A silver lining to California’s storms

From: POLITICO California Playbook - Friday Jan 06,2023 02:14 pm

Jan 06, 2023

By Lara Korte, Jeremy B. White and Owen Tucker-Smith

THE BUZZ: It’s raining, it’s pouring, and Californians are breathing quiet sighs of relief.

Make no mistake — the damage from the “bomb cyclone” has been devastating and deadly in many parts of the state. Flooding and high winds have killed multiple people in Northern California, prompted evacuations and left thousands without power. But there isn’t a single Californian who isn’t keenly aware that the state has been stuck in a historic drought.

This week’s deluge has raised hopes that an end might be in sight.

The state’s largest reservoirs — Shasta and Oroville — have certainly benefited from the excess precipitation, but overall figures are still low. Shasta, the largest reservoir, is at 34 percent capacity. Oroville is at 39 percent. Furthermore, the first snowpack measurement of the year, taken this week, showed levels far above average.

Thomas Heins crouches as a wave crashes into the seawall in Pacifica, Calif.

Thomas Heins crouches as a wave crashes into the seawall in Pacifica, Calif., Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. Damaging winds and heavy rains from a powerful "atmospheric river" pounded California on Thursday. | Godofredo A. Vásquez/AP Photo

As rain continues to pound much of the state, officials have a word of caution: The drought is far from over.

"No single storm event will end the drought,” Sean de Guzman , snow survey and water supply forecast section manager for the California Department of Water Resources, said earlier this week. “We'll need consecutive storms, month after month after month of above average rain, snow, and runoff to really refill our reservoirs so we can really start digging ourselves out of extreme drought."

In some ways, the drought and the bomb cyclone are two sides of the same climate coin. We’ve known for years that the hots are getting hotter and the dries are getting drier, as Gov. Gavin Newsom likes to point out. And at a Wednesday press conference, Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot remarked that climate change is “supercharging” this extreme weather.

State officials, especially Newsom, are under pressure to both try to slow climate change and mitigate its effects as they happen. With water scarcity on the horizon, the governor in August launched a plan to capture, recycle, de-salt and conserve more water over the next 20 years.

Newsom will be sworn into office for a second time today, and we can expect to see climate change continue to be a major theme of his tenure. Until then, under an emergency declaration, the state is continuing to send crews go help with flooding up and down California.

BUENOS DÍAS, good Friday morning. Oh my, Kevin. The Bakersfield Republican has officially surpassed the all-time record for speaker ballots after failing to bring his caucus to a consensus for the 11th time Thursday. He’ll go for a 12th attempt today, which surpasses the 1923 record of nine ballots set by Frederick H. Gillett of Massachusetts.

Got a tip or story idea for California Playbook? Hit us up: jwhite@politico.com and lkorte@politico.com or follow us on Twitter @JeremyBWhite and @Lara_Korte.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It’s okay because we need the rain.” Mike Almuhtadi, owner of Diamond Café in San Francisco’s Noe Valley neighborhood, after lamenting that the storms “killed” his business entirely.

TWEET OF THE DAY:

Today's Tweet of the Day | Twitter

WHERE’S GAVIN? Nothing official announced.

Top Talkers

HAPPY BIRTHDAY J6 — “In response to insurrection, Gavin Newsom will march to state Capitol Jan. 6 for inauguration,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Maggie Angst: “Gov. Gavin Newsom, who assailed conservative Republican leaders and their policies while celebrating California’s progressive values during his first four years in office, is launching his second term in similar fashion.”

SETTING THE TONE — McCarthy destroys his speakership in order to save it, by POLITICO’s John F. Harris: In desperate circumstances, Kevin McCarthy worked overnight Wednesday on a desperation deal. If that deal is somehow successful, based on the work-in-progress details that came to light Thursday morning, House Republicans will essentially be codifying desperation for the indefinite future — making disorder and factional appeasement a formal part of their governing creed.

BIDEN ON THE BORDER — Biden announces new program to curb illegal migration as he prepares for visit to border, by POLITICO’s Myah Ward: In a rare White House address on the nation’s southern border crisis, President Joe Biden on Thursday unveiled new policy that will accept 30,000 migrants a month from four nations but also will crack down on those who fail to use the plan’s legal pathways.

— “I’m a resident of the Wood Street encampment. Oakland is trying to erase my community,” opines LaMonte Ford for the San Francisco Chronicle: “Why would members of our community stick around even after authorities take such extreme measures to remove us? Because community is a priceless asset. As artists, activists, chefs, carpenters, teachers, students, and caretakers, we have different strengths and weaknesses, and we don’t always see eye-to-eye. But when the chips are down and one of us is in trouble, we band together to pull that individual up.”

CAMPAIGN MODE

THE STATS — “Is Gavin Newsom actually popular in California? Here’s what his election history suggests,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Nami Sumida: “Though it’s impossible to measure how much of his success as a California politician will translate onto the national stage, data from his past races provides some insight — like his growing popularity among Democrats, waning appeal among Republicans and lackluster overall results compared to other California Democrats.”

CALIFORNIA AND THE CAPITOL CORRIDOR

DAMAGE DONE — California on alert for floods and mudslides as powerful storms hit state with heavy rain, wind, by POLITICO’s Wes Venteicher: Authorities across California focused Thursday on clearing roads and restoring power following heavy rain and winds that gusted to 101 miles per hour during the latest in a series of storms buffeting the state.

— “Rain, downed trees: Atmospheric river continues as California storms’ death toll reaches 6,” by the Sacramento Bee’s Michael McGough and Sam Stanton: “Rain fell and winds bellowed with gusts above 50 mph, but the Sacramento area appeared to be spared the most severe consequences from an atmospheric river storm that pounded Northern California on Wednesday, with minimal flooding and relatively brief power outages reported in the capital region through the night.”

CAPITOL CORNER — “The California Legislature is back: Five key questions,” by CalMatters’ Alexei Koseff and Sameea Kamal: “A soaring homeless population. A bitter battle with the oil industry over gasoline prices. A spending plan for a state with the world’s fourth-largest economy as threats of a recession hover. There’s a lot for the California Legislature to deal with this year — and it made little headway Wednesday, its first day back at the Capitol since swearing-in a new class of members last month.”

INSURRECTION SECTION — “More than a dozen Southern California Jan. 6 defendants admit guilt as of 2-year anniversary,” by the Orange County Register’s Sean Emery: “More than a dozen people with Southern California ties have admitted their roles in the breach of the U.S Capitol over the past year, even as other local residents facing more serious charges still await jury trials two years after the Jan. 6 insurrection.”

— “For first time, California civil rights officials file lawsuit alleging Section 8 discrimination,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Andrew Khouri: “California civil rights officials have sued two Sacramento landlords, alleging they illegally harassed and evicted a tenant because she paid through a Section 8 voucher. The lawsuit, announced Wednesday, is the first brought by the state Civil Rights Department under a 2020 state law making it illegal for landlords to refuse to accept tenants who pay with subsidies like Section 8.”

OFF TRACK — “Report says California plan to reach ambitious emissions reduction goals lacks ‘clear strategy,’” by the Sacramento Bee’s Stephen Hobbs: “The Legislative Analyst’s Office on Wednesday criticized a recently-adopted state plan outlining how California will meet ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, saying it lacked ‘a clear strategy’ and ‘specificity.’ The report from the agency, which advises the state Legislature on policy and fiscal matters, recommended that lawmakers direct the California Air Resources Board to clarify the document it approved in December.”

— “California campuses try to lower college costs with free transit,” by CalMatters’ Carmen González: “Transit costs and lack of available bus or train service is one component of the high cost of college that is pushing many low-income students out of the state’s higher education systems. Some campuses have partnered with local transit agencies to reduce or waive all costs for students, with early data indicating these programs have a positive impact on student success.”

DOWNPOUR DATA — “Recent rains have improved California’s drought. Where do we stand now?” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Jack Lee: “California drought conditions have improved significantly in the past week, after a series of storms drenched the state. The state has received 119 percent of the precipitation it normally gets by this point in the water year, which begins on Oct. 1. The statewide snowpack is also 179 percent of average for this time of the year.”

FALSE HOPES — “The drought is over now, right? (Spoiler alert: No),” opines the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board: “Just a year ago, December storms appeared to have heralded a wet 2022, but by January the rain and snow had stopped and never picked up again. Flooding was followed just a few weeks later with emergency drought orders that sharply limited water use, first in the northern part of the state and ultimately in Los Angeles as well.”

— “LA will get millions of dollars for youth mental health. Here’s where the money is going,” by LAist’s Robert Garrova: “A dozen facilities in L.A. County will see an influx of funds thanks to the more than $480 million in grants for youth mental health coming from the state's Department of Health Care Services. That includes $57.4 million for a 36-bed psychiatric acute care hospital at Kedren Community Health Center in Watts.”

BIDEN, HARRIS AND THE HILL

STILL CHUGGING — McCarthy fails on 11th ballot amid hopes for tentative deal with conservatives, by POLITICO’s Olivia Beavers, Sarah Ferris, Jordain Carney and Rachael Bade: Conservatives will get more time to look over the details after Republicans agreed to adjourn the House until noon on Friday. But it’s a sign of life for McCarthy, who has struggled to show public strength after three days of 11 speaker ballots that have seen him fail to flip any of his opponents.

MEANWHILE — “What are California lawmakers doing while Republicans fail to elect a speaker?” by the Sacramento Bee’s Gillian Brassil and David Lightman: “As long as members are not officially members, they cannot get paid, though paychecks are not issued until later in the month anyway. Then, ‘the pressure goes up — for some, quite a bit,’ said Duarte, a newly-elected Republican who will represent part of the San Joaquin Valley.”

— “Bass, Krekorian call on Biden to act on Nagorno-Karabakh blockade,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Julia Wick: “Los Angeles City Hall has no jurisdiction over a long-contested mountainous territory in the South Caucasus, but it was still the subject of attention from Mayor Karen Bass and City Council President Paul Krekorian this week.”

— Enablers, line-straddlers and quiet resisters: How GOP lawmakers contributed to Jan. 6, by POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney and Nicholas Wu: During its last days of existence, the Capitol riot panel unleashed a massive trove of evidence with an unmistakable conclusion: At every stage of former President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn the 2020 election results, a phalanx of hardline GOP lawmakers were egging him on. The committee’s latest material, including 250 witness transcripts, often portrayed those House Republicans as drivers, enablers and even architects of Trump’s Jan. 6 scheme.

SILICON VALLEYLAND

LASTPASS CLASS — “A breach at LastPass has password lessons for us all,” by The New York Times’ Brian X. Chen: “While many of us were unplugging from the internet to spend time with loved ones over the holidays, LastPass, the maker of a popular security program for managing digital passwords, delivered the most unwanted gift. It published details about a recent security breach in which cybercriminals had obtained copies of customers’ password vaults, potentially exposing millions of people’s online information. From a hacker’s perspective, this is the equivalent of hitting the jackpot.”

— “Tech giants face alternate universes across the Atlantic,” by Axios’ Ashley Gold: “New fines levied by European regulators against Meta and Apple are the latest reminder that Big Tech companies must now maneuver between two wildly different regimes in the U.S. and the EU… These firms must navigate conflicting laws, mounting fines and a growing wariness of their business models on both sides of the Atlantic.”

MEDIA MATTERS

FUMING AT FOX — “‘Madness.’ ‘Chaos.’ ‘Stupid.’ How the McCarthy stalemate is playing on Fox News,” by the Los Angeles Times’ James Rainey: “Faced with one of the nastiest political train wrecks in modern memory, America’s conservative media stalwarts responded this week with recrimination, regret, reflection — and at least one suggestion that House Republican stalwarts might find solace, and a new leader, by getting good and drunk.”

MIXTAPE

PAY UP — “A $17 glass of wine is normal at Bay Area restaurants now. Here's why,” by the San Francisco Chronicle’s Esther Mobley.

— “Winter storm to bring up to 2 feet of snow and gusty winds to San Bernardino Mountains,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Nathan Solis.

ON THE RADAR — “California education issues to watch in 2023 — and predictions of what might happen,” by EdSource’s John Festerwald and Yuxuan Xie.

— “What it’s like to suffer through an atmospheric river in California,” by The Washington Post’s Brianna Sacks.

— “Hell and high water: California’s wild weather uproots trees, strains state,” by The New York Times’ Shawn Hubler and Jill Cowan.

IN MEMORIAM

— “Gregory Yee, Times reporter who chased the stories that shaped L.A., dies at 33,” by the Los Angeles Times’ Christopher Goffard: “Gregory Yee, a hard-charging breaking news reporter for the Los Angeles Times, died unexpectedly Wednesday at the Hollywood bungalow where he lived. His family said the cause appeared to be complications from a respiratory issue. He was 33.”

BIRTHDAYS

Ashley Bittner … Julia Blakeley

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