The 9/11 attacks, from a San Francisco view
The Chronicle's TIM O'ROURKE: "We think of the world as either pre-9/11 or post-9/11."
"The Chronicle’s front page from Sept. 12, 2001, covers the 9/11 attacks, a terrifying day seared into the memories of all old enough to have watched it unfold."
"In the worst terrorist attack in American history, hijackers used jetliners as bombs to destroy the World Trade Center in New York and to damage the Pentagon outside Washington yesterday, killing and injuring thousands of people,” a Chronicle story read. “The precisely coordinated assaults, launched from three different airports, brought the nation’s federal government, transportation system and financial markets to a halt, and left the nation stunned and fearful."
READ MORE related to September 11th, 2001: US Marks 9/11 with somber tributes and new monument to victims; Trump speaks at Pennsylvania site -- AP
California's candidates for governor remain in standoff over debate schedule as CNN shelves hosting plan
LA Times's MELANIE MASON: "With less than two months until Election Day, California's two gubernatorial contenders remained locked in a standoff over whether they'll meet to discuss the issues facing the state."
"The debate over debates marked a new chapter this week when plans for an Oct. 1 faceoff hosted by CNN fell apart, a network source confirmed on Tuesday. Democratic candidate Gavin Newsom had agreed to that debate, while Republican John Cox had not committed, expressing concerns about the event's format and moderators."
"Cox, who agreed to four other debates that Newsom declined, said last week he would participate in the CNN debate only if it focused on housing, cost of living, water and other California-specific issues, and if a California journalist was included as a moderator. Newsom's campaign said Cox was trying to limit the scope of questions asked."
On the trail with the Latino Arab American candidate trying to oust Duncan Hunter
LA Times's ROBIN ABCARIAN: "Retired FBI agent Jeff Iverson had his doubts about Ammar Campa-Najjar, the 29-year-old Democrat whose race to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter took on an unexpected importance after federal prosecutors charged Hunter and his wife with stealing $250,000 in campaign funds."
"It’s not his politics, it’s his age,” Iverson, 67, told me as we stood on the porch of a stunning homeoverlooking Lake Hodges in Escondido."
"But after listening to Campa-Najjar speak and take questions for more than an hour Sunday morning, Iverson’s doubts disappeared like so much Hunter campaign cash."
Climate investments support jobs across California
Commentary: J.R. DESHAZO in Capitol Weekly: "At this week’s Global Climate Action Summit, the focus is not on countries’ efforts to curb climate change, but on how cities, states, businesses, nonprofits and other non-national actors are building a low-carbon future from the bottom up. As the host state, California is in the spotlight. And do we have a story to tell."
"We can point to decades of leadership in energy efficiency, renewable energy, and clean transportation, capped by a new commitment to 100 percent carbon-free electricity —and a thriving economy that is now the world’s fifth biggest. Now, we have hard evidence that climate policies are helping Californians in the most practical of ways by creating jobs throughout the state."
"Researchers at the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation have completed the first-ever study of statewide employment outcomes from California Climate Investments. This is money collected through California’s iconic cap-and-trade program. Utilities, large industrial facilities, and other major sources of greenhouse gas emissions bid at auction for the right to emit carbon. These funds are invested in programs that advance low-carbon transportation, sustainable communities, clean energy, natural resource conservation, and waste diversion."
California orders NRA to stop selling 'self-defense' firearm insurance without state license
The Chronicle's LAUREN HERNANDEZ: "California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones has ordered the National Rifle Association to stop selling liability insurance in the state without a license."
"Jones issued the cease-and-desist order on Tuesday after officials with the California Department of Insurance, the agency that processes licenses and reviews insurers in the state, alleged that the NRA marketed the “Carry Guard Personal Firearms Liability Including Self-Defense Insurance Policy” via email to a mailing list of subscribers in June 2017."
"The policy states it provides “comprehensive training” and coverage for gun owners or a “resident family member of the policy holder” for bodily injury or property damage with a legally possessed firearm while engaged in “an act of self-defense,” according to the order."
Castro Valley man allegedly cursed Trump, tried to stab GOP congressional candidate
The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY: "A Castro Valley man shouting profanities about President Trump attacked a Republican congressional candidate who was working an election booth at a town festival, threatening him and trying to stab him with a switchblade, authorities and the candidate said Tuesday."
"Farzad Vincent Fazeli, 35, was jailed after the alleged Sunday attack on Rudy Peters at the Castro Valley Fall Festival. Alameda County prosecutors charged Fazeli on Tuesday with a felony count of making criminal threats and misdemeanor counts of exhibiting a deadly weapon and possessing a switchblade."
"No one was seriously injured. In an interview, Peters said he had never been concerned about his safety prior to Sunday, though his wife has often warned him to be careful."
Sacramento judge strikes down 95-year-old California ban on handgun advertising signs
Sacramento Bee's SAM STANTON: "A federal judge in Sacramento has overturned a 95-year-old state law that banned firearms dealers from using images of handguns on their storefronts as advertising to sell such weapons."
"The law blocked dealers from using such images but allowed them to use signs featuring shotguns or rifles, something state lawyers argued was in place to stop impulsive individuals from purchasing a handgun and using it in a suicide or crime."
"U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley disagreed, ruling in an order filed Tuesday that the law violates the U.S. Constitution."
Evacuations lifted, roads opened after firefighters suppress Marin County blaze
The Chronicle's GWENDOLYN WU: "Firefighters lifted evacuation orders in Marin County after getting the upper hand Tuesday on the Irving Fire burning in Samuel P. Taylor State Park."
"The blaze burned 152 acres and was 45 percent contained by Tuesday night, according to the Marin County Fire Department. Earlier estimates that had the fire at 115 acres were incorrect, officials said."
"The fire broke out in steep terrain Monday night, triggering evacuations nearby. Two people stayed in the Lagunitas School evacuation center that night, while several others slept in their cars or campers in the school’s parking lot, according to the Red Cross."
SF man's tweetstorm over stolen van leads to new state law
The Chronicle's MELODY GUTIERREZ: "Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Tuesday inspired by a drama-filled tweetstorm over a stolen rental car."
"AB2620 by Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco, shortens the time a rental company must wait before turning on a car’s GPS location feature. Ting proposed the bill in response to a series of tweets in February by Sharky Laguana that quickly went viral."
"Laguana, owner of the San Francisco rental van company Bandago, described in 37 tweets how one of his vans had been stolen, but that he had been barred from turning on its GPS until it had been overdue for a week."
UC Berkeley law looks to -- mostly -- exorcise association with racist figure
The Chronicle's NANETTE ASIMOV: "The legacy of John Boalt, a 19th century lawyer who not only supported the infamous Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 but inspired it, may soon be removed — mostly — from the UC Berkeley School of Law."
"The school has been associated with the racist figure for more than 100 years."
"His principal public legacy is ... one of racism and bigotry,” wrote a law school committee that is urging the Berkeley law school to banish the name from nearly every area in which the University of California’s flagship law school now relies on it: Boalt Hall instructional wing; Boalt Hall Alumni Association; Boalt Hall Fund; Boalt Hall Student Association; Boalt Environmental Law Society; and, perhaps most incongruously, the Boalt Hall Committee on Human Rights. Even the school’s Facebook page is called “UC Berkeley School of Law, Boalt Hall.”
READ MORE related to Education: Should school start later? Sleepy kids, logistics at odds as Gov. Brown weighs legislation -- The Chronicle's ASHLEY MCBRIDE
LA County approves temporary rent stabilization policy
LA Times's NINA AGRAWAL: "In an effort to relieve pressure on L.A. County renters, the Board of Supervisors approved a temporary measure Tuesday that would limit rent increases in unincorporated areas to 3% annually and allow landlords to evict tenants only with justification."
Sacramento Bee's ANITA CHABRIA/MARCOS BRETON: "Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones clashed with members of the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday as they debated how to handle Jones’ unilateral ouster of the county-hired department watchdog, vowing there was no compromise to be had that would allow Inspector General Rick Braziel to remain in his oversight role."
"Any ongoing dialogue about renewing his contract is just silly,” Jones told the Board. “You can certainly renew his contract and pay him to do nothing, but I’m not sure how you can justify it."
"The debate comes weeks after Jones locked Braziel out of department facilities and ended his access to personnel and records, effectively blocking Braziel’s ability to provide oversight. The lockout came days after Braziel released a report critical of the May 2017 fatal shooting of an emotionally troubled African American man, Mikel McIntyre, along Highway 50 in Rancho Cordova."
READ MORE related to Prisons & Public Safety: SF supervisors OK 2 new police commissioners after discussion on profiling -- The Chronicle's TRISHA THADANI
America's malls are dying. Owners are hoping VR and fitness centers will save them
LA Times's RONALD D WHITE: "A row of old kitchen equipment is all that remains of the Red Robin restaurant that left the Irvine Spectrum Center in June. Now, the air conditioning cools powerful computers, high-tech headsets and dozens of high-definition screens."
"The traditional shopping mall menu of burgers and brews has made way for “Terminator Salvation: Fight for the Future,” a virtual reality attraction based on the “Terminator” film franchise. And since the late-August opening, it has attracted visitors who said they hadn’t been to a mall in months."
Trump calls storm response in Puerto Rico 'incredibly successful' -- recent studies show nearly 3,000 died
AP: "With a powerful hurricane bearing down on the southeast coast, President Trump on Tuesday turned attention back to the federal government's response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico a year ago, deeming it "incredibly successful" even though a recent federal report found that nearly 3,000 people died."
"The administration's efforts in Puerto Rico received widespread criticism. But after visiting the island last September, Trump said that Puerto Ricans were fortunate that the storm did not yield a catastrophe akin to the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf Coast."
"All told, about 1,800 people died in that 2005 storm. Puerto Rico's governor last month raised the U.S. territory's official death toll from Hurricane Maria from 64 to 2,975. The storm is also estimated to have caused $100 billion in damage."
Jimmy Carter cautions Dems not to scare off moderates
AP's BILL BARROW: "Former President Jimmy Carter sees little hope for the U.S. to change its human rights and environmental policies as long as Donald Trump is in the White House, but he has a warning for his fellow Democrats looking to oust the current administration: Don't go too far to the left."
"Independents need to know they can invest their vote in the Democratic Party," Carter said Tuesday during his annual report at his post-presidential center and library in Atlanta, where he offered caution about the political consequences should Democrats "move to a very liberal program, like universal health care."
"That's delicate — and, Carter acknowledged, even contradictory — advice coming from the 93-year-old former president, and it underscores the complicated political calculations for Democrats as they prepare for the November midterms and look ahead to the 2020 presidential election."
