The latest North State and California news on our airwaves for Wednesday, March 2.
Winner of Shasta County recall election takes seat
Tim Garman prevailed in a February recall election where voters ousted former District 2 Supervisor Leonard Moty, taking his seat on the Shasta County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
Some voters cited COVID-19 restrictions, homelessness and election security as reasons they supported the recall effort.
Garman beat the next closest replacement candidate in the race by about 150 votes. Due to the narrow margin, the county clerk and registrar of voters, Cathy Darling Allen, told the Board of Supervisors that her office counted the entire election — more than 9,000 ballot cards — by hand as part of an auditing process.
The board accepted the results of the recall election without opposition.
— Andre Byik, NSPR
Dry January and February has Sierra snowpack far below average
Californians should prepare for a third straight drought year. That advice comes from the state Department of Water Resources (DWR) following Tuesday morning’s manual snow survey in the Sierra near Lake Tahoe.
Sean de Guzman, manager of snow surveys for DWR, said the snowpack is 63% of average for this date.
"December, January, and February are traditionally our three wettest months of the water year, producing over half of our annual rainfall,” de Guzman said. “However, this past January and February were actually the driest consecutive January and February on record dating back over 100 years in the Sierra Nevada.”
There are no major storms in the forecast. DWR officials say the low snowpack — combined with already low reservoir levels — makes it more critical than ever for Californians to step up their conservation efforts.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has asked residents to cut back their water use by 15%, and Tuesday’s survey is likely to add pressure to make the rationing mandatory.
— CapRadio Staff
Newsom imposes state sanctions on Russia
Gov. Gavin Newsom is moving to force state sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
According to the Governor’s Office, more than $1.5 billion across three state investment funds are tied to Russia, two of which are the largest public pension funds in the nation.
In a letter to the directors of those pension systems, Newsom said “no fund shall purchase Russian debt and no money shall flow from the state of California to Russia.”
The governor called it a moral imperative to support the people of Ukraine. His letter comes a day after state lawmakers said they were looking into sanctions against Russia.
— CapRadio Staff
Misinformation plagues social media amid Russian invasion
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter said they're removing accounts involved in disinformation campaigns against Ukraine. Social media has been flooded with misinformation from Russian-backed outlets.
Jon Greenberg, a senior correspondent with PolitiFact, said most of the misinformation being posted casts Ukraine as the aggressor and Russia as a savior.
Facebook's parent company — Meta — said it's banning ads from Russian state media and removing a network of 40 fake accounts, pages and groups publishing pro-Russian talking points.
The network used fictitious people posing as journalists and experts.
— CapRadio Staff
Interview: Sacramento Bee reporter discusses what’s known about father who killed his three children, their chaperone in shooting
More information is becoming known about the man suspected of shooting to death his three young daughters, a chaperone and himself at a church in Sacramento’s Arden-Arcade community on Monday.
The shootings took place during a supervised visit. The children’s mother was out of town and had an active restraining order against the father, who was at the church to see his children.
Sacramento Bee reporter Sam Stanton has been writing about this story and has uncovered information about the father. He shared some of that information with CapRadio’s Randol White. Listen to the interview in today’s Headlines.
— CapRadio Staff
Stories from NPR partner stations are edited by NSPR Staff for digital presentation and credited as requested.
In other news
- Chico council, public provide input on redistricting: “With the public map submission period closed, the Chico City Council, along with ARDA Demographer Claudio Gallegos, held a public hearing to go over the seven maps submitted by Chico residents for consideration in the city’s redistricting process.” — Chico Enterprise-Record
- Emboldened by new majority, Baugh lays out his priorities as chair of Board of Supervisors: “Baugh’s announcement drew loud applause from the audience with somebody shouting out, “power to the people.” — Redding Record Searchlight
- Shasta County schools eager to end mask mandate March 14: “Face coverings have become a politically-charged issue, especially in public schools. In conservative areas like Shasta County, residents have packed school board meetings to protest COVID-19 rules.” — Redding Record Searchlight
- Visiting judge rejects city [of Susanville’s] contempt allegation; appoints special master in prison closure dispute: “... the Friday, Feb. 25 hearing in Lassen Superior Court was in fact a contempt of court hearing as the city of Susanville alleges the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation had violated a restraining order by launching a California Environmental Quality Act review of the proposed closure of the California Correctional Center in Susanville.” — Lassen County Times
- New Tehama County Chief Administrator faces backlash over social media posts: “The new Tehama County Chief Administrator Gabriel Hydrick faced backlash on his first day on the job Tuesday when numerous members of the public criticized a post he published on Facebook in 2016, during the Board of Supervisors meeting.” — Red Bluff Daily News
- Yuba supes approve YSAC resolution: “After a delay in action last week, the Yuba County Board of Supervisors approved a resolution on Tuesday during a special meeting that will allow Yuba Sutter Arts & Culture to apply for and receive grants that will directly benefit the citizens of the county.” — The Appeal-Democrat
- Progressives struggle for influence among California Democrats: “Progressive activists have found themselves on the losing end of recent California Democratic Party fights over single-payer health care, endorsements and donations from fossil fuel companies. Tensions are high as the party gathers for its annual convention March 4-6.” — CalMatters
- $19 billion: Cost of high speed rail’s Bay Area link surges in latest report, without funding: “A new environmental report sets a $19 billion price tag to bring California’s bullet train to the Bay Area, 40% higher than the state High-Speed Rail Authority’s latest business plan penciled in — and far more than is available for the long-beleaguered project.” — The Mercury News
- CSU launches new investigation into how Fresno State handled sexual harassment complaints: “The state university system has hired Cozen O’Connor, an international law firm with offices across the U.S., to handle a review of policies and practices at all 23 of the CSU campuses, starting this month at Fresno State.” — The Sacramento Bee
- Record number of Black and Hispanic students are applying to UC schools. Is it actually leading to more diversity?: “The Chronicle analyzed historical enrollment data and found that increased applications have only led to a small rise in the representation of Black and Latino students who enroll as freshman … And in the case of Latino students, a sizable portion opt to enroll at a California State University school over one at the University of California.” — The San Francisco Chronicle
In case you missed it
- Man kills his 3 children, their chaperone and himself in Sacramento church shooting — CapRadio (Headlines, March 1)
- Homeless advocates protest closures of Chico City Plaza — NSPR (Headlines, March 1)
- Butte County makes changes to its COVID-19 dashboard — NSPR (Headlines, March 1)
- California to end mask requirements for schools, unvaccinated people — CapRadio (Headlines, March 1)
- PG&E creates safer back-up generator program for customers in high-fire threat areas — NSPR (Headlines, March 1)
- Draft map released in Glenn County water project — Chico Enterprise-Record
- Coronavirus updates: 13 die of COVID-19 in Shasta County — Redding Record Searchlight
- Colusa County sees major dip in COVID-19 cases — The Appeal Democrat
- Prescribed fire training planned for March and April — Plumas News
- [Susanville City Council] directs staff to move forward with commercial cannabis plan — Lassen County Times
- As California expands Medi-Cal, hundreds of thousands of immigrants will still be left behind — CalMatters
- California snow levels plummet in February, ensuring third year of drought: — San Francisco Chronicle
- The challenges Biden faces in his State of the Union address — NPR
Headlines is published every weekday morning at 8:30 a.m. Subscribe on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and NPR One. Theme song Borough is courtesy of Blue Dot Sessions.
