Mercury News' CASEY TOLAN: "A California congresswoman is calling for President Donald Trump to be removed from the presidency under a never-before-used constitutional provision."
"Rep. Jackie Speier, a San Francisco-area Democrat, said this week that Trump should be removed from office with the 25th Amendment, following his latest comments blaming "many sides" for violence after white nationalist protests in Charlottesville, Va."
"POTUS is showing signs of erratic behavior and mental instability that place the country in grave danger," Speier tweeted Tuesday night. "Time to invoke the 25th Amendment."
Still looking for solar eclipse glasses? Here's where you can find the few left.
McClatchy's MOLLY SULLIVAN: "With the first total solar eclipse in 38 years just a few days away, the demand for eclipse glasses are generating serious scarcity."
"And just any regular pair of sunglasses won’t do. Solar eclipse glasses, which look like 3-D glasses, use a darker lens that meets the ISO 12312-2 international safety standard for filtering the sun’s rays. The high demand has led to a rash of counterfeit glasses, which could cause vision damage if used while staring at the sun. Amazon recently issued refunds for potentially fake glasses, according to Time magazine. Authentic eclipse glasses will have labels saying they meet the recommended standard."
"Looking directly at the sun without authentic eclipse glasses can cause vision loss or permanent blindness, according to the American Astronomical Society. The two minutes of complete totality, the point at which the moon’s shadow covers the sun, is the only time you can stare directly at the sun without eclipse glasses, the society says. But Sacramento is not within the path of totality, so you need to protect your eyes.
READ MORE related to Environment: New genetic evidence could have major implications in the fight to save spring-run Chinook -- Sacramento Bee's CAROLYN WILKE; Invasive crabs flourish in Marin lagoon, despite eradication efforts -- The Chronicle's PETER FIMRITE; San Fernando Valley West Nile Virus cases spark 'heightened concern' -- Daily News' SUSAN ABRAM
McClatchy's DAN SMITH: "Ross Johnson, the fiery conservative and former ironworker who led Republicans in the California Legislature and became a vocal supporter of campaign finance reform, died Wednesday in Sacramento of cancer. He was 77."
"Johnson served 26 years in the Legislature representing portions of Orange County. He was first elected to the Assembly in 1978, along with a group of Republicans who became known as “Prop. 13 babies” because of their support that June for the historic property-tax-cutting initiative, Proposition 13. Though the GOP never held majority control in the house in which Johnson served, he was caucus leader to both the Assembly and Senate Republicans during his stints there."
"The leadership job sometimes launched him into the role of mediator between fellow conservatives and emerging moderates in the party. It gave him great authority over many legislative matters, particularly the state budget, which then required Republican support to pass each year."
READ MORE related to State: California congressmen meets Wikileaks founder, who denies Russia was source of DNC leaks -- OC Register's MARTIN WISCKOL; Why is LA Mayor Eric Garcetti campaigning in New Hampshire? -- Daily News
Called 'antidote to Charlottesville,' antiracism center open in Sacramento.
Sacramento Bee's STEPHEN MAGAGNINI: "Calling it an antidote for hatred and bigotry that boiled over in Charlottesville, Va., Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and the California Museum announced the Aug. 26 opening of a permanent exhibition that celebrates diversity and tolerance and stands against racism and other forms of discrimination."
"The opening of the Unity Center, which will take up a third of the museum at 10th and O streets, “could not be more timely – it comes in the midst of a national crisis,” said Steinberg. “The center and efforts like it are an antidote to Charlottesville."
"The Unity Center was inspired by the 1999 “Summer of Hate,” when two white supremacist brothers, Benjamin and Tyler Williams, set fires at B’nai Israel, Congregation Beth Shalom and Kenesset Israel Torah Center, all in the Sacramento area, causing nearly $3 million in damage. The blazes, among the worst acts of anti-Semitism in U.S. history, were followed by the firebombing of a Sacramento abortion clinic and the murder of a gay couple – Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder – while they slept in their Happy Valley home in rural Shasta County. The Williams brothers pleaded guilty to the arson attacks as well as the slayings, claiming that homosexuality is a sin they had to stamp out."
READ MORE related to White Supremacist Resurgence: If you agree with Trump that Nazis and protesters are equal, then you are the problem -- The Bee's MARCOS BRETON; Steve Bannon calls white nationalists 'clowns' and contradicts Trump on North Korea -- AP's DARLENE SUPERVILLE or WaPo's DEREK HAWKINS; Trump's Charlottesville uproar overshadows GOP tax plan roadshow -- McClatchy's SAHIL KAPUR; Trump: Nation's culture being 'ripped apart' by removal of Confederate monuments -- LA Times' DAVID LAUTER; Republican leaders dance around Trump remarks on white supremacists -- AP's STEVE PEOPLES/THOMAS BEAUMONT
McClatchy DC's ANITA KUMAR/WILLIAM DOUGLAS: "Donald Trump sure doesn’t make it easy to be a black Republican these days."
"Despite the president’s decision to blame both sides for this weekend’s deadly clash at a rally organized by white supremacists, many African-American members of the GOP say they still support him."
"In more than a dozen interviews, black Republicans across the nation blamed Trump’s much maligned response to the Charlottesville, Va. events on his inexperience as a politician. They recall that even Democrat Barack Obama, the nation’s first black president, didn’t utter the perfect statement after every tragedy."
READ MORE related to Beltway: Deepening GOP split, Trump attacks Republican senators Graham, Flake as 'publicity-seeking,' 'toxic' -- WaPo's DAVID NAKAMURA
Sacramento Bee's DIANA LAMBERT: "There won’t be any more cheese sandwiches served at Elk Grove Unified schools."
"The region’s largest school district will no longer give students a bland, alternative lunch when they run out of meal funds or forget their lunch money."
"Elk Grove Unified is joining districts across the region and nation that are changing rules so that children who come up short for lunch money aren’t embarrassed with a different meal than what their peers receive – or not fed at all, as has been the case elsewhere."
Feinstein slams Trump for his hateful deportation program.
The Chronicle's HAMED ALEAZIZ: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein said Wednesday that the Trump administration’s decision to deny a delay in the deportation of an Oakland nurse and her husband who have lived in the country for more than two decades was an “act utterly devoid of humanity."
"The California Democrat visited the family last week after reading a front-page Chronicle story about Maria Mendoza-Sanchez and Eusebio Sanchez, who plan to depart for their native Mexico late Wednesday with their 12-year-old son to start a new life, while leaving behind three daughters aged 16, 21 and 23 who have legal status."