Daily coronavirus cases hit new high as states mandate masks and new restrictions
LA Times's JAWEED KALEEM: "The nation may be opening up, but the coronavirus is far from slowing down. In fact, COVID-19 is on the rise.
There were 38,459 new cases of the virus reported nationwide on Thursday, a number that surpassed a record set the prior day of 38,115.
The upticks are the largest in two months, when 36,739 cases were reported April 24."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: Coronavirus experts say California is entering a 'second wave' -- The Chronicle's PETER FIMRITE/TATIANA SANCHEZ; One man dead, 40 infected at Sonoma County nursing, senior homes -- The Chronicle's BRETT SIMPSON; Farmworkers at Central California pistachio farm strike after dozens test positive for the coronavirus -- AP; Are students subject to the mask order? Newsom says California doesn't know yet -- Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY
California's pandemic pain increases sharply
LANA SCHWARTZ in Capitol Weekly: "COVID-19 cases in California are spiking dramatically — more than 6,600 new cases on Tuesday alone — and scientists predict California will double its transmission rate every four to five weeks.
The state has reached Gov. Newsom’s goal of testing 60,000 people a day and wearing a mask in public is obligatory for the general population. On Wednesday, the death toll spiked to 98, bringing to 5,725 the total number of deaths so far.
But the record increase in new cases — a daily average of 63 deaths and 4,600 new cases statewide — is the highest level since shelter-in-place began in March, according to the L.A. Times’ comprehensive data tracker. That has prompted state officials to reconsider the planned reopening of public gathering places."
California mandates big increase in zero-emission trucks
LA Times's RUSS MITCHELL: "The nation’s toughest clean-air mandate on trucks was approved Thursday by the California Air Resources Board.
In effect, the board ordered manufacturers of medium-duty and heavy-duty commercial trucks to begin selling zero-emission versions in 2024, with 100,000 sold in California by 2030 and 300,000 by 2035.
“This is a bold step we’re taking today,” said air board member Judy Mitchell, adding it is a daunting challenge, given the public investment that will be necessary for buyer incentives and charging infrastructure."
READ MORE related to Transportation/Highways & Roads: California first in the nation to require diesel vehicle manufacturers to go electric -- Sac Bee's CRESENCIO RODRIGUEZ-DELGADO
Long road ahead to close California's digital divide in education before new school year begins
EdSource's SYDNEY JOHNSON: "California needs at least 708,400 laptops and 322,100 Wi-Fi hotspots to connect all students to the internet from home, a significant jump from previous estimates, according to data from the California Department of Education shared with EdSource on June 17.
In March, the global pandemic caused schools across California to close and implement distance learning. Districts since then have had to rapidly procure laptops and Wi-Fi hotspots so students can virtually connect with teachers from home. But thousands of students remained unconnected as the school year came to a close this spring, reflecting a digital divide — a gap between those who can participate in distance learning and those who can’t.
When schools moved to distance learning, state education officials estimated they needed 150,000 laptops and didn’t include hotspots. By May, that tally rose to 400,000 laptops and 290,000 hotspots. Even with the devices that have been delivered, California still needs at least $500 million to fill the latest estimated need for home computers and internet access for K-12 students, California Department of Education stated in a press release on Monday."
Capitol Weekly Podcast: Bill Magavern talks clean air
STAFF: "Long-time environmental activist Bill Magavern of the Coalition for Clean Air joins John Howard and Tim Foster on the Capitol Weekly Podcast to chat, and he brings some welcome good news: With the COVID-19 pandemic keeping people out of their cars, many areas of California have seen a decrease in air pollution. Those gains may dissipate as Californians return to the roads, but two coming environmental rule changes could have a big impact going forward. One is the Advanced Clean Truck Rule, which will require fleets to begin including non-polluting vehicles in their lineup, starting in 2024. The other targets the anti-sprawl provisions of SB 743 (a Darrell Steinberg bill that also cleared the way for the Kings’ latest Sacramento Arena and passed in 2013), which will go into effect in a week."
Seven more weeks of unemployment bennies in California's new budget plan
Sac Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN/SOPHIA BOLLAG: "Millions of unemployed Californians could wind up with more weeks of jobless benefits as part of the budget deal Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders reached this week.
The state legislation would authorize up to seven extra weeks of federally-funded emergency benefits, for a total of 20 weeks, if the state’s unemployment rate reaches a certain level considered the “high unemployment period” in the bill.
That level would be hit if the average total unemployment rate reaches 8 percent for the most recent three months as determined by the U.S. Department of Labor, as well as other criteria."
California AG says Sutter shouldn't use coronavirus to delay $575M antitrust deal
Sac Bee's CATHIE ANDERSON: "California Attorney General Xavier Becerra asked a San Francisco Superior Court judge on Thursday to deny a request from Sacramento-based Sutter Health to delay finalizing a $575 million antitrust lawsuit settlement reached in December 2019.
In a news release issued about the filing, Becerra stated: “We are in the midst of a global pandemic, so it is more important than ever that we make health care more accessible and affordable for patients who need it.”
Sutter filed a motion for a continuance on June 12, asking Judge Anne-Christine Massullo to delay a preliminary approval hearing that had been scheduled for this week until either three months after a decision on the motion or until 30 days after Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted California’s state of emergency and stay-at-home orders."
Trump administration pressures SCOTUS to overturn Obamacare amid an increasingly lethal pandemic
AP's RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR/MARK SHERMAN: "In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the Trump administration on Thursday urged the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act.
The administration's latest high court filing came the same day the government reported that close to half a million people who lost their health insurance amid the economic shutdown to slow the spread of COVID-19 have gotten coverage through HealthCare.gov.
The administration's legal brief makes no mention of the virus."
READ MORE related to Health care: (OP-ED) Law should allow pharmacists to administer vaccines -- LAWRENCE BOTTORFF in Capitol Weekly
Former law enforcement officers appear to plot assassination of vocal police critic and social justice activist Shaun King
LA Times's ANDREW J CAMPA: "Prominent racial justice activist, police critic and writer Shaun King published a blog post Thursday detailing what he says appears to be the first steps of a plan to kill him devised by several former members of local law enforcement.
King, 40, posted on Medium that he became aware Tuesday of a chat between onetime police officers from Long Beach and other agencies on a private Facebook group that “were openly plotting and planning my assassination."
Although King said receiving death threats was common and daily, most were meant to intimidate rather than “appear to be imminent threats of physical harm."
READ MORE related to Police & Criminal Justice Reforms/Public Safety: House passes sweeping police overhaul after Floyd's death -- AP's LISA MASCARO; BLM seeks restraining order to prevent LAPD use of batons, 'rubber' bullets on marchers -- LA Times's RICHARD WINTON; Sheriff's deputy who fatally shot Andres Guardado faced earlier allegations -- LA Times's ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN/MAYA LAU; Coronavirus tears through San Quentin's Death Row; condemned inmate dead of unknown cause -- The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY/JASON FAGONE; City attorney drops all charges against anti-Trump protest group that LAPD spied on -- LA Times's JAMES QUEALLY; Sacramento council members want to align police use-of-force policy with new state law -- Sac Bee's THERESA CLIFT
SF gets OK from state to reopen hair salons, outdoor barns, zoo
The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI: "San Franciscans may be able to get a haircut, tattoo, manicure and tour an outdoor museum as soon as Monday.
The California Department of Public Health on Thursday approved San Francisco’s request for more flexibility to begin reopening certain parts of the economy. With the approval, San Francisco can amend its order to begin reopening hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, massage establishments, tattoo studios, outdoor bars, outdoor museums and zoo.
“We plan to move up parts of our Phase 2C reopening to include hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, massage establishments tattoo studios, outdoor bars, outdoor museums and zoos allowing them to reopen June 29, 2020 as long as owners put new safety measures in place,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, the city’s health department director."
Pomona city councilman charged with possessing child pornography
LA Times's KAILYN BROWN: "A Pomona city councilman has been charged with possession of child pornography, authorities said this week.
Rubio Ramiro Gonzalez was charged Wednesday with possessing child pornography and taking inappropriate photographs of girls at two elementary schools where he was a substitute teacher, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office.
Gonzalez, 45, was charged with one felony count of possessing child pornography and four misdemeanor counts of annoying or molesting a child."
California slow to adopt gun violence measure intended to prevent mass shootings
Sac Bee's CATHIE ANDERSON: "California passed a law in the aftermath of the 2014 Isla Vista mass shootings that allow judges to remove guns from the possession of people deemed at extreme risk of using them to harm themselves or others.
Now, after examining the initial four years of state data on these extreme risk protection orders, researchers at UC Davis Health reported that California has been slower to utilize the measures compared with other states that have similar laws.
The UC Davis analysis offers a look at who’s using these violence prevention tools, who’s being asked to give up their weapons, and what types of patterns are emerging in their usage."
READ MORE related to Gun Violence Epidemic: California lawmakers poised to pass new gun ban through budget maneuver -- Sac Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG
Clergy sex-abuse allegations triple, US Catholic bishops report
AP: "U.S. Roman Catholic bishops said Thursday that the church tallied 4,434 sex-abuse allegations against clergy in the 2018-19 audit year, triple the number seen the previous year, with much of the increase stemming from a wave of lawsuits and claims by survivors of decades-old molestation.
In the latest annual report on clerical sex abuse, dioceses and other Catholic entities reported paying out $281.6 million during the year for costs related to allegations, including payments for cases reported in previous years.
Only 37 of the new allegations were made by people who were minors in the audit year ending June 30, 2019. Of those, eight allegations were substantiated, while most of the others were either still under investigation or had been deemed unsubstantiated."
SCOTUS bolsters Trump deportation arsenal by upholding Expedited Removal
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "President Trump’s efforts to speed up deportation of thousands of unauthorized immigrants were boosted Thursday when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a California case that those migrants generally have no right to challenge their expulsion orders in court.
The ruling upheld procedures known as “expedited removal” that were established by Congress in 1996 and expanded by the Trump administration to apply to immigrants who have been in the U.S. for less than two years and are potentially subject to deportation.
Under standard procedures, an undocumented immigrant who contests deportation is entitled to a hearing in immigration court, an arm of the Justice Department, and can appeal an unfavorable decision to a federal appeals court."
Toppled SF monuments signal larger social changeds about how and what we memorialize
The Chronicle's JOHN KING: "If nothing else, the toppling of three bronze sculptures last week in Golden Gate Park underscored a blunt fact: The age of heroic statuary has reached a dead end.
This isn’t breaking news in a country that in modern times rarely seems capable of memorializing anything except loss, such as the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But only in the past few weeks have so many sculptures that mostly went up a century or more ago been challenged — and with such force.
Justified revulsion drives many of the actions, such as the removal of memorials to Confederate soldiers and racist politicians in cities across the South. But when protesters in Golden Gate Park pulled down statues of Francis Scott Key and Ulysses S. Grant in addition to long-controversial Junipero Serra, it’s hard not to see adrenaline-fueled vandalism in the mix."
READ MORE related to Race, Equality & Social Justice: These are the California statues being removed amid calls for racial justice -- The Chronicle's KELLIE HWANG
BART board member calls Confederate leader an 'exemplary general'
The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN: "A BART board director called the leader of the Confederate Army an “exemplary general” in a public meeting Thursday — an abrupt and controversial statement that briefly derailed a discussion on Black Lives Matter and policing.
Director John McPartland, whose district includes Hayward, Livermore, Dublin, Pleasanton and Castro Valley, praised General Robert E. Lee and said he is troubled by the toppling of Confederate monuments, a cathartic expression of rage as the nation grapples with its long history of racial oppression.
“From a political perspective, we are really shooting ourselves in the foot,” McPartland said. “Robert E. Lee was an exemplary general. He was a West Point graduate ... He ended up becoming a general that ended up simply doing his job. And he’s being villainized.”
READ MORE related to Public Transit: Inspired by BLM, BART will de-emphasize police for homelessness and drug use calls -- The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN
New coronavirus spike alarms Republicans, but not Trump
LA Times's ELI STOKOLS/JANET HOOK: "The final Thursday in June saw jobless claims top 1 million for a 14th straight week and a frightening spike in coronavirus infections across the Sun Belt, compelling a growing number of Republican governors and members of Congress to issue urgent public health warnings.
President Trump called it a success story.
On another record day of new coronavirus cases — at least 40,184 — he tweeted that the resurgence of the virus is the result of “GREAT TESTING,” not of a contagion that appears to be spreading fastest in states that rushed to ease lockdown orders."
