Leads:
- The Sacramento Police Department is reporting a rise in gun violence. Through August 2021, Police Chief Daniel Hahn says 173 people were shot in Sacramento, a 35% increase from the year before. More than 1,100 firearms were seized by police in August as well, a 45% increase year-over-year. As a result, the city is continuing to develop its new Department of Community Response, aiming to offer alternative response models for 911 calls that don't require fire or police assistance.
- Northern California could see an unexpected burst of rain this weekend. The National Weather Service says a deeper marine layer and cooler weather will grip the greater Bay Area, and spread into the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada. Forecasters are tracking a chance of rain Saturday night into Sunday. Any measurable rainfall is welcome, but the cooler temperatures and higher humidity will also help firefighters on the front lines of the Dixie and Caldor fires. Daytime highs in most areas could be 15 to 20 degrees cooler by Sunday.
- California claims the vast majority of school districts have almost all in-person instruction for students. Governor Newsom touted the figures in a visit to a school in Oakland on Wednesday. Newsom added California is the first state to advance out of the CDC's "high" transmission category with "the lowest rates in the entire country."
- The California Legislature's two leading members on election issues are determined to change the rules for removing a governor from office. State Senator Steve Glazer and Assemblymember Marc Berman described the recall process as a "flawed" system. A potential change they would like to see is the amount of signatures needed to spark a recall election. California requires about one-and-a-half-million signatures to qualify for a recall election of the governor. The recall has been part of California's political system since 1911.
Links:
- Facebook says the rules on its platforms apply to all users, but a Wall Street Journal investigation finds a large group of select users gets special treatment.