2024 U.S. election results: Races still too close to call
LAT's VANESSA MARTINEZ, HANNA SENDER: "The morning after election day, voters had learned the results of the presidential race — called once the president-elect received 270 electoral votes — and that Republicans had won control of the U.S. Senate.
But a week later, many House races are still too close to call."
Don't look back in anger: experts weigh in on the 24 election
Capitol Weekly's STAFF: "In the first panel, The Face of the Electorate, a quintet of political consultants wrestled with voting trends in the presidential election as well as down ballot races. Several of the panelists openly said they were surprised by Trump’s decisive victory.
Republican strategist Tim Rosales said he had expected Harris to ultimately eek out a victory. Harris operative Courtni Pugh said the vice president’s campaign was preparing for not only a long election night, but several days of uncertainty."
READ MORE -- Not even Taylor Swift could help Kamala Harris secure the presidency. Here’s why -- The Chronicle's ZARA IRSHAD
Bay Area voters move right in election, sending clear message on crime and homelessness
LAT's HANNAH WILEY: "For decades, the Bay Area has been celebrated — and sometimes mocked — as a progressive beacon, a proud throwback to hippie-era values with its embrace of love and tolerance.
But in the Nov. 5 election, voters across the region made it clear there are limits to their compassion."
California empowered immigrants to speak up at work. Trump could end their protections
CALMatters's JEANNE KUANG: "In 30 years in America, Alejandro Gamez took any job he could as an undocumented worker — at fast food restaurants, factories and car washes and driving trucks, even when conditions were poor.
“I had no status,” he said. “I had no options.”"
READ MORE -- California immigrants prepare for a second Trump administration -- LAT's ANDREA CASTILLO
Trump free to use Justice Department to target his enemies. Will he?
LAT's DAVID G. SAVAGE: "Before he was reelected, President Trump openly threatened to use — or abuse — his power by ordering federal prosecutors to pursue criminal cases against those he deems enemies.
There’s little in the law that would stop him."
Florida’s Sen. Rubio seen as Trump’s pick for State Department
LAT's TRACY WILKINSON: "Marco Rubio, the combative and hawkish Republican senator from Florida, is expected to be President-elect Donald Trump’s pick for secretary of State, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.
Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, was once a challenger to and critic of Trump, but has become a staunch defender and campaign surrogate. He was considered as Trump’s running mate, a post that eventually went to Vice President-elect JD Vance."
Whitesides captures L.A. County congressional seat in a major victory for Democrats
LAT's HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS: "Democrat George Whitesides, a former NASA chief of staff and a first-time candidate, will represent northern Los Angeles County in Congress next year after defeating Republican Rep. Mike Garcia in one of the nation’s most fiercely contested House races.
Garcia conceded defeat in a statement released Monday evening."
S.F. voters backed change. Here's what that means for the future of the city
The Chronicle's JD MORRIS, ALDO TOLEDO: "San Francisco voters sent a clear message in last week’s election: They want new leaders controlling the city. But it was a mixed bag for the city’s dueling political factions, with moderates winning some of the most important races but progressives notching several key wins as well.
The electorate ousted Mayor London Breed after six years in office and chose to replace her with a political novice, Daniel Lurie, who generally shares her moderate politics but argued she’d mismanaged the city. At the same time, however, voters rejected a measure that would have given the mayor more power and drastically cut the number of commissions in City Hall."
How ‘urgent’ texts pushed these donors to give thousands of times to political candidates
LAT's GABRIELLE LAMARR LEMEE: "Sandra has always been active in elections.
When she lived in Texas, she served as a poll worker and she continued volunteering when she moved to Orange County around 2016. But this year, she was too busy to complete the training. Leading up to the election, her days were consumed by what she calls a full-time, unpaid job: Reading and responding to texts and emails from political candidates."
Gov. Gavin Newsom announces $33 million in funding for California veterans’ mental health
Sacramento Bee's JENAVIEVE HATCH: "Gov. Gavin Newsom formally proclaimed Monday as Veterans Day in California, which came with a major announcement.
The California Department of Veterans Affairs has awarded $33 million in grants to seven counties through the California Veterans Health Initiative. The grants will go to preexisting community organizations that provide mental health support for veterans and their families. Newsom also announced 100,000 free mental health appointments for veterans, and a federal grant funding through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that will go toward Native American veterans’ mental health and suicide prevention."
Despite struggles elsewhere, Alameda County to launch its own mental health court
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "A year after San Francisco and a few other counties launched a court process to nudge people with severe mental illness into treatment, the rest of California is following suit — and hoping for better results.
For officials in Alameda County, who are grappling with the same vexing street conditions that became political flash points in San Francisco, the stakes are high. Their version of Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act court will roll out Dec. 2, hitting the deadline for counties statewide to establish such programs, unless they applied for a one-year extension."
Dave Ramsey has blunt words about Social Security and Medicare
TheStreet's JEFFREY QUIGGLE: "It’s common knowledge for many Americans to understand that Social Security benefits come in the form of payments made to retired people.
But personal finance radio host Dave Ramsey shares advice about Social Security, Medicare and wealth that is geared toward helping people find ways to enjoy their retired years to the fullest."
S.F.’s new weapon against the drug crisis: Billboards urging users to seek treatment
The Chronicle's MAGGIE ANGST: "Looking up at a billboard in San Francisco’s Civic Center neighborhood, Shavonne Allen couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride.
“I am living proof treatment works,” the billboard at Franklin and Oak streets reads, alongside a photo of Allen and a phone number for the city’s behavioral health access line — a 24/7 call center for information on substance use and mental health services."
It used to be a notoriously violent prison. Now it’s home to a first-of-its kind education program
CALMatters's WAYNE D'ORIO: "In less than 15 minutes, Michael Mariscal validated why a team of officials at Cal Poly Humboldt have spent more than three years trying to set up the first bachelor’s degree program at a maximum-security prison in California.
At the end of a class in persuasive speaking, Mariscal was tasked with giving a presentation to highlight his personal growth. His 22 classmates inside B Facility at Pelican Bay State Prison were skeptical: Just two weeks earlier, Mariscal had used his presentation time to give step-by-step directions on how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich."
Thousands set to strike at Stanford, hobbling research and grading ahead of finals
The Chronicle's NANETTE ASIMOV: "Thousands of graduate student workers at Stanford University — who grade papers, teach classes and do research — who were prepared to walk off the job in a labor dispute have postponed their strike until Wednesday, citing progress in negotiations.
The threatened walkout echoes a successful strike in 2022 by 36,000 University of California student workers across the state that crippled the UC system for 40 days and resulted in steep pay hikes for those students. Though a far smaller group, Stanford’s unionized student workers say they are aiming for the same result. Finals week for undergraduates begins on Dec. 9."
Bay Area district settles suit alleging inequitable education practices
EdSource's EMMA GALLEGOS: "A Bay Area school district has settled a lawsuit claiming that Black students and English learners were denied a proper education and were disproportionately suspended, expelled or funneled into special education classrooms offering poor instruction.
Pittsburg Unified School District in Contra Costa County reached the settlement on Oct. 23 in a suit filed in 2021 by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Northern California and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund."
LAUSD abruptly ends new admissions rules for gifted students amid parent fury over standards
LAT's REBECCA PLEVIN: "L.A. Unified is reversing a controversial decision to relax the admissions requirements for some of its most rigorous academic programs after furious debate over how to ensure equitable access to all while maintaining the academic standards in the popular initiatives for highly gifted students.
Many parents — who lashed out at the district during a town hall meeting late last week — said administrators bungled the rollout of the new admissions policy, which was confusing, did not include their input, caught them by surprise and stirred deep concerns about the future direction of the popular honors programs."
Video: Extreme dust storm halts traffic, cuts power in California’s Central Valley
The Chronicle's ANTHONY EDWARDS: "An extreme dust storm driven by strong winds struck parts of California’s Central Valley on Monday, dropping visibility to near zero, sending highway traffic to a screeching halt and knocking out power to thousands of homes.
The event, which sent winds gusting as high as 52 mph in the valley, prompted the National Weather Service to issue a rare dust storm warning for Fresno, Kings, Tulare and Kern counties."
Here’s when the Bay Area has another shot at rain
The Chronicle's ANTHONY EDWARDS: "Dry weather returns to the Bay Area on Tuesday, but only temporarily.
Another cold front is expected to cross Northern California on Wednesday, dropping a quarter- to half-inch of rain across the North Bay, around a tenth of an inch in San Francisco and Oakland and even lighter totals in San Jose."
Zoox’s new robotaxis are driving S.F. roads. But the public will have to wait for rides
The Chronicle's CHASE DIFELICIANTONIO: "There’s a new robotaxi in town. But you can’t ride in this one yet.
Amazon-owned Zoox vehicles have taken to the streets of San Francisco’s SoMa neighborhood less than two weeks after the company promised the vehicles would start showing up in the city and on the Las Vegas Strip."
Hollywood execs salivate over dealmaking under Trump. Should they?
LAT's RYAN FAUGHNDER: "To much of Hollywood’s decidedly liberal base, Donald Trump is truly the enemy from within, a former reality show host who used the power of television to launch himself to the highest stage of world politics.
As they did in 2016 and 2020, celebs from across the film, TV and music industry mobilized against his run for the presidency. There were star-studded Kamala Harris rallies. All for naught."
