Fast-moving atmospheric river storm, capable of heavy rain, rolling toward California
LAT, RONG-GONG LIN II: "A fast-moving atmospheric river is heading toward California this week and could pack a punch, with the possibility of periods of heavy rain, and a risk of flooding and debris flows in recently burned areas.
After arriving in Northern California on Wednesday, the storm system is expected to land in Southern California on Thursday."
READ MORE -- First major snow of the season expected as atmospheric river targets California -- Chronicle, GREG PORTER
Senate approves shutdown deal as Democrats balk at lack of healthcare relief
LAT, ANA CABELLOS/MICHAEL WILNER: "The Senate gave final approval Monday night to a deal that could end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, sending it to the House, where Democrats are launching a last-ditch effort to block the measure because it does not address healthcare costs.
Senators approved the shutdown deal on a 60-40 vote, a day after Senate Republicans reached a deal with eight senators who caucus with Democrats. The movement in the Senate prompted Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) earlier on Monday to urge House members to start making their way back to Washington, anticipating that the chamber will be ready to vote on the bill later in the week."
Leases for VA land are millions of dollars under market value, Trump administration says
LAT, DOUG SMITH: "UCLA, the private Brentwood School and a parking company are collectively paying only about $2.3 million annually to lease land with a market value of more than $48 million on the Department of Veterans Affairs West Los Angeles campus, the Trump administration concluded in a new report.
The report, filed with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday, indicates a shift in the VA’s opposition to portions of a federal judge’s ruling last year that nullified those leases and ordered about 2,500 units of temporary and permanent housing to be built on the 388-acre campus."
Christine Pelosi announces she’s running for office — but not for Nancy Pelosi’s House seat
Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "Christine Pelosi, the daughter of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, will run for the state Senate, she announced Monday.
Pelosi had long been a rumored contender to replace her mother in the House when she retired. Nancy Pelosi announced last week that she will not seek reelection in 2026 after serving 20 terms in Congress. Instead, Christine Pelosi will seek the seat currently held by state Sen. Scott Wiener, whose term does not expire until 2028 but who is one of the contenders to replace Nancy Pelosi in Congress in 2026. If he wins, the seat would be open."
Mayor Lurie’s pick for Sunset supervisor ran pet shop that ‘smelled like death,’ new owner says
Chronicle, KO LYN CHEANG/MICHAEL BARBA: "When Mayor Daniel Lurie appointed Supervisor Beya Alcaraz to represent San Francisco’s Sunset District last week, he touted her experience running what he called “the neighborhood’s most beloved pet shop” as a pivotal part of her résumé.
The 29-year-old, who has also worked as an after-school music and art teacher, has never held elected office and has had limited involvement in community organizing."
East Bay Regional Parks top official resigns, citing pressure to break laws
Chronicle, KATE TALERICO: "Sabrina Landreth, general manager of the East Bay Regional Park District and a veteran Bay Area administrator, resigned Nov. 6, saying the district’s elected board had pressured her to take actions that would have violated open government and personnel laws.
Her departure capped weeks of growing tensions between the district’s staff and its elected oversight board, who have been at odds over the hiring of a new board clerk, a major internal reorganization, and complaints from employees over the district’s return-to-office policy. The events mark an unusually turbulent period for the district that manages 126,000 acres of parks and open space across Alameda and Contra Costa counties and bills itself as the largest regional park system in the country."
Baby formula sold at Whole Foods, Target and Amazon recalled after FDA warning
Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "Baby formula maker ByHeart has voluntarily recalled two batches of its powdered infant formula after federal officials linked the product to a multistate investigation into infant botulism.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said Friday that 13 cases of infant botulism have been reported across 10 states — including California — since August, all involving babies who consumed ByHeart’s Whole Nutrition Infant Formula."
As tuition keeps increasing, UC students want a bigger say on the Board of Regents
CALMatters, KHADEEJAH KHAN/PHOEBE HUSS: "The University of California serves 300,000 students, yet only one of the two students on the 26-member Board of Regents is allowed to vote. Now, student leaders are campaigning for a second vote, saying it would better ensure that UC policy reflects all students.
Regents are the top decision-makers of the UC system, and set policies for all campuses, including tuition increases. When one student has to represent the wishes of the entire student population, some feel other perspectives miss out. Last year, when one student regent voted in favor of raising nonresident tuition, the other student regent disagreed, but couldn’t vote on it."
You got accepted and didn’t even apply? Why college ‘direct admission’ is growing nationally
LAT, MICHAEL BURKE: "Hannah Halverson’s decision on where to attend college next fall is shaping up to be an easy one.
A senior at Rogers High School in a northwest suburb of Minneapolis, she was already interested in Minnesota State University, Mankato, when she received an email last month announcing that she had been admitted — before she even applied."
Newsom brings California to the heart of the Amazon — and the U.N. climate conference
CALMatters, ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE/ALEJANDRO LAZO: "California likes to think of itself as a nation — and this week, it’s acting like one. Gov. Gavin Newsom, top state officials and legislators are leading a delegation to the United Nations’ 30th Conference of Parties this week in Belém, a gateway to Brazil’s Amazon region.
The state has no seat in the rooms where nations will negotiate their commitments under international law to curbing greenhouse gases. But California and the governor are there anyway, to project his and the state’s climate message onto the global stage."
Colorado River talks hit crunch time. What’s at stake for California water?
CALMatters, RACHEL BECKER: "The clock is ticking down to a federal deadline Tuesday for California and six other Western states to reach the broad strokes of a deal portioning out supplies from the parched Colorado River.
Officials at the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the federal stewards for the river under the Department of the Interior, have threatened to impose their own plan if the states can’t agree how to manage the river after 2026, when the river’s current rulebook expires."
LAFD knew of firefighter complaints about Lachman mop-up and said nothing
LAT, PAUL PRINGLE/ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN: "For months, as victims pleaded for information, the Los Angeles Fire Department kept secret that its firefighters were ordered to stop mop-up operations on a small brushfire that continued to smolder and reignited days later into the massive Palisades fire.
At least one department official learned that a battalion chief had directed the firefighters to pack up their hoses and leave the scene of the Lachman fire Jan. 2, even though they complained that the ground was still smoking in places and rocks remained hot to the touch, according to a source who was briefed on the matter in June."
The Bay Area’s ‘Little Kabul’ once welcomed Afghan refugees. Federal cuts are changing that
Chronicle, HYEYOON CHO: "When Khaterah Dayim fled political turmoil in Afghanistan and arrived in the U.S. in 2021, a Bay Area resettlement agency was here to help.
The nonprofit Jewish Family & Community Services East Bay found Dayim’s family an apartment; paid for four months of rent; enrolled her children in school; and helped her get food stamps."
What it’s like to live in the Bay Area neighborhood that’s aging the fastest
Chronicle, CONNOR LETOURNEAU: "Thousand Oaks, a leafy neighborhood nestled into the base of the Berkeley hills, boasts views of the Golden Gate Bridge, shingled lodges designed by well-known architects and serpentine streets lined with massive granite boulders.
Such scenery helps mask a growing problem: Thousand Oaks has gotten old. From 1980 to 2023, the median age climbed from 37 to 55, turning this tree-lined pocket of North Berkeley into one of the nation’s oldest urban neighborhoods without a nursing home or retirement community. A third of Thousand Oaks’ roughly 7,500 residents are now at retirement age."
California Supreme Court strikes down warning on LAPD citizen complaint forms
CALMatters, NIGEL DUARA: "A warning that people see before filing complaints against Los Angeles police officers creates a barrier to free speech, the California Supreme Court ruled today in a long-running lawsuit over the language.
The high court ruled 6-1 in favor of the city of Los Angeles and against the union that represents its police officers in finding that the admonishment describing penalties for filing false has the potential to deter “citizens from filing truthful (or at least not knowingly false) complaints of police misconduct”."
READ MORE -- California Supreme Court overturns law against filing false police misconduct complaints -- Chronicle, BOB EGELKO
