Good morning. It’s Monday, Feb. 5.
- Forecasters see widespread danger to Southern California.
- “Woke Kindergarten” faces criticism in Bay Area.
- And female artists dominate the Grammy Awards.
California storms
1.
At one point Sunday, roughly 1 million customers had lost power as the second of back-to-back atmospheric rivers lashed California with torrential rain and hurricane-force wind that toppled trees and utility poles across the Bay Area, Central Valley, and Central Coast. Evacuations were ordered in mountain and canyon communities; all flights were grounded at the flooded Santa Barbara Airport; and emergency crews performed daring rescues from rising rivers in San Jose and Ventura. Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in eight counties across central and southern California.
Late Sunday, as the danger shifted south, updated forecasts called for the slow-moving storm to unload up to 7 inches of rain in the Los Angeles basin and more than 15 inches in the surrounding mountains. Weather officials predicted severe flooding and mudslides, especially below slopes weakened by fire. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a storm quite like this,” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said during a Sunday briefing. Fox Weather | L.A. Times | S.F. Chronicle
2.
Track the atmospheric river
- Timing of the rain on Monday and Tuesday: @NWSLosAngeles | @NWSSanDiego
- Mapping how up 10 feet of snow could fall: @RyanMaue
- The flow of atmospheric vapor since Jan. 31: N.Y. Times
- Satellite views of the storm system: CIRA
- Live wind map: Earth.nullschool.net
- Active weather warnings: Weather.gov
3.
Photo and video highlights
- Dam spills over at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden: @sbbotanicgarden
- Santa Barbara’s Mission Creek becomes raging river: @itsiannicholson
- Los Angeles River reaches unnerving height late Sunday: @Borys_Kit
- Dramatic water rescue along the Ventura River: @jpetramala
- Deep snow and whiteout conditions in Tahoe: @hannahteter
- Swollen Ballona Creek near Marina Del Rey: @ReedTimmerAccu
Northern California
4.
A Bay Area elementary school with low test scores used $250,000 in federal funds to hire an organization called Woke Kindergarten to train its teachers in “abolitionist education,” which aims to “disrupt whiteness” in the classroom. The goal, as one education expert put it, is “making politics part of the framework of teaching.” But two years into Woke Kindergarten’s contract, English and math scores have fallen to new lows, with less than 4% of students proficient in math and just under 12% at grade level in English. S.F. Chronicle
5.
In 2014, San Francisco began delaying the teaching of algebra until high school in an effort to combat racial inequities by waiting until more students were ready. Opponents launched petitions, a ballot measure, and a lawsuit. A decade later, they appear to be winning. After years of standing by its decision, San Francisco’s school board laid out a proposal on Friday to reverse course, once again offering Algebra 1 to eighth-grade students starting in the fall. “Change is long overdue,” said school board President Lainie Motamedi. Wall Street Journal | S.F. Chronicle
6.
When Fiona O’Keeffe, a 25-year-old runner from Davis, competed in the U.S. Olympic marathon trials on Saturday, it was her first time running a marathon. Not only did she win, she set a trials record, finishing in 2 hours, 22 minutes, 10 seconds. “I was not expecting this performance,” she said in a post-race interview. “I had to pinch myself with 8 miles to go and say ‘stay calm, don’t freak out.'” A.P. | Washington Post
7.
On Friday, Apple debuted its $3,500 Vision Pro headset, a device heralded as a marvel that will once and for all merge the digital and physical worlds. A marketing trailer for the device shows a dad playing soccer with his kid while wearing the computer on his face. It was meant to be heartwarming. Tech columnist Ian Bogost acknowledged that the headset is spectacular. It’s also sad, he wrote: “Computers help people work, live, and play, but they also separate us from the world. Apple Vision Pro strives to end that era and inaugurate a new one.” The Atlantic
8.
A new cabin resort is opening May 1 near Yosemite Valley’s northwest entrance. The creators of Firefall Ranch, along Highway 120 on the outskirts of the Gold Rush town of Groveland, aimed for a summer camp feel, including standalone cottages with decks and fireplaces spread across a historic 300-acre property. Travel + Leisure
- Hang a left from Highway 120 and you’ll find Hetch Hetchy Valley, a place that erupts with wildflowers and waterfalls in spring and summer — and gets far fewer visitors than its famous neighbor. SFGATE | L.A. Times
Southern California
9.
A portrait hanging on a wall in the National Gallery of Ireland shows a gray-haired woman in slippers sitting on the porch outside her mobile home in Riverside. Her name is Annie Murphy, a woman who once rocked Irish society when she accused a powerful bishop of fathering her child in 1974. “In terms of the shock it had on the Irish psyche, it was almost like the JFK assassination,” said John Cunningham, a history professor at the University of Galway. Today, Murphy is a household name in Ireland, but unknown by almost all of her neighbors in Riverside. Her son described her as “penniless.” L.A. Times
10.
Before he was Apollo Creed, Carl Weathers was a San Diego State linebacker in 1968 and 1969. Weathers, who died Thursday at the age of 76, recalled his double life as a theater arts major during a talk last year. “Here’s a guy in tights doing Shakespeare and all these other plays on the stage,” he said. Weathers went on to play two seasons with the Oakland Raiders, before then-Coach John Madden told him he was being cut. “You’re just too sensitive,” Weathers recalled him saying. The insult stung, he told Sports Illustrated. But then again, he added, “without that sensitivity, how could I be an actor?” About five years later, Weathers got his breakout role in “Rocky.” S.D. Union-Tribune
11.
Mia Rizk was 4 years old when she was diagnosed with Alexander disease, a neurological disorder that results in loss of mental and physical functions, and in most cases, death by age 10. On Saturday, Rizk, now 10 and confined to a wheelchair, became a princess. The Make-A-Wish Foundation helped arrange a royal ball in her honor at Bakersfield’s luxury Rio Bravo Country Club, where firefighters, mounted deputies, and a high school football team joined a procession for Rizk’s “magical” carriage. At one point, her father addressed the packed ballroom. “Mia’s super power is that her smile lights up the world,” he said. Bakersfield Californian | 23ABC
12.
Women dominated the Grammy Awards on Sunday, as Taylor Swift took home a record fourth Grammy for album of the year — recognizing “Midnights” — and other awards went to Miley Cyrus, Billie Eilish, SZA, Lainey Wilson, the Colombian pop star Karol G, and the band boygenius. The ceremony, held at Los Angeles’s Crypto.com Arena, featured performances by Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman, two giants of modern songwriting who have made only rare public appearances in recent years. N.Y. Times
- See the full list of winners. 👉 Pitchfork
- Olivia Rodrigo, Dua Lipa, Miley Cyrus. Here are favorite looks from the red carpet. 👉 Washington Post | Harper’s Bazaar
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