The Big Melt has begun. Now California’s gushing rivers pose mortal danger
The Chronicle, GREGORY THOMAS: "As the historic heaps of snow on the mountains begin to melt, authorities across California are warning about dangerous water flows roaring down popular spring and summertime rivers.
Spring melt nourishes the state’s rivers every year, usually peaking between April and June. But this year waterways are going to run much higher, faster, colder and for longer than they normally would, posing risks to the hordes of summer lovers who raft, kayak, swim and fish them."
California snowpack data debunked: 2023 was no record year. And neither was 1952
BANG*Mercury News, SCOOTY NICKERSON: "It was the snowpack reading that spawned a hundred headlines. “California ties 1952 record for all-time Sierra snowpack,” proclaimed KTVU. “California’s snowpack soars to record high after 17 atmospheric rivers,” trumpeted the Washington Post.
State officials largely seemed to agree. “As of right now, it’s looking like this year’s statewide snowpack will probably, most likely, be either the first — or second — biggest snowpack on record dating back to 1950,” Sean de Guzman, manager of the California Department of Water Resources monthly snow survey, declared the day of the official April reading earlier this month.
But this year wasn’t a record at all. It only appeared that way in large part because of the state’s shifting definition of a “normal” snowpack, which critics say obscures the true impact of climate change."
Severe geomagnetic storm hits Northern Hemisphere with ‘northern lights.’ Here’s why many Californians missed it
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "A large-scale geomagnetic storm hit the Northern Hemisphere Sunday night, but most Californians' hopes to spot colorful waves of light known as aurora borealis, or northern lights, were dashed by cloudy conditions on the West Coast that obscured the rare sightings from view.
While the powerful geomagnetic storms caused by disruptions in Earth’s magnetic field create beautiful aurora, they can disrupt navigation systems and satellites and create harmful currents in the power grid and pipelines, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather Prediction Center.
The agency predicted Sunday that the nighttime lights could be visible in Northern California, but later revised its predictions several times to say they would only reach as far south as Oregon or Washington. NOAA maps showed people in Oregon and Washington had a 20% to 50% chance of viewing aurora under clear weather conditions."
This California town hasn’t had clean drinking water in 11 years
BANG*Mercury News, ALDO TOLEDO: "Three or four times a week, Melva Garza and her 40-year-old disabled son throw shampoo, soap, towels and fresh clothes in a bag, pack up their car and make their way to a truck stop eight miles away to take a shower.
She keeps the shower tokens — 50 cents each — stacked next to the truck stop faucet, each one worth three more minutes of water.
The Garzas haven’t showered in their own home in over a decade."
Customers shred electricity bill plans backed by PG&E, other utilities
BANG*Mercury News, GEORGE AVALOS: "A prominent Bay Area energy economist is warning that forthcoming changes to the way PG&E and other power companies in California bill customers could leave many people with sticker shock.
The plan, enabled by state legislation and revealed recently by PG&E, Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric, envisions the addition of a monthly charge for all residential customers that receive electricity services from one of the three power utilities along with ongoing charges based on how much electricity people use each month.
Ahmad Faruqui, an economist who has consulted with all three of the utilities involved in the revamp and who has testified in proceedings before the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which oversees them, doesn’t like the idea of grafting on a new fixed income-linked fee to the existing system of electricity charges."
Supreme Court upholds approval of abortion pill — what it means for Californians
CALMatters, KRISTEN HWANG: "Medication abortion is still legal in California and across the U.S.
A preliminary U.S. Supreme Court order today preserves the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s two-decade-old approval of the abortion pill mifepristone until the full merits of the case are heard by the high court.
“The U.S. Supreme Court is right to take this action to protect access to medication abortion,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “For now, the Court has followed science, data, and the law rather than an extreme and out of touch political agenda.”"
Good eats: The Capitol’s Culinary Caucus (PODCAST)
Capitol Weekly, RICHARD EHISEN: "The only thing denizens of the California Capitol love more than talking politics is eating good grub. With that in mind, our guest today is Carney King, the man behind the very popular new Twitter feed @Culinary Caucus. Carney’s mission is to find the best food and, more important, the best food deals around the Capitol area. Then we welcome back an old friend to offer his insights into who had the Worst Week in California Politics!
Listen to the show here."
How are monsters created? Five years after Golden State Killer arrest, questions remain
Sac Bee, SAM STANTON: "Five years ago, Kris Pedretti was on a business trip in Los Angeles. She got a call from former Sacramento Undersheriff Carol Daly with a message: the man who had raped her as a 15-year-old inside her parents’ Carmichael home in 1976 had been arrested.
“I went into shock,” Pedretti said. “That trap door flew open and I was by myself and I’m in shock...
“And that was the day the healing began, but it was a really rough start, for sure.”"
Q&A: With May 1 enrollment deadline approaching, an insider’s view of UC admissions
EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "For graduating high school seniors planning to attend college next fall, decision day is almost here.
At most universities in California and across the country, May 1 is the deadline for prospective first-year students to accept offers of admission and send in enrollment deposits. It’s also the day when colleges and their admissions officials get an idea of how well they’ve predicted their yield, or the percentage of accepted students who actually end up enrolling.
In California, that guessing game is especially important this year because state lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom have tasked the University of California and California State University systems with enrolling a higher share of in-state students. Both systems are expected to increase undergraduate enrollment of California residents by 1% next academic year, but whether they hit those targets will depend on how many admitted students accept their offers."
ChatGPT is giving students new ways to cheat. Here’s why some teachers aren’t panicking
The Chronicle, JILL TUCKER: "When ChatGPT launched for free five months ago, the primary response among educators — including in the Bay Area — was panic.
The online program can write long-form essays in a matter of seconds or solve algebraic equations step-by-step and create outlines, among other capabilities that led to instant anxiety among educators across the country when the free chatbot launched publicly in November."
NBCUniversal CEO Jeff Shell exits, citing ‘inappropriate relationship’ at company
LA Times, MEG JAMES: "NBCUniversal Chief Executive Jeff Shell has stepped down after three years in the top role due to “an inappropriate relationship,” parent company Comcast Corp. announced Sunday, making him the latest high-powered Hollywood player to lose his job over misconduct.
Comcast said in a statement that the company and Shell “mutually agreed” that he would depart effective immediately, after an investigation into inappropriate behavior led by outside counsel.
“Today is my last day as CEO of NBCUniversal,” Shell said in a statement. “I had an inappropriate relationship with a woman in the company, which I deeply regret. I’m truly sorry I let my Comcast and NBCUniversal colleagues down, they are the most talented people in the business and the opportunity to work with them the last 19 years has been a privilege.”"
Bed Bath & Beyond is closing. Here’s how it affects the Bay Area
The Chronicle, JESSICA FLORES: "Bed Bath & Beyond announced Sunday that it has filed for bankruptcy protection and will begin closing its retail stores, nine of which are in the Bay Area.
After years of struggling with sales and warnings of potential bankruptcy, the national home goods chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in U.S. district court in New Jersey and said it is seeking a buyer for all or some of its businesses. The retailer said in its filing that it expects to close all stores by June 30."
How a stripper, a barista and an electrician ended up at a ‘Troublemakers School’ for L.A. labor activists
LA Times, MARGOT ROOSEVELT: "There were buttons: “Eat the Rich” and “We Want Bread and Roses Too.”
There were T-shirts: “Fight the Boss, Build the Union,” depicting a muscular woman wielding a slingshot.
There were books: “Democracy is Power” and “Secrets of a Successful Organizer” in English and Spanish."
Vehicle encampment stretching 2 miles long has come to symbolize Marin’s affordability crisis
The Chronicle, ANNIE VAINSHTEIN: "On a frontage road along Highway 101 in northern Marin County, a line of RVs, trucks and trailers stretches for nearly 2 miles — a critical mass of unhoused residents that ballooned during the pandemic.
A few RVs have always dotted Binford Road on the outskirts of Novato, but the number soared to at least 135 in recent years, fueled by acute housing insecurity and loss of income, officials say.
The county’s largest vehicle encampment is now the focus of a renewed effort to find permanent housing for the dozens of residents who call Binford Road home."
S.F. has a new tallest sculpture. Here’s where to see it snaking up to the sky
The Chronicle, SAM WHITING: "Andy Keene was in his third-floor room at the Canopy by Hilton Hotel when he heard a predawn commotion. He looked out expecting to see window cleaners, but was surprised to see a twisting bolt of shiny steel rising from the ground and going up and up, its curvy spire becoming thinner and thinner.
“It was very Jack in the Beanstalk,” said Keene, who is from Cincinnati and had unexpectedly become the first known public witness to what he soon figured out was this “beautiful sculpture.”
“Node,” a twisting and tapering tree branch that weighs 8 tons and rises to a point at 102 feet, had been installed in the quiet hours to become the tallest freestanding sculpture in San Francisco, with no fanfare around its installation in the public plaza at the entrance to the Yerba Buena/Moscone Station of the Central Subway, which opened in January."
Former officer who fatally shot Breonna Taylor has new job as sheriff’s deputy
AP: "The former Louisville, Ky., police officer who fatally shot Breonna Taylor has a new job in law enforcement.
WHAS-TV reported that the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office confirmed Saturday the hiring of Myles Cosgrove, who was fired by the Louisville Metro Police Department in January 2021 for violating use-of-force procedures and failing to use a body camera during the raid on Taylor’s apartment.
Taylor, a Black woman, was killed March 13, 2020, by officers executing a narcotics search warrant. None of the three white officers who fired into Taylor’s home was charged by a grand jury in her death."
Column: Trump seems to have a firm grip on GOP polls — but his rivals think they can do better
LA Times, DOYLE MCMANUS: "Last week, a Wall Street Journal poll reported that former President Trump had opened a wide lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in the nascent contest for the Republican presidential nomination.
In a two-candidate matchup, Trump drew 51% compared with 38% for DeSantis.
That was one of several polls suggesting that Trump is firmly on top of the GOP race right now."
Peru’s ex-president returns home to face corruption charges
AP, FRANKLIN BRICENO: "Former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo arrived Sunday in Lima after being extradited from the United States to face charges that he received millions of dollars in bribes in a corruption scandal that has ensnared four of the country’s ex-presidents.
Toledo, who was president from 2001 to 2006, surrendered to U.S. authorities on Friday, ending a legal battle against his extradition that started in 2019, when he was arrested at his home in Menlo Park, Calif.
Police and officials from Peru’s prosecutor’s office received Toledo, 77, early Sunday at Lima’s airport. Police released a photo of Toledo accompanied by agents. He was transferred to a court in the capital’s historic center."
