California Democrats unveil $100B pandemic stimulus plan. Here's what's in it
Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "Top California Democrats announced on Monday a $100 billion stimulus plan that would borrow money from the federal government, expand tax credits for low-income Californians and offer help for small businesses in an attempt to prop up the state’s economy as the coronavirus-induced recession drags on.
The proposal, previewed with less detail two months ago, relies on a handful of tactics that members say will generate cash for California’s economy while securing services that benefit vulnerable residents.
Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Lakewood, endorsed the proposal Monday. The group also includes Senate Majority Leader Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, and Budget Committee leaders Sen. Holly Mitchell, D-Los Angeles, and Assemblyman Phil Ting, D-San Francisco."
Newsom to send coronavirus 'strike teams' to fight outbreak in hard-hit Central Valley
Sac Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "Gov. Gavin Newsom is sending three coronavirus strike teams and $52 million in federal money to California’s Central Valley as the region battles a spike in COVID-19 cases.
The region is seeing the virus spread particularly among Latinos, essential workers and people who live in group settings like jails and nursing homes. The state will have a “laser-like focus” on stemming spread among those groups, Newsom said.
The funding from a federal grant will help bolster testing in eight counties that make up the Central Valley, as well as pay for more supplies and additional support for the medical system, Newsom said during a Tuesday press conference in Stockton."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: Coronavirus makes clear it's past time for the national pasttime to pull the plug -- The Chronicle's ANN KILLION; California vs. NY: One state's pandemic has been deadlier, but the numbers are more complex than case counts -- The Chronicle's ERIN ALLDAY; Latinos worry more than other Californians about how the coronavirus will affect them, poll says -- LA Times's ALEJANDRA REYES-VELARDE
Former 49ers player Dana Stubblefield convicted of rape, faces life in prison
The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY: "A Santa Clara County jury on Monday found former 49ers player Dana Stubblefield guilty of rape, after prosecutors said he lured a developmentally disabled woman to his Morgan Hill home on the promise of a babysitting job.
Stubblefield, 49, faces 15 years to life in prison. He played for the San Francisco 49ers, Washington and the Oakland Raiders.
The verdict comes after a nine-month trial, and five years after the victim reported the April 2015 sexual assault to police. The jury convicted Stubblefield of rape by force, oral copulation by force and false imprisonment, and acquitted him of raping a person incapable of giving consent."
Klamath water arrives, saving 50,000 ducklings from certain death
The Chronicle's TOM STIENSTRA: "More than 50,000 ducklings and other newborn waterfowl and shorebirds were saved from certain deaths this week after an emergency delivery of water to the Klamath Basin National Wildlife Refuge, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
“A week ago, we were worried the birds wouldn’t make it,” said John Vradenburg, supervisory biologist for the refuge.
The water will keep large areas of the refuge from drying up, he said. Baby ducks cannot fly for the first 50 days of their life, so they must have water where they are hatched in order to survive."
UCD Medical Center slips to ninth on US News' best California hospitals list
Sac Bee's CATHIE ANDERSON: "The UC Davis Medical Center dropped to ninth place from sixth in the U.S. News & World Report ranking of California’s best hospitals, but maintained its position as the leading hospital in Sacramento.
“Once again this year, UC Davis Medical Center ranked as the No. 1 hospital in Sacramento and among the top 10 in California,” said Charles Casey, a spokesperson for UC Davis Health. “Fluctuations from year to year are not unusual for annual ratings reports, especially with some of the significant methodology changes made by U.S. News in calculating this year’s report.”
Other regional hospitals also landed spots on the state list of 60 hospitals: Sutter Medical Center, Sacramento, ranked 27th, tying with three other hospitals. Enloe Medical Center in Chico, Sacramento’s Mercy General Hospital and Sutter Roseville Medical center tied for 37th with five other hospitals. Kaiser Permanente Roseville Medical Center ranked 45th with five other state hospitals. Methodist Hospital of Sacramento placed 51st with eight other hospitals."
From $600/week to $200: How Reeps want to cut unemployment bennies during pandemic
Sac Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Millions of California residents without jobs could soon see an extra $200 a week in their unemployment payments — replacing the $600 weekly they were getting until now — under a plan unveiled Monday by Senate Republicans.
The $200 would be available as soon as the state could adjust its system, and there’s currently no firm estimate of how long that would take.
Under the GOP proposal, the $200 would replace, for up to two months, the $600 payment with a benefit that would be equivalent to a 70% of lost wages, according to Senate Finance Committee Chairman Charles Grassley, R-Iowa. That new sum is likely to be in the $200 to $300 range."
READ MORE related to Economy: Why some local restaurants can't stand delivery apps -- and which deliver on their own -- Sac Bee's BENJY EGEL
SF won't cite Catholic archdiocese after church wedding
The Chronicle's DOMINIC FRACASSA: "It appears San Francisco officials won’t take further action against the Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco following revelations that Saints Peter and Paul Church in North Beach hosted a wedding in early July, after which at least 10 attendees tested positive for the coronavirus, including the newlywed couple, two guests said.
The wedding came just days after City Attorney Dennis Herrera sent the archdiocese a cease-and-desist letter ordering church officials to stop holding large, indoor services, which churches had been conducting in violation of the city’s pandemic health orders.
Herrera’s office sent a deputy city attorney to the iconic church at 666 Filbert St. after learning the wedding was taking place. The attorney, Peter Keith, shut down the ceremony and ordered church officials to move the event outdoors, which they did, the city said."
How safe are outdoor gatherings? Bay Area struggles to find the balance
The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI: "Is the risk of coronavirus transmission lower outside?
Health experts have said yes, but as the virus continues to tear across the Bay Area, officials are asking residents to cut back on public gatherings.
Weekend parties at popular outdoor spots like Lake Merritt in Oakland and Dolores Park in San Francisco, in particular, are being blamed for a spike of new COVID-19 cases. And California’s wavering reopening guidelines are likely leading to the confusion among stir-crazy residents."
Sacramento RT releases routes of third bus driver who tests positive for COVID-19
Sac Bee's ROSALIO AHUMADA: "The Sacramento Regional Transit District announced Monday that one of its bus drivers has tested positive for COVID-19, the district’s third who has become infected with the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus.
RT officials said they were alerting July 16 and 17 riders on Jibe Express, Rancho CordoVan and Bus Route 33 of the driver’s diagnosis “out of an abundance of caution,” according to announcement on the district’s web site and its social media accounts.
This bus driver, who was self-isolating and expected to make a full recovery, has not been at work or driven a RT vehicle since July 17, RT officials said. They also said the driver wore a mask and the person’s temperature was checked before the start of each shift."
LAPD expands community policing program, appoints Black female deputy chief
LA Times's CINDY CHANG: "As part of a reimagining of law enforcement after the killing of George Floyd, the Los Angeles Police Department is expanding its signature community policing program.
The Community Safety Partnership, which began in 2011 in some of the city’s most troubled housing developments, is credited with reducing violent crime and improving relationships with residents through initiatives such as youth football teams.
The expansion of CSP comes as other LAPD units are being closely scrutinized for potential cuts. Responding to days of street protests calling for resources to be shifted from policing to programs that help Black and Latino residents, the City Council recently slashed $150 million from the LAPD budget."
Longtime activists defend Pelosi foe Shahid Buttar against sex harassment accusations
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "Supporters of Shahid. Buttar, the November election opponent of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, are rallying around him after an East Coast comedian accused him of sexually harassing her on and off for years starting nearly two decades ago.
A Medium post published this week by Maryland resident Elizabeth Croydon “attempted to draw a different picture of Shahid, than the one we know to be true,” several progressive activists in the Washington area, where Buttar used to live, said in an open letter.
“Shahid. stands for peace, justice, and democracy. He embodies anti-oppression principles and has a demonstrated record of practices that promote equity and inclusion,” said the signers, who include Code Pink cofounder Medea Benjamin, a well-known former Bay Area activist who now lives in the Washington area."
'This is my calling': Black Panther activist provides food to North Oakland community
The Chronicle's CARON CREIGHTON: "Frances Moore, known as Aunti Frances, has been providing food and resources to her North Oakland neighborhood since 2009 through an organization called the Self-Help Hunger Program.
Moore and other volunteers gather at Jasper P. Driver Plaza each Tuesday to distribute food and resources to unhoused and otherwise vulnerable neighbors.
“There was a time we’d bring up the stove (and) cook right there on the spot,” Moore said. But because of the risk of transmitting the coronavirus, the Self-Help Hunger Program has moved to handing out pre-prepared meals, groceries, and fresh fruits and vegetables from local organizations."
As protests against feds grow in Portland, Black activists worry their message is getting lost
LA Times's MELISSA ETEHAD: "As the sun was setting and the crowd of protesters outside the federal courthouse grew larger, a loud voice echoed from the front lines of the demonstration.
“Don’t tell me how to protest,” a young Black man shouted at a white protester. “Don’t tell me what to do.”
Though it’s unclear what prompted the dispute, the white protester backed down."
Iran fires missile at mock aircraft carrier amid growing tensions with the US
AP: "Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard fired a missile from a helicopter targeting a replica aircraft carrier in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, state television reported Tuesday, in an exercise aimed at threatening the U.S. amid tensions between Tehran and Washington.
The drill, in a waterway through which 20% of all traded oil passes, underlines the lingering threat of military conflict between Iran and the U.S. after last summer saw a series of incidents targeting oil tankers in the region. In January, a U.S. drone strike killed a top Iranian generalin Baghdad, to which Tehran responded by firing ballistic missiles at American forces in Iraq.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has engulfed both Iran and the U.S. for months, there have been increasing signs of a confrontation as America argues to extend a years-long U.N. weapons embargo on Tehran that is due to expire in October. A recent incident over Syria involving an American jet fighter approaching an Iranian passenger plane also has renewed tensions."
Former Malaysian PM convicted of 7 graft charges over 1MDB scandal
AP: "A Malaysian court pronounced former Prime Minister Najib Razak guilty Tuesday in his first corruption trial over the multibillion-dollar looting of the 1MDB investment fund.
The ruling came five months after a new government took power with Najib’s Malay party the biggest bloc in the alliance. His party’s shocking election ouster in 2018 was driven by public anger over the 1MDB scandal.
“I find the accused guilty and convict the accused of all seven charges,” Judge Mohamad Nazlan Ghazali said after spending two hours to read out his ruling."
