Los Angeles Times: Because Of Fire, West Coast Has Four Of The World’s 10 Most Polluted Cities
Smoke has suffused the sky for days, replacing a bright yellow sun with a hazy red orb and raining down flakes of ash on much of the West Coast, where four cities on Sunday were among the 10 most polluted places in the world. Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle ranked eighth, sixth and third, respectively, but the dubious honor of worst air of any big city on the globe went to Portland, Ore., where smoke was blowing in from more than 30 blazes burning across the state. (Vives, Gerber and Hennessy-Fiske, 9/13)

LA Daily News: Smoke Advisory Extended Across Southern California
Unhealthy conditions from the wildfire ash blanketing Southern California have extended a smoke advisory in the region until at least Sunday. As massive wildfires – including the Bobcat fire near the San Gabriel Valley and the El Dorado fire in the Inland Empire – continue to burn, residents across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties were advised to continue to limit outdoor activities, according to the South Coast Air Quality Management District. (Emery, 9/12)

CNBC: The West Coast Is Suffering From Some Of The Worst Air In The World — These Apps Show How Bad It Is
As record-breaking fires wreak havoc on the Western United States, they’re also releasing massive amounts of smoke and ash into the atmosphere, adding to the region’s health woes.  Portland, Oregon suffered from the worst air quality in the world for days. It’s currently second only to Vancouver, Canada, which is choking on smoke from the U.S. blazes. Seattle ranks third, San Francisco seventh and Los Angeles ninth, according to IQAir. To find out where and when it’s safe to go outside again, residents are flocking to air quality apps and websites like AirNow and PurpleAir in addition IQAir. (Kolodny, 9/12)

KGW: More People Seeking Medical Care And Advice For Breathing Issues Amid Hazardous Air Quality
Hazardous air conditions stretch far beyond the flames all across the West Coast. California's governor made a grim comparison when it comes to the impact it's having on our lung health. “The air we're breathing right now is equivalent to smoking 20 packs of cigarettes. [It] is profound and consequential,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said. (Falkers, 9/13)

ABC7 San Francisco: Poor Air Quality Causing Headaches, Taking Toll On Bay Area Residents' Mental Health, Psychologist Says 
A San Francisco psychologist has seen an increase in patients feeling isolated and depressed during the last week as air quality turned unhealthy due to wildfires burning across the West Coast. Doctor of clinical psychology Andrea Zorbas is seeing an increase in patients reporting headaches and signs of depression. The poor air quality is to blame. (Pena, 9/13)

KATU: N95, KN95 Masks Are The Best To Wear When Air Quality Is Poor, Experts Say
With the hazardous air quality, people are asked to wear masks if they spend time outside. Brian Terrett with Legacy Health says N95 masks or KN95 masks are the most effected against smoke and coronavirus. However, he says any type of mask is better than no mask. (9/12)

LA Daily News: Sierra Madre Declares State Of Emergency During Bobcat Fire 
The city of Sierra Madre declared a state of emergency on Sunday, Sept. 13, as the Bobcat fire threatened homes in the area, prompting an evacuation order for residents living near the border shared by Arcadia and Sierra Madre. The City Council unanimously approved the declaration in an emergency meeting at 11 a.m. on Sunday. (Bermont, 9/13)

Fresno Bee: Creek Fire Live Updates: 200,000 Acres Burned, But Evacuations Ease As Containment Hits 10%
The Creek Fire continued to burn through the Sierra National Forest and foothill communities, surpassing 200,000 acres Sunday morning. Full containment is not expected until mid-October, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation. (George and Kuwada, 9/13)

The Desert Sun: El Dorado Fire: Some Evacuations Lifted As California Wildfire Smoke Extends To Michigan
The El Dorado Fire, which sparked a week ago near Yucaipa, barely grew overnight as authorities lifted evacuations for communities near its point of origin Sunday morning. Evacuation orders were lifted for Yucaipa, Oak Glen and Mentone, but remain in place for the mountain communities of Mountain Home Village, Forest Falls, Angelus Oaks and Seven Oaks, the U.S. Forest Service announced. Highway 38 is still closed between Bryant Street and Onyx Summit. (Atagi, 9/13)

The Desert Sun: California Attempts To Kick-Start Lagging COVID-19 Testing System
After the wheels fell off California's COVID-19 testing system in August, the state announced on Friday that it would begin testing whether a system designed by Apple and Google would provide a more accurate public health tool to track exposure to the coronavirus. This came a day before the state announced it had broken 750,000 confirmed cases based on more than 12.5 million tests. (Olalde, 9/12)

The Bakersfield Californian: Locals Sought For COVID-19 Drug Trial 
People in Kern County diagnosed with COVID-19 who are managing the illness at home can participate in a clinical trial to test the efficacy of a common anti-inflammatory drug in reducing hospitalizations and death from the coronavirus. (Shepard, 9/13)

LA Daily News: Defying County, Judge’s Order, Grace Community Church In Sun Valley Hosts Packed Sunday Service
Grace Community Church in Sun Valley held a packed morning service on Sunday, Sept. 13, defying a court order directing them to refrain from holding indoor services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Pastor John MacArthur prefaced the service by complaining about the many health measures required by local and state authorities to prevent further spread of the coronavirus. (9/13)

LA Daily News: More Than 100 Gather In Studio City To Protest Against Coronavirus Rules 
More than a hundred people gathered in Studio City for a pro-Trump car parade and rally, protesting against coronavirus-related restrictions in Los Angeles County, and calling on local leaders to reopen schools and the larger economy. (Bermont, 9/13)

Fresno Bee: Some California Farmworkers Haven’t Had Masks During Wildfires. State Investigating
Availability of N95 masks for farmworkers looked as hazy as the orange sky in California this week. The respirator masks are the most effective shield against toxic air for workers who have to remain outside as wildfires rip through the Golden State. But farmworker groups reported workers have virtually no masks, while the state and ag groups say they have distributed millions. (Tobias, 9/13)

LA Daily News: ‘Behind The 8-Ball:’ Many Southern California Nursing Homes Hit Hard By Coronavirus Had Prior Issues 
Evangelina Gonzalez survived the coronavirus. But she found herself lonely and confused inside her nursing home. The 98-year-old, who has dementia, had fallen a couple of times at Monterey Palms Health Care Center in the Coachella Valley, her son said. After contracting the virus last spring, she was placed in an isolation wing for six weeks. (Gazzar and Yarbrough, 9/13)

Bay Area News Group: Coronavirus: Six Months After Sheltering, Why Things Fell Apart 
Duck, cover and hold on: Californians’ response to earthquakes is universal and effective. But our reaction to a different natural disaster – the coronavirus — is profoundly personal and often divisive, revealing differences in risk perception, governance and equity as vast as the Golden State. Six months after the state’s strict stay-at-home order, this response explains our notable early success against the virus, as well as more recent failures, say experts. It also sheds light on why viral spread is so highly clustered. (Krieger and Woolfolk, 9/13)

Bay Area News Group: Coronavirus: Are Bay Area Schools Having Outbreaks? Good Luck Finding Out 
As California’s summer surge of coronavirus cases fades and more schools transition from online distance learning to in-class instruction, it’s likely some students and teachers will be infected. And there’s no guarantee the public will find out about it. Weeks after classrooms began reopening across the country, there’s been little comprehensive information about how many have had outbreaks — and California is one of a number of states saying they aren’t planning to release such information. (Woolfolk, 9/12)

Fresno Bee: There’s A $2.4M Catch For Fresno Community Colleges If Employees Get New Health Insurance
State Center Community College District employees say they want out of their health insurance cooperative, which they say saddles them with expensive premiums and spotty coverage. But the college district can’t walk away from the cooperative without risking losing repayment on a nearly-$3 million loan they gave the EdCare cooperative last year. (Panoo, 9/14)

Bay Area News Group: Five Law-Enforcement Officers Hospitalized After Golden Gate Bridge Fentanyl Exposure 
Four California Highway Patrol officers and a Golden Gate Bridge patrol officer were hospitalized for possible fentanyl exposure Sunday after responding to a vehicle blocking Golden Gate Bridge lanes, authorities said. (Kelly, 9/13)

The Hill: LA Mayor Condemns Protesters Shouting 'Death To Police' Outside Hospital Treating Ambushed Officers 
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti (D) on Sunday condemned protesters who reportedly yelled "death to police" outside the hospital where two Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputies are being treated and in critical condition after being shot. Fox News reports that video showed protesters blocking a hospital entrance and shouting "death to police," "I hope they ... die," and "kill the police." (Seipel, 9/13)

Ventura County Star: Flu Clinics Set To Launch; Docs Say Vaccinations Could Combat 'Twindemic'
A flu season that has spread fear of compounding the COVID pandemic, filling hospital beds and leaving people simultaneously infected with two viruses is also marked by hope. As clinics in Ventura County plan to begin drive-through and walk-up flu vaccination events this week marked by masks, social distancing and health-care workers geared up in PPE, doctors say it's vitally important to get vaccinated. (Kisken, 9/13)

Bay Area News Group: Coronavirus Real Estate: Developers Eye Lawrence Station As Tech Offices For COVID Era 
A modern tech complex under construction in Santa Clara is being developed with an array of features that are designed to produce new offices compatible with the coronavirus era. The five-story office building is expected to sprout by year’s end at 3655 Kifer Road next to Lawrence Expressway in Santa Clara when it is complete, according to project developer Bayview Development Group. (Avalos, 9/14)

The Desert Sun: Oasis Mobile Home Park Once Again Found To Have Arsenic In Its Water
The beleaguered Oasis Mobile Home Park near Thermal, home to about 1,900 largely Spanish-speaking residents living in poor conditions, has once again found dangerously high levels of arsenic in its drinking water. On Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency served park management with an emergency order compelling them to provide residents an alternative source of water. (Olalde, 9/12)

Bay Area News Group: Some Bay Area Homeless Sweeps Continue, Despite Coronavirus Moratorium 
Homeless residents living in tents along Cupertino’s Wolfe Road thought they were safe. Following federal health guidelines adopted around the Bay Area, city officials promised not to force them to move until the coronavirus pandemic abated. But this month, with county and state-wide shelter-in-place rules still in effect, Cupertino officials changed their minds. They plan to dismantle the camps in the next few weeks. (Kendall, 9/14)