The mayor of San Diego is deciding whether to run for governor.
DAVID SIDERS with Politico: "San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has quietly started discussing a potential run for governor with advisers and prospective donors, according to a former Los Angeles mayor and sources familiar with Faulconer's deliberations."
"Faulconer, a Republican who said last year that he would not seek the governorship, remains hesitant, the sources said. But he is tentatively assessing how supportive GOP donors might be in a race that is widely expected to be won by a Democrat."
"Former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan told POLITICO California that Faulconer visited him in Los Angeles last month and told him he plans to run. Riordan, a moderate Republican who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2002, said Faulconer asked for his support but, “I don’t know him well enough to make that decision."
Meanwhile, a storm with the potential to bring California's worst flooding in over a decade is brewing over the Pacific ocean.
EVAN SERNOFFSKY with The Chronicle: "A menacing storm taking shape over the Pacific is poised to pound California this weekend, causing what could be the worst flooding in parts of the state in more than a decade, forecasters said."
"The atmospheric river of warm and highly concentrated water will begin to deliver its payload across the northern two-thirds of California on Saturday, overwhelming rivers, drenching urban areas and likely eviscerating much of the Sierra snowpack."
"But while drought-stressed California has begged for such soaking storms in recent years, the rain may do more harm than good — especially in the mountains — when it surges Sunday."
Speaking of storms, new climate data suggests that monster storms in California will triple over the next century.
MIKE MOFFITT with The Chronicle: "As forecasters predicted 12 inches or more of rain in parts of Northern California over the next week, MIT released a new study that warned that the state could expect the frequency of extreme storms to triple by the end of the century."
"Using a new technique, MIT researchers can now predict the frequency of local, extreme rainfall events by identifying telltale large-scale patterns in atmospheric data."
"An example of an "extreme storm" is the Dec. 11, 2014, "Pineapple Express" soaker that dumped 3 inches of rain on the Bay Area in one hour, causing flooding, power outages and mudslides."
READ MORE related to Environment: Yosemite's Merced River threatens to spill its banks -- EVAN SERNOFFSKY and STEVE RUBENSTEIN with The Chronicle
A new climate change model shows that the affects of global warming on ocean currents could be worse than previously thought.
CHELSEA HARVEY with WaPo: "Intense future climate change could have a far different impact on the world than current models predict, suggests a thought-provoking new study just out in the journal Science Advances. If atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations were to double in the future, it finds, a major ocean current — one that helps regulate climate and weather patterns all over the world — could collapse. And that could paint a very different picture of the future than what we’ve assumed so far."
"The Atlantic meridional overturning circulation, or AMOC, is often described as a large oceanic conveyor belt. It’s a system of water currents that transports warm water northward from the Atlantic toward the Arctic, contributing to the mild climate conditions found in places like Western Europe. In the Northern Atlantic, the northward flowing surface water eventually cools and sinks down toward the bottom of the ocean, and another current brings that cooler water back down south again. The whole process is part of a much larger system of overturning currents that circulates all over the world, from pole to pole."
"But some scientists have begun to worry that the AMOC isn’t accurately represented in current climate models. They say that many models portray the current as being more stable than real-life observations suggest it actually is. Recent studies have suggested that the AMOC is weakening, although there’s some scientific debate about how much of this has been caused by human activities and how much by natural variations."
The looming Obamacare repeal could spell disaster for some Trump voters in California.
JOE GAROFOLI with The Chronicle: "As Republicans in Congress start dismantling Obamacare, they run the risk of hurting a particularly vulnerable population in California: a whole lot of people who voted for Donald Trump."
"In 49 of the state’s 58 counties, nearly 1 in 4 residents is enrolled in Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program, which the Affordable Care Act helped to expand, according to a study by the nonpartisan California Budget and Policy Center."
"On election day, Trump won eight of the 15 counties with the highest percentage of Medi-Cal clients. Places like Kern and Tulare counties, which are far from the wealthy — and largely Democratic — coastal areas that have benefited from the tech-driven recovery."
Farmers in California are figuring out how to prepare for the incoming immigration hardline.
SCOTT SMITH with AP: "Days after Donald Trump won the White House vowing to deport millions of people in the country illegally and fortify the Mexican border, California farmer Kevin Herman ordered nearly $600,000 in new equipment, cutting the number of workers he'll need starting with the next harvest."
"Herman, who grows figs, persimmons and almonds in the nation's most productive farming state, said Trump's comments pushed him to make the purchase, larger than he would have otherwise."
"No doubt about it," Herman said. "I probably wouldn't have spent as much or bought as much machinery as I did."
Retail giant Macy's is facing a tumultuous time.
SHAN LI with LAT: "After a disappointing holiday season, Macy’s said it is cutting more than 10,000 jobs and going ahead with plans to close 68 stores — including locations in San Diego and Santa Barbara."
"The department store chain reported Wednesday that same-store sales in November and December dropped 2.1% compared to the same period a year earlier. Macy’s also lowered its full-year earnings guidance to $2.95 to $3.10 per share, down from a previous forecast of $3.15 to $3.40."
"Terry J. Lundgren, chief executive of Macy’s, said the company “had anticipated sales would be stronger."
School districts wrestle with sanctuary policies and the incoming Trump administration.
ZAIDEE STAVELY with KQED:"At their neighborhood park in Oakland, Marina Morales and her five-year-old daughter, Ruby, look for water insects in the creek and then test the bells on a playground structure."
"Ruby is a typical kindergartner: she’s curious about everything. After the election, Morales says her daughter had a lot of questions for her about whether President-elect Donald Trump could do anything to separate their family. Ruby was born here and is a U.S. citizen. But her mother is from Guatemala and has been living in California for nine years without immigration documents."
"Morales says when she dropped her daughter off at school the day after the November election, it was clear a lot of families were worried, especially since the president-elect made promises to deport thousands of undocumented immigrants and ban some Muslims from entering the country."
READ MORE related to Immigration: California House Democrats are taking a wait-and-see approach on Trump's plan for Dreamers -- SARAH D. WIRE with LAT
A California lawmaker is pushing forth legislation that would bump the presidential primary up by 3 months.
CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO with Sacramento Bee: "With his party solidly out of power in Washington, a Democratic state lawmaker said he plans to introduce a bill that would again move up the presidential primary in California."
"Assemblyman Kevin Mullin of South San Francisco said his legislation would bump up the state’s 2020 presidential primary from June to March. Mullin announced his intentions on Twitter, about six months after President-elect Donald Trump won what was essentially an unopposed primary in California."
"Democrat Hillary Clinton was well on her way to vanquishing Bernie Sanders by the time June rolled around, despite the senator’s late burst of activity here."
Finally, here's a little primer on the ins and outs of the Capitol political scene as we begin 2017.
CHUCK MCFADDEN with Capitol Weekly: "Okay, 2016 is now history, and many of us are saying “Good Riddance!”
"But 2017 has arrived, with its attendant challenges and changes, right? And to succeed, the smart Capitol denizen must become acquainted with 2017’s ins and outs — the land mines, the pitfalls and the Ways To Take Advantage."
"To that end, Capitol Weekly kindly allowed me to provide guidelines on how to become an au courant political type for the next 12 months in Deep Blue California. Follow them, and you won’t be caught looking like some red-state denizen who thinks “organic” has something to do with the music at funerals."
