LNU Lightning Complex growing slowly as California weather improves, Cal Fire says
Sac Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH/PAUL KITAGAKI JR: "Fire crews are achieving better containment and growth is slowing on the LNU Lightning Complex, one of the two largest among several hundred wildfires that have sparked across California in the past week and a half amid widespread thunderstorms, state fire officials said Tuesday morning.
The complex of fires burning primarily in Napa, Lake and Sonoma counties has killed at least five people, destroyed more than 930 structures, damaged 250 others and continues to threaten about 30,000 more buildings — many of them homes, with long lists of evacuation orders and warnings still in place for the North Bay, according to a 7 a.m. update from Cal Fire.
But the cluster of wildfires, which sparked Aug. 17 and grew to become the second-largest in state history for a few days, has grown minimally since Monday. It has now dropped to California’s third-largest fire ever, with the raging SCU Lightning Complex overtaking it."
READ MORE related to Wildfire Season: 'Get! Get! Get!' How a Camp Fire survivor escaped another California inferno with his family -- Sac Bee's JASON POHL; Firefighters beat back flames, with weather finally cooperating -- The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN/MALLORY MOENCH; Once an idyllic escape from the pandemic, Lake Berryessa is now ravaged by wildfire -- The Chronicle's TRISHA THADANI; Fires trigger historic shutdown of Greater Bay Area parks, with up to 200 closures -- The Chronicle's TOM STIENSTRA
CW Interview: The odyssey of Tom Ammiano -- and a memoir
SCOTT SORIANO, Capitol Weekly: "Tom Ammiano is a San Francisco icon and former state lawmaker who was at the forefront of progressive issues now accepted as part of the mainstream. The first openly gay teacher in San Francisco, he served on the board of the San Francisco Unified School District and on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors with future mayor, lieutenant governor and governor Gavin Newsom.
He was a force behind Healthy San Francisco, a health insurance program offering coverage to all city residents. Ammiano ran unsuccessfully for mayor several times and made his way to Sacramento, where he served in the Assembly from 2008 to 2014.
In Sacramento, Ammiano was a pioneer on marijuana legalization and transgender rights. He also served as chair of the Public Safety committee. A professional, stand-up comedian, he brought humor to the Legislature — as well as a radical combative nature. "
Tahoe ski resort Squaw Valley to change its name
Sac Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH: "The Lake Tahoe-area ski resort Squaw Valley has decided to drop the word “squaw” from its name, ownership announced Tuesday, saying the term is “derogatory and offensive” toward Native Americans.
A new name hasn’t been determined, and is targeted to be unveiled in early 2021 and implemented at the resort by that summer, Squaw Valley Alpine Meadows President Ron Cohen wrote in an emailed statement sent Tuesday morning.
“I am pleased to announce our commitment to removing ‘squaw’ from our resort name,” Cohen wrote. “The concerns about our name have been long discussed, but as we all find ourselves in a time of increased awareness and righteous demands for accountability, our leadership team has concluded we must move from discussion to action."
California could get $71B in pandemic help. Auditor warns it could be wasted
Sac Bee's WES VENTEICHER: "Many of the California state departments receiving federal coronavirus money have histories of mismanaging funds and struggling with clunky computer programs, California State Auditor Elaine Howle said in a Tuesday report.
Howle announced her office will monitor and track an estimated $71 billion in new federal money for the state, designating the state’s management of the money as being at “high risk” for waste, fraud and abuse.
Her office intends to track an estimated $40 billion in unemployment benefits being processed by the Employment Development Department, $10.2 billion for the Department of Health Care Services, $9.5 billion in Coronavirus Relief Fund money being processed by the Department of Finance and a range of other spending at a total of 18 departments."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: See how the Sacramento City Council allocated $89M in federal coronavirus funding -- Sac Bee's THERESA CLIFT
California has a housing crisis. A bill would allow a duplex on most single-family parcels
LA Times's ANDREW KHOURI: "The California Assembly is considering a bill that would require local governments to permit duplexes on parcels now largely restricted to one house, in effect eliminating single-family zoning that dominates in most suburban residential neighborhoods
The measure, Senate Bill 1120, is pitched as a way to ease a long-running housing shortage that has hammered low- and middle-class families throughout California but is drawing criticism from homeowners concerned it will fundamentally change their neighborhoods.
If ultimately passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the bill wouldn’t outlaw single-family houses. Instead, property owners could convert their single-family house into a duplex or demolish the house and in its place build two new single-family homes or a duplex."
After a brief break, air quality again at unhealthy levels in East Bay and Peninsula
The Chronicle's KELLIE HWANG: "The relief from smoky air felt early Tuesday in parts of the wildfire-besieged Bay Area didn’t last long: By late morning, air quality had taken a turn for the worse, hitting unhealthy levels again in the East Bay and Peninsula.
In the early hours, the air quality index was moderate, even good, in many areas.
“This morning we had a nice layer of fog … and the deep marine layer is good for fire suppression, and produces better air quality,” said Aaron Richardson, Bay Area Air Quality Management District spokesperson."
Facing 'a wave of evictions,' Newsom, California Dems debate rent, foreclosure relief
Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY/KATE IRBY: "Fabian Ramirez needs more time to catch up on the rent he couldn’t pay when the coronavirus outbreak put him out of work last spring. He’s in the hole by more than $5,000 — a burden for a laborer with a family to feed.
“It’s a lot,” said Ramirez of Sacramento, who took home about $2,200 a month from his work before the outbreak and had little savings.
His options depend in part on whether Gov. Gavin Newsom and California state lawmakers can reach a deal over the next week to extend renter protections that expire Sept. 2."
Nearly a third of California Latinos support Trump
Sac Bee's KIM BOJORQUEZ: "As President Donald Trump showcases Latino voices at the Republican National convention this week, nearly a third of California Latinos say they support his re-election.
An August UC Berkeley poll found about 63% of Latinos said they favored Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, while 30% said they backed Trump.
The poll was administered by UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies in English and Spanish to over 8,300 California registered voters between July 21 and July 27."
Trump's convention: Scare the base, then soften the tone
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "The mission of the four-day Republican National Convention is becoming clear: The GOP isn’t trying to win many new friends. It’s trying to convince the old ones to stick around.
Convention speakers aren’t mainly interested in converting wobbly independents when they compare Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden to Fidel Castro. They’re trying to hang onto suburban women who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 when they accuse Democrats of wanting “to abolish the suburbs altogether” and supporting “the vengeful mob that wishes to destroy our way of life.”
Monday’s dire warnings of the threat Democrats posed to America took a backseat at times Tuesday, a night that Republicans advertised as the “Land of Opportunity.” Business owners praising Trump’s antiregulation policies and a New Mexico police officer who helped a drug-addicted pregnant woman were featured, along with five new U.S. citizens being sworn in at the White House as the president looked on — a scene that critics said violated the law forbidding campaigning on federal property."
READ MORE related to RNC: GOP sees unrest in cities as providing an opening with white voters -- LA Times's DAVID LAUTER
A flood of political ads is hitting the air in this California district. Who's paying for them?
Sac Bee's KATE IRBY: "If you’re living south of Fresno, in California’s 21st congressional district, prepare for a flood of political advertisements.
Political strategists have known for months that the race between Rep. TJ Cox, D-Fresno, and former Rep. David Valadao, a Republican from Hanford, would be one of the biggest battlegrounds in the country.
It’s a target for the GOP because Cox won it by fewer than 1,000 votes in 2018, unseating Republican Valadao. With Valadao on the ballot again, Republicans think they have a candidate who is well known in the district."
Low-profile LA politico swept up in the USPS dispute
LA Times's JAMES RAINEY: "The lone woman appeared one day last week at the stately San Marino home of John M. Barger, a small but sure sign that the growing furor over the U.S. Postal Service had arrived on his doorstep. Barger, a financier and Republican political donor, is one of six members of the service’s board of governors. The woman wanted to know if the Postal Service would deliver mail-in ballots this fall.
Barger chatted with the woman over a lemonade. She listened politely and moved along.
But on Saturday, demonstrators returned in force, about 70 of them milling about the normally staid neighborhood where Barger lives. “No postage, no peace!” chanted the outsiders. They didn’t leave so readily."
COVID-delayed fishing season raises predictions of epic fall salmon run
The Chronicle's TOM STIENSTRA: "A delayed start to the salmon season due to COVID-19 along with fewer fish caught over the summer add up to high numbers of king, or chinook salmon, available for the fall run. That’s the consensus of anglers and biologists.
'
“They’re coming,” said Keith Fraser at Loch Lomond Live Bait in San Rafael. “We just had a half dozen fish come in on the Salmon Highway (on San Francisco Bay).” This is the start of the annual migration that is expected to peak in September and provides a rare chance to intercept a huge salmon along the route.
The “Salmon Highway” is a nickname for that route. It spans from the Marin coast through the Golden Gate, Bay-Delta and up the Sacramento River, this week with a forecast of a potential “traffic jam” of fish, as Fraser calls it, in the coming month."
As classes begin at UC Berkeley, students look for normal in an abnormal year
The Chronicle's NANETTE ASIMOV: "More than 31,000 undergraduates begin classes Wednesday at UC Berkeley, and even though just a fraction of them live on campus, students are seeking some semblance of a normal school year in this extraordinary time.
The question is whether they can find normalcy in a university turned upside down through remote instruction, no-roommate dorms and mandated coronavirus testing. (At least three students have tested positive since move-in day Thursday, with 729 results pending.) And whether they will find anything like an ordinary year beneath the rubble of an unprecedented pandemic-induced financial hit of $340 million that has forced cuts across academic and other departments.
Many students believe they can. Or they’re doing all they can to try."
READ MORE related to Education: UC Berkeley chancellor calls reopening amid crises 'hardest situation I've ever encountered' -- LA Times's TERESA WATANABE
'Bungled': Muni closes subway following coronavirus case and equipment failures
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN/MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "After three days of rough rides on San Francisco’s light-rail system, it’s back to the buses for Muni Metro riders.
The city’s transportation chief late Monday once again closed Muni Metro — two days after a much-anticipated reopening — following equipment failures and an employee in the transit system’s control center testing positive for the coronavirus.
“Apologies for failing to deliver the service San Francisco deserves,” Jeffrey Tumlin, the city’s transportation director, said Tuesday."
OC 's bishop, a $12M problem and a secret fight stretching to the Vatican
LA Times's HARRIET RYAN: "The FedEx envelopes landed at dawn on the doorsteps of some of Orange County’s most influential Catholic philanthropists — real estate developers, attorneys, CEOs and other church stalwarts who had raised tens of millions of dollars over the years for the local diocese.
Inside were letters from Bishop Kevin Vann that boiled down to two words: You’re fired.
Those June missives ignited a revolt inside the Orange County church that has burned all the way to the Vatican while remaining largely hidden from the diocese’s 1.3 million rank-and-file Catholics."