LAT, NICOLE NIXON: "Two years after Huntington Beach residents voted to effectively ban Pride flags from being displayed on city property, the conservative coastal city could be represented by a gay member of Congress and outspoken critic of President Trump — Rep. Robert Garcia.
That twist of fate came after last year’s unprecedented mid-decade rejiggering of California’s congressional districts."
LAT, ANA EBALLOS/KEVIN RECTOR: "The U.S. and Israeli war against Iran entered its ninth day Sunday with no clear path toward de-escalation, as the U.S. announced a seventh American service member had been killed and Iranian state TV reported the selection of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s son as his successor.
Meanwhile, the price of oil surpassed $100 a barrel for the first time in 3½ years."
READ MORE -- Crude oil prices surpass $100 a barrel as the Iran war impedes production and shipping -- LAT, ALEX VEIGA/ELAINE KURTENBACH; ‘What is the mission?’ With Iran, California military families fear another ‘forever war’ -- LAT, ALE WIGGLESWORTH/HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS/HANNAH FRY
CALMATTERS, YUE STELLA YU: "It’s official: Eight Democrats and two Republicans say they have filed paperwork for the June 2 primary ballot in the California governor’s race, setting up a wide-open contest in which two Republicans who have consistently led in polls could shut out all other Democrats.
Here are the 10 candidates:"
CALMATTERS, NADIA LATHAN: "Longtime Republican Rep. Darrell Issa will not seek reelection, he announced Friday.
His decision comes four months after his San Diego-area congressional district was redrawn to favor Democrats, and shortly after San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, a Republican, filed papers to run in the same district."
LAT, ANGELA HART: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom has positioned himself as a national public health leader by staking out science-backed policies in contrast with the Trump administration.
After Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Susan Monarez for refusing what her lawyers called “the dangerous politicization of science,” Newsom hired her to help modernize California’s public health system. He also gave a job to Debra Houry, the agency’s former chief science and medical officer, who had resigned in protest hours after Monarez’s firing."
CAPITOL WEEKLY, STAFF: "This Special Episode of the Capitol Weekly Podcast was recorded live at A Conference on Housing, which was held in Sacramento on Tuesday, February 24, 2026."
CALMATTERS, COLIN LECHER: "A conservative organization with decades of influence in California has quietly turned attention, and millions of dollars, to a national initiative of right-leaning news operations, records show.
The Lincoln Club was established in the early 1960s by a group of California business leaders. Since then, it’s been a quiet but formidable force in state and local politics, pushing right-leaning causes and candidates."
EDSOURCE, LASHERICA THORNTON: "In late February, students at Coarsegold Elementary School in Madera County roamed around a classroom that’s like no other on campus.
One student jumped on a mini-trampoline, releasing pent-up energy. Others settled into a rocking chair or on beanbags to read books. Another wore headphones as she constructed blocks."
EDSOURCE, JOHN FENSTERWALD: "Attorneys for parents and students in school districts with unsafe, unhealthy and inadequate facilities that say they can’t afford to fix asked the Alameda County Superior Court on Friday to freeze $3 billion in state funding for building repairs until the court has ruled on their lawsuit challenging the state’s funding system.
The motion for an injunction argues that the state’s funding formula “shortchanges” property-poor districts, condemning children to subpar school buildings."
CHRONICLE, DAVID HERNANDEZ: "Dublin teachers planned to strike Monday after their union and the school district failed to reach a labor agreement Sunday.
Dublin Unified School District sites were expected to remain open on an adjusted schedule during the strike, with administrators and guest teachers planning to supervise students, according to the district. Meals, sports and special education services were expected to continue, as well."
CHRONICLE, JILL TUCKER: "City and school leaders predicted a decade ago if they built affordable housing for educators in San Francisco, teachers would come — and stay.
After several years of planning and construction, their dream became reality in late 2024 with construction complete on a 135-unit apartment complex built in the Sunset neighborhood near the beach. Following a lottery and lengthy application process, it’s now filled with residents."
CHRONICLE, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "A striking weather contrast is expected to unfold across the West Coast in mid-March as buckets of rain and feet of mountain snow are on tap for the Pacific Northwest, while true summerlike heat is anticipated in California.
Monthly temperature records may be threatened in Yosemite National Park, while Mount Rainier National Park contends with its wettest March in years."
CALMATTERS, BEN CHRISTOPHER: "The apartment building planned on East Morris Avenue in Modesto is exactly the kind of thing that California’s political leaders want to see a whole lot more of: The project promises 44 units of affordable housing — half reserved for people without homes. It’s received zoning approval, weathered public feedback, earned the support of local elected officials and sits beside a busy bus line. Once built, the project promises on-site mental health services, job training and Zumba classes.
What the project lacks is money."
CHRONICLE, ANNA BAUMAN: "A 33-year-old woman who died Saturday in a mass shooting at a bar in downtown Oakland was a local teacher and creative artist who was dedicated to living out her Christian faith, friends and co-workers said.
Latetia Bobo and a 25-year-old man were fatally shot and five other people were injured by gunfire around 3:30 a.m. at a nightclub on 14th Street near Broadway that media reports have identified as EZ’s Lounge. The Oakland Police Department has not confirmed the identity of any victim or released details about the circumstances of the shooting."
CHRONICLE, RACHEL SWAN: "When Matt Sorgenfrei boarded a southbound Caltrain to work last week, he faced a stern warning from the conductor.
Sorgenfrei hadn’t cheated on his fare. He wasn’t barefoot or shirtless, nor was he blaring music through a loud speaker. But he did carry an item that would soon be banned from the rail system: a small e-bike with a child’s bucket seat in back."
CALMATTERS, ROBERT LEWIS: "Placer County prosecutors wanted any information the California Department of Motor Vehicles had on Kostas Linardos, who drove a three-ton pickup truck at high speed into the back of a sedan in late 2022, killing a toddler.
The district attorney’s office, which charged Linardos with felony vehicular manslaughter, already obtained records showing he had at least 16 traffic violations — including speeding, reckless driving and street racing — and was in at least four collisions before the fatal crash, court records show."
CHRONICLE, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "If you’re a resident of San Francisco’s Financial District, Marina or North Beach, you’re the most likely to see a parking ticket adorning the cars stopped in your neighborhood, according to a Chronicle analysis.
The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency keeps data on the location of every parking ticket it issues. The Chronicle geolocated the more than one million tickets handed out last year into each of the city’s analysis neighborhoods. That made it possible to answer: Which neighborhoods get the most tickets — and which kinds?"
