California's COVID-19 fight hamstrung by testing kit snafu
Sac Bee's STAFF: "Sacramento County’s leading health official thought he had great news Sunday afternoon.
After weeks of being constrained to conducting just 20 coronavirus tests a day, Dr. Peter Beilenson announced the county would dramatically expand the testing of sick people as early as Monday.
“We will go from having the ability to test 20 people per day to potentially hundreds, if not thousands a day,” Beilenson said at a downtown press conference. “Starting Monday, (private-sector companies) LabCorp and Quest will be offering lab testing for the coronavirus."
READ MORE related to COVID-19 Pandemic: Gov. Newsom calls for gatherings of 250+ people to be canceled -- The Chronicle's STAFF; Nurses protest over CDC COVID-19 rollbacks for patients -- Sac Bee's CATHIE ANDERSON; UC hospitals launch in-house COVID-19 testing as shortage pervades -- Sac Bee's TONY BIZJAK/HANNAH WILEYU; Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson test positive for COVID-19 -- Sac Bee's SUMMER LIN/MADDIE CAPRON; Virus slams SF hospitality industry hard -- The Chronicle's ROLAND LI; Paid leave for members of Congress looking more likely -- The Chronicle's DUSTIN GARDINER
NBA cancels rest of the season after player tests positive for COVID-19, stunning sports world and further impacting economy; Trump orders European travel-ban for a month
LA Times' STAFF: "The world’s coronavirus crisis entered a new phase Wednesday when a cascade of restrictions, cancellations and revelations worked to further upend everyday life, with more economic ramifications expected Thursday.
The NBA said Wednesday it is suspending its season until further notice after a player tested positive for the novel coronavirus. The announcement came less than an hour after President Trump imposed stringent new travel restrictions, barring most travelers from Europe from entering the country for a 30-day period beginning Friday.
That was followed by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s directive that large gatherings should be canceled across California because of the risk of spreading infections. Similar orders had come from governors in Washington state and New York, states hard hit by relatively large numbers of COVID-19 cases."
The census: 'Don't let anyone count you out'
LISA RENNER in Capitol Weekly: "Amid the piles of bills and other notices in the mail, a special invitation to complete the national census is coming to Californians beginning this week."
"The census, which happens once every 10 years, is a mammoth effort to get a snapshot of who is living here as of April 1. The results will be used to determine everything from Congressional representation to federal funding for health, education, child care and transportation. Preliminary estimates by the state Department of Finance that were released in December put California’s population at 39.96 million."
"California is spending $187.2 million in a statewide outreach and communications campaign to encourage residents to participate. “Don’t let anyone count you out,” said first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom in a video posted on the official state site californiacensus.org. “This is your state and your country and you deserve to be counted."
California's Super Tuesday turnout was good, but nothing special
The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH: "With more than 1.5 million votes still left to count, turnout for California’s March 3 primary looks like it will be good, but not approaching record territory.
“When everything is counted, it looks like the percentage of registered voters will be about 47, 48 or 49%,” said Paul Mitchell of Political Data Inc., which tracks voting information for campaigns and other political groups. “That’s about the same as in 2016.”
That would be well below the 57.7% turnout in 2008, when Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton squared off in the Democratic primary. And that total fell short of figures in the 1976 primary (72%) and 1980 (63%)."
Voters reject $15B school repair bonds measure
Sac Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "California voters have rejected a proposition to sell $15 billion in bonds to fund repairs and upgrades to aging school buildings.
The results deal a defeat to Gov. Gavin Newsom, education organizations and developers who funded the measure.
Results reported by The Associated Press on Wednesday show the measure failing by 8 percentage points, with just 46 percent of voters supporting the measure, which appeared on California primary ballots as Proposition 13."
Duncan Hunter's misconduct detailed in lengthy memo from prosecutors
LA Times's MORGAN COOK/JEFF MCDONALD: "Even as former Rep. Duncan Hunter insisted publicly that he never mishandled campaign donations — allegations he later admitted to in U.S. District Court — the Republican from Alpine was deliberately hiding his criminal behavior, federal prosecutors said in a filing Tuesday.
The disgraced congressman, who in January resigned the 50th District seat he held for almost six terms, knowingly used political contributions to support a lavish lifestyle, including fancy meals, trips with girlfriends and paying for his children’s private-school tuition, the filing states.
At the same time Hunter told national television audiences and local supporters that he did nothing wrong, claiming he was the victim of a witch hunt cooked up by his political enemies, hundreds of pages of evidence made public Tuesday show the congressman was actively obfuscating his role in the campaign finance scandal."
California prisons cancel visits, citing virus; conjugals continue
Sac Bee's RYAN SABALOW/SAM STANTON: "California’s prison system is going to stop allowing the public to visit inmates as it tries to prevent the new coronavirus from infecting prisoners, guards and staff at its nearly 40 institutions. But prison officials will continue to allow certain inmates to continue to have “overnight stays” with their loved ones.
So far, no inmates are known to be infected.
“However, as part of CDCR’s COVID-19 prevention efforts, normal visiting will be canceled statewide until further notice,” the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Wednesday night on social media. “CDCR values visitation as an essential part of rehabilitation, but at this time the Department must make difficult decisions in order to protect the health and wellness of all who live in, work in, and visit state prisons.”"
Sanders says his campaign will continue, but opens path toward an exit
LA Times's JANET HOOK/EVAN HALPER: "Sen. Bernie Sanders announced Wednesday that he is staying in the 2020 presidential race, but gone is the swagger of an insurgent candidate who for months defiantly projected that the nomination was within his grasp.
Chastened by multiple defeats over the last two weeks, several in states that he won in primaries four years ago, Sanders acknowledged at a news conference Wednesday that the potential path he once had to the nomination is rapidly closing as voters he expected to be in his coalition have grown doubtful over his ability to beat President Trump and are aligning with former Vice President Joe Biden.
“While our campaign has won the ideological debate, we are losing the debate over electability,” he said."
UC Irvine provost put on leave pending investigation into academic and research activities
LA Times's TERESA WATANABE: "UC Irvine Provost Enrique Lavernia, a noted scholar in chemical engineering and materials science, has been placed on administrative leave pending an external investigation into his academic and research activities, the campus chancellor announced Wednesday.
Chancellor Howard Gillman, in a message to the campus community, said the university was cooperating fully. He did not name the “external authorities” conducting the investigation but said it was related to Lavernia’s scholarly work.
A campus spokesman said a federal agency was conducting the investigation but declined further comment."
Low-income Californians to get free internet for 5 yearts under T-Mobile merger settlement
Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "T-Mobile promised to provide free internet for low-income customers and reduced-cost plans for five years under a settlement the company reached with California that ends a lawsuit the state filed to block the company’s merger with Sprint.
Up to 10 million low-income households in the U.S. with children in school will be eligible for free broadband internet through the agreement, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced on Wednesday.
The five-year deal includes $700 million worth of WiFi hotspot devices. California can’t exceed more than 2 million total devices and connections each year."
$300k annually can't persuade psychiatrists to work in California prisons
Sac Bee's WES VENTEICHER: "A 24 percent pay bump offered three years ago failed to convince enough psychiatrists to go to work in California’s prisons, where inmate suicides reached record highs last year, according to prison and union officials.
Lawmakers and unions agree the record 38 suicides recorded last year reflect fundamental problems in the state’s correctional system, and that a lack of psychiatrists contributes to the problems.
“We’ve got a serious issue,” Assemblywoman Shirley Weber, D-San Diego, said during a Monday budget hearing. “Whatever we’re doing is supposed to make life better for folks, not worse. These are folks who walking the street wouldn’t commit suicide, but they go into our place and they do."
Global shares sink on pandemic news, waning hopes for fix
AP: "Global shares plunged Thursday after the World Health Organization declared a coronavirus pandemic and indexes sank on Wall Street.
France’s CAC 40 slipped 6.6% to 4,306.89, while Germany’s DAX lost 6.7% to 9,745.59. Britain’s FTSE 100 plunged 6.5% to 5,496.67.
The future contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average slumped 5.2% while the S&P 500 lost 4.9%."
Nia Wilson murder: Jurors begin deliberations in 'sanity' trial phase
The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY: "The jury who on Tuesday found transient John Lee Cowell guilty of murdering 18-year-old Nia Wilson on an Oakland BART station platform is now deliberating the question about his sanity at the time of the attack.
Jurors must decide whether Cowell, 29, was legally insane during the July 22, 2018, knife attack, a verdict that could secure him a sentence in a locked mental health facility rather than prison.
The second, “sanity” phase of Cowell’s trial came and went within an hour on Wednesday, with neither the prosecution nor defense calling additional witnesses. Because sanity proceedings flip the burden of proof from prosecutors to the defense, it’s up to Cowell’s attorney, Christina Moore, to convince jurors her client, who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, was disconnected from reality at the time of the offense."
House Dems to vote on economic stimuluis bill to combat virus impact
LA Times's JENNIFER HABERKORN: "Even as bipartisan talks continue over how Congress can respond to the economic fallout from the coronavirus, House Democrats said they plan to pass a bill as soon as Thursday that includes enhanced unemployment benefits, paid sick leave and a boost in the availability of food stamps — but without the big payroll tax cut President Trump wants.
House Democrats plan to release a bill late Wednesday, said Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.).
The bill, which is likely to serve as an opening position in the bipartisan talks, is expected to hew closely to what Democrats have already outlined. It is unclear if the Trump administration or the Senate will support it."
Trump oval office speech: COVID-19 is a foreign threat
LA Times's NOAH BIERMAN: "Hours after the nation’s leading infectious disease expert testified to Congress that the worst impact of the new coronavirus is yet to come, President Trump framed the threat as a containable problem involving outsiders, with American clusters “seeded by travelers from Europe.”
His main policy response was to ban the entry to the U.S. of most foreign nationals who have been in Europe within 14 days of arrival in the U.S., although his description of the ban sparked initial confusion. The ban does not apply to U.S. citizens traveling to Europe or their immediate families, nor to permanent U.S. residents, officials said after Trump spoke.
The White House also had to clarify Trump’s statement in his prime-time Oval Office speech that “these prohibitions will not only apply to the tremendous amount of trade and cargo, but various other things as we get approval.” The proclamation Trump issued does not restrict cargo trade."
