Maui fires: Lahaina wildfire death toll rises to 55
The Chronicle, MICHAEL CABANATUAN, JORDAN PARKER: "Search and recovery teams brought cadaver dogs into the charred ruins of the historic Maui tourist town of Lahaina on Thursday as officials announced that the death toll from the devastating fire had climbed to 55 and was expected to keep growing.
Earlier in the day, officials said the death toll had grown from 36 to 53. At 9:15 p.m. Thursday, two additional deaths were confirmed and the Lahaina Fire was still active."
‘A scar on the face of Maui’: Lahaina is gutted; fatalities expected to multiply
LA Times, STAFF: "At least 53 people have died, dozens have been injured and hundreds of structures have been destroyed as fires have torn through Maui this week, forcing thousands to flee their homes and reducing much of the historic town of Lahaina to ash.
“What we saw was likely the largest natural disaster in Hawaii state history,” Gov. Josh Green said in a public briefing Thursday."
‘It’s just completely gone’: Harrowing Maui fire escape for Bay Area vacationer
BANG*Mercury News, JOHN WOOLFOLK: "Dave Hovis and his friends hardly noticed the advisories for strong wind gusts from faraway Hurricane Dora earlier this week as they enjoyed a relaxing vacation in a friend’s waterfront home at Baby Beach in Maui. The next day, they were ramming through a gate to escape the deadly wildfire that destroyed the resort town of Lahaina.
Their ordeal was among the many terrifying accounts from Bay Area vacationers and Maui residents with California ties who survived the blazes that killed more than 50 people and destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses in a place so many knew as an island paradise."
Maui before and after fires: Photos and video show extent of devastation
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA, ERIKA CARLOS: "As Hawaii begins to assess the enormous toll from fires that tore through parts of Maui, killing at least 55 people, more before and after photos show just how starkly the blaze has transformed the island.
Satellite images show the charred remains of the town of Lahaina, which was wiped out by the fire. Here’s a list of where you can donate to help those affected by the fires."
Shocking before-and-after images show utter devastation of Maui wildfire
4.3 magnitude earthquake rattles Monterey County
The Chronicle, LAYA NEELAKANDAN: "A 4.3 magnitude earthquake struck Monterey County on Thursday afternoon, according to the California Geological Survey.
The earthquake was centered near Parkfield along the San Andreas fault line. Weak shaking was felt in Fresno nearly 70 miles away and in San Luis Obispo nearly 45 miles away, according to the California Geological Survey."
Stem cell agency’s DEI program still a work in progress
Capitol Weekly, DAVID JENSEN: "They were perfect 10s. And the chair of the $12 billion California stem cell agency made a point of bringing that to public attention.
The occasion was a meeting of directors of the agency last month to approve $50 million in awards to researchers. The 10 was the score chalked up by two then unidentified applicants to study HIV and leukemia. The perfect marks came on the DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) portion of the application."
Black women in California are overburdened and underserved, new poll finds
CALMatters, WENDY FRY: "A new poll finds 2 out of every 5 Black women in California are just one paycheck away from financial instability.
The first-of-its-kind survey of 1,258 Black women across the state revealed 37% work two or more jobs — and 62% of them said the second job is “essential” and they would “not be able to make ends meet” without it."
Family of Henrietta Lacks sues Bay Area company over use of stolen cells
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "The family of Henrietta Lacks, the Black woman whose genetic cells were surgically extracted without her knowledge while she was dying of cancer and used to develop treatments for numerous illnesses, sued a Bay Area pharmaceutical company Thursday for “unjust enrichment.”
Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical of Novato “has made a fortune by using Mrs. Lacks’ stolen cells as a factory to make its ‘proprietary’ gene therapy products,” lawyers for her estate said in the suit in a Baltimore federal court. “Ultragenyx’s business is to commercialize Henrietta Lacks’ cells — her living bodily tissue — without the consent of or providing compensation to (her) estate.”"
Why Cal State is pushing back on community colleges’ plans to offer bachelor’s degrees
CALMatters, ADAM ECHELMAN: "For over a year, the California Community College and the California State University systems have clashed over their respective roles.
The focus of the dispute: Who should be granting bachelor’s degrees?"
Goodbye hotdogs, hello vegan masala: California’s school lunches are going gourmet
CALMatters, CAROLYN JONES: "The hottest new restaurant in California might be your local elementary school.
Thanks to a surge of nearly $15 billion in state and federal funding, school districts are ditching the old standbys — frozen pizza and chicken nuggets — in favor of organic salads, free-range grilled chicken, vegan chana masala, chilaquiles and other treats. Districts are building new kitchens, hiring executive chefs, contracting directly with local organic farmers, and training their staffs to cook the finest cuisine. One district in San Luis Obispo County even bought a stone mill to grind its own wheat for bread and pasta."
Can Cal and Stanford lead effort to salvage Pac-12? Time is running out
The Chronicle, CONNOR LETOURNEAU: "As they try to recover from the Pac-12’s collapse, Cal and Stanford share one priority: remain at the Power 5 level.
But after the Big Ten passed on them, and talks with the ACC stalled, the Bears and Cardinal are low on options. With no other Power 5 conferences eager to have them, Cal and Stanford must turn their focus toward rebuilding the Pac-12. This could be their only way to maintain the prestige and financial cushion of being among what the NCAA constitution labels the Autonomous Five."
California’s dramatic jump in chronically absent students part of a nationwide surge
EdSource, BETTY MARQUEZ ROSALES, MALLIKA SESHADRI, DANIEL J WILLIS: "Veronica Lopez has twin fifth-grade daughters. One is working toward her school’s “perfect attendance” award. The other, Miranda, has been sick a lot and chronically absent from Los Angeles Unified’s Fair Avenue Elementary.
“If she’s not feeling well, then she shouldn’t go to school,” Lopez said. “She’s not going to learn. She’s not going to get better. She needs to rest.”"
Millions of kids are missing weeks of school as attendance tanks across the US
AP, BIANCA VAZQUEZ TONESS: "When in-person school resumed after pandemic closures, Rousmery Negrón and her 11-year-old son both noticed a change: School seemed less welcoming.
Parents were no longer allowed in the building without appointments, she said, and punishments were more severe. Everyone seemed less tolerant, more angry. Negrón’s son told her he overheard a teacher mocking his learning disabilities, calling him an ugly name."
Athlete, honor student, murderer? How did a UC Davis student spiral into an accused killer?
LA Times, BRITTNY MEJIA: "The testimony in Carlos Reales Dominguez’s competency trial raised one enormous question: Why did no one intervene as the young man spiraled from high school honor student to accused murderer?
During his freshman year at UC Davis, he confided in friends that he was hearing voices. A few months after starting his sophomore year, he told his then-girlfriend “the devil was talking to him in his dreams.” Over that same academic year, a roommate spotted him several times moving his mouth, but with no words coming out."
How Asian American organizations in Sacramento are helping Afghan and Ukrainian refugees
Sac Bee, SAMSON ZHANG: "A week before Russia invaded Ukraine in March 2022, Violetta Shcherbachuk’s father let out the family’s dog, a German shepherd named Shaman, to play one evening after work.
Shaman didn’t come home that night – a surprise for Shcherbachuk, who said that the dog was “so smart” and always found his way home. The family started searching their neighborhood the next morning."
A nonprofit in one of California’s wealthiest cities is trying to block a new housing development
The Chronicle, J.K. DINEEN: "More than two years after a developer submitted a “fast track” application to build 40 units in the exclusive Marin community of Belvedere, the town has still not scheduled a public hearing to review the project, which has provoked the formation of a well-funded nonprofit dedicated to killing the rental housing.
The application for the development at Mallard Pointe, a 2.8-acre parcel that is now home to 22 rental units, was filed in June 2021 and deemed complete by the city in June 2022, according to Eric Hohmann, a partner with the development team. The developer, an affiliate of Thompson Dorfman Partners LLC, filed the project under Senate Bill 330, which requires the timely processing of housing applications that are consistent with local zoning rules. The project would include a 23-unit apartment building, 16 single-family homes and duplexes and one accessory dwelling unit."
Is it against the law to cut through a parking lot to avoid a red light in California?
Sac Bee, BRIANNA TAYLOR: "Whether or not you can legally cut through a parking lot in California to avoid traffic is nuanced, with no ordinance that outlines the subject.
Technically, it’s not illegal, said spokesman Anthony Gamble with the Sacramento Police Department. What you do to get in and out of the parking facility could be."
California says Cruise, Waymo can charge for 24-hour driverless taxi service throughout S.F.
The Chronicle, RICARDO CANO: "California regulators on Thursday allowed robotaxi companies Cruise and Waymo to charge for driverless rides at all hours in San Francisco in a momentous decision that could one day be viewed as an inflection point in how people move around the Bay Area.
The historical vote by the California Public Utilities Commission drew nearly seven hours of testimony from hundreds of supporters and critics who depicted starkly different futures with driverless technology."
Boots. Bones. An ID with a familiar face. Hikers who found Julian Sands tell their story
LA Times, JACK DOLAN: "When a group of local hikers started up Mt. Baldy in June, by way of a rugged and rarely traveled canyon, their organizer had a nagging fear in the back of her mind: “I hope we don’t find a dead body today.”
Like most everyone else in Los Angeles’ hiking community, she and her friends had followed the news of British actor Julian Sands’ disappearance on the mountain in January.