�Թϲ�����

California fire officials are cautiously optimistic after dodging a major lightning storm, but they are pleading with residents to stay out of evacuation zones and prepare for days away from home as three massive San Francisco Bay Area wildfires rage on, suffocating the region with smoky air. (Har, 8/25)

Kaiser Health News: Wildfires Provide Another Reason To Mask Up 

If you have declined to wear a face mask during the COVID-19 crisis, you might want to reconsider, as the smoke from over 300 wildfires chokes people across central and Northern California. But you are going to have to think a little more about what kind of mask is best. (Wolfson, 8/25)

California is asking nursing home inspectors to take a more cooperative approach with the hundreds of facilities they regulate — something akin to a consultant role to help the disease-battered industry comply with health and safety laws, according to interviews and documents reviewed by The Sacramento Bee. (Sabalow and Pohl, 8/24)

With near-record wildfires momentarily replacing the coronavirus pandemic in the headlines, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday noted encouraging signs of improvement in the state’s pandemic battle but warned the virus remains a dangerous threat. “Progress is being made,” Newsom said in a noon news conference as the number of new daily cases fell below 5,000 to 4,946 after averaging 7,622 over the last two weeks. The new tally brought the state’s cumulative total to 668,615 cases. “We’re continuing to trend in a very encouraging direction.” (Woolfolk, 8/24)

San Francisco has reached a settlement with grocery-shopping company Instacart to pay almost three-quarters of a million dollars to 985 Instacart gig workers in lieu of health care contributions and paid sick leave benefits that the city requires companies provide for employees — even though Instacart classified the workers as independent contractors. While the case does not set a precedent and Instacart did not admit wrongdoing, it’s still a significant development in the battle over classifying gig workers. (Said, 8/24)