Trump tries new move to restrict census, could cut California's seats in Congress
LA Times's CHRIS MEGERIAN/SARAH D WIRE: "President Trump on Tuesday directed his administration to exclude immigrants who are in the country illegally when calculating how many seats in Congress each state gets after the current census, a decision that critics denounced as unconstitutional and one that will likely face a swift court challenge.
The president’s directive, which would adopt a practice never before used in U.S. history, faces several major hurdles — legal, logistical and political.
If successfully carried out, however, it could have far-reaching effects by reducing the political clout of states with significant numbers of immigrants, including California and Texas. It could also shift power toward whiter, more rural areas of states at the expense of more diverse cities."
Antibody study finds coronavirus infections may have been 10 times higher in Bay Area
The Chronicle's ERIN ALLDAY: "Nearly 10 times as many Bay Area residents had been infected with the coronavirus by the end of April than the official tally at the time, according to a new federal study that analyzed antibody tests to determine how widespread the virus was across a handful of United States hot spots.
The study underscores just how deficient testing for the virus was in the early weeks of the pandemic, when the vast majority of cases were never identified.
At the same time, it provides further evidence that aggressive shelter-in-place orders protected much of the Bay Area, where researchers estimate only about 1% of all residents had been infected by the time the study was done. That number is surely higher now with the outbreak surging again."
Dangerous mix: The interaction between law enforcement and those suffering crises of mental illness
SIGRID BATHEN in Capitol Weekly: "Police response to mental-health calls often ends – again and again – in chaotic, noisy hospital emergency rooms, where staff is stretched thin, and a heart attack is likely to take precedence over someone in the throes of a mental-health crisis.
“Traditionally, people would be dropped off at the ER, and the only option was to transfer them to a psychiatric facility,” says Dr. Scott Zeller, a nationally known emergency psychiatrist and former president of the American Association for Emergency Psychiatry.
"Zeller is vice president of acute psychiatry at Vituity, a physician-led organization that provides staffing and consulting services to medical centers nationwide. Too often, he says, patients in psychiatric crises “would be stuck for days at a time in the ER, with very little treatment.” (Second of two parts. Click here for Part 1)
FBI investigates whether suspect in judge family attack is behind California lawyer's slaying
LA Times's RICHARD WINTON: "The FBI is investigating whether the slaying of a well-known men’s rights attorney in the mountains of San Bernardino County earlier this month is connected to the shooting of a federal judge’s son and husband in New Jersey, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the inquiry.
Self-described anti-feminist attorney Roy Den Hollander was the prime suspect in the killing of the judge’s 20-year-old son and the wounding of the judge’s husband Sunday. Den Hollander, who was found dead following the attack, is now the focus of a federal investigation into the July 11 fatal shooting of lawyer Marc Angelucci at his Crestline, Calif., home, according to those sources, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.
In both deadly attacks, the killer posed as a delivery driver, according to a law enforcement source. San Bernardino County sheriff’s detectives investigating the killing said Tuesday that the FBI’s Newark, N.J., office is now taking the lead on the investigation. A spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department on Tuesday referred a reporter to the team handling the attack Sunday at the home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in North Brunswick, N.J., where 20-year-old Daniel Anderl was killed and his father, Mark Anderl, was wounded."
Reopening plans at UC Berkeley, other campuses fall apart amid coronavirus surge
LA Times's TERESA WATANABE: "Hopes that college life might begin a slow return to normal this fall were deflated Tuesday, when two University of California campuses announced they would begin the semester with fully remote instruction amid a pandemic surge.
UC Berkeley and UC Merced had hoped to open Aug. 26 with a mix of online, in-person and hybrid classes. But they reversed those plans as COVID-19 infections began their record-shattering increases throughout California, with cases now topping more than 400,000 and deaths, 7,800. In Los Angeles County, half of new COVID-19 cases were among those ages 18 to 40.
The UC reversals follow other decisions to do likewise by several California campuses, including USC, Pomona College and Occidental College. Nationally, the proportion of colleges and universities planning for in-person classes has declined from about two-thirds in May to about half today, according to more than 1,200 campus plans reviewed by the Chronicle of Higher Education."
How Sacramento region's growth in COVID-19 cases compares to other large metro areas
Sac Bee's PHILLIP REESE: "The rate of confirmed COVID-19 cases is rising quickly in the four-county Sacramento region but it remains lower than in most major U.S. metros, according to a Bee analysis of data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
The Sacramento region reported about 6,730 new cases in the four weeks between June 21 and July 19, for a rate of about 294 new cases per 100,000 residents. That’s lower than the rate of 504 new cases per 100,000 residents among all U.S. metro areas with at least one million residents.
But it’s also nearly 20 times higher than the rate of new infections reported in the Sacramento region from late April to late May. During that period, the Sacramento metro had – by far – the lowest infection rate among large metros in the nation."
California surpasses 400k COVID-19 cases as state sets record for infections, death toll
LA Times's RONG-GONG LIN II/IRIS LEE: "One day after a record-breaking number of new coronavirus infections, California has surpassed 400,000 overall cases, data from the Los Angeles Times tracker show.
By comparison, the New York Health Department has reported more than 408,000 infections. But that state has reported more than 25,000 deaths, while California’s death toll is approaching 8,000.
The news comes after California again reported its highest number of coronavirus cases in a single day, with 11,554 cases recorded Monday, according to The Times’ tally of reports from the state’s 58 counties."
Senate Republicans seek reduction of $600 unemployment benefits in stimulus package
Sac Bee's FRANCESA CHAMBERS/DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Senate Republicans are seeking to reduce — but not eliminate — unemployment benefits related to the pandemic that are expiring at the end of this month, so that recipients are not making more money from the benefit than they did while working.
A $600 weekly benefit that Congress included in a stimulus bill earlier this year will expire next week. Lawmakers are racing to pass a new bill that includes emergency relief for businesses and workers before the fast approaching deadline.
Republicans are rallying behind a reduction in the extra federal benefit. One idea under discussion is to lower the $600 weekly benefit to a flat amount. Another proposal gaining traction would make it a percentage of what individuals were earning before they were laid off."
Former LA City Councilman Hal Bernson dies at 89
LA Times's DAKOTA SMITH: "Hal Bernson, who led the city to establish historic seismic safety laws during his 24 years on the Los Angeles City Council, has died. He was 89.
Bernson’s death was confirmed Tuesday by Greig Smith, a former city councilman who also served as Bernson’s chief of staff.
A blunt politician from the northwest San Fernando Valley, Bernson was unafraid to publicly argue with his council colleagues and impatient with bureaucratic delays. He “was an old-school guy who cared about fixing his community,” Smith said in an interview."
Sweeping federal conservation bill offers billions for parks across the West
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "One of the biggest conservation bills in decades is expected to sail to victory in Washington, overcoming years of funding stalemates and political gridlock, and promising scores of new parks and upgraded recreation facilities across the West.
The House is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the Great American Outdoors Act, which would guarantee $900 million annually for the acquisition of public lands and commit $9.5 billion over five years to repairs on federal property, mostly for the National Park Service.
California stands to benefit as much as any state from the stunning windfall, with supporters eyeing everything from new trails in the Sierra Nevada to playgrounds in underserved Central Valley communities. Parks such as Yosemite, Point Reyes and the Golden Gate National Recreation Area are virtually assured money to upgrade aging infrastructure, including roads, ranger stations and campgrounds."
California backtracks after removing COVID-19 death counts for assisted living homes
Sac Bee's JASON POHL/RYAN SABALOW: "Last week, the state agency that regulates assisted living facilities quietly posted a memo announcing it was going to delete from its website the names of facilities where people had died from COVID-19.
The California Department of Social Services provided no explanation.
When patient care advocates found the memo Monday, they were baffled and alarmed. After all, they’d fought to have the death counts made public early in the pandemic when it became obvious the facilities — along with nursing homes — were becoming Ground Zero for the state’s COVID-19 crisis."
California's lone wolf pack adds 8 newborn pups. And the father is a bit of a mystery
The Chronicle's STEVE RUBENSTEIN: "Eight newborn wolf pups — offspring of the only wolf pack in California — are holed up these days in a top-secret location somewhere in the northern part of the state. Exactly where, the Department of Fish and Wildlife isn’t saying.
The agency sent out the lupine birth announcement Monday. Wildlife biologists were thrilled to learn of the fourth consecutive annual litter for the state’s lone pack.
“This is incredible news,” said Amaroq Weiss, a wildlife biologist and wolf advocate for the Center for Biological Diversity. “This is an endangered species that humans once tried to wipe from the face of the Earth. These little ones give hope to everyone who wants to see wolves reestablished.‘’
SF supes nix the idea of creating a public advocate's office
The Chronicle's JK DINEEN: "A push to create an elected public advocate position to bird dog San Francisco city services and investigate whistle-blower complaints failed to get enough votes at the Board of Supervisors Tuesday to make it onto the ballot.
The public advocate charter amendment failed 6-5, with Board President Norman Yee and supervisors Aaron Peskin, Catherine Stefani, Ahsha Safai, Sandra Lee Fewer and Rafael Mandelman voting aginst it. The majority said creating a new bureaucracy would be fiscally imprudent and that the city should instead work to strengthen existing oversight roles.
The motivations for those opposing the charter amendment, which was sponsored by Supervisor Gordon Mar, varied somewhat. Fewer said she objected to the cost of a new city office as well as the fact that former elected officials and department heads — who might not be objective in their fact-finding role — would be eligible to run for the position."
Oakland council rejects further cuts to police budget
The Chronicle's BRETT SIMPSON: "In a dramatic nine-hour meeting Tuesday culminating in a contentious 4-2-2 vote, the Oakland City Council refused to cut $11 million from the police budget.
Tuesday’s vote means the Oakland Police Department will lose $14.6 million in funding instead of $25 million, an amount that was proposed by council member Nikki Fortunato Bas. Only Bas and the Council President Rebecca Kaplan supported the measure for a deeper cut.
The council cut $14.6 million on June 23, a move that was criticized by Bas and others who demanded deeper cuts to police. After that June 23 vote, some council members acknowledged that the vote was hastily taken and decided to revisit the budget Tuesday, and to slice the police budget in half in the coming years. Calls nationwide to defund police followed the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25."
Vandals cover Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf's home in graffiti, set off fireworks before dawn
The Chronicle's BRETT SIMPSON: "A group of people vandalized Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s home early Tuesday, spray-painting graffiti, splashing red paint on the walls and setting off fireworks that targeted the house before dawn, according to neighbors and a spokesman for the mayor.
Messages in red paint and black-and-purple spray paint covered the mayor’s home, as well as a stone wall that runs along the property, the sidewalk and street. Messages included “Wake up Libby,” “Blood on your hands,” “Take responsibility” and “Defund OPD.” The graffiti remained on the home and surrounding surfaces as of late Tuesday morning.
Around 2 a.m., 15 to 20 people in black approached the home on foot, chanting “Wake up, Libby,” said Desiree Alexander, who lives across the street. They began setting off fireworks in the street and smoke filled the air, Alexander said."
Magnitude 7.8 earthquake strikes Alaska Peninsula
The Chronicle's QUAKE TRACKER: "A magnitude 7.8 quake hit Alaska Peninsula on Tuesday night.
See details about this earthquake on The Chronicle's Quake Tracker.
The United States Geological Survey detected the quake at 11:12 p.m. with an epicenter 61.3 miles southeast of Perryville, Alaska. With a magnitude of 7.8 and depth of 6.22 miles, this quake could be felt far beyond the epicenter and is potentially disastrous."
With GOP now on board, another coronavirus stimulus check is likely. But for how much?
LA Times's JENNIFER HABERKORN: "Senate Republicans on Tuesday said they would include a new round of coronavirus stimulus payments in the upcoming pandemic relief bill, dramatically increasingly the likelihood that more checks will go out to help Americans combat the economic effects of the COVID-19 outbreak. Democrats had previously endorsed the idea.
“We want another round of direct payments to help American families keep driving our national comeback,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said.
Republicans have not identified how much the payments should be or who should be eligible to receive them. They plan to release legislation in the coming days."
Trump concedes coronavirus will 'get worse before it gets better'
LA Times's ELI STOKOLS: "President Trump, six months into a deadly pandemic and less than four months from Election Day, conceded Tuesday that the coronavirus would “get worse before it gets better” and urged all Americans to wear face masks “whether you like the mask or not.”
“If you can, use the mask,” he said. “Think about patriotism.”
He admitted his more sober assessment of the virus, which he read from a binder of prepared text, was “something I don’t like saying, but that’s the way it is.” His remarks came on a day when the country recorded more than 1,000 deaths from COVID-19 for the first time since May 29."
Feds say agents in Portalnd are legally targeting 'violent criminals'
LA Times's RICHARD READ/JUSTIN YAU: "The Trump administration pushed back Tuesday against allegations that unidentified federal agents have been roaming the streets here in unmarked cars and illegally detaining peaceful protesters.
“We are not patrolling the streets of Portland, as has been falsely reported multiple times in the last few days,” Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, told reporters at a news conference in Washington.
Rather, he said, the agents were operating within the law and targeting “violent criminals” intent on destroying federal property that local officials refused to protect. He said 43 people had been arrested since July 4 but did not specify the charges against them."
US orders China to close its consulate in Houston as relations across the Pacific worsen
LA Times's ALICE SU: "The U.S. has abruptly ordered China to close its consulate in Houston in what Beijing warned was “an outrageous and unjustified move which will sabotage China-U.S. relations” and prompt it to retaliate.
Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin confirmed at a press briefing in Beijing that the U.S. had demanded Tuesday that China’s Houston consulate cease operations and evacuate all personnel by Friday. Wang did not state what reason the U.S. had given for the consulate’s closure.
The State Department said in a brief statement that the shutdown order was given “to protect American intellectual property and American’s private information.” The statement did not elaborate on the issue."