There’s no drought anywhere in California: How long that’s expected to last, and why
LA Times, TERRY CASTLEMAN: "Less than a year after facing historic water shortages, California this week was declared drought-free thanks to a year of epic rains, with an El Niño forecast that could keep wet conditions going into 2024.
The U.S. Drought monitor’s latest data show the vast majority of California reporting no drought as of Oct. 17, though pockets in the northernmost and southeastern parts of the state are still considered abnormally dry."
Key lawyer in DWP corruption scandal gets 33-month prison sentence
LA Times, DAKOTA SMITH: "A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a key figure in the sprawling corruption scandal at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the city attorney’s office to nearly three years in prison.
U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. ordered Paul Paradis, a former attorney turned cooperating witness for the federal government, to serve 33 months — almost double the 18-month sentence recommended by prosecutors."
Dam removal supports California’s 30×30 Goals (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, JULIE TURRINI: "California has hundreds of outdated dams, small and large, that no longer serve a function. These obsolete dams litter our rivers and streams, block fish passage, and create costly liabilities to communities. We need to accelerate our pace of dam removal as a nature-based strategy for restoring freshwater systems and preparing for increasing threats from climate change.
Dam removal fits nicely within California’s effort to protect 30 percent of its land and coastal waters by 2030 (30×30). After all, rivers and streams connect the land to the coast and along the way, they provide critical habitat for fish and wildlife, drinking water for towns and cities, irrigation water for farmers and ranchers, first foods and important ceremonial spaces for Indigenous Peoples, and recreational opportunities for many."
Storm could bring significant rain to California next week. Here’s what to expect
The Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS, GERRY DIAZ: "The ingredients for a winter-like storm will approach the West Coast next week and could bring widespread rain and snow to California.
A supercharged jet stream is slated to develop across the Pacific Ocean over the weekend. This will set the stage for a low-pressure system capable of sending wind, rain and snow to the Golden State by the middle of next week. However, details regarding the timing and intensity of the weather impacts are still emerging. Here’s what to know a week before inclement weather hits."
Trump erupts in chaotic day of testimony, in a rare glimpse of ex-president under oath
LA Times, SARAH D. WIRE: "Away from cameras and under oath, former President Trump exploded repeatedly on Monday while prosecutors grilled him in his New York civil fraud trial about how his company calculated his net worth and tabulated his assets as it sought hundreds of millions of dollars in loans.
The 2024 Republican presidential front-runner is accused of fraudulently inflating his property values in order to receive better terms on loans and insurance. The case, which was brought by New York Atty. Gen. Letitia James after a three-year investigation, puts Trump’s real estate empire and reputation as a businessman at stake."
Democrats win in several states on abortion rights and other highlights from Tuesday’s elections
AP, NICHOLAS RICCARDI: "Democrats had plenty of good news to celebrate in Tuesday’s off-year elections and more evidence that they can win races centered on the national debate over abortion.
Abortion rights supporters won an Ohio ballot measure and the Democratic governor of beet-red Kentucky held onto his office by campaigning on reproductive rights and painting his opponent as extremist. A Democrat won an open seat on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court after campaigning on his pledge to uphold abortion rights. And Democrats took full control of the Virginia statehouse, blocking Republicans from being able to pass new abortion restrictions and delivering a defeat to Gov. Glenn Youngkin that may douse any buzz about a late entry into the GOP presidential primary."
Internal documents reveal the story behind California’s unemployment crash
CALMatters, LAUREN HEPLER: "By the first COVID summer, no one knew who was who. In Nigeria, an oil company IT engineer was allegedly filing for unemployment in California and 16 other states with a slew of fake Gmail accounts. At a desert state prison in Imperial County, an inmate used personal data bought on the dark web to funnel unemployment money to his wife for a $71,000 Audi and a down payment on a house. Along the Pacific coast in Carlsbad, Danny Ramos was one of millions of real California workers realizing that something was going very wrong, as weeks or months went by without the unemployment benefits they badly needed.
“It felt,” Ramos said, “like this was just a big old scam.”"
Native American statue unveiled at former site of Junipero Serra at California Capitol
Sacramento Bee, DARRELL SMITH: "A statue signifying resilience has replaced a legacy of pain, its gaze fixed on California’s Capitol dome.
The California Native American Monument now stands on the grounds of the state Capitol, the first-ever monument in this location honoring the state’s Indigenous population."
The lasting toll of California’s COVID layoffs
CALMatters, LAUREN HEPLER: "Lose your job, file for unemployment, get a few hundred dollars a week from the state to pay for essentials while you find a new gig.
It sounds simple, in theory. But that’s far from the reality that many workers experienced when the state’s job safety net unraveled during the pandemic."
APEC will soon open in San Francisco. Here’s what to know
The Chronicle, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "Across San Francisco, signs on Muni buses and bus stops proclaim “APEC is going to be EPIC.”
Less than a week away, the international event will bring tens of thousands of visitors, including President Biden, foreign dignitaries and protesters. It will close large chunks of the city, tangle traffic and transit — while putting San Francisco in the global spotlight and adding millions of tourism dollars to the city’s coffers."
S.F. leaders vow to make city the ‘safest place in urban America’ during shopping blitz
The Chronicle, ANNIE VAINSHTEIN: "Mayor London Breed and San Francisco public safety officials pledged to make Union Square the “safest place in urban America” while introducing a “safe shopping” campaign Tuesday.
Standing in front of the Macy’s Holiday Tree, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and other community leaders touted intensifying public safety measures around Union Square ahead of the upcoming holiday season."
Cavernous WWII-era hangar burns in Tustin, destroying a relic of Orange County’s military past
LA Times, HANNAH FRY, ALEXANDRA E. PETRI: "For more than 80 years, two massive domed hangars loomed over Tustin’s southern edge, a relic of Orange County’s military history hemmed in by an expanding suburban landscape that replaced orange groves and lima bean fields with shopping centers and tract homes.
Reaching 17 stories high, more than 1,000 feet long and nearly 300 feet wide, the cavernous wooden structures at the now-defunct Marine Corps Air Station in Tustin once housed military helicopters and blimps armed with machine guns and bombs, so dwarfed by the buildings they looked like toys sitting inside."
South Bay man arraigned on federal charges for allegedly bombing two PG&E transformers
The Chronicle, MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "A San Jose man has been arraigned on federal charges that accuse him of using homemade explosives to blow up two Pacific Gas & Electric transformers.
On the early mornings of both Dec. 8, 2022, and Jan. 5, explosions at PG&E transformers knocked out power to more than 1,500 San Jose homes and businesses. But when employees, and later police, inspected the transformers, they found the explosions weren’t consistent with electrical malfunctions, but were instead caused by explosive devices planted on the transformers, according to San Jose police."
‘Conflicting statements’ complicate investigation into Jewish man’s death at protest
LA Times, JEREMY CHILDS, RICHARD WINTON, GRACE TOOHEY, NOAH GOLDBERG, TERRY CASTLEMAN: "A 69-year-old Jewish man died Monday after suffering a head injury at a Thousand Oaks protest over the Israel-Hamas war, according to law enforcement officials.
Paul Kessler, who was part of a pro-Israel group protesting opposite a Free Palestine rally Sunday, died hours after he fell backward and hit his head on the ground during a confrontation between the two groups."
Unique college-in-prison program to get guaranteed Cal State transfer admission
EdSource, ASHLEY A. SMITH: "Graduates from one of the most unusual community colleges in the country will soon receive guaranteed admission if they choose to transfer to the California State University system.
But first, they’d need to be released from prison."
Judge approves $1.25M settlement for former students of Mills College
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "A judge gave preliminary approval Tuesday to a $1.25 million settlement Tuesday for former students at Mills College in Oakland who claimed they were misled, and forced to spend more on education, when the formerly all-women’s school merged with coed Northeastern University last year.
Mills ended its 170-year history as a school for women with the conversion of its 135-acre home into the 10th campus of Boston-based Northeastern. While officials at both schools said the merger would benefit students, who could complete their studies at no extra cost, 408 students in the class-action suit said Mills failed to tell them that it would offer its final degrees in 2022, not 2023, and that the new “Mills College at Northeastern University” would eliminate many previous degree programs."
University faculty, unions express discontent with university's announced premium increases
Daily Californian, RIA RANIWALA: "In response to the university’s announced increased health insurance costs for 2024, faculty organizations across California have been pushing back against university administration.
Cheryl Lloyd, the UC Office of the President’s, or UCOP, Vice President of systemwide HR, released a statement responding to concerns about increased medical premiums for UC plans in the coming year Oct. 30. According to campus academic researcher Laurel Lucia, staff and faculty will see their premium contributions increase anywhere between 15 and 193 percent."
Bay Area tech company owned by TikTok parent ByteDance reportedly laying off hundreds
The Chroniocle, ROLAND LI: "Pico Interactive, a virtual reality company based in Mountain View, is reportedly laying off hundreds of employees.
TikTok owner ByteDance bought the company in 2021 for a reported $775 million, according to Crunchbase."
This early-warning earthquake app has been retired, but here are others that Californians can still rely on
BANG*Mercury News, JOHN WOOLFOLK: "One of the pioneering companies that promoted the West Coast’s earthquake early warning system has retired its QuakeAlertUSA app, leaving one fewer option for those looking for a heads-up on their smart phone that they should duck and cover.
Early Warning Labs of Santa Monica notified customers by email this week that it decommissioned the QuakeAlertUSA app Nov. 6."
County supervisors uphold eminent domain, killing plan for estate house in scenic Coyote Valley
BANG*Mercury News, PAUL ROGERS: "A plan to build a two-story, 8,465 square-foot estate home in Coyote Valley, a rural expanse of farmland and open space between San Jose and Morgan Hill that has been the source of battles over development for decades, was killed Tuesday by county leaders.
Siding with environmental groups and open space advocates, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to allow the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority to acquire the vacant 4.6-acre property though eminent domain."
