Here are all the California grocery stores, drug stores, and wholesale clubs that are open on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day this week. Some businesses and organizations might close on New Year's Eve, even though it's not a federal holiday, but might have limited hours.

Starting Jan. 1, the minimum wage in California will be $16.90. That represents a 40-cent hourly increase from 2025. Some municipalities in California have higher wage floors. San Francisco is one of them: The hourly minimum wage in the city is $19.18 an hour and is not set to increase again until July.

Southern California faces heavy rain and mudslide risks this weekend following record New Year’s Day storms. Get the latest on the forecast and emergency prep.

California’s rainy, breezy forecast fits old weather lore that points to a year of change, replenishment and growth.

According to the National Weather Service, rain has fallen on just 10% of all New Year’s Days between 1878 and 2025. The record for the holiday was in 1934, when it rained 3.12 inches in Pasadena. That was also the year Los Angeles received more than one inch of rain on the first day of the year.

A new storm from the Pacific not only threatens to bring more rain back into California, but may also get New Year's Eve revelers wet and could rain on someone's parade.

Some rain will spread into San Francisco, Sacramento and much of the balance of Central and Northern California from the storm spanning later Wednesday to Friday. Rain showers will also spill into the deserts in Las Vegas and Reno, Nev., as well as Phoenix and Yuma, Ariz.

In California, rodeo athletes welcomed the New Year by wrapping up their 2025 year and kickstarting the 2026 season.