Winter storm that slammed Northern California heads south
SARAH PARVINI, LA Times: "A powerful storm that has already walloped Northern California could bring as much as 3 inches of rain to Southern California’s coastal areas and up to 5 inches in the foothills and mountains, forecasters say.
The weather system hit Northern California on Sunday with up to 10 feet of snow at higher elevations before moving south.
“We’re expecting some heavier rain after midnight Monday for Los Angeles and going into Tuesday morning,” said Mike Wofford, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard."
READ MORE on winter storm: Atmospheric river rolls into Bay Area. Here’s when and where storms are likely to be strongest -- KELLIE HWANG and CHASE DiFELICIANTONIO, Chronicle; Storm expected to dump heavy rain on Southern California starting Monday night -- ERICA LICAS, Press-Enterprise.
Democrats want to spend California’s surplus on infrastructure. What about rebate checks?
SOPHIA BOLLAG and LARA KORTE, SacBee: "State lawmakers want to use a projected $31 billion surplus to fuel an infrastructure boom, a tactic that could reduce the amount Californians might see in any rebate checks this year – if they happen at all.
The state expects to have so much money it risks exceeding a state spending threshold called the Gann Limit. If it does, it must send more money to schools and some money back to taxpayers through rebates.
Top Democratic lawmakers who control the budget process in Sacramento said they intend to reduce the amount they exceed the limit in part by spending a big chunk of the projected surplus on infrastructure.
Newsom wants Texas-like law to ban assault guns
ADAM BEAM, AP: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday pledged to empower private citizens to enforce a ban on the manufacture and sale of assault weapons in the state, citing the same authority claimed by conservative lawmakers in Texas to outlaw most abortions once a heartbeat is detected.
California has banned the manufacture and sale of many assault-style weapons for decades. A federal judge overturned that ban in June, ruling it was unconstitutional and drawing the ire of the state’s Democratic leaders by comparing the popular AR-15 rifle to a Swiss Army Knife as “good for both home and battle.” California’s ban remained in place while the state appealed.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in Texas this year passed a law banning abortions after a fetal heartbeat is detected, which normally occurs at about six weeks into pregnancy. The Texas law allows private citizens to enforce the ban, empowering them to sue abortion clinics and anyone else who “aids and abets” with the procedure."
As California’s COVID cases rise, antibody treatments go unused
LISA M. KRIEGER, Mercury News: "The number of Californians hospitalized for COVID-19 is once again climbing — even as a powerful treatment goes unused.
Deployment of the free, life-saving monoclonal antibody therapy, which reduces the risk of hospitalization by 80%, has been slowed due to poor communication and administrative coordination, as well as a shortage of facilities equipped to provide the infusion. In some cases, patients may not be aware of the treatment or may be hesitant to use it.
“It’s not getting to people,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, professor of medicine and an infectious disease specialist at UC San Francisco. “We have this tool that we’re not using.” The state’s COVID-19 hospitalization rate remains far below its peak. But in just the past month admissions have jumped 42%, from 41,357 on Nov. 8 to 58,620 on Dec. 7, according to the most recent data from the California Department of Public Health. The same trend is seen for severely ill people needing ICU care."
California paid out $20 billion in fake unemployment claims. How much will it recover?
DAVID LIGHTMAN, SacBee: "McGregor Scott was brought on by the state’s embattled unemployment agency in July with the mammoth challenge of coordinating investigations into fraud schemes targeting pandemic relief.
He found a surprise as the search for an estimated $20 billion in fraudulent payments proceeded.
“When I first assumed this role, I just broadly thought gosh, we’re never gonna see that money again,” he told The Bee in an interview.
Thousands of California students still lack proof of vaccination despite deadlines
ALI TADAYON, EdSource: "Several large California school districts are facing a potential crisis at the end of the semester: Thousands of their students remain unvaccinated or have yet to provide proof of vaccination, despite looming deadlines.
Among those districts is West Contra Costa Unified School District, as well as those in Los Angeles, Sacramento and Oakland. As of Wednesday, for example, only 33% of the West Contra Costa district’s students aged 12 and older had verified that they received both doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, which is required to continue in-person education.
That means weeks ahead of the district’s Jan. 3 vaccine mandate deadline, the status of about 8,000 students remains unknown. Students who aren’t fully vaccinated by the deadline will either have to enroll in the district’s independent study program, Vista Virtual Academy, or leave the district. It’s likely that many families just haven’t gotten around yet to submitting their children’s vaccination status. The state touts that more than 70% of children ages 12-17 have received at least one dose of the vaccine, but parents must still submit their children’s proof of vaccine to their district."
Across Los Angeles, fans mourned Vicente Fernández
PALOMA ESQUIVEL, LA Times: "Jose Guadalupe Alvarez doesn’t cry very often.
But on Sunday, in between answering customers’ questions at a party supply store in downtown Los Angeles, tears welled in his eyes as he remembered Vicente Fernández.
“My father died a year ago,” said Alvarez, 64. “It feels like losing him again.”
Robberies. Drought. Tent Camps. Los Angeles’s Next Mayor Faces a Litany of Crises.
SHAWN HUBLER and JILL COWAN, NY Times: "Peter Nichols has lived for 22 years in a two-bedroom Cape Cod in the Fairfax District, in the flat, bungalow-lined midsection between the east and the west sides of Los Angeles. His block used to make him proud, with its neat lawns and palm trees: Crime was low. Streets were clean. When a problem arose — drug use in the park, traffic from the nearby Melrose Avenue shopping district — the city seemed to know how to address it.
All that has changed.
Homicides in his area have risen from one in 2019 to more than a dozen this year, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He cannot drive more than a block or two without passing homeless encampments. Drought has withered the yards. Trash blows past on the Santa Ana winds."
San Francisco home sells for $1 million over asking price
AMANDA BARTLETT, SFGate: "A four-bedroom home in a quiet San Francisco neighborhood shocked real estate agents Richard Woo and Holly Phan when it sold for $1 million over its asking price three days after it was listed, KPIX reported Friday.
The home, reportedly located west of Twin Peaks near Mount Davidson, was originally listed for just under $2.5 million but ended up selling for $3.5 million, the agents told KPIX.
“We were all very surprised, because they were not just over – they were way over,” Woo said of the offers.
Sacramento names first woman to lead police department. Who is new Chief Kathy Lester?
ROSALIO AHUMADA, SacBee: "Kathy Lester, a 27-year veteran of the Sacramento Police Department, has been named as the agency’s 46th police chief. She is the first woman selected for the post.
Sacramento City Manager Howard Chan chose to promote the deputy chief of operations to lead the department of 1,100 employees — more than 700 of which are sworn officers — after a nationwide search in the wake of Chief Daniel Hahn’s announcement he would retire this month after a four-year tenure. “I am thrilled that Kathy has accepted this opportunity to continue to serve her community in this new capacity,” Chan said Friday in a city news release.
“During her time with the Sacramento Police Department, she has proven herself to be a dynamic leader with an unwavering commitment to diversity, equity, accountability and innovation. There is no one better to serve in this role and to continue the ongoing efforts of the department and its outstanding employees.”
And now this. VIDEO: Five mountain lions walk past a woman's porch in Northern California -- SacBee.
