Updating . .   

Kevin de León refuses to resign. What happens to his constituents? -- Once considered a trailblazer, De León has been politically isolated by the scandal, and his council colleagues are moving to cut off the little power he has remaining in the two years left of his term. Although a move to recall him is already afoot, it could take months to qualify, if it does at all. Rachel Uranga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/20/22

How a political rookie pulled off an election upset to lead San Jose -- Ed Berger cast his vote for Cindy Chavez in the San Jose mayor’s race, but he wasn’t totally surprised by the political veteran’s narrow loss this past week to newcomer Matt Mahan. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/20/22

McManus: Is Joe Biden fatally stubborn — or virtuously tenacious? -- Ask anyone who’s worked for Biden, and you’ll hear a version of the same description: He listens to dissenting voices, but once he’s made up his mind, he’s almost unshakable. Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/20/22

Biden turns 80 and joins growing ranks of octogenarians who still work -- A person’s chronological age matters less than how well their bodies and brains are functioning, experts say. Tara Bahrampour in the Washington Post$ -- 11/20/22

Transit  

Doomsday scenario for sinking Bay Area transit: No weekend BART, bus lines cancelled or a taxpayer bailout -- In an apocalyptic vision of Bay Area public transit, BART cancels its weekend service and shutters nine stations just to keep the lights on elsewhere. Trains run once an hour, instead of every 15 minutes. San Francisco’s Muni buses crawl around on life-support, and the East Bay’s AC Transit eliminates “numerous local lines.” Ferry service across the bay is halved. Eliyahu Kamisher in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/20/22

COVID  

Should you mask or test for Thanksgiving? Here’s how COVID experts are handling the holidays -- UCSF infectious disease expert Peter Chin-Hong advises definitely testing under these circumstances: Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/20/22

Street  

Tarzana couple who fled U.S. are returned to start sentences for $20 million COVID fraud -- After their conviction, the couple cut their tracking bracelets and left their Tarzana residence, but were ultimately found in Montenegro over a year later. Caitlin Antonios in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/20/22

Also . . .   

East Bay organization led by Black Millennials fights food insecurity, one grocery bag at a time -- According to the Alameda County Community Food Bank, 1 in 4 residents don’t have enough food to eat, compared to 1 in 5 prior to March 2020, or before the pandemic. Experts say that food insecurity isn’t just an issue of access because there is more than enough food and resources to go around. The issue is the uneven distribution of those resources. Shwanika Narayan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/20/22

Large number of trails opening in Santa Cruz Mountains, thanks to conservation work -- Decades of grassroots efforts in the Santa Cruz area are culminating with more public access to forests and coastal hills. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/20/22

 

California Policy and Politics Sunday  

These are the closest legislative races in California. Two are in the Sacramento area -- Nearly two weeks after Election Day, the next California Legislature is slowly taking shape, as the majority of incumbents handily won reelection but some new faces are set to be sworn in this December. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/20/22

Democratic U.S. Rep. Gomez triumphs in California district -- Democratic U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez defeated rival Democrat David Kim on Saturday in a Los Angeles district after a battle on the party’s progressive flank. With nearly all the ballots counted, Gomez had 51.3% to 48.7% for Kim, or a margin of about 3,000 votes. Associated Press -- 11/20/22

California braces for post-Pelosi future -- “We are mindful that we’re going to have to be more proactive as a state in terms of our efforts in Washington, D.C.” That was Gov. Gavin Newsom’s delicately worded assessment of how California might fare differently under Kevin McCarthy — the Bakersfield Republican positioned to take over as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives after his party won a slim majority in the midterm elections — than it did under Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the San Francisco Democrat who announced Thursday that she plans to step down from a leadership position next year even while remaining in Congress. Emily Hoeven CalMatters -- 11/19/22

San Francisco to host major Asia-Pacific economic forum in 2023 -- San Francisco will host next year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the most significant economic and trade forum for the region, Vice President Kamala Harris announced Friday evening. Shira Stein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/22

Walters: California has a home ownership crisis -- California has a severe shortage of affordable rental housing, but also has a crisis in home ownership, with the nation’s second most expensive home market relative to family incomes. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 11/20/22

Elon Musk reinstates Donald Trump’s Twitter account nearly two years after it was ‘permanently suspended’ -- Twitter reinstated former President Donald Trump’s account Saturday, nearly two years after the platform revoked his access in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Dustin Gardiner, Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Faiz Siddiqui, Drew Harwell and Isaac Arnsdorf in the Washington Post$ Ryan Mac and Kellen Browning in the New York Times$ Rebecca Kern Politico -- 11/19/22

Trump Cites Twitter ‘Problems,’ Says He’ll Stick to Own Platform -- Donald Trump said he sees “a lot of problems at Twitter” and will stick to his own social-media platform, offering an initial response to Elon Musk’s poll on whether to reinstate the former president’s account. Mark Niquette Bloomberg -- 11/19/22

Develop   

Crowds greet delayed opening of S.F.’s Central Subway to Chinatown -- The $1.95 billion, 1.7-mile subway extension took more than a decade of construction and almost 40 years from conception to reality. Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/22

Street  

Top FBI official in L.A. formally recuses himself from investigation into Tom Girardi and his law firm -- The head of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office has formally recused himself from the ongoing federal investigation into fraud and corruption by Tom Girardi and others at his now-defunct law firm, an agency spokesperson confirmed Saturday. Matt Hamilton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/22

Also . . .   

Los Angeles holds adoption ceremonies for more than 130 children -- The event commemorating National Adoption Day was started by a coalition of organizations to raise awareness about the tens of thousands of children awaiting adoption from foster care in the United States. Irfan Khan, Debbie Truong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/22

 

Saturday Updates   

‘We got really lucky’: Why California escaped another destructive fire season in 2022 -- Despite months of warnings fueled by extreme heat and drought-desiccated conditions, California’s deadly fire season ended with remarkably little area burned, with just 362,403 acres scorched in 2022, compared with more than 2.5 million acres the year prior. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/22

Garofoli: Will Dianne Feinstein follow Barbara Boxer’s road map and begin the long goodbye? -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s graceful slide toward the exit is rare to see in politics. It’s hard to leave the spotlight and relinquish power — especially for those who’ve held a lot of it. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/22

Pelosi’s 5 Rules for Reigning Over Congress -- If leading a House caucus was easy, then everyone who ever did it would serve for two decades, claim the speaker’s gavel twice, withstand merciless mockery and shepherd several landmark bills to the Oval Office. Bill Scher Politico -- 11/19/22

His term expiring, Garcetti pushes hard for job as ambassador to India -- With less than a month to go before he leaves office, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti is pressing his effort to get the U.S. Senate to confirm his appointment as ambassador to India, a fraught campaign complicated by a Republican senator whose office is trying to renew doubts about whether the mayor and his staff mishandled sexual harassment allegations against a top aide. James Rainey, Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/22

In West Hollywood election, a famously liberal city appears to take a moderate turn -- The results of the West Hollywood election — a generational battle pitting young progressives against older, more moderate candidates, including a sitting mayor and three former longtime councilmen — are still up in the air. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/22

Returning for a third term, Rep. Mike Levin aims for bipartisan bills in a GOP-controlled House -- After winning re-election to his swing district in coastal San Diego and Orange counties, Rep. Mike Levin is now preparing to confront environmental problems and veterans’ affairs in a divided Congress. Deborah Sullivan Brennan in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/19/22

Lopez: Kenneth Mejia rode the wave of the new left and swamped L.A.'s political establishment -- The incoming Los Angeles city controller arrived for our interview on a scooter. Kenneth Mejia, 32, is one of the faces of a local political transformation in which a youth corps is replacing the old guard, solid Democrats are being outflanked by the new left, and politicians are being replaced by activists. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/22

Workplace   

Nurses union, Kaiser reach tentative agreement, avoiding 2-day strike -- A tentative agreement has been reached between the California Nurses Association and Kaiser Permanente, averting a two-day strike that the union planned to start on Monday, according to the health care provider. Joel Umanzor in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/22

Twitter   

If Twitter shuts down, these are some alternatives for live events and breaking news -- As is the nature of online platforms, the turmoil is benefiting other social networks and websites geared for live events. Here are some of them: Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/22

COVID+  

‘Three threats at once’: California urges caution amid spread of RSV, COVID, flu -- California officials are urging preventive measures to thwart the spread of respiratory illnesses and alleviate a health system already contending with the triple threat of COVID-19, influenza and RSV. Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/22

Should you mask or test for Thanksgiving? Here’s how COVID experts are handling the holidays -- What COVID precautions, if any, should you consider for Thanksgiving holiday travel and gatherings? We talked to experts about their recommendations and what they’ll do. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/19/22

Housing 

California outlawed Section 8 housing discrimination. Why it still persists -- More than two years after a law in California made it illegal for landlords to refuse to rent to people who pay through Section 8 and other subsidies, leasing agents routinely reject tenants because of their vouchers or illegally discourage their applications, according to tenant advocates and state officials. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/19/22

Education  

California colleges’ presidential hiring practices show racial bias, new report shows -- Racial bias plays a role in hiring for executive-level posts at all three of California’s higher education systems, according to a recent report commissioned by education advocacy group College Futures Foundation — though one of those systems defended its record of diversity. Christina Merino in the Orange County Register -- 11/19/22