The largest earthquake to hit the Bay in a quarter century rattled Napa County yesterday.
Bay Area News Group reports: “The last time an earthquake of this size hit the Bay Area was in 1989, when the Loma Prieta quake at magnitude 6.9 caused billions of dollars in damage and was responsible for 63 deaths and 3,757 injuries in the affected areas.”
“The largest quake on record for the Bay Area was the historic 7.8 earthquake that hit San Francisco in 1906.”
“Aftershocks will continue for "several weeks," but State Geologist John Parrish said Sunday afternoon, "it's unlikely there will be a large earthquake (in the near future)." Already, up to 60 aftershocks, with 3.6 magnitude shaker being the largest, have been recorded, he said. At least seven geologists were doing surveys in affected areas, he said.”
Damage to the area’s world-famous wineries continues to be measured.
Jon Bonn reports for The San Francisco Chronicle: “"There is a lake of wine on the floor," Meredith said. Workers were siphoning the spilled wine into tanks just to clean the facility. Wines from the 2013 vintage are mostly still in barrel, and "there's just going to be huge losses," said Meredith, a former UC Davis vine geneticist who owns the Lagier Meredith winery on Mount Veeder.”
“Because the 2013 vintage was a particularly bountiful one, and many wines have yet to be released, the quake's impact may not be felt by wine consumers immediately. But for individual winemakers such as Meredith, "this is going to be a really expensive earthquake for the wine business."”
Northern California is also battling a fast-growing wildfire.
The Associated Press reports: “The fire about 2 miles west of Weaverville was also threatening about 20 businesses and facilities, including the town airport and high school, said Lilly Wyatt, a spokeswoman with the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.”
“The fire was sparked Sunday afternoon near Highway 299, the main road into town, and rapidly grew to a little more than 1 square miles, or 650 acres, state fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said.”
Gov. Brown extended the invitation during his recent trip to Mexico, and today Los Angeles welcomes Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto.
The Associated Press reports: “The two are expected to address hundreds of Mexican and Mexican-American leaders at the Millennium Biltmore Hotel in Los Angeles”
“It's not known what Pena Nieto plans to say, but Mexico and the U.S. share concerns about a host of issues, including immigration and pollution. Mexico also is California's largest export market.”
A legislative fight over ride-sharing and insurance is looming in the Capitol.
Marc Lifsher reports for The Los Angeles Times: “Sacramento's powerful insurance lobby enlisted Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla (D-Concord) to author a bill that would boost the dollar amount of coverage required by the state and prohibit drivers from using personal policies instead of commercial ones when carrying fare-paying passengers.”
“"The real point of the bill is to say that personal insurance policies should not be bearing the cost for this business model," she said. "It should be the company that pays."”
“Uber, Lyft and their Silicon Valley and high-tech allies are fighting back. They've hired seven lobbying and public relations firms to wage a rear-guard action to kill Bonilla's measure, AB 2293, which cleared the Assembly in June on a unanimous vote.”
Four of the top five universities in the Washington Monthly’s latest ranking are of the University of California system.
Nick Anderson reports in The Washington Post: “The Monthly, a policy magazine for wonks and insiders, has ranked universities since 2005 on how much good they do for the country. It uses measures such as the social mobility that schools provide students, the research output of faculty and students, and the degree to which students engage in public service.”
