In California, mourning for the victims of terrorism

The impact of Friday's terrorist attacks in Paris that killed 129 people and injured 352 have been felt around the world. In Caifornia, there were vigils and gatherings in memory of the victims.

From the LAT's Anh Do and Javier Panzar: "Hundreds gathered for a vigil at Cal State Long Beach on Sunday afternoon to honor the memory of 23-year-old senior Nohemi Gonzalez, who was among those killed in the terrorist attacks in Paris."

"A standing-room only crowd including students, faculty and family members packed the ballroom inside the University Student Union for the vigil, which began at 4 p.m. The crowd was so large that it spilled out into the lobby area."

"Gonzalez was studying at the Strate College of Design in Paris as part of a semester-abroad program. She was at a bistro Friday night with three friends when gunmen opened fire from a passing vehicle."

In San Francisco, mourners gathered at City Hall, reported the Chronicle's Emily Green.

"Zanon was joined at City Hall by up to 800 other people, many French, at a vigil to honor the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris on Friday that killed at least 129 people and injured hundreds of others."

"The mood was somber and the atmosphere reflective. French flags dotted the crowd."

"A white board was placed at the steps of City Hall for people to sign. “Peace for Paris. Peace for the world,” read one note. Another said, “With a heavy heart we remember our French brothers and sisters.”

One Silicon Valley man in Paris took to his phone during the tragedy.

From the Mercury News' Sharon Noguchi and Julia Prodis Sulek: "Los Altos engineer Noah Neiman heard the "boom boom boom" of gunfire, joined frantic people running for their lives and hid in the basement of a restaurant while Paris was under siege by terrorists. Throughout the surreal night of chaos and calm, the 43-year-old father of two sent his wife back home a string of innocuous texts, a mix of domestic drivel and extraordinary understatement."

"I'm fine" he wrote in his first message. "No problems."

"Why?" his wife responded. "What happened?" "Not sure," he texted back. "Maybe it's just a joke. How r u doing?"

Meanwhile, in California, the rainy season has started, but a grim reminder of the four-year drought is visible east of Sacramento: Folsom Reservoir is at its lowest level in history, lower even than during the horrific drought nearly 40 years ago

From the Bee's Dale Kasler: "The 60-­year-­old reservoir held 140,501 acre-­feet of water at midafternoon, or roughly 14 percent of capacity, according to California Department of Water Resources data. The lake fell below the old record of 140,600 acre­feet, a mark seen during the 1977 drought, around midnight Friday and continued falling through the day."

“Certainly a milestone we didn’t want to see happen,” said Eric Kurth, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Sacramento. An acre­foot is 326,000 gallons."

"Kurth said the latest storm was expected to bring rain to the Sacramento region and snow to the Sierra throughout Sunday, for the third weekend in a row. A winter weather advisory was issued for travelers in the Sierra, which has already seen several ski resorts open early for the season."

Speaking of the drought, the dry-spell may finally go, but the rules may be here to stay.

From the Mercury News' Paul Rogers: "Earlier this year, Gov. Jerry Brown and the State Water Resources Control Board passed statewide rules that, among other requirements, banned California residents from watering lawns within 48 hours after measurable rainfall, prohibited washing cars without shutoff nozzles on hoses and forbade restaurants to serve water unless it was requested by customers."

"Now as the strongest El Niño conditions in nearly 20 years grow in the Pacific Ocean, increasing chances of big winter storms, state water officials, environmentalists and some local water managers are considering making California's new water-wasting rules a permanent part of state law, even in wet years."

"It's just good common sense," said Felicia Marcus, chairwoman of the state water board. "It's good use of a precious resource."

The Sacramento city school district, looking for ways to save money in food purchases, turned to Chinese food: The district bought large quantities of canned fruit from China, and a ot of people aren't pleased.

From the Bee's Loretta Kalb: "The Sacramento City Unified School District bought tens of thousands of dollars in canned peaches, pears and applesauce from China, defying a federal guideline that asks U.S. schools to serve domestic food and running counter to the district’s embrace of the local farm-to-fork movement."

"The large purchase drew criticism this month from the California Canning Peach Association and Rep. John Garamendi, D-Walnut Grove, whose Northern California congressional district includes 40 percent of California’s peach growers."

"It also caught the attention of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which said it will work with the district “to ensure that taxpayer dollars are being used to purchase American products” in accordance with the Buy American provision of the National School Lunch Act. The act requires school districts to buy domestically grown and processed foods unless such items are not available domestically or cost significantly more than foreign supplies."

And finally, from down under in our Clash of the Titans file, we see that Holly Holm smacked Ronda Rousey to win the Ultimate Fighting Champonship in Melbourne. Clearly a metaphor for the state Capitol at the end of session.