Coastal fire burns 20 homes, forces evacuations in Laguna Niguel
ERIC LICAS, CAITLIN ANTONIOS and ERIKA J. RITCHIE, OC Register: "A small wildfire that broke out Wednesday in brush near Laguna Niguel quickly grew to 200 acres in windy and dry conditions, burned about 20 homes and prompted the evacuation of nearby residences and a luxury resort, fire officials said.
About 100 homes were potentially in the path of the Coastal fire, Orange County Sheriff’s Capt. Virgil Asuncion said. Multi-million dollar homes on Coronado Pointe Drive, Vista Court, and Via Las Rosa, as well as The Ranch golf course and resort, were evacuated. In addition, residents near Moulton Meadows and Balbo Nyes in Laguna Beach were advised to be prepared to flee at a moment’s notice.
The fire was reported at 2:44 p.m. in Aliso Woods Canyon, near a water treatment facility, and swept rapidly up steep terrain. It had burned about three acres as of 3:30 p.m., Orange County Fire Capt. Sean Doran said. By about 4:45 p.m., flames had crossed an access road and began moving toward homes. The fire continued to spread and grew to consume about 200 acres by about 7:30 p.m., OCFA Chief Brian Fennessy said."
READ MORE on Coastal Fire: I knew those houses were gone’: What it was like as fire ravaged Laguna Niguel community -- ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE and HANNAH FRY, LA Times
California again faces rising anxiety about coronavirus spread as summer approaches
RONG-GONG LIN II, LA Times: "California is approaching another summer amid growing anxiety over COVID-19 as outbreaks increase and officials try to determine when this new wave will crest.
Although case rates are climbing, experts note they are doing so at a more modest pace than the first Omicron surge, which began spiking in December. California’s per capita COVID-19 hospitalization rate is also lower than some states on the East Coast.
But with Memorial Day, graduations, proms and other seasonal events on the horizon, officials are concerned about the upward trend worsening."
California drought: Which regions are saving the most — and least — water
The Chronicle, YOOHYUN JUNG: "This year is shaking out to be another dry year as the winter months, when the state records much of its precipitation, did not deliver as much rain and snow as hoped.
The continuing drought means water providers across California — and their consumers — must conserve more water to avoid running out. Gov. Gavin Newsom called for a 15% decrease in water use, but only a small portion of the suppliers met that goal. Statewide, water use soared by about 19% in March 2022 compared to the same month in 2020.
The State Water Resources Control Board has been tracking how different water suppliers — and communities across California — have been conserving water. The agency’s analysis compared the cumulative water use by each supplier over eight months between July 2019 and March 2020 with use between July 2021 and March 2022."
California would subsidize abortion services for uninsured, out-of-state patients under Newsom plan
LA Times, MELODY GUTIERREZ: "California would set aside $40 million for abortion service providers to help cover uninsured residents and an expected influx of women from other states seeking care if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns the landmark ruling in Roe vs. Wade, under a plan unveiled Wednesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The subsidies are included in a $125-million plan Newsom will send to legislators on Friday as part of his revised state budget, money earmarked to expand access to abortions and prepare for more women seeking care in California
f other states ban or severely limit abortion services. That amount includes an increase of $57 million beyond what was included in his January budget proposal."
Two Sacramento-area counties return to high COVID transmission, CDC says. What it means
MICHAEL McGOUGH, SacBee: "Sacramento and Yolo counties recently returned to high community transmission rates for COVID-19, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, leading local health officials to reiterate calls for residents to mask up indoors and stay “up-to-date” on vaccines and boosters.
Both counties – along with Los Angeles, San Diego and several others across California including the entire Bay Area – were in the “high” transmission level as of the CDC’s latest data update Tuesday. The classification now includes just over 40% of all counties nationwide. Counties are considered in high transmission when they have recorded more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents over the past week.
The CDC recorded Yolo at 141 per 100,000 and Sacramento at 104 per 100,000 for the week preceding Tuesday’s update."
New California home buyers could soon get government cash for down payment
LA Times, HANNAH WILEY: "California could soon help first-time home buyers with their down payments and mortgage costs under a proposed $1-billion program to make homeownership more financially feasible for low- and middle-income residents.
Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins (D-San Diego) first introduced the idea last year of the state stepping in to help more Californians purchase their first homes amid a competitive housing market and rising out-of-pocket costs.
On Wednesday, she unveiled more details of the program, a state budget proposal to lend prospective buyers 17% of a home’s purchase price as a way to lower their mortgage costs and reduce their down payments.Once a homeowner sells, transfers or refinances their house, according to the program’s outline, the owner would pay back to the revolving fund an amount equal to 17% of the home’s current value — even if the amount is larger than the initial loan."
This S.F. tech billionaire says he backs Chesa Boudin and criminal justice reform. So why is he giving police $1 million?
The Chronicle, HEATHER KNIGHT: "In a city that can’t agree on much, it’s widely acknowledged that San Francisco’s cops are down in the dumps. Dispirited. Disheartened. Suffering from low morale.
Whatever you call it — and plenty of people would call it collecting a paycheck for not doing much work — it’s not good for crime victims or their communities. So what to do about it?
Like many tech billionaires who see a problem that needs fixing, Chris Larsen thinks he has an answer. The co-founder and executive chairman of Ripple, which helps people send money online via blockchain technology, is establishing the San Francisco Police Community Foundation and seeding it with $1 million."
Los Angeles Mayor’s Path to U.S. Ambassadorship Is Constricting
JILL COWAN, NY Times: "For nearly a year, the mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, has been “between two worlds,” as he put it in an interview, waiting to be confirmed as the Biden administration’s ambassador to India while the high-stakes race to succeed him plays out in the nation’s second-largest city.
That sense of limbo became even stronger after a Senate report released this week suggested that Mr. Garcetti had ignored a pattern of sexual harassment by one of his top aides. The claim, which the mayor denies, threatens to derail an already drawn-out appointment, casts a shadow over his final months leading a Democratic stronghold and throws his political future into question.
The delay has also left the United States without a permanent envoy in one of the most populous countries at a critical time: India has remained steadfastly neutral on Russia’s war in Ukraine and has continued to buy Russian oil, undermining bans in the United States and Europe."
Chairman of Bay to Breakers race operator donated to conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene
The Chronicle, TAL KOPAN/RACHEL SWAN: "The founder and executive chairman of the company that will put on this weekend’s iconic Bay to Breakers footrace in San Francisco has donated money to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who has spread false, bigoted and dangerous information about topics ranging from mass shootings to COVID vaccines to the 2020 election.
Known as much for tutus and chicken costumes as competitive running, the 12-kilometer Bay to Breakers was acquired three years ago by Capstone Event Group, which puts on running races mostly in the Carolinas. The race is taking place on Sunday. Capstone’s board chair is John Kane, a former North Carolina college football player who founded the company after becoming an endurance athlete, according to a profile in Midtown Magazine.
On Wednesday, a Twitter account that describes itself as revealing corporate political donors to ultra-conservative politicians tweeted that Kane had given thousands of dollars to Republicans including Taylor Greene, former President Donald Trump and Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida."
Is Paxlovid, the COVID-19 pill, reaching those most in need? The government won’t say
LA Times, HANNAH RECHT: "As the nation largely abandons mask mandates, physical distancing and other COVID-19 prevention strategies, elected officials and health departments alike are now championing antiviral pills. But the federal government isn’t saying how many people have received these potentially lifesaving drugs in California and other states, or whether they’re being distributed equitably.
Pfizer’s Paxlovid pill, along with Merck’s molnupiravir, are aimed at preventing vulnerable patients with mild or moderate COVID-19 from becoming sicker or dying. More than 300 Americans still die from COVID-19 every day.
National supply counts, which the Biden administration has shared sporadically, aren’t the only data local health officials need to ensure their residents can access the treatments. Recent federal changes designed to let large pharmacy chains like CVS and Walgreens efficiently manage their supplies have had an unintended consequence: Now many public health workers are unable to see how many doses have been shipped to their communities or used. And they can’t tell whether the most vulnerable residents are filling prescriptions as often as their wealthier neighbors."
When will the Bay Area’s COVID surge peak? Here’s why the BA.2 curve will be harder to predict
The Chronicle, DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "For much of the pandemic, the trajectories of the Bay Area’s COVID-19 surges have been just behind those of other major areas like New York and the United Kingdom — helping medical experts predict when cases would reach a height before coming back down.
But this time around, in the midst of a swell of cases fueled by the BA.2 omicron subvariant and its sublineages that has yet to peak, health officials say the curve’s rise and fall are harder to predict.
“I don’t have a crystal ball, but what I can share is I would guess we will continue to see peaks and valleys. How often the peaks come and how high they are and how dangerous they are, we don’t really know,” Dr. Sara Cody, the health officer in Santa Clara County, said at a news conference Tuesday."
Putin refuses to waver on east Ukraine as Finland’s leaders endorse NATO bid
LA Times, LAURA KING/DAVID PIERSON: "As Finland’s leaders dealt him a blow by announcing their support for joining NATO, Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed his determination to maintain Moscow’s sway over eastern Ukraine as Russian forces pounded the area.
Putin, in a message released by the Kremlin on Thursday, offered his support to Leonid Pasechnik, the head of pro-Russia separatists in the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic, part of Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
“I am sure that through our joint efforts we will defend the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity” of the Luhansk republic, Putin said, as his war on Ukraine began its 12th week."
