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Big tests ahead for new Legislature -- Now comes the hard part. That was the main takeaway from Monday’s largely ceremonial flurry of activity in the state Capitol. Emily Hoeven CalMatters -- 12/6/22

COVID+  

L.A. County facing a full-blown coronavirus surge as cases spike 75%, deaths rise -- 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 preventative steps to stymie viral transmission and severe illness. Luke Money, Rong-gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/6/22

Flu hospitalizations soar as triple viral threat looms ahead of holidays -- Nearly every U.S. state is battling high levels of flu-like illness, public health authorities warned Monday as multiple respiratory viruses threaten to overwhelm the health-care system while people travel for the holidays and gather indoors with friends and family. Fenit Nirappil in the Washington Post$ -- 12/6/22

Workplace   

Intel plans mass layoffs, including at its Folsom campus. How many jobs will be cut? -- The semiconductor company plans to permanently eliminate about 111 jobs in Folsom, according to a notice filed late last week to the California Employment Development Department. Michael Mcgough, Alex Muegge in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/6/22

Tech layoffs widen: Intel chops hundreds of Northern California jobs -- The latest layoff notices from Intel mean that since Oct. 1, tech and biotech companies have unveiled job cut plans, or carried out layoffs, that affect well over 7,700 workers in the Bay Area, this news organization’s review of worker-adjustment notices filed with the EDD shows. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/6/22

Computer Science Students Face a Shrinking Big Tech Job Market -- A new reality is setting in for students and recent graduates who spent years honing themselves for careers at the largest tech companies. Natasha Singer and Kalley Huang in the New York Times$ -- 12/6/22

One huge trial proved the 4-day workweek can be successful. Will it take off in the Bay Area? -- At San Francisco startup Bolt, all 550 employees work four-eight hour days, earning the same amount for 32 hours as when they put in a traditional 40-hour week. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/6/22

AG Rob Bonta asks California Supreme Court to restore worker protection law rolled back by SCOTUS -- Nearly six months after the U.S. Supreme Court rolled back most of a unique California law allowing workers to join one another and sue their employer for violating labor laws, Attorney General Rob Bonta is asking California's high court to take another look at the law and restore it — at least until 2024, when the voters will consider a business-sponsored proposal to discard the law and the suits it authorizes. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/6/22

Education Workplace   

L.A. teachers union seeks 20% raise, saying they are stressed out and priced out --The Los Angeles teachers union is pressing its demands for a 20% raise over two years, smaller class sizes and a steep reduction in standardized testing — the latest stress test for the nation’s second-largest school district and Supt. Alberto Carvalho as the system struggles to address students’ deep learning setbacks and mental health needs in the wake of the pandemic. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/6/22

Twitter Workplace   

Outgoing Twitter employees prepare for legal campaign against world’s richest man -- For months, as the will-they, won’t-they acquisition drama between Elon Musk and Twitter dragged on, Helen-Sage Lee held firm in her belief that the social media company was a workplace worth fighting for. Brian Contreras in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/6/22

Economy  

Housing Costs, Inflation’s Biggest Component, Are Poised to Ease -- New rents are already softening, but that might not show up in official inflation data for months because of measurement delays. Gwynn Guilford in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 12/6/22

Homeless

Here are 8 ways to improve San Francisco housing for homeless people -- San Francisco SROs, or single-room-occupancy hotels, often fail to help formerly homeless people due to ramshackle conditions. Here's what it would take to build better housing. Kevin Fagan, Yuri Avila, John Blanchard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/6/22

Water  

California snowpack off to promising start, but drought concern remains -- Parts of the Sierra Nevada have recorded more than double the expected snowpack for the time of year, and another significant storm could be on the way this weekend. Diana Leonard in the Washington Post$ -- 12/6/22

Environment  

As a sacred minnow nears extinction, Native Americans of Clear Lake call for bold plan -- With a growing sense of sorrow, the Pomo Indian tribes of Clear Lake are watching a generations-old symbol of abundance fade into extinction. Louis Sahagún in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/6/22

Climate  

Going, going, gone: Feds hold first-ever auction for California offshore wind leases -- Several dozen companies are competing today for leases to build massive floating wind farms in deep ocean waters off Morro Bay and Humboldt County. The auction is the first major step toward producing offshore wind energy off the West Coast. Nadia Lopez CalMatters -- 12/6/22

Also . . .   

TikTok influencer who hit golf ball into Grand Canyon takes deal for a $285 fine -- Just over a month after an influencer appeared in a video that showed her hitting a golf ball into the Grand Canyon before flinging the club over the edge as well, authorities have said the case has been settled out of court with a fine. Gregory Yee in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/6/22

California Policy and Politics Tuesday  

‘Lying and gouging’: Newsom unveils plan to cap oil refiners’ profits -- The plan, which Newsom termed a “price gouging penalty,” would see the state establish a maximum profit margin on oil refiners and issue civil penalties for excess profits. Any revenue generated would be put into a “Price Gouging Penalty Fund” and sent back to Californians. Eliyahu Kamisher in the San Jose Mercury$ Maggie Angst, Lindsey Holden in the Sacramento Bee$ Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Taryn Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/6/22

Oakland vice mayor’s failure to disclose Jack London Square condo may cost her $19,000 -- Oakland Vice Mayor Rebecca Kaplan may have to pay $19,000 after the city’s ethics commission determined she allegedly failed to report her ownership of a condo and voted to support the expansion of a park next to her property that would increase its value. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/6/22

Walters: Tricky measure allows release of violent felons -- Proposition 57, passed by California voters in 2016, allows felons that commit supposedly non-violent, crimes to earn early parole, but a loophole benefits those who have committed violent crimes not covered by the law. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 12/6/22

Workplace   

Kaiser’s Northern California nurses vote to ratify four-year contract with big pay raises -- Nurses and nurse practitioners at Kaiser Permanente voted overwhelmingly to ratify a four-year labor contract that secured them the biggest wage increases in about 20 years, their union announced Monday. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/6/22

Blue Shield to lay off hundreds of California workers, including many in Sacramento area -- Blue Shield of California will be terminating 150 employees in the Sacramento region and 74 in Lodi as part of statewide layoffs affecting 373 people, according to notices the company filed with the state’s Employment Development Department. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/6/22

'Beyond Vaccines': Biotech Is Booming in the Bay Area Despite a Cooling Economy -- While a cooling economy has slowed it slightly, the industry is still booming. Demand for lab space was at an all-time high in the Bay Area last year, and the industry is expected to increase its footprint locally by 30% this year. Lesley McClurg KQED -- 12/6/22

Man found guilty of trying to rape woman cleaning Irvine office in attack caught on camera -- Eduardo Gonzalez-Godoy admitted he was the man seen pointing a pellet gun that closely resembled a Glock 19 pistol at the victim while she was working overnight and trying to rape her about 1:20 a.m. on Feb. 6, 2019. Eric Licas in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/6/22

Antioch police arrest suspect in attack on fast-food worker that led to eye loss -- The employee was punched in the face multiple times after protecting a person with an intellectual disability from being bullied by the suspect, according to Antioch police. The victim lost her right eye due to the incident, Antioch police said. Sabrina Pascua in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/6/22

Education Workplace   

Police give citations to striking UC workers who staged sit-in at Sacramento building -- The sit-in coincided with a march on the building, the UC Center Sacramento at 1130 K Street. The center is a teaching, research and public-service site operated by UC Davis that offers an academic program in public policy to students from throughout the UC system. Rosalio Ahumada, Maya Miller in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/6/22

Fast Food Workplace   

Fast-food industry pushes to halt AB 257, a California law that could raise worker wages -- Businesses and restaurant trade groups said Monday that they have submitted enough voter signatures for a ballot measure to overturn a landmark California law that could raise fast-food workers’ wages to $22 an hour — signatures that labor advocates allege were obtained fraudulently. Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ Mathew Miranda in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/6/22

Twitter  

Santa Clara DA announces exit from Twitter -- The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office says it is leaving Twitter amid an “explosion of hate speech” on the popular social media platform under new owner Elon Musk. The office’s account, which has 4,520 followers, is set to be deactivated Tuesday. Jason Green in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/6/22

Homeless

Winter weather brings cold-related deaths to Bay Area, Sacramento -- Winter hasn’t officially started yet, but already two San Mateo County residents appear to have died while trying to stay warm in a car, and a third person froze to death at a Sacramento homeless encampment — highlighting the immense dangers cold, rainy weather can pose to those with nowhere warm to go. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/6/22

A homeless man died of hypothermia last month. Will Sacramento open 24/7 warming centers? -- A 74-year-old man last month froze to death along Sacramento’s American River Parkway on a night when the city and county did not open walk-up warming centers. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/6/22

Housing 

After being stalled for 14 months Mayor Breed’s ‘Cars to Casas’ ordinance could become reality -- After 14 months of delays, the Board of Supervisors is set to pass Mayor London Breed’s legislation that makes it faster and easier to turn gas stations, parking lots and other auto-related properties into housing. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/6/22

The new sign that Sacramento’s housing affordability crisis may be easing ever so slightly -- The percentage of home buyers who could afford the median-priced single family home in Sacramento County ticked up in the third quarter of 2022 to 29%, up from 27% in the previous quarter, according to new data from the California Association of Realtors. Placer, El Dorado and Yolo counties also saw affordability numbers increase slightly. Ryan Lillis in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/6/22

Climate  

Scientists thought carbon emissions had peaked. They’ve never been higher -- According to a report released last month by the Global Carbon Project, carbon emissions from fossil fuels in 2022 are expected to reach 37.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide, the highest ever recorded. Shannon Osaka in the Washington Post$ -- 12/6/22

Renewable energy: First ocean areas to be leased off California for floating wind turbines -- Ushering in a new era of renewable energy in the United States — along with debates about how best to balance its environmental benefits and impacts — the Biden Administration on Tuesday is scheduled to auction the rights for private companies to build wind turbines off the California coastline. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/6/22

Street  

Activists Urge SF Supervisors to Rescind Approval of Newly Sanctioned 'Killer Robot' Policy -- Dozens of protesters gathered on the steps of San Francisco City Hall Monday morning to condemn a newly approved policy allowing the police department to deploy robots that can use deadly force in certain extreme situations. KQED -- 12/6/22

Former U.S. Capitol Police chief to lead UC Berkeley police -- Yogananda Pittman pledges 100-day plan to meet campus safety stakeholders. George Kelly in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/6/22

Man who shot Lady Gaga’s dogwalker pleads no contest, sentenced to 21 years in prison -- James Howard Jackson, 20, was the triggerman in the shooting of Ryan Fischer on Feb. 25, 2021, as Fischer was walking Lady Gaga’s three French bulldogs on Sierra Bonita Avenue in Hollywood. Noah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/6/22

Education  

Fentanyl continues to take students’ lives in Sacramento. Here’s how parents and schools are responding -- Young adults cope with depression, loneliness, and COVID fatigue by turning to dealers on social media. And though what they seek are pills like Percocet or Xanax, they are given Fentanyl, an opioid that feeds depression and addiction. Srishti Prabha Capital Public Radio -- 12/6/22

California court decision ups the odds for passing school parcel taxes -- The court’s monumental but barely noticed decision should make it much easier for voters in more districts to raise extra funding to support their schools, perhaps through parent groups, teachers and civic organizations — with or without the tacit consent of the school board. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 12/6/22

Climate  

SFO and Bay Area airports face even bigger risks from sea level rise than we knew -- Runways at major Bay Area airports could face flooding within two decades if nothing is done to protect them from sea level rise and storm surge, a new UC Berkeley study evaluating risk to California coastal airports has found. Tara Duggan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/6/22

Breathe  

Local air regulators say it’s impossible to meet smog standards without federal help -- Southern California air regulators have approved a sweeping plan to reduce pollution in the nation’s smoggiest region within the next two decades, but say they cannot meet national air quality standards without federal action. Tony Briscoe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/6/22

Also . . .   

Clinical trials okayed for children with ‘bubble boy’ disease -- Nearly three years after a British firm abandoned a successful therapy for the life-threatening “bubble baby” disease, children will again be treated in a clinical trial backed with millions of dollars from the state of California. David Jensen Capitol Weekly -- 12/6/22