.Monday Must Reads: Lawmakers Call for Closing 2,500 Oil Wastewater Wells; Bill Seeks to Fund Mystery Goo Cleanups

Stories you shouldn’t miss:

1. A group of state lawmakers called on the Jerry Brown administration to shut down 2,500 oil wastewater wells in which oil companies have been injecting toxins into underground aquifers, the LA Times$ reports. The lawmakers, including state Senator Bob Wieckowski of the East Bay, called the wastewater injections wells “reckless.” The state has only closed down 23 of them so far.

2. State Senator Loni Hancock of Berkeley plans to introduce legislation today that would free up state funds to pay for the clean up of toxic spills in which the type of the spilled substance is unknown, the Chron$ reports. The bill, co-sponsored by state Senator Mark Leno of San Francisco, stems from the mystery goo spill that killed hundreds of birds in the bay earlier this year. Existing state law only allows the use of state cleanup funds when the spilled substance is oil or fuel.

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3. A hiker died over the weekend when a section of the Arch Rock cliff at Point Reyes National Seashore collapsed, the Chron reports. A second hiker was injured.

4. The anti-vaccination movement in California appears to be very strong not only in liberal Marin and Santa Cruz counties, but also in conservative rural areas, the Chron reports.

5. And a new Gallup survey found that the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area has the highest concentration of gays and lesbians — 6.2 percent — in the nation, the Chron reports. The Portland, Oregon area ranked second.