Lost winter

California snow defies warming trend in U.S. Experts say the ‘lost winter’ carries a warning

The Chronicle's ANTHONY EDWARDS, JACK LEE, VIVIEN NGO: "In January, the Sierra Nevada snowfall outlook was bleak. California’s snowpack sat at levels less than half of normal, and more sand than snow lined the shores of Lake Tahoe.

Across the West, experts voiced concern about snow drought. But, in California, prospects turned around the following month as a steady stream of storms added to the snowpack, culminating in an epic blizzard. Things played out quite differently in other parts of the country — large swaths of the U.S., including the Midwest, lack healthy snow levels."

Experts Expound: What now for Katie Porter?

Capitol Weekly's STAFF: "U.S. Rep. Katie Porter’s (D-CA), once considered a rising national star for the Democratic Party, finished a distant third in her bid for the Senate seat once held by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). With that in mind, we posed the following question to our panel of esteemed experts:

With her campaign for U.S. Senate over and her time in the House coming to a close, where does Katie Porter go from here?

“I’ll start – Who cares? After her disgraceful behavior upon losing a race she was never going to win, I think if she’s smart she will leave the stage completely. She ran her campaign, whined about Schiff’s ad and then copied it, and had the audacity to call the results ‘rigged.’ As far as I know she hasn’t even congratulated Schiff and didn’t show up for Biden’s State of the Union."

Judge rules Fani Willis can continue to lead Georgia Trump investigation

LAT's JENNY JARVIE: "A judge ruled Friday that Fulton County Dist. Atty. Fani Willis can continue to lead the Georgia election interference case against the former president as her romantic relationship with her lead prosecutor did not amount to a direct conflict of interest.

But Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said the relationship had created the appearance of a conflict of interest and he offered an ultimatum: either she or the special prosecutor she had a relationship with must step down from the case."

Mystery surrounds sudden increase in steelhead trout deaths near California water pumps

LAT's HAYLEY SMITH, IAN JAMES: "California environmental groups are urging a federal court to intervene amid a “dramatic increase” in the deaths of threatened steelhead trout at pumps operated by state and federal water managers.

Since Dec. 1, more than 4,000 wild and hatchery-raised steelhead have been killed at pumps in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, according to public data for the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. The agencies are now at about 90% of their combined seasonal take limit, which refers to the amount of wild steelhead permitted to be killed between January and March under the U.S. Endangered Species Act."

Exclusive: Alameda DA Pamela Price accused of retaliating against employees who supported rival

The Chronicle's SUSIE NEILSON: "Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price, facing a recall effort and recent allegations of illegal and retaliatory conduct against a journalist and employees, has been accused of wrongfully terminating two additional workers for supporting her chief political opponent in the 2022 race for her seat, documents obtained by The Chronicle show.

Maria Ramirez said in a March 2023 claim that she was escorted out of the courthouse office “like a common criminal” on her fifth day of work, after Price learned that the administrative assistant had worked as a field organizer for Terry Wiley, a veteran Alameda County prosecutor whom Price narrowly bested in the election."

Fighting fentanyl: how California leadership can protect our children

Capitol Weekly's GRETCHEN BURNS BERGMAN: "California’s overdose crisis has ignited fear in the hearts of parents across the state. The thought of our youth being exposed to substances like fentanyl causes anxiety and concern.

I understand this fear as my two sons struggled for decades with substance use disorder. As their mother, I have always felt it’s my duty to protect them and ensure that there are services available to allow them to heal and recover. Now, they are both in long-term recovery from heroin addiction and work as drug and alcohol counselors. Today, heroin has been replaced by fentanyl, which is 50 – 100 times stronger, and counterfeit pills in the drug supply. These more potent drugs have increased the number of people dying tragically from accidental overdose."

California may extend financial aid deadline for students impacted by federal delays

CALMatters's MIKHAIL ZINSHTEYN: "Students seeking state financial aid have just two weeks remaining to beat a California deadline, even as thousands have been locked out of completing the federal application necessary to get that state aid — a problem that particularly affects students who are citizens but whose parents are not.

Now a prominent state lawmaker, Assemblymember Sabrina Cervantes, a Democrat from Corona and chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, is fast-tracking a bill to give affected California students additional time to complete the federal application and access more than $3 billion in state aid. If passed, Assembly Bill 1887 would move the current deadline from April 2 to May 2 and would go into effect immediately."

Exclusive: UCSF could expand to massive redevelopment of S.F. power plant

The Chronicle's J.K. DINEEN: "UCSF is in advanced talks to become the anchor tenant in the redevelopment of the Potrero Power Station, the ambitious mixed-use expansion of San Francisco’s Dogpatch onto 21 acres of formerly industrial land on the waterfront.

This Cal State immigration clinic provides free legal advice. It might come to a ‘full stop’

LAT's REBECCA PELVIN: "Galilea Ramirez was a toddler when her mother brought her across the border from Mexico.

She grew up in Fresno as an undocumented immigrant. As a student at Cal State Fresno, she met for the first time with an immigration lawyer, who said she might be eligible for a visa because she had technically been abandoned by her parents. Her mother had been deported, and her stepfather was eventually unable to care for her." 

‘Misery loves company’: Both S.F. and Oakland more likely to close schools as budget outlook worsens

The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "School closures in San Francisco and Oakland look even more likely after district officials on both sides of the Bay concluded this week that their dire fiscal outlook is now worse.

Both districts have been overspending for years. Both face ongoing declining enrollment and too many empty seats. Both are scrambling to make budget cuts to overcome massive deficits."

Q&A: How the 50-year-old case that transformed English learner education began

EdSource's ZAIDEE STAVELY: "Fifty years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court decided a case that would forever change education for English learners in this country.

In the 1974 case Lau v. Nichols, the court decided that students learning English had a right to fully understand what was being taught in their classrooms, and that schools must take steps to make sure that they could, whether through additional instruction in English as a second language or bilingual education."

A colleague’s suicide exposes a crisis among L.A.’s restaurant inspectors

LAT's REBECCA ELLIS: "It was the worst kind of conference lunch.

In late August, more than 30 people departed a three-day-event at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles sick with Shigella, a bacterium that can spread through infected food. At least four guests ended up in the hospital, including one woman who said she was told by a doctor that her kidneys were shutting down."

One Bay Area county sees population gains in 2023. Is the exodus over?

BANG*Mercury News's HARRIET BLAIR ROWAN: "Another year, and another census update showing the Bay Area’s population has dropped.

But the newest population estimates for July 1, 2023, released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau, show the losses were the smallest the region has seen since the pandemic marked the beginning of a dramatic exodus that is now slowing and showing signs of reversing."