Flesh-eating fungus expands its range // Six architectural gems in San Francisco

Good morning. It’s Tuesday, Nov. 14.

Valley fever expands its range across the American West.
Gaza protesters take over a federal building in Oakland.
And the six greatest design landmarks in San Francisco.

Statewide

1.

Dust drifted through the Carrizo Plain National Monument. (Carolyn Van Houten/Washington Post via Getty Images)

Cases of Valley fever, a lung disease that can cause debilitating fatigue and pain, have quadrupled over 20 years. Some researchers believe climate change is driving the spread of the flesh-eating fungus that causes it, which thrives in dry soils. “I cannot think of any other infection that is so closely entwined with climate change,” said Rasha Kuran, an infectious-disease specialist. Reporters travelled through California, Oregon, and Washington to track Valley fever’s reach. Washington Post

2.

After months of intense public pressure, California this year made it easier for farmworkers to unionize. Under the new rules, they can organize without their employer’s knowledge by signing authorization cards rather than voting in-person at a polling place. It’s already working. California just certified a new union at a tomato farm and packing company in Stanislaus County. The company is disputing the results. CalMatters

3.

Mammoth Mountain on Saturday. (Peter Morning, via Mammoth Mountain)

After a break of fewer than 100 days, Sierra Nevada resorts welcomed skiers and snowboarders back to the slopes over the weekend. In the Tahoe region, Mt. Rose, with the region’s highest base elevation at 8,260 feet, was the first to open on Friday. Mammoth Mountain opened the same day. At least five others were planning to be open by Thanksgiving. Reno Gazette Journal | S.F. Chronicle

The Wall Street Journal ranked the 100 best ski resorts in North America. Palisades Tahoe was No. 1 in the U.S.

Northern California

4.

Protesters waited to be detained at the Oakland Federal Building in Oakland on Monday. (Godofredo A. Vásquez/A.P.)

Hundreds of Jewish Voice for Peace protesters took over a federal building in Oakland on Monday and said they would not leave until a cease-fire was called in Gaza. After several hours, police began arresting people one by one for unlawful assembly. “My grandmother and grandfather didn’t die in Germany for our history to be exploited to kill other people,” one protester said as she was led away. Mercury News | S.F. Chronicle

See video from the protest. 👉 @JVPBayArea

5.

Three people in bright orange outfits rappelled down the side of San Francisco’s Transamerica Pyramid and began flipping and spinning in an elaborate aerial dance. Some bewildered onlookers wondered whether it was a protest connected to this week’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. But the aerialists were in fact invited by the city to help kick off the summit, they said. “Do not be alarmed, enjoy the show!” the SFPD tweeted. NBC Bay Area | KGO

See video of the performers. 👉 Reddit
Two Czech journalists in town for the summit were robbed at gunpoint on Sunday, police said. SF Standard

6.

Paul Pelosi took the witness stand in San Francisco on Monday, speaking publicly for the first time about the brutal attack on Oct. 28, 2022, that left him with a cracked skull. About two hours after going to bed, Pelosi, 83, said he was jolted awake by an intruder, later identified as David DePape. “Looking at him and looking at the hammer and the ties, I recognized that I was in serious danger,” Pelosi said. “Where’s Nancy?” he recalled DePape asking him. KQED | N.Y. Times

7.

Heirloom’s Tracy facility is capable of soaking up 1,000 tons of carbon dioxide annually. (Heirloom Carbon)

In an open-air warehouse on the edge of the San Joaquin Valley, hundreds of trays stacked in columns 40 feet high are filled with a white powder that absorbs carbon dioxide from the sky. The facility, opened last Thursday, is the nation’s first commercial plant to vacuum greenhouse gases from the atmosphere for permanent storage. Some scientists believe the technique could be crucial for fighting climate change. “We’ve been polluting, with carbon, our atmosphere, since the industrial revolution and you cannot unpollute — except, except with this,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm. N.Y. Times | Bloomberg

8.

San Francisco — with its multicolored Victorians, Spanish-flavored revivals, and opulent Art Deco buildings — is a place of fabulously eclectic architecture. The architect Mark Cavagnero shared his six picks for the city’s greatest design landmarks. Pictured above, City Hall, Frank Lloyd Wright’s only San Francisco building, and the Palace Hotel made the cut. BBC

Southern California

9.

In December 2022, Santa Ana City Council member Jessie Lopez voted for a police labor contract that fell short of union demands. The union responded by pouring more than $660,000 into a recall campaign against her. Voting begins today. The Orange County Register’s editorial board, which commonly supports Republican positions, sided with Lopez, a progressive. “We certainly have our differences with her on policy,” the board wrote. “But this recall really is about the lock-grip on power in the city of the Santa Ana police officers association.” The Guardian

10.

The 10 Freeway was free of cars Monday. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

As hundreds of thousands of motorists navigated detours and disrupted commutes on Monday, the authorities said arson caused the weekend fire that indefinitely shut down a key section of Interstate 10 in Los Angeles. No suspect has been named. Officials suggested reopening wouldn’t come soon after flames damaged more than 100 columns along the freeway. “Losing this stretch of the 10 Freeway will take time and money from people’s lives and businesses,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. “It’s disrupting in every way.” L.A. Times | Bloomberg

11.

Mei Haskell, left, and her parents, Yanxiang Wang and Gaoshen Li, remain missing. (Los Angeles Police Department)

The son of a Hollywood executive was charged on Monday with three counts of murder in connection with the disappearance of his wife and in-laws, prosecutors said. Last Tuesday, Samuel Haskell, 35, asked day laborers to take bags from his Tarzana home that he said were filled with rocks, the workers told NBC4. But when they looked inside, one of them recalled, “I started seeing body parts, a belly button.” They returned the remains and reported the discovery to the police. L.A. Times | KTLA

12.

Three days after Carl Westcott, the founder of 1-800-Flowers, signed a contract to sell his Montecito home for $15 million to Katy Perry in July 2020, he changed his mind. Both sides sued, with Westcott claiming the contract was invalid because he had been mentally incapacitated by pain pills. Three years later, on Nov. 7, a judge ruled in Perry’s favor, finding “no persuasive evidence” to support Westcott’s claims. Even so, Westcott’s family is pushing legislation that would establish a 72-hour “cool-down period” in home sales involving seniors. It’s called the Perry Act. Wall Street Journal

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