Sunday's predicted Norcal electricity blackout turns into false alarm
Sac Bee's TONY BIZJAK/DANIEL HUNT: "Three hours after putting out tens of thousands of automated phone calls to Bay Area customers Sunday, warning of yet another set of mandatory power outages, Pacific Gas and Electric acknowledged at 8 p.m. that the threat of a third night of rolling blackouts had passed.
“Based on current forecasts for electricity supply and demand, the state’s electric grid operator, the California Independent System Operator, has communicated to PG&E that the utility does not need to employ rotating power outages in the early to late evening Sunday,” the utility said in a Twitter press statement.
A PG&E spokeswoman said the utility had issued the warning at 5:15 p.m. because, at the time, it appeared a mandatory outage was going to be “likely,” and that PG&E would only be given a 10-minute lead time prior to shutting down power. Spokeswoman Angela Lombardi said the utility felt it was best, after two nights of shutdowns, to give customers the chance to prepare for a loss of power."
READ MORE related to Power Grid: After second night of rolling blackouts, will there be more? The threat climbs with temps -- Sac Bee's DALE KASLER/DANIEL HUNT/SOPHIA BOLLAG; What is the California ISO, and why are there no outages in Sacramento? -- Sac Bee's VINCENT MOLESKI; California avoided rolling blackouts for two decades. What went wrong on the grid? -- Sac Bee's DALE KASLER/MARIA HEETER; Bay Area blackouts: What you need to know about rolling power outages -- The Chronicle's KELLIE HWANG; Power grid manager urges residents to conserve energy amid intense heat wave -- LA Times's LAURA NEWBERRY
Flu vaccines could be a dry run for upcoming coronavirus immunizations
The Chronicle's ERIN ALLDAY: "Influenza season is just around the corner, and with the possibility of the coronavirus circulating at the same time, the annual pleas have already begun: Get the flu shot, everyone.
This fall likely will see the most aggressive flu vaccination campaign since the H1N1 pandemic in 2009, public health officials said. And it may serve a dual purpose as practice for the global immunization drive against the coronavirus that could begin next year.
“This is our only time to do a dry run for a COVID vaccine,” said Randy Bergen, clinical lead for Kaiser Permanente’s flu vaccination program in Northern California."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: Reporting backlog continues to affect LA County COVID-19 case numbers -- LA Times's ALEX WIGGLESWORTH; Quarantine requirements may delay students' return to in-person school -- AP
Storms headed to Sacramento with cooler temperatures? Don't be fooled, says weather service
Sac Bee's VINCENT MOLESKI: "The Sacramento area was seeing a smorgasbord of weather phenomenon this weekend, ranging from record-high heat to rain and thunderstorms.
Sacramento residents opening up their windows Sunday morning for a bit of fresh air would be met with a rude awakening, as temperatures cooled off little overnight. By 9 a.m., it had already reached 90 degrees, a portentous sign of the day’s heat.
The last few days already saw record heat twice in a row. On Friday, Sacramento Executive Airport hit 106 degrees, matching the 1967 record, and surpassing the average temperature by 15 degrees. Downtown Sacramento, meanwhile, was just a degree below a 1920 record at 106 degrees."
READ MORE related to Climate/Environment: 'Fire tornado' warning? Weather service issues what could be a first at California blaze -- Sac Bee's VINCENT MOLESKI; What's behind this once-in-a-decade Bay Area thunderstorm? -- The Chronicle's RUSTY SIMMONS; Massive wildfire tornadoes in NorCal -- LA Times's ALEX WIGGLESWORTH
Pelosi to call House back into session to vote on USPS bill
AP's AAMER MADHANI/MATTHEW DALY: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday she is calling the House back into session over the crisis at the U.S. Postal Service, setting up a political showdown amid growing concerns that the Trump White House is trying to undermine the agency ahead of the election.
Pelosi is cutting short lawmakers' summer recess with a vote expected the Saturday after the Democratic National Convention on legislation that would prohibit changes at the agency as tensions mount. President Donald Trump's new postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, has sparked nationwide outcry over delays, new prices and cutbacks just as millions of Americans will be trying to vote by mail to avoid polling places during the coronavirus outbreak.
“In a time of a pandemic, the Postal Service is Election Central," Pelosi wrote Sunday in a letter to colleagues, who had been expected to be out of session until September. “Lives, livelihoods and the life of our American Democracy are under threat from the president."
Year of misfortune tests Newsom's political standing
Sac Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "Gov. Gavin Newsom ends most press conferences these days with a series of pleas that have become familiar during the pandemic: wear a mask, keep your distance, stay home if you can.
On Friday, he had to add a new one: turn off your lights.
That evening, demand for power outstripped capacity anyway. The state saw its first rolling blackouts since the 2001 energy crisis that helped cost then-Gov. Gray Davis his job in a recall election."
Sabotage, weaponizing, vandalism: What Gavin Newsom thinks of Trump's treatment of USPS
Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday likened the Trump administration’s handling of the United States Postal Service to “sabotage” as the country prepares for an election in a pandemic in which tens of millions of votes will be cast by mail.
“I haven’t experienced this in my lifetime,” Newsom said during a press conference, “the weaponization of sorts of our postal system.”
He spoke a day after President Donald Trump told reporters he was reluctant to provide additional money for the Postal Service in the next round of federal COVID-19 assistance because it would help the agency handle the “millions and millions of ballots” he said would be mailed in, seemingly to disadvantage his re-election campaign."
California progressives' mantra for Democratic convention: 'Challenge Biden'
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI/TAL KOPAN: "Joe Biden will get a preview of what’s in store for his potential presidency when the Democratic National Convention starts Monday: pressure from progressives to tack left.
Known to brag more about his work across the aisle with Republicans than his progressive bona fides, Biden will be facing an energized left flank that wants to ensure he won’t forget them if he wins.
“We want to be clear: We are saying, ‘Vote for Joe Biden.’ But we are going to make our demands known,” said Marcy Winograd, a delegate from Santa Barbara who is spearheading opposition to Biden’s potential foreign policy team. “And once he gets elected, there will be no honeymoon."
What's in a mispronunciation of a name? Ask Kamala Harris
The Chronicle's LAUREN HERNANDEZ/RACHEL SWAN: "Within a day of Joe Biden choosing his running mate, it almost became a campaign slogan: “It’s comma-la.”
Newspapers swiped the headline. Political commentators tittered. But for people who have long suffered mangled pronunciations of their names, Kamala Harris’ efforts to educate the public strikes a chord.
In the preface of her memoir, “The Truths We Hold,” Harris — whose mother was an immigrant from India and father is an immigrant from Jamaica — educates the reader about her name."
READ MORE related to Trailblazing: Kamala Harris shaped by Berkeley and a 'do something' mother -- The Chronicle's TAL KOPAN; Post-ABC poll shows Biden, Harris hold double-digit lead over Trump, Pence -- WaPo's DAN BALZ/SCOTT CLEMENT/EMILY GUSKIN
As school starts, California districts try to improve virtual special education
EdSource's CAROLYN JONES: "As schools in California begin re-opening virtually, state education officials have taken steps to improve distance learning for a group of students who were largely left behind in the spring: Those in special education.
But some parents wonder if distance learning will ever work well for students with disabilities.
The most significant new law, passed in June as part of the state budget, requires districts to craft distance learning plans for all students in special education, tailored to each student’s unique needs. The plans will apply to any emergency that forces a school to close for 10 days or more, including wildfires, earthquakes and pandemics."
READ MORE related to Education: Millions of students -- and their teachers -- embark on vast experiment with distance learning -- EdSource's LOUIS FREEDBERG; LA schools announce massive COVID-19 testing, tracing initiative for all students and staff -- LA Times's HOWARD BLUME/LAURA NEWBERRY
Berkeley's bold vision for the future of policing
The Chronicle's RYAN KOST: "Six years ago in Ferguson, Mo., almost to the day, police Officer Darren Wilson shot and killed Michael Brown Jr. A great unrest followed, first in Missouri, and then nationwide. On Nov. 24, 2014, a grand jury declined to indict Wilson. Brown’s family released a statement shortly thereafter. They were “profoundly disappointed” with the verdict. And they asked supporters to “join with us in our campaign to ensure that every police officer working the streets in this country wears a body camera.” This was back when Barack Obama was president; body cameras and bias training felt like substantive solutions to the intractable problem of police violence.
Six years later on May 25, George Floyd lost his breath and life as Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. Again a great unrest followed, first in Minneapolis, and then nationwide.
Only this time the officer was charged and arrested — and the demands went beyond body cameras and reform. Bearing witness was no longer enough. In the weeks following Floyd’s death, protesters pushed to “defund” and “abolish” police departments nationwide. This, they said, was a time for a wholesale re-imagining of what public safety could look like."
James Fang, former BART director and member of powerful publishing family, dies at 58
The Chronicle's SAM WHITING: "James Fang, a former president of the BART Board of Directors and the San Francisco Examiner and a member of a once-powerful San Francisco political and publishing family, died Friday. He was 58.
His death was confirmed by a nephew and family spokesman, Sean Fang of San Mateo. Fang died of natural causes, according to a family statement.
“My uncle was an amazing man,” Sean Fang said Sunday. “Even through any adversity that he faced, no matter what it may be, he always managed to keep his composure and compassion."
California Capital Airshow canceled due to pandemic, will take flight next year
Sac Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH: "The Sacramento region’s annual airshow has officially been canceled this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers announced Friday.
The California Capital Airshow, which would have brought dozens of rare planes and thousands of guests to Mather Airport in Rancho Cordova on Oct. 3-4, has instead been grounded for the first time in 15 years, the show’s board of directors said in a statement.
“We explored numerous options with our partners to provide a highly modified and socially distant event that would also work within established COVID-19 public health parameters,” the statement said, in part. Those partners include Sacramento County and the city of Rancho Cordova."
Ryan Gosling movie among 9 films lured by state tax credits
LA Times's ANOUSHA SAKOUI: "California’s $330-million tax credit program, recently renewed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, has agreed to support nine new movies that will be filmed in the state.
The biggest award will be a $20-million tax break for the Netflix movie “Gray Man,” starring Ryan Gosling and Chris Evans, according to new data from the California Film Commission.
Universal Pictures is in line to receive $16 million in tax credits for two untitled films, including one made by Jordan Peele. Amazon Studios also got approval for a $2.5-million credit for an Octavia Spencer movie called “Invasion."
READ MORE related to Economy: Wage theft plagues LA garment workers. Why aren't fashion retailers held responsible? -- LA Times's LAURENCE DARMIENTO
LA Times's MARK Z BARABAK: "In 2016, a fed-up Patrick Murray cast his presidential ballot for Donald Trump, seeing the brash New Yorker as “somebody new, somebody different, somebody that wasn’t part of the Washington crowd.”
Now, though, Murray’s contempt for the president is abundantly clear, even cloaked behind the mask that swaddled his nose and mouth as he ran errands on a sunny afternoon in northeast Wisconsin’s Fox River Valley.
“My biggest problem with Trump is he’s a pathological liar,” Murray spat out. “I can’t deal with that."
READ MORE related to Democratic National Convention: Sanders supporters felt burned at the 2016 DNC. This year, Democratic leaders push for unity -- LA Times's MELISSA GOMEZ; Dems prep for virtual event; Trump heads to two swing states -- WaPo's JOHN WAGNER
On ninth day of protests, striking workers call on Belarus president to resign
AP: "Several thousand factory workers took to the streets of Minsk and hundreds of demonstrators besieged the state television headquarters Monday, raising the pressure on authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko to step down after 26 years in office.
On the ninth straight day of protests against the official results of the Aug. 9 presidential vote handing him a sixth term, Lukashenko flew by helicopter to a factory in the capital in a bid to rally support but was heckled by workers chanting, “Go away!” Facing the angry crowd, the 65-year-old Lukashenko dismissed calls to step down.
“I will never cave in to pressure,” Lukashenko told the workers. “Some of you might have got the impression that the government no longer exists, that it has tumbled down. The government will never collapse — you know me well."