Gavin Newsom’s mental health plan could strip more than $700 million from services, report says
CALMatters, KRISTEN HWANG: "A major proposal from Gov. Gavin Newsom to overhaul the state’s behavioral and mental health system is likely to take nearly $720 million away from services provided by county governments annually, according to a new analysis from the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
Although that money would be reallocated within the system, in part to house homeless individuals with severe mental illness and addiction disorders, the report authors note that Newsom and key legislators supporting the proposal have neither provided a complete justification for the changes nor have they published an analysis on how the changes may “negatively impact current services.”"
Here’s when cool-down is coming after Bay Area's blistering weekend and dry lightning
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "Dangerously hot conditions blanketed much of the Bay Area on Sunday, with dry lightning strikes flashing offshore and in the evening over the North Bay, ahead of Monday’s anticipated waning of the extreme heat.
The National Weather Service reported “a few lightning strikes from Healdsburg to Napa” shortly before 9:30 p.m. Sunday and said the stronger cells moving through Napa County seemed to be “relatively short-lived.”"
As heat wave scorches California, firefighters make headway against wildfires
LA Times, JESSICA GARRISON, DAVID ZAHNISER, DANIEL MILLER: "Firefighters in Riverside County made progress in battling four wildfires Sunday as a heat wave broke records across the state and sent residents scrambling for relief.
The largest of the fires, the Rabbit fire, burning in the area of Lakeview south of Moreno Valley, had consumed 7,600 acres and was 25% contained, authorities said Sunday night. The blaze threatened more than 150 structures, and steep terrain made it slow going, but CalFire spokesperson Rich Cordova said firefighters made “great progress” overnight."
Pika Fire in Yosemite causes ‘hazardous’ air quality with 0% containment
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "Smoke from the Pika Fire settled on Yosemite Valley early Sunday, causing air quality at “hazardous” levels in parts of the national park, where the wildfire remained uncontained at 650 acres, officials said.
Air quality improved Sunday afternoon as the smoke lifted, but the fire – ignited by lightning June 29 – continued to pose a health threat to visitors at Yosemite Village and Turtleback Dome, according to National Park Service air quality trackers. Dozens of firefighters continued battling to get some containment of the blaze Sunday evening."
Whether rain or a leaky pipe, water is the likely culprit in Southern California landslide
BANG*Mercury News, JASON HENRY, LISA JACOBS: "Residents won’t know what triggered the landslide that destroyed 12 homes in Rolling Hills Estates until a geological engineering firm completes a probe slated to begin this week. But while there’s no clear smoking gun, as of yet, history — and the natural geology of the Palos Verdes Peninsula — all point to one leading suspect: water.
Whether from heavy rainfall, or an undiscovered leaky pipe, almost all of the landslides on the Palos Verdes Peninsula have been caused by water weakening the clay layers weaving through the region’s bedrock, says El Hachemi Bouali, an assistant professor of geosciences at Nevada State University."
It will still be hot, but temperatures are cooling in Sacramento. Here’s when the 90s return
Sac Bee, JACQUELINE PINEDO: "As we start a new week, temperatures in Sacramento will slowly taper off — but it will still be hot.
The city hit a high of 108 Saturday, and on Sunday the triple-digit weather continued with a forecast of 107 degrees, according to the National Weather Service."
Adam Schiff dominates rivals in fundraising for California’s U.S. Senate race
LA Times, SEEMA MEHTA: "Rep. Adam B. Schiff swamped his rivals in the financial race to replace retiring Sen. Dianne Feinstein, raising $8.2 million in recent months, according to federal fundraising reports released Saturday.
Schiff collected roughly double the combined total raised by his top Democratic opponents — Reps. Katie Porter and Barbara Lee — in the same period."
It's a make-or-break moment for California's insurance commissioner
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "California has the strongest insurance protections for consumers in the country. It’s time — with top insurers refusing to write new policies in the state — for Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara to flex them to tell Big Insurance to back off, advocates say.
Allstate Insurance isn’t writing new policies in California. Neither is State Farm Insurance. All say that it is too expensive to do business in the state — and Californians are freaking out about whether they will be able to obtain coverage to protect their homes. Plus, auto insurance is getting harder to get, too."
Families with young children face increased hardship after pandemic relief policies end
EdSource, ZAIDEE STAVELY: "Pandemic-era policies like eviction moratoriums, the expanded child tax credit, increased food stamp benefits and free school meals helped decrease hardship for families with young children.
Yet when many of those programs were discontinued, these same families saw an increase in hardship."
‘A lot of blood in the water.’ Why actors’ and writers’ strikes are a big blow to Hollywood studios
LA Times, MEG JAMES: "Hollywood top executives figured they could ride out a skirmish with screenwriters reeling from technology’s changes to the industry.
But few executives were prepared for — or wanted — a strike by the industry’s largest union, SAG-AFTRA, which represents 160,000 actors and other performers."
This is the only large county in California with a rising number of kids
The Chronicle, ADRIANA REZAL: "The number of children in California is falling. In 2022 there were nearly 248,000 fewer children under the age of 10 than in 2020. But there is one major county going against the trend.
Newly released population estimates show that Pclacer County, which borders Sacramento County and is home to the city of Roseville, is the only California county with at least 200,000 residents to see an increase in children under 10 years old since the start of the pandemic."
Deporting Honduran migrants won’t solve S.F.’s drug crisis. The Chronicle’s investigation shows why (OP-ED)
The Chronicle, Editorial Board: "Last week, The Chronicle published a comprehensive 18-month investigation into the nature of San Francisco’s illicit drug markets and the dealers who have come to dominate its fentanyl trade. Over the course of multiple stories, public safety reporter Megan Cassidy and visual journalist Gabrielle Lurie traced the global paths of the drugs that are causing misery and death on San Francisco’s streets as well as the Honduran migrants who face rape, dismemberment and death to come to the city to sell them.
The series also meticulously documented the seemingly intractable nature of solving this global drug trade — and how local efforts in San Francisco to rely primarily on law enforcement to eliminate the crisis appear to be futile:"
Jury awards $13 million to LAPD officers accused of drawing Hitler mustache on arrestee
LA Times, LIBOR JANY: "A jury awarded $13.1 million in damages Wednesday to two male Los Angeles police officers who sued the city for gender discrimination, alleging they were singled out in an internal investigation into whoever drew a Hitler-like mustache on an arrestee.
The case stems from a January 2017 incident in which officers Stephen Glick and Alfred Garcia and their two female police partners responded to a suspected drunk driving collision, according to their suit."Column: After 10 years, is this the beginning of the end for Black Lives Matter?
Column: After 10 years, is this ddhttps://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-07-16/black-lives-matter-10-anniversary beginning of the end for Black Lives Matter?