California issues universal indoor mask mandate as COVID-19 cases rise
LARA KORTE, SacBee: “All Californians will be required to wear masks when indoors at public places starting Dec. 15 and ending Jan. 15, health officials announced Monday, citing an increase in COVID-19 case rates following Thanksgiving.
California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said the mandate will affect about 50% of Californians who are not currently under a county-level mask mandate.
Many counties already have their own local masking rules. Sacramento County health officials issued an indoor mask mandate in late July after the state lifted its previous universal mandate on June 15."
California’s indoor mask mandate begins tomorrow. Here are the new requirements
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: "With coronavirus cases climbing statewide amid growing concerns about the highly mutated omicron variant, California made a sweeping decision Monday to reimpose a universal indoor mask mandate this week.
The new requirement comes with the holiday season in full swing, with gatherings that could further fuel transmission of the virus.
Here’s what you need to know:"
Private-prison firms make big money in California
SCOTT SORIANO, Capitol Weekly: “In January 2020, Californians thought they were getting out of the private prison business.
They are, but under a new law, AB 32, which went into effect at the first of that year, the state remains heavily invested in backing for-profit correctional services — including facilities that resemble detention centers run by the same companies who operate private prisons.
After AB 32’s passage and even before it went into effect, the state voided existing contracts with the operators of private prisons — agreements worth more than $300 million annually in public money — and barred new contracts and renewals."
Pfizer says its COVID-19 treatment pill works against the Omicron variant
AP, MATTHEW PERRONE: "Pfizer said Tuesday that its experimental COVID-19 pill appears to be effective against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The company also said full results of its 2,250-person study confirmed the pill’s promising early results against the virus: The drug reduced combined hospitalizations and deaths by about 89% among high-risk adults when taken shortly after initial COVID-19 symptoms.
The company said separate laboratory testing showed that the drug retained its potency against the Omicron variant, as many experts had predicted. Pfizer tested the antiviral drug against a man-made version of a key protein that the Omicron variant uses to reproduce itself.
Atmospheric river lashes S.F. Bay Area, flooding roads and threatening landslides in wildfire-scarred areas
The Chronicle, JESSICA FLORES: "A storm hammered the Bay Area on Monday, flooding streets, shutting down highways, triggering mudslides and evacuation warnings and toppling scaffolding at a building in San Mateo.
In Hillsborough, firefighters rescued a resident after waters rushed into a property.
A storm hammered the Bay Area on Monday, flooding streets, shutting down highways, triggering mudslides and evacuation warnings and toppling scaffolding at a building in San Mateo. In Hillsborough, firefighters rescued a resident after waters rushed into a property."
Breed tries to rein in S.F. school board with unprecedented charter amendment
The Chronicle, JILL TUCKER/ANNIE VAINSHTEIN: "Mayor London Breed is pushing an ambitious school board oversight plan that threatens to withhold city funding from classrooms if Board of Education members don’t change their behavior.
San Francisco classrooms, under a proposed change to city law, could lose millions in city funding each year if school board members continue to micromanage, treat others poorly or persist in chasing short-term political wins, its backers say.
Breed announced the unprecedented and unusual oversight plan Monday, which would require majority support of the supervisors and then the approval of voters in June."
Should the feds drop poison on Farallon Islands to destroy invasive mice? Controversial plan goes to vote this week
The Chronicle, TARA DUGGAN: For boaters approaching the steep, rocky shoreline, the South Farallon Islands appear to be a dominion of preening pelicans, barking sea lions and other native seabirds and pinnipeds.
But in the middle of this wilderness 27 miles offshore from San Francisco is an invader introduced by humans long ago: European house mice. In such high numbers that they make the ground quiver, the rodents attract owls that prey on a rare seabird, the ashy storm-petrel, leaving only piles of feathers behind. That’s led wildlife officials to devise a plan to get rid of the mice by dropping about 3,000 pounds of poisoned bait on the islands, promising minimal harm to wildlife.
The California Coastal Commission will vote on the latest version of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s mouse eradication plan Thursday. If it approves the plan, it would then need to be green-lighted by the regional director of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and would likely be implemented in the fall of 2023 at the soonest."
Latest coronavirus mandate sparks outrage for some in Inland Empire
DAVID DOWNEY, Press-Enterprise: "Weary of the coronavirus pandemic and associated restrictions on lifestyles, some business people and church leaders across the Inland Empire say they aren’t ready for the statewide indoor mask mandate set to take effect Wednesday, Dec. 15.
Some say they will comply, anyway. Others won’t.
Some say they are outraged. Pastor Tim Thompson of 412 Church Murrieta called the latest state order “ridiculous.”
Million-dollar bail reduced for father, son suspected of sparking California wildfire
SAM STANTON, SacBee: “A Placerville judge Monday slashed the $1 million bail for the father and son accused of starting the Caldor Fire in August, saying there was no evidence that they acted maliciously and rejecting most arguments that they are a flight risk.
“Justice was done today,” said Mark Reichel, defense attorney for Travis Shane Smith, 32, whose bail was reduced to $50,000.
His father, David Scott Smith, 66, had his bail reduced to $25,000 after his attorney, Linda Parisi, joined Reichel in arguing that the men are lifelong residents of the area with no criminal history and no reason to leave behind their lives and families."
Lawsuit over inmate death adds to scandal surrounding guards at California prison
SAM STANTON, SacBee: “The mother of a Sacramento-area inmate allegedly stabbed to death by three other prisoners is suing over his death, claiming in court papers that guards at California State Prison, Sacramento, were complicit in the slaying and allowed the attackers to make a “practice run” the week before.
The lawsuit, filed Friday in Sacramento federal court, is the second to be filed to date over the Dec. 12, 2019, death of inmate Luis Giovanny Aguilar, 29, who was stabbed to death as he sat handcuffed to a chair in a day room at the prison, also known as New Folsom.
“While we have not yet received the lawsuit, CDCR is committed to identifying and responding to any potential safety and security issues throughout the department, including thoroughly reviewing all allegations of staff misconduct and ensuring people are held accountable if allegations about their actions are found to be true,” CDCR officials said in a statement. “The circumstances surrounding this incident are currently under investigation so further details cannot be discussed.”
Antioch men charged in organized retail theft spree at Yolo County CVS, Walgreens stores
ROSALIO AHUMADA, SacBee: “Yolo County prosecutors on Monday filed felony organized retail theft charges against two Antioch teens accused of stealing over $1,200 in merchandise from Walgreens and CVS stores in Woodland and Davis on the same day last week.
Dorian Adams, 19, and Taveon Thompson, 18, were each charged with one count of organized retail theft, alleging the defendants stole store merchandise with the intent to make a profit from the crime, according to a criminal complaint filed in Yolo Superior Court.
Adams and Thompson also face three counts of criminal conspiracy in connection with thefts at a CVS store and a Walgreens store in Woodland and a CVS store in Davis, according to the filed complaint."
Judge denies LAPD union’s request to temporarily halt vaccine mandate
LA Times, GREGORY YEE: "A judge on Monday denied the Los Angeles police union’s request to temporarily halt the implementation of the city’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate.
The Los Angeles Police Protective League argued for a preliminary injunction, which would have halted the mandate for police officers while a lawsuit the union filed against the city moved forward.
In a statement, City Atty. Mike Feuer praised the judge’s decision, which marked the second time this month the court sided with the city on the vaccination mandate issue. On Dec. 3, a different judge rejected a similar request for a preliminary injunction filed by the union representing Los Angeles firefighters, Feuer said."
Senate to hold hearing weighing Garcetti’s nomination to be ambassador to India
LA Times, NOLAN D MCCASKILL: "Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti will be questioned on Tuesday by lawmakers weighing his nomination to become the U.S. ambassador to India.
Garcetti will appear with two other nominees for diplomatic posts at a morning hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
President Biden in July nominated the 50-year-old mayor to fill the job, a critical position in an administration seeking to build alliances in the Indo-Pacific as a bulwark against China. Garcetti’s nomination has dragged on amid a broader effort by Republican senators that has slowed the confirmation process of dozens of would-be diplomats."
