PG&E blackouts spread to 23 counties as fierce winds raise wildfire danger in California
Sacramento Bee, DALE KASLER: "PG&E began a wildfire safety blackout across parts of the Sacramento Valley early Monday as wildfire dangers ramped up amid strong winds.
Under scrutiny because of its wildfire safety record, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. started blacking out customers in portions of Glenn, Colusa, Tehama and Butte counties amid a red flag warning from the National Weather Service for much of Northern California.
By noon, more than 23,000 customers in 23 counties were deliberately taken offline. The blackout extended to an area northwest of Sacramento including parts of Yolo, Solano, Napa and Lake counties, as well as parts of western Fresno and Kings counties."
READ MORE OUTAGE NEWS --- PG&E Outage Map -- The Chronicle; Power shut-offs loom for tens of thousands of Californians amid gusty winds -- LA Times, HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS/LAURA ANAYA-MORGA
As Caldor Fire remains active, snow falls in SLT
Sacramento Bee, CAMERON CLARK: "Lake-effect snow fell in South Lake Tahoe, California, dusting the area on Monday, October 11, as firefighters continued to battle the Caldor Fire in the region.
The Caldor Fire had scorched 221,775 acres (about 347 square miles) and was 98 percent contained as of Monday, according to fire officials.
A red flag warning was in effect for the fire’s impacted area until Tuesday evening as northeast winds were expected to develop, officials said."
READ MORE WILDFIRE NEWS --- Alisal fire explodes to at least 2,000 acres near Santa Barbara; 101 Fwy closed -- LA Times, GREGORY LEE; Strong wind pushes grass fire at Rancho Murieta Airport, Sacramento Metro Fire says -- Sacramento Bee, ROSALIO AHUMADA
California AG launches investigation into OC oil spill
LA Times, ROBIN ESTRIN/HANNAH FRY: "The California Department of Justice has launched an investigation into an oil spill that sent up to 131,000 gallons of crude into the waters off the Orange County coast, the state’s top cop said Monday.
Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said his office has not determined whether civil or criminal enforcement is proper at this time.
“As attorney general, I have activated the Department of Justice as resources to help get to the bottom of this in any way we can,” Bonta said during a news conference Monday. “We are focused on the immediate response to the spill, but we also want to know how this happened.”"
California economy, workers lose billions as unemployment payments shrink. Does it matter?
Sacramento Bee, DAVID LIGHTMAN: "The state’s economy is losing more than $1 billion weekly — money that until recently was sent to millions of out-of-work Californians — because of last month’s expiration of federal unemployment benefits that were available during the COVID pandemic.
Payments to unemployed people have plunged from $2.1 billion during the week ending Sept. 11 to $677 million during the week ending Sept. 25 and $545 million last week.
Most experts don’t see this having a huge effect on the state’s economy, which is slowly recovering from last year’s recession."
Many Latino Calilfornians waited to get a COVID vaccine. Why they're rolling up their sleeves
Sacramento Bee, KIM BOJORQUEZ: "When COVID-19 hit close to home, infecting her two brothers and sending an acquaintance to the hospital, Gabriela Aguilar made up her mind to finally get a vaccine to protect herself against the virus.
She first attended a vaccine drive hosted by Sacramento nonprofit and rolled up her sleeve in late September, almost six months after vaccines became widely available to California adults.
Looking back, Aguilar said she hesitated because she worried about how rapidly the government and industry developed the vaccine and how quickly it received approval for emergency use by the Federal Drug Administration."
Noxious odors in Carson declared a public nuisance
ANDREW J. CAMPA, LA Times: "Foul odors emanating from the Dominguez Channel were declared a public health nuisance by the Carson City Council on Monday, with Los Angeles County health officials making a similar declaration.
The odors, which have been likened to rotten eggs, vomit, unwashed body parts or a “fart bomb,” are probably caused by hydrogen sulfide from decomposing organic material and have prompted thousands of complaints from residents since they started about a week ago.
To lessen health effects, people should leave the area, the health department said in a news release Monday declaring the odors “sufficiently pervasive to be considered a public nuisance.”
Person of Interest detained in Napa County fire; blasting winds kick up Santa Barbara-area blaze
The Chronicle, ANDRES PICON: "A man found near a car ablaze, and suffering burns, was detained in connection with a brush fire that erupted Monday in American Canyon, the Napa County Sheriff’s Department said.
The 26-year-old man, whose name was not released, was taken into custody and to a local hospital for treatment, after which he was to be booked on suspicion of stealing the car, sheriff’s spokesman Henry Wofford said Monday night. The car was reported stolen from Vallejo. Wofford said Cal Fire officials planned to interview the man “to see if he was connected to the fire” that broke out shortly before he was detained.
The man was in an area “very close where the fire started” and is a “person of interest” in the blaze, said Wofford."
The SF school district has lost 3,500 students in two years, costing it $35M
The Chronicle, JILL TUCKER: "San Francisco schools have lost 3,499 students in the past two years, a drop in enrollment that could mean a $35 million hit in state funding, compounding an already dire financial future.
The superintendent released a comprehensive analysis of enrollment numbers to present to the school board Tuesday, saying the district needs to adjust to a “new normal.”
While officials had hoped to see a “bounce back” in student numbers this fall given the reopening of schools, that didn’t happen. The district will need to adapt to the lower enrollment by adjusting staffing as well as student seats at schools, officials said."
Facing major campus disruption and firings, LAUSD extends staff COVID-vaccine deadline
LA Times, HOWARD BLUME: "The Los Angeles school district — confronted with widespread campus disruption and the firing of potentially thousands of unvaccinated teachers and other staff — has extended the looming deadline for all workers to be fully immunized for COVID-19.
The prior deadline of Oct. 15 — this Friday — has been moved to Nov. 15, when employees must have received the second of two doses of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, according to a brief district statement. The district did not clearly state a timetable for the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
Interim Supt. Megan Reilly said the move represents the right balance of firmness and forbearance."
On Indigenous Peoples Day, Marin DA urged to drop case against 5 accused of toppling statue of a colonizing priest
The Chronicle, DEEPA FERNANDES: "One year after activists toppled the statue of 18th century Franciscan priest Junipero Serra outside of a Spanish mission in San Rafael, attorneys and supporters of five people implicated in the act called on the Marin County District Attorney’s Office to drop its criminal prosecution.
The virtual press conference, like the statue toppling a year ago, took place on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, which was itself conceived as a challenge and a correction to a once-dominant historical perspective that celebrated colonizers such as Christopher Columbus rather than the people he and Serra helped colonize.
Besides being a sainted Catholic priest known for establishing the first U.S. missions in California, Serra is also accused of allowing imprisonment, torture and enslavement to convert Native Americans on the missions he ran."
Southwest canels thousands of flights since weekend -- how it's affecting Sacramento's airport
Sacramento Bee, MILA JASPER/RANDY DIAMOND: "Southwest Airlines canceled more than 360 flights across the country Monday after a turbulent weekend for the airline saw thousands of cancellations and delays.
Those canceled flights comprise around 10% of all scheduled flights, according to FlightAware.com. More than 740 Southwest flights were also delayed Monday.
Southwest’s challenges, which reportedly took place on the airline’s busiest weekend since the pandemic began, are affecting some travelers at Sacramento International Airport. FlightAware numbers show the airport is dealing with five canceled flights Monday. All five of those cancellations are Southwest flights. Airport spokesman Scott Johnston said Sacramento International is not seeing any widespread delays or issues Monday."
