Updating . .   

Strike at Kaiser Permanente averted two days before deadline -- Hospital workers and management at Kaiser Permanente, one of the nation’s largest healthcare systems, reached a labor agreement Saturday, two days before nearly 32,000 employees were set to strike over a proposed pay system for future hires. Sam Dean in the Los Angeles Times$ Fiona Kelliher in the San Jose Mercury$ Kevin Smith in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/13/21

As infections rise, the San Joaquin Valley becomes the land of the eternal COVID surge -- This is what the COVID-19 pandemic looks like in the part of California where the Delta variant surge refuses to let up. In Fresno County, understaffed hospitals have been so clogged that ambulance crews have stopped transporting people unless they have a life-threatening emergency. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/21

Smith: The first time he died, it changed his life. Then he got shot in front of his church -- It was about halfway through the nearly three-hour funeral service for associate pastor and Sunday school teacher Joe Reginald Moore Sr. when his niece somehow got a hold of the microphone. “There was a time that I didn’t even like to look at him!” Erika D. Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/21

Lopez: In Carson, the stink will go away soon. The bigger problems won’t -- On my way to check out the big stink in Carson, I felt like I was driving into a storm of environmental hazards. Refinery smoke rose and hovered over schools, businesses and homes. Traffic was bottled up on the Harbor Freeway between LAX and the Long Beach Airport. Big rigs hogged streets and highways, waddling to and from the nearby fume-spewing port. Oil tank farms sprouted and drill pumps by the dozens, active and abandoned, dotted the landscape. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/21

Street  

3-year-old boy recovered, kidnap suspect arrested after Sacramento Amber Alert -- A 3-year-old boy was recovered and a kidnap suspect arrested Saturday in Hayward, ending a manhunt that began Friday afternoon in Sacramento after the child was taken from his mother there, police said. Kevin Fagan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Vincent Moleski in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/13/21

Earthquake    

Prepping for the Big One, California earthquake insurance agency looks to cut coverage -- Some day, a major earthquake causing damage on the scale of Northridge or Loma Prieta, or even worse, is expected to shake California. In the aftermath, anyone who owns or rents a home will be scrambling to see how much insurance they have to cover damages. It’s likely to be far less than they might have wanted. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/13/21

Also . . .   

Review: Michael Tilson Thomas makes an emotional return to lead S.F. Symphony -- Michael Tilson Thomas moves more slowly and haltingly now; his hair is grayer and thinner. But as he took the stage of Davies Symphony Hall on Friday, Nov. 13, to conduct the San Francisco Symphony for the first time in more than a year and a half, there was no mistaking that distinctive presence. Joshua Kosman in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/21

At 22, this Californian was one of the nation’s youngest elected officials. His new book tells the story -- Former Stockton mayor Michael Tubbs' 'The Deeper the Roots' arrives Nov. 16 with frank talk about racism, policy and owning his mistakes. Stuart Miller in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/13/21

Knight: All they wanted was to open a noodle shop. Their tangle with S.F. bureaucracy has them regretting they tried -- Yoko and Clint Tan taught themselves how to cook ramen that was hailed as “mind-blowing” by The Chronicle and recognized at the World Ramen Grand Prix in Japan. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/21

John Wayne Airport records highest temperature in the nation – 98 degrees – on Friday -- Travelers flying out of John Wayne Airport on Friday, Nov. 12 may have breathed a sigh of relief after leaving the hottest spot on record in the nation. Those who flew in may have been surprised by near triple-digit heat in November. Nathaniel Percy in the Orange County Register -- 11/13/21

 

 

California Policy and Politics Saturday Morning  

Judge rejects lawsuit over California school mask mandate -- A judge Friday rejected challenges to California’s statewide requirement that students and staff wear face masks indoors at schools to prevent spread of COVID-19, leaving it to the governor to decide when it’s safe to lift the mandate. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/13/21

Los Angeles firefighters denied delay on COVID vaccine mandate enforcement -- A judge on Friday, Nov. 12, denied an attempt by the Los Angeles city firefighters’ union to get a temporary restraining order to delay enforcement of a mandate requiring employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The item is in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/13/21

A few California school districts say they'll defy Newsom's student vaccine mandate. Will more follow? -- A handful of Northern California school districts have said they will defy the governor’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students, despite the resulting loss of millions in state funding for violating the law. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/21

L.A. moves to exempt malls from COVID-19 vaccine verification requirements -- The city of Los Angeles is moving toward dropping malls and shopping centers from its recently implemented COVID-19 vaccine verification requirements. Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/21

L.A. County encourages all adults to get booster shots -- Ferrer said she recommends that any vaccinated adult get a booster as long as at least six months have passed since the second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccination series, or at least two months have passed following a Johnson & Johnson vaccination. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/21

Behind California's new tune on COVID boosters: fear of waning immunity and a winter surge -- More widespread uptake of COVID-19 booster shots would help lessen a potential winter surge of the coronavirus, say health officials, who are advising with increasing urgency that anyone who can get a booster do so before the holidays. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/21

California coronavirus surge may be more like a wave this winter, experts say -- Case numbers are creeping up. Hospitalizations are creeping up. And as California gallops down the merry path toward the holidays, officials warn of yet another surge of COVID-19 cases. But — surge? With some 74% of people ages 5 and older who’ve had at least one vaccine jab, and more than 4.7 million confirmed infections already, “surge” might not be quite the right word. Teri Sforza in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/13/21

COVID-19 surge in Europe as it heads into winter could bode ill for U.S. -- Winter is coming, and Europe is once again a coronavirus epicenter. Erik Kirschbaum, Laura King in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/21

Policy and Politics  

California’s state auditor: ‘Speak the truth to power’ -- Elaine Howle is stepping down at the end of 2021 after 21 years on the job. Her office has issued audits of a wide range of state agencies, including a series of highly critical reviews of California’s pandemic response and spending. In an interview with CalMatters, she talks about her biggest accomplishments and stiffest challenges. Emily Hoeven CalMatters -- 11/13/21

Street  

LAPD says teens motivated by racism were behind ‘swattings’ of BLM leader -- The Los Angeles Police Department said Friday that a group of teenagers motivated by racial hatred is responsible for two separate “swatting” incidents at the home of Black Lives Matter Los Angeles leader Melina Abdullah. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/21

Massive Bay Area catalytic converter bust provides insight into where the parts go -- A tip from a citizen led to massive, 11-month-long investigation resulting in the identification of 30 people suspected to be involved in catalytic converter thefts in the Bay Area, the Livermore Police Department announced Thursday. Michelle Robertson in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/13/21

Firefighters are critical of LAFD leadership and discipline process, survey finds -- An overwhelming number of Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters lack trust in their leaders, while many are frustrated with perceived inconsistencies in how top brass discipline sworn members, according to a new survey reviewed Friday by The Times. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/21

Long Beach police shoot and wound man they say was holding a BB gun -- Long Beach police shot and wounded a 40-year-old Palmdale man who they said pointed a BB gun at officers when they approached him as he sat in a car early Friday. Christian Martinez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/21

Allegedly corrupt ex-Rohnert Park cops on divergent paths: Feds offer plea deal to one, plan to increase charges on the other -- The indictment alleges they stole marijuana and cash from couriers, using a ruse that they were seizing the items in their capacity as law enforcement officers. The traffic stops occurred on Highway 101, targeting people driving from marijuana farms in Northern California, prosecutors say. Nate Gartrell in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/13/21

Kaiser  

Kaiser braces for strike that could see 100,000 workers walk off job -- Kaiser Permanente is bracing for a potentially crippling strike as nearly 27,000 Southern California workers plan to walk off the job Monday, Nov. 15 in protest of understaffing and wage cuts for new hires they say will worsen the problem. Kevin Smith in the Orange County Register -- 11/13/21

Need a physical therapist at Kaiser? Starting Nov. 22, strike will make them tough to find -- About 1,350 health care workers from Sacramento to Fresno will join roughly 37,000 other unionized workers in an open-ended strike against Kaiser Permanente in Oregon, California and Hawaii starting Nov. 22, labor leaders said Friday. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/13/21

Wildfire   

Record temperatures, Santa Ana winds bring elevated fire risk to Southern California -- The unseasonable spate of warm weather lingering over Los Angeles will persist through the weekend — as will the potential for wildfire amid gusty Santa Ana winds, officials said. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/21

Education  

Probe finds hazing, excessive drinking among UC Davis baseball team. Coach resigns -- Four months after suspending its baseball program, UC Davis announced Friday that the team’s head coach was resigning after an investigation revealed young players had for years been subjected to hazing rituals that included binge drinking, strippers and “threats about sodomy.” Ryan Sabalow and Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/13/21

Teenager cited in bomb threats to Bay Area schools -- A 16-year-old Bay Area student has been cited with multiple charges for making criminal threats and a false bomb report in connection with bomb threats made to local schools in October, authorities said. Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/13/21

Santa Susana  

Explosion Sends Potentially Radioactive Dust Into Air Above LA -- The U.S. Department of Energy demolished a building using explosives last month at the highly contaminated Santa Susana Field Lab (SSFL), a former nuclear and rocket test site in the hills above LA. The building was part of a complex at SSFL used to develop nuclear reactors. Joel Grover NBC4LA -- 11/13/21

Also . . .   

What can Britney Spears do now? Buy a house. Get married. Sue those who controlled her life -- She now has control over her checkbook and her uterus. She can buy a house, get married in that Versace gown she posted about on Instagram, decide when — and when not — to work. Richard Winton, Maria L. La Ganga in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/13/21

 

Friday Updates   

Lobbyists weren't eligible for PPP money, but California firms got millions -- Dozens of California lobbying firms received millions of dollars in emergency federal assistance meant for small businesses to ride out the coronavirus pandemic, though some were ineligible for the program. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/21

Fearing a winter surge, California turbocharges its push for COVID booster shots -- Faced with growing worries over a potential winter coronavirus surge, health officials in California and other areas are turbocharging the push for COVID-19 booster shots in hopes of getting more adults the extra dose as soon as possible. Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II, Christian Martinez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/21

California broadens access to Covid booster shots -- California is opening up eligibility for booster coronavirus vaccine shots to include anyone 18 or over, making it at least the second state to expand official eligibility beyond older adults and people in high-risk circumstances. Colorado took a similar step this week. John Yoon and Jill Cowan in the New York Times$ -- 11/12/21

Can I get my COVID-19 booster shot now? Here’s what you need to know -- With the holidays approaching, there is a growing push to get more adults their booster shots in hopes of strengthening immunity and warding off a potential winter COVID-19 surge. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/21

California coronavirus surge may be more like a wave this winter, experts say -- 'It will be bad. It will be worse than the summer, but it won’t be as bad as last winter,' says one expert. Teri Sforza in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/12/21

Smolens: Job platform for unvaccinated people is silent on COVID-19 dangers -- A new San Diego-based website, PublicSq., this week announced a job board aimed at helping more than 65 mostly local businesses looking to hire employees, “regardless of vaccination status.” Michael Smolens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/12/21

Policy and Politics  

Sacramento sliced in half under proposed California voting boundaries for 2022 election -- A bipartisan commission that draws California’s legislative maps every 10 years released a set of voting boundaries on Wednesday that would slice midtown Sacramento into two congressional seats and stretch a Sacramento County Assembly district all the way to Lake Tahoe. Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/12/21

Devin Nunes, Josh Harder could lose their seats in latest California redistricting maps -- An editor for The Cook Political Report, which tracks elections, wrote on Twitter that Nunes’ district would turn from having voted for former President Donald Trump in 2020 by five percentage points to one that backed President Joe Biden by nine. The district Harder would run in, assuming he wants to continue representing Turlock and Modesto, would go from having voted for Biden by three percentage points to Trump by 10. Gillian Brassil in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/12/21

California Politics: A dramatic do-over of maps for Congress -- What had been a process of incremental change took a surprising turn on Monday when three members of California’s redistricting commission went all-in starting from scratch on a new congressional district that contained almost all of San Joaquin County, erasing lines that had been drawn just a few days earlier. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/21

Workplace   

Americans give bosses same message in record numbers: I quit -- Americans quit their jobs at a record pace for the second straight month in September, in many cases for more money elsewhere as companies bump up pay to fill job openings that are close to an all-time high. The Labor Department said Friday that 4.4 million people quit their jobs in September, or about 3% of the nation’s workforce. Christopher Rugaber Associated Press -- 11/12/21

Climate  

In a disastrous drought, a grim milestone: California could see its first big reservoir run dry -- Lake Mendocino, once a plentiful reservoir nourishing the vines and villas of Sonoma and Mendocino counties, today is little more than a large pond, cowering beneath the coastal hills. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/21

Dozens of L.A. County communities face growing peril from fire, heat, flooding -- Crenshaw is one of at least 47 communities where the worsening impacts of climate change will be felt most acutely, according to a groundbreaking new L.A. County report, which outlines in stark detail how some of the Southland’s most vulnerable residents could bear the brunt of extreme heat, wildfires, drought and floods. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/21

California considers ranking heat waves after Times investigation into extreme heat deaths -- California could become the first state in the nation to institute a ranking system for heat waves, much the way weather authorities categorize hurricanes, or how fire and air quality officials warn of wildfire and pollution risks. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/21

Phasing out gasoline cars and coal: What the U.N. climate talks have — and haven’t — achieved -- As the United Nations climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland, enters its final day Friday, global leaders can point to signs of real progress. But the Earth is still headed for a dangerous level of warming. Anna M. Phillips in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/21

Should California’s last nuclear power plant stay open? -- Study says extending Diablo Canyon is crucial to meet the state’s climate goals and would save money but PG&E says plans to close the plant remain in place. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/12/21

Wildfire   

Northern California wildfire survivors say FEMA not responsive to their needs -- Six years ago, Santa Rosa officials built a new fire station atop one of the city’s highest ridges to provide better service to a growing hillside neighborhood. Then it burned to the ground in the 2017 wildfires. Julie Johnson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/12/21

Street  

Olympic gold medalist Sunisa Lee says she was pepper sprayed in racist attack in L.A. -- In a recent interview with PopSugar, the gymnast said she was attacked while she and her girlfriends — all of Asian descent — were waiting for a ride. A group in a car speeding by started yelling racist slurs and a passenger sprayed Lee’s arm with pepper spray, she said. Nathan Solis in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/21

Sheriff’s deputy stabbed, 1 suspect dead in violent confrontation in Commerce -- A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy opened fire during a confrontation in Commerce early Friday that left one suspect dead, another injured and a deputy hospitalized with stab wounds to his face, authorities said. RICHARD WINTON in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/21

Education  

California college students live in vans and hotels as campus housing plans spark backlash -- After months of pandemic isolation, Kris Hotchkiss expected a celebratory return to campus for his senior year at UC Santa Barbara. Instead, he and hundreds of fellow students have found themselves hammered by another crisis: a major housing crunch. Teresa Watanabe, Al Seib in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/12/21

Housing  

Is Zillow Offers’ failure a sign there is something wrong with the real estate market? -- Zillow’s decision to pause its home-buying business, Zillow Offers, has led to some speculation the housing market might not be very healthy. Zillow said its decision was based on a backlog of renovations, labor shortages and other operational delays. Phillip Molnar in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/12/21

Also . . .   

San Diegans were promised a waterfront museum 30 years ago. Here’s why they may never get one -- Within months of taking over the Navy Broadway Complex site, developer IQHQ requested — and received — a reprieve from building a large museum facility for the city. Jennifer Van Grove in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/12/21

Knott’s Berry Farm goes cashless starting next week -- Knott’s Berry Farm visitors hungry for a boysenberry-topped funnel cake or shopping for a Camp Snoopy T-shirt will need to use their credit card or mobile device for the purchases because the Buena Park theme park will no longer take cash. Brady MacDonald in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/12/21