The Roundup

California appoints 14 Superior Court judges

Sac Bee's MITCHEL BOBO: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday announced the appointment of 14 Superior Court judges across the state, including positions in Sacramento and Yolo counties.

Carlton Davis of Roseville and Julie Yap of Sacramento have been appointed to serve as judges in the Sacramento Superior Court, while Daniel Wolk of Davis was appointed to the Yolo County Superior Court, according to a news release from Newsom’s office. Davis steps into a newly created position, while Yap and Wolk fill vacancies left by retiring judges.

Davis, 41, served as the deputy district attorney in Riverside County from 2003 to 2006 before holding the same title in Sacramento County from 2006 to 2017, where he also served as the court commissioner for the Sacramento County Superior Court since 2017. Davis received his juris doctor degree from the University of Southern California School of Law."

Bay Area hospitals slash workers' pay as losses from pandemic pile up

The Chronicle's MALLORY MOENCH: "Stephanie Lum Ho lost half her work hours when the coronavirus pandemic forced UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Walnut Creek to halve the number of its physical therapy patients this month and send the rest to telemedicine.

Lum Ho and hundreds of other workers at UCSF Children’s Hospitals, Stanford Health Care and Marin General Hospital have lost hours and pay as business has dried up during the shelter-in-place order, hospital executives and workers’ unions said. The University of California said it may begin laying off employees at the end of June.

“I’m living day to day wondering — am I going to be homeless, am I going to have groceries to feed my family?” said Lum Ho, who authorizes insurance payments for the physical therapy office. “The unknown is the most troublesome part of this."

Schools might reopen as early as July, Newsom says

Sac Bee's SAWSAN MORRAR: "Schools across California could reopen this summer – as soon July – to get students back on track, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a press conference on Tuesday.

Newsom said the state is considering the possibility of starting school earlier this year to make up for the learning loss students faced when their schools closed to help slow the spread of the coronavirus.

“We recognize there’s been a learning loss because of this disruption,” Newsom said. “We’re concerned about that learning loss even into the summer."

READ MORE related to Education: SF schools abandon all A's grading policy -- The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER

SF Mayor London Breed seals deal for 1,100 new homes near Balboa Park BART

The Chronicle's JK DINEEN: "San Francisco Mayor London Breed has finalized an agreement with the developers of the Balboa Reservoir, a key milestone in winning approvals of a controversial plan that would add 1,100 homes to the 17-acre parking lot next to City College.

The development agreement includes a commitment that the developers — Bridge Housing, AvalonBay and Mission Housing — make 550 of the units affordable. It will also include 4 acres of open space, a large child care center, a community center, and $10 million in fees to the city for transit and infrastructure improvements.

Legislation detailing the development agreement and a special use district needed to rezone the property were introduced at the Board of Supervisors Tuesday by board President Norman Yee, who had not previously taken a public position on the development."

Coronavirus symptoms are more severe for men than women. Studies explain why

Sac Bee's BROOKE WOLFORD: "Men are more likely to get severe symptoms from coronavirus than women, and therefore are more likely to die from COVID-19, according to researchers in the U.S. and China.

An analysis done by researchers in Shenzhen, China, found that men were 2.5 times more likely to experience severe symptoms than women, Forbes reported. The study, published Monday in The Lancet, also discovered that while children were less likely to have severe symptoms, they were infected with coronavirus at the same rate as adults, according to Forbes.

Out of 391 confirmed cases in Shenzhen, the majority — about 91% — were classified as either mild or moderate, while only 9% of cases were rated as severe, according to the study. Most of the confirmed cases exhibited a fever, but 6% of them had no symptoms at all, the study says."

READ MORE related to Pandemic: Criticism grows over Newsom's management of the pandemic crisis -- LA Times's TARYN LUNA; Thousands of Bay Area residents will be tested for coronavirus in UCSF-Stanford studies -- The Chronicle's CATHERINE HO; Marin County health officer says new stay-home order will be issued Wednesday -- The Chronicle's MATT KAWAHARA; Talk of reopening grows in LA and OC despite rising death toll -- LA Times's ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN/COLLEEN SHALBY/LUKE MONEY/HANNAH FRY; This is California's reopening plan for various entities -- LA Times's MELISSA GOMEZ

California taxpayers surprised by IRS letters showing oversize Donald Trump signature

Sac Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "When Ripley Howe of Placerville saw he had a letter from the IRS, he said his first instinct was to worry about getting bad news.

Instead, he found a letter stamped with President Donald Trump’s oversize signature describing the economic stimulus payment he’d receive by direct deposit.

“Our great country is experiencing an unprecedented public health and economic challenge as a result of the global coronavirus pandemic,” the letter starts off."

READ MORE related to Economy: Nearly half of global workforce is in informal economy and at risk of losing livelihood, UN agency says -- WaPo STAFF; US economy shrank at 4.8% rate last quarter as virus struck -- AP's MARTIN CRUTSINGER; Business owners, Republican leaders ask Newsom to relax order -- Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY; Retail, manufacturing will be among first to reopen when California alters stay-at-home order -- Sac Bee's SOPHIA BOLLAG; Should California brace for a meat shortage?  -- The Chronicle's ESTHER MOBLEY; LA County OKs $35.5B budget -- LA Times's JACLYN COSGROVE

NorCal heat wave almost over. Why has it been so hot in Sacramento?

Sac Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH: "Sacramento has set two daily heat records in the past four days, and could tie or break another one Tuesday afternoon with a 92-degree high in the forecast.

Recent temperatures from 93 degrees on Friday to 91 on Saturday are more than 15 degrees warmer than normal, according to National Weather Service data, which show the last week of April averaging daily highs between 74 and 76 degrees.

Even as temperatures cool in the capital city to about 85 by Wednesday and Thursday and the low 80s by the weekend, it’ll still mark a weeklong hot stretch that’s impacting most of Northern California, but especially the Sacramento Valley."

READ MORE related to Environment/Climate: Coronavirus fears not enough to keep people away from Sacramento beaches -- Sac Bee's ROSALIO AHUMADA

Sacramento journalist sentenced to two years in hacking case faces new accusations

Sac Bee's SAM STANTON: "Sacramento journalist Matthew Keys first came to notoriety because of his mastery of computers.

The former Fox40 producer and deputy social media editor for Reuters was indicted by a federal grand jury in Sacramento in 2013, charged with using his prodigious skills in a conspiracy to steal hundreds of Fox40 viewers’ email addresses after the Sacramento television station fired him.

He also was accused of providing log-in credentials to allow a break-in of the Los Angeles Times website for a hacker to alter a story on the site."

Trump team scrambles to refocus message after bleach debacle

LA Times's ELI STOKOLS: "President Trump’s public musing last week that doctors should consider injecting household disinfectant — a known poison — into coronavirus patients set off a political shockwave so severe that aides and allies scrambled to rein in his prime time nightly news conferences.

For the first time since mid-March, Trump took a two-day break from the podium over the weekend. On Sunday, he tweeted what seemed a decision, writing that the televised briefings — often lasting two hours or longer — were “not worth the time & effort.”

But the former reality TV star has refused to leave the stage."

Video of deputy subduing boy in Rancho Cordova leads to Sheriff's Office investigation

Sac Bee's ROSALIO AHUMADA: "The Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday announced it was investigating a use-of-force incident in which a deputy was captured on video pinning a 14-year-old boy on the ground as he struggled to subdue the teen in Rancho Cordova.

The video of the deputy subduing the teen, who is African American, has been widely circulated on various social media platforms.

Sgt. Tess Deterding, a Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, said Tuesday that the investigation into the incident, which occurred Monday, “is in its infancy” and the facts investigators know now are subject to change as they “conduct a more thorough and complete examination of the circumstances."

READ MORE related to Public Safety: Oakland settles suit, to pay $1.4M to family of man police killed in 2018 -- The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY

Uber CTO departs as company considers laying off 5,400 staffers

The Chronicle's CAROLYN SAID: "Ride-hailing leader Uber, which had already lost money hand over fist even before the shelter-in-place orders sent its business plunging, is considering laying off as much as a fifth of its workforce — about 5,400 people, The Information reported on Tuesday.

“As you would expect, the company is looking at every possible scenario to ensure we get to the other side of this crisis in a stronger position than ever,” the San Francisco company said in a statement.

Uber has about 27,000 employees worldwide, with roughly a third of them in San Francisco, where it is headquartered. Those figures do not include its ride-hail drivers, whom the company considers independent contractors. The layoffs could save it about $1 billion a year, The Information said. Uber’s Careers website no longer shows any open positions."

Unrest escalates in Lebanon as currency collapses and prospect of famine grows

WaPo's SARAH DADOUCH: "Violence escalated Tuesday in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli as protesters angered by the collapse of the country's currency and spreading economic upheaval burned down a series of banks and countered volleys of tear gas by pelting security forces with stones.