Harvey Weinstein pleads not guilty to rape charges in LA
LA Times, JAMES QUEALLY: "Harvey Weinstein made his first appearance in a Los Angeles courtroom Wednesday, pleading not guilty to multiple counts of sexual assault and kicking off a legal process that will see him stand trial in connection with alleged attacks on women that in some cases date to nearly two decades ago.
Weinstein, 69, was indicted in April on multiple counts of forcible rape, forcible oral copulation and sexual battery. He faces 11 charges in connection with allegations of assaults said to have taken place between 2004 and 2013 in Beverly Hills and West L.A.
The disgraced Hollywood mogul, who is already serving a 23-year prison sentence in New York after he was convicted of sexual assault in a Manhattan trial last year, was extradited to California on Tuesday over the objections of his defense attorneys, who say he desperately needs surgery to avoid losing sight in one eye."
Elder will appear on recall election ballot; Faulconer can't use 'retired San Diego mayor' title
SEEMA MEHTA, LA Times: "Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder will appear on the recall election ballot, while Kevin Faulconer will not be described as a “former San Diego mayor” on official election paperwork, two California Superior Court judges ruled Wednesday.
The Elder ruling and other updates brought to 46 the number of candidates who are challenging Gov. Gavin Newsom on the ballot, the secretary of state’s office announced late Wednesday.
Elder, who announced last week he was running, submitted his nomination paperwork and five years of tax returns on Friday, the candidate filing deadline for the Sept. 14 election."
READ MORE RECALL NEWS -- California's recall 'reboot' has no buzz -- and that could be bad news for Newsom -- JOE GAROFOLI, Chronicle; California recall has 46 candidates after last-minute jockeying -- JEREMY WHITE, Politico; Judge puts Larry Elder on recall ballot, throws out tax return requirement -- LAUREL ROSENHALL, CalMatters; California recall: About those tax returns … judge says candidates should not have been required to turn them over -- EMILY DERUY, Mercury News
Prisons close as California inmate population dwindles
GRADY THOMSON, Capitol Weekly: "California authorities have ordered the closure of state prisons for the first time in nearly two decades: Four are destined to be shut down, and three more are being discussed for possible closure.
“The significant decrease in the state’s incarcerated population over the past year is allowing CDCR (California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitati0n) to move forward with these prison closures in a thoughtful manner that does not impact public safety,” Kathleen Allison, head of the state correctional system, said recently in a written statement.
Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy is slated to be deactivated by Sept. 30. The California Correctional Center, or CCC, built 58 years ago in Susanville, will be closed by June 2022. The Susanville prison — one of two in the area — has about 2,100 inmates and 1,100 staff members; Deuel about the same."
PG&E says it will bury 10,000 miles of power lines to reduce California fire risk
The Chronicle, J.D. MORRIS: "Pacific Gas and Electric Co. said Wednesday that it wants to bury 10,000 miles of its power lines in the coming years, hoping that such a far-reaching and expensive effort will finally turn the company’s disastrous track record around.
Patti Poppe, CEO of the PG&E Corp. parent company, announced the plan at a news conference in Chico, the largest city in fire-weary Butte County, where residents are anxiously tracking the stubborn Dixie Fire burning in the Sierra Nevada.
PG&E’s equipment may be responsible for that blaze, though officials are still investigating the cause. The company said Sunday that one of its employees found two blown fuses and what appeared to be a healthy tree that had fallen on a power line near where the 85,000-acre fire started last week."
LA County sees big surge in coronavirus: 2,551 new cases in one day
LA Times, LUKE MONEY: "Los Angeles County reported its largest single-day total of new coronavirus cases in months as the region races to wrap its arms around what officials now say is a new surge of the virus.
Public health officials reported 2,551 new infections Wednesday — the highest figure since early March, when the county was shaking off the last vestiges of the fall-and-winter wave.
Wednesday’s report continues a troubling pattern of increased transmission that emerged after the state’s June 15 reopening and coincided with increased circulation of the hypercontagious Delta variant."
NorCal fire explodes, burns structures amid heat, dry conditions
LA Times, HAYLEY SMITH/MATTHEW ORMSETH: "One of the state’s largest wildfires has taken a turn toward destruction.
The Dixie fire, burning in Butte and Plumas counties, has grown to 85,479 acres with 15% containment, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Wednesday — and burned at least two structures.
It is the first time the fire has destroyed structures since its July 14 ignition."
2 women, including grandmother, arrested after leaving children at California fire station
CHRISTINE DELIANNE, SacBee: "Sisters from Reno, Nevada, were arrested after authorities said they dropped off two children at a Northern California fire station Tuesday evening with little information before speeding away.
According to the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, the women — later identified to be the children’s grandmother and aunt — gave a hurried explanation with only basic information about the 2- and 4-year-olds to personnel at a Cal Fire station in Alta. Deputies said the women told firefighters that the children were not safe in their custody, but didn’t explain why.
The Cal Fire station, like others fire facilities across the state, do allow for safe surrender of children, but only within three days of birth."
Here are the Bay Area restaurants and bars requiring proof of vaccination
The Chronicle, JANELLE BITKER: "With coronavirus cases sharply rising in the Bay Area, more restaurants and bars are planning to require proof of vaccination to enter.
Previously an action only taken by a few of the most cautious owners, the concept of only allowing vaccinated individuals inside businesses is gaining steam amid concerns about the rapidly spreading and more infectious delta variant.
“Right now it’s March 10, 2020. You can see the storm is coming and no one has the courage to sound the alarm,” said Matt Reagan, co-owner of Palmetto and the Kon-Tiki in Oakland, by email. He noted that some careful diners are already avoiding indoor dining, and he wants to make sure those people know some restaurants are still taking the pandemic seriously."
Former Newsom aide Nathan Ballard takes misdemeanor plea deal in domestic violence incident with wife
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Nathan Ballard, a longtime Democratic consultant and former aide to Gavin Newsom, agreed Wednesday to plead no contest to misdemeanor charges of domestic violence against his wife and endangerment of their 4-year-old daughter by lying on top of the girl while holding a pillow during a drunken marital dispute last October. He said Napa County prosecutors agreed not to seek any jail time.
Ballard, 52, had been scheduled to go to trial next week on two felony charges that carried potential sentences of years in state prison. The plea agreement includes commitments to refrain from drinking and take classes in parenting and domestic violence prevention during four years of probation.
The agreement was reached in a closed-door conference with prosecutors and Superior Court Judge Scott Young, who scheduled sentencing for Aug 19. The sentence could include fines of up to $1,000 for each charge."
‘Upzoning’ in my backyard? California bill won’t turbocharge home building, study says
ANDREW KHOURI and ARI PLACHTA, LA Times: "A bill advancing through the California Legislature to allow for denser home building in single-family zones would be likely to produce an uptick in the state’s housing supply, but the so-called upzoning probably won’t cause mass redevelopment, according to a report published Wednesday.
The study by the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC Berkeley offers the most detailed analysis yet of the potential effect of Senate Bill 9, designed to allow up to four homes on most single-family lots and spur the construction of badly needed new housing.
Because of the way unit development would pencil out, the study found that “the vast amount of single-family parcels across the state would not see any new development,” said David Garcia, policy director at the Terner Center, which supports the bill written by Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego)."
Viral videos from SF inspire Newsom to 'double down' on fighting retail theft
The Chronicle, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "Gov. Gavin Newsom vowed to beef up regional and statewide efforts to combat organized retail theft, including incidents captured on viral videos from San Francisco showing groups of thieves invading and looting stores and shoplifters stealing unimpeded.
San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott, who joined Newsom at a news conference Wednesday, acknowledged that the problem is challenging because of the message viral videos send to both criminals and the public.
“When we see these things go viral,” Scott said, “the perception of lawlessness, the perception that anything goes — it has to be overcome, too. People fear crime when they see it go viral.”"
1 in 4 Bay Area families aren't making enough to live here, new study says
The Chronicle, SHWANIKA NARAYAN: "Even before the pandemic stalled the economy, one in four Bay Area families were struggling to afford the basic necessities, says a new study from United Ways of California.
The finding translates to approximately 608,000 households in the Bay Area and 3.5 million families across the state not earning enough income to cover the costs of housing, food, medical and childcare, among other daily essentials, according to the network of nonprofit affiliates’ “Real Cost Measure” analysis, which pushed back against the federal government’s rigid method of determining poverty rates.
The U.S. Census Bureau’s official poverty measure, or OPM, calculates families’ pre-tax income against the cost of affording basic food items, according to the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Census Bureau also has a “supplemental poverty measure” that considers cultural and socioeconomic factors, but OPM remains the official standard. Under the OPM standard, families of four from Sacramento to Los Angeles counties would only need to earn around $25,000 annually to avoid being categorized as living in poverty."
McCarthy threatens to boycott House Jan. 6 committee after Pelosi rejects two of his GOP picks
LA Times, SARAH D WIRE: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) on Wednesday rejected two Republicans picked by GOP leadership to serve on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) said in response that none of his choices would participate in the inquiry unless Pelosi reversed her decision.
The speaker has final say on committee assignments, but normally defers to the minority leader’s choices to represent the other party."
