State sets new record for most new coronavirus cases in a day: 4,000+
The Chronicle's MATT KAWAHARA: "California reported a record number of new coronavirus cases Wednesday, eclipsing 4,000 new cases in a single day for the first time, according to county data compiled by The Chronicle.
County health departments reported 4,233 new cases as of Wednesday night with nearly all counties reporting. The state’s previous single-day high was 3,683 cases last Friday.
The rise in new virus cases comes as many areas of the state ease social restrictions and reopen sectors of the economy. All but five counties -- including four in the Bay Area -- have received state approval to advance into Stage 3 of California’s reopening plan, where services like indoor dining, fitness centers and hotels can begin to reopen and gatherings can involve more people."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: Newsom considering statewide mask order for California, county officials say -- Sac Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG; See how California's coronavirus reopening is going in 5 charts -- Sac Bee's JAYSON CHESLER; These govts tamed COVID-19. They're keeping social distancing in place -- LA Times's RALPH JENNINGS/SHASHANK BENGALI
Meet the new PG&E. It looks a lot like the old PG&E
LA Times's SAMMY ROTH: "Pacific Gas & Electric Chief Executive Bill Johnson promised his company would emerge from bankruptcy a “reimagined utility.”
But as PG&E prepares for life after Chapter 11 — a Bankruptcy Court judge filed a written decisionWednesday saying he would approve the company’s reorganization plan — it’s unclear there’s anything fundamentally different about the utility, which over the last decade has caused a deadly pipeline explosion, deadly fires and days-long power shut-offs affecting millions of people.
At the urging of Gov. Gavin Newsom, the California Public Utilities Commission approved PG&E’s reorganization plan only after adding several conditions designed to force the company to do better. PG&E is being required to revamp its board of directors and create local operating regions. The commission also set up a process by which it can revoke PG&E’s license to operate in the event the utility keeps causing deadly disasters or otherwise fails to live up to its legal responsibilities — in theory, a strong deterrent."
READ MORE related to PG&E: Can PG&E keep California from burning again? 'Nervousness' as the next fire season arrives -- Sac Bee's DALE KASLER
Proposed law would make it a hate crime to call 911 because of a person's race
Sac Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "A California lawmaker wants to make it illegal to make discriminatory 911 phone calls.
Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, announced that he is introducing legislation that would make it a hate crime to make a 911 phone call motivated by another person’s race, religion, sex or any other protected class. The bill also would allow people who are victims of such phone calls to sue the caller.
There have been several instances that have gone viral on social media of a white person calling 911 on a Black person over trivial concerns, such as a 2018 incident in Oakland in which a woman called police to report a group of black men barbecuing near Lake Merritt."
Federal unemployment benefit ends July 31st. What's next?
LA Times's FAITH E PINHO: "For many out-of-work Americans, an extra $600 a week in federal unemployment insurance is providing some stability during an otherwise shaky economic period. But how long might that benefit last?
When the coronavirus pandemic first flared up in mid-March, causing a domino effect of immediate event cancellations and business closures, spending vanished almost overnight. In a swift move to flush cash through the economy, the federal government approved the $2-trillion Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act.
Among other things, the CARES Act bumped regular state unemployment insurance — which can vary from as low as $213 per week in Alabama to $555 in Massachusetts (the national average is $378) — an extra $600 per week."
READ MORE related to Economy: Sacramento to offer forgivable loans to small businesses impacted by COVID. Who can apply? -- Sac Bee's THERESA CLIFT; Will California raise taxes to fix its budget? Here are 5 ways you've been paying more -- Sac Bee's MACKENZIE HAWKINS/ADAM ASHTON
Half brother of Palmdale hanging victim Robert Fuller fatally shot by deputies Wednesday afternoon
LA Times's MATTHEW ORMSETH/RICHARD WINTON/MATT HAMILTON/MAYA LAU: "The half brother of Robert Fuller, a young Black man who was found hanging from a tree in Palmdale last week, was shot dead by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies during a shootout Wednesday afternoon in Kern County, according to law enforcement sources and an attorney for the family.
The shooting occurred about 4:30 p.m. in a parking lot in Rosamond, a community about 20 miles north of Palmdale. The killing came as activists and community members have been openly critical of how Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies handled the investigation into Fuller’s death.
Lt. Robert Westphal of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said the fatal shooting occurred during a kidnapping and assault investigation that is being handled by the department’s major-crimes bureau."
READ MORE related to Confronting Racism/Criminal Justice Reform/Defunding Police: In Antelope Valley, a history of racism fuels suspicions over Robert Fuller's death -- LA Times's STEPHANIE LAI/HAILEY BRANSON-POTTS; 'Is my son next?' Hanging death of black man sparks outrage and suspicion in Victorville -- LA Times's RUBEN VIVES/ANDREW J CAMPA; Nooses in trees at Oakland's Lake Merritt spark hate-crime investigation, mayor says -- The Chronicle's ALEJANDRO SERRANO
California is closer than ever to giving a tax break to undocumented immigrants. Here's why
Sac Bee's KIM BOJORQUEZ: "Will tax breaks for undocumented families and Medi-Cal coverage for undocumented seniors make it into the California’s final budget this year? Lawmakers and advocates are watching closely.
In order to meet a Monday deadline or risk losing their salary, California lawmakers sent Gov. Gavin Newsom an unfinished spending plan that includes both proposals. Newsom will have until June 30 to sign or veto a budget, and negotiations continue.
The proposed tax breaks would go to those with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers with a child, ages 6 or under. They include the California Earned Income Tax Credit and the Young Child Tax Credit. Expanding the earned income tax credit to the undocumented would cost $65 million, according to the state Legislative Analyst, as the state seeks to close what the governor has estimated to be a $54 billion spending gap."
Also in immigration news: Wells Fargo settles DACA-related lawsuit over participants loans, credit cards
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "Wells Fargo Bank will make loans and credit cards available to young, undocumented immigrants in the DACA program — as long as it lasts — and pay up to $19.6 million to settle a lawsuit over its former policy, advocates for the immigrants announced Wednesday.
The bank was accused in a 2017 lawsuit of violating federal and state laws by denying mortgage and consumer loans and credit cards to participants in Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program established by President Barack Obama in 2012.
DACA allows immigrants who entered the United States without documentation before age 16, who have attended school or served in the armed forces, and have no serious criminal record to remain in the country and obtain renewable two-year work permits."
Gorsuch's Supreme Court opinion for LGBTQ rights sends a shudder through conservative ranks
LA Times's DAVID G SAVAGE: "Justice Neil M. Gorsuch was President Trump’s first choice for the Supreme Court and a conservative’s dream — until he wrote this week’s landmark opinion extending civil rights protections to LGBTQ employees nationwide.
The ruling sent a shudder through the ranks of conservative activists and columnists, some of whom saw signs of another betrayal by a Republican-appointed justice who ended up siding at times with liberals on key issues.
“This was not judging. This was legislating — a brute force attack on our constitutional system,” said Carrie Severino, president of the Judicial Crisis Network, which funded ads supporting Gorsuch’s confirmation in 2017."
Folsom councilman resigns after mayor scrutinizes his residency
Sac Bee's ALEXANDRA YOON-HENDRICKS: "Folsom City Councilman Roger Gaylord resigned last week, marking the end of a bitter political fight sparked by his purchase of a home in El Dorado County.
Gaylord purchased the home in Pilot Hill in May with intentions to move there once his term concluded in December. But after the sale of his Folsom home, Mayor Sarah Aquino questioned whether Gaylord was still living in the city and yanked Gaylord from several community boards.
For Gaylord, his June 10 resignation, effective immediately, brings to a close a short and sometimes turbulent political career in Folsom for a young, conservative councilman who narrowly won a seat in 2016 in a stunning upset over a 16-year incumbent."
Amid $1.7B city deficit, SF health department may face 'hard choices'
The Chronicle's TRISHA THADANI: "San Francisco’s Department of Public Health says it may be able to make it through the upcoming fiscal year without making cuts to core services — like treatment programs for mental health and drug addiction — despite the 10% budget reduction it had to propose to Mayor London Breed this week.
But if the economy continues spiraling downward amid the coronavirus pandemic, Greg Wagner, the department’s chief financial officer, said public health officials likely will have to make some “hard choices.”
“We want to do everything in our power to not reduce service levels for vulnerable populations,” Wagner told The Chronicle on Wednesday. But “there are a lot of unknowns."
Bryant helicopter pilot dismissed weather concerns before crash, NTSB docs show
LA Times's MATTHEW ORMSETH/RICHARD WINTON: "The night before Kobe Bryant’s final helicopter flight, the broker arranging the former Lakers star’s trip to Camarillo expressed concern to the pilot that “weather could be an issue.”
The next morning, the pilot, Ara Zobayan, assured the broker and Bryant’s personal drivers that the weather conditions “should be OK,” according to text messages made public Wednesday by the National Transportation Safety Board.
An hour and half later, Zobayan, Bryant, his daughter and six other people on board the helicopter were killed when the craft plunged into a fog-shrouded hillside above Calabasas."
What will fall semester look like at UC Berkeley? Campus officials announce plan
The Chronicle's RON KROICHICK: "UC Berkeley officials announced their plans for the fall semesterWednesday, including limited in-person classes and nearly all courses made available online because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Chancellor Carol Christ had predicted a mix of in-person and online classes, but the school’s strategy clearly leans toward remote instruction. Cal students will not be required to take in-person classes or be on campus for smaller discussion sections.
Fall semester instruction begins Aug. 26."
McClatchy reveals names of former execs with $118M in special pension claims
Sac Bee's KEVIN G HALL: "Hundreds of former McClatchy and Knight Ridder employees ranging from CEOs to sports columnists were owed supplemental pensions totaling more than $118 million at the end of 2019, according to a document filed this week in bankruptcy court by McClatchy Co. lawyers.
The nation’s second largest local media company stopped paying the special pensions before declaring bankruptcy in February. This week’s filing marks the first time that the company revealed the names and amounts.
Gary B. Pruitt, McClatchy’s former chief executive who engineered the deal to buy the larger Knight Ridder chain in 2006, tops the list at $14.5 million. Pruitt left McClatchy six years after the purchase to become chairman and chief executive officer of the Associated Press."
SF tenants break leases in startling numbers, giving renters upper hand
The Chronicle's J.K. DINEEN: "One in 13 San Francisco renters have broken their lease since the coronavirus stay-home orders went into place nearly 100 days ago, an astonishing out-migration of tenants in the city that could lead to thousands of empty rental units and give renters the upper hand in negotiations.
When measures to fight the coronavirus severely curtailed economic activity nearly 100 days ago, San Francisco landlords were fearful that widespread layoffs and income lost because of the pandemic would result in a wave of residential tenants unable to pay rent.
While that has not happened — only 3% of San Francisco tenants paid no rent in June, and another 2.5% paid partial rent — landlords are instead dealing with an unexpected problem: Rather than not paying, tenants are walking away from leases."
Actor Danny Masterson charged in three rape cases
LA Times's RICHARD WINTON/MATT HAMILTON: "Actor Danny Masterson has been charged with three counts of rape involving incidents between 2001 and 2003, Los Angeles prosecutors said Wednesday.
The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office said in a statement that Masterson is accused of raping a 23-year-old woman between January and December 2001, a 28-year-old woman in April 2003 and a 23-year-old woman he invited to a Hollywood party between October and December 2003.
Masterson surrendered to Los Angeles police and was booked Wednesday afternoon at the downtown jail. He was released after posting $3.3-million bail."
