California braces for a spike in coronavirus deaths as infections soar. But how bad will it be?
LA Times's STAFF: "New coronavirus cases roughly doubled in California over the last month. Hospitalizations have soared 88%, filling some medical centers close to capacity.
Now, public health officials are bracing for the grimmest phase of the cycle: a spike in COVID-19 fatalities.
So far, new deaths have remained relatively flat in California even as cases have surged. In the last six weeks, the state has recorded an average of 436 weekly coronavirus deaths, down from the previous six-week average of 510 weekly deaths, according to a Los Angeles Times data analysis. But deaths are a lagging indicator, and many experts predict an increase in the coming weeks."
Top California Dems demand state party stop taking money from police unions
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Top California Democratic leaders are demanding that the party stop accepting campaign contributions from law enforcement unions, The Chronicle has learned — it’s the latest sign in how the Black Lives Matter movement is reshaping politics since the death of George Floyd.
Since 2017, the state party — the largest in the nation — has accepted $1.8 million from four police unions and other organizations representing law enforcement employees, according to a letter signed by the chairs of eight of the party’s caucuses, including those representing African-Americans, Latinos, and progressive and young members.
Over that same period, the letter said, “266 Black and brown lives have been ended at the hands of law enforcement in California. The party accepted just over $7,000 per death; the price for our silence."
‘It’s intimidating.’ Sacramento hospitals battling a coronavirus patient surge
CATHIE ANDERSON and TONY BIZJAK, Sacramento Bee: "An alarming surge in coronavirus cases since June in Sacramento is sending a record number of patients to local hospitals and hastening questions many feared: Are hospitals ready? How much can they handle?
“It’s intimidating,” Dr. David Witt, national infectious disease leader for Kaiser Permanente, acknowledged last week. Kaiser runs three hospitals in the Sacramento area and is seeing a sudden rise in patients. “How high the (surge) ceiling is, we don’t know yet.”
As of Monday, COVID-19 patient numbers in Sacramento County hospitals had jumped to 142, the most ever, and far above the low of just seven hospitalized virus cases six weeks ago. Of those, 42 are in intensive care, up from a low of two in late May."
Sacramento hit with lawsuit over requirement that people stand for national anthem
SAM STANTON, Sacramento Bee: "The debate over whether people should stand for the playing of the national anthem has now come to Sacramento, courtesy of a federal lawsuit filed against the city by a Las Vegas man who says he is afraid he could be arrested if he refuses to stand for the song at future Sacramento Kings games.
Jack Lipeles, who has operated jewelry and car service businesses and has been dubbed the “Jeweler to the Stars” because of his business and social ties to celebrities such as former boxing champ Mike Tyson, filed the suit last week alleging that Sacramento’s city code makes refusing to stand for “The Star-Spangled Banner” a crime.
“Plaintiff is unwilling (and should not be required) to subject himself to criminal prosecution in order to preserve his constitutionally (protected) right to freedom of speech,” the lawsuit says. “Consequently, it is impossible for Plaintiff to attend Kings game(s) but not stand for the Anthem.”
CW Podcast: Redistricting Commission's representation problem
STAFF: "California’s Citizens Independent Redistricting Commission is generally regarded as a model of its kind, achieving balance and representation through a carefully constructed mix of quotas, political gamesmanship and random selection. How then, did the first round of new commissioners selected on July 2 fail to include a single Latino, the state’s largest ethnic group?
When the slate of eight new commissioners (of 14 total) were announced, many, including former Senate pro tem Kevin de León, voiced their outrage at Latinos being denied ‘a seat at the table.’ California redistricting expert and all-around political data guru Paul Mitchell joins Tim Foster and John Howard to talk about the Redistricting Commission, the selection process and just how we might get out of this mess (and how we won’t)."
9th Circuit says asylum seeker ban violates immigration statutes
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "The Trump administration’s near-total ban on asylum seekers at the Mexican border, requiring applicants to first seek refuge in another country, violates U.S. immigration law and endangers thousands of migrants from Central America, a federal appeals court ruled Monday.
The restriction, announced a year ago, prohibited Central Americans and others at the Mexican border from applying for U.S. asylum unless they have unsuccessfully sought asylum in a country they had passed through. That required them to apply in Mexico, and, for those from El Salvador or Honduras, to apply in Guatemala as well.
Although the Trump administration says it has negotiated “safe third country” agreements with all three Central American countries, reports cited by immigrant advocates say none of those countries has a functioning asylum system, nor does Mexico. The effect of the administration’s rule was to bar Central Americans from even applying for asylum in the United States unless they arrive directly by boat or plane."
SCOTUS rules electoral college must honor choice of state's voters
LA Times's DAVID G SAVAGE: "Anxious to avoid chaos in the electoral college just months before the November vote, the Supreme Court ruled Monday that electors who formally select the president can be required by the state they represent to cast their ballot for the candidate who won their state’s popular vote.
The justices unanimously rejected the claim that electors have a right under the Constitution to defy their states and vote for the candidate of their choice.
“Electors are not free agents,” Justice Elena Kagan said for the court in Chiafalo vs. Washington. “They are to vote for the candidate whom the state’s voters have chosen.” Article II of the Constitution and the 12th Amendment “give states broad power over electors, and give electors themselves no rights,” she said."
Survey: Reopening economy improved mental health, but virus fears persist
LA Times's RONG-GONG LIN II/COLLEEN SHALBY: "More Los Angeles County residents are leaving their homes and venturing back into public life as the economy reopens, prompting a reduction in psychological distress but heightening anxiety that reopening is occurring too quickly and could cause serious new coronavirus outbreaks, according to a new survey.
The results of a survey by the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research and analyzed by L.A. County officials were revealed Monday by Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer amid a major increase in new coronavirus cases and hospitalizations tied to the reopening of businesses and people getting back to old routines, such as private gatherings, without wearing masks or keeping distance from people.
In mid-April, nearly 86% of L.A. County residents said they stayed home at all times except for essential activities or exercise; by the last week of June, only 58% said they were doing so."
Hike-in campsites reopening around the Bay Area
The Chronicle's TOM STIENSTRA: "The most popular campsites in the Bay Area, the trail camps at Point Reyes National Seashore, will re-open Thursday with an array of new rules in an effort to keep campers safe from coronavirus, according to park officials.
In the Santa Cruz Mountains, 137 trail camps could open as early as next Wednesday, a ranger said; those would include ones at Big Basin Redwoods, Castle Rock, Portola Redwoods and Butano state parks. No official re-opening date has been set, said Adeline Yee at State Parks headquarters, and reservations will not be available until that occurs, though it could be imminent.
Camps will open at the Midpeninsula Open Space District, which re-opened its Black Mountain Trail Camp this week at Monte Bello Open Space Preserve in the foothills above Palo Alto."
New ICE guidelines say international students must leave the US if classes go online
AP: "International students will be forced to leave the U.S. or transfer to another college if their schools offer classes entirely online this fall, under new guidelines issued Monday by federal immigration authorities.
The guidelines, issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, provide additional pressure for universities to reopen even amid growing concerns about the recent spread of COVID-19 among young adults. Colleges received the guidance the same day that some institutions, including Harvard University, announced that all instruction will be offered remotely.
President Trump has insisted that schools and colleges return to in-person instruction as soon as possible. Soon after the guidance was released, Trump repeated on Twitter that schools must reopen this fall, adding that Democrats want to keep schools closed “for political reasons, not for health reasons.”
READ MORE related to Education: California districts attempt to revive outdoor education programs slashed during the pandemic -- EdSource's SYDNEY JOHNSON
Is it safe to get back on the bus? Transit agencies can answer that.
The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI: "Bay Area public transit services are seeing a slow rise in ridership as the local economy reopens and people cautiously return to trains, buses and ferries amid the coronavirus pandemic.
While the sluggish numbers are not encouraging, the beleaguered transportation agencies are seeing reasons to be optimistic and responding with a comprehensive set of safety protocols in the hope of luring commuters back.
“Primarily, we’re taking measures to make sure transit is appealing and feels safe for those who are dependent on it,” said Paolo Cosulich-Schwartz, public affairs manager for the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District, which recorded an 88% drop in monthly bus ridership from pre-outbreak levels in April. (Golden Gate Ferry ridership fell 99.4% compared with the same period in 2019)."
READ MORE related to Transportation: Far-flung Bay Area families weigh safety risks of flying -- The Chronicle's SARAH FELDBERG
Black workers report patterns of racial discrimination in restaurant industry
The Chronicle's JANELLE BITKER: "If you’re a Black person who has worked in Bay Area restaurants for some time, you’ve likely experienced one or more of the following: Been passed up for promotions in favor of white colleagues with less experience. Fired with no legitimate reason given. Noticed you’re one of few Black people in the room — and the only ones being bullied.
“I’ve gone through tons of experiences at many different jobs where I see other Black people working and being uncomfortable, going to management and either having management give lip service and do nothing or say they’ll look into it and instead retaliate by taking hours away,” said Malcolm Thompson, who has worked at 10 Bay Area restaurants over the past decade. “For me, it always seemed like a better idea to find another job.”
The discomfort they feel can lead many Black workers to rapidly bounce from place to place or leave the industry altogether. This adds to structural inequities in restaurants, where people of color tend to labor in the kitchen for low wages while white individuals occupy higher-paying front-of-house jobs (such as server positions that make lucrative tips) and management roles."
San Quentin virus outbreak underscores California's cruel treatment of prisoners
The Chronicle's OTIS R TAYLOR JR: "Health professionals and civil rights advocates sounded the alarm back in March: People held in local, state and federal lockups were in a perilous position because detention facilities weren’t prepared to handle the coronavirus, they told me.
They were right.
As my colleagues Megan Cassidy and Jason Fagone reported, San Quentin State Prison had no coronavirus cases among its prisoners until an ill-fated transfer from California Institution for Men in Chino at the end of May. Somehow, the nearly 200 men from Chino, home of the deadliest outbreak in the state’s prisons, weren’t tested for weeks before getting on the transfer bus. At San Quentin, where 121 men were sent, 25 tested positive."
