Trump administration rejects California on disaster assistance for Creek Fire, others
Sac Bee's DALE KASLER: "The federal government has rejected California’s request for financial help with a series of wildfires that began in early August, including the devastating Creek Fire in rural Fresno and Madera counties and a Southern California fire started by an explosion at a gender reveal party.
Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, told The Sacramento Bee on Thursday that the state learned late Wednesday that it had been turned down for a major presidential disaster declaration in connection with the Creek Fire and five others.
Ferguson said he didn’t know the reason for the denial, which could leave the state struggling to cope with the costs of dealing with the worst fire season in California history. Federal aid can run into hundreds of millions of dollars, depending on the scope of the disaster."
Officials fear Halloween could become super-spreader horror show
LA Times's ANDREW J CAMPA/COLLEEN SHALBY: "With coronavirus infections again rising in Los Angeles County, officials are increasingly alarmed at the prospect of Halloween being another event where the virus could be spread.
State and local officials have urged residents to avoid trick-or-treating and traditional Halloween parties.... "
The last spike in coronavirus cases in California came during the summer holidays, beginning with Memorial Day as people got back to old routines after months in lockdown. Officials are hoping not to repeat that surge with the winter holidays."
40,000 in NorCal without power, more to come
Sac Bee's DALE KASLER: "About 40,000 homes and businesses across Northern California were without power Thursday as PG&E Corp. shut the lights off to curtail wildfire risks during severe winds.
An additional 4,000 customers were expected to lose electricity sometime Thursday afternoon as a fresh wave of hot, dry Diablo winds kicks up, said PG&E spokesman Paul Moreno.
Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s “public safety power shutoff” — the third in about a month’s time — was initially expected to black out 53,000 customers. But Moreno said about 9,000 customers are being spared because of microgrids — a form of temporary generating stations — and other technologies designed to limit the footprint of its wildfire safety blackouts. That reduced the total outages to 44,000 customers."
Power out to thousands of Bay Area residents until Friday as gusty, warm weather continues
The Chronicle's MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "Thousands of people living and working in the Oakland hills found themselves without electricity Thursday as Pacific Gas and Electric Co. shut off power to prevent gusting dry winds from damaging lines and sparking wildfires.
At sunrise, the hills usually spring to life with commuters hitting the winding roads, heading to morning fitness classes or grabbing a quick breakfast and cup of coffee. But on Thursday, the streets were mostly empty, even in usually busy Montclair Village and the roads to Highway 13. Stoplights were out and temporary stop signs were mounted on barricades at intersections, turning them into four-way stops.
PG&E started shutting off electricity late Wednesday night to 32,000 customers in 24 counties, including about 5,300 in the Oakland hills. Preemptive shut-offs also hit pockets of Contra Costa County near Mount Diablo, the North Bay mountains near St. Helena, elevated areas near the Calaveras Reservoir east of Milpitas and the Santa Cruz Mountains, including parts of San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, according to a PG&E statement Wednesday night."
UC Davis may pause its teachers program. Will it harm schools?
Sac Bee's SAWSAN MORRAR: "University of California, Davis, administrators are considering suspending the teacher education master’s degree and credential program beginning in fall 2021, allowing the university to redesign it and prepare it for a stronger social justice lens.
But the teacher education faculty, and the surrounding school districts that benefit from the partnership, said they support the changes to the program. But putting it on pause is not the answer.
Plans to suspend the program caused an outcry among faculty, lecturers and local school leaders who say the decision will hurt local schools and the community."
WH installs political operatives at CDC to try to control coronavirus information
AP: "The White House has installed two political operatives with no public health experience at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to try to control the information the agency releases about the coronavirus, as the Trump administration seeks to paint a positive outlook on the pandemic, sometimes at odds with the scientific evidence.
The two appointees assigned to the CDC’s Atlanta headquarters have been tasked with keeping an eye on Dr. Robert Redfield, the agency’s director, as well as on scientists, according to a half-dozen CDC and administration officials who spoke to the Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal government affairs.
The appointments were part of a push to get more “politicals” into the nation’s top public health agency to control its messaging after a handful of leaks were “upsetting the apple cart,” said an administration official."
Gilroy nursing home reports 12 coronavirus deaths, 75 infections
The Chronicle's CATHERINE HO/TATIANA SANCHEZ: "Twelve residents at a Gilroy nursing home have died from COVID-19, and 75 have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials at the home said Thursday.
When the infections and deaths occurred at the Gilroy Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center is unclear. The state only reports the cumulative number of cases since the start of the pandemic and does not specify when those cases happened.
“On behalf of our entire community, we join these families in mourning the loss of their loved ones to this insidious virus,” center officials said in a statement that did not elaborate on how the virus entered the facility or how it spread."
Kanye West is VP pick in California for party of George Wallace
The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH: "Kanye West is the conservative American Independent Party’s candidate for vice president. And party leaders will let the rapper know as soon as they can find him.
“We’ve tried to get in touch with Kanye, but haven’t had any luck,” said Markham Robinson, vice chair of the party’s central committee. “I imagine he’s heard by now, since it’s all over the news.”
West, who is already on the ballot as a presidential candidate in 10 states, is on the American Independent Party’s ticket in California with Rocky De La Fuente, a businessman and perennial candidate who is also the Reform Party and Alliance Party candidate for president."
Harris leaves campaign trail after positive COVID test on staff. Will it hurt her ticket?
Sac Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN: "The latest October surprise — Kamala Harris is off the campaign trail because two people involved in her campaign tested positive for COVID-19 — has both positives and negatives for Democrats, political experts said Thursday.
On one hand, it could emphasize that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his campaign are taking the coronavirus seriously.
“It could help the campaign because it’s being consistent with Biden’s message,” said Susan Roberts, a professor of political science at Davidson College in North Carolina."
Dianne Feinstein faces calls to step aside after ACB hearing
The Chronicle's TAL KOPAN: "Going into Judge Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings, progressives made clear they wanted to see fire from Senate Democrats. Instead, led by California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Democrats largely gave them pleasantries.
Some on the left called the hearings evidence that Feinstein should step down as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. But others say the approach was exactly what the party needed in the middle of an election in which control of both the White House and Senate is at stake.
President Trump’s nominee to fill the seat of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg ended the week on a glide path to be confirmed before the Nov. 3 election. The committee scheduled a vote for Oct. 22 to send her nomination to the full Senate. Barrett, who says she shares the judicial philosophy of former Justice Antonin Scalia, would shift the court to a 6-3 conservative majority likely to last years."
SF might change 44 school names, renouncing Washington, Lincoln and even Dianne Feinstein
The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "A third of San Francisco public schools could see their names changed as officials push to replace “inappropriate” ones honoring presidents, writers, generals and even Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Parents and principals at 44 sites were forced to scramble this week to brainstorm new school names while also juggling the demands of distance learning in a pandemic.
Those names on the school buildings, including Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson, that have connections to slavery, genocide or oppression should be changed, according to a committee recommendation heading to the school board."
Sheriff's oversight commission calls on Villanueva to resign over his management of the agency
LA Times's CITY NEWS SERVICE: "Escalating its war of words with Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, the county’s Civilian Oversight Commission on Wednesday unanimously approved a resolution condemning the sheriff’s leadership of his department and calling for his immediate resignation.
The commission had originally planned to adopt a resolution that blasted Villanueva’s administration, accusing him of failing to cooperate with the oversight panel and vowing to hold him accountable if he continued to “facilitate dysfunction” in the agency.
But during its discussion, commission members first considered amending the document to make it a “no confidence” vote, then went even further by demanding his resignation. The panel amended the document to conclude that it has “lost confidence in Sheriff Villanueva’s ability to effectively govern the sheriff’s department. He should resign immediately.”"
At least 10 times a day, someone on the brink of death from a drug overdose is saved in SF
The Chronicle's TRISHA THADANI: "At least 10 times a day, someone on the brink of death from a drug overdose is saved in San Francisco, according to new data provided to The Chronicle.
And that’s likely a massive undercount.
San Francisco’s drug epidemic has skyrocketed this year, claiming about 470 lives in just the first eight months of the year, according to preliminary data from the medical examiner. In a similar time period, at least 2,155 potentially fatal overdoses were prevented by the opioid reversal medication Narcan, which is commonly sprayed up the nose."
Ex-Mexico army chief arrested in LA on charges of drug trafficking, money laundering
AP: "Former Mexican Defense Secretary Gen. Salvador Cienfuegos, who led the country’s armed forces for six years under then-President Enrique Peña Nieto, has been arrested on drug trafficking and money laundering charges at Los Angeles International Airport, U.S. and Mexican sources confirmed Thursday.
Two people with knowledge of the arrest said Cienfuegos was taken into custody on a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warrant. One of the people said the warrant was for drug trafficking and money laundering charges. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.
The DEA declined to comment Thursday night."
Trump, Biden go at it -- from a distance -- in town halls
AP's JONATHAN LEMIRE/WILL WEISSERT/DARLENE SUPERVILLE: "President Donald Trump and Democrat Joe Biden squared off, in a way, Thursday night in dueling televised town halls that showcased striking differences in temperament, views on racial justice and approaches to a pandemic that has reshaped the nation.
Coming just two and a half weeks before Election Day, the night offered crystalizing contrasts and a national, if divided, audience. But it seemed unlikely to have produced a needed moment for a president running out of time or opportunities to appeal beyond his core base.
He was defensive about his administration’s handling of the coronavirus, which has claimed more than 215,000 American lives, and evasive when pressed about whether he took a required COVID-19 test before his first debate with Biden. Angry and combative, Trump refused to denounce the QAnon conspiracy group — and only testily did so regarding white supremacists."
Trump's town hall turns contentious; Biden focuses on policy
LA Times's EVAN HALPER/ELI STOKOLS/MELANIE MASON/BRITTNY MEJIA: "As President Trump angrily refused to disavow the QAnon conspiracy theory or accept responsibility for the surge of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S., Joe Biden laid out his policy plans in a more muted style on a separate stage.
Their dueling town halls on rival networks Thursday night marked yet another first in this tumultuous race repeatedly disrupted by the pandemic. The events, much like their face-to-face debate 16 days ago, underscored how starkly the candidates contrast in style and substance.
Trump was defiant and loose with the facts; Biden, deep in the policy weeds and soft-spoken. Biden emphasized that he would try to unify the nation and work to build consensus with Republicans. Trump focused on attacking Democrats in Congress and blaming liberal mayors and governors for urban unrest and the spread of the coronavirus."
Even some supporters are disappointed that COVID-19 bout didn't humble Trump
LA Times's JAWEED KALEEM: "When Jose Antonio Reyes Dupont died in early September after a three-week battle with COVID-19, his son wanted to send the $10,000 funeral bill to President Trump.
Reyes, 84, was a lifelong Republican and die-hard Trump supporter who believed the president when he said early in the pandemic that the nation had the virus “totally under control” and that it was no worse than the flu.
His son, Marco Reyes, a 38-year-old Democrat, was still deep in mourning when he turned on the television this week to see Trump boasting to supporters at a Pennsylvania campaign rally about his recent recovery from the virus."
