First-ever California offshore wind auction nets $402 million — so far
CALMatters, NADIA LOPEZ: "The first auction for leases to build massive wind farms off California’s coast netted bids reaching $402.1 million today, signaling the beginning of a competitive market for a new industry producing carbon-free electricity.
The auction — the first on the West Coast — includes five sites about 20 miles off Morro Bay and Humboldt County, totaling 583 square miles of deep ocean waters. The leases from the federal government are the first step in a years-long regulatory process that could culminate in the nation’s first commercial-scale floating wind turbines off California’s coast.
After 20 rounds of bidding, today’s top bid stood at $100.3 million for a 125-square-mile area off Morro Bay, while the lowest leading bid so far is $62.7 million for a 98-square-mile area off the coast of Humboldt County. Bidding will resume on Wednesday at 7 a.m and winners will be released that afternoon."
California announces plan to close more prisons, including its last private facility
The Chronicle, STAFF: "As California’s prison population continues to decline under court order, state officials announced plans Tuesday to close two more prisons, including the only remaining facility owned by a private contractor.
The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said the California City Correctional Facility, in Kern County, will shut down in March 2024 when the state’s $32 million-a-year contract with CoreCivic expires. The all-male prison now holds 1,893 inmates, 8.8% above its designed capacity.
The department also said it would begin steps to close Chuckawalla Valley State Prison in Blythe (Riverside County) by March 2025. The medium-security male facility holds 2,039 inmates, 17.3% above its designed capacity. In addition, the department said, during 2023 it plans to close the women’s section of Folsom State Prison in Sacramento County and parts of the prisons at Pelican Bay (Del Norte County), the California Men’s Colony in San Luis Obispo, the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco (Riverside County), the California Institution for Men in Chino (San Bernardino County), and the California Correctional Institution in Tehachapi (Kern County). Their inmates will be transferred to other prisons after the closures."
S.F. halts ‘killer robots’ police policy after huge backlash — for now
The Chronicle, JD MORRIS: "San Francisco supervisors have walked back their approval of a controversial policy that would have allowed police to kill suspects with robots in extreme cases.
Instead of granting final authorization to the policy Tuesday in its second of two required votes, the Board of Supervisors reversed course and voted 8-3 to explicitly prohibit police from using remote-controlled robots with lethal force.
It was a rare step: The board’s second votes on local laws are typically formalities that don’t change anything."
New blood, Big Oil: California Legislature starts special session
CALMatters, ALEXEI KOSEFF/SAMEEA KAMAL: "California regulators would cap the profit margin for oil refiners and could fine companies that exceed that limit under a proposal announced Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the latest escalation in his battle with the oil industry over a summer of record gas prices.
Newsom unveiled the measure, which does not yet include key details such as how much profit oil refiners would be allowed or the size of possible fines, on the same day that newly-elected legislators arrived in Sacramento to be sworn in — and to declare a special session to consider the plan that the governor has dubbed a “price gouging penalty.”
In brief remarks to reporters at the state Capitol, Newsom said the fines would act as a deterrent to future price spikes. He said he would take the next month or more to fill in the blanks of the bill, in consultation with lawmakers, who are set to reconvene Jan. 4 to begin the new session in earnest."
Warnock defeats Walker in Georgia runoff, giving Democrats a 51-seat Senate majority
LA Times, JENNY JARVIE: "Democratic incumbent Raphael Warnock defeated Republican Herschel Walker on Tuesday in Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff, securing a 51st seat for his party in Congress’ upper chamber and giving it greater power to push its agenda in a closely divided Washington.
The Associated Press projected Warnock as the winner Tuesday night, though official results will take longer.
Warnock’s victory means Senate Democrats — as long as they vote in unity — will no longer need to rely on Vice President Kamala Harris to cast tiebreaking votes. It also lessens the ability of moderate Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona to block or soften legislation, as they’ve done in the current Congress."
Recall effort against L.A. Councilman Kevin de León is cleared to gather signatures
LA Times, CITY NEWS SERVICE: "A recall petition against City Councilmember Kevin de León was approved by the Los Angeles city clerk Tuesday, allowing organizers to begin collecting signatures.
To qualify for the ballot, organizers must collect 20,437 signatures from registered voters of the 14th Council District by March 31, according to the city clerk’s office.
Notice of intent to recall De León was filed in October by five residents of the 14th District, including Pauline Adkins, who led two prior unsuccessful recall attempts of De León."
Controversial plan that could replace longtime S.F. elections chief blocked by Mayor Breed and supervisors
The Chronicle, MALLORY MOENCH: "San Francisco supervisors and Mayor London Breed don’t always agree.
But right now, they’re unanimously united behind longtime elections Director John Arntz, threatened with losing his job after 20 years. The mayor and the Board of Supervisors are both refusing to give money to the city’s Elections Commission to conduct a search to consider other candidates."
Chico councilors, new and old, sworn in
Chico ER, JAKE HUTCHISON: "The Chico City Council held its swearing-in ceremony Tuesday night, welcoming in two new and two reelected members while providing send-offs to those leaving their seats.
New councilors Addison Winslow and Tom van Overbeek, along with returning members Kasey Reynolds and Dale Bennett, were sworn into their positions and given seats among the others Tuesday night to an audience of family, friends and colleagues, all of whom cheered and clapped as they were officially given their titles.
Before the swearing-in, however, councilors Alex Brown and Mike O’Brien received send-offs as they departed from their previously held seats. Each received certificates of achievement."
L.A. County facing a full-blown coronavirus surge as cases double, deaths rise
LA Times, LUKE MONEY/RONG-GONG LIN II: "Los Angeles County appears in the midst of another full-blown coronavirus surge, with cases doubling since Thanksgiving.
The spike — which partially captures but likely does not fully reflect exposures over the Thanksgiving holiday — is prompting increasingly urgent calls for residents to get up to date on their vaccines and consider taking other preventive steps to stymie viral transmission and severe illness.
Also on the rise is the number of coronavirus-positive patients being cared for in hospitals, sparking concerns about renewed stress on the region’s healthcare system and raising the specter of an indoor public mask mandate if the trends continue, possibly shortly after New Year’s Day."
COVID levels are ‘skyrocketing’ in Bay Area wastewater. Is the surge here?
The Chronicle, AIDIN VAZIRI: "The Bay Area is experiencing another sharp spike in the coronavirus, as wastewater samples from the region’s sewer sheds show a new COVID-19 surge is already under way and could soon surpass the previous winter wave in the number of people who get infected.
“We remember that the last two winters have been extraordinarily difficult. I, unfortunately, need to tell you that this winter is shaping up to be no different,” Dr. Sara Cody, the health officer for Santa Clara County, said at a Tuesday press briefing. “Our wastewater numbers are absolutely skyrocketing.”"
As a sacred minnow nears extinction, Native Americans of Clear Lake call for bold plan
LA Times, LOUIS SAHAGUN: "Spring runs of a large minnow numbering in the millions have nourished Pomo Indians since they first made their home alongside Northern California’s Clear Lake more than 400 generations ago.
The Clear Lake hitch glinted like silver dollars as they headed up the lake’s tributaries to spawn, a reliable squirming crop of plenty, steeped in history and tasty when salted and dried like jerky.
In all that time, the hitch’s domain, about 110 miles northwest of Sacramento, had never suffered the degradation of recent years."
Los Angeles County seeks flood control improvements in face of climate change
LA Times, LOUIS SAHAGUN: "Catastrophic flooding prompted civic leaders and engineers a century ago to begin taming the Los Angeles Basin’s rambunctious rivers with dams, storm drains and concrete.
Now, scientists warn that, in a warming world, the region can expect an increase in epic downpours that could rapidly overwhelm its aging flood control system, unleashing floodwaters across low-lying working-class communities.
On Tuesday, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion calling on the Department of Public Works to prepare a report on the viability of existing flood control infrastructure, as well as plans for reducing flood risks and making disadvantaged communities more resilient."
A look into the land use of Valley’s Edge
Chico ER, JAKE HUTCHISON: "Valley’s Edge, the largest development project Chico has seen, got a 5-2 recommendation last week from the planning commission and seems to be on its way to becoming a reality.
The plan, which is about 14 years in the making, came from developer Bill Brouhard who began looking into a potential development for the site when he was in his 40s. Now, at 64, he is very candid about his mortality and how he likely won’t see it ever come to fruition, even if it is greenlit all the way to the end.
It’s clear when driving around the sprawling 1,448 acres of Chico wildlands in his golf cart that Brouhard enjoys talking about his project and imagining it between the shallow creeks and groves of oak trees. He says the vast majority of oaks will be kept in place and that streams will remain untouched with a few exceptions for culverts."
Students fear losing aid as grades are withheld during strike
EdSource, MICHAEL BURKE: "The strike by University California academic workers may soon hit some undergraduates in a vulnerable spot: their grades.
With the strike in its fourth week and no end in sight, faculty across the system are now planning to withhold tens of thousands of grades this fall in solidarity with those workers. That could have significant and dire implications for some undergraduates, such as those who need a certain grade point average to maintain federal financial aid and students planning to graduate this fall or soon apply to graduate school.
Allie Jones, a senior at UC Santa Barbara double majoring in English and philosophy, relies on her grade point average to keep her financial aid. She is confident she’ll keep her aid in the long run, but she’s yet to receive clear guidance and is concerned it could be temporarily withheld. That’s problematic because she relies on that federal aid to pay for her off-campus housing."
Stanford president: ‘The data were correct and accurately presented’
BANG*Mercury News, LISA M KRIEGER: "Stanford University president Marc Tessier-Lavigne made his first major public statement on Monday since accusations of possible research misconduct surfaced, saying that he believed in the accuracy of contested data in papers he co-authored.
“I am dedicated to the rigorous pursuit of the truth,” said Tessier-Lavigne, in a letter to Stanford faculty. “The integrity of my work is of paramount importance to me, and I take any concerns that are expressed very seriously.”
“I want to be clear that I have never submitted a paper without firmly believing that the data were correct and accurately presented,” he said in the statement. “I also want to be clear that I take responsibility for any concerns that arise with respect to any work with which I have been involved.”"
UAW academic workers stage sit-ins at California Hall, enter Wheeler Hall
Daily Californian, CHRISSA OLSON/NATASHA KAYE: "Week three of the UAW strike came to a head with sit-ins at California Hall, when 150 academic workers occupied the building from Thursday morning to Friday afternoon, according to campus spokesperson Janet Gilmore.
The picketers sat outside of Chancellor Carol Christ’s office in protest while a small police presence stayed inside California Hall overnight, blocking the doors to everyone attempting to enter the building. The protestors equipped themselves with sleeping bags and other gear to last the night, according to graduate student Roshanak Gonzalez, who spent the night inside California Hall.
Strikers sitting in a window west of California Hall said they developed ways for obtaining food and supplies."
California’s economy continues to grow. How would a recession affect it?
Sac Bee, DAVID LIGHTMAN: "A national recession would have a milder impact on California than the rest of the nation, a new UCLA Anderson School economic forecast said Wednesday.
“In the recession scenario, the California economy declines, but by less than the U.S.,” said Jerry Nickelsburg, forecast director, thanks, in part, to continued growth in the state’s technology and logistics areas.
The Federal Reserve is seen as having a strong affect on the economy’s future. The Fed has been raising its key interest rate throughout this year, and expects to do so again next week, as it attempts to ease inflation."
S.F. officials investigating allegedly illegal bedrooms at Twitter HQ, as Elon Musk criticizes Mayor Breed
The Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "San Francisco officials are investigating a complaint alleging that Twitter illegally converted part of its headquarters into bedrooms.
The complaint was filed to the city’s 311 service by a user on the social media network itself, after Forbes reported that some conference rooms had been converted into “modest bedrooms featuring unmade mattresses, drab curtains and giant conference-room telepresence monitors.
Unnamed Twitter employees told Forbes that an estimated four to eight bedrooms per floor were installed in the 1355 Market St. building. The Chronicle was unable to independently verify the claims. City records show that there have been no applications to convert any of portion of the building to residential use.”"
Amazon Studios unveils massive virtual production stage, deepening ties to Culver City
LA Times, ANOUSHA SAKOUI/WENDY LEE: "On Monday evening, filmmakers, directors and special effects artists ate shrimp cocktails and miso salmon as they wandered around Amazon Studios’ new 34,000-square-foot virtual production stage in Culver City.
Among them was director Reggie Hudlin, whose holiday comedy “Candy Cane Lane” starring Eddie Murphy will be the first movie to shoot on the stage. He cut a red ribbon with oversize scissors to formally open the studio Monday.
Stage 15, built in 1940 and once the home to movies like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “RoboCop,” has been transformed into the largest virtual production stage in Los Angeles."
Women say exes used Apple AirTags as ‘weapon of choice’ to stalk them. They’re suing
Sac Bee, JULIA MARNIN: "After a woman broke up with her boyfriend of three months, he started harassing her online before using Apple AirTags to stalk her, she says.
One day, the Texas woman received an iPhone notification alerting her to an unknown Apple AirTag nearby — and later found the device planted on her car near one of her tires, according to a new federal lawsuit. The AirTag, which is white and silver, was colored in with a Sharpie and tied up inside a plastic bag."
S.F. tourism spending expected to almost double in 2022 as pandemic eases
The Chronicle, ROLAND LI: "San Francisco tourism spending is expected to nearly double in 2022, rising 89% to $6.7 billion from $3.6 billion in 2021, a sign of a partial economic recovery as the pandemic has eased.
The forecast from San Francisco Travel, the city’s tourism bureau, follows numerous large events that helped fill hotel rooms and restaurants. Fall events included the 40,000-person Dreamforce conference, the biggest since the start of the pandemic; the sold out League of Legends Championship finals at Chase Center; and major music events like Portola Festival.
Spending levels are only about two thirds of 2019’s record $10 billion, but are much improved from 2020’s $2.8 billion in spending."
Tech firms plan more Bay Area job cuts: Juul Labs, Astra Space, Intel
BANG*Mercury News, GEORGE AVALOS: "Tech companies are eyeing layoffs that will eliminate the jobs of hundreds of Bay Area workers, a new round of terminations poised to jolt the region’s employment sector.
All told, tech companies have decided to chop 270 more Bay Area jobs, according to official notices that the firms sent to the state labor agency.
The tech and biotech job cuts in the Bay Area: an estimated 7,959 in October, November and December, according to this news organization’s review of numerous WARN letters to the state Employment Development Department."
Building homes in ‘God’s backyard’: New bill would permit housing at California’s churches, mosques and synagogues
BANG*Mercury News, MARISA KENDALL: "Seeking to ease the housing crisis by building homes in “God’s backyard,” a new bill would allow California churches, synagogues, mosques and other religious institutions to build affordable housing on their properties — even if the land isn’t zoned for residential use.
Just one day after the start of the new legislative session, Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced Senate Bill 4 — the “Affordable Housing on Faith Lands Act.” The bill would remove red tape for religious groups and nonprofit colleges that want to build low-income housing, making them immune to certain lawsuits, appeals and denials as they go through the permitting process.
As the housing shortage continues to price people out of the overpriced market, Bay Area places of worship have shown growing interest in converting unused property — such as parking lots they don’t need — into homes. Churches such as St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Walnut Creek have built low-income apartments on their land. Others, such as First Presbyterian Church of Hayward, have created tiny home communities for homeless residents. Supporters have dubbed the movement “YIGBY,” or “yes in God’s backyard.”"
Alameda County stops short of setting national standard on housing
The Chronicle, SHWANIKA NARAYAN: "Alameda County stopped just short Tuesday of setting a national standard on housing access.
Following a five-hour hearing, the Board of Supervisors postponed to Dec. 20 a decision that could’ve made it the first county in the U.S. to ban landlords from conducting criminal background checks on prospective tenants."
Santa Clara County sheriff-elect Bob Jonsen will take office early after Board of Supervisors vote
BANG*Mercury News, AUSTIN TURNER/JAKOB RODGERS: "Less than six weeks after his predecessor resigned during a corruption scandal, sheriff-elect Robert “Bob” Jonsen was appointed to take the position a month earlier than expected after a vote Tuesday by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.
Jonsen, who was elected last month with 50.81% of the vote, will assume the title of interim sheriff this week before he’s sworn in as the county’s top law enforcement officer on Jan. 2. The retired Palo Alto police chief and former Los Angeles County Sheriff’s captain will become the first new sheriff in Santa Clara County since 1998.
“We are not here choosing who the sheriff is going to be. The voters have cast the votes to choose a new sheriff for Santa Clara County and currently we do not have an elected sheriff,” said Supervisor Otto Lee, who represents District 3. “There is a lot of healing to repair the distractions that need to happen in the Sheriff’s Office and the sheriff-elect should be given the opportunity to start that healing now.”"
‘Catfishing’ Virginia cop who killed California family was detained in 2016 after violent threats
LA Times, ERIN B. LOGAN/SUMMER LIN/GRACE TOOHEY: "The Virginia police officer who “catfished” a 15-year-old California girl online and killed her mother and grandparents was detained for psychiatric evaluation in 2016 after threatening to kill himself and his father and experiencing relationship troubles with his girlfriend, according to a police report obtained by the Los Angeles Times.
The 2016 incident, which has not been previously reported, raises new questions about how Austin Lee Edwards became a law enforcement officer and offers details about his life. Authorities in Virginia have said they were shocked by the California rampage and knew of no red flags in Edwards’ background.
Edwards, 28, a former Virginia state cop who in November joined the sheriff’s office in Washington County, Va., as a deputy, portrayed himself as a 17-year-old while communicating with the girl online, according to Riverside police. Last month, he drove across the country to her home in Riverside, where he killed her mother and grandparents before setting fire to the house and driving away with the girl."
Former Cal Fire division chief resigns from new job, employer says criminal charges loom
Sac Bee, ROBERT RODRIGUEZ: "Mark Lawson, a former Cal Fire division chief in Merced County, has resigned from his job as the newly-hired fire chief in Sparks, Nevada after city officials there said they’ve become aware of “serious criminal charges” expected to be filed against him.
Lawson was hired by the City of Sparks on Nov. 28 after a 30-plus year career in the fire service, including serving as assistant chief/division chief of operations for the Cal Fire Madera-Mariposa-Merced Unit.
He resigned on Monday after meeting with Neil Krutz, the Sparks city manager. The fire chief’s job paid, $200,000 plus benefits, according to the Reno Gazette Journal."
‘Brazen’ intruder with rifle shot at police station, CA cops say. ‘It’s got to stop’
Sac Bee, DON SWEENEY: "A Rialto officer shot an intruder armed with a rifle who followed his patrol vehicle into a secure police station parking lot, California authorities reported.
The “brazen armed assault” took place at 4:27 p.m. Monday, Dec. 5, Police Chief Mark Kling said in a video press briefing posted on Twitter.
Security video posted with the briefing shows the patrol vehicle entering the fenced parking lot, followed by a black Dodge Charger."
Man accused of threatening Sacramento women leaders wants criminal case to move quickly
Sac Bee, ROSALIO AHUMADA: "The man accused of threatening Sacramento city leaders appeared in court Tuesday and asked a judge to schedule a hearing for attorneys to present evidence and testimony in his criminal case as soon as possible.
Alexander Francis Hoch, 37, is accused of threatening City Councilwomen Katie Valenzuela and Mai Vang and City Councilwoman-elect Karina Talamantes, who at the time worked for outgoing Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, who was elected to the State Senate in November’s election.
Tuesday’s hearing was intended for the court to determine whether it should set a bail amount for Hoch, who has been held without bail at the Sacramento County Main Jail for more than three weeks. Instead, Hoch asked for a preliminary hearing to be scheduled within 10 court days."
S.F. Slow Streets are here to stay after transportation board approves plan
The Chronicle, JORDAN PARKER: "Roughly half the Slow Streets instituted in San Francisco early in the pandemic are here to stay — including the hotly-debated Lake Street — after a vote by the city’s Municipal Transportation Agency Tuesday night.
Slow Streets became popular at the beginning of the pandemic as a way to give residents space to recreate while social distancing as well as a way to deter car traffic in some corridors. The city originally installed 31 Slow Streets but the transportation agencydecided on keeping 15 that were “within the acceptable range of traffic volumes and speeds, lack conflicts (with) other street uses, are supported by their surrounding communities, and provide important connections to the citywide active transportation network.”
The board on Tuesday night also decided to add Lake Street to the Slow Street program — from 28th Avenue to Arguello Blvd. The board had decided in August 2021 to make Slow Lake Street permanent but reversed that decision because it said subsequent community feedback “was so divided that MTA staff were unable to determine a path forward for this corridor.”"
Trump Organization convicted in executive tax dodge scheme
AP, MICHAEL R. SISAK: "Donald Trump’s company was convicted of tax fraud Tuesday for helping executives dodge taxes on lavish perks such as Manhattan apartments and luxury cars, in a significant repudiation of financial practices at the former president’s business.
A jury found two corporate entities at the Trump Organization guilty on all 17 counts, including conspiracy and falsification of business records. Trump was not on trial. The verdict came on the second day of deliberations.
The conviction is a validation for New York prosecutors who have spent three years investigating the former president and his businesses."
Coroner says Anne Heche wasn’t under influence of drugs or alcohol when she crashed
LA Times, CHRISTIE D'ZURILLA: "Anne Heche was not impaired by alcohol or any substance at the time of her death, according to a new report from the L.A. County Medical Examiner-Coroner office that was reviewed Tuesday by The Times.
However, a blood sample drawn in the emergency room did show the presence of an inactive cocaine metabolite, the report said, indicating that the actor had used the drug in the days before her death.
Evidence of cannabinoids and benzodiazepine were found in a urine sample taken after she was admitted to the hospital, indicating that she had also used those drugs in recent days, but did not appear in the blood sample. Fentanyl was also present in the urine sample, but that was consistent with the drug being administered in the hospital for pain."
38 women accuse James Toback of sexual misconduct in new lawsuit
LA Times, GLENN WHIPP: "Five years after a Times investigation into sexual harassment allegations against James Toback, 38 women filed a joint lawsuit against the filmmaker on Monday claiming sexual misconduct.
The suit was filed in New York Supreme Court in Manhattan under the Adult Survivors Act, a recently passed state law that opens a one-year window for survivors of sexual assault to file civil lawsuits against their abusers or their estates and any institutions that may have protected the accused by ignoring or encouraging an environment that allowed the assaults to occur.
The Harvard Club of New York City, a private venue for Harvard University alumni where the suit alleges Toback met several of the women, is also named as a defendant."
