Updating . .   

PG&E warns 21,000 customers of potential outages as heat, wind are expected to boost fire danger -- The Pacific Gas & Electric Co. may cut power to about 21,000 customers in parts of Butte, Plumas and Yuba counties this weekend as dry, unseasonably hot conditions and strong winds are expected to increase fire danger in the region. Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/20

Firefighter who died in El Dorado fire remembered as dedicated family man who loved his job -- Nearly 1,000 people tuned in for the live-streamed memorial service for Charles Morton, 39, at 11 a.m. at the Rock Church and World Outreach Center in San Bernardino, The service was streamed on the church’s website and YouTube page, and the San Bernardino National Forest’s Facebook page. Alex Wigglesworth, Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/20

‘Hidden cost’ of wildfire smoke: Stanford researchers estimate up to 3,000 indirect deaths -- More than two dozen people have died as a direct result of California’s devastating wildfires so far this year. But the actual number of lives lost because of them may have been much higher. Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/20

Why we need redwoods to fight climate change -- Redwoods are capable of sequestering orders of magnitude more carbon from the atmosphere than other species of trees, making them important tools in the struggle to mitigate global warming. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/20

Virus  

Coronavirus cases top 800,000 in California, highest in the nation -- The sobering figure comes as California has seen declines in both new cases and deaths over the last month after a summer spike that alarmed officials and prompted the reversal of some business reopenings. Dakota Smith, Colleen Shalby, Alex Wigglesworth, Stephanie Lai in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/20

UC San Diego launches smartphone-based COVID-19 exposure notification system -- This digital heads-up is made possible with smartphone-based exposure notifications. California recently gave UC San Diego the go-ahead to test the technology, and the La Jolla university launched its pilot program on Thursday. Students like Andrew were quick to try it. Lyndsay Winkley in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/20

Virus Workplace  

This L.A. company was hit with the state’s largest-ever COVID-19 fine. Some say it’s a model for worker safety -- In late July, Gloria Lopez, a weight checker at a frozen food processing plant in Vernon, noticed that a plexiglass divider was missing between workers on the production line. Two employees were left exposed to the coronavirus. Neither had said anything. Leila Miller in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/20

Virus Economy  

California International Marathon canceled this year due to the pandemic -- In Friday morning posts to the event’s website and social media, organizers said they “turned over every stone, working through all possible options and considerations” to go through with a socially distanced version of the race, but that there were “too many hurdles” to proceed this year given the contagious virus still being prominent statewide. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/25/20

New commercial ramps up pressure on Newsom to reopen Disneyland -- A new commercial calls on Gov. Gavin Newsom to reopen Disneyland, Knott’s Berry Farm and other California theme parks as the major tourist destinations approach the 200-day mark of coronavirus closures. Brady MacDonald in the Orange County Register -- 9/25/20

Layoffs loom at Pebble Beach, Golden Gate Bridge, hotels -- Job cuts are being planned at the iconic Pebble Beach resort in Monterey County, while separate layoffs are in the works at Bay Area hotels as well as the Golden Gate Bridge District, with the employers blaming staff cutbacks on coronavirus-linked woes. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/25/20

Here’s how many job seekers there are for every opening in San Francisco and San Jose -- There are 11.4 people searching for work for every job opening in the San Francisco metro area, more than eight times the level of competition at the start of the year when the Bay Area boasted one of the hottest economies in the world. Leonardo Castañeda in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/25/20

California’s rent strike: Who pays and how it works -- As the pandemic stretches into its seventh month, tenants and landlords have found themselves facing the same question: Who’s going to pay the rent if unemployment continues to hover north of 11%? Nigel Duara CalMatters -- 9/25/20

An Oakland events space openly defied coronavirus rules. Did the city do enough to stop it? -- An Oakland events space has hosted indoor weddings, birthday parties and wakes — sometimes exceeding 100 people — since July, according to the manager of the space, in violation of state and county pandemic restrictions about large gatherings. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/20

Policy & Politics 

California passes first-in-nation plastics recycling law -- In a move aimed at reducing huge amounts of plastic litter in the oceans, along roadways and other parts of the state, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a first-in-the-nation law requiring plastic beverage containers to contain an increasing amount of recycled material. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/25/20

Runway to roof: Chanel’s $35-million solar-power play to help low-income Californians -- If you’re a low-income resident of California with a new solar panel on your apartment-building roof and extra money in your pocket, you might have Chanel to thank. Adam Tschorn in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/20

City Hall scandal: Nuru used ‘unethical’ practice to solicit funds for S.F. department, controller says -- Disgraced Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru allegedly solicited donations from private sources and directed them toward a nonprofit that financially supported his department, according to a new report by the City Controller. The concern is that the arrangement allowed Nuru to quietly work behind the scenes to benefit his department. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/20

Fox: Can One Individual Tell Us What We Can Drive? -- An immediate reaction to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order that all new cars sold in California by 2035 must be zero-emission is how can one individual in a state of 40 million tell us what we all can drive? Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 9/25/20

 

California Policy & Politics This Morning  

Wiener says he’ll move to ban fracking in California, following Newsom’s lead -- A trio of California lawmakers plans to introduce a bill to ban the controversial fossil fuel drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in an effort to expand the state’s fight against climate change. J.D. Morris and Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/20

Could Newsom’s big, bold car ban hurt Biden in swing states? -- Yesterday Gov. Gavin Newsom leaned over the hood of an electric car and signed an executive order to phase out new gas-powered vehicles in California by 2035 and halt new fracking projects by 2024. Ben Christopher CalMatters -- 9/25/20

Walters: Is Newsom serious about banning gas-powered cars? -- Gov. Gavin Newsom flatly declared Wednesday that “In the next 15 years we will eliminate in the state of California the sales of internal combustion engines.” Dan Walters CalMatters -- 9/25/20

Contra Costa D.A. will no longer charge low-level drug possession cases -- Contra Costa District Attorney Diana Becton said Thursday she will no longer charge people arrested for possessing small amounts of drugs, a policy intended to unclog the courts and shift more people out of the criminal justice system. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/20

Newsom extends California commercial eviction moratorium through March 2021 -- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order on Wednesday allowing local jurisdictions to continue banning commercial evictions of tenants affected by the coronavirus pandemic until the end of March 2021. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/20

App-based food delivery companies must work with restaurants under new California law -- The most far-reaching of the laws, signed by Newsom on Wednesday, requires companies such as DoorDash, Grub Hub, Postmates and Uber Eats to sign formal agreements with local restaurants before advertising food delivery to their customers. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/20

Corrupt SF Official Used Nonprofits to Funnel 'Pay to Play' Cash -- It often pays to have friends in high places. In San Francisco, that goes double for nonprofits that call themselves "friends." Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez KQED -- 9/25/20

Elections 

California will vote again on rent control. What makes Proposition 21 different? -- Two years after California voters soundly rejected an initiative to roll back state limits on rent control, supporters are trying again with a scaled-back approach that they hope will resonate in a new political environment. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/20

Californians could sign ballot measures online if group has its way -- A consumer advocacy group wants to pull most of the rickety card tables, dog-eared paper petitions and pushy initiative signature gatherers from California’s shopping centers and sidewalks and move it all to the internet. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/20

Californians Are Voting On Another Dialysis Ballot Measure. What To Know About Prop. 23 -- California voters are again being asked to weigh in on regulations for dialysis companies and the clinics they operate. Sammy Caiola Capital Public Radio -- 9/25/20

Street   

Vehicle plows through Breonna Taylor protesters in Hollywood, hitting at least one person -- A truck drove through a group of protesters in Hollywood on Thursday night, striking at least one person as it sped through the crowd, according to the police and news footage from the scene. Matthew Ormseth, James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/20

Fresno residents demand auditor resign after withholding police brutality investigation -- The Fresno City Council asked Thursday for a workshop briefing the members on the process of the city’s independent police reviewer following his admission to withholding a completed report and the subsequent public outcry. Thaddeus Miller in the Fresno Bee -- 9/25/20

Breonna Taylor protests: Motorists slow traffic on 3 Bay Area bridges -- Motorists protesting a Kentucky grand jury’s decision not to charge any officer directly in the death of Breonna Taylor in Louisville temporarily slowed traffic on three major Bay Area bridges Thursday. Protesters took to Instagram to encourage people to create gridlock during the afternoon commute on the Golden Gate Bridge, the Bay Bridge and the Dumbarton Bridge. Michael Williams and Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/20

LAPD officer rearrested on new felony charge after allegedly stealing cash at pot grow -- A Los Angeles police officer on Thursday was arrested for a second time — this time on a felony count — in relation to a January incident in which he is accused of stealing cash from the backpack of an employee at a cannabis grow facility, prosecutors and police said. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/20

Video shows O.C. sheriff’s deputies fatally shooting Black man, sparking protests -- The fatal shooting of a Black man by two Orange County sheriff’s deputies during an altercation in San Clemente, captured on video, spurred a protest and the arrest of several activists who blockaded a street on Thursday. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ Erika I. Ritchie, Sean Emery in the Orange County Register -- 9/25/20

Los Angeles D.A. will not prosecute KPCC reporter arrested after shooting of sheriff’s deputies -- A KPCC reporter who was slammed to the ground and accused of interfering with an arrest the night two Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies were shot in Compton will not face criminal charges, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said Thursday. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/20

San Diego group, others suing to pause use of state gang database -- A San Diego nonprofit is among those asking a judge to stop law enforcement from using California’s controversial database of documented gang members until the database comes into compliance with a 2017 state law. Teri Figueroa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ Claire Trageser KPBS -- 9/25/20

Virus 

California’s Deadliest Spring in 20 Years Suggests COVID Undercount -- The number of excess deaths varied across the state from March through July. Central Valley and Southern California counties tended to have higher rates of excess deaths. Phillip Reese California Healthline via Capital Public Radio -- 9/25/20

Mayor Breed commits $28.5 million in coronavirus aid to San Francisco Latinos -- San Francisco Mayor London Breed on Thursday announced $28.5 million in coronavirus aid for the city’s Latino residents, who remain among the most impacted by the virus. Tatiana Sanchez in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/20

Sacramento County Focusing COVID-19 Resource Efforts Using Virus Tracers From Harder Hit Communities -- Sacramento County is bolstering its contact tracing program by focusing its efforts on harder-to-reach populations to get them to COVID-19 resources to dispel misinformation. Sarah Mizes-Tan Capital Public Radio -- 9/25/20

UC San Diego’s cellphone-based COVID exposure system now available -- Elizabeth Meckert breathed a small sigh of relief when her son, Andrew, a freshman at UC San Diego, set up his iPhone to let him know if he comes in contact with someone who later tests positive for COVID-19. Lyndsay Winkley in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 9/25/20

United to offer $250 coronavirus tests on flights to Hawaii -- United Airlines Holdings Inc. will offer on-the-spot coronavirus testing to customers flying to Hawaii who are willing to pay $250 to avoid a two-week quarantine on arrival. Justin Bachman Bloomberg Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/25/20

Coronavirus: Uptick in cases among young people could spread to more vulnerable, CDC says -- A new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests an uptick in COVID-19 cases among young people could put older populations at higher risk of exposure to the virus, which has proven to be more deadly for those who are older or have underlying conditions. Evan Webeck in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/25/20

Foster Farms reports COVID-19 rate under 1% for turkey plant workers in Turlock -- Foster Farms said it conducted 2,134 tests among the 1,119 workers at the two plants in Turlock that handle all of its turkey. Most were tested twice. Testing was done from Sept. 3 to 11 at the plants, on adjoining blocks just south of downtown. John Holland in the Fresno Bee$ -- 9/25/20

Unemployed  

Coronavirus unemployment: California jobless claims rise, statewide recovery is elusive -- An estimated 230,400 workers in California filed for unemployment benefits last week, up 4,000 from the week before, the U.S. Labor Department reported Thursday. After briefly dipping below the 200,000 mark in late August, claims have been well above that level for the last four weeks. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/25/20

PG&E    

PG&E safety shutoffs: About 21,000 Northern California customers may lose power this weekend -- PG&E officials said this “weather event” will be localized in the Sierra Nevada foothills, and customers in the Bay Area and southern parts of PG&E’s service area will not be affected. Rosalio Ahumada in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/25/20

Wildfire    

California’s largest-ever fire threatens cannabis farms worth millions. Many won’t evacuate -- Nate Trujillo sat on a windy ridge and watched California’s largest wildfire, the August Complex, work its way toward the cannabis-growing enclave of Post Mountain-Trinity Pines, where many of the locals are refusing to evacuate. Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/20

‘If you think it’s bad now, just wait’: California faces new fire threats, further straining resources -- California has already endured its worst fire year in recorded history, but with more heat and wind in the forecast, officials say conditions could get even worse as the state enters the peak of its traditional burning season. Luke Money, Anita Chabria, Faith E. Pinho in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/20

Education 

Parents sue LAUSD, blasting its online learning as an ‘educational crisis’ -- The Los Angeles Unified School District’s distance learning plan has caused “enormous learning losses” and left tens of thousands of Black and Latino students without a basic education, according to allegations in a class action lawsuit filed against the district Thursday. Paloma Esquivel in the Los Angeles Times$ Linh Tat in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/25/20

UC Regent Richard Blum wrote ‘inappropriate letter of support’ to get student into Berkeley -- University of California Regent Richard Blum, a wealthy San Francisco financier, wrote an “inappropriate letter of support” to help a student get into UC Berkeley despite the applicant’s uncompetitive ratings by university staff and an initial denial of admission, according to the California state auditor’s office. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/20

School   

How Sacramento County schools will try to stay open — even if coronavirus hits campuses -- As public school districts in Sacramento County develop plans to bring students back to campus as early as next month, the county’s top education official said this week that reopening won’t be the issue, “it’s being able to stay open” that will pose the greatest challenge. Sawsan Morrar in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/25/20

School districts, health officials reliant on accurate information from families and staff to address coronavirus cases -- As school districts across the county reopen for in-person instruction, they will work with the Orange County Health Care Agency to track and respond to coronavirus cases on campuses, but for the system to work district officials say families and school employees will need to provide accurate and timely information in the event of a positive test. Dan Albano in the Orange County Register -- 9/25/20

California for all? Few public schools pursuing elementary waivers -- Almost every waiver application for in-person instruction for grades K-6 has been approved by the state for schools in counties deemed a high risk. But private schools comprise an overwhelming majority of those schools, creating an equity problem. Ricardo Cano CalMatters -- 9/25/20

Waiting lists for home-school programs as parents grow weary of distance learning -- San Juan Unified in Sacramento had 38 students in its home-school program in March, when the state closed school campuses because of the spread of Covid-19. Now, it has more than 700. Diana Lambert EdSource -- 9/25/20

Housing  

Developer of luxury apartment building in Sacramento suing to block nearby homeless housing -- A plan to get more than 100 homeless people into permanent housing in a Sacramento hotel could be derailed by developers of a high-end apartment building across the street. Theresa Clift and Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/25/20

Transit  

L.A. Metro cuts budget by $1.2 billion, locking in steep reductions to bus, rail service -- Pummeled by a plunge in sales tax revenue during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority on Thursday locked in steep cuts to Los Angeles County bus and rail service for nearly a year. Laura J. Nelson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/20

S.F. Muni halted fare inspections during the pandemic. But evaders will face fines again soon -- Muni inspectors will return with a new uniform and softer approach before they start to issue citations to fare evaders again by the end of the year, the transit agency said this week. During the six months of the pandemic, fare inspectors took on disaster service worker duties as the number of riders plummeted. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/20

Also . . .   

One SF neighborhood sees 75% increase in burglaries -- Burglaries have spiked in San Francisco amid the coronavirus pandemic. Thieves used to target tourists for smash and grabs, but now they seem to be stealing goods and money from residents' homes with few travelers coming to the city. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/25/20

POTUS 45  

Trump’s escalating attacks on election prompt fears of a constitutional crisis -- President Trump reiterated Thursday that he may not honor the results should he lose reelection, reaffirming his extraordinary refusal to commit to a peaceful transition of power and prompting election and law enforcement authorities nationwide to prepare for an unprecedented constitutional crisis. Philip Rucker, Amy Gardner and Annie Linskey in the Washington Post$ -- 9/25/20

How Trump is undermining his own vaccine race -- Operation Warp Speed is the administration’s best attempt at fighting coronavirus, experts say, but White House meddling has caused public confidence to plummet. Adam Cancryn Politico -- 9/25/20

Beltway   

Fox News poll: Biden leads in Nevada, Pennsylvania, Ohio -- The polls conducted among likely voters showed Biden with an 11-point lead over Trump in Nevada, where 52 percent of respondents said they wanted the former vice president to be elected. In Pennsylvania, 51 percent supported Biden and 44 percent supported Trump. In Ohio, 50 percent supported Biden and 45 percent supported Trump. Matthew Choi Politico -- 9/25/20

 

-- Thursday Updates   

Dianne Feinstein’s husband identified as UC regent who recommended less qualified student -- Richard Blum, a wealthy investment banker and Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s husband, is the UC regent who inappropriately penned a letter that likely helped an unqualified student gain admission to UC Berkeley. Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/24/20

Coronavirus: California’s numbers keep trending in right direction -- Compared to two weeks ago, California’s hospitalizations are down 22%; ICUs down 27%, at lowest point on record. Evan Webeck in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/24/20

In a major test, Orange County schools reopen to joy, anxiety and gallons of hand sanitizer -- On Thursday morning, months of finely-curated planning will be turned into action at five Orange County school districts serving about 76,000 students as schoolyard gates open for in-person classes for the first time in six months, marking a widely watched return to school amid California’s coronavirus crisis. Stephanie Lai in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/24/20

Recent rise in COVID-19 cases threatens to slow L.A. reopening, mayor says -- With recent increases of coronavirus cases in Los Angeles County after nearly a month of decline, L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said the next few weeks will be crucial if the city wants to see more reopenings. “The bottom line: This virus is still here, and it’s still very dangerous,” said Garcetti, noting the uptick in hospitalizations, cases and the transmission rate in L.A. County. Dakota Smith, Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ David Rosenfeld in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/24/20

Anti-vaccine group aided effort to overturn COVID order in county where health officer quit -- As the Placer County Board of Supervisors was meeting Sept. 8 to discuss rescinding its emergency COVID-19 order, a California anti-vaccine group that’s promoted inaccurate coronavirus information online was rallying their followers – some from outside the county – to call in support for the effort. Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/24/20

New jobless claims stay steady as California faces unemployment ‘reset’ -- Another 870,000 Americans sought new unemployment benefits last week, as the pandemic’s economic impacts continued to spread pain. More than 230,000 claims were in California, which now has stopped accepting new applications for two weeks while it revamps a struggling benefits system. Chase DiFeliciantonio and Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/20

Knott’s Berry Farm frustrated with lack of California theme park reopening plans: ‘We’re ready to open’ -- 'Every time we ask them, "Can you help us understand what's going on here and why we can't open?" They just keep saying to us, "Well, you're different,"' says Cedar Fair regional vice president Raffi Kaprelyan. Brady MacDonald in the Orange County Register -- 9/24/20

Climate  

Dire consequences for California if climate change unaddressed, report warns -- More than 500,000 Californians could die prematurely and the state could lose $4.5 trillion in the next 50 years if rising climate temperatures go unchecked, a new congressional report warns. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/20

Bay Area officials have a plan to combat climate change: force people to work from home -- In the face of protests from San Francisco officials and advocates of public transit, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission on Wednesday moved forward with a plan to keep many of the region’s workers at home — with climate change, not the coronavirus pandemic, as the rationale. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/20

Californians divided on party lines about climate change’s role in fires, poll finds -- Reeling from the worst fire season in California’s history, 3 in 4 state voters say wildfires pose a greater threat today than ever before, yet they are divided sharply along party lines about what role climate change plays in the infernos, according to a new poll. Joseph Serna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/24/20

Spread of the Bobcat fire slows dramatically as some residents return home -- Fire officials announced continued success in the fight against the massive Bobcat fire, with U.S. Forest Service officials reporting the blaze is 50% contained. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ Alma Fausto in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/24/20

‘Lemonade out of lemons’: Distillery turns smoke-tainted wine grapes into purposefully smoky grappa -- Grapes that are damaged by smoke taint might not make a very good wine. But what if there were another use for them? What if, for example, the smoke-tainted grapes could be turned into grappa? Esther Mobley in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/20

Water  

Gov. Newsom told this California town they’d get safe drinking water. It’s been a year -- It’s been four years since safe drinking water flowed from the tap at Jovita Torres-Romo’s home. When the well at her rental house went dry in 2016, the only running water available to her family came through a hose stretched across the street from a neighbor’s house. Dayana Jiselle and Monica Vaughan in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/24/20

Elections  

California Rep. Katie Porter was a prime GOP election target, but she’s not breaking a sweat -- Not all of California’s contested congressional races are created equal, as one Orange County Democrat is showing. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/20

California will vote again on rent control. What makes Proposition 21 different? -- Two years after California voters soundly rejected an initiative to roll back state limits on rent control, supporters are trying again with a scaled-back approach that they hope will resonate in a new political environment. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/20

Poll: California voters tepid on gig-work Prop. 22 -- California voters are tepid about Proposition 22, a statewide poll shows, despite a jaw-dropping $184.3 million poured into it by Uber, Lyft and other gig companies trying to keep their drivers and couriers as independent contractors. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/20

Housing  

Poll: Bay Area housing crisis is real, but solving it remains elusive -- Although the Covid-19 pandemic sidetracked state leaders from attacking the housing shortage, a new poll shows that Bay Area voters are still concerned the crisis is getting deeper. Louis Hansen in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/24/20

Street  

‘A demon inside me’ -- At age 23, Will Andrews was adrift in San Francisco, homeless and addicted to powerful opioids. Like so many, he wanted a way out. But he couldn’t find one before tragedy struck. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/20

S.F. city attorney seeks to clean up Tenderloin drug dealing using a new approach. Will it work? -- San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera is using a novel legal approach to try to clean up open-air drug dealing on the Tenderloin’s sidewalks, suing 28 alleged dealers in a bid to impose civil fines and arrest if they so much as enter the neighborhood. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/20

‘A wound that never closes’: Racism, police violence and the toll on Black mental health -- Ongoing police violence against Black men and women has inflamed racial tensions. A global pandemic has killed Black people in disproportionately high numbers. And these extraordinary traumas come to a community whose mental and physical health already suffer because of anti-Black sentiment. Darrell Smith and Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/24/20

Also . . .  

San Diego start-up helps college students avoid crowds on campus amid pandemic -- As college students return to school amid the coronavirus, a San Diego start-up is helping them stay safe through technology that monitors crowds in real time in libraries, gyms and other high-traffic locations around campus. Mike Freeman in the San Diego UnionTribune$ -- 9/24/20

The battle against COVID-19’s increasing trash level -- Nearly every morning for the last 12 years, San Francisco native Eva Holman has walked Baker Beach and collected trash. Aaron Gilbreath Capitol Weekly -- 9/24/20

California Exodus: An online industry seizes COVID-19 to sell the Red State Dream -- What is changing quickly is how disillusioned California residents are coming together by the tens of thousands on Facebook, YouTube and elsewhere online, fueling a cottage industry of real estate agents, mortgage lenders and political advocates stoking social division to compete for a piece of the much–discussed California Exodus. Lauren Hepler CalMatters -- 9/24/20

Fox: Time to Get Back to a Better “California Adventure” -- Imagine a California theme park like Disney’s California Adventure based on the state’s current predicaments. Joel Fox Fox & Hounds -- 9/24/20

Berkeley Native American site slated for homes named a key endangered historic place -- Native American groups fighting to block a housing development on the West Berkeley Ohlone shellmound won a victory Thursday when the National Trust for Historic Preservation named the site as one of the 11 “most endangered historic places” in the United States. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/24/20

 

Tesla referral code for you to use -- john93948  to get 1000 free Supercharger miles.