California lawmakers may still create a path to overhaul PG&E Corp.’s structure even though the company is poised to remain an investor-owned business after its expected emergence from bankruptcy this year.State Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, is carrying legislation that could make the utility subsidiary Pacific Gas and Electric Co. owned by a new nonprofit public benefit corporation called Golden State Energy. But it would only happen if the PG&E’s bankruptcy implodes or state regulators take the drastic step of revoking the company’s operating license.While the bar for such a...…California lawmakers may still create a path to overhaul PG&E Corp.’s structure even though the company is poised to remain an investor-owned business after its expected emergence from bankruptcy this year.State Sen. Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, is carrying legislation that could make the utility subsidiary Pacific Gas and Electric Co. owned by a new nonprofit public benefit corporation called Golden State Energy. But it would only happen if the PG&E’s bankruptcy implodes or state regulators take the drastic step of revoking the company’s operating license.While the bar for such a...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThe frenetic search for the miracle that will rid the world of COVID-19 is branching out in a thousand directions, and a large part of the microbial treasure hunt is going on in the Bay Area, where major progress has been made in the 100 days since residents were ordered to shelter in place.Scientists at universities, laboratories, biotechnology companies and drug manufacturers are taken from infected patients for secrets that will help them fight the disease.The key is likely a found in some patients. But researchers must first...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThe frenetic search for the miracle that will rid the world of COVID-19 is branching out in a thousand directions, and a large part of the microbial treasure hunt is going on in the Bay Area, where major progress has been made in the 100 days since residents were ordered to shelter in place.Scientists at universities, laboratories, biotechnology companies and drug manufacturers are taken from infected patients for secrets that will help them fight the disease.The key is likely a found in some patients. But researchers must first...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateCalifornia utility regulators on Monday chose to fire their top administrative official in response to several allegedly unethical hiring decisions discussed in a recent personnel audit.Marybel Batjer, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, said Executive Director Alice Stebbins had taken the “appalling and disgraceful” step of deliberately hiring a “marginally qualified former colleague” over better-suited candidates, among other claims detailed in aStebbins in retaliation for blowing the whistle on about $200...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateCalifornia utility regulators on Monday chose to fire their top administrative official in response to several allegedly unethical hiring decisions discussed in a recent personnel audit.Marybel Batjer, president of the California Public Utilities Commission, said Executive Director Alice Stebbins had taken the “appalling and disgraceful” step of deliberately hiring a “marginally qualified former colleague” over better-suited candidates, among other claims detailed in aStebbins in retaliation for blowing the whistle on about $200...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateResidents of the North Bay’s Wine Country have become tragically familiar with fast-moving wildfires that erupt in the dead of night amid intense autumn winds, forcing them to flee for their lives.The reactions have varied: Some people have moved away. Some have stayed and pushed fire-safety reforms. Most are simply trying to cope with a new seasonal fear and frustration.In fire-weary Sonoma County alone, the fire epidemic picked up in 2017, when parts of Santa Rosa were incinerated. Then, last October, California’s biggest...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateResidents of the North Bay’s Wine Country have become tragically familiar with fast-moving wildfires that erupt in the dead of night amid intense autumn winds, forcing them to flee for their lives.The reactions have varied: Some people have moved away. Some have stayed and pushed fire-safety reforms. Most are simply trying to cope with a new seasonal fear and frustration.In fire-weary Sonoma County alone, the fire epidemic picked up in 2017, when parts of Santa Rosa were incinerated. Then, last October, California’s biggest...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThe distribution of a promising drug by the federal government to hospitals with COVID-19 patients has raised hackles among medical professionals after UCSF and many other medical centers with critical patients weren’t given a single dose.The experimental drug, remdesivir, reduced coronavirus symptoms in clinical trials and was approved last week by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under what is called an emergency use authorization, but only two of the 25 medical centers that got the drug were in California.Pharmacists at...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateThe distribution of a promising drug by the federal government to hospitals with COVID-19 patients has raised hackles among medical professionals after UCSF and many other medical centers with critical patients weren’t given a single dose.The experimental drug, remdesivir, reduced coronavirus symptoms in clinical trials and was approved last week by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under what is called an emergency use authorization, but only two of the 25 medical centers that got the drug were in California.Pharmacists at...WW…

Airborne transmission of the coronavirus, possibly linked to an inflatable Christmas costume, is the likely cause of a 44-person outbreak — and at least one fatality — in the emergency department at Kaiser Permanente San Jose.Kaiser said over the weekend that it is still investigating why so many San Jose employees in the same department have tested positive for the coronavirus since Dec. 27. But the hospital has acknowledged the fact that a staff member “briefly” appeared in the department two days earlier wearing an “air-powered costume.”Late Sunday evening, Kaiser Permanente issued a...…Airborne transmission of the coronavirus, possibly linked to an inflatable Christmas costume, is the likely cause of a 44-person outbreak — and at least one fatality — in the emergency department at Kaiser Permanente San Jose.Kaiser said over the weekend that it is still investigating why so many San Jose employees in the same department have tested positive for the coronavirus since Dec. 27. But the hospital has acknowledged the fact that a staff member “briefly” appeared in the department two days earlier wearing an “air-powered costume.”Late Sunday evening, Kaiser Permanente issued a...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateBill Tripp was 4 years old when he began studying the benefits of fire, an education steeped in ancestral traditions many generations older than modern-day California.After Tripp tried to build a fire in the wood stove of his family home one day to keep his great-grandmother warm, she scolded him. Flames were not something to mess around with, she said.Then she led him toward some oak trees outside her home in a remote Karuk Tribe village near the border of Siskiyou and Humboldt counties. There, she told him to burn a small line...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateBill Tripp was 4 years old when he began studying the benefits of fire, an education steeped in ancestral traditions many generations older than modern-day California.After Tripp tried to build a fire in the wood stove of his family home one day to keep his great-grandmother warm, she scolded him. Flames were not something to mess around with, she said.Then she led him toward some oak trees outside her home in a remote Karuk Tribe village near the border of Siskiyou and Humboldt counties. There, she told him to burn a small line...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateCalifornia electric grid managers briefly triggered a second round of rolling blackouts Saturday as a blistering heat wave continued and the state’s energy supply once again fell short.The California Independent System Operator, which manages most of the state’s grid, called for more rotating outages at 6:28 p.m. but 20 minutes later determined the need had passed.System operator officials said in a statement that the latest power loss was required because of high demand for electricity, the “unexpected loss” of a 470-megawatt...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateCalifornia electric grid managers briefly triggered a second round of rolling blackouts Saturday as a blistering heat wave continued and the state’s energy supply once again fell short.The California Independent System Operator, which manages most of the state’s grid, called for more rotating outages at 6:28 p.m. but 20 minutes later determined the need had passed.System operator officials said in a statement that the latest power loss was required because of high demand for electricity, the “unexpected loss” of a 470-megawatt...WW…

Remdesivir, the antiviral drug made by Foster City’s Gilead Sciences that has recently shown promise in treating COVID-19 patients, will likely not turn the tide of the coronavirus pandemic on its own.Doctors in the Bay Area know that, which is why they’re studying a host of other potential treatments that could be used to alleviate the worst symptoms of COVID-19 or keep people out of the hospital entirely. And the scope of the local research seems to be broadening.The regional efforts raise the possibility that a major advancement in coronavirus treatments could come from the Bay Area, a...…Remdesivir, the antiviral drug made by Foster City’s Gilead Sciences that has recently shown promise in treating COVID-19 patients, will likely not turn the tide of the coronavirus pandemic on its own.Doctors in the Bay Area know that, which is why they’re studying a host of other potential treatments that could be used to alleviate the worst symptoms of COVID-19 or keep people out of the hospital entirely. And the scope of the local research seems to be broadening.The regional efforts raise the possibility that a major advancement in coronavirus treatments could come from the Bay Area, a...WW…

This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateA trio of California lawmakers plans to introduce a bill to ban the controversial fossil fuel drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in an effort to expand the state’s fight against climate change.State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said he’s working with two other legislators on the matter after Gov. Gavin Newsom . The details are not yet sorted out, but Wiener told The Chronicle he would like to introduce the bill as soon as lawmakers reconvene in December.Ideally, he’d like the state to move even...…This is a carousel. Use Next and Previous buttons to navigateA trio of California lawmakers plans to introduce a bill to ban the controversial fossil fuel drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in an effort to expand the state’s fight against climate change.State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said he’s working with two other legislators on the matter after Gov. Gavin Newsom . The details are not yet sorted out, but Wiener told The Chronicle he would like to introduce the bill as soon as lawmakers reconvene in December.Ideally, he’d like the state to move even...WW…