Newsom orders 2035 phaseout of gas-powered vehicles, calls for fracking ban
PHILL WILLON and TONY BARBOZA, LAT: "Emphasizing that California must stay at the forefront of the fight against climate change, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday issued an executive order to require all new cars sold to be zero-emission vehicles by 2035 and threw his support behind a ban on the controversial use of hydraulic fracturing by oil companies.
Under Newsom’s order, the California Air Resources Board would implement the phaseout of new gas-powered cars and light trucks and also require medium and heavy-duty trucks to be zero-emission by 2045 where possible. California would be the first state in the nation to mandate 100% zero-emission vehicles, though 15 countries already have committed to phasing out gas-powered cars.
Newsom did not take executive action to ban the controversial oil extraction method known as fracking but called on the state Legislature to do so, setting up what could be a contentious political fight when lawmakers reconvene in Sacramento next year."
READ MORE on governor's order: Newsom orders ban of new gas-powered cars by 2035 -- RACHEL BECKER, CalMatters; California to ban sale of new gas-powered cars in 2035 under Newsom order -- ALEXEI KOSEFF and DUSTIN GARDINER,Chronicle; Newsom bans sale of all new gasoline-powered cars starting in 2035, calls for fracking ban -- PAUL ROGERS, Mercury News; Can I keep my gas-powered car? What you need to know about Newsom’s climate change order -- LARA KORTE, SacBee.
Capitol Weekly Podcast: Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an Executive Order today to phase out the sales of new gasoline- and diesel-powered cars and passenger trucks in California by 2035. California is the nation’s largest market for zero-emission vehicles: Half of all electric vehicles sold in the U.S. are sold in the state. The new order will accelerate existing government efforts to make the state carbon-neutral by 2045.
‘These voices aren’t going to stop’: Hundreds in L.A. protest over Breonna Taylor case
MATTHEW ORMSETH and KEVIN RECTOR, LAT: "Several hundred people gathered Wednesday evening in downtown Los Angeles to demand the ouster of Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey, but the protest was turbocharged by an outpouring of anger that only one of three Louisville, Ky., police officers involved in the shooting of Breonna Taylor will face criminal charges — and none for killing her.
The demonstrators assembled, as many of them do every Wednesday, outside the Hall of Justice on Spring Street. Police squad cars ringed the protest and a helicopter hovered overhead.
About 7 p.m., several hundred people gathered at Father Serra Park, between Olivera Street and Union Station, before moving south on Los Angeles Street and into downtown. The crowd turned east on Temple and when passing a police parking structure, some in the crowd spray-painted a slur referring to the Sheriff’s Department and attempted to pry off the bar that blocked entry to the structure."
READ MORE about Breonna Taylor case: Bay Area protesters demand racial justice following Breonna Taylor grand jury decision -- Chronicle; ‘Change the laws!’: Celebrities rage over ‘insulting’ charge in Breonna Taylor case -- NARDINE SAAD
Young adults are now the largest group of Americans getting COVID-19, CDC says
KAREN KAPLAN, LAT: The longer the COVID-19 pandemic goes on, the younger its victims get.
A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that the median age of people with COVID-19 in the U.S. has declined over the spring and summer, with Americans in their 20s now accounting for more cases than people in any other age group.
The findings suggest that if the U.S. wants to get its coronavirus outbreak under control, it will need SacBee: "more cooperation from young adults."
500 dead from coronavirus in capital region, with Sacramento County on brink of 400
MICHAEL McGOUGH, SacBee: "Exactly 500 residents in the four-county Sacramento region have died of coronavirus as of Wednesday updates from those counties’ health offices.
Sacramento County’s death toll increased to 399 in that morning’s data update. Another 101 have died among the three neighboring counties of Yolo (54), Placer (43) and El Dorado (four).
With a confirmed fatality total on the brink of 400, it’s become evident that Sacramento County’s summer surge in new infections and hospitalizations due to the virus translated to devastating death figures relative to those of April, May and June."
Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital workers say stronger COVID safeguards needed, call for wider testing
JULIE JOHNSON, The Press Democrat: "Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital staff angered over their employer’s response to a recent outbreak of the coronavirus at the hospital rallied outside the medical campus Wednesday, calling for broader testing at the site and stronger safety protocols to prevent the virus from spreading undetected among patients and staff.
The hospital has been criticized by employees previously in the pandemic over its rationing of protective equipment and staffing decisions that they said left the Montgomery Drive site under-equipped to handle pandemic-related pressures. Earlier this month, the hospital accepted help from the National Guard to fill a severe worker shortage.
Since early August, 26 employees and “fewer than five” patients have contracted COVID-19 at the hospital due to an outbreak of the virus in the general surgery area, hospital officials said. Those infected represent less than 1% of a 2,000-person workforce, hospital executives said in a statement, and they have worked closely with Sonoma County health authorities to stem the outbreak, hospital representatives said."
‘We’re ready’: Frustrated Disneyland tells California Gov. Gavin Newsom it’s time to reopen
DARRELL SMITH, SacBee: "For more than six months, California and COVID-19 have kept the keys to the Magic Kingdom. Now, the brass at Walt Disney Co.’s theme parks division have had enough.
Disneyland, the signature Southern California theme park shuttered by the pandemic since March, is demanding California Gov. Gavin Newsom reopen the Anaheim attraction and others across the state.
“We’re ready. It’s time,” Josh D’Amaro, Disney parks chairman said during a virtual news conference Tuesday, as reported by the Orange County Register. Previous reopening plans to reopen July 17 were postponed indefinitely."
California young voters far more likely to have mail ballots rejected, study finds
JOHN WILDERMUTH, Chronicle: "California’s youngest voters are three times more likely to have their mail ballots rejected than voters as a whole, a new study has found, highlighting a problem that could grow as more of those inexperienced voters turn out in November."
A study by the nonpartisan California Voter Foundation of three California counties — Sacramento, San Mateo and Santa Clara — found that in the November 2018 election, voters ages 18-24 made up the smallest number of mail voters of any age group, but had by far the highest number of rejections.
“With young and new voters the high rejection rate persists, even though the state has made a lot of changes to bring it down,” said Kim Alexander, the foundation’s president and author of the report."
Yosemite to reopen Friday after closure due to wildfire smoke
AMY GRAFF, Chronicle: "After shutting down due to smoky conditions, Yosemite National Park officials announced Wednesday they will welcome back visitors on Friday at 9 a.m.
The park closed Sept. 17 when toxic air from the Creek Fire to the south choked the park and air-quality levels reached hazardous levels. Some roads reopened Sunday to through traffic, but the park remain closed to visitors.
Before the closure, visitors posted images of dystopian skies shrouded in thick smoke and ash falling onto the Yosemite Valley floor."
