Updating . .   

Anatomy of a monster: How the Dixie fire became California’s biggest of the year -- When the first sparks ignited in the dense forest of Plumas County, the conditions were primed for a monster. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/21

Folsom Fire Department asks city to declare a local emergency to help lessen wildfire dangers -- The Folsom Fire Department has asked the City Council to declare a local emergency, allowing the department to close public lands where there is danger of fire. Amelia Davidson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/24/21

Virus  

Why haven’t you been vaccinated? With COVID-19 raging, people explain what took so long -- Guillermo Cozar waited months to get his vaccine because, he reasoned, he’d already had COVID last fall and didn’t think he would get sick again. Brittny Mejia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/21

COVID spreading fast in well-vaccinated California counties -- California and its big coastal cities have embraced vaccines to beat back the COVID-19 pandemic. But a Bay Area News Group analysis shows not only are cases rising fast in much of the Golden State, they are soaring in many urban counties that boast high vaccination rates. John Woolfolk, Harriet Blair Rowan in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/24/21

Lopez: Fired from her hotel housekeeping job after getting COVID, she never lost faith -- Margarita Santos was at home in Porter Ranch, cleaning the house she and four family members rent, when her phone rang early this month. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/21

Policy & Politics 

Republican challenger raises more money than Rep. John Garamendi — a first in seven years -- For the first time in seven years, a Republican challenger to Rep. John Garamendi raised more money than the Democratic congressman in a campaign finance reporting period. GOP candidate Tamika Hamilton raised $103,000 from April 1 to June 30, slightly more than the $99,377 Garamendi pulled in for his 2022 reelection campaign in that quarter. Katherine Swartz in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/24/21

Dianne Feinstein, Alex Padilla urge California Democrats to spend on high-speed rail -- California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Alex Padilla this week urged Democratic leaders in the Legislature to get behind Gov. Gavin Newsom’s request to release $4.2 billion for the state’s beleaguered high-speed rail project, wading into a dispute over how to use the money. Katherine Swartz in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/24/21

Street  

Concert 'a nexus point' in downtown San Rafael shooting that left 2 dead, 4 injured -- A burst of gunfire in downtown San Rafael on Friday night left two dead and four injured, police are reporting. The San Rafael Police Department says it began receiving multiple 911 calls about shots fired near Third Street at Lootens Place around 10:40 p.m. Police say witnesses reported seeing multiple vehicles speeding away from that location. Raheem Hosseini in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/24/21

After police killing of a Zapotec man in Salinas, questions about a language barrier -- After the killing last week of an Indigenous Mexican teen by police in Salinas, advocacy groups are concerned that language barriers may have played a role in the fatal encounter. Leila Miller in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/21

Breathe  

As noxious fumes sicken residents, anger grows about Hyperion plant sewage discharge -- On a jog in her El Segundo neighborhood, Corrie Zupo’s head hurt and her eyes watered. She blamed the symptoms on noxious fumes from the nearby Hyperion Water Reclamation Plant, which is undergoing at least a month of repairs after discharging 17 million gallons of raw sewage into the ocean on July 11. Rachel Schnalzer in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/21

Housing  

Go big or go home: S.F. supervisor juices housing legislation to allow fourplexes on every single-family lot -- Early this year, the real f-word in San Francisco was fourplex. The notion of allowing single-family homes to be converted to four units — already being explored by Sacramento, Berkeley, South San Francisco and other cities — made some politicians and their NIMBY supporters blow their tops. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/24/21

Have Bay Area homes become more affordable? -- Despite record-level Bay Area home prices, high-end incomes have grown faster than housing costs in parts of the region, suggesting for some a previously unthinkable description of the home market: “Affordable.” Louis Hansen in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/24/21

Gig Work  

These side jobs aren’t very complicated -- If what you’re looking for in a side hustle is ease, you’re in luck: There are several options. But don’t expect them to pay you like a professional. Generally speaking, easy side hustles pay between a few bucks and $25 an hour. The easier the hustle, the less it pays. Kathy Kristof in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/21

Climate  

Extreme weather hurts older Californians. That’s started a wave of climate activism -- As the weather swings to extremes, no age group is more threatened by its capriciousness than older people, a population ill-prepared for climate change and growing exponentially. Zachary Fletcher in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 7/24/21

Also . . .   

S.F. is considering downtown 'congestion pricing.' Here's how much it would cost -- Downtown San Francisco neared its breaking point. Its streets were clogged mornings and afternoons with record levels of congestion. Public transit buses sat idly in gridlock too dense to overcome, even with the benefit of dedicated red-painted lanes meant to hasten passengers’ commutes. Ride-hailing services such as Uber and Lyft brought more vehicles into the area, worsening the problem. Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/24/21

Hiltzik: The Atlantic says ‘the California Dream is dying.’ So what else is new? -- Magazine writers’ chestnuts don’t get any more dependable than the “death of the California dream” trope. It’s got everything a writer looking for buzz could ask for: the irresistible opportunity to simultaneously evoke and denigrate the sun and fun of the Golden State. Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/21

Returning from travel abroad? A court put limits on border officers rummaging through your phone -- Shackled to a bench at the San Ysidro Port of Entry, Jeff Valenzuela was ordered by border officers to unlock his cellphone or else it would be seized. He complied and watched helplessly as it disappeared into a back room, where he assumes officers spent the next 45 minutes downloading its contents. The phone was returned, and the intimate details of his life — and the lives of those close to him — were now in the hands of the U.S. government. Kristina Davis in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/24/21

California Policy and Politics Saturday Morning  

L.A. County exceeds 3,000 daily coronavirus cases as surge worsens -- Los Angeles County reported 3,058 new coronavirus cases Friday, as a troubling surge of the Delta variant continued to worsen and officials urged people to take precautions. Luke Money, Andrew J. Campa in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/21

An appeals court ruling: California’s school closure rules violated private school families’ rights -- An appeals court Friday ruled that state leaders violated the rights of parents by forcing private schools to stay closed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However the Ninth Circuit appeals court essentially upheld the state’s decision to keep public schools closed to in-person instruction during the pandemic. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/24/21

The latest surge in coronavirus cases is upending San Diego events — again -- Meals on Wheels and the San Diego County Taxpayers Association canceled upcoming fundraisers this week, citing the recent surge in coronavirus infections and the uncertainty among members of the public about gathering in large numbers. John Wilkens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/24/21

Some Bay Area bars, restaurants are requiring proof of vaccination — will others follow suit? -- Want to sip a craft cocktail or a rare whiskey in Haberdasher’s subterranean speakeasy? Be prepared to be carded — for proof of vaccination. Linda Zavoral, Sal Pizarro in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 7/24/21

As more workers fall ill, Bay Area restaurateurs weigh a dramatic step: banning the unvaccinated -- Bay Area restaurants are seeing reservations drop, with diners citing the highly contagious delta variant as their reason for canceling. Fully vaccinated employees are getting sick, forcing temporary closures at a rate that hasn’t been seen since early in the pandemic. Now, owners are debating what to do next. Janelle Bitker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/24/21

Fire  

Newsom declares state of emergency as Dixie Fire explodes to 167,000 acres -- The fast-moving Dixie Fire, the largest of seven wildfires blazing in California, prompted more evacuations on Friday amid hot, breezy conditions and low humidity, authorities said. The blaze, which is burning near the scar of the deadly 2018 Camp Fire, saw extreme fire behavior on Thursday and had scorched 167,430 acres by Friday evening, fire officials said. Lauren Hernández, Omar Shaikh Rashad in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/24/21

Exodus  

This data makes it official: The San Francisco exodus is over -- The net migration of people leaving San Francisco has fallen to pre-pandemic levels, according to United States Postal Service change of address data analyzed by The Chronicle. Roland Li, Susie Neilson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/24/21

Policy & Politics 

These five maps show how California is divided between Democrats and Republicans -- California has over 22 million registered voters, an all-time record achieved ahead of the 2020 presidential election. The state’s number of registered voters now surpasses Florida’s entire population. Nami Sumida in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/24/21

Newsom signs bill banning police from posting mug shots of nonviolent suspects on social media -- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Friday that bans police from publishing mug shots on social media sites of people arrested for nonviolent crimes — an effort to combat unconscious bias and protect the presumption of innocence, according to its author, Assembly Member Evan Low, D-San Jose. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/24/21

Border  

Border officials cancel entry appointments for vulnerable asylum seekers in Tijuana -- San Diego Customs and Border Protection officers are canceling appointments meant to allow particularly vulnerable asylum seekers into the United States while pandemic border policies continue to limit who can enter the country. Kate Morrissey in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/24/21

Workplace   

California inks contract with new 40K-member childcare union -- At a time when labor unions are struggling across the United States, California on Friday signed a first-time contract with 40,000 childcare providers under a new collective bargaining agreement. Don Thompson Associated Press -- 7/24/21

Housing  

'Present-day redlining': A Black homeowner says her Oakland property was undervalued by $400K -- When Cora Robinson decided to refinance her Oakland duplex last summer, the pandemic real estate market was going crazy for roomy stand-alone homes like hers. Lauren Hepler in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/24/21

More homes on market in Bay Area, report finds - here's what that means for buyers, sellers -- Bay Area home buyers might finally be getting a bit of a break — but they won’t end sellers’ reign over the market anytime soon, according to a new report from real estate listings site Zillow. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/24/21

Education  

UC students turned a ‘forever’ tuition hike into a five-year hike. Now what? -- The UC Board of Regents approved a five-year tuition hike that charges each incoming undergraduate class a progressively higher rate every year but then keeps that rate flat for six years. A previous version would have kept those increases going indefinitely. Now the author of that change wants students to document all the ways this plan could hurt students. Mikhail Zinshteyn CalMatters -- 7/24/21

Water  

Thousands of Central Valley farmers may lose access to surface water amid worsening drought -- As California endures an increasingly brutal second year of drought, state water regulators are considering an emergency order that would bar thousands of Central Valley farmers from using stream and river water to irrigate their crops. Julia Wick in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/21

Transit  

Are S.F. bus route eliminations imminent? The city begins contentious debate over future of Muni -- A cloud of uncertainty hovers over what San Francisco’s Muni service will look like early next year when the system undergoes its next round of changes. But one thing has become clear: The next six months that will shape Muni’s future promise to be highly contentious. Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 7/24/21

Also . . .   

U.S. prosecutors move to drop cases against Chinese researchers -- The Justice Department moved in recent days to drop charges against four researchers at California universities accused of hiding their ties to the Chinese military, a blow to U.S. efforts to battle Beijing’s attempts to steal U.S. national security and business secrets. Leila Miller, Del Quentin Wilber in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 7/24/21

California gives UC San Diego $35 million to build a coastal research ship -- The state has given UC San Diego $35 million to build a coastal research vessel that will focus on such pressing topics as sea-level rise, the health of marine fisheries, ocean acidification, El Nino and the atmospheric rivers that periodically bring damaging storms to California. Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 7/24/21