Questioning Kamala Harris’ Blackness, Trump blends racism and ignorance
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Donald Trump has a long history of making racist comments that his supporters have excused and ignored.
But on Wednesday, Trump sank lower, melding his racist language with ignorance by saying that Vice President Kamala Harris only recently “turned Black.” He reduced a history-making candidate, and an important national understanding of our growing multiethnicity, to his language of cruelty and anti-wokeism."
Chico planned a burn that could have curbed the Park Fire. Here’s why it didn’t get done
Sacramento Bee's ARI PLACHTA: "Just across the road from where California’s fifth largest fire in recorded history ignited last week, sat a 50 acre patch of extremely dry invasive yellow-star thistle that local authorities knew was dangerous.
The area would “burn at surprising intensity and flame height,” a report states on the City of Chico’s vegetation fuels management plan, which recommends a preemptive burn to “reduce the risk of catastrophic fires.”"
California expected a normal fire season. Then one thing changed
The Chronicle's JULIE JOHNSON: "This summer was supposed to be a mild one for California wildfires.
Ample winter rain and snow had, for the third year running, wrapped the state in emerald green springtime armor. Rivers raged and seasonal creeks seemed far from running dry."
Families return to find homes destroyed by California’s Park Fire. ‘I’m just lost’
Sacramento Bee's MATHEW MIRANDA: "The Fischers spent Wednesday afternoon sifting through the remains of their incinerated Forest Ranch home, struggling to reach a consensus on what they would miss most.
For Linda, it was the house deck — now unrecognizable. Perched on the edge of the ridge, it once offered cinematic views of Upper Bidwell Park to the left and Lassen Peak to the right. Fifteen years ago, the couple decided to marry on this spot."
‘What are the odds?’ California family lost one home to wildfire in 2018 — and a second in 2024
LAT's GRACE TOOHEY: "Underneath a blazing orange-and-yellow sky, with massive smoke plumes billowing seemingly from every direction, the Daneau family made a desperate drive for safety.
But their three-car caravan didn’t get far. The explosive Park fire had crossed over the only route out of Cohasset, a mountainous enclave on the outskirts of Chico. The Daneaus, firefighters said, would need to turn around."
Life-saving supplement is in danger (OP-ED)
STEPHANIE ATLAS BOHN in Capitol Weekly: "One out of every seven Californians relies on CBD (cannabidiol). You almost certainly know one of them. Natural, Full-Spectrum CBD can have transformative health benefits for people who suffer from a range of challenges associated with anxiety, PTSD, nausea, menopause, arthritis, ADHD, and the effects of disabling diseases such as Parkinson’s, MS, and epilepsy. Not to mention CBD is often used as an alternative to toxic and often addictive opioids for pain. It has saved my 10-year-old-daughter Sadie’s life from continual, violent catastrophic seizures.
Despite the tremendous natural benefits offered by CBD, there is an effort underway in the California State Legislature that would effectively ban all access to CBD for the millions of Californians who rely on the benefits of CBD products every day."
Danger in the dust: Coachella Valley residents struggle to breathe
CALMatters's ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE: "Outside her home in Riverside County, near the north shore of the Salton Sea, Sara Renteria is struggling to breathe. She has to speak in short sentences, and pauses often to take a breath.
When she was diagnosed with asthma as an adult about five years ago, Renteria said her doctor gave her a choice: Leave her home in the Coachella Valley or take an array of medications to treat her condition. It was the air, he told her, that worsened her asthma."
AI is about to blow up the $3 billion college application industry
The Chronicle's NANETTE ASIMOV: "A young man approached a youthful group visiting Stanford University the other day and said his company uses artificial intelligence to help students apply to college. Were they interested?
“Whooo!” a girl responded. “Yes!” enthused her friends."
Anxiety builds over S.F. school closures. Here’s when SFUSD will release the list
The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "In just over two weeks, San Francisco parent Kyle Woodward will drop off his two daughters at Rosa Parks Elementary, his 4-year-old for her first day of kindergarten and the 8-year-old for third grade.
He expects it to be more than the typical emotional first day of school. Like every other public school parent in the city, Woodward doesn’t know if Rosa Parks, in the city’s Western Addition neighborhood, will still be open a year from now or if it will be on the list of schools slated for closure expected to be released in mid-September."
They run California’s oldest Chinese restaurant. Can they retire if it means closing down?
LAT's JESSICA GARRISON: "The conundrum facing the Fong family of Woodland arose earlier this year, shortly after a UC Davis law professor grew interested in a sign posted above the counter that read: “The Chicago Cafe since 1903.”"
Los Angeles County agrees to buy downtown skyscraper
LAT's ROGER VINCENT, REBECCA ELLIS: "The county of Los Angeles has tentatively agreed to buy the Gas Company Tower, a prominent office skyscraper in downtown Los Angeles, for $215 million in a foreclosure sale.
The price is a deep discount from its appraised value of $632 million in 2020, underscoring how much downtown office values have fallen in recent years."
A once-thriving California wine company is in shambles. Here’s what it means for other wineries
The Chronicle's ESTHER MOBLEY: "The wine industry is reeling from news last week that one of its largest companies, Vintage Wine Estates, has filed for bankruptcy, will lay off of its entire California workforce and plans to delist from the stock market just three years after going public.
Given the fact that the U.S. wine market is experiencing a major downturn, many observers have interpreted the implosion of Vintage, which owns brands like Layer Cake and Cameron Hughes, as a harbinger of things to come — a sign that other large wine companies could also fall."
The hidden role of public pensions in raising rents in California
LAT's ANDREW KHOURI, BEN POSTON: "At the Shady Lane Apartments in the suburbs east of San Diego the carpet could be worn, the appliances old. But with some of the cheaper rents around, the complex was a relatively affordable home for an increasingly priced-out working class.
Then, in 2021, the nonprofit that owned the 112-unit property sold it. In just under three years, the new owners raised rent for vacant units 21 percentage points more than landlords in nearby neighborhoods, according to data from a real estate research firm. On average, available homes at the complex went from less expensive than the surrounding area to more expensive."
Sacramento DA’s lawsuit against city in homelessness crisis paused for six months
Sacramento Bee's THERESA CLIFT: "District Attorney Thien Ho’s first-of-its-kind homeless lawsuit against the city of Sacramento is on a six-month pause.
The so-called “stay” will expire Feb. 1, according to a document filed Wednesday in Sacramento Superior Court."
The Chronicle's CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "How many homeless people are in San Francisco? It depends on where you look.
According to an annual one-night tally, the most frequently cited measure, the city had about 8,300 people experiencing homelessness in January 2024. That’s the number that’ll be repeated by public officials, compared to counts from previous years and weighed by state agencies to help determine where funding should go. It’s also widely cited in the media, by the Chronicle and others."