Updating . .   

Why the next big Bay Area earthquake could happen on a fault many don't even know exists -- A lesser-studied fault system along the western side of Silicon Valley could generate a magnitude 6.9 earthquake — the same size as 1989’s infamous Loma Prieta — every 250 to 300 years, a new Stanford study found. Claire Hao in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/27/22

Policy and Politics  

In one swing California suburb, Jan. 6 is minor subplot as voters focus on pocketbooks -- In a battleground House district in California, voters say Jan. 6 and the issue of threats to democracy are on their minds but not determining their choice. Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/22

Second S.F. police commissioner said she signed controversial undated resignation letter at behest of Mayor Breed -- A second police commissioner appointed by Mayor London Breed said she’d signed an undated letter of resignation, days after critics excoriated the mayor when the practice first came to light. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/27/22

Los Angeles moves one step closer to phasing out oil drilling -- Los Angeles is moving closer to halting oil drilling inside the city limits, following a unanimous vote by the City Planning Commission on Sept. 22 that green-lighted an ordinance that, if approved by the City Council in coming months, would ban new oil and gas drilling and phase out existing operations within 20 years. Olga Grigoryants in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/27/22

Gov. Newsom signs bill to stop incentives to burn trash at landfills -- AB1857, authored by Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens), was aimed specifically at the Southeast Resource Recovery Facility (SERRF) on Terminal Island in the Port of Long Beach. The plant has been burning trash from Long Beach and surrounding cities for more than 30 years, using the heat to generate electricity. Harry Saltzgaver in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/27/22

California Senators Padilla, Feinstein advocate for federal protections for elections workers -- California Sens. Alex Padilla and Dianne Feinstein are co-sponsors of the bill that would establish grants for states and local governments for the recruitment, retention, training and safety measures for poll workers; cover election workers under federal prohibitions on doxxing; and safeguard election officials’ ability to remove poll observers who attempt to interfere with an election. Kaitlyn Schallhorn in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/27/22

Sports betting to solve homelessness? Dodgy claims made by Prop. 26 and 27 campaigns, fact checked -- Whether they follow politics closely or not, most Californians have probably seen or heard about competing ballot measures to legalize sports betting. Ads for Propositions 26 and 27, which may be slowing down, have ranged from confusing to misleading. Ari Plachta in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/27/22

A San Jose church avoided $217,500 in COVID court fines. Santa Clara County still wants to make them pay -- A San Jose church that was able to avoid paying nearly a quarter million dollars in court fines after flouting COVID public health rules during the height of the pandemic may end up having to fork over at least some of the money after all. Gabriel Greschler in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/27/22

California enjoying ‘good COVID weather’ now. But a tough winter could be coming -- But health experts are warning these onditions could change as the weather cools, people head indoors and new variants and subvariants potentially emerge. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/22

Is it safe to get COVID booster and flu shot at the same time? What experts say -- But busy residents need not fret about booking a pair of appointments. Jha, along with other officials and experts, say it’s perfectly fine to roll up each of your sleeves during the same visit. Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/22

Wildfire  

Smith, Chabria: California spends billions rebuilding burned towns. The case for calling it quits -- By our back-of-the-napkin math — which we calculated because no one in Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration could provide an official tally — it will take about $1 billion just to rebuild Greenville. Only about 300 people plan to return, and climate scientists say the town could catch fire again in as little as 10 years. Erika D. Smith, Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/22

Smith, Chabria: Rural climate skeptics are costing us time and money. Do we keep indulging them? -- This is the part of the state where climate change has become a full-fledged existential threat. Sure, Southern California is prone to its fair share of disasters, but it is in Northern California where catastrophic wildfires aren’t just likely but are certain to destroy remote small towns for decades to come. Erika D. Smith, Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/22

Housing 

47% jump in Orange County house payments cuts prices 5.1% from their peak -- Orange County homebuying cooled this summer. August sales were 31% below a year ago as house hunters were scared off by 47% higher house payments. Orange County home prices are down 6.6% from their springtime peak. Jonathan Lansner in the Orange County Register -- 9/27/22

Street  

Woman found dead after home invasion was probation officer -- A woman found dead with blunt head trauma inside her Southern California home over the weekend has been identified as a veteran Los Angeles County deputy probation officer, authorities said. Associated Press -- 9/27/22

Capitol Riot  

2 California women charged in connection with Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol -- Michelle Estey and Melanie Belger are facing federal charges of entering a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, according to a complaint unsealed Friday at a federal courthouse in Washington D.C. Both women were arrested in Orange County, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Estey is a Newport Beach resident, according to court filings, while Belger is a Tustin resident. Sean Emery in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/27/22

Education  

UCLA wants more students but has no room. So it’s buying a campus in Rancho Palos Verdes -- UCLA, the nation’s most applied-to university, wants to add more students but doesn’t have room. So it’s buying the Marymount California University campus to hold 1,000 more. Teresa Watanabe in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/22

Also . . .   

State bar announces probe of L.A. lawyers Geragos, Kabateck over Armenian genocide settlement -- The public disclosure that lawyers Mark Geragos and Brian Kabateck are under scrutiny came six months after a Times investigation revealed how the historic legal case devolved into corruption, diverted funds and disillusionment for ethnic Armenians around the world hoping for compensation. Harriet Ryan, Matt Hamilton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/22

How an ‘ancient landslide’ keeps threatening a railroad, homes in San Clemente -- When heavy rains and high surf from Tropical Storm Kay battered much of Southern California’s seaboard this month, the ground shifted — ever so slightly — under the railroad along San Clemente’s coast. It wasn’t the first time. Grace Toohey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/22

California Policy and Politics Tuesday  

Reparations task force: State could owe Black Californians hundreds of thousands of dollars -- Black Californians could be due hundreds of thousands of dollars for housing discrimination, incarceration, and health disparities alone, consultants said at reparations task force hearings. Lil Kalish CalMatters -- 9/27/22

‘Mandela’ bill would limit solitary confinement in California prisons and jails -- In solitary confinement, a former California inmate recalled, there were two kinds of people: One kind would read books in their cells, exercise and do and re-do crossword puzzles. The other kind would scream and curse, refuse to dress and throw their feces at the walls. Nigel Duara CalMatters -- 9/27/22

Newsom vetoes bill aimed at preventing light pollution -- Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that would have dimmed the light pollution emanating from state buildings, writing that the proposed law was an “overly broad mandate” whose costs California is currently ill-equipped to cover. Corinne Purtill in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/22

Newsom signs bill banning ‘barbaric’ toxicity testing on dogs and cats in California -- California will ban the testing of pesticides, chemical substances and other products on cats and dogs, under a bill signed into law Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/27/22

Lopez: Enough about guns, Scientology and USC. L.A. voters need more on tents from Bass, Caruso -- You might be inclined to call me naive for what I’m about to say, but I’m saying it anyway. With a mere six weeks to go in the campaign for mayor of Los Angeles, can we please focus on what matters most? Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/22

San Francisco’s archbishop and Nancy Pelosi agree on this contentious political issue -- San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone called for an immediate and widespread end to the death penalty in an editorial he published this month in the national Catholic magazine “America: the Jesuit Review.” Sam Whiting in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/27/22

Walters: California refusing to release school test results -- California’s Department of Education has finally acknowledged the obvious: It is arbitrarily delaying the release of results from this year’s round of academic testing. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 9/27/22

Healthcare  

As state sets higher Medi-Cal contract standards, some providers predict major disruptions -- More than 1.7 million Medi-Cal patients may get a new insurance provider in the coming months as a result of the state’s first-ever competitive bidding process, but critics and some providers fear the change will cause major disruptions to care. Kristen Hwang CalMatters Bernard J. Wolfson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/27/22

Gas  

Pain at the pump? L.A. County’s average gas price hits $5.84 a gallon -- After gas prices declined for 98 days in a row, the trend reversed course last week amid supply issues due to snags at refineries across the West Coast and Midwest, according to AAA. Summer Lin in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/22

Capitol Riot  

Jan. 6 defendant from Sacramento area rejects plea deal from jail, will head to April trial -- Sean McHugh, an Auburn construction worker who is one of four Sacramento-area residents accused of crimes during the insurrection, appeared in court from jail by video Monday as his new attorney told U.S. District Judge John D. Bates that McHugh wants to face trial rather than take a deal. Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 9/27/22

2 Orange County women charged in connection with Jan. 6 siege of the U.S. Capitol -- Michelle Estey and Melanie Belger are facing federal charges of entering a restricted building, disorderly and disruptive conduct, and parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building, according to a complaint unsealed Friday at a federal courthouse in Washington D.C. Sean Emery in the Orange County Register -- 9/27/22

Workplace   

Worried about the economy? Demand for these jobs is high and growing -- Based on state employment studies and interviews with economists and academics, here are the jobs expected to be in highest demand over the next year in California — arranged roughly from lower skill/pay to higher skill/pay — and some of the pros and cons involved. Hugo Martín in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/22

United flight attendants to picket LAX over short staffing, travel disruptions -- Dozens of United Airlines flight attendants plan to picket LAX on Tuesday, Sept 27, claiming a shortage of crew schedulers, caterers and other service workers often leaves them stranded for hours waiting to know when they’ll be headed out for their next flight. Kevin Smith in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 9/27/22

Wildfire  

Forest service seizes PG&E equipment as part of fire probe -- Federal investigators have taken possession of a Pacific Gas and Electric Co. utility transmission pole and attached equipment in a criminal probe into what started a Northern California fire that has become the largest in the state this year, the utility said in a regulatory filing Monday. Olga R. Rodriguez Associated Press -- 9/27/22

Street  

Alameda sheriff strips 47 deputies of service weapons, admitting they failed psych exams and shouldn’t have been hired -- The Alameda County Sheriff’s Office stripped 47 deputies of their arresting powers and firearms after an audit determined they should not have been hired in the first place because they failed to pass psychological evaluations, officials said Monday. Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/27/22

ICE  

Appeals court blocks California ban on for-profit prisons -- A larger panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday again blocked California’s first-in-the-nation ban on for-profit private prisons and immigration detention facilities, finding that it is trumped by the federal government. Don Thompson Associated Press Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/27/22

Education  

After 20 years of stops and starts, teacher housing breaks ground in San Francisco -- The school district is moving forward with the $105 million development with 134 units hoping to retain and recruit teachers by providing affordable housing for district staff in one of the most expensive housing markets in the country. Jessica Flores in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 9/27/22

Thousands of California teachers say they are stressed, burned out -- A large-scale survey this past summer of California teachers confirms what has emerged as a byproduct of two-plus years of a pandemic: Large numbers of teachers characterize their work as “stressful” and “exhausting.” And nearly twice as many teachers than in the past say that job conditions have changed for the worse. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 9/27/22

Climate  

Your house vs. climate change? A new site offers risk forecast for next 30 years -- ClimateCheck blends science and real estate data to rate a property’s long-term risk for drought, fires and extreme heat, among other things. It’s a milestone in how climate information is viewed and used. Brooke Staggs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 9/27/22

Breathe  

Sacramento County has new wildfire smoke response plan -- The plan says schools should move recess, athletic practices and physical education classes indoors when Air Quality Index (AQI) reaches 200, a level which the Environmental Protection Agency defines as “very unhealthy.” It also says employers should offer N95 masks to employees who work outdoors when AQI exceeds 150. Steve Milne Capital Public Radio -- 9/27/22

Also . . .   

After fleeing Kabul, Afghan lawyers seek new life — and legal careers — in California -- Masooda Qazi held her 8-year-old son’s hand tightly as she frantically tried to convey to a group of Dutch soldiers that she was an employee of the U.S. Embassy and was promised transport out of Kabul as it fell to the Taliban last year. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 9/27/22