State

CALIFORNIA—On Monday, March 23, PG&E agreed to plead guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter and unlawfully starting the Camp Fire. The utility company’s faulty equipment was stated as the cause of fire in 2018— marked California’s deadliest and most destructive wildfire. The wildfire started November 8, 2018 in Butte County and took 17 days to contain. The blaze tore...

CALIFORNIA—Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has restored electricity to most residents in St. Helena. According to the PG&E power outage map on their website, electricity is touch and go at times.  Originally, the utility officials thought they could turn the power on by Friday. In all, almost 400,000 customers have been affected by the latest power outages. But by Wednesday,...

CALIFORNIA—This November, a rent control measure called the Rental Affordability Act (RAA) will be on the ballot for California voters to decide on, as was approved by California’s Office of the Secretary of State on February 3. The Secretary of State approved the ballot measure after verification of a petition asking to qualify the RAA for the November ballot. The...

SAN FRANCISCO—The San Francisco Fire Department is reminding beach goers that rip currents along the coastline of California are a safety hazard. The National Park service, U.S. Coast Guard, National Weather Service, San Francisco Police Department Marine Unit, and SFFD partnered to offer safety tips to residents of California. There have been several close calls of drownings due to rip...

SAN FRANCISCO—President Obama will be in Southern California on Thursday, June 18 before coming to the Bay Area this weekend. Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton will be close behind, arriving in the Bay Area shortly after the president and is expected to depart on Saturday, June 20. Both Democrats will be making the rounds in California to attend fundraisers. In...

OAKLAND—A small city park in Oakland that has been serving as a homeless encampment since January 21 was shut down on Thursday, February 2 by Oakland police officers and public works employees. The camp picked up the names “The Village” and “The Promised Land,” and took over an area near Grove Shafter Park and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. The aim behind “Promise...

SAN FRANCISCO—The FBI arrested the wife of the Pulse nightclub shooter in San Francisco on Monday, January 16, according to reports. Noor Salman, 30, was taken into custody Monday morning and is due in court on Tuesday for her first appearance, Salman's lawyer told ABC. Salman’ s husband, Omar Mateen, killed 49 people and wounded dozens in a terrorist attack at Pulse,...

SAN FRANCISCO—Taxi drivers protested at Uber Headquarters on June 22 amidst the 83rd Annual United States Conference of Mayors. With the conference being sponsored by Uber and Lyft this year, protesters congregated at the head office. The rise of start-ups like Uber and Lyft has left many taxi drivers struggling for work twice, and many complaining about Uber and Lyft...

CALIFORNIA—A new law that took effect on New Year’s Day 2020 eliminates taxes on both children’s diapers and feminine hygiene, such as menstrual products in California. Senate Bill 92 was approved in June 2019 by Governor Gavin Newsom and is set to eliminate taxes on both menstrual products (tampons, sanitary napkins, menstrual cups and sponges) and diapers for infants, toddlers,...

SAN FRANCISCO—The Farmer’s Wife, a restaurant in the Bay Area, and Antonia's Restaurant in North Carolina filed a lawsuit against Grubhub for listing the names of their restaurants without their permission. Kendra Kolling, of the Farmer's Wife, could not be reached for comment. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, she said, “It’s led to very bad exchanges with customers who...