Biden restores California’s power to set car emissions rules
MATTHEW DALY, AP: “The Biden administration is restoring California’s authority to set its own tailpipe pollution standards for cars, reversing a Trump administration policy and likely ushering in stricter emissions standards for new passenger vehicles nationwide.
A waiver approved Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency allows California to set tough emissions rules for cars and SUVs and impose mandates for so-called zero-emission vehicles that do not contribute to global warming.
At least 15 states and the District of Columbia have signed on to California’s vehicle standards, which are stricter than federal rules and designed to address the state’s severe air pollution problems. According to the American Lung Association, seven of the 10 U.S. cities with worst ozone pollution are in California, along with six of the 10 most polluted cities measured by year-round particle pollution.”California’s high gas prices have a little-known ingredient: Russian oil
NANCY RIVERA BROOKS, LA Times: “As gasoline prices surge to new heights after the U.S. banned Russian oil, California drivers are in a position to be uniquely squeezed at the fuel pump.That’s because West Coast oil refineries are Russia’s best U.S. customers.Russian oil is only a small piece of the U.S. energy picture, accounting for 3% of U.S. oil imports, and most of those imports flow to refineries on the West and East coasts. But nearly half of Russian oil shipped into the U.S. last year, or close to 100,000 barrels a day, ended up primarily in California, Washington and Hawaii, refinery consultant Andrew Lipow said.The truth about L.A.’s most notoriously expensive gas stations
SAM DEAN, LA Times: “Gas prices in Los Angeles have climbed to new heights this week, with Angelenos shelling out more than $5.50 a gallon on average at the pump.But for customers at a handful of notorious gas stations across town, $5.50 would be a bargain.These stations are the mysterious outliers of the L.A. petroleum landscape, advertising $6.95, $6.99 or even $7.05 for a gallon of regular unleaded, seemingly in defiance of economic sense.”Newsom’s State of the State speech: 5 key moments that will shape California
DUSTIN GARDNER, Chronicle: “Gov. Gavin Newsom seized his largest public platform of the year Tuesday to promise a tax rebate for Californians struggling with sky-high gas prices and to double down on his proposal to reduce the number of mentally ill and drug-addicted people living on the streets.The Democratic governor delivered his fourth State of the State speech and reiterated his ambitious plans to address the state’s biggest existential problems, from the homelessness and housing crises to rising crime to climate change.Newsom, who is running for re-election in November, made no mention of the failed attempt to recall him or the political headwinds he’s faced in recent years. Instead, he focused on the broad outlines of his policy vision and spoke about California’s identity as a beacon for innovation and diversity.”
‘A crucial year for PG&E.’ California tightens grip on utility but wildfire risk persists
DALE KASLER, SacBee: “The Dixie Fire was rampaging through rural Northern California, chewing through nearly a million acres, when state regulators bestowed a blessing of sorts on the company responsible for the fire: PG&E Corp.
Last September, weeks after PG&E acknowledged that its equipment probably caused the fire, an obscure but powerful new state agency named the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety signed off on PG&E’s annual wildfire mitigation plan — a legally-required safety map the utility must prepare and then follow to reduce the likelihood of new fires.
Even though it had room for improvement, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety declared, “PG&E has demonstrated sufficient year-over-year progress to warrant an approval of the plan.”
After viral conspiracies, California sheriff announces ‘whistleblower’ died by suicide
JASON POHL, SacBee: “A former Department of Homeland Security whistleblower whose death two years ago spurred a barrage of right-wing conspiracy theories — including from top Congressional Republicans — did, in fact, die by suicide, a California sheriff announced Tuesday.
Philip Haney fatally shot himself in the chest Feb. 21, 2020 on a roadside southeast of Sacramento, the Amador County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a detailed statement. An autopsy did not reveal any suspicious trauma or injuries, and a forensic handwriting analysis found that Haney had signed a suicide note found at the scene of the shooting along Highway 124, authorities said.
Haney, 66, had arranged financial papers on the kitchen counter in his motor home, with some detailing how he wanted his assets dispersed.
Need an interview to get unemployment benefits? Some have to wait as long as five months”
DAVID LIGHTMAN, SacBee: “About 475,000 Californians are waiting as long as 16 to 20 weeks for an interview with the state Employment Development Department to see if they qualify for unemployment benefits – and some can’t get any benefits while they wait.
Those who are waiting fall into two broad categories.
About 92,000 people are waiting up to 16 weeks for an interview and are not getting any payments. If they qualify, they will receive back pay from the time they qualified.
Dem leaders seem on board as Newsom proposes gas money for Californians
EMILY HOEVEN, Calmatters: “Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to put money in Californians’ pockets to help them pay for the skyrocketing price of gas.
That was the main takeaway from his State of the State speech Tuesday night, which came on the heels of President Joe Biden announcing a U.S. ban on imports of Russian oil and the Golden State’s average gas price hurtling to a new record of $5.44 per gallon — a whopping 10-cent increase over the previous high set just one day before.
Details about the proposed rebate — the only new policy proposal in the governor’s 18-minute speech — were scarce Tuesday night, though Newsom administration officials said relief would likely total in the billions of dollars and be available to California drivers with cars registered in the state, including undocumented immigrants.”
San Francisco drops vaccine mandate for indoor restaurants, bars
CATHERINE HO, Chronicle: “Starting this Friday, March 11, San Francisco will no longer require people to provide proof of vaccination or a negative coronavirus test to enter indoor restaurants, bars and gyms, city health officials announced Wednesday.
The move will bring an end to a requirement that was first implemented in August, when San Francisco became the first major U.S. jurisdiction to mandate full vaccination to enter these indoor spaces. City health officials enacted the requirement because people in such locales typically remove their masks or breathe heavily, which increases the risk of transmission.
The reversal marks an important symbolic shift in the transition of the coronavirus to endemic status, as San Francisco throughout the pandemic has been one of the most cautious in terms of COVID mitigation policies. It is the latest in a string of formal local and state restrictions to be lifted in the last several weeks, including mask mandates in most indoor settings and mandatory face coverings in public schools, which in California will no longer be required as of Saturday.”
FBI impersonator convicted of defrauding California immigrants
CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ, LA Times: “A 44-year-old man has been convicted of impersonating an FBI agent and wire fraud after scamming immigrants in a California town, authorities said.
Ivan Isho, an Arizona resident, pretended to be an FBI agent between 2016 and 2017 and claimed that he could help Assyrians living in Ceres, in Northern California, get visas for their family members living outside the country, the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of California said in a release.
Isho showed his victims fake FBI credentials and a gun to shore up his story, federal prosecutors said. During a four-day trial last week, Isho claimed that he had the fake FBI credentials as part of a Halloween costume.”
Curbside pickup for marijuana? California agency is poised to allow it indefinitely
ANDREW SHEELER, SacBee: “For two years, Californians have been able to pick up marijuana from their dispensaries via curbside delivery.”
Now, the state regulator that oversees cannabis is poised to extend that rule indefinitely. The Department of Cannabis Control recently announced several proposed regulations that would go into effect later this year if approved.
One such regulation extends the exception that allows cannabis retailers to offer curbside delivery of their product to customers. “DCC began authorizing retailers to engage in curbside delivery at the start of the pandemic, in order to facilitate important public health measures, as part of disaster relief provisions in the regulations,” said department spokeswoman Christina Dempsey in an email statement.”
