First identified as a driving force behind a major surge in cases across China last month, the NB.1.8.1 variant has been reported in international travelers screened at airports in Washington, Virginia, New York and California. In California, scientists at the Stanford Clinical Virology Laboratory confirmed the state’s first known infection on April 17, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
Groundwater is rapidly declining in the Colorado River Basin, satellite data show
LA Times' IAN JAMES: "As the Colorado River’s giant reservoirs have declined during the last two decades, even larger amounts of water have been pumped and drained from underground, according to new research based on data from NASA satellites.
Scientists at Arizona State University examined more than two decades of satellite measurements and found that since 2003 the quantity of groundwater depleted in the Colorado River Basin is comparable to the total capacity of Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir."
4-year-old Bakersfield girl facing deportation could die within days of losing medical care.
LA Times' ANDREA CASTILLO: "Deysi Vargas’ daughter was nearly 2½ when she took her first steps. The girl was a year delayed because she had spent most of her short life in a hospital in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, tethered to feeding tubes 24 hours a day. She has short bowel syndrome, a rare condition that prevents her body from completely absorbing the nutrients of regular food.
Vargas and her husband were desperate to get their daughter, whom The Times is identifying by her initials, S.G.V., better medical care. In 2023, they received temporary humanitarian permission to enter the U.S. legally through Tijuana."
‘Buckle up, it’s coming’: California insurers are likely to join State Farm in raising rates
Chronicle's MEGAN FAN MUNCE: "State Farm’s rates for homeowners are set to rise 17% starting next month, and potentially even more in 2026.
Are other insurers going to raise rates too? The short answer is almost certainly yes — but not immediately. Prices already have been rising rapidly. Over the past year, nearly every major insurer has implemented a double-digit rate increase — and more is expected."
This California Highway Is Now a Park. The Cars Are Gone, but Not the Anger.
NY Times' HEATHER KNIGHT: "A couple in matching Rollerblades canoodled in a hammock at the western edge of San Francisco. The sun was warm. The vibe was cool. The office most certainly did not beckon, though it was 3:15 p.m. on a Monday.
“You can say this is my lunch break,” said Ryan LaBerge, 52, who works in sales when he isn’t canoodling. This is Sunset Dunes, San Francisco’s newest park, where people lounge, ride their bikes or scurry in their wet suits to surf in the Pacific."
Republican Vote Against E.V. Mandate Felt Like an Attack on California, Democrats Say
NY Times' SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA: "For more than half a century, the federal government has allowed California to set its own stringent pollution limits, a practice that has resulted in more efficient vehicles and the nation’s most aggressive push toward electric cars. Many Democratic-led states have adopted California’s standards, prompting automakers to move their national fleets in the same direction.
With that unusual power, however, has come resentment from Republican states where the fossil fuel industry still undergirds their present and future. When Republicans in Congress last week revoked the state’s authority to set three of its mandates on electric vehicles and trucks, they saw it not just as a policy reversal but also as a statement that liberal California should be put in its place."
What escaped cuts during tight state budget year? Government IT projects
SacBee's WILLIAM MELHADO: "As lawmakers wade through a sea of budget cuts and make decisions about which state programs to slim down, several government technology projects managed to avoid the chopping block.
Meanwhile, Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed paring down other initiatives, like Medi-Cal expansion, to plug California’s $12 billion deficit. Historically, some California IT projects have run over budget and behind schedule. For example, FI$Cal, the state’s effort to build a comprehensive budget system, has been missing its target completion date for years."
Stan Atkinson, cornerstone of Sacramento broadcast news, dies at 92
SacBee's CAMILA PEDROSA: "Longtime Sacramento news anchor Stan Atkinson died on Sunday at the age of 92, Channel 3 (KCRA) and Channel 13 (KOVR) reported Monday morning.
For nearly three decades, Atkinson was a mainstay of Sacramento broadcast news, earning legend status for his boots-on-the-ground reporting on wars across the globe and his charitable work raising millions of dollars for organizations in the region. He spent 24 years at KCRA before moving to KOVR in 1994."
California Insurance Crisis – What Next?
Capitol Weekly Podcast, Special Episode: "This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at the California Insurance Crisis, which was held in Sacramento on Wednesday, May 14, 2025
This is Panel 3: What Next?, featuring Sen. Roger Niello; Alex Hall, UCLA; John Norwood, Norwood Associates; and Denni Ritter, American Property Casualty Insurance Association. Moderated by Rich Ehisen of Capitol Weekly
California schools see 9% surge in homeless students as funds decrease
EdSource's BETTY MARQUEZ ROSALES: "The number of students experiencing homelessness who were enrolled in California’s TK-12 public schools has jumped over 9% for yet another year, even as overall enrollment rates continue on a downward trend.
Nearly 20,000 more homeless students were enrolled by the first Wednesday in October, known as Census Day, during the 2024-25 school year. This increase represents a 9.3% change from the previous school year, and it means the homeless student population in the state has surged 37% in the last decade."
This Bay Area beach town is clamping down on parking ‘free-for-all’
Chronicle's SAM WHITING: "The tiny town of Bolinas on the Marin County coast, which has struggled for years to manage a crush of parking along its popular beach roads, is rolling out new restrictions that officials say are designed to balance the needs of visitors and residents — just in time for the busy summer season.
Starting in June, the town will impose its first residential parking permit system for overnight use, as well as a new restriction on oversize vehicles, on the two downtown streets that provide access to Bolinas Beach."
