After being hit, the man managed to drive a short distance before stopping and calling a relative, who took him to a hospital. Police said he was listed in stable condition. No one else was reported injured in the incident.

What the police say

According to The Mercury News, the shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. in the 10000 block of E Street. Investigators told the outlet they were working to determine whether the man was specifically targeted or struck by a stray round.

How to help

Oakland police are asking anyone who may have information or video related to the shooting to contact the department’s Felony Assault Unit at (510) 238-3426 or email CIDVideos@oaklandca.gov, according to the Oakland Police Department. No arrests have been announced, and the investigation remains active.

Local context

The shooting adds to a string of late-night gun violence incidents in East Oakland in which drivers and people inside cars have been wounded. A similar case last month, where a motorist was struck while stopped near a food truck, was detailed in a Hoodline report on a driver hit multiple times. Neighbors say the ongoing violence is raising fresh concerns about basic safety on their streets.

Owner Darren Preston announced the end of Malibu’s Uptown run and told the San Francisco Chronicle that he even rolled out meat and cheese options earlier this year in an effort to boost sales. It was not enough to keep the doors open, and Malibu’s served its last customers on June 6. “I wish I could say it was a hard decision, but it was actually pretty easy,” Preston said. The business began life as a food truck and built a following for its Tasha Grande plant-based burger.

TrueBurger confirmed the closure of its Broadway location in a social media post, a move that leaves only the Grand Avenue outpost operating, according to The Oaklandside. Neighborhood chatter and online review updates now list the Broadway shop as closed, as the company appears to be consolidating after more than a decade on that stretch of Broadway.

What Is Driving The Closures

Across the East Bay, operators are pointing to a familiar bundle of problems: rising food and labor costs, unpredictable foot traffic, and razor-thin margins that can quickly sink a small business. Those pressures can land especially hard on niche concepts and independent spots that lack deep pockets. Coverage of Malibu’s and other recent shutdowns has highlighted how plant-based restaurants may be particularly exposed when ingredient costs are high and customer demand shifts, a pattern noted by City Scoop Now.

Other East Bay Losses

June did not spare the rest of the East Bay either. After 42 years in business, Sam’s Doghouse in El Sobrante has closed, according to Richmondside. In South Berkeley, local tipsters and dining roundups say that Milyar and Zing cafes have gone dark, per Berkeley Eats, and a KoJa Kitchen kiosk at the Emeryville Public Market has reportedly closed as well. On a larger scale, Bay Area hospitality group Vine Hospitality abruptly shuttered its LB Steak and related restaurants late in June, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Taken together, the closures leave a leaner and more fragile restaurant landscape across Oakland and the wider East Bay, as owners wrestle with costs and shifting customer habits. This story will be updated as more information and new tenant plans emerge. Readers with tips or corrections are invited to send them to our newsroom.

The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday delayed action on a draft non-cooperation policy that would limit the county’s voluntary work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After emotional testimony from residents and warnings from some supervisors about legal exposure, the board voted 4-1 to kick the draft back to county counsel for another round of legal review.

What is in the draft?

The proposal on the table is a resolution that would sharply restrict how county resources are used in federal immigration enforcement. It would bar county personnel, funds and property from assisting immigration enforcement except where state or federal law explicitly requires it, limit ICE access to non-public county facilities and require monthly reports from the sheriff’s office.

Supporters argue that those guardrails are meant to reassure immigrant residents who are worried about contacting local government or law enforcement. Critics counter that the language, as written, could make the county an easy target for legal challenges. Those competing arguments, along with the decision to send the measure back for more work, were detailed by SFGATE.

The draft was forwarded to the full board by the supervisors who chair the county’s equity committee, Ken Carlson and Shanelle Scales-Preston. Carlson said the policy would send a message to a community that is divided and afraid, while Scales-Preston pressed colleagues to move forward so residents would feel protected and supported.

Scene at the meeting

By the time the item came up, the chambers were packed. Immigrant-rights advocates, faith leaders and attorneys turned out in force and made it clear they wanted something stronger than a policy statement. Over and over, speakers urged supervisors to adopt a binding ordinance instead of a nonbinding resolution, arguing that only an ordinance would give community members meaningful legal recourse if county agencies strayed from the rules.

One of the biggest pressure points was language dealing with third-party contractors. Local coverage of the drafting process noted that a provision explicitly addressing contractors had been removed, and that decision became a flashpoint during public comment, as residents questioned why vendors would not be clearly held to the same standards, as per Patch.

How state rules shape the options

Even before the first public speaker approached the microphone, California law was already shaping the boundaries of what Contra Costa could do.

Senate Bill 580 requires the state attorney general to publish model policies on how local agencies interact with immigration authorities by July 1 and tells those agencies to either adopt the model or put an equivalent policy in place by January 1, 2027, according to the bill text.

The California Attorney General’s office has already issued guidance and model policies meant to help counties and cities line up their local practices with both state and federal law, and to clarify the intent and timing of the coming statewide framework. The resources are detailed on the attorney general’s immigrant resources page, per the California Department of Justice.

County counsel's concerns

County Counsel Thomas L. Geiger has been walking supervisors through the legal terrain for weeks. At earlier meetings, and again as the board weighed its next move, he stressed that a policy can, in practice, be enforced much like an ordinance.

Geiger has said employees who violate county guidance could face discipline, and that the county could terminate contracts with third-party vendors that ignore county rules on cooperation with immigration enforcement. Reporting on those legal points was provided by The Press Democrat.

What comes next

After hearing from residents and county counsel, supervisors opted not to force a final decision. Instead, they asked for a more detailed legal scrub of the draft, including how it might fare if challenged in court and how it interacts with state requirements that are still evolving.

The board expects to bring the item back later this summer. At that point, supervisors will have to decide whether to stick with a resolution or pursue the stronger step of adopting an ordinance. Local coverage indicates the policy will return to the board’s calendar once counsel finishes the analysis. 

Where it fits in the Bay Area

Contra Costa’s debate is unfolding against a regional backdrop that is already pretty crowded. Across the Bay Area, cities and counties, including Berkeley, Oakland, San Jose, Richmond, Pinole, and Antioch, along with larger counties such as Alameda, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz, have adopted their own versions of non-cooperation policies or ordinances in recent years.

That regional context weighs heavily in Contra Costa, where roughly a quarter of residents were born outside the United States, a demographic fact that local officials say raises both the political and legal stakes of how the county engages with immigration enforcement. That figure is drawn from U.S. Census data summarized on CensusReporter.

What's on the new campus

According to Contra Costa Health, the Oak Grove site at 1034 Oak Grove Road includes a Wellness Clinic for rapid screening, a Peer Resilience Center staffed by trained peer specialists, and direct links to outpatient services. The county also identifies the A3 Miles Hall Crisis Call Center and the countywide Behavioral Health Access Line as formal parts of the broader A3 campus operations. Officials say the goal is to give people low-barrier, non-emergency support so they can get the right level of help faster.

Ribbon cutting and funding

As reported by Contra Costa News, county supervisors, Concord officials and Congressman Mark DeSaulnier attended the July ribbon cutting. The outlet noted that Measure X and a federal appropriation helped pay for the renovation, and that the county expects the campus to serve residents seven days a week. Local leaders said the campus is intended to cut down on unnecessary hospital trips while connecting people with housing and community resources.

How it was built and paid for

County records show the Board of Supervisors signed off on the Oak Grove Center project in 2024 and authorized bids for renovation work at the Oak Grove site. According to Contra Costa County Legistar, the project carried an estimated price tag of about $6.1 million, with roughly $1 million coming from a federal HRSA grant and the remainder from Measure X funds. County documents state the work repurposes existing county buildings instead of constructing new ones.

Why the peer respite matters

Peer respites are voluntary, short-term programs run by people with lived experience that aim to help stabilize people in distress without hospitalization. California has recently created new funding streams for these types of services. The state's Behavioral Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission released a Peer Respite RFA on July 1 that offers $8.5 million to launch pilot projects across the state, according to BHSOAC. Advocates say peer respites can lower emergency room use and provide a more humane, peer-centered path toward recovery.

Neighbors and operations

Neighbors raised concerns during public meetings, and the county adjusted its plans in response, cutting proposed hours, adding gates and designating roughly 44 to 48 dedicated parking spaces, according to Locunity. Meeting notes also show that the Miles Hall Crisis Call Center was shifted to a non-residential building during the planning process. Officials say those changes were intended to balance neighborhood worries with the need to maintain countywide crisis support.

How to get help

The county advises anyone in a behavioral health crisis to call the A3 Miles Hall Crisis Call Center at 844-844-5544 or, for non-emergent help, the Behavioral Health Access Line at 888-678-7277, according to Contra Costa Health. In life-threatening situations, people should still call 911 or contact the 988 suicide prevention lifeline. County officials say the Oak Grove campus is one more piece of the A3 system, intended to steer people toward timely, less restrictive care.

County officials and local advocates describe the Oak Grove campus as a practical move toward reshaping crisis care in Contra Costa, pairing phone-based triage with a physical place to go. The campus is now open, and county and city staff plan to hold neighborhood check-ins as operations settle. For photos and the county's announcement, see the post from Contra Costa Health.

How police described the break-in

Berkeley police told The Berkeley Scanner that the break-in occurred before 8 AM and involved two men dressed in dark clothing and wearing masks; one suspect was described as about 5 feet 10. Officers said the pair forced their way in by kicking open the front door and "were aware of the woman's presence" as they walked through the home, then took off before patrol units got to the scene. According to the latest update from the outlet, police reported no arrests and no charges filed.

Burglary trends in Berkeley

On paper at least, break-ins around town appear to be easing slightly. According to Berkeley police data, there have been at least 172 residential burglaries recorded so far this year, compared with 196 over the same stretch last year, a drop of about 12%. Officials and crime analysts note that "hot prowl" burglaries, where someone is home when the intruder comes in, still make up a relatively small slice of those incidents.

Neighbors, safety and reporting

Linden Avenue is a short, typically calm one-block street just south of Ashby Avenue, and neighbors say the early-morning intrusion has rattled the Elmwood area, The Berkeley Scanner reports. Police and neighborhood safety groups are again pushing the basics: keep doors and windows locked, consider motion-activated lighting or cameras, and call 911 right away if anyone is in danger. For non-emergency tips or information related to this case, the City of Berkeley directs residents to the Berkeley Police Department non-emergency line at (510) 981-5900, per the City of Berkeley.

What planners will consider

The lead public hearing item on the Planning Board agenda is a citywide “Zoning Ordinance Amendment Regarding Short Term Rental Regulation,” backed by a draft ordinance, draft resolution and a summary of community feedback. According to the City of Alameda, the board will take public testimony on Monday in the Council Chambers at City Hall and may decide whether to forward a recommendation to the City Council.

The agenda notes that the proposal is consistent with Alameda’s previously certified environmental review and that it may also qualify, on its own, for the California Environmental Quality Act’s “commonsense” exemption.

Why the city is moving now

City planners say Alameda’s current zoning code never really caught up with the rise of short-term rentals. Right now, those stays are mostly handled through business-license rules and transient-occupancy taxes instead of clear land-use standards.

The City of Alameda Planning Division says staff are crafting regulations that aim to keep the local rental supply from shrinking while setting operating rules for different types of short-term rentals.

What residents have told planners

The draft ordinance is built on outreach and workshops held last year, and public comment has covered just about every angle. Some hosts say short-term rental income is essential for keeping up with mortgages and bills. Neighbors, on the other hand, have raised red flags about late-night noise, parking headaches and entire homes turning into de facto tourist hotels.

Local reporting and the city’s own summaries show the debate is often framed as a trade-off: keep homes available for people who live in Alameda full time, or give property owners more freedom to earn extra income, according to the Alameda Post.

Revenue and enforcement tools

On the money side, Alameda already applies a transient occupancy tax to short stays, and staff are eyeing tougher enforcement to track down unregistered listings. A recent city staff report notes that the city charges a 14% Transient Occupancy Tax on stays of fewer than 30 days and points to Senate Bill 346, which allows cities to require booking platforms to share property-level data, as a way to help enforce both TOT and business-license requirements, according to the city’s staff materials.

How Alameda’s approach compares

If adopted, Alameda’s framework would put it in line with a growing list of California cities that regulate short-term rentals in their own ways. San Francisco, for example, requires hosts to register with an Office of Short-Term Rentals and prove that the unit is their primary residence, according to San Francisco Planning.

In Los Angeles, hosts can only offer a primary residence for short-term stays, and the city runs a registration program that caps whole-home listings at 120 days per year, according to the Los Angeles Department of City Planning. Both cities connect registration to enforcement and tax collection in ways Alameda does not yet, a contrast local planners have explicitly called out while shaping the proposal.

How to weigh in

The Planning Board meeting will take public comment both in person and via Zoom, with the city’s meeting notice laying out how to register and where to find all the materials. The City of Alameda has also shared the announcement on Facebook and encouraged residents to show up and speak their minds, per the City of Alameda on Facebook.

Next steps and legal notes

If the Planning Board signs off on the zoning text amendment, the proposal would move to the City Council for final action. Staff describe the package as a citywide, staff-initiated zoning amendment and have already flagged its CEQA treatment in the agenda materials.

Should the Council ultimately adopt an ordinance, hosts can expect new registration, reporting and enforcement requirements. Booking platforms could also face new duties if the Council chooses to include them.

What officials say

According to The Mercury News, a deputy conducting routine safety checks around 12:25 AM found Perley in her cell with a ligature around her neck and unresponsive. The outlet reports that jail medical personnel and paramedics administered life-saving measures before she was declared dead inside the West County Detention Facility. The Mercury News notes that the Contra Costa County Sheriff's Office and the District Attorney's Office have opened a joint investigation into the in-custody death.

At the jail

The West County Detention Facility, located at 5555 Giant Highway in Richmond, serves as Contra Costa County's primary jail. On the facility's public page, officials list general operations information along with the jail's main contact number. County press releases state that the sheriff's office typically offers public briefings and publishes tip line information when deaths occur in custody.

Arrest and identification

Perley had been taken into custody in Antioch on July 9 on suspicion of driving under the influence and for an alleged probation violation, according to The Mercury News. Investigators have not yet released a cause or manner of death. The District Attorney's Office is expected to review the findings from the sheriff's investigation as the case moves forward.

How to help

The Sheriff's Office is asking anyone who might have information related to the case to contact the Investigation Division at (925) 313-2600, email tips@so.cccounty.us, or leave an anonymous tip at 866-846-3592, in line with guidance posted in Contra Costa Sheriff's press releases. Officials say they plan to release more details as the investigation develops.

Investigative process

The sheriff's office and the Contra Costa County District Attorney's Office conduct joint investigations whenever someone dies in custody, and prior notices from the sheriff describe a countywide fatal incident protocol as the standard response. Authorities have not disclosed any findings from the medical examiner. The official cause and manner of Perley's death will be determined once the investigation and related reviews are complete.

Working from a crane perched on a floating barge, construction teams are cutting the tower down to a safer profile while hauling debris to shore. It is the first big, very visible sign that years of engineering reports and regulatory letters are now turning into concrete dust on the water.

Demolition started this week

According to CBS News, crews began removing sections of the tower yesterday, lifting concrete pieces from the top and shuttling them to land. Using the barge-mounted crane, workers trimmed the tower’s height by about 40 feet. Christopher Tritto of the East Bay Municipal Utility District told CBS that with age and deterioration, there’s more risk that it could crack or break, the higher, the taller it is.

Why engineers want the tower shorter

The East Bay Municipal Utility District says the tower was built in 1929 for an earlier, taller dam design and ended up about 40 feet too tall when the dam’s final height was reduced during construction. EBMUD says cutting the outlet tower down and reinforcing the conduits beneath the dam will lower its seismic vulnerability while keeping the tower fully functional. The district also notes the work is funded by ratepayers and cleared by the state regulator. For technical details and renderings, see East Bay Municipal Utility District.

What the maps show

Local reporting points to state inundation maps that model what could happen if the tower failed in a worst-case scenario. Those maps show flooding risks reaching parts of Lafayette and Walnut Creek, including at least one K-8 school, the Lafayette Police Department and the Lafayette BART station. Regulators have cited those potential impacts as a central reason the retrofit could not be put off. CBS News reviewed the inundation mapping details.

Timeline and what to expect

EBMUD’s public schedule lays out a long runway. Construction planning and site preparation are listed for 2025, with major construction slated to begin in March 2026 and tower demolition work running through the summer and early fall. The district lists overall project completion in fall 2027. EBMUD says the reservoir will not need to be drained and that crews will reuse or salvage historic features where feasible during the rebuild. More schedule information and project documents are available from the East Bay Municipal Utility District.

Residents, preservationists and the advisory process

Locals have not exactly been shy about weighing in. Residents organized advisory groups and pushed alternatives aimed at preserving the tower’s landmark profile, which contributed to extended review and additional engineering studies. The City of Lafayette has been posting regular construction updates and notes that demolition will be easy to spot from many vantage points around the reservoir this summer. Meeting records and notices appear in the city’s construction bulletin at the City of Lafayette.

What regulators have said

In a letter to the city, the California Department of Water Resources’ Division of Safety of Dams reminded officials that because the tower serves as both an outlet and spillway, it is a critical structure for dam safety, any alternative fix would need a dam-specific, proven track record. The Division notes the tower’s seismic deficiency was identified decades ago and that it has overseen the review of options and the schedule for remedial work. The letter is included in the public record.

What to watch

Visitors should be ready for construction noise, intermittent traffic flagging at the park entrance to move heavy equipment, and reduced picnic reservations and parking in the main reservoir lot while staging and hauling continue. For ongoing notices and technical documents, check the Lafayette Tower project page at the East Bay Municipal Utility District and local updates from the City of Lafayette.

Shelter scramble and intake

Staff at East Bay SPCA told the San Francisco Chronicle the puppies are about nine weeks old and, thankfully, were evaluated as being in “overall good health.” They still need the basics before they can go home with anyone: vaccinations, deworming, microchips and spay or neuter surgery. According to the Chronicle, the surprise intake arrived just as East Bay SPCA wrapped up the first year of its three-year contract with the city of Livermore to handle stray animals.

Good Samaritans corral the litter

Local rescuers told NBC Bay Area they eventually found the wandering pups huddled in a grassy creek bed behind the Livermore Walmart. It was not a quick grab-and-go: volunteers spent hours chasing, coaxing and carefully gathering the wriggly litter into two cars. One rescuer said several puppies were visibly underweight with “big, wormy bellies,” and described working through the night to get every surviving pup into shelter care.

Shelter care and socialization

Once the puppies arrived, East Bay SPCA staff jumped straight into medical checks and behavioral work, according to The Mercury News. Shier pups were reintroduced to more outgoing littermates to help them gain confidence and learn basic social skills. Shelter leaders told reporters they scrambled to clear kennels and prep food to make room for the sudden influx, and noted that a few of the puppies will likely need extra behavioral support before they are ready for adoption.

Legal angle and what happens next

The San Francisco Chronicle points out that California law makes the willful abandonment of an animal a misdemeanor offense. CBS News Bay Area reports the Livermore Police Department had not yet responded to questions about whether the Walmart dumping is under active investigation.

Where to look for adoption updates

NBC Bay Area reports East Bay SPCA expects some of the puppies could be ready for adoption in about a week, depending on how they handle medical treatment and socialization. The shelter is asking interested adopters to keep an eye on its online adoption listings for real-time updates. Staff also put out an appeal for foster homes and donations to help cover the unplanned medical, food and boarding costs that come with suddenly caring for 16 young dogs.

The quick response from Good Samaritans likely saved most of the litter, shelter officials told Livermore Vine. East Bay SPCA is urging anyone who recognizes the puppies or knows how they ended up near the Walmart to contact the organization or Livermore police. For details on adoption, fostering or donating to help with the puppies’ care, residents can visit the East Bay SPCA website or reach out directly to its Tri-Valley or Oakland adoption centers.

In a Facebook update from the Oakland Police Department, Ceasefire officers said they first spotted an individual in East Oakland who had an active felony weapons warrant. They reported seeing a firearm in plain view inside the vehicle before conducting the traffic stop near Orinda. The department said the California Highway Patrol helped with the vehicle enforcement stop. Both adults in the car were described as prohibited from possessing firearms and were booked on multiple felony offenses. A separate adult was arrested on drug‑related charges after officers executed a search warrant at an East Oakland residence, according to the post.

What Officers Say They Recovered

In its post, OPD listed five handguns and narcotics packaged for sale among the evidence collected, specifically calling out an AK‑style pistol found inside the vehicle. The department added that it "remains committed to proactive policing and will continue working to prevent violence," according to the Oakland Police Department. No names or booking photos were released, and the department did not provide additional identifying details about the suspects.

How Ceasefire Fits In

Ceasefire is Oakland's focused violence‑reduction strategy, designed to blend targeted enforcement with outreach and case management for people identified as being at the highest risk of involvement in shootings, according to the City of Oakland. Independent and city reviews describe the approach as one that tries to interrupt cycles of retaliation by pairing enforcement with offers of services for those seeking to disengage from violence, per a Ceasefire evaluation. The program's structure and mission routinely surface in council briefings and public‑safety planning documents.

A Familiar Pattern Of Gun Seizures

This latest stop tracks with other recent Ceasefire operations. A May sweep detailed in Hoodline led to four arrests and two loaded firearms recovered in Stockton. Hoodline coverage of the city's Guns to Gardens buyback described police and community partners taking in dozens of weapons earlier this year. Together, those operations and public updates highlight the department's continued push to pull illegal guns off local streets.

Legal Notes

Under California law, people who are prohibited from possessing firearms include those with felony convictions, certain domestic‑violence convictions, or people addicted to narcotics. Possession by a prohibited person is a felony under state law, as outlined by the California Legislature. The California Attorney General's firearms FAQ explains the broader list of prohibited categories and notes potential penalties for unlawful possession, including prison time and fines.

OPD said the investigation into Wednesday's stop is ongoing. The department did not say whether formal charges have been filed and did not release booking information or the names of those arrested.

According to WhatNow, Lateen is slated for 1980 Driscoll Rd., taking over the space previously occupied by Yoshi En Skewer Hot Pot Market, with the initial tip coming via Instagram. The outlet notes that the café’s Instagram bio now labels the concept as “in the works” and promises Dubai‑inspired flavors and specialty beverages.

Business filings reviewed by BizProfile show Lateen Cafe LLC was formed on Aug. 19, 2025, and list 1980 Driscoll Rd. as its principal address. Those public records name local managers connected to the company but do not shed light on an opening timeline or a detailed menu.

The Driscoll Road location has hosted Yoshi En Skewer Hot Pot Market in recent years, according to local restaurant directories and business listings. Listings such as Restaurantji show Yoshi En operating at that address, suggesting Lateen would replace an existing neighborhood food operator.

What to expect

Lateen’s social copy hints at a café program focused on specialty coffee and espresso drinks, teas, hearty breakfasts, pastries and signature beverages inspired by Dubai’s café culture. WhatNow notes the concept “may feature” those items, though none of it has been formally confirmed and no full menu has been released.

Local reaction and context

Neighborhood forums flagged the planned shop months ago, with locals pointing out that Driscoll and Paseo Padre is already a crowded corner for breakfast and coffee spots. A thread on Reddit about Lateen’s arrival captured a flurry of questions from residents about hours, parking and how the menu might stack up against other Bay Area cafés. For now, those questions are largely unanswered.

Timing and next steps

Lateen has not yet shared a grand‑opening date, operating hours, interior photos or a complete menu. Its social profiles and Linktree mostly serve as teasers for the concept. The business’s Linktree lists its Instagram, TikTok and Facebook accounts but does not yet include an opening timeline, per Linktree.

Under the draft agreement, the CPUC's Safety and Enforcement Division says PG&E equipment violated a regulation that governs safety factors and strength standards for transmission components. The settlement would answer that finding with a financial penalty and a required outside review. As reported by CBS Sacramento, $21 million in shareholder funds would go to the California General Fund, while $1 million would pay for an independent third-party review of PG&E's transmission centralized inspection review team.

When commissioners will vote

The CPUC's daily calendar lists an Aug. 13 voting meeting in San Francisco, the kind of session where enforcement items such as settlements typically land on the agenda. If commissioners place the Mosquito Fire proposal on that calendar and adopt it, that vote would serve as the agency's formal administrative resolution in the case, according to a published CPUC document.

What regulators found and PG&E's response

Investigators with the CPUC's Safety and Enforcement Division say their probe turned up violations of rules that set minimum safety and strength requirements for transmission equipment. PG&E, for its part, has stressed in public materials that it is focused on reducing wildfire risk and hardening its system, and that resolving regulatory cases lets it aim more cash and attention at those efforts. The company outlines its ongoing wildfire safety work on its community wildfire safety program pages at PG&E.

The Mosquito Fire's toll

The Mosquito Fire ignited on Sept. 6, 2022, and ultimately burned about 76,788 acres across Placer and El Dorado counties, destroyed more than 70 structures and drove thousands of people from their homes in Foresthill and nearby foothill communities, according to incident records from CAL FIRE. Nearly a month after the fire began, federal investigators seized a PG&E transmission pole as part of a criminal probe into the blaze, as reported by The Sacramento Bee, while CBS Sacramento has also detailed the fire's aftermath.

Local settlements and infrastructure impacts

In April the Placer County Water Agency and the Middle Fork Project Finance Authority reached an $80 million settlement with PG&E to resolve claims stemming from the Mosquito Fire. PCWA says the blaze knocked one of its hydroelectric projects offline for about six months and damaged both facilities and natural resources. The settlement spells out reconfiguration work, indemnity provisions and payment terms in a public agreement released by the Placer County Water Agency.

Regulatory context

The proposed $22 million Mosquito Fire settlement comes on the heels of a series of CPUC enforcement actions aimed at forcing safety upgrades and some level of restitution. Earlier in 2024, for example, the commission signed off on a $45 million penalty in the Dixie Fire case and used administrative consent orders and other tools to lock in public safety projects. Those mechanisms, the CPUC argues, are designed to drive corrective work at least as much as they are to assign dollar amounts to violations, as outlined in a news release from the CPUC.

What's next

The Aug. 13 meeting will determine whether commissioners accept the proposed agreement as written, ask for changes or kick the case to a more formal hearing process. Even if the CPUC signs off on the settlement, civil lawsuits and federal investigations tied to the Mosquito Fire are still active, so this regulatory penalty would be only one of several tracks toward accountability and recovery for the communities that lived through the blaze.

The new bill would treat that in-custody firefighting as real, professional experience and clean up the paperwork snags that often block those applicants after they are released. Lawmakers and advocates say it could turn a pipeline that currently leads back to prison or low-wage jobs into one that points toward steady careers in the fire service.

According to The Sacramento Bee, Assembly Bill 2483, authored by Assemblymember Sade Elhawary (D-Los Angeles), would give hiring preference to formerly incarcerated applicants for entry-level Firefighter 1 positions at Cal Fire and require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to award eligible inmates an official firefighter certification before release. Elhawary told The Sacramento Bee the program "makes people less likely to re-offend" and said she hopes it could eventually include additional incentives for participants.

What AB 2483 Would Require

AB 2483 directs CDCR and Cal Fire to create a standardized process so people who complete Cal Fire’s in-prison firefighting training walk out with recognized certification instead of a vague resume line. The measure also shifts the official framing of that work from a rehabilitation program to professional service, which matters when hiring managers weigh experience.

The bill text on LegiScan lays out an implementation timeline that kicks in on and after July 1, 2027. Lawmakers are trying to head off the kind of bureaucratic logjams and paperwork bottlenecks that can stall hiring even when departments are desperate for bodies on the line.

Part Of A Recent Push To Clear Reentry Barriers

Supporters say AB 2483 is not a one-off fix, but part of a broader shift in how California treats incarcerated labor and reentry. Recent laws have started to put some guardrails around a system that relied heavily on low-paid prison crews without guaranteeing them a future in the field.

Reporting and legislative analysis show that AB 247 set a new minimum wage for incarcerated firefighters, SB 245 streamlined certain expungement pathways, and AB 812 created additional routes for second-look resentencing. CalMatters details those changes and the political back-and-forth that led up to them.

How Big The Talent Pool Is, And How Urgent The Need

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reports that roughly 1,900 people are currently living in conservation (fire) camps, and it highlights the tens of thousands of emergency hours those crews have logged in recent fire seasons. That gives a sense of just how woven into the state’s wildfire response the program has become.

Those CDCR figures line up with industry reporting that some local fire departments are staring at vacancy rates close to 25 percent, which stretches existing staff and complicates response planning. FireRescue1 has documented how those staffing shortfalls are wearing on frontline firefighters.

Who Is Pushing Back

Not everyone is thrilled with the idea of reserved slots for former inmates. A prior version, AB 1380, would have required Cal Fire to hold 15 percent of vacancies for formerly incarcerated applicants. That bill failed in 2025 after pushback from unions and some fire leaders, according to reporting.

The Sacramento Bee notes that Cal Fire Local 2881 and the California Professional Firefighters opposed that earlier approach, arguing hiring should track department operations and merit standards rather than fixed quotas.

Next Steps In Sacramento

AB 2483 is currently parked in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, where lawmakers will drill into costs, logistics, and how coordination between CDCR and Cal Fire would actually work before it can head to the Assembly floor.

Legislative trackers and the bill text on LegiScan show amendments and scheduling notes that will determine whether the hiring preference language survives or whether the bill gets trimmed down to a narrower, certification-only fix.

For now, proponents are pitching AB 2483 as a pragmatic way to boost California’s firefighting ranks while offering people leaving prison a clearer path to stable work. Lawmakers will have to navigate public-safety concerns, labor politics, and the day-to-day realities of fire operations as the measure moves through hearings this summer.