US surpasses 250K COVID-19 deaths as pandemic rages across the nation. Bay Area braces for the worst
The Chronicle's AL SARACEVIC: "The United States surpassed 250,000 deaths from complications associated with COVID-19 Wednesday, marking yet another grim milestone in a pandemic that continues to surge across the nation.
By mid-afternoon, the U.S. had registered 250,029 deaths, according to data gathered by Johns Hopkins University, far outpacing any other country on the planet.
Brazil has the second most fatalities, with 166,699 lives lost, followed by India with 130,993."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: LA officials are still not sure why and how COVID-19 is surging. It's a huge handicap -- LA Times's SOUMYA KARLAMANGLA; Nurses, stretched thin and without protective equipment, are striking nationwide -- Poynter's AL TOMPKINS; Vaccine distro plan to prioritize POC -- here's why -- Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY/KIM BOJORQUEZ; Health officials' plea: Cancel the Thanksgiving sporead and stay home -- The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI; Photos raise doubts about Newsom's claim that dinner with lobbyist was outdoors amid COVID-19 surge -- LA Times's TARYN LUNA; California lawmakers defend Hawaii conference trip amid alarming COVID-19 numbers -- The Chronicle's HANNAH WILEY; Here's how hard the pandemic hit Black workers in California -- Sac Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN; Newsom's executive powers under scrutiny as he copes with French Laundry mistake -- Sac Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG; Face mask rules for the Bay Area: When and how to use them -- The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI; Does COVID-19 result in lasting immunity? Growing evidence says yes -- The Chronicle's PETER FIMRITE; (REVIEW) The brilliant, infuriating Romanian healthcare documentary 'Collective' is a COVID-era must-see -- LA Times's JUSTIN CHANG; Why the third wave of coronavirus could be the most difficult for California -- LA Times's RONG-GONG LIN II; Hospitals could soon be overwhelmed amid COVID-19 surge, LA County officials say -- LA Times's LUKE MONEY
Pelosi renominated for speaker in drama-free vote, but real test lies ahead
The Chronicle's TAL KOPAN: "House Democrats on Wednesday selected San Francisco Rep. Nancy Pelosi as their choice for another term as speaker in a suspense-free vote.
Unlike her nomination vote in 2018, when Pelosi faced an organized opposition for her speakership, Wednesday’s vote was only a voice vote, not a roll call, meaning there’s no record of how many Democrats didn’t support her renomination. The renomination was never in doubt, as it required only a majority of House Democrats.
The real test for Pelosi will come in January, when the new Congress convenes and she will need to win a majority of the full House to continue into her fourth term as speaker. If all members of the House vote, the threshold is 218 votes."
Historic accord reached on Klamath river dam removal
CHUCK MCFADDEN in Capitol Weekly: "The governors of California and Oregon, leaders of the Yurok and Karuk Tribes, PacificCorps and billionaire investor Warren Buffett announced a landmark, $450 million agreement Tuesday to remove four dams on the Klamath river to restore dwindling salmon populations.
The pact, which culminates decades of discussions and political feuding between tribal leaders, environmentalists, farmers and state authorities, among others, will “provide additional resources and support to advance the most ambitious salmon restoration effort in history,” a joint statement said.
Govs. Gavin Newsom of California and Kate Brown of Oregon, tribal leaders and representatives of state government and Berkshire Hathaway announced the agreement during a video hookup."
California budget analyst predicts temporary $26B surplus, then rising long-term deficits
Sac Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG: "California could see $26 billion in one-time surplus funds that will help balance the budget next year, but moving forward will face rising deficits, according to a new report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
The report released Wednesday estimates California will see a temporary surplus next year beyond what lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom expected when they created the current $202 billion state budget that cut money from education and state worker salaries.
That extra cash could allow them to avoid major cuts in next year’s budget, but the windfall will evaporate quickly, the report warns. California still faces long-term deficits driven by the coronavirus pandemic that will rise to $17 billion by 2024, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office, the nonpartisan office that advises the Legislature on the budget."
READ The Chronicle's article on California's upcoming budget anxieties by ALEXEI KOSEFF Here.
NorCal Rapist convicted on 46 separate counts
The Chronicle's MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "A longtime UC Berkeley employee suspected of attacking and sexually assaulting nine women in six Northern California counties over 15 years as the NorCal Rapist was convicted of 46 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping on Wednesday.
Roy Charles Waller, 60, was convicted in Sacramento County Superior Court after less than a day of deliberation by the jury, capping off a four-week trial.
Waller, a Benicia resident, was arrested in September in Berkeley, where he worked at UC Berkeley’s Environmental, Health & Safety office since 1992."
California lawmakers' Maui getaway: Here's who is there
The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "At least seven California lawmakers and possibly several others are at a legislative conference taking place this week at a resort in Maui despite the coronavirus pandemic.
The conference, hosted by the Independent Voter Project every November for more than a decade, brings together legislators and corporate sponsors at the Fairmont Kea Lani on Maui’s southwest shore for five days of policy discussions and schmoozing.
Multiple lawmakers — including Republican Assembly members Health Flora of Ripon (San Joaquin County) and Frank Bigelow of O’Neals (Madera County) and state Sen. Andreas Borgeas, a Republican from Fresno — defended their decision to attend the conference as an opportunity to discuss how to safely reopen the economy."
CalPERS approves price hikes of up to 51% for health plans favored by young, healthy workers
Sac Bee's WES VENTEICHER: "CalPERS approved steep rate hikes for its cheapest health insurance plans Tuesday in an effort to save its most expensive plans from collapse.
California state workers who are enrolled in the cheaper plans face estimated price increases of up to $270 per month starting in 2022 under the plan, according to CalPERS projections.
The PERS Select and Anthem Select plans would see the biggest increases. Prices for Blue Shield Trio would also go up. The plans have narrower networks of doctors and hospitals and, with the exception of Trio, less generous benefits than more expensive plans. The three plans together cover about 153,000 people."
PG&E's new CEO faces epic task of fixing 'culture of ineptitude'
BLOOMBERG: "After years of upheaval, criminal charges and bankruptcy, California utility giant PG&E Corp. has placed its fate in the hands of a new chief executive with a record of reducing accidents, cutting costs and building bridges.
Patricia K. Poppe, a General Motors Co. veteran who now runs the Michigan utility CMS Energy Corp., will be PG&E’s fourth leader in the last two years, taking over Jan. 4., the company said Wednesday in a statement.
Her task is monumental. Not only must she reform a sprawling enterprise that’s been found responsible for sparking numerous deadly wildfires, but she also has to regain the trust of the public and government officials including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had threatened to take over the company if it didn’t correct its “culture of ineptitude.” And she has to do it while cutting $1 billion in costs."
Upwards of 750K Californians could lose unemployment bennies by end-of-year
The Chronicle's KATHLEEN PENDER: "Somewhere between 750,000 and 1.6 million Californians will abruptly lose federal unemployment benefits at the end of December, unless Congress passes and the president signs a bill extending them, according to two reports issued this week.
An analysis released Thursday by the California Policy Lab estimates that 750,000 Californians will no longer receive benefits when two programs created under the federal Cares Act expire Dec. 26.
The Century Foundation, in a report issued Wednesday, estimated that 9.1 million Americans, including 1.6 million in California, will lose benefits at year end."
READ MORE related to Economy: Two Bay Area cities at 'high risk' for financial problems, state says -- The Chronicle's DUSTIN GARDINER
Court dismisses cities' lawsuit challenging cannabis deliveries in California
LA Times's PATRICK MCGREEVY: "In a win for California’s struggling cannabis industry, a Fresno judge has dismissed a lawsuit by 24 cities seeking to invalidate state regulations allowing delivery of cannabis to homes in communities that have outlawed sales in shops.
Fresno County Superior Court Judge Rosemary McGuire said in a ruling made public Wednesday that she agreed with attorneys for the state Bureau of Cannabis Control that the state regulation does not prevent cities from enforcing local ordinances restricting home delivery.
“On the basis of that conclusion, the court finds that this matter is not ripe for adjudication, and dismisses the action as to all plaintiffs,” McGuire wrote in the ruling signed on Tuesday."
Republicans won almost every election where redistricting was at stake
FiveThirtyEight's NATHANIEL RAKICH/ELENA MEJIA: "Joe Biden may have won the White House, but down-ballot races were much better for Republicans. In fact, the GOP’s victories in state-level elections could pay dividends long after Biden leaves office, thanks to their influence over next year’s redistricting process."
"Every 10 years, after the census, congressional and state legislature districts are redrawn to account for population changes. This gives whoever is drawing the maps the power to maximize the number of districts that favor their party — a tactic known as gerrymandering. And as we wrote last month, the 2020 election represented the last chance for voters to weigh in on who would draw those maps. Both parties went into the election with a chance to draw more congressional districts than the other, but the end result was just about the best-case scenario for Republicans. As the map below shows, Republicans are set to control the redistricting of 188 congressional seats — or 43 percent of the entire House of Representatives. By contrast, Democrats will control the redistricting of, at most, 73 seats, or 17 percent."
A record 51 women of color are headed to Congress
LA Times's JACKELINE LUNA/SANDHYA KAMBHAMPATI: "Next year’s Congress will feature at least 51 women of color – more than ever before. Ballots are still being tallied in two close races, so the number could climb. Marilyn Strickland is the first Black person to represent Washington state at the federal level and is one of three Korean American women ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. And New Mexico will have its first House delegation that is all women of color."
READ MORE related to House Races: California could lose a seat in Congress, but Bay Area looks to be safe -- The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH
California Republican Ted Howze--infamous for his social media outbursts--refuses, Like Trump, to concede election
Sac Bee's KATE IRBY: "Republican Ted Howze was beaten handily by Rep. Josh Harder in the 2020 election.
Even if Howze won all of the remaining votes left to count, he would still fall short of Harder’s lead. But Howze isn’t conceding.
The race for the 10th Congressional district was called in favor of Harder two weeks ago by the Associated Press. As of Wednesday, Harder, D-Turlock, was up by 10 points and 30,000 votes over Howze."
Nav Gill, Sac County CEO, put on paid leave after 'toxic culture' accusations
Sac Bee's MICHAEL FINCH II: "The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors has unanimously agreed to put county executive Navdeep Gill on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation into several allegations of misconduct and mismanagement.
Several public health officials recently have called for the Board of Supervisors to fire Gill, accusing him of creating a culture where sexism, racism and intimidation tactics were used to silence dissent. He also was accused of undermining the public health department’s work amid the coronavirus pandemic, and refusing to pay overtime for public health staff.
At their closed-session meeting on Tuesday, the supervisors also voted 3-2 to “express no confidence in Mr. Gill’s abilities as County CEO,” according to a statement from Supervisor Phil Serna. Despite the no-confidence vote, it would take a supermajority of at least four board members to remove Gill from the top administrative job."
Mai Vang 'ready for the challenge' of being first Hmong woman on Sac City Council
Sac Bee's ASHLEY WONG/THERESA CLIFT: "Mai Vang is set to become the first Hmong woman and first Asian American woman in recent memory to hold the Sacramento City Council seat in District 8.
But even with the vast majority of the district’s ballots counted showing she earned 52% of the vote and a concession from her opponent, Vang said she isn’t celebrating yet. Her parents, Vang said, are holding their breath until the race is certified.
“They’re still waiting. They want to be cautious,” Vang laughed. “When I called them (to tell them Simmons conceded), my parents were like, ‘So what does that mean?’ I get my heart and hustle from them. The work ahead, it’s gonna take heart and hustle to fight for this community.”"
Ex-Recology exec accused of funneling $1M in bribes to Mohammed Nuru
The Chronicle's MICHAEL WILLIAMS: "Federal prosecutors charged a former San Francisco executive at waste management company Recology with bribery and concealing money laundering Wednesday, saying he funneled more than $1 million to Mohammed Nuru over the span of several years in an attempt to curry favor with the ex-Public Works director.
The charges against Paul Giusti, 64, represent the latest development in an investigation into corruption at San Francisco City Hall. Nuru was arrested in January on fraud charges after he was accused of bribing an airport commissioner and lying to the FBI.
Authorities said it was the job of Giusti, who worked as the government relations manager for Recology’s San Francisco office, to make Nuru happy as the company attempted to negotiate rate increases for garbage collection. Nuru played a key role in the process as Public Works director."
Black and Latino renters face eviction, exclusion from police crackdowns in California
LA Times's LIAM DILLON/BEN POSTON/JULIA BARAJAS: "Three years after his release from prison following a cocaine dealing conviction, Terrance Stewart was accepted to UC Riverside and began searching for a place to live near campus with his wife and 3-month-old daughter.
He couldn’t find one. Facing rejection after rejection, Stewart started to realize that posted around the apartment complexes he visited were gray signs with the stenciled outlines of three homes. The logos, he later learned, meant those landlords took part in a police program that trains them how to refuse tenants with criminal histories.
“It just made my world shrink,” Stewart said."
Water district officials and others were negligent in Naya Rivera's drowning, lawsuit says
LA Times's RICHARD WINTON: "As the actress Naya Rivera and her young son swam in Lake Piru in July, gusts of wind and currents likely pushed her rented boat away from her as she struggled to swim and eventually drowned, according to a wrongful-death lawsuit filed this week by the boy’s father and others.
Ryan Dorsey, Rivera’s former boyfriend, filed the lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of the boy, who was four at the time. In it, he claims the United Water Conservation District, which operates the lake, as well as Ventura County and the boat rental company failed to properly warn against the dangers of swimming in the lake and to provide adequate safety equipment on the rented pontoon boat. Rivera’s estate and the late actress’ business manager also joined in the lawsuit, which was filed in Ventura County.
Rivera’s son was found alone on the boat after she and the boy did not return did not return from an outing on July 8. Days later, divers recovered the “Glee” actress’ body. After an autopsy, coroner officials concluded the drowning was accidental."
First rain of season unveils a new pollution problem: masks and gloves -- pandemic PPE
The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER: "The Bay Area’s first rain of the season is washing away worries of wildfire and drought. But it’s also bringing a new concern: gobs of face masks flooding San Francisco Bay.
Early season storms typically sweep a slurry of debris from streets and sidewalks into rivers, creeks and bays. This year, the fall flush not only contains the usual gunk, waste experts say, but a whole lot of discarded PPE — or personal protective equipment, the detritus of the pandemic.
This influx of safety scraps into waterways is tough to quantify. However, the California Coastal Commission offered at least some idea of the volume: The agency said there was so much PPE during this year’s September volunteer coastal cleanup and inventory that it had to create a new category for masks and gloves. The items ranked between plastic cups and beverage lids on the list of the top 15 types of litter."
(REPORT) Large ocean animals commonly eat plastic waste
The Chronicle's DUSTIN GARDINER: "Isolated stories of whales and other marine wildlife washing ashore with bellies full of shopping bags and other plastic waste have trickled into the media in recent years.
But the problem of plastic in the ocean is far more widespread than those instances alone suggest and could push some species closer to the brink of extinction, according to a report released Thursday by Oceana, a wildlife advocacy group.
The report found nearly 1,800 instances since 2009 where a marine mammal or sea turtle swallowed or became entangled in plastic waste along the coast of the United States."
(PHOTOS) Mountain View fire rages through Eastern Sierras
LA Times's STAFF: "One person has died in a fire that ravaged the Mono County town of Walker overnight and continues to burn, authorities said.
Spurred by strong winds, the Mountain View fire ignited Tuesday afternoon and has scorched nearly 29,000 acres in the Eastern Sierra, along the Nevada border. It is 0% contained."
9 arrested at Fairfield City Council meeting after protesting cop's hiring
The Chronicle's NORA MISHANEC: "Nine people were arrested Tuesday night after disrupting a Fairfield City Council meeting to protest the appointment of a police officer who was involved in two fatal shootings while working as an officer in Vallejo.
Eight adults were charged with disturbing the peace after an outburst during the meeting, Fairfield police said in a statement. The ninth protester was a 17-year-old minor from Fairfield.
Before they were removed by police, the protesters chanted and voiced their opposition to the 2018 hiring of Fairfield Officer Dustin Joseph, who previously served in the Vallejo Police Department. A video posted to Facebook by a bystander shows police handcuffing and escorting the protesters out of the meeting room."
Small group protests outside home of LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva
LA Times's LEILA MILLER/ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN: "A small group protested near Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva’s home Wednesday afternoon, calling for the department to release the names of deputies involved in the recent fatal shootings of Dijon Kizzee and Fred Williams.
About 14 protesters were met by about a dozen deputies carrying batons around 3 p.m. near Villanueva’s home in La Habra Heights, a city in the San Gabriel Valley. The deputies formed a skirmish line and slowly walked the protestors down a residential street leading away from the sheriff’s property.
Protestors chanted: “Villanueva you can’t hide, we want killer deputies identified,” and “Give us the names.” A helicopter circled overhead."
SF's Public Defender's Office launches website for searching cop records
The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY: "The San Francisco Public Defender’s Office on Wednesday launched a website where members of the public can search for police records of misconduct, shootings, civil suits and certain officer complaints.
The tool, believed to be among the first in the country, comes less than two years after a landmark California bill cracked open many police files for the first time, lifting the curtain on what had been decades of secrecy surrounding police personnel documents. Beginning in 2019, records on police uses of force and certain bad behavior became available to anyone with the know-how to request them, and the months — or years — to wait out their return.
The website, called CopWatch, is meant to act as a clearinghouse for public information about San Francisco’s law enforcement agencies."
Where have crime-free housing rules spread in California? How we got the answer
LA Times's LIAM DILLON/BEN POSTON/JULIA BARAJAS: "To understand the spread of crime-free housing policies in California, The Times searched the municipal codes of all 539 cities and counties in the state and scoured local police department websites.
Most California local government municipal codes are published on third-party websites, including municode.com, codebook.com and qcode.us, and The Times used a variety of search terms to identify potential crime-free housing laws. For municipal codes that weren’t available on those sites, The Times examined each city’s individually. Similarly, The Times used a variety of search terms to identify which local police departments are advertising crime-free housing trainings for landlords.
The Times defined crime-free housing polices as those that encourage landlords to evict or exclude tenants who have had some level of interaction with law enforcement. To build its list, The Times incorporated research from the nonprofit groups the National Housing Law Project, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California. The Times also consulted with Kathryn Ramsey, an assistant professor at the University of Memphis School of Law who has written about crime-free housing programs, to finalize the tally."
Trump fires Security Chief Christopher Krebs
KrebsOnSecurity's BRIAN KREBS: "President Trump on Tuesday fired his top election security official Christopher Krebs (no relation). The dismissal came via Twitter two weeks to the day after Trump lost an election he baselessly claims was stolen by widespread voting fraud.
Barack Obama's new memoir sells nearly 890K copies in 24 hours (sorry. Michelle)
AP: "Barack Obama’s “A Promised Land” sold nearly 890,000 copies in the U.S. and Canada in its first 24 hours, putting it on track to be the bestselling presidential memoir in modern history.
The first-day sales, a record for Penguin Random House, includes preorders, e-books and audio.
“We are thrilled with the first-day sales,” said David Drake, publisher of the Penguin Random House imprint Crown. “They reflect the widespread excitement that readers have for President Obama’s highly anticipated and extraordinarily written book.”"
READ MORE related to POTUS44: The Hollywood president: Here are the celebs Barack Obama name-drops in new book -- LA Times's CHRISTIE D'ZURILLA
Biden approaches 80 million votes in historic victory
AP: "President-elect Joe Biden’s winning tally is approaching a record 80 million votes as Democratic bastions continue to count ballots and the 2020 election cracks turnout records.
Biden has already set a record for the highest number of votes for a winning presidential candidate, and President Trump has also notched a high-water mark of the most votes for a losing candidate. With more than 155 million votes counted and California and New York still counting, turnout stands at 65% of all eligible voters, the highest since 1908, according to data from the Associated Press and the U.S. Elections Project.
The rising Biden tally and his popular vote lead — nearly 6 million votes — come as Trump has escalated his false insistence that he actually won the election, and his campaign and supporters intensify their uphill legal fight to stop or delay results from being certified, potentially nullifying the votes of Americans."
READ MORE related to POTUS46: The Cabinet appointments that really matter in the incoming Biden Administration -- FiveThirtyEight's PERRY BACON JR
(USC POLL) Trump's baseless, ceaseless assault on election integrity foments increasing lack of certitude in public's perception of vote count
LA Times's MELANIE MASON: "President Trump’s repeated — and baseless — insistence that widespread fraud undermined this month’s presidential election has left a mark on Americans’ faith in the voting process, a postelection USC Dornsife survey has found.
Using a 0-100 scale to measure their confidence that all ballots were tallied correctly, the average ranking from voters was a middling 58. Democrats gave higher marks — 79 — that the vote count was accurate, while Republicans on the whole rated their confidence in the election results’ accuracy at just 34.
“What’s really very clear is that the large group of voters who voted for Donald Trump in this election have absorbed the message that the vote may not have been completely, fairly counted,” said Jill Darling, the director of the USC Dornsife survey. Democrats, she said, may have lost confidence because of concerns about voter suppression or problems with the U.S. Postal Service."
READ MORE related to POTUS45: GOP increasingly accepts Trump's defeat -- but not in public -- AP
Armenia sharply raises troop death toll in Nagorno-Karabakh as political crisis brews
AP: "Armenia has raised the number of its troops killed in recent fighting over Nagorno-Karabakh to 2,425 — about 1,000 more than previously reported — as the country’s prime minister struggles to deal with the fallout from the truce he signed with Azerbaijan to halt armed hostilities.
The sharply revised death toll was issued Wednesday by Armenian Health Minister Arsen Torosian. Azerbaijan has not revealed its number of military casualties.
A Russian-brokered cease-fire halted the fighting that had gone on for six weeks, but the agreement stipulated that Armenia turn over control of some areas its holds outside Nagorno-Karabakh’s borders to Azerbaijan. That has angered many Armenians, thousands of whom have regularly protested in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian."
