In a first, Latinos represent largest group of freshmen admitted to University of California
Sac Bee's KIM BOJORQUEZ: "For the first time in the University of California’s history, Latino students represent the largest ethnic group of admitted freshmen this fall, surpassing Asian American students.
Latino students account for 36% of admitted freshmen, followed by 35% of Asian Americans, according to admissions data released Thursday.
Last year, Latinos made up 34% of admitted college freshmen. White, Black and American Indian students made up 21%, 5% and 0.5% of admitted freshmen, respectively."
Oakland settles with the families of 32 victims of the Ghost Ship fire
The Chronicle's LAUREN HERNANDEZ: "Oakland City Council agreed Thursday to pay $32.7 million to settle lawsuits filed on behalf of 32 of the 36 people killed in the Ghost Ship warehouse fire in 2016, city officials announced.
The settlement — with $23.5 million going to families of relatives who died in the blaze and $9.2 million going to Sam Maxwell, a survivor who the city says suffers from “severe, lifelong injuries” — comes almost four years after a fire engulfed the Fruitvale neighborhood warehouse during an electronic music event on Dec. 2, 2016.
Roughly 100 people attended the party when the fire broke out in the crowded warehouse."
California blames PG&E for Kincade Fire in wine country. Criminal charges coming?
Sac Bee's DALE KASLER: "California investigators Thursday blamed PG&E Corp. for the major wildfire that burned through parts of Sonoma County wine country last October — and referred the case to prosecutors for possible criminal charges.
In a brief statement, Cal Fire said faulty PG&E transmission lines northeast of Geyserville sparked the Kincade Fire, which began Oct. 23 and burned 77,758 acres. Four people were hurt and 374 homes and other buildings were destroyed. More than 180,000 residents were evacuated.
PG&E had previously acknowledged a problem on a transmission tower as a possible factor in the fire."
Push to save Caltrain gets a second chance. SF supervisor says he'll fight for tax measure
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "Caltrain, so battered by financial losses that it may have to pull the plug on service, has found a protector in San Francisco.
Supervisor Matt Haney is attempting to save the Peninsula rail line after two of his colleagues tried to scuttle a sales tax measure to keep it running. Watching the outcry that followed, Haney said he intends to resurrect the tax proposal Tuesday and at least give it a chance.
If the 1/8 cent tax is placed on the ballot and passes in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, it would pump $100 million a year into Caltrain, which lost 95% of its riders when COVID-19 engulfed the region. Without the funding, the railway could be forced to shut down, officials said."
Feinstein wants to deny pandemic assistance funds to states that don't require masks
The Chronicle's TRAPPER BYRNE: "States that fail to require people to wear masks in public should be denied federal funding in the next coronavirus bailout bill, California Sen. Dianne Feinstein says.
“Wearing masks in public should be mandatory. Period,” Feinstein said in a statement Thursday in which she promised to propose that a funding ban be attached to the bailout bill.
“Research shows that masks reduce transmission of the coronavirus,” the Democrat said. She noted that Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the recent surge in infections in several states “could end within two months if we adopt ‘universal masking.’”
Karen Bass would lick stamps -- or run for vice president -- to get Joe Biden elected
Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "California Democratic Congresswoman Karen Bass said she’s ready to do whatever it takes, whether it’s running for vice president – or licking stamps at campaign headquarters – to elect Joe Biden as president.
During a virtual Sacramento Press Club panel Thursday, Bass, who’s on Biden’s short list of vice presidential candidates, said it’s critical Democrats leverage “every tool possible” to win back the White House from President Donald Trump in November.
“I am so concerned about what’s happening in this country. I am ready and willing to do whatever,” Bass said. “If the vice president wants me to go to the neighborhood, Biden headquarters and lick stamps – if people do that anymore – or walk precincts. I just feel that the state our country is in domestically and internationally requires us all to step up, and way beyond our comfort zone."
Law students may take the California state bar online for the first time
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "California will hold its bar exam online in October for the first time, but in response to the coronavirus will also allow new law school graduates to practice under supervision for nearly two years without passing the exam, the state Supreme Court said Thursday.
After postponing the twice-a-year exam, which had been scheduled to begin July 28, the justices had been urged by some legal educators to suspend the test and instead allow law graduates to practice under the supervision of an experienced attorney, an alternative adopted by several states, including New York.
Thursday’s order allows both options. Any of the approximately 8,000 students with California law degrees can take test online on Oct. 5 and 6. The court, which oversees the State Bar, also ordered a lowering of the minimum test score needed to pass the exam, which had been among the nation’s highest. The court’s executive officer, Jorge Navarrette, has said the bar would monitor the exam remotely to make sure test-takers did not try to look up the answers."
California has faced three crises in 2020 so far. The fourth has flown under the radar
CalMatters' DAN WALTERS: "The year is scarcely half over and California is experiencing an unprecedented wave of traumatic events, to wit:
▪ A pandemic that has infected hundreds of thousands of Californians and already has claimed more than 7,000 lives;
▪ A very severe recession, spawned by the pandemic, that has erased millions of jobs and has hammered state and local government budgets;"
Bay Area counties struggle with surging coronavirus as economies shut back down
The Chronicle's TATIANA SANCHEZ: "California’s coronavirus numbers are going in the wrong direction. And even though Bay Area residents tend to be more mask-compliant than other areas of the state — softening the worst of the pandemic in this area — hot spots abound.
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties have had more than 100 new cases per 100,000 people in the past two weeks, in striking contrast to Imperial County in Southern California, which has the highest new case rate at 409 for every 100,000 residents.
Another measure of trouble is hospitalizations for COVID-19. Santa Clara and Solano counties each saw more than a 10% increase in hospitalizations, on average, over the past three days. By contrast, Merced County averaged more than a 32% increase in three days, among the largest surges in the state."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: Coronavirus spreading rapidly in LA workplaces that ignore safety rules -- LA Times's HANNAH FRY; Californians turn against each other amid 2nd shutdown -- LA Times's BRITTNY MEJIA/MARIA L LA GANGA/SONALI KOHLI
SFPUC chief had past financial ties to agency contractor -- more fallout from Nuru probe
The Chronicle's DOMINIC FRACASSA: "In 2002, about 10 years before he would take the helm of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Harlan Kelly partnered with Melanie Lok, a longtime family friend, on an investment property, a house on 11th Avenue in the Inner Sunset.
Kelly and Lok agreed to split all costs for the fixer-upper and owned the property jointly for the next nine years.
Then in 2011, Kelly, at the time the SFPUC’s assistant general manager of infrastructure and a year away from taking the agency’s highest position, bought out Lok’s 50% stake in the property. The house would eventually become home for Kelly and his wife, City Administrator Naomi Kelly."
Yes, there's a coin shortage in the Bay Area. Here's what's going on
The Chronicle's ANNIE VAINSHTEIN: "In the last few weeks, Oakland A1 Laundromat owner Nesanet Tamirue has had to be extraordinarily careful about coins. She’s put up a sign asking patrons not to take quarters unless they’re for the laundry machines.
It hasn’t always worked. Sometimes the people who walk in don’t care — or they feel they have no other choice, clandestinely withdrawing more than $10 in coins before hurrying out. At any other time, it might have been OK. Now, it’s not.
That’s because during the coronavirus pandemic, the flow of coins in the Bay Area has clogged up, banks and business owners say — reflecting a nationwide shortage that’s significantly affecting a number of businesses, including laundromats, convenience stores and banks."
READ MORE related to Economy: Bay Area home sales surged nearly 70% from May to June; prices rose 3.6% -- The Chronicle's KATHLEEN PENDER
Farm to Fork postponed 'til fall 2021
Sac Bee's JULIA FRANKEL/MALAIKA KANAANEH TAPPER: "Wine lovers and foodies alike will have to wait until fall 2021 to enjoy Sacramento’s annual Farm to Fork Festival.
The festival — scheduled for September and set to include a wine-tasting event, a two-day street festival on Capitol Mall and a dinner at Tower Bridge — was canceled Thursday, Visit Sacramento announced in a news release.
“We know this is a disappointment not just for the attendees, but the farmers, chefs, restaurateurs and many other vendors and hospitality workers who take part in the festival every year,” said Mike Testa, CEO of Visit Sacramento."
Protesters and the LAPD have different stories about how a peaceful march turned violent
LA Times's ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE: "A group of protesters was marching on South Figueroa Street in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon when they came across a couple of women who were being taken into custody by two officers.
The group stopped to keep watch and chanted, “Let them go, let them go!” Suddenly, a man — whom the protesters say they did not know and was not in their group — sprayed water from a bottle onto the Los Angeles Police Department officers.
“That’s when things escalated. The batons came out right away,” said Charli Morachnick, a 22-year-old protester."
READ MORE related to Prisons, Police & Defund Movement: Judge largely upholds state ban on private prisons in tentative ruling -- LA Times's ANDREA CASTILLO; LAPD Chief Michel Moore wants more power to fire officers -- LA Times's CINDY CHANG