Coronavirus spike in L.A. County brings new alarms
ANDREW J. CAMPA, LUKE MONEY, RONG-GONG LIN II from the LA Times: "There were new alarming signs that COVID-19 was spreading again in Los Angeles County, with officials announcing the highest one-day increase in cases not connected to a reporting backlog since August.
The county reported 1,745 new cases Thursday as well as 19 new deaths. It’s the latest evidence that after declining for several months, the novel coronavirus may be on the rise again in L.A. County and other parts of Southern California.
If the region does see another spike like the one it experienced during the summer, it would threaten efforts to reopen schools and businesses. Already, Southern California has fallen behind the Bay Area when it comes to slowing the infection rate, allowing places such as San Francisco and Silicon Valley to reopen more quickly."
S.F.’s coronavirus positive test rate is the lowest of all big U.S. cities. Can it stay that way?
KELLIE HWANG, Chronicle: "San Francisco is the nation’s second-densest city after New York, yet in addition to its low positive test rate it also has the lowest COVID-19 death rate among the 20 most populous cities. UCSF Medicine chairman Dr. Bob Wachter recently told the Los Angeles Times that if the entire country had followed San Francisco’s approach to the coronavirus outbreak, the nation would have 50,000 dead from the pandemic instead of more than 225,000.
Last week, San Francisco became the first Bay Area county to move to the least-restrictive yellow reopening tier, the first major metro area in California to do so.
A coordinated effort among city health officials and local experts has been cited as a key to keeping the pandemic from spiraling out of control."
First known case in Bay Area of dual coronavirus-flu infection found in Solano County
PETER FIMRITE, Chronicle: "The first known case in the Bay Area of a dual coronavirus-influenza infection was confirmed Thursday in Solano County, prompting health officials to urge residents to hurry up and get flu shots and double down on social distancing and mask wearing.
The Solano County Department of Health and Social Services described the unlucky patient as an otherwise healthy individual under the age of 65, but the county did not release any personal information.
Bela Matyas, the Solano County health officer, said the victim is older than 20, works in the “health care realm” and appears to have recovered from the co-infection."
East Oakland is Bay Area's worst coronavirus hot spot
JOSH KOEHN, East Bay Express: "As of Tuesday, the coronavirus pandemic had killed more than 226,000 people across the United States, 17,000-plus in California and almost 1,750 here in the Bay Area. Of that local amount, 461 people—or about 26 percent—resided in Alameda County. That figure is nearly a hundred more people than the number the virus had claimed by mid-September.
But finding out exactly who is dying in the East Bay, and where each person took that last breath, is more difficult to pinpoint.
Data compiled by Alameda County health officials show that the coronavirus has hit predominantly low-income communities of color in East Oakland harder than any other place in the Bay Area. Maps that track infections in the 94601, 94621 and 94603 zip codes—starting in the Meadow Brook and Oak Tree neighborhoods and running south down the Interstate 880 corridor to the Coliseum and Brookfield—show a deep shade of blue that inspires none of the optimism one might hope for in a consequential election season."
PG&E facing ‘significant’ new losses from California wildfires, utility tells investors
DALE KASLER, Sacramento Bee: "Four months after exiting bankruptcy, PG&E Corp. is facing mounting financial headaches from wildfires again.
California’s largest utility warned shareholders Thursday that it could face a “significant liability” in connection with the Zogg Fire, one of a series of wildfires that blew through Northern California this year.
The warning, part of a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, came three weeks after PG&E disclosed that it’s being investigated by Cal Fire for possibly sparking the Zogg Fire. The fire killed four people in Shasta County last month. Cal Fire investigators took possession of some of PG&E’s electrical equipment near where the fire started."
California drivers 70 and older allowed to skip DMV visit and renew licenses online
VANESSA ARREDONDO, Chronicle: "Californians who are 70 years or older will be able to renew their driver’s licenses online or by mail beginning Dec. 6, bypassing the need to visit a Department of Motor Vehicles office during the coronavirus pandemic.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Wednesday that temporarily waives a California law requiring drivers who are 70 years or older to visit a DMV office in person to renew their licenses. The order will remain in effect for the duration of California's state of emergency or until modified, the DMV said.
Newsom’s order is the latest in a series of DMV accomodations granted to older Californians to protect them from exposure to the coronavirus. In a statement, the governor’s office said this would allow vulnerable populations to continue to quarantine at home."
Yes on Prop. 16 has big fundraising lead in effort to restore affirmative action in California
THOMAS PEELE, EdSource: "Backers of a statewide ballot measure which would allow the return of affirmative action in California’s public agencies have dwarfed their opponents in fundraising by nearly a 14-1 margin, campaign finance records show.
A progressive coalition that includes the ACLU, the state Democratic Party, the owners of several California professional sports teams and others, Yes on Proposition 16 has raised $19 million in cash through seven campaign committees.
The No on 16 effort, funded by small individual donations, has raised $1.3 million through three committees, according to campaign finance reports analyzed this week."
L.A. County’s second wave of Vote Centers to open as turnout swells
RYAN CARTER, LA Daily News: "A new wave of polling places across Los Angeles County will open Friday, Oct. 30, giving voters hundreds of more places to vote in a general election in the county that has already seen more than half the total turnout of four years ago.
The county vote centers opening now through Tuesday, Election Day, will add to the 118 that opened last weekend, bringing the total to 758 centers from the county’s northernmost to its southernmost stretches.
Between the centers and vote-by-mail ballots, early voting turnout has already been remarkable — mirroring trends seen across the country in the run-up to Nov. 3."
Mayor and LAPD chief assure voters that L.A. is election-ready and voting is safe
KEVIN RECTOR and RICHARD WINTON, LA Times: "”Mayor Eric Garcetti and Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore say the city is prepared for next week’s election — come what may — and that Angelenos should feel confident that the polls are safe.
“I don’t want to buy into a narrative that there’s going to be chaos during our election,” Garcetti said Wednesday.
He said there is “no intelligence” suggesting any sort of plot to carry out violence or voter intimidation at L.A. polls, but the city is “very prepared” to protect voters who will be casting ballots."
For Native Americans, voter outreach is by both wi-fi and radio
FREDDIE BREWSTER, CalMatters: "Although California is home to the largest Native American population in the United States, voting has always been problematic. This year, the pandemic — and the state’s decision to mail ballots to every California voter — has created new issues for tribal lands, whose residents often lack traditional mailing addresses.
Outreach groups, which were focused initially on encouraging tribal members to fill out their Census forms, have deployed some of the same tactics to get out the vote. “Because of the pandemic and the changing Census deadline, we have had to run at full speed with both of those efforts,” said Chrissie Castro of the California Native Voting Project, a nonprofit group that seeks to build Native political power and participation.
“The silver lining is that we’ve been forced to learn new strategies and approaches that we may not have otherwise utilized that have been extremely effective in reaching Native American community members.
‘I would have given up’: Man thanks officers who rescued him from San Diego Bay
DAVID HERNANDEZ, San Diego Union-Tribiune: "A National City police corporal and two Harbor police officers were awarded medals Thursday for rescuing a man who fell off a Jet Ski and nearly drowned in San Diego Bay.
Jeff Jarvis, 48, shed tears as he thanked Cpl. Javier Cornejo and Officers Michael Sabbagh and Janel Seney for saving him from choppy waters the afternoon of Oct. 12.
“I had no idea what I was going to do,” he said. “I would have given up.”