Updating . .   

California cities took over their houses, then a private company drove them into debt -- The company is supposed to return homes to their owners after fixing the code violations, but its fees can grow so high that the homeowner cannot afford to pay them, according to people whose properties went into receivership. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/25/22

Housing 

Do tiny homes really work as a solution to homelessness? Here’s what the data shows -- When Robert Hernandez unpacked his meager belongings into one of San Jose’s celebrated tiny homes, finally getting a bed and access to a shower after more than a decade on the street, he had reason to be elated. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/25/22

Policy and Politics  

Newsom denies presidential ambitions in Texas visit, attacks Greg Abbott, Ron DeSantis -- Gov. Gavin Newsom denied he is running for president Saturday in an interview in Texas where the California Democrat also attacked two Republican governors viewed as potential 2024 presidential contenders. Ricardo Cano in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/22

S.F. mayor made Police Commission appointee sign undated resignation letter. Supes want to ban practice -- After learning a police commissioner was asked to sign an undated letter of resignation to the mayor’s office before receiving a reappointment to the post, two San Francisco supervisors are vowing to ban the practice, calling it an effort by Mayor London Breed to strip oversight bodies of their independence. Matthias Gafni in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/22

S.F. firefighter seen wearing ‘Let’s Go Brandon’ T-shirt on duty faces disciplinary action -- A San Francisco firefighter will face disciplinary action after he was seen wearing a T-shirt with the phrase “Let’s Go Brandon” while on duty — a violation of the Fire Department’s uniform policy, a spokesperson said. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/22

Garofoli: There’s little doubt that Prop. 1 will win. But abortion rights advocates need it to win big -- A big win — as in at least 60% of support — will send a national message that advocates hope will inspire other states to fight back against the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/22

Even the richest San Franciscans think economic inequality is out of control. Here’s how bad it is -- But while some may think that this is an issue that only worries the have-nots, a recent poll by The Chronicle found that the majority of San Franciscans, both rich and poor, agree: economic disparity in the city is a growing problem and it needs to be addressed. Adriana Rezal in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/22

Mental Health  

Does anyone else feel like they’re drowning? Mental health is suffering -- There’s no way to sugarcoat it: These are challenging times to live in Los Angeles. Deborah Netburn in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/22

COVID  

Do COVID vaccine mandates still make sense as other pandemic orders wind down? -- The president says the pandemic is over, and mask and social distancing orders have largely ended. But Monica Pirozzoli was disciplined this month and almost lost her job as a Gilroy middle school teacher after 35 years because, though she’s had COVID-19, she hasn’t had the vaccine. John Woolfolk, Elissa Welle in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/25/22

Is the pandemic over? Pre-covid activities Americans are (and are not) resuming -- Biden says the pandemic is over — and when it comes to casinos, concerts and cosmetic procedures, Americans seem to agree. For theater, therapy and funerals though, not so much. Marc Fisher and Taylor Telford in the Washington Post$ -- 9/25/22

Bark Beetle    

Wine Country is reeling from ‘mass attacks’ on trees -- The loathed bark beetle has munched its way into the Wine Country hills. The beetle, which recently caused a massive die-off of conifers in the Sierra Nevada, is doing the same thing in Napa County and nearby areas — stirring grave concerns about fire risk and ecological turmoil. Kate Galbraith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/22

Japanese American National Museum  

‘There’s our family name’: Sacred book honors Japanese Americans incarcerated during WWII -- The book weighs 25 pounds and is more than 1,000 pages long. It is roughly the size of the Gutenberg Bible. Instead of the word of God, it contains names — 125,284 names. Anh Do in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/22

How the pandemic saved one of California’s smallest public schools -- In Kneeland, which isn’t so much a town as a rural fire station and a smattering of homes in the forest, the school has long been the lifeblood of the community. And it has long felt a little fragile. Hailey Branson-Potts, Myung J. Chun in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/22

Also . . .   

Silicon Valley Slides Back Into ‘Bro’ Culture -- Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Marc Andreessen show how the tech industry’s insular culture remains largely unchanged. Erin Griffith in the New York Times$ -- 9/25/22

Rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters face neglect at L.A. city shelters, volunteers say -- When the Harbor Animal Care Center faced a food crunch in August, volunteer Jan Bunker logged on to Nextdoor to plead for donations. Dakota Smith, Melissa Gomez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/22

California Policy and Politics Sunday  

Los Angeles agencies returned $150 million in federal funds to house homeless people -- Nearly $150 million worth of federal grants to the three main housing agencies working to reduce homelessness in Greater Los Angeles went unspent between 2015 and 2020, as the number of unhoused people soared. Connor Sheets in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/22

Homeless advocates urge L.A. leaders to buy downtown hotel and turn it into housing -- Homeless advocates on Friday called on city leaders to purchase the L.A. Grand Hotel, which has served as emergency shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic, to convert into permanent housing. Ruben Vives, David Zahniser in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/22

Los Angeles homeless count raises doubts about accuracy. Is it time for a new way? -- When the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority this month published a spreadsheet breaking down its homeless count by every census tract in the county, those with knowledge of Venice were incredulous. Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/22

Housing 

It now costs almost $1.2 million to build a single affordable home in San Francisco -- Though exorbitant building costs have long been a Bay Area norm, housing researchers say the trend has been compounded by increasingly acute worker shortages, pandemic-era inflation and familiar political issues like long and unpredictable approval processes. Lauren Hepler in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/22

Wildfire  

Why does California still have manned fire lookouts in the age of cell phones and cameras? -- From his panoramic perch atop Mount Tamalpais's East Peak, the highest point in Marin County, Steven Post lifted his binoculars and peered north across a hazy landscape where paved subdivisions give way to dry, golden hills. It was nearing 2 p.m. and getting hotter. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/22

The Grid  

California's latest power grid problems are just the beginning -- California’s recent decisions to postpone the closure of its last nuclear plant and to extend the life of some natural gas-fired facilities highlight what officials and experts say is the fact that the state with the most ambitious energy goals is far from achieving them. Camille Von Kaenel Politico -- 9/25/22

COVID  

COVID is in a lull, again. Experts say it’s still a time of ‘tradeoffs’ -- His comment was off the cuff — and the White House spent the rest of the week walking it back. But when President Biden said last Sunday on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that the COVID-19 pandemic was “over,” his words fell on American ears all too eager to believe he was right. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/22

Climate  

Big waves move railroad tracks, again, in south San Clemente -- A storm surge that hit the region recently caused damage to a railroad line in southern San Clemente, the same section that had to close a year ago when battered by storms that prompted a landslide and track movement. Laylan Connelly in the Orange County Register -- 9/25/22

Also . . .   

‘Fat Leonard’ had life of leisure, relaxed security before escape, capture -- On home confinement in San Diego, "Fat Leonard" Francis hired servants and undermined the security requirements aimed at keeping the mastermind of a $35 million Navy bribery scandal from fleeing, according to interviews and records obtained by The Washington Post. Jonathan O'Connell in the Washington Post$ -- 9/25/22

UC Hastings College of the Law is now UC College of the Law, San Francisco -- On Friday, Newsom signed AB1936, renaming the SF law school that was founded in 1878 by Serranus Clinton Hastings. Hastings supported and funded the mass killings and other atrocities committed against Native American people in the mid-19th century. The name change will take effect on Jan. 1, 2023. Matthew Tom in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 9/25/22

Iranian Americans in S.F. protest Islamic leadership after woman’s death over hijab -- Mitra Guerin left Iran in 1973, before the Islamic Revolution, which overthrew the Shah of Iran and replaced it with a theocracy. She hasn’t returned since. The item is in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/25/22

Are Trump presidential records still missing? The answer could take years — or may never come -- As questions continue to swirl about the 11,000 records the FBI recovered during its raid of former President Trump’s Florida home, Congress has asked the National Archives to provide it with a preliminary report by Tuesday detailing what Trump presidential records might still be missing. Sarah D. Wire in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/25/22