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    A Conversation With Toni Atkins, the Departing State Senate Leader

    Atkins, the only person since the late 1800s to have held the top positions in both houses of the Legislature, is now running for governor.Toni Atkins, president pro tem of the California Senate, in November. She will step down from her role next week.Gregory Bull/Associated PressFor years, Toni Atkins has been one of the most powerful politicians in California, even though her name is unfamiliar to many people in the state.A state lawmaker for 14 years representing San Diego, Atkins has served as the speaker of the Assembly and, more recently, as president pro tem of the Senate — the first person in more than a century, and the only woman, to have held both of the Legislature’s top positions.During her tenure, she has quietly negotiated eight state budgets and helped enact some of California’s most impactful legislation: Medicaid expansions that extend health insurance to all eligible adults, regardless of immigration status. Laws that increase access to reproductive health care and protect providers after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Free meals for public school students. Tax credits for poor families.Atkins, a Democrat, is leaving the Senate after this year because of term limits, and she is ceding her leadership post next week. Senator Mike McGuire of Healdsburg is expected to succeed her.But her career in politics is hardly over. A few weeks ago, Atkins announced that she would run in 2026 to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, who cannot seek a third term.She agreed to an exit interview, and we spoke by phone right around the time she was announcing her campaign for governor. I intended to focus on her political legacy, but we ended up talking mostly about her roots in Appalachia. Here’s our chat, lightly edited.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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    Two Big Storms Are Coming to California

    The atmospheric rivers could lead to flooding, mudslides and road closures over the next week.The flooded backyard of a house in San Diego last week.Ariana Drehsler for The New York TimesNo matter where you are in California, big storms are headed your way over the next several days. Forecasters are warning of back-to-back atmospheric rivers that could lead to flooding, mudslides and road closures between today and Tuesday.“We could very well receive February’s total normal precipitation within the month’s first five days,” forecasters from the National Weather Service’s office in San Diego wrote early Monday morning.California needs the rain to stave off drought. The state has gotten only about 81 percent of the total average rainfall expected by this time of year, and the snowpack is just 32 percent of average, according to state data. Water levels at reservoirs are still above average for this time of year because of the bounty of rain we received last winter, but they are not nearly as high as they were a year ago.The first storm reached the California coast last night, and it is expected to bring widespread rainfall and gusty winds to Northern California today before tapering off a bit and moving into Southern California tomorrow.It will pack a greater punch in the north than in the south, forecasters told me. Parts of Marin, Sonoma and Napa Counties are expected to get two to four inches of rain, and the Santa Cruz and Santa Lucia Mountains may get six inches, according to Nicole Sarment, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office. The North Coast is expected to get up to five inches of rain today and tomorrow.Flooding is expected in low-lying areas because the soil is already saturated from earlier storms, experts say. Heavy winds may knock down trees and power lines.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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    Maps: Track the Latest Atmospheric Rivers to Hit California

    A pair of atmospheric rivers is expected to hit the Western United States and Canada in the coming days. Follow our coverage here. Atmospheric rivers are essentially moisture streams in the sky and are often visible from space as narrow bands stretching from the West Coast out across the Pacific. As these long, thin storm […] More

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    Love Letters to California

    Readers share what they love about their part of the state.Dusk falling over the Borrego Badlands in Borrega Springs.Mario Tama/Getty ImagesOn a recent short drive from my home in San Francisco, I ended up in Petaluma, where I had as close to a perfect day as possible.I strolled through antique stores, stumbled across a delicious lunch spot and walked along the river that meanders through the historic Sonoma County town. On our way home, my boyfriend and I remarked on just how much wonder seemed to be in our backyards.That appears to be the case in much of California, if my inbox is any indication. Readers have been writing to me recently about what they love most in their part of the state — and why they stay in California despite the high cost of living and what can often feel like a steady drumbeat of natural disasters.You can email me your own California love letter to CAtoday@nytimes.com. I always enjoy reading these messages. I hope you do, too.Here are some examples, lightly edited:“Outside of California, people don’t know much about Davis, but I feel so lucky to live in this hidden gem. We loved bikes before we came, but living in the bicycle capital of America has totally changed us. I now bike everywhere — to work, to dinner, to my daughter’s activities — and the game changer is that I feel completely safe doing so. Throw in the quintessential college town with our farmers’ market, theaters, essential coffee shops, local book and record stores, and plenty of boba tea shops — all within an easy bike ride or walk — and you have a magical place.” — Kari Edison Watkins, Davis“When I was a little girl traveling with my parents from Seattle to Sonoma on Highway 101, I thought the Ukiah Valley and the next one south to Hopland had to be among the most beautiful places on earth. Now, 70 years later, I still think so. It’s hard to believe I am here.” — Leslie H. Smyth, Ukiah ValleyWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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    Los Angeles Times Owner Clashed With Top Editor Over Unpublished Article

    The owner, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, had raised concerns with Kevin Merida, who stepped down this month, over reporting about a wealthy doctor and his dog.When Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of The Los Angeles Times, hired Kevin Merida to be the newspaper’s top editor nearly three years ago, he hailed the journalist as someone who would maintain the publication’s high standards and journalistic integrity.By this winter, the professional warmth between the two men had chilled. Their relationship was strained in part by an incident in December when Dr. Soon-Shiong tried to dissuade Mr. Merida from pursuing a story about a wealthy California doctor and his dog, three people with knowledge of the interactions said. The doctor was an acquaintance of Dr. Soon-Shiong, the people said.The previously unreported incident occurred as The Los Angeles Times, the largest news organization on the West Coast, struggled to reverse years of losses amid a difficult market for newspapers. Mr. Merida resigned this month. Shortly afterward, the company laid off roughly 115 journalists, or about 20 percent of its newsroom.It is not unheard-of for the owner of a publication to be consulted on sensitive reporting, particularly if it could jeopardize the newspaper legally or financially. But it is unusual for an owner or a publisher to pressure editors to stop reporting on a story well before publication, especially in cases that do not put government secrets or human lives at risk.In a statement on Friday, Dr. Soon-Shiong disputed the characterization of how he had acted, calling it “factually incorrect.” The Los Angeles Times said in a statement that Dr. Soon-Shiong, who bought the newspaper in 2018, had made a request for “truthful, factual reporting” on the story.In a note to staff this month, Mr. Merida said he had decided to step down after “considerable soul-searching about my career at this stage.” Dr. Soon-Shiong said at the time that it had been “mutually agreed” that Mr. Merida would leave.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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    Your Favorite Roadside Attractions

    It’s been delightful reading your emails about favorite stops, and seeing the state’s highways and landmarks through your eyes.The Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael.Marlena Sloss for The New York TimesDriving to Davis from the Bay Area on Interstate 80 last week, I spotted a cow jumping over the moon.More specifically, I saw the longstanding sign for the old Milk Farm restaurant in Dixon, which I’ve now learned, after poring over readers’ submissions about iconic roadside attractions, is a landmark for many travelers in the Sacramento area. Seeing it in person made me feel as if I was getting a peek into a whole new side of California that I had yet to explore.I wrote last week about popular roadside sights, like Pea Soup Andersen’s or the Harris Ranch, that can feel so personal to Californians, reminding us of old commutes or family road trips of long ago. It’s been a pleasure to read the emails you have sent in response, and to see the state’s highways and landmarks through your eyes.On that same trip to Davis, I pulled over at Ikeda’s, following the suggestion of one reader, David Hayashida, who wrote that the country market was his go-to stop when traveling from Greenbrae, where he lives, to Sacramento. He recommended the crumbly Dutch apple pie, and it did not disappoint.Here are some more suggestions that readers have sent, lightly edited:“A favorite landmark memory for our family is of the color-changing lighted pylons at the LAX gateway. Driving down Sepulveda Boulevard back when our sons were young, we would look ahead to the pylons and make a guessing game of what color combination the columns would be in by the time our car reached them.” — Kathy Tyrer, Santa Barbara“Whenever we are out exploring California on road trips and heading home, we are always thrilled to see the beautiful Placer County courthouse right by I-80 that signals we are almost home.” — Jan Foster, AuburnWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber?  More

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    More Atmospheric Rivers Are on the Way. Here’s What the West Can Expect.

    A sequence of atmospheric rivers will bring heavy rainfall and snow to the Western U.S. and Canada over the next week.The Western United States and Canada are likely to see excessive rain and heavy snowfall from a sequence of back-to-back atmospheric rivers beginning this weekend and continuing into next week.An atmospheric river is like a powerful fire hose with only one person holding it. It often has a narrow path of the heaviest and strongest precipitation. It can be challenging to pinpoint where the heaviest stream of water will fall. It could be strong in the San Francisco Bay Area, and little might fall in Southern California, or vice versa.This early in the forecast, meteorologists are certain that the weather pattern is set up for a series of atmospheric river events — in some locations likely reaching a three or a four on the Atmospheric River five-point scale developed by the SCRIPPS Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego — along the West Coast. But they are less certain where the heaviest precipitation will fall, especially later in the week. There are at least three atmospheric rivers over the next week, and an additional one beyond that. More

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    In Winter, California Is for the Birds

    Millions of birds migrate through the Golden State each year along the Pacific Flyway, which stretches from Alaska to the tip of South America.Waterfowl in flight at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge last week.Jim Wilson/The New York TimesBlackbirds flit between reeds jutting out of the marshy waters. A bald eagle perches in a tree, far above clusters of bobbing ducks. In a mesmerizing display, hundreds of snowy white geese take flight in an undulating swarm that mottles the gray sky.This is the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, one of a number of spots in California for birds traveling along the Pacific Flyway, a migratory path that stretches from Alaska to the tip of South America. Millions of migratory birds, representing more than 100 species, visit or pass through the Golden State each year.“If you’re interested in migratory birds for any reason, California is the place to be,” John Eadie, who teaches conservation biology at the University of California, Davis, told me.The Pacific Flyway is one of four major North American avian migration routes, and California has been a major destination on the Flyway for thousands of years.Some experts estimate that at the start of the 20th century, 60 million birds were migrating to California’s wetlands each winter. The Central Valley was a hot spot. When the eminent ornithologist Frank Chapman visited Los Banos in 1903, he wrote, “I have never seen birds more abundant.”But that was before California drained more than 90 percent of its wetlands for agriculture and development, eliminating much of the habitat that the birds relied on. For example, a longtime destination for birds was Tulare Lake, once the largest body of fresh water west of the Mississippi. By the middle of the 20th century, the lake was all but gone, transformed into an empire of farms (at least until an exceptionally rainy winter comes along.)Signs at the wildlife refuge warn visitors to stay in their cars except in designated spots.Jim Wilson/The New York TimesDan Harris, left, and Dave Kramer viewed birds at the sanctuary through telescopic lenses.Jim Wilson/The New York TimesThe Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, which is just off Interstate 5 about 80 miles northwest of Sacramento, was created in the 1930s by flooding dry land to re-establish habitat for birds that would otherwise eat crops. The refuge typically provides a home for 250 species of birds each year, with as many as 500,000 migratory ducks and 250,000 geese visiting between November and January.Nat Seavy, director of migration science for the National Audubon Society’s Migratory Bird Initiative, told me that preserving places in California for birds to pass the winter is a complicated balancing act that must take into account water supplies, agriculture, other animals’ habitats and the needs of people.“The stewardship of birds kind of depends on everybody’s story along that flyway,” he said.Seavy pointed to the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area in Davis, a 16,600-acre haven for birds that was created in the late 1990s to serve two purposes: restoring wetland bird habitat and providing a flood plain for the Sacramento River. I visited the preserve recently, and saw ducks with emerald collars preening themselves and tiny long-legged shorebirds scuttling across the driving path.Rebecca Ryland, a longtime Davis resident, had set up an easel and watercolors that morning to paint the glistening wetlands. She told me that she had already seen two enormous flocks of geese swooping overhead, drawing visitors’ heads skyward.“It’s amazing,” said Ryland, who comes to the park daily. “Sometimes I just sort of say: ‘Take it easy. You have a long trip.’”A (not-at-all-comprehensive) list of places to see birds in California this winter:Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, about 80 miles northwest of Sacramento. This is a hot spot for waterfowl, and viewing is best between October and March.Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, about 40 miles south of Chico.Tijuana Estuary, about 15 miles south of San Diego. The estuary supports 370 species of birds, and guided bird walks are available.The Salton Sea, about 50 miles southeast of Palm Springs, is one of the most important Pacific Flyway stops. By January, the wings of more than 400 species of migrating birds form living clouds across crystal clear skies.Suisun Marsh, about 50 miles northeast of San Francisco, accounts for more than 10 percent of California’s remaining natural wetlands, and provides habitat to more than 220 bird species.If you read one story, make it thisA $1.7 million public toilet has come to symbolize red tape in San Francisco.Royce Hall, on the campus of U.C.L.A.Robyn Beck/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesThe rest of the newsThe Biden administration has pressed University of California officials to reconsider the university’s plan to allow thousands of young people without legal immigration status to hold campus jobs, Politico reports.Southern CaliforniaSan Bernardino County sheriff’s deputies found six human bodies at a dirt crossroads in the Mojave Desert.Jim Harbaugh, who coached Michigan to a national football championship in December, has agreed to become the head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers, The Athletic reports.Central CaliforniaCalifornia’s secretary of state asked a state appeals court to cancel a lower court’s ruling allowing Assemblyman Vince Fong, Republican of Bakersfield, to run for Congress in the March 5 primary, The Fresno Bee reports. Fong is already on the ballot as a candidate for re-election to his current office.Northern CaliforniaResearchers at U.C. San Francisco are using artificial intelligence to read medical scans, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.U.S. News & World Report has filed a federal lawsuit against San Francisco’s city attorney over his subpoenas regarding the company’s hospital-ranking process, The Los Angeles Times reports.What we’re recommendingA New York debut, but a deeply Los Angeles project.Tell usToday we’re asking about love: not whom you love but what you love about your corner of California.Email us a love letter to your California city, neighborhood or region — or to the Golden State as a whole — and we may share it in an upcoming newsletter. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com.Kelsey Kiyota and Elliott Lin.Dmitri and Sandra PhotographyAnd before you go, some good newsLove hit Kelsey Kiyota and Elliott Lin like a high-speed car.The pair had been friends for six years when, in 2018, at a mutual friend’s party in San Francisco, they discovered their shared love for the “Fast and Furious” movie franchise. Sparks flew (and engines revved, and wheels turned).“This could be my shot,” Lin recalled thinking after the interaction. “This could be the one.”Lin was so struck by the connection that he asked Kiyota out after the party. A few months later, the two had their first date — over Korean barbecue in San Francisco — and bonded over more shared loves: food and restaurants.From there, the two fell in love over many meals, long hikes near Lake Tahoe and a trip to Kiyota’s family home in Colorado. Lin popped the question in January 2023, and the two began planning a wedding in Hawaii, where Kiyota has a family connection. The couple tied the knot there in a ceremony with friends and relatives this month.Thanks for reading. I’ll be back tomorrow. — SoumyaP.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword.Maia Coleman and Briana Scalia contributed to California Today. You can reach the team at CAtoday@nytimes.com.Sign up here to get this newsletter in your inbox. More