Hundreds of deaths, thousands of injuries, billions of dollars: The cost of extreme heat in California
CALMatters's LEVI SUMAGAYSAY: "A blistering California heat wave over the past week and through the Fourth of July holiday could be topped off by the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth. That kind of extreme heat has led to more deaths than wildfires and cost billions of dollars over a decade, according to the state insurance department.
Following through on a mandate from 2022, a new report from the department looked at seven extreme heat events in the state from 2013 to 2022 and found they took the lives of several hundred Californians."
Map: Where California’s historic heat wave broke temperature records
The Chronicle's JACK LEE: "A long-duration heat wave has tied or broken 96 daily temperature records across California in July, based on preliminary record event reports from the National Weather Service as of Monday afternoon.
Some climate sites logged their highest temperatures ever, highlighted in red in the map below. Palm Springs hit 124 degrees on July 4, reaching an all-time high since records began in 1893. The previous record of 123 had occurred four times."
Candidate for Governor, Betty Yee
Capitol Weekly' STAFF: "Today we introduce a new series of interviews with the 2026 California gubernatorial candidates. First up, California gubernatorial candidate Betty Yee.
Yee boasts nearly four decades of public service. In 2006 she began a stint on the Board of Equalization, followed by two terms as California State Controller (2015-2023). She is he tenth woman to be elected to statewide office in California. She has also served as the Female Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party since May 2021. Yee announced her candidacy for California governor in March 2019. We spoke with her in May about her campaign, about the 2024 elections, and what unique perspectives she brings to the race.
S.F. Mayor Breed plays defense in lively mayoral debate that centers on crime and homelessness
The Chronicle's JD MORRIS: "San Francisco Mayor London Breed sought to defend her record on public safety, homelessness, the drug crisis and other key issues Monday as some of her leading opponents argued during a lively mayoral debate that she’s failed to adequately respond to the city’s most pressing problems.
Breed faced off against three of her four top challengers in the third mayoral debate of the election season, co-hosted by the public safety advocacy groups Stop Crime SF and Stop Crime Action as well as the civic engagement group Connected SF. Aside from Breed, the candidates who participated were former mayor and supervisor Mark Farrell, nonprofit founder and Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie and Supervisor Ahsha Safaí."
An Oakland activist revitalized an abandoned park. A citywide effort now builds on her legacy
The Chronicle's JESSICA FLORES: "Two decades ago, Gwen Jackson, a longtime Oakland neighborhood activist, helped revitalize a run-down park in Fruitvale shunned by neighbors and known for drug dealing.
Jackson’s advocacy led to the funding of a play structure, planter boxes, a mural and the installation of colorful tiles near the playground that children helped create with a local artist."
S.F. Democratic club launches investigation after allegations about a leader surface
The Chronicle's ALDO TOLEDO: "A prominent San Francisco Democratic club is starting an investigation of its co-president in response to a Chronicle story detailing sexual assault allegations made against him, the organization said in a statement Monday.
The Latinx Democratic Club said that its co-president, Kevin Ortiz, is on a leave of absence related to the allegations, made by two women."
Don’t let courts force you into trusting your life to a tape recorder (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly's MELISSA B. BUCHMAN: "Technology, though imperfect, is better than the human brain at many things: remembering passwords or counting the steps we take each day. But in a courtroom, where the accuracy of testimony can determine a person’s fate – overreliance on flawed technology can have dire consequences.
In a drive to cut costs, court officials aim to replace live court reporters with electronic recordings. As an attorney in Los Angeles for 16 years, I know this is a grave mistake for justice because I have seen the consequences firsthand."
Bill Clinton among those to laud Willie Mays during public celebration of life
The Chronicle's RON KROICHICK: "Twenty days after he died, Willie Mays once again showed his distinctive power to bring people together.
Consider the glamorous gathering at Monday’s public celebration of life at Oracle Park. Hall of Famers showed up, from Juan Marichal and Reggie Jackson to Dennis Eckersley and Rickey Henderson. Notable figures in San Francisco Giants history were there, from Bob Lurie to Dusty Baker to Buster Posey. Four San Francisco mayors attended, including London Breed."
California boosts spending to help students earn math and science degrees
CALMatters's LI KHAN: "Alina Kralya tinkers with a microcontroller for one of her computer science projects at American River College. Nearby, a group of other first-generation college students sit in green and blue chairs, chatting about their math homework. It’s a typical scene at this community college space for students in the Math, Engineering, and Science Achievement program, called MESA.
Two years ago, Kralya was in her first year at an engineering university in Ukraine when the Russian invasion and the subsequent war uprooted her family. After moving around Eastern Europe, they sought refuge in sunny Sacramento with $300 in their pockets."
From Fresno Unified to Fresno State: Bob Nelson finds another way to serve
EdSource's LASHERICA THORNTON: "In almost seven years of superintendency, Bob Nelson focused on “grow-our-own” initiatives that include 18 teacher pipeline programs for Fresno Unified students, aspiring teachers and current educators.
Seventy-nine percent of new teachers joining Fresno Unified come through one of the district’s teacher pipeline programs, but there is no “similar thing on the leadership side,” said Nelson, the district’s outgoing superintendent. There’s no pipeline program to recruit, retain or support educators or school leaders hoping to become district administrators."
California’s ‘weak’ job market propped up by public money as private sector sheds jobs
CALMatters's LEVI SUMAGAYSAY: "Gains in public-sector and other jobs largely supported by public money have cloaked a dismal California labor market, which has seen a big decline of private-industry jobs since their post-pandemic peak, a new analysis shows.
The state Legislative Analyst’s Office looked at employment data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics through April, and concluded that private-sector industries in California have lost a total of 340,000 jobs since reaching their peak a couple of years ago."
A California inmate died during the heat wave. What do state prison conditions look like?
Sacramento Bee's MEGAN VAZ: "A woman incarcerated at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla died Saturday amid the heat wave, raising concerns over extreme heat conditions in regional correctional facilities.
Adrienne Boulware’s family said that they were informed by prison staff that she had died from a heat stroke. In a statement, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation public information officer Mary Xjimenez said that the causeof death appears to be related to pre-existing health conditions, not the heat. The coroner’s office is still determining an ocfficial cause of death."
