Militia-aligned group will control a Northern California county if recall vote totals hold
RYAN SABALOW, SacBee: “After two years of threats and conspiracy theories, the militia-backed movement seeking to seize control of one of California’s most conservative counties, so far, appears to have prevailed — a major victory for far-right factions vying to replace more moderate Republican elected leaders across the state.
On Tuesday, Shasta County voters chose to recall Supervisor Leonard Moty, a Republican former Redding police chief, according to early election returns posted late Tuesday night.
With all precincts in Moty’s district reporting Tuesday night, nearly 53% of voters choose to remove him. Still, fewer than 400 votes separate the tally, and local election officials caution that the race remains too close to call.
Officials stress COVID safety measures at Super Bowl, including, yes, masks
LAT, BY LUKE MONEY, RONG-GONG LIN II: "NFL and SoFi Stadium officials joined with local leaders to reiterate that masks will be required for fans at the Super Bowl in Inglewood to help protect against Omicron transmission.
The mask requirement in outdoor stadiums, an order issued in L.A. County last August, was criticized as unnecessary this week by a member of the Board of Supervisors, Kathryn Barger, who represents a northern part of the county, after photos emerged of many fans maskless in their seats at Sunday’s Rams game.
But at a press conference Wednesday, several local elected officials backed the mask mandate, including Inglewood Mayor James T. Butts Jr. and L.A. County Supervisor Holly Mitchell, whose district includes SoFi Stadium. Guests at the Feb. 13 game will also need to show proof they’ve been vaccinated or recently tested negative for the coronavirus prior to entry, a requirement that has been in place for large outdoor events in the county since October."
Pelosi’s reelection bid keeps Democrats in suspense on leadership
LAT, NOLAN D MCCASKILL: "When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced her reelection bid last week, it was a sign that Democrats may be in limbo for another nine months before knowing who their next leader will be.
Pelosi, 81, has been the No. 1 Democrat in the House since 2003. The San Francisco lawmaker announced her intent in 2018 to abide by term limits for senior leadership positions, meaning her tenure would end this year.
But when announcing her intent to run again for her congressional seat in November, she made no mention of what she will do after the election in terms of her leadership post."
Newsom wants more money for California’s homeless. Will it get encampments off the streets?
Sac Bee, LARA KORTE: "Standing alongside a San Diego highway in front of orange trash bags and cleanup crews earlier this month, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared the homelessness crisis in California was “unacceptable” and said he’s going to do something about it.
“Not only are we meeting this moment by recognizing what everybody’s recognizing, that it’s out of control and unacceptable what’s happening on the streets all across the state,” he said. “But we are starting to deliver on what we’ve been promoting.”
After putting up $12 billion in funding for homelessness and affordable housing last year, Newsom is proposing the state spend another $2 billion this year to address immediate housing and behavioral health needs and clear encampments along California sidewalks, highways and vacant lots."
Can ‘pass/no pass’ grading stem huge declines in California Community College enrollment?
LAT, COLLEEN SHALBY: "Last spring, Josh Potgieter faced a severe mental health crisis. The San Diego community college student had taken on extra work to pay rent. The additional responsibility combined with the stress of college applications and the weight of the pandemic, exacerbated his anxiety and depression.
It took an emotional toll. He worried about his biology class — a mandatory class he needed to take in order to transfer to a university. Biology wasn’t his strong suit and he feared that a low grade could tank his grade-point average, potentially jeopardizing his dream of attending a competitive four-year university.
But if he dropped the class, he would lose the financial aid he needed to stay in school. He opted instead for a “pass/no pass” mark — earning credit for the class without affecting his GPA or aid. “It was one less thing I had to worry about,” said Potgieter, 20, who is now a political science major at UC Berkeley."
137 infections in three weeks. How a COVID-19 wave has affected one California state agency
WES VENTEICHER, SacBee: “A wave of COVID-19 infections is shaking up return-to-office plans at the Franchise Tax Board, where 137 employees tested positive for the virus in the last three weeks, according to employee emails.
The surge at the agency comes as the omicron variant continues its sweep through California, pushing infection rates to levels that remain above pre-surge peaks.
Employees suspect the virus is circulating in the agency’s offices off of U.S. Highway 50 between Rosemont and Rancho Cordova, but the infection notifications don’t identify transmission sources."
Amid clash with D.A., San Francisco police to end agreement on investigating officer shootings
LAT, BY GREGORY YEE: "San Francisco Police Chief William Scott announced Wednesday that his department would end an agreement with the district attorney’s office to cooperate on investigations of police shootings and other incidents.
The agreement, which was signed in July, was meant to ensure that police shootings, deaths of people in custody and other uses of force that result in serious injury would be independently investigated.
Scott has renewed his criticism of Dist. Atty. Chesa Boudin after an investigator in Boudin’s office alleged she was pressured to withhold evidence in a use-of-force case against a San Francisco police officer."
City of Sacramento pays $70,000 settlement to man who was allegedly hit in face by officer
Sacramento Bee, THERESA CLIFT: "The city of Sacramento paid a $70,000 settlement to a Black man who was allegedly struck in the face by a police officer while lying in a hospital bed recovering from a gunshot wound.
In March 2018, Phayjjon McClellan was at UC Davis Medical Center recovering from a serious gunshot wound to his torso that pierced his liver, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court. He was intubated, with tubes running in and out of his body along with a colostomy bag.
Sacramento police officers Darby Lannom and Vincent Catricala, who were investigating the shooting, forced themselves into the hospital room and said they needed to question McClellan, despite his medically fragile state, the lawsuit alleged."
Man who allegedly shot Stockton firefighter formally charged, has first court appearance.
Modesto Bee, LYDIA GERIKE: "The man accused of fatally shooting a Stockton firefighter early Monday morning was arraigned Wednesday afternoon in San Joaquin County Superior Court.
Robert Alston Somerville, 67, faces one count of murder with aggravating circumstances and one count of intentional discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury in connection with the death of Capt. Vidal “Max” Fortuna."
Californians have hope for Gavin Newsom and lawmakers – while Biden drops in new survey
Sac Bee, DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Californians tend to like the job Gov. Gavin Newsom is doing and see hope for what he and the state Legislature can accomplish this year.
Views of Biden and the nation’s direction are less buoyant, as residents increasingly worry about rising prices, the future of the pandemic and the direction of the country.
Those are the key findings of a survey released Wednesday by the Public Policy Institute of California. It polled Californians between January 16 and 25."
U.S. forces killed leader of Islamic State in Syria raid, Biden says
LAT, DEL QUENTIN WILBER and NABIH BULOS: "President Biden announced Thursday that U.S. forces killed the leader of Islamic State during an overnight raid in Syria that first responders reported left 13 civilians dead.
“Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces in northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our allies, and make the world a safer place,” Biden said in a statement. “Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi—the leader of ISIS.”
The president said all U.S. troops returned safely from the mission, which the U.S. military said early Thursday had been a “successful” counterterrorism operation, without specifying its target. Biden is set to address the nation on the raid from the White House at 6:30 a.m. Pacific."
Biden to send thousands more troops to Eastern Europe amid Ukraine crisis
AP, ROBERT BURNS, LOLITA C. BALDOR, AAMER MADHANI, LORNE COOK AND DASHA LITVINOVA: "President Biden is ordering 2,000 U.S.-based troops to Poland and Germany and shifting 1,000 more from Germany to Romania, demonstrating to both allies and foes America’s commitment to NATO’s eastern flank amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
Russia responded with a sharply worded objection, calling the deployments unfounded and “destructive.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin also had a new telephone exchange with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Readouts from both governments showed no progress, with Putin saying the West was giving no ground on Russia’s security concerns and Johnson expressing deep concern about Russia’s “hostile activity” on the Ukrainian border, referring to Putin’s buildup of 100,000 troops there."
