Building dense cities was California's cure for the housing crisis. Then came coronavirus
LA Times's LIAM DILLON: "For more than a decade, California lawmakers have pushed with increasing urgency to build more housing near transit stops and job centers. Density, they’ve reasoned, is the best way to control the exploding cost of living and reduce residents’ reliance on carbon-spewing vehicles in a state best known for its sprawling suburbs.
But now density has a new foe: the coronavirus.
Skeptics of greater urbanization say the pandemic has proved that they were right all along, pointing to orders from public health officials to use social distancing to slow the spread of the virus. Even some ardent urbanists worry that the speed with which the virus devastated packed neighborhoods could lead to a backlash against cities."
Sac County public health lab faced years of budget cuts. Then came the pandemic
Sac Bee's JASON POHL/ALEXANDRA YOON-HENDRICKS: "Sacramento County’s public health program designed to ward off disease outbreaks has seen its funding dwindle for years, even as other departments saw their budgets increase and warnings of a looming pandemic intensified, a review of budget documents, meeting minutes and interviews with current and former officials found.
The Great Recession more than a decade ago led to crippling budget cuts throughout local governments. Key nursing positions and other disease detectives were downsized or eliminated outright. But even as the economy rebounded, Sacramento County failed to restore funding for its public health laboratory, which is now being overwhelmed with COVID-19 testing demands.
Cuts in 2009 were so severe, the public health lab told officials they wouldn’t be able to respond “24/7,” according to a department budget presentation. Delays in test results for diseases such as tuberculosis and rabies “could result in increased disease and deaths” and there’d be “a loss in nursing capacity to respond to an epidemic."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: Kaiser study finds coronavirus seriously affects people regardless of age -- The Chronicle's ERIN ALLDAY; As coronavirus curve flattens, some California counties consider reopening -- The Chronicle's ERIN ALLDAY/ALEXEI KOSEFF; A ZIP code emerges as Sacramento's coronavirus epicenter. But what's behind the spike? -- Skac Bee's THERESA CLIFT/TONY BIZJAK/PHILLIP REESE; Symptoms or not, Sac County wants California lawmakers tested for coronavirus -- Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY; In pandemic, it's 'us versus them' -- The Chronicle's LIZZIE JOHNSON; Bay Area's, Los Angeles' faters diverge on coronavirus, and experts ponder why -- The Chronicle's SHWANIKA NARAYAN; Bay Area ICU cases, hospitalizations hit April low -- The Chronicle's MATTHEW KAWAHARA; LA County reports 18 new coronavirus deaths, says poor people are three times more likely to die -- LA Times's ALEX WIGGLESWORTH ; Lawmakers warn coronavirus contact-tracing is ripe for abusive surveillance -- LA Times's EVAN HALPER; Social limits needed through summer, Birx says, as some states ease restrictions -- LA Times's LAURA KING; Battling lockdown fatigue, California messages both hope and fear. Will it work? -- LA Times's JOSEPH SERNA
Fateful choices as coronavirus raged through Riverside jail, hitting deputies and inmates
LA Times's ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN/KAILYN BROWN: "For two weeks in early March, Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputy Terrell Young routinely drove inmates, one at a time, from the Cois M. Byrd Detention Facility in Murrieta to a hospital for medical appointments.
During those trips he was exposed to several people, including inmates and a nurse, who would later test positive for the coronavirus.
When Young reported to work on March 22, he felt ill and realized he had a fever. Early in his shift, he notified a supervisor and went home. But by then, he and others probably had bn spreading the virus — without knowing — for days."
Californians are filing unemployment claims at a higher rate than most of the US
Sac Bee's PHILLIP REESE: "The COVID-19 crisis is hitting California’s job market particularly hard, according to a Bee review of the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Almost 3.4 million Californians filed for unemployment between March 15 and April 18.
That’s the equivalent of one jobless claim for every 17 California workers, higher than the national rate of 15 jobless claims per 100 workers. Those figures are not seasonally adjusted."
READ MORE related to Economy: IRS fixes errors, adds features to tool for getting faster stimulus payments -- The Chronicle's KATHLEEN PENDER; Tough times for Oakland as coronavirus outbreak blows giant hole in budget -- The Chronicle's PHIL MATIER; California's jobless face jammed phone lines, computer glitches and bureaucratic blunders -- LA Times's PATRICK MCGREEVY/KIM CHRISTENSEN
Cars, trains and uncertainty: How coronavirus will change Bay Area transit
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "For years, Bay Area commuters shared a daily ritual. They packed cheek-by-elbow into a stuffy BART train, or pushed their way onto Muni Metro, or crammed together in buses that seemed to lurch with all the weight.
In a region where the whole economy depended on pumping everyone downtown, crowding was a sign of success. Then the coronavirus swept in, forcing workers to stay home and upending the norms of highways and transit in ways that no one had ever expected.
Muni officials shut down the light rail at the end of March, wrapping the entrances in caution tape. BART, facing losses of $37 million a month, cut service in half. Freeways and bridges emptied out. Commuting may look strikingly different when these systems hobble back, retooled for an era of remote work and social distancing."
Stay granted in California ammo case, restricting sales again using criticized database
Sac Bee's VINCENT MOLESKI/RYAN SABALOW: "After issuing an injunction halting California’s ammunition background check program, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has granted a stay, which effectively reinstates the state’s faulty database system until further notice.
The National Rifle Association, which had hailed the injunction as a victory for Second Amendment rights, issued a news release publicizing the Friday stay.
“This means that the same restrictions that have been previously in effect regarding ammunition in California are back for the time being,” the NRA’s lobbying wing said."
Devin Nunes' lawsuit over Iowa farm story called a 'fishing expedition' by Esquire Magazine
Sac Bee's KATE IRBY: "An attorney for the magazine Esquire called Rep. Devin Nunes’ lawsuit against the company a “fishing expedition” for a journalist’s sources on Friday as he asked a federal judge to dismiss one of the four lawsuits the congressman filed against news organizations over the past 13 months.
The lawsuit, unfolding in Iowa’s Northern District Court, centers on a piece by journalist Ryan Lizza that Esquire published in September 2018 drawing attention to Nunes’ family moving a dairy business to Iowa. Nunes’ father and brother also are suing Esquire over the story, which Lizza wrote after attempting to visit their dairy in Sibley, Iowa.
Jonathan Donnellan, an attorney for Lizza and Esquire publisher Hearst Corporation, said at a hearing conducted by phone that the article was not defamatory as Nunes alleged and that public officials should expect scrutiny from an independent press."
Why distance learning is a success in one California district
EdSource's SYDNEY JOHNSON: "Never in his 25-year teaching career did Greg Platt imagine he would someday be working full-time through a computer screen. But much has changed in the last few weeks as schools around California closed their doors amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“I never thought a switch would be flipped one day, and we would be doing this,” said Platt, an English teacher at Troy High School in Fullerton. “It’s extremely painful for teachers. It’s so difficult not seeing students every day.”
Across California, schools are rushing to put together plans to continue to deliver education to students during a statewide stay-at-home order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. But in Fullerton Joint Union High School District in Orange County, where Platt works, schools are more than a month into virtual classes with few issues."
California's ban on plastic bags is on hold during pandemic
Sac Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "Californians, you can have single-use plastic grocery bags again.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Thursday suspending for 60 days the state’s voter-approved ban on single-use plastic bags.
Many California grocery stores have discouraged people from bringing reusable bags with them because of concerns about spreading the coronavirus. In their place, markets for weeks have been offering the kind lightweight plastics voters banned by initiative four years ago."
READ MORE related to Environment: 'Impending kitten storm': Sacramento SPCA sees surge in strays amid pandemic. Here's how to help -- Sac Bee's VINCENT MOLESKI; Warm weather lures Bay Area residents to parks -- The Chronicle's RON KROICHICK/RUSTY SIMMONS; Those flocking to the beach see little risk of getting coronavirus. Experts aren't so sure -- LA Times's DORANY PINEDA/DOUG SMITH/ALEX WIGGLESWORTH/LAURA NEWBERRY
Pandemic has brought havoc to nursing homes. Will it end 'warehousing' the elderly?
Sac Bee's RYAN SABALOW/JASON POHL/DALE KASLER: "Denise Plank has cried so much over the past weeks her tears have left her cheeks chafed and raw.
Her 84-year-old father, Edward, has a form of blood cancer that may kill him. She might never again hold his hand. She may never give him a hug. She might not even be able to sit in the same room with him.
He’s in a Fresno nursing home, which she’s forbidden to enter out of fears she and other guests could spread the new coronavirus to residents and staff. Given the severity of his condition, she’s unable to take him home."