Reeling from the deadliest wildfire in a century, Maui sees ghosts from California’s past
LA Times, RONG-GONG LIN II, JACK DOLAN, ROBERT GAUTHIER: "As horrifying details emerge about the fire that burned through Maui, the tragedy echoes the extreme fire behavior and the failed human response to it that have haunted California over the last few decades.
Emergency alert systems that crumple when needed most."
Maui fire: Death toll hits 93 as authorities search rubble, seek DNA to identify victims
The Chronicle, JESSICA FLORES, MATT YAN, MATTHIAS GAFNI: "Search and rescue efforts on Maui continued Sunday as the death toll reached 93 in what is now the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history, a catastrophe that has prompted deep anger among victims and other locals and the launch of an investigation into officials’ decision-making before and during the blaze.
Only two of the 93 confirmed victims have been identified so far, officials said Saturday evening. The number of victims is expected to keep rising."
Maui fires: Did Hawaii officials underestimate danger before Lahaina tragedy?
The Chronicle, JORDAN PARKER: "A year and a half before a wildfire swept through Maui, ravaging the historic town of Lahaina and killing at least 93 people while damaging or destroying more than 2,200 homes and other buildings, the state appeared to underestimate the danger of wildfire — despite receiving more dire warnings of the potential risk nearly a decade ago.
In a report published in February 2022, officials from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency listed tsunamis, hurricanes, volcanic hazards, earthquakes and floods as posing the greatest risk. The report listed the wildfire risk to human lives as “low.” The wildfire risk for property, the environment and emergency management operations were rated as “medium.”"
Can you survive a wildfire by jumping into the ocean or pool? Here’s what experts say
The Chronicle, CLARE FONSTEIN, JULIE JOHNSON: "As a raging wildfire barreled into Maui’s seaside town of Lahaina, at least a dozen people sought refuge by submerging themselves in harbor waters, only to be rescued later by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Bodies of water — like harbors, rivers, oceans and swimming pools — might seem like safe havens during a wildfire, but emergency responders caution that water may introduce additional dangers. And water may not protect against a wildfire’s overwhelming heat and smoke."
Fear of the ‘Big Melt’ turns to big relief along California’s Eastern Sierra
LA Times, LOUIS SAHAGUN: "Although a state of emergency remains in effect throughout much of the Eastern Sierra Nevada — a region where epic snowpack had threatened to unleash catastrophic flooding on small valley towns — local officials and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power are finally breathing a collective sigh of relief: The worst days of the “Big Melt” are over, they say.
As rivers gorged with snowmelt begin to recede, and egrets glide over catch basins brimming with runoff, officials say that an aggressive and collaborative response — as well as a cooler-than-anticipated spring — helped them avoid massive community flooding and damage to the Los Angeles Aqueduct, the city’s century-old water lifeline."
CALMatters, ALEXEI KOSEFF: " The man — tall and gaunt, slightly bedraggled, carrying a plastic grocery bag — nodded to Reggie Jones-Sawyer as he ambled down the sidewalk.
“Hey, Reverend,” he drawled."
Crime is so bad near S.F. Federal building employees are told to work from home, officials said
The Chronicle, MEGAN CASSIDY: "Officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services advised hundreds of employees in San Francisco to work remotely for the foreseeable future due to public safety concerns outside the Nancy Pelosi Federal Building on Seventh Street.
The imposing, 18-story tower on the corner of Seventh and Mission streets houses various federal agencies, including HHS, the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Transportation and the office of Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi. The area is also home to one of the city’s most brazen open-air drug markets, where dozens of dealers and users congregate on a daily basis."
BANG*Mercury News, SCOOTY NICKERSON, JULIA PRODIS SULEK: "In recent years, red states have relished the chance to take a deep dig at dark blue California: The Golden State is hemorrhaging residents, and many are moving to the low-tax Republican havens of Texas, Arizona and Florida.
So it seems like a no-brainer that liberal-minded Austin or Phoenix, where you can buy a nice house with a pool for $500,000, would be the top stops on the California exodus pipeline."
New coronavirus subvariant Eris is gaining dominance. Is it fueling an increase in cases?
LA Times, RONG-GONG LIN II: "A new coronavirus subvariant, nicknamed Eris, has rapidly risen to prominence nationwide and is now thought to account for more U.S. cases than any of its counterparts at a time when transmission has been creeping upward.
It’s possible the subvariant, formally known as EG.5, may have even further immune-escape advantage than some earlier members of the sprawling Omicron family — a viral dynasty that has dominated the globe since December 2021."
Valley fever: Why the fungal disease is spreading into Northern California
The Chronicle, GABE CASTRO-ROOT: "The effects of climate change in California, from harsher heat waves to more volatile rainstorms, are well established. Lesser known is what those crises can help fuel: the northern migration of infectious diseases.
One, in particular, is already on the move."
3 California hospitals declared bankruptcy this year. Health chains could keep them alive
CALMatters, ANA B. IBARRA: "Three California hospitals that declared bankruptcy earlier this year are hashing out deals that could bring back or save much-needed health care services for their communities.
Defunct Madera Community Hospital in the San Joaquin Valley, cash-strapped Beverly Community Hospital east of Los Angeles and Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital in rural San Benito County are trying to clinch lifelines in deals with health chains that have a reputation for revitalizing distressed hospitals."
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? "
LAUSD’s first day: ‘Boo hoo’ parent breakfast, more 4-year-olds, ambitious academic goals
LA Times, HOWARD BLUME, KATE SEQUEIRA: "A new school year opened Monday in Los Angeles Unified with eyes focused on the district’s most heavily recruited students: 4-year-olds, as school systems across California phase in transitional kindergarten, a new grade that could boost academic achievement, help with social development and bolster budgets.
Back-to-school 2023-24 in the nation’s second-largest school district brings pledges from Supt. Alberto Carvalho for a full academic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic within two years, bus transportation for more students, upgraded school cafeterias featuring healthier “farm to table” food — and new technology that will allow parents to keep track of grades, tests results and attendance. He also promised less but effective standardized testing that would give teachers more time for instruction."
EdSource, MALLIKA SESHADRI: "Georgina Perez started completing her online coursework to become an assistant preschool teacher last December — around the same time she began treatment for colon cancer.
“I really thought once (I started my classes), I wasn’t going to be able to continue,” said the mother of three who had always wanted to become an educator."
‘Time to move on’: Mark Zuckerberg says he’s weary of Elon Musk stalling proposed cage fight
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "Mark Zuckerberg tried to put a stop to speculation about his proposed cage match fight with Bay Area tech rival Elon Musk on Sunday after months of public taunts between the moguls.
“I think we can all agree Elon isn’t serious and it’s time to move on,” Zuckerberg wrote Sunday on Threads, the Meta-created social media platform that launched earlier this year to challenge Musk’s Twitter, now rebranded as X."
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Peskin said the Office of the Mayor, Board of Supervisors, Fire Department, Municipal Transportation Agency and County Transportation Authority would join together in seeking to tighten regulation o f the program which allows driverless cars to use city streets with and without fare-paying customers."
S.F. plans to ask voters for $300 million to build affordable housing. Will residents support it?
The Chronicle, ALDO TOLEDO: "Faced with a state mandate to approve about 46,000 affordable homes in the next eight years, San Francisco officials want to add a $300 million bond to the March ballot to pay for subsidized housing.
The proposal would come four years after voters approved the largest housing bond in San Francisco history at $600 million. The bond comes as the city struggles with the incredibly high cost of building new homes, with a single unit of affordable housing hitting up to $1.2 million in some cases. It can also take up to five years or more to approve and build projects, with critics pointing out that the slow process adds to costs."