Biden calls on Nury Martinez, other L.A. councilmembers to resign after audio leak
LAT, ELI STOKOLS: “President Biden believes Nury Martinez and other councilmembers should resign from the Los Angeles City Council over racist remarks heard in leaked recordings that were made public this week, a White House spokesperson said Tuesday.
“The president is glad to see that one of the participants in that conversation has resigned, but they all should,” said Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, calling the language recorded during the conversation “unacceptable” and “appalling.”
What happens if the L.A. councilmembers resign?
LAT, JULIA WICK: “President Biden on Tuesday joined the chorus of leaders calling on Los Angeles City Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo and Kevin de León to resign, with his press secretary telling reporters in the White House briefing room that the language in the leaked recording was “unacceptable” and “appalling.”
It is rare for the president to weigh in on council proceedings at the city level. But the White House statement — which came a day after the local Democratic establishment made near-unanimous calls for the councilmembers to step down — demonstrated the astonishing reach of the City Hall scandal.”
Tension exposed at hearing over Mayor Breed’s controversial resignation letters for political appointees
The Chronicle, MALLORY MOENCH: “A police commissioner appointed by Mayor London Breed publicly alleged Tuesday that an undated resignation letter that he signed as a precondition of his reappointment was an end run around city law. He also said the request was designed to “shield the mayor from having to take public accountability” for seeking to remove commissioners and “to dampen their independence.”
Police Commissioner Max Carter-Oberstone also alleged the mayor’s office told him at the time that all commissioners signed such letters, although public records have since revealed that only four dozen letters exist out of nearly 300 appointments.
Carter-Oberstone, who is at the center of a proposed polarizing policing change and recent political tension with the mayor’s office, spoke at a Board of Supervisors hearing on Breed’s controversial practice of asking some appointees for undated resignation letters.”
COVID in California: More than 40% of Americans lied about infection
The Chronicle, DOMINIC FRACASSA/AIDIN VAZIRI: “Several cities in China reinstated COVID lockdowns and travel restrictions after a spike in new cases. An official coordinating the White House’s response to the pandemic again urged Americans to get a bivalent booster before the holidays.
Health officials in the U.S. are keeping a close watch on several coronavirus omicron subvariants that may evade immunity, the White House said at a Tuesday briefing. Dr. Ashish Jha, head of the White House Covid task force, said sublineages such a BA.2.75, BA.4.6 and BF.7 are gaining traction across the country. But he assured that updated booster shots should protect against them. “We are not helpless against these challenges,” Jha said. “What happens this winter is up to us.”
Officials expect cases to rise between November and January, but are not certain when the U.S. might see another surge due to the constantly evolving nature of the virus. So far the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says only about 11.5 million Americans have received the updated shots, which are meant to provide a boost of protection against both the original strain of COVID-19 and the BA.5 variant that is dominant around the world. More than 330 people die on average each day of COVID-19, according the Associated Press, with the U.S. death toll standing at over 1.05 million.”
Today's foggy weather is creating a path for future storms in the Bay Area — here's how (sfchronicle.com)
The Chronicle, GERRY DIOAZ: “It seems like the fog machine was left running on high this month, as wave after wave of low clouds ebbs and flows through the Bay Area’s valleys and passes.
So much fog has filtered into the region that residents flying in and out of SFO have been seeing nothing but a sea of gray where the city normally stands. And while fog is about as San Franciscan as it gets, October fog is unusual.”
Vallejo fires police officer who fatally shot Sean Monterrosa
The Chronicle, JORDAN PARKER: “A Vallejo police officer was terminated last week after an independent third-party investigation determined he violated multiple department policies when he fatally shot Sean Monterrosa in June 2020, according to the Vallejo Police Department and a lawyer for the man’s family.
The department is not naming the officer due to an order from the Solano County court. However, Melissa Nold, the attorney working with the Monterrosa family, identified the terminated officer as Jarrett Tonn, who shot and killed 22-year-old Monterrosa on June 2, 2020 in a Walgreens parking lot. Vallejo’s independent investigation into the killing — released last December — found that Tonn’s fatal shooting of Monterrosa was unreasonable and broke department policy on use of deadly force.
It also found that Tonn failed to de-escalate the situation and activate his body camera until after the shooting.”
A Facebook group is tracking the Stockton serial killer. It’s a rare time online sleuths have gone after an active threat
The Chronicle, KEVIN FAGAN: “After hearing last week that a serial killer was loose in her city of Stockton, Renee Myers eagerly scanned city websites for updates. Days went by with just a few bulletins, a town hall and a press conference, and she got frustrated. She wanted to vent more. She wanted to hear theories. She wanted to help catch the killer.
So on Oct. 5, Myers created a members-only Facebook group called Stockton Serial Killer Community News and Information, told her friends, and hoped a few people would request access. Little did she know what she was starting — by Oct. 11, Myers had 2,500 members from as far away as Sweden and Michigan, and the grief, fear and theories poured in like a tsunami.
“How many of you sit back and think that you could have possibly talked to this serial killer before,” posted one person. “The thought is very creepy.””
High mortgage rates are changing the Bay Area housing market in two key ways
The Chronicle, RICARDO CANO: “As rising mortgage rates curtail many home buyers’ spending power, home price growth in the Bay Area has slowed, fewer homes are selling above listing price and more sellers are asking for less.
The trends bearing out in the months since average mortgage rates more than doubled — to nearly 7% — contrast the region’s red-hot housing market of 2021, when home prices rose nearly 20% amid stiff competition.”
It’s a good time to be an American in Britain, as the pound declines in value
LAT, JAWEED KALEEM: “When Julian Asher moved from New York to London 16 years ago to work as a management consultant, his six-figure salary stopped going so far. The British pound, worth twice as much as the dollar, was at a historic high.
It was “close to $25 for a quick lunch” at his local sandwich shop, Asher said. “I was mentally doubling every cost in my head.”
So as the pound came tumbling down in recent weeks, Asher kept a close eye on exchange rates — and eventually transferred $20,000 from his U.S. savings account to his U.K. bank at a near-equal exchange rate to fund an extensive kitchen renovation he had long put off.”
