• Ghost Ship fire defendant Derick Almena is expected to take the witness stand today. Almena has struck out before, during what was supposed to be his sentencing last August, and attorney Tony Serra is hoping he'll be a more sympathetic witness this time. [East Bay Times]
  • The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is planning to dump 1.5 tons of poison pellets on the Farallon Islands in order to kill off invasive mice. The plan could help save an endangered bird species, some environmentalists say. [ABC 7]
  • The number of complaints lodged about illegal Airbnbs in San Francisco continues to drop. The number for the first half of 2019, 130, is down 30 percent over last year. [Socketsite]
  • Seven people were killed in traffic accidents around the Bay Area over the holiday weekend. There were seven deaths in six separate traffic collisions, including the man struck while running across I-280 in San Francisco on July 4th. [East Bay Times]
  • Jason Pasero has been identified as the Sonoma County Sheriff's deputy who fired at and injured 32-year-old Betai Koffi while he was on alleged LSD-fueled rampage last Thursday. [Chronicle]
  • Local station KRON 4 has been blacked out for DirecTV customers due to a contract dispute. [CBS SF]
  • East Bay Congressman Rep. Eric Swalwell is expected to drop out of the race for the presidency at a press conference this morning. [East Bay Citizen]
  • California billionaire Tom Steyer is expected to announce his reconsidered bid for 2020 this week. [Politico]