When and where do I need to wear a mask in California, before and after June 15?
KELLIE HWANG, SF Chronicle: "California is set to fully reopen its economy this week, which means nearly all COVID-19 pandemic restrictions will be lifted.
Under the new “Beyond the Blueprint” framework, the state’s mask mandate will change — but some confusion has surrounded the rules, especially for the workplace.
Here’s what we know about when vaccinated and unvaccinated people will need to wear masks in California, before and after the new rules take effect June 15."
California poised to drop mask rules for vaccinated workers and end distancing and barriers at workplaces
LA Times, RONG-GONG LIN II/LUKE MONEY: "A California safety board will vote on a proposal Thursday that would allow most fully vaccinated workers in many workplaces to stop wearing masks and end physical distancing requirements for all workers.
The proposal would also end the requirement to install the cleanable solid partitions designed to reduce viral transmission through the air — like the clear plastic barriers that separate customers and cashiers.
In addition, the proposal calls for employers to maximize the amount of fresh outside air that comes into the building, such as by letting in outdoor air."
Triple-digit temps expected this week -- will Bay Area break heat records?
The Chronicle, VANESSA ARREDONDO: "Light patches of drizzle are on tap to start the week in the Bay Area, but temperatures are expected to rise through the weekend to near-record highs, meteorologists said.
Onshore winds should keep daytime conditions cooler throughout Monday. Dense fog and some drizzle along the coast were expected into Monday morning.
Temperatures should begin to warm up Tuesday, reaching highs in the inland areas up to the mid-90s and up to the 70s along the coast, according to the National Weather Service."
No more pee tests? New California civil service rule restricts discipline for cannabis use'
Sac Bee, ANDREW SHEELER: "A new California civil service rule limits the use of urine cannabis tests in disciplining state workers, finding that pee samples do not accurately reflect whether an employee is intoxicated at work by a drug voters legalized.
The State Personnel Board issued a “precedential decision” in a case filed by a Caltrans worker contesting the department’s move to dismiss him over a urine test. The ruling says that merely testing positive for past marijuana use should not be grounds for discipline or dismissal for most public employees.
The decision does not apply to police or certain other professions where employees are prohibited from using drugs."
COVID vaccine 'passports' in the US: Here's what we're getting and why
LA Times, HUGO MARTIN: "The European Union is about to launch a digital pass system that will let residents prove they have been vaccinated against COVID-19, recovered from the disease or recently tested negative for the virus, allowing them to travel freely among all 27 member nations.
For months, Israelis used a similar digital pass system, showing their vaccination status to enter restaurants, gyms and other venues. Australia has rolled out a digital proof of vaccination certificate, and Japan plans to issue one as soon as this summer.
But don’t expect the United States to go that way."
Could your income go up by $36,000 under Biden's proposals? Economists are skeptical
Sac Bee, DAVID LIGHTMAN/FRANCESCA CHAMBERS: "A typical household’s income will grow an additional $36,000 over the next 10 years, says the Biden administration, because of its economic policies.
But outside economists disagree with the White House’s assessment.
That $36,000 estimate is “way off,” and should be much less, said Efraim Berkovich, director of computational dynamics at the Penn Wharton Budget Model."
Young climate activists head to the Golden Gate Bridge on 266-mile march from Paradise
The Chronicle, JD MORRIS: "Even after walking all the way from the fire-scarred foothills of Butte County to Marin County, Lola Guthrie wasn’t tired. At least not physically.
Guthrie, 17, said Sunday that the only exhaustion she felt as she entered the final stretch of a 266-mile march to San Francisco, focused on climate change, was the mental kind.
The Sebastopol teen and nearly 30 other activists with the youth-led Sunrise Movement arrived Sunday at the Marin County Civic Center in San Rafael. There they told the assembled North Bay government and environmental leaders about their push for President Biden and Congress to create a civilian climate corps that would employ numerous people to combat the effects of a warming world."
Large study finds that vaccine maker Novavax's shot is about 90% effective
AP, LINDA A JOHNSON: "Vaccine maker Novavax said Monday its shot was highly effective against COVID-19 and also protected against variants in a large, late-stage study in the U.S. and Mexico.
The vaccine was about 90% effective overall and preliminary data showed it was safe, the company said.
While demand for COVID-19 shots in the U.S. has dropped off dramatically, the need for more vaccines around the world remains critical. The Novavax vaccine, which is easy to store and transport, is expected to play an important role in boosting vaccine supplies in the developing world."
EdSource, JOHN FENSTERWALD: "Many parents weren’t alone in their displeasure with how school campuses reopened this spring across California. So were most teachers, according to a new survey.
Those who taught in variations of a hybrid schedule, in which students divided their time between in-person instruction at school and distance learning at home, were the most frustrated. They characterized their experiences as “exhausting”, “stressful,” even “discombobulating.”
Said a middle school teacher with 94% low-income students in the Inland Empire, “The task of simultaneously teaching students in-person and online has been extremely difficult. I have never felt this stressed or worn out while teaching.”"
The pandemic hit LGBTQ youth hard. Many turned to TikTok
The Chronicle's MALAVIKA KANNAN: "Even before COVID-19 canceled San Francisco’s iconic Pride Parade for the second straight year, gay teen Steven Sutton was finding celebration and solidarity online.
On his TikTok account, between videos celebrating gay love and trolling Millennials, the 15-year-old San Mateo high schooler posts raw, vulnerable updates about his daily life and challenges. While Sutton is out to his family, he said he feels most comfortable among fellow queer Gen Zers, whom he perceives to be “the most mature and kindest.”
“To be out and gay at a young age requires a lot of introspection and maturity,” Sutton, a rising junior at Design Tech High School in Redwood City, told The Chronicle. “Never once on TikTok have I been told that my emotions are not valid. I get told that all the time in real life.”"
The Summer of Goodbye: Why many are saying goodbye to their jobs
LA Times, SAM DEAN: "In late May, Sarah Lynch pulled the rip cord.
The 31-year-old brand designer had been working at Coursera, the online education company, for five years. During the pandemic, a booming business in virtual learning meant Lynch was busier than ever — and sinking into burnout.
“I love my company, and I love my work, but I couldn’t keep pushing on through,” Lynch said. “I didn’t have really any energy, I didn’t really enjoy what I was doing anymore, I couldn’t really focus.”"
Home values sank in these SF neighborhoods, thanks to the 'doughnut' effect
The Chronicle, SUSIE NEILSON: "Home values are up seemingly everywhere in the Bay Area except San Francisco. Yet while the city is an exception in the region, the “San Francisco exodus” — people leaving the city, causing rents and home values to drop precipitously — has actually been the norm within major U.S. metropolitan areas, according to research.
That is, most U.S. cities have seen widespread migration out of their denser centers into less crowded suburban surroundings.
To understand the extent to which the pandemic affected home values in San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area, The Chronicle analyzed Zillow data on monthly median home values for 456 neighborhoods across the nine-county Bay Area."
Biden and Putin agree relations are abysmal. Will their meeting change anything?
LA Times, ELI STOKOLS: "President Biden agrees with Russian President Vladimir Putin on at least one thing: Relations between their two nations are currently at a very low ebb.
Both said as much in interviews leading up to Wednesday’s meeting in Geneva, which comes amid tensions over myriad issues, including a spate of cyberattacks emanating from within Russia; Putin’s military adventurism along his country’s border with Ukraine; and his imprisonment of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who survived poisoning with a Russian nerve agent.
Biden arrives at the summit fresh from enthusiastic meetings with allies welcoming the return of the United States to conventional multilateral diplomacy. He aims to use that support to present a united front to challenge Putin. At the same time, he acknowledged the difficulty in reversing Putin’s policies, which seem impervious to a litany of U.S. economic sanctions and the expulsions of diplomats."
Biden at NATO for bridge building after Trump mocked alliance as 'obsolete'
LA Times, ELI STOKOLS/TRACY WILKINSON: "It took most of his term for former President Trump to grudgingly acknowledge the most fundamental tenet of the NATO transatlantic bond: An attack on one is an attack on all, and all will join in the defense of one.
The only time that the Article 5 provision was invoked was when NATO member states rushed to support the United States after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. But Trump, who once branded NATO “obsolete,” wondered out loud why he should send U.S. troops to defend countries he apparently had barely heard of.
Into that sense of unease stepped President Biden on Monday. As he has sought to do elsewhere on his first overseas trip as president — starting with sessions with the Group of 7 wealthy democracies Friday — Biden is trying to repair critical ties with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an alliance that has worked to preserve global peace since World War II."
Israeli epoch comes to close as Netanyahu, longest-serving leader, is out
LA Times, LAURA KING: "sIn a political moment that seemed inevitable yet improbable, Israeli lawmakers on Sunday brought down the curtain on the long-running rule of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, installing a new prime minister with similarly hard-line ideology but a stated determination to stem the rancor and polarization that have become hallmarks of the country’s public life.
By the narrowest possible vote — 60-59, with one abstention — the 120-member Knesset, or parliament, ushered in a ruling coalition cobbled together from wildly disparate political parties with little in common beyond a shared desire to expel Netanyahu from the office he had held for the last 12 years.
“At the decisive moment, we have taken responsibility,” Naftali Bennett, the new prime minister, told lawmakers as the Knesset prepared to vote — a speech that was interrupted by relentless heckling from Netanyahu’s allies. “We stopped the train, a moment before it barreled into the abyss.”"
