There’s a major problem with the rebates to swap out gas-powered appliances Dems are touting
The Chronicle, JOE GAROFOLI: "President Biden and every Democrat on the campaign trail will spend the next year bragging about the Inflation Reduction Act, which they universally tout as the “biggest climate action investment in history.”
You will hear Democrats boast that the IRA, which was signed a year ago, includes $8.8 billion in tax credits and rebates to encourage people to buy energy-saving devices such as heat pumps."
Ridley-Thomas, facing years in federal prison, to learn fate at sentencing
LA Times, MATT HAMILTON: "On Monday morning, the once formidable power broker of Los Angeles County and now-disgraced ex-politician, Mark Ridley-Thomas, will learn whether he will spend the next months or years in federal prison.
The decision will be made at a sentencing hearing by U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer, an appointee of George W. Bush who presided over Ridley-Thomas’ criminal trial in March."
Sacramento officials thought they would get $500K from Joan Didion’s estate. What happened?
Sacramento Bee, RANDY DIAMOND: "City officials had hoped to get a $500,000 cut of the $900,000 donation Joan Didion’s estate made earlier this year to the Sacramento Historical Society.
The municipal budget approved by the Sacramento City Council on June 15 included the donation and stated it would go toward a new building for the Center for Sacramento History, home to the city’s historical archives."
Was Hurricane Hilary overhyped? It wasn’t unprecedented, but warnings likely saved lives
LA Times, GRACE TOOHEY: "As Hurricane Hilary barreled toward Southern California last week, the storm made international news as forecasters warned of the possibility for life-threatening and catastrophic flooding from heavy rains, especially in the mountains and deserts.
Officials issued the region’s first-ever tropical storm watch — later uvpgraded to a warning — for a broad swath of the Southland as the cyclone’s path grew more clear, likely to become the first storm of that strength to hit the region in decades."
Rising temperatures prompt excessive-heat warnings this week for much of Southern California
LA Times, MELODY GUTIERREZ: "Temperatures are expected to rise by as much as 16 degrees above normal early this week, elevating the risk of wildfires and heat-related illnesses as another blistering August heat wave hits Southern California.
Temperatures will range from 90 to 109 degrees in valley, inland and mountain areas on Monday and Tuesday, prompting excessive heat warnings and advisories for a large swath of the region, including Los Angeles, Ventura, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties"s
Blue moon will soon rise over Bay Area: What to know about the bonus August supermoon
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: "A blue moon will rise over the Bay Area on Wednesday — the second of two August supermoons, wrapping up a “very unusual” month featuring two full moons at their closest distance to Earth along their orbit, according to astronomers.
Called a blue moon because it occurs in the same calendar month as another full moon, the Aug. 30 supermoon will also be the closest of the year."
She secretly funds psychedelic trips for Bay Area firefighters. Is this the future of mental health treatment?
BANG*Mercury News, GABRIEL GRESCHLER: " For Angela Graham, it all started eight years ago.
Nearly two decades of encountering disturbing scenes while on the job triggered extreme anxiety, nightmares and uncontrollable anger in the retired Santa Clara County firefighter. She tried talk therapy, medication and a treatment that involves moving one’s eyes in a specific pattern while processing traumatic memories called EMDR."
California bails out distressed hospitals, offers interest-free loans to 17 troubled providers
CALMatters, ANA B. IBARRA: "Seventeen financially distressed California hospitals — including three that filed for bankruptcy earlier this year — will receive close to $300 million in interest-free loans, state officials announced Thursday.
Madera Community Hospital, which closed its doors in January, stands to receive the biggest chunk, $52 million. The money comes from the Distressed Hospital Loan Program, which the Legislature created to support rural and independent hospitals that faced financial challenges coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic."
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom’s CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
CALMatters, JEANNE KUANG: "Under the low hum of cold fluorescent lights in a nondescript office park in Orange County, dozens of Californians gathered to find out if they could get help for their loved ones under the state’s new CARE Court system.
Unless that loved one has a medical diagnosis specific to schizophrenia or some other psychotic disorders, the answer was probably not."
Americans face an epidemic of loneliness. For some, supermarket self-checkouts make it worse
LA Times, MARISA GERBER: "On a hot Friday morning this summer, Marliss Myers pushed her grocery cart past the cluster of self-checkout kiosks and directly toward check stand No. 1.
It was the start of her weekly trek to the Albertsons in Arcadia, where the 83-year-old first met cashier Sharon Hechler almost a decade ago. Hechler spotted Myers, and her arms burst from her sides in excitement."
Jackie Goldberg reflects on decades in LAUSD education and public service
EdSource, MALLIKA SESHADRI: "Jackie Goldberg, the president of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s school board, announced earlier this month that she will retire in December 2024 after completing her current term.
Goldberg has worked in public service for more than four decades, starting as a teacher in the 1960s, and won her first LAUSD school board election in 1983. In 1994, she was elected to the Los Angeles City Council, and she represented District 45 in the California Assembly from 2000 to 2006. She returned to the school board in 2019."
Fearing economic disaster, Maui wants tourists to return. But feelings are complicated
LA Times, JULIA WICK, JAWEED KALEEM, CHRISTOPHER REYNOLDS, EMERSON DREWES: "The line at Paia Fish Market usually extends so far down the main drag that staffers can’t see the end of it through their front window.
But that hasn’t been the case as of late, with tragedy on Maui slowing foot traffic in typically busy spots to a trickle."
Silicon Valley elites revealed as mysterious investors behind $800M Bay Area land grab
The Chronicle, MEGAN FAN MUNCE, SHIRA STEIN, JK DINEEN: "The investors behind a mysterious company buying thousands of acres in Solano County have been revealed to be a group of Silicon Valley power players.
Flannery Associates caught the attention of both local politicians and several federal government agencies after it spent more than $800 million buying 140 properties in Solano County over the past five years, purportedly to build an entire new city."
Why Berkeley is one of the most extreme examples of swelling home prices in the Bay Area
The Chronicle, CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "A two-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home in North Berkeley went on sale in June for $1,080,000. Two weeks and 17 offers later, it sold for $425,000 more than that, according to information from real estate brokerage site Redfin.
That massive overpay on the original sales price isn’t too far from the norm in Berkeley. In June 2023, 84% sold above list price, with an average of 17% over. For both metrics, that’s higher than any of the 10 largest cities in the Bay Area."
Berkeley disability advocates say a ‘ludicrous’ city policy could force them to let strangers into their homes
The Chronicle, NORA MISHANEC: "Three Berkeley disability advocates are suing the city over what they say is a “dangerous” policy requiring them to admit members of the public into their homes during meetings.
At issue is the city’s interpretation of a 1950s era law guaranteeing the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies. According to the plaintiffs — all members of the Berkeley Commission on Disability — the city will not allow disabled commissioners to remotely attend meetings unless they consent to having their home addresses posted as official meeting locations open to any member of the public."v
Who’d shoulder higher Bay Area bridge tolls to bail out transit? Backers say the rich, critics the poor. Who’s right?
BANG*Mercury News, JOHN WOOLFOLK: "When state lawmakers this past week put the brakes on a plan to rescue BART and other ailing transit systems, a key concern was that the proposed toll increases at Bay Area bridges to pay for the bailout would wallop low-paid workers who cross those spans to get to their jobs.
But the question of who would bear the burden of a $1.50 bridge toll hike — the working poor or the well-off — is hardly settled, as both sides of the debate point to data and arguments that back their claims. The answer will be key to selling the bailout plan as legislative advocates strategize a fresh pitch for early next year."
