In major turnaround, California will have a budget surplus, Newsom says
SF Chronicle's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "California likely will not have a budget deficit next year, but incoming President Donald Trump’s agenda portends an uncertain road ahead for California’s budget, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Monday.
The budget outlook Newsom describes is a major turnaround from the $47 billion deficit last year and the $32 billion shortfall the year before. Newsom and the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst’s Office, which makes budget projections for the Legislature, both attribute the improvement to stock market gains by the state’s wealthiest taxpayers and cuts in previous years."
READ MORE on California's budget: Despite revenue increase, Newsom plans to pull from California’s rainy day reserves -- TARYN LUNA, LA Times;
Norovirus outbreaks sweep California. How does stomach flu spread? What are symptoms?
SacBee's KENDRICK MARSHALL: "A nasty stomach bug has been spreading across the country, including California, in recent months — leaving people feeling nauseous, achy or worse.
There were 91 outbreaks of norovirus reported across the country during the week of Dec. 5, up from 69 outbreaks the final week of November, according to the most recent numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC defines an outbreak as the occurrence of two or more similar illnesses resulting from a common exposure that is either suspected or laboratory-confirmed."
Biden bans offshore drilling across California, vast area of US
The BBC's DAVID MERCER and ESME STALLARD: "US President Joe Biden has announced a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling along most of America's coastline, weeks before Donald Trump takes office. The ban covers the entire Atlantic coast and eastern Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Pacific coast off California, Oregon and Washington and a section of the Bering Sea off Alaska.
It is the latest in a string of last-minute climate policy actions by the Biden administration ahead of Donald Trump's return to the White House."
‘Life-threatening’ winds, power shutoffs hitting Southern California
GRACE TOOHEY, LA Times: "Forecasters are warning of a “life-threatening and destructive” windstorm expected to last several days and affect a massive swath of Southern California beginning early Tuesday.
The offshore winds will be dry, unpredictable and strong — possibly up to 100 mph in some parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties, the National Weather Service has warned. Amid a parched landscape, the major wind event is again bringing particularly dangerous fire weather conditions — meaning that if a fire sparks, the blaze could quickly spread into an erratic, fast-moving wildfire."
Nearly 500 drivers arrested, 10,000 citations issued during NYE enforcement period, CHP says
SacBee's ISHANI DESAI: "The California Highway Patrol arrested nearly 500 people and issued close to 10,000 citations across two days during an enforcement period over the New Year’s Eve holiday. Officers heightened their presence across California highways from 6:01 p.m. Dec. 31 until 11:59 p.m. Jan. 1 to crack down on violations.
There were 481 drivers arrested on suspicion of drunk driving and 9,951 citations issued for traffic infractions, such as speeding or failing to properly wear a seat belt, according to the CHP.
Newsom and state leaders stress high-speed rail progress amid new challenges
COLLEEN SHALBY, LA Times: "As California’s high-speed rail project faces pushback under a new presidential administration, state leaders on Monday touted its progress to eventually connect Los Angeles to the Bay Area while linking to a high-speed line between Southern California and Las Vegas.
Construction for the project has been limited to a 119-mile stretch in the Central Valley. Gov. Gavin Newsom and transportation officials said at a news conference in Kern County that the line could someday connect to a proposed 54-mile corridor from Palmdale to Victor Valley that linked to Brightline West’s privately owned high-speed train to Nevada."
The great California exodus has ended -- thanks in part to legal immigration
TERRY CASTLEMAN, LA Times: "California is rebounding from an unprecedented population drop during the pandemic and an increase in legal immigration over the past couple of years is partly responsible. California’s population is more than a quarter foreign-born, the highest figure in the nation, according to Census data.
Net immigration from foreign countries into the state rebounded from nearly zero at the height of the pandemic to its current levels in just two years, helping to dampen the impact of the California Exodus, in which an increasing number of residents relocated to other states. The state’s population rose slightly in 2024 after three years of precipitous decline, according to data from the state Department of Finance."
San Diego State fraternity brothers face felony charges after pledge is badly burned
CLARA HARTER, LA Times: "Four members of a San Diego State fraternity are facing felony charges over an incident in which one of them, a pledge, was set on fire, causing third-degree burns that left him in the hospital for weeks, prosecutors say.
It’s the latest chapter in the troubled history of Greek life at SDSU, where fraternities have gained a reputation for dangerous, alcohol-fueled hazing. In 2020, a 19-year-old pledge died after hitting his head when his blood alcohol level was almost three times above the legal limit. Then in 2023, a former student sued the school, saying he was dumped at a hospital in an alcohol-induced coma while pledging in 2021."
UC in-state enrollment highest ever as Berkeley, UCLA seat more Black and Latino students
JAWEED KALEEM, LA Times: "The University of California enrolled a record number of Californians in Fall 2024, while UC Berkeley joined UCLA in bucking national trends at elite institutions that saw declines in new Black and Latino students in the first class since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down affirmative action.
The data, made public Tuesday, came as the nine undergraduate campus system has faced intense ongoing public pressure to take in more Californians and amid speculation over how its racial makeup would fare in a state where public universities and colleges have long been banned from considering race and gender in admissions."
California’s new plan for its long-delayed high speed rail system: Connect it to Las Vegas
Chroniclre's RACHEL SWAN: "California leaders are ready to lay high-speed rail tracks through the Central Valley, and on Monday they signaled where the tracks are headed: south toward Palmdale, to make connections into Las Vegas.
When they’ll arrive at the Transbay Terminal in downtown San Francisco remains uncertain."
Holder of $1.27 billion lottery ticket, sold in Shasta County, still a secret
Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI: "Despite the widespread attention surrounding the $1.27 billion Mega Millions jackpot sold at a Northern California gas station last month, the winner’s identity remains a mystery — and it could take months before anyone knows who won the life-changing prize.
The winning ticket was sold on Dec. 27 at Sunshine Food & Gas, also known as Circle K & Fuel Up, located off Interstate 5 in the small town of Cottonwood in Shasta County. While many may assume that a prize of this magnitude would prompt an immediate claim, the reality is that the California Lottery’s process for collecting such a large jackpot is slow and deliberate."
Nearly $9 a dozen: Why egg prices are skyrocketing and for how long
KAREN GARCIA, LA Times: "A bird flu outbreak has Californians paying steep prices for eggs, with consumers sometimes scrambling to locate a carton of eggs amid a disrupted supply chain that has left some store shelves empty.
The average price of a dozen large eggs starkly increased in California in December to $8.97, up from $5.68 in late November, and has remained at that price into the start of the year, according to a
U.S. Department of Agriculture report."
