PG&E shuts off power to thousands in Northern California as red flag warning raises fire concerns
The Chronicle's MALIYA ELLIS: "Pacific Gas and Electric Co. began shutting off power to some customers in Northern California on Thursday afternoon in an effort to curb wildfire risk amid dry weather conditions and strong winds.
Approximately 13,000 customers had lost power as of 8 p.m. Thursday, across 12 counties including Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Solano and Sonoma in the Bay Area, according to PG&E. The utility company first shut off power to customers in parts of Colusa, Glenn, Tehama and Shasta counties around 12:40 p.m. PG&E could cut power to portions of 12 additional counties and five tribal areas. Around 20,000 customers in total could temporarily lose power, PG&E said Thursday."
California braces for a clash of seasons: Fire warnings, freeze alerts and fierce winds
The Chronicle's GREG PORTER: "A clash of seasons is unfolding across California. A bevy of weather advisories span the state on Friday, including fire weather warnings in the Central Valley and Bay Area, freeze warnings for the Sierra Nevada and Northern California mountains, and wind advisories for Southern California’s deserts.
Snow fell across parts of the Sierra on Thursday, right as the fall foliage season is in full swing and the valleys prepare for several days of high fire danger."
Kamala Harris says Trump economic plan will cost middle class households $4,000. Is she correct?
Sacramento Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Kamala Harris says it over and over—Donald Trump is pushing a plan that “has been estimated to cost a typical American family $4,000 per year.”
The vice president is referring to her opponent’s plan to increase tariffs, which she says in her 82-page economic plan is “in effect a national sales tax on all products used by everyday families that are imported, from groceries to clothes to gas to prescription drugs.”"
Harris has been called ‘soft’ and ‘tough’ on crime. What does her record show?
LAT's KEVIN RECTOR: "At every step of her political career, Kamala Harris has faced the same question: What sort of prosecutor was she?
As a former San Francisco district attorney and California attorney general, the vice president has been called both “soft” and “tough” on crime. She has been labeled a progressive and a moderate. At times, she and her supporters have added to the debate by leaning into one narrative or the other, depending on the office she sought."
Millions of Latino evangelicals listen to this Sacramento pastor — and he backs Donald Trump
Sacramento Bee's MATHEW MIRANDA: "Isaias Calero spent years attending churches in the U.S. trying to reach spiritual fulfillment.
“I felt like something was missing,” said Calero, an immigrant from Honduras. “I wasn’t where I was supposed to be.”"
Your guide to Proposition 33: Effort to expand rent control
LAT's ANDREW KHOURI: "Proposition 33 would give local jurisdictions in California vastly more power to regulate rents, allowing them to put price caps on homes and situations where they currently cannot.
At the moment, state law limits rent increases for tenants in apartments and corporate-owned single-family homes that are older than 15 years. The cap is set at 5% plus inflation, with a maximum increase of 10%."
Did Prop 47 increase crime in California? A major study says yes, but with a caveat
The Chronicle's DANIELLE ECHEVERRIA: "Proposition 47, which downgraded certain offenses from felonies to misdemeanors in 2014, led to increased property crime after it passed – but not as much as the pandemic did.
That’s according to a recent in-depth study that comes out as Californians prepare to vote on Proposition 36, a controversial attempt to roll back Prop 47’s reforms amid concerns that the changes led to a rise in crime in the state."
Negotiating measures to be withdrawn from the ballot
Capitol Weekly's CHRIS MICHELI: "In the 2014 California Legislative Session, then-State Senator Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento) authored Senate Bill 1253, which became Chapter 697 when the Governor signed the bill on September 27. SB 1253 amended California Elections Code Sections 9, 101, 9002, 9004, 9005, 9014, 9030, 9031, 9033, 9034, 9051, 9082.7, 9094.5, 9604, and 18621.
Among its many provisions are:"
Torrance measure asks voters to cap City Council’s salary. It would actually raise members’ pay more than 2,000%
LAT's ANGIE ORELLANA HERNANDEZ: "Tucked into an anti-corruption measure on the Nov. 5 ballot in Torrance is a provision that would vastly increase pay for the city’s mayor and council members, stirring criticism from some residents who say city leaders have misled the public with a self-serving proposal.
Measure TC would amend the City Charter with new conflict-of-interest rules and a requirement for elected officials to take ethics training. But it also calls for “restricting compensation for members of the City Council to no more than the minimum wage of the State of California, which is currently $16 per hour.” If passed, the measure would actually raise the City Council’s pay by 2,673%, to $33,280 a year."
Another refinery shuts down in California. What happens to gas prices?
LAT's RUSS MITCHELL: "California’s attempt to manage a smooth transition away from gasoline just got roughed up with this week’s decision by Phillips 66 to shutter its refinery in Wilmington next year, wiping out more than 8% of the state’s crude oil processing capacity.
The closure is likely to increase California’s already high prices at the gas pump, given that much of the replacement gasoline will be shipped in by ocean vessel, analysts say."
S.F. schools in crisis: SFUSD superintendent set to resign
The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "San Francisco schools superintendent Matt Wayne is expected to resign Friday, ending weeks of conjecture and debate over his ability to lead the district through a fiscal crisis and planned school closures.
The city’s school board posted a notice for an emergency meeting at 5 p.m. Friday to vote in closed session on what sources said was a separation agreement tied to Wayne’s departure."
Nature’s classroom: Why preschoolers need more time outdoors
EdSource's KAREN D'SOUZA: "At a forest school, the roof is the bright blue sky, a cluster of ladybugs flying through the air can turn into a science lesson and the fog lingering on your face becomes an example of the water cycle.
Learning amid the leaves is the core of the curriculum in outdoor early learning programs, which often focus on children aged 3 to 5. Mother Nature provides the classroom where the littlest learners can dig up snake skins, bury treasure maps and climb trees, steeping in the myriad wonders of life."
First salmon swims all the way to Oregon after historic California dam removal
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "The massive dam-removal project on the Klamath River began living up to its lofty goal of improving fish passage this week when at least one salmon was observed swimming upriver past the sites of four former dams that had long blocked fish.
Wildlife officials said Thursday that a chinook salmon was spotted a day earlier at Spencer Creek in Oregon, suggesting that salmon have begun their much anticipated return to their historical waters above all of the demolished dams. Chinook salmon were also seen this week in a California creek above the site of the first of the former dams, where they’re believed to have started spawning in the newly opened-up habitat."
Meta lays off workers in multiple divisions, reportedly fires dozens over meal credit violations
The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI: "Meta has implemented layoffs across several divisions, the company confirmed Thursday. Additionally, the Menlo Park tech giant has reportedly terminated two dozen employees for misusing their $25 daily meal credits to purchase household items.
A Meta spokesperson explained that the layoffs affecting Instagram, WhatsApp and Reality Labs are aligned with the company’s “long-term strategic goals” and that affected employees are encouraged to apply for other available positions."
‘Amazing, unreal’: Most expensive city park in S.F. history soon to be unveiled
The Chronicle's SAM WHITING: "A security fence in place for decades along the Bayview-Hunters Point shoreline will come down Saturday to reveal the dramatic transformation of a derelict boatyard into the most expensive city-owned park in San Francisco history.
A preview this week provided a close-up look at 900 Innes Park, which will eventually be the centerpiece of a chain of parks and easements linking 1.7 miles of southeastern San Francisco shoreline and 64 acres of open space."
Corporate Real Estate Is Holding Us Hostage. Proposition 33 Is Our Chance to Fight Back (OP-ED)
MICHAEL WEINSTEIN in Capitol Weekly: "The fact that the rent is too damn high is self-evident. Even if you are not suffering yourself, you likely have a loved one who is struggling to find affordable housing.
Previous generations typically paid less than 25% of their income on rent, but today, millions pay twice that percentage to stay housed. Today, more than half of Californians are considered “rent-burdened,” with sky-high rents eating up at least 30 percent of their monthly income. Our state has the most rent-burdened tenants in the entire country, and low-income communities are feeling the weight of the world crashing down on them. In many neighborhoods, rents are eating up 50 percent of all income—or worse."
Former CHP captain arrested in Folsom on suspicion of workers compensation fraud, perjury
Sacramento Bee's ISHANI DESAI: "A former California Highway Patrol captain was arrested Thursday on suspicion of filing fake worker’s compensation claims and falsifying paperwork submitted to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Matthew Stover, 50, was arrested after a warrant was issued by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office stemming from an investigation conducted by the CHP’s workers’ compensation fraud investigations unit. The employee who worked for 22 years with the CHP was arrested without incident in Folsom, the CHP said."
