Here’s what surprised scientists about California storm that spawned a tornado
The Chronicle's ANTHONY EDWARDS, JACK LEE: "Before dawn Saturday, more than a million people in and around San Francisco were awakened by a blaring notification more typical of Kansas than California: a tornado warning.
Coming on the heels of a tsunami warning nine days earlier, some San Franciscans simply went back to sleep. But for those who stayed awake, waiting for the sun to rise, the powerful storm quickly unleashed damage. Power outages blanketed parts of the city as winds uprooted hundreds of trees, some of which crushed vehicles and toppled power lines."
READ MORE -- ‘It went so fast’: Scotts Valley recovering after rare California tornado -- The Chronicle's ZARA IRSHAD
CA120: Curing California’s ‘extra innings’ elections
PAUL MITCHELL, Capitol Weekly: "In California, elections go into extra innings. While in other states, they’re packing up the campaign office in mid-November, in California races are still being won and lost through organized field programs doing ballot signature “curing” that was unheard of just a few election cycles ago.
Nearly 200,000 voters who cast ballots in this election had a signature missing or unmatched at some point in the certification process. That’s over 1% of votes cast, and nearly 5% of all voters 18-24. To better understand the experience of voters, causes and eventual resolution, we did analysis of these voters, the age, ethnic, partisan and other breakdowns, and conducted a survey of nearly a thousand Californians who found themselves with their vote at risk."
Column: States are fighting one another over abortion laws. California could get dragged in
LAT's ANITA CHABRIA: "Hello and happy Tuesday. There are 34 days until the inauguration, and today we’re talking about the coming legal war over states’ rights. Of course, this involves Texas — which might not like being messed with, but apparently doesn’t mind messing with others.
You may have a vague memory that access to abortion in recent years has been eroding faster than an oceanfront cliff, ever since the Supreme Court in 2022 gave states the right to set their own rules about reproductive healthcare."
Gov. Newsom previews the master plan for career education
EdSource's EMMA GALLEGOS: "Today Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the framework for what he is calling the master plan for career education.
The framework recommends creating a new statewide planning body for career education, promoting a “career passport,” developing career pathways for high school and college, strengthening workforce training and making both higher education and workforce training affordable."
Can theater help prevent violence in schools?
EdSource's KAREN D'SOUZA: "Michele Hillen-Noufer describes herself at 13 as “the shyest kid in the world.” She always loved ballet but hated public speaking until her father persuaded her to try out for “Godspell.” She wanted to dance in the show, not sing. She was so scared out of her wits that she cried throughout the audition. But she made a breakthrough that day that shaped the course of her life.
“I didn’t start speaking up until I started doing theater,” said Hillen-Noufer, who now teaches children’s theater at Sacramento State University. “It broke me out of my shyness. As I say to the students, this is not just about projecting your voice on stage, it’s also about asserting your voice in the world.”"1
Judge orders California Bible college to cease operations after state hearing
LAT's COLLEEN SHALBY: "A Christian Bible school in Riverside County was ordered to cease operations after a recent state hearing into multiple allegations over failures to properly educate and maintain records.
Amid student accusations of forced and unpaid labor at Olivet University, which is headquartered in the high-desert town of Anza, Calif., school leaders leaders tried to protect the university’s fate against state regulators’ attempts to revoke its license."
Los Angeles County files suit ‘to stop the awful stench’ at Chiquita Canyon landfill
LAT's TONY BRISCOE: "Los Angeles County is suing the owner of Chiquita Canyon Landfill for failing to control a high-temperature chemical reaction that is cooking garbage and sickening nearby residents.
For nearly two years, trash has been smoldering in a long-dormant portion of Chiquita Canyon due to the rare chemical reaction. The broiling temperatures have affected a roughly 30-acre area, where putrid gases and hazardous liquids have burst through the surface of the landfill."
A low-down town in the California desert loves its flagpole — formerly the world’s tallest
LAT's HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS: "The little desert town of Calipatria, known for its state prison, is a humble place.
It struggles with poverty. It’s in the middle of Imperial County, where the 20% unemployment rate is California’s highest. And some days, its dusty air carries the stench of the polluted Salton Sea eight miles west."
California Latinas were behind a surge in small businesses during the pandemic. Here’s why
Sac Bee's MATGHEW MIRANDA: "Life seemed grim for Liliana Bernal in March 2020 as the pandemic spread across the country. One month earlier, Bernal had founded her small business Balanced Diversity — a Sacramento-based recruiting and workforce consulting company.
“The first couple of months were a struggle,” Bernal said."
California has sweeping new rules for home insurance. What to know
LAT's LAURENCE DARMIENTO: "A revolution is underway in California’s insurance market that could provide relief to homeowners in high-fire-risk neighborhoods who have found it difficult to find insurers to cover their homes, typically a household’s most valuable asset.
Under new rules, state insurers for the first time will be allowed to use so-called catastrophe models to help determine the cost of home insurance. The models, developed by firms such as Verisk Analytics and Moody’s, are complex computer programs that aim to better determine the risk a structure faces from wildfires amid a changing climate. Here are five things to know about the models:"
Is the Central Valley getting shorted on internet access money? Here’s what we found
Sac Bee's ERIK GALICIA: "When it comes to the $2 billion the state is giving out to help increase poor people’s access to affordable broadband, seven San Joaquin Valley counties say the region has not been a priority.
The group — Fresno, Madera, Merced, Tulare, Kings, San Joaquin and Kern counties — want to know why projects in what is arguably California’s poorest region received only 6.6% of the first $804 million the state gave out. By contrast, the state gave projects in Los Angeles County $96 million last month."
San Mateo sheriff crisis: Deputy cleared of wrongdoing after fraud allegation
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "The San Mateo County district attorney has cleared Sheriff Deputy Carlos Tapia of any criminal wrongdoing a month after top sheriff officials arrested him for alleged time card fraud.
Upon closely examining the case, prosecutors determined not only that Tapia had not violated any laws and should not have been arrested, but also that executives at the sheriff’s office had ordered his arrest before verifying the accuracy of the allegations, District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe said in a statement."
California’s high-speed rail project may be in trouble — again
The Chronicle's SHIRA STEIN: "California’s troubled high-speed rail project is in Republicans’ sights again.
Republicans have for years decried the project’s skyrocketing costs and lack of progress; ironically, GOP control of Washington could result in the price tag ballooning even further if the party’s actions cause further delays."
