Chance of La Niña developing is high. Here’s why that’s rare and how it could impact U.S. weather
The Chronicle's ANTHONY EDWARDS: "The El Niño winter, which delivered above-normal precipitation to much of California, is drawing to a close.
But as quickly as El Niño emerged, it is expected to fade even faster."
SoCal will see spike in water rates, taxes to cover rising costs and conservation efforts
LAT's IAN JAMES: "The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California has announced that it will increase rates and property taxes throughout the region over the next two years as the state grapples with fundamental changes to its water supply and usage.
District leaders said the increases are necessary to cover the costs of importing and treating water, as well as finance climate change adaptations to infrastructure and make up for declines in revenue due to widespread conservation efforts."
‘It’s environmental racism’: Ag officials sued over farm chemicals near Latino schools
LAT's HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS: "For Nelly Vaquera-Boggs, the plastic tarps that cover strawberry fields in Monterey County when they are being fumigated with toxic chemicals offer little comfort — especially when those fields are close to schools.
The tarps, she said, sometimes come loose in the wind. They can get holes."
No transcript, no appeal: California courts face ‘crisis’ over lack of records
LAT's KEVIN RECTOR: "California’s highest-ranking court officials are warning of a growing “constitutional crisis” playing out across the state’s judicial system, as hundreds of thousands of hearings are held without a precise record of what occurred.
The problem is a shortage of public court reporters, the stenographers who transcribe proceedings, and state law that bars electronic recording devices from being used in certain types of hearings — even when a reporter isn’t available."
California insurance chief, Farmers CEO ‘look outside’ for answers to insurance crisis
CALMatters's LEVI SUMAGAYSAY: "State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara — who is in the midst of issuing new regulations to address California’s insurance crisis — told CalMatters this week that he feels like he is “in a forced marriage” with the insurance industry, and that “we’re staying together for the kids.”
But Lara found common ground with a major U.S. insurer’s CEO at a first-of-its-kind summit in Los Angeles on Wednesday."
Californians get hacked all the time. The state’s top cybersecurity job is vacant
CALMatters's KHARI JOHNSON: "You might think the home of Silicon Valley would rush to hire a cybersecurity chief, but you’d be wrong: California has left its top cybersecurity post vacant for nearly two years.
A spokesperson said there is no current timeline for Gov. Gavin Newsom to appoint anyone for the position, commander for the Cybersecurity Integration Center."
California saw a surge in abortions after Dobbs. Providers are bracing for more
LAT's MACKENZIE MAYS: "After the Supreme Court overturned the Roe vs. Wade decision in 2022, jeopardizing abortion access for millions nationwide, California emerged as a “hot spot” and saw a surge in procedures — an influx probably due in part to out-of-staters facing new restrictions and looking for care.
Tuesday’s decision by the Arizona Supreme Court that aims to impose a near-total abortion ban in the neighboring state has put Southern California providers on alert and reignited leading state Democrats’ efforts to provide a “safe haven” for reproductive rights."
Should colleges and universities bring back SATs and ACTs?
EdSource, CALIFORNIA STUDENT JOURNALISM CORPS: "When the Covid-19 pandemic seriously disrupted the ability of students to take SATs and ACTs, many colleges and universities, including the University of California and California State University systems, either made standardized tests optional or dropped the requirement for admissions. Now, Dartmouth is the first to say that either SATs or ACTs will be required again for fall 2024 applicants, and a few other universities, including Harvard, are following this path.
Even before the pandemic, equity concerns were often cited as reasons these tests should not be required; both the UC and Cal State systems have maintained that they will continue to be SAT- and ACT-free."
Bill to mandate ‘science of reading’ in California classrooms dies
EdSource's DIANA LAMBERT, JOHN FENSTERWALD, ZAIDEE STAVELY: "A bill that would have required California teachers to use the “science of reading,” which spotlights phonics, to teach children to read has died without a hearing.
Assembly Bill 2222, authored by Assemblymember Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, will not advance in the Legislature this year, according to Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas, who described the state’s student reading and literacy rates as “a serious problem,” adding that the bill should receive a “methodical” review by all key groups before there is a “costly overhaul” of how reading is taught in California."
‘I cant focus on anything but rage.’ Pro-Palestinian protests roil elite Pomona College
LAT's JAWEED KALEEM, CAROLINE PETROW-COHEN: "Hundreds of pro-Palestinian students doubled down on protests at Pomona College Thursday as the elite liberal arts campus is roiled by an intensifying Israel divestment campaign that even harsh disciplinary action against protesters has not deterred.
The demonstrations come less than one week after the campus was rocked when riot-gear-wearing local police arrested 19 people who had occupied the college president’s office."
Bay Area tech layoffs: Silicon Valley company, once valued at $5 billion, cuts 32% of workforce
The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI: "The latest wave of job cuts in the Bay Area has led to significant workforce reductions at semiconductor giant Intel, the self-driving startup Ghost Autonomy and Checkr, a background-screening platform once valued at $5 billion.
Intel plans to eliminate 62 positions within its sales and marketing departments at its Santa Clara headquarters, state regulatory filings show. The layoffs are expected to begin on May 25."
Heavy new investments in the arts promise to lift Bunker Hill
LAT's ROGER VINCENT: "With two major expansions of downtown Los Angeles cultural institutions in the works, Bunker Hill is primed to elevate its status as the region’s leading arts center even as the area around it struggles with persistent homelessness and post-pandemic losses of office tenants.
Bunker Hill will soon have the largest concentration of buildings designed by Frank Gehry in the world and promises to become a cultural center “like no other place,” the architect told the Los Angeles Times."
Construction begins at former Tower Records site in Sacramento. Take a look back in time
Sacramento Bee's HANH TRUONG: "There’s a new future in store for the former site of the iconic Tower Records building on Sacramento’s Broadway strip.
Construction crews were excavating the site at 2500 16th St., on Wednesday morning, preparing for a new multi-use building that will combine apartments and retail space."
State green lights Cupertino’s housing plan for more than 4,500 new homes
BANG*Mercury News's STEPHANIE LAM: "More than a year after the deadline and being hit with a lawsuit over the delay, Cupertino has received a green light from state regulators for a housing plan to add more than 4,500 homes by 2031.
Every eight years, California law requires cities to submit a blueprint, known as a housing element, for how they will add a specific number of homes at a range of price points. The state Housing and Community Development Department (HCD) endorsed Cupertino’s housing element on Wednesday, bringing the city one step closer to resolving any penalties it faces for missing the Jan. 31 2023 deadline, including being subject to the builder’s remedy, a legal mechanism that allows developers to push through projects that are larger than local zoning laws would otherwise permit."
Backers of California homeless camp ban cite ‘successful’ San Diego law. But is it?
CALMatters's MARISA KENDALL: "Politicians pushing to make homeless encampments illegal across wide swaths of California point to one city as proof it will work.
“San Diego gets it,” Senate Republican Leader Brian Jones said during a recent press conference. “They are having great success so far with their ordinance, and we hope we can take that success across the state.”
Sacramento orders tight-knit homeless community, Camp Resolution, to close next month
Sacramento Bee's THERESA CLIFT: "The city of Sacramento has ordered Camp Resolution — a first-of-it-kind close community of unhoused people living in city trailers — to close next month.
Assistant City Manager Mario Lara sent a letter March 28 to Mark Merin of Safe Ground Sacramento, Inc., which leases the site from the city. A state document allowing people to live in trailers on the site despite air contamination, expires June 1. Due to that, the city is ordering all residents to move off the city-owned North Sacramento lot by May 16."
The first high-speed rail trains are closer to coming to California. Here’s when and how much they could cost
The Chronicle's RICARDO CANO: "California plans to buy six sets of trains this year for high-speed rail service in the decades-long project’s initial Central Valley segment, at an estimated cost of about $516 million.
On Thursday, the California High-Speed Rail Authority’s Board of Directors voted to allow the authority to solicit proposals from two contractors to purchase the first batch of trains for testing and eventual passenger service."
Oakland airport name change approved, setting up showdown with SFO
The Chronicle's DANIEL LEMPRES, ELI ROSENBERG: "Oakland officials voted unanimously Thursday afternoon to approve a plan to rename Oakland International Airport to San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport, likely inviting a lawsuit from San Francisco International Airport as the two Bay Area airports battle over their brands and future growth.
The vote comes after weeks of controversy over the potential name change for the airport. San Francisco officials, in particular, have been up in arms about the decision, saying that San Francisco-bound travelers may be confused into flying to Oakland if its name starts with San Francisco."
