It’s 7 a.m., 42° and headed to 58°. It should be sunny, and we might even make it to 63° tomorrow — woo! Details for the next 10 days are here.
The good news today is that California’s budget cuts may be coming to an end, according to the Chronicle. However, it’s not a holiday miracle. There have already been many cuts to public infastructure, and voters may need to approve new taxes to stave off cuts. An excerpt:
If both more cuts and more tax revenue happen — and a poll released last week showed strong support for the governor’s tax plan — California could have no deficit and no more cuts to state programs in just one year.
The optimism is tempered by deep cuts to K-12 schools, higher education, social and health services, parks, and public safety since the state’s budget was rocked by the economic collapse that began in 2008. Unemployment, at 11.3 percent, remains above the national average of 8.6 percent and the Department of Finance projects that California won’t return to pre-recession employment levels until 2016.
Are you down with raising taxes?
In less newsy news: Hanukkah starts in two days and Christmas is one week away. Even if you don’t celebrate, it’s hard not to get caught up in it — giving gifts, baking cookies and watching “Home Alone,” perhaps. Snow? Well, that’s not for us San Franciscans … except for yesterday and today!
Civic Center Plaza Wonderland is back today, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Hear from some fake-snow-loving kids who went yesterday.
Sounds like they had a better time than these kids visiting Santa.
For gifts, if you want to get someone a unique, crafty one but don’t have time to be crafty yourself, check out the Third Annual Renegade Craft Fair today at the Concourse Exhibition Center from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Or just click here for Mission-centric ideas. You can also give the gift of local journalism in someone’s honor.
If none of that excites you, you can just go enjoy the sun … maybe from the inside of a big windowed cafe, where you can stay warm, sipping some hot chocolate.