∙ The window for the Mavericks big-wave surf competition is closing at the end of March, and it looks like this is the third year in a row that it isn't happening. Female surfers are going to be competing in their own heat for the first time, but that's yet to happen because the contest hasn't occurred since Feb. 2016. [NBC Bay Area]

∙ Beto O'Rourke is running for president. The three-term Texas legislator doesn't yet have a signature policy proposal, but he may have the youth, energy, and name recognition to help him stand out in a large Democratic field. [New York Times]

∙ Both Sen. Kamala Harris and the New York Times Editorial Board came out in support of Gov. Gavin Newsom's moratorium on the death penalty. The Times says "this act of executive mercy recognizes the extreme failures of the death penalty." [New York Times]

∙ Facebook still hasn't said what caused it and Instagram to go down all day Wednesday. The outage lasted some 22 hours, it also impacted WhatsApp, and it may mean that the company will have to refund lots of money to advertisers. [Wall Street Journal]

∙ A woman who was struck by a car while in a crosswalk in the Tenderloin on March 5 has died. 58-year-old Janice Higashi succumbed to her injuries on Sunday. [Chronicle]

∙ The lead prosecutor in the Ghost Ship fire case, David Lim, just resigned from the Alameda County DA's office, weeks before that trial is set to start. [ABC 7]

∙ 22-year-old Shiheim Johnson of Vallejo was convicted Wednesday in the 2015 murder of 17-year-old Torian Hughes — who was considered a grandson to Oakland City Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney, whose son was just killed in Los Angeles last weekend. [CBS SF]

∙ An oily sheen spotted on the surface of Oakland's Lake Merritt Wednesday evening prompted a hazmat response. [Bay City News]

∙ The Warriors managed to eke out a 116-114 win against the Houston Rockets last night without the help of Kevin Durant. [CBS SF]