Updating Friday . . .

RIP for some noteworthy 2023 California bills -- The Senate and Assembly appropriations committees, in the somewhat secretive suspense file process, held a combined 24 bills after their hearings — essentially killing the measures for now. The panels will do this exercise again in mid-May and mid-August for bills introduced this year. Lynn La CalMatters -- 1/19/24

UC enrolls record number of California undergrads in fall 2023, cuts out-of-state students -- California undergraduate students climbed to 194,571, or 83.4% of the enrolled fall class last year, according to UC data released Friday. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/19/24

20% of Southern California offices are empty. Where are the most vacancies? -- Southern California finished 2023 with enough empty office space to fill a landmark Los Angeles office tower 58 times. Jonathan Lansner in the Orange County Register -- 1/19/24

Walters: Outsiders love bashing California but residents are souring on the state, too -- California is the state that the rest of the nation loves to hate, but a new poll finds that Californians, by a wide margin, are also sour on the state’s direction. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 1/19/24

Hundreds of thousands of California children missed out on pandemic food benefits — again -- New state data show hundreds of thousands of California children never used the free food benefits they were issued in all three of the state’s most recent pandemic EBT programs. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/19/24

Americans Are Suddenly Feeling Way Better About the Economy -- Consumer sentiment posts the largest two-month gain since 1991. Gwynn Guilford, Amara Omeokwe in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 1/19/24

Malls have rebounded thanks to an unlikely source: Gen Z -- Members of Gen Z — people from the ages of 16 to 26 — rely on in-person shopping experiences as much as online shopping, if not more, according to a report by a trade group for malls and retail centers. Ashley Ahn in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/19/24

Workplace

Sacramento State faculty, maintenance workers plan to join five-day CSU-wide strike -- As their students gear up to return to class, thousands of faculty members and hundreds of skilled trades workers across the nation’s largest university system plan to shut their campuses down with a week-long strike. Maya Miller in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/19/24

State labor board sides with Oakland teachers union, finds controversial strike was legal -- The Oakland teachers union, one of the city’s most powerful political forces, has won a significant battle against the Oakland school district after a state labor board found that the union’s 2022 labor strike was legal. Shomik Mukherjee in the East Bay Times$ -- 1/19/24

Insurance

California should require insurances to cover homeowners who protect property, advocate says -- Carmen Balber, the executive director of the advocacy organization Consumer Watchdog, said she came to Sacramento recently to pitch legislators and their staff on a plan she hopes will help some Californians keep their property insurance. Stephen Hobbs in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/19/24

Guns

Smith, Chabria: California says its new gun law is about public safety. But what about these women? -- Tied up in court, SB 2 bans concealed carry almost everywhere — a blow to domestic violence victims failed by the state and worried about self-defense. Erika D. Smith, Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/19/24

Off Shore Wind

The Multibillion-Dollar Clean Energy Bet Gone Wrong -- U.S. power companies raced to get in on the offshore wind boom a few years ago. Now some are rushing to get out. David Uberti in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 1/19/24

Education

O.C. school districts to pay total of $4.8 million to former students abused by water polo coach -- Bahram Hojreh, 47, is serving a sentence of more than 18 years in prison for 22 felony counts of sexual assault of minors. Jeremy Childs in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/19/24

Immigration

America needs an immigration debate — just not the one we’re having -- Republicans want to argue about the border. Democrats are stuck on defense. The question neither wants to grapple with: How many immigrants does the U.S. need? David Lauter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/19/24

Another S.F. nonprofit under scrutiny — this time for luxury gifts, Tahoe trip under SFPD contract -- An analysis of about $910,000 paid by the Police Department to SF Safe found that the department did not adequately review invoices or supporting documentation. Aldo Toledo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/19/24

Street

Arellano: He defends street vendors. Now he’s on trial. Did he fly too close to the sun? -- Edin Alex Enamorado wages campaigns against people who mess with mobile food sellers hawking their goods on the streets of Los Angeles and elsewhere. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/19/24

California Policy and Politics Friday

Steve Garvey is running for Senate in California as a Republican — but don’t ask about Trump -- California Republicans are so desperate to separate themselves from Donald Trump that their leading candidate for an open Senate seat said he would consider voting for a Democrat for president. Sarah Grace Taylor Politico -- 1/19/24

Garofoli: Steve Garvey isn’t swinging at much in California Senate race -- For a guy who had 2,599 hits in his two-decade baseball career, Steve Garvey — as a Republican U.S. Senate candidate — is not going to take a lot of swings. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/19/24

Silicon Valley insiders are trying to unseat Biden with help from AI -- A new super PAC tied to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and billionaire Bill Ackman is backing Democratic challenger Dean Phillips. Meryl Kornfield, Elizabeth Dwoskin in the Washington Post$ -- 1/19/24

Why the L.A. Innocence Project wants to exonerate Scott Peterson -- The Los Angeles Innocence Project has filed court papers in an effort to exonerate Scott Peterson, contending that key evidence was withheld from the 2004 trial that found him guilty of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son. Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Christian Martinez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/19/24

Prosecutors Seek 6-Month Prison Term for Peter Navarro in Contempt Case -- Mr. Navarro would be the second Trump official to be sentenced for stonewalling Congress in its Jan. 6 investigation. Zach Montague in the New York Times$ -- 1/19/24

California chief justice ‘dismayed’ by loss of public faith in U.S. Supreme Court -- Chief Justice Patricia Guerrero on Thursday attributed a loss of public support for the Supreme Court to the divisive and political appointment process. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/19/24

‘We are enabling this’: Breed touts measure to compel drug screening for welfare recipients -- Mayor London Breed sat in the community room of a Tenderloin residential hotel on Thursday and issued a forceful defense of her ballot measure to mandate drug screening for San Francisco welfare recipients. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/19/24

“Every woman’s worst nightmare”: Lawsuit alleges widespread sexual abuse at California’s women’s prisons -- More than 130 women who were formerly inmates at prisons for women in California have filed suit, saying guards sexually abused them. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/19/24

A California panel is holding up studies on psychedelics. Some researchers want it gone -- Dozens of California studies on psychedelics or addiction treatment that need to be vetted by a little-known government panel are now in limbo. Some scientists want to abolish the panel entirely. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/19/24

VTA officials misled public, governing board on cost for San Jose BART project -- Auditor found VTA staff engaged in ‘breach of transparency’ and ‘misleading’ communications to its governing board and public about the project’s cost. Gabriel Greschler in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/19/24

Dangerous avalanches linked to one weird night — and what you need to know to stay safe -- While we were celebrating the end of a sunny New Year’s Eve weekend, the snow in the Sierra Nevada suddenly turned as brittle and spiky as the old ice cream in your freezer. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/19/24

Housing

Dream for All: Down payment assistance for first-time California homebuyers relaunches with new lottery -- State officials hope a lottery and an emphasis on first-generation homebuyers will make California’s most generous down payment assistance program more equitable. Felicia Mello CalMatters -- 1/19/24

Homeless

San Francisco seeks to halt lawsuit limiting homeless sweeps as Supreme Court weighs the issue -- The City Attorney’s Office said the case against San Francisco “may become irrelevant in a few short months.” Maggie Angst in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/19/24

Newsom: Housing conversion program, Homekey, has been a success, needs more funding -- Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday, Jan. 18, boasted about California’s progress in overhauling hotels and other buildings into housing for those at-risk of homelessness, with more than 9,000 units having been converted since a statewide program began three years ago. Michael Slaten in the Orange County Register -- 1/19/24

California program to clear homeless encampments show signs of success, but housing remains elusive -- For years, the Guadalupe River Trail — a winding path that snakes through the heart of downtown San Jose — had been home to hundreds of people living in tents and make-shift shacks. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/19/24

Workplace

Tech layoffs widen in Bay Area, adding to industry woes in shaky early 2024 -- Bill.com, Juniper and Spotify are the tech companies that have disclosed their intentions to chop jobs in the Bay Area in the latest round of layoffs. Amyris, a biotech firm, also revealed plans to cut positions. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/19/24

L.A. Times Guild calls for one-day walkout to protest looming staff cuts -- Los Angeles Times newsroom guild leaders called for a one-day walkout Friday to protest planned cuts to offset steep financial losses that owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and his family have absorbed since acquiring the paper nearly six years ago. Meg James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/19/24

Education

Combat U: Sacramento State and Urijah Faber announce nation’s first college fight school -- Luke Wood promised to make changes and additions for the betterment of students at his alma mater, and the first-year Sacramento State president hasn’t pulled any punches. Joe Davidson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/19/24

Street

Family of Kristin Smart sues Cal Poly over college’s handling of her case -- Smart family members allege the San Luis Obispo university failed to punish Paul Flores in earlier incidents with women, allowing him to remain on campus. Matthias Gafni in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/19/24

S.F. police are using cameras to fight crime more than ever before. Is it working? -- Two years ago, Mayor London Breed railed against limitations on the Police Department’s ability to monitor live private security cameras, arguing that officers weren’t able to access real-time video during high-profile incidents of mass retail thefts in Union Square. Aldo Toledo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/19/24

Also

A’s owner John Fisher, colleagues tour West Sac's Sutter Health Park -- Top Oakland Athletics executives on Thursday visited Sutter Health Park, home to the Triple-A Sacramento River Cats, which has emerged as a possible home for the A’s in 2025, 2026 and 2027. John Shea in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Michael Nowels in the East Bay Times$ -- 1/19/24

Long COVID creates changes in the blood, aiding detection, reports new study -- A pattern of proteins, showing immune dysregulation, could help efforts to create diagnostic tests. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/19/24

San Francisco to close remaining community COVID vaccination sites -- The city’s health department cited a lack of funding and demand for the closures of six neighborhood clinics that offered free vaccination and other services. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/19/24