Gov. Gavin Newsom rejects parole for Sirhan Sirhan, convicted of killing Robert F. Kennedy
BY PHIL WILLON, LA Times: "Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday refused to parole the man convicted of gunning down Robert F. Kennedy in Los Angeles, a brazen assassination of a presidential candidate that scarred the nation and altered the course of American politics during the turbulent 1960s.
A two-person state parole panel recommended in August that Sirhan Sirhan be paroled, influenced in part by two of Kennedy’s children, who have advocated for his release. Sirhan has been imprisoned for more than half a century since his conviction in Kennedy’s shooting death at the Ambassador Hotel the day after the senator won California’s 1968 Democratic presidential primary.
“Mr. Sirhan’s assassination of Senator Kennedy is among the most notorious crimes in American history,” Newsom said in a statement released Thursday afternoon. “After decades in prison, he has failed to address the deficiencies that led him to assassinate Senator Kennedy. Mr. Sirhan lacks the insight that would prevent him from making the same types of dangerous decisions he made in the past.”"
READ MORE on Sirhan Sirhan: Newsom vetoes parole for RFK assassin Sirhan Sirhan, ‘a potent symbol of political violence’ -- BOB EGELKO, Chronicle; California Gov. Gavin Newsom rejects parole for Sirhan Sirhan, Robert F. Kennedy’s killer -- SOPHIA BOLLAG, SacBee; Sirhan Sirhan Is Denied Parole as Newsom Rejects Board’s Recommendation -- SHAWN HUBLER, NY Times; Calif. Gov. Newsom denies parole for Sirhan Sirhan, convicted of Robert F. Kennedy assassination -- TOM JACKMAN, WaPo
California’s EDD freezes 345,000 disability claims to battle fraud
The Chronicle, CAROLYN SAID: "Some disabled people could get caught in the crossfire as California’s Employment Development Department battles a new wave of fraudsters.
EDD has frozen 345,000 claims for disability insurance because of “suspected organized criminal elements filing false (disability insurance) claims using stolen credentials of individuals and medical or health providers,” it said in a statement Thursday.
Disability insurance claims must include certification from a medical provider that the applicant has a medical issue. EDD said last month that it had seen an unusual increase in entities registering as new medical or health providers along with a rise in disability claims."
Supreme Court blocks Biden’s vaccine mandate for the workplace
DAVID G. SAVAGE, LAT: "The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked President Biden’s plan to require that most workers be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing.
But the justices, in a separate decision, upheld a smaller and more targeted regulation that will require workers in hospitals and nursing facilities to be vaccinated. This rule, once put into effect, is expected to cover about 17 million people working in healthcare, the administration said.
In blocking the broader workplace rule, the court’s conservative majority agreed with Republican state attorneys who contended the president had overstepped his authority by requiring workers in companies and agencies with more than 100 employees to be vaccinated or tested regularly. There were exemptions for those who worked outdoors or at home, or had medical or religious objections."
Sheriff to release 203 inmates to halt outbreak as COVID cases quadruple at Sacramento jails
ROSALIO AHUMADA, SacBee: "The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said it would release over 200 inmates early from its two jail facilities in response to a new COVID-19 outbreak among inmates and the surging number omicron cases in the region.
The move is necessary, the Sheriff’s Office says, to make adequate space in the facilities to place those with or at-risk of COVID in quarantine pods to stop further spread of the virus.
Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Rodney Grassmann said in a news conference Thursday afternoon officials are following criteria that will provide early releases for inmates who are least likely to commit another crime.
Lawmakers move to tighten restrictions on sex-offending doctors
JACK DOLAN, BRITTNY MEJIA and KIM CHRISTENSEN, LA Times: "Doctors who are convicted of sexually abusing patients would be permanently banned from practicing medicine in California under a bill introduced this week by state legislators.
The move comes a month after a Times investigation found that the Medical Board of California had reinstated 10 physicians since 2013 who lost their licenses for sexual misconduct. They included two doctors who abused teenage girls and one who beat two female patients when they reported him for sexually exploiting them.
“I read that article and my stomach turned. This is the sort of stuff you see in horror movies,” said the bill’s lead author, Assemblywoman Akilah Weber (D-San Diego), who is an obstetrician/gynecologist. “I was shocked. I was very concerned for patients and very concerned for the medical profession itself.”"
PG&E can be held responsible for contamination from former gas plant, judge rules
The Chronicle, BOB EGELKO: "A federal judge says Pacific Gas and Electric Co. can be held responsible for any contamination caused since the early 1900s by a manufactured gas plant that the utility’s predecessor company operated near San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square.
The Cannery plant was based at the city’s waterfront, above Aquatic Park Cove, from 1898 until 1906, when it was damaged in the San Francisco earthquake. Such plants used oil and coal to produce gas that they supplied to customers, while also generating potential pollutants.
The plaintiff in the current case, a private citizen and former Marina District resident, said a limited investigation by the National Park Service in the early 1980s found signs of coal tar and other contaminants near the former plant site. But after PG&E said it was not responsible, federal and state regulators took no action, and the issue was not addressed until the current lawsuit."
Here’s one critical thing to check before you buy or use a rapid home COVID test
The Chronicle, KELLIE HWANG: "If you’re among those fortunate enough to have gotten your hands on an at-home COVID-19 test during the omicron surge, pharmacists say it’s a good idea to check the expiration date.
Over-the-counter rapid antigen tests have been hard to find in the Bay Area and elsewhere as demand has skyrocketed, with decisions about safety, quarantining and isolation hinging on whether you test positive or negative.
But pharmacists say there’s another wrinkle: The test kits have a shelf life, and using old tests could mean inaccurate results."
Winter crowds overwhelm Big Bear as Omicron slams workforce. ‘It’s crazy’
BY JONAH VALDEZ, LA Times: "His skis nearby, John Gabin lounged at a picnic table, gazing up toward the steep slopes carpeted with snow. His 4-year-old son sprawled on his outstretched legs.
“It’s a getaway from L.A., the city, you know?” said Gabin, 46, of North Hollywood, who rented a house in Big Bear Lake with his wife, their two children and a friend for several days.
He spent the sunny midweek morning in January at Snow Summit Resort teaching his children to ski, a pastime he’s carried on since his days as a child living in France. Now, it’s a means to escape the ongoing surge of coronavirus cases as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly throughout the dense neighborhoods of Los Angeles."
L.A. County files suit over warehouse fire that led to sickening odor in Dominguez Channel
BY CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ: "Los Angeles County filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing property owners and tenants of negligence in connection with a warehouse fire that sent discharge into the Dominguez Channel last year, causing a sickening odor to linger in the Carson area for weeks and displacing thousands of residents.
The county, along with its fire protection and flood control districts, said the warehouse’s owners and tenants knew of fire code and hazardous materials violations before the Sept. 30 fire but did nothing to abate them. It is seeking to recover millions of dollars in costs associated with the investigations, cleanup and public relocation effort, as well as injunctions and civil penalties.
According to the complaint, the fire and the subsequent discharge of hazardous materials into storm drains and into the channel “should never have occurred.” Months before the fire, the complaint says, the defendants knew hazardous materials illegally stored at the warehouse “posed a severe fire risk.”"
The Bay Area is seeing spectacular sunsets this week. Here’s why
ANDRES PICON, Chronicle: "Not all sunsets are created equal. Some, like the ones seen throughout the Bay Area this week, are far better than others.
For the third day in a row Thursday, sunset watchers flooded social media with stunning photos of vibrant sunsets, rays of orange and pink strewn across the sky.
“Oh, come on now,” the National Weather Service’s Bay Area office tweeted Thursday with a photo of the sun’s fiery glow emanating from behind Bay Area hills. “Look at this sunset. Another fantastic end to the day.”"
Restaurateur donates 10,000 KN95 masks to help Oakland schools in a ‘very tough bind’
The Chronicle, JESSICA FLORES: "When restaurateur Eugene Lee learned that Oakland students had created an online petition last week demanding school district officials provide KN95 masks to help protect all pupils during the omicron surge, he sprang into action.
Lee, whose restaurant Noodle Belly is opening Saturday in Oakland’s Fruitvale district, reached out to Mayor Libby Schaaf, who put him in touch with Oakland Unified School District officials. This week, he donated 10,000 KN95 masks to the district and another 15,000 to the city for emergency workers.
“It was a no-brainer for me,” said Lee, who also owns a roofing supply store in San Francisco."
Mayor Breed vents frustration with supervisors, jokes about getting rid of board
The Chronicle, MALLORY MOENCH: "Mayor London Breed criticized the Board of Supervisors this week as “obstructionist” and suggested some supervisors were hypocrites for calling for more homeless services and housing while rejecting hundreds of homes and delaying the approval of a new shelter.
When asked on the New York Times’ Sway podcast published Thursday what obstacle she’d like to get rid of, Breed said with a laugh that she would “remove the board of supervisors.”
She clarified that she doesn’t actually want to strip away the legislative branch of government, but “would love to see the politics of the board removed.” She said she wants supervisors to do “what they know is right” rather “than what’s going to keep them in office.”"
Oakland classes canceled again due to second teacher sickout as students threaten to walk out next week
The Chronicle, RICHARD CANO: "Oakland schools faced a second teacher sickout less than a week after a group of teachers forced the cancellation of instruction at 12 campuses by calling in sick to protest working conditions during the region’s omicron surge. The district was already grappling with educators who were out due to COVID and a shortage of substitutes.
Nine schools canceled all instruction Thursday because of teacher absences, district officials said, although the campuses were still open to students.
Some students were also expected to call in sick Thursday and circulated an online petition last week threatening to go on “strike” by not going to school starting next week if the district did not meet safety demands similar to those laid out by teachers. It was unclear Thursday how many students missed school because of the sickout."
Garcetti questions LAPD discipline for out-of-policy police shootings, orders review
KEVIN RECTOR, LA Times: "Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Thursday questioned whether LAPD officers who shoot people are sufficiently punished when the shootings violate department policies, ordering a review of such cases going back years.
Garcetti said that “quite often,” stiff penalties supported by elected officials and police leaders never materialize in such cases because discipline panels hand down lesser penalties — sometimes leaving officers who officials want to fire on the force.
Citing that and a report by the LAPD’s inspector general last year that found newer, all-civilian discipline panels have been even more lenient on errant officers, Garcetti said he had ordered the inspector general to assess the issue once more — this time producing a public report that will outline thediscipline received by officers found to have broken policy in shootings in recent years, as well as the outcomes of any appeals they made to those punishments."
Former doctor for John Muir Health says hospitals put money ahead of patient safety, cites child’s death
The Chronicle, MATTHIAS GAFNI: "A former doctor at John Muir Health alleges in a lawsuit that the nonprofit group, which operates hospitals in Walnut Creek and Concord, put money ahead of patient safety and ignored her warnings of surgical dangers which led to illnesses and deaths.
Hospital officials denied the allegations made by Dr. Alicia Kalamas in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Contra Costa County Superior Court.
Kalamas, who worked at John Muir Health for eight years, said she repeatedly raised red flags to executives about improper surgical practices, only to be ignored because she was viewed as a woman with “sharp elbows” or because officials worried changes would signal that past practices were dangerous."
