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Unemployment soars: L.A.-Orange County No. 2 in U.S., Inland Empire No. 8 -- The pandemic’s economic punch pushed Los Angeles and Orange counties to the second-largest jump in joblessness among the nation’s largest metropolitan areas in the past year — with the Inland Empire at No. 8. Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that the L.A.-O.C. region’s unemployment rate soared 9.7 percentage points to 13.6% in the year ended in September. Jonathan Lansner in the Orange County Register -- 11/2/20
Moving toward record turnout, 11.2 million Californians have already voted -- Of the 22 million registered voters this year, 11.2 million ballots — or 51% — had been returned as of 8 a.m. Monday morning, Political Data Inc. reported. The firm, a trusted data source, is a bipartisan voter data company based in California that tracks detailed voter information. Faith E. Pinho in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/2/20
‘Hostile,’ possibly ‘race-based’ voter intimidation incident reported in Yolo County -- Officials with the Yolo County Assessor, Clerk-Recorder and Elections Office reported the incident involved a note being left on a person’s door, reading: “If you are not a citizen, you are not allowed to vote.” Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/2/20
Young Vietnamese American progressives lead a generational split with conservative elders -- Although most of their parents and grandparents have stayed faithful to the Republican Party — largely because of staunch anti-communist feelings dating to the Vietnam War — many of the younger set say they’re focused on domestic issues, not homeland ones. Anh Do in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/2/20
Bretón: A different type of mail fraud: The worst political mailers of the 2020 local elections -- The final week before an election is when the worst of political advertising lands in our mail boxes or on our front steps. Marcos Bretón in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/2/20
Prop. 21: Everything you need to know about rent control measure -- Proposition 21 would expand the ability for cities and counties to limit rent increases across California. Here’s a rundown of the issue: Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/2/20
Prop. 14: Everything you need to know about the $5.5-billion stem cell measure -- Proposition 14 would authorize the sale of $5.5 billion in general obligation bonds for the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, known as CIRM, for stem cell studies and trials. Here is a rundown of the ballot measure: Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/2/20
Measure J: A look at the L.A. County criminal justice reform proposal -- Measure J would require that 10% of locally generated, unrestricted Los Angeles County money — estimated between $360 million and $900 million — be spent on a variety of social services, including housing, mental health treatment and jail diversion programs. The county would be prohibited from using the money on prisons, jails or law enforcement agencies. Here is a rundown of the L.A. County ballot measure. Jaclyn Cosgrove in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/2/20
School
Mid-semester, many L.A. students are drifting, beset with anxiety and struggling in class -- Every day, almost every one of Nicolle Fefferman’s students logs into her virtual classrooms at John Marshall High School in Los Feliz. A significant number do not turn their cameras on. Many don’t respond when she asks questions and don’t turn in work she assigns offline. Paloma Esquivel, Julia Barajas, Laura Newberry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/2/20
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$ -- 11/2/20
Ds and Fs surge, attendance slips among L.A.’s poorest students amid distance learning -- Grades of D and F have increased in the Los Angeles Unified School District among middle and high school students in a troubling sign of the toll that distance learning — and the coronavirus crisis — is taking on the children, especially those who are members of low-income families. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/2/20
Education
How new law requiring ethnic studies at California State University will affect community colleges -- A new law requiring an ethnic studies class in order to graduate from the California State University will likely have far-reaching implications for the state’s 115 degree-granting community colleges. Michael Burke EdSource -- 11/2/20
Virus
Coronavirus updates: California COVID-19 rates were already on rise before Halloween -- With its raw numbers moderate but trending upward, and a flurry of key moments still to come within the next few weeks, California faces what could be a critical inflection point in the coronavirus pandemic. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/2/20
79th prison inmate in California dies of COVID-19 -- Three inmates in California prisons died of COVID-19 in the past week, state prison officials reported, as coronavirus outbreaks continued to devastate the state’s prison population. The latest death was that of an inmate at Avenal State Prison. He was the 79th incarcerated person in California to die from complications of the illness. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/2/20
Also . . .
Black employees allege racial bias in hiring, promotions at California prisons -- Inspired by a similar complaint at a state’s air pollution agency, a group of Black employees is airing complaints of racial discrimination at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Dale Kasler and Wes Venteicher in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/2/20
Taylor: Thanks to Trump, U.S. no longer in denial of racism -- Racism has been a festering wound on America since emancipation. Patchwork policies have haphazardly bandaged that wound — but now, in 2020, the bandage has been ripped off, and the infection is exposed. Otis R. Taylor Jr. in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/2/20
California Policy & Politics Monday Morning
Election could move California further left on taxes, race -- Tuesday’s election will test the boundaries of California’s left-leaning politics as a new generation of state voters is being asked to roll back affirmative action and property tax laws put in place decades ago. Michael R. Blood Associated Press -- 11/2/20
The election is ‘just the beginning’: Youthful marchers in S.F. protest Trump -- Four years ago, thousands of Bay Area schoolkids abandoned their classrooms to protest the election of a president they saw as uniquely ill-suited to tackle the pressing issues of the day, from climate change to gun violence to inequality and racism. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/2/20
Walters: Election tests depth of California’s blueness -- Credit Donald Trump with one achievement in California: His presidency has encouraged record numbers of Californians to become registered voters and cast ballots. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 11/2/20
Skelton: Newsom says he hasn’t decided on Harris’ successor in Senate. Here are some possibilities -- Let’s assume the Biden-Harris ticket wins and hands Gov. Gavin Newsom a nifty holiday gift. He’ll get to choose Kamala Harris’ successor in the U.S. Senate. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/2/20
Braving COVID and long waits, U.S. citizens cross the Mexican border to vote -- Hundreds — possibly even thousands — of Tijuana residents who are also U.S. citizens have already voted or plan to cross into the United States to cast their ballots in the presidential election. Wendy Fry in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/2/20
Unprecedented Early Turnout In SD County Heading Into Historic Election Day -- As of Sunday morning, the San Diego County Registrar of voters reported receiving 1.1 million mail ballots in what voters see as an era-defining election. That’s about 300,000 more than the county received during the entire 2016 election. Joe Hong KPBS -- 11/2/20
Weekend voters turn out in Bay Area — lured by museums, stadiums, planes -- In 33 years in San Jose, Mayra Valdivia had never visited the Institute of Contemporary Art near her home. But she found time Sunday — to vote in the presidential election. Sam Whiting in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/2/20
CA120: The early vote and the roller coaster of Election Day -- As has been reported in Capitol Weekly, the early vote has been dominated by Democratic voters. This is in direct contrast to every other election in California history in which Republicans have over-performed in the early returns, leaving Democrats to play catch-up in the late mail and Election Day vote. Paul Mitchell Capitol Weekly -- 11/2/20
Prop. 22: Everything you need to know about app-based economy measure -- Here is a quick guide to the proposition, which has set a new national record for ballot measure spending: The item is in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/2/20
Crossing state lines for the Democratic cause: Gavin Newsom stumps for Biden in Nevada -- Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom left California on Sunday to pump up crowds of election volunteers in Reno, traveling from a state sure to vote for former Vice President Joe Biden to one that’s considered a battleground in the presidential race. Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/2/20
Here’s what to look for while watching election returns Tuesday night — and beyond -- Tuesday is election day, but there’s no guarantee the country will know right away whether President Trump will be re-elected or Democrat Joe Biden will be the nation’s next president. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/2/20
Here are the Bay Area and Silicon Valley bigwigs who raised huge sums for Biden -- A list of Joe Biden’s top fundraisers released over the weekend reveals a who’s who of Silicon Valley tycoons and Bay Area big shots, including diplomats, philanthropists, politicians and the beau monde of San Francisco society. Peter Fimrite in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/2/20
Trump Train
‘Like local terrorism’: Trump caravan roars into Marin City, angering residents -- A caravan of flag-fluttering Trump partisans motored into the parking lot at the Gateway Center in Marin City on Sunday morning, with some members hurling racial epithets at bystanders in what is Marin County’s only predominantly minority community, according to two witnesses and reports on the social media website Nextdoor. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/2/20
Huge Trump car caravan disrupted some voters in Temecula, authorities say -- A massive caravan of President Trump supporters paraded for 60 miles through Riverside County on Sunday afternoon before converging on a large Temecula sports park, snarling traffic and upsetting some voters, officials there said. Matt Stiles in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/2/20
Pro-Trump boat parade in San Diego Bay, caravan snarls traffic on I-5, streets -- Traffic backed up on Interstate 5, Harbor Drive and other streets in the downtown area Sunday afternoon as a large boat parade in San Diego Bay was held in a show of support for President Donald Trump. David Hernandez in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/2/20
Virus
Here’s why reopening high schools in a pandemic is tricky -- On Oct. 20, campuses in the Vista Unified School District opened to the general student body for the first time since March, in a move to bring 10,000 students back to classrooms. Just days later, in separate incidents, two students tested positive for COVID-19. The students most likely did not catch the infection at school, but they could spread it there. And with six or seven high school classes each, that potential for transmission is multiplied. Deborah Sullivan Brennan in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/2/20
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$ -- 11/2/20
Is it safe to go home over the holidays? Best practices for Bay Area residents traveling during the pandemic -- If you are waiting for permission to tell your family you are not coming home for the holidays, here it is. Public health and elected officials are asking people to rethink their holiday plans while coronavirus cases are still soaring in many parts of the country. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/2/20
L.A. County reports 1,590 coronavirus cases, 4 deaths amid rise in Southern California infections -- There were 799 confirmed coronavirus patients in county hospitals Friday, with 28% in intensive care, officials said. Though hospitalizations have increased slightly, they remain far below the 2,220-plus patients seen during the peak of the outbreak in July. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/1/2
Landlords & Tenants
Rent prices drop again in S.F. and other Bay Area cities, but ‘freefall’ may be slowing -- In October, San Francisco once again topped the U.S. list for biggest rental price decreases, according to listing websites Zumper and Apartment List. Zumper reported that the average one-bedroom rent in the city was $2,800, a decline of 1.1% from the previous month and a 20.7% decline year over year. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/2/20
POTUS 45
At late-night rally, Trump suggests he may fire Fauci ‘after the election.’ -- President Trump suggested at a rally early Monday morning that he might fire Dr. Anthony S. Fauci after Election Day, further escalating the tension between his administration and the nation’s top infectious disease expert as the number of new coronavirus cases in the United States reaches record highs. Matt Stevens in the New York Times$ -- 11/2/20
Beltway
Americans Are Afraid. Not for Themselves, but for the Country -- They fear the next generation in America will be worse off. Even some voters who say they are personally better off than four years ago say the country as a whole is worse off. And by wide margins, voters on the left and right say they’re concerned about the stability of American democracy. Emily Badger in the New York Times$ -- 11/2/20
-- Sunday Updates
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