On the eve

Sep 13, 2021

A procrastinator's guide to the 2021 California recall election of Gavin Newsom

 

Sacramento Bee, ANDREW SHEELER: "So you still haven’t voted yet in the election to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom. We get it. Maybe you’ve been busy or maybe you’re undecided on how to vote on a ballot that has 46 candidates on it.

 

Now, it’s time to get that ballot turned in, and The Sacramento Bee has you covered as you do your civic duty.

 

Here’s everything you need to know about how to vote and what is on the ballot."

 

READ MORE RECALL NEWS --- Here's where to drop recall ballots in Sacramento, El Dorado, Placer and Yolo counties -- Sacramento Bee, MILA JASPER; Newsom and Elder wants votes from Asian Americans. Are they a recall swing vote? -- Sacramento Bee, JEONG PARK; Elder is the Trumpist who may save Newsom's job --  The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI; Newsom slams GOP, while Elder targets governor's wife as recall campaign closes -- LA Times, FAITH E PINHO/JAMES RAINEY; As recall campaign closes, Californians might be ready to change the system -- LA Times, JOHN MYERS; Allegations fly as recall vote looms for California's Newsom -- AP

 

Joe Biden coming to California. Will the visit help Gavin Newsom win the recall election?

 

Sacramento Bee, ALEX ROARTY/FRANCESCA CHAMBERS: "President Joe Biden’s last-minute rally with Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday in Long Beach may not influence the outcome of the California recall election, but offering the Democrat a short-term electoral boost is only part of the president’s calculation.

 

Despite crises such as the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and the persistent pandemic, Biden could not miss showing support for an ally in a time of need, Democrats say, because failure to do so would risk alienating friends in an era when even off-year elections can reverberate nationally.

 

“When we’re in power, you can’t stand still and say, ‘oh, we’ve got a lot going on, we’ll get to politics when it comes around,’” said Bradley Beychok, a veteran Democratic strategist. “This is a four-year political fight, and I think this White House realizes that.”"

 

Podcast: The Recall -- Jonathan Brown predicts

 

Capitol Weekly, STAFF: "We sat down on Friday for a chat about the looming Recall election with Jonathan Brown, president of Sextant Strategies & Research, a Democratic polling firm based in Southern California. Brown published an intriguing analysis of the race back in August, noting that Democrats were outperforming their registration numbers in early voting, and challenging the chorus of pundits who had predicted grave danger for the governor. Brown offers his thoughts on the state of the race, what the Recall says about the parties and even offers his estimate on the final numbers.

 

Plus, as always, we tell you who had the Worst Week in California Politics."

 

California bill aims to protect farmworkers from smoke. Some say it 'isn't going to help'

 

Sacramento Bee, NADIA LOPEZ: "Lorena Moreno spent nearly a decade harvesting crops next to her husband in the Central Valley’s fields, bathed in sweat from working in the sweltering heat. In recent years, her husband, who is still laboring in the fields, has also been coming home with symptoms from an increasingly more present hazard — wildfire smoke.

 

He arrives at their Fresno home wheezing and with his head throbbing, Moreno says. He’s often unable to open his itchy, irritated eyes and is congested from inhaling air polluted with poisonous microscopic particles caused by wildfires. It’s a troubling set of symptoms that are growing more common among a workforce that already faces many hazards on the job.

 

That’s why some are now pushing for a bill moving through the California legislature that would give farmworkers reliable access to a steady stockpile of N95 masks, which protect against exposure to smoke. Many supporters of the legislation, including growers, say it could help ensure that farmworkers are working in safe and healthy environments, even as the state’s harvest and wildfire seasons increasingly merge."

 

Sequoia National Park wildfires burn at 0% containment, with more closures Sunday

 

Sacramento Bee, THADDEUS MILLER: "Multiple wildfires started by a recent lightning storm continued to grow in steep, difficult to reach areas of Sequoia National Park, the National Park Service said Sunday.

 

The Paradise and Colony fires, which combined are being called the KNP Complex, have scorched more than 1,000 acres and fire crews have 0% containment on either blaze, according to the Park Service.

 

Lightning struck several spots in the park on Thursday, officials said, starting multiple fires with the two largest of particular concern."

 

READ MORE WILDFIRE/CLIMATE NEWS --- Caldor Fire: Grizzly Flats evacuees return to a ravaged town -- The Chronicle, SARAH RAVANI/RACHEL SWAN; Dramatic photos show Route Fire burning on both sides of I-5 -- The Chronicle, RACHEL SWAN; Firefighters struggle to contain Route fire near Castaic -- LA Times, MARISSA EVANS

 

California drought: How much water are Marin golf courses using?

 

WILL HOUSTON, Marcury News: "As Marin residents are asked to watch their lawns dry out amid a historic drought, attention can naturally turn to the acres of turf at local golf courses.

 

It begs the question: how much water do they use?

 

Four of the seven golf courses in Marin rely on local reservoir supplies for irrigation and are required to cut their water use by as much as 40% compared to 2020 as the county faces what may become its worst drought on record. The  courses have so far complied with or exceeded mandated conservation levels, according to local water districts."

 

California Senate passes bill allowing state to keep details of COVID outbreaks secret

 

FIONA KELLIHER, Mercury News: "The California State Senate approved a bill late Friday evening that upholds the state’s ability to keep the details of workplace COVID-19 outbreaks secret, a win for business groups after key transparency clauses were slashed at the last minute.

 

AB 654 was revised days before the end of the legislative session Friday to erase a requirement that the California Department of Public Health publicize COVID outbreaks by location, contradicting the author’s stated purpose in drafting the bill and dealing a blow to employees, advocates and epidemiologists who have long argued that such information is essential to protecting workers.

 

The bill that passed 37-0 contained an urgency clause, meaning it would take effect immediately if signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom."

 

Why SF Bay Area school districts aren't following LA's lead on vaccinations, testing

 

The Chronicle, JILL TUCKER: "Inside reopened classrooms in California, most students are back in seats, once again studying the life cycles of frogs, the sonnets of Shakespeare or what x equals in an algebraic equation.

 

Behind the scenes, adults are still debating how to keep schools safe amid a pandemic. Each district has adopted its own policy on masking, vaccination, testing, ventilation or more, making for a dizzying array of rules — many of which have led to community outcry.

 

 

It's not just COVID: California recall candidates represent markedly different choices on health care

 

Kaiser Health News, SAMANTHA YOUNG/RACHEL BLUTH: "Gov. Gavin Newsom’s COVID-19 rules have been a lightning rod in California’s recall election.

 

But there’s a lot more at stake for Californians’ health care than mask and vaccine mandates.

 

Newsom, a first-term Democrat, argues that their fundamental ability to get health insurance and medical treatments is on the line."

 

READ MORE COVID-19/HEALTH NEWS --- LA County coronavirus hospitalizations drop by another few ticks -- SCNG/LA Daily News, CITY NEWS SERVICE; COVID-19 got this medical team into homeless camps. What about after the pandemic:? -- LA Times, EMILY ALPERT REYES/FRANCINE ORR*(PHOTOGRAPHY); West Hollywood bans unvaccinated people from most indoor facilities -- Daily News, CITY NEWS SERVICE

 

Encounter someone in a mental health crisis? Here are non-police numbers to call in Sacramento

 

Sacramento Bee, THERESA CLIFT: "As many as 30% of people experiencing homelessness nationwide have serious mental illnesses, the Treatment Advocacy Center estimated in 2016, according to a UCLA Law Review study.

 

That means that on any given day, there are likely more than 1,600 homeless people struggling with a serious mental illness in Sacramento.

 

There are several resources in Sacramento for people to call if they encounter a person having a mental health crisis but don’t want to call the police."

 

Sharp rise in hate and racism incidents in Sacramento. Here's where they happened

 

Sacramento Bee, PHILLIP REESE: "The number of bias-related incidents — crimes or confrontations motivated by hate — grew dramatically in Sacramento during the first half of 2021, the latest police data show.

 

Sacramento Police responded to 72 reports of bias-related incidents during the first six months of 2021, compared to 29 during the first six months of 2020 and 13 during the first six months of 2019.

 

The 2021 incidents included:"

 

READ MORE RACE/RACISM NEWS --- California moves to repeal loitering law that trans activists say leads to bias -- The Chronicle, DUSTIN GARDINER

 

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America installs its first out transgender bishop

 

AP: "The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has installed its first out transgender bishop.

 

The Rev. Megan Rohrer will lead one of the church’s 65 synods, overseeing nearly 200 congregations in Northern California and northern Nevada.

 

“My call is ... to be up to the same messy, loving things I was up to before,” Rohrer told worshipers at an installation service held in San Francisco’s Grace Cathedral on Saturday. “But mostly, if you’ll let me, and I think you will, my hope is to love you and, beyond that, to love what you love.”"

 

A woman is suing SF for $50M over a parking ticket, saying tire chalk is unconstitutional

 

The Chronicle, RACHEL SWAN: "What you might call the chalk squat — when a person checks the tires of a parked car for the white stripe of chalk that could result in a fresh ticket landing on the windshield — is on its way out in the Bay Area.

 

But perhaps not without a final, multimillion-dollar legal battle.