The sexual abuse scandal that haunts Trump’s pick for House speaker
LA Times, ERIN B. LOGAN: "Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a darling of the right, is former President Trump’s pick to replace the ousted Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House.
But as Jordan campaigns for the speaker’s gavel, several men from his past are speaking out about a major sexual abuse scandal at Ohio State University, where Jordan worked as an assistant wrestling coach from 1987 to 1995, repeating allegations — which Jordan denies — that he knew about the abuse."
California’s extended tax deadline is coming up. Here’s what you need to know
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "With the Oct. 16 extended federal and state tax deadline for most Californians less than a week away, millions of residents still need to file their taxes, according to the California Franchise Tax Board.
After deadly winter storms swept through much of the state at the beginning of the year, the Internal Revenue Service extended tax filing and payment deadlines several times for people in counties included in multiple FEMA disaster declarations — which ended up being almost all Californians. The state tax agency followed suit."
New California law to bring big changes for campsite reservations
The Chronicle, GREGORY THOMAS: "Booking California’s high-demand campsites online will hopefully become a bit easier under a bill Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Monday morning.
The bill, AB618, aims to deter late cancellations and no-shows at campgrounds in state parks and beaches, issues that have inconvenienced prospective campers since the state adopted ReserveCalifornia as its go-to booking portal in 2017 and grown into a headache since pandemic lockdowns spiked interest in outdoor recreation."
The Chronicle, CLARE FONSTEIN: "A large number of Californians will get a test alert for an earthquake on Oct. 19, via the MyShake app. The warning — which residents will be notified about beforehand — will go out at 10:19 a.m. to phones in Oregon and Washington as well as California.
It’s part of a broader annual drill called International ShakeOut Day to simulate a major earthquake."
Gavin Newsom signs law in ‘overhaul’ of mental health system. It changes decades of practice
CALMatters, JOCELYN WIENER: "Gov. Gavin Newsom today announced he signed the first of a series of bills that aim to transform California’s mental health system. Depending on who you ask, this transformation represents a long overdue humanitarian response— or a worrisome step backward on civil liberties.
Today’s signature loosens long-standing rules about who is eligible for involuntary treatment under the half century-old Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, the landmark mental health law that regulates involuntary civil commitment in the state. Advocates and county leaders expect the new legislation to lead to more people being placed in treatment facilities against their will."
COVID-19 vaccines easier to get in L.A. County; shots are free at all public health centers
LA Times, RONG-GONG LIN II: "While COVID-19 vaccines have been in short supply in parts of Los Angeles County, that dearth is easing in some places, officials say.
The L.A. County Department of Public Health says the updated COVID-19 vaccine is now available at all eight of its public health centers — in downtown L.A., Hollywood, Willowbrook, Monrovia, Pacoima, Pomona, Whittier and Lancaster. Two weeks ago, the health department began offering the updated vaccine at clinics at Ted Watkins Memorial Park near Watts and Eugene A. Obregón Park in East L.A., which are open 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays."
Kaiser Permanente unions lay groundwork for another strike in November
BANG*Mercury News, KEVIN SMITH: "Executives at Kaiser Permanente have received notice of another potential strike just days after 75,000 employees ended a three-day walkout.
The Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions issued a 10-day strike notice Monday, Oct. 9, warning of a possible strike Nov. 1-8 if the healthcare giant fails to address “an acute and dire” staffing crisis and continues to outsource jobs."
Kaiser to lay off dozens of workers in Bay Area, Southern California
The Chronicle, CATHERINE HO: "Kaiser Foundation Hospitals will lay off 49 employees by November, roughly half in the Bay Area and half in Southern California, the health care provider told the California Employment Development Department last month.
In a Sept. 12 letter sent to the state agency, Kaiser’s Human Resources Director Christine Neubauer said 21 workers would be laid off at its Pleasanton location, seven across three Oakland locations, and 21 from Southern California locations."
Roseville girl’s family at fentanyl murder hearing: ‘This man is inhumane and dangerous’
Sacramento Bee, ROSALIO AHUMADA: "Regina Leah Chavez spoke about her 15-year-old daughter, Jewels Marie Wolf, on Tuesday in a Placer County courtroom. She said explaining her grief in front of a judge is just as difficult as finding a mortuary, planning her daughter’s funeral and giving her eulogy.
The Roseville mother told the judge her daughter was taken advantage of sexually and murdered by the 22-year-old man seated a few feet away from her in the courtroom, Nathaniel Evan Cabacungan."
Newsom signs bill that requires CSU to report sexual harassment cases, following Times reports
LA Times, COLLEEN SHALBY, ROBERT J. LOPEZ: "California State University will soon be required to publicly disclose the outcome of sexual harassment complaints and investigations and strengthen several other measures of accountability under a bill that Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed into law.
Senate Bill 808, authored by state Sen. Bill Dodd (D-Napa), was introduced in February after a series of investigations by The Times found breakdowns in how Cal State handled sexual misconduct allegations against powerful campus figures, executives and students across the 23-campus network."
Parents of English learners in the dark about their children’s language progress
EdSource, ZAIDEE STAVELY: "Yosadara Carbajal Salmerón was always a very involved parent, from the time her children were in Head Start.
She would volunteer in the classroom and sign up for parent committees throughout elementary and middle school."
How L.A.’s bird population is shaped by historic redlining and racist loan practices
LA Times, DORANY PINEDA, GENARO MOLINA: "On a recent afternoon in L.A.’s Boyle Heights neighborhood, Christian Benitez and Eric M. Wood stood outside a corner liquor store searching for birds.
The researchers spotted a house sparrow and pulled binoculars to their eyes. “They’re all over the shrubbery in Boyle Heights,” said Wood, an associate professor of ecology at Cal State Los Angeles."
Woman who fell to death from S.F. building during Blue Angels show is identified
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "The woman who fell to her death from a building on San Francisco’s Van Ness Avenue during a Blue Angels show on Saturday afternoon has been identified as 51-year-old Patricia Hamon.
Hamon was a San Francisco resident, the San Francisco medical examiner’s office said Tuesday. She lived in the Diamond Heights neighborhood, according to public records."
Judge orders trial in dismemberment case after explosive details emerge
The Chronicle, MATTHIAS GAFNI: "Moments after arresting Joseph Carl Roberts, the man charged with murdering and dismembering his girlfriend Rachel Elizabeth Imani Buckner earlier this summer, investigators searched the couple’s Pleasanton apartment and found only the carpet padding remaining on the floor.
A dog trained to smell blood, decaying tissue and bones sprinted to the kitchen and alerted its handler it smelled one of those odors in the area of a mop, according to testimony Tuesday morning in Roberts’ preliminary hearing."
Person killed by police after S.F. Chinese consulate crash was swinging knife
The Chronicle, MEGAN CASSIDY: "The person who was fatally shot by San Francisco police after crashing a car into the Chinese consulate building Monday was swinging a knife in close proximity to officers in the moments before police opened fire, according to a person familiar with the investigation.
A crossbow was also recovered at the scene, the source said."
Oakland, San Francisco ranked the worst cities for drivers in the U.S.
BANG*Mercury News, KATIE LAUER: "The hassles and expenses of driving can quickly add up, especially as Americans are increasingly paying more at gas pumps, spending long hours in traffic congestion and weathering damage from roads riddled with potholes.
In even more bad news for Bay Area drivers, Oakland and San Francisco are the top two worst places to get behind the wheel, according to an annual report by WalletHub, which compared 30 “indicators of driver-friendliness” across the 100 largest cities in the United States."