California agencies will reap windfall from Biden infrastructure plan — if it gets traction
LA Times' RALPH VARTABEDIAN: "A Biden initiative expected to pour up to $3 trillion into repairing America’s decrepit infrastructure and funding other programs has sparked a scramble across the nation for the federal funds — with California expecting to reap the biggest piece.
The potential federal bounty opens the door to a list of ambitious projects: electrifying the Burbank-to-Anaheim passenger rail system, straightening the Los Angeles-to-San Diego rail line to cut travel time, and building a 1.3-mile tunnel to extend a passenger line to downtown San Francisco.
The exact size of the infrastructure plan is still in flux, but sources knowledgeable about the discussion put it at up to $2 trillion, with another $1 trillion aimed at jobs, education and other goals, a set of proposals that Biden would receive from advisors this week. Whether such a massive package can get through Congress is uncertain at best"
California students’ aid requests show decline
WILL SHUCK, Capitol Weekly: "A long and steady increase in the number of California students seeking financial aid came to an abrupt end this year, and while it’s too soon to know exactly why 25,000 fewer students filled out federal aid forms than last year, all signs point to the pandemic.
“There’s not enough data yet to get to the exact reasons,” Kevin Cook, associate center director at the Public Policy Institute of California, who wrote about the decline on the institute’s website.
He said, though, it appeared that after either witnessing or hearing about the limitations of distance learning, “some students may have decided to take a year off.”
Expect delays: The biggest freeway reconstruction in Sacramento history is about to begin
Sac Bee's TONY BIZJAK: "Caltrans this week ramps up the most ambitious highway reconstruction in Sacramento history, a four-year effort to modernize and widen Highway 50 from Watt Avenue to the Interstate 5 interchange in downtown Sacramento.
The $460 million project not only is the most expensive in the region’s history, it is also one of the most unusual.
The state will construct a third freeway bridge between the two existing elevated sections of the freeway through downtown, between W and X streets."
PG&E equipment caused deadly Zogg Fire in Shasta County. Cal Fire says tree hit power line
Sac Bee's DALE KASLER/DANIEL HUNT: "A hazardous gray pine falling on a Pacific Gas and Electric transmission line was declared the cause of the Zogg Fire — the September 2020 blaze that killed four residents of Shasta County.
Nearly six months after the fire that started near the town of Igo, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Monday that its investigators determined the tree’s brush with the equipment owned and operated by PG&E sparked the blaze. The wildfire exploded to 56,000 acres, fueled by two days of extreme winds; it destroyed more than 200 homes.
“After a meticulous and thorough investigation, Cal Fire has determined that the Zogg Fire was caused by a pine tree contacting electrical transmission lines owned and operated by Pacific Gas & Electric,” Cal Fire said in a statement."
L.A. COVID-19 vaccine supply crunch makes getting a first shot a continued challenge
LUKE MONEY, LA Times: "Appointments to get a COVID-19 vaccination remain a precious commodity in Los Angeles County this week, as many slots are reserved for second doses and officials continue to contend with a supply crunch.
At county-run sites — the Pomona Fairplex, the Forum in Inglewood, Cal State Northridge, the county Office of Education, Six Flags Magic Mountain, the Balboa Sports Complex, El Sereno Recreation Center and the Antelope Valley Health Center — “the remainder of appointments this week are dedicated to providing second doses,” the L.A. County Department of Public Health tweeted Sunday.
Only about 44.5% of this week’s supply of 280,000 doses will be available for first shots, officials said Monday."
LA County agrees to partner with Blue Shield on vaccination network
LA Daily News' RYAN CARTER: "After weeks of concern over potentially losing the huge network of vaccination sites it had built, Los Angeles County has formally agreed to collaborate with healthcare giant Blue Shield, which will provide performance metrics to assess the success of the rollout.
The agreement allows the county to continue to coordinate vaccinations via its nearly 400 vaccine providers throughout the region, including in such hard-hit area as South and East L.A. and pockets of the San Fernando Valley.
Meanwhile, Blue Shield will centralize data metrics on vaccine allocation, expand use of its MyTurn appointment website and advance efficiency and equity goals."
San Francisco just hit its lowest COVID case rate since one year ago. Here's how other Bay Area counties compare
KELLIE HWANG, Chronicle: "Before the winter surge, much of the Bay Area was celebrating low coronavirus transmission rates that allowed for more relaxed restrictions on what people could do for fun, work and life in general.
Now, case rates have plummeted again on the other side of that surge, and San Francisco has reported its lowest case rate since very early in the pandemic — a year ago when the city was in lockdown mode. That was before a summer spike sent the numbers skyrocketing ahead of a drop to lows in early October.
However, the picture across the Bay Area is uneven, with some counties still a ways off from achieving the lower levels seen last fall. And, even as we approach the lows, experts are concerned about the possibility a fourth surge could start in the coming weeks."
Despite months of alarm, many O.C. Latinos are still unvaccinated
HANNAH FRY, LA Times: "In Orange County, Latino residents are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 at much lower rates than their white counterparts, prompting experts and advocates to call for a more equitable rollout.
Just over 3% of Latinos in the county have received at least one dose of the vaccine, compared with 10% of white residents, according to county statistics.
About 6% of the county’s Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and less than 1% of the Black population has been at least partially vaccinated."
How does a California recall election work? It’s complicated
Sac Bee's LARA KORTE: "Californians are embarking on an unusual year in politics.
As the state works to recover from the pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom is facing a recall attempt. Although the reasons for wanting to oust the governor vary from person to person, many say they’re frustrated with his COVID-19 policies around closing businesses, schools and other industries that have been allowed to opened in other states.
A recall, unlike an impeachment, allows voters to decide directly whether or not to keep an elected official. California has a relatively easy process for doing this, compared to other states, but recall attempts don’t often succeed. The only successful gubernatorial recall happened in 2003, when voters decided to replace Democratic Gov. Gray Davis with Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger."
Waiting for California’s new COVID unemployment payment? You may have to be patient
Sac Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Is the extra $300 promised in the latest economic relief bill coming soon? Hard to say.
That benefit was supposed to end March 13, but was extended through early September in the new economic relief plan signed into law by President Joe Biden earlier this month.
Qualifying people receiving their regular unemployment insurance payments — that is, people who get benefits because their employer paid into the system, or those on the FED-ED extended benefits program — will keep getting the additional $300 a week, uninterrupted."
Overwhelmed, Border Patrol releases migrants without court paperwork, stirring confusion
MOLLY HENNESSY-FISKE, LA Times: "MISSION, Texas -- Honduran migrant Joaquin Padilla Nunez paid little attention to the paperwork U.S. Customs and Border Protection gave him after he crossed the Rio Grande during the weekend with his wife and 2-year-old daughter.
It was only once his family reached a makeshift shelter at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley on Sunday that Padilla, 27, realized something strange.
While other migrants had received packets of paperwork, including a date to appear in immigration court, Padilla had a single sheet with his photo, fingerprint and one sentence of guidance, in English, that he couldn’t read: “This document does not convey any legal immigration status.”
Coaches, mentors at California schools key to helping keep recent immigrant students during pandemic
EdSource's BETTY MARQUEZ ROSALES/ZAIDEE STAVELY: "Fernanda Salazar, 19, struggled to learn English after moving from Guatemala to Los Angeles about three years ago. She was finally feeling like she was able to communicate freely with classmates and teachers when the pandemic hit and learning became a mix of new school schedules, video calls, and virtual connections.
Several school districts across California reported that when the pandemic hit, many students who recently immigrated to the U.S. were not attending online classes regularly or were failing to turn in assignments. Some districts, including Fresno and Oakland Unified, have programs to help these students by offering coaches or peer mentors to help them navigate a new school system, do well in school, and stay enrolled. Some of these programs existed before the pandemic, but they have been crucial guides for students after campuses closed last spring.
“After the months went by, I felt I was going to fall into depression because I can’t do this anymore,” said Salazar, explaining that she felt suffocated by having to stay home all day, every day. “And then I stopped turning on my camera. I was just on the bed, trying to do homework, trying to keep going. I just wanted to lay down on the bed while on Zoom.”"
Unions would gain power under a bill backed by Democrats. What does that mean for California?
Sac Bee's KATE IRBY: "A high-profile bill that House Democrats passed this month will make it easier for private sector workers to join unions, but it won’t do much directly for labor organizations representing California government employees.
That’s by design.
Unions already feel strong in the public sector, but they’ve lost influence among private companies. That’s led to union advocates to want to push for more action in the private sector before turning to the public sector, according to Steve Smith, spokesman for the California Labor Federation."
