Gov. Newsom asks California bars to close, tells older residents to isolate due to COVID-19
Sac Bee's TONY BIZJAK/VINCENT MOLESKI/DALE KASLER/BENJY EGEL/RYAN SABALOW: "Faced with mounting coronavirus infections, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday issued sweeping new restrictions in California, calling for home isolation of everyone in the state age 65 and older, and people with chronic disease, both high-risk populations.
He also asked for closure of bars, wineries, night clubs and brew pubs, and called for restaurants to reduce their occupancy by half. He called that “deep social distancing” and a “pragmatic response to the moment.”
The dramatic announcement, designed to keep people away from each other, stopped short of closing restaurants. Instead, the governor said they can also operate at reduced capacity and with curbside food service and at-home food deliveries."
READ MORE related to COVID-19 Pandemic: US stocks dive more than 10% on COVID-19 worries -- BLOOMBERG; California just asked millions of seniors to isolate themselves. How that would work -- Sac Bee's RYAN SABALOW/DALE KASLER; 15 new cases of COVID-19 reported in Sacramento County -- Sac Bee's TONY BIZJAK; California Senate cancels all hearings for coming week due to COVID-19 -- Sac Bee's ANDREW SHEELER; California plans to use private hotels, motels to shelter homeless people as COVID-19 spreads -- Sac Bee's WES VENTEICHER/THERESA CLIFT; Newsom administration inform government workers whether or not their jobs are 'essential' -- Sac Bee's WES VENTEICHER; 'Martial law' not needed to combat COVID-19 in California, Gov. Newsom says -- Sac Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG/AMY CHANCE; Against public health advice, Devin Nunes urges people to go to pubs as COVID-19 spreads -- Sac Bee's KATE IRBY; NorCal casino closes to stem COVID-19. Newsom working with tribal leaders -- Sac Bee's DALE KASLER; CDC says US gatherings of over 50 people should be put off -- BLOOMGBERG News's KASIA KLIMASINSKA/ROS KRASNY; Access to parole hearings curtailed as California fights COVID-19 spread -- Sac Bee's SAM STANTON; Inside the Travis Air Force Base COVID-19 quarantine -- Sac Bee's TONY BIZJAK; COVID-19 engulfs Silicon Valley -- school closures. medical tents -- The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN; Financial markets in turmoil over fear of virus lockdowns -- AP's JOE MCDONALD; As the COVID-19 pandemic grows, gun sales are surging in many states -- LA Times's KURTIS LEE/ANITA CHABRIA; Business is marvelous ... for sellers of survival supplies and bunkers -- LA Times's SARAH PARVINI
As infectious diseases rose in state, public health spending fell
The Chronicle's JOAQUIN PALOMINO: "California’s fight against the coronavirus comes amid long-term budget cuts that public health officials fear will slow efforts to combat the pandemic.
Even as cases of infectious disease have risen, per-capita spending has dropped 18% since 2008 at the California Department of Public Health, one of the lead agencies responding to the COVID-19 crisis, a Chronicle analysis of expenditures reveals. Two state programs designed to fight outbreaks and respond to emergencies have also experienced a decline in spending.
The shrinking budgets have meant fewer local public health workers available to tackle the current health crisis, experts said. The problem is mirrored across the country even as officials have warned about the potentially dangerous consequences of shedding staff. Nationwide, public health departments lost nearly a quarter of their workforce since 2008, according to the National Association of County and City Health Officials."
Internet bill would force tech firms to kleep inappropriate content from children
The Chronicle's DUSTIN GARDINER: "Parents no longer have to worry only about whether their children are seeking out violent or harmful content on the internet. Increasingly, the inappropriate content is finding the children, through features like auto-play videos and push alerts that coax users to spend more time glued to the screen.
Digital safety advocates say that’s why they are pushing Congress to pass a bill requiring app and website developers to stop using these “manipulative” tactics with users younger than 16.
The bill, which is backed by Common Sense Media, a San Francisco advocacy group, would be the most sweeping children’s internet law of its kind. It would create regulations subjecting youth-oriented online content to more rigorous scrutiny, like television programming."
Biden, Sanders pressed on COVID-19, VP picks at first head-to-head debate
Sac Bee's ALEX ROARTY/DAVID CATANESE: "After ten debates and more than two dozen candidates fell by the wayside, Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders finally met for a one-on-one showdown in the 2020 Democratic presidential race.
It was anything but a typical debate.
The unprecedented coronavirus pandemic that has upended American life dominated much of the discussion between Biden and Sanders during Sunday night’s debate, which was moved from Phoenix to CNN’s Washington studio and took place without a studio audience because of concerns about the outbreak."
READ MORE related to Road to POTUS46: Combative debate shows Sanders isn't going quietly off the 2020 field -- LA Times's JANET HOOK
Harvey Weinstein was convicted and his brother wants a comeback. Some aren't having it
LA Times's STACY PERMAN: "Harvey Weinstein, the once powerful movie mogul, was the picture of disgrace. On Wednesday, after the convicted rapist was sentenced to 23 years in prison, he was handcuffed in his wheelchair and rolled off to jail for processing.
He now awaits extradition to California, where he is charged with multiple counts of sexual assault stemming from two alleged attacks in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills in 2013.
While activists and many of Weinstein’s accusers expressed “vindication” and satisfaction with the verdict, one issue remains unsettled among them: the publicists, agents and handlers who in their view either aided Weinstein’s litany of abuse, or turned a blind eye to it."
Parents and teachers scramble to keep education going now that school's 'out' for spring
Sac Bee's SAWSAN MORRAR/MICHAEL FINCH II: "Children all over the greater Sacramento region — from Davis to Lake Tahoe — packed up their book bags Friday afternoon, waited for the last bell to ring and went home for a few weeks.
Except this is no vacation, or break from school.
School districts across California, the state, and the world closed for several weeks — some for the rest of the school year — as an attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus."
READ MORE related to Education: LA Unified srambles to get help centers ready amid COVID-19 school closures -- LA Times's HOWARD BLUME
Report: NBA bracing for mid-June or later return
The Chronicle's CONNOR LETOURNEAU: "NBA owners and executives are preparing for the possibility of the league not resuming play until mid-June at the earliest, according to an ESPN report.
The fear is that the season will be lost completely. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Sunday night that no events or gatherings should include more than 50 people for the next eight weeks, a timetable that would extend until mid-May.
Per ESPN, NBA owners are awaiting the league’s projected revenue losses. At the moment, owners are working on a plan that would have games return without fans, with potential playoff dates going well into August."
Lithium startup backed by Bill Gates seeks a breakthrough at the Salton Sea
LA Times's SAMMY ROTH: "David Snydacker knew going in that California’s Imperial Valley was a “graveyard for lithium-extraction technologies.”
For years, companies had tried and failed to find a cost-effective way to pull the valuable mineral — a key ingredient in the batteries that power electric cars — from the naturally heated fluid deep beneath the Salton Sea. One of the most recent busts was Simbol Materials, a much-hyped startup that collapsed in 2015 shortly after Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc. offered to buy the firm for $325 million.
But several deep-pocketed investors think Snydacker’s technology may finally launch a new domestic clean-energy industry."
Andrew Gillum says he's entering rehab
AP: "Former Florida candidate for governor Andrew Gillum disclosed Sunday that he is entering a rehabilitation facility, saying he had fallen into a depression and alcohol abuse after losing his bid for the state’s highest post.
The Democrat’s statement came days after Gillum was named in a south Florida police report Friday that said he was “inebriated” and initially unresponsive in a hotel room along with a male companion where authorities found baggies of suspected crystal methamphetamine.
Gillum, the former Tallahassee mayor who ran for governor in 2018, was not charged with any crime. The Miami Beach police report said Gillum was allowed to leave the hotel for home after he was checked out medically."
Robert Durst murder trial postponed because of COVID-19 as court announces new safety measures
LA Times's MATT HAMILTON: "The Robert Durst murder trial has been postponed to April 6 amid concerns across the court system about coronavirus.
In the face of the growing outbreak, courts have taken a patchwork of measures: months-long delays in trials, excusing jurors over the age of 60, and temporarily closing courthouses altogether.
On Sunday, the Los Angeles County Superior Court announced that new criminal and civil trials would be put off for at least 30 days. Judges in the nation’s largest trial court were also encouraged to shift toward telephonic proceedings to lower traffic in the region’s courthouses."
