From a new school parcel tax push to a wilderness rescue after hikers used an AI chatbot, Wednesday brought a wide range of news across Northern California. Here’s a rundown of the top stories.
Sacramento City Unified School District officials and local labor leaders launched a campaign Tuesday urging voters to approve Measure M, a $95 parcel tax for special education. If two-thirds of voters approve in November, the tax would raise an estimated $10 million annually starting July 1, 2027, funding early-intervention programs, behavioral services and specialized staff. National Education Association President Princess Moss and SCUSD trustee April Ybarra spoke at the launch outside C.K. McClatchy High School, with Ybarra stressing the measure is not intended to fix the district’s $222 million structural deficit.California consumers were warned about a string of August food, supplement and pet product recalls tied to possible salmonella, listeria and foreign material contamination. Notable items include Marketside Tomato Bisque Soup Kits sold at Walmart, Outshine frozen fruit bars from Walnut Creek-based Dreyer’s that may contain glass, and more than 27,000 packages of Lundberg Family Farms White Jasmine Rice recalled for possible foreign materials. Pet products from Oma’s Pride, Fromm Family Foods and Revival Animal Health were also pulled from shelves.Three Roseville hikers had to be rescued from Mount Shasta after relying on Google’s Gemini AI to plan their climb, according to the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office. The trio underpacked food and water based on the chatbot’s guidance for what they expected to be an eight-hour ascent, then missed the recommended noon turnaround, veered into Mud Creek Canyon and spent the night on the mountain after one hiker injured his knee. U.S. Forest Service climbing rangers and search-and-rescue volunteers reached them Monday morning and brought all three back safely.David and Priscilla Burke of Red Bluff are hunting wild fig trees across Northern California and using them to fight local food insecurity through their nonprofit One Seed at a Time. Through their business The Fig Hunter, founded in 2021, the couple propagates unique varieties like Shasta Cranberry and Amen’s Citron from cuttings taken in unlikely spots such as culverts and pavement cracks. Their nonprofit aims to donate and plant 5,000 fig trees, addressing hunger in a county where David Burke says one in five families lives below the federal poverty level.
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