Firefighters face punishing weather conditions in battle against raging fire near Yosemite
LAT, HANNAH FRY/LIAM DILLON/JAMES QUEALLY: “A combination of heat, low humidity and parched vegetation continues to bedevil firefighters battling an inferno in the Sierra Nevada foothills near Yosemite that has forced thousands to flee their homes.
The Oak fire started Friday near Midpines and had grown to more than 15,600 acres as of Sunday evening, making it California’s largest blaze so far this season and prompting Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency for Mariposa County.
Although not as large or destructive as the August Complex fire in 2020 or the Dixie fire in 2021, experts worry the Oak fire is the start to what could be a particularly difficult wildfire season in California.”
Enrollment decline: LAUSD's Carvalho says families leaving the state or choosing to home-school
EdSource, THOMAS PEELE: “Where have all the students gone?
California’s K-12 enrollment decline of more than 270,000 students since the pandemic began is largely attributable to people leaving the state, not enrolling children in transitional kindergarten or kindergarten, or deciding to home-school their children but failing to file the paperwork to account for them, the head of the state’s largest school district and other experts said Sunday.
“In Los Angeles, in a very, very obvious and evident way, the greatest loss was in (transitional) kindergarten and kindergarten students,” LA Unified School District Superintendent Alberto Carvalho told a gathering of education journalists. “You have to really accept that parents made a decision, ‘I’m not going to send my kid to pre-k or kindergarten.'”
Sea level rise, a wild coast and a trip to ‘The Ranch,’ a surfer’s paradise
Capitol Weekly, AARON GILBREATH: “A unique stretch of southern California coastline has remained untrammeled due to a mix of geography and private property. Will climate change destroy it?
The sea levels keep rising here, and when you get out of your car and walk the Golden State, you can’t help but think about what Californians will lose when irreplaceable stretches of its iconic coast get inundated and eroded due to climate change.
Approximately 75% of California’s population lives along the state’s 1,271 miles of coastline. By some estimates, half a foot of that coast will be lost by 2030, and as much as seven feet of coast by 2100.”
Shoppers choose cheaper brands to escape inflation: Breyers, not Ben & Jerry’s
Bloomberg, STAFF: “Credit-card executives have started to see U.S. consumers shift their spending to lower-cost products as they grapple with inflation at its highest level in 40 years.
Overall volume on credit cards soared 20% to $1.1 trillion at the country’s largest lenders in the second quarter, with many of them reporting record spending for the period. Executives said the recent surge in prices has done little to damp consumers’ appetite for either travel or goods and services.
“They’re continuing to spend very rationally, they’re continuing to pay us back,” Synchrony Chief Financial Officer Brian Wenzel said in an interview, adding that rising prices seem to be leaving customers deciding, “I may not be getting Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, I may get Breyers ice cream.””
2 dead, 5 injured in shooting at crowded San Pedro park
LAT, NATHAN SOLIS/EMILY ALPERT REYES: “Two people were killed and five wounded after gunfire erupted Sunday afternoon in San Pedro’s Peck Park, authorities said.
Police said there were approximately 500 people at the park just before 4 p.m., when they received reports of a shooting. A softball game was underway and a car show had drawn crowds, but it was not immediately clear if either event was connected to the shooting.
Initial reports indicated that the shooting took place at the park’s baseball diamond, according to officials.”
Twitter’s “realassemblyman” – Bruce Young
Capitol Weekly, PODCAST: “On today’s episode we were delighted to speak with the realassemblyman himself, former California legislator Bruce Young. Young’s Twitter persona “realassemblyman” is an essential follow for those intrigued by California politics. Young, a Willie Brown lieutenant, uses his Twitter account to weigh in on the topics of the day – and yesterday – with knowledge and insights that only a true California political insider could have.
We enjoyed a rollicking interview about the realassemblyman account, his adventures in the legislature and Willie Brown’s leadership lessons – and he joined us for the wildest “Worst Week in California Politics” conversation we’ve ever had. Hang on!”
Want to vote on raising California’s minimum wage? Judge says not until 2024
CALMatters, JEANNE KUANG: “Californians still won’t get a chance to vote on a minimum wage hike this November, after a judge ruled late today that the campaign was at fault for missing a key deadline to get the measure on the ballot.
Proponents, including investor and anti-poverty advocate Joe Sanberg, went to court to try to force Secretary of State Shirley Weber’s office to place the initiative onto this November’s ballot. If approved by voters, it would raise the state minimum wage to $16 an hour next year and $18 by 2025.
But Sacramento County Superior Court Judge James P. Arguelles ruled that Weber acted properly in enforcing a June 30 deadline for counties to verify signatures for this November’s ballot.”
Oak Fire smoke is likely to reach the Bay Area. Here are the air quality impacts
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: “Wildfire smoke billowing from the Oak Fire in Mariposa County was expected to drift over the Bay Area early Monday morning, air quality officials said.
An air quality advisory said the smoke was expected to stay aloft, producing hazy skies and a widespread smoky smell. The National Weather Service said people should “expect hazy and slightly red/orange-tinted skies due to this smoke.”
The smoke also was moving west over Yosemite National Park, webcams showed, with hazy skies in Yosemite Valley, where the park said air quality was rated “unhealthy” as of late Sunday afternoon.”
California counties siphon Social Security benefits from some foster kids
CALMatters, JEANNE KUANG: “When she was 15 and had been a ward of the courts for half her life, Kristina Tanner learned the cost of her stays in group homes and with foster families was coming out of her own pocket.
She had qualified for monthly survivor benefits checks, a Social Security program for children whose parents had died.
Instead of the hundreds of dollars a month going to her or toward savings, it went to Butte County, she said, to cover checks issued to her foster care providers.”
San Francisco NAACP branch calls for Hsu to step down from school board
The Chronicle, RITA BEAMISH: “The San Francisco branch of the NAACP on Sunday added its voice to those calling for San Francisco school board member Ann Hsu to resign, saying her racist remarks about Black students and families “indicate a profound disconnect between Hsu and the Black community,” and her attempts to explain herself “ring hollow.”
The NAACP said it voted unanimously on Sunday, 105-0, to call for her immediate resignation after its executive board met with her last week about “her hurtful, racist remarks concerning Black students and families in San Francisco,” which the group said had cost her the trust of the Black community.
Hsu touched off a firestorm in the San Francisco Unified School District this month by citing “unstable family environments” and “lack of parental encouragement to focus on learning” as hindrances to the educational progress of Black and brown students.”
A San Diego area school district was given LGBTQ-affirming kids’ books. Then parents objected
LAT, KRISTEN TAKETA: “One picture book tells the story of a boy who gets teased at school for wanting to wear jewelry and nail polish, but finds acceptance from his family. Another is about a crayon labeled as red that is really blue.
Over the last three years, Orange County native Keiko Feldman has helped donate and hand-deliver more than 15,000 LGBTQ-affirming children’s books to more than 1,000 public school libraries, mostly in California.
The idea is to show children from a young age that it’s OK to be LGBTQ, said Feldman, a documentary producer who is mom to one transgender child and one gay child and who co-founded the nonprofit Open Books.”
Mark Zuckerberg sells his San Francisco house for $31 million
The Chronicle, LAUREN HEPLER: “Tech billionaire Mark Zuckerberg has sold his sprawling San Francisco home for $31 million, more than tripling his money since reportedly buying the home for around $10 million a decade ago.
The sale was confirmed by a deed filed with the city earlier this month, which was signed by an executive of the Facebook co-founder’s eponymous Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.
The off-market sale of Zuckerberg’s 21st Street home, which is situated on Liberty Hill near Dolores Park, was first reported by real estate news site The Real Deal. The $31 million pricetag, calculated based on tax assessments cited in the deed, appears to be the most expensive home sale in San Francisco this year, edging out the $29 million sale last week of two penthouse condos once owned by former Secretary of State George Shultz and his wife, former San Francisco Chief of Protocol Charlotte Shultz.”
I checked out the $20,000 trash can model and other bins S.F. is testing. Here’s what I found
The Chronicle, HEATHER KNIGHT: “Tourists visiting San Francisco this summer will probably place riding cable cars, visiting Alcatraz and strolling through Golden Gate Park on their agenda. Locals might want to try a new, grittier, smellier itinerary: the San Francisco Trash Can Tour.
San Francisco Public Works famously decided no city in the world had ever placed a trash can on its sidewalks that would meet San Francisco’s exacting standards and designed three bespoke, wildly expensive prototypes just for us. It took nearly four years and $550,000 to get this far, but now they need our help.
They’re testing the fancy prototypes and three everyday, off-the-shelf varieties at locations around the city for the next two months. They want people to use their online maps to find the cans, test them out and use QR codes plastered on the sides to tell the department what they think.”
A takeover hot spot, 6th Street Viaduct is shut down by LAPD for second night in a row
LAT, RACHEL URANGA: “A victim of its own allure, the 6th Street Viaduct was shut by Los Angeles police for a second night in a row.
Two weeks after opening, the celebrated bridge was closed Saturday after daredevils climbed its arches and traffic backed up for miles.
The bridge has become a hot spot for street takeovers and cruisers. Police told KNBC that officers closed the bridge Saturday after discovering social media posts about a planned takeover.”
