'Red flag' wind warnings hit NorCal -- and PG&E urges customers to prepare
Sacramento Bee's DALE KASLER: "With weather forecasters issuing “red flag” warnings for much of Northern California, PG&E said Monday it wasn’t ready to shut off power again to reduce fire risk but is watching the forecast closely."
"Right now we are just monitoring but we know that conditions can change pretty quickly,” said utility spokeswoman Brandi Merlo."
"She urged customers to watch for announcements and to prepare for a possible outage.Pacific Gas and Electric made the controversial decision to engineer a deliberate power outage two weeks ago when high winds upped the fire danger in parts of Northern California."
Midterm election spending nears a record $5 billion, and Democrats outpace Republicans report finds
LA Times's MICHAEL FINNEGAN: "A surge in donations to Democrats has driven spending on the Nov. 6 election to nearly $5 billion across the nation, shattering the record for a congressional midterm, a nonpartisan research group reported Monday."
Trump eyeing executive order to end citizenship for children born in U.S. to noncitizens
The Washington Post's JOHN WAGNER: "President Trump is planning to sign an executive order that would seek to end the right to U.S. citizenship for children born in the United States to noncitizens, a move most legal experts say runs afoul of the Constitution."
"The action, which Trump previewed in a television clip broadcast Tuesday, would be the most aggressive yet by a president elected to office pledging to take a hard line on immigration, an issue he has revived in advance of next week’s midterm elections."
“We’re the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years with all of those benefits,” Trump said during an interview with Axios scheduled to air as part of a new HBO series starting this weekend. “It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. And it has to end.”
As Bay Area Jewish groups mourn Pittsburgh shooting victims, safe spaces and security come to mind
The Chronicle's GWENDOLYN WU: "Worshipers filing into Bay Area synagogues are being met this week by security guards and metal detectors in the wake of the horrific attack by a gunman in Pittsburgh on a Jewish congregation that left 11 people dead."
"Jewish groups say they are beefing up security outside the doors of congregations and cultural meetings, particularly in places where vigils will be held for the Pittsburgh victims."
"The actions come in response to Saturday’s attack, when a gunman walked into the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh’s Squirrel Hill neighborhood and shot 17 people, fatally wounding 11. Authorities said Robert Bowers had a history of writing anti-Semitic social media posts, and has been charged with 29 criminal counts including homicide, aggravated assault and ethnic intimidation."
Ghost Ship defense: Building owners knew of electrical issues
The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY: "One of the two men charged with manslaughter in Oakland’s Ghost Ship fire case now wants to “vindicate himself” at trial rather than make a plea deal, his attorney said Monday while laying out a defense that blamed the property owners for electrical problems believed to be behind the catastrophic blaze in the underground artist collective."
"We feel that we can get a fair trial in Alameda County, specifically for Max Harris,” attorney Curtis Briggs told reporters after a hearing in Alameda County Superior Court. “So we’re going to move forward with the jury here in this county."
"Briggs said he would seek to shift blame for the 2016 blaze that killed 36 people at an unsanctioned music event to the owners of the building, who he said had long ignored its electrical problems. Research conducted by the defense teams suggested local juries would be receptive to the theory, Briggs said."
Warriors must pay $40M in arena debt to Oakland, Alameda County, judge rules
The Chronicle's MEGAN CADASSIDY: "The Golden State Warriors must pay off the estimated $40 million in remaining debt incurred by Oakland and Alameda County for renovations to Oracle Arena, an arbitrator has ruled."
"A 1996 demolition and redesign of the arena’s interior cost about $150 million, to be paid over a 30-year period. Since then, the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Authority has collected an annual payment from the basketball team of $7.4 million to help pay off the debt."
"But the Warriors are departing for San Francisco in 2019, and team leaders had planned to stop making payments at that time. Attorneys for the city and county argued the NBA champions were trying to “scuttle” the remaining debt, and both sides agreed to let an arbitrator make the final call."
Sacramento City Council waiving fees for building affordable housing
Sacramento Bee's THERESA LIFT: "Sacramento City Council will Tuesday consider a measure aimed to persuade develzopers to build more affordable housing."
"The proposal would waive city-imposed fees developers must pay, but only for new affordable housing units the developer creates, according to a council document
California school districts make new investments in teacher evaluation
EdSource's DIANA LAMBERT: "On a recent afternoon veteran social studies teacher Robert Waldo sat in his Sacramento classroom explaining the goals of the next lesson in his Advanced Placement Government class. He wants his students to understand the evolving powers of the presidency and how the job has grown more powerful over the years"
"Kalei Eskridge, a fellow teacher, sat across from Waldo in the otherwise empty room at El Camino Fundamental High School. Eskridge is central to San Juan Unified’s System of Professional Growth, a teacher evaluation program that began in 2016 as a joint effort between the school district and its teachers’ union."
"Eskridge is among 12 “peer facilitators” who have stepped away from the classroom and now work full-time evaluating and mentoring other teachers in the district."
Why is Caltrans closing Tower Bridge? Structural issues.
Sacramento Bee's TONY BIZJAK: "Sacramento’s iconic Tower Bridge is 82 years old. With age, there’s sagging."
"Bridge inspectors last year noticed the cables that help lift the main span for tall ships have stretched 14 inches longer than they once were – a sign that time, weather, and stress have"
"taken a toll."
"So the golden span is getting fitted with new suspenders."
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WH scrambles to portray Trump as empathetic amid backlash to president's response to this past weekend's violence
LA Times's ELI STOKOLS/NOAH BIERMAN: "Amid intense criticism and signs of sagging poll numbers, White House officials hurried to cast President Trump as empathetic Monday, scheduling an immediate visit to the site of the deadly synagogue attack in Pittsburgh and holding a press briefing — an increasingly rare event — designed to rebuff widespread disapproval of the president’s response."
"Even as aides worked to portray Trump as a unifying figure, however, the president continued to lash out at critics, including the news media he labeled as “the true Enemy of the People.” In a tweet Monday morning, he stirred fear of an immigrant “invasion,” choosing the same word used by the suspect in the Pittsburgh shooting spree that killed 11 Jewish worshipers Saturday."
"Trump also ordered a stepped-up military presence on the southern border, ostensibly aimed at countering a migrant caravan that remains about 900 miles south of the U.S. and has diminished in size, according to Mexican officials and reporters on the scene."
This Sacramento synagogue, firebombed 19 years ago, offers vision of hope after Pittsburgh massacre
Sacramento Bee's ALXANDRA YOON-HENDRICKS: "Starting with the hymn Hinei Ma Tov, about 500 people of all ages and faiths gathered at the Congregation B’nai Israel in Land Park Monday night to honor the 11 victims of the deadly shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue."
"Among the hundreds in attendance was Loril Tochterman, a 30-year member of the congregation who marvelled at the massive turnout."
"“This shows a lot about our people and how our community comes together across the board,” she said. “It doesn’t matter the religion or anything. We will come together and be strong."
#MagaBomber: More people targeted in Los Angeles, sources say
LA Times's RICHARD WINTON: "The Florida man accused of sending bombs to top Democrats, Trump administration critics and the media across the United States kept lists and other information that suggest he had more than 100 potential targets for his campaign of terror, including at least 15 in the Los Angeles region."
"The FBI and other law enforcement agencies have begun reaching out to potential Southern California targets of Cesar Altieri Sayoc Jr., 56, who is accused of mailing 14 explosive devices to formerPresident Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, senators, actor Robert De Niro and CNN."
