AstraZeneca secures orders for 400 million doses of potential coronavirus vaccine
Financial Times's NAOMI ROVNICK/CLIVE COOKSON/DONATO PAOLO MANCINI: "Drug maker AstraZeneca said Thursday that it had secured orders for at least 400 million doses of an as-yet-unproven COVID-19 vaccine being developed with Oxford University and that it would begin delivering them in September.
The company said it had also received more than $1 billion in funding from the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, a subsidiary of the U.S. health department, to develop the coronavirus vaccine.
The British group is one of several big drug-makers racing to develop a vaccine for the virus, which has killed more than 300,000 people and crippled the global economy."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: A Bay Area without smiles: Coronavirus masks are taking away our most vital form of nonverbal communication -- The Chronicle's ANNIE VAINSHTEIN; Hunting for coronavirus clusters in Bay Area, 'disease detectives' balance public health with privacy -- The Chronicle's ERIN ALLDAY; Other side of the curve? Chart shows change in Bay Area coronavirus cases vs. other metro areas -- The Chronicle's KELLIE HWANG/MIKE MASSA
California, US, continue to hemorrhage jobs, even as some businesses reopen
The Chronicle's CHASE DIFELICIANTONIO: "A U.S. economy already wounded by the coronavirus bled 2.4 million more jobs last week, continuing a streak of bad news since mid-March. Millions of American workers have found themselves suddenly unemployed — an unfamiliar position for most after nearly a decade of record-low unemployment — and facing an uncertain future.
Department of Labor data released Thursday showed 2.4 million people filed unemployment claims for the week ending May 16, a decline of 9.3% from the previous week. Those figures included 246,115 in California, where claims rose 15.7% week over week, ending a string of declines in new job losses. Across the U.S., 38.6 million have sought unemployment benefits since the virus struck, including 4.4 million in California.
While some businesses in the Bay Area and elsewhere have begun to cautiously reopen, economists said the problem of joblessness may start feeding on itself. With so many out of work, demand may not bounce back even as some businesses, allowed to reopen after shelter-in-place orders ease, rehire workers."
READ MORE related to Economy: Suspects arrested in kidnapping, slaying of Bay Area tech executive Tushar Atre -- The Chronicle's ANNA BAUMAN; In bid to reopen sooner, Napa County asks California to lift restrictions on wineries -- Sac Bee's MOLLY SULLIVAN; Will laid-off California workers get their old jobs back? Most think they will -- Sac Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN; Without parking fees, Sacramento may have to cut services to pay Golden 1 Center debt -- Sac Bee's TONY BIZJAK/DALE KASLER
Cleaner air, the pandemic and fighting the EPA
RYAN KAIKA in the Capitol Weekly: "Not everything’s been “doom and gloom” on social media during the coronavirus pandemic as trending posts have shown “Los Angeles without smog,” clear skies in India’s often-polluted airspace and dolphins swimming through the canals of Venice.
But what can we actually learn about climate change during this virtually global, economic shutdown? And what have we learned from recent history that may shape the future of climate-change discourse?
The notoriously polluted skyline in Los Angeles is clearing up as a result of the lack of cars on the road from stay-at-home orders — although of late, the traffic levels are rising. However, according to experts, the dolphins aren’t quite returning to Venice. Dolphins aside, studies are indicating a legitimate environmental resurgence worldwide."
CalPERS reviewing improper personal trades an employee made as markets swung in March
Sac Bee's WES VENTEICHER: "The California Public Employees’ Retirement System is reviewing a batch of improper personal trades an employee made two months ago, according to the fund.
The system recorded a spike of 133 violations of its employee trading policy in March, according to an audit the system’s compliance unit prepared for the CalPERS board’s April meeting.
One person was responsible for 86 percent of the March violations, CalPERS spokesman Wayne Davis said in an email."
Lori Loughlin to plead guilty in college admissions scandal, documents show
LA Times's MATTHEW ORMSETH: "Actress Lori Loughlin, who maintained her innocence for 14 months, will plead guilty to fraud in the college admissions scandal, according to a plea agreement filed in federal court.
Loughlin was arrested in March 2019 and charged with conspiring with William “Rick” Singer, a Newport Beach consultant at the heart of the admissions scandal, to pass off her two daughters, Olivia Jade Giannulli and Isabella Rose Giannulli, as promising rowing recruits, all but guaranteeing their admission to USC.
Loughlin and her husband, Mossimo Giannulli, paid Singer $500,000 in all, prosecutors charged. Giannulli has agreed to plead guilty to fraud as well, court documents show."
READ MORE related to Education: Pandemic widens digital divide -- Congress may spend billions to narrow it -- The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI; Legal skirmish erupts in wake of high school AP exam snafu -- The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI
Yosemite plans to reopen soon -- but you might need a reservation
The Chronicle's GREGORY THOMAS: "As National Park Service officials contemplate reopening Yosemite as early as June, they appear intent on implementing new wrinkles to visitation rules: day-use reservations and a limit on daily car traffic.
In a video call with local stakeholders on May 18, Yosemite officials presented a draft plan for cautiously reopening the park, which closed in March during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic. To preserve social distancing mores and restrict human-to-human interactions, the plan emphasizes a phased roll-out of services and guest accommodations designed to cater to a limited number of visitors. Officials did not give an exact date when the park would reopen but seemed to be preparing for a day in June.
Most notably, the plan would require visitors to reserve their entry tickets online in advance via Recreation.gov, the portal the park service uses to manage campsite reservations. (Pass holders would have to reserve online as well and pay a reservation fee, though not a park admission fee.) It would also cap the number of day-use cars allowed into the park at 1,700 per day and the number of cars associated with overnight reservations at 1,900. That would represent an approximately 50% reduction in cars in the park compared to June 2019, when roughly 7,700 cars entered Yosemite each day."
Most California school districts plan to open in the fall. Here's how it would work
LA Times's SONALI KOHLI: "Most public school districts in California are planning to reopen campuses on their regular start dates in late August and September — but the new normal amid the coronavirus outbreak will likely include masks, daily school sanitation and smaller class sizes to maintain six feet of distance, state Supt. of Instruction Tony Thurmond said Wednesday.
Also, some school districts will likely offer a combination of in-person and distance learning, something parents have asked for, Thurmond said.
But the new safety accommodations will require more funding, Thurmond said during a news conference Wednesday, almost a week after the governor’s May budget revise slashed about $19 billion from schools over the next two years."
LA County ends controversial PACE home improvement loan program
LA Times's ANDREW KHOURI: "Los Angeles County has ended its controversial PACE home improvement loan program, a decision that follows years of criticism that the county enabled predatory lending and put people at risk of losing their homes.
County officials — who launched the PACE program in 2015 to fund energy- and water-efficient home improvements — said they made the decision after determining the program lacked adequate consumer protections.
Homeowners repeatedly alleged the private home improvement contractors who signed them up for PACE misrepresented how the financing would work, saddling them with loans they could not understand or afford."
Want to leave Sacramento for the holiday weekend? Here's why Lake Tahoe isn't the answer
Sac Bee's DARRELL SMITH: "Memorial Day weekend in Sacramento promises a lot of sun and temperatures that are forecast to flirt with triple digits. Summer’s coming early to a sheltered-in-place region eager to go somewhere else during the holiday break.
The forecast in one word: “Spectacular,” El Dorado County spokeswoman Carla Hass said Wednesday.
In any year other than 2020, holiday weekend plans would be a no-brainer. Hop on U.S. Highway 50 and point the car toward Lake Tahoe. But stay-at-home orders and phased reopenings have complicated matters for would-be travelers."
Head of troubled $2.2B Transbay transit center resigning in September
The Chronicle's MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "The man who got the Transbay transit center opened only to have to lead an extensive investigation and repair job will leave the agency that built and operates the center in September.
Mark Zabaneh, executive director of the Transbay Joint Powers Authority, announced his resignation by a letter to the authority’s board of directors Tuesday.
Zabaneh joined the Transbay authority in 2013 after 26 years with Caltrans. He took over as executive director in 2016 after Maria Ayerdi, the original leader of the project, was pushed out as the cost of building the transit center soared."
LA sheriff will defy subpoena from oversight commission on jail conditions
LA Times's CINDY CHANG: "Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva plans to defy a subpoena from a civilian oversight board to testify about coronavirus in the jails, escalating a battle with county officials and testing a system designed to keep his powers in check.
Villanueva said he would not attend Thursday’s virtual Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission meeting, instead sending Asst. Sheriff Bruce Chase to discuss the jail issues. He described testifying before the commission as a “public shaming.”
This is the first time the commission has attempted to use the subpoena powers granted by Measure R, which was overwhelmingly approved by L.A. County voters in March. After Villanueva did not appear voluntarily at a May 7 meeting, the commission voted unanimously to subpoena him."
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Defying state order, a thousand pastors plan to hold in-person services for Pentecost
LA Times's MATTHEW ORMSETH: "More than 1,200 pastors have vowed to hold in-person services on May 31, Pentecost Sunday, defying a state moratorium on religious gatherings that Gov. Gavin Newsom imposed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus.
In a letter to Newsom, Robert H. Tyler, an attorney representing a Lodi church that has challenged the governor’s order in court, said more than 1,200 pastors have signed a “Declaration of Essentiality,” asserting their churches are as essential as any grocery or hardware store and should be allowed to reopen.
“We believe you are attempting to act in the best interests of the state,” Tyler wrote to Newsom, “but the restrictions have gone too far and for too long.”
