PG&E expands controversial power shutoff plans for fire season
The Chronicle, JULIE JOHNSON: "Pacific Gas and Electric Co. has expanded one of its newest tools to prevent wildfires: automated power shutoffs triggered when its computer systems detect problems like trees hitting power lines.
A new harbinger of fire season, the wildfire prevention mechanism was turned on this month across more than 1,000 circuits in high risk places. Company officials said sudden blackouts associated with the technology reduced the number of fires caused by its power lines by as much as 45% after the software was first installed on a smaller scale in late July last year.
PG&E installed the software, which enhances the sensitivity of its circuit breakers, after its power lines started the nearly million-acre Dixie Fire. The utility came under scrutiny for what Cal Fire investigators called an “excessively delayed response” after its computers detected a fault on a remote line, where a tree had fallen onto a power line."
Thunderstorms, lightning hit Southern California as monsoonal moisture moves through
LAT, STAFF: "Parts of Southern California were hit by thunder, lightning and showers overnight as monsoonal moisture moved through the region.
The National Weather Service issued special weather advisories Wednesday morning for several parts of the region, warning of rain, possible lightning strikes, heavy winds and thunder.
The monsoonal conditions bring the possibility of dry lightning that could start fires, officials said. They urged campers and others outdoors to seek shelter when lightning and thunder hit and to be on the lookout for fires."
California has recovered more than $1 billion in fraudulently paid unemployment claims
ANDREW SHEELER, SacBee: "The California Employment Development Department (EDD) has recovered $1.1 billion in fraudulent payments from federal COVID relief programs, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office announced Tuesday.
The funds were found on approximately 780,000 inactivated benefit cards. Most of the money belongs to the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program (PUA), the primary target of fraud nationwide, according to a statement from Newsom’s office.
EDD is responsible for processing unemployment claims, as well as disability insurance and paid family leave claims. During the pandemic, the agency was overwhelmed with unemployment applications, resulting in many fraudulent payments going out."
Oakley, headed to nonprofit, departs community college system
Capitol Weekly, WILL SHUCK: "California Community Colleges are hanging out the “help wanted” sign, as Chancellor Eloy Oakley steps down from the helm of the country’s largest college system to head an education advocacy group.
The Community College Board of Governors will name a temporary replacement for Oakley next month and then begin what is expected to be a nationwide search for a permanent replacement.
“I’m sure they will cast as wide a net as possible,” he said."
California will investigate why it has the highest gas prices. Here’s what we already know
ANDREW SHEELER and LINDSEY HOLDEN, SacBee: "California Assembly Democrats are forming a select committee to investigate why the state’s $6-per-gallon gas prices are among the nation’s highest.
Golden State residents are paying about $6.38 per gallon on average, according to AAA. That’s nearly $1.50 more than the national average of $4.97 per gallon. “The committee aims to answer two basic questions,” Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, said on Monday.
“First, why are we paying so much for gas? And two, how can we stop it?”
$650,000 settlement ends lawsuit alleging retaliation by Riverside County’s auditor-controller
JEFF HORSEMAN, Riverside P-E: "Rverside County taxpayers are paying $650,000 to settle a lawsuit alleging that Auditor-Controller Paul Angulo spitefully got a former employee fired from his new job.
Settlement of the case brought by Jamal Boyce follows two lawsuits by other ex-auditor employees that were settled for a combined $435,000. All three lawsuits stem from anonymous emails sent eight years ago that accused Angulo of six-figure spending on training for himself and executive-level staff in his office.
Angulo, who has sounded the alarm on what the county spends to settle civil litigation, said via email Monday, June 20: “I cannot add anything to personnel matters. (It’s) old news.”
Boyce filed suit in Riverside County Superior Court in April 2018. The settlement came May 23 of this year, county spokesperson Brooke Federico said via email."
L.A. mayoral primary turnout rises as Bass widens lead over Caruso
BENJAMIN ORESKES, LA Times: "Turnout in the Los Angeles mayoral primary, which will see Rep. Karen Bass and developer Rick Caruso move to a November runoff, appears to have come in higher than years past.
With nearly all ballots counted as of Tuesday afternoon’s update, turnout had reached about 30% of registered voters in the city of Los Angeles. That’s up from 20% in the 2017 primary, when Mayor Eric Garcetti won reelection with 81% of the vote.
Countywide turnout was 28.4%, and officials said the vast majority of this latest batch of about 43,000 ballots came from people who had voted by mail."
Biden to ask Congress to suspend gas tax for three months
LAT, ERIN B. LOGAN: "President Biden will ask Congress on Wednesday to suspend the federal gas tax through September, a move that could shave off 18 cents per gallon to help consumers battling record prices at the pump, senior administration officials said.
The request to suspend the gas tax comes as Biden and Democrats are facing a tough midterm election season as Americans are confronting high fuel costs, spiking inflation and fears of a recession. It is not clear if Biden can persuade Republicans in the Senate to go along with the gas tax holiday.
GOP lawmakers have been hammering Biden and Democrats on the campaign trail over inflation and fuel prices. They argue that such measures are political theater that will do little to make long-term dents in oil prices. The best way to reduce oil prices, they say, is to loosen regulations and increase U.S. oil production."
2 million California kids are now eligible for COVID vaccine. How many will get it?
LAT, GRACE TOOHEY/LUKE MONEY: "Jonah Stein exited the vaccination clinic in his father’s arms Tuesday afternoon, proud to show off his Band-Aid.
This “little booboo,” as the 2-year-old put it, was a long time coming. It marked the spot where he received his first dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine — much to the relief of his parents, who also have a 3-week-old at home.
“We’ll have a greater level of comfort going out and doing things and knowing when [Jonah is] at daycare, he’ll be less likely to catch it and bring it home to his brother,” father Nathan Stein, who works as a cardiologist, said outside Clinica Medica Fatima in downtown Los Angeles."
COVID in California: Hospitalizations and deaths rising statewide
The Chronicle, Aidin Vaziri/Rita Beamish/Dominic Fracassa: "As coronavirus subvariants keep COVID-19 cases high across the globe, The Chronicle once again asked Bay Area health experts: Is getting COVID inevitable? To the relief of parents across the region, Bay Area health care providers began receiving their first shipments of COVID-19 vaccine for infants and toddlers this week.
Tuesday marked the first day that infants and toddlers 6 months to 4 years old could get vaccinated against COVID-19, following federal and state approvals for the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines over the weekend.
Inside Exposition Hall at the Santa Clara County Fairgrounds on a sweltering afternoon, one-year-old Bert Avina helped make history: he became one of the first babies in the Bay Area to get his COVID-19 vaccine. Read more about the long-awaited roll-out of vaccines to the last age group in America to become eligible for the life-saving shots."
Senate clears key vote hurdle on gun bill
LAT, JENNIFER HABERKORN: "The Senate voted Tuesday evening to start debate on a bipartisan effort to combat gun violence, a sign of progress for what could be the most substantial gun policy to get through Congress in more than three decades.
The procedural vote was approved 64 to 34, with 14 Republicans joining all Democrats to advance the bill and two Republicans not voting.
By clearing the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome any filibuster, the measure seems assured final passage assuming there are no last-minute vote changes."
‘There’s a human cost to this’: California school bus funding stalled for 40 years
LAT, MACKENZIE MAYS: "When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down rural Del Norte County schools, it was the buses that brought students a shred of normalcy.
Teachers and staff boarded the yellow buses and helped deliver brown bags of free meals and school supplies. They drove along winding, dilapidated back roads known for landslides, as concerns grew about students who had been shut out of classrooms.
“That school bus is a lifeline,” said Jeff Harris, superintendent of schools in Del Norte County, the northwestern corner of California. Del Norte, flush with redwood forests, is home to more than 4,000 K-12 students, a majority of whom qualify for free or reduced-price meals."
California Prop. 13’s 'unjust legacy' detailed in critical study
EdSource, JOHN FENSTERWALD: "A new analysis of the enduring impact of Proposition 13, the 1978 initiative that voters passed as a backlash against rising property taxes, concluded it has contributed to a widening wealth gap, a severe housing shortage and, for decades, inadequate funding for public schools.
“Proposition 13 is just one example of what happens when a purported progressive state allows a privileged few to hoard opportunities and resources at the expense of the greater good,” concluded the report “Unjust Legacy” by the Opportunity Institute and Pivot Learning, released on Wednesday. The institute is a nonprofit advocating for equitable outcomes for Californians; Pivot Learning is a consulting organization that works with schools in California and other states on improving achievement.
The 45-page report did not recommend a particular fix for Prop. 13, although it presented several scenarios that could result in billions of dollars of additional K-12 funding. The remedy would depend on which goal you’re trying to address, it said: Generate more revenue or increase revenue stability? Increase tax fairness? Expand access to homeownership? Increase local control over taxation or give the state Legislature more control? The report’s aim was to provide a broader understanding of Prop. 13’s legacy for policymakers and researchers to explore angles in depth."
The Chronicle, JK DINEEN: "Nine months after forming an enforcement arm to go after cities that illegally deny housing development, the state says the unit has helped save 2,568 homes throughout California that would otherwise have been rejected or indefinitely delayed.
The unit has sent out 131 “accountability letters,” which warn of potential violations of 16 different state laws regulating housing. It has offered “technical assistance” in 172 cases in which local jurisdictions — this could include including planning departments, city councils or boards of supervisors — were faced with controversial decisions about whether to approve a housing project. So far 222 cases have been “closed” after the projects were approved.
“Already the Housing Accountability Unit is paying dividends,” said Jason Elliot, senior adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom. “These are units that would have fallen victim to the traditional NIMBY sword of local government denial. In part because the state stepped in those units are now on their way to becoming actual housing for actual people.”"
With mortgage rates spiking, how much more do Bay Area home buyers pay now for the same home?
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: "As Bay Area residents continue to see inflation at the gas pump and checkout registers, the price of buying a home is also going up, even as demand is starting to cool. And with mortgage rates also rising, what home buyers could have afforded just six months ago may now be out of reach.
According to a new report from real estate listings site Zillow, rising rates have had a particularly dramatic impact in the pricey Bay Area, with average monthly mortgage payments more than 50% higher than what they were just one year ago.
“Home prices in the Bay Area have shot up since the pandemic, but historically low mortgage rates have kept monthly payments somewhat affordable,” said Matt Kreamer, data spokesperson for Zillow, in an email. “Now that rates are ballooning, more and more people are being priced out.”"
Afghanistan quake kills 1,000 people, deadliest in decades
AP, FAZEL RAHMAN FAIZI: "A powerful earthquake struck a rural, mountainous region of eastern Afghanistan early Wednesday, killing 1,000 people and injuring 1,500 more in one of the deadliest quakes in decades, the state-run news agency reported. Officials warned that the already grim toll may still rise.
Information remained scarce on the magnitude 6.1 temblor near the Pakistani border, but quakes of that strength can cause serious damage in an area where homes and other buildings are poorly constructed and landslides are common. Experts put the depth at just 10 kilometers (6 miles) — another factor that could lead to severe destruction.
The disaster posed a major test for the Taliban-led government, which seized power last year as the U.S. planned to pull out from the country and end its longest war, two decades after toppling the same insurgents in the wake of the 9/11 attacks."