California dodges polar vortex as most of U.S. braces for deep freeze
The Chronicle, GREG PORTER: "The majority of the country will wake to bone-chilling temperatures Thursday, with dozens of temperature records at risk of being broken. The massive outbreak of cold air is connected to the polar vortex, a lobe of frigid air that has broken away from the North Pole and settled over the middle of the country.
The shot of cold air won’t impact California or the West Coast. In the wake of a weak cold front that passed through Wednesday, a high-pressure ridge has developed near California, shielding the state from the cold air and from a powerful storm system set to drench the Pacific Northwest this weekend."
Presidio Trust targeted for elimination in latest Trump executive order
The Chronicle, MOLLY BURKE: "The Presidio Trust, a federal agency charged with running and protecting the historic San Francisco park, should be “eliminated” because it is “unnecessary,” according to an executive order issued by the White House on Wednesday night.
The order calls for cutting all federal funding to the Presidio Trust that is not legally necessary."
READ MORE -- Exclusive: S.F.’s most prominent federal office buildings are on Trump’s shortlist to be sold -- The Chronicle, LAURA WAXMANN; ‘It’s maddening’: Federal workers in S.F. protest Trump, Musk cutbacks -- The Chronicle, MOLLY BURKE
Republicans have gig worker rules in their sights again
The Chronicle, SHIRA STEIN: "Republicans have gig workers’ employment status in their sights once again, with the issue taking center stage at the confirmation hearing for President Donald Trump’s labor secretary nominee.
Federal rules that determine whether a worker should be classified as an employee — with the protections granted accordingly — or as an independent contractor have been flip-flopping with each new administration."
Column: Republican Latinos are rising in California. Now there’s a caucus for them
LAT, GUSTAVO ARELLANO: "On election day last year, a conversation with family members confirmed Suzette Martinez Valladares’ hunch that Latino Republicans were about to shock California.
“I swear they were socialists when they were, like, 20,” the Acton-based state senator said of her relatives while we ate lunch at a restaurant in Santa Ana. “But then [one of them] sent me a photo of voting for [Donald] Trump. I was like, ‘What is going on here? I never thought I would see this day.’”"
‘Afraid to go to school’: Immigrant families in the Salinas Valley are gripped by fear
CALMatters, CAROLYN JONES: "E., a mother of three in Salinas, is extra careful when she takes her kids to school. She switches up her routes, leaves at different times, and is always on the lookout for immigration agents, especially during pick-ups and drop-offs.
President Donald Trump’s threat of mass deportations is never far from her mind, but it’s not her own welfare she’s concerned about."
Cal State campuses best for upward economic mobility, new rankings say
EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "Several California State University (CSU) campuses are the best universities in the state when it comes to driving upward economic mobility for low- and middle-income students after graduation, according to a new rankings system published Thursday.
CSU’s Los Angeles, Dominguez Hills, Stanislaus, Bakersfield and Fresno campuses took the top five spots in the rankings. CSU Fullerton, CSU Long Beach, CSU Northridge and Cal Poly Pomona were also in the top 10, along with the University of California Merced."
Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi launches campaign for state superintendent
EdSource, STAFF: "Assemblymember Al Muratsuchi launched his 2026 campaign for California’s top elected education official this week.
The Los Angeles Democrat said he’s running for state superintendent of public instruction to defend public school students from the Trump administration’s attacks on public education."
When it comes to elevating livelihoods, a CSU degree is tops in California, study says
LAT, DANIEL MILLER: "Marco Florez knows the value of his California State University education because it changed his family’s trajectory.
His mother, Suehey Florez, immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico “not knowing a lick of English,” he said, but was able to attend Fresno State, where she earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She is now a special education teacher for the Tulare County Office of Education."
Affordable housing in the San Fernando Valley advances despite opposition from Bass, City Council
LAT, LIAM DILLON: "By summer 2023, developers had pitched building nearly 2,400 new apartments for low- and moderate-income residents in the San Fernando Valley, where little such housing exists compared with much of Los Angeles.
The plans would not require public subsidy, unusual for low-income housing, and were proposed under Mayor Karen Bass’ signature initiative to promote growth at prices more Angelenos could afford."
‘My next home must be fireproof’: Why more Angelenos are looking to build ‘SuperAdobes’
LAT, JESSIE SCHIEWE: "At the southern edge of the Mojave Desert on an unusually warm Saturday in February, dozens of people mill throughout the living space of a 2,300-square-foot three-bed, two-bath house with a connected two-car garage.
A couple gliding past the open kitchen marvel at the room’s “good natural lighting.” In the hallway outside the expansive main bedroom, a tall bearded man compares the space to a “luxury Airbnb experience,” while two grade-school-age boys play with a light switch on the wall, flicking the ceiling fan on and off."
Inspired by shuttered Fair Oaks company, new bill aims to stop fraud from ADU builders
Sac Bee, THERESA CLIFT: "Inspired by a now-shuttered Fair Oaks company, a new state bill aims to make it harder for Accessory Dwelling Unit building companies to “defraud” homeowners.
Assemblymember Marc Berman, D-Menlo Park, Tuesday introduced a bill that would limit the amount contractors can charge upfront for the construction of Accessory Dwelling Units, or ADUs, a news release from Berman’s office stated. It would also increase penalties for contractors who violate those protections."
California lawmakers scramble to fix ‘lemon’ vehicle law — again
CALMatters, RYAN SABALOW: "For more than half a century, California’s “lemon” law was considered one of the best in the nation at giving consumers the legal right to demand car companies fix or replace defective vehicles still under warranty.
Now, California lawmakers are scrambling to repair recent changes they made to the law to satisfy the very car companies accused of making so many lemon vehicles that their lawsuits have been clogging the state’s courts."
Sacramento is using buses with AI-powered cameras to issue parking citations. Here’s why
Sac Bee, MATHEW MIRANDA: "The city of Sacramento has begun using artificial intelligence to issue fines for vehicles parked illegally at bus stops.
These $100 citations started Tuesday under a joint program between the city and the Sacramento Regional Transit District to improve rider safety and accessibility. The program began in December with a nearly two-month grace period."
Aryan Brotherhood case raises a question: How to stop killings ordered from state prisons
LAT, MATTHEW ORMSETH: "As witness after witness testified that three Aryan Brotherhood members directed drug deals, shakedowns and murders from their California prison cells, the question was not whether prosecutors would convict them — but whether doing so would prevent future crimes.
Kenneth Johnson, Francis Clement and John Stinson were already serving life sentences in the state system when a federal jury in Fresno convicted them last week of racketeering and other offenses."
