Updating . .   

Amazon hid COVID outbreaks from workers, will pay $500,000 -- In what California officials are calling a national first, Amazon will pay a $500,000 and submit to state monitoring for failing to adequately notify warehouse workers and local health officials of COVID-19 outbreaks in the workplace. John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ Meghan Bobrowsky in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/15/21

50 percent of people who survive covid-19 face lingering symptoms, study finds -- At least 50 percent of people who survive covid-19 experience a variety of physical and psychological health issues for six months or more after their initial recovery, according to research on the long-term effects of the disease, published in the journal JAMA Network Open. Linda Searing in the Washington Post$ -- 11/15/21

L.A. officials warn that COVID vaccine protections wane as holidays approach -- But Los Angeles County officials worry that behavior also could lead to another winter surge of coronavirus as people who got vaccinated earlier this year lose immunity just as they get together more — including in social situations and going back to work. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/15/21

Anti-vaccine leaflet objects to Sacramento school mandate. Does it target Latino families? -- Someone is pushing back against the Sacramento City Unified School District’s COVID-19 mandate. Leaflets in both English and Spanish were distributed on cars in Sacramento last weekend urging parents to reconsider vaccinating their children against COVID-19. And some parents feel they are targeting the Latino community. Sawsan Morrar and Kim Bojórquez in the Sacramento Bee$ Jakob Rodgers, Gabriel Greschler, Summer Lin in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/15/21

Gas   

California gas prices soar to record highs -- Gas prices in California reached an all-time high Monday as the average price of a regular gallon soared to $4.682, according to the American Automobile Assn. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ Brianna Taylor in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/15/21

Workplace   

Kaiser pharmacy strike averted in deal. Other walkouts still planned later this week -- Kaiser Permanente reached a tentative agreement overnight with the Guild for Professional Pharmacists, averting a weeklong Northern California strike that had been scheduled to begin Monday morning. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/15/21

Hollywood crew workers ratify new contract with studios -- The union representing 60,000 film and television crews voted to ratify a new three year contract with Hollywood studios, resolving for now a labor dispute that had threatened to disrupt productions nationwide. Anousha Sakoui in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/15/21

Policy and Politics  

Infrastructure week is finally here. What California will get -- Here is what California is expected to receive by category: Erin B. Logan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/15/21

California makes plans to be the nation’s abortion provider in a post-Roe world -- Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders have asked a group of reproductive health experts to propose policies to bolster the state’s abortion infrastructure and prepare it for more patients. Lawmakers plan to begin debating the ideas when they reconvene in January. Rachel Bluth Kaiser Health News in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/15/21

Feinstein poised to move into presidential line of succession if Democrats keep Senate -- The Senate’s longest-serving Democrat announced Monday he won’t run for reelection next year, a decision that would move California Sen. Dianne Feinstein into the role and potentially into the presidential line of succession. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) chose to retire after serving eight terms in the Senate. Jennifer Haberkorn in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/15/21

Skelton: Trump’s cap on tax deductions hurt Californians. It’s time to stop the bleeding -- A petty tax injustice is close to getting erased — if the middle class can avoid being mistakenly labeled “rich” and undeserving. George Skelton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/15/21

Street  

Her husband was killed in the Bay Area's deadliest mass shooting. Amid healing, outrage remains: 'This should have been prevented' -- Terra Fritch’s husband was the only victim of this year’s VTA massacre to make it to the hospital. For her, those first hours were just the beginning. Nora Mishanec in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/15/21

Alleged MS-13 members charged with Bay Area machete homicides, racketeering -- In a major update to an existing federal prosecution targeting MS-13, federal prosecutors in the Bay Area have tied two previously unsolved homicides to the infamous Los Angeles-based gang, according to an indictment unsealed this week. Nate Gartrell in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/15/21

Wildfire   

Cal Fire chief is retiring. Led agency through two horrific wildfire seasons -- Thom Porter announced his retirement Monday as director of Cal Fire, following two of the toughest wildfire seasons in California’s history. Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/15/21

The ring in the ashes -- Why FEMA’s billion-dollar program to prevent disasters failed to save Mount Olive Road -- The county wanted to clear away dry grass and thin the trees to reduce this risk. That work can cost millions of dollars, and so in 2018, Grass Valley applied for a grant from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Then came a record-breaking wildfire season, and then an even bigger one, and when the fires started again this summer, the county was still awaiting FEMA’s decision. Hannah Dreier and Andrew Ba Tran in the Washington Post$ -- 11/15/21

Environment  

Parks and green spaces are vital for neighborhoods, so why aren’t there more? -- On a macroscopic level, they can help purify air, cool down neighborhoods and capture much-needed stormwater — all necessary to address the environmental havoc we’ve wreaked on our landscape. Rachel Schnalzer in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/15/21

Water  

$1 billion project to expand major Bay Area reservoir gains momentum -- The rolling hills and ranchlands of eastern Contra Costa County are known for wineries, cattle ranches, wind turbines and growing subdivisions. But soon they may be known for something else: The biggest new water storage project in the Bay Area in years. And now, amid the current drought, nearly every major water agency in the region wants a piece of it. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/15/21

Education  

Why are California schools are losing students? -- In the past five years, public schools across the state have seen a drop in enrollment of more than 230,000 students, a trend that’s likely to continue, according to data from the California Department of Finance. Grace Hase in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/15/21

Lithium  

Drilling for ‘white gold’ is happening right now at the Salton Sea -- Instead, an Australian company is preparing to tap a buried reservoir of salty, superheated water to produce renewable energy — and lithium, a crucial ingredient in electric car batteries. Sammy Roth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/15/21

Afghanistan  

‘When will we get out?’ Parents plead with California son to help them flee Afghanistan -- When Salarzai, 34, speaks with her sporadically on WhatsApp and Signal from Elk Grove, a suburb of Sacramento that is his home, she asks him why he hasn’t been able to help. “Every time, these are her words,” said Salarzai. “When will we get out?” He has no answers. Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/15/21

Cannabis  

Marijuana is legal in California. Why is this California county holding up grow licenses? -- But his application has not advanced past the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, which is holding up cannabis growing licenses in a disagreement over how to conduct criminal background checks. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/15/21

Also . . .   

At this L.A. County health center, a lawyer is just what the doctor ordered -- But the L.A. County Department of Health Services, which runs this and other medical centers across the county, has offered free help from attorneys as an unconventional way to meet the broader needs of its patients. It now has nine clinics with a lawyer embedded on-site through a program called the Medical Legal Community Partnership. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/15/21

Wheelchair users can face hefty costs not covered by insurance -- For now, she’s going to court. Smith and other wheelchair users are suing over such insurance shortfalls, arguing that failing to effectively cover wheelchairs is discriminatory against disabled people. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/15/21

Underdog No More, a Deaf Football Team Takes California by Storm -- The California School for the Deaf, Riverside, is steamrolling its opponents, electrifying a campus that has seen more than a few athletic defeats. Thomas Fuller in the New York Times$ -- 11/15/21

 

California Policy and Politics Monday Morning  

COVID appears here to stay. But what about the 'long' version of the disease? -- Among the coronavirus pandemic’s most frightening features is that a brush with COVID-19, however mild, pushes survivors into a dangerous lottery: They recover within weeks or stay ill, perhaps for a very long time. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/15/21

COVID-related hospitalizations drop to 600 in LA County -- The number of coronavirus patients in Los Angeles County hospitals has dropped to an even 600, falling from 604 on Saturday, according to the latest state figures released Sunday, Nov. 14. Of those patients, 163 were in intensive care, down from 170 the previous day. The item is in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/15/21

Kaiser   

Eight-day strike by Kaiser pharmacists slated to begin Monday, limiting some prescription services -- Kaiser Permanente pharmacists in Northern California were slated to begin an eight-day strike Monday, which will temporarily limit access to outpatient pharmacy services, Kaiser said Sunday. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/15/21

Policy and Politics  

Mayor Garcetti to fly to Washington, D.C. after recovering from COVID-19 in Scotland -- Mayor Eric Garcetti was expected to fly Washington, D.C. on Sunday, possibly to join President Joe Biden as he signs a massive infrastructure bill approved by Congress last week. The item is in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/15/21

Walters: California’s messier, but fairer, redistricting process -- For many decades, the decennial chore of redrawing California’s congressional and legislative districts was relatively simple. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 11/15/21

Supply Chain  

Crunch at Ports May Mean Crisis for American Farms -- It’s just 60 miles from El Dorado Dairy in Ontario, Calif., to the nation’s largest container port in Los Angeles. But the farm is having little luck getting its products onto a ship headed for the foreign markets that are crucial to its business. Ana Swanson in the New York Times$ -- 11/15/21

Street  

Crew takes valuables from Fairfax district house, part of follow-home robbery trend in L.A. -- It is the latest incident in which victims are robbed at their homes after they have been followed from places such as Melrose Avenue, the Jewelry district in downtown Los Angeles, high-end restaurants and nightclubs in Hollywood and the Wilshire area, according to the LAPD. To date, police have identified 110 follow-home robberies involving six different street gangs. Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/15/21

La Mesa gun buyback event nets almost 300 firearms -- Photos shared by the department show many different types of surrendered weapons, from well-worn wood-stocked rifles and shotguns to modern semi-automatic pistols and military-style rifles. Pistols, rifles and shotguns were exchanged for $100 gift cards while each military-style rifle netted the donor a $200 card. Andrew Dyer in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/15/21

Education  

How will California districts spend $13.6 billion in federal Covid relief? -- An intensive focus on reading skills. Tutoring. More mental health services. Cleaner indoor air. More teaching aides for English learners. Summer activities for more students. These are some common themes in the plans that California school districts and charter schools have adopted for spending a huge amount from the latest round of federal Covid aid: $13.6 billion from the American Rescue Plan Act that Congress passed in March. John Fensterwald EdSource -- 11/15/21

Ontario-Montclair school chief gets 22 weeks of leave a year, cashes it out to become state’s top paid -- The superintendent of the Ontario-Montclair School District has become California’s highest paid K-12 administrator for three years in a row through a series of opaque perks, including one that allows him to cash out a generous complement of sick time that grew to 85 days this year and will continue to increase by five days every year going forward. Jason Henry in the Riverside Press Enterprise$ -- 11/15/21

Also . . .   

San Diego MTS determined to rehab ‘Impossible Railroad’ despite latest setback in the desert -- Despite repeated delays, transit officials in San Diego still hold out hope that a crumbling and sand-covered set of century-old railroad tracks and wooden bridges from Tecate to Plaster City can be salvaged. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/15/21

California’s High School Football Powerhouses Feed the College Game -- St. John Bosco and Mater Dei, 24 miles apart in Southern California, don’t just funnel players to the top college teams. Increasingly, they resemble them. Billy Witz, Gabriella Angotti-Jones in the New York Times$ -- 11/15/21

Here's how much money S.F. made from hosting the opulent Getty wedding at City Hall -- The wedding also earned the city more than $50,000 in rental fees. Roughly another $50,000 went to pay city engineers, a security detail and other staffers. The total bill delivered to event planner Stanlee Gatti added up to $102,546 paid to the city’s events office, according to public records reviewed by The Chronicle. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/15/21

Bear climbs down Petaluma tree, heads out of town -- The bear that sent Petaluma residents scurrying indoors while taking a Sunday stroll through town and eventually climbing a tree, was presumably on his way home Sunday night. Police said just before 10 p.m. the bear climbed down the tree and was last seen near Meadowglen Drive, heading toward the Petaluma Golf and Country Club. Tony Hicks in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/15/21

 

 

Sunday Updates   

COVID-19 surge fueled by unvaccinated children in U.K., a warning for California -- Unvaccinated adolescents have been the driving force behind a stubbornly persistent Delta surge in Britain, a potential warning sign for California if inoculation rates don’t improve considerably among this age group, health experts warn. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/14/21

Here’s why new COVID-19 anti-viral pills could be our ‘penicillin moment’ -- Until now, antiviral drug research has been a place of broken dreams and abandoned efforts, with few success stories to rival the miracle cures of antibiotics. But with the creation of pills to kill the COVID-19 virus, the field may be nearing its “penicillin moment.” Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/14/21

Arellano: Column: L.A.'s unvaccinated public workers go Ayn Rand, throw fit over city’s vaccine mandate -- The big tantrum happened in front of L.A. City Hall. Thousands gathered to protest the city’s mandate that all public employees vaccinate themselves against COVID-19, or lose their jobs. Gustavo Arellano in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/14/21

Extremists  

Angry, violent, toxic: How extremists are drowning out local California governments -- Three of Shasta County’s elected supervisors have the sort of conservative credentials that would normally guarantee a long political career in this Republican stronghold, where cowboys still drive cattle through the smaller towns and Blue Lives Matter flags are stickered across the back of pickups. Ason Pohl, Ryan Sabalow, and Lydia Gerike in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/14/21

Read indictment of California men charged in bombing plot at Democratic Party building -- This summer, a San Francisco grand jury indicted two Northern California men, Ian Benjamin Rogers of Napa and Jarrod Copeland of Vallejo, on charges of plotting to blow up the Democratic Party headquarters in Sacramento. Ryan Sabalow and Jason Pohl in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/14/21

72 hate groups operated in California last year. Here’s where and what they are -- In California last year, 72 hate groups and 51 extreme anti-government groups operated in the state, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which compiles lists of such groups annually. SPLC tracked 838 hate groups and 566 anti-government groups across the U.S. in 2020. Mila Jasper in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/14/21

Kaiser  

Kaiser reaches tentative deal with unions, but Monday Bay Area pharmacy strike still possible -- But in Northern California, members of the Guild for Professional Pharmacists — which is not among the 22 unions comprising the Alliance of Health Care Unions subject to the agreement — were still expected to strike starting Monday, causing shutdowns of Bay Area outpatient pharmacies, a Kaiser spokesperson confirmed. Fiona Kelliher in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/14/21

Workplace   

As American Workers Leave Jobs in Record Numbers, a Closer Look at Who Is Quitting -- The nation’s high turnover trend has maintained momentum over the past several months as factors like plentiful job openings, a continuing child-care crisis and increased household savings have made job-hopping—or simply quitting—more attractive to some workers. Kathryn Dill in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 11/14/21

Policy and Politics  

Two new California Democrats on how they're courting rural voters: By listening to them -- Max Steiner didn’t need to see Terry McAuliffe whacked in the Virginia governor’s race to learn that Democrats have problems connecting with rural voters. He’s living the dream every day as a Democrat running in California’s most rural — and conservative — House district. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/14/21

Emails show LA commissioner used influence to help win $3 million COVID-19 contract, union alleges -- An embattled Los Angeles fire and police pensions commissioner accused of ethics violations by a law enforcement union over a $3 million contract to test unvaccinated city employees for COVID-19 began lobbying Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office nearly a year ago on behalf of his company, raising questions from critics about potential influence peddling, emails obtained by the Southern California News Group reveal. Scott Schwebke in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/14/21

Gas  

'Bit of a double whammy': California gas prices hit new high -- As the Thanksgiving travel season is inching closer, residents heading out of town via car may balk at what they’re seeing at the pump. Gas prices are hitting record prices across California, hitting an average price of $4.676 a gallon on Sunday, according to AAA. Tessa McLean in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/14/21

Oil  

State committee hearing on OC oil spill set for Monday -- State legislators holding a special committee hearing in Costa Mesa on Monday, Nov. 15, hope it will point them toward any changes to laws and procedures that could help prevent future oil spills and improve the response to those that do happen. Alicia Robinson in the Orange County Register -- 11/14/21

Develop  

Proposed S.F. Amazon warehouse overshadows potential of neighborhood site -- When you walk around the site where Amazon wants to build its largest outpost yet in San Francisco, don’t be surprised if you feel a vague sense of disappointment. John King in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/14/21

Housing  

Fremont pumping millions into affordable housing projects -- In a city where the average home sells for about $1.4 million, and where hundreds of homeless people sleep each night in tents, RVs, and cars, city officials have put up more than $27 million to help create more than 400 affordable apartments in three different proposed housing projects. Joseph Geha in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/14/21

Guns  

‘Ghost Guns’: Firearm Kits Bought Online Fuel Epidemic of Violence -- They are untraceable, assembled from parts and can be ordered by gang members, felons and even children. They are increasingly the lethal weapon of easy access around the U.S., but especially California. Glenn Thrush in the New York Times$ -- 11/14/21

Also . . .   

10 years removed from battle, Marine veterans grapple with the worst of the Afghanistan war in new podcast -- In the podcast, the Marines grapple with the moral injuries of their time in combat and how a series of deadly incidents a couple months into their tour sent the men spiraling down a dark path where many said they stopped viewing Afghans as people and started viewing them as targets. Andrew Dyer in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/14/21