Avocado spat with Mexico puts California farmers in spotlight
LAT, SAMANTHA MASUNAGA/LEILA MILLER/ERIN B. LOGAN: "A security spat between the U.S. and Mexico that threatens the avocado supply in the U.S. is putting the spotlight on California farmers, a major U.S. supplier of the fruit.
The U.S. on Friday suspended all avocado imports from Michoacán, the only Mexican state approved for avocado exports, after a U.S. plant inspector there received a threatening phone call.
California produces the majority of U.S.-grown avocados, meeting about 10% of the nation’s consumption. The rest is imported, mainly from Mexico, and farmers fear a prolonged ban could squeeze the market in a way they aren’t prepared to handle."
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s approval hobbled by crime fears, poll finds
LAT, PHIL WILLON: "Less than five months after Californians overwhelmingly rejected a recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom, voters are growing more dissatisfied with the governor, and a solid majority believe the state is headed in the wrong direction, according to a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.
Concerns about rising crime and California’s seemingly intractable homelessness crisis emerged as the top political undercurrents driving voter dissatisfaction, with most of those surveyed giving Newsom poor marks on how he has handled those issues. Californians praised Newsom’s ability to guide the state through the COVID-19 pandemic, but two-thirds believe the crisis is subsiding, diluting its effect on his overall job approval ratings, said Mark DiCamillo, director of the poll.
“You see a lot of changing going on in the public’s mind. I think they’re focusing less on COVID, more on the other long-standing issues that the state has been facing,” DiCamillo said. “The state has some major issues, and he’s the governor. The buck stops there.”"
Another extremist-driven California county recall is just getting started. Here’s where
JASON POHL and RYAN SABALOW, SacBee: “A successful Shasta County recall election backed by militia members, far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists looks a lot like what’s happening in another north state county.
In Nevada County, a group of activists allege that officials have overstepped their authority when it comes to COVID-19 contact tracing, lockdowns and other public health measures that “violated religious freedoms and individual liberty.”
They’re seeking to recall the five-member board for committing “crimes against humanity.”
California slips into its worst mega-drought in 1,200 years — it’s partly our fault
The Chronicle, KURTIS ALEXANDER: "The repeated droughts that have ravaged California and other Western states this century have cemented the past 22 years as the driest in the West in at least 1,200 years, a new study shows.
What the researchers are now calling a mega-drought, the period from 2000 to the present is unusual not only because of low levels of precipitation but skyrocketing temperatures in the face of climate change, a primary reason for the new, bleak distinction, according to the study.
While there’s no specific definition of mega-drought, the term refers to a prolonged stretch of dryness with crushing environmental and social ramifications. Previous mega-droughts are believed to have contributed to the fall of the Southwest’s Anasazi people and the wholesale shift of North America’s native civilizations."
San Francisco votes on city’s scandal-plagued school board
JOCEYLN GECKER, AP: "Another chapter opens in the saga of San Francisco’s scandal-plagued school board Tuesday as voters weigh in on whether to recall three members after a year of controversy that captured national attention.
For many parents, Tuesday’s special municipal election is a referendum on how the city’s school board managed the pandemic.
The recall effort stemmed from frustration felt by parents who say the board wasted its time on matters unrelated to the coronavirus instead of focusing on reopening San Francisco public schools. Most of the city’s 115 schools that serve 50,0000 students were closed for over a year, from March 2020 to August 2021, even as nearby districts eventually reopened classrooms and private schools across the city held in-person classes."
Regulators unveil wildfire safety plan. Will it fix rural California’s insurance crisis?
DALE KASLER, SacBee: “State regulators rolled out a “Safer from Wildfire” program Monday to encourage rural residents and business owners to gird their properties as a way of fixing the insurance crisis that’s plagued the Sierra foothills and other fire-prone areas of California the past few years.
The plan unveiled by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara is designed to entice traditional insurers back into rural markets by encouraging residents to retrofit their homes with fire-resilient roofs and double-paned windows, trim their trees and clear flammable debris from their yards and take other measures to “harden” their neighborhoods and communities against wildfire.
Tens of thousands of mostly-rural homeowners have been dropped by their insurance companies after a wave of mega-fires caused damages in the billions. They usually wind up paying two or three times as much for replacement coverage.”
UC Berkeley wants state Supreme Court to lift enrollment cap resulting from neighborhood group lawsuit
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "UC Berkeley is asking the state Supreme Court to block a judge’s order that required the school to freeze its enrollment while courts review an off-campus construction project opposed by neighborhood groups.
In a suit by a group called Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods challenging the university’s $126 million plan to build classrooms and faculty housing alongside the campus, an Alameda County Superior Court judge suspended the project in August and also ordered UC Berkeley to limit its 2022-23 enrollment to 42,237 undergraduates and graduate students, the level approved the previous year.
Judge Brad Seligman said UC Berkeley’s legally required study of the environmental impact of the construction project failed to mention the effects of increased enrollment on housing and homelessness in Berkeley’s poorest neighborhoods, as well as traffic, noise and increasing local costs for police, fire protection and health services."
UC Berkeley may be forced by court to cut 3,000 undergraduate seats, freeze enrollment
LAT, TERESA WATANABE: "UC Berkeley, one of the nation’s most highly sought after campuses, may be forced to slash its incoming fall 2022 class by one-third, or 3,050 seats, and forgo $57 million in lost tuition under a recent court order to freeze enrollment, the university announced Monday.
The university’s projected reduction in freshmen and transfer students came in response to a ruling last August by an Alameda County Superior Court judge who ordered an enrollment freeze and upheld a Berkeley neighborhood group’s lawsuit that challenged the environmental impact of the university’s expansion plan. Many neighbors are upset by the impact of enrollment growth on traffic, noise, housing prices and the natural environment.
The University of California Board of Regents appealed the ruling and asked that the order to freeze enrollment be stayed while the appellate process proceeds. Last week, an appellate court denied that request. The regents on Monday appealed that judgment to the California Supreme Court."
FPPC complaint alleges money laundering
ANDREW SHEELER, SacBee: “Two people have filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission, alleging that wealthy donors are concealing their support for a ballot initiative that would require a two-thirds majority for local governments and voter approval in order to levy new taxes.
Sandra Beltran, a registered nurse, and Cassondra Curiel, president of United Educators of San Francisco, allege that real estate mega-donors contribute money to the California Business Roundtable Issues PAC, which in turn sends the money to the Californians for Taxpayer Protection Committee, letting the donors avoid disclosure. “This practice constitutes campaign money laundering plain and simple.
The Fair Political Practices Commission must take immediate action to stop these violations of law. The Commission must conduct a full and thorough investigation of these practices to ensure the integrity of the public disclosure requirements,” according to the complaint, which was filed on Monday."
COVID in California: State to reevaluate school mask mandate
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI/DOMINIC FRACASSA/RITA BEAMISH: "The rate of new coronavirus cases appears to be leveling off just as health officials prepare to remove several COVID-19 safety measures. A former Levi’s executive said she resigned from the clothing company after facing pressure to end her public campaign against COVID school closures. Small businesses like bars and restaurants that opened during the pandemic still face an uphill battle, and fewer are opening across San Francisco.
California to reevaluate school mask requirements on Feb. 28: California will reevaluate masking requirements in K-12 public schools on Feb. 28, but school kids and staff must wear masks until then, the state’s top health officials said Monday. On Feb. 28 “with some specificity” officials will give “a date when the masking requirement will move to a recommendation” based on the community coronavirus case and vaccination rates at that time, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, in a COVID-19 media briefing.
“We anticipate making the change at that point. That change will be met with a lot of excitement from some, and fear in a lot of other circles.”
California lawmaker takes aim at plastic waste from online retailers
The Chronicle, DUSTIN GARDINER: "California lawmakers have already passed bills to reduce consumers’ reliance on plastic straws and shopping bags. Now, they’re taking aim at an even bigger source of plastic waste: online retailers.
State Assembly Member Laura Friedman, D-Glendale (Los Angeles County), unveiled a bill Monday that would require online retailers to stop shipping items in some common types of plastic packaging designed to be used once and tossed in the trash.
The amount of waste generated from online shopping — such as padded Amazon envelopes, bubble wrap and polystyrene peanuts — has soared during the coronavirus pandemic as more consumers become accustomed to ordering everyday purchases from home."
Caruso wants 1,500 more officers, says he’ll put company in a blind trust
LAT, BENJAMIN ORESKES: "If elected mayor, Rick Caruso said Monday he wants to add 1,500 officers to the Los Angeles Police Department and promised to put his businesses in a blind trust to avoid potential conflicts of interest while he served in office.
In his first interview with The Times since he entered the race last week, Caruso — the billionaire developer of the Grove and Palisades Village shopping centers — offered the first details of how he would seek to govern the city.
He was highly critical of current officeholders, many of whom he supported in the past, saying their policies have made the city a less hospitable place to start a business or raise a family."
Former Sacramento Police Chief Daniel Hahn on Stephon Clark, anger toward law enforcement
LAT, JUSTIN RAY: "Late last year, Sacramento’s first Black police chief, Daniel Hahn, announced that he would step down after four years in the position. The city subsequently revealed that he would be succeeded by Sacramento’s first female police chief, Kathy Lester, a 27-year veteran.
Hahn began working for the Sacramento Police Department as a community service officer in 1987, according to the Sacramento Bee. He eventually became a patrol officer and began his ascent. After working with teens at the department’s Criminal Justice Academy at Grant Union High School, he became a sergeant and later a captain managing the investigations unit.
In a conversation with The Times, he expressed joy at having had the opportunity to serve as the top cop in the city where he grew up. But he said there were tough times."
Supt. Alberto Carvalho won high marks in Miami, but can he move L.A. Unified forward?
LAT, PALOMA ESQUIVEL/HOWARD BLUME: "Late last year, Supt. Alberto Carvalho gathered with his Miami-Dade principals to review disappointing data on the impact of the pandemic on student learning.
Miami-Dade has long taken pride on its significant strides toward improving academic achievement. But the data showed big dips in English test scores and even bigger drops in math, particularly for students of color.
One of Carvalho’s biggest accomplishments during his 13-year tenure was being undermined. No school in recent years has gotten an F under Florida’s grading system for measuring school quality and only a few received Ds. Although Florida did not require school grades during the 2020-2021 school year, if marks had been given, nearly 40% of Miami-Dade schools would have gotten Ds and Fs, the district’s data showed."
Russia announces some troops pulling back as Western officials continue to warn of Ukraine invasion
AP, VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV/YURAS KARMANAU: "Russia said Tuesday that some units participating in military exercises would begin returning to their bases, adding to glimmers of hope that the Kremlin may not be planning to invade Ukraine imminently, though it gave no details on the pullback.
The announcement came a day after Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov indicated the country was ready to keep talking about the security grievances that led to the Ukraine crisis — changing the tenor after weeks of rising tensions. Still, Western officials continued to warn that an invasion could come at any moment and said some forces and military hardware were moving toward the border, muddying the picture.
It wasn’t immediately clear where exactly the troops that the Russian Defense Ministry said were pulling back were deployed or how many were leaving, making it hard to understand the significance. The announcement pushed world markets and the ruble up, but Ukraine’s leaders expressed skepticism."
California Attorney General puts county jails on notice over reproductive health care
YESENIA AMARO, SacBee: “The California Attorney General’s Office is taking action to make sure all county jails are providing reproductive health care, such as prenatal care, to inmates as required by state and federal laws.
The action follows recent allegations that Tulare County jails have deprived inmates of prenatal care after the ACLU of Northern California looked into the issue.
The Attorney General’s Office told The Bee the action is “part of an independent inquiry by the Attorney General to determine compliance with state reproductive health care laws.”
John Madden honored in public memorial at Oakland Coliseum
LAT, MATT KAWAHARA: "As the 49ers’ first-year head coach in 1997, Steve Mariucci sat in weekly pregame production meetings with television crews. Those with John Madden, Mariucci recalled, often took place on the “Madden Cruiser,” the eponymous bus where Mariucci first got to know the football icon.
“First impression: what you see is what you get,” Mariucci said. “You saw him coaching and you saw him doing his stuff up there in the booth and you saw him banging out of the paper for his commercials. And then he’s sitting there and it’s like, ‘This is that guy.’ He was fun to be around.”
The charisma Madden displayed as the Raiders’ Hall of Fame head coach and revered analyst was celebrated Monday night in a two-hour public memorial at the Oakland Coliseum, where Madden once stalked the sidelines, early in a career of arguably unequal impact on his sport."
