- The latest update from the U.S. Drought Monitor puts part of the North Bay and East Bay in the "exceptional" drought tier, with the rest of the Bay Area just in an "extreme" drought. [Chronicle]
- Firefighters in Walnut Creek quickly contained a grass fire that broke out Thursday morning on a hilltop, threatening multiple homes. [CBS SF]
- Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law on Thursday at a ceremony in San Jose that will change city zoning around the state to allow for more dense housing to be built. [NBC Bay Area]
- Also, there's video of Gavin picking up trash in Richmond. [Twitter]
- Napa County is planning to hold a workshop to brainstorm what it should do with $26 million that it's getting in federal stimulus funds over the next two years, which has to be spent by the end of 2024. [Bay City News]
- Seven Trump-y counties in Oregon are trying to leave the state and become part of Idaho. [KRON4]
- Famed Oakland punk venue Eli's Mile High Club is being accused of not being punk anymore after it began making patrons show vaccination cards at the door. [SFGate]
- A new wine bar with a raw bar (and a record-listening lounge) called Le Fantastique is opening on Franklin Street in Hayes Valley next month. [Hoodline]
- The U.S. Department of Justice has just seized nearly 70 big cats from the Oklahoma zoo owned by Tiger King figure Jeff Lowe, citing that the animals were malnourished and abused. [ABC 7]
Photo: Office of the CA Governor/Twitter
