Rising temperatures in store for Bay Area on Wednesday and Thursday
Mercury News, AUSTIN TURNER: "Though November is less than two weeks away, the Bay Area hasn’t seen the last of 90-degree weather just yet, according to the National Weather Service.
High temperatures approaching 90 degrees were forecast in several cities across the region for Wednesday, including 91 in San Jose, 90 in Concord, 88 in Oakland, 89 in Livermore, 86 in Santa Cruz, 89 in Palo Alto and 86 in San Francisco."
Newsom’s China trip to include Hong Kong, Tesla stops
Politico, BLANCA BEGERT: "Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will tour China next week on a climate-focused trip that will include stops at a Shanghai Tesla factory and Hong Kong University, his administration announced Tuesday.
The trip takes place against a backdrop of chilly U.S.-China relations, although tensions have thawed somewhat in recent weeks with visits by Secretary of State Antony Blinken and a congressional delegation led by Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). President Joe Biden is also hoping to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next month at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco.
Despite diplomatic tension, Newsom seeks to promote Chinese cooperation on climate change
LA Times, HAYLEY SMITH, TONY BRISCOE, LAUREL ROSENHALL: "As rising fossil fuel emissions continue to push global temperatures to record highs, California Gov. Gavin Newsom will head to China this month to meet with officials on such environmental imperatives as offshore wind power, air pollution reduction and the transition to fully electric vehicles, according to the governor’s staff.
The visit, which is likely to boost Newsom’s reputation as a national leader in climate policy, comes at a time of increasing economic and military tension between Washington and Beijing."
Where California’s leading Senate candidates stand on Israel
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "Rep. Adam Schiff is all out for Israel in its war with Hamas: “There is no ‘both sides’ to this attack” and the U.S. must provide Israel with the funding it needs, he said in a statement. Rep. Barbara Lee has called for a cease-fire and for both sides to follow international law. Rep. Katie Porter, the third Democratic House member contending for California’s Senate seat, has been somewhere in the middle, saying she stands with Israel while mourning deaths on both sides.
But Porter, D-Irvine, may be changing her stance as the candidates prepare for the primary election in March to choose a successor to the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein."
Biden arrives in Israel on crisis-diplomacy mission rattled by horrific Gaza hospital blast
LA Times, TRACY WILKINSON, COURTNEY SUBRAMANIAN: "President Biden arrived in the Middle East on Wednesday on a high-stakes mission to ease the Palestinian humanitarian crisis and reiterate support for Israel — a trip that went ahead even after the White House announced the cancellation of meetings with key Arab leaders following a massive blast at a Gaza Strip hospital in which hundreds of people were killed.
Unrelenting violence, death and destruction cast an ominous pall over Biden’s trip to Israel, heightened the perilous security situation on the ground and complicated the president’s precarious balancing act between diplomacy and politics, probably scuttling the first steps toward easing the crisis."
U.S. allies in the Middle East try to stake out a middle ground
LA Times, TRACY WILKINSON: "Major Arab allies of the United States say they do not support Hamas or its brutal assault on Israel but that they also oppose the U.S. agenda that unreservedly backs Israel in a massive counteroffensive likely to cost the lives of thousands of Palestinian civilians.
In Cairo this week, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi told U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken that the Israeli response already “has gone beyond self-defense” and reached the level of the “collective punishment” — the punishment of a population for the crimes of a few and a war crime under the Geneva Conventions.
'Jews and allies' at S.F. vigil demand end to Israel's bombing of Gaza
The Chronicle, JORDAN PARKER: "As the sun set on chilly San Francisco Tuesday, hundreds of pro-Palestine supporters gathered in Dolores Park for a candlelight vigil to honor the lives lost in Gaza since last week’s attack by Hamas militants on Israeli citizens that sparked a war and flung the country into chaos.
The event was organized by Jewish Voice For Peace Bay Area, a progressive Jewish anti-Zionist organization that has demanded Palestinian liberation from Israeli military control.
“At Jewish Voice For Peace, we are Jews and allies that understand that violence will only end when the root causes of violence come to an end, which is Israel’s brutal occupation of the Palestinian people,” said Ellen Brotsky, a member of JVP Bay Area. “We stand for the right of the Palestinian people to return to their homes.”
Berkeley man was on phone with mom in Israel as Hamas attacked. Here’s how she escaped
The Chronicle, MATTHIAS GAFNI: "The video call was urgent but began with relative calm. Gabriel Gliksman spoke to his mother, Jacqueline Gliksman, from his Berkeley home as she sat in the safe room of her home on her Israeli kibbutz. The mother and son had spoken before during rocket attacks.
But then the pair heard gunshots coming from near her property, about a mile and a half from the Gaza border. Jacqueline told her son she could hear yells of “Allahu akbar,” Arabic for “God is great.”"
Seismic retrofits can help secure California’s future (OPINION)
Capitol Weekly, JANIELE MAFFEI: "California, known for its picturesque landscapes, technological innovations, and diverse culture, is also synonymous with a more dire and costly geological phenomenon – earthquakes. The state is projected to lose an average of $9.6 billion a year from earthquake damage according to a report issued earlier this year from the U.S. Geological Survey and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. One of the primary causes for the 157% increase in Annualized Earthquake Loss (AEL) from the 2017 estimate are older structures – including many homes which are not retrofitted to withstand violent shaking.
This data underscores the importance of being prepared. The Golden State lies atop the Pacific Ring of Fire, making it one of the most seismically active regions in the world. Our state shoulders nearly 2/3 of the nation’s earthquake risk. While we can’t control the earth’s movements, we can take proactive steps to mitigate the devasting impact of earthquakes. Strengthening your home by securing its foundation is a wise action to help prevent injury and costly damage."
California’s fall foliage is ‘very vibrant’ this year. Here’s where to see it
The Chronicle, ANTHONY EDWARDS: "As California’s October weather whiplash continues, deciduous trees are feeling the changing of the seasons.
Leaves are turning yellow, orange and red across the Sierra Nevada as fall foliage season begins. Some experts predict colors will be exceptionally vibrant through November, as a parade of wet storms last winter and spring provided healthy conditions for trees after years of drought."
California cardrooms playing table games legally for decades (OP-ED)
Capitol Weekly, KYLE KIRKLAND: "California’s cardroom industry has been operating lawfully in the state for over 100 years. Many California communities rely on cardroom tax revenues to provide public safety, parks, recreation programs, senior services and housing programs, and improve the quality of life for residents. Cardrooms provide thousands of stable, well-paying jobs at which Californians can build careers and provide for their families.
Despite tribal allegations to the contrary, player-dealer games offered in California cardrooms are not banked games. The player-dealer games conducted within cardrooms have been approved for decades by numerous California attorneys general, including current Vice President Kamala Harris and former Governor Jerry Brown. Four Courts of Appeal* have confirmed the lawfulness of these games."
Campus tour guides set the tone for college prospects' first impressions
EdSource, JAVIER HERNANDEZ: "“First impressions are everything,” according to Sonoma State University tour guide Jennifer Garcia. “For a while, I didn’t really think about how important my first impression impacts tour guests.”
As a first line of engagement for colleges, a campus tour can be a game-changer for a student who is deciding between schools. Everything a tour guide says can impact the school, and ultimately it makes a difference for a university trying to maintain or increase its enrollment. An enthusiastic tour guide can sway students and families to that institution, while a good tour can confirm an already positive impression."
Elon Musk said he’d give $100,000 to oust Dean Preston. He hasn’t
The Chronicle, CHRISTIAN LEONARD: "Elon Musk hasn’t donated the $100,000 he pledged last month to defeat Supervisor Dean Preston’s reelection bid — money the opposition campaign says it wouldn’t accept anyway.
After Garry Tan, CEO of Y Combinator, said he was giving $50,000 to the political action committee opposing the supervisor, Musk announced in a social media post that he would double that donation."
Mayor Breed proposes a vote on removing taxes for office conversions in S.F.
The Chronicle, JK DINEEN: "Mayor London Breed is proposing a ballot measure that would waive the city’s transfer tax on buildings that have been converted from office to residential, a move that she hopes will help revitalize downtown San Francisco by incentivizing the adaptive reuse of vacant commercial properties.
The measure, which will be placed on the March 2024 ballot, would mean that landlords who convert their buildings to housing could sell the property without paying the transfer 6% tax rate, which currently applies to real estate transactions over $25 million. The waiver would apply to conversion projects that win approval by the end of 2029, and developers would have to line up building permits within three years of approval."
Bribery case prompts S.F. to review applications for neighborhood grant program
The Chronicle, ST. JOHN BARNED-SMITH: "San Francisco officials will re-evaluate applications for the city’s Community Challenge Grant Program that funds neighborhood improvement projects after its director was charged in August with bribery and other crimes, city officials said Tuesday.
The City Controller’s Office and the City Administrator made the announcement as they released a report reviewing the application process. The grant program came under scrutiny after its director, Lanita Henriquez and city contractor Dwayne Jones were charged with felonies in August in connection with the wide-ranging City Hall corruption probe."
S.F. must allow people held in San Bruno jail time outdoors, judge rules
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "San Francisco has violated the rights of people held at its jail in San Bruno by keeping them indoors all day and must allow some of them at least 15 minutes a day of access to sunlight, a federal magistrate ruled Tuesday.
The 768-bed jail holds men who are held before trial, some for many years. Other than those held in solitary confinement, those held at the jail were allowed out of their cells for much of the day before the start of the pandemic, and had access to an indoor gym but could not go outdoors for exercise. Their out-of-cell time was restricted to an hour a day in 2020 and 2½ hours a day last year to prevent the spread of COVID-19."
