PG&E estimates loss of power for 150K amid high-risk conditions
Sacramento Bee's MITCHEL BOBO: "Thousands of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers are expected to lose power Wednesday morning through the early afternoon, depending on weather conditions."
"During a news conference Tuesday, PG&E detailed plans for the latest round of its Public Safety Power Shutoffs. The utility followed up in a 9 p.m. news release to say about 150,000 customers across 18 counties would be affected, down from the estimate of 181,000 customers earlier in the day. Among local counties impacted are Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Solano, Yolo and Yuba."
"The outages combine with red-flag warnings from the National Weather Service for winds that could reach 55 mph and low humidity for Northern Sacramento Valley, and North and East Bay areas."
READ MORE related to Blackouts: Map of current PG&E power outages in the Sacramento region -- Sacramento Bee's AARON ALBRIGHT/NATHANIEL LEVINE; PG&E now says over 300K customers could lose power in Wednesday blackout -- Sacramento Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH; PG&E shrinks predicted outages; parts of North Bay will still see blackouts -- The Chronicle's CAROLYN SAID
California finds widespread water contamination of ‘forever chemicals’
From the LAT's ANNA M. PHILLIPS and ANTHONY PESCE: "Nearly 300 drinking water wells and other water sources in California have traces of toxic chemicals linked to cancer, new state testing has found."
"Testing conducted this year of more than 600 wells across the state revealed pockets of contamination, where chemicals widely used for decades in manufacturing and household goods have seeped into the public’s water supply. An analysis by the Los Angeles Times found that within this class of chemicals, called perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, the two most common compounds were detected in 86 water systems that serve up to 9 million Californians."
"State officials released the water quality results on Monday, the first step in what’s likely to be a years-long effort to track the scale of the contamination and pinpoint its sources. Only a small fraction of California’s thousands of drinking water wells were tested in this initial study. Officials said they planned to examine many more, but have not committed to future statewide testing."
Season’s first significant rain brings flash flood watches to Southern California
From the LAT's PAUL DUGINSKI: "Widespread moderate to locally heavy rain is expected across Southern California through Wednesday, prompting the National Weather Service to issue flash flood watches for large portions of the region."
"A flash flood watch means that conditions may develop that could lead to flash flooding."
"A cold low-pressure system arriving from the north will produce the first significant precipitation of the season as it moves directly over the Southland on Wednesday morning and Wednesday afternoon. Flash flood watches include the mountains, coast and valleys of San Diego County, as well as large parts of the Inland Empire."
Paradise couple claims Camp Fire destroyed their $280M emerald. PG&E wants proof
Sacramento Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH: "PG&E’s lawyers have requested proof — understandably, a whole lot of proof — after a married couple claimed the 2018 Camp Fire destroyed a massive $280 million emerald they’d been keeping in their Paradise home."
"The so-called “Beleza Emerald” is described in court documents as a 500-pound “solid block of black schist and quartz with green crystals.” PG&E’s attorneys write that the alleged owners, in an insurance claim filed July 15 to Pacific Gas and Electric Co., say the state’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire in recorded history damaged or destroyed their precious gem as it sat in their home on Edgewood Lane in Paradise."
"That item was among several termed “suspicious” by lawyers for PG&E and its debtors in a court filing last Friday, an effort to lower the estimate on its financial liability for the disaster. The beleaguered utility declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year and remains entrenched in legal battles as it processes tens of thousands of insurance claims related to the devastating November 2018 Camp Fire, which killed 85 people and for which PG&E has been found liable."
Fracking, oil wells to get more scrutiny under new rules from Gavin Newsom
Sacramento Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday announced a crackdown on fracking projects and a moratorium on new oil wells that use high-pressure steam."
"Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, involves shooting a high-pressure stream of water or another substance into rock to extract oil or gas."
"Moving forward, pending applications for fracking projects will be reviewed by scientists at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the Newsom administration’s Department of Conservation announced."
PG&E's latest attempt to weaken strict fire liability has its day in court
The Chronicle's J.D. MORRIS: "Pacific Gas and Electric Co. on Tuesday tried to persuade the judge overseeing its bankruptcy case to free the utility from a legal doctrine that could greatly increase how much money it pays because of the 2017 and 2018 wildfires."
"U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Dennis Montali appeared skeptical while a lawyer for PG&E argued against the doctrine, known as inverse condemnation, under which the company can be forced to pay for damage caused by its equipment even when it is not negligent."
"But Montali did not make a decision at a hearing in San Francisco, instead saying he would aim to release a ruling soon."
Injured California workers who turn to workers' who turn to workers' comp are waiting months for medical reviews
Sacramento Bee's WES VENTEICHER: "The California state agency responsible for making sure workers get treatment after injuries on the job is ignoring conditions that delay care and impair quality in the system, according to an audit published Tuesday."
"When injured workers have disputes with their employers over things such as whether work caused their injuries, the extent of their injuries and the treatment required, they can request a review from a doctor through the Division of Workers’ Compensation, which is part of Department of Industrial Relations."
"Many workers who have requested reviews in recent years have met with months-long delays, according to Auditor Elaine Howle’s report."
Buttigieg, leading in mostly white Iowa, struggles in diverse California
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Pete Buttigieg has risen to the top of the Democratic presidential polls in Iowa, where 90% of the population is white. But he’s lagging in California, in part because he’s having difficulty winning over Latinos and African Americans, who make up a large chunk of the Democratic electorate in the country’s biggest state."
"Buttigieg is riding a mini-wave of momentum after a recent Des Moines Register/CNN poll showed him as the favorite of 25% of likely voters in the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses, nearly triple his showing from a September survey. In the RealClearPolitics aggregation of Iowa polls, Buttigieg now has a narrow lead on Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and former Vice President Joe Biden."
"Eric Kingsley, a delegate at the California Democratic Party’s convention over the weekend in Long Beach who watched Buttigieg at an event there, said the South Bend, Ind., mayor “gives those speeches like an Aaron Sorkin character would.” It’s a common theme among Democrats who pine for a measured, moderate candidate out of Sorkin’s Clinton-era show “The West Wing” to take on President Trump."
Bottom-trawling fishing severely restricted off West Coast starting in January
The Chronicle's PETER FIMRITE: "The most extensive ban on bottom trawling — dragging weighted nets on the seafloor — became law Tuesday after fishing groups and environmentalists agreed to protect more than 140,000 square miles of seafloor habitat along the West Coast, including beds of lush coral around the Farallon Islands."
"The new regulations, which will take effect Jan. 1 after being published in the Federal Register on Tuesday, will restrict fishing over 90% of the seafloor along the coast from Canada to Mexico, the largest contiguous area protected from bottom trawling in the world."
"At the same time, about 3,000 square miles of sandy seafloor previously closed to fishing under the 2002 Rockfish Conservation Area rules were reopened after it was determined that rockfish populations had recovered in those areas."
Bay Area home to 55 of the nation's 125 most expensive ZIP codes
The Chronicle's KATHLEEN PENDER: "Of the nation’s 125 most expensive ZIP codes for home-sale prices this year, 13 are in San Francisco (the most of any city), 55 are in the Bay Area and 91 are in California, according to a Chronicle analysis of an annual ranking by real estate website PropertyShark."
"Atherton’s 94027 had the highest median price for the third year in a row, hitting $7.05 million in the first 10 months of the year, up 5.2% from $6.7 million last year. Palo Alto’s 94301 ranked seventh on this year’s list with a median sales price of $3.52 million; that’s down 6.2% from last year when it ranked sixth at $3.76 million."
"San Francisco’s top 13 ZIPs showed up in all four quadrants of the city, although only one — 94110, which includes the Mission and Bernal Heights — is in the southeast corner."
Are Devin Nunes and Donald Trump coordinating impeachment defense?
Sacramento Bee's KATE IRBY/FRANCESCA CHAMBERS: "Rep. Devin Nunes hammered two of President Donald Trump’s favorite targets at Tuesday morning’s impeachment hearing: the media and the unidentified whistleblower who thrust the president’s July phone call with the Ukranian president into the national spotlight."
"Nunes, R-Tulare, used almost the entirety of his opening statement for the testimonies of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, director for European affairs for the National Security Council, and Jennifer Williams, a special adviser to Vice President Mike Pence overseeing Ukraine issues, to sharply criticize the media."
"Nunes said most media outlets are the “puppets” of Democrats, and Democrats are media’s “masters."
