Dangerous California fire weather begins today. These areas will be most at risk
The Chronicle's ANTHONY EDWARDS: "The first major Diablo and Santa Ana wind event of fall will raise the fire risk across California from Thursday through Saturday, prompting widespread red flag warnings and fire weather watches from the National Weather Service.
Wednesday’s scattered showers were “not a widespread rainfall or a fire season-ending event by any means,” said Courtney Carpenter, a warning coordination meteorologist at the weather service office in Sacramento."
PG&E Outage Map
The Chronicle's STAFF: "This PG&E power outage map shows real-time shut-off zones in Northern California and expected Public Safety Power Shutoff outages. Search for your address on this page.
Real-time outage data and Potential Public Safety Power Shut-off zone data are from PG&E and update every 15 minutes, or as the feed is available. To report an outage not on this map, visit their website. Utility-associated fire risk zone data is from The California Public Utilities Commission's fire threat maps, updated in March 2021."
Ahead of winds, PG&E adjusts plans for possible power shutoffs in Northern California
DANIEL HUNT, SacBee: "As California braced for critical fire conditions starting Thursday afternoon, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. officials said a quick-moving storm that produced rain in some locations helped planners reduce the number of counties and customers facing public safety power shutoffs through the weekend to roughly 20,000 customers.
PG&E said late Wednesday that the possible engineered outages could begin as early as 1 p.m. in rural areas of the Sacramento Valley and Bay Area before strong winds could expand the shutoffs to 24 counties by Saturday."
PG&E power shut-offs: How to prepare before the electricity goes out
The Chronicle's JESSICA ROY: "Starting Thursday night, many residents across the Bay Area and Northern California could lose power.
Pacific Gas & Electric has announced that it will be conducting public safety power shut-offs ahead of red flag warnings indicating elevated wildfire risks from factors including strong winds and low humidity. The utility company will turn off power in certain areas to decrease the risk of its equipment failing and potentially sparking fires."
After Newsom gas bill passes, Republicans call to delay climate vote that may hike prices
ARI PLACHTA, SacBee: "Just a day after Governor Gavin Newsom passed a law intended to curb price spikes, Republicans have called on the state’s air regulator to postpone an upcoming vote that analysts warn could drive prices higher at the pump.
More than two dozen state Republican lawmakers blasted the Air Resources Board in a letter Tuesday for neglecting to say how changes to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), the state’s transportation emissions regulatory framework, would impact drivers."
Tracking California’s bellwether: These counties best mirror statewide voting behavior
The Chronicle's KOTA SUZUKI: "If you want to know which California counties vote most like the state as a whole, just head towards the Sacramento River Delta.
With 10 new statewide propositions on the November ballot, the Chronicle analyzed the results of every statewide proposition since 2010 to see which county is California’s bellwether — that is, the county where results have historically aligned best with the statewide numbers."
Kamala Harris needs weird voters
Silver Bulletin's NATE SILVER: "Back during Brat Summer, after she replaced Joe Biden on the ticket, Kamala Harris’s running mate, Tim Walz, adopted a strategy of describing Donald Trump and JD Vance as “weird.”
It may have paid some dividends: Vance remains among the least popular vice presidential picks ever. But this messaging was conspicuously absent in Walz’s surprisingly cordial debate with Vance earlier this month, which instead was a relic from a bygone, less weird political era. That may be because the “weird” message didn’t actually poll very well, according to Pod Save America’s Dan Pfeiffer:"
Six ways Kamala Harris changed these Californians’ lives forever
LAT's MACKENZIE MAYS, LAUREL ROSENHALL: "Long before Kamala Harris was vice president and the Democratic presidential nominee, she was San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general. Those roles gave her a platform to shape policy — and many people’s lives.
Her years in California politics, including a brief stint representing the Golden State in the U.S. Senate, remain at the heart of Harris’ political identity."
Oakland mayor slams FBI raid and shoots back at critics in defiant interview
The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI: "With a recall vote looming and opponents striking from every angle, Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao is demanding the FBI tell the public that she’s not the target of an ongoing corruption investigation despite federal agents raiding her house in June.
Thao told the Chronicle in an exclusive interview last week that her attorney has sent a letter to the agency requesting an update, but has yet to hear back. She said members of the public deserves to know more — before they vote on her future."
One of these men will fill Sean Loloee’s former seat on Sacramento council. Who are they?
THERESA CLIFT, SacBee: "Earlier this year, it appeared former California Assemblyman Roger Dickinson would have an easy path to the Sacramento City Council. But Stephen Walton, realtor and former Grant Union High School basketball star, gained enough votes in the March primary to force a runoff, and now it looks like it could be close.
The last elected representative to hold the District 2 seat was Sean Loloee, who in January resigned after he was criminally charged with federal labor violations at his grocery store chain. Loloee also lives in Granite Bay, far outside the district, the U.S. Department of Justice determined following a Sacramento Bee report. Shoun Thao has been serving in the seat on an interim basis."
How S.F.’s former Dream Keeper chief used her city position to boost her personal brand
The Chronicle's MICHAEL BARBA, ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH: "Sheryl Davis, who resigned last month as head of San Francisco’s landmark Dream Keeper Initiative amid reports of misspending and lax oversight, repeatedly used city resources to promote herself and a self-published children’s book, a Chronicle investigation found.
Davis, who led the social equity program as director of the city’s Human Rights Commission, approved $11,000 in payments by her department to produce an interview podcast she launched in late 2022, according to city emails and financial records. The payments were made to a talent agency that booked guests who appeared on her show, which she named “Sunday Candy” after her fond childhood memories of church elders giving her sweets."
No one is fighting a proposition to ban forced labor in California prisons. Why it could still fail
JOE GARCIA, CalMatters: "Every morning, tens of thousands of incarcerated individuals in California prisons must work a job they did not necessarily choose. They cook and serve meals. They keep the facilities clean. They collect, wash and distribute laundry.
If prisoners decide to stop reporting to their assigned jobs, or if they attempt to prioritize educational or rehabilitative programs during their mandated work hours, they won’t simply risk losing the job — they face disciplinary infractions. For lifers, a writeup documenting refusal to work spells almost certain doom toward hopes of parole."
The forgotten report that upended mental health care in California
Capitol Weekly's DAN MORAIN: "Imagine that you’re confused, wearing hospital-issued pajamas, and seated before a judge who has convened a hearing focused on your mental state.
A physician, a cop and maybe a member of your family have gathered in the conference room and describe how you’ve been acting. Although your mind is spinning, you try to explain yourself."
Child labor violations are on the rise, report suggests
EdSource's KAREN D'SOUZA: "Some state governments are gutting child protections as rates of child labor violations, injuries and chronic school absenteeism rise, according to a report released Tuesday.
Produced by the Governing for Impact, the Economic Policy Institute and the Child Labor Coalition, the report suggests actions the Biden-Harris administration can take to combat a surge in child labor violations around the country, including a trend of some states passing legislation to roll back child labor protections."
Child care workers often struggle to survive, report suggests
EdSource's KAREN D'SOUZA: "Despite pandemic relief bolstering the early care and education sector, child care providers remain among the most beleaguered jobs in the United States, EdSurge reported.
Early childhood educators earn, on average, $13.07 per hour, putting them in the bottom 3% of workers nationally. K-12 teachers fare better, earning an average of $31.80 per hour, and U.S. workers, across occupations, earn about $23 an hour.)"
Trump claim against SJSU player refuted after he pledges to ban trans athletes from women’s sports
The Chronicle's MARISA INGEMI: "Former President Donald Trump, referencing a play in a San Jose State women’s volleyball match last week, said Wednesday that he would ban all transgender women from competing in women’s sports if elected.
San Jose State co-captain Brooke Slusser joined a lawsuit last month seeking to overturn NCAA guidelines that allow transgender women to play under certain conditions. When she joined the suit, Slusser outed a teammate as transgender."
‘Academic probation’ sends message to students that college isn’t for them, research says
EdSource's EMMA GALLEGOS: "When a college student’s GPA dips below 2.0 — lower than a C average — schools often send a notice meant to serve as a wake-up call: Improve your grades or risk losing financial aid and being kicked out of college.
But the way that universities and colleges deliver this wake-up call could be backfiring and pushing students to give up on higher education altogether, according to new research."
Land deal in California’s far north conserves 3 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail
The Chronicle's GREGORY THOMAS: "A land deal announced Thursday will conserve swaths of prime mountain hiking terrain in California’s north state, including 3 scenic miles of the Pacific Crest Trail.
Anticipated to be finalized by the end of the year, the deal will encompass 7,000 acres of forestland spread across about a dozen parcels in the southern Klamath Mountains between Castle Crags State Park and the Trinity Alps, according to San Francisco-based Trust For Public Land, which brokered the deal."
Sea lions are driving La Jolla into a frenzy. Your beach town might be next
LAT's JACK FLEMMING, ALLEN J. SCHABEN: "La Jolla’s coastline is being conquered.
Its colonizers have made their home in the seaside neighborhood’s rocks, terraces, beaches and caves. They make their presence known by barking and wailing all day and night. And they absolutely reek."
SSI recipients will get an extra check in November. Here’s what to know
The Chronicle's JESSICA ROY: "People who receive Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, will get two checks in November instead of one.
Typically, SSI goes out on the first of the month. But according to Social Security Administration rules, when the first of the month falls on a weekend or holiday, the payment goes out the last weekday before that. Dec. 1, 2024 is a Sunday, so benefits will be disbursed on Friday, Nov. 29."
10 million pounds of meat and poultry recalled from Trader Joe’s and others in latest listeria outbreak
LAT's ANDREA CHANG: "Meat producer BrucePac is recalling nearly 10 million pounds of meat and poultry products sold at Trader Joe’s, Target, Kroger and other retailers because they might be contaminated with listeria.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced the sweeping recall last week. It includes hundreds of ready-to-eat items that were produced from June 19 to Oct. 8 and distributed to restaurants, grocery stores and other businesses around the country."
Cities face limits on how they can expand rent control. Voters could change that with Prop. 33
LAT's ANDREW KHOURI: "Seeking to wield the power of government to keep rents low amid an affordability crisis, San Francisco officials last week passed a measure to dramatically expand the city’s rent control law to cover newer buildings than it does now.
The thing is, the expansion may never happen. The city first needs help from voters statewide."
BART is dying. But will the Bay Area pay higher taxes to save it?
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "Like many Bay Area workers, Sabrina Hardy is back in the office part time — and noticing a stark change in her commute. These days she can reliably find a seat on BART.
“There are definitely fewer riders,” Hardy said, exiting the El Cerrito del Norte Station as dusk fell on a recent weekday. Although rush hour had set in, only a few people trickled through the turnstiles. Hardy and others marveled at how open and airy the trains have become — particularly on Mondays and Fridays, when people no longer have to jostle one another in the aisles or circle the station lots to find parking."
