'There's no date.' Here's where California stands on reopening from the coronavirus emergency
Sac Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom has laid out six criteria for what the state will consider when it comes to reopening from the coronavirus emergency.
On Wednesday, he went into greater detail on one of those: the ability to test, track and trace, isolate and quarantine as necessary during the COVID 19 emergency."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: California records its deadliest day so far with 118 deaths from coronavirus -- The Chronicle's LAUREN HERNANDEZ; Where California expects to fight coronavirus this fall: High schools, fairgrounds and gyms -- Sac Bee's MONICA VAUGHN/JASON POHL/ADAM ASHTON; Early Santa Clara County coronavirus cases likely connected to China, microbiologist says -- The Chronicle's PETER FIMRITE/ERIN ALLDAY; From beachgoers to a trumpet player, shelter-in-place violators get citations -- The Chronicle's MICHAEL CABANATUAN; The silent, deadly spread of coronavirus in California began far earlier than first reported -- LA Times's PAIGE ST JOHN/MELANIE MASON/MATT HAMILTON
Bay Area law enforcement agenties bristle over zero cash-bail order
The Chronicle's ALEJANDRO SERRANO: "In the week since California temporarily eliminated bail for misdemeanors and lower-level felonies, several law enforcement officials across the Bay Area have criticized the decision, saying it presents a public health risk on multiple fronts.
The state’s judicial leaders approved the temporary emergency measure in an effort to reduce inmate populations amid the coronavirus pandemic, while also allowing pretrial proceedings to be conducted remotely. The rule, which took effect April 13, carries some exceptions that don’t qualify for zero cash bail, including domestic violence charges and certain violent felonies.
The measures are expected to remain in effect until 90 days after the end of the state of emergency declared by Gov. Gavin Newsom."
Stanford joins Harvard in declining federal stimulus funds
The Chronicle's RON KROICHICK: "Stanford announced Wednesday that it will not accept more than $7.3 million in federal funds it was due to receive as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act passed last month by Congress.
The school contacted the U.S. Department of Education on Monday “to ask that our application for relief funds be rescinded,” according to a statement posted on the school’s website. Stanford joins Princeton and Harvard in declining the grant. In response to strong criticism from President Trump, Harvard turned down more than $8.6 million.
Harvard has the largest endowment fund of any university in the world (about $40 billion), with Stanford at $27.7 billion as of Aug. 31, 2019. The school was in line for a grant of $7,376,668 from the Cares Act, according to a full list of the allocations."
State workers could be retrained to 'test and trace' coronavirus cases, Newsom says
Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "California state workers could get trained for an emerging workforce of 10,000 coronavirus trackers that Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday will be needed as the state reopens its economy and lifts the stay-at-home order.
Newsom last week outlined a six-point framework his administration will use to determine when California can begin easing restrictions implemented to slow the spread of COVID-19, which has infected more than 33,000 in the Golden State.
A key part of that plan is building a workforce that can “test and trace” coronavirus cases, isolate these individuals and contact anyone they may have potentially infected."
PG&E chief to retire as California utility nears end of its bankruptcy case
Sac Bee's DALE KASLER: "Bill Johnson, who became the face of PG&E Corp. as the troubled utility navigated through bankruptcy, will retire as chief executive June 30, the state’s deadline for the utility to secure approval of its Chapter 11 reorganization plan.
The announcement Wednesday came a little more than one year after California’s largest utility hired Johnson to steer the company through what has been a tumultuous Chapter 11 proceeding. Despite its chaotic moments, however, PG&E appears to be on track to finalizing its plan by the state’s deadline.
PG&E said William “Bill” Smith, a PG&E board member since last year and the former president of AT&T Technology Services, will become interim CEO."
California poppy bloom tempts visitors to break coronavirus stay-at-home order
LA Times's HANNAH FRY/BRIAN VAN DER BRUG: "The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t thwarted Mother Nature’s springtime show in the Antelope Valley, where rolling hillsides are blanketed in a fiery orange hue from a recent poppy bloom.
But like everything else deemed nonessential during the pandemic, the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve near Lancaster — where crowds have flocked in years past to witness the breathtaking bloom — is closed to visitors. The California Department of Parks and Recreation has set up a live cam of the bloom in the hopes that people will enjoy the spectacular sight from home.
State parks officials have also set up roadblocks to allow only local traffic into the area and to reduce fence-jumping from those hoping to snap a photo among the flowers. But even that hasn’t kept everyone away, officials say."
Rural California resorts and officials itching to open economy
Sac Bee's DALE KASLER/RYAN SABALOW/SAM STANTON: "Adrian Ballinger has this vision of how Tahoe Via Ferrata, a rock-climbing venue he operates at Squaw Valley ski resort, will open for summer:
Customers will have their temperatures taken, to check for COVID-19, when they arrive. They’ll have to sit six feet apart in the open-air monster truck that transports them to the base of the mountain. They’ll be given masks and disposable gloves, and will scale the rock face in carefully controlled small groups.
In other words, not exactly business as usual. But this cautious approach would serve as “an important stepping stone” toward getting business back to normal, said Ballinger, chief executive of a mountain-guide company called Alpenglow Expeditions. He wants to open the mountain May 16 if Placer County allows it."
READ MORE related to Economy: Unemploymet claims continue to surge, but job losses may have peaked -- The Chronicle's CHASE DIFELICIANTONIO; 4.4M sought unemployment bennies -- LA Times's STAFF
The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "Gov. Gavin Newsom took his first small step toward loosening a month-old statewide stay-at-home order Wednesday, allowing hospitals to begin scheduling some elective surgeries again.
But he cautioned that California would not be ready to end restrictions on other sectors of the economy without a massive increase in testing to track the spread of the coronavirus, despite growing pressure for him to provide a timeline for a broader reopening of the state. His comments came on a day California recorded the most deaths in a 24-hour-period: 118, according to data collected by The Chronicle from the state’s 58 counties.
“I wish I could prescribe a specific date to say, ‘Well, we can turn out the light switch and go back to normalcy,’” Newsom said during a news conference. “We have tried to make it crystal clear that there is no light switch. And there is no date."
READ MORE related to Healthcare/Hospitals: New guidelines for hospitals to make agonizing choices in coronavirus surge -- The Chronicle's MALLORY MOENCH; Nursing homes want to be held legally blameless as coronavirus deaths spiral higher -- LA Times's MAURA DOLAN/HARRIET RYAN/ANITA CHABRIA; VA medical facilities struggle to cope with the coronavirus -- AP
New Sacramento climate plan could change how you commute, what appliances are in your home
Sac Bee's THERESA CLIFT: "In 10 years, a quarter of existing Sacramento and West Sacramento homes will be all-electric, a quarter of all food will be locally sourced and 70 percent of all newly registered vehicles will be zero emission.
That’s if the goals in a new draft climate plan created by mayors Darrell Steinberg and Christopher Cabaldon’s climate commission come to fruition.
Steinberg and Cabaldon launched the Mayors’ Commission on Climate Change in November 2018 to craft recommendations to achieve carbon zero in both cities by 2045. “Carbon zero,” also known as “carbon neutrality,” means that net greenhouse gas emissions equal zero."
READ MORE related to Homeless/Housing: California renters and landlords face a historic financial 'reckoning' from coronavirus -- Sac Bee's TONY BIZJAK/THERESA CLIFT; Alameda County moves hundreds of homeless to hotels amid fear of coronavirus outbreak -- The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI
CHP offers more stats on California speeders. Here's how to stay safe if you have to travel
Sac Bee's MOLLY SULLIVAN: "Officials knew speeding was on an uptick across California’s highways, but new data released Wednesday show the problem of super-speeders is much worse than originally reported.
It appeared speeding in excess of 100 mph was moderately increasing in first days of the statewide stay-at-home orders — with CHP citations jumping nearly 30 percent compared to last year. Now, new data shows citations for excessive speeding spiked by 87 percent in the last month, according to a press release by the CHP, Caltrans and the state Office of Traffic Safety.
“From March 19 when the state’s stay-at-home order began to April 19, the CHP reports issuing 2,493 citations statewide for speeding more than 100 mph, as compared to 1,335 during the same period last year,” the CHP said. “This increase in citations occurred as Caltrans has measured an average decline in traffic volume on state roads of approximately 35 percent as compared to this time last year."
READ MORE related to Transportation: BART and Muni to get largest share $780M in fed stimulus funds -- The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN; These eerie photos show LAX as a ghost town. Passenger air travel is down more than 90% -- AP
Trump signs immigration order sharply different from what he said he planned
LA Times's MOLLY O'TOOLE/NOAH BIERMAN: "President Trump on Wednesday signed a proclamation on immigration that will restrict some people from entering the country over the next 60 days, but does not shut off applications for permanent residence as he had publicly declared just one day earlier.
The order, which Trump signed Wednesday afternoon, will block some new entrants who do not already have visas or other travel documents. But it includes broad exemptions for several categories of foreign workers and employers, from investors to healthcare professionals, as well as their spouses and children.
Also exempt are any children or spouses of U.S. citizens; any children or spouses of U.S. military; most temporary visitors and potential refugees and asylum seekers."