Wildfires, drought and blackouts: California's climate change nightmare is already here
Sacramento Bee, DALE KASLER, and MARGO ROSENBAUM: "After last year’s historic wildfire season, two nights of blackouts and a dry winter that raised alarm bells about another drought, California knew a difficult summer lay head.
Then things really turned bad.
A spring heat wave dried up the snow in the Sierra Nevada, ushering in one of the worst droughts on record. Grasslands and forests burst into flames across Northern California, and the Dixie Fire — the second largest in California history — leveled most of the community of Greenville in Plumas County. The Caldor Fire in El Dorado County just recently wiped out the town of Grizzly Flats and forced the evacuation of Pollock Pines."
Caldor Fire jumps north of Highway 50 amid red-flag winds, nearly topping 100,000 acres
Sacramento Bee, VINCENT MOLESKI: "The Caldor Fire burning in El Dorado County jumped Highway 50 on a day of high winds and red-flag fire conditions and continues to head northeast Sunday.
Southwest winds in Northern California pushed the Caldor Fire further Saturday and ignited a spot fire past the closed highway near Kyburz.
On Friday, Caltrans shut down Highway 50 in both directions from Pollock Pines to Meyers over potential fire hazards for motorists. The 46-mile stretch of road serves as the main link between Sacramento and the Lake Tahoe area."
Air quality improving for Bay Area, but not for long -- here's the weather outlook for the weeks
The Chronicle, JESSICA FLORES: "Air quality conditions in the Bay Area were expected to improve Sunday with onshore winds pushing the smoke from wildfires in Northern California away from the region, meteorologists said.
The Bay Area Air Quality Management District had no advisories in effect or any planned for Sunday, said Aaron Richardson, a spokesman for the agency. Conditions were in the “good” category for most of the region Sunday morning, with “moderate” readings in East and North Bay areas such as Pleasanton and Napa.
But officials have issued an air quality advisory for Monday “due to [a] wind shift and smoky skies,” said Richardson. According to the National Weather Service, a "small wave" of smoke is expected to travel out over the Pacific north of the Bay Area and then circle back on shore in the region. However, a Spare the Air alert is not expected."
Judge: California ride-hailing law is unconstitutional
BRIAN MELLEY, AP: "A judge Friday struck down a California ballot measure that exempted Uber and other app-based ride-hailing and delivery services from a state law requiring drivers to be classified as employees eligible for benefits and job protections.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Frank Roesch ruled that Proposition 22 was unconstitutional.
Voters approved the measure in November after Uber, Lyft and other services spent $200 million in its favor, making it the most expensive ballot measure in state history.
U.S. regulators give full approval to Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine
LAURAN NEERGAARD AND MATTHEW PERRONE, AP via LA Times: "The U.S. gave full approval to Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine Monday, a milestone that may help lift public confidence in the shots as the nation battles the most contagious coronavirus mutant yet.
The vaccine made by Pfizer and its partner BioNTech now carries the strongest endorsement from the Food and Drug Administration, which has never before had so much evidence to judge a shot’s safety. More than 200 million Pfizer doses already have been administered in the U.S. — and hundreds of millions more worldwide — since emergency use began in December.
“The public can be very confident that this vaccine meets the high standards for safety, effectiveness and manufacturing quality the FDA requires of an approved product,” said acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock. “Today’s milestone puts us one step closer to altering the course of this pandemic in the U.S.”
Democrats sped up Newsom's reccall to avoid California crises. They're happpening anyway
Sacramento Bee, KIM BOJORQUEZ: "Once the recall effort against Gov. Gavin Newsom qualified for the ballot, Democrats who control statewide offices had a choice.
They could delay the vote or speed it along. They chose to set an early recall election date, and changed state law in order to do so in late June, reasoning that things were looking up as the state re-opened and COVID-19 rates declined.
Setting the date on Sept. 14 at the time appeared likely to coincide with the reopening of schools while avoiding the peak of California’s wildfire season."
Newsom's big problem in the recall election? Likability
LA Times, GEORGE SKELTON: "Few politicians possess the natural gifts needed to inspire voters. And Gov. Gavin Newsom certainly is not one of them.
If the 53-year-old Democrat were blessed with the ability to attract throngs of devoted followers, he wouldn’t be sweating a Republican-led effort to oust him.
It’s not that California’s governor is disliked by hordes of voters. His job performance ratings have remained decent — 50% approval and 42% disapproval among registered voters in a July poll by the UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies.
California to investigate whether Larry Elder failed to properly disclose sources of income
The Chronicle, SHWANIKA NARAYAN: "State regulators are investigating whether gubernatorial recall candidate Larry Elder failed to disclose all of his income sources as California transparency rules require, a spokesperson for the Fair Political Practices Commission confirmed to The Chronicle on Sunday.
The complaint against Elder, a conservative talk show host and leading Republican contender in the recall election against Gov. Gavin Newsom, was filed by the California Democratic Party on Aug. 16. The complaint alleges that he failed to properly disclose his interest in and income from his business, Laurence A. Elder and Associates Inc., “which appears to be a closely held corporation in which he owns more than a 10 percent business interest.”
Anyone running for public office is required to file a statement of economic interest listing all income, including from business ownership, stocks, real estate, gifts and loans, under to state election rules."
Buy a luxury building, then lower the rent: A housing fix for California’s middle class?
ANDREW KHOURY, LA Times: "In hopes of plugging the state’s affordable housing shortage, some California government agencies are purchasing buildings, usually luxury ones, and doing the opposite of most real estate buyers. They’re lowering the rent.
The programs are geared toward middle-income workers — including police officers, teachers and nurses — who make too much to qualify for most traditional subsidized housing but still struggle to afford a place near their work, according to government authorities and the private partners involved.
They hinge on a unique financial model that involves local property tax subsidies. Proponents say the approach makes thousands of units across the state more accessible to those who aren’t high earners — serving the so-called “missing middle” excluded from other affordable housing programs and left behind by a runaway real estate market."
LA's mayoral election is months away. But some are already unhappy with the choices
LA Times, DAKOTA S<ITHDAVID ZAHNISER: "Los Angeles City Councilman Mark Ridley-Thomas took much of City Hall by surprise last week, revealing that after months of speculation, he had closed the door on a bid for mayor.
The announcement served as a potent reminder that the candidate pool in the June 2022 election remains remarkably thin. With the primary about nine months away, City Atty. Mike Feuer and Councilman Joe Buscaino are still the only major political figures currently running to replace Mayor Eric Garcetti.
Now, some in the city have begun voicing their dissatisfaction with those choices, saying they want more female candidates, more racial and ethnic diversity and even more excitement. In some instances, they’re seeking a candidate who is further to the left. In others, they want someone with fewer ties to City Hall."
Sheriff’s investigators search for driver who struck vaccination worker in Newhall
MELISSA HERNANDEZ, LA Times: "Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators on Sunday were searching for a motorist who drove through a Newhall vaccination clinic, injuring a worker, officials said.
The incident occurred about 4:45 p.m. Saturday when sheriff’s officials received reports of a vehicle running over displayed signs and traffic cones at the clinic in the 22900 block of Market Street, authorities said. The driver of the vehicle, a dark gray sedan, also deliberately struck a worker at the clinic with the car’s side-view mirror, causing minor injuries, deputies said.
The unidentified driver quickly fled the scene after striking the victim. A motive for the incident has not yet been determined and it is unknown if the driver knew the clinic worker."
These 3 communities have some of the lowest vaccination rates in the Bay Area. Why?
The Chronicle, JULIE JOHNSON/NANETTE ASIMOV/SARAH RAVANI: "Glenn Webb took a break from his job picking up trash in the parking lot of a retail strip in Antioch and walked over to a group of public health volunteers offering COVID-19 vaccines out of a minivan.
The QuikStop parking lot in Antioch’s Sycamore neighborhood was bustling on this weekday in July. Shoppers dipped in and out of the market, smoke shop and beauty store. Three women sold drinks out of coolers. Men huddled around parked cars.
Webb, 58, wasn’t sure he’d get vaccinated, but volunteer nurses had finally persuaded him to sit down in a folding chair and roll up his sleeve. “It’s convenient,” he shrugged."
'Not one clue': The mystery is only deepening around the family found dead on a Sierra trail
The Chronicle, MATTHIAS GAFNI: "When the missing persons report for Ellen Chung and her husband, Jonathan Gerrish, came in at 11 p.m. Monday, a curious sheriff’s deputy had a hunch. The couple had just purchased a property near the trailhead for Hites Cove Trail 20 miles north of town, and they loved to explore the outdoors with their 1-year-old daughter, Miju, and dog Oski.
He drove down the single-lane red dirt Hites Cove Road until the closed U.S. Forest Service gate appeared. He was right — the couple’s truck was parked at the popular but remote trailhead.
It was 2 a.m."
Rock 'n' roll legend Don Everly dead at 84
LA Times, RJ SMITH: "Don Everly, the last surviving member of the Everly Brothers and a pioneer of rock ‘n’ roll, died at his home in Nashville on Saturday. He was 84.
A spokesperson for the family confirmed Everly’s death with The Times, but did not disclose a cause.
A statement from the family read in part: “Don lived by what he felt in his heart. Don expressed his appreciation for the ability to live his dreams ... with his soulmate and wife, Adela, and sharing the music that made him an Everly Brother.”"
