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Coming together to heal. Vigils held across California to honor multiple shooting victims | Multiple tragedies in California within the span of a couple of days have brought communities together for several reasons. One group, holding a vigil on the campus of Santa Clara University, honored victims of this week’s shootings in Monterey Park, Half Moon Bay and Oakland, the first two being the latest mass shootings in California’s history. In Oakland, four people were injured and one person died in a gun battle between several people. Read more here.
Caltrans requests increase of millions of dollars to clear homeless encampments | The California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, is asking for millions of dollars over the next few years to help clear homeless encampments that are popping up at a rate that it says it cannot keep up with right now. In a budget proposal request, Caltrans indicated that this all stems from a concern over safety for people experiencing homelessness, the public traveling through areas where homeless encampments are established and the infrastructure in those areas. Read more here.
Use it or lose it? Here’s when California’s Middle Class Tax Refund debit cards expire | California has issued more than 9.4 million debit cards so far as part of the Middle Class Tax Refund program, but the money won’t be stored on those cards forever. Haven’t spent your funds yet? Don’t worry; there is still time, about three years. After that point, the money “reverts to the state.” As of this article’s publication, it’s not exactly clear what happens next. Read more here.
102 acres in south Sacramento remain unused. Here’s what residents, city leaders want to do with it | The City of Sacramento bought 102 acres of land, near the Morrison Creek and Meadowview light rail stations, from the federal government for $12.3 million in January 2022. Officials originally mentioned that the property would be used to help house people experiencing homelessness. But then the idea of a sports complex was floating around. So, what will go there? Read more here.
FDA’s vaccine advisers to meet to consider the future of COVID-19 vaccination in the US | A panel of independent experts that advises the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on its vaccine decisions will hold a full day of meetings Thursday to consider what the future of COVID-19 vaccination should look like in the United States. Read more here.
Sheriff: Gunman who killed 11 didn’t know dance hall victims | The 72-year-old gunman who sprayed bullets into a Southern California ballroom dance hall, killing 11 people, had no known connection with the victims and investigators were still trying to determine a motive for the massacre, the Los Angeles County sheriff said Wednesday. Read more here.
US investigating December flight cancellations at Southwest | The U.S. Transportation Department said Wednesday it is investigating whether Southwest Airlines deceived customers by knowingly scheduling more flights in late December than it realistically could handle. The department said that scheduling too many flights would be considered an unfair and deceptive practice under federal law. Read more here.
An asteroid is coming exceedingly close to Earth. It’ll be one of the closest recorded encounters | An asteroid the size of a delivery truck will whip past Earth on Thursday night, one of the closest such encounters ever recorded. NASA insists it will be a near miss with no chance of the asteroid hitting Earth. Read more here.
Meteorologist Dirk Verdoorn says temperatures Thursday morning are cool across Northern California, but not quite as cool as they were yesterday morning. Some spots in the San Joaquin Valley and Sierra are also waking up to some patchy fog. By the afternoon, NorCal will have plenty of sunshine with temperatures in the mid-60s, then hit the 50s again by the evening.