Sacramento hits 116 degrees for first time in history, breaking 97-year-old heat record
ROSALIO AHUMADA, SacBee: "Downtown Sacramento reached an all-time high temperature of 116 degrees Tuesday afternoon, breaking a record that was set nearly 100 years ago.
The now-surpassed record of 114 degrees was set on July 17, 1925, the National Weather Service in Sacramento announced in social media posts. Sacramento had already broken heat records over the Labor Day weekend as a lengthy heat wave continued to produce surging temperatures in the region.
But after meeting the record around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, the mercury kept rising — the downtown gauge near Sacramento State rose to 115 just before 4 p.m., according to the weather service. At 5:18 p.m., the weather service announced that downtown Sacramento had just reached 116 degrees.
California heat wave: No rolling blackouts Tuesday night
The Chronicle, STAFF: “Record demand strained California's power grid to the breaking point, as record-breaking demand forced the grid operator close to order rolling blackouts on Tuesday evening.
But ultimately the outages were not ordered.The heat wave, one of the worst in state history, has smashed temperature records across Northern California.
The Chronicle's weather team has been studying the models, and our newsroom meteorologists say that the oppressive heat will last through midweek.
‘This is brutal.’ These Bay Area cities were hottest on day 6 of the heat wave, hitting 115 degrees
The Chronicle, KEVIN FAGAN/MICHAEL CABANATUAN: “A second straight day of extreme heat scorched the Bay Area on Tuesday, keeping people out of the great outdoors and inside air-conditioned homes, offices and schools — if they were lucky. As Californians cranked up their air conditioners, Gov. Gavin Newsom urged conservation and warned that the danger of rotating blackouts was “real” and “immediate.”
After Fairfield recorded an all-time Bay Area daily high temperature of 117 degrees on Monday, forecasters had predicted similar or even hotter weather in some areas on Tuesday. By late afternoon, however, it appeared that no new Bay Area-wide records would be set, though there continued to be plenty of same-day records across the region. Vacaville and Fairfield hit 115 and Livermore marked 113, the National Weather Service reported.
Temperatures continued their streak of dangerously hot readings in much of the Bay Area, particularly in the interior valleys of the North Bay, Solano County, the outer East Bay and the South Bay.”
The science behind California’s worsening heat waves, explained
The Chronicle, JACK LEE/JOHN BLANCHARD: “A late-summer heat wave has nestled itself into the California-Nevada border, bringing potentially record-breaking temperatures across the state. Heat could reach dangerous levels in the Bay Area, with forecasts of triple-digit temperatures in some areas.
The cause? A heat dome. This atmospheric lid is trapping hot air over the Western U.S., triggering intense heat forecast to last for several days, with temperatures spiking in Northern California amid Labor Day weekend celebrations.
In the U.S., heat kills more people in an average year than other weather extremes — more than torrential floods, tornadoes and cold snaps.”
This is a cold oasis in California on the hottest weekend of the year. Beware of ‘fogburn’
LAT, HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS: “There’s a saying about the denizens of this foggy timber town: They don’t tan. They rust.
That’s because it’s usually so misty, so salty and so gray here along California’s far northern coast, said Don Hofacker. But sometimes, he emphasized, it does “get pretty doggone hot.”
“It does get extremely warm here,” Hofacker said. “It gets up to 82 at times.””
Here’s how to prepare for a blackout in a heat wave
LAT, JESSICA ROY: “As the deadly heat wave continues broiling the state, officials say Californians should be ready for rolling blackouts.
The California Independent System Operator is asking people to take any measures possible to reduce their power usage as much as possible starting at 4 p.m., when another Flex Alert goes into effect. That includes unplugging devices you aren’t using, turning the air conditioning to 78 degrees or turning it off, and holding off on running large appliances like your dishwasher and laundry machine until the power demand decreases.
Right now, usage is higher than ever as California contends with triple-digit heat in some areas.”
What to know about California’s midterm election ballot
SEEMA MEHTA, LAT: "With Labor Day in the rear-view mirror, Californians will soon be asked to weigh in on electoral contests that will shape the future of Los Angeles, the state and the nation.
Voters — concerned about homelessness, gas prices, crime and the economy — will be inundated with TV ads, mail flyers, texts and robocalls as candidates press their cases. Heavily funded campaigns are also pushing seven ballot measures on issues as varied as abortion, gaming and dialysis.
While the most prominent statewide races are not likely to be competitive because of California’s sapphire tilt, voters will decide congressional races that could determine control of the House of Representatives as well as highly competitive contests in Los Angeles that will install the next generation of leadership in the nation’s second-largest city."
A California doctor ordered X-rays for healthy patients. Now he’s going to prison
CATHIE ANDERSON, SacBee: "A Sacramento Superior Court judge sentence a Lodi orthopedic surgeon to seven years in prison in a case involving Medicare and Medi-Cal fraud, according to California Attorney General Rob Bonta.
Dr. Gary Wisner, who practiced at 621 S. Ham Lane in Lodi, was convicted of giving excessive and medically unjustifiable X-rays to 10 patients from 2012-16. Investigators with the California Department of Justice chose these patients randomly from the 26,000 individuals under Wisner’s care and examined their files for abuses.
“Gary Wisner used both his patients and state resources to line his own pockets,” Bonta said. “Due to his dishonest behavior, patients at his clinic had to undergo unnecessary medical tests so he could steal from the state’s Medi-Cal funds."
15-day watering ban begins today for parts of L.A. County
LAT, SUMMER LIN: “A 15-day outdoor watering ban took effect for 4 million Los Angeles County residents on Tuesday as crews make emergency repairs to a pipeline that delivers water to Southern Californians, according to the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.
The 36-mile Upper Feeder pipeline, which carries water from the Colorado River to Southern California, began leaking earlier this year, officials said. The agency made temporary repairs and continued using the pipeline at a reduced capacity but scheduled permanent repairs to be made from Tuesday to Sept. 20, during which the pipeline will be offline.
“We need to make this urgent repair to ensure this infrastructure can continue serving Southern California in the immediate term and for years to come,” Brent Yamasaki, MWD operations manager, said in a statement. “While we do this work, we need people who normally get water from this pipeline to eliminate their outdoor water use to stretch the limited available water supplies. We don’t take this call lightly, but it is what is needed at this time.””
Omicron booster shots in California: Am I eligible? Where can I get it? How quickly?
LAT, RONG-GONG LIN II/LUKE MONEY: “New COVID-19 booster shots are rolling out in California after federal officials greenlighted a new vaccination formula targeting the latest dominant Omicron subvariants as well as the original coronavirus strain.
Who will be eligible to roll up their sleeves for these “bivalent” shots? Just how soon should people get them? And is another booster really necessary?
Here’s what we know.”
Bill that would expand school health clinics faces opposition from anti-abortion groups
EdSource, CAROLYN JONES: “A bill that would double the number of health clinics on school campuses is headed to Gov.Gavin Newsom for approval amid objections from anti-abortion groups that claim the clinics would make it easier for students to end pregnancies.
Assembly Bill 1940, would set aside $100 million for schools to build or expand an estimated 200 health clinics offering free medical care, dental services, mental health counseling, reproductive health care and other services for students and, in some cases, the surrounding community.
“There’s so much urgency, so much passion and need for this right now,” said Gabrielle Tilley, senior policy manager at the Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health, one of the organizations supporting the bill. “We have the money, and we have a new awareness of the massive inequities in our state — this seems like a perfect time to make this happen.””
San Francisco is considering an ambitious new approach to tackle deadly drug crisis. Here are the details
The Chronicle, MALLORY MOENCH: “A trio of San Francisco supervisors revealed an ambitious citywide road map Tuesday to tackle drug overdose deaths, addiction and open-air use and dealing, urging a coordinated response that uses millions from opioid lawsuit settlements to address an unprecedented crisis.
The guiding document, which includes recommendations and directs city departments to report back with solutions, follows a devastating two-and-a-half years. Since the start of 2020, the city has seen nearly 1,700 fatal overdoses, almost double the death toll of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Resident complaints about drug activity reached a fever pitch last year, prompting Mayor London Breed to declare a controversial three-month emergency in the hard-hit Tenderloin neighborhood. Breed’s Tenderloin emergency and her ongoing initiative have failed so far to transform the neighborhood, putting additional pressure on supervisors to deliver citywide solutions.”
Steve Bannon expects to face new criminal charge in New York
AP, ERIC TUCKER/MICHAEL R SISAK: “Stephen K. Bannon, a longtime ally of former President Trump, said Tuesday that he expects to be charged soon in a state criminal case in New York City.
Bannon, 68, plans to turn himself in on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person insisted on anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.
The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources, reported that the state criminal case would resemble an earlier attempted federal prosecution, in which Bannon was accused of duping donors who gave money to fund a wall on the U.S. southern border.”
