Who was Charlie Kirk? What we know about the shooting and the suspect
AlJazeera, STAFF: "Charlie Kirk, a well-known conservative activist in the United States and staunch ally of President Donald Trump, was shot dead at an event at Utah Valley University (UVU) on Wednesday.
Video of the incident circulating on social media showed Kirk speaking to a large outdoor crowd when a loud crack, a gunshot, rang out."
READ MORE -- Gavin Newsom calls fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk ‘disgusting’ -- SAC BEE, WILLIAM MELHADO/LIA RUSSELL; Live updates: Authorities say rifle used to kill Charlie Kirk recovered -- LAT, STAFF; Ammunition in Kirk Shooting Engraved With Transgender, Antifascist Ideology: Sources -- WSJ, STAFF; MSNBC severs ties with Matthew Dowd over Charlie Kirk comments -- LAT, STEPHEN BATTAGLIO; Charlie Kirk shooting reignites campus free speech issues in Trump era -- LAT, JAWEED KALEEM/DANIEL MILLER; Trump to posthumously award Kirk the Presidential Medal of Freedom -- LAT, STAFF
Newsom’s push to fast-track Delta water tunnel stalls in the California Legislature
LAT, IAN JAMES: "Gov. Gavin Newsom and some of California’s major water agencies hit a setback this week when a proposal to fast-track plans for a 45-mile water tunnel beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta died in the state Legislature.
Newsom has been trying to streamline legal and environmental review of the proposed water tunnel through budget measures that also would give the state authority to issue bonds to pay for the project."
California legislators strike last-minute deal to help oil industry but limit offshore drilling
LAT, LAURA J. NELSON/GRACE TOOHEY: "Amid concerns that refinery closures could send gas prices soaring, California legislative leaders Wednesday introduced a last-minute deal aimed at increasing oil production to shore up the struggling fossil-fuel industry while further restricting offshore drilling.
The compromise, brokered by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire, would streamline environmental approvals for new wells in oil-rich Kern County and increase oil production. The bill also would make offshore drilling more difficult by tightening the safety and regulatory requirements for pipelines."
READ MORE -- Newsom strikes climate deal extending California cap and trade, boosting oil production -- CALMATTERS, MAYA C. MILLER/ALEJANDRO LAZO/JEANNE KUANG
Newsom’s bid to fast-track Delta tunnel stalls again
CALMATTERS, RACHEL BECKER: "In a blow to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ambitions to replumb the Delta, California lawmakers once again punted on his plan to fast-track a deeply controversial $20 billion tunnel project that would funnel more water to the south.
Multiple sources in the Legislature say the clock has run out on a sweeping measure that would overhaul permitting, financing and other road blocks to the Delta tunnel project. The news comes as lawmakers and Newsom race to reach a megadeal that encompasses carbon trading, wildfire funding, energy transmission, and refinery issues. The governor’s office did not respond to CalMatters’ inquiry."
Kevin Kiley says Adam Schiff owes him an apology over CA redistricting tiff
SAC BEE, DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Sen. Adam Schiff says Kevin Kiley was “missing in action” on redrawing congressional district lines before the congressman was for it.
Kiley, a Republican congressman from Roseville, wants an apology. “Adam Schiff made a false accusation against me and was caught,” the congressman told The Bee."
Google wasn’t against this privacy bill, officially. Behind the scenes, it orchestrated opposition
CALMATTERS, KHARI JOHNSON/YUE STELLA YU: "In April, Rhode Island resident Navah Hopkins received a plea for her help to defeat legislation thousands of miles away in California.
The ask came from Google, maker of the world’s most used web browser, Chrome. The tech giant sent a message to an email list that Hopkins and other small business owners were subscribed to. Google’s request: To sign a petition opposing Assembly Bill 566, which would require browsers to provide users with a way to automatically tell websites not to share their personal information with third parties. The measure is sponsored by the California Privacy Protection Agency, which enforces state regulations on such sharing."
Judge pauses Trump policy cutting off schools, shelters to certain immigrants
CALMATTERS, ADAM ECHELMAN: "California’s soup kitchens, homeless shelters and preschools can continue to serve those without legal status, at least temporarily, according to a decision today by a U.S. district court judge in Rhode Island.
In July, four federal departments — Education, Justice, Health and Human Services and Labor — directed California to deny many immigrants access to federally funded public services, including health care, education and job training. The new policies apply to certain classes of immigrants, including those without legal status as well as those who have it, such as asylum seekers or those with student visas."
Another California county is losing its only hospital after feds refuse to step in
CALMATTERS, ANA B. IBARRA: "Absent a Hail Mary, Glenn County’s only hospital is set to close its doors in October.
Tucked between two national forests, the rural county is home to 28,000 people. Without a local emergency room, they’ll instead have to travel at least 40 minutes to a neighboring county for critical care. One hundred and fifty health workers will lose their jobs; they’re already resigning to seek work elsewhere."
California moves to close overdose protection loophole that deters students from seeking emergency help
LAT, TYRONE BEASON: "On the night TJ McGee overdosed from a mixture of drugs and alcohol in his freshman year at UC Berkeley, his friends found him passed out in the hallway by their shared dorm room.
The roommates tried to help, but when McGee stopped breathing, they called 911."
At least 171 California colleges lose millions as feds end Hispanic-Serving Institution grants
The Chronicle, NANETTE ASIMOV: "The Trump administration said Wednesday it will cut off millions of dollars in funding to “Hispanic-Serving Institutions,” which are colleges and universities whose student enrollment is at least 25% Latino.
California has more such schools than any other state — at least 171 of the 615 HSIs nationwide, or 28% — including six of the University of California’s 10 campuses, 21 of the California State University’s 23 campuses where about half of all students are Latino. The list includes dozens of community colleges, including City College of San Francisco, according to the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities."
CA expands study of firefighters’ cancer risk as blazes become more urban
SAC BEE, WILLIAM MELHADO: "Nearly a decade after New York City firefighters ran into the burning World Trade Center buildings, Congress passed legislation to provide first responders with medical treatments to address the health consequences from their courageous actions on Sept. 11, 2001.
Over two decades later, firefighters responding to large-scale incidents burning near urban areas — such as those in Los Angeles that burned over 50,000 acres earlier this year — are facing similar levels of toxic exposure."
California may help solar bloom where water runs dry
CALMATTERS, RACHEL BECKER: "Ross Franson stood on the road between two fields, where nothing grows under the Fresno County sun.
As a teen, Franson hauled a water tank to spray down the dust on roads like this — rolling past rows of almond and pistachio trees, the CD on his Discman skipping with every bump."
Shift in Bay Area weather will end rain and give way to heat, dry conditions. Here’s when
THE CHRONICLE, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "A weather disturbance tracking over Northern California brought cooler temperatures and scattered rain showers Wednesday, some of them heavy enough to cause flooding. The system isn’t remarkable by winter standards, but early September rainfall is much less frequent in the Bay Area, so any precipitation is significant this time of year.
The Bay Area is in for one more day of humid, misty weather before a shift to drier, warmer conditions for the weekend."
One year after dams were torn down, an Indigenous writer sees a healing Klamath River
LAT, IAN JAMES: "Over the last two years, I have traveled repeatedly to the Klamath River near the California-Oregon border to report on the dismantling of four dams. I saw crews in excavators as they clawed at the remnants of the Copco No. 1 and Iron Gate dams. And as the giant reservoirs were drained, I saw newly planted seeds taking root in soil that had been underwater for generations.
When the last of the dams was breached in August 2024, the river began flowing freely along about 40 miles for the first time in more than a century."
This Bay Area snake is one of the nation’s most beautiful — and rare. Can scientists save it?
THE CHRONICLE, KURTIS ALEXANDER: "The San Francisco garter snake, with its brilliant hues of deep red and turquoise, is widely considered one of the most beautiful snakes in North America. It’s also one of the rarest, with maybe 2,000 living in the wild today, all in San Mateo County.
In a bid to ensure a future for the endangered snake, Bay Area scientists are teaming up on a first-ever effort to rear a captive colony of the colorful crawlers, with plans to start releasing the newborns and rebuilding their populations at local ponds and hillsides."
NBA All-Star game generated $328 million in economic impact to S.F. and Bay Area
THE CHRONICLE, J.K. DINEEN: "The 2025 NBA All-Star Game at Chase Center generated $328.2 million in economic impact, as 142,881 event attendees flooded into the Bay Area from 40 states and 44 countries, according to a study by the Temple University Sports Industry Research Center.
The study, commissioned by the Golden State Warriors, also found that the game and the week of events leading up to it generated another $101.1 in what economists called “earned media value” — think of the free publicity that comes with glamor shots of the Golden Gate Bridge, the downtown skyline or the Painted Ladies on Alamo Square."
How Bay Area incomes changed in past year — and how they compare with other areas
The Chronicle, CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "Incomes in the San Francisco metropolitan area — already the highest among large U.S. metros — rose even further in 2024.
But adjusted for inflation, they remained below their pre-pandemic heights."
Inflation, labor costs hurting restaurant business in Pacific, Mission beaches
TIMES OF SAN DIEGO, DAVE SCHWAB: "Turning a profit while coping with inflation and the escalating cost of everything is proving to be a tall order for beachfront merchants in Pacific and Mission beaches.
There are numerous vacancies, for example, on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach. Some prominent businesses that have shuttered recently include Union Kitchen & Tap, Crushed, Cabo Cantina and World Curry."
Newsom revives $750 million loan for Bay Area transit, but questions loom for BART, Muni
THE CHRONICLE, RACHEL SWAN: "A proposed $750 million state loan for Bay Area transit systems appears to still be doable, though it could be tabled until next year.
Lawmakers and transportation advocates who pressured for the loan, with a flurry of social media posts over the weekend and a rally on Monday, say their campaign successfully kept it alive."
California electric-vehicle drivers will lose carpool lane privileges
LAT, MELODY GUTIERREZ: "A popular perk for California drivers of electric and low-emission cars is coming to an end.
Beginning Oct. 1, motorists with a Clean Air Vehicle decal will no longer be able to drive solo in carpool lanes because the program was not extended by the federal government, according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles."
