California delivers Electoral College victory for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "In California, the Electoral College vote was as mundanely procedural as it is in most years, when it barely rates a passing mention in news reports.
But this presidential election and transition has been like no other. President Trump has falsely attributed his defeat to “massive voter fraud,” something that no court or state election monitor has found to be valid. Nonetheless, Trump has raised tens of millions of dollars from his supporters in his effort to “stop the steal.”
Trump’s unfounded claims were ignored Monday as California delivered Joe Biden the Electoral College votes that put him over the 270 he needed to clinch the presidency. Meeting in Sacramento, California’s 55 electors cast their votes — the most of any state — for the former vice president and his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris."
California again shatters single-day record: more than 42K cases
LA Times's RONG-GONG LIN II/RYAN MURPHY: "California has shattered another grim record — more than 42,000 coronavirus cases in a single day, breaking a record set just a week ago.
A Los Angeles Times county-by-county tally tallied 42,129 coronavirus cases across the state Monday. That’s the first time more than 40,000 cases have been reported by the state’s local health agencies in a single day. And it breaks the single-day record set on Dec. 8, when 35,400 coronavirus cases were recorded.
The state is now averaging nearly 33,000 new coronavirus cases a day over the last week — the highest level ever recorded."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: Sacramento County reaches 50K cases; vaccine arriving soon -- Sac Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH; Community leaders take charge in San Jose's virus fight -- The Chronicle's LAUREN HERNANDEZ
Coronavirus vaccinations begin in historic US campaign as pandemic lays claim to 300,000 American lives
LA Times's EMILY BAUMGAERTNER/MOLLY HENNESSY-FISKE: "It was a day America had been waiting for, a moment touted as the beginning of the end of a pandemic that has divided our politics, battered our economy, roused our culture wars and left us one of the most infected countries on the planet.
At Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York, news cameras whirred as critical-care nurse Sandra Lindsay sat with her hands in her lap and received an injection in her left arm.
“I feel like healing is coming,” she said."
READ MORE related to Vaccines: Vaccines have arrived in the Bay Area: Here's everything you need to know -- The Chronicle's KELLIE HWANG; FDA review says Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine is safe and effective -- AP, via LA Times
For the first time in nearly a century, SD Marine Corps boot camp will train women recruits
LA Times's ANDREW DYER: "For the first time in its nearly 100-year history, Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego will accept women for recruit training early next year, the Marine Corps said Monday.
The recruit company, designated “Lima,” will serve as a “proof of concept” to demonstrate to the Marine Corps what will be required for sustained integrated recruit training in San Diego, according to the Marines. The recruits will report to the depot Feb. 12.
“This is the first time we are able to give Marines who graduate from MCRD San Diego the same integrated experience that many of their peers at Parris Island [in South Carolina] have received already,” Brig. Gen. Ryan P. Heritage, the commanding general of the depot, said in a statement. "[This] will get us one step closer to understanding the facilities and personnel needed to make this a sustained reality.”"
California AG seeks Amazon coronavirus data
The Chronicle's CHASE DIFELICIANTONIO: "California is ratcheting up pressure on Amazon to turn over information on how it handles the coronavirus at its sprawling network of facilities in the state.
The move is part of a mounting campaign California employers have faced from Sacramento this year to disclose virus infections at work and protect workers, even as congressional Republicans have sought to protect companies from lawsuits seeking to hold them liable for workplace infections.
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra announced Monday that his office had filed a petition in Sacramento Superior Court seeking to force the Seattle company to fully respond to subpoenas it issued in August."
Amazon won't comply with California subpoenas on COVID-19 safety, AG says
The Chronicle's JEONG PARK: "Amazon has yet to let the state know how many of the company’s workers have been infected by or died from COVID-19, despite subpoenas filed months ago, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said in a petition to the Sacramento County Superior Court on Monday.
The company also has not provided information about how it’s trying to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, including with regard to sick leave policies and cleaning procedures, Becerra said. He is asking the court to order Amazon to comply with the state’s subpoenas and provide that information.
The petition comes months into the state’s investigation into Amazon’s workplace safety practices. It also comes two months after Cal-OSHA levied $1,870 in fines on two Amazon warehouses in Southern California for failing to provide sufficient safety training for employees. The company is appealing those fines."
California prison employees kept getting paid after misconduct, delays cost taxpayers nearly $1M
Sac Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "A state prison watchdog says the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has been delaying employee investigations that lead to firings and other discipline, driving up the state’s costs by hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.
Prison employees have kept getting paid for months after they are accused of things like lying to investigators, abusing spouses, driving drunk or engaging in sexual misconduct with prisoners or coworkers, according to a report from the Office of the Inspector General.
The delays got worse in the first half of this year, costing the state about $312,000, according to the report. In an 18-month review of cases, the inspector general’s office found discipline delays cost over $850,000. The office reviews the cases every six months."
Democrats squeezed as pandemic relief talks continue
AP: "Top Washington negotiators continued to reach for a long-delayed agreement on COVID-19 aid Monday, but rank-and-file Democrats appeared increasingly resigned to having to drop, for now, a scaled-back demand for fiscal relief for states and local governments whose budgets have been thrown out of balance by the pandemic.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) spoke with Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin by phone Monday evening and continues to press for help for struggling states and localities. But top Democratic allies of President-elect Joe Biden came out in support of a $748-billion plan offered by a bipartisan group of lawmakers and hinted that they won’t insist on a pitched battle for state and local aid now.
“We cannot afford to wait any longer to act. This should not be Congress’ last COVID relief bill, but it is a strong compromise that deserves support from both Republicans and Democrats in the Senate,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.). “We cannot leave for the holidays without getting relief to those Americans who need it.”"
READ MORE related to Economy/Relief/Reopening: Reeps' proposed COVID liability shield could undo California worker protections, advocates warn -- SARAH D WIRE/JIE JENNY ZOU
Breed's SF SFMTA board picks -- Manny's owner and disability advocate -- advance
The Chronicle's STAFF: "Two of Mayor London Breed’s appointees to the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s board received a green light by a Board of Supervisors’ committee Monday to fill vacant seats on the body that oversees Muni and parking.
Manny Yekutiel, owner of the small business Manny’s in the Mission, and transit accessibility advocate Fiona Hinze will now advance to the Board of Supervisors for a final vote. Appointments to the four-year terms require yes votes from at least six out of 11 supervisors.
San Francisco supervisors have butted heads with the mayor, who appoints all seven members of the agency’s board, on some of her recommendations this year. In August, the Board of Supervisors rejected Breed’s nomination of transit advocate Jane Natoli, who would have been the first trans woman on the board, and approved Sharon Lai, a former city planner."
Crush of Obamacare sign-ups expected before deadline as pandemic rages
AP: "A crush of sign-ups expected before Tuesday’s end-of-day deadline for open enrollment in HealthCare.gov could help solidify the standing of Obamacare as an improbable survivor of the Trump presidency.
In 36 states that use HealthCare.gov, Tuesday is the last day for coverage that starts Jan. 1, while another 14 states and Washington, D.C., have later deadlines. Analysts and advocates who follow the annual insurance sign-ups say interest has grown stronger amid the spiraling COVID-19 pandemic.
Also, the legal cloud hanging over the Affordable Care Act seemed to start lifting last month when Supreme Court justices gave a skeptical reception to the latest challenge from the Trump administration and conservative-led states seeking to overturn the law in its entirety."
Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, a Placer County school district considers more classroom time
Sac Bee's SAWSAN MORRAR: "Rocklin Unified will vote tonight on a new in-person schedule for the third quarter of the school year.
The school board will look at all instructional options at the meeting in an effort to address the surge of COVID-19 cases in the region.
Some of the options under consideration will bring students back to campus five days a week, for morning or afternoon in-person classes. For these options, while the students will increase in-person instructional hours, they’ll still get less than a full traditional instructional model."
READ MORE related to Education: LAUSD will not give Fs this semester and instead give students a second chance to pass -- LA Times's HOWARD BLUME
San Quentin doctors, lawyers question plan to transfer inmates amid outbreaks
The Chronicle's NORA MISHANEC: "As coronavirus cases soar in California prisons, officials at San Quentin State Prison on Monday began a series of mandatory transfers that have proceeded against the advice of the prison’s own medical personnel, according to prison doctors.
In some cases, the transfers are occurring over the objections of the incarcerated people and their lawyers, according to the attorneys.
The Office of the State Public Defender opposed the “plan to involuntarily transfer nearly 300 men from San Quentin to other California prisons” in a letter sent to Gov. Gavin Newsom last week. The inmates, who were identified as medically vulnerable, were told they would be moved to other prison facilities, including one Central Valley prison, located in Corcoran (Kings County)."
Trump says Barr resigning, will leave before Christmas
AP's MICHAEL BALSAMO: "Attorney General William Barr, one of President Donald Trump’s staunchest allies, is departing amid lingering tension over the president’s baseless claims of election fraud and the investigation into President-elect Joe Biden’s son.
Barr went Monday to the White House, where Trump said the attorney general submitted his letter of resignation. “As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family,” Trump tweeted.
Trump has publicly expressed his anger about Barr’s statement to The Associated Press earlier this month that the Justice Department had found no widespread fraud that would change the outcome of the election. Trump has also been angry that the Justice Department did not publicly announce it was investigating Hunter Biden ahead of the election, despite department policy against such a pronouncement."
