California pushing teachers to front of vaccine line as supply increases
The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI and MICHAEL WILLIAMS: "California will release about 75,000 vaccine doses every week for counties to administer to teachers and other education workers, under a plan announced by the governor’s office Thursday that further prioritizes educators to quickly get schools reopened.
Gov. Gavin Newsom promised last week to set aside a minimum of 10% of the state’s vaccine supply for education workers. The plan released Thursday offered the first details for how those doses will be distributed and teachers granted access to the front of the vaccination line.
The plan calls for counties to lead campaigns to get shots into the arms of K-12 teachers, child care workers and other school staff. Also, the state will host targeted drives for educators, including dedicated days for them at the Oakland Coliseum and California State University Los Angeles vaccination sites. Education workers will also be able to get doses from mobile units and community vaccination sites."
READ MORE om Vaccine and Teachers: California sets priorities for vaccination of teachers and school employees -- SYDNEY JOHNSON, EdSource; COVID-19 vaccines prioritized for California educators will focus on struggling communities -- JOHN MYERS, LA Times; These California teachers will get first priority on vaccines -- MACKENZIE MAYS, Politico
Court upholds California's COVID-19 workplace rules requiring testing, sick pay
Sac Bee's JEONG PARK: "Saying the state has wide authority to create rules to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, a San Francisco Superior Court judge on Thursday upheld California’s COVID-19 emergency workplace regulations in place.
The ruling heads off a challenge to the regulations by small businesses and trade groups, who had said California’s rules are too burdensome and should not be enforced.
“The balance of interim harms and the public interest in curbing the spread of COVID-19 and protecting worker and community health weigh heavily in favor of the continued implementation and enforcement of the (Emergency Temporary Standard) Regulations,” Judge Ethan Schulman said in his ruling Thursday. “Lives are at stake.”"
LA County COVID-19 hospitalizations hit three-month low while MIS-C cases climb
LA Times's HAYLEY SMITH/RONG-GONG LIN II: "COVID-19 hospitalizations in Los Angeles County are at their lowest point since Thanksgiving, authorities said Thursday.
The number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in the county as of Wednesday was 1,886, according to state figures released Thursday. Over the last week, COVID-19 hospitalizations have been falling an average of roughly 5% a day, and on Tuesday, L.A. County tallied 1,988 COVID-19 hospitalizations — the first time the number dipped below 2,000 since Nov. 26.
At the worst point in the pandemic, 8,098 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in L.A. County, a number recorded on Jan. 5."
California to spend up to $28M to help asylum seekers who can again enter US
The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "California will spend up to $28 million to provide quarantine hotel rooms, medical care and other services to asylum seekers whom the Biden administration has begun processing for entry into the United States again.
In a memo Thursday, the state Department of Finance said it would make the money available to pay for hotels where migrants entering through the San Ysidro port of entry near San Diego will quarantine for seven to 10 days upon arrival to protect against spread of the coronavirus.
The state will also use the funding to contract with UC San Diego for medical screenings, including coronavirus testing, and medical care, and with the nonprofit Jewish Family Service for food, transportation, case management and other services."
How far would $1400 stimulus checks go? Struggling Americans and experts weigh in
Sac Bee's BAILEY ALDRIDGE: "Every night, Tiffany Velez sips a cup of hot coffee before bed.
The coffee, she told USA Today, makes it harder to sleep but helps her stomach feel full as she looks to save money on food for her family of five so she can pay off their $1,300 worth of gas and electricity bills.
The 38-year-old New Jersey mom then checks what products are on sale at which stores, searches for digital coupons and plans her shopping route for the next day — taking gas costs into account."
At conservative gathering, there's just one litmus test: Loyalty to Trump
LA Times's DAVID LAUTER/ELI STOKOLS: "Among GOP elected officials and operatives, intense disagreements rage over the future of their party. But no sign of dissent will be visible this weekend when conservatives gather for an annual conference that has long showcased Republicans’ internal debates.
Instead, one theme will rule them all — fealty to Trump.
The former president plans to use Sunday, the final day of the Conservative Political Action Conference, for his first public speech since leaving the White House just over a month ago. Throughout the weekend, loyalty tests will be everywhere — panels touting Trump’s false claims of election fraud, speeches from Republican hopefuls who will compete to praise him, and a straw poll designed to show him as the favorite for the party’s 2024 presidential nomination."
OPINION: California can cut wildfire risk by investing in resilient forests
CHRIS PAULUS in Capitol Weekly: "As a 34-year employee of Cal Fire, I am deeply familiar with the consequences of state policy that for too long emphasized putting out all wildfires, rather than emphasizing the natural restorative role fire plays in California’s landscapes.
With Gov. Newsom’s new $1 billion wildfire budget, we have an opportunity to prioritize wildfire resilience rather than just wildfire suppression.
For centuries, wildfire burned California landscapes through lightning and controlled burns set by Indigenous people. It is estimated that a minimum of 4.5 million acres burned annually, yielding landscapes that could endure wildfire and thrive."
California COVID-19 death toll officially surpasses 50,000, most in the U.S.
Sac Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH: "California’s death toll from the coronavirus officially surpassed 50,000 in a Thursday update from state health officials, soaring to 50,991 after a backlog of Los Angeles County deaths skewed the state to its highest daily death toll of the pandemic.
The California Department of Public Health reports just over 3.46 million positive cases over the course of the pandemic, with virus fatalities still pouring in at a rate of hundreds per day over the past two weeks as the state continues to rebound from its winter surge.
Los Angeles County public health officials announced Wednesday a thorough “vital records review” revealed 806 previously unidentified deaths from Dec. 3 to Feb. 3."
Californians speak more than 200 languages. Not everybody gets the COVID facts they need
Sac Bee's KIM BOJORQUEZ: "Ivy Zhou, a single mother of two children who speaks limited English, struggled to find COVID-related information in her native language after she was furloughed last March.
Now the San Francisco resident relies on a Chinese television station and social media to get information about unemployment relief, food pantries and how to protect her family from the coronavirus.
“It’s extremely frustrating, but also unfair, because if you don’t know English then you’re not able to receive this support,” Zhou, 44, said in Cantonese through a translator."
California DOJ says it can't deliver on police shooting reviews without more funds
Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "The state Department of Justice says it still doesn’t have enough money or agents to fulfill a new law requiring it to investigate deadly shootings by California cops.
In his 2021-2022 January budget proposal, Gov. Gavin Newsom set aside $13 million to establish three units of state prosecutors and staff — one team each in the northern, central and southern parts of California — to review these incidents.
That’s about half what the Department of Justice says it’ll need to build the new teams, according to a recent letter it sent to a Democratic lawmaker."
Are indoor workouts safe? Nearly 70% of people in one class contracted coronavirus, CDC says
Sac Bee's KATIE CAMERO: "New reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have some worrying findings for people itching to go back to the gym amid the coronavirus pandemic — especially if proper precautions to slow transmission aren’t taken.
Data on coronavirus spread within gyms and other exercise facilities are limited, experts say, but there have been a handful of outbreaks that suggest heavy breathing, shouting instructors and infrequent mask wearing, among other culprits, play major roles in viral transmission.
Two gyms in Hawaii and Illinois, where attendees went to fitness classes right before and even after coronavirus symptoms began, are at the heart of the CDC’s latest push for stricter precautions in exercise facilities."
COVID-19 bill must drop minimum wage hike, arbiter decides
AP's ALAN FRAM: "The Senate parliamentarian dealt a potentially lethal blow Thursday to Democrats’ drive to hike the minimum wage, deciding that the cherished progressive goal must fall from a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill the party is trying to speed through Congress, Senate Democratic aides said.
The finding by Elizabeth MacDonough, the chamber’s nonpartisan arbiter of its rules, means Democrats face an overwhelmingly uphill battle to boost the minimum wage this year because of solid Republican opposition. Their proposal would raise the federal minimum gradually to $15 hourly by 2025, wll above the $7.25 floor in place since 2009.
President Joe Biden was “disappointed” in the outcome but respected the parliamentarian's ruling, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. The Senate has a long tradition of obeying the parliamentarian's decisions with few exceptions, a history that is revered by traditionalists like Biden, a 36-year Senate veteran."
California county claims Newsom-backed company 'fell flat on their face' on COVID testing
Sac Bee's RYAN SABALOW/JASON POHL: "A rural Northern California county’s health department is cutting ties with a private company the state hired to run its COVID-19 testing clinics, saying it was disorganized, didn’t test enough people and its workers were coughing on the job and jeopardizing everyone’s safety.
In a blistering letter sent to reporters on Wednesday, Lassen County officials said they had no choice but to stop working with OptumServe at its Susanville testing clinic because of problems the state and the company refused to address — ranging from mismanagement to testing inefficiencies to potentially spreading the coronavirus to county workers.
The most egregious example came at one of the testing clinics last week, wrote Dr. Kenneth Korver, the county health officer, and Barbara Longo, the county’s health and social services director."
Fact check: Did Xavier Becerra sue a catholic charity over contraceptives?
Sac Bee's KATIE IRBY: "Republicans trying to sink California Attorney General Xavier Becerra’s nomination to join President Joe Biden’s cabinet as health secretary are frequently citing California’s ongoing litigation involving the Little Sisters of the Poor, a Catholic nonprofit run by nuns.
The charge centers on a lawsuit Becerra filed against the administration of former President Donald Trump in 2017, hours after the Department of Health and Human Services announced a proposed rule to expand religious exemptions for employers that did not want to provide coverage for contraceptives through insurance plans.
The proposed exemption California sought to block would apply to any organization that declined to provide contraceptives citing a religious objection, rather than solely for religious organizations."
Harris coaxes Black communities to get vaccines, but distrust remains high
LA Times's NOAH BIERMAN: "Vice President Kamala Harris stood by the pharmacy counter of a Giant grocery store in a largely Black neighborhood here Thursday, talking an older customer through her booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“It will feel, when you get the shot, the same way the first one felt,” Harris told her, recounting her own experience. “The next day, I realized I needed to take it a little slow.”
This latest example of Harris’ retail effort to promote the vaccine, as the vice president stood between the frozen pizza bin and bags of quinoa, underscored her central role for the Biden administration in persuading Black Americans to take the shot. With many of them wary based on a history of mistreatment by the medical system, Harris’ participation is seen as crucial, especially as some other high-profile Black influencers, including NBA stars, have declined to take on a public role."
House votes to expand legal safeguards for LGBTQ people
AP's KEVIN FREKING: "The Democratic-led House passed a bill Thursday that would enshrine LGBTQ protections in the nation’s labor and civil rights laws, a top priority of President Biden, though the legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate.
The bill passed by a vote of 224 to 206 with three Republicans joining Democrats in voting yes.
The Equality Act would amend existing civil rights law to explicitly include sexual orientation and gender identification as protected characteristics. The protections would extend to employment, housing, loan applications, education, public accommodations and other areas. Supporters say the law is long overdue and would ensure that every person is treated equally under the law."
There's been a surge of attacks against Asian Americans
The Chronicle's JANELLE BITKER: "It began with Kelly Yang’s three children, who started fielding questions about whether they had COVID-19 because they’re Chinese. Coronavirus tag ensued, and her son was somehow always “it.”
Then Yang, an author who moved to the U.S. from China at age 6, taught a free online writing class for teens. One student called her a Chinese virus in the middle of the session.
But the most upsetting incident occurred last spring, at a grassy park near her former East Bay home. A woman charged toward her, angry that Yang’s labradoodle wasn’t on a leash. “There are signs everywhere. Can you read?” the woman said, and used a racial slur."
Here's how SF plans to redirect $120M from law enforcement to Black residents
The Chronicle's SHWANIKA NARAYAN: "After roughly eight months of planning, San Francisco city leaders unveiled a road map Thursday to shift $60 million in local law enforcement funding into the city’s Black neighborhoods over the next year.
Spearheaded by Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Shamann Walton, “The Dream Keeper Initiative” aims to address decades of structural inequities experienced by African American residents by investing in greater economic opportunities, home ownership rates, youth development and other social endeavors. The plan calls for a total of $120 million of law enforcement funds to be redistributed over the next two years.
“We know that to actually see true, lasting change, we need to focus on helping entire families — from early education for kids, to job training and workforce support for their parents, and serve communities that have been systematically harmed by past policies,” Breed said Thursday in a news release announcing the plan."
BART, Muni, Caltrain would be big winners in Democrats' COVID stimulus bill
The Chronicle's TAL KOPAN/MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "Congressional Democrats’ $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill includes money for transit agencies reeling from lost revenue, and that could mean a major boost for BART, Muni and Caltrain.
But the set-asides have also drawn fire from Republicans who oppose the bill and are trying to cast it as stuffed with pork, portraying the Bay Area funds — particularly for BART’s long-planned extension into downtown San Jose and Santa Clara — as a Democratic giveaway.
Besides the BART extension, the House version of the stimulus bill includes money to expand the Transbay Tube’s capacity for BART trains, the conversion of Caltrain to electric power and Muni’s delayed Central Subway to Chinatown."
California sets priorities for vaccination of teachers and school employees
EdSource's SYDNEY JOHNSON: "On Thursday, California health officials released a detailed roadmap with priorities for how and which school employees can get vaccines first, starting with those already back in-person and those with plans to return back to campus in about three weeks.
The number of vaccines that each school district or childcare organization receives will be determined by a formula that prioritizes districts with a high portion of low-income students, as well as those that have been hit hard by Covid-19.
In addition to ongoing vaccinations being led at the county level, the state is also partnering with FEMA to launch vaccination days specifically for educators at the Oakland Coliseum and Cal State L.A. "
US strike in Syria kills 1, wounds several, Iraqi militia official says
AP's LOLITA C BALDOR/ROBERT BURNS: "A U.S. airstrike in Syria targeted facilities belonging to a powerful Iranian-backed Iraqi armed group, killing one of their militiamen and wounding a number of others, an Iraqi militia official said Friday.
The official told the Associated Press that the strikes against the Kataeb Hezbollah militia, or Hezbollah Brigades, hit an area along the border between the Syrian site of Boukamal facing Qaim on the Iraqi side. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak of the attack.
The Pentagon said the strikes were retaliation for a rocket attack in Iraq this month that killed one civilian contractor and wounded a U.S. service member and other coalition troops."
