Facing crush of crises, Biden will take helm as president
AP's JONATHAN LEMIRE: "Joe Biden swears the oath of office at noon Eastern time Wednesday to become the 46th president of the United States, taking the helm of a deeply divided nation and inheriting a confluence of crises arguably greater than any faced by his predecessors.
The very ceremony in which presidential power is transferred, a hallowed American democratic tradition, will serve as a jarring reminder of the challenges Biden faces: The inauguration unfolds at a U.S. Capitol battered by an insurrectionist siege just two weeks ago, encircled by security forces evocative of those in a war zone, and devoid of crowds because of the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.
Stay home, Americans were exhorted, to prevent further spread of a surging virus that has claimed more than 400,000 lives in the United States. Biden will look out over a capital city dotted with empty storefronts that attest to the pandemic’s deep economic toll and where summer protests laid bare the nation’s renewed reckoning on racial injustice."
READ MORE related to POTUS46/Inauguration Day: North Bay residents look to Biden inauguration with hope and pessimism -- The Press-Democrat's AUSTIN MURPHY; Kamala Harris: The Bible and Bay Area friends she holds dear will be there at historic inauguration -- BANG's JULIA PRODIS SULEK; Where and when to watch the inauguration of President-elect Biden and VP-elect Harris -- SCNG's STEVEN ROSENBERG; Biden promises a return to normalcy. Is America ready to go there? -- The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI
California passes 3M coronavirus cases, vaccines are running out
BANG's NICO SAVIDGE: "As the United States’ COVID-19 death toll topped the once-unthinkable mark of 400,000 lives lost Tuesday, California reached a milestone of its own, surging past 3 million coronavirus cases as the state endures one of the worst outbreaks in the country.
There is mounting evidence that the massive increase in cases that swamped hospitals in much of California over the past two months is finally abating. But any optimism is tempered by frustration at the slow rollout across the state of the vaccines that will ultimately end the pandemic — and the specter of vaccine shortages for weeks if not months to come.
Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody warned the county could run out of doses soon. She said her agency and others around the state have been hampered by an inconsistent supply, and 21,000 doses it received were from a batch of the Moderna vaccine that state officials have asked health agencies not to immediately use as they investigate six severe allergic reactions reported at a vaccination event in San Diego."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: As COVID cases have surged, Oakland extends law to provide paid sick leave -- BANG's ANNIE SCIACCA; Govt leaders, houses of worship pause to honor victims of pandemic -- SGV Tribune's STAFF AND NEW SERVICE REPORTS
Can vaccines keep up with coronavirus mutations? Bay Area variant will be a test
The Chronicle's ERIN ALLDAY: "The discovery of several new variants of the coronavirus that may spread more easily, including a mutation that took hold in the Bay Area in December, makes it even more urgent to fix the nation’s troubled vaccination rollout — before the evolving virus causes another surge or learns to evade vaccines.
Throughout the yearlong pandemic, public health experts have advised that beating the virus was a marathon, that it would take many months of commitment to social distancing measures to win. That’s still true. But in many ways the race has intensified in recent weeks: between a virus that is spinning out new mutations that could make it harder to contain and an immunization campaign marked by repeated fumbles.
“We’re really in a race now,” said Dr. Charles Chiu, the UCSF virologist who identified the L452R variant that’s blown up in parts of the Bay Area over the past month. “This only increases our urgency to mass vaccinate the population before additional variants evolve and emerge.”"
Capitol Weekly Podcast: Dan Morain on Kamala's Way
STAFF: "Journalist extraordinaire Dan Morain joined John Howard and Tim Foster to talk about his new book, Kamala’s Way: An American Life – the first biography of Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. Morain covered Harris’ rise in real time for the Los Angeles Times, The Sacramento Bee and CalMatters; that background allowed him to write and research the entire book in a few months during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Dan offers insights into the woman who will be the first woman Vice President, and also shares stories of the background players; fascinating characters of San Francisco politics, including Harris’ former paramour Mayor Willie Brown and Kimberly Guilfoyle, one-time wife of Gavin Newsom and the current partner of Donald Trump Jr.
And, he shares details about the Sacramento Press Club’s new awards program celebrating California’s best journalism."
For first time in years, local immigrants see hope, not fear, coming from WH proposals
OC Register's ROXANA KOPETMAN: "Immigrants and their advocates in Southern California are excited and hopeful about the prospects of sweeping immigration reform that could come shortly after President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office.
The new president is expected to reverse a slew of Trump administration policies, and introduce legislation that could give millions of people living in the country illegally a chance to become citizens after an eight-year process.
Some actions are expected quickly, via executive order and other policy moves. They include reversing the ban on travel to the United States from some Muslim majority countries, and a directive to reunite immigrant children who in 2018 were separated from their families by the Trump administration and have yet to be reunified."
READ MORE related to Immigration: Biden to offer legal status to 11M immigrants, plans to stop border wall construction -- LA Times's ANDREA CASTILLO/CINDY CARCAMO
Sonoma County and Santa Rosa seek aid for pandemic, strained municipal budgets
The Press-Democrat's TYLER SILVY/WILL SCHMITT: "Faced with California’s rocky vaccination rollout, officials in Sonoma County and Santa Rosa want more pandemic funding and transparency from state officials, and are holding out hope for an infusion of cash from the incoming Biden administration’s coronavirus relief efforts.
In an “urgent request” sent last week, agencies representing local governments across the state laid out $1.2 billion in needs, including $400 million for vaccine distribution, to cover testing, contact tracing and vaccination costs for the next six months.
“This request is urgent due to current surge and strain that local health departments are experiencing as cases increase dramatically,” the California State Association of Counties said in the letter sent last week to Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s top lawmakers. “Local health departments cannot conduct contact tracing and disease investigation, maintain the network of testing sites, outreach to vulnerable populations and deploy vaccination plans without additional resources as soon as possible.”"
https://capitolweekly.net/needed-educational-training-in-civic-engagement/
San Jose Mercury News's DARREN SABEDRA & ELLIOTT ALMOND: "The California Interscholastic Federation, in a memo Tuesday to its members, threatened severe punishment to schools that participate in unsanctioned interscholastic sports competition.
It is unclear how many schools went "rogue" and have played on their own.
But a football game last weekend between Capistrano Valley Christian and Calvary Chapel — two Orange County private schools — generated social media buzz after the winning coach tweeted about the victory."
READ MORE related to Education: The best way to handle student anxiety about the insurrection? Talk about it -- EdSource's CAROLYN JONES
Park named after former President Andrew Jackson in Alameda gets new name
BANG's PETER HEGARTY: "A park once named in honor of President Andrew Jackson has gotten a new name. It’s now Chochenyo Park after a lineage of the Ohlone tribe.
The City Council approved the change Tuesday night after hearing from about a two dozen public speakers, many of whom noted that Jackson was a slave-owner who adopted harsh policies toward Native-Americans. All supported the new name.
Alameda resident Amanda Cooper said she has visited places throughout the country known for indigenous history, such as Taos in New Mexico. Until recently, however, she knew little about the Ohlone in the Bay Area."
2 cities adding to north OC's supply of affordable housing
OC Register's GREG MELLEN: "As the affordable housing situation becomes more acute in Orange County in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, two cities in North County are addressing the need.
In Buena Park and Placentia, two senior housing projects were recently approved that will collectively add more than 130 units for those with lower incomes.
In Buena Park, the Orchard View Gardens apartments will have 66 units, including a manager’s apartment, at 8300 Valley View St., next to the St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church."
Transit agency in SF approves changes in part of potential controversial redesign
The Chronicle's MALLORY MOENCH: "The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency board approved a package of changes Tuesday that could be the first steps in a controversial scaled-back proposal of the Market Street redesign.
In the approved changes, the SFMTA will drop the speed limit on Market Street between Franklin and Steuart streets from 25 to 20 mph, force some right turns for vehicles, add crosswalks and stop signs, and ban some left turns and right turns on red.
The changes prompted a larger debate about the Better Market Street project after the agency realized that the street wasn’t wide enough for a designated bike lane and it couldn’t afford the original project during a pandemic recession."
Trump pardons ex-strategist Steve Bannon, dozens of others
AP: "President Donald Trump pardoned former chief strategist Steve Bannon as part of a flurry of clemency action in the final hours of his White House term that benefited more than 140 people, including rap performers, ex-members of Congress and other allies of him and his family.
The last-minute clemency, announced Wednesday morning, follows separate waves of pardons over the last month for Trump associates convicted in the FBI’s Russia investigation as well as for the father of his son-in-law. Taken together, the actions underscore the president’s willingness, all the way through his four years in the White House, to flex his constitutional powers in ways that defy convention and explicitly aid his friends and supporters.
Whereas pardon recipients are conventionally thought of as defendants who have faced justice, often by having served at least some prison time, the pardon for Bannon nullifies a prosecution that was still in its early stages and likely months away from trial in Manhattan, effectively eliminating any prospect for punishment."
Capitol Siege suspects linked to Oath Keepers Milita are charged with conspiracy
NYT's CHARLIE SAVAGE/ADAM GOLDMAN/NEIL MACFARQUHAR: "In the days leading up to the Jan. 6 siege, Thomas Edward Caldwell, an apparent leader of the far-right Oath Keepers, had a message for the militia members he had organized to mobilize against Congress: “This kettle is set to boil.”
Court documents unsealed Tuesday said Caldwell, 66, from rural Virginia, advised the others on Dec. 31, “It begins for real Jan 5 and 6 on Washington D.C. when we mobilize in the streets. Let them try to certify some crud on Capitol Hill with a million or more patriots in the streets.”
Caldwell and two associates from Ohio — Donovan Crowl, 50, and Jessica Watkins, 38 — were charged with conspiracy to commit federal crimes. All three had admitted to invading the Capitol to reporters and were also identifiable in videos posted on social media."
READ MORE related to Trump Insurrection: 3 from Beverly Hills charged in Capitol riot -- SGV Tribune's JONAH VALDEZ