5 of the 6 largest California wildfires in history started in the past 6 weeks
Sac Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH: "The staggering statistics keep piling up for California’s wildfire season: August and September account for five of the six biggest fires in nearly 90 years of recorded history for the state.
The destructive Creek Fire that continues to burn in Fresno County grew about 3,000 acres between Monday and Tuesday for a new total of 283,724 acres, leapfrogging the 2017 Thomas Fire for the No. 6 spot, according to Cal Fire records. It is 30% contained.
Ahead of the Creek Fire, which started Sept. 4, are four massive wildfire complexes that sparked during a freak mid-August thunderstorm. The storm pummeled Northern California and the Bay Area with thousands of lightning strikes, igniting dozens of large fires and hundreds of smaller ones. Then, gusty winds within the next few weeks caused some of the larger incidents to swell or erupt in size."
READ MORE related to Wildfire Season: CZU Complex 100% contained after scorching 86K acres -- The Chronicle's LAUREN HERNANDEZ; Creek Fire climbs the ranks among the biggest California wildfires as it tops 280K acres -- Sac Bee's TIM SHEEHAN
California bail industry makes itself invisible opposing Prop. 25, ending cash bail
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "Proposition 25, one of the most hotly contested issues on the Nov. 3 ballot, would abolish cash bail statewide, allow tens of thousands of low-level defendants to remain free while awaiting trial, and require judges, with computer assistance, to decide whether others charged with crimes can be released safely.
The reason it is on the ballot — intervention by the bail bond industry, whose survival in California is at stake — has virtually disappeared from public view.
After the Legislature and then-Gov. Jerry Brown approved the no-bail law, SB10, in 2018, with an effective date of October 2019, bail bond companies and their insurers spent more than $3 million to collect signatures and qualify a referendum for the ballot, putting the law on hold until voters decide whether to approve it. As of Aug. 24, according to the secretary of state’s office, the American Bail Coalition had raised $6.5 million to defeat Prop. 25, while supporters of the measure had raised $6.8 million."
CA120: Conspiracy theories may backfire -- on both parties
PAUL MITCHELL in Capitol Weekly: "In our culture, conspiracy theories are running rampant, and elections seem to be particularly prone to the craziest among them.
Republicans, led by the president, have claimed that vote-by-mail is unsafe, and that non-citizens are registered to vote and are casting ballots. Ballot “harvesting” is causing rampant voter fraud, President Trump says, and the system is being rigged against him. Even Attorney General William Barr claimed, incorrectly, that vote-by-mail eliminates the secret nature of voting in the US.
Recent Capitol Weekly polling can quantify this distrust, and how it breaks down on partisan lines."
READ MORE from Capitol Weekly: CW Podcast: COVID-19 Special Episodes -- Capitol Weekly STAFF; (OP-ED) Exercise key to fight COVID-19's toll on mental, behavioral health -- JESSICA CRUZ in Capitol Weekly
California may have undercounted COVID-19 deaths in Black, Latino and Asian communities
KHN's PHILLIP REESE: "The first five months of the COVID-19 pandemic in California rank among the deadliest in state history, deadlier than any other consecutive five-month period in at least 20 years.
And the grim milestone encompasses thousands of “excess” deaths not accounted for in the state’s official COVID-19 death tally: a loss of life concentrated among Blacks, Asians and Latinos, afflicting people who experts say likely didn’t get preventive medical care amid the far-reaching shutdowns or who were wrongly excluded from the coronavirus death count.
About 125,000 Californians died from March through July, up by 14,200, or 13%, from the average for the same five months during the prior three years, according to a review of data from the state Department of Public Health."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: Bay Area's coronavirus numbers stabilize as US death toll surpasses 200K -- The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI; This is what 70% of Sacramento residents say is the worst part of the COVID-19 crisis -- Sac Bee's TONY BIZJAK
California house cleaners, nannies, caregivers could get new workplace protections
The Chronicle's CAROLYN SAID: "Anabel Garcia of Santa Rosa has cleaned houses for 19 years. She’s been instructed to use harsh chemicals that impacted her vision and breathing. She’s been hired through insurance companies after California wildfires to clean houses covered in ash, while smoke hung heavy in the air. With no protective gear, she had trouble breathing and developed allergies. She’s cleaned homes where she was not allowed to use the bathroom. Now she’s cleaning homes during a pandemic, uncertain if any of her clients might be carrying the coronavirus.
As she supports two children, a father-in-law and a husband diagnosed with cancer, Garcia feels forced to accept whatever conditions her employers impose.
California occupational law does not protect her and other domestic workers. House cleaners, nannies, caregivers and others who work inside private homes are not covered by state requirements to provide safe working environments."
READ MORE related to Service Industry: SF workers who clean up public toilets want places of their own to take a seat -- The Chronicle's PHIL MATIER
Californians have 3 ways to vote on Election Day. Only 1 requires a visit to a poll
Sac Bee's ASHLEY WONG: "California residents will be able to vote in three different ways this year, according to representatives from seven California counties who gathered on Tuesday to announce their multi-county partnership to increase voting access.
The Northern California Coalition of Election Officials — composed of representatives from El Dorado, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sutter, Yolo and Yuba counties — met inside Golden 1 Center for National Voter Registration Day to discuss the various ways Californians can vote this year. The arena, home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, will be transformed into a socially distanced voting site for the upcoming presidential election.
This year, California voters will be able to send in their votes in three different ways. The first is through mail-in voting. Every registered voter in California should receive a ballot in October, some as early as Oct. 5."
Cindy McCain endorses Biden for president in rebuke of Trump
AP's JONATHAN J COOPER: "Cindy McCain endorsed Democrat Joe Biden for president Tuesday in a rebuke of President Donald Trump by the widow of the GOP's 2008 nominee.
Trump has had a fraught relationship with members of John McCain's family since he disparaged the Arizona senator during his 2016 campaign. But the McCains have until now stopped short of endorsing Trump's rivals.
Cindy McCain cited the decadeslong friendship between her family and Biden's and their bond as the parents of children serving in the military."
Occupation description on ballot an issue in East Bay judicial race
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "Political candidates in California can use up to three words on the ballot to describe their current or recent “principal profession, vocation or occupation.” When Alameda County voters elect a new Superior Court judge on Nov. 3, their choices, according to the ballot descriptions, will be Elena Condes, “trial attorney,” and Mark Fickes, “civil rights attorney.”
Fickes’ self-designation, approved by local elections officials, isn’t far-fetched, but it’s open to debate: A former prosecutor, he now works at a law firm that handles a variety of civil litigation, including a number of discrimination cases he’s tackled in the past few years. Several commentators say it’s an illustration of the need for voters to do their own research on candidates in low-profile races.
“It’s hard to tell voters who are so overwhelmed already, now you have to do a spreadsheet of your judicial candidates,” said Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Law School professor in Los Angeles whose specialties include election issues. “But that’s where it leaves us."
SF Supes pass budget that closes $1.5B deficit -- for now
The Chronicle's TRISHA THADANI: "The San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a city budget Tuesday for the next two fiscal years, which closes a $1.5 billion deficit ripped open by the pandemic — for now.
The nearly $14 billion budget is very delicately balanced on some risky assumptions: that voters will pass a massive tax overhaul in November, the federal government will continue reimbursing some COVID-19 expenses and the local economy will start to recover soon.
Mayor London Breed and the board spent the summer negotiating the massive budget, and managed to balance it without resorting to layoffs or service cuts. Instead, some capital projects and vacant positions were cut. While each supervisor expressed some concern with the fragile budget Tuesday, it passed 10-1."
UC donors' children were inappropriately admitted to Cal and UCLA, audit finds
Sac Bee's JEONG PARK: "Four University of California campuses unfairly admitted at least 64 students between academic years 2013-14 and 2018-19 because of their connections to donors and university staff, according to a report released by the California State Auditor on Tuesday.
UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara admitted 22 of the students as student-athletes despite not having athletic qualifications to compete. UC Berkeley also admitted 42 of the students through its regular admissions process despite them not having competitive academic qualifications, the report found.
The majority of the 64 students were white. At least half had annual family incomes of $150,000 or more, according to the report."
READ MORE related to Education: UC Berkeley admitted at least 55 underqualified students based on connections and donations -- The Chronicle's NANETTE ASIMOV; California sees steep drop in reports of child abuse since school campuses closed -- EdSource's CAROLYN JONES
Here's what each county does and doesn't allow in regards to reopening
The Chronicle's KELLIE HWANG/MIKE MASSA: "The Bay Area continues to emerge from pandemic health restrictions as coronavirus case rates and test rates improve. Most counties have advanced to the second-strictest red tier in the state’s color-coded reopening system, with only Contra Costa and Sonoma still in the most-restrictive purple tier.
California’s online “Blueprint for a Safer Economy” shows each county’s status and spells out which activities and businesses are allowed under that tier. However, each county may choose to keep tighter restrictions. As a result, the state’s website may not reflect what is actually allowed in each county.
Here’s a county-by-county rundown of what’s currently open and closed in the Bay Area, based on local guidance."
READ MORE related to Economy: California reverses course on nail salons, announces they can resume indoor operations soon -- Sac Bee's ANDREW SHEELER
California's median home price just broke a record. Here's how much it is
Sac Bee 's ANDREW SHEELER/ADAM ASHTON: "The coronavirus recession isn’t cooling California’s real estate market.
The median home price in California for the firs time exceeds $700,000, according to a report released Tuesday by the state Department of Finance.
The report stated that in August, the median price for a single-family home reached $706,900, “surpassing the previous record set in July 2020 by 6.1%.”
READ MORE related to Homelessness & Housing: SF still faces a housing crisis. Where do the Board of Supes candidates stand on fixing it? -- The Chronicle's TRISHA THADANI
California's wineries tossed into chaos with backlogged tests for smoke taint
The Chronicle's ESTHER MOBLEY: "If wines reflect the unique attributes of the year in which they were made, then California’s 2020 vintage may carry the distinctive notes of uncertainty, confusion and chaos.
The immediate — though certainly not the only — issue for the state’s wine industry is wildfire smoke, which has the ability to imbue wine grapes with irrepressible, unpleasant smoky aromas and flavors. Because of the unusually early timing and large geographic spread of this year’s wildfires, more California wine grapes are at risk of smoke damage than ever before.
Risk is the key word; it seems certain that many vineyards’ fruit will be safe. In 2017, the Wine Country Fires blanketed a confined geographic area in heavy smoke, leaving little doubt that the few grapes still hanging on the vine were compromised. But this year, the smoke is both more widespread and more diffuse — a little bit everywhere, rather than a lot in one place."
Oakland mayor pushes back against report that she 'trivialized' police shooting of homeless man
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf pushed back Tuesday against a recent report that she had “trivialized” the death of Joshua Pawlik, a homeless man who was fatally shot by police officers two years ago.
“Your honor, I do feel compelled to set the record straight as to my personal involvement in the Pawlik matter,” Schaaf said during a federal court hearing Tuesday afternoon before U.S. District Judge William H. Orrick.
“I believe that the recently published report grossly mischaracterizes my involvement,” the mayor continued, blaming the mischaracterization on former Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick, whom Schaaf assumed was a primary source of information for the report."
Republicans flip-flop on SCOTUS -- will voters buy it?
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Robert Van Houweling can’t remember seeing political flip-flopping like this before. And the UC Berkeley political science professor has studied doublespeak for a decade.
“At least not this self-evident,” Van Houweling said of the revisionist history that Republican senators have spun since Friday to justify their reasoning for when to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
Four years ago, Republican senators said one thing about confirming a new justice in the last year of a president’s term and today — when it’s their party’s president in the White House — most of them are saying something else. Democrats have done their share of pirouetting from 2016, too."
