• While the current storm may bring up to 12 feet of snow to Lake Tahoe, here in the Bay Area, we’re looking at ongoing rain through Sunday, and some dangerously gusty winds. A high wind advisory will be in effect from noon Friday until 10 am Saturday throughout most of the Bay Area, and SFO is already experiencing “hundreds of delays and a number of cancellations.” [KRON4]
• Governor Gavin Newom is facing a mini political firestorm over reports that Panera is exempt from a new $20 state minimum wage law for franchises, this being controversial because the state's biggest Panera franchisee is a Newsom mega-donor. But now Newsom’s office claims Panera is not exempt. “This story is absurd,” Newsom spokesperson Nathan Stack told the Chronicle. “Our legal team has reviewed and it appears Panera is not exempt from the law.” [Chronicle]
• UC Berkeley spent nearly $7 million to clear protesters out of People’s Park, according to a public records requests from the website Berkeleyside. Those shipping containers to wall off the park cost $972,000, and more than  $1 million was spent on food and lodging for outside law enforcement officers. [Berkeleyside]
• The next ‘Star Wars’ movie The Mandalorian & Grogu will be shot entirely in California, and will pump an estimated $160 million into the state’s economy. [SFGate]
• SF’s underground radio station Mutiny Radio quietly shut down permanently at the end of January, after 18 years of broadcasting. [Mission Local]
• The fourth annual World Goth Day Festival is set for Saturday, May 4, 2024, at the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda. [KRON4]

Image: Jack Hamilton via Unsplash