California

California

The year 2026 is sure to bring another round of big political battles and shifts in leadership ahead of what's expected to be a hotly contested midterm election season. Needless to say, it's going to be a busy year. That's right. We'll have several competitive and already expensive races throughout California that will impact not only the future of our state, but the balance of power in Congress.

The faux fix touted by Fix Our Forests is a dangerous step backward for California's wildfire resilience. While it claims to protect communities, its emphasis on largescale mechanical thinning ignores scientific evidence showing that such practices can dry out forests, increase wind exposure and heighten fire risk. Proper wildfire prevention means investing in proven strategies: prescribed burns, defensible space around homes and restoring natural ecosystems that retain moisture.

California's DROP program is now active, giving Californians the ability to stop data brokers from selling their personal information. DROP, which stands for Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, is a one-stop site to submit a data deletion request, requiring data brokers to delete your information. How do I prevent my personal information from being sold? To access the tool, go to privacy.ca.gov, and hit the "Get started" button. Fill out some basic information, including your name, address and email, and hit submit. Then, more than 500 data brokers will be asked to delete your information.

an incredibly sweet and empathetic young man.

The newest Bay Area residents came in quick succession on Jan. 1, with two babies born at Kaiser Permanente San Leandro Medical Center at 12:03 a.m. and 12:07 a.m., respectively, followed shortly by a babe born at 12:11 a.m. at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose, and another newborn at 12:29 a.m. in Redwood City.

As KRON4 reports, the San Francisco Police Department arrived on the scene at San Francisco's Fairmont Hotel at 950 Mason Street around 3:14 am Thursday after a woman's body was found in the hallway of the hotel, per NBC Bay Area. The victim was pronounced dead by paramedics. Police have not confirmed her identity. Per NBC Bay Area, sources say police don't suspect foul play.

FRESNO In the corner of Sammy Gill's sprawling Fresno truck yard, among other gargantuan rigs with 20-plus-inch rims, a bright red 2022 Mack Anthem sits idle. The truck hasn't moved since mid-November not because it's broken down, but because its owner, an immigrant driver, had his commercial driver's license canceled under a state crackdown whose timing and reach remains unsettled. Beautiful truck, said Gill, who co-owns Gill Freightways Solutions Inc., a trucking company that hauls refrigerated trailers, or reefers. But (he) can't drive it.

Firefighters on New Year's Eve were battling a blaze at an apartment complex in San Jose, according to authorities. The fire was reported around 4:50 p.m. at the Del Coronado Apartments, located in the 5200 block of Camden Avenue, the San Jose Fire Department said in a social media post. Multiple units were involved and residents were being evacuated, according to authorities. There were no immediate reports of injuries. Traffic is impacted, the fire department said. People are being asked to avoid the area.

PG&E will slash customers' bills in the new year, the utility announced on Tuesday. The utility said the cuts, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, come as "electric prices have stabilized and are going down." PG&E noted that this is the fourth decrease for electric rates in two years. Residential customers are set to receive a decrease of about 5%, which amounts to around $7 per month.

"I could hear rustling on our porch," Corral de Tierra resident Michael Antle told the television station. "Our family dog was taken off of our porch. The following night, the lion came for our goat and actually took the goat to the same spot. Didn't eat either animal, so I think it's out to kill."

When Sophia Johnson and her husband, Tyler Troy, were expecting a third child, their friends suggested names like Grizzly and Third Street. Though the couple understood that such suggestions were a big joke among their friends, for them, naming their children after Berkeley streets was a tradition they took seriously. Berkeley has a wealth of lovely, old-fashioned names to be found on its street signs, said Johnson.

State labor groups are calling for a one-time 5 percent emergency tax on several of California's wealthiest residents. "We are calling on California's approximately 200 billionaires to step up," said Renee Saldana, a spokesperson for SEIU United Health Care Workers West labor union. Many of those billionaires are heads of companies in Silicon Valley and San Francisco. If the proposal gets enough signatures, it will appear on the statewide ballot in November.

Over half a million Californians could lose access to the hugely popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs starting Jan. 1, 2026, after the state government decided to deny some Medi-Cal coverage for the prescription drugs in an effort to save money. GLP-1 drugs have become a blockbuster hit for people aiming to lose weight following the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the name-brand drug Wegovy in 2021.

Residential electricity rates will decrease about 5%.

"I have been breaking my back doing my job - bringing art and culture to this neighborhood. It's time you showed some support,"

A 28-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment after authorities accused him of causing a crash on the 5 Freeway in Lebec, near Pyramid Lake, killing two children in his SUV on Christmas Day. Jorge Preciado was behind the wheel of a Nissan Rogue traveling northbound near Vista Del Lago Road when he allegedly lost control and slammed into the back of a Toyota Rav4, which was stopped in the median, California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Carlos Burgos-Lopez said.

We've lost a lot, but that doesn't mean anyone should downplay that which continues. San Jose is a resonating chamber of identities, all bouncing off each other, in the same way audio frequencies bounce off the walls of an auditorium. That's the best way to understand this place. Forget the worn-out clichés like "melting pot" or "mosaic." Use the term "resonating chamber." To me, that makes more sense.

The woman was identified as Diane L. Wittig, a 77-year-old Fort Bragg resident, the Mendocino County Sheriff's Office said in a news release on Monday. Deputies have notified her legal next of kin. According to authorities, Wittig was knocked off a rock by a large wave and swept into the ocean around 2 p.m. Dec. 22 at MacKerricher Beach. Bystanders rescued her from the water and brought her to shore, but she became unresponsive and lost consciousness.

Stacey Lee Snow, 53, pleaded not guilty earlier this month to involuntary manslaughter in the death of the 16-month-old girl, who authorities said was found unresponsive after she had been put down for a nap April 8. The Medical Examiner's Office concluded that the girl asphyxiated, and the report indicated she'd had her head wedged between a plastic cot placed on top of a portable crib and the crib railing.

They were given immunity to point the finger at me so they wouldn't get in trouble. That's what this is. I'm not saying I'm not at all to blame whatsoever. It was my alcohol that they got drunk off of. It was my home that they were at. I've never said that I was not aware of any alcohol. I've never stated that. I did become aware of it. I feel responsible.

"Which would then take the power from that grid, put it into batteries and then in outages that occur from storm systems like this actually go ahead and kick on and keep people with power for the amount of time that we think's going to be necessary to see power restored in really terrible storm systems," Supervisor Mueller said.

For people traveling on the New Year's Eve, it is going to be rather rainy across the region. We don't expect a lot of major flooding concerns, but we could see potting on roadways, some urban and small swing flooding in areas where there's poor drainage,