PG&E cuts power to 24,000 customers in 3 counties.
From the AP's OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ: "California’s largest utility cut power to 24,000 northern customers Monday evening as fall brings back dangerous weather conditions and the company tries to head off wildfires sparked by electrical equipment."
"The utility shut down power to areas of Butte, Nevada and Yuba counties in the Sierra Nevada foothills."
"The power will remain off until conditions are safer, and PG&E warned that it might expand the precautionary outages on Tuesday to El Dorado, Placer, Sutter, Lake, Napa and Sonoma counties if gusty winds and hot, dry weather continue."
Warren takes California lead in new CA120 tracking poll
Capitol Weekly's JOHN HOWARD: "The latest monthly tracking poll for California’s March 2020 Democratic primary election shows Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren increasing her share of the vote, for the first time pushing former Vice President Joe Biden down to third place among likely voters."
"This survey again shows there are a set of leading candidates, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and California Sen. Kamala Harris earning double-digit support, followed by a pack of 10 or more in single or sub-single digits."
"Beyond the horse race, we find additional signs of strength for Warren, Sanders, Harris and Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Indiana, in follow-up questions about second choices, who voters would like to learn more about and who they would support if “electability” were not a concern."
Trump's EPA threatens California with highway funding cuts over 'worst air quality'
McClatchy's MICHAEL WILNER: "The Trump administration is ratcheting up its threats against California with a letter warning the state faces sanctions – including cuts in federal highway funding – over its “failure” to submit complete reports on its implementation of the Clean Air Act."
"In the letter to the California Air Resources Board, Andrew Wheeler, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, wrote that the state had the “worst air quality in the United States” and had “failed to carry out its most basic tasks” under the federal law."
"That law requires states to submit implementation plans to the EPA outlining their efforts to cut emissions of six types of pollutants. When President Donald Trump entered office, the administration faced a backlog of over 700 reports, and roughly 140 of those that remain are from California, Wheeler said in an interview."
They're big, furry and Congress might help California kill them all to save the Delta
Sacramento Bee's KATE IRBY: "A rookie California lawmaker plans to haul a 20-pound rodent carcass into Congress on Tuesday to press his colleagues for money to fight an invasive species wreaking havoc on his district."
"Rep. Josh Harder, D-Turlock, hopes a hearing on his bill will convince his colleagues that funding to stop an invasive species in California’s Central Valley is sorely needed — before the problem gets worse and costs drastically increase."
"Nutria, a large South American rodent, were found in Merced County two years ago, alarming California wildlife officials because of the rodents’ potential to harm infrastructure that moves waters to Central Valley farms and Southern California cities."
READ MORE related to Energy & Environment: How to survive: What to do before the next natural disaster -- The Chronicle's STAFF
Jerry Brown to head California-China institute to fight climate change
The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "Former Gov. Jerry Brown is teaming up with China to continue his climate crusade."
"Brown will chair the newly formed California-China Climate Institute, a trans-Pacific research initiative to develop and export policy to curb greenhouse gas emissions — and to serve as a counterweight to President Trump, whom Brown called “the head of a demolition derby to destroy decades of environmental law."
"If it’s just California, that’s not as strong,” Brown said in an interview last week. “It’s not just California leading some resistance. It’s California as a part of a global movement to take climate change seriously in the face of Trump and his tweets that have gone over the edge."
Newsom blasts Trump at climate event
LA Times's TARYN LUNA/TONY BARBOZA: "Gov. Gavin Newsom sharply criticized President Trump in front of foreign leaders Monday, using his first appearance on the international environmental stage to highlight how California is addressing climate change, in contrast to the federal government."
"I don’t know what the hell happened to this country that we have a president that we do today on this issue,” Newsom said to applause at the opening ceremony for Climate Week in New York. “Because it’s a damn shame. It really is. I’m not a little embarrassed about it — I’m absolutely humiliated by what’s going on."
"Those who are attending the United Nations Climate Action Summit and surrounding events in New York City said the proceedings would give many international leaders their first exposure to Newsom while allowing the governor to signal where he plans to take California’s pioneering initiatives to address climate change. Other countries are watching closely to see how he carries a torch of activism lit by his predecessors."
Greta Thunberg admonishes leaders as UN climate summit fails to deliver action
LA Times's TONY BARBOZA: "Dozens of world leaders touted their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at the United Nations Climate Action Summit on Monday, but they were largely upstaged by youth activists angry at officials for not doing enough to prevent a catastrophic heating of the planet."
"The summit failed to produce new commitments from the world’s largest countries to cut carbon pollution. As it got underway, 16-year-old Swedish activist Greta Thunberg delivered a blunt and emotional speech excoriating leaders for their “empty words” and insufficient steps to drive down emissions while temperatures continue to rise."
"We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you,” Thunberg added. “If you choose to fail us, I say we will never forgive you."
AG Becerra accuses prominent Sacramento-based car dealer Paul Blanco of fraud
Sacramento Bee's SAM STANTON/DARRELL SMITH: "Sacramento auto dealer Paul Blanco, who has touted his involvement in minority communities statewide, was sued Monday by state Attorney General Xavier Becerra for allegedly preying on vulnerable customers with false advertising, phony credit statements and products such as service contracts that added thousands of dollars to purchase prices."
"The lawsuit, filed in Alameda Superior Court, accuses Paul Blanco’s Good Car Co. of deceiving buyers and lenders in their purchases of cars and trucks, including instances where service contracts and other add-on products were hidden in purchase paperwork by Blanco workers “sometimes literally by covering them up with their hands,” Becerra said at a news conference in Sacramento."
"We have no idea at the end of the day how many people have been defrauded, how many people have been deceived,” Becerra said."
A divided 9th Circuit could uphold Trump's new abortion referral rule
LA Times's MAURA DOLAN: "A federal appeals court appeared divided along party lines Monday on whether to uphold a new Trump administration rule that denies federal family planning money to clinics that refer patients for abortions."
"During a hearing in San Francisco, an 11-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals considered whether to reinstate preliminary injunctions issued by three district judges against the new rule."
"Seven of the judges chosen randomly for the panel are Republican appointees, including two new judges Trump placed on the court. Four of the judges were appointed by Democrats."
Lawmaker's aide rebuked in sexual harassment investigation
Sacramento Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "A former aide to a California state lawmaker made inappropriate comments to colleagues, according to a report released Monday by an office the Legislature created to investigate sexual harassment complaints."
"The heavily redacted report included two allegations against Hannah Cho, who previously served as district director for state Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles. The complaints were brought by two women whose names were not released."
"Cho allegedly made inappropriate comments about a colleague’s chest and questioned whether a bandage was covering a hickey, according to the report."
VA moves to strip California's power in fight over for-profit schools
Sacramento Bee's ADAM ASHTON: "The Department of Veterans Affairs intends to strip California of its contract to regulate GI Bill benefits, denying the state a power it has used in the past to investigate alleged abuses by for-profit colleges and to hand down sanctions."
"The break between the federal VA and the state-funded California Department of Veterans Affairs highlights a rift between the two organizations over how the state has used its authority to regulate a federal program that sends billions of dollars every year to veterans for career training and higher education."
"The VA wants California to catch up on compliance surveys that track whether schools are paid accurately, according to letters it has sent to the state that fault it for failing to conduct enough of them."
Chanel Miller reclaims her identity in 'Know My Name'
The Chronicle's ANISSE GROSS in Datebook: "On Jan. 18, 2015, a woman was sexually assaulted after attending a fraternity party at Stanford University and discovered unconscious behind a dumpster with a man on top of her. Two Swedish men riding bikes nearby noticed the situation and tackled the man, Brock Turner, who was later convicted of sexual assault. The case became a significant turning point in the conversation around campus rape culture, and the victim known simply as “Emily Doe” struggled in the background relegated to her new role, that of a nameless body."
"Emily Doe has now reclaimed her identity as Chanel Miller in the compelling and essential memoir “Know My Name,” which details the events of the assault, the subsequent trial, the failings of the university and the judicial process, and the journey she took to find her voice again."
"Before the assault, Miller was not a stranger to the world’s violence. A series of students committed suicide during her tenure at Gunn High School in Palo Alto. At UC Santa Barbara, she was put on lockdown while Elliot Rodger went on a misogyny-fueled rampage, killing six people. She knew how victims were reduced and then forgotten."
California helps inmates remove tattoos
The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "The laser feels like bacon grease slathered on her face. Soon her skin turns numb, though there’s still an itch."
"In her fourth session to remove tattoos that she had inked on her cheeks behind bars, Jessica Garcia has asked the technician to crank up the intensity."
"Ooh, I can smell it. Can you smell it?” she says. An expression of utter tranquility belies any discomfort."
Judge considering whether Led Zeppelin copied opening notes to 'Stairway to Heaven'
The Chronicle's MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "Anyone who grew up in the ’70s has heard Led Zeppelin’s long and dramatic rock classic “Stairway to Heaven” — many, many times. But far fewer people are familiar with the song “Taurus” from a band named Spirit."
"Or are they? On Monday, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco heard oral arguments in a case that alleges the introduction to Led Zeppelin’s mega-hit was stolen from Spirit."
"The case pits Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and singer Robert Plant, the authors of “Stairway to Heaven,” against the estate of Randy Wolfe, better known as Randy California, a member of Spirit who wrote “Taurus” in 1968, three years before the Led Zeppelin hit was released. Wolfe died in 1997."
US soldier talked of killing activists and bombing news network, prosecutors say
AP: "A U.S. Army soldier shared bomb-making instructions online and also discussed killing activists and bombing a news network, according to a criminal complaint filed Monday."
"Jarrett William Smith, a 24-year-old private first class infantry soldier stationed at Fort Riley, Kan., was charged with one count of distributing information related to explosives and weapons of mass destruction."
"Prosecutors allege Smith discussed his plan to kill far-left-leaning “antifa” activists and described how to build a bomb that could be triggered by calling a cellphone. They allege that he also said on Facebook that he was interested in traveling to Ukraine to fight with a paramilitary group known as Azov Batallion."
Impeachment pressure grows as new reports link Trump to holdup of Ukraine aid
LA Times's JENNIFER HABERKORN/SARAH D WIRE/MOLLY O'TOOLE: "dPressure in Congress to consider impeachment proceedings against President Trump grew Monday as new reports said he had ordered a holdup of aid to Ukraine just days before urging that country’s president to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden, a possible Trump opponent in the 2020 presidential race."
"Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate Intelligence Committee would look into the whistleblower complaint that reportedly alleges Trump tried to pressure the Ukrainian leader to help him politically."
"And a group of freshman Democrats from competitive House districts who had previously opposed impeachment said the allegations against Trump, if true, “represent an impeachable offense."
