After the recent Oroville Dam spillway disaster, another giant California dam looms ominously over its nearby residents.
Sacramento Bee's JANE BRAXTON LITTLE: "Deep in the Trinity Alps, 130 miles northwest of the troubled Oroville Dam, local officials are raising alarms about another earthen dam with documented weaknesses and limited capacity for releasing the water that has poured in from storms and melting snow."
"Trinity Lake, the state’s third-largest reservoir, was filled to 97 percent of its storage capacity Tuesday, and a snowpack estimated at 150 percent of normal still looms over the watershed."
"If the reservoir were to overtop the dam, the results would be catastrophic, said Keith Groves, a Trinity County supervisor representing the district that includes Trinity Dam."
READ MORE related to Environment: Heat wave melting record snowpack in Northern California -- AP
The May 1 scheduled May Day strike/march is drawing thousands of union workers and immigrants marching for equality.
The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI: "Yolanda Barron Carmona commutes 45 minutes from her home in Oakland to her hotel housekeeping job in Emeryville during the week"
"Though the drive is taxing, Carmona said she had no choice because hotel jobs closer to her home don’t allow union representation for workers — an important factor for her."
"Carmona, a 51-year-old immigrant from Mexico, said she felt more respected by hotel management after she signed on with a union."
Last week's bizarre BART train takeover robbery has prompted critics to examine the likelihood of a similar event happening in Sacramento.
Sacramento Bee's TONY BIZJAK: "Riders on a Bay Area Rapid Transit train in Oakland were terrorized last week when several dozen teens jumped the fare gates and momentarily commandeered a train. They reportedly stole five cell phones, a purse, and a bag. Two riders were punched and kicked."
"Nothing as dramatic as the BART incident has happened on Sacramento Regional Transit light rail. But something similar could happen here, RT’s security chief acknowledges. It might actually be easier for thieves to swarm a train here, since RT stations have no gates to keep nonpaying customers out. (A closed system was too expensive to build)"
"RT has recorded 24 thefts on trains this year, usually of electronic devices. Sacramento Police Capt. Norm Leong, RT’s security chief, says he believes recent security upgrades, including a big boost in on-train policing last year, have made a marauding incident less likely."
READ MORE related to Transportation: Gas tax bill -- designed to fix California's roads -- could lead to more smog -- Daily News' DAVID DANELSKI
The Sacramento Police Department collected nearly 1,100 pounds of prescription narcotics during the latest Drug Take Back Day.
Sacramento Bee's ELLEN GARRISON: "In just half a day on Saturday, the Sacramento Police Department collected 1,048 pounds of prescription drugs."
"The department had to shut down its Drug Take Back Day an hour early because it ran out of storage space for the drugs, police spokesman Officer Matt McPhail said Sunday."
“It’s a good indicator of how much surplus medication is out there,” he said. Officers send the medications to be incinerated, which is the method of disposal preferred by the Environmental Protection Agency."
READ MORE related to Public Safety: 8 shot during San Diego pool party; suspect dead -- AP; 1 dead, 7 wounded in shooting at San Diego apartment complex; gunman killed by police -- LA Times' MATT HAMILTON; Authorities release list of 57 guns seized from Pasadena police lieutenant's home -- Daily News' BRIAN DAY
The on-air slaying of a news reporter in 2015 has prompted a man to pursue public office.
AP's ALANNA DURKIN RICHER: "The tipping point for Chris Hurst came last fall while reporting on a shooting at a rail car factory. When the camera turned off, he wept."
"Just more than a year earlier, the 29-year-old's reporter girlfriend was gunned down while conducting an interview on live TV. Now, Hurst was using the same truck that Alison Parker had used the last day of her life to report live from the scene of another shooting."
"Hurst realized he needed a drastic life change."
Trump's stance on NAFTA, ever-changing as it may be, is important to our neighbors south of the border.
Sacramento Bee's FRANCO ORDONEZ: "Anything that President Donald Trump says about NAFTA draws extra scrutiny Latin America, whose countries account for half of the United States’ free trade agreements."
"So when the president of the United States threatened to terminate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada, it wasn’t only those countries catching their breath."
"We’re watching what they’re going to do with Mexico,” said Javier Díaz Molina, executive president of Colombia’s National Association for Foreign Commerce, a trade group. “Because whatever dose of medicine they receive, we’ll get the same spoonful."
READ MORE related to Economy: Weeded bliss begins with the nuptials -- The Chronicle's CAROLYNE ZINKO; Why most black Sacramentans still can't buy a home eight years after Great Recession -- Sacramento Bee's PHILLIP REESE; Venice Beach Freak Show, a bizarre tourest attraction on the boardwalk, is closing -- LA Times' FRANK SHYONG/PARESH DAVE; Congressional negotiators reach $1-trillion deal to fund government but provide little for Trump's priorities -- LA Times' LISA MASCARO
Daily Show correspondent Hasan Minhaj took an absent President Trump to task at the White House correspondents' dinner.
Sacramento Bee's STAFF: "President Donald Trump was absent from Saturday night’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, but that didn’t stop headliner Hasan Minhaj from roasting Trump in his speech."
"A “Daily Show” correspondent since 2014 and a comedian, Minhaj grew up in Davis and majored in political science at UC Davis."
"A Variety article called Minhaj’s monologue “brutal and biting.” The speech aired live on C-SPAN and was also followed closely on the internet, where Twitter users weighed in on his jokes and commentary. Many, but not all, praised Minhaj."
READ MORE related to Beltway: Trump adviser to leave the White House -- AP's VIVIAN SALAMA; Congressional negotiators reach $1-trillion deal to fund government but provide little for Trump's priorities -- LA Times' LISA MASCARO
The UC system's vaccination requirement is catching some criticism from opponents.
Sacramento Bee's DIANA LAMBERT: "High school senior Madeline Scott was so excited when she received the acceptance text from UC Berkeley that she called her mother immediately."
“I got into UC Berkeley,” she gushed."
"The euphoria didn’t last."
The #MeetAMuslim program aims to hold community meetings that bridge gaps between local muslims and their neighbors.
Sacramento Bee's STEPHEN MAGAGNINI: "On Sunday afternoon, five Muslims walked into a Roseville bar to discuss fear, hatred, ISIS, terrorism, the treatment of women and the Trump administration with seven non-Muslims."
"The Muslims didn’t drink any of the suds poured by the Monk’s Cellar Brewery & Public House, but they did dish out answers to questions about the hijab (head covering women wear) and their feelings about 9/11 and the terrorist attacks that have followed."
"The dialogue, one of nearly 100 #MeetAMuslim community conversations held in churches, schools, homes and, yes, bars across America since January 2016, seeks to connect ordinary American Muslims with other Americans, said Moina Shaiq, a Pakistani American activist from Fremont. “The turnout varies from 15 to 150 people,” said Shaiq, noting that the Monk’s Cellar was her fifth event this week. “Trump becoming president has inspired us.”
A Boyle Heights clinic is trying to change amputation rates amongst diabetics.
LA Times' SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA: "Maria Valdez didn’t have a lot of options. A wound on her foot that had become infected wasn’t healing because of her diabetes. She started using a wheelchair to get around. A year and a half ago, it seemed likely she was going to lose part of her leg."
"On a recent weekday, Valdez lay on a bed in a clinic in Boyle Heights. Her doctor, Stanley Mathis, pulled off her sock and lifted her foot toward the ceiling. The heel, which once was so decayed he could see the white of the bone, was now covered in smooth skin."
"Valdez put her socks and shoes back on. She stood up and, though a little wobbly, walked down the hallway."
