California Gov. Newsom faces another recall threat: ‘We will defeat them’
The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom faces his fifth recall attempt as a citizen-led group of conservative activists launched a fresh campaign on Monday to remove him from office.
Organizers with Rescue California plan to serve the governor with recall papers, citing concerns such as the state’s budget deficit, public safety and immigration."
READ MORE -- Gavin Newsom faces another recall attempt. Will it do any better than 2021? -- CALMatters's ALEXEI KOSEFF
What would Barbara Lee do as California’s U.S. senator?
CALMatters's YUE STELLA YU: "In the fiercely competitive race to become California’s next U.S. senator, Barbara Lee has hardly been the candidate of the hour.
Lagging in polls, Lee was largely ignored by the other contenders during three televised debates. Her campaign — struggling to fundraise — does not have enough cash to promote her message on TV, while others have dominated the airwaves statewide."
Paul Mitchell primes the Primary; Plus, what’s next for EDD (PODCAST)
Capitol Weekly's STAFF: "Everyone’s favorite California politics data guru Paul Mitchell joins us to talk about California’s March 5 Primary. With the Presidential primaries all but wrapped, what was expected to be a high-stakes, high profile March election appears to generating yawns from CA voters. Based on the pace of returned ballots, experts are predicting a historically low turnout: What does that mean for the four main candidates vying to make it into the Top Two for California’s open US Senate seat?
Next, we welcome Ron Hughes, Deputy Director of EDD’s newest organizational branch, the EDDNext Modernization and Innovation Branch. Ron brings a wealth of experience to bear as he heads up one of the largest IT projects in the state’s history. The agency faced deep criticism over fraud and other failures during the COVID emergency; Ron spoke with us about how EDDNext will improve the user experience for the public and add needed security to the system."
Gavin Newsom could save $1 billion by closing 5 California prisons, legislative analyst says
Sacramento Bee's MAYA MILLER: "California could save nearly $1 billion annually if it closed five more state prisons, according to a new report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
The nonpartisan analysts are once again urging Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration to cull the state’s prison infrastructure as the number of inmates continues to decline. The savings could help Newsom shore up a projected $38 billion deficit — the LAO released a far higher projection of $73 billion last week."
S.F. mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie chases Asian American voters, unveils plan to compel drug treatment
The Chronicle's J.D. MORRIS: "San Francisco mayoral candidate Daniel Lurie went to Chinatown on Monday and sought to boost his profile with Asian American voters just days after a Chronicle poll found Mayor London Breed had extremely low support among that group and was at risk of losing the November election.
Lurie, a nonprofit founder and Levi Strauss heir who is one of the three main challengers to Breed, announced Monday that he’d been endorsed by Paul Yep, a former San Francisco Police Department commander who used to run the station that serves Chinatown."
S.F. politician pushes novel approach to address state’s drug crisis. Here’s what it would do
The Chronicle's CATHERINE HO: "For years, state and local health officials have watched in dismay as drug overdoses spiraled ever higher. Now they could gain a new tool to track the extent of the crisis.
If proposed legislation from Assembly Member Matt Haney, D-San Francisco, is successful, California could become the first state to mandate routine testing of wastewater treatment plants statewide for fentanyl, methamphetamine and other drugs."
Rising Stars: Julie Cravatto, COS to Assemblymember Dawn Addis
Capitol Weekly's MOLLY JACOBY: "Not many people love the Bay Area as much as Julie Cravotto, Chief of Staff to Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-San Luis Obispo). Indeed, Cravotto loves her hometown so much that she entered politics to address the myriad issues that threaten its prosperity.
“I never expected that I was going to do this as a job,” says Cravotto. “But I don’t think there’s anything I love more than my hometown, and seeing issues like the housing crisis really pushed me to want to do something more.”"
Is a rule waived or suspended in the CA Legislature?
Capitol Weekly's CHRIS MICHELI: "We hear most often in the California Legislature that a rule is being “waived” or that someone is seeking a “rule waiver.” However, many rules may be “dispensed with” or “suspended,” rather than waived. So, what is the correct terminology to be used? Fortunately, or unfortunately, all of the above is the answer, depending on the specific rule.
The Office of Legislative Counsel only defines one of these three terms – “rule waiver,” which is “a specific exception sought from the Assembly, Senate, or Joint Rules by an Assembly Member or Senator.” In the case of any of these three “exceptions” to the legislative rules, formal permission must be sought and received by the legislator (usually through a motion)."
Scientists warn that a crucial ocean current could collapse, altering global weather
LAT's HAYLEY SMITH: "Scientists are sounding the alarm that a crucial component of the planet’s climate system is in gradual decline and could one day reach a tipping point that would radically alter global weather patterns.
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, is a system of ocean currents that circulate water in the Atlantic Ocean like a conveyor belt, helping to redistribute heat and regulate global and regional climates. New research, however, warns that the AMOC is weakening under a warming climate, and could potentially suffer a dangerous and abrupt collapse with worldwide consequences."
California weather: Major winter storm to bring up to 10 feet of snow in Sierra Nevada this week
The Chronicle's ANTHONY EDWARDS: "After a warm weekend of 70-degree temperatures in San Francisco, Sacramento, San Jose, Los Angeles and San Diego, a big change is coming this week.
A major winter storm is expected to impact Northern and Central California from Thursday through Sunday. Whiteout conditions are likely in the Sierra Nevada, where 4-10 feet of snow is expected above 6,000 feet. The snow line could drop below 2,000 feet in the Sierra and parts of the Bay Area on Saturday."
Has this been L.A.’s wettest February ever? What the rain forecast has in store
LAT's RONG-GONG LIN II: "A series of powerful storms brought Los Angeles close to having its wettest February ever recorded.
Another storm moved in late Monday. Forecasters have been downgrading projections for the storm for days, and it’s looking less and less likely that it will provide enough rain to make history. The latest forecast calls for less than a half an inch of rain through Tuesday, with snow levels hovering around 7,000 feet."
Legislative analyst projects bigger funding drop for schools, community colleges
EdSource's JOHN FENSTERWALD: "The Legislative Analyst’s Office is warning superintendents and school boards working on their next year’s budget that more storm clouds are on the fiscal horizon.
In a Feb. 15 report, the LAO forecast that further erosion of state revenues will likely reduce state funding for TK-12 by an additional $7.7 billion — $5.2 billion in 2023-24 and $2.7 billion in 2025-26. That would be on top of the $13.7 billion shaving that Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in his proposed budget for the current budget cycle that he released just a month ago."
What California college students think about online classes
EdSource's CALIFORNIA STUDENT JOURNALISM CORPS: "As the pandemic led colleges and universities to offer most courses remotely, online classes became commonplace by necessity. Now students have more choices as institutions adjust course offerings to increase flexibility and enrollment.
To understand why and how students are deciding between online or in-person options, EdSource’s California Student Journalism Corps asked the following questions at seven California colleges and universities:"
California’s Youth Job Corps offers a second chance at career, higher education
EdSource's BETTYU MARQUEZ ROSALES: "One of Kaelyn Carter’s ongoing challenges these days is working early hours as a landscaper through the cold, often rainy San Francisco Bay Area weather — a world away from the stagnation he remembers feeling when he first arrived in California less than two years ago.
Then, Carter had just been released from prison after three years of incarceration in Virginia, where he was born. He had made his way to California, which he heard might have more job opportunities."
Migrant arrests are up along the border in California and dropping in Texas. Why?
LA Times, ANDREA CASTILLO: "A new pattern emerged along the nation’s southern frontier last month: Migrant arrests plummeted at the Texas border in January compared with the same month a year ago. At the same time, similar arrests soared year-over-year at entry points in California and Arizona.
Experts say a combination of factors is probably causing the shift, which has led to several thousand migrants entering California each week while they await court dates for immigration proceedings."
California neo-Nazi trying to crowdfund tour of city council meetings to provoke free speech lawsuit
The Chronicle's RAHEEM HOSSEINI: "He approached from the back row wearing dark sunglasses and a T-shirt with a black swastika at its center. He said his name was “Scottie.” And for the next two minutes, Harley Ray Petero Jr. read clumsily from his antisemitic speech, making threats both legal and genocidal, during Wednesday night’s meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council.
“I’m here today because people like you …” Petero said, pointing at Council Member Kevin Wilk, losing his place, finding it again, and resuming, “… think we’re scared — to show up and show our face and call you out in person. And I dare you to shut me down. I will file a 1983 civil rights lawsuit so fast that you may as well break out the city’s checkbook and prepare to settle.”"
McDonald’s owners slam California lawmakers in election ads after fast food minimum wage fight
Sacramento Bee's LINDSEY HOLDEN: "McDonald’s franchise owners are not happy about recent California laws creating a fast food council to improve working conditions and setting a $20-per-hour minimum wage.
Now, they are taking out their frustrations on state lawmakers who supported the bills and are running in primaries for local offices, even though they would have little influence over labor policy in their new positions."
Disney’s ‘Mandalorian & Grogu’ to shoot in California thanks to huge tax credit
LAT's CHRISTI CARRAS: "This is the way to persuade Disney to shoot the next “Star Wars” movie in your state.
“The Mandalorian & Grogu” is slated to be the first “Star Wars” feature ever filmed in California thanks to the state’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program, the California Film Commission announced Monday. The big-screen spinoff of the hit Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” will be awarded a tax credit of about $21.8 million to film in the Golden State."
‘We have to go to war’: The man battling Disney’s Bob Iger — and increasingly long odds
The Chronicle's STACY PERMAN: "This month, after Walt Disney Co. reported stronger-than-expected earnings, it appeared that the promise of Bob Iger’s return as chief executive might finally be on track to put the magic back into the kingdom.
After a year that saw the entertainment giant buffeted by Hollywood strikes, major layoffs and stock price stumbles, the earnings report (and several headline-making announcements) sent Disney’s shares soaring, achieving the stock’s best day on Wall Street in three years."
Silicon Valley job boom ends for now as employment growth slows down: report
BANG*Mercury News's GEORGE AVALOS: "Silicon Valley’s job boom has hit a pause, and while the region is still adding workers, the pace of hiring in 2023 was markedly slower than the year before, a new report shows.
Although hiring is in a slump, median household income is on the rise, according to the Silicon Valley Index 2024, a closely watched annual report released Monday."
Police want drones in car chases. How SF’s Prop E could affect that
CALMatters's KHARI JOHNSON: "Two months ago, a robbery suspect in a high-speed car chase struck Ciara Keegan’s Honda CR-V while fleeing police. Keegan, 25, had been on the phone with her boyfriend making dinner plans when she saw the suspect’s car bearing down on hers.
“All (my boyfriend) heard was the crash, my screams, the sirens of police cars,” Keegan, 25, told CalMatters in a phone interview. Seeing smoke after the crash, she worried that her car would set on fire. “As I was being loaded into the ambulance, I saw the other car completely engulfed in flames,” she said."
The informant next door: A quiet L.A. life masked Kremlin ties for FBI source accused of lying about Bidens
The Chronicle's MATT HAMILTON: "He rubbed elbows with Russian elites, spoke of an exclusive invite aboard an oligarch’s mega-yacht and cozied up to foreign intelligence agencies.
As a valued FBI informant for the last 13 years, Alexander Smirnov hopscotched the globe to sweep up information on powerful figures and illicit activities. Federal agents even authorized him to break the law while doing so."
Aide: Navalny possibly ‘days’ away from swap when he died
CNN's ANNA CHERNOVA, SEBASTIAN SHULKA, CHRISTIAN EDWARDS and JENNIFER HANSLER: "Negotiations to release Russia’s opposition leader Alexey Navalny in a prisoner swap had reached their “final stage” just before his sudden death, a top aide to Navalny has said.
Navalny and two US citizens were on the verge of being exchanged for Vadim Krasikov, a Russian hitman serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 assassination of a former Chechen fighter in Berlin, according to Maria Pevchik, a top aide to Navalny, speaking in a video published Monday on his YouTube channel."
