Bay Area coronavirus cases drop significantly from peak of summer surge
The Chronicle's CATHERINE HO: "The spread of coronavirus has slowed significantly since the peak of the Bay Area’s summer surge, with new cases falling over 60% since the difficult days of mid-August.
Specifically, the region’s nine Bay Area counties reported an average of 513 new cases per day in the week ending Sunday, down 35% from an average of 788 per day in the week ending the previous Sunday. The last time the Bay Area reported fewer than 500 cases a day, on average, was in June, around the time the summer surge began to accelerate.
If you compare last week’s numbers to the mid-August peak of 1,409 cases per week, that’s a 64% decline, according to data collected by The Chronicle."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: Californians are testing positive for COVID-19 at the lowest rate on record -- LA Times's LAURA J NELSON; Can you get the coronavirus from touching or eating food -- The Chronicle's ESTHER MOBLEY; DA hits Bay Area sports bar owner with criminal charges in serving alcohol indoors -- The Chronicle's ESTHER MOBLEY
PG&E error at power plant may help explain California's rolling blackouts
The Chronicle's J.D. MORRIS: "A mistake by Pacific Gas and Electric Co. may have played a role in people losing power on one of the two days that California experienced rolling blackouts during an extreme heat wave last month.
On Aug. 15, one day after an energy supply shortage caused California’s first rolling blackouts in 19 years, PG&E erroneously directed a 400-megawatt power plant in Fresno County to scale back.
The company says it intended to tell a smaller plant to wind up to full capacity but the message to reset output instead went to the larger, natural gas-powered Panoche Energy Center, located near Interstate 5 about 50 miles west of Fresno."
Seven victims ID'd among 15 dead in West Zone wildfire; winds return to California
Sac Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH: "Fire activity on the North Complex stayed relatively minimal over the weekend, but crews are bracing for poorer weather Monday that could “test containment lines” on the devastating Northern California blaze, which has killed at least 15 people since exploding in size last week.
The wildfire complex continues to burn primarily in Plumas and Butte counties after sparking Aug. 17 at Plumas National Forest. Fire officials say it was ignited by lightning during powerful thunderstorms that swept through the state last month.
The southwest corner of the complex flared up dramatically last Tuesday and Wednesday, jumping the Middle Fork of the Feather River and making a furious sprint toward the Lake Oroville area, boosted by wind gusts exceeding 50 mph."
READ MORE related to Wildfire Season: More than 3.2M acres have burned across California this year; death toll reaches at least 24 -- LA Times's ALEX WIGGLESWORTH/TARYN LUNA/PHIL WILLON; Trump honors Army crews for wildfire rescues -- Sac Bee's TARA COPP; Bobcat fire is just 1.6 miles from Mt. Wilson Observatory. Firefighters ready for battle -- LA Times's LOUIS SAHAGUN
Appeals court says Trump can deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants; challenge certain
LA Times's MAURA DOLAN: "A federal appeals court decided 2 to 1 Monday that the Trump administration may deport hundreds of thousands of immigrants who previously received temporary protected status for humanitarian reasons.
The ruling by a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an injunction protecting immigrants from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua and Sudan from being deported pending litigation. The Trump administration ended their protections, saying their home countries were now safe for them.
The decision affects 300,000 non-citizens and 200,000 of their children who are U.S. citizens. Many of the immigrants have lived in the U.S. for decades."
Trump visa restrictions add obstacle to California winery harvest season: no international interns
The Chronicle's ESTHER MOBLEY: "Around this time every year, thousands of young winemakers-in-training from countries like Australia, Chile, South Africa and Italy descend on the Bay Area to participate in a long-standing, international wine industry tradition: the harvest internship.
Wineries need extra hands during the harvest season, and they often need to expand their search globally in order to find experienced labor. Fortunately, there are scores of applicants — especially those preparing for careers in other wine-producing countries — eager for the chance to spend a few months in California’s Wine Country.
But this year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and President Trump’s restrictions on a crucial visa program for these workers, there are virtually zero international harvest interns at California wineries, and that’s left businesses scrambling to figure out how to staff up at their busiest time of year."
In the clouds of Venus, scientists may have found signs of extraterrestrial life
LA Times's DEBORAH NETBURN: "In the search for life beyond Earth, humans have sent robots to the rocky surface of Mars, deployed spacecraft to investigate the moons of Jupiter and Saturn and aimed their most powerful telescopes toward distant solar systems.
But now, in an unexpected twist, a group of scientists say they have found possible signs of extraterrestrial life in a place where few had thought to look: high in the thick, toxic clouds of Venus, our closest planetary neighbor.
In that noxious environment, they discovered a gas called phosphine that is associated with life on Earth."
Will smoke clear from Sacramento area soon? Wind complicates air quality outlook
Sac Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH: "Air quality remains poor throughout the vast majority of California to start the week, including the Sacramento region, as some of the biggest wildfires in the state’s modern history continue to fill the sky with smoke.
Horrendous air pollution from the fires spiked in the immediate Sacramento area over the weekend. Near the capital, air quality index readings for particulate matter (PM 2.5) peaked above 200, the “very unhealthy” range, both Saturday and Sunday, according to SpareTheAir.com.
Conditions are not quite as bad Monday morning, but AQI levels remained near 180 to start the week and are expected to stay at that unhealthy level through at least Tuesday, according to local air districts’ forecasts at Spare The Air. The sky almost looks overcast, but it’s smoke, not clouds blocking out sunlight."
READ MORE related to Air/Climate/Environment: Trump dismisses Newsom's climate warning, Biden goes on attack over California fires -- The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF; Trump downplays climate change, says California must thin forests. What he got wrong -- Sac Bee's DALE KASLER
Who respects military more -- Trump or Biden? Here's what Americans think, poll finds
Sac Bee's SUMMER LIN: "A majority of people think Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden has more respect for the military than President Donald Trump, according to a new poll.
Respondents to an ABC News/Ipsos poll were asked who has more respect for the military, with 61% saying Biden compared to 37% who said Trump. The poll was conducted between Sept. 11-12 with 533 adults with a margin of error of 4.7 percentage points.
Eighty-one percent of Republicans said Trump had more respect for the troops while 93 percent of Democrats said Biden."
READ MORE related to Campaign Trail: Millennials and seniors are spurning Trump. Here's why middle-aged voters are sticking with him -- Sac Bee's ALEX ROARTY
California's extra $300 unemployment payments are ending. Will they ever return?
Sac Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN: "That $300 a week extra unemployment money jobless Californians are getting? The five weeks you’re being paid for are now over.
And while you may get another week sometime soon, there’s little hope for any more $300 weekly benefits beyond that.
California has received enough federal money to pay people who qualified for jobless benefits during the five weeks that ran from July 26 through August 29."
READ MORE related to Economy: SF to give $1000/month to Black, Pacific Islander expectant moms. Will it help bridge racial health gaps? -- The Chronicle's VANESSA ARREDONDO; SF businesses shuttered for months reopen to eager customers -- The Chronicle's SHWANIKA NARAYAN/RUSTY SIMMONS; 'Extinction event for restaurants' anticipated as federal loan money runs out -- The Chronicle's JANELLE BITKER/JUSTIN PHILLIPS
More Sacramento County schools receive waivers to return to campus instruction
Sac Bee's SAWSAN MORRAR: "Sacramento County public health officials approved waivers for six more schools to reopen for in-person instruction.
The waivers, which appeared on the state website on Monday are for: Orangevale Adventist School, St. Peter’s Lutheran School, Galt Adventist School, St. Michael’s Episcopal Day School, Folsom Preparatory School and Bradshaw Christian School.
The schools can reopen after Sacramento County began approving waivers for schools last week. Already, 19 schools have been approved — 16 of them from the Catholic Dioecese."
READ MORE related to Education: School campuses in affluent areas plan to open quicker than those in poor Latino ones -- LA Times's PALOMA ESQUIVEL/HOWARD BLUME/ANDREW J CAMPA; SF schools still closed, but city gives 800 kids a place to learn as parents cheer: 'A big, big relief' -- The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER; Temperature checks. Spread out desks. How the first day went in a reopened Sacramento school -- Sac Bee's SAWSAN MORRAR
West Sac police say man shot to death by officers was former member of department
Sac Bee's ROSALIO AHUMADA: "An 88-year-old man who was shot to death by West Sacramento police over the weekend was a former Police Department employee who was struggling with mental illness and had suicidal thought, officials announced Monday evening.
The Yolo County Coroner’s Office on Monday released the name of Robert Coleman, a West Sacramento resident who was shot during the encounter with West Sacramento police officers early Saturday near West Capitol Avenue. Police officials have said Coleman had a handgun during the encounter.
“Many people are impacted any time a life is lost. In this case, Mr. Coleman was not only a loving husband and a caring father, but he was also a member of the West Sacramento Police Department family for almost 10 years, according to a statement from the department on its Facebook page."
READ MORE related to Police, Prisons, Protests & Public Safety: 'Insane': At up to $2M per youth, skyrocketing costs at juvenile halls renew push for closures -- The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER/JOAQUIN PALOMINO; South LA activists seek dialogue with Sheriff's Department after deputy shooting inflames tensions -- LA Times's LEILA MILLER; Death-penalty cases show history of racial disparity, report finds -- AP
BART gets $1.2B from feds to add more trains in Transbay Tube amid pandemic woes
The Chronicle's MALLORY MOENCH: "BART is getting a $1.2 billion federal grant to help pay for more frequent trains in the Transbay Tube, even as the agency struggles with low ridership, plummeting revenue and an uncertain future because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The funding supports a program that will include a new train control system, 252 new railcars, six new power substations and a 250-railcar storage facility. The improvements will increase trains in the Transbay Tube from 22 to 28 per hour.
“This is a huge day for BART and anyone who needs to get across the Bay during commute hours,” BART General Manager Bob Powers said in a statement Monday."
What happened outside President Trump's events in Sacramento
Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "Mostly peaceful demonstrations greeted President Donald Trump on Monday in Sacramento, where his supporters waved banners urging his re-election and his critics lined streets in McClellan Park to show their opposition.
The two groups clashed from time to time in verbal arguments, and, at one point, a car veered into a group of protesters. The California Highway Patrol soon afterward pulled over a driver whose vehicle had a license plate that matched images recorded by KCRA of the car colliding with protesters.
Later, around 1 p.m., a CHP car reportedly struck a pedestrian who approached the law enforcement car with anti-Trump demonstrators rallying against police brutality. A video posted to social media showed one of the activists attempted to climb on the car, which then abruptly accelerated. Around 1:30 p.m., an ambulance arrived in response to the incident and took away an unidentified individual."
READ MORE related to POTUS45: CHP vehicle, other car hit protesters outside Trump event in Sacramento, videos show -- Sac Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH/HANNAH WILEY
Perfectly preserved Ice Age cave bear found in Arctic Russia
AP: "Reindeer herders in a Russian Arctic archipelago have found an immaculately preserved carcass of an Ice Age cave bear, researchers said Monday.
The find, revealed by the melting permafrost, was discovered on the Lyakhovsky Islands with its teeth and even its nose intact. Previously scientists only had been able to discover the bones of cave bears that became extinct 15,000 years ago.
Scientists of the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, the premier center for research into woolly mammoths and other prehistoric species, hailed the find as groundbreaking."
