Desperate calls to save those trapped by fire, but emergency alert system failed many
LA Times' PAIGE ST JOHN/DAKOTA SMITH/HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS/JOY RESMOVITS: "The distress calls crackled over the Napa County sheriff’s dispatch radio in a rapid staccato late Sunday as flames sped toward residents on Atlas Peak Road."
"Parents trapped in garage,” an officer called in to the central dispatcher. Then: “The fire is moving quickly through here."
READ MORE related to The West is Burning: PG&E power lines linked to wine country fires -- East Bay Times' PAUL ROGERS/MATTHIAS GAFNI/GEORGE AVALOS; Trump vows support for California wildfire victims -- AP; Battle on to halt march of Northern California fires have killed 17, destroyed 2,000 structures -- The Chronicle's LIZZLIE JOHNSON/TRISHA THADANI/MELODY GUTIERREZ/PETER FIMRITE; Before and after images show rextent of losses in devastating Wine Country fires -- East Bay Times' SARAH DUSSAULT
CA120: Berners stay angry at Dem establishment
PAUL MITCHELL/JONATHAN BROWN in Capitol Weekly: "Throughout the 2016 election cycle, Capitol Weekly conducted several statewide polls. Two of them, one during the primary and the other during the general election, targeted voters right after they had mailed in their ballots."
"In total, more than 80,000 Californians participated in these surveys."
"Now, we’ve gone back to some of those same respondents to ask them how they feel about the candidates they backed, about the issues and about their perceptions of the political climate since the election. We also asked them this: Would they like to see their preferred 2016 candidate run again in 2020?"
READ MORE from Capitol Weekly: Interview: Carmela Coyle, California Hospital Association -- CW's ALEX MATTHEWS
Daily News' ELIZABETH CHOU: "Los Angeles residents and businesses can expect to see their water utility rates go up under a proposed multi-billion dollar project to build water tunnels in Northern California, but by how much is now being questioned by activists and some city leaders."
"The Metropolitan Water District voted Tuesday to support and fund the California WaterFix project, which would build a pair of tunnels to go under Sacramento-San Joaquin delta."
"The project is aimed at diverting water into the State Water Project system, which is the water that the district then sells wholesale to utilities like the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power."
California permanently eliminates CAHSEE.
The Chronicle's MELODY GUTIERREZ: "California has permanently scrapped its high school exit exam under legislation signed by Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday."
"The California High School Exit Examination was a requirement to receive a diploma in the state, but the legislature voted in 2015 to drop it for the high school classes of 2015 to 2018. Diplomas were retroactively awarded to anyone who met all other graduation requirements after the test became a mandatory must-pass exam in 2004."
"That resulted in an estimated 40,000 former high school students receiving their diplomas."
READ MORE related to Education: Californians favor more college aid for both low and middle-income students, poll finds -- EdSource's LARRY GORDON; Virtual charter academies in California must refund nearly $2M to state -- EdSource's LOUIS FREEDBERG; LAUSD superintendent has been on medical leave for 3 weeks. Here's who's running things -- Daily News
With this crowd, Dianne Feinstein is hardly old enough
LA Times' STEVE LOPEZ: "Tuesday was karaoke day at the Culver City Senior Center."
"Herman Heisser, 86, parked his walker, stepped onto the stage and sang “Your Cheatin’ Heart."
"Nick Pietro Forte, 88, crooned “Granada,” while Nelly Williams, 86, danced."
Legal fallout from the mushrooming Weinstein sex scandal could be big
LA Times' DANIEL MILLER/RYAN FAUGHNDER/DAVID NG: "The mounting sexual assault and harassment claims against disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein could have severe legal consequences for the executive and his already struggling namesake company."
"Although it may be difficult to build a criminal case against Weinstein, his alleged mistreatment of women could expose him and his film and TV company to costly civil lawsuits, according to attorneys and professors specializing in sexual misconduct."
"The potential liability is significant,” said Ann Fromholz, a Pasadena attorney who has handled sexual harassment cases."
California doesn't have enough doctors, and this bad law isn't helping.
LA Times' DAV ID LAZARUS: "California doesn’t have enough doctors."
"By 2025, the state will be short about 4,700 primary-care physicians, according to a recent report from the UC San Francisco Healthforce Center. This will result in more people turning to costly emergency-room visits for routine care, it predicts."
"One solution is to expand the role of well-trained nurse practitioners, who can meet the basic healthcare needs of our growing population at a fraction of the cost of doctor visits. That’s what many other states are doing."
LA Times' MATT PEARCE/RICHARD WINTON: "Before the Las Vegas massacre began, a wounded Mandalay Bay hotel security guard called hotel officials to warn them about a gunman on the 32nd floor, an investigator told the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday."
"But police did not arrive at the room where the guard had been shot until after Stephen Paddock had finished a 10-minute shooting rampage on a crowd gathered below for a country music festival, the investigation now shows."
"The revelation that hotel security had been alerted comes a day after Las Vegas police changed their timeline of how the Route 91 Harvest country music festival massacre started on Oct. 1 — not with an attack on a crowd along the Strip at 10:05 p.m., but with the shooting of Mandalay Bay security guard Jesus Campos inside the hotel about six minutes before."
Trump unleashes himself from would-be handlers, lashing out mornings, nights and weekends
LA Times' NOAH BIERMAN/CATHLEEN DECKER/BRIAN BENNETT: "WWhen President Trump agreed last month with Democrats to strike a deal granting legal status to so-called Dreamers brought to this country illegally as children, his chief of staff, John F. Kelly, was all for it. Another Trump confidant disagreed: Fox host Sean Hannity made clear in a phone call and on his show that Trump must draw a harder line on broader immigration enforcement as his price."
"Trump sided with Hannity, according to a person close to the White House. The result was a list of demands unveiled Sunday night — conditions seemingly guaranteed to thwart a bipartisan deal."
"Kelly, the retired Marine general who is Trump’s second chief of staff, has sought to tighten the flow of information and visitors to the president, to bring order to an unruly White House and to the way that Trump makes his decisions. But he is often thwarted by one man: Trump."
Failure to qualify for World Cup exposes US progress as a myth
LA Times' DYLAN HERNANDEZ: "So it’s confirmed the emperor had no clothes, only now we have to figure out exactly who the emperor was."
"Bruce Arena, the coach of the United States men’s national soccer team?"
READ MORE related to Sociology: Why MacArthur fellowships matter: In modern culture, expertise is under fire -- LA Times' CHRISTOPHER KNIGHT; Eminem unleashes anti-Trump rap during 2017 BET hip-hop awards -- LA Times' GREG BRAXTON/JEVON PHILLIPS
Navy fires top officers of wrecked US warship John S. McCain
AP: "The commander and executive officer of the U.S. destroyer John S. McCain were relieved of their duties Wednesday due to lost confidence after the warship and an oil tanker collided near Singapore in August."
"The cause of the Aug. 21 collision is still under investigation but the Navy described it as preventable. The Navy statement said Cmdr. Alfredo J. Sanchez and the ship's executive officer, Cmdr. Jessie L. Sanchez, were reassigned."
"Alfredo Sanchez, was reassigned to the headquarters of Naval Forces Japan, and Jessie Sanchez was reassigned to the ship repair facility at Yokosuka, Japan, home port of the 7th Fleet, the Navy said."
READ MORE related to Public Safety: Federal judge panel upholds Alameda County's controversial gun ordinance -- East Bay Times' DAVID DEBOLT
LA leaders want to bring street vendors 'out of the shadows.' Here's their latest move
Daily News' ELIZABETH CHOU: "While the act of selling hotdogs, fruits and other products on Los Angeles sidewalks is no longer a crime, vendors could still be cited with a misdemeanor if they are operating in public parks."
"Activists say this means that despite the city’s efforts, many vendors who are in the country illegally could still be slapped with a criminal offense that could be used as a reason for federal immigration officials to deport them."
"Citing those concerns, three Los Angeles City Council members began the process this week toward reducing penalties for vending in public parks, beaches and recreation areas from a misdemeanor to an administrative violation."