COVID-19 vaccine clears key hurdle in California and much of the West
LA Times' ALEX WIGGLESWORTH and TRACY WILKINSON: "The COVID-19 vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech cleared another hurdle in California on Sunday, when a working group of scientists and experts endorsed its safety.
The group, representing California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington, reviewed the vaccine separately from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which on Friday issued emergency use authorization. The group made its recommendation to the governors of the four states Sunday morning, officials said in a news release.
The move paved the way for vaccines to be distributed across California. Los Angeles International Airport’s Twitter account said Sunday night that the first batch had arrived in L.A., with more to follow this month and in January."
Los Angeles, Orange and San Francisco counties shatter COVID-19 records as ICU space shrinks
MAYA LAU, LA Times: "Record numbers of patients with COVID-19 were hospitalized this weekend in Los Angeles and Orange counties, and San Francisco hit a high for new coronavirus cases, as space in intensive care units across the state shrunk to dangerous lows.
The figures paint a dire picture just two weeks before Christmas, when holiday travel could ramp up despite warnings from public health officials.
There were 1,236 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Orange County on Sunday and 4,203 in Los Angeles on Saturday, according to the latest available numbers — both record highs. San Francisco, which had been a front-runner in coronavirus testing, reported a record of 323 new cases Saturday."
Tracking the corona virus in California: The LA Times daily tracker
Amid a ‘defund’ debate, Sacramento’s police force is larger than it’s been in years
THERESA CLIFT, SacBee: "Amid a national debate over reducing police department funding, the police force in the city of Sacramento is about to be larger than it’s been in 13 years.
Police officials say the steady increase in staffing is long overdue and contend the department needs even more officers to serve a rapidly-growing capital city. But activists argue the city’s decision to increase police staffing is troubling, especially as the pandemic wreaks havoc on the city budget.
When 32 recruits graduate from the academy this month, the Sacramento Police Department will have 713 sworn officers, according to department data. That’s more than the 2008 level of 710 officers, but below the 735 officers the department employed when the Great Recession began striking the city budget in 2007."
Bay Area diners are still eating outside restaurants, whether businesses want it or not
JUSTIN PHILLIPS, Chronicle: The Danville restaurant owner who has been offering outdoor dining despite Contra Costa County’s ban said he has been visited by both the police department and the county health department since news came out about his protest. But he’s planning to ignore the warnings — and to keep serving guests.
The business, Crumbs Breakfast, Lunch and Bar, is one of 12 in the downtown Danville area defying the county’s health order to stop outdoor dining as of Monday. Their actions come as the coronavirus pandemic surges across California and the nation, killing thousands a day and threatening to overwhelm hospitals.
The refusal to follow the strict new rules is a microcosm of the growing anger among Bay Area restaurateurs over the local and state response to the spread of COVID-19. In some cases, businesses aren’t flagrantly breaking the health orders but could be interpreted as bending the spirit of them.
Despite increased food distribution, thousands still going hungry
GARY WARTH and PAUL SISSON, Union-Tribune: "Charities, nonprofits and service providers throughout the county have expanded food programs this year to help people in need during the pandemic, but leaders in those organization say people still are going hungry despite their efforts.
Deacon Jim Vargas, president and CEO of Father Joe’s Villages, said the service provider has expanded its meal service at its downtown campus to three-a-day to include breakfast, lunch and dinner to meet a growing need.
Sensing that they weren’t reaching people in need further away, the nonprofit also began serving take-out meals at Father Joe’s Thrift Shop at 1457 University Ave. in Hillcrest and at 1404 Fifth Ave. in downtown San Diego."
Silicon Valley’s million dollar question: Does remote work kill innovation?
ETHAN BARON, Mercury News: “When the pandemic finally ends, entrepreneurs, engineers and experts agree that one thing is clear: Silicon Valley will never be the same.
The shift to out-of-the-office employment will permanently change the way work gets done in a region where the creation of world-changing ideas has long relied on face-to-face collaboration. But one giant uncertainty looms.
“Are you still as creative and is the feedback loop still as rich and fast over Zoom as it is in person? That’s the million-dollar question,” said Silicon Valley startup guru Steve Blank, who teaches at Stanford University and co-created a five-day course intended to help businesses of all types recover from the pandemic.
ANDREW DYER, Union-Triubune: "Like their civilian counterparts, San Diego’s two major military hospitals are experiencing a surge of coronavirus patients as the winter spike in cases affects military members, their families and retirees.
At Naval Medical Center San Diego, its 16 ICU beds are at 70 percent capacity, and Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton’s four ICU beds are at 75 percent.
“While our team is busy, the ICUs are not full,” said Regena Kowitz, a spokeswoman for Navy Medical Forces Pacific. Kowitz said both sites have plans to increase patient capacity if necessary."
Oakland diocese settles sex-misconduct suit for $3.5 million
GEORGE KELLY, Mercury News: “A civil lawsuit anonymously filed last year against the Diocese of Oakland by a former seminarian over alleged sexual misconduct by an East Bay pastor reached a settlement late last month, authorities said.
In a statement last week, the diocese said the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office did not file charges despite a Livermore police investigation. Church officials added that Father Van Dinh, the former pastor of Livermore’s St. Michael’s Catholic Parish, was not a defendant in last month’s settlement of the suit “which had no finding or admission of liability by Dinh or by the diocese.”
“Bishop Michael Barber, SJ, has removed Dinh from ministry; he is not able to function as a priest in any capacity,” the statement said in part. “He is on leave and receives the normal compensation from the Diocese.”
In S.F., stealing a car is only the beginning of the crime
PHIL MATIER, Chronicle: "Auto thefts in San Francisco have rocketed up 33% this year, with many of the vehicles being used as getaway cars in other crimes, police say.
“They use them for everything from robberies to more serious crimes,” said Cmdr. Raj Vaswani of the San Francisco Police Department’s investigative division.
Slap a stolen license plate from the same make of car, and you have an instant, hard-to-trace getaway vehicle — or battering ram to slam though a storefront."