UCSF team has discovered drugs that block coronavirus, paving way for 'a better drug sooner'
The Chronicle's JASON FAGONE: "A global team of scientists led by UCSF has discovered a range of existing drugs and experimental compounds that block the new coronavirus in lab tests, revealing some of the virus’ key weaknesses for the first time. Their findings point to possible treatments for COVID-19, according to a paper released Thursday in the journal Nature.
“We’ve found something about this virus that I hope can help people,” said Nevan Krogan, a molecular biologist who directs the Quantitative Biosciences Institute at UCSF, where 22 labs have worked on the project along with teams at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York and the Institut Pasteur in Paris.
The research grew from a unique system developed by the biosciences institute to understand how viruses wreak havoc on the body."
Every resident with virus symptoms should be tested, state officials say
LA Times's EMILY BAUMGAERTNER: "Every California resident with symptoms of the coronavirus is now considered a top priority for testing, state public health officials announced Thursday in a move that signals growing confidence that testing capacity has increased enough to handle a significant portion of the state’s population.
Symptomatic low-risk people — including young adults without underlying health conditions — are now among the state’s top priorities for testing, along with six other specified groups, according to the new guidelines from the state Department of Public Health.
Officials also announced late Wednesday that all people in high-risk settings, including grocery store employees, bus drivers and law enforcement officers, should also be included among the highest priority to receive routine screenings for the virus."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: FDA gives Bay Area company nod for antibody test -- The Chronicle's MATT KAWAHARA; All state/local beaches in OC must temporarily close, Newsom says -- LA Times's STAFF; Huntington Beach mounts legal fight against Newsom closure of OC beaches -- LA Times's ANH DO/RICHARD WINTON; He was symptom free. But the virus stayed in his body for 40 days -- LA Times's SHASHANK BENGALI; This California county might defy the state and lift stay-at-home order Friday -- LA Times's RONG-GONG LIN II; With testing available for all, LA city sites test 10K in one day -- LA Times's STAFF; Bay Area help to get your will and other affairs in order -- The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI; State's death toll is over 2K, but it's likely much higher -- Sac Bee's MICHAEL MCGOUGH
Coronavirus forces California initiative backers to hold off until 2022
The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH: "Worried about the effect the coronavirus pandemic may have on the November elections, backers will delay until 2022 a California initiative that would raise the dollar limit for damages awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
The “Fairness for Injured Patients Act” has already collected 988,000 signatures, well above the 623,212 needed to qualify for the ballots, supporters say. It would adjust for inflation the $250,000 limit on quality-of-life and survivor benefits set by the Legislature in 1975 and unchanged since.
The question wasn’t if the measure would qualify, but when it should go before voters, said Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog,which is backing the initiative."
You can get married via video in California now
Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY: "Let the wedding bells ring.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order Thursday afternoon to allow Californians to get married and obtain marriage licenses via video calls for the next two months during the coronavirus emergency.
During the wedding, the couple must have one witness in addition to the person performing the live ceremony, according to Newsom’s directive."
California to rework virus ethics guidelines deemed 'terrifying'
The Chronicle's MALLORY MOENCH: "California’s public health officials will rework ethical guidelines for hospitals issued in April after groups representing thousands of seniors and people with disabilities across the country protested that younger, healthier people would get preferential access to lifesaving care in a worst-case coronavirus surge.
More than 60 senior and disability rights organizations sent two letters last week to Gov. Gavin Newsom and Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, arguing that the April 19 guidelines would discriminate against the elderly and disabled if resources ran low.
“The lives of people with disabilities are equally worthy and valuable as those of people without disabilities,” Claudia Center, legal director at the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund in Berkeley, said in her April 22 letter to Newsom, signed by dozens of groups — from the Gray Panthers of San Francisco to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. “Under state and federal laws, people with disabilities must have an equal opportunity to receive life-sustaining treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic."
Will pensions be 'on the chopping block' in recession? California Supreme Court to hear case
Sac Bee's WES VENTEICHER: "Former Gov. Jerry Brown predicted two years ago that public pensions would be “on the chopping block” during the next economic downturn.
Next week, with state and local budgets teetering amid the coronavirus outbreak, the state Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that could determine in part whether Brown’s prediction will come true.
Alameda County Deputy Sheriff’s Association v. Alameda County Employees’ Retirement Association, scheduled for oral arguments Tuesday, is the next big test of the so-called California rule."
It's all about Trump in a key congressional race
The Chronicle's JOHN WILDERMUTH: "President Trump and his handling of the coronavirus pandemic is front and center in an upcoming congressional runoff vote that could be a template for fall elections in California and the rest of the country.
Last week, the president tweeted his endorsement of Republican businessman Mike Garcia, who is running against Democratic Assemblywoman Christy Smith in the May 12 election for a House district covering parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.
Garcia, the president tweeted, “is Strong on Crime, the Border, and Second Amendment. Mike has my complete and total endorsement!"
Protesters hold 'die-in' outside Mayor Breed's home over hotel room for homeless
The Chronicle's ANNA BAUMAN: "People lay flat on their backs in the street, held hand-made signs and chanted on Thursday night in front of San Francisco Mayor London Breed’s apartment as part of a “die-in” rally to decry a shortage of hotel rooms to support the homeless during the pandemic.
Physicians, homeless residents and members of Faith in Action, the Coalition on Homelessness and Do No Harm Coalition organized the event after San Francisco failed to meet a Sunday deadline — set by the Board of Supervisors — to secure more than 8,000 hotel rooms for vulnerable people.
“People can’t shelter in place without shelter,” said Rev. Sadie Stone, a protest organizer. “People can’t wash their hands without access to soap and water, and people can’t stay healthy if they don’t have anywhere to rest."
READ MORE related to Local: Antioch official may be fired after FB post suggests pandemic deaths can help society -- The Chronicle's ALEJANDRO SERRANO; South LA pastor arrested outside Mayor Garcetti's house on suspicion of stalking -- LA Times's EMILY ALPERT REYES
Elite private schools are taking fed loans -- including one attended by Secretary Mnuchin's kids
LA Times's DANIEL MILLER/HOWARD BLUME/PALOMA ESQUIVEL: "Brentwood School, the elite K-12 institution in West Los Angeles, has received a Paycheck Protection Program loan, according to an April 24 newsletter it sent to parents, joining a number of exclusive schools throughout the country that have secured government financial aid due to coronavirus disruptions.
The private school, which has more than 1,100 students spread across two campuses, said that the loan, approved and funded in mid-April, would “help us enormously as we move forward into a financially ambiguous future” brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the letter obtained by The Times.
Many private schools in Southern California and beyond are grappling with financial hardships, but the federal loans offered via the $660-billion PPP are designed to help pay for workers’ salaries. At Brentwood, though, the optics are unique."
READ MORE related to Education: Sac State receives $17.8M in fed grants to give to students -- Sac Bee's SAWSAN MORRAR; UC president Napolitano sees mix of online, classroom instruction in fall -- The Chronicle's RON KROICHICK; High school seniors confront tough admissions decisions -- The Chronicle's RON KROICHICK
The US is pushing Mexico to reopen factories even as workers die from COVID-19
LA Times's KATE LINTHICUM/WENDY FRY/GABRIELA MINJARES: "Even as COVID-19 deaths mount at factories in Mexico, the United States is sending a clear message: It’s time for plants that have stopped production to get back to work.
The U.S. government has mounted a campaign to persuade Mexico to reopen many factories that were closed because of the country’s social distancing guidelines, warning that the supply chain of the North American free-trade zone could be permanently crippled if factories don’t resume production soon.
“The destruction of the economy is also a health threat,” U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Christopher Landau, tweeted last week. “There are risks everywhere, but we don’t all stay at home for fear we are going to get in a car accident."
READ MORE related to Economy: High-powered Bay Area group aims to outdo DC in coronavirus help for small business -- The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI; Pelosi: Families with undocumented immigrants should get pandemic stimulus money -- The Chronicle's TAL KOPAN; Amazon, Whole Foods, Instacart workers will strike Friday to protest working conditions -- Sac Bee's DAWSON WHITE; Here are the mass layoffs in Sacramento since the pandemic hit California -- Sac Bee's DALE KASLER/MICHAEL FINCH II
County trails, US Forest service campgrounds to open slowly through summer
The Chronicle's TOM STIENSTRA: "Closed since late March, parks in Sonoma and San Mateo counties will start reopening trails this week, with a caution to the public to avoid clustering amid fear of spreading the coronavirus.
Meanwhile, on the eve of the summer recreation season, the U.S. Forest Service said it could begin reopening California campgrounds starting in May. The service will coordinate with rural counties.
The trail openings in Sonoma and San Mateo counties are the first break from complete shutdowns in both areas. “During this time, it’s critical that park users follow the new rules developed to prevent overcrowding, discourage gatherings and support social distancing,” said San Mateo County Parks Director Nicholas Calderon."
READ MORE related to Climate/Environment: New reason to conserve redwoods -- they're best at storing polluting carbon -- The Chronicle's PETER FIMRITE; Season's last snowpack survey confirms dry winter. California inching toward statewide drought -- Sac Bee's DALE KASLER
Arrested 4 times in 3 weeks: LA police blame zero bail for rise in repeat offenders
LA Times's RICHARD WINTON: "Eric Medina has been arrested four times on suspicion of grand theft auto in the last three weeks.
It began with the theft of a Ford van April 9, authorities said. Within a day, he was back on the streets, helped by California’s statewide zero-bail policy for lesser offenders fueled by the coronavirus outbreak.
Five days later, officers apprehended him with a stolen Toyota truck, officials allege. Again he went to jail, only to be freed without bail. Police say he stole another Toyota truck on April 20. And then last weekend, Medina was arrested yet again in a stolen 2009 Ford Focus."
How this bus driver keeps Sacramento moving during pandemic
Sac Bee's TONY BIZJAK: "After nearly three decades ferrying millions of riders aboard a 40-foot Sacramento Regional Transit bus, Steve Robison will soon retire. What’s he trading his big blue and gold bus for?
It’s funny, and tells a bit about the man.
He just bought a 32-foot-long “patio boat.” That’s basically a bus for the water. Robison, a burly, bearded guy is looking forward to taking groups of friends and family on excursions along delta sloughs, on Lake Tahoe and other lakes around Northern California."
Flynn fights for exoneration two years after pleading guilty
LA Times's CHRIS MEGERIAN: "Clad in a black and blue wetsuit, with a surfboard tucked under his right arm, a sopping wet Michael Flynn trudged up the street and away from the beach in his Rhode Island hometown.
“Isn’t it funny that this is Purgatory Road?” he said in a video posted online by his family last week.
None of the dozens ensnared in the now-closed Russia investigation has been stuck in limbo like Flynn, who served three weeks as President Trump’s first national security advisor until he was forced out in February 2017."
Congress looks at options to punish China over the pandemic
LA Times's JENNIFER HABERKORN/TRACY WILKINSON: "Republican lawmakers and other U.S. officials, determined to punish China for concealing early data on the coronavirus outbreak, are proposing numerous measures to turn up the heat, from suing Beijing to ending U.S. military cooperation with Hollywood studios that censor their films for Chinese consumption.
Some of the proposals are less likely to prosper than others, but all come as theTrump administration is eager to deflect blame for its handling of the pandemic and amid a growing contempt for Chinese policies that many officials believe cost lives.
Senior administration officials have also toughened their rhetoric toward China. After first praising Chinese President Xi Jinping for his handling of the coronavirus outbreak, President Trump now blames China’s lack of transparency for deaths around the world. This week Trump said he was contemplating investigating China’s role in the spread of the disease."
READ MORE related to Feds: US isn't releasing data on Taliban attacks, watchdog group says -- AP
