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California needs rain and snow — but can we handle this?

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California needs rain and snow — but can we handle this?


Good morning. I’m Paul Thornton, and it’s Saturday, Jan. 7, 2023. My apologies for being one of many final individuals to want you a contented New 12 months, and welcome to our first publication of 2023. Let’s look again on the week in Opinion.

Proper now, we in Southern California are having fun with a break from the storms throughout the state which have dumped document quantities of rain in main cities and buried mountains underneath a number of ft of snow. However within the Sacramento Valley, which together with different elements of Northern California is already in a state of emergency, the heavy rainfall will choose up once more immediately, because it doubtless will in Los Angeles within the coming days, persevering with a moist January that solely weeks in the past appeared a near-impossibility.

And it appeared that means solely due to our quick recollections. As The Occasions Editorial Board reminded us this week, a lot of California was in the same scenario final January, when a collection of chilly, highly effective storms turned our drainage canals into raging torrents and humble native mountains into alpine wonderlands. The drought wasn’t over then, says the board, and it isn’t over now.

This lurch from a balmy Christmas Day (the Dec. 25 excessive topped 80 levels in Los Angeles) to a moist and frigid January might really feel like a short reprieve from local weather change, which in California evokes wildfires and record-high temperatures. I felt that means watching the blizzard round at an outdated household cabin in Massive Bear Metropolis, which sits excessive within the San Bernardino Mountains and had a principally snowless winter in 2022. Predictions of a “no snow” California arriving inside my lifetime misery me to no finish, so seeing the white stuff fall in abundance brings reduction.

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However more and more, the water that arrives as snow in our mountains will come as rain because the temperatures rise. Cities and farms and rivers that shaped and advanced based mostly on predictable snow-melt cycles will change dramatically or disappear. Local weather change isn’t the top of precipitation in California; it’s exacerbating our already unpredictable feast-famine cycles, that means longer famines and extra intense feasting. And proper now, California is engorged — because it was one 12 months in the past, simply earlier than it grew to become starved for water once more.

So the drought isn’t over — not even shut. Act accordingly.

If the drought isn’t over, how can we make use of all this water? It’s not a straightforward query to reply, writes UC Santa Cruz hydrogeology professor Andrew Fisher. The state’s main dams and reservoirs are within the mountains reasonably than downstream, and water needs to be launched to make room for extra from potential future storms. Additionally, it isn’t really easy to seize contaminated stormwater to be used in landscaping or golf programs, since we’d must construct separate methods for storage and distribution. That leaves groundwater recharge, nevertheless it’s not as if we will inundate any flat space of land and hope the water will percolate into the bottom. L.A. Occasions

Nicely, that is embarrassing. The Home may need elected a speaker by the point you learn this, however the truth that Rep. Kevin McCarthy couldn’t line up his votes within the two months between election day and Day 1 of the brand new Congress is a foul signal for the following two years of Republican management. Says The Occasions Editorial Board: “The dismal efficiency of a number of excessive Republican candidates within the midterms — to not point out the narrowness of the Republican majority within the Home and the celebration’s failure to regain the Senate — ought to have led to a diminution of the ability of the arduous proper. As an alternative that faction appears to be using excessive.” L.A. Occasions

McCarthy’s speaker-election fiasco has been brewing within the GOP for years. For the reason that Obama presidency, Republican leaders have been pandering to the far-right fringe in an try to placate it. This occurred with McCarthy’s 2015 bid for speaker, which the Home Freedom Caucus torpedoed in favor of Rep. Paul Ryan. Former Republican strategist Kurt Bardella writes: “Is it any marvel that … insurrection-loving extremists felt like they might efficiently maintain hostage a convention of 222? This has lengthy been predictable. Historical past has taught them that when push involves shove, the Republican ‘management’ will all the time again down.” L.A. Occasions

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L.A. ought to cease requiring builders to waste area on parking. Ever marvel why that modest church or bowling alley has a large parking zone that appears empty more often than not? You may thank “parking minimums,” that are guidelines that require a builder to put aside area for parking spots based mostly on some arbitrary requirements. This doesn’t work for a metropolis grappling with homelessness and housing crises, writes Streets for All founder Michael Schneider: “Certain, our ancestors in Los Angeles drove throughout city in 20 minutes and parked free of charge on each ends. That doesn’t make doing so a proper now or sooner or later.” L.A. Occasions

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Is there one thing about Individuals that makes us soccer addicts? Violence is scripted into soccer like no different sport, a reality we have been reminded of when Buffalo Payments security Damar Hamlin collapsed on the sector Monday after making what seemed to be a routine sort out. Does it then say one thing about Individuals that soccer has taken maintain within the U.S. like in no different nation? “Maybe this American affinity with militarism is what attracts us to soccer and permits us to tolerate the violence embedded within the recreation,” writes Randall Balmer. L.A. Occasions



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California

10 of 15 Southern California industries slow their hiring pace

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10 of 15 Southern California industries slow their hiring pace


Southern California’s bosses added 80,700 workers in the past year to a record 8.06 million jobs – but that hiring pace is roughly half of the pre-pandemic job market’s gains.

My trusty spreadsheet – filled with state job figures for Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties – compared employment changes for the region and 15 industries in the year ended in October with the average yearly hiring pace before coronavirus upended the economy.

Yes, there have never been more Southern Californians employed. However, the recent hirings that created the all-time high staffing are far below the average job creation of 159,600 a year in 2015-19.

This is one of many signals of cooler business trends. It’s a chill significantly tied to the Federal Reserve’s attempts to slow what was once an overheated economy.

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But Southern California bosses have another challenge – a shortage of workers. The region’s workforce, a measure of labor supply, is basically flat comparing 2024 to 2015-19. Fewer choices of workers have added difficulty for local businesses trying to meet their staffing needs.

Think of that when you learn that among the 15 Southern California business sectors tracked – hiring in 10 industries is below pre-pandemic years compared with five industries with improvements.

The downs

First, contemplate the 10 industries where the hiring pace has weakened, ranked by the size of the decline …

Professional-business services: 1.14 million workers in October – down 4,600 in a year vs. 24,100 annual gains in 2015-19. This net downturn of 28,700 jobs is unnerving because this white-collar work typically pays above-average salaries.

Construction: 378,700 workers – down 3,100 in a year vs. 16,200 annual gains in 2015-19. A building slowdown due to lofty mortgage rates created this 19,300 reversal.

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Logistics-utilities: 820,800 workers – up 6,800 in a year vs. 25,800 annual gains in 2015-19. What’s at least a temporary oversupply of warehouses in the region may be behind this 19,000 slowdown.

Manufacturing: 558,400 workers – down 15,300 in a year vs. 4,100 annual cuts in 2015-19. This 11,200 drop is continued losses of local factory work tied to high cost of doing business in the region.

Fast-food restaurants: 359,400 workers – up 3,400 in a year vs. 12,400 annual gains in 2015-19. Weaker consumer spending and a hike in the industry’s minimum wage contribute to this 9,000 drop.

Hotels/entertainment/recreation: 268,300 workers – up 3,400 in a year vs. 9,600 annual gains in 2015-19. This 6,200 cooling reflects worker shortages.

Full-service eateries/food service: 339,100 workers – up 1,600 in a year vs. 6,600 annual gains in 2015-19. Inflation making shoppers  pickier is part of this 5,000 cooling.

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Information: 214,200 workers – down 100 in a year vs. 3,700 annual gains in 2015-19. Weakness in tech businesses and Hollywood productions created the 3,800 net downturn.

Personal services: 266,600 workers – up 500 in a year vs. 3,200 annual gains in 2015-19. Again, it is hard to find people to do this work. Thus, a 2,700 cooling.

Government: 1.03 million workers – up 11,600 in a year vs. 12,500 annual gains in 2015-19. This 900 dip is status quo.

The ups

Ponder the five industries where the hiring pace rose in the past year, ranked by the size of the gains …

Social assistance: 512,300 workers – up 28,200 in a year vs. 18,300 annual gains in 2015-19. The 9,900 addition comes as more folks need help at home for healthcare and child care.

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Healthcare: 836,700 workers – up 30,100 in a year vs. 20,900 annual gains in 2015-19. The 9,200 growth parallels the region’s aging population and its need for medical services.

Retailing: 748,300 workers – up 8,300 in a year vs. 300 annual cuts in 2015-19. This somewhat surprising 8,600 improvement may be consumers tiring of online commerce and wanting to get out to shop.

Financial: 364,100 workers – up 4,400 in a year vs. 3,900 annual gains in 2015-19. The minor 500 improvement is a return to normalcy. Super-heated hiring came in the pandemic days thanks to a brief drop in mortgage rates to historic lows.

Private education: 215,700 workers – up 5,500 in a year vs. 5,100 annual gains in 2015-19. This 400 uptick reflects the growing interest in alternatives to public schooling.

Bottom line

While it’s rare for all industries to be growing at the same time – minus, say, just after an economic downturn – this 2024 edition of the winners vs. losers list raises an important issue.

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It appears much of the past year’s job creation is coming from industries that historically pay meager wages. That’s an especially worrisome trend in high-cost Southern California.

Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com



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California Lottery Powerball, Daily 3 Midday winning numbers for Nov. 27, 2024

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The California Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Nov. 27, 2024, results for each game:

Powerball

01-06-07-13-40, Powerball: 05, Power Play: 5

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Daily 3

Midday: 7-1-0

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Evening: 4-9-6

Check Daily 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Daily Derby

1st:11 Money Bags-2nd:3 Hot Shot-3rd:8 Gorgeous George, Race Time: 1:47.44

Check Daily Derby payouts and previous drawings here.

Fantasy 5

03-10-12-29-33

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Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Daily 4

6-1-3-2

Check Daily 4 payouts and previous drawings here.

SuperLotto Plus

03-05-15-16-42, Mega Ball: 24

Check SuperLotto Plus payouts and previous drawings here.

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Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Desert Sun producer. You can send feedback using this form.



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Democrat Derek Tran ousts Republican rival in key California House seat

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Democrat Derek Tran ousts Republican rival in key California House seat


Democrat Derek Tran ousted Republican Michelle Steel in a southern California House district Wednesday that was specifically drawn to give Asian Americans a stronger voice on Capitol Hill.

Steel said in a statement: “Like all journeys, this one is ending for a new one to begin.” When she captured the seat in 2020, Steel joined Washington state Democrat Marilyn Strickland and California Republican Young Kim as the first Korean American women elected to Congress.

Tran, a lawyer and worker rights advocate and the son of Vietnamese refugees, declared victory earlier this week. He said his win “is a testament to the spirit and resilience of our community. As the son of Vietnamese refugees, I understand firsthand the journey and sacrifices many families in our district have made for a better life.”

The contest is one of the last to be decided this year, with Republicans now holding 220 seats in the House, with Democrats at 214. The Associated Press has not declared a winner in California’s 13th district, where Democrat Adam Gray was leading Republican John Duarte by a couple of hundred votes.

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Steel held an early edge after election day, but late-counted ballots pushed Tran over the top.

Steel filed a statement of candidacy on Monday with federal regulators, which would allow her to continue raising funds. It wasn’t immediately clear if she planned to seek a return to Congress.

In the campaign, Tran warned of Republican threats to abortion rights. Steel opposes abortion with exceptions for rape, incest or to save the life of the pregnant woman, while not going so far as to support a federal ban. Tran also warned that Donald Trump’s return to the White House would put democracy at risk.

On Capitol Hill, Steel has been outspoken in resisting tax increases and says she stands strongly with Israel in its war with Hamas. “As our greatest ally in the Middle East, the United States must always stand with Israel,” she said. She advocates for more police funding and has spotlighted her efforts on domestic violence and sexual abuse.

The largest demographic in the district, which is anchored in Orange county, south-east of Los Angeles, is Asian Americans, and it includes the nation’s biggest Vietnamese community. Democrats hold a four-point registration edge.

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Incomplete returns showed that Steel was winning in Orange county, the bulk of the district. Tran’s winning margin came from a small slice of the district in Los Angeles county, where Democrats outnumber Republicans by nearly two to one.



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