California’s COVID-19 death toll surpasses 60,000 even as conditions improve
RONG-GONG LIN II and LUKE MONEY: "The COVID-19 death toll in California has exceeded 60,000, an alarming statistic that comes even as conditions in the state continue to improve.
The state’s toll represents 10.7% of COVID-19 deaths nationwide. California is home to about 12% of Americans.
Although California’s death toll was lower per capita than in the other most populous states, COVID-19 has hit some communities particularly hard. The state’s lower-income Latino communities — home to many essential workers who often live in crowded housing — saw disproportionately high numbers of deaths while affluent areas saw lower numbers."
Latino areas devastated by COVID-19 are reopening slowly, with caution and fear about future
ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE, LA Times: "Miguel Dominguez and his son, Jesse, filled a few trays with pig-shaped puerquitos and football-shaped bolillos, then stuck them in the oven.
Back when business was good, they would keep going until stacks and stacks of trays were full of the Mexican breads. On this recent morning, they didn’t expect to sell much. The “ding dong” announcing a customer’s arrival came only a handful of times in an hour.
Dominguez thought that by now, with the COVID-19 pandemic easing locally, there would be more people coming into Marisol Bakery on Whittier Boulevard in East Los Angeles."
Vaccinating Monterey County’s vulnerable
LISA CRAWFORD WATSON, Mercury News: "The first COVID vaccine administered in the United States reportedly was given on Monday, Dec. 14, 2020, in New York. Just 11 months after the first case of the coronavirus was reported in this country, scientists and their supporters had come up with a way to potentially provide immunity to the virus.
But for some, getting to a clinic to receive a vaccine or make an appointment has been a nearly insurmountable challenge because of health issues, lack of technology literacy or even language. Here is the story of three locals who were able to overcome those challenges with a little help.
Carmen Quinnie absolutely believed she would benefit from getting a COVID-19 vaccination. She also was absolutely terrified to do so. She’d heard it would hurt, that she’d experience a strong reaction to the vaccine, or get sick. Besides, the Seaside resident had no idea how to get to a vaccination site to receive the shot.
Scenic stretch of Highway 1 near Big Sur to reopen by April 30
Associated Press: “Highway 1 along Big Sur is expected to reopen by April 30 because work to repair a huge piece of roadway that crumbled during a storm is nearly two months ahead of schedule, Caltrans announced Thursday.
The scenic highway snaking through California’s rugged coastal cliffs has been closed since Jan. 28, when heavy rain triggered a landslide that carried a chunk of roadway into the sea. The washout left a 150-foot gap along the picturesque driving route
Crews began to fill the canyon below with compacted dirt in early March. They are expected to establish the base of a new road on top of the fill, then pave and stripe it by the end of the month thanks to favorable weather conditions, Caltrans said.”
Rich Californians have most to gain if Congress lifts cap on local tax deductions, report says
DAVID LIGHTMAN, SacBee: "State residents earning more than $992,800, California’s wealthiest 1%, could see an average savings of $98,650 in 2022, according to data from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, a Washington-based economic analysis firm.
Overall, Californians would save $33.4 billion next year if the SALT limits are lifted—with $17.4 billion of that going to people who make the state’s top 1% of incomes. Another $14.4 billion would go to the rest of the richest 20%, people earning between $151,100 and $992,800.
The Republican-authored 2017 tax law slapped a $10,000 limit on state and local deductions from federal income tax. Since then, lawmakers from high-tax states, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Gov. Gavin Newsom, have urged repealing the cap."
Outraged residents move to recall Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli as brother calls on him to resign
ALEXANDRIA BORDAS, CYNTHIA DIZIKES, RACHEL SWAN and SARAH RAVANI, Chronicle: "A group of Windsor residents seeking to recall Windsor Mayor Dominic Foppoli over allegations of sexual assault said late Sunday that they will launch their effort Monday by filing necessary campaign finance documents.
“Despite repeated calls from residents to resign, Dominic Foppoli has made clear that he will not leave office, and will instead attempt to distract from the allegations against him with a strategy of blatant lies and misdirection,” said Tim Zahner, the chair of the Recall Foppoli Campaign.
“This is part of a larger pattern of narcissistic and dangerous behavior from the Mayor that not only harms his reputation, but also creates unnecessary strain on our community,” Zahner said. “Mayor Foppoli has to go. If he won’t resign, let there be no doubt that the residents of Windsor will remove him from office.”
San Francisco students poised to return to classrooms after year at home
EMMA TALLEY, Chronicle: "Students will re-enter San Francisco classrooms on Monday after more than a year of distance learning and less than eight weeks before the end of the school year.
The first wave of students — preschool through fifth graders, special education students and vulnerable older groups — will be returning to schools on Monday. The second and third waves of students will return on April 19 and April 26 respectively. Some will go back for two full days of in-person learning a week, spending the other three days learning from home, while others will return for nearly five full days.
“I feel very happy. My son feels very happy,” said SFUSD parent Jonathan Sánchez, whose son is in kindergarten at Cesar Chávez elementary. “It's been a long, long journey I think for all of us here, especially for parents, families, so to come back is very exciting.”
UC explains admissions decisions in a record application year of much heartbreak, some joy
TERESA WATANABE, LA Times: "The Burbank mother knew her high school senior would have a tough time competing for a freshman seat at a University of California campus in a year of record-shattering applications — more than 200,000 students were vying for about 46,000 spots. Still, she thought her daughter — with a 4.3 GPA, eight AP and honors courses and a host of extracurricular activities — would have a shot.
She was floored in March when the campus notifications began rolling in. Out of seven UC campuses, her daughter was denied or wait-listed at all but UC Merced.
“It was heartbreaking,” said the parent, who asked for anonymity to protect her daughter’s privacy at a time of great disappointment. “And I got really angry. We just got the rug pulled out from under us. What more could our kids possibly have done?”
Vaccine hesitancy could derail opening
Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "Gov. Gavin Newsom said his plan to reopen California for “business as usual” by June 15 banks on a steady supply of COVID-19 vaccine and low hospitalization rates.
But that two-month deadline leaves little time to convince “vaccine hesitant” Californians that the shots are safe and effective and the best tool we have to getting back to some sort of normal.
Without so-called herd immunity — the point at which the majority of the population is protected against the virus — California risks prolonging the pandemic."
How the pandemic set back California women
Sac Bee's KRISTINA KARISCH: "Gaby Martinez had been working for the Stanislaus Public Library for years, and she loved her job in the youth services division. She got to connect with students and parents, promote early literacy and even work with the maximum security wing of a juvenile detention center to give books to incarcerated young adults.
But when the COVID-19 pandemic brought life to a grinding halt last spring, the library closed. Martinez, a single mother of three who also lives with her elderly mother, suddenly lost her part-time job and her family’s only source of income.
She filed for unemployment, but due to departmental backlogs and difficulties, could only access benefits in June, months after she lost her job. Martinez, who lives in Turlock, worried about paying bills and having to dip into her savings."
Trump puts former allies in his crosshairs during party donor speech
AP's STEVE PEOPLE: "It was supposed to be a unifying weekend for a Republican Party at war with itself over former President Donald Trump’s divisive leadership. But Trump himself shattered two days of relative peace in his closing remarks to the GOP’s top donors when he insulted the party’s Senate leader and his wife.
Ahead of the invitation-only speech at Trump’s new home inside his Mar-a-Lago resort, the former president’s advisers said he would emphasize his commitment to his party and Republican unity.
Trump veered sharply from prepared remarks Saturday night and instead slammed Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., as a “stone-cold loser” and mocked McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, who was Trump’s transportation secretary."