Newsom stakes his future on one simple argument: Fear a GOP governor
TARYN LUNA, LA Times: "Gov. Gavin Newsom warned in the Bay Area that electing Larry Elder would have deadly consequences for Californians amid the still-raging COVID-19 pandemic.
In Los Angeles, he painted the recall as a battle against “Trumpism” that could plunge the state into an uncharted, near-apocalyptic future. And in ads, his campaign has cautioned that failing to vote could mean the state ends up with an “anti-vax Republican governor.”
As he barnstorms the state, Newsom’s strategy to generate fear about a GOP takeover appears to be working to turn out Democratic voters, allowing the governor to avoid more complicated conversations about his own record."
EMILY DERUY, Mercury News: "Less than a week before Election Day, Vice President Kamala Harris was back in the Bay Area on Wednesday, campaigning for Gov. Gavin Newsom with a message for Democrats that this recall effort isn’t just about the governor or the Golden State.
It’s about Republican power grabs and consequential issues, she said, from Sacramento to Austin, Texas.
“They think if they can win in California, they can do this anywhere,” Harris told a crowd of union workers and supporters at a rally at the IBEW-NECA Joint Apprenticeship Training Center in an industrial part of San Leandro. “But we will show them.”
Larry Elder reports raising over $18M in recall fight after filing snafu
DUSTIN GARDINER, Chronice: "Larry Elder, the radio host and Republican front-runner in California’s recall election, has raised more than $18.3 million in his quest to oust Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Elder’s haul, while dwarfed by Newsom’s campaign war chest, represents a significant fundraising surge for Elder, who has consistently led the field of candidates vying to replace the Democratic governor if he is recalled on Sept. 14.
Full details of Elder’s finances weren’t available last week — when candidates were required to file their final finance reports before Election Day — due to an apparent filing snafu."
The US govt doesn't recommend Afghan refugees settle in Bay Area cities due to housing costs
The Chronicle, YOOHYUN JUNG: “California is home to some of the largest Afghan communities in the U.S., with particularly large concentrations in the Bay Area.
Yet no city in the region, or the state, is included in the U.S. State Department’s list of 19 placement options for Afghans and Iraqis who hold Special Immigrant Visas, or SIVs, which are available to people who worked for the U.S. government and are facing threats as a result of their employment. The main reason: the cost of housing.
Yolo County Sheriff's Office reports first COVID-19 outbreak among jail inmates
Sacramento Bee, ROSAIO AHUMADA: “The Yolo County Sheriff’s Office on Wednesday announced an outbreak of COVID-19 at its jail, the first time since the pandemic began last year that coronavirus has spread to the inmate population housed in Woodland.
On Tuesday, an inmate became ill and tested positive for COVID-19, according to a news release from the Sheriff’s Office. All other inmates, except those who refused, were immediately tested.
The Sheriff’s Office said 14 additional positive cases were detected, and the 15 people infected with COVID-19 were placed in isolation and will be monitored and treated. Those inmates who were determined to have been exposed to the virus will be tested every three days over the next two weeks.”
The Chronicle, STAFF: “The return to in-person school and people’s increased travel has many parents more hyper-focused than ever on covering their kids’ faces indoors to protect them from the surging delta variant of the coronavirus.
But the marketplace now holds a myriad of mask choices — cloth, surgical, KF94, KN95 — that leave parents pondering: “What’s best for my kids?”
The short answer, as with so many aspects of the pandemic, is that there’s no absolute right answer. But Bay Area pediatric infectious disease experts offer some guidelines that parents should follow:”
How one foil-wrapped home survived the Caldor Fire as everything around it burned
The Chronicle, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: “When the voracious Caldor Fire raced through the forested Phillips Tract near Sierra-at-Tahoe, it destroyed dozens of cabins but spared a couple. One was wrapped in what looks like aluminum foil, prompting some to describe it as a giant baked potato or an oversized plate of leftovers.
However odd that may sound, wrapping buildings with what are known as fire blankets or aluminized structure wrap can foil the flames of a wildfire.
The blankets are designed to help protect cabins and other structures in three ways:”
Flex Alert extended to Thursday evening as California's late-summer temperatures soar
Sacramento Bee, STAFF: “As hot temperatures blast California this week, managers of the state’s electricity grid have issued a plea for power conservation.
The California Independent System Operator first issued a Flex Alert for Wednesday evening and then extended it for Thursday evening, citing high temperatures and a potential strain on the state’s power supplies. The alert covers 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. each night.
The alert was issued because of intense heat affecting much of California and the western United States, according to a news release from California ISO. Northern California inland temperatures were expected to be 3-10 degrees warmer than normal. In Southern California, temperatures were expected to be 5-10 degrees warmer than normal through the weekend, primarily for the interior part of the state.”
Biden requiring federal workers to get COVID shot
AP, ZEKE MILLER: “President Joe Biden on Thursday is toughening COVID-19 vaccine requirements for federal workers and contractors as he aims to boost vaccinations and curb the surging delta variant that is killing thousands each week and jeopardizing the nation’s economic recovery.
Just weeks after he mandated federal workers get a shot or face rigorous testing and masking protocols, Biden will sign a new executive order to require vaccination for employees of the executive branch and contractors who do business with the federal government, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The word comes ahead of the president's speech Thursday afternoon outlining a six-pronged plan to address the latest rise in coronavirus cases and the stagnating pace of COVID-19 shots.”
Yosemite plans to end reservation system soon, despite region's climbing COVID cases
Sacramento Bee, CARMEN KOHLRUSS: “Yosemite National Park is on track to end its day-use reservation system at the end of this month.
Yosemite said the temporary system would only be in place through Sept. 30, “or until local public health conditions improve” due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, when it reinstated the reservation system earlier this year. Yosemite’s website still states the same.
Yosemite spokesman Scott Gediman said day-use reservations will end Sept. 30 “as we announced earlier,” in response to a question Wednesday about whether the reservation system might be extended to a later date.”