Due to technical difficulties, there was a delay in the release of today's roundup. Apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused. Thank you for your continued readership!
PG&E doesn’t owe damages for power shut-offs during wildfires, California Supreme Court rules
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Pacific Gas and Electric Co. does not have to pay damages to thousands of its Northern California customers for harm they suffered in power shut-offs during wildfires, the state Supreme Court ruled unanimously Monday.
A class action suit led by a Napa County resident said PG&E’s failure to properly maintain its equipment for decades forced the utility to shut down its power grid during the October 2019 Kincade Fire, which started when a cable broke on a steel PG&E transmission tower near Geyserville."
Without a statewide water supply target, California’s future is at risk (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, HEATHER DYER & GRAHAM KNAUS: "If you don’t already know, it will surprise you to learn that for all the attention that our state’s water supply receives in California – for all the worry and effort it takes to make sure there’s enough for our 40 million residents, 24 million acres of farmland, countless acres of natural environment, and status as the world’s fifth-largest economy (of which its agriculture and environment are huge parts) – no statewide goal exists to ensure a sustainable water supply for California’s future. What big, bold vision has ever been achieved without first setting a goal?
Without such a goal, we have no clear path forward, and we don’t know which direction and how far we need to go to achieve a reliable water supply."
How to score an instant rebate on a new or used electric car in California
LA Times, RUSS MITCHELL: "Thinking about treating yourself to an electric car as a winter holiday gift? You might wait until Jan. 1, when new rules kick in that allow your down payment to be paid with free money from Uncle Sam.
If your income isn’t too high, and the car or truck you plan to buy isn’t ultra-luxe, you could qualify for instant cash back of up to $7,500 for a new vehicle, or up to $4,000 for used. The deal applies to electric cars and plug-in hybrids."
$1 billion electric vehicle battery site planned for Rancho Cordova. Here’s where
Sacramento Bee, RANDY DIAMOND: "Sparkz, a company planning to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles, is in discussion about opening a battery plant at the former corporate headquarters of rocket manufacturer Aerojet Rocketdyne in Rancho Cordova.
Sparkz officials did not respond to email and phone requests for comment."
California environmentalists sue to stop replanting of sequoia groves
The Chronicle, KURTIS ALEXANDER: "This fall, the National Park Service embarked upon a colossal effort to replant six groves of giant sequoias that burned in wildfires in California’s southern Sierra Nevada, an endeavor that park officials say is necessary to ensure a future for the climate-threatened trees.
On Friday, a handful of conservation groups filed suit to stop the work."
There’s a big new sea wall along the S.F. Bay. Is this what our future will look like?
The Chronicle, JOHN KING: "If you’re a fan of ice plant, the no-nonsense ground cover with spongy fingers and seasonal flowers that will never win a prize at garden shows, there’s plenty of it to see along Beach Park Boulevard in Foster City.
The green mat adorns a slope that extends almost 2 miles along the bay and faces a mix of single-family homes and low apartment buildings, plus a school and a small shopping center. The horizontal monotony is unrelenting, despite the occasional ramps and concrete stairways that allow people to reach the slope’s flat asphalt summit."
Is the Legislature adhering to the spirit of California’s new pay transparency law?
Capitol Weekly, BRIAN JOSEPH, RICH EHISEN: "It didn’t take long for 2022’s SB 1162 to go from a victory for California workers to something frustrating for them.
Known as the Pay Transparency for Pay Equity Act, the bill, authored by Sen. Monique Limón, D-Santa Barbara, requires employers to add pay ranges to their job posting."
Retroactivity of California statutes
Capitol Weekly, CHRIS MICHELI: "In California, as in most states, a statute is presumed to operate prospectively. Quarry v. Doe I (2012) 53 Cal.4th 945, 955. In construing statutes, there is a presumption against retroactive application unless the Legislature plainly has directed otherwise by means of express language of retroactivity or other sources that provide a clear and unavoidable implication that the Legislature intended retroactive application of the statute. Id.
In addition, a statute should be construed to preserve its constitutionality. In re York (1995) 9 Cal.4th 1133, 1152. The burden of establishing the unconstitutionality of a statute rests on the party attacking it, and courts may not declare a legislative classification invalid unless, viewed in the light of facts made known or generally assumed, it is of a character that precludes the assumption that the classification rests upon some rational basis within the knowledge and experience of the legislators. Id."
New candidate joins race to replace embattled Sacramento city councilman. Who is she?
Sacramento Bee, THERESA CLIFT: "Another candidate has jumped into the race to succeed Sean Loloee on the Sacramento City Council.
Penelope Larry, a self-employed project manager, is running for the 2nd District seat in next year’s election."
Why Kamala Harris prefers Gen Z to millennials, and why it matters
LA Times, COURTNEY SUBRAMANIAN: "Vice President Kamala Harris prefers Gen Z to Millennials.
“I love Gen Z,” she told a crowd of donors at the Ritz-Carlton in Boston this month while reflecting on her “Fight for Our Freedoms” college tour, which took her to campuses across eight states in September and October."
Pro-Palestinian marches are far more frequent than pro-Israeli ones. How U.S. reaction to the Israel-Hamas war has changed
LA Times, JAWEED KALEEM, ABHINANDA BHATTACHARYYA: "The protesters have stopped traffic, staged die-ins, filled the National Mall. Since the latest Israel-Hamas war began, nearly every state in the U.S. has seen vigils, rallies and marches aiming to sway public support, and policy, for Israelis and Palestinians.
To better understand the nature of the demonstrations, The Times turned to data from the Crowd Counting Consortium, a group run by researchers from Harvard and the University of Connecticut."
Are electric bikes allowed at your college in California? Depends on where you go to school
CALMatters, CHRISTINA CHKARBOUL, JADA PORTILLO: "Electric bikes and scooters can be spotted in most major cities in the United States, zooming past their non-motorized counterparts and pedestrians. Despite the devices’ rising popularity, colleges across California can’t come to a consensus on just what to do about them.
Some campuses allow students to ride both e-bikes and e-scooters, while others only allow one or restrict them to certain zones. Several ban them completely."
Turbulent times in California’s tech world
CALMatters, LYNN LA: "Silicon Valley tech companies have been rocked with some boardroom drama these past few days, not long after top tech executives descended upon San Francisco during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit last week.
Sam Altman, who participated in a panel discussion at APEC alongside execs from Google and Meta, was ousted as OpenAI CEO by the leading artificial intelligence company’s board of directors, per a shocking Friday afternoon announcement."
How mass resignation of OpenAI workers could impact S.F.’s real estate market
The Chronicle, LAURA WAXMANN: "Late last week, New York-based Attentive doubled the size of its San Francisco office with a lease renewal at a 14-story building near Union Square, marking the latest deal in a string of new leases signed by artificial intelligence companies in the city this year.
The text message marketing platform did not respond to inquiries seeking comment, but sources say that the company — which is valued at $7 billion and this year introduced a new in-house generative AI tool allowing brands to customize their messages — upgraded from subleasing to taking direct space at 114 Sansome St., while also growing its footprint in the building to 23,000 square feet. Alex Phillips and Samantha Latimer of real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield handled the transaction."
Across California, eviction cases have returned to — or surpassed — pre-pandemic levels
CALMatters, JEANNE KUANG: "Eviction cases soared across California in the year after the last portion of a statewide moratorium lapsed, a CalMatters analysis of court data shows.
The elevated numbers — in some places beyond pre-pandemic levels — show a significant portion of renters remain at risk of losing their homes, despite the state’s rollout of a $5 billion rent relief program during the pandemic and a yearslong pause on many eviction cases that many landlords have said disrupted their businesses and income. A nationwide study published this year found increases in eviction filings are associated with slight upticks in the population of homeless people living in shelters."
S.F. to miss state housing deadline, jeopardizing local planning control
The Chronicle, J.K. DINEEN: "San Francisco is poised to miss the first deadline state housing officials have set for reforming how it approves residential development, a blown due date that could cost the city local control over how projects are entitled and permitted.
Under a set of state mandates laid out in an Oct. 25 “San Francisco Housing Policy and Practice Review,” the California Department of Housing and Community Development, or HCD, gave the city 30 days to pass Mayor London Breed’s “constraints reduction” ordinance, which would slash red tape and allow many projects to go forward without a hearing at the Planning Commission."
Newsom responded quickly, and very publicly, to L.A. freeway fire but still faces scrutiny
LA Times, TARYN LUNA: "Gov. Gavin Newsom got his victory lap.
Sporting a brown jacket, jeans and a baseball cap as he stood on the 10 Freeway, the governor announced Sunday morning that all lanes of the roadway would reopen weeks earlier than he originally estimated after a massive fire shut down a main artery through downtown Los Angeles."
Thanksgiving travel to set records; here’s how to avoid the worst in the Bay Area
The Chronicle, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "Air travelers are expected to break records for passenger volume nationwide this Thanksgiving holiday season, according to federal officials — though in the Bay Area, the peak travel day has already come and gone.
Thanksgiving once induced a traveling frenzy a day or two before the family feeding frenzy on Thursday. But this year at San Francisco International Airport, the busiest travel day was last Friday, when about 150,000 traveled in or out of SFO, Northern California’s biggest and busiest airport, according to airport spokesperson Doug Yakel."
Underpass lot below Interstate 10 failed inspection months before fire
LA Times, RACHEL URANGA: "The piles of wooden pallets stored with combustible liquids under Interstate 10 had been troubling Caltrans and state fire officials for at least three years before the materials went up in flames this month and caused the closure of one of Los Angeles’ busiest freeways for more than a week, documents newly released from Caltrans show.
The fire is now being investigated as arson. It also put a spotlight on the little-known $34.6-million Caltrans lease program that allows private companies to rent out space underneath and next to freeways. Standing atop the Santa Monica Freeway early Sunday morning, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he expects to have on Wednesday an early statewide assessment of the program, which has more than 600 leases."
