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Bobcat fire approaches 100,000 acres, making it one of L.A. County’s largest blazes ever -- The Bobcat fire is approaching 100,000 acres, making it one of the largest wildfires in Los Angeles County history, and continues to threaten some desert communities as well as the Mt. Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains on Sunday. Alex Wigglesworth, Louis Sahagun in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/20/20
As California blazes rage, travel nurses fill critical need at fire camps -- When Hillary Mills became a travel nurse in August after being unemployed for several months, the 30-year-old Tiburon resident assumed the job would take her to hospitals overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. Tatiana Sánchez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/20/20
EDD
California halting new unemployment claims for 2 weeks during ‘reset’ with staff, technology -- California will not accept new unemployment claims over the next two weeks while the state’s Employment Development Department adopts new fraud prevention technology and works to clear out a backlog, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration announced late Saturday. Adam Ashton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/20/20
Virus
What California’s COVID approach could teach the country if Joe Biden wins -- Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom share the same basic COVID-19 philosophy: The government must focus on fighting the virus before the economy can recover. Sophia Bollag and Lara Korte in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/20/20
UC San Diego trying to avoid the coronavirus chaos that has upended SDSU -- San Diego State University is reeling from a calamitous outbreak of COVID-19. Is the same thing about to happen at UC San Diego? The answer will begin to emerge this weekend as 7,500 undergraduates start to move into meticulously cleaned dorms on the sprawling La Jolla campus for the start of the fall quarter. Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/20/20
First cases of flu hit Bay Area, marking start of a dangerous season ahead -- Bay Area hospitals have reported their first cases of influenza, signaling the start of what could be a turbulent flu season with COVID-19 in the mix. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/20/20
Street
How a really big check unraveled a well-oiled patronage system with Santa Clara County concealed-gun permits -- With prosecution getting underway for adviser and longtime political backer of Sheriff Laurie Smith, grand jury transcripts hint that corruption probe poses biggest political threat yet to sheriff’s two-decade tenure. Robert Salonga in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/20/20
Spate of deputy misconduct cases casts harsh spotlight on OC Sheriff’s Department -- For one week, it seemed like the Orange County Sheriff’s Department was aflame in bad news. Four different revelations about larcenous or fraudulent misconduct by sheriff’s personnel erupted the week of Sept. 7. Tony Saavedra in the Orange County Register -- 9/20/20
Burglars switch to homes in S.F., as tourists, and their cars, stay away -- The coronavirus pandemic has put a lot of people out of work, but there’s one occupation that’s busier than ever — burglary. And more brazen too. Phil Matier in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/20/20
California Policy & Politics Sunday Morning
Bobcat fire explodes to 93,842 acres, claims homes amid heavy winds; more evacuations ordered -- Roland Pagan on Saturday stood knee-deep in swirls of smoke on a mesa where the two-story home it took him nine years to build once offered commanding views of the desert flatlands below. Louis Sahagun, Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/20/20
Some Northern California forests will open, but in SoCal they’re still closed -- Nine national forests and three national parks in California will remain closed this weekend, including Angeles, Cleveland, Los Padres and San Bernardino national forests in Southern California. The temporarily closed national parks are Yosemite, Sequoia and Kings Canyon. Christopher Reynolds, Mary Forgione in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/20/20
Bay Area air will improve Sunday, but wildfire smoke is still an issue -- After smoke from wildfires in Mendocino and Humboldt counties led to another day of unhealthy air in parts of the Bay Area on Saturday, air quality is expected to improve somewhat Sunday and in the early part of the week, according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Martha Ross in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/20/20
Virus
More uncertainty looms as Southern California marks 6 months of coronavirus closures -- With deaths and hospitalizations generally on the decline but the virus still lurking and a vaccine not yet within reach, what might the next six months hold? The answer, according to public officials, business owners, parents and community members across the region, is more uncertainty. Hayley Munguia in the Orange County Register -- 9/20/20
Outbreak in Sonoma County: Virus hits 13 child care centers, schools -- Thirteen schools and child care facilities in Sonoma County reported coronavirus outbreaks that infected 62 people, including 25 children, health officials said this week. Most of the children who were infected were 6 years old and younger. Vanessa Arredondo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/20/20
Open anyway
Despite court order, Fresno County school still in session. Is enforcement action next? -- Immanuel Schools in Reedley appears to be defying Fresno County officials and a Superior Court judge by continuing to provide in-person teaching on its campus. Judge D. Tyler Tharpe issued a preliminary injunction against Immanuel Schools on Tuesday, ordering them to halt in-person teaching because it violates a state coronavirus health order. Robert Rodriguez in the Fresno Bee -- 9/20/20
Virus and Business
‘I’m so scared’: California nail salon workers face ruin as pandemic wears on -- When the coronavirus forced the closure of the nail salon where Tracy Tran works in Los Gatos, she was immediately robbed of two things she held dear: work and sleep. Erica Hellerstein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/20/20
S.F. startup envisions future where all restaurant takeout containers are reusable -- For most Bay Area residents, the only way to get restaurant-quality food is to order takeout or delivery — and then toss the packaging. That reality might be changing. Janelle Bitker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/20/20
Hard-hit California hotels are turning rooms into office space, classrooms -- Facing a prolonged collapse of travel, hotels across California accustomed to putting up vacationers and hosting corporate clients are now instead serving office-less office workers, remote-learning students and locals looking to escape their homes for a day. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/20/20
Policy & Politics
California’s troubled unemployment agency needs immediate overhaul, report says -- California’s antiquated unemployment benefits system requires a complete overhaul to overcome significant problems that have delayed getting money to many left jobless during the COVID-19 pandemic, a strike team appointed by Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/20/20
California Republicans are stuck with an unpopular Trump. Can they create distance? -- In a rare visit to California in February, President Trump paused during a speech on water policy in Bakersfield to give a shout-out to former GOP Rep. David Valadao. Pointing to Valadao in the VIP section of the crowd, Trump praised him as “an incredible guy. ... We really need him badly in Washington.” John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/20/20
Willie Brown: Dislike for Trump alone won’t carry Democrats. They need enthusiasm -- As mail ballots begin to go out in some states, the race for the White House remains very much a referendum on President Trump — with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris unable yet to generate much enthusiasm on their own. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/20/20
Walters: High housing costs keep Californians poor -- Congratulations California, you’ve done it again. The Census Bureau has once again found that California has the highest real-world poverty rate of any state, 17.2% over the previous three years and much higher than the national rate. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 9/20/20
Street
Video shows LAPD officer shooting protester in groin at close range -- Newly released body camera video from protests in Los Angeles this summer shows L.A. police officers yanking a large protest sign from the hands of a man in a Hollywood intersection, shoving him backward as he puts his hands up, then shooting him in the groin with a foam projectile at close range. Ben Montemayor, a 28-year-old filmmaker, suffered serious injuries to his testicles as a result and was rushed into emergency surgery, he told The Times in the days that followed. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/20/20
Many say de-escalation is the way to reduce police-involved shootings, but what does it look like? -- Police consider tactical communication as one way to de-escalate a situation, but they also view use of force and less-lethal weapons as options. Some reformers disagree. David Hernandez in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/20/20
Housing
Sausalito affordable housing push for old Marinship shipyard stirs passions -- Many of the buildings put up during the war are still there, including the administration building on the north end of town, the Industrial Center Building and the big old structure that houses a huge model of San Francisco Bay and a museum. Local historians believe Marinship is the most intact remnant of the dozens of wartime shipyards. Carl Nolte in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/20/20
POTUS 45
Trump says he will move ‘without delay’ to fill Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat -- President Trump said Saturday that he will nominate a woman in the next week to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat on the Supreme Court, opening a ferocious political battle that could transform the nation’s highest court and alter the presidential election. Robert Barnes, Seung Min Kim and Josh Dawsey in the Washington Post$ -- 9/20/20
Beltway
Joe Biden’s Court Vacancy Plan: More Talk of Health Care and the Pandemic -- For months Joseph R. Biden Jr. has condemned President Trump as a failed steward of the nation’s well-being, relentlessly framing the 2020 election as a referendum on the president’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Shane Goldmacher, Katie Glueck and Thomas Kaplan in the New York Times$ -- 9/20/20
-- Saturday Updates
Bobcat fire explodes to 91,000 acres; homes burned amid heavy winds -- The Bobcat fire exploded Friday amid intense winds, burning homes in the Antelope Valley and spreading in several directions. As of Saturday morning, the fire had burned more than 91,000 acres and was threatening some desert communities along Highway 138. Dakota Smith, Alex Wigglesworth, Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ Emily Rasmussen, Nathaniel Percy in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/19/20
Marines from Camp Pendleton quickly train to help with Creek Fire nearing Mammoth Lakes -- Marines and sailors at Camp Pendleton got a crash course on wildland firefighting. “Normally, we do two weeks of training, but we consolidated that into two days,” said Isaac Tzintzun, a Bureau of Land Management wildland firefighter. “We’ll do two more days when we get up (to the Creek Fire), and then we’ll be on the fireline.” Erika I. Ritchie in the Orange County Register -- 9/19/20
California was choked by wildfire smoke. How bad is it for our health? -- For weeks, millions of Californians were smothered by smoke from a record explosion of wildfires burning through grass, shrubs, conifer forests, houses and mobile home parks. Eyes watered. Lungs burned. Skies glowed orange. Tony Barboza, Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/20
Tiny particles from wildfire smoke follow ‘wind all the way down to your smallest air sacs’ -- The potential health impacts of exposure to wildfire smoke can go well beyond the coughing, sore throats and the watery eyes that most Californians have experienced over the last few weeks. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/19/20
L.A. suffered deadly heat, yet chairs sat empty at its cooling centers -- “A lot of people don’t have transportation, and in the grueling heat, people just stay still as much as possible,” said Pastor Kathy Huck of the homeless outreach group About My Father’s Business. “If it were two blocks away, people would walk to it. But most of them are unreachable for people in encampments.” Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/20
Policy & Politics
Kamala Harris, Dianne Feinstein key players in fight over Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat -- With a political maelstrom growing over replacing the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court, California’s two senators will not only be major figures in the immediate confirmation fight — their approach to it will also signal Democrats’ long-term strategy against Republicans. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/19/20
Full coverage: Jackie Lacey and George Gascón face off in L.A. County district attorney race -- With debates about criminal justice reform and police accountability buzzing across the country, the race for Los Angeles County’s next top prosecutor may be one of the most important on the ballot in Southern California this November. The item is in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/20
Street
In D.A.’s race framed by reform, George Gascón’s police career is under a microscope -- Less than two years into his career as a Los Angeles police officer, George Gascón said, he saw a suspect reach for his partner’s gun as they struggled to arrest him. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/20
Criticism of sheriff’s performance intensifies, but Villanueva insists he’s not concerned -- The turn of Thursday’s Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission meeting was unexpected: after various agenda items, Commissioner Robert Bonner called for the resignation of L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Leila Miller in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/20
Governor again overrules parole board recommendation to free ex-Mexican Mafia member -- Rene Enriquez, a Mexican Mafia member who defected 18 years ago and helped law enforcement authorities incarcerate dozens of his onetime confederates, has been denied parole by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the fifth time in a row the state’s governor has overruled a recommendation to free him. Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/20
Virus and School
Some San Diego-area families still lack reliable internet needed for distance learning -- As county schools office works to distribute 6,000 more hotspots to schools, rural schools struggle with spotty service. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/19/20
Closed schools have to serve some special education students in person, experts say -- A judge recently ordered a school district to provide a student in-person services, saying her distance learning was not a comparable program. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/19/20
Virus Economy
‘Tsunami’ of hotel closures is coming, experts warn -- Located on one of the world’s most expensive strips of commercial real estate, the upscale Luxe Rodeo Drive hotel has closed, a casualty of a pandemic that is likely to put more hotels out of business. Hugo Martín in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/20
COVID-19 Purple Tier Would Clamp Down On Indoor Business Operations -- By next week, San Diego County could be in California's most restrictive tier for reopening during the pandemic. Matt Hoffman KPBS -- 9/19/20
More uncertainty looms as Southern California marks 6 months of coronavirus closures -- School campuses sit empty of students. Signs on storefronts warn that patrons must wear masks to enter. Event venues and amusement parks — the Hollywood Bowl, Universal Studios, Disneyland — remain eerily deserted. Hayley Munguia in the Orange County Register -- 9/19/20
Six Months After Stay-At-Home Orders, Californians Still Figuring Out Life Under COVID-19 -- Sacramento County and the state of California were seen early on as leaders in "bending the curve" and limiting the number of new infections. But that began to change late in the spring into the summer as counties began to slowly reopen. Ezra David Romero, Chris Hagan Capital Public Radio -- 9/19/20
Entertainment industry treading water after 6 months of coronavirus restrictions -- When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in March, few people could have imagined a world without places to go for entertainment: no amusement parks, no multiplexes for movies, no theaters or festival grounds for concerts, no casinos. Fielding Buck in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/19/20
Homeless
With only more need expected, Fullerton keeps open safe parking lot for those sleeping in cars -- The City Council recently said the program will last until at least the end of this year with the hope of it becoming more of a regional program with other cities in Orange County following suit. The coronavirus pandemic is expected to only increase the need. Nathan Nguyen in the Orange County Register -- 9/19/20
Environment
The story behind that Patagonia tag, and how the Trump era changed outdoor recreation -- Browse Patagonia’s online shop, and you’ll find T-shirts condemning Big Oil, encouraging people to vote with planet Earth in mind and declaring that when it comes to wilderness, Americans must “defend it or lose it.” Sammy Roth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/20
Lopez: Sharks moving north, redwood growth slowing, mosquitoes biting — this is California’s altered state -- In California, we’ve come to see drought, extreme heat and deadly fire as the most alarming, obvious evidence of climate change. But life as we know it is being altered in multiple ways, often just out of view. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/19/20
Gig Work
Federal judge tosses Uber lawsuit challenging AB5 -- U.S. District Court Judge Dolly Gee in Los Angeles did leave the door open for Uber and Postmates to file a more limited lawsuit by Oct. 9 if they had new evidence that their rights were violated. Uber, which is in the process of buying Postmates, implied that it would do so. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/19/20
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