Bursts of rain, blasts of wind expected in Presidents Day washout
LAT, SONJA SHARP: "A powerful winter storm will soak Los Angeles and much of Southern California on Monday, dampening plans for Presidents Day and threatening thunderstorms and possible flooding through midweek.
“This is a storm with a lot of energy,” said Rose Schoenfeld, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “There’s 30% to 40% chance of thunderstorms on Monday. We could see damaging wind gusts, intense rainfall, water spouts or brief, weak tornadoes.”"
Voter trust in U.S. elections drops amid Trump critiques, redistricting, fear of ICE
LAT, KEVIN RECTOR: "President Trump and his allies are questioning ballot security. Democrats are warning of unconstitutional federal intervention. Experts and others are raising concerns about partisan redistricting and federal immigration agents intimidating people at the polls.
Voter trust in the upcoming midterm elections, meanwhile, has dropped off sharply, and across party lines, according to new research by the UC San Diego Center for Transparent and Trusted Elections."
The two separate lives of Gavin Newsom detailed in new memoir
LAT, TARYN LUNA: "Gavin Newsom writes in his upcoming memoir about San Francisco’s highborn Getty family fitting him in Brioni suits “appropriate to meet a king” when he was 20 years old. Then he flew aboard their private “Jetty” to Spain for a royal princess’s debutante-style party.
Back home, real life wasn’t as grand."
Newsom cheers Trump backer’s firm. What does it say about immigration politics?
SACBEE, ANDREW GRAHAM/LIA RUSSELL: "Gov. Gavin Newsom has been making headlines for a steady stream of broadsides against President Donald Trump, accusing the Republican leader of crony capitalism, authoritarianism at home and reckless military adventurism abroad.
“It’s 1930s (Germany) all over again,” Newsom said at a Feb. 2 news conference near California’s southern border. He was speaking about the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and recently demoted immigration enforcement chief Greg Bovino."
From Trump to YouTube influencers, the right is obsessed with fraud in California
CHRONICLE, ALEXEI KOSEFF: "President Donald Trump rang in the new year with a warning to California. During a celebration at his Mar-a-Lago club, Trump told supporters that fraud in the state dwarfed an unfolding welfare scandal in Minnesota and he would get to the bottom of it.
The president offered no evidence for his claim, which he has repeatedly aimed at a handful of states whose liberal leaders are challenging his policy agenda. But less than a week later, his administration moved to freeze billions of dollars in child care funding for California, with Trump promising on social media that it was just the beginning of a fraud investigation."
Who is running in California’s 1st Congressional District?
SACBEE, LIA RUSSELL: "California’s 1st Congressional District, which encompasses much of the North State and reaches up to the Oregon border, was recently redrawn following the passage of Proposition 50. The initiative, championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, redrew congressional seats to make them easier for Democratic candidates to win in response to a similar GOP-backed effort in Texas.
The death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Oroville, last month threw a wrench into Democrats’ plan to flip the leadership of the formerly ruby-red district, which has since been redrawn to include liberal North Bay counties."
Your grocery bags just changed again. Here’s what California is trying to fix
CHRONICLE, JESSICA ROY: "I saw something at the grocery store this weekend that I haven’t seen in years: a reminder to bring my reusable bags.
As of Jan. 1, California’s updated bag ban dictates there will be no more plastic bags available at grocery store checkouts — only paper. It aims to fix a loophole in a decade-old law that ultimately turned “reusable” bags into even more plastic waste in California’s landfills."
The Micheli Minute for Monday, February 16, 2026
CAPITOL WEEKLY, STAFF: "Lobbyist, author and McGeorge law professor Chris Micheli offers a quick look at what’s coming up this week under the Capitol Dome."
Kaiser strike hits fourth week as 31,000 workers demand higher pay and better staffing
CALMATTERS, KRISTEN HWANG: "More than 31,000 Kaiser Permanente health care workers remained on strike Monday as the open-ended walkout entered its fourth week, disrupting patient appointments, surgeries and treatments across California and Hawaii.
Bargaining teams for Kaiser and workers resumed negotiations after weeks of stalemate, but no agreement appears imminent. This is the latest of a number of major strikes to have roiled Kaiser in recent years, including a 10-week strike by mental health workers in 2022 and a 2023 dispute mediated by the then-U.S. Secretary of Labor."
A California county’s only hospital cleared a federal hurdle, but it still needs millions to reopen
CALMATTERS, ANA B. IBARRA: "A shuttered Northern California hospital is getting a lifeline from Congress, but it doesn’t come with money to actually reopen and serve patients.
A new federal law will restore the “critical access” designation for Glenn Medical Center, the only hospital in Glenn County. As a result, once it reopens, the hospital qualifies for full Medicare reimbursement, a key source of revenue."
Tensions mount as LAUSD board to consider sending 3,200 notices of possible layoffs
LAT, HOWARD BLUME: "More than 3,200 Los Angeles Unified employees would receive a notice of a possible layoff under a proposal to be considered at Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting amid calls from union leaders to pause the decision until the state revenue forecast becomes clearer.
The number of workers who are likely to lose their jobs is expected to be much lower, but could still be significant. Other workers would face demotion, pay cuts and new jobs in different places."
Sac City cuts more than 400 positions amid budget crisis. Who will be affected?
SACBEE, JENNAH PENDLETON: "Food service workers, safety officers, instructional aides and student service coordinators: These are some of the positions on the list of more than 400 that Sacramento City Unified School District plans to eliminate to address its budget crisis.
The district board of trustees voted 3-1 at an unbroadcast special meeting Thursday night to issue preliminary layoff notices to employees in these positions on March 15. But around 120 positions slated for elimination are vacant, and not everyone who receives a notice will be ultimately laid off. Final notices will come in May."
Student anti-ICE walkouts: Some officials praise activism, others dole out detention
LAT, HOWARD BLUME/CHRISTOPHER BUCHANAN: "After some 150 students walked out of Redlands schools early this month in support of immigrants they were dealt an unexpected consequence: a temporary suspension of school privileges as administrators enforced rules that forbid them from leaving a classroom without permission.
The punishment — the loss of access to sports, dances, performances and other school events — in a school system with a conservative-majority governing board stands in sharp contrast to the positive reception that student activism has received in some other California school systems, including Los Angeles Unified School District."
Will it really snow in the Bay Area this week? Here’s the forecast
CHRONICLE, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "The rainstorm hitting the Bay Area on Sunday is just an appetizer of what’s to come this week, as a series of cold systems is forecast to bring snow and hail to unusually low elevations.
After being doused with rain and whipped by strong winds Monday, the Bay Area will get a brief break between systems Monday night into Tuesday morning. Then, cold air will pour toward the region, taking a straight shot from the Gulf of Alaska to California."
Why gas stoves could be the No. 1 polluter for many Bay Area residents
CHRONICLE, ERIN ALLDAY: "When Robert Jackson began studying greenhouse gas exposure inside homes a few years ago, a team of fellow Stanford researchers camped out in his kitchen for a few days to monitor the emissions coming from his own gas stove.
They ran tests with all the windows closed and again with all of them open, and with air filters on and off. They turned on three burners at once, and cooked with and without the stove hood running."
The biggest mistake older travelers make, according to Rick Steves
CHRONICLE, JESSICA ROY: "On Feb. 23, Rick Steves will be the keynote speaker at the San Francisco Chronicle’s Aging and Longevity Summit.
And on May 1, he’s departing for a 50-day trip. It’s hardly a vacation: He starts working from the minute the plane takes off. And when he returns, he says, “I’m going to be younger than when I left.”"
Sprawling network of brothels in Ventura and L.A. counties is busted, authorities say
LAT, SUMMER LIN: "A massive Southern California brothel ring was busted by authorities, leading to two arrests, officials said.
Detectives from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Special Crimes Unit conducted a yearlong investigation into a brothel ring, according to a Ventura County Sheriff’s Office news release."
