Updating . .  

After Colorado Springs shooting, LGBTQ people in red California are on edge -- After five people were shot dead in a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colo., Matthew Grigsby thought about Club 501. It was the only gay bar in Redding, a Northern California city of 93,000 that, like Colorado Springs, is deeply religious and conservative. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/28/22

Education  

Fears rise that UC strike could have long-lasting consequences on vaunted research, teaching -- As the nation’s largest ever strike of higher-education academic workers enters its third week Monday, with the crunch time of final exams just days away, fears are rising over long-lasting and unintended consequences to the University of California’s core missions of teaching and research. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/28/22

Cal Poly SLO enrolls the lowest rate of Black students among all the state’s public universities -- Although it’s difficult to pinpoint the reason, the campus attracts few freshman applicants and transfer students, and students describe a racist environment. Mikhail Zinshteyn CalMatters -- 11/28/22

Sforza: Where’s the outrage over dismal school achievement in Southern California? -- Researchers offer a largely tragic glimpse of learning loss here and across the nation. Teri Sforza in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/28/22

Workplace   

A work-from-home culture is taking root in California, Census data show -- The data shows high-income employees with college degrees are more likely to have access to this hybrid work model, while lower-income employees stay the course with on-site responsibilities and daily commutes. Phillip Reese in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/28/22

Twitter Workplace   

Sympathy, and Job Offers, for Twitter’s Misinformation Experts -- In the weeks since Elon Musk took over Twitter, dozens of people responsible for keeping dangerous or inaccurate material in check on the service have posted on LinkedIn that they resigned or lost their jobs. Their statements have drawn a flood of condolences — and attempts to recruit them. Tiffany Hsu in the New York Times$ -- 11/28/22

High-profile Republicans gain followers in first weeks of Musk’s reign -- High-profile Republican members of Congress gained tens of thousands of Twitter followers in the first few weeks of Elon Musk’s reign over the social media network, while their Democratic counterparts experienced a decline, according to an analysis by The Washington Post. Gerrit De Vynck, Jeremy B. Merrill and Luis Melgar in the Washington Post$ -- 11/28/22

Economy  

A shuttered pizza restaurant demonstrates downtown San Francisco’s new normal -- If any business owner was positioned to survive the pandemic’s devastating blows to downtown San Francisco, it was restaurateur and chef Bruce Hill. Finally forced to close this month, Zero Zero restaurant is another sign that hopes of a return to normalcy are an illusion. Noah Arroyo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/28/22

Housing 

He came to the Bay Area to form a startup. Now he’s trying to solve the housing crisis -- Developer Danny Haber is using the startup approach to disrupt housing, using mass plywood to reduce construction costs and crowd-sourcing to build what people want. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/28/22

California home prices are dropping. This Sacramento region county is still seeing a spike -- The median sale price for a single-family home in El Dorado County was $684,000 in October, up 5.6% over the previous month and more than 11% higher than the same time last year, according to data from the California Association of Realtors. Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/28/22

Q&A: The few California lawmakers who are renters form new caucus to advocate for tenants -- Around 44% of Californians are renters. But as far as state Assemblymember Alex Lee can tell, just 5% of the California Assembly – four of its 80 members – don’t own a home. Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/28/22

COVID+  

What are the chances of COVID reinfection during the holidays? Here’s what you need to know -- Given how many Americans have now had COVID one or more times, a critical question on peoples’ minds during the holidays is how much risk they face of getting reinfected. Here’s what experts have to say: Shwanika Narayan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/28/22

Covid deaths skew older, reviving questions about ‘acceptable loss’ -- The pandemic has become a plague of the elderly, with nearly 9 out of 10 deaths in people 65 or older. Ariana Eunjung Cha and Dan Keating in the Washington Post$ -- 11/28/22

RSV straining children’s hospitals across California -- Nationally, hospitalization rates related to RSV — or respiratory syncytial virus — are exceptionally high, according to Dr. Theodore Ruel, chief of UC San Francisco’s pediatric infectious diseases and global health division. Rong-gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/28/22

Climate  

Diesel trucks could be phased out in California in 20 years -- Twenty years from now, diesel-powered trucks in California might go the way of the pay phone and video rental stores. That’s the goal of a sweeping new rule before the California Air Resources Board. Jeff Horseman in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/28/22

Also . . .   

Arellano: 30 years of masa dreams at a tamale festival in Indio -- When Juan Carlos Barajas was growing up in the 1990s in the Coachella Valley, the Indio International Tamale Festival was an annual treat. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/28/22

 

California Policy and Politics Monday  

California regulators OK $1 billion for EV charging project, mostly for trucks -- The California Public Utilities Commission has approved a $1-billion vehicle electrification charging project, with most of the money earmarked to accelerate the number of midsize and heavy-duty trucks on the state’s roads. Rob Nikolewski in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/28/22

Arellano: What $104 million could buy, instead of a failed mayoral run -- $104,848,887.43 — Rick Caruso spent at least that much on his unsuccessful campaign to become mayor of Los Angeles, according to the latest campaign finance records. That’s 11 times more than the $9 million spent by the victor, Karen Bass. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/28/22

UC-Berkeley can’t use race in admissions. Is it a model for the country? -- UC-Berkeley’s demographics, and its efforts to shape them, illuminate the stakes as the Supreme Court weighs a potential ban nationwide on affirmative action in admissions. Nick Anderson in the Washington Post$ -- 11/28/22

Walters: California high schools need a mission overhaul -- California high schools are in need of reforms that would allow students to received individualized educations rather than a one-size-fits-all approach. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 11/28/22

S.F. vigil marks 44th anniversary of Milk and Moscone slayings, with special homage to this month’s Club Q victims -- Dozens of people gathered at San Francisco’s Harvey Milk Plaza on Sunday night to mark the 44th anniversary of the assassinations of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and city Supervisor Harvey Milk, who were shot and killed in City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/28/22

 

Holiday Period Updates   

Election 2022: Retiring LA County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl has no regrets -- The child actor turned legislator, turned county supervisor, is satisfied with her political career. Steve Scauzillo in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/27/22

Newsom Told the White House He Won’t Challenge Biden -- The would-be pursuer of Trump and DeSantis is "all in" for the president’s reelection and willing to wait his turn. Jonathan Martin Politico -- 11/26/22

California’s Homelessness Problem Pits Gov. Gavin Newsom Against Mayors -- Democratic governor threatens to withhold funds from local leaders in dispute over who bears more responsibility for the issue. Christine Mai-Duc in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/27/22

Walters: Will California meet the moment on homelessness? -- Politicians have made promises and voters have acted, but is California officialdom truly willing and able to confront the state’s worst-in-the-nation homelessness crisis? Dan Walters CalMatters -- 11/27/22

Karen Bass drew more votes than any mayor candidate in L.A. history -- A record number of Los Angeles voters cast ballots for mayor in this month’s election, the result of changes in the electoral calendar, the state’s easing of voter registration rules and the provocative contest between U.S. Rep. Karen Bass and businessman Rick Caruso, according to analysts and nearly complete returns from county officials. James Rainey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/22

Arellano: Want to see more Latinos in books? Start by reading these -- If I had a dime for every time I hear Latinos aren’t a monolith, I’d be rich enough to run for mayor of Los Angeles. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/22

All-civilian discipline panels are more lenient with LAPD officers, report finds -- Los Angeles Police Department officials said Tuesday that they will ask the City Council to reconsider a rule that allows officers accused of serious misconduct to have civilians decide their discipline — after a report found they routinely hand down lenient punishments. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/22

Twitter grapples with Chinese spam obscuring news of protests -- For hours, links to adult content overwhelmed other posts from cities where dramatic rallies escalated. Joseph Menn in the Washington Post$ -- 11/28/22

Education  

‘Conservatives were shocked’: Democrats held ground in Sacramento-area school board elections -- Energized by activism against COVID-19 education mandates, conservative parents all over California put their names on the ballot this fall aiming to claim seats on local school boards. Some saw the makings of a GOP wave in a blue state, and the Republican Party recruited and trained candidates. It didn’t work. Sawsan Morrar, Jenavieve Hatch, Ariane Lange in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/27/22

LAUSD’s stunning reading score on NAEP: Illusion, real or something in between? -- Los Angeles Unified’s unexpectedly big increase in eighth grade reading on the National Assessment of Educational Progress drew praise and skepticism after the release of the scores last month. The results may have warranted some of both. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 11/28/22

Cal State University poised to drop plan for tougher math admissions requirement -- California State University trustees are poised to abandon a proposal to require a fourth year of math-related coursework for admission, ending a plan introduced six years ago that touched off fierce criticism among many who said it would create barriers for students trying to enter the system. Debbie Truong in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/26/22

Bay Area lights up for the holidays: ‘You can’t Amazon Prime a festival’ -- All around the Bay Area this weekend, residents flocked downtown to watch city officials light Christmas trees. Santa Claus floated down the Petaluma River. San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Gardens unveiled its holiday-decked carousal. Ice skaters twirled at Union Square. Craft fairs took over brew pubs and community halls. Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/22

Black Friday in the Bay Area isn’t dead, but it’s wrestling with inflation -- Already ailing from the rise of online shopping and having suffered a body blow from the COVID pandemic, the in-person Black Friday quest for great holiday deals looked subdued this year, with nary a wait for a mall-lot parking spot Friday morning. The crowds of days gone by teemed only in memories. Eliyahu Kamisher, Scooty Nickerson, Katie Lauer, Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/26/22

COVID  

Can California avoid a third devastating COVID-19 winter wave? Cautious signs of hope -- When it comes to gatherings now, “I think there’s ways that we can really improve how we do it, rather than spend our time talking about whether we should or shouldn’t,” said California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. Rong-gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/26/22

Wildfire  

More Northern California victims who lost homes in Mill Fire sue lumber mill owner -- A complaint filed in San Francisco Superior Court alleges that Roseburg Forest Products Co. conducted operations at its mill “in a reckless manner that they knew or should have known caused an unreasonable risk of catastrophic fire.” Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/26/22

Housing 

A new General Hospital: Turning an iconic L.A. landmark into homeless housing -- The room is a marvel of architectural oddities. On one wall a cathedral-sized window frames the Eastside skyline. Facing it, several rows of wood-backed theater seats fan out, arching up at a dizzying angle to the ceiling three stories up. Doug Smith, Andrew J. Campa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/27/22

Homeless

Report: twice as many people became homeless than housed in October -- The San Diego Regional Task Force on Homelessness began releasing a monthly census in October. The latest report shows about 1,400 people in San Diego County became homeless last month. Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/26/22

Workplace   

‘We’ll end up on the streets’: L.A. caregivers for elderly, disabled push for higher pay -- The In-Home Supportive Services program pays assistants to help people who are elderly or disabled stay safely in their own homes. In Los Angeles County, IHSS caregivers make $16 an hour. Emily Alpert Reyes, Francine Orr, Robert Gauthier in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/27/22

Employers Rethink Need for College Degrees in Tight Labor Market -- Google, Delta Air Lines and IBM have reduced requirements for some positions. Austen Hufford in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/26/22

Twitter Workplace   

Elon Musk Champions Twitter Fact-Checking Feature That Corrects Him -- Community Notes uses an algorithm to combat false and misleading information Meghan Bobrowsky in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/26/22

Elon Musk says he would support Ron DeSantis in 2024 -- Billionaire Twitter owner Elon Musk said he would back Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) if he runs for president in 2024. Tweeting into the night on Friday, Musk described DeSantis as a “sensible and centrist” choice. Ruby Cramer in the Washington Post$ -- 11/26/22

Environment  

Is the water safe at Point Reyes beaches? Here is what we know -- A recent report shows high levels of fecal bacteria in lagoons and beaches from cattle at Point Reyes National Seashore. Environmental groups say cow manure is responsible, but ranchers dispute the findings. Tara Duggan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/27/22

Also . . .   

Why are some of Southern California’s most expensive properties left completely empty? -- Spoiler alert: It’s not because their owners are interested in the sanctity of vacant land and preserving California’s hills and beaches by leaving them untouched. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/26/22

What your smartphone is telling UC Berkeley researchers about Bay Area earthquakes -- UC Berkeley researchers are learning more about earthquakes, and how people perceive them, using thousands of data points collected from smartphones. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/22

As Anna May Wong quarters roll out, a younger generation reflects on the actress’ legacy -- For these children, it’s hard to imagine a time when Wong, then the country’s most celebrated Asian American actress, was mostly relegated to playing villains or housemaids. Anh Do in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/26/22

Why Bay Area residents are so ready to kiss 2022 goodbye -- Christmas ads started appearing on television in mid-October, a Christmas tree went up in Union Square just after Halloween, and Mayor London Breed flipped a switch to light a holiday tree at Pier 39 on a warm autumn evening two days before Thanksgiving. Broadcast live on the radio, too. Carl Nolte in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/26/22

 

Hate  

Chabria: California takes the lead on hate. That’s a good thing. Someone has to -- How do you stop hate crimes? How do you even know where to begin? California is taking a nation-leading step to answer those questions with two new state-sponsored and -funded efforts. Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/22

Economy  

California’s economic double whammy: tech, housing losses mount -- Two pillars of California’s economy – technology and real estate – are looking wobbly, at best. Jonathan Lansner in the Orange County Register -- 11/25/22

Viruses   

Stop touching your face! It could help you stay healthy this holiday -- That’s a step doctors are urging people to take as California faces a “tripledemic” threat — with flu, the coronavirus and respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, circulating at elevated levels statewide all at once. Rong-gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/22

Workplace   

VTA worker who allegedly threatened “shooting” to get thousands in monthly pension -- A Valley Transportation Authority bus driver who had a history of allegedly threatening to shoot up his workplace and avoided the threat of termination by quietly retiring will end up receiving thousands of dollars in monthly pension payments, according to his benefits plan. Gabriel Greschler, Eliyahu Kamisher in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/25/22

Twitter Workplace   

‘Opening the gates of hell’: Musk says he will revive banned accounts -- The Twitter chief says he will reinstate accounts suspended for threats, harassment and misinformation beginning next week. Taylor Lorenz in the Washington Post$ Rebecca Kern Politico Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/22

AG Workplace   

Backers of Farmworker Visa Overhaul Make Year-End Push for Immigrant Labor Deal -- Lawmakers, agriculture groups and farmworker organizations are pushing to pass an overhaul of the farmworker visa program through both chambers of Congress before the GOP takes control of the House next year -- Kristina Peterson and Michelle Hackman in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/25/22

Supply Chain  

Southern California’s Container Ship Backup Ends -- Officials declared an end to the backup of ships at Southern California’s ports more than two years after vessels began lining up in weekslong queues that became one of the most visible signs in the U.S. of the pandemic-driven turmoil in supply chains. Paul Berger in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/25/22

Climate  

As California droughts intensify, ecosystems and rural communities will bear the brunt -- Drought, human-caused climate change, invasive species and a “legacy” of environmental issues are permanently altering California’s landscape and placing some communities and ecosystems at increasing risk, a panel of experts told water officials recently. Dorany Pineda in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/22

Street  

Former Montebello detective sues city, alleging gender discrimination in vaccine exemptions -- A former Montebello police detective has sued the city, saying she was subjected to “pervasive gender discrimination” that included uneven enforcement of a coronavirus vaccine mandate. Julia Wick in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/22

Education  

Parents of Katie Meyer file wrongful death lawsuit against Stanford -- The family of Katie Meyer on Wednesday filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Santa Clara County Superior Court against Stanford University. The soccer star died by suicide earlier this year. Marisa Ingemi in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/22

COVID  

These are now the most common COVID symptoms — depending on your vaccination status -- Don’t shrug off that sneeze or scratch at the back of your throat. As coronavirus variants continue to evolve and become more difficult to detect, so do COVID symptoms, allowing more people to spread the virus without realizing it. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/22

Also . . .   

Trash in Yosemite got inspected this fall. These are the most common — and weirdest — items found -- Among the most common items found were cigarette butts (1,651 pounds), beverage bottles and bottle caps (1,369), clothes and textiles (1,338), food wrappers (376) and face masks (183). Nearly 70% of the 10,450 pounds sampled in the audit were plastics. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/22

The ghost of dead 710 Freeway extension in Pasadena haunts drivers’ map apps -- 'Take the Long Beach Freeway' to and from the 210, says Siri, as do Google and Caltrans maps and Apple apps. Steve Scauzillo in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/25/22

S.F. taxi meter rates have increased for the first time since 2011 -- Riding a taxi now costs $4.15 for the first one-fifth of a mile, up from $3.50. The cost of each additional one-fifth of a mile of a trip went up 10 cents to 65 cents, which is also the new rate for each minute of waiting time. Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/22

 

Policy and Politics  

Climate change is increasing the frequency and temperature of extreme heat waves -- Extreme heat waves such as the one that hit the Pacific Northwest last year may be 20 times more likely to occur if carbon emissions are not reduced. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/24/22

Chabria: Three years after being shot at school, this teen has made our survival her fight -- Mia Tretta was 15 years old when she was shot by a gunman at Saugus High in Santa Clarita. Three years later, she reflects on a never-ending stream of gun violence. Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/24/22

More Bay Area residents than ever will be relying on food assistance this Thanksgiving -- Holiday meals will be unusually expensive this year, with food prices in the San Francisco area up 10% from last year, according to October data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. At the same time, enrollment for the state’s largest food assistance program is at an all-time high. Adriana Rezal in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/24/22

Oakland Mayor-elect Thao promises unity in first appearance since election -- Oakland Mayor-elect Sheng Thao promised civic unity in her first public address since a closely fought election during which she beat her runner-up by less than 700 votes. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/24/22

Here are the four issues that Oakland Mayor-Elect Sheng Thao will need to tackle right away -- As Sheng Thao prepares to lead the city into a post-pandemic future, her hard-fought victory in the race to be Oakland’s next mayor might end up being the easy part, with far tougher times ahead. Shomik Mukherjee in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/24/22

Is the Nancy Pelosi Era Really Ending? -- The Speaker of the House is stepping aside, but her school of politics isn’t going anywhere. Benjamin Wallace-Wells in the New Yorker -- 11/24/22

Workplace   

In L.A., hidden armies of workers keep mega-mansions on the market -- To run the place — to have the guests greeted, drinks poured, floors polished, windows washed, cupboards stocked, the perimeter secured, meals cooked, children curated, lawns manicured, ponds algaecided — typically requires a staff akin to a modern-day Downton Abbey. Jack Flemming in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/24/22

Homeless

Hotels are seeking millions from S.F. for damage when they were homeless shelters -- Hotel Union Square’s clean-up bill was steep — $5.6 million to repair rampant smoke damage, broken light fixtures, mold and other problems. St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/24/22

Housing 

How this urban Sacramento neighborhood is defying a slowdown in the housing market -- Sacramento is redefining its urban core, creating a model for mid-sized American cities struggling to emerge from the work-from-home culture and a perception that their downtowns are lawless and filthy. Ryan Lillis, Wes Venteicher in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/24/22

Street  

Former California police chief charged in CalPERS double-dipping fraud case -- Criminal charges of grand theft have been brought against Greg Love, one of several Broadmoor Police Department chiefs and commanders that CalPERS said defrauded the pension system by collecting more than $2 million in excessive retirement payments. Randy Diamond in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/24/22

Suspected Alamo meth lab busted after explosion next to fire department -- This affluent, typically quiet community became the subject of a criminal investigation of “Breaking Bad” proportions after police discovered a suspected meth lab operating right next door to a fire station, according to authorities. Nate Gartrell in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/24/22

Overdose death toll in S.F. surpasses 500 people this year amid fentanyl-fueled drug crisis -- The city is on track to record nearly as many overdose deaths as last year, when at least 625 people died from drug use, many of them in San Francisco’s beleaguered Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods. Nora Mishanec in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/24/22

LAPD detective charged with trying to buy illegal gun silencer from China -- LAPD Det. Luke Walden has been charged with attempted possession of a silencer, a felony, according to the L.A. County district attorney’s office. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/24/22

$1 million worth of property stolen in violent Hollywood Hills home-invasion robbery, police say -- The two victims were asleep at the home in the 3000 block of Multiview Drive about 3 a.m., when they woke up to screaming and a handgun pointed at them, said Officer Melissa Podany, an LAPD spokesperson. The suspects, who were in ski masks, demanded property and one pistol-whipped one of the victims during the robbery, according to police. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/24/22

Education  

‘They were in tears’: Unruly fans force California high schools to take action -- Since spectators began returning to sporting events last year after a 15-month, pandemic-related absence, numerous incidents of fan misconduct at all levels have made national news. Northern California high schools are no exception. By Connor Letourneau in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/24/22

Tuberculosis warning issued for Cal State San Marcos -- The county health department warned Cal State San Marcos students and staff Wednesday to be on the lookout for symptoms of tuberculosis infection after someone on campus tested positive for the disease. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/24/22

Also . . .   

First Thanksgiving meal for Ukrainian refugees in LA is filled with gratitude -- Before moving to Los Angles in April, Nataliya Mikhnova had heard about Thanksgiving mostly from movies. But this year, Mikhnova, who moved in April from the western Ukrainian city of Lviv with her husband and two young daughters, looked forward to celebrating it in person. Olga Grigoryants in the Orange County Register -- 11/24/22