Updating . .   

Firefighters battle to gain on blazes across Northern California -- Even as California’s largest-ever wildfire, the Mendocino Complex, neared full containment Sunday, a new wildfire near Lake Berryessa spread overnight and the Delta Fire near Shasta Lake raged on both sides of Interstate 5, keeping the state’s main transportation artery closed. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/9/18

Megafires: Fighting fire with fire could reduce destructive, out of control blazes -- The answer to the problem of California’s catastrophic megafires can be found in the ashes of this forest, where clusters of fragrant sugar pines stand strong, elegant and healthy. Bark is charred. Logs are charcoal. But a strategy of selective logging, followed by a mannerly “prescribed burn,” has created a forest as clean and safe as a cathedral. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/9/18

Angry activists plan to crash Jerry Brown’s San Francisco climate summit -- Well-financed and well-organized eco-activists are planning to put the squeeze on Gov. Jerry Brown during his big San Francisco climate change conference this week — and mass demonstrations and civil disobedience are on the agenda. Matier & Ross in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/9/18

Campaign donors, staffers for L.A. Councilwoman Nury Martinez were summoned to L.A. County grand jury -- Three years ago, federal prosecutors issued subpoenas to several of Los Angeles City Councilwoman Nury Martinez’s aides, instructing them to appear before a federal grand jury to discuss her 2015 re-election campaign. David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/9/18

Myers: Here's how California lawmakers tried to overrule the courts in the legislative session's final hours -- Gov. Jerry Brown is likely to soon sign a bill that attempts to cancel a $331-million court ruling against the state, legislation that looks a lot like two branches of California’s government telling the third to take a hike. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/9/18

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning

Fire explodes in Napa County, residents near Lake Berryessa ordered to leave -- A wildfire raging in northern Napa County exploded Saturday evening to 1,700 acres, according to Cal Fire, and continued to force the evacuation of residents from homes near the northwestern edge of Lake Berryessa. The Snell fire is burning near Butts Canyon and Snell Valley roads, about 7 miles southeast of Middletown. It was 10 percent contained on Saturday night. J.D. Morris and Robert Digitale in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat Cassie Dickman in the Sacramento Bee$ David DeBolt in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/9/18

Dunsmuir residents alert and prepped to go as raging Delta Fire tops 40,000 acres -- The Delta Fire, the latest wildfire to chew through heavy brush and terrain in Shasta County, has grown to more than 63 square miles since it ignited Wednesday and continues to burn without containment, prompting mandatory evacuations in both Trinity and Shasta counties and evacuation warnings in Siskiyou County. Cassie Dickman and Daniel Hunt in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/9/18

Fire updates: What we know about the Delta, Hirz and Kerlin blazes -- Firefighters are battling the Delta, Hirz, and Kerlin fires, which are cutting across county lines and forcing more evacuations in Shasta, Trinity and Siskiyou counties. While firefighters are making progress on the Hirz Fire, the Delta and Kerlin fires, which broke out within a day of each other, are still burning out of control. Amber Sandhu in the Redding Record Searchlight -- 9/9/18

California wildfires: Updates on fires and where containment is on major blazes -- Firefighters are battling a new round of wildfires in California even as battles against earlier fires continue to wind down. Don Sweeney and Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/9/18

Homes in rural enclaves offer stunning views – and severe fire risk. Should they be built? -- Not long after she bought her home in the grassy hills of western Stanislaus County, Julie Davis watched as a helicopter filled buckets of water from a nearby pond and attacked a windswept wildfire burning just outside her community. Ryan Lillis and Ken Carlson in the Modesto Bee -- 9/9/18

California has ended money bail. Who will bail out the industry? -- Under the glare of neon signs and unforgiving fluorescent office lights, bail agents are spending time processing a new California law signed just days ago by Gov. Jerry Brown that could decimate their industry. Jazmine Ulloa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/9/18

As E-scooter injuries come ‘fast and furious,’ California could soon end helmet law -- In California, there’s a bill on Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk that would allow electric scooter riders to skip wearing a helmet. Meanwhile, some physicians are increasingly alarmed about the danger of the scooters. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/9/18

Thousands march in Rise for Climate demonstration in San Francisco -- Thousands of climate justice advocates, community organizers and Bay Area residents took to the streets Saturday in a 2-mile march from Embarcadero Plaza to the Civic Center as part of a worldwide demonstration known as the Rise for Climate, Jobs and Justice. Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Michelle Wiley, Sonja Hutson KQED -- 9/9/18

From San Diego to Oceanside, thousands call for action on climate change in marches -- Waving signs and chanting, about 2,000 people protested in downtown San Diego Saturday as part of an international call for government leaders to combat climate change more aggressively. John Wilkens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/9/18

Long Beach resident held political prisoner for years in Cambodia safely returns to U.S. -- It was a moment Jamie Meach thought would never come. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/9/18

Walters: Would more money close our education gap? -- Unfortunately, nationwide academic tests tell us that California’s 6 million K-12 school students rank near the bottom in achievement vis-à-vis those in other states. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 9/9/18

Obama, in Anaheim to stump for Democrats, warns, ‘If we don’t step up, things can get worse’ -- Former President Barack Obama plunged headfirst into the fight for the midterm election on Saturday in Anaheim, lending his political might to seven Democratic congressional candidates running in key GOP-held districts, while warning voters of the risks of keeping Republicans in power. Jordan Graham in the Orange County Register Elliot Spagat Associated Press -- 9/9/18

Abcarian: Barack Obama is back on the campaign trail, and this time it's personal -- They used to call Bill Clinton the Big Dog, because wherever he went, people paid attention. His growl always drew a crowd. Well, while President Trump was napping this week, the Sleek Dog got off the porch. Finally. Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/9/18

Willie Brown: Kamala Harris had Kavanaugh cornered. Then she gave him a way out -- California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris both had big roles in the confirmation hearing for U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Feinstein was her solid, studious self. Harris scored big on day one, but day two wasn’t so hot. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/9/18

Willie Brown: Trump is right: White House resistance should be exposed -- For once I find myself in agreement with President Trump. The anonymous “senior official” who wrote the New York Times opinion piece depicting a secret resistance within the White House should be hunted down and fired. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/9/18

Lopez: How two young women bond while plotting to escape poverty in L.A. -- Yecenia Perez, 17, says she doesn’t feel safe commuting to school and home, a one-hour trek each way by bus and two trains. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/9/18

Economy, Employers, Jobs, Unions, Pensions

Tesla’s battery business is booming amid Model 3 struggles -- Deployment of Tesla’s stationary batteries — designed to supply electricity to homes, businesses or the power grid — surged 450 percent during the first half of 2018, according to the company. David R. Baker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/9/18

Homeless  

As angry San Pedro protesters take to streets to oppose shelter, Buscaino stands behind efforts to help homeless -- Opposition to placing a temporary homeless shelter across the street from San Pedro’s waterfront and near homes exploded in chants and passing car horns Saturday when up to a few hundred demonstrators protested along the port town’s main thoroughfare. Donna Littlejohn in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/9/18

Housing  

In the Bay Area’s housing shortage, even Stanford University struggles to provide shelter -- The Stanford campus before the start of the fall quarter is a maze of orange cones, chain link fences and heavy equipment raising new high-rise apartments. Louis Hansen in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/9/18

Health 

Family of baseball great Tony Gwynn settles lawsuit against tobacco industry giant -- A major tobacco company agreed Thursday to settle a negligence and product liability lawsuit filed by the family of San Diego Padre great Tony Gwynn, who died of cancer at 54, decades after the company allegedly hooked him on — and then used him to promote — products it knew caused the disease that killed Gwynn, according to Gwynn’s family. Morgan Cook in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/9/18

Environment 

Marin County ghost town cleared away to save Lagunitas Creek’s coho salmon -- The rumble of heavy machinery might as well have been harp music to Todd Steiner, who stood on a bluff next to Lagunitas Creek in Marin County last week and admired the channels and trenches the belching excavators were digging out of the banks. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/9/18

The Ocean Cleanup heads for the Pacific -- It’s launching time for The Ocean Cleanup, the ambitious effort to collect the massive vortex of plastic drifting in the Pacific Ocean between California and Hawaii. A nonprofit from the Netherlands, The Ocean Cleanup will use a floater attached to a screen under the water, which if all goes according to plan will concentrate the debris and allow it to be gathered and recycled. Anda Chu in the San Jose Mercury$ Olga R. Rodriguez Associated Press -- 9/9/18

 

-- Saturday Updates 

Gov. Brown signs bills to block Trump's offshore oil drilling plan -- Gov. Jerry Brown on Saturday signed two bills that would block new offshore oil drilling in California by barring the construction of pipelines, piers, wharves or other infrastructure necessary to transport the oil and gas from federal waters to state land. Rosanna Xia in the Los Angeles Times$ Lizzie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/9/18

Dunsmuir residents alert and prepped to go as raging Delta Fire tops 36,000 acres -- Residents of upper Northern California are becoming experts in what to do should any blaze head their way, something that is becoming more likely in a region already pummeled by this year’s devastating wildfires. Cassie Dickman and Daniel Hunt in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/8/18

California wildfires: Updates on fires and where containment is on major blazes -- Firefighters are battling a new round of wildfires in California even as battles against earlier fires continue to wind down. Don Sweeney and Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/8/18

Analysis: Harris, Feinstein play to different Democratic Parties at Kavanaugh hearing -- The difference between California’s two Democratic senators was evident when Sen. Chuck Grassley was only 13 words into his introduction to the Supreme Court confirmation hearing of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. That’s when Sen. Kamala Harris interrupted the Judiciary Committee chairman. She wanted to postpone the hearing. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/8/18

Michael Cohen asks Stormy Daniels to give back $130,000 in Trump hush money -- Michael Cohen, the former personal attorney of President Trump, has asked porn actress Stormy Daniels to return the $130,000 payoff she received in exchange for keeping quiet about her alleged affair with Trump. Michael Finnegan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/8/18