Updating Sunday . .   

Rain Train  

A canoe, a rope and a swimmer: Rescuing Californians stranded by recent violent storms -- The woman clung to a tree in pitch darkness. Nearby, her gray pickup was submerged in murky, brown water. She was trapped along a fair-weather bridge, a ßcauseway built over Coyote Creek just north of Ventura. The creek had overflowed and flooded the crossing after a powerful storm barreled into the area Monday. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/15/23

Interstate 80 reopens through Sierra Nevada after weekend closures -- All vehicles, except big rigs, can now drive between Colfax and the California-Nevada border, according to Caltrans. Trucks will be redirected back eastbound at Applegate and westbound at the state line. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

Flooding closes highway in Marin County -- A portion of Highway 37 in Novato was closed Sunday morning due to the roads flooding, authorities said. The California Highway Patrol tweeted at 8:16 a.m. that both directions between Highway 101 and Atherton Avenue were closed with no estimated time of reopening. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

Bay Area storms: Rain storm bound for California could be ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ -- The brunt of the moisture is expected to hit the Bay Area early Sunday afternoon and continue through roughly midday Monday, said Colby Goatley, a National Weather Service meteorologist. It will likely mark the final major blast of precipitation to hit the region for the foreseeable future — potentially offering the state a chance to recover from a near-unceasing line of storms that have killed at least 19 people across California since late December. Jakob Rodgers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/15/23

Storm sets new L.A. rain records. Another blast is on the way. Here’s a timeline -- Southern California will get a break in the rain for part of Sunday, but a new storm is on the way. The region was hit by intense storms on Saturday. That storm set several new rainfall records for the date, including downtown L.A. (1.82 inches), LAX (1.53 inches) and Long Beach airport (1.72 inches). Rong-Gong Lin II, Thomas Curwen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/15/23

S.F. has seen 20 inches of rain fall since Oct. 1 — one of wettest water years on record -- San Francisco hadn’t experienced more than 20 inches of rain in a single water year for over four decades, but the streak has finally ended. Jordan Parker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

Woman dies in Golden Gate Park after being hit by falling tree branch -- An elderly woman died Saturday evening after being struck by a tree branch at San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, authorities said. A jogger at the park saw the woman lying next to a large tree branch and called 911 just after 5 p.m., according to San Francisco Fire Lt. Jonathan Baxter. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

I spent years photographing disasters. Then one hit my hometown -- Sunol, a tiny, unincorporated town of about 800 people in the East Bay, is the place my family has called home for four generations. Jessica Christian in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

In California, a drought turned to floods. Forecasters didn’t see it coming -- California storms prompt questions about accuracy of seasonal predictions. Dan Stillman and Diana Leonard in the Washington Post$ -- 1/15/23

Policy and Politics  

Garofoli: Barbara Lee has far less money than other California Senate candidates. Here’s why you shouldn’t count her out -- No, you weren’t going nuts. It was weird — in real-world terms — for Orange County Rep. Katie Porter to launch her U.S. Senate campaign 21 months before Election Day 2024, and just days after she was sworn in for her third term in the House. But it wasn’t weird in the political world. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

Workplace   

Big Tech Companies Prep for a Tough Year -- Competitors, regulators and an economic slowdown have started to make a meaningful dent in the fortunes of the largest tech companies. Sam Schechner in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 1/15/23

Housing 

‘There’s never enough.’ Surge in need for shelter, housing overwhelms Bay Area providers -- Pleas from people who were homeless or struggling to keep their housing spiked last year, according to new data from the Bay Area’s helplines — reaching a four-year high that highlights just how desperate the region’s affordable housing crisis has become. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/15/23

Climate  

Bottlenose dolphins have migrated to the Bay Area for the first time, adapting to the changing environment -- Bottlenose dolphins, the marine mammals best known for doing clever tricks in animal parks, have created a home in the Bay Area after previously spending their lives in Southern California and Baja, Mexico. Tara Duggan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

Street  

Suspect in fatal shooting of Riverside County sheriff’s deputy is identified -- The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department has identified Jesse Navarro, 42, of Lake Elsinore as the suspect in the killing of Deputy Darnell Calhoun. Dorany Pineda, Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/15/23

Healthcare  

‘This can only go on so long.’ Patients needing routine care pack MLK emergency department -- The rise of flu, RSV, COVID and other winter viruses has exacerbated overcrowding that existed even before the pandemic, hospital officials said — the result of stark shortages in medical care in a low-income South Los Angeles neighborhood where most residents are Black or Latino. Emily Alpert, Francine Orr in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/15/23

UC Health doctors want stronger protections in contracts with faith-based hospitals -- As the University of California’s health system renews contracts with hundreds of outside hospitals and clinics — many with religious affiliations — some of its doctors and faculty want stronger language to ensure that physicians can perform the treatments they deem appropriate, including abortions for women or hysterectomies for transgender patients. Annie Sciacca California Healthline in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

Education  

L.A. Catholic schools are growing after years of decline. But is it enough? -- But more than a year into the pandemic that upended education, Celistan, who was raised Baptist and considers herself non-religious, turned in a direction she hadn’t expected. Andrew J. Campa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/15/23

Also . . .   

Amtrak riders use ‘bus bridge’ between Oceanside and Irvine -- The “bus bridge” between Oceanside and Irvine has been going for more than three months now, but Amtrak riders seem to be taking it in stride. It’s the only way for train passengers between San Diego and Orange counties to get around the landslide stabilization project in San Clemente, which is likely to continue another month or longer. Phil Diehl in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/15/23

McManus: The war in Ukraine could become a long, frozen conflict. Are we ready for that? -- According to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s grand plan, this was to be the hard winter that would break Ukraine and divide its allies in the West. That hasn’t happened. Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/15/23

 

California Policy and Politics Sunday  

Two lanes of northbound Interstate 5 near Castaic remain closed indefinitely after landslide -- A saturated hillside that collapsed this week seriously damaged a portion of northbound Interstate 5 near Castaic, leaving the roadway’s two right lanes closed indefinitely, according to state transportation officials. Tony Briscoe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/15/23

Santa Cruz County orders evacuations as rivers rise -- After weeks of massive storms dumping on the Central Coast, Santa Cruz County residents from the mountains to the coast face some of the region’s most severe flood risks this weekend. Hannah Hagemann, Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

Bay Area storm: Floods strike Saturday, triggering more evacuations -- Joany Morgan looked at her home in despair, the blue-hued house sitting in a foot of muddy water just across from the historic Felton Covered Bridge in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Yet again, the San Lorenzo River had crested its banks, triggering a fresh round of evacuations Saturday as another winter storm battered Santa Cruz County. Ethan Varian, Scooty Nickerson, John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/15/23

These California renters lived paycheck to paycheck. Then a flood saturated their homes -- Isabel Ramirez returned to a damp, moldy home Thursday morning, just a few days after she, her husband and two children escaped a flood that tore through her neighborhood in rural a stretch of the San Joaquin Valley. Victor Patton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/15/23

New flood evacuation warnings, Newsom visits damage, more rain to come -- Gov. Gavin Newsom visited flooded areas and an evacuation center in Merced; a search on the Central Coast for a missing 5-year-old caught up in floodwaters from an earlier storm was suspended again by the latest rough weather; and requests for help with downed trees and other damage continued to pile up with county agencies. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/15/23

New storms move into Southern California, bringing wet, hazardous holiday weekend -- The first of two holiday weekend storms delivered a solid punch Saturday to an already beaten and soggy Southland, battering the coast with high surf, threatening more flooding and stretching emergency services. Thomas Curwen, Rong-gong Lin II, Christian Martinez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/15/23

Storm-battered California gets more wind, rain and snow -- Storm-battered California got more wind, rain and snow on Saturday, raising flooding concerns, causing power outages and making travel dangerous. Bands of rain with gusty winds started in the north and spread south, with more storms expected to follow into early next week, the National Weather Service said. John Antczak Associated Press -- 1/15/23

With the Salinas River rising, Monterey County stocks up on sandbags and supplies -- Twenty-two members of the California Conservation Corps scrambled to fill hundreds of sandbags at Toro Park near Salinas on Friday as a new round of storms thrashed the coastal region, forcing thousands to evacuate along the Salinas River. St. John Barned-Smith, Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

Lightning strikes the Golden Gate Bridge as storm lashes Bay Area -- The Bay Area was slammed with another round of rain Saturday that brought travel dangers, power failures and evacuation orders — along with a bolt of lightning that struck a tower of the Golden Gate Bridge. Jordan Parker, Danielle Echeverria in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

Policy and Politics  

Walters: Californians’ patience on homelessness wears thin --Last week, a viral video showed the owner of a San Francisco art gallery using a water hose to spray a homeless woman camped outside the doorway of his business. The gallery owner, Collier Gwin, semi-apologized later, telling a television interviewer, “I totally understand what an awful thing that is to do, but I also understand what an awful thing it is to leave her on the streets.” Dan Walters CalMatters -- 1/15/23

Homeless

Thousands live homeless on S.F. streets. Some say there’s no easy way to get a shelter bed -- The city advertises the main way for adults like him to seek shelter is to leave a voicemail with the homeless outreach team and wait for a call back or for someone to come find him within 24 to 72 hours — but he doesn’t have a phone. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

Street  

Drone video captures part of encounter in which Riverside County deputy was fatally shot -- Drone video of a deadly standoff that took the life of a Riverside County sheriff’s deputy on Friday appears to capture the suspect being shot by another deputy before the wounded officer is rushed into the back of a sheriff’s SUV. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/15/23

Vigil for man who died after being tased by LAPD called a ‘spiritual gathering’ -- Despite Saturday’s downpour, Angelinos gathered on the corner of Lincoln and Venice boulevards in Venice to honor Keenan Anderson, who went into cardiac arrest and died Jan. 3 after Los Angeles police tased and shackled him in the same location. Georgia Valdes in the Orange County Register -- 1/15/23

How a ‘rag-tag group’ grew to open an Oakland community center -- Thirteen years ago, Oakland’s Anti Police-Terror Project was what its executive director called a “ragtag group” seeking ways to combat police violence against communities of color. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

Also . . .   

S.F. barman enters burning building, saves 2 lives before firefighters arrive -- Josué Contreras noticed an acrid smell in the air, like fireworks, as he checked IDs at Trick Dog, the Mission District cocktail bar in San Francisco where he was door host Friday night. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/15/23

 

Saturday Updates  

New storms move into Southern California, bringing wet, hazardous holiday weekend -- Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties were expected to see showers throughout the day Saturday, with the heaviest rain in the afternoon, according to the National Weather Service. The rain is expected to continue through Monday. Rong-Gong Lin II, Christian Martinez, Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/14/23

With the Salinas River rising, Monterey County stocks up on sandbags and supplies -- Twenty-two members of the California Conservation Corps scrambled to fill hundreds of sandbags at Toro Park near Salinas on Friday as a new round of storms thrashed the coastal region, forcing thousands to evacuate along the Salinas River. St. John Barned-Smith, Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/14/23

Floods and downed power lines expected as another storm slams Bay Area -- After a few days break from the downpour, another storm moved into the Bay Area on Saturday with wind gusts topping over 45 miles per hour in the morning. Those winds could topple trees, sending them tumbling into power lines. Scooty Nickerson in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/14/23

Floods, landslides, sinkholes: See the devastation of heavy rain in California -- After weeks of relentless rainfall, the toll is coming into view. Communities faced flash floods, mudslides, debris damage and a range of other hazards as the storms, known as atmospheric rivers, have whipped across the landscape. At least 19 people have died. Derek Hawkins in the Washington Post$ -- 1/14/23

Why were California’s storms so deadly? Flooded roads and falling trees posed greatest risks -- As another round of storms rolls in over the weekend, the state’s flood control system — already battered by persistent rainfall — will be put to the test. Seven rivers are likely to jump their banks this weekend, and the Monterey Peninsula could temporarily become an island, state officials said on Friday. Ariane Lange and Kaytlyn Leslie in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/14/23

The rain paused, but the work hasn’t for road crews battling nature’s wrath -- The 11-man crew assembled at the Felton office of Santa Cruz County’s Department of Public Works, waiting to hear what physical and mental toil they were going to be assigned. Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/14/23

Frustrated by waiting, some hikers return to potentially hazardous trails -- The ominous message was taped to an 18-inch orange traffic cone. “Danger. Flash flood area. Do not enter,” it read. Andrew J. Campa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/14/23

Policy and Politics  

California should plan for bigger deficit and more budget cuts, new analysis says -- The analysis, released by the Legislative Analyst’s Office on Friday, said there is “a good chance” that California revenues will come in lower than Gov. Gavin Newsom has projected. Lindsey Holden, Maggie Angst in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/14/23

The top 10 Republican presidential candidates for 2024, ranked -- The 2024 Republican presidential race is technically two months old. We say “technically” because there’s really only one candidate and very little sign that he’s running a bona fide campaign at this point. Aaron Blake in the Washington Post$ -- 1/14/23

Homeless

He raised 4 kids in Sacramento. He died homeless of hypothermia this winter -- Six days after Thanksgiving, a man froze to death on a sidewalk just north of downtown Sacramento. He was the second homeless person to die of hypothermia in the capital city this winter. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/14/23

L.A. to keep downtown hotel open as homeless housing for another year -- A 13-story hotel that has served as a cornerstone of Los Angeles’ fight against homelessness, a facility that had been set to cease operations in less than three weeks, will be kept open for an additional year, city officials said Friday. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/14/23

Oakland says it needs to clear huge Wood Street homeless camp — or lose money for affordable housing -- Before Jared DeFigh moved to the sprawling Wood Street homeless encampment under Interstate 880 in West Oakland he lived on the side of the freeway in Berkeley. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/14/23

Workplace   

Sacramento judge blocks California from enacting first-in-the-nation fast-food labor council -- California will again pause implementation of its first-in-the-nation council that would set pay and working standards for fast-food employees. Maya Miller in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/14/23

Street  

For Patrisse Cullors, co-founder of Black Lives Matter, police violence hits close to home -- Patrisse Cullors is used to being the one consoling families of people who died at the hands of police, not the other way around. But there she was, fielding voicemails, DMs and WhatsApp messages from well-wishers as she grappled with the sudden loss of Keenan Anderson, a distant cousin who died earlier this month after a Los Angeles police traffic stop. Libor Jany in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/14/23

Knight: She failed to save her daughter from fentanyl’s grip. A year later, her daughter and S.F. remain stuck -- Dealers clustered at Seventh and Mission streets, openly selling drugs. At their feet, people smoked fentanyl off tinfoil while others nodded off. Tents dotted the sidewalks. Piles of food scraps, trash and feces filled the gutter. Pedestrians, including a woman pushing a baby in a stroller, nearly swerved into traffic on Seventh Street to get past. Laurie Steves, 57, stood amid the commerce and the chaos, waiting. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/14/23

L.A. traffic deaths rose in 2022, surpassing 300 fatalities for first time in two decades -- Traffic deaths climbed again in Los Angeles last year, with 300 people killed on city streets — the highest number in at least two decades, said city officials. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/14/23

Several Torrance police officers linked to racist text scandal no longer employed by city -- Several Torrance police officers linked to a racist text messaging scandal — including two who shot and killed a Black man in a controversial 2018 incident — are no longer employed by the troubled law enforcement agency, records show. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/14/23

Also . . .   

The Circus Came to Town—and Bought the Place -- What happens when a circus buys a town? The small community of Nipton, Calif., is living through the experiment. Kirsten Grind in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 1/14/23