Newsom defends pandemic response despite 'mistakes,' swipes at recall effort
The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "For months, as opponents gathered signatures from voters ready to remove him from office, Gov. Gavin Newsom publicly ignored the recall drive that could imperil his political future.
But on Tuesday night, from one of the biggest stages of his governorship, Newsom acknowledged for the first time the threat of a “partisan political power grab” that he decried as a distraction from the state’s battle against the coronavirus pandemic and his effort to build a more equitable California.
“I just want you to know, we’re not going to change course just because of a few naysayers and doomsdayers,” Newsom said during his annual State of the State address."
How the stimulus bill will lower health care costs for more than 1M Californians
Sac Bee's KATE IRBY: "More than 1 million Californians will start saving hundreds — possibly thousands — of dollars per year on health care costs after President Joe Biden signs the COVID-19 stimulus plan going through Congress.
The changes aim to move coverage more accessible for people who buy health insurance through the Affordable Care Act, the health care law former President Donald Trump repeatedly tried to overturn before losing his reelection bid.
One change in the stimulus bill would cap premiums for people who earn 400% of the federal poverty line — just over $50,000 per year for an individual — at 8.5% of income for a mid-coverage plan under the Affordable Care Act. Currently, there is no federal cap on premiums for those households."
Former SF official and girlfriend to Mohammed Nuru agrees to plead guilty, cooperate with feds
The Chronicle's MICHAEL WILLIAMS: "Sandra Zuniga, the former director of San Francisco’s Office of Neighborhood Services, has agreed to plead guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit money laundering and will cooperate with the continuing federal investigation into City Hall corruption, the Department of Justice announced on Tuesday.
Zuniga, 45, was charged last June after prosecutors alleged she conspired for years with former city Public Works Director Mohammed Nuru to launder the proceeds of his alleged fraud.
Prosecutors say Nuru is at the center of a complex web of alleged bribery at San Francisco City Hall. He’s accused of being the key player in a scheme involving contractors, department heads and nonprofit groups that allegedly took or offered bribes in exchange for insider help on city contracts. Other figures charged in the alleged schemes include former Public Utilities Commission chief Harlan Kelly and former Recology executive Paul Giusti."
Digital divide hinders fair recovery from the pandemic
Opinion, RICHARD BENBOW in Capitol Weekly: "COVID-19 has tested our mettle and shined a light on long-heldsystematic deficiencies,forcinga re-prioritization of our “policy to-do list.” While the lack of equitable broadband accesshas served as a barrier to innovation, opportunity and connection among Californians for more than two decades, this inequity has caused more harm in one year of a pandemic than in the previous 25.
We know this issue colloquially as the “digital divide” – the gap between those with internet access at home and those without.
This pervasive divide particularly impacts lower-income, less educated, rural, Black and Latinx households where access is inconsistent and nearly half don’t have a broadband subscription. Across the state, close to 1-in-4 households areeither under-connected or not connected at all."
CalPERS retirees will get a cost of living adjustment this year
Sac Bee's WES VENTEICHER: "CalPERS retirees will get a small bump in their pensions this year since the price of consumer goods increased last year despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The consumer price index increased by 1.23% for 2020, which means the pensions of most CalPERS retirees will increase by 1.23% or 2% in May, according to a chart published by the retirement system.
Any increase over 1% triggers a cost of living increase for public retirees in the state, whose pensions average $37,000 per year."
Who will California Reeps back in a Newsom recall campaign?
Sac Bee's LARA KORTE: "For the past year, Orinn Heatlie has been leading hundreds of Californians in an effort to unseat Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Now, members of the recall committee say they have enough signatures to trigger an election, at which point anyone can put their name on the ballot. Even though several Republicans have already voiced their intentions to run, the recall committee isn’t able to endorse a candidate until it files the proper paperwork.
Even if they could endorse someone right now, however, it’s not clear they would."
Building in the danger zone: State challenges housing projects where wildfires burn
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "Tucked between Wine Country and Clear Lake, the unsung Guenoc Valley is in some ways a prime spot to build a home. Fresh air. Fragrant stands of oak and pine. Views of rolling hills in every direction.
But it’s also a prime place to burn.
That’s why the developer of a massive housing project here, with designs for 1,400 homes as well as numerous hotels, shops and restaurants, is going out of his way to fortify this picturesque, yet repeatedly scorched countryside with an unprecedented line of wildfire defenses."
Rural counties are pushing back on state vaccine plan. Big cities are worried, too
Sac Bee's RYAN SABALOW/DALE KASLER: "If you’re 16 or older — rich or poor and regardless of occupation — you can receive a COVID-19 vaccine next week at a drive-up clinic in one sparsely populated rural county in the high desert of California’s northeastern corner.
All you need is proof that you live in Lassen County.
With its straightforward announcement this week, Lassen joined a growing rebellion against a state-run vaccination program that prioritizes eligibility according to age, occupation and a community’s poverty level — a rollout that’s been widely criticized as glitchy, convoluted and painfully slow."
Newsom touts California as 'getting kids back in the classroom' in State of the State speech
EdSource's LOUIS FREEDBERG: "As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to shape California in multiple ways, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday night he wouldn’t be satisfied “until everybody is back in school” and pledged to invest record amounts in education this year.
In his third State of the State speech, delivered in an eerily vacant Dodger Stadium, now being used as a mass vaccination site, Newsom said that 7,000 of California’s more than 10,000 schools are either opening or planning to open in April.
“There’s nothing more foundational to an equitable society than getting our kids safely back into classrooms,” he said."
Parents struggle with new dilemma: Is it safe to send kids to school?
LA Times's PALOMA ESQUIVEL: "Katy Meza knows full well the pain distance learning is causing her son Matthew. The third grader struggles with isolation, gets frustrated sitting in front of the computer for hours and is stalling academically.
Still, Meza says she’s not prepared for him to return any time soon to in-person schooling at Bryson Elementary School in South Gate.
Almost every family she knows has someone who has fallen ill with COVID-19. Her neighbor died of the disease and his wife was hospitalized. And Meza has no confidence that her son’s school — which before the pandemic often lacked toilet paper and soap — can keep him safe or prevent him from becoming infected with the virus and bringing it home to his grandparents."
UCD offers to pay students $75 to stay put for Spring Break
LA Times's FAITH E PINHO: "No caravans of college students in Miami or beach parties in Malibu during a pandemic, please.
UC Davis is offering a sure-fire incentive to keep students from traveling during spring break and potentially spreading the coronavirus: money.
Students who agree to stay on campus during the break can receive $75 gift cards to spend locally, according to the university’s spring break grant program announcement last week."
Here's how 20K SF kids could actually get back to learning in-person this summer
The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "After a year in front of screens, tens of thousands of San Francisco students will be learning and playing in person this summer, with free access to summer school, learning hubs and day camps from June through August, city and education officials announced Tuesday.
The initiative, backed by a $25 million philanthropic donation, ensures that the city’s K-12 public school students will have access to face-to-face academics, outdoor activities, social interaction and full-day child care at no charge. Those who opt for virtual activities will be paired with organizations offering educational options online.
The more than $50 million program, called the Summer Together Initiative, offers the city’s 52,000 public students across all grades the first opportunity to be with peers all day, every day since schools shuttered on March 12. City officials expect at least 20,000 students to participate, with high needs students prioritized for placement."
A blast of rain and snow coming to SoCal ahead of spring break
LA Times's ERIN B LOGAN: "A winter storm that doused the Bay Area on Tuesday is moving into Southern California, bringing rain and the potential for hail to much of the Los Angeles area and snow to the mountains.
Angelenos can expect steady rain early Wednesday till noon, and snow is expected above 3,500 feet as early as Tuesday night, said Ryan Kittell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
Between 6 and 12 inches of snow is expected in the mountains, and snow levels will drop Wednesday morning, creating potential problems on upper-elevation roadways."
SF approves hazard pay increases for grocery, drug store workers
The Chronicle's CHASE DIFELICIANTONIO: "Many San Francisco grocery and drugstore workers will see a $5 per hour bump in pay after the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an emergency ordinance Tuesday. The pay increases are to compensate them for doing dangerous, in-person work during the pandemic.
Unions representing the workers, including the United Food and Commercial Workers, have cheered the move as a fair increase for workers whose in-person work has allowed thousands of city residents to do their jobs from home with less risk of getting the coronavirus.
The California Grocers Association has opposed the measure, along with other similar temporary pay increases around the state. The industry group has said the increases could result in layoffs and price increases and hurt midsize local chains like Mollie Stone’s which have already given workers bonuses during the pandemic."
SF saw another 61 people die of drug OD in January. Here's one thing the city could do
The Chronicle's HEATHER KNIGHT: "It’s often said in San Francisco that it’s easier to buy drugs than to get drug treatment. For the former, just head to Golden Gate Avenue and Hyde Street in the Tenderloin with a few bucks, and you’re all set. The latter? Well, that’s more complicated.
One reason is there are far too few substance abuse counselors in San Francisco and throughout California. In fact, a decade ago the state labeled that workforce as “distressed,” because there were so few people entering the field. But it did little about it, and now the situation is dire.
Take HealthRIGHT 360, a health care provider for low-income Californians that runs residential substance abuse treatment programs in San Francisco. It needs 63 counselors to be fully staffed. Currently, 22 of those are vacant. That means the nonprofit regularly has to turn away clients seeking help — and risk never seeing them again."
House prepares to send $1.9-trillion COVID-19 economic relief bill to Biden's desk
LA Times's SARAH D WIRE: "The House plans to pass a $1.9-trillion COVID-19 economic aid package Wednesday, sending for President Biden’s signature a sweeping measure that includes $1,400 checks and expanded unemployment benefits for millions of Americans.
Biden is expected to sign it by the end of the week, days before unemployment insurance expires for more than 10 million Americans on March 14.
The Senate passed it Saturday on a 50-49 party line vote after stripping an increase in the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, narrowing the weekly federal unemployment supplement from $400 to $300 and reducing the number of Americans who will qualify for the direct payments."