Beer and a shot

Get vaccinated, get beer: That’s Anheuser-Busch’s pandemic promise

OLGA GRIGORYANTS, LA Daily News: "Beer and a shot. That’s the offer Anheuser-Busch is making to the remaining unvaccinated folks around the nation. 

What. you’d prefer something other than suds with your COVID-19 vaccine? No worries. Officials at St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch, which operates a plant in Van Nuys, say they’ll spring for one of their other beverages, too.

To encourage people to get vaccinated against coronavirus, the makers of Budweiser this week said they will buy “America’s next round of beer, seltzer or non-alcoholic beverage” once the country reaches the goal of having 70% of the adult population vaccinated, according to a company statement."

CSU students forced into online learning discovered big upsides. Is it here to stay?

COLLEEN SHALBY, LA Times: "In early December, California State University leaders made a bold announcement: All 23 campuses would reopen for in-person classes in fall 2021. But with registration underway for the new academic year, the return is looking anything but normal — and it has become clear the pandemic has altered the future of the nation’s largest four-year university system.

Online options are here to stay.

Throughout the system, in spring surveys, campus discussions and early registration trends, a new realization has emerged among students and staff. At CSU’s largely commuter campuses, many found valuable upsides to virtual learning: greater flexibility in their college-work-life balance, fewer expenses, the power to keep students in college."

Takeout alcohol in California allowed through year’s end. Why COVID rule may stick around

NOEL HARRIS, SacBee: "Would you rather sip that mai tai from the comfort of your couch? Raise a glass to this.

On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that to-go sales of alcoholic drinks will be allowed to continue through the end of 2021.

The rule was put into place at the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when stay-at-home orders and other measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 kept restaurants, bars, wineries and other establishments with alcohol shuttered."

READ MORE ABOUT TAKE-OUT ALCOHOL : Gavin Newsom on outdoor dining parklets: 'We don't want to go back to normal' -- SAM WHITING, Chronicle; California extends ability for restaurants to serve alcohol outdoors, for delivery and to-go -- LUKE MONEY and RONG-GONG LIN II, LA Times; Newsom: Restaurant parklets and to-go cocktails will continue in California through 2021 -- LEONARDO CASTENEDA, Mercury News.

Population growth: Study finds great white sharks thriving off Northern California coast

MICHAEL CABANATUAN, Chronicle: "The population of great white sharks lurking off the Northern California coast grew between 2011 and 2018, according to new research.

A study estimated that 266 great whites were living in the so-called Red Triangle area, which reaches roughly from Big Sur to the Farallon Islands to Bodega Bay in 2018 — up from 219 counted in 2011. With a large population of elephant seals, harbor seals, sea lions, sea otters and other marine mammals, the area lures great white sharks.

Santa Clara County DA: VTA shooter could have been stopped if feds told local authorities about prior detention

ROBERT SALONGA, Mercury News: "Last week’s massacre at the Valley Transportation Authority might have been prevented, the county’s top law enforcement official said Thursday, if federal agents had told local authorities what they knew about Samuel Cassidy.

The federal government never disclosed that customs agents reportedly found terrorist literature and notes detailing hatred for the transit agency in Cassidy’s possession five years ago, Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said. The 57-year-old light rail mechanic was virtually unknown to local law enforcement until he opened fire on his colleagues last Wednesday, killing nine people in the deadliest mass shooting in Bay Area history.

“Had this information been shared with local law enforcement, there would have been an intervention with Mr. Cassidy,” Rosen said in an interview with this news organization. “After speaking with Mr. Cassidy, there may at that point have been enough evidence for a gun-violence restraining order, there may have been information for them to refer Mr. Cassidy to mental-health services or some other therapeutic alternative.”

California's K-12 funding formula likely to change, but disagreement over how

JOHN FENSTERWALD, EdSource: "For the first time since its adoption eight years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to change the formula that determines more than 70% of California school districts’ annual spending. But his plan to direct more money only to districts with the greatest concentration of low-income children is proving to be a tough sell so far to the Legislature.

The Local Control Funding Formula already targets additional funding to school districts based on the enrollment of four groups of students identified as needing additional services. They are low-income, foster and homeless students and English learners. Arguing that “Equal treatment for children in unequal situations is not justice,” former Gov. Jerry Brown persuaded the Legislature to pass the landmark funding law in 2013.

Newsom wants to move a step further by significantly increasing funding under the formula for “concentration” districts, where those qualifying students comprise at least 55% of enrollment. Newsom proposes to add $1.1 billion annually to the formula to enable those districts to hire more staff. More than 2 million low-income children and English learners are enrolled in concentration districts."

Armed and drunk: Off-duty cops get into trouble drinking. LAPD rules fail to prevent it

KEVIN  RECTOR and RICHARD WINTON, LA Times: "Early one morning last month, off-duty Los Angeles police Officer Nicolas Quintanilla-Borja allegedly threatened to kill his cousin and another man with a handgun in Inglewood before being arrested by local police, prosecutors said.

Days later, LAPD Chief Michel Moore told the civilian Police Commission that the incident troubled him “a great deal,” in part because Quintanilla-Borja — a probationary officer with less than 18 months on the force — was allegedly “significantly” impaired by alcohol at the time.

Moore said he immediately assigned Quintanilla-Borja to home and removed his police powers, and that the LAPD is “taking additional actions” that he could not discuss. Quintanilla-Borja, who could not be reached for comment, has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges, including assault with a semiautomatic weapon."

‘Hero pay’ bill for healthcare workers fizzles in California Legislature

MELODY GUTIERREZ, LA Times: "California Assembly members declined Thursday to vote on a bill that would have awarded “hero pay” to healthcare workers who helped steer the state through the pandemic, effectively killing the $7-billion effort for the year.

Assembly Bill 650 by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Rolling Hills Estates) would have required hospitals, clinics and skilled nursing facilities to pay medical professionals $10,000, with smaller bonuses for those who work part time.