."
San Jose: BART extension price tag balloons once again — this time by $600 million
BANG*Mercury News's GRACE HASE: "Despite the price tag more than doubling in size from its initial 2014 estimate, the San Jose BART extension is facing yet another cost increase — $600 million — and time delay, according to new a federal report.
Last fall, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority announced that the cost of the highly anticipated transit project had escalated to $12.2 billion with a predicted opening date of 2036 — up from $4.4 billion and a completion date of 2026 a decade prior."
