In endorsing Schiff for Senate, Pelosi rewarded her most valued trait: loyalty
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi typically throws out endorsements in high-profile Democrat-on-Democrat races like manhole covers. She sat out Hillary vs. Obama in 2008, didn’t weigh in on Hillary vs. Bernie in 2016 until it didn’t really matter and held her nod for Joe Biden in 2020 until he was the presumptive nominee.
But one of the main factors that inspired Pelosi to endorse Rep. Adam Schiff in California’s 2024 Senate race over two female House members came down to a quality she holds sacrosanct: loyalty."
California union demands 43% raises, rejects Gavin Newsom’s ‘pitiful’ contract offer
Sacramento Bee, CATHIE ANDERSON: "Hundreds of scientists employed by the state of California voted to reject a tentative labor contract by a margin of 59% to 41%, sending a message to the Newsom administration and union leadership that the raises proposed in that offer were unacceptable.
The California Association of Professional Scientists, the union representing these workers, announced the vote results Thursday after receiving them from a third-party agency charged with the count. Two-thirds of the 2,744 workers eligible to vote did so, said lead negotiator Jackqueline Tkac, showing management that workers are highly engaged.
“We’re going to hopefully resume negotiations at the bargaining table in the next couple weeks,” Tkac said. “Over the last year, we really focused on organizing the membership, and we’ll continue to do that. And we’re also going to look to build solidarity with other labor unions and do whatever is needed to win a fair contract.”"
California transit agencies need more state support
Capitol Weekly, MICHAEL PIMENTEL: "OPINION: In 2022, the State of California invested a historic $8 billion in transit and rail capital projects to build a stronger, more equitable, and more sustainable transportation network for the future. Facing a $22.5 billion “budget problem,” the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022-23 State Budget released by Governor Newsom on January 10 proposes to reduce this investment by $2 billion. Critically, the budget is silent on the looming and pandemic-induced operations funding crisis faced by agencies statewide. Without dedicated operations funding, some of the state’s largest transit agencies will have to reduce service, lay off staff, and defer maintenance and modernization programs.
California public transit agencies survived the pandemic because of unprecedented federal action – which provided $69.4 billion nationwide through the CARES Act, CRRSA Act, and the American Rescue Plan – as well as state statutory relief. These emergency measures, reflecting federal and state leaders’ understanding of the essential service provided by transit agencies, were intended to bridge the shortfalls in transit revenue until ridership recovered. Ridership still has not recovered to pre-pandemic levels. A survey by the University of California Institute of Transportation Studies (UC ITS) found that more than half of the state’s transit agencies are still relying on federal funding. This federal funding and state statutory relief is running out and the state must act."
Column: Newsom is pushing for more gun control restrictions. Polling shows Californians overwhelmingly support them
LA Times, GEORGE SKELTON: "Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers are launching a new effort to restrict who can carry concealed loaded guns — and where — as fresh polling data show that California voters have their backs.
Twice as many likely voters think it’s more important to control gun ownership than it is to protect gun rights, according to a survey released Wednesday by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California.
That partially explains why gun control bills are proliferating in the new Legislature — some of them good, some goofy."
California is alone in battle over Colorado River water cuts
LA Times, IAN JAMES: "After a key deadline passed this week without an agreement on how to address the Colorado River’s crisis, California is now sharply at odds with six other states over how to take less water from the shrinking river.
Now that California has rejected a plan offered by the rest of the region, the state has entered a political tug-of-war with high stakes. So why has the state that uses the most Colorado River water decided to go it alone?
California appears to be banking on its high-priority senior water rights, while the other states are presenting a united front to show the federal government they support a plan that would have California give up more water."
Before and after: Lake Oroville, California’s second-largest reservoir, has risen 182 feet
BANG*Mercury News, PAUL ROGERS/DYLAN BOUSCHER: "One of the best places to see how dramatically big storms this winter have changed California’s water picture is three hours north of the Bay Area, in the foothills east of Sacramento Valley.
There, Lake Oroville, the second-largest reservoir in California and a key component of the state’s water system, has undergone a breathtaking transformation. Sixteen months ago, the reservoir was so parched from severe drought that it was just 22% full. For the first time since it opened in 1967, its power plant had shut down because there wasn’t enough water to spin the turbines and generate electricity.
Now Oroville reservoir is 65% full. Since its lowest point on Sept. 30, 2021, the massive lake’s level has risen 182 feet, boosted by nine atmospheric river storms in January."
Amid soaring energy costs, state regulators vote to give Californians early bill relief
The Chronicle, JULIE JOHNSON: "Californians are going to get much-needed breaks on their utility bills sooner rather than later this year to help defray soaring energy costs.
The California Public Utilities Commissioners Thursday voted to hasten springtime credits given to customers through the state’s cap and trade programs paid for by major greenhouse gas emitting companies."
Early Friday Bay Area drizzling will preview second storm system inbound for weekend
BANG*Mercury News, AUSTIN TURNER: "The second of a tandem of storm systems bound for the Bay Area was forecast to touch down Saturday, following the light rains that were expected to dampen roadways for the Friday morning commute, according to the National Weather Service.
Most of the rain for Friday was expected to fall while many Bay Area residents were asleep in the early morning, with a large majority of the day’s precipitation projected between 1 and 5 a.m.
San Jose was likely to receive no more than one-tenth of an inch overnight, though the rain’s timing was expected to leave roadways slick for morning commutes. Totals in San Francisco, Oakland and Walnut Creek were also projected to be slim, between one-quarter and four-tenths of an inch, the NWS predicted."
A beautiful sight, a deadly climb. Mt. Baldy is L.A.’s favorite mountain. That’s the problem
The Chronicle, JACK DOLAN: "About 1,000 feet below the summit of one of the deadliest mountains in the United States, Ron Bartell and Christine Mitchell stood in soft snow beneath a brilliant blue sky.
It was just before noon on Friday and so warm they didn’t need jackets. Ron wore no gloves.
They had climbed 3,000 feet up a steep trail covered in snow and ice. Less-seasoned hikers probably would not have stopped. But Bartell and Mitchell have been scaling mountains for decades; they’ve each summited this one more than 400 times. They knew what could go wrong."
COVID emergency declarations are ending. What does that mean for California?
LA Times, LUKE MONEY/RONG-GONG LIN II: "Three years following the emergence of COVID-19, authorities at state and federal levels are preparing to lift emergency declarations originally issued to marshal pandemic responses.
While the moves will undoubtedly be cheered in some circles, such steps aren’t merely symbolic. Transitioning out of the emergency phase could eventually spell the end of universal access to free vaccines, treatments and tests.
But plans to rescind the emergency declarations also illustrate a turning in the years-long global battle against COVID-19."
COVID state of emergency is ending — here’s what it means for Californians
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "After three years in effect, the two federal public health emergencies addressing COVID-19 will end May 11, President Biden announced this week.
The state of emergency gave the federal government more flexibility with its resources to respond to COVID-19, and for most people, its removal will be felt primarily in the delivery and cost of pandemic health care.
With much uncertainty surrounding the coming changes, people can expect some confusion during the transition, public health experts and officials say — though extra expense is likely for vaccines, testing and treatments, which will retain emergency use authorization after the emergency ends."
‘He’s trying to reload the gun’: Voices of terror from Monterey Park shooting 911 calls
LA Times, BRITTNY MEJIA: "The voice on the 911 tape was quiet but terrified.
The caller was the first to reach out for help after a gunman opened fire at a Lunar New Year’s Eve party in Monterey Park.
Caller: “We start the car and try to leave and suddenly somebody come next to the window and shoot the window.”"
CSU’s housing grants aim to prevent rent crises among students
EdSource, BETTY MARQUEZ ROSALES: "Andrea Ross, a graduate student at San Diego State University, already was worried last year about how she’d make rent payments for the studio apartment she had rented in her first semester. Then disaster hit when her car suddenly needed a costly repair that ran into the thousands.
Luckily, she had somewhere to turn for help. Ross returned to the support network she’d found during her short time at the San Diego campus: She visited the Basic Needs Center and asked for help.
Within days, she received a direct deposit for a $1,000 grant that helped ease the housing stress while she figured out what to do with her car."
Layoffs hit two multibillion-dollar S.F. tech companies
The Chronicle, CHASE DIFELICIANTONIO: "Three more San Francisco tech companies announced the planned to cut staff Thursday, as near-daily news of tech layoffs in San Francisco and the Bay Area continues.
Password and log-in security company Okta said it would cut about 300 employees, around 5% of its workforce, while Bloomberg reported social sharing company Pinterest would cut 150 employees. In an emailed statement a Pinterest spokesperson did not confirm the details of the layoffs or severance packages but confirmed the company was cutting some jobs."
California rejected Berkeley’s housing plan. Here’s why, and the potential consequences
The Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "Berkeley’s Housing Element was rejected by the state this week, city and state officials confirmed, exposing one of the East Bay’s biggest cities to potential fines and the threat of developers trying to build projects that aren’t constrained by local zoning restrictions.
Berkeley did not fully analyze potential housing sites, and the city must commit to removing permit constraints and upzoning wealthier neighborhoods, according to a letter from the California Department of Housing and Community Development to the city."
‘This is not a war zone’: Sacramento City Council approves Rook police vehicle over objections
Sacramento Bee, ROSALIO AHUMADA: "The Sacramento City Council on Tuesday approved a $430,000 purchase of an armored vehicle for the Police Department despite numerous objections that challenged elected officials to stop further militarization of police.
The City Council voted 7-2 to authorize the purchase of the armored vehicle called the Rook. Council members Katie Valenzuela and Mai Vang voted against the purchase. The item was initially listed in the City Council’s consent calendar agenda, but it was pulled to allow public comment during Tuesday’s meeting.
Discussion about obtaining the Rook lasted nearly two hours before the vote was taken. It was the first controversial issue since the November election created a liberal bloc of four members on the City Council."
Bay Area man arrested on federal charges related to siege of U.S. Capitol
The Chronicle, JORDAN PARKER: "A Santa Clara man involved in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 has been arrested on federal charges, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced Tuesday.
Patrick Allen Bournes, 59, was taken into custody in San Jose on Sunday. Prosecutors have charged Bournes with a felony, obstruction of law enforcement during civil disorder, as well as several misdemeanors that include entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds, disorderly and disruptive conduct in a restricted building or grounds, and engaging in physical violence in a restricted building or grounds."
China says it is looking into reports of a spy balloon over the western U.S.
AP: "China said Friday that it was looking into reports of a Chinese spy balloon flying in U.S. airspace and urged calm, adding that it has “no intention of violating the territory and airspace of any sovereign country.”
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said also that she had no information about whether a trip to China by U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken planned for next week would proceed as scheduled.
At a daily briefing in Beijing, Mao said that politicians and the public should withhold judgment “before we have a clear understanding of the facts” about the spy balloon reports."
