Burned by wildfire, NorCal towns now fear flooding and toxic runoff from storm
LA Times, ANITA CHABRIA, SUSANNE RUST and LEILA SEIDMAN: "In the burned-out town of Greenville, deep on a Plumas County mountainside, the storms now battering Northern California are another trauma in a year of heartbreak.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Plumas County Supervisor Kevin Goss said Thursday, just off a briefing with state emergency response officials. Torrential rainfall is expected to soften the state’s drought this weekend, but the rain also brings the risk of debris flows and floods in places hit by wildfires.
“We are going to have some problems,” Goss said. “It was inevitable for this to happen this way. But we will deal with it. We are strong and resilient.”"
Amid outcry, PG&E fire prevention plan ratified by California regulators
The Chronicle, J.D. MORRIS: "California utility regulators signed off Thursday on Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s latest plan to prevent wildfires, despite numerous critics urging them not to because of the company’s dismal safety record.
PG&E’s plan includes a new risk model intended to guide investments aimed at avoiding catastrophic wildfires caused by power lines — a long-running problem for the company. The plan also includes installing more weather stations, conducting more tree trimming and upgrading more electric equipment, among other measures.
Thursday’s unanimous California Public Utilities Commission vote was technically a ratification of approval granted last month by a new branch of the state government, the Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety. The office has required PG&E to address 29 key areas for improvement in a Nov. 1 progress report that will be submitted to the CPUC."
It’s Latina Equal Pay Day: In California, Latinas face the steepest wage gap
KIM BOJÓRQUEZ, SacBee: "California advocates for working Latinas are drawing attention to Latina Equal Pay Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness of the pay wage gap encountered by Latinas.
California Latinas account for about 20% of the state population and face the most significant wage gap in the country, equal pay advocates said as they prepared for Latina Equal Pay Day on Thursday.
A 2020 report by the Los Angeles-based nonprofit, Hispanas Organized for Political Equality, found Latinas in California earn 43 cents for every dollar made by a non-Hispanic white man.
Here's why light rain is knocking out power for thousands of PG&E customers
The Chronicle, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "The light rain that’s fallen over the Bay Area this week hasn’t been much to speak of so far.
It’s dampened the pavement, caused drivers to become reacquainted with their windshield wipers and washed the dust off of raincoats.
But it’s also caused thousands of power outages for Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers — some of them following dramatic flashes or light or burning power poles — particularly in the East Bay."
This remote sliver of NW Colombia is one of the world's busiest migration corridors
LA Times, PATRICK J MCDONNELL: "The boats started arriving midmorning to this fishing town perched on Colombia’s torrid Caribbean coast. Disembarking passengers were edgy but excited to be on the move again.
They clambered onto a dock, hoisting suitcases, water jugs, camping gear and children up wooden stairs to a boisterous welcome party of smugglers, motorcycle taxi men and horse-and-cart jockeys.
A boat company employee with a plastic tank on her back showered disinfectant everywhere."
Charts of the UK's COVID surge hold lessons for how California has kept cases low
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: "As COVID-19 continues to subside in California, a part of the world that had charted a similar course for much of the pandemic is seeing a very worrisome new coronavirus surge.
The United Kingdom had seemed like it was recovering from a delta wave in July, with its coronavirus case rates converging with California’s once more. But since the beginning of September, cases have diverged dramatically, spiking in the U.K. and diving in California.
Why are things going the wrong direction in the U.K.? Experts say the country’s path now differs from California’s in several ways — some involving timing, some involving health policies, some involving the evolution of the coronavirus itself — that are fueling the new rise in cases."
LA City Council redistricting panel finalizes map without defining Raman and Krekorian districts
LA Times, DAVID ZAHNISER: "The citizen commission charged with creating new political boundaries in Los Angeles finalized its City Council map Thursday but declined to say which areas should be represented by Paul Krekorian and Nithya Raman.
The proposed map, which heads to the council at the end of next week, would significantly redesign the Krekorian and Raman districts.
The 21-member commission left it to the council to decide which of the two would be assigned to represent a new district proposed for the west San Fernando Valley, which would include Winnetka, Reseda and other neighborhoods. The other would be assigned to a district encompassing the Hollywood Hills, Griffith Park, North Hollywood and other areas."
On front lines of LA's homicide spike, these detectives race to solve mounting case loads
LA Times, KEVIN RECTOR: "When the calls about new killings come in, often after dark and on weekends, Los Angeles homicide detectives John Meneses and Jason Sharman rush out to meet the dead.
Getting to L.A.'s bloodiest crime scenes quickly is crucial, not just because clues and firsthand accounts fade fast in neighborhoods where many are transient and gang retaliation is a constant threat, but because the next killing is always around the corner — especially now.
“You try to solve them as quickly as you can,” Sharman said, “because you know you’re going to get hit again.”"
At SF Anchor Brewing, the beer's for drinking but the water's for recycling
The Chronicle, KURTIS ALEXANDER: "Anchor Brewing is San Francisco’s oldest operating brewery, producing its flagship steam beer since 1896. Now it’s making history in a new way.
The brewery will soon operate the city’s largest commercial water reuse facility. Instead of dumping out water after rinsing fermentation tanks and cleaning bottling lines, Anchor will collect, treat and recycle much of what used to go down the drain.
It’s not an undertaking to go into lightly. California is contending with one of its worst droughts in modern history, and water shortages are becoming an increasing part of day-to-day life. Getting Anchor’s water reuse system up and running is part of a broader effort by San Francisco water officials to preserve supplies by encouraging water users to recycle more and use less."
Inside the pandemic yacht boom
LA Times, ANDREA CHANG: "Ahead of his 40th birthday this past summer, Eric Dela Cruz decided to fulfill a lifelong dream and buy a yacht. With his budget, he figured it’d take no time at all.
“I thought, ‘Hey, if you can afford $1.5 million, or $2 million, it should be like this’” — said the restaurateur, snapping his fingers — “‘Bring me a boat tomorrow.’ But no.”
One of his yacht brokers, Trenton Carroll, knows this all too well. Before the pandemic, it was typical for him to have up to $10 million worth of inventory at any given time and it could take six months to make a sale, even after tacking on discounts and other incentives. Now he rarely has anything in stock; the other week, a pre-owned sailboat was snapped up, sight unseen, 12 hours after he listed it."
These NorCal cities rank in this 'best places to live' list Is it your town>
Sacramento Bee, BRIANNA TAYLOR: "Roseville and Woodland rank as two of the “Top 100 Best Places to Live in America” in a new study, beating out mogul cities like Orlando, Florida, Iowa City, Iowa, and Providence, Rhode Island.
More than 1,000 small to mid-sized cities were analyzed by Livability based on safety, affordability, economic stability, outdoor recreation, accessibility and community engagement — Roseville ranked No. 8 and Woodland ranked No. 55.
The Sacramento area has become more popular over the last few years as people flock to the state capital for housing and jobs."
In-N-Out isn't only opposed to vaccine mandates. It also supports anti-LGBTQ politics
The Chronicle, TONY BRAVO: "When San Francisco’s only In-N-Out Burger restaurant at Fisherman’s Wharf was temporarily closed by the Health Department for violating the city’s indoor vaccine mandate on Oct. 14, many were surprised.
Then we learned that in addition to the company not checking customers for proof of vaccination in San Francisco, the Environmental Health Division in Pleasant Hill has received repeated complaints about that East Bay location also failing to do vaccine checks, resulting in fines of $750.
But for anyone who’s paid attention to the ins and outs of In-N-Out over the years, news that the fast-food chain refused to do the vaccine checks required by both counties should not have been a shock. Nor should its petulant response: “We refuse to become the vaccination police for any government.” The LGBTQ community has long been wary of the company, and with good reason."
City of Sacramento plans to open homeless 'safe ground' for large camps
Saramento Bee, THERESA CLIFT: "The city of Sacramento and the Sierra Health Foundation plan to open a Safe Ground sanctioned tent encampment for the roughly 60 homeless seniors who for decades have been camping along the river near Discovery Park.
The Safe Ground would be behind the foundation’s headquarters, near Garden Highway and Gateway Oaks Drive, on a grassy riverfront lot.
The seniors, many of whom have serious health issues, have been living in a tight-knit encampment called “the island” along the riverfront, some for as long as 30 years. Many of the residents receive Social Security and some have jobs, but they have been unable to find the housing they desperately want."
Apple to require unvaxxed workers to get daily COVID tests
The Chronicle, JK DINEEN: "Unvaccinated Apple workers will have to get daily COVID-19 tests in order to enter the office, according to Bloomberg.
Under the new rules, the Cupertino-based tech giant will require that vaccinated workers get tested weekly. The daily tests will also apply to employees who refuse to disclose their vaccination status.
Bloomberg also reported that retail workers at Apple stores will be tested more regularly than is currently the case: twice a week for unvaccinated store workers and once a week for those who are vaccinated."
Alec Baldwin discharged prop gun that killed woman on movie set, sheriff says
LA Times, MEG JAMES/ANOUSHA SAKOUI: "Actor and producer Alec Baldwin fired the prop gun on a New Mexico movie set that killed the director of photography and injured the director, according to the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
Two people were shot Thursday afternoon on the set: cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42; and the film‘s director, Joel Souza, 48, according to a statement by the Sheriff’s Office.
Hutchins was airlifted to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, where she was pronounced dead, the Sheriff’s Office said."
