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Top S.F. official flees Twitter after account is hacked -- San Francisco Board of Supervisors President Shamann Walton confirmed Wednesday his Twitter account had been hacked and said he’s leaving the social media site. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22

California Democrats passed these 5 liberal laws, then big business challenged them -- California business groups often play defense in the Capitol, where labor-aligned Democrats are dominant. But big-spending corporations can gain the upper hand in statewide elections with initiatives they place on the ballot. Maya Miller in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/30/22

Are California ballot measures a ‘parallel legislature’ for wealthy interests? Labor thinks so -- Unions, buoyed by Democratic supermajorities in the California Assembly and Senate for most of the last decade, have secured a series of significant victories. In reaction, they say, corporations and wealthy conservative groups have leveraged the state’s direct democracy process as a “parallel legislature” to walk back some of those gains. Maya Miller, Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/30/22

Scott Wiener calls out far-right activist’s homophobic misinformation as dangerous -- San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener called out far-right activist Charlie Kirk on Tuesday, calling him “one of the biggest attention-seeking liars” around and a spreader of misinformation after Kirk referred to Wiener with a homophobic trope and mischaracterized the senator’s legislative record. Jordan Parker, Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22

As Senate passes same-sex marriage protections, California leaders set their sights on erasing Prop. 8 -- The California Constitution still includes Prop. 8, a 2008 voter initiative that banned same-sex marriage in the state but was later overturned by the courts. LGBTQ advocates fear that a Supreme Court decision invalidating marriage equality would once again make Prop. 8 the law of the land in California. Shira Stein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22

These teens won the right to vote. Their county disenfranchised them -- High school activists in California fought hard to lower the voter age only to be ignored. Moriah Balingit in the Washington Post$ -- 11/30/22

Water  

Nearly 20% of California water agencies could see shortages if drought persists, state report shows -- Most of California’s urban water agencies believe they have enough supplies to last through another seven months of drought, but nearly 20% of them — including many in Southern California — say they could be facing significant shortages, according to a new state report. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/30/22

Reparations  

Black and Latino residents burned out of Palm Springs seek city reparations -- Former residents and their descendants say the city of Palm Springs owes them up to $2 billion in damages for the forcible removal in the 1950s and ‘60s of cooks, chauffeurs and builders who helped turn the desert town into a playground for the stars. Gale Holland in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/30/22

COVID+  

COVID hospitalization rates in babies as bad as for seniors amid Omicron wave, study shows -- Infants younger than 6 months had the same rate of hospitalization as seniors age 65 to 74 during this summer’s Omicron wave, according to a new report. Rong-gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/30/22

Homeless

San Jose can resume clearing notorious homeless encampment, judge rules -- San Jose can resume clearing a prominent homeless encampment in Columbus Park, a federal judge ruled Tuesday, less than two weeks after a lawsuit abruptly halted the city’s efforts in an ongoing battle to relocate more than two dozen people with nowhere else to go. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/30/22

Street  

Poison pill: How fentanyl killed a 17-year-old -- Once paramedics arrived at their home in Rocklin, Calif., they told the frantic father it was too late to save Zach, a high school senior who had no history of using drugs. Chris, an Air Force veteran who now works as an airline pilot, refused to accept it. Devlin Barrett in the Washington Post$ -- 11/30/22

Joaquin Ciria lost 32 years after a wrongful conviction in S.F. Now he’s suing the city -- Seven months after emerging from 32 years of wrongful imprisonment, Joaquin Ciria on Tuesday filed suit against the city of San Francisco, alleging that police misconduct led to his long plight. Joshua Sharpe in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22

Also . . .   

Elon Musk’s Twitter Politics Add to Pressure on Tesla’s Brand Image -- Democrats in particular have soured on Tesla in recent weeks, survey finds, though the car maker’s customers remain loyal. Patrick Coffee and Rebecca Elliott in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/30/22

Twitter needs Apple more than Apple needs Twitter -- The amount Apple spends advertising on Twitter and the rules it sets for apps in its app store could play a big role in whether Twitter will be able to generate enough revenue to make Musk’s $44 billion deal to buy the platform worth it. Naomi Nix in the Washington Post$ -- 11/30/22

California gave drivers a new option for gender on their IDs. Here’s how many took it -- Four years after California began issuing nonbinary IDs, fewer than 16,000 people have asked the state for a little piece of plastic with their gender marked by an X rather than an F or M. Ariane Lange in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/30/22

‘Impact like no other’: Ayesha and Steph Curry’s super bus wows Oakland kids -- The coolest job in the Bay Area, other than being Stephen Curry, has to be driving Ayesha and Stephen Curry’s Eat. Learn. Play. bus. Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22

California Policy and Politics Wednesday  

Big tobacco tries to stop California flavored tobacco ban -- R.J. Reynolds and other tobacco companies filed a request Tuesday asking the U.S. Supreme Court to impose an emergency order to stop California from enforcing a ban on flavored tobacco products that was overwhelmingly approved by voters earlier this month. Julie Watson Associated Press -- 11/30/22

LAPD serves search warrants in investigation of who recorded racist City Hall leak -- Los Angeles police detectives have served several search warrants as they attempt to find out who recorded a meeting among three L.A. City Council members and a powerful labor leader filled with racist and offensive comments, law enforcement sources told The Times on Tuesday. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/30/22

This under-the-radar measure passed by voters could reshape Oakland elections -- Oakland voters approved a measure providing $100 to each adult resident to donate to local candidates, in an attempt to counter big-money influence. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22

Ninth Circuit rejects challenge to California recall system from Newsom supporter -- A federal appeals court upheld California’s recall system that allows officials recalled by a majority of votes to be replaced by a candidate with only a plurality. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22

Sacramento suburb Assembly seat flips Republican after Ken Cooley concedes to Josh Hoover -- Hoover, a Republican who served as chief of staff to Rocklin Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, received a concession call from Cooley on Tuesday evening, according to Andre Levesque, Hoover’s campaign consultant. Lindsey Holden in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/30/22

Dave Jones concedes to Angelique Ashby after bitter fight for Sacramento Senate seat -- Sacramento City Councilwoman Angelique Ashby is headed to the California Senate after her opponent conceded Tuesday, ending one of 2022’s most contentious legislative races. Former insurance commissioner Dave Jones announced he had called Ashb y “to wish her well as the new Senator for District 8.” Lindsey Holden in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/30/22

Walters: What now for Newsom’s oil profits tax? -- For several months, Gov. Gavin Newsom has waged a war of words on California’s petroleum industry, accusing it of price-gouging and asking the Legislature to impose a tax on its soaring profits. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 11/30/22

Workplace   

Woman testifies of fighting off would-be rapist while she was cleaning Irvine office -- Jurors heard testimony from a woman who fought off a man suspected of pointing a replica gun at her and trying to rape her while she was cleaning an office building in Irvine, and saw surveillance footage of the attack during the first day of his trial Tuesday, Nov. 29. Eric Licas in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/30/22

Education Workplace   

Layoffs mount: Twitter, tech, biotech firms chop 900-plus Bay Area jobs -- In recent days, plans for 913 tech and biotech job cuts — including hundreds more at Twitter — have been revealed in official filings with the state Employment Development Department that this news organization has reviewed. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/30/22

UC reaches tentative labor agreement with 2 groups of striking workers -- The huge strike that has gridlocked the University of California for more than two weeks saw movement Tuesday when two of the four groups negotiating with UC reached tentative agreements that would send 12,000 postdoctoral students and academic researchers back to work. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/30/22

Twitter Workplace   

Twitter mass resignation included over 200 S.F. employees -- Twitter’s mass resignation on Nov. 17 included 204 San Francisco employees departing after new owner Elon Musk issued a deadline to commit to his “hardcore” vision for the company or leave, according to a state filing. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22

Tech layoffs wallop H-1B visa holders: ‘It’s not just dollars and a job. It’s our entire life’ -- The software engineer from San Jose was dismayed when she learned that she was part of Twitter’s massive layoffs. A native of India, she’s in the U.S. on an H-1B visa, a special permit for skilled workers. Now the clock is ticking for her to find a new job to keep her visa status. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22

Musk threatens war with Apple -- Elon Musk on Monday fired off a series of tweets aimed at Apple for allegedly threatening "to withhold Twitter from its App Store" and for pulling most of its ad spend on Twitter. Sara Fischer Axios -- 11/30/22

COVID+ Twitter  

Twitter stopped policing COVID misinformation. Bay Area health experts are ‘terrified’ -- “I am absolutely terrified and despondent,” said Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert with UCSF. “Permitting misinformation is not just about freedom of speech. There is a direct pathway between misinformation and death if science-based interventions like vaccines are not embraced.” Aidin Vaziri, Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22

Housing 

Government to raise secured mortgage limit to more than $1 million — a record -- The federal government has decided to raise the limit on mortgages it secures to just over $1 million, a move that will give Bay Area home buyers a measure of relief from rising interest rates. Ethan Varian in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/30/22

Street  

S.F. supes approve the use of killer robots. Here’s when police could deploy them -- San Francisco police will be allowed to use robots to kill people in limited emergency situations under a controversial new policy approved by city supervisors on Tuesday. J.D. Morris, Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22

Fentanyl deaths in L.A. County soared 1,280% between 2016 and 2021, report finds -- The deadly toll from fentanyl comes as no surprise to Los Angeles County physicians and advocates who have been trying to save lives in hospitals and on the streets. Emily Alpert Reyes, Rebecca Ellis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/30/22

San Diego mayor issues executive order prioritizing fight against fentanyl -- The order directs police to prioritize fentanyl sales-related crimes and city officials to seek state and federal funding sources for trafficking enforcement, education, and treatment programs. Lyndsay Winkley in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/30/22

Inside months of chaos at L.A. County’s juvenile halls: lockdowns, staff shortages -- A staffing crisis in L.A. County’s juvenile halls has led to surges in fights, attacks on officers and the use of chemical spray against children. Teens are held in isolation and denied visits with family. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/30/22

Family of slain El Monte cop files claim against D.A. Gascón, probation department -- The family of an El Monte police officer who was slain this year has filed a notice of claim seeking millions in damages against Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón and the L.A. County Probation Department. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/30/22

Education  

Dual enrollment thrives in Central Valley area where few earn college degrees -- Faith Serna said it was hard to picture herself going far from home for college before she took college courses at her high school, Wonderful College Prep Academy, a charter school in Delano. Now that she is in the home stretch of graduating from high school with an associate degree, she has her sights set on attending college at the University of California or a private college. Emma Gallegos EdSource -- 11/30/22

Environment  

California wolf pack produces state’s largest litter of pups in a century -- The breeding male and female in the Whaleback pack, in the forests of Siskiyou County, gave birth to eight wolves during the spring, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife confirmed this month. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22

Oil  

Should California tax oil profits? Gas spike hearing sets stage for contentious debate -- Consumer advocates and oil industry representatives launched opening salvos Tuesday in a bitter debate over whether oil companies are “price gouging” drivers or are themselves actually the victim of California’s green policies squeezing out fossil fuel industries. Eliyahu Kamisher in the San Jose Mercury$ Maggie Angst in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/30/22

Also . . .   

Lake Tahoe hit with avalanche watch as major winter storm approaches California -- Meteorologists forecast the snow will begin just before sunrise Thursday and become heavier throughout the day. This rapid buildup on top of a weak existing snowpack raises concerns for potentially widespread avalanche activity in the mountains. Jack Lee in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22

This website resells coveted Michelin-starred restaurant reservations - sometimes for thousands of dollars -- A little-known but fast-growing website selling coveted reservations at the country’s top restaurants for hundreds — and in some cases, thousands — of dollars has caught the attention of restaurateurs and big-name reservation companies. Elena Kadvany in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/30/22