Updating Friday . .   

A deadly building flaw common in California brings destruction and misery to Turkey, Syria -- As seismic engineers study the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria that killed more than 20,000 people this week, it’s becoming clear that a significant cause of the destruction involved a building design common in California and other parts of the U.S. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

Policy and Politics  

Rep. Lee planning to launch Senate run in Calif. this month, as rivals ramp up -- The Democrat is aiming to time her announcement to coincide with Black History Month, according to a person with knowledge of the plans. Dylan Wells in the Washington Post$ -- 2/10/23

S.F. officials were flooded with disturbing emails after Paul Pelosi attack. Here’s what they said -- The attack on Paul Pelosi prompted a flood of vitriolic emails to San Francisco officials, many from people influenced by conspiracy theories who accused the district attorney of lying and corruption, records obtained by The Chronicle show. Sophia Bollag in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/23

Laguna Beach city manager’s home vandalized with feces, police say -- Authorities responded to reports of vandalism around 7:29 a.m. at the 3rd Avenue home of City Manager Shohreh Dupuis and believe the incident occurred overnight or early in the morning. Lilly Nguyen in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

Workplace   

We visited Capp Street at night. Here’s what sex workers said about S.F.’s crackdown -- Nyomie says she has been kidnapped by pimps, beaten, tied up with ropes and sexually abused. She’s 26. And as she stood on Capp Street in San Francisco’s Mission District on Wednesday night, hoping a customer would appear and take her into his car, she shrugged at the memories. Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/23

Tech Layoffs Hit H1B Visa Workers Hard -- When many visa holders lose a job, they have 60 days to find a new one, or go home. Te-Ping Chen in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 2/10/23

Street  

Across from immigration court, a fake L.A. law practice lured the unsuspecting, D.A. says -- A woman running a fake law practice across the street from U.S. Immigration Court bilked more than a dozen people out of $100,000, prosecutors said. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

Fentanyl-fueled overdose deaths are spiking in these Bay Area ZIP codes -- In San Francisco, it’s well documented that the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods are experiencing the brunt of the opioid epidemic. But state data shows other Bay Area counties have their own hotspots. Christian Leonard in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/23

Before producing films, he ran an international prostitution ring. Now he’s headed to prison -- Dillon Jordan, a movie producer whose credits include a film starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, was sentenced to a five-year term after admitting to running a prostitution ring. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

Homeless

The fastest-growing homeless population? Seniors -- Some seniors have been homeless for years and are now growing older. But the increasing numbers also reflect another trend: those experiencing homelessness for the first time after age 50. Ana B. Ibarra CalMatters -- 2/10/23

'Waste of money': BART paid $350K for a homeless program that served one person -- Three years since BART and the Salvation Army rolled out a $350,000 program to tackle surging homelessness on trains, the results are in: One person received services during the life of the contract, according to a recent report from BART's inspector general. Jordan Parker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/23

Housing 

A year ago S.F. leaders celebrated this affordable housing groundbreaking. Then the work stopped -- A dispute with a neighbor has delayed construction on 63-units of transitional youth housing in Hayes Valley. There is little indication of when it might resume. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/23

Wildfire  

California wildfires are driving up home prices, gentrifying the state -- Climate change and its most extreme consequences are pushing up the price of homes throughout much of the American West, as fires and flooding carve into existing housing stock and restrict the amount land suitable for future building. Scott Wilson in the Washington Post$ -- 2/10/23

Exide  

California’s biggest environmental cleanup leaves lead contamination and frustration -- California’s largest and most expensive environmental cleanup has failed to properly remove lead pollution from some homes and neighborhoods near a notorious battery recycler in southeast Los Angeles County, leaving residents at continued risk, a Times investigation shows. Tony Briscoe, Jessica Garrison, Aida Ylanan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

Education  

Ex-cheerleaders, student athletes allege they were sexually groomed by coaches in Pomona -- Three women, former Pomona High students, are suing four former male coaches alleging that when they were students at the school in the 1990s, they were sexually abused by the men. Andrew J. Campa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

Also . . .   

Arellano: Why California’s anti-chromers can’t see the forest for the trees -- As far back as he can remember, Luis “Speedy” Rodriguez has been all about chrome. Growing up in his native Mexico City, he confessed, “I wouldn’t get on buses if they weren’t arreglados” — tricked out. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

Nelson Rising, who shaped L.A. and oversaw some of California’s biggest projects, dies at 81 -- Nelson Rising, who oversaw some of the biggest real estate projects in California and ran Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley’s political campaigns, has died at 81. Roger Vincent in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

California Policy and Politics Friday  

‘We’re not victims of circumstances’: Here's how Mayor Breed plans to revive San Francisco -- Mayor London Breed laid out a vision for how to revive San Francisco in her annual State of the City address Thursday, pledging to tackle the city’s biggest challenges, including the housing crisis, public safety concerns and a struggling downtown. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/23

These are the incentives Mayor Breed wants to give companies to move to S.F. -- Some San Francisco businesses could get big tax breaks under a new wide-ranging plan Mayor London Breed’s administration unveiled Thursday to try to turn around the city's struggling downtown, which has become one of the most lackluster urban cores in the country. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/23

D.A. Jenkins wants to end the historic prosecution of an S.F. officer. She says it’s Boudin’s fault -- San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins intends to drop the historic prosecution of a police officer who killed a man, alleging that her predecessor and former boss Chesa Boudin filed the manslaughter charges for political purposes. Joshua Sharpe, St. John Barned-Smith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez KQED -- 2/10/23

Gas  

Gas prices in Los Angeles are up 10 cents in a week — and they could rise even higher -- Gas prices in Los Angeles County rose sharply over the last week, and it could be due to a switch from winter to summer oil blends, according to the American Automobile Assn. Noah Goldberg in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

Workplace  

Corrections officers should be able to grow their beards as long as they want, ACLU says -- California’s correctional system is facing criticism over a policy barring officers from maintaining full beards, a rule that civil rights activists say is discriminatory against members of the Sikh faith and Black officers. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

Yahoo to cut 20% of staff as tech layoffs continue -- The Sunnyvale company will reportedly cut around 1,600 employees. Chase DiFeliciantonio in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/23

Taxes  

IRS tells Californians to wait to file tax returns. That could cost you -- The IRS has yet to figure out whether California’s ‘Middle Class Tax Refund’ is taxable at the federal level. Telling people to wait to file isn’t helpful. Jon Healey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

Housing 

S.F. may have found a way to help fund the city’s stalled housing projects -- By broadening the use of a funding mechanism previously used on public land, the city could open up funding to private developments that have languished for years. The first attempt will be on the Potrero Power Station site. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/23

Street  

Oakland baker dies after brutal car break-in -- The owner of a cherished Oakland bakery who was severely injured in a robbery on Monday died Thursday afternoon, according to an online post from her family and friends. Angel Cakes owner Jennifer Angel, 48, had been on life support three days after she was dragged more than 50 feet by the car of thieves who cornered and robbed her in the parking lot of a Wells Fargo in Oakland. Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/23

Trump supporter in California bomb plot begs judge to accept plea deal that could net 9 years -- One of the two Donald Trump supporters accused of plotting to firebomb Sacramento’s state Democratic headquarters building is asking a federal judge to accept a plea deal that would net him up to nine years in prison, and “begging you for a chance to redeem myself.” Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/10/23

‘Someone did this to him’: Lawyer who died in Mexico had 40 skull fractures, pathologist says -- The Orange County public defender who died while on vacation in a popular tourist area of Mexico last month sustained dozens of skull fractures, the family’s lawyer says. Alexandra E. Petri, Terry Castleman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/2

‘I’ve never seen a case pled down like this before’: Alameda County DA offers 15-year plea deal to man accused of 3 murders at age 18 -- An Alameda County Superior Court judge expressed deep concerns during a hearing Thursday over a proposed plea deal for a reputed West Oakland gang member accused of gunning down three people — including a potential witness to another shooting — when he was 18 years old. Jakob Rodgers, Nate Gartrell in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/10/23

Woman died from fentanyl overdose while at Riverside County sobering center, according to lawsuit -- The 24-year-old woman’s family claims the staff at the sobering center falsified documents and did not routinely check on her. Nathan Solis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

Education  

Bay Area college system sues contractors, alleging massive pay-to-play fraud -- The complaint claims the defendants lavished a former chancellor with luxury travel and gifts for over 20 years in exchange for contracts. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/10/23

CSU asks: What do you want in the next systemwide chancellor? -- The next chancellor of the CSU system should be a leader who can boldly address the needs of a diverse student body that, in the wake of the pandemic, has struggled mightily not only with academics but basic needs like food and housing. Emma Gallegos EdSource -- 2/10/23

Climate  

Gavin Newsom ‘declared war’ on Big Oil. What does it mean for California’s clean energy transition? -- Since 1896, the sprawling Phillips 66 refinery in Rodeo has turned millions of barrels of crude oil into everything from asphalt and kerosene to gasoline and diesel. But not for much longer. Maggie Angst in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/10/23

California’s trees are dying by the millions. Blame drought -- More than 36 million trees died across California last year — almost triple the number of trees that perished the year before — scattered across 2.6 million acres of the drought-ridden state. Amudalat Ajasa in the Washington Post$ -- 2/10/23

Environment  

A gross side effect from California’s extra wet winter: More disease-carrying ticks this spring -- Northwest California remains a hot spot for ticks carrying disease, and tick season could be even worse this year after the state’s extremely wet winter. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

Oil  

New deal in Huntington Beach oil spill boosts payout to locals to $95 million -- About 10,000 people and business will split the pot. Shipping companies that dragged anchors over the underwater pipe will pay $45 million. Oil operator Amplify Energy will pay $50 million. Andre Mouchard in the Orange County Register Hannah Fry, Laura J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23

Also . . .   

Will court fight over fireworks shows affect Long Beach’s popular Big Bang celebration? -- A growing debate over the possible environmental damage caused by fireworks shows, especially over waterways, recently erupted in federal court where climate activists are pushing for stronger regulations of a popular Independence Day celebration in Southern California. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/10/23