California is soaking wet. But drought looms if we don't get more rain -- a lot more
Sac Bee's RYAN SABALOW/DALE KASLER: "Six years ago, in the middle of a crippling drought, Californians were ordered to let their lawns turn yellow.
They put buckets in their showers to conserve. Scofflaws had to attend “drought school.” Meanwhile, farmers throughout the Central Valley had to idle many of their fields.
This week’s deluge left many Californians shoveling snow and splashing through puddles as an “atmospheric river” swept the state. More precipitation is in the forecast for next week. But experts worry that without repeated downpours over the next two months, the painful memories of the last drought could become reality again."
As COVID-19 rages on, California and fed govt extend health insurance enrollment
Sac Bee's CATHIE ANDERSON: "Leaders of Covered California have announced they will open a special enrollment period, allowing state residents to continue signing up for health insurance coverage, once the annual open enrollment period ends Jan. 31, the agency’s director announced Thursday.
Peter Lee said the decision was influenced by President Joe Biden’s executive order opening a special enrollment period in the federal marketplace that signs up consumers for health insurance in 36 states. In the order, Biden authorized a $50 million media blitz to promote the special enrollment period nationally on television, in social media and on websites.
“Across America, people watching their TV’s, listening to their radio, on digital, Facebook, will see promotions about enrolling,” Lee said. “The last thing we would want is Californians seeing that news, knocking on our doors and being told, ‘Sorry, we’re not open for business.’ It makes sense for our mission. It also makes sense for California consumers to make sure they’re not confused.”"
CA’s 2022 mid-term elections may bring surprises to Democrats
JAMES ARANGUREN, Capitol Weekly: "Democrats are hearing alarm bells for California’s congressional races in 2022.
The state’s House delegation – now at 53, but likely to drop by one seat after the new redistricting – stood at 46 Democrats and only seven Republicans after the 2018 elections.
But last year, Republicans captured four seats from Democrats — which caught political observers by surprise."
'Nightmare' of confusing tech, guidelines thwart Bay Area seniors trying to get vaccinated
The Chronicle's MALLORY MOENCH: "Arlene Moon, called “Goochie” by her family, is a 95-year-old great-great-grandmother with chronic lung disease. She’s exactly the kind of person California wants to vaccinate — but she hasn’t gotten her first shot yet.
Moon has short-term memory loss and can’t navigate a plethora of websites. She can’t drive herself to get a vaccine and would have trouble, given her balance issues, if she had to stand in line. That’s if she can even get a slot, since her luck depends on her location and health care provider.
Kaiser Permanente staff in San Mateo County told her there weren’t vaccines available to give her. But her 81-year-old son-in-law David Bain managed to get his first dose at Palo Alto Medical Foundation, run by Sutter Health, after overcoming technological struggles with his granddaughter’s help."
1,700 claims from 1 address? How California missed widespread unemployment fraud
Sac Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN: "The state’s Employment Development Department’s response to massive fraud was “marked by significant missteps and inaction,” fraud that so far has resulted in more than $10 billion in suspicious claims, a state audit reported Thursday.
“Despite repeated warnings, EDD did not bolster its fraud detection efforts until months into the pandemic,” wrote State Auditor Elaine Howle.
The audit said $10.4 billion had been paid out to people that “might be fraudulent,” from March to December, and warned, “It is highly probable that EDD will ultimately determine that it improperly paid significantly more than the $10.4 billion we identify in this report as potentially fraudulent.”"
Can California Republicans pivot from Trump's presidency unscathed?
Sac Bee's LARA KORTE: "Following the November election, California Republicans felt they had some momentum.
After losing a devastating seven congressional seats in 2018, the California GOP was able to win back four in 2020. After several years of declining registration, Republicans in the fall reported being slightly above those who choose “no party preference.”
They were modest gains, but they signaled that California Republicans were connecting with voters."\
Mayor Breed tries to rally a weary San Francisco with optimism
The Chronicle's TRISHA THADANI: "In a State of the City address Thursday, Mayor London Breed tried to rally a struggling and exhausted city by claiming a brighter future is ahead, where people can see Steph Curry on the basketball court, dance to live music, drink “at the best bars” and watch the Giants from a kayak.
“Yes, it has been hard, and no, we are not out of the woods yet,” she said. But “I believe we are at the start of an incredible recovery.”
Breed’s address came as San Francisco flickered back to life Thursday, as small pleasures like outdoor dining and haircuts in a salon were allowed to resume after weeks of lockdown. Still, the city’s current situation is dire."
Feds 'shortchange' SF Bay - local Congress members want money for restoration
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "San Francisco Bay is dwarfed by the Chesapeake Bay, Puget Sound and other treasured estuaries when it comes to federal funding, and California lawmakers want that changed.
On Thursday, a contingent of Bay Area members of Congress introduced legislation that would boost federal money tenfold for restoration of the region’s signature waters. Under the proposal, $50 million a year for five years would flow to bay projects that reduce water pollution, support wildlife, revive wetlands and protect shoreline communities from sea level rise.
With more than 7 million people living in the counties that surround the bay, the estuary faces a constant barrage of highway runoff, industrial waste, sewage, drifting pesticides and unrelenting waterside development. Rising seas have only complicated matters. Environmental groups have made big strides in cleaning up and restoring the bay over the past 50 years, but the effort is ongoing."
Tech investor who proposed splitting up California could move university to Texas
LA Times's ROLAND LI: "Tim Draper, the prominent venture capitalist and early investor in companies including Tesla, Twitch and Theranos, plans to move his university out of San Mateo to either Redwood City or Austin, Texas.
The dispute arose from what might seem like a minor addition, pointing to the aggravation many business owners say they feel over the Bay Area’s restrictive zoning rules and baroque development processes. Draper wants to add an elevator and staircase to the back of Draper University, a for-profit school for aspiring entrepreneurs.
But some San Mateo planning commissioners said Tuesday they opposed the changes to the historic 1926 building on Third Avenue, which was formerly the Benjamin Franklin Hotel."
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