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Affirmative action divides Asian Americans, UC’s largest overrepresented student group -- Angela Li and Vivrd Prasanna have achieved the pinnacle of a public university education — she a senior at UCLA, he a freshman at UC Berkeley. Both are children of immigrants, with Li’s parents from China and Prasanna’s from India. Teresa Watanabe, Jennifer Lu in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
Youth voter turnout is way up in California. What does that mean for close races? -- After the Parkland high school shooting in Florida in 2018, members of Generation Z started promising huge voting turnout among their ranks. Early numbers on both voter registrations and ballots returned in the mail demonstrate they are showing up, and in larger numbers than ever before. Kate Irby and Grace Asiegbu in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/1/20
These Gen Z Latinos are casting a ballot for the first time. What’s on their minds? -- Gatdula, who turned 18 in January, represents one of the fastest-growing voting blocs in the nation: Latino voters. Every 30 seconds a Latino in the U.S. turns 18, the Pew Research Center estimates. Nationwide, about one in four Generation Zers are Hispanic, the cohort born between 1996 and 2010. Kim Bojórquez in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/1/20
Prop. 15: Everything you need to know about California business tax overhaul -- Proposition 15 would loosen tax limits on commercial and industrial properties and spend the resulting revenues on local governments and schools. Here is a quick rundown of the proposition: The item is in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
This Uber driver died of COVID-19. Proposition 22 will sway his family’s fate -- Khaled Zayyid worked long days, driving as much as 80 hours a week for Uber, to provide for his family. When he died in a Riverside County hospital in July of complications from COVID-19, his wife and children were left without a breadwinner. Suhauna Hussain in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
Uber Engineer Quits Over Pressure to Support Proposition 22 -- Hernandez said he felt a constant push to support the ballot initiative at work. He didn’t like feeling that kind of political pressure on the job. On top of that, Hernandez opposes the ballot initiative, and he did not feel comfortable having that viewpoint. Sam Harnett KQED -- 11/1/20
God, masks and Trump: What a coronavirus outbreak at a California church says about the election -- The influence of Bethel Church can be felt all over this economically stressed Northern California city. In the Redding police officers whose positions the megachurch funded. The once-dying civic auditorium it keeps afloat. The church elder on the Redding City Council. Hailey Branson-Potts, Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
Voters waited for hours in Riverside County; glitch has been fixed, officials say -- The slowdown was caused by an issue with the voter registration “lookup system,” officials said. When people arrive at a voting center to cast a ballot in person, staffers look them up in the system to check them in and then void the vote-by-mail ballot that was sent to their home, said Brooke Federico, public information officer for Riverside County. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
Paid election workers train for worst, hope for best during in-person voting in Southern California -- While the pandemic and political divisions cause concern, poll workers say seeing the increasingly involved process up close boots their confidence in election security. Brooke Staggs in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/1/20
Is the election over when it’s over? Fears Trump vs. Biden could go into overtime -- The most costly and contentious presidential campaign in modern history is winding to an ominous close, with no certainty its hostilities will end on election day. Mark Z. Barabak in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
McManus: Biden’s secret weapon: Anti-Trump Republicans -- If Joe Biden wins the presidency this week, he could owe part of his victory to a small but surprising constituency: disaffected Republicans who abandoned President Trump. Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
‘You are a Black man at all times.’ 3 generations tell of their family’s hopes and fears in the Trump era -- Even though these three generations of men are separated by more than half a century, they all struggle with the pressure of being Black men in a country that fails again and again to respect people who look like them. Tyrone Beason in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
No matter who wins the election, police prepare for protests -- As this year’s contentious election cycle draws to a close, law enforcement officials throughout Southern California say they’re ready for what may come on Nov. 3 and beyond. Emily Rasmussen, Alma Fausto, Brian Rokos in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/1/20
School
Coronavirus: Failing grades spike in Bay Area schools with distance learning -- The first round of progress reports are being sent home for students caught in California’s experiment with online distance learning this fall, and for many, the grades are not good. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/1/20
After reopening, San Diego-area districts say they’ve proven schools can open safely -- Parents in San Diego and South County, where COVID-19 has flourished, will have to wait until 2021 for their children to go back to district schools. The prevailing fear is that it’s not yet safe enough in those communities and that reopening schools could lead to more COVID spread. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/1/20
Virus
COVID-19 has made this the saddest Day of the Dead in Los Angeles -- At midnight tonight, according to a deep vein of folklore in Mexico and parts of Latin America, the spirits of the dead come nearest to those of us who still bear the burden of living. Daniel Hernandez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
Dozens of inmates test positive for virus at San Diego federal jail, defense attorneys say -- At least 56 inmates tested positive for the coronavirus last week at a privately run federal jail in downtown San Diego that houses mostly pretrial inmates, according to defense attorneys briefed on the matter. Alex Riggins in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
Homeless Deaths
Despite protections, deaths surge in Bay Area homeless communities -- The coronavirus pandemic seems largely to have spared the Bay Area’s homeless communities — few members have succumbed to the virus, and pandemic programs moved thousands of people into hotels and trailers. Despite those efforts, the number of homeless people dying is skyrocketing. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/1/20
Also . . .
A collision in Oakland: Move to defund police meets a homicide... -- Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and the killing of George Floyd, Oakland set an ambitious goal to cut its police budget in half. Rachel Swan, Yalonda M. James in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/1/20
Sheriff met privately with health care contractor months before inviting bids -- Months before Sheriff Bill Gore announced he was exploring the idea of outsourcing all healthcare services for jail inmates, he and his top advisors sat down late last year with a top official of a potential bidder. Wellpath, a corrections industry medical and mental health provider in Tennessee, is vying for a multimillion-dollar contract to work inside San Diego County jails. Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/1/20
O.C. bishop sues charity administrator who accused Catholic leader of wrongdoing -- The Roman Catholic bishop of Orange County is suing a former charity administrator for libel, an escalation in the prelate’s dispute with influential church philanthropists who have complained to the Vatican about his firing of a nonprofit board. Harriet Ryan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
Rescue operations underway in the San Gabriel Mountains for rare species marooned by wildfire -- Just weeks after the Bobcat fire ravaged the San Gabriel Mountains, state and federal biologists are racing to salvage as many federally endangered species as possible before storms could inundate the animals’ last outposts with mud and debris. Louis Sahagún in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
California Policy & Politics Sunday Morning
Stanford researchers blame Trump campaign rallies for an estimated 700 coronavirus deaths -- As President Trump holds a string of rallies across the country in the final days of the presidential campaign, Stanford researchers released a study that found that earlier presidential campaign gatherings accounted for 30,000 additional cases of the coronavirus and may have led to 700 deaths. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Melissa Healy in the Los Angeles Times$ Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/1/20
Hundreds of Trump supporters rally in Beverly Hills ahead of election day -- There were media reports that counter-protesters would show up in force at this week’s rally, but that did not appear to be the case. Police in riot gear stood nearby and employees guarded storefronts along Rodeo Drive, but the crowd remained mostly peaceful. Stephanie Lai, Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
Shops in downtown San Francisco boarding up ahead of election -- Landlords are preparing for potential unrest only months after people flooded streets to protest the killing of George Floyd. Most marched peacefully, but some opportunistic vandals engaged in violent activity and looting in Union Square. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/1/20
In-person voting begins in San Diego as mail ballots pour in for an election like no other -- Nudged by election officials who for the first time in state history sent everyone a mail ballot, more than 1 million of the county’s registered voters have already turned theirs in. That’s half of all the ballots, a big uptick from the last presidential race in 2016, and there are still two more days until Election Day. Saturday, more people got into the act. John Wilkens, Greg Moran in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/1/20
Computer Woes Slow Riverside County Voting -- Some voters in Temecula and other parts of Riverside County reported long waits of as much as three hours to cast their ballots on Saturday. County officials said some of their 130 sites were experiencing “intermittent delays in processing voters related due to significant volume in the voter registration lookup system,” which is connected to the Internet. Gina Diamante KPBS Brian Rokos in the Riverside Press Enterprise$ -- 11/1/20
Voting at Westminster polling site temporarily halted after ‘suspicious package’ is found, then deemed safe -- A suspicious package found in a parking lot near a Westminster polling site on Saturday halted voting for about two hours before a bomb squad determined the box was safe, authorities said. Jonah Valdez in the Orange County Register -- 11/1/20
As election nears, some would-be voters frustrated by citizenship delays -- San Diegan Alfredo De Jesus applied to become a U.S. citizen toward the beginning of 2020 — as soon as he was eligible. He thought his application would be processed in plenty of time to vote in this year’s election. But he’s still waiting. Kate Morrissey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
Time off to vote, volunteer a Silicon Valley perk -- Edwin Zhang is trying to get out the vote — and his employer is helping him do it. Zhang, a data scientist at San Francisco car insurance startup Metromile, used vacation time to text people in swing states like Pennsylvania, Arizona and his native Ohio and encourage them to vote. Chase DiFeliciantonio in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/1/20
Who’s voting early as California racks up record turnout? It’s a different story than past elections -- They’ve penned handwritten letters, called hundreds of battleground-state voters and sent thousands of texts. They’ve fed ballots into mailboxes and drop boxes weeks before the deadline at unprecedented levels. From record early voting to enthusiasm for phone banking, the 2020 Election has sparked a wave of civic engagement seldom seen among California’s voters. Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/1/20
Election Day stress isn’t trivial; phone line operators expect another deluge -- In 2016, operators of OC WarmLine, a free county-funded telephone service that provides emotional and mental health support, were surprised by the volume and tone of calls that came their way after the election of Donald Trump. A lot of anger. A lot of tears. Nobody saw it coming. Theresa Walker in the Orange County Register -- 11/1/20
Policy & Politics
Willie Brown: Willie Brown: I’ve been listening to Black America, and Trump is done -- In the final sprint for the White House, President Trump has stalled. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/1/20
Walters: Does more money mean better schools? -- It’s by no means certain that California voters will pass Proposition 15, but if they do, it would be the largest tax increase in the state’s history. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 11/1/20
Attorneys seek to pull Garcetti deeper into aide’s sexual harassment suit -- In a court motion filed Friday, the attorneys are demanding Garcetti give sworn testimony about the former aide, Rick Jacobs. They also want Garcetti to answer questions about a second alleged incident involving the mayor they say is relevant to the case, according to documents filed with the motion. Dakota Smith, Kevin Rector, Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
With hunger rising in S.F., food pantries desperate for volunteers to feed the needy -- Elderly people hunched over their carts. Moms clutched children’s hands or pushed babies in strollers. Scores of people waited patiently in the hot sun, their weary eyes peering over their masks. These are the faces of hunger and poverty in one of the world’s richest cities, and they stretched in a long line down Seneca Avenue and around the corner. They were seeking a precious commodity: a plastic bag bulging with healthy food. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/1/20
Virus
Texas passes California for most coronavirus cases despite smaller population -- Texas has passed California as the state with the most coronavirus cases, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. As of 6 p.m. Saturday, California had reported 931,740 total cases since the pandemic began, while Texas hit 931,750 cases. Erin Allday and Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/1/20
POTUS 45
Trump makes final battleground blitz -- The president will hold at least 14 rallies between now and Nov. 3, hoping to convince his supporters a red wave is attainable. Gabby Orr Politico -- 11/1/20
Beltway
Tensions flare in fight for key states, and Trump cheers a truck caravan swarming a Biden bus -- President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden delivered final pitches in Pennsylvania and Michigan on Saturday, battling over the economy and the COVID-19 pandemic, as their campaigns scoured for votes from a diminishing pool of Americans who have yet to cast ballots. Noah Bierman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/20
Forget the Polls: This Chinese Indicator Is Flashing ‘Trump’ -- President Trump’s campaign paraphernalia — hats, banners, mugs and practically anything else that can carry a logo — has been selling briskly at shops in the vast wholesale market in the Chinese city of Yiwu. By contrast, shop owners said during recent visits, bulk orders for materials supporting former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. have been almost nonexistent. Keith Bradsher in the New York Times$ -- 11/1/20
-- Saturday Updates
San Diego County warns college fraternities to cancel Halloween weekend parties or be fined -- San Diego County on Friday sent cease-and-desist letters to eight College Area homes where it says large Halloween weekend gatherings were planned in “blatant violation” of state public health orders. Andrew Dyer, Paul Sisson in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/31/20
Prop. 16: Everything you need to know about affirmative action measure -- Proposition 16 would allow the reinstatement of affirmative action programs in California and repeal the decades-old ban on preferential treatment by public colleges and other government agencies based on race, ethnicity or sex. Here is a rundown of the issue: Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/31/20
Jackie Lacey vs. George Gascón: All you need to know about L.A County district attorney’s race -- The battle to lead the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office is one of the most closely watched local races in the nation, seen by many as a referendum on criminal justice reform after a summer of protests against police brutality. James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/31/20
With push for progressive D.A.s, elected prosecutors feel the pressure of a changing profession -- When Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey began her fight against challenger George Gascón, her strategy to fend him off seemed clear: attack the purported reformer as weak on crime, while touting her own record on public safety. Anita Chabria, James Queally in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/31/20
‘I definitely feel like a minority’: Beverly Hills is an unlikely outpost for Trump supporters -- They converge on Beverly Hills, hailing from around the corner, or halfway across the world. Their reasons for supporting President Trump range from his stance on Israel to his policies on gun rights and abortion. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/31/20
Lopez: The pandemic and the economy top voter concerns, but there’s a bigger issue -- “We have done an incredible job environmentally,” President Trump said in the last presidential debate, believe it or not. That was a bit like Genghis Khan saying, “We’ve done really good work in Eurasia.” Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/31/20
These two Californians think they’re close to changing the electoral college -- If a California-based group succeeds in reworking the rules of the electoral college before the next presidential election, the achievement will come almost six decades after its architect unveiled his first, more trifling approach to the subject. A board game. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/31/20
Missing from Trump’s re-election pitch: What he’d do if re-elected -- President Trump spoke for 74 minutes recently in Bullhead City, Ariz., near the Nevada border. He spent roughly two minutes explaining what he would do if re-elected. The rest of the speech was a free-form ramble, as Trump careened from grievances to fear-mongering to goofiness. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/31/20
Virus
Halloween a do-or-die moment in California fight against fall COVID-19 wave -- Trick-or-treating is strongly discouraged and, in some places, banned. Major events, such as West Hollywood’s Halloween Carnaval and the Queen Mary’s Dark Harbor haunt in Long Beach, have been scrapped. Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/31/20
San Francisco’s historic Tadich Grill cancels reopening after indoor dining rules change -- The 171-year-old Financial District establishment recently started taking reservations for a reopening date of Nov. 9 in anticipation of San Francisco allowing 50% indoor capacity at restaurants. But on Friday, city officials announced they were pausing San Francisco’s reopening plans due to rising coronavirus cases and hospitalizations. Janelle Bitker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/31/20
UC president orders all on-campus students, faculty, staff to get flu shot by Sunday -- All students, faculty and staff living, learning or working at any University of California location must receive a flu vaccine by Sunday unless they are given an exemption, UC President Michael Drake announced in an executive order. Vanessa Arredondo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/31/20
Eugenics
A Cal State professor published eugenics-linked papers. Now come calls for a reckoning -- A professor emeritus at Cal State University East Bay has been accused of publishing racist teachings linked to the discredited field of eugenics, forcing the university to decry “repulsive” viewpoints while defending the right to freedom of speech. Nina Agrawal in the Los Angeles Times$ Jason Fagone in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/31/20