Weather: Dry, still dry. Our next weak, uncertain chance for rain is late this weekend. For details: National Weather Service Bay Area.
- Federal biologists reject claims that raising Shasta Dam will aid salmon (San Jose Mercury News):
Less than three months after California voters approved a water bond that contains $2.7 billion for new water storage, one of the leading projects under consideration has suffered a potentially fatal setback. Biologists at the main federal agency that oversees the Endangered Species Act have concluded they cannot endorse a $1.1 billion plan to raise the height of the dam at California's largest reservoir, Shasta Lake, because of its impact on endangered salmon. Full story
- Wildlife agencies see collapse of winter-run chinook salmon (Capital Public Radio):
High water temperatures in the Sacramento River last summer and fall caused 95 percent of naturally-spawning winter-run salmon egg and fry to die. “I think this is really unprecedented, that we’ve seen this level of temperature mortality,” says Maria Rea with NOAA Fisheries. Full story
- A rainless January reawakens drought fears (San Francisco Chronicle):
It was an astonishing scene in the heart of winter — dozens of Pacifica residents rushing to grab whatever household valuables they could as flames raced down a coastal bluff toward their homes. Firefighters halted the blaze early Monday before it could do serious damage, but the evacuations punctuated a January that is poised to go down as the driest in California history, giving rise to summerlike conditions — including the threat of wildfire. Full story
- Bay Area weather radar might be in the wrong place (Santa Cruz Sentinel):
On the shoulder of Mount Umunhum in the Santa Cruz Mountains is something that, from afar, resembles a golf ball on a stick. But it's no plaything. Inside spins the National Weather Service's main Doppler radar for the greater Bay Area. Many local weather experts, though, say it's simply in the wrong location. And how it got there is a two-decade-old tale of local weather politics that still affects Bay Area forecasts to this day. Full story
- Dust from feedlots and factory farms: Stinky, yucky -- and dangerous (Mother Jones):
Ever approached a feedlot teeming with thousands of cattle? Unlike industrialized hog and chicken farms, where huge enclosed buildings trap at least some of the smell, cattle feedlots are open-air—as anyone who has driven Highway 5 between Los Angeles and San Francisco can testify. Turns out, when you inhale the aroma, you're not just getting a blast of ammonia and other noxious fumes. You're also probably breathing in tiny particles of antibiotics, bacteria from cows' "fecal matter and gut flora," and antibiotic-resistant gene sequences. Full story
- Koch Brothers cash will swamp California political contests (San Francisco Chronicle):
The billionaire Koch brothers’ intention to spend nearly $900 million on conservative candidates and causes in the 2016 election cycle will unleash a tidal wave of cash that will swamp the political landscape even in solidly blue California, experts said Tuesday. When it comes to spreading money around, the spending plan that industrialists Charles and David Koch unveiled Monday will put the brothers and an estimated 300 conservative mega-donors in their network on a plane now occupied only by the country’s two major political parties. Full story
- Hidden in plain sight: Santa Clara County counts its homeless (KQED News):
Amid a historic boom, volunteers fan out to take a census of those who have no place to live but vacant lots and roadsides. Full story
- Stanford swimmer charged with raping unconscious women (San Francisco Chronicle):
A Stanford University student and star swimmer will be charged with rape after he met a woman at a campus party and assaulted her as she lay intoxicated and unconscious outside, Santa Clara County prosecutors said Tuesday. The district attorney’s office said two students on bicycles stopped to help after finding freshman Brock Allen Turner, 19, on top of the woman in the early morning hours of Jan. 18 on Lomita Court, near fraternity houses on university grounds. Full story
- Local man launches campaign to ban giant S.F. waterslide (SF Weekly):
A guy named Paul Duffy has started a petition to put an end to the "Slide The City" event where thousands of waterpark enthusiasts will gather on the city streets to take a ride down the world's largest slip 'n slide. But it's not because Duffy hates fun or even slides for that matter. It's because he hates wasting water, especially during a drought. Full story