Newsom takes hard line on new drilling activity
There'll be no new fracking permits (for now), rural California Democrats do exist and more power shutoffs loom on PG&E turf.
It's Tuesday's news.
But first, underdogs nearly all: A new report says 99.8% of 459 U.S. endangered species possess a trait that could make it difficult to adapt to global warming. 🙈
Arlene Martinez writes In California, a daily roundup of stories from newsrooms across the Paste BN Network. Subscribe here.
A victory for oil drilling critics
It wasn't all they wanted, but critics of the state's powerful oil drilling industry cheered Gov. Gavin Newsom's move Tuesday to temporarily ban new permits for steam injection and hydraulic fracturing (aka fracking). The moratorium will allow for an independent, scientific analysis of each proposal, and new laws will be developed to examine possible buffers near polluting oil operations in heavily populated areas. The measures are all aimed at better protecting public health and natural resources as the state moves forward with tough climate emissions mandates that could eventually phase out the state's entrenched oil and gas operations. Well-known environmentalist Bill McKibben was among those celebrating, tweeting: "Today's epic news about CA committing to manage the decline of oil production is so interesting generationally. @JerryBrownGov couldn't bring himself to do it; @GavinNewsom listened hard to justice groups from across the state and met the moment."
Fresno manhunt, evictions, another Vegas victim
Two men accused of killing four people during a backyard gathering in Fresno remain at large. Here's how police are handling the investigation.
Ahead of new rent-control laws, landlords dole out 60-day notices to move out.
A Mira Loma woman paralyzed in the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting has died, the San Bernardino County coroner said.
181,000 PG&E customers could lose power
About 181,000 customers of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. across Northern California were warned Tuesday that their power may be shut off starting Wednesday morning because of strong winds that could start a wildfire. The so-called Public Safety Power Shutoffs were expected in areas including Napa and Sonoma counties in wine country and in the Sierra Nevada foothills. The company said earlier Tuesday that areas around Marin, just north of San Francisco, and Santa Cruz could be affected but later lifted those warnings.
Is your home impacted? Check your address here.
Here's the PG&E weather report and factors for determining shutoffs.
Rural California Dems: It's not all beach here
Rural Democratic California voters are hoping presidential candidates visit their communities to better understand their issues as campaigning really gets underway. That was a prevalent point made during the rural caucus' gathering this weekend at the California Democratic Party Convention in Long Beach. Throughout the discussion, members of the caucus said fellow party members from cosmopolitan, coastal cities don't understand the day-to-day indignities of life in places where 911 responses can take more than an hour and most of the few hospitals that are in operation lack adequate resources to serve their communities. Audrey Denney, an education consultant from Chico running to represent California's 11-county-spanning 1st District in Congress, put it this way: "My advice to candidates would be to come, and to show up in rural America."
What we're talking about
Carousel + skee ball + fudge may be no match for 'modern' vision in Ventura.
Besides free samples, what really gets Costco shoppers excited? New gas pumps.
Thousand Oaks-based Amgen, the world's largest biotech drugmaker, cuts 172 jobs.
Getting his kicks off Route 66
You might say real estate investor Albert Okura has a thing for nostalgia. He owns the site of the first McDonald's ever opened — in 1940 in San Bernardino — and in 2005 he bought the once-bustling town of Amboy. Both are off Route 66, a road once synonymous with opportunity. And it still is to Okura, who owns the town about an hour's drive from Twentynine Palms. The centerpiece of Amboy is Roy's, a former motel, gas station and café. Okura got the gas station up and running in 2008 and hopes the café is next. Meanwhile, over the weekend, the Roy's sign lit up for the first time since the 1980s.
Read more about the town's future in this Q&A with Albert Okura's son, Kyle Okura.
Photos: Roy's Motel and Café sign again lights up Amboy.
I'll leave you with this podcast listening recommendation:
Is it really the end of California as we know it? The latest from "Gimme Shelter: The California Housing Crisis Podcast" hosted by CalMatters' Matt Levin and the Los Angeles Times' Liam Dillon. Among other things, like which So Cal regions are allotted how much housing, the two discuss: Would you take $10,000 to leave the Bay Area?
In California is a roundup of news compiled from across Paste BN Network newsrooms. Contributing: CalMatters, Los Angeles Times, Mercury News.