Going under?

PG&E plans to file bankruptcy. Will it go under?

Sacramento Bee's DALE KASLER/TONY BIZJAK/ALEXEI KOSEFF/SOPHIA BOLLAG: "PG&E is about to go bankrupt. But the troubled utility said it will keep the lights on and is committed to a “fair and expeditious” resolution of the billions of dollars it faces in potential liabilities from the Camp Fire and the 2017 wine country fires."

"How can PG&E survive? Here’s a look at what might happen, and what it would mean to the state, ratepayers throughout Northern California and those impacted by the wildfires."

READ MORE related to Energy & Environment: California lawmakers in no hurry to help out PG&E -- The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH/JD MORRIS; PG&E's financial situation by the numbers -- The Chronicle; Bay Area charities to take multimillion-dollar hit with PG&E bankruptcy - The Chronicle's SAM WHITING

L.A. teachers' strike brings day of disruption for thousands of students

From LAT's HOWARD BLUME, SONALI KOHLI, DOUG SMITH and RUBEN VIVES: "Across a rain-drenched city, students crowded into school auditoriums, talked over the adults brought in to manage them, watched “Black Panther” and played “Minecraft.”

California judge accused of sexually harassing colleagues and other women

The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "California’s judicial disciplinary agency accused a state appeals court justice Monday of sexually harassing and groping a fellow justice, harassing attorneys, court staff and a California Highway Patrol officer, and repeatedly appearing drunk in public."

"The allegations against Justice Jeffrey Johnson of the Second District Court of Appeal in Los Angeles are a rare instance of a high-ranking state judicial officer being accused of misconduct by the Commission on Judicial Performance. If the commission sustains the charges after a public hearing, it could ask the state Supreme Court to remove Johnson form the bench."

"Johnson, 58, was appointed to the court by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2009 after 10 years as a federal prosecutor and another decade as a federal magistrate."

CA utilities cause hundreds of fires every year. Here's where they were and how many

Sacramento Bee's MICHAEL FINCH II: "As the Camp Fire burned in Butte County, public attention was transfixed on the risk many Californians face when it comes to wildfires. Thousands of people who live in the so-called wildland-urban interface — the border between rural areas and cities — have been affected in recent years as the same scenario plays out with stunning familiarity."

"Regulators sought solutions for this problem once before and in 2014 began requiring utility companies to report when there is a fire incident on one of their power lines. Over a four-year period, there have been 2,009 such incidents reported — many of them small."

"The data, obtained from the California Public Utilities Commission, show that PG&E experiences significantly more fire incidents than other large utilities in the state. One reason could be the nature of its service area which includes many of the state’s rural counties in the north. But the frequency is still stark when compared to others, including Southern California Edison which serves a customer base similar in size to PG&E’s."

Newsom's first budget: Down payments made, but supporters still want more

Sacramento Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG/ALEXEI KOSEFF: "More state-funded health care for undocumented immigrants. Nearly $2 billion for early childhood programs. Millions of dollars to spur housing construction."

"In his first week as California governor, Gavin Newsom promised something for nearly every key interest group that backed his campaign. He outlined new spending and policies on a wide array of issues in his first week, from additional funding for emergency response to expanded tax breaks for low-income families."

"Many of his supporters have cheered his proposals. But some say he still needs to do more to deliver on his promises now that he’s in office."

UC employees still reporting hardships from faulty payroll

Sacramento Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "University of California employees continue to report missed or reduced direct deposit paychecks that they attribute to the university system’s troubled payroll system, UCPath."

"The complaints, often from student employees whose paycheck-to-paycheck income leaves them particularly vulnerable to payroll problems, prompted two California state lawmakers — Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, D-San Diego — to write letters voicing their concern to the University of California chancellors in their respective districts."

"Too many student workers have gone without pay, in some cases for months,” Gonzalez wrote."

Why California pharmacies are rejecting some prescriptions for pain medications

Sacramento Bee's CATHIE ANDERSON: "Doctors around California are complaining that the state did not send them notice of a Jan. 1 change in prescription forms and that pharmacies are rejecting prescriptions for controlled substances on forms they used just last year."

"Dr. Richard Buss, a family practice physician in Jackson, said this is the second year the state made changes to prescription requirements without notifying doctors directly. He said he was unaware of the change until Jan. 2 when a pharmacy told him it wouldn’t fill a prescription. He was unable to get new prescription forms that meet state requirements until Monday."

"Nobody told the doctors about it — until like now — when the change is required,” Buss said. “Pharmacies are already refusing to accept our prescriptions for controlled substances. One of the doctors at our hospital is trying to send a patient home who just had knee surgery, and he can’t get pain medication ordered for her because these (prescription forms) became out of date at the end of the year."

McConnell: Shutdown is Pelosi's fault

Sacramento Bee's LESLEY CLARK: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — who has come under fire for not doing more to end the government shutdown —sought to target a new villain Monday by blaming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for the impasse."

"As the Senate returned to the Capitol with no sign of the now-record partial government shutdown ending, McConnell took to the Senate floor. He charged that Pelosi, the “very distinguished congresswoman from San Francisco, has decided that opposing President Trump comes before the security of our borders."

"The Kentucky Republican’s remarks on the 24th day of the government shutdown were his sharpest yet for Pelosi, his new sparring partner for the next two years. Pelosi’s office said she would respond later on Monday."

READ MORE related to POTUS45/Congress: Trump discussed pulling US from NATO, aides say -- The Chronicle's JULIAN E BARNES /HELENE COOPER; Which Lindsey Graham will run the judiciary panel? A high stakes hearing to offer clues -- Sacramento Bee's EMMA DUMAIN

House GOP leaders move to strip Rep. Steve King of committee assignments over comment

WaPo's MIKE DEBONIS: "A panel of Republican leaders voted unanimously Monday to keep veteran Iowa lawmaker Steve King off of House committees, a firm rebuke to an influential opponent of illegal immigration who sparked outrage last week after openly questioning whether the term “white supremacist” was offensive."