Newsom asked Californians to conserve water in the drought. It's been a slow start
Sac Bee, DALE KASLER: "In the first test of their willingness to cut back on water use during the drought, Californians reduced residential consumption by just 1.8% in July compared to a year earlier — well short of what Gov. Gavin Newsom has been seeking.
The statistics released Tuesday by the State Water Resources Control Board suggest Californians haven’t been enthusiastically embracing Newsom’s appeal for 15% reductions, at least in the early going.
“On conservation, we’re going to be needing to do more,” said the board’s chairman, Joaquin Esquivel."
READ MORE on the drought: Californians falling far short on water conservation as drought worsens -- PAUL ROGERS, Mercury News;
Californians fail to meet Newsom's water-savings target amid growing drought -- KURTIS ALEXANDER, Chronicle; As California’s drought deepens, water use drops only 1.8% -- RACHEL BECKER, CalMatters; Despite Newsom’s call to cut water use, L.A. and San Diego didn’t conserve in July -- IAN JAMES, LA Times.
Four Guardsmen safe, but giant sequoia burns; cabins threatened
HAYLEY SMITH, Union-Tribune: "As the Windy fire torched the top of at least one towering tree in the Sequoia National Forest, a new threat emerged Tuesday when the nearby KNP Complex moved closer to a collection of century-old cabins.
For days, firefighters have been locked in an unusual battle to defend California’s giant sequoias, sometimes fighting fire with fire. By Tuesday, the General Sherman tree, the largest tree in the world, was relatively unscathed by the KNP Complex, as were the Four Guardsmen trees that stand at attention at the entrance to the Giant Forest, officials said.
But other areas have not been so lucky. The Windy fire, which is burning to the south of the KNP, moved into Long Meadow Grove, home of the famed Trail of 100 Giants, and at least one sequoia known as the Bench Tree was significantly damaged. More remote stands like the Peyrone Grove also have been “completely surrounded” by wildfire, officials said, though it was too soon to tell whether any trees had been killed."
California has the lowest COVID rate in the US. Here's why the Bay Area is doing even better
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: "California has recently distinguished itself as the state with the lowest coronavirus case rate in the U.S. — but data this week shows the Bay Area is performing even better.
Since last week, California has been the lone state in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s orange “substantial” level of coronavirus community transmission, with the rest of the nation in the red “high” level, based on case rates and positive test rates.
But the Bay Area’s numbers are lower than the state’s, and certain counties in the region are doing particularly well, despite the highly transmissible delta variant. According to state data, the Bay Area’s 7-day average daily case rate per 100,000 was 13 as of Sept. 20, compared to California’s case rate of 22."
San Francisco Mayor London Breed, under fire for going maskless, attacks ‘fun police’
MELISSA HERNANDEZ, LA Times: "San Francisco Mayor London Breed is clapping back against what she labeled the “fun police” after being caught on video defying the city’s mask mandate.
On Wednesday, Breed was spotted partying at Black Cat jazz bar and nightclub. The maskless mayor was photographed seated at a table with friends, who also were not wearing face coverings, amid a bevy of half-drunk beverages, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle. She also was seen on video dancing and singing along to a live performance by R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!
The city’s health order says attendees of live indoor performances must remain masked except when actively eating or drinking, and urges people to be seated at a table or a counter when doing so. The Chronicle reported that Breed “had a table of drinks in front of her and was often holding one” while she “spent the night dancing, singing along and posing for photographs without a face covering.”
Amid rising violence, Oakland council votes to fund another police accademy
The Chronicle, SARAH RAVANI: "One day after Oakland recorded its 100th homicide of the year, the City Council decided to add an extra police academy to increase the number of officers on city streets, pushing aside its rejection earlier this summer for another class of cadets.
Three months ago, the council voted against adding a fifth police academy in the city’s two-year budget, saying at the time that more resources needed to be invested in violence prevention services.
But on Tuesday night, the resolution to add a fifth academy, introduced by Councilmember Sheng Thao, passed 6-2 with council President Nikki Fortunato Bas and Councilmember Carroll Fife voting against the plan."
California housing prices reached a new record. Again
Sac Bee, ANDREW SHEELER: The median price of a single-family home rose to $827,940 in August, the fifth record high in the last six months, according to the California Department of Finance.
The record-breaking amount comes after housing prices experienced a slight dip, to $811,170, in July.
The August record marks a 2.1% increase from July and is up 17.1% from August of 2020, according to the state Department of Finance."
Pastor charged with sexually assaulting girls in Orange County and Riverside
CITY NEWS SERVICE: "A Santa Ana pastor was charged Tuesday with sexually assaulting three girls he met through churches in Riverside, Garden Grove and Santa Ana.
Carlos Ramirez Valdez, 57, of Riverside, was charged with five counts of lewd or lascivious acts with a minor younger than 14 and three counts of oral copulation or sexual penetration of a child 10 or younger, all felonies. He also faces a sentencing enhancement for multiple victims.
Valdez was arrested Friday at a Los Alamitos construction site where he works, according to Santa Ana Police Cpl. Sonia Rojo."
DC could send California billions for fire recovery -- but there's a catch
The Chronicle, TAL KOPAN: "Billions of dollars that could cover the loss of burned vines and smoke-tainted wine grapes. Hundreds of millions to help with drought, and hundreds of millions more for hazardous fuels management.
The House on Tuesday passed a nearly $30 billion disaster relief package that could be a godsend to Northern California’s wildfire-ravaged and drought-stricken communities. But in classic Washington fashion, there’s a catch — the money is tied up in a partisan game of chicken.
With funding set to run out next Thursday, Democrats drafted a bill to keep the federal government open for another year. That bill is paired with a $28.6 billion supplement for disaster relief, including recent wildfires, drought, hurricanes and floods, and $6.3 billion to support Afghan evacuees. While it’s unclear exactly how much California would get of the overall disaster package, it is expected to cover the $7.7 billion that the state’s U.S. senators have requested based on estimates of California’s need."
Can private employers mandate COVID vaccines, masks? Maps show rules in every state
Sac Bee, HAYLEY FOWLER: "Private employers are increasingly considering whether to require proof of vaccination amid lingering COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and the rapidly spreading delta variant.
But individual state regulations, some of which prohibit employers from doing just that, have added a layer of confusion. Combined with President Joe Biden’s vaccine and testing requirement affecting millions of American workers, some companies are at a loss.
Now legal experts are trying to provide clarity."
California launching program to track violent deaths in LGBTQ community
The Chronicle, DUSTIN GARDINER: "The evidence that LGBTQ people are more likely to die violent deaths is already glaring: Reported homicides of transgender women have surged, and almost half of young people in the community contemplated suicide last year.
But the totality of those crises isn’t clear because no state currently tracks how many LGBTQ people die as a result of violent acts, including homicide, suicide and police use of deadly force.
California, long a pioneer in LGBTQ rights, is on track to become the first state to do so. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a measure last week that will create a pilot program for medical examiners and coroners in six counties to report the gender identity and sexual orientation of people who die violent deaths."
Marc Levine to challenge Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara in 2022
The Chronicle, AKEXEI KOSEFF: "Marc Levine, a five-term Assembly member from Marin County, will run for state insurance commissioner next year, challenging incumbent Ricardo Lara, a fellow Democrat whom Levine says has not taken bold enough steps to stabilize a home insurance marketplace increasingly strained by California’s worsening wildfires.
The elected insurance commissioner, a position created by California voters in 1988, oversees the state Department of Insurance, which licenses and regulates the industry.
“This can’t be a backwater job at a time when this is the one position that has the ability to affect the most Californians,” Levine, of San Rafael, said in an interview Monday. “We’ve got so much work to do right now that’s not getting done because the current insurance commissioner has conflicted himself out of a job.”
Bomb threat at NorCal prison followed alleged employee shooting
Sac Bee, WES VENTEICHER: "A High Desert State Prison employee is on leave amid allegations he shot another prison employee Sunday in Susanville.
On Monday, someone made a bomb threat to the same prison, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation spokeswoman Dana Simas confirmed in the email.
“It has not yet been determined if the two incidents are related,” Simas said."
