Good morning. It’s Thursday, July 11.
- Oakland uses flawed data to claim reduction in crime.
- Raw milk salmonella outbreak sickens at least 165 people.
- And Long Beach adds 14 colorful outdoor murals.
Statewide
1.
California figures weighed in as doubts over President Biden’s candidacy intensified on Wednesday:
- Representative Nancy Pelosi tried a new tack to get through to Biden, wrote the New York Times: “She telegraphed not panic but respect, in hopes of appealing to the Joe Biden who has taken a breath and stepped aside in the past.”
- George Clooney, a major campaign donor, said in an op-ed that the president is certain to lose to Donald Trump: “This isn’t only my opinion; this is the opinion of every senator and congress member and governor that I’ve spoken with in private.” Wall Street Journal | Washington Post
- Gov. Gavin Newsom reiterated his confidence in the 81-year-old president: “I’m all in, working day in and day out.” Asked if he stood by a pledge not to challenge Vice President Kamala Harris for president, he answered: “Of course. Yes.” Sacramento Bee | Mercury News
2.
To date this year, wildfires in California have burned nearly 325 square miles of vegetation, fire officials reported on Wednesday. That’s more than five times the average area burned through July 10 in each of the past five years. “We are not just in a fire season, but we are in a fire year,” said Joe Tyler, the Cal Fire director. A.P.
- On Wednesday, crews were battling 19 big wildfires across the state. The Lake fire in Santa Barbara grew into the largest blaze so far this year, torching more than 45 square miles since its ignition on Friday. See a live wildfire map. 👉 Cal Fire
Northern California
3.
A citizen journalist exposed how Oakland officials have been using misleading data to claim that crime is falling. In recent months, statistics published by the Oakland police department showed a 33% drop in year-to-date crime, a turnaround quoted enthusiastically by Mayor Sheng Thao. But the figure was reached by comparing complete figures from 2023 against partial data from 2024, according to an analysis by Tim Gardner, of the Oakland Report. An apples-to-apples comparison would almost certainly erase much of the perceived reduction. S.F. Chronicle
4.
Gov. Gavin Newsom rescinded an offer to send attorneys to help prosecute drug crimes in Oakland, accusing the county’s progressive district attorney of declining the state’s help. “Despite our outreach, your office has yet to make use of these resources,” Newsom’s cabinet secretary, Ann Patterson, wrote in a letter to District Attorney Pamela Price. Price, who rose to office on pledges to disrupt the criminal-justice status quo, is facing a recall effort fueled by concerns about crime. Politico
5.
A salmonella outbreak linked to unpasteurized milk from the supplier Raw Farm in Fresno has sickened at least 165 people, newly released state records showed. It is said to be the largest such outbreak in the U.S. in the past decade. The FDA has long warned that raw milk is dangerous, and many states ban its sale. But California doesn’t. That’s been a boon for Raw Farm and other dairies that have benefited from a raw-milk wellness trend driven by lifestyle influencers. A.P.
6.
A small colony of homeless people has been living on a secret bayfront beach next to the Bay Bridge toll plaza for years. Robert Simpson lives in an R.V. with a backyard tiki bar and sweeping views of San Francisco Bay. “I wake up and see the Golden Gate Bridge,” he said. “There’s people who pay millions of dollars for a view not nearly as bomb as this one.” But the encampment’s days appear to be numbered. Oakland’s Public Works Department recently gave everyone on the beach two weeks to leave. Simpson said he plans to hire a lawyer. SF Standard
7.
In 2016, residents in Berkeley approved a referendum that extended the right to vote in school board elections to 16- and 17-year-olds, becoming one of the first communities in the U.S. to lower its voting age. But the change was held up by logistical hurdles. On Tuesday, the Berkeley City Council approved an ordinance to finally put the systems in place to allow youth voting in November. “It makes complete sense,” said Mayor Jesse Arreguín. “They know more than we do about what they need and who should best represent them.” Berkeleyside
Southern California
8.
The alleged leader of an armed robbery crew that killed a New Zealand tourist outside a mall in Newport Beach last week was a prolific criminal who pleaded no contest in 2023 to a gunpoint robbery. In that case, the office of L.A. County District Attorney George Gascón agreed to a deal that spared Leroy McCrary, 26, prison time. Before that, McCrary was convicted of residential burglary in 2018 and making criminal threats in 2020, both felonies. Nathan Hochman, who is running for district attorney, said Gascón’s “malpractice appears to have cost another life.” L.A. Times
9.
In June 2002, a civil engineer from San Bernardino County named Bill Stampfl went missing during an avalanche while climbing Peru’s highest mountain. In time, his family accepted that he would never be found. Then one day last month, Stampfl’s son, Joseph Stampfl, got a call from a stranger who said he had stumbled upon his father’s body, exposed by melting ice. “It was so out of left field. … You just never think you are going to get that call,” Joseph said. The family plans to scatter his ashes on Mount Baldy, where he used to climb. A.P. | N.Y. Times
10.
A 50-year-old from Encinitas is set to compete in skateboarding in the Paris Olympics, making him among the oldest people to compete in the Games. Andy Macdonald was born in the U.S. but will represent Britain, the country of his father’s birth. “It hurts more when you fall,” Macdonald said of skating at his age. “It takes longer to heal.” Also on the British team: Sky Brown, a 15-year-old British-Japanese skater who has lived part-time in Southern California. She is younger than Macdonald’s three children. N.Y. Times | Axios
11.
Last week, a 19-year-old mountain biker reported that he’d been attacked by a suspected mountain lion that launched out of a tree in Arroyo Grande. He was tossed from his bike and suffered a minor concussion. Wildlife officials collected DNA from the attack and sent it to a lab for genetic testing. The results came back on Monday: It was a house cat. The Tribune
12.
Since 2015, artists have transformed formerly drab outdoor walls in Long Beach with colorful artworks during an annual weeklong festival called Long Beach Walls. This year’s event added 14 new murals, bringing the total number to more than 120. The Long Beach Post published photos.
- See past years’ murals.
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