Alaska earthquake sparks tsunami warnings across entire U.S. West Coast and Hawaii after massive 7.9 magnitude tremor; warnings officially canceled
From the Anchorage Daily News: "An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.9 hit beneath the Gulf of Alaska early Tuesday, resulting in tsunami alerts for coastal areas from British Columbia to the Aleutians."
"All Alaska warnings, alerts and advisories were canceled just after 4 a.m., and there were no reports of significant waves or damage."
"The quake was centered 181 miles southeast of Kodiak, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center. The quake was 6 miles deep, the center said. The magnitude was initially reported to be 8.2 but was later downgraded to 7.9. The quake hit at 12:31 a.m., according to the USGS."
READ MORE related to Tsunami Scare: Tsunami watch cancelled for California after 7.9 magnitude quake in Alaska -- The Chronicle's BRANDON MERCER
Feinstein 'very disappointed' in deal to end shutdown
McClatchyDC's EMILY CADEI: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein said she was “very disappointed” about the deal Democrats reached to reopen the federal government Monday."
"The California Democrat was one of just 18 senators – including 16 Democrats – who voted against the short-term spending measure to fund the government through Feb. 8, which ends the government shutdown that began Friday night. The vote came after Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that he’d secured a promise from Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to hold a vote by Feb. 8 to protect young undocumented immigrants protected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. President Trump announced last fall he would shutter the program March 5."
"The Senate, however, does not have any guarantee that a potential DACA deal will get a vote in the House, where Republicans have a stronger majority than in the Senate."
READ MORE related to Shutdown: Trump signs bill to reopen government -- for three weeks -- after bipartisan deal -- LA Times' LISA MASCARO
Naomi Parker Fraley, the real Rosie the Riveter, dies at 96
The Chronicle's MARGALIT FOX: "Unsung for seven decades, the real Rosie the Riveter was a Bay Area woman named Naomi Parker Fraley."
"Over the years, a welter of American women have been identified as the model for Rosie, the female war worker of 1940s popular culture who became a feminist touchstone in the late 20th century."
"Fraley, who died Saturday at 96 in Longview, Wash., turns out to have staked one of the most legitimate claims of all. But because her claim was eclipsed by that of another woman, she went unrecognized for more than 70 years."
Rally outside Capitol celebrates Roe v. Wade anniversary
Sacramento Bee's BILLY KOBIN: "Supporters of Planned Parenthood and abortion rights said they will challenge any attempts by the White House to repeal abortion rights during a rally outside the Capitol Monday."
"Planned Parenthood Affiliates of Northern California hosted the rally on the 45th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, which affirmed a woman’s right to have an abortion. Various Planned Parenthood supporters and California political leaders, including Assemblywoman and chair of the California Legislative Women’s Caucus Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, and Attorney General Xavier Becerra spoke during the rally on how California will not give in to White House pressure when it comes to abortion."
"Various lawmakers took turns affirming how they will listen to the concerns of those who feel threatened by the Supreme Court potentially reconsidering the Roe v. Wade decision, a case that President Donald Trump has previously vowed to help overturn through his nominations of judges. Many attendees at the rally held pink signs saying “Can You Hear Me?"
READ MORE related to Women's Rights: 45 years after Roe v. Wade, White House threatens landmark abortion ruling -- Sacramento Bee's TARYN LUNA
Schwarzenegger to Trump: 'Don't touch California. If you want to drill, do it off Mar-a-Lago'
LA Times' SEEMA MEHTA: "Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Monday blasted President Trump’s move to allow increased offshore drilling, saying he ought to drill in the waters off his Palm Beach, Fla., resort rather than California."
"Don’t touch California. If you want to drill, do it off Mar-a-Lago,” Schwarzenegger tweeted. “Or better yet, look to the future, follow CA’s lead & go green and we can all breathe easier. The US’s largest economy is nearly 50% renewable. #ProtectThePacific"
“Our fishing, tourism, and recreation industries employ hundreds of thousands of great people. Our coasts are an economic gold mine. Do not put them at risk,” Schwarzenegger added in a second tweet."
So Very Jerry: Can you decode the governor's speeches?
CalMatters' LAUREL ROSENHALL: "Speech, someone quasi-famously said, is the mirror of the soul."
"Wait—you don’t recognize that observation made by the ancient Roman scribe Publilius Syrus? Bet your governor would."
"This week Jerry Brown delivers his 16th annual State of the State address—a record unparalleled by any governor in California history. If true to form, his speech will again resemble a postdoctoral seminar, studded with arcane inspiration (Publilius would be right at home here). Think you can keep up?"
Why California employers are still paying for recession-era jobless benefits
The Chronicle's KATHLEEN PENDER: "California’s unemployment rate may have dropped to a record low 4.3 percent in December, but the state’s employers are still paying for jobless benefits paid out during the Great Recession in the form of a special tax due at the end of this month."
"The tax repays a federal debt incurred when the state’s unemployment insurance fund, which is funded entirely by employers, went negative in 2009 and the federal government began paying benefits to laid-off Californians."
"Even though the loan debt peaked at $10.2 billion in 2012 and has been whittled down to just $1.2 billion, every year the tax goes up, thanks to a convoluted formula that perplexes and infuriates many employers."
READ MORE related to Economy: Stockton gets ready to experiment with UBI -- KQED's SAM HARNETT; Will Trump tariffs cost California solar industry jobs? -- Mercury News' EMILY DERUY
Rival bids to overturn California gas tax join forces
CPR's BEN ADLER: "The effort to overturn the fuel tax and vehicle fee increases in California’s new transportation funding law appears to be gaining momentum."
"The author of one proposed ballot measure is now backing a rival initiative that could be headed for the November election."
"The first measure was authored by Orange County Assemblyman and Republican gubernatorial candidate Travis Allen. It would have repealed the transportation funding law – SB 1 – word for word."
READ MORE related to Death & Taxes: The tax cut should mean you get a break in your utility bill. How much? -- San Diego Union-Tribune's ROB NIKOLEWSKI
SF police union at odds with top mayoral candidates may skip endorsement
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "The San Francisco Police Officers Association, always a big player in the election of a new mayor, might find itself outside the arena this time around. The reason: None of the front-runner candidates matches its priorities."
"We may make an endorsement, we may not,” said the association’s former president, Gary Delagnes, who now works as a consultant for the union. Delagnes said he couldn’t remember a time in San Francisco’s recent history when the association has bowed out of a race."
"But this year its 2,200 members are facing three top candidates in the June 5 election whose sharp public statements and legislative records have generated visceral mistrust within law enforcement."
Legal action leaves DACA deadline murky
Politico's JOSH GERSTEIN: "The March 5 deadline that President Donald Trump set for winding down a disputed immigration program continues to add a sense of urgency to the debate about so-called Dreamers, even though a court injunction and the administration’s own legal strategy have essentially wiped out the significance of that date."
"We still have until March 5th,” Juan Escalante of the immigrant advocacy group America’s Voice said Monday afternoon on CNN, discussing the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. “Before you know it, we’re going to get to March and who knows what kind of deal we have."
"At Monday’s daily briefing, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders was asked whether Trump would press ahead with plans to deport the Dreamers beginning March 5."
READ MORE related to Immigration: Los beneficiarios de DACA bloquean la entrada de Disneyland -- LA Times' HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS/CINDY CARCAMO; SF to settle case of Amilcar Perez Lopez, man police killed with six shots from behind -- KQED's ALEX EMSLIE; SF settles lawsuit with family of Guatemalan shot to death by police in 2015 -- SF Gate's ANNIE MA; Trump's shifting stance on DACA deal vexed both parties as lawmakers sought to resolve shutdown crisis -- LA Times' NOAH BIERMAN
LA's Choice: In charter wars, board members say they will seek bridge builder as next schools chief
EdSource's GEORGE WHITE: "As the Los Angeles Unified school board gears up to select a successor to Superintendent Michelle King, one of the major issues it will have to consider are the candidates’ views and positions on charter schools."
"Charter schools have been a major source of tension and conflict in the district, brought on in part by the presence of 224 independently run charter schools in the district, more than any other district in the nation. Another 54 are charter schools run by the district."
"Last spring, candidates supported by funds from wealthy charter school advocates won a majority on the seven-person board for the first time."
READ MORE related to Education: The next battle over affirmative action is about discrimination against Asian Americans -- Sacramento Bee's ALEXEI KOSEFF
Thousands of Northern California fire victims awaiting costly PG&E bills
Press Democrat's JD MORRIS: "Pacific Gas & Electric Co. temporarily stopped billing thousands of Northern California customers affected by the October wildfires, frustrating some displaced residents who are now bracing for hefty charges when their power bills come due after months of accumulating."
"PG&E describes the move as part of a standard policy to ensure it doesn’t send bills to the owners of homes and businesses destroyed by a natural disaster."
"However, the decision has also delayed bills to fire victims who restarted their utility service after relocating to new or temporary homes in the area. The billing policy is tied to an individual’s account, not a specific address, according to PG&E."
READ MORE related to Environment & Energy: Investigation launched into cause of massive sewage spill into Monterey Bay -- Santa Cruz Sentinel's JIM JOHNSON; AG industry fights pesticide penalties and state efforts to increase future fines -- KQED's TED GOLDBERG; California lawmaker targets plastic straws at restaurants to help environment -- The Chronicle's MELODY GUTIERREZ
From communion cups to slot machines, flu drives caution in shared spaces
San Diego Union-Tribune's PAUL SISSON: "From casinos to churches to concert venues, places that serve the public are taking extra steps this winter as the flu spreads throughout the community."
"Made airborne with every sneeze and cough, it’s impossible to completely stop the flu from spreading in communal settings, but that doesn’t mean organizations can’t take steps to make transmission less likely."
"Short of issuing hermetically-sealed plastic bubbles at their doors, there is still plenty that can be done to make crowds less contagious."
READ MORE related to Health & Health Care: Deal to end shutdown funds health care for 2 million Californians -- NPR's BEN BRADFORD; Full dental benefits restored for adults on Medi-Cal -- KPBS' KENNY GOLDBERG; Famed geneticist Rusty Gage named interim president of troubled Salk Institute -- Union-Tribune's GARY ROBBINS/BRADLEY J FIKES
El Cajon not alone in laws targeting homeless
San Diego Union-Tribune's GARY WARTH: "Citations for feeding people in parks. Arrests for sleeping in public. Jagged landscaping that makes it impossible for anyone to find a place to rest."
"These are just some of the steps cities in San Diego County and elsewhere have taken against homeless people."
"The actions are commonly condemned by homeless advocates who see them as criminalizing homelessness. But they also demonstrate how cities face the challenge of protecting property owners while also helping their most vulnerable citizens."
READ MORE related to Housing & Homelessness: Thousands of volunteers will fan out across LA County for three days in annual homeless count -- LA Times' DOUG SMITH; Amid anxiety among homeless, law enforcement begins plan to gradually clear out Santa Ana riverbed encampments -- OC Register's THERESA WALKER/JORDAN GRAHAM; Hundreds of homeless face eviction or arrest as OC clears encampment amid shelter bed shortage -- LA Times' ANH DO/BENJAMIN ORESKES; Homeless activists can sue Berkeley over evictions, judge rules -- SF Gate's BOB EGELKO
SF supervisors consider taking Columbus' day away
SFGate's STEVE RUBENSTEIN: "Christopher Columbus, who died 512 years ago, isn’t resting in peace."
"The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is set to decide Tuesday whether to strip the debatable discoverer of his official day in San Francisco and rechristen the second Monday in October as Indigenous Peoples Day."
"Although governments from the state of Alaska to the town of Anadarko, Okla., have issued Indigenous Peoples Day proclamations in recent years, it turns out the idea is not without controversy."
Tesla 'on Autopilot' slams into parked fire truck on California freeway
Mercury News' ETHAN BARON: "A Tesla Model S reportedly on “Autopilot” smashed into the back of a fire truck parked at a freeway accident scene Monday morning, authorities said."
"The union representing Culver City firefighters whose truck was hit around 8:30 a.m. on Interstate 405 in Culver City tweeted that the Tesla driver said he had been using Tesla’s Autopilot system, which performs automated driving tasks."
"The California Highway Patrol and Culver City Fire Department confirmed the southbound Tesla had struck the fire truck, but could not immediately confirm whether the vehicle had been on Autopilot."
READ MORE related to Transportation: Residents' biggest gripes with the Bay Area commute, from traffic to 'loud people' -- SF Gate's MICHELLE ROBERTSON
Before police rescued their 13 children, the two parents had a history of strange behavior, family and neighbors say
WaPo's MARWA ELTAGOURI: "Louise and David Turpin were married 33 years ago, but have since renewed their wedding vows in Las Vegas at least three times — most recently in 2015."
"After hearing that the couple were accused of starving their 13 children and chaining them to their beds, Kent Ripley, the Elvis impersonator who presided over their ceremonies, pulled up videos of the occasions, where the siblings, in matching outfits and similar haircuts, smiled and danced."
"Watching them now it’s kind of haunting and disturbing,” Ripley told the Associated Press. “They all looked young and thin but I figured it was just their lifestyle. Maybe the activities they did, maybe because of their religious beliefs. I didn’t get that in depth with them but I knew they were a fun family."
Skydiver dies after falling onto roof of home in Perris, fire officials say
ABC's ROB MCMILLAN: "A skydiver was killed Monday afternoon when he fell onto the roof of a home in Perris, officials said."
"The incident was reported shortly before 3 p.m. in the 200 block of Caldera Street, according to the Riverside County Fire Department."
"He hit the roof pretty hard," said witness Ali Muhassen, adding that the man appeared to be unconscious during the freefall. "I don't think that chute did anything to break his fall."
Rachel Morrison makes Oscar history as first woman nominated for cinematography
LA Times: "Rachel Morrison made history Tuesday morning, becoming the first woman nominated for cinematography in the 90-year history of the Academy Awards."
"Nominated for Netflix’s “Mudbound,” Morrison made similar history two weeks ago with her nomination in the feature-film category at the American Society of Cinematographers Awards."
"Mudbound” is streaming on Netflix, and Morrison’s cinematography can next be seen in Marvel’s highly anticipated “Black Panther."
'Fake news. I'm coming to gun you all down': Mich. man arrested for threatening to attack CNN hosts
WaPo's KYLE SWENSON: "On Jan. 9, an operator in Atlanta manning the public contact number for CNN received a phone call. According to a federal arrest affidavit unsealed Monday, the male caller launched into a threat."
"Fake news. I’m coming to gun you all down. F — k you, f — king ni—rs.” The caller then clicked off."
"Three minutes later, the same caller, dialing from the same number, again rang the CNN line. “I am on my way right now to gun the f — kin’ CNN cast down. F — k you,” the caller said. The operator asked the caller his name. “F — k you,” he responded. “I am coming to kill you.”
FBI did not save officials' texts during key period in Trump probe, senator says
WaPo's DEVLIN BARRETT: "The FBI did not retain text messages exchanged by two senior officials involved in the probes of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump for a five-month period ending the day a special counsel was appointed to investigate possible connections between the Trump campaign and Russia, according to a new congressional letter."
"The letter from Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, to FBI Director Christopher A. Wray indicates the Justice Department has turned over to lawmakers a new batch of texts from senior FBI agent Peter Strzok and FBI lawyer Lisa Page. The messages have not been made public."
"As The Washington Post reported in December, Strzok was removed from the Trump probe after internal investigators discovered he and Page, who were romantically involved , exchanged anti-Trump, pro-Clinton texts during investigations of both presidential candidates. Later that month, the Justice Department provided Congress with hundreds of pages of messages. Republicans said the texts revealed political bias at the bureau’s highest levels."
