How California storm’s ‘rapid intensification’ led to extreme impacts — and will it happen again?
THE CHRONICLE, GERRY DIAZ: "A rare storm system with two eyewalls spinning around San Francisco and Santa Cruz churned powerful winds, downpours and damage across the Bay Area on Tuesday, along with a brief thunderstorm and tornado warnings along the California coast. The low-pressure system rapidly evolved into a storm that caused unusual springtime severe weather.
It culminated in sea level pressure that fell to 985 millibars, the lowest level ever recorded at San Francisco International Airport in the month of March."
2 injured as SoCal tornadoes damage dozens of structures, snapping beams and ripping off roof
LA TIMES, CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ: "On Wednesday afternoon, Micaela Vargas stood in front of her Kia Telluride, which she’d parked near her workplace in Montebello.
Unfortunately for Vargas, who lives in Whittier, it seemed unlikely that she would be able to drive the vehicle home.
On top of her car and several others was a massive, leafy section of a tree, thrown there by a tornado that touched down in the area Wednesday afternoon."
What was behind the Bay Area’s deadly ‘bomb’ cyclone?
BANG*MERCURY NEWS, STAFF: "Across the Bay Area, public safety workers and weather experts figured there wasn’t much they hadn’t seen during this relentless winter of atmospheric rivers, a freezing Alaskan Gulf jet stream, snow and nearly 100 mph winds.
But after Tuesday’s ferocious storm, which surprised forecasters and set new records, they had a change of heart.
“I’m a scientist. I tend to not be a fan of flamboyant adjectives,” National Weather Service meteorologist Warren Blier said Wednesday. “But after the winter we’ve had, to get something like yesterday, I thought it was extraordinary.”"
Deaths of four otters have California scientists worried. Here’s why
THE CHRONICLE, SAM WHITING: "Four sea otters found dead along the California coastline were killed by a toxic parasite that has never been detected in an aquatic animal, scientists reported Tuesday.
DNA testing by a team of scientists from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and UC Davis found that the otters had contracted an extremely virulent strain of toxoplasmosis, a disease carried by a microscopic parasite. The scientists warned that since the four otters died were found separately from one another over a two-year period, it could be an indicator of a threat to other marine wildlife and even humans, as the parasite makes its way up the food ladder."
Death toll rises to 5 in wild California storms as officials assess damage, warn of flood risk
LA TIMES, HAYLEY SMITH, LUKE MONEY: "Heavy rain and damaging winds gradually subsided Wednesday as one of the wildest storms of the season made its exit from the Golden State, leaving at least five people dead and others critically injured as it felled trees, knocked out power, and threatened additional flooding in the Central Valley.
The San Francisco Bay Area and Central Valley suffered the most damage and loss. San Jose resident Jesus Cruz Diaz, 29, was killed after a tree fell on his vehicle in Portola Valley, according to the San Mateo County coroner’s office. Walnut resident Thomas Huster, 79, was killed when a large tree fell on his car in Walnut Creek, the Contra Costa County coroner’s office said.
In Oakland, a man who has not yet been identified was pronounced dead Tuesday night after a tree fell on the tent he was in near Lake Merritt. An exact cause of death has not yet been determined, but officials presume he died of either blunt force or suffocation."
“They let us down”: California flooding victims demand answers as town hall devolves into shouting match
BANG*MERCURY NEWS, ALDO TOLEDO: "Nearly two weeks after a levee failure forced hundreds of families in the small Monterey County community of Pajaro to leave their homes in the middle of the night, both county officials and residents are demanding answers for why federal assistance promised by the governor has yet to materialize.
At a heated town hall meeting Tuesday, county authorities told Pajaro residents that emergency evacuation orders could be lifted by the end of the week and that they are “hoping” evacuees will be able to return starting Friday. Still, the meeting quickly devolved into a shouting match as residents excoriated officials over a lack of information, miscommunication and a failure to deliver the financial aid they need to rebuild their lives.
“What else do you want or how else do you want me to ask you? Do you want me to get on my knees and beg?” evacuee Elba Carrillo said to officials, through tears, as she and about a dozen others surrounded Monterey County Supervisor Luis Alejo to confront him on aid plans."
CA120: Voter reforms increased Latino votes but not Latino voting power
CAPITOL WEEKLY, PAUL MITCHELL: "Nearly a decade ago, the 2014 gubernatorial election was the lowest turnout election in the state’s history. With a lackluster set of statewide campaigns, no polarizing ballot measures, and a relatively unexcited electorate, fewer than a third of the state’s eligible voters cast a ballot.
Low turnout elections like we saw in 2014 don’t result from an equal drop in voting by all groups, they are driven by extremely poor turnout from young voters, Latinos, renters and residents in lower-socioeconomic communities. As a result, these elections become decided by a segment of the electorate that is significantly older, whiter, and more affluent than the state population as a whole."
Ridley-Thomas rests defense, calling two former L.A. County supervisor colleagues
LA TIMES, MATT HAMILTON: "Lawyers for suspended City Councilmember Mark Ridley-Thomas concluded their defense on Wednesday, and although the veteran politician did not take the witness stand, two former colleagues on the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors did.
Both Janice Hahn, the current chair of the Board of Supervisors, followed shortly after by retired Supervisor Sheila Kuehl, asserted under oath that Ridley-Thomas did not goad them into supporting three motions that prosecutors allege were tainted by a corrupt conspiracy with a USC dean.
“Did our client, Dr. Mark Ridley-Thomas, pressure you in any way to vote for this proposal?” asked defense attorney Arturo Gonzalez about a plan to extend a USC contract for a remote mental health clinic."
How organ donation in California is about to change
THE CHRONICLE, SHIRA STEIN: "The federal government is set to overhaul the country’s organ transplant system, a move that is likely to have a substantial impact on California, the state with some of the worst statistics.
The United Network for Organ Sharing, a quasi-governmental nonprofit organization that manages the country’s organ transplants, has held the government contract to run the federal Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network since its creation almost 40 years ago. Lawmakers and advocates have complained about the system for years, and both Democratic and Republican administrations have tried to fix it."
Mayor Bass mediating ongoing LAUSD strike; schools to remain closed Thursday
LA TIMES, STAFF: "Los Angeles public schools will remain closed Thursday, the last of a three-day strike, as Mayor Karen Bass stepped in Wednesday to join talks with union and school district leaders to offer “assistance and support,” the district reported.
No details were released Wednesday night about the substance of the talks or the status of negotiations between the district and leaders of Local 99 of Service Employees International Union. But in a social media post about 8:30 p.m. the district said it “must formally announce” the school closures.
Earlier Wednesday, the district said on social media that Bass was talking with both sides."
CSU faculty salary study shows wide dissatisfaction despite pay being at national averages
EDSOURCE, ASHLEY A. SMITH: "California State University faculty are paid salaries comparable to those at other similar universities across the country, according to a long-awaited study released Wednesday.
But those salaries do not reflect the realities of California’s high cost of living, officials concede.
The study conducted by an independent national consulting firm found that professors, instructors, librarians, counselors and coaches in the 23-campus system are, on average, paid market rates compared with others across the country, although some are underpaid depending on their discipline, job and location."
Panel: Underrepresented students should be the target of California's dual enrollment
EDSOURCE, EMMA GALLEGOS: "Taking college courses during high school puts students on track to succeed in high school and college, but even as dual enrollment programs have rapidly grown in California, the students most in need of that academic boost don’t always have access to it.
EdSource’s reporting has demonstrated that Black and Latino high school students tend to be underrepresented in dual enrollment courses throughout the state. Panelists at EdSource’s roundtable “Dual enrollment: How to increase access for all students” discussed ways to ensure that dual enrollment opportunities are available equitably.
Research shows that students who take dual enrollment courses perform better in high school and college, and they’re less likely to take basic skills courses in college, said Olga Rodriguez, director of the Public Policy Institute of California Higher Education Center."
Newsom steps into saga over the S.F. tower planned for a Nordstrom parking lot
THE CHRONICLE, JOHN KING: "The much-publicized saga of San Francisco’s thwarted tower on a downtown parking lot continued this week, as Gov. Gavin Newsom approved using a recent state law to speed up the resolution of any future legal challenge to the proposal.
Newsom’s move applies to 469 Stevenson St., a stretch of flat asphalt tucked between Market, Fifth, Mission and Sixth streets. The city’s Planning Commission in June of 2021 approved a 27-story, 495-unit apartment tower on the site — only to have supervisors stall the project four months later by demanding new environmental studies."
California workers can’t get timely hearings on wage theft claims. State orders audit.
CALMatters, ALEJANDRO LAZO, JEANNE KUANG: "California’s independent state auditor will investigate the understaffed California Labor Commissioner’s Office over its persistent backlogs in workers’ wage theft claims, issues highlighted in a series of articles last year by CalMatters.
The audit would start Sept. 1 — that is if budget hearings before then don’t first address the agency’s problems to the satisfaction of lawmakers who approved the investigation.
The Joint Legislative Audit Committee on Wednesday called for the audit over the objections of some of the state’s biggest labor unions, who argued the probe was unnecessary."
Labor unions objections delay California investigation into wage theft system
LA TIMES, PAIGE ST. JOHN: "A surprise objection by labor unions helped delay a state investigation into California’s broken wage theft system, putting pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom to fix a backlog of worker claims and other concerns that have only worsened with years of failed reform.
Sen. Steve Glazer (D-Orinda) called for the audit of the Labor Commissioner’s wage theft unit, citing privately released data that workers robbed of pay currently must wait an average 780 days to have their cases heard. By law those hearings are to be held in 120 days.
Glazer was supported by Assemblyman Jim Wood (D-Healdsburg), who said his staff have been trying to help a worker waiting five years for his case to be taken up."
S.F. corruption scandal: Two contractors barred from doing business with city
THE CHRONICLE, ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH: "San Francisco will bar a contractor, two of its executives and several associated companies from doing business with the city as part of the corruption scandal that put former Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru in prison, officials said Wednesday.
The contract ban – known as “debarment” – focuses on Alan Varela, William Gilmartin, president and vice president of ProVen Management Inc., a Bay Area civil engineering and construction firm that Varela founded in 1991. The men are accused of bribing Nuru and have both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud."
Bay Area tech and biotech layoffs worsen, Microsoft slashes more jobs
BANG*MERCURY NEWS, GEORGE AVALOS: "Tech and biotech layoffs have worsened in the Bay Area, a fresh round of cutbacks resulting from job cuts at tech titan Microsoft and genetic testing firm Natera, according to official state government filings.
Security Industry Specialists, in a huge round of layoffs linked to the tech sector, revealed plans to chop more than 400 jobs at several sites where the company provides services to clients. The layoff sites include the Apple Park complex in Cupertino where iPhone maker Apple has established its world headquarters.
The latest round of tech and biotech layoffs alone will eliminate 115 tech and biotech jobs in the Bay Area, the filings with the state Employment Development Department show."
State may scale down its new home loan program designed to assist first-time homebuyers
CALMatters, ALEJANDRO LAZO: "In this economy, who has enough money for a down payment on a house?
Despite a projected $25 billion budget deficit, the state of California does. At least for now.
The California Housing Finance Agency is poised to launch a scaled-down version of its new shared equity home loan program on March 27. With the Dream for All program, the state plans to provide $300 million worth of down payments for an estimated 2,300 first-time homebuyers."
One of the Bay Area’s worst commutes now nightmare after storm
THE CHRONICLE, RICARDO CANO: "One of the worst commutes in the Bay Area became a nightmare Wednesday afternoon as eastbound traffic on Interstate 580 near Livermore slowed to a standstill.
The severe afternoon congestion could be a preview of traffic headaches to come for commuters on 580 as state transportation workers try to repair major storm damage to one of the region’s busiest freeways."
--
To our readers: Thoughts, comments, suggestions about The Roundup? Send them to Roundup editor Geoff Howard at geoff@capitolweekly.net.
