A new Napa County fire is off to a fast morning start today, and high winds and heat are expected through this evening. Follow @Sarah_Stierch for local info and updates.
And it’s still just September.
It's difficult to imagine the trauma of the past three years in the Napa and Sonoma area with these repeating fires. We're just a little over a week from the anniversary of the Wine Country firestorm that took off in the middle of the night October 8, 2017, and killed 44 people.
One third. And those old burn scars don't necessarily protect from new fires like they might once have, especially in wind-driven events.
I feel like I've held it together pretty well the last six months of pandemic pregnancy but this may be my undoing. COBRA says they sent my payment, my insurer says they haven't received anything. They're both shrugging while I still don't have coverage.
Now they both agree that somehow my former employer has delayed the process. I'm supposed to call HR.
The last conversation I had with HR, as I was making suggestions about what they could improve in my exit interview, they interrupted me to tell me I was wrong. So.
Neat: HR responded to confirm that they did not re-enroll me in the health plan that they took my money for weeks ago.
I’m seeing a lot of folks who live in Bay Area urban flatlands quite a ways from any wildfire risk suddenly feeling very nervous about their safety. If you want something to do to quell your anxiety, make an evacuation plan - but also get your home/rental insurance in order.
I’ve spoken to so many fire survivors over the years with double horror stories — of the initial flames and of the bureaucracy and costs afterwards when they tried to rebuild their lives. Polls show most renters who lost homes in recent fires were uninsured.
Renters, get insurance — it’s relatively affordable. Take videos of the contents in your home, opening drawers and closets — you can always log that stuff later. Homeowners, check that the assessed value of your home on your policy isn’t super out of date.
I was so optimistically thinking we had at least until October to worry about widescale wildfires in northern California this year -- at least one looming disaster that we didn't have to deal with just quite yet.
I'm recalling how @Weather_West warned of this devastating upcoming fire season all the way back in our record-dry February -- that it could come harder and faster than expected this year. theguardian.com/us-news/2020/f…
This year was shaping up to be a bad one long before the incredibly rare lightning storms that sparked many of the 367 fires now burning statewide.
A new apparent third party restaurant delivery scam:
For the last two weeks, Billy has been getting phone calls from Postmates, GrubHub and Uber drivers and customer service workers claiming to be waiting to pick up an order at Eli’s. But Eli’s doesn’t use any of those services.
The orders were never placed with Eli’s — if they existed, they were only placed with the third party services.
Today two delivery drivers showed up asking where the food was. Their order receipts showed out of date prices and menu items, stuff Eli’s hasn’t sold in years.
Clearly the third party apps are trying desperately to capture the businesses that are trying to go it alone. But I can’t understand who this benefits. Do they think businesses will be so impressed by these new orders that they’ll sign up for 30% commission fees?
It's incredible that so many people have been getting by for so long with zero benefits. No doubt many have gone into personal debt to cover costs in the meantime. There's no way this is sustainable for another 7 months.
Related: I'm looking to talk to folks anywhere in the US who have used or are currently using EarnIn Unemployment for advance payments on benefits. DMs are open.
After weeks of calls (and an email to my state rep) I finally spoke to a person at EDD just now -- for less than 30 seconds. They said I'd get a call back later today. I'm not holding my breath.
My personal EDD holdup is one I’ve seen in many comments here and on Reddit, of claims stuck in indefinite “pending” for weeks, months at a time. Some fortunate people report that after finally reaching EDD, the problem is immediately resolved, their claims approved.
I haven’t yet seen any explanation for this mass “pending” purgatory. The lucky people who get their claims resolved are just happy to be paid of course. Personally I don’t just want my benefits, I really want to know what‘s happening here.
EDD has only offered that claims are flagged and stuck in pending when people incorrectly fill out their weekly certifications. I appreciate this classic attempt at dodging responsibility, but I’ve triple-checked my six weeks of pending claims and they’re all good.