Here's what businesses are closed in each county under Newsom's new pandemic-related order
Sac Bee's TONY BIZJAK: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ordered counties to close down most “indoor activities” in the public realm. The governor cited the state’s continually growing infection rate, as well as spiking numbers of hospitalizations and serious cases requiring intensive care wards.
The governor issued two levels of closures, one level for all 58 counties, and a second, deeper level for 29 counties that have been on the state’s “monitoring list” for three or more days.
As of Monday, all counties in the state are ordered to close indoor operations in these sectors:"
READ MORE related to Pandemic: Masks offer much more protection against COVID-19 than many think -- LA Times's RONG-GONG LIN II; Why a vaccine won't end the pandemic by itself -- The Chronicle's JD MORRIS; Confused about new restrictions in Bay Area? Here's the latest on reopening in each county -- The Chronicle's KELLIE HWANG
OC votes to reopen schools without masks or increased social distancing
LA Times's HANNAH FRY/SARA CARDINE: "Orange County education leaders voted 4 to 1 Monday evening to approve recommendations for reopening schools in the fall that do not include the mandatory use of masks for students or increased social distancing in classrooms amid a surge in coronavirus cases.
The Board of Education did, however, leave reopening plans up to individual school districts.
Among the recommendations are daily temperature checks, frequent handwashing and use of hand sanitizer, in addition to the nightly disinfection of classrooms, offices and transportation vehicles."
Sacramento's Mayor Steinberg eyeballs a large scale purchase order of 500 tiny homes for the city's pandemic-vulnerable homeless
Sac Bee's THERESA CLIFT: "Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg wants the city to spend up to $5 million to purchase up to 500 tiny homes to house the homeless at small temporary “Safe Ground” encampments scattered across the city.
The move signifies a potential new partnership between homeless activists, who have been pushing for Safe Ground for years, and city officials, who in some cases have been reluctant to support those efforts.
“Safe Ground has been a rallying cry for a long time,” Steinberg said during a news conference Monday. “It is time to harness the power of community and to say ‘yes.’ Here is our opportunity.”
READ MORE related to Homelessness & Housing: Will luxury condos sell in a pandemic? SF high-rise is the market's first big test -- The Chronicle's J.K. DINEEN; Shouts of n-word, images of lynchings interrupt Sonoma County's virtual meeting on homelessness -- The Chronicle's ALEJANDRO SERRANO
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DMV gives continued extension to seniors with impending license expirations
Sac Bee's MATT KRISTOFFERSEN: "California seniors with expiring driver licenses can wait to renew them for another year.
The new grace period from the California Department of Motor Vehicles is meant to prevent drivers 70 and older — a population vulnerable to COVID 19 — from visiting a field office during the pandemic. Now, for those with licenses set to expire between March and December, a visit won’t be needed until that time in 2021.
The extension is automatic, according to a statement released on Monday."
Views on race relations in state worsen as more whites recognize reality of discrimination, survey shows
LA Times's SARAH PARVINI: "Californians’ perceptions of race relations in the state have shifted dramatically since the spring, with views statewide having grown significantly gloomier than they were five months ago, according to a new statewide poll.
The survey, which compares its results to a similar poll conducted in February, offers a before-and-after look at how Californians’ attitudes have shifted in the aftermath of the coronavirus outbreak, George Floyd’s death and the nationwide demonstrations that ensued.
Some 54% of respondents said that relations between people of different races and ethnicities in California were just fair or poor, an uptick of 13 points since February. The number of California adults who believe those relations were excellent or good dropped from 57% to 44%, the poll found. The shift, the poll indicated, occurred across racial and ethnic groups in relatively equal numbers."
More stimulus checks could be coming soon -- just not as many as last time
Sac Bee's KATE IRBY: "Americans should expect another aid package to help with the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic by the end of July, Congressional leaders have said, but it’s still unclear if that package will include stimulus checks and increased payments to the unemployed.
Congress passed an aid package in March that gave $1,200 stimulus payments to Americans who made $75,000 and less and increased unemployment benefits by $600 per week through the end of July.
Now, it’s been months since most Americans received their first stimulus payment and the increased unemployment payments are about to end."
READ MORE related to Economy: Workers, job seekers in SF would gain protections under emergency ordinance -- The Chronicle's JK DINEEN/CHASE DIFELICIANTONIO
Laid-off H-1B visa holders face painful predicament
The Chronicle's CAROL YN SAID: "Alexey Komissarouk, a software engineering manager, was among those let go when San Francisco real estate startup Opendoor laid off more than 600 employees in mid-April in response to the coronavirus pandemic’s economic impact.
As an Israeli citizen working with an H-1B visa, Komissarouk can’t receive unemployment benefits. But more crucially, under immigration rules, losing his job set a clock ticking on his time in the United States.
Getting laid off is hard for anyone. But for international workers on H-1Bs, the specialized-skill visas often used in the tech industry, the consequences are far more severe than lost income. Holders of these visas have 60 days to find a comparable new job or leave the country."
Students feel rites of passage denied as schools stay closed in the fall
LA Times's KRISTI STURGILL/JOE MOZINGO/JAKE SHERIDAN: "The first day of school loomed larger than ever this year. Inflated with both anticipation and fear amid a great pandemic, it was to be the release from five months of confinement, the end of what largely amounted to the longest, hardest and most boring of summer breaks in generations.
So for many students, the momentous decision on Monday to postpone the opening of schools in Los Angeles landed with a dull thud of disappointment. No catching up with old friends or finding new ones, no sports, no dances, no plays, no Friday night lights, no messing around in the halls, no vigorous classroom discussions — no end in sight.
Worst of all, for teenagers in particular: no escape from home."
Devin Nunes' Democratic foe is getting big fundraising off of Nunes' legal disaster
Sac Bee's KATE IRBY: "Rep. Devin Nunes’ Democratic opponent is raising big money off of news about the incumbent’s lawsuits against media organizations and his online critics.
The Fresno Democrat, Phil Arballo, hauled in $65,000 in the three days after a Virginia judge last month ruled against Nunes in the Republican’s lawsuit against Twitter, finding that Nunes could not sue the social media company for negligence over remarks by anonymous people who mock him.
It was a notable haul for Arballo, a first-time candidate who said he raised about $830,000 from April to June this year in his bid to unseat Nunes. Arballo has rasied more than $1.5 million this year."
Women can get abortion pill without doctor visit during pandemic, judge rules
AP: "A federal judge agreed Monday to suspend a rule that requires women to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an abortion pill during the COVID-19 pandemic.
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland concluded that the “in-person requirements” for patients seeking medication abortion care impose a “substantial obstacle” to patients and are likely unconstitutional under the circumstances of the pandemic.
“Particularly in light of the limited time frame during which a medication abortion or any abortion must occur, such infringement on the right to an abortion would constitute irreparable harm,” the judge wrote in his 80-page decision."
Despite criticism, LAPD Chief Michel Moore maintains support in political circles
LA Times's KEVIN RECTOR/DAKOTA SMITH/RICHARD WINTON: "In the political sea change that has occurred in Los Angeles since the protests sparked by the police killing of George Floyd, few top officials have come under more scrutiny than Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore.
Black Lives Matter activists have called for his ouster as part of a larger movement to defund the Los Angeles Police Department and enact sweeping reforms. But at City Hall and in other corridors of power in L.A. politics, Moore continues to enjoy wide public backing, with officials pointing to the 40-year veteran’s record of implementing reforms.
“Bringing about a fairer society isn’t just a job for one person — it’s for all of us — but Chief Moore is a critical leader in this work,” Mayor Eric Garcetti said in a statement to The Times."
Two more San Quentin prisoners die from COVID-19
The Chronicle's SHWANIKA NARAYAN: "Two San Quentin inmates died Saturday from what appears to be complications with COVID-19, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation announced Sunday, bringing the total number of prisoner deaths at the state prison to nine.
The inmates died July 11 at outside hospitals. No additional information is provided to protect individual medical privacy, the department said.
There are now 1,899 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at San Quentin, with 694 reported in the last two weeks. The prison, located in Marin County, is home to one of the worst outbreaks of the virus in the state, and the country."
Thomas gains support from a SCOTUS colleague on view that states can favor religion
The Chronicle's BOB EGELKO: "When the United States was founded, it was legal for states to have their own official, taxpayer-funded churches. As far as Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is concerned, state support of one or all religions is still legal, and now he has some company on the court.
The court did not address that issue in its 5-4 ruling June 30 that said states that provide public funds to private schools must allow religious schools to share in the funding. But Thomas, part of the majority, added a concurring opinion arguing that the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, prohibiting any “establishment of religion” by the government, binds only the federal government and not the states.
“Properly understood, the Establishment Clause does not prohibit states from favoring religion,” Thomas wrote."
White House turns on Fauci as Trump minimizes virus spike
AP: "With U.S. virus cases spiking and the death toll mounting, the White House is working to undercut its most trusted coronavirus expert, playing down the danger as President Trump pushes to get the economy moving before he faces voters in November.
The U.S. has become a cautionary tale across the globe, with once-falling cases now spiraling. However, Trump suggests the severity of the pandemic that has killed more than 135,000 Americans is being overstated by critics to damage his reelection chances.
Trump on Monday retweeted a post by Chuck Woolery, once the host of TV’s “Love Connection,” claiming that “Everyone is lying” about COVID-19 — not just the media and Democrats but most doctors “that we are told to trust. I think it’s all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election,” Trump quoted the former game-show host."
