Time to wear a mask again? Here’s what Bay Area health experts say amid rising COVID cases
The Chronicle, MATT KAWAHARA: "For each of the past two years, Thanksgiving heralded the onset of a COVID-19 surge. A third pandemic winter finds the U.S. with more tools to combat the coronavirus — an updated booster, ample at-home tests, a helpful antiviral drug — and many prior restrictions erased as people return to public and social settings.
That might leave some wondering how to navigate a period in the pandemic where precautions are largely up to the individual. As the holidays arrive and COVID numbers show signs of climbing again — albeit not to previous surge levels so far — what are currently the best practices to stay healthy? How much caution is needed?
“I think it’s become much more of an individual judgment call,” said Dr. Bob Wachter, chief of medicine at UCSF. “So I rarely tell people what they should do, other than things that make no sense to me not to do, like for example getting a booster if you haven’t gotten one in over six months.”"
Nearly 20% of California water agencies could see shortages if drought persists, state report shows
LAT, HAYLEY SMITH: "Most of California’s urban water agencies believe they have enough supplies to last through another seven months of drought, but nearly 20% of them — including many in Southern California — say they could be facing significant shortages, according to a new state report.
The California Department of Water Resources’ first annual water supply and demand assessment surveyed the state’s urban water agencies to see how they are managing tight supplies through conservation efforts and improved drought planning. The report, which includes yearly data through July 1, focuses on water agencies that serve at least 3,000 connections, representing about 90% of the population.
Of 414 reporting agencies, 82% said they do not anticipate any shortages so long as current conservation efforts continue, including voluntary reductions in water use and local Level 2 water shortage measures. Officials said the findings highlight that, in many cases, water saving efforts are making a difference."
When will the final Jan. 6 report be released and what will it include?
LAT, SARAH D. WIRE: "The chairman of the House panel investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol says the body of the final report is nearly complete and should be released before Christmas.
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told reporters that the committee’s report will not be completed before Congress is scheduled to leave for the month on Dec. 16, but that there is a “good possibility” it will be out before Christmas.
Interviews for the more than yearlong investigation wrapped up this week after the panel heard from Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos; Kellyanne Conway, senior advisor to then-President Trump; and Tony Ornato, the former Secret Service agent who served as White House deputy chief of staff."
House Democrats elect Hakeem Jeffries as Congress’ first Black party leader
LAT, NOLAN D. MCCASKILL: "House Democrats tapped Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) on Wednesday to lead them in the next Congress.
The historic selection of Jeffries as the incoming minority leader means he will replace Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) in January as the highest-ranking African American in the House and become the first Black lawmaker to lead either party in the chamber.
Jeffries will be joined in the top tier of Democratic leadership by Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts as minority whip and California’s Rep. Pete Aguilar of Redlands as House Democratic Caucus chair. Another Californian, Rep. Ted Lieu of Torrance, won a contested race for caucus vice chair."
Paul Pelosi attack: Feds ask for more time to process ‘substantial discovery’ in case against DePape
The Chronicle, ANNIE VAINSHTEIN: "Prosecutors in the federal criminal case against David DePape, the man accused of attacking U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, on Wednesday asked a judge to give them until February to evaluate a mountain of evidence in the case.
Their request was made at a brief status hearing at a federal courthouse in San Francisco.
Assistant Federal Public Defender Angela Chuang, who is representing DePape in his federal case, did not immediately respond to a request for comment."
California gave drivers a new option for gender on their IDs. Here’s how many took it
Sac Bee, ARIANE LANGE: "Four years after California began issuing nonbinary IDs, fewer than 16,000 people have asked the state for a little piece of plastic with their gender marked by an X rather than an F or M.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles released the number in response to a California Public Records Act request from The Sacramento Bee.
According to the DMV, 3,071 people aged 16 to 19 had nonbinary drivers licenses or state IDs this fall; 3,838 people 20 to 24; and 3,431 people 25 to 29. All told, just over 14,000 people under 40 received this designation."
Report: California gun data breach was unintentional
AP: "California’s Department of Justice mistakenly posted the names, addresses and birthdays of nearly 200,000 gun owners on the internet because officials didn’t follow policies or understand how to operate their website, according to an investigation released Wednesday.
The investigation, conducted by an outside law firm hired by the California Department of Justice, found that personal information for 192,000 people was downloaded 2,734 times by 507 unique IP addresses during a roughly 12-hour period in late June. All of those people had applied for a permit to carry a concealed gun.
The data was exposed just days after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that people have a right to carry guns in public. The decision invalidated a California law that said people must give a reason for wanting to carry a concealed weapon, such as a threat to their safety. Lawmakers then tried to pass new restrictions for concealed carry permits, but failed."
Scott Wiener calls out far-right activist’s homophobic misinformation as dangerous
The Chronicle, JORDAN PARKER/DUSTIN GARDINER: "San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener called out far-right activist Charlie Kirk on Tuesday, calling him “one of the biggest attention-seeking liars” around and a spreader of misinformation after Kirk referred to Wiener with a homophobic trope and mischaracterized the senator’s legislative record.
The Democrat roared back against Kirk’s Twitter remarks, tweeting in response, “These are the lies bigots have always spread about LGBTQ people — lies that lead to violence against our community.”"
Is Oakland more progressive than San Francisco? Here’s what political experts say
The Chronicle, SARAH RAVANI: "The election earlier this month sparked the question: Why did San Francisco seem to elect more moderate leaders while Oakland turned to progressives?
Progressives in Oakland and Alameda County delivered strong results on Election Day, securing several high-profile seats. Candidates in the Oakland mayor’s race and City Council secured victories, as did a reform-minded district attorney.
Their wins stand in stark contrast to San Francisco, which elected a law-and-order district attorney backed by the city’s moderate mayor, London Breed, and two moderate supervisors, including one who beat a progressive incumbent for his seat — not an easy task."
ICE accidentally released the identities of 6,252 immigrants who sought protection in the U.S.
LAT, HAMED ALEAZIZ: "Immigration and Customs Enforcement accidentally posted the names, birthdates, nationalities and detention locations of more than 6,000 immigrants who claimed to be fleeing torture and persecution to its website on Monday.
The unprecedented data dump could expose the immigrants — all of whom are currently in ICE custody — to retaliation from the very individuals, gangs and governments they fled, attorneys for people who have sought protection in the U.S. said. The personal information of people seeking asylum and other protections is supposed to be kept confidential; a federal regulation generally forbids its disclosure without sign-off by top officials in the Department of Homeland Security.
The agency is investigating the incident and will notify the affected immigrants about the disclosure of their information. The agency has said it will not deport immigrants whose information it mistakenly posted until it is determined whether the disclosure affects their cases."
Preserving, protecting public lands is a top priority
Opinion, Capitol Weekly, ANNIE NYBORG: "From my home in Ventura County, I can see the rugged hills and green oak trees of the Los Padres National Forest. I grew up in this area and have spent countless days exploring my wild backyard. As a kid, these lands were a constant in my life and I thought they would always remain unchanged. But as an adult, I know these places are threatened by development and climate change.
We cannot take our public lands for granted and we must advocate for their protection.
Before 2022 comes to a close, the president and Congress have a unique opportunity to conserve public lands and rivers in California. Our leaders can accomplish this by prioritizing federal legislation called the Protecting Unique and Beautiful Lands by Investing in California (PUBLIC) Lands Act as well as moving forward an effort to expand Berryessa Snow Mountain National Monument."
Contractor: Golden Gate Bridge suicide net will cost $400M
AP, OLGA R RODRIGUEZ: "A suicide prevention net on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge that is already years behind schedule will cost about $400 million, more than double its original price, because of problems sparked by the government agency that manages the span, the lead contractors allege.
The allegations filed Monday in state court by Shimmick Construction Co. and Danny’s Construction Co. say that changes to and flaws in the government's net design and the lack of transparency about the deterioration of the bridge's maintenance platforms have raised the construction price from $142 million to at least $398 million.
"We were alarmed to discover the District concealed significant information during the proposal phase of the Project, including extensive deterioration in certain areas of the bridge," Shimmick said in a statement."
Real costs of California wildfires obscured by emergency spending, new report finds
Sac Bee, ARI PLACHTA: "Californians are well aware of destructive wildfires after the last difficult few years. But they may be less familiar with how government pays to fight them as costs have ballooned.
Because states budget for wildfires based on past spending, they often rely heavily on emergency funding during and after new conflagrations. This can obscure true costs and stymie long term fire prevention efforts, according to a report released Wednesday by the Pew Charitable Trusts.
“The growing incidence, size, and spending required to deal with wildfires pose a major challenge across the United States,” said Colin Foard, a Pew research manager. “Efforts to manage growing spending, not to mention impacts on the environment and lives, must be well coordinated and based on the best information possible.”"
Storm could bring feet of snow to Sierra Nevada, then rain and wind to L.A.
LAT, GREGORY YEE: "A storm system moving down the West Coast is expected to wallop the Sierra Nevada, dropping feet of snow before bringing widespread rain and wind to Southern California later this week.
Officials have issued a winter storm warning for the Sierra from Wednesday night to Friday morning, according to the National Weather Service office in Sacramento.
The Sierra could see 1 to 3 feet of snow and wind gusts of 45 to 65 mph. The mountains of Shasta County and the southern Cascade Mountains are expected to get 10 to 30 inches of snow."
A winter storm is headed for Tahoe. Should Bay Area skiers brave the highway or stay home?
The Chronicle, MICHAEL CABANATUAN: "With multiple feet of snow forecast to start falling in the Sierra early Thursday, many Bay Area skiers and snow lovers are likely preparing to hit the highways to Lake Tahoe, despite warnings of slippery roads, blinding whiteouts and other hazardous conditions.
To avoid the potential for spinouts, collisions or other traffic incidents on Interstate 80 and Highway 50, California Highway Patrol officials pleaded with the public to stay home.
But if they do try to drive to Tahoe, the agency advised carrying tire chains and, if possible, to drive a four-wheel or all-wheel-drive vehicle packed with emergency supplies, including food, water, blankets, chargers and flashlights."
A giant sea cow once roamed the Pacific Coast. Here’s how it changed California’s ecology
The Chronicle, TARA DUGGAN: "An enormous marine mammal once roamed the California coast, floating along the ocean’s surface and grazing only on plants. It weighed twice as much as a hippo and had skin so rough and scaly that it was compared to tree bark.
The extinct sea beast, called a Steller’s sea cow, helped the vital kelp forest thrive off the Pacific coast to thrive, a new report from the California Academy of Sciences says.
Before disappearing in the 1700s, when Europeans hunted it to extinction, the sea cow inhabited the West Coast for millions of years, growing as large as 25 feet long and weighing 4 tons. The mega herbivore recently captured the attention of Cal Academy scientists looking into the causes and possible solutions of kelp forest decline in California and throughout the Pacific."
President Biden announces new national monument near Nevada-California border
BANG*Mercury News, PAUL ROGERS: "President Biden on Wednesday announced he will establish a new national monument across a vast landscape on southern Nevada’s border with California to protect an area sacred to Native American tribes and rich with big horn sheep, Joshua tree forests, desert tortoises, ancient petroglyphs and other unique features.
The 450,000-acre monument will be located on federally owned property overseen by the Bureau of Land Management in Clark County, Nevada, including most of the point in Nevada’s southern shape, about 30 miles south of Las Vegas.
Covering an area 15 times the size of the city of San Francisco, it will connect multiple wilderness areas, preserves and parks in California and Nevada, including Mojave National Preserve across the California border and Lake Mead National Recreation Area along the Arizona border."
LA schools grapple with ban on nearby homeless encampments
EdSource, KATE SEQUEIRA: "Principal Andrew Conroy ran down to the lower field at Virgil Middle School in Los Angeles’ Koreatown. It was a Wednesday in November during the middle of the school day, and he had just received notice that smoke was blowing over the fence from the homeless encampment that lined the field’s fence. There, at least 10 tents crowded the sidewalk, packed with bikes, tarps and personal belongings as its residents went about their day.
It was the second time over a few days that a cooking fire had to be put out in the encampments. And it had been just a few months since the Los Angeles city council expanded a ban on encampments to include those within 500 feet of schools and day care centers.
It’s been difficult having encampments so close, Conroy said. When Los Angeles city municipal code was expanded in August, it was a step in the right direction, he said. He’s happy the problem has been acknowledged, even though the new rule hasn’t been fully enforced."
$1,000 a month, no strings attached. New anti-poverty experiment comes to Silicon Valley
BANG*Mercury News, MARISA KENDALL: "For many struggling South Bay families, getting an extra $1,000 a month with no strings attached would seem too good to be true.
But for 150 households lucky enough to be chosen for a new guaranteed income experiment in Santa Clara County, that’s exactly what’s happening.
The program targets families with children under 18 who are homeless or on the brink of homelessness — they could be at risk of losing their home because they can’t afford the rent, for example, or living crammed into too-tight quarters with other families. The payments are part of a broad trend picking up steam throughout the Bay Area as nonprofits, cities, counties and even state legislators advocate for and increasingly experiment with programs that put cash directly into the hands of people in need."
U.S. fuel prices takes major dip. Use this interactive map to check California costs
Sac Bee, BRIANNA TAYLOR: "U.S. fuel prices, according to a new gas report, have taken one of their biggest dips since August.
The national average for a gallon of regular-grade gasoline dropped to $3.49, 26 cents less than a month ago and only 10 cents more than where prices sat a year ago. Oil prices have crept lower, said AAA in a November release, on fears of economic slowdowns around the world.
In response, gas demand dropped while gas stocks rose — creating lower prices at the pump."
Joaquin Ciria lost 32 years after a wrongful conviction in S.F. Now he’s suing the city
The Chronicle, JOSHUA SHARPE: "Seven months after emerging from 32 years of wrongful imprisonment, Joaquin Ciria on Tuesday filed suit against the city of San Francisco, alleging that police misconduct led to his long plight.
Ciria, 61, was convicted in the 1990 homicide of his best friend, Felix “Carlos” Bastarrica, 30, in a South of Market alley. He was convicted largely on the testimony of an 18-year-old who admitted driving the killer. The witness has since said that Ciria was innocent and that police pressured him to implicate Ciria, according to sworn witness statements.
Ciria “was wrongfully convicted and imprisoned because the San Francisco Police Department knowingly manufactured false evidence against him,” Ciria’s attorneys, Jim Bennett and George Harris, said in a joint emailed statement. “By filing this Complaint, Mr. Ciria is not just seeking justice for the egregious violation of his civil rights that he suffered, but also to hold the City and County of San Francisco accountable and responsible for its misconduct and to deter its recurrence.”"
Catfishing cop pretended to be 17, ‘groomed’ California girl before killing her family, then himself
LAT, GRACE TOOHEY/SUMMER LIN: "The 28-year-old Virginia cop who killed three family members of a Riverside teenager had posed online as a teen to “groom” the 15-year-old girl, the Riverside Police Department said Wednesday.
Austin Lee Edwards portrayed himself as a 17-year-old while communicating online with the girl, using “grooming” methods, which can include tactics such as asking for or offering sexually explicit images, providing gifts and offering compliments, Riverside Police Chief Larry Gonzalez said at a news conference.
Gonzalez said it is still under investigation how long the digital relationship between Edwards and the teen girl transpired and what platform they used to meet or communicate, but investigators believe many of those typical exploitative strategies for “sextortion” were used in this case."
Correctional officers shoot, kill two inmates during California prison attack
Sac Bee, MATTHEW MIRANDA: "Two correctional officers shot to death two inmates who were trying to kill another prisoner during a stabbing attack at a Northern California prison, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Frank Nanez, 32, and Raul Cuen, 48, suffered the gunshot wounds and were pronounced dead Tuesday morning at High Desert State Prison in Susanville, prison officials said in a news release.
Both men reportedly were attacking Anthony Aguilera, 68, with makeshift weapons."
In a band of tempestuous geniuses, Christine McVie was every bit their equal, minus the drama
LAT, MIKAEL WOOD: "Christine McVie, the singer, songwriter and keyboardist whose dreamily optimistic tunes for Fleetwood Mac — including such FM-radio staples as “Don’t Stop,” “Little Lies,” “Songbird,” “Everywhere” and “You Make Loving Fun” — helped make the band one of the most successful acts in music history, died Wednesday. She was 79.
Her death was announced by her family in a statement that said she’d “passed away peacefully” at a hospital following “a short illness.” The statement didn’t specify the hospital’s location. McVie, who lived in London, told Rolling Stone in June that she was in “quite bad health,” describing a chronic back problem that made it difficult for her to stand.
“There are no words to describe our sadness at the passing of Christine McVie,” Fleetwood Mac said on social media. “She was truly one-of-a-kind, special and talented beyond measure. She was the best musician anyone could have in their band and the best friend anyone could have in their life. Individually and together, we cherished Christine deeply and are thankful for the amazing memories we have. She will be very missed.”"
Mistrial in Danny Masterson rape trial after jury deadlocks
LAT, NOAH GOLDBERG/CHRISTIAN MARTINEZ/JAMES QUEALLY: "Danny Masterson’s rape trial ended Wednesday in a mistrial after jurors said they were unable to reach a decision on the actor’s innocence or guilt.
The Los Angeles jury deadlocked after hearing weeks of testimony, including from the three women who accused Masterson of raping them . In failing to reach a decision, the panel left unresolved the women’s claims that the actor, who is best known for his role on the sitcom “That ‘70s Show,” violently assaulted them at his Hollywood Hills home in the early 2000s.
The divisions among jurors were apparent in the final votes they took before telling Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo they would not be able convict or acquit. On one of the rape charges, only two of the 12 jurors wanted to find Masterson guilty, while four were in favor of a guilty verdict on the second rape charge and five voted to convict on the third."
The weaponization of winter: Ukraine aims to stop Russia from regrouping as temperatures drop
LAT, LAURA KING/TRACY WILKINSON: "On the desolate battlefronts of southern and eastern Ukraine, the clinging, clay-like mud of late autumn is beginning to congeal into iciness. As snow flurries and freezing temperatures set in, the last thing this country’s leaders want is for the war’s front lines to harden in place as well.
Any wintertime letup in combat operations, Ukrainian officials believe, would give Russia’s beleaguered army a chance to rest, regroup and try to seize momentum that has eluded Moscow’s forces throughout more than nine months of fighting. So even during the coming cold months, Ukraine is determined to keep up military pressure on a numerically superior but faltering foe.
But Russia is employing a pressure tactic of its own: deliberate destruction of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, with civilian morale as an indirect target. Waves of bombardment that began in earnest in early October, aimed at targets such as thermal plants and electrical substations, have brought the national power grid to the brink of collapse just as temperatures are plummeting."
