Gavin Newsom is skipping his usual State of the State speech. Here’s what he’s doing instead
The Chronicle, SOPHIA BOLLAG: "Gov. Gavin Newsom will not give a traditional State of the State address this year, and instead will hold a series of press conferences announcing new policy plans at different locations throughout the state.
The announcements will touch on some of the governor’s top priorities for his second term, including housing, homelessness, affordability and mental health, Newsom spokesperson Anthony York said."
California braces for flooding, snowmelt from a warm new atmospheric river
LA Times, HAYLEY SMITH: "Another atmospheric river system has set its sights on California, raising considerable concern about flooding and structural damage as warm rain is expected to fall atop the state’s near-record snowpack this week, forecasters say.
“It now appears increasingly likely that a potentially significant and very likely warm atmospheric river event will probably affect some portion of Northern or Central California sometime between about late Thursday and Saturday,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said during a briefing Monday.
Last week, the odds of such a system developing were about 20%. By Monday, the chances had increased to “7 or 8 out of 10, if not higher, for a warm atmospheric river event of some magnitude,” Swain said. At least one more storm could follow this month."
A chat with BART’s Homelessness Czar
Capitol Weekly, PODCAST: "The San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (which everyone calls BART) is a the lifeline of the Bay Area: a heavy-rail public transit system that operates in five counties with 50 stations. Connecting the suburbs to urban cities through 131 miles of track, BART serves a wildly diverse customer base.
One of the groups most dependent on BART is the region’s homeless population – and that dependence became even more pronounced during the COVID pandemic. As part of a larger Action Plan, BART introduced its first Homelessness Czar (technically, “senior manager of social services”), Daniel Cooperman in 2021. Cooperman joined us to talk about the challenges and rewards of his very unique job, and explains why elevators figure so prominently in his duties. Plus, we tell you who had the Worst Week in California Politics."
Thanks to the Supreme Court, California gun cases hinge more on history than modern threats
LA Times, KEVIN RECTOR: "To best understand California’s desire to uphold its bans on assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, consider recent history.
In January, a man armed with a 9-millimeter MAC-10 with an extended magazine, a gun prohibited under state laws, massacred 11 people and injured nine others at a Monterey Park dance studio where mostly older patrons were celebrating the Lunar New Year.
Assault-style weapons that are banned in California were also used to slaughter 19 elementary school students and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, in May, and five patrons of a queer club in Colorado Springs in November. Over the last decade, the same sort of guns were used in many of the worst mass shootings in the country, mowing down high school students and teachers, concert-goers and church parishioners, nightclub patrons and county employees."
Gavin Newsom says California won’t do business with Walgreens, but it’s unclear what that means
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted Monday that “California won’t be doing business with @walgreens” after the pharmacy chain said it would no longer distribute mifepristone — one of two two drugs used in the medication abortion process — in 20 states after pressure from Republican attorneys general. The company’s decision means it will not sell the medication even in states where abortion is legal.
While abortion rights leaders were supportive of Newsom’s comments, there was no policy or change accompanying his pronouncement. His administration had no further details on what Newsom’s tweet entailed, and it’s not clear how much business the state currently does with the company."
The WARN Act is supposed to protect laid-off workers. This bill would address some big loopholes
The Chronicle, CAROLYN SAID: "Being laid off is already a nightmare.
But for people who work as contract employees, it can be extra hard — and can happen with zero notice. That’s because they’re not covered by the state WARN Act, which mandates that large companies cutting more than 50 jobs must either give workers two months’ notice or pay them two months of wages."
Nonbinary workers in California are concentrated in lowest-paying jobs, report shows
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "California outlawed workplace bias based on sexual orientation or gender identity long before the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling that banned such discrimination nationwide. But nonbinary workers in California — those who identify with both genders or neither one — are still more likely than others to be low-paid, a state agency reported Monday.
Data from private employers with 100 or more employees showed that, as of 2020, between 50% and 55% of workers who classified themselves as nonbinary were in a low-paying category of jobs, those paying less than $30,679 a year, said the California Civil Rights Department. In comparison, 32% of male employees and 43% of female workers earned less than that amount."
COVID in California: New booster seen to wane in as little as 2 months for older adults
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "As the pandemic raged at the end of 2021, a quarter of parents lied to others about their children's COVID-19 infections, according to an online national survey. With pandemic wrongdoing allegations continuing to emerge, an Instagram influencer on Monday admitted to fraudulently obtaining more than $1 million in COVID-19 pandemic relief loans to fund her lavish lifestyle. And Tyson Foods is being sued by 34 employees, former employees and family members who say Tyson failed to take appropriate precautions at its meat-packing plants during the early days of the COVID pandemic."
California will change mask and other COVID rules again. What’s new for Sacramento residents?
Sac Bee, KEN CARLSON: "The California Department of Public Health announced a number of updates to pandemic health orders regarding masks, vaccination and isolation.
The updated COVID-19 polices will go into effect in the coming weeks, and Sacramento-area residents also should be aware of rules governing the cost of COVID testing and vaccinations and changes for people covered by Medi-Cal during the pandemic.
Gov. Gavin Newsom concluded his COVID-19 state of emergency on Feb. 28, signaling a symbolic end to orders that protected people against the disease."
She didn’t need the risky surgery. County doctors talked her into it anyway, lawsuit says
LA Times, MELODY PETERSEN: "After a stay at a Los Angeles County public hospital, Bernetta Higgins was home and feeling better when one of the surgeons called.
The doctor, Rodney White, and his nurse told Higgins to return to the emergency room at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and tell the staff she had chest pain, according to an email from the nurse documenting the call. Higgins wasn’t hurting, but she followed the doctor’s orders and went to the ER. White had told her earlier about “a new experimental surgery” that “would take care of it” — a tear in the lining of her aorta.
White signed papers to readmit her and four days later implanted two $15,000 devices into Higgins, then 65. He told her the surgery would take 90 minutes, she testified. Staff wheeled her away in the morning. It wasn’t until night that her mother saw her again. The family learned she had suffered a stroke."
Students at rural community college can earn a bachelor’s and help prevent wildfires
EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "In California’s far northeast Plumas County, community college students will soon have a rare opportunity: earn a bachelor’s degree and learn skills that could help protect their rural region from destructive wildfires.
The county’s only college, Feather River College, recently won approval to launch a bachelor of science program in ecosystem restoration and applied fire management. The college’s leaders say the program will fill a critical need in a part of the state that has been devastated by wildfires, including the 2021 Dixie fire, but can’t find enough qualified workers to help restore the area and limit the damage from future blazes.
Officials hope that the first group of about 25 students will start taking classes required for the degree this year. The program’s coursework will feature a mix of classroom and field-based learning."
New study shows Bay Area is now affordable for renters. Yes, really
The Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "Bay Area apartment rents became more affordable between 2010 and 2021 relative to the region’s surging median income, but racial wealth disparities worsened at the same time, according to a new study.
The income difference between the highest earners, such as white collar professionals in tech and finance, and lower-earning jobs also widened, making it harder for many renters to find secure housing, according to the study released Tuesday by San Francisco think tank SPUR and economics firm Concord Group."
Sausalito said it could build new housing — on underwater sites. Now it’s getting sued
The Chronicle, EMILY HOEVEN: "Like the approaching storms, get ready for another atmospheric river of YIMBY housing lawsuits to soak the Bay Area.
Last month, YIMBY Law and other housing advocacy groups sued 12 Bay Area governments for failing to meet the state’s Jan. 31 deadline to adopt “housing elements” outlining how they plan to accommodate their share of the 2.5 million homes California has directed cities to prepare for by 2030."
McCarthy goes on offense, forcing Senate Democrats into tough votes
The Hill, ALEXANDER BOLTON: "Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) is showing he can play offense against vulnerable Senate Democrats by forcing them to take tough votes, driving a wedge between red state Democrats up for reelection and the party's base.
McCarthy put them in a difficult position last week by forcing them to vote on a GOP-sponsored resolution blocking a Biden administration rule encouraging retirement managers to consider environmental, social and corporate governance - or ESG - factors when making investment decisions.
Senate Democrats will take another politically charged vote Wednesday on a House-passed resolution to block a new D.C. crime bill that would lower penalties for carjackings, burglaries and robberies."
Lots of Russian soldiers want to surrender. Ukraine makes it easier with a high-tech hotline
LA Times, LAURA KING: "Bound for the battlefield, sounding harried and anxious, the Russian soldier placed a hasty phone call — to a Ukrainian military hotline.
“They say you can help me surrender voluntarily, is that right?” asked the serviceman, explaining that he was soon to be deployed near the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.
“When Ukrainian soldiers come, do I just kneel down, or what? Do you promise not to film me while this is happening?”"
Russia Nuclear Submarines Deployed Off U.S. Coast Spark Alarm
Newsweek World, ISABEL VAN BRUGEN: "As Russian President Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine continues to rage, United States commanders and military observers are sounding the alarm about the activity of Russia's submarine fleet thousands of miles away, off the U.S. coast.
Throughout the war, which began when Putin launched a full-scale invasion of neighboring Ukraine last February, there has been a buildup of Russian Navy forces in the Black Sea. There has also been an increasing presence of Russian submarines off of U.S. coasts and in the Mediterranean, according to officials.
The Russian Navy commands one of the most diverse submarine fleets in the world. Some are capable of carrying ballistic missiles with nuclear warheads, which Moscow considers key to its strategic deterrent."
