Insurance companies abandoning California at a faster rate, as wildfires wreak havoc
Sac Bee'S DALE KASLER: "Facing major losses after the 2018 Camp Fire, insurance companies dropped Californians in wildfire-prone Sierra foothills communities at an accelerating rate last year.
Carriers sent non-renewal notices to 42,088 homeowners in the foothill counties in 2019, compared to 23,925 the year before, Deputy Insurance Commissioner Bryant Henley announced Monday. Almost every one of these homeowners had to buy replacement coverage from the state’s “insurer of last resort,” the FAIR Plan, often at prices double or triple what they were paying before.
The statistics, released at a Department of Insurance hearing, suggest the insurance crisis in California’s wildfire zones is continuing to rage."
Bay Area home buyers scoop up shrinking inventory at furious pace
The Chronicle's KATHLEEN PENDER: "The Bay Area real estate market continued its roaring recovery in September, as buyers took advantage of ultra-low mortgage rates to scoop up a shrinking number of homes for sale at an astonishing pace.
The median price for an existing, single-family home in the Bay Area was $1,060,000 in September, which was down 0.7% from August’s all-time high but up 20.5% from September of last year, according to a California Association of Realtors report issued Monday.
Statewide, the median price set a fourth consecutive monthly record, rising to $605,680, up 0.8% from August and 17.6% year over year."
General public likely won't get COVID-19 vaccines until well into 2021, Newsom says
Sac Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "Even if vaccines for COVID-19 are approved in the next month, Californians shouldn’t expect widespread availability until sometime next year, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday, tempering expectations that the end of the pandemic could be on the horizon.
“Don’t anticipate or expect that you can go down to a local pharmacy anytime this year and get a vaccination,” Newsom said during a press conference. “We don’t expect mass availability until 2021… Vaccines will not end this epidemic overnight.”
Newsom said the state has been preparing since April for what will be a monumental effort to vaccinate the most vulnerable people first and then broaden availability to the general public."
California drops legal threat against GOP over balllot boxes
The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "California will not take legal action over the unofficial ballot drop boxes that the state Republican Party set up in at least three counties after state officials said the GOP made changes to its collection system — an assertion the party immediately disputed, raising the prospect of a future showdown.
Secretary of State Alex Padilla said during a news conference Friday that the California Republican Party, through its lawyers, had agreed “to no longer deploy these unstaffed, unsecured, unofficial and unauthorized ballot drop boxes.”
But the GOP argues the boxes are legal and plans to keep using them in several key congressional and state legislative districts where Republicans are trying to flip back seats they lost two years ago or defend against strong Democratic challenges, party spokesman Hector Barajas said Friday."
Cash pours into California House races where GOP and Dems are neck and neck
The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH: "Millions of dollars are flooding into California’s most competitive congressional races as campaigns gear up for the costly sprint to Nov. 3.
In four of the state’s most closely watched contests, each candidate raised more than $1 million in the quarter ending Sept. 30, according to financial reports released by the Federal Election Commission.
Leading the way was GOP Rep. Mike Garcia of Santa Clarita (Los Angeles County), who raked in $3.2 million for the quarter. Garcia beat Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith in a May runoff for a seat left vacant when Democratic Rep. Katie Hill resigned late last year. He and Smith will meet in a rematch next month."
Trump overrules FEMA, approves California's request for disaster relief
The Chronicle's JON WILDERMUTH/ALEXEI KOSEFF/TAL KOPAN: "President Trump reversed a decision by a federal agency Friday and approved California’s request for a disaster declaration related to six wildfires that broke out in September.
“Just got off the phone with President Trump who has approved our Major Disaster Declaration request. Grateful for his quick response,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement released Friday.
In turning down the disaster declaration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said earlier Friday that California’s request did not meet threshold requirements for aid. But it noted the state could appeal the denial for federal help in paying for damages that Newsom said could top $364 million."
NorCal rapist trial revelations: Sacramento police questioned Waller 13 years ago
Sac Bee's SAM STANTON: "“DNA is the answer.”
That is the essence of the prosecution case against NorCal Rapist suspect Roy Charles Waller, whose trial began Monday in Sacramento with Deputy District Attorney Keith Hill outlining how investigators pinpointed the 60-year-old Benicia man as the mysterious rapist who attacked nine women from 1991 through 2006.
Waller, who was arrested in September 2018 after authorities say they tied his DNA to crime scenes from the string of attacks by an armed, masked man, faces 46 felony counts of rape, kidnap and other charges."
Journalist Yashar Ali accuses Garcetti advisor Rick Jacobs of sexual misconduct
LA Times's DAKOTA SMITH: "A second person has come forward to accuse a top advisor to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti of sexual misconduct.
Freelance journalist Yashar Ali alleged in a first-person article published Monday night that Garcetti advisor Rick Jacobs forcibly kissed him on the lips and hugged him over the course of a decade.
A longtime player in politics and a former deputy chief of staff to the mayor, Jacobs is known for hosting fundraisers and other events at his home. Ali wrote that between 2005 and 2015 he attended at least a half dozen dinners at Jacobs’ house, where the alleged misconduct happened."
California's Prop. 18 would give 17-year-olds the vote in some elections
The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH: "California 17-year-olds will cast ballots in the 2022 state primary election if Proposition 18 passes in November.
But not all 17-year-olds will be voting. The state constitutional amendment, which was placed on the ballot by a two-thirds vote of the Legislature in June, would allow those teenagers to vote in the primary and ensuing special elections only if they will be 18 by the date of the general election.
“Voting should be based on the full election cycle,” said Mary Creasman, head of the California League of Conservation Voters, which supports the measure. “If young people will be voting in November, they should be able to vote in the primary to decide who will be on that November ballot.""
Pandemic-fueled safety fears fuel gun purchases in California
Sac Bee's DARRELL SMITH: "Fears of unrest, early release of prisoners, government overreach, even government collapse, led an estimated 110,000 Californians to purchase firearms in the early months of the pandemic, say UC Davis researchers.
The numbers of gun buyers — including more than four in 10 who were new gun owners — represent only 2.4% of total California gun owners, but the study shines a bright light on the unease, worry, fear and frustration some Californians feel months into a year defined by a public health crisis, isolation, social and economic upheaval and a historically volatile presidential election.
The findings come from the 2020 California Safety and Wellbeing Survey of 2,870 California residents conducted by the University of California Firearm Violence Research Center and Violence Prevention Research Program."
California loves the arts. But its new gig law could decimate theater
Sac Bee's LILY JANIAK/CAROLYN SAID: "In 2014, Becky Davis was fresh out of the Coast Guard and worked up the nerve to audition for a play. She set her sights on “Barefoot in the Park” at the Altarena Playhouse, a community theater in Alameda.
She found a source of “joy and vibrance,” and even wound up getting cast opposite the man she would later marry.
But now, joy has turned to fear. Already reeling from catastrophic revenue losses due to the pandemic, theaters will face a drastic increase in expenses — at least 30 percent of annual budgets, according to many estimates — when they reopen, as they must turn actors, stagehands, technicians, costume makers and musicians into employees to comply with California’s new gig-work law, AB5."
PG&E shut-offs could hit Livermore, multiple Bay Area counties as fire weather returns
The Chronicle's NORA MISHANEC/SHWANIKA NARAYAN: "Pacific Gas & Electric Co. said Monday that about 50,000 customers, including some in parts of the Bay Area, could see their power shut off as early as Wednesday evening as utility meteorologists monitored strong winds predicted to sweep through the region.
The company said it had notified customers in Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Santa Clara, Solano and Sonoma counties of possible shut-offs. The fire-safety outages will also affect 13 other Northern California counties and two tribal communities.
Outages typically affect only parts of counties because they target high-risk areas. PG&E said the areas most likely to see outages this week include the northern Sacramento Valley and adjacent elevated terrain, the northern Sierra Nevada generally north of I-80, the mountains of the North Bay and areas near Mount Diablo. Gusts on some peaks could exceed 60 mph, the utility said."
Ballot box fire in Baldwin Park may be arson, officials say
A Times's HAYLEY SMITH: "George Silva was out for a leisurely bike ride when he first spotted the plume of smoke. It was just after 8 p.m. Sunday, and a ballot box near Ramona and Baldwin Park boulevards was ablaze.
Silva, who lives in the Baldwin Park neighborhood and owns a business nearby, whipped out his phone and started broadcasting live on Facebook while Los Angeles County firefighters worked to extinguish the flames.
“Who would do this?” Silva can be heard saying during the filming (Warning: Video contains profanity). “Who would have an agenda to screw up an election? Their votes are gone. ... All those voices aren’t going to get heard.”"
SC mountain cruz towns prep for winter mudslides after CZU wildfire
The Chronicle's MALLORY MOENCH: "Patrick and Angela Aurelio call it the “doomsday scenario.”
The couple worry that in a strong winter storm, the hillside burned by the CZU Lightning Complex fires behind their home along Highway 9 near downtown could hurtle down at up to 30 mph, picking up mud, boulders and even redwoods, blocking the only way out. In the worst-case scenario, the mudslide could bury them and their two toddlers.
The Aurelios consulted two geologists, spent sleepless nights doing research and texted each other articles about past lethal disasters as they decided what to do. With rain in the forecast last week, they made their choice to take mortgage forbearance and rent a home in Aptos for the next six months. The idea was to avoid, at the very least, evacuating every time there was a winter storm — and perhaps to save their lives."
Debate commission adopts new rules to mute candidates' mics at next match-up
AP: "President Trump and Democrat Joe Biden will have their microphones cut off in Thursday’s debate while their rival delivers their opening two-minute answer to each of the debate topics.
The 90-minute debate is divided into six 15-minute segments, with each candidate granted two minutes to deliver uninterrupted remarks before proceeding to an open debate. The open discussion portion of the debate will not feature a mute button, but interruptions by either candidate will count toward their time in the second and final debate Thursday.
The nonpartisan Commission on Presidential Debates announced the rule changes Monday, three weeks after a chaotic opening faceoff between the two presidential contenders that featured frequent interruptions — mostly by Trump."
About 54K PG&E NorCal customers may lose power in safety shutoffs
Sac Bee's ROSALIO AHUMADA: "About 54,000 Pacific Gas and Electric customers in portions of 19 Northern California counties and two tribal communities could lose their electricity as early as Wednesday evening as the utility plans for another series of public safety power shutoffs to prevent new wildfires.
PG&E on Monday notified customers of the potential electricity shutdown as hot and dry conditions, along with wind gusts, are developing in the region. These conditions present an increased risk of damage to the utility’s electrical system, which has the potential to ignite fires in areas of dry vegetation, PG&E officials said in a news release.
The targeted areas for shutoffs include Yolo, Yuba, Stanislaus, Solano, Sonoma, Butte and Napa counties. The other counties are Alameda, Contra Costa, Colusa, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Plumas, Santa Clara, Shasta, Trinity and Tehama."
Record number of sharks off Southern California. Instead of migrating, they’re ‘sticking around’
AP: “There are more sharks in the ocean off Southern California than ever before, according to marine researchers.
The Shark Lab at Cal State Long Beach, tagged 38 sharks, which is more than triple the number tagged last year, KCAL-TV reported Friday.“This was a big year,” said
Chris Lowe, Shark Lab director. “So, even with COVID, we tagged more sharks this year than we have any other year.”
With COVID-19 stimulus stalled, LA clubs face doomsday scenario: 'We're in the deep end, drowning'
LA Times's AUGUST BROWN: "Over the summer, Dave Grohl often drove around L.A. with his 14-year-old daughter, just to have a change of scenery from lockdown. Before COVID-19 struck, the Foo Fighters frontman expected to be touring to mark the band’s 25th anniversary this year. But one night, as the two passed by the boarded-up Troubadour in West Hollywood, Grohl’s daughter turned to him and, as he recounted, grew melancholy.
“Oh, no, the Troubadour,” she told him. “God, it’s so sad, I hope it survives.”
“I had no idea she knew about its history,” Grohl said in a phone interview over the weekend. “Even to a 14-year-old, it was so important to her that one day, it still exists.""
Environmentalists use wildfire danger as new weapon against housing development
The Chronicle's JK DINEEN: "From steep terrain in Napa Valley to the windswept hills of Contra Costa County, California environmentalists opposed to development in semi-urbanized areas are increasingly fighting projects with a weapon that would have been rare a few years ago — the dangers of wildfire.
Over the past three years wildfires have wiped out tens of thousands of homes in areas known as Wildland Urban Interface zones, semirural hillsides just outside cities such as Santa Rosa, Chico, Santa Cruz and Redding. The areas, often referred to as WUIs, are home to 11.2 million Californians, and the widespread destruction and displacement from recent blazes is prompting questions about whether builders should continue adding housing in them.
The issue has come up in recent fights over proposed subdivisions in Pittsburg and Antioch, as well as in Napa County, where a proposed 20-year plan would allow some residential development in fire-prone WUI areas."
LA protesters dump big bag of dirt at federal courthouse to oppose Exide plant abandonment
LA Times's TONY BARBOZA: "Residents of the massive cleanup zone surrounding the shuttered Exide battery recycling plant in Vernon marched to downtown Los Angeles on Monday evening to protest a bankruptcy court’s decision to allow the company to abandon the heavily contaminated site.
Some brought plastic bags of dirt from lead-polluted yards, throwing them over a fence onto the steps of the federal courthouse at North Main and West Temple streets.
“These are donations from the Exide-impacted area,” said Mark Lopez, co-director of East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, which organized the protest."
Trump campaign asks debate commission to change planned topics of third debate
Sac Bee's BAILEY ALDRIDGE: "President Donald Trump’s campaign on Monday said it sent a letter to the Commission on Presidential Debates asking that the planned topics for the third and final debate with Democratic nominee Joe Biden be changed.
NBC’s Kristen Welker, the moderator for Thursday’s debate, announced the topics — fighting COVID-19, American families, race in America, climate change, national security and leadership — last week, according to a news release from the CPD.
Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign manager, asked in the letter that the commission “rethink” the set of topics and focus them more on foreign policy, writing the third debate is “always billed as the ‘Foreign Policy debate.’”"
