LA Dodgers win first World Series title since 1988
LA Times's JORGE CASTILLO: "All year long, from February when they reported for spring training and the coronavirus outbreak was a concept beyond imagination until Tuesday night, the Dodgers believed this was the year. It became an unprecedented year with unparalleled circumstances, but this was the year those hovering ghosts — produced by annual anguish the last seven years — would vanish. This was the year they would add another round of World Series highlights to the reels that grow grainier each passing autumn. This was the year and this was the team to finally end a championship drought going on 32 years.
It happened Tuesday night inside Globe Life Field, a cavernous, new building 1,400 miles away from their home, in front of 11,437 people after a 60-game regular season and expanded postseason that delivered a year unlike any other. It happened when Julio Urías struck out Willy Adames looking to end Game 6 of the World Series and spark a celebration millions of children, teenagers and adult Dodgers fans — now mothers and fathers and aunts and uncles — had never experienced.
It finally happened. The Dodgers beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 3-1, to win the series, four games to two, and claim their first World Series championship since 1988, the franchise’s seventh title and sixth since moving to Los Angeles."
Auditor slams California for Exide cleanup delays, says cost could reach $650 million
LA Times's TONY BARBOZA: "The cleanup of thousands of lead-contaminated homes, child-care centers, schools and parks surrounding the closed Exide battery recycling facility in Vernon is running behind schedule and over budget due to poor management by California regulators and has left children at continued risk of poisoning, according to a state audit released Tuesday.
The report by State Auditor Elaine Howle’s office criticized the California Department of Toxic Substances Control for delays, cost overruns, contracting problems and other shortcomings in its effort to remove lead contamination from properties across half a dozen communities in southeast L.A. County. The audit estimated the cleanup is likely to cost hundreds of millions of dollars more than the state has set aside.
Among the most troubling findings, according to the auditor’s office, was Toxic Substances Control’s failure to remove lead-tainted soil from most of the 50 properties, including child-care centers, schools and parks, that it identified in the early stages of the cleanup as posing a particularly high risk to children."
CA120: The lowdown on 'ballot harvesting'
PAUL MITCHELL in Capitol Weekly: "A recent dustup with the California Republican Party using unofficial dropboxes as a version of so-called “ballot harvesting” has brought the state’s ballot delivery process under a national spotlight.
Much of this controversy can be attributed to the misleading way in which the law has been interpreted, most commonly by people who are trying to conjure up scandal and supposed misdeeds by campaigns that organize such efforts and win.
With about a week to go in this election, it seems like a good time to dive into some facts. What does the state’s ballot delivery law, created by AB 1921 by Democratic Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, actually entail? Who does it? And how is it effectively, or not-so-effectively, used by campaigns?
Bearded workers at California prisons fight orders to shave for N95 fittings
Sac Bee's WES VENTEICHER: "A California state worker union is fighting for groundskeepers and maintenance men who want to keep their facial hair and also be protected from the coronavirus at their prison jobs.
State prison officials have been telling workers they have to shave for N95 mask fittings to comply with safety regulations, according to memos and interviews. The masks, which provide better protection than cloth, work best when they closely fit workers’ skin, according to state and federal regulators.
After an order came down to prepare for fittings last Monday at Valley State Prison in Chowchilla, the International Union of Operating Engineers intervened, pausing some of the fittings over concerns about facial hair, union representatives said."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: Five coronavirus cases at UCSF prompt 28 workers to quarantine, 15 patients to be placed in isolation -- The Chronicle's CATHERINE HO; SoCal counties see surge in new coronavirus cases -- LA Times's LUKE MONEY; Many college students hoped to vote in swing states. Then the COVID-19 pandemic sent them home -- LA Times's KURTIS LEE
California student activists push to lower voting age to advocate for change
EdSource's THERESA HARRINGTON: "California student activists are mobilizing to try to lower the voting age in some elections so their views can be heard more forcefully from the polling booth.
They say they want a stronger voice in a host of elections whether it’s for school boards, city and county offices or primary votes to determine who will run for president. And the issues they care about are wide-ranging — school budgets, Black Lives Matter, defunding the police, prison reform, immigrants’ rights, climate change and more.
A host of city and statewide measures this year and next seek to empower 16- and 17-year-olds in local, even national elections.
Latest Bay Area fire threat eases, but dry weather isn't over
The Chronicle's PETER FIMRITE/NORA MISHANEC: "The latest wildfire scare appears to be over as offshore winds subside in Northern California, but a lingering pattern of hot, dry weather suggests the threat of new blazes remains for firefighters and beleaguered residents.
No more extreme fire weather is expected in the next couple of weeks, climate scientists and meteorologists said, but there isn’t any rain in the forecast either, and that troubling scenario could linger throughout much of November, possibly even past Thanksgiving.
“There is really no relief on the horizon,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at UCLA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research. “I see no rain or mountain snow looking as far out as mid-November. The question is, are we still going to be talking about wildfires on Thanksgiving this year?”"
READ MORE related to Wildfire Season: Wildfires bring unhealthiest air in the nation to SoCal -- LA Times's HAYLEY SMITH; Firefighters battle to save Orange County subdivisions as flames march closer -- LA Times's FAITH E PINHO/HAYLEY SMITH
In campaign's final week, Biden goes on offensive while Trump plays defensive
LA Times's JANET HOOK/JENNY JARVIE/ELI STOKOLS: "With just one week until election day, Joe Biden is playing offense and President Trump is on the defensive, scrambling to replicate his 2016 come-from-behind victory.
Biden has begun making forays into Republican-leaning states that few expected to be within reach for Democrats, while Trump is campaigning in territory in the upper Midwest where he won four years ago but now trails, according to multiple polls.
The Democratic nominee campaigned Tuesday in GOP-friendly Georgia to evoke the spirit of Franklin D. Roosevelt, making a trip that showcased his confidence in the election outcome and the ambitions of his governing agenda."
READ MORE related to Election 2020: Fears of election violence are widespread, poll finds -- LA Times's DAVID LAUTER; Kamala Harris and Trump working for votes in Nevada, which is still up for grabs -- The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI; Biden forces are overwhelming Trump team in final burst of TV ad spending -- LA Times's MICHAEL FINNEGAN; Concerned about election unrest, Beverly Hills will close Rodeo Drive -- LA Times's RICHARD WINTON
Sacramento's Measure A will lead to a 'strong mayor' system with less accountability
PAULA LEE in a Special To The Sac Bee, OPINION: "The Mayoral Accountability and Community Equity Act is a grand title for Sacramento’s ballot Measure A, but let’s be clear: This is a politically calculated title with “accountability” and “community equity” added to get your vote.
Don’t be fooled. Measure A will lead to less accountability and transparency, the loss of existing checks and balances and a $40 million promise carved out of all future city budgets with no indication of what will be cut.
With Measure A, power is concentrated in the mayor’s office. The City Council loses policy-making power, thereby weakening voices of neighborhoods and the general public. It will be easier for special interests to call the shots, needing only to influence a mayor behind closed doors rather than having to secure a majority of council support in public meetings."
In a unanimous vote, Sac City Council votes "Yes" on landmark public safety resolution
Sac Bee's MARCUS D SMITH/ALEXANDRA YOON-HENDRICKS: "In a move that advocates described as being a necessary reckoning for Sacramento, City Council unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday night that acknowledged “generations of genocide, structural racism, and oppression” and broadened the definition of what public safety means.
Prior to Tuesday, City Code had not explicitly defined “public safety”. Officials usually use a de facto definition related to police, fire, and emergency medical services. This generalization has led the city to approach public safety as an urgent response to a crisis — a crime, a fire, a shooting — versus preventative services to improve neighborhood safety and quality of life, advocates said
By broadening the definition of public safety in Sacramento, advocates say existing dollars for public safety can be more flexibly spent on community-centered and youth-oriented programming that address the policies, systems, and environmental risk factors that perpetuate violence against young people."
Ward Connerly: Anti-affirmative action leader calls Prop 16 effort to 'reshape' power in California
EdSource's THOMAS PEELE: "Twenty-four years after he led efforts that banned affirmative action in California, former UC Regent Ward Connerly is dismissive of the idea that those efforts are his legacy.
His legacy, he said recently, “is the legacy that was established back in 1776 when the structure of our society was outlined. When I came into this world, I inherited that. I don’t want to sound like I’m super patriotic, although I probably am.”
His reference to the nation’s founding is, in essence, Connerly’s world view of a color-blind America where racism “is no longer a moral issue,” where the killing of George Floyd wasn’t about race, and where all anyone has to do to succeed is “take advantage of opportunity.”
Yosemite gets new superintendent in bid for stability at the national park
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "Yosemite National Park’s acting chief and Bay Area native Cicely Muldoon will take the top job at the park, becoming just the second woman to hold the post, federal officials announced Tuesday.
The 35-year veteran of the National Park Service, who spent 10 years at the helm of Point Reyes National Seashore, has been serving as Yosemite’s interim superintendent since January. Her official appointment to the position offers hope of stability at one of the country’s most popular parks, which has seen a churn in leadership over the past decade.
Muldoon, 55, brings to Yosemite a record of managing diverse and conflicting issues, from strengthening park relations with neighboring communities to winning financial support from outside groups. She’s worked from Alaska to Arkansas for the Park Service, including a stint as a deputy regional director, overseeing policy for parks across the West, as far as Hawaii."
READ MORE related to Air/Climate/Environment: Environmentalists oppose Uber, Lyft on California's gig worker initiative. Here's why -- Sac Bee's JEONG PARK
Students at some SF high schools headed back to class
The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "For the first time since March, some San Francisco high school kids will get to go back to school after county health officials greenlit the city’s older students to get back to class.
Archbishop Riordan High School and the Sterne School, both private, passed city inspections and on Monday received permission to let students back in the classroom.
It was not immediately clear how quickly the two schools would reopen to students. On Tuesday, officials at Riordan said they hadn’t yet received official word on the authorization despite the Department of Public Health’s dashboard confirming the status."
He filmed arrest of man shouting 'I can't breathe.' Minutes later, he was in handcuffs
Sac Bee's SAM STANTON: "Orlando Truitt was on a walk to a North Highlands market last February when he saw a neighbor walking home carrying bags of takeout Chinese food.
Suddenly, a Sacramento sheriff’s car pulled up and told the man to stop, Truitt said.
Within minutes, his neighbor had been tackled to the ground, and had five or six deputies on top of him, Truitt said."
LA City Council set to consider new ban on homeless camping
LA Times's BENJAMIN ORESKES/DOUG SMITH: "The Los Angeles City Council is moving with unusual speed to a Wednesday vote on revisions to the city’s anti-camping law that would allow authorities to remove homeless camps anywhere in the city if they first offer shelter as an alternative to living on the street.
Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer delivered the proposed amendments to the council on Monday, less than a week after several council members introduced a motion requesting tweaks to the anti-camping law, which had been sidelined on constitutional grounds.
Backers had said they expected to consider the motion Tuesday but instead scheduled a special meeting Wednesday to vote directly on the amendments, bypassing the usual committee process."
NXIVM leader Keith Raniere sentenced to 120 years in prison
AP: "Disgraced self-improvement guru Keith Raniere, whose NXIVM followers included millionaires and Hollywood actors, was sentenced to 120 years on Tuesday for turning some adherents into sex slaves branded with his initials and sexually abusing a 15-year-old.
U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis called Raniere “ruthless and unyielding” in crimes that were “particularly egregious” because he targeted girls and young women in the sex-trafficking conspiracy that resulted in Raniere’s conviction last year.
He handed down the unusually stiff sentence in federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., after hearing 15 victims call for a long prison term to reflect the nightmares and anguish they’ll confront the rest of their lives."
US officials demand that SF Asian Art Museum return allegedly stolen Thai relics
The Chronicle's LAUREN HERNANDEZ: "The federal government has filed a lawsuit demanding that the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco return two ancient relics allegedly stolen from temples in Thailand, authorities said.
The civil complaint, filed Monday, says two 1,500-pound hand-carved decorative lintels were stolen from “ancient religious temples” in Thailand and exported to the United States without a license, according to the Northern District Court of California in San Francisco.
“U.S. law requires U.S. museums to respect the rights of other countries to their own historical artifacts,” U.S. Attorney David Anderson said. “For years we have tried to get the Asian Art Museum to return this stolen artwork to Thailand. With this federal filing, we call on the Museum’s Board of Directors to do the right thing.”"
