Updating . .
California faces winter of misery as coronavirus spreading like ‘fire’ -- Coronavirus is again on the rise in California, and the big question is: How bad it will get? With the holidays approaching, state officials have already rolled back reopenings in some counties as case numbers surge. Officials now fear more hospitalizations and deaths, and they are debating whether more intense measures will be needed to slow the infection rate. Maura Dolan, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/20
O.C.'s John Wayne Airport will add clinic with COVID testing -- Orange County’s John Wayne Airport is teaming with Hoag health officials to open a clinic next spring that will include rapid COVID-19 testing, flu shots and telehealth appointments. Christopher Reynolds in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/20
When virus assistance program ends, there’s a good chance this Pasadena restaurant will too -- After barely hanging in for months amid a multitude of pandemic-related challenges thrown at restaurants, the husband-and-wife team behind Hope Cafe & Catering in Old Town Pasadena might throw in the towel. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/20
I traveled across the U.S. during the pandemic. Experts weigh in on what I did right and wrong -- On Orange Skies Day, we turned to Southwest Airlines for salvation. It was time, my husband and I decided, to book a flight —to flee smoky air and bring the baby, closing in on her first birthday, to visit East Coast grandparents who desperately wanted to see her beyond the confines of an iPad screen. Sarah Feldberg in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/20
Policy & Politics
Garcetti, facing daunting challenges in L.A., could seek exit in Biden White House -- Less than two years ago, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti took the stage at an L.A. Live club to announce a tourism milestone: A record number of visitors were coming to the L.A. region, flocking to the city for its restaurants, art museums and hip neighborhoods. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/20
In Burbank schools, a book-banning debate over how to teach antiracism -- During a virtual meeting on Sept. 9, middle and high school English teachers in the Burbank Unified School District received a bit of surprising news: Until further notice, they would not be allowed to teach some of the books on their curriculum. Dorany Pineda in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/20
California’s gig worker initiative blew a giant hole in its landmark labor law. What’s left? -- California’s landmark labor law, Assembly Bill 5, isn’t going away anytime soon. Jeong Park and Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/12/20
Parolee feels ‘Emancipated’ as California Votes ‘Yes’ on Prop 17, Allow Right to Vote -- Shone Holmes didn’t get to vote in last week’s history-making election because she is on parole. She was devastated. But now she’s thrilled that Californians decided that people in her situation can cast a ballot in the future. Marcus D. Smith and Jason Pohl in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/12/20
California Republicans argued Democrats would raise taxes. Did Prop. 15 prove their point? -- Asked about California’s property tax law during a local radio interview in December 2019, Democratic legislative candidate Dawn Addis stopped short of endorsing a total repeal of Proposition 13. Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/12/20
Prop. 19 passes, but questions about California property tax measure remain -- Proposition 19, which would expand one California property tax break for seniors and curtail another for transfers of real estate between parents and children, has passed by a narrow margin, but some questions about its implementation remain. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/20
S.F. District Attorney Chesa Boudin dismissed charges against cops in infamous alley beating -- Five years ago, two Alameda County sheriff’s deputies chased a car theft suspect across the Bay Bridge, from Castro Valley to an alley in San Francisco’s Mission District. There, they tackled him and beat him with batons, giving him a concussion and breaking bones in his hands and arms. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/20
San Jose Sharks say downtown projects may force SAP Center exit -- The San Jose Sharks on Thursday raised concerns about being forced out of the SAP Center in the city’s downtown because of plans for massive development projects near the sports complex and Diridon train station. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/12/20
Congress deadlocked on stimulus as lame duck begins -- Prospects for a new stimulus bill this year just about hit rock bottom on Thursday. Burgess Everett and Sarah Ferris Politico -- 11/12/20
California Policy & Politics Thursday Morning
California joins most of U.S. in ‘uncontrolled’ coronavirus spread -- The rampant spread of the coronavirus across the U.S. has now engulfed California — which until recently had stood apart from the majority of states by keeping transmission in check. Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/20
California Doctors Work to Prioritize Who Will Get COVID-19 Vaccine First -- A panel of experts with the state’s Department of Public Health is working to prioritize who will be first in line to get innoculated when the Food and Drug Administration finally approves a vaccine. Laura Klivans KQED -- 11/12/20
Latest key S.F. dates to know: City dials back reopening to keep coronavirus spike in check -- Indoor dining will be shut down across San Francisco on Friday, Nov. 13, and officials have paused plans to reopen high schools as cases increase at an alarming rate. Indoor dining was at 25% capacity even though the city’s yellow tier status allowed for 50% capacity. Officials had planned to let high schools resume in-person learning in mid-November. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/20
San Diego Gyms Prepare To Operate Outdoors Under Purple Tier -- Gyms, restaurants, churches and movie theatres will have to stop indoor operations by Saturday, due to a rising number of coronavirus cases San Diego county. Matt Hoffman KPBS -- 11/12/20
Capacity restrictions could provide outsized impact, study says -- Certain “super-spreader” locations, such as restaurants, gyms and grocery stores, made up just 10% of all “points of interest” but accounted for 85% of infections modeled in the study published Tuesday in the Nature peer-reviewed journal and included researchers from Stanford as well as the Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub. Evan Webeck in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/12/20
San Francisco shuts down indoor dining at restaurants -- Grant Colfax, the city’s director of health, said cases are projected to rapidly increase if steps to reduce indoor activities aren’t taken. In the past two weeks, the case rate in San Francisco went from 3.7 to 9 per 100,000 residents. There are an average of 80 new cases per day, up from 32 at the end of October, he said. Janelle Bitker and Justin Phillips in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/20
What it’s like to participate in a Pfizer coronavirus vaccine trial? This Bay Area man can tell you -- By the time Dan Horowitz signed up to participate in one of the most closely watched experiments on the planet — a global clinical trial for a coronavirus vaccine made by the drug company Pfizer — he had been interested and closely tracking vaccine developments for a while. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/20
Riverside introduces no-cost, self-administered oral coronavirus tests -- Riverside County has “artificially high” coronavirus case counts and healthy people need to get tested to make county and state figures more accurate, according to Riverside’s mayor. New no-cost tests, available starting Wednesday, Nov. 11, could help. Beau Yarbrough in the Riverside Press Enterprise$ -- 11/12/20
Covid Economy
Car and truck sales still down in California, but the numbers are improving -- After vehicle registrations plummeted 48.9 percent in the second quarter compared to the same three-month period in 2019, third-quarter numbers released Wednesday showed a decline of 19.6 percent, according to a report from the California New Car Dealers Association. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/12/20
San Diego Housing Commission over a month late in sending COVID-19 rent relief -- The $15.1 million program overseen by the San Diego Housing Commission was rife with delays, leaving $1.5 million unspent as of last week and more than 400 families waiting for assistance. The City Council wasn’t told about the problems until inewsource started asking questions. Cody Dulaney inewsource -- 11/12/20
Policy & Politics
How California will shape U.S. environmental policy under Biden -- California’s climate titans are ready to come in from the cold. Debra Kahn Politico -- 11/12/20
How Biden’s win could help S.F. address skyrocketing drug overdoses and other issues -- San Francisco officials spent the past few years trying to open a safe injection site where people struggling with addiction could use drugs indoors and around nurses who could help them if they overdose. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/20
Here’s how Biden’s win could help California school districts, teachers and students -- After four years of school voucher talk under the Trump administration, the education community across California was giddy in the wake of Joe Biden’s presidential victory, with his platform of more money for teachers, increased pandemic support and free college tuition. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/20
The party is ending, and America remains divided. Is the dream of unity over? -- From afar, the visual of the Trump-averse Bay Area celebrating a Joe Biden/Kamala Harris win on Saturday was truly cinematic; an echo of the “Footloose” credits sequence where everyone is bathed in smiles and glitter. But peer considerably closer at America, and the celebration may look more like a failed exorcism than reconciliation. Peter Hartlaub and Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/20
Election
Skelton: Expanding vote by mail in California was a success. Let’s do it permanently -- The pandemic produced one good thing: mail ballots for every California voter. And regardless of our fired president’s nonsensical claims, they were cast without a scent of fraud. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/20
California voters approve Prop. 19, giving new property tax breaks to older homeowners -- The success of Proposition 19 means that those 55 and older will be able to blend the taxable value of their old home with the value of a new, more expensive home they purchase, resulting in property tax savings that could reach thousands of dollars a year. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/20
Democrats poised to expand their control of the California Legislature -- There is optimism — and some finger-crossing — among Democrats in the California Senate as they wait for final tallies in four races that could flip from the Republican Party but remain too close to call. If won, the victories would further pad the supermajority status Democrats hold in both the Senate and Assembly. Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/20
PolitiFact California: President Trump Shares Misleading Video, Falsely Questions California Ballot Collection -- The clip shows Los Angeles County election workers legally collecting ballots from an authorized drop box on Nov. 4, the day after Election Day, which county election officials said was standard procedure. They noted all drop boxes were closed and locked at 8 p.m. on Election night. Chris Nichols Capital Public Radio Matt Stiles in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/20
Prosecutors urge $10-million fine, up to 13 years in prison for L.A. Trump donor -- Federal prosecutors want a Los Angeles venture capitalist to spend years in prison and pay millions in fines for an array of crimes, including obstructing an investigation into President Trump’s inaugural committee and concealing work he did lobbying for foreign groups. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/20
California man accuses ‘bully’ neighbors of Trump sign theft, seeks restraining order -- Days after a contentious presidential election, a Northern California man filed for restraining orders against neighbors whom he alleges stole a Trump sign from his front lawn, chanted outside his house, wrote chalk messages intended to mock him and otherwise harassed him and his family in a politically charged quarrel. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/12/20
In upset, Oakland’s Moms 4 Housing activist beats incumbent for city council seat -- When activist Carroll Fife choreographed homeless mothers and their kids taking over an empty house in West Oakland to spotlight the city’s housing crisis, it drew international coverage. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/20
Workplace
Women workers may not be faring as well as you’d think -- Women in Santa Clara County are the most likely in California to work a low-wage job. They also face California’s third highest gender income gap, according to a new analysis by the California Budget & Policy Center. Laurence Du Sault CalMatters -- 11/12/20
Education
What Prop. 15’s defeat means for California schools -- The measure would have brought billions to California’s cash-strapped schools and community colleges, though not in time to help deal with immediate financial crises. Ricardo Cano CalMatters -- 11/12/20
Defeat of Prop. 15 to raise commercial property taxes denies schools more revenue -- Voters have rejected a large tax increase on commercial properties, depriving schools of what could have been a significant source of revenue. Backers of Proposition 15, the first major effort to revise the iconic tax limitation initiative, Proposition 13, since its passage in 1978, conceded defeat on Tuesday. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 11/12/20
Biden’s education transition team gets California leader: Linda Darling-Hammond -- Linda Darling-Hammond, a leading figure in California education policy, is heading the education transition team for President-elect Joe Biden, where she is expected to emphasize support for teachers and traditional public schools. Howard Blume, Nina Agrawal, Paloma Esquivel in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/20
Wildfire
620 cameras ready to help residents and firefighters spot California wildfires -- Fire tower lookouts and the loners who manned them long provided a crucial tool for fighting wildfires, but technology has produced a more ubiquitous and efficient alternative: 620 wildfire cameras perched in wilderness areas. Martin Wisckol in the Orange County Register -- 11/12/20
Guns
Gun rights group sues Sacramento sheriff over gun violence restraining order records -- A gun rights group has filed a lawsuit against Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, arguing that his agency violated the public’s right to access firearm confiscation records, including a gun violence restraining order for an alleged online hate group leader from Orangevale. Rosalio Ahumada in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/12/20
Breathe
Sacramento Bans Leaf Blowers On Bad Air-Quality Days -- City Councilman Jeff Harris first floated the idea in February. The case against using both gas and also electric blowers on bad-air days is that they stir dust and particulate in the air, which can make asthma and other upper respiratory problems worse. Nick Miller Capital Public Radio -- 11/12/20
Court
Santa Clara judge creates ‘gold standard’ for mental health courts -- Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Stephen Manley refers to defendants in his courtroom as “clients” – an indication of the unusually informal and conversational tenor of the Behavioral Health Court he created more than two decades ago. Sigrid Bathen Capitol Weekly -- 11/12/20
POTUS 46
Biden forms special Covid transition team -- President-elect Joe Biden has formed a special transition team dedicated to coordinating the coronavirus response across the government, according to documents obtained by POLITICO and people familiar with the decision. Adam Cancryn Politico -- 11/12/20
Biden’s Policy Agenda Rests Heavily on Senate Outcome -- President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s transition team is preparing multiple sets of policy proposals for the economy, health care, climate change and other domestic issues, including the ambitious agenda Mr. Biden laid out in his winning campaign, while acknowledging it may have to be pared back in recognition of divided government. Jim Tankersley in the New York Times$ -- 11/12/20
POTUS 45
Trump Stacks the Pentagon and Intel Agencies With Loyalists. To What End? -- So far, there is no evidence the appointees harbor a secret agenda or arrived with an action plan. But their sudden appearance amounts to a purge of the Pentagon’s top civilian hierarchy without recent precedent. David E. Sanger and Eric Schmitt in the New York Times$ -- 11/12/20
-- Wednesday Updates
A winter surge in COVID-19 cases seems inevitable. Can we stop it? -- Temperatures are dropping, nights are growing longer, the holidays are nearing, and the science is clear: The pandemic is far from over. A long, dark winter awaits. Deborah Netburn in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/20
Bay Area coronavirus surge could mean a huge reopening reversal as soon as next week -- As coronavirus cases spike across California, three more Bay Area counties could backslide as soon as next week to a more restrictive tier in the state’s reopening plan — which would place new limits on businesses as the critical holiday season gets under way. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/20
San Francisco, long hailed for beating COVID-19, now faces a spike in cases -- It’s America’s second-densest city. Near the nation’s first recorded COVID-19 death. And home to a busy international airport. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/20
Oregon posts workplace outbreaks, California has no such plan -- Oregon led with transparency in reporting workplace outbreaks. California shields businesses so as not to shame them. The distinction has workers and public health experts worried. Laurence Du Sault CalMatters -- 11/11/20
A COVID-19 vaccine may be coming. How Northern California hospitals are getting ready -- Dr. David Lubarsky, chief executive for UC Davis Health, said a limited number of vaccine doses could be available as early as December in California for first responders and healthcare workers. The general public, he said, probably won’t have access until after the middle of next year. Tony Bizjak and Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/11/20
Orange County remains in red tier as three crucial coronavirus metrics improve -- Orange County remains rooted in the red tier of the state’s pandemic tracking system, but with slight gains reported Tuesday, Nov, 10, in all three metrics closely watched by the state health department. Ian Wheeler in the Orange County Register -- 11/11/20
Here’s what can stay open in Sacramento, even in California’s strictest purple tier -- California’s purple tier is the state’s tightest stage for coronavirus restrictions, and with Sacramento and San Diego counties assigned to it Tuesday, the classification now encompasses more than half of the state’s population. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/11/20
Now you can see the COVID-19 risk anywhere in the country, in real time -- How likely is it you’ll encounter at least one person who is infected with the coronavirus if you go to a bar in Denver? What about a 100-person wedding in Baltimore? Or a Thanksgiving dinner with 25 guests in Los Angeles? Deborah Netburn in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/20
• COVID-19 Event Risk Assessment Planning Tool
School
LAUSD to provide daytime supervision to students when schools reopen -- When students in Los Angeles Unified eventually return to school on a hybrid schedule, they’ll be able to spend the day in a supervised environment even when they’re not in class so that parents can return to work, Superintendent Austin Beutner told the school board on Tuesday, Nov. 10. Linh Tat in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/11/20
Why Los Angeles County’s neediest school districts don't apply for waivers to reopen campuses -- Los Angeles elementary schools located in predominantly low-income areas were expected to be at the front of the line to bring back their youngest students to campus through the county’s waiver program, but they remain largely absent from the application pool. Karen D'Souza, Betty MÁrquez Rosales EdSource -- 11/11/20
Rising Covid-19 rates halt school reopening plans in three California counties -- Sacramento, San Diego and Stanislaus counties moved from red status, or Tier 2, to purple status, or Tier 1, after Covid-19 cases in the counties increased over two weeks. The status change doesn’t impact schools that already opened. But moving to purple can keep schools closed, at least until the rate of infections decrease. Diana Lambert, Ali Tadayon EdSource -- 11/11/20
Policy & Politics
California went big for Biden. Now its cities, counties and schools are seeking relief -- Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn has high hopes for a Joe Biden presidency, saying it could bring the region more money for public transit and an end to overseas trade wars. David Zahniser, Benjamin Oreskes, Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/20
Republicans push back the 2018 ‘blue wave’ in Orange County -- Two years ago marked a monumental shift for California politics: Four districts in the then-Republican bastion of Orange County flipped blue, ushering in four Democrats to the House of Representatives. Stephanie Lai in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/20
As misinformation spreads online, will Biden crack down on Facebook? -- As President Trump and his supporters continue to spread false information about the results of the election, officials from the incoming Biden administration are ramping up criticism of tech companies, in particular Facebook. Chase DiFeliciantonio and Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/20
How will Joe Biden’s administration help unemployed workers? Here’s what experts say -- A more efficient unemployment system? In the Biden administration, there’s new hope. But bigger, longer unemployment benefits? Uncertain. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/11/20
California would decriminalize psychedelic drugs under Scott Wiener bill -- State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, said Tuesday that he plans to introduce a bill when the Legislature returns decriminalizing possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms and other psychedelics, part of his broader drug policy agenda that also includes measures to legalize safe-injection sites and end mandatory minimum sentences for some drug crimes. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/20
Street
Oakland poll finds people feel unsafe, want to defund police, but still want plenty of officers -- Despite a growing loss of confidence in law enforcement and apparent support for defunding police, a majority of Oakland voters still want the number of officers to stay the same or even increase — support that includes 70% of the city’s African American voters, according to a recent poll commissioned by the Chamber of Commerce. Phil Matier in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/11/20
Bretón: ‘Identity politics’: That’s the Prop. 16 phrase used as a weapon against minorities -- Why is the term “identity politics” still used as a pejorative weapon to undermine Black people, folks of Mexican ancestry or anyone else labeled a “minority”? Marcos Bretón in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/11/20
Wildfire
California’s final frontier faces firefighter shortage -- When the state consolidates inmate fire camps next month, remote Modoc County is left with few resources to prevent and battle its lightning-sparked fires. Elizabeth Castillo CalMatters -- 11/11/20
Scarred by fire, California’s first state park remains closed. Can Big Basin recover? -- When Big Basin fell victim to California’s record-setting wildfires this fall, at least one conservation group mourned its scorched landscape and questioned if the state park would ever recover. Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/11/20
Housing
Backyard homes from Abodu sprout in San Jose -- A Bay Area company on Monday installed a prefabricated home in the backyard of a San Jose residence Monday, the first of two installations in that city this week in a push to help ease the region’s housing crisis. George Avalos in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/11/20