California
Big rig hits pedestrian at Highway 101 onramp in San Jose
SAN JOSE, Calif. – California Highway Patrol said a pedestrian struck and killed by a semi truck Saturday night in San Jose.
The accident happened at about 11:45 p.m. near the Highway 101 onramp at Tully Road. The onramp was closed just after midnight.
CHP and the San Jose Fire Department responded to the collision.
ALSO: Driver dies when car goes over cliff on Highway 1 near Scotts Creek Bridge
Preliminary reports said the big rig was stopped in lane 4 as they investigated the scene.
CHP did not give the victim’s name, and no further details were provided.
California
California voters to decide on Proposition 6, which would end forced labor in prisons
California voters are set to decide whether to ban forcing inmates to work as a form of punishment, which civil rights advocates have called a remnant of the state’s history of slavery.
Proposition 6 would amend the state constitution to remove a provision allowing jails and prisons to impose involuntary servitude on inmates and to discipline those who refuse to work.
California outlawed slavery and involuntary servitude in 1850, but the state’s first constitution contained an exception allowing prisons to force inmates to work or be penalized. The removal of the clause was among the key priorities recommended by the state’s Reparations Task Force created to address the legacy of slavery and inequities that harmed Black people in California.
California is one of 16 states that allow forced labor in prisons. Prison labor would still exist in the state if the measure is approved by voters, but it would be voluntary. State prisons would also be required under Proposition 6 to establish work assignment programs in which inmates can earn credits toward early release. City and county ordinances could also establish pay scales to incentivize inmates to work.
A similar measure in 2022 was put before the state Legislature, but it lost support after it was determined that it would cost California an estimated $1.5 billion a year to pay minimum wage to prisoners.
Proposition 6, which was authored by Assemblywoman Lori Wilson (D-Suisun City), does not change what inmates are paid. According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, inmates earn anywhere from $0.16 per hour for basic labor to $10.24 per day for those who work as firefighters.
A companion bill in the California Assembly would allow the CDCR to set wages for incarcerated workers if a constitutional amendment passes.
Supporters of Proposition 6 say the measure would lead prisons to focus on rehabilitation programs instead of forced work that may not help prepare inmates for life after prison. There is no statement of opposition to the measure registered with the Secretary of State, but opponents have previously argued that the costs to the state are unknown.
Proposition 6’s fiscal impact depends on the degree of changes to how inmates work in state prisons and county jails. According to the state voter guide, any effect likely would not exceed the tens of millions of dollars annually.
California
Closer look at early voting numbers on eve of Election Day in California
SACRAMENTO — On election eve, early voting was pointing to historic turnout numbers. The picture is becoming clear of who is voting ahead of Election Day and who is not.
Paul Mitchell with Political Data Incorporated crunched the numbers, which show that there is a wide gap between younger and older early voters.
“We’re still getting data in, so we just got another little update,” Mitchell said. “Seniors are up to 58% turnout and young voters are at 18% turnout.”
In California, 31% of registered voters have already cast their ballots as of the day before Election Day.
Michelle Macey cast her ballot in Sacramento County, becoming one of the thousands to take part in early voting here.
“I have to get my vote in,” Macey said. “I’m just nervous because it’s coming down to the wire.”
By county, Sacramento was also at 31%, while San Joaquin and Stanislaus were at 29%.
“We still have an environment where older voters vote early and young voters vote late, and that means that campaigns right now are knocking on doors,” Mitchell said.
Bill O’Neill, the El Dorado County registrar of voters, has watched his county’s early numbers thrive.
“I think, right now, based on the number of ballots we’re processing, we’ll be number one pretty soon,” O’Neill said.
The top three California counties for voter turnout so far were Amador at 52%, Nevada at 52%, and El Dorado at 48%.
In El Dorado County, 70% of registered voters 65-plus have already cast their ballots.
For those who are waiting until Election Day to cast their ballots, the political competition poses a different challenge.
“There’s a saying, particularly on the Democratic side of races, that the opposition is not the Republican on the other side of the ticket. The opposition is the couch. It’s Kamala Harris versus the couch,” Mitchell said.
So far, the numbers show Lake County has reported the fewest ballots returned so far with 13%.
California
High winds – up to 80 mph – may bring critical fire risk to California
California firefighters debut C-130 Hercules firefighting air tankers
The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection debuted their new custom aircraft that took eight months to modify for fighting wildfires.
SAN FRANCISCO – Residents of highly populated areas in California are being urged to exercise caution around fire sources as several factors combine to dramatically increase the risk of blazes Monday – and even more so later in the week.
More than 25 million of the state’s 39 million people will be under red flag warnings or fire weather watches this week because of warm temperatures, low humidity and powerful winds, as high as 80 mph in some elevations, strong enough to qualify for a hurricane.
“Gusty easterly winds and low relative humidity will support elevated to critical fire weather over coastal portions of California today into Thursday,’’ the National Weather Service said Monday.
The offshore air currents, known as Santa Ana winds in Southern California and Diablo winds in the San Francisco Bay Area, have been blamed in the past for knocking down power lines and igniting wildfires, then quickly spreading them amid dry vegetation.
In a warning for Los Angeles and Ventura counties that applied to Sunday night and all of Monday, the NWS office in Los Angeles said wind gusts in the mountains – typically the hardest areas for firefighters to reach – could fluctuate from 55 to 80 mph.
“Stronger and more widespread Santa Ana winds Wednesday and Thursday,’’ the posting said.
San Francisco Chronicle meteorologist Anthony Edwards said this week’s offshore winds – which defy the usual pattern by blowing from inland west toward the ocean – represent the strongest such event in the state in several years.
Edwards added that winds atop the Bay Area’s highest mountains could reach 70 mph, which will likely prompt preemptive power shutoffs from utility company PG&E, and may go even higher in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
The Bay Area’s red flag warning runs from 11 a.m. Tuesday until early Thursday, and it includes a warning to “have an emergency plan in case a fire starts near you.’’
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