Toll takers may soon be gone from Bay Area bridges forever
The Chronicle's PHIL MATIER: "One of the unexpected side effects of the coronavirus shutdown may be the permanent elimination of cash tolls and human toll takers on the Bay Area’s seven state-owned bridges.
That’s been in the works for some time, but the plan was to make it happen by the mid-2020s. However, toll takers were taken out of their booths when the pandemic hit, and the agency that runs the bridges thinks there will soon come a time when they’ll be gone for good.
“We have the opportunity to move faster, and we are going to take it,” said Amy Worth, a member of the Bay Area Toll Authority."
All California DMV offices to reopen this week, except one
Sac Bee's MATT KRISTOFFERSEN: "All but one of California Department of Motor Vehicles field offices will be open as early as this Thursday — with restrictions.
The department’s 169 field offices will help customers with appointments and will assist with certain tasks that can’t be done online, like reinstating a suspended driver license or applying for a disabled person parking placards.
The department’s San Bernardino office will remain closed for repairs, the DMV said."
The politics of coronavirus: Who gets the blame if major new outbreaks come as California reopens?
LA Times's RONG-GONG LIN II/HANNAH FRY/LUKE MONEY: "The order from Orange County’s health officer was simple and far from radical: Residents should wear cloth face coverings while in a public place, at work or visiting a business to protect against the spread of coronavirus.
But almost immediately, Dr. Nichole Quick faced a fierce backlash from residents and some elected officials, who questioned the need for masks. People came to a Board of Supervisors meeting carrying a poster with Quick’s photo on it with a Hitler mustache on her face and swastikas. Then, she got a death threat, and required a security detail.
Amid mounting criticism, Quick resigned this week, a seeming political casualty as California attempts to revive its economy while preventing new outbreaks of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus."
READ MORE related to Economic Reopening: Are US cities reopening ahead of the Bay Area seeing surges in coronavirus cases -- The Chronicle's KELLIE HWANG/MIKE MASSA; Podcast: Will California's rush to reopen increase COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations? -- Sac Bee's GIL DURAN; California bars can reopen Friday. Here's what changes they'll have to make first -- Sac Bede's BENJY EGEL
Republican Tom McClintock rarely sides with liberal Democrats. Why this issue is different
Sac Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Rep. Tom McClintock is siding with some of Congress’ most outspoken liberals in an effort to overturn the “qualified immunity” that can protect police and other state and local officials from civil lawsuits.
McClintock, a California Republican who has been urging such reforms for years, has joined Democrats and Libertarian Rep. Justin Amash in backing legislation to eliminate qualified immunity.
“Whatever his motive, the killer of George Floyd had 18 complaints for misconduct, and one of his accomplices had six. Why is such misconduct tolerated by big city police departments?” McClintock asked after Floyd, a black man, died while in Minneapolis police custody. Derek Chauvin, the officer who leaned on Floyd’s neck, was named in 18 prior complaints to the Minneapolis Police Department."
'Defund the police': Advocates say it means reimagining policing, not getting rid of it
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "“Defund the police” is no longer just a slogan spray-painted across boarded-up storefronts or a theory supported by academics and community activists. The concept is now a movement being discussed on “Meet the Press” as part of the national conversation and pursued in cities across the nation — including San Francisco.
But the rapid rise of “defund” ideas comes in the middle of a presidential campaign, widespread unrest and a pandemic that has the nation’s anxieties in overdrive. Its advocates worry that the timing leaves the concept vulnerable to attack for what they insist it’s not — eliminating police departments.
“No one’s talking about a situation where tomorrow, there’s some magical switch and there are no police,” Alex Vitale, a sociology professor at Brooklyn College and author of “The End of Policing,” toldCNN. “It’s hard to reduce these ideas down to a cardboard sign or a tweet."
Budget cuts to California senior programs during COVID-19 crisis is 'ageism,' lawmaker charges
Sac Bee's MARA HOPLAMAZIAN: "California lawmakers are questioning why Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed cutting services for the elderly in this year’s budget at the same time the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated nursing homes throughout the state in an unprecedented medical crisis.
A joint hearing between the Health Committee and the Aging and Long-term Care Committee was convened Tuesday as COVID-19-related deaths in nursing homes more than doubled in May. Residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities now account for about half of the total COVID-19-related deaths in California, public health data shows.
In his May revision of the 2020-2021 budget, Newsom has proposed cuts to home and community-based services, and Department of Aging programs that many seniors rely on, including the Ombudsman program that serves as an independent advocate for the elderly in nursing homes."
READ MORE related to Pandemic: Sacramento coronavirus cases are spiking -- and family home gatherings are a key cause -- Sac Bee's STAFF; Navy, CDC study on infected aircraft carrier provides glimmer of hope for immunity -- The Chronicle's MATTHIAS GAFNI
Farm workers paid low wages fear coronavirus spread in crowded housing
LA Times's MELISSA GOMEZ: "A bed fills most of the room that Odilia Leon shares with her five children. In one corner, a dresser spills over with clothes.
For the cramped room in a two-bedroom unit behind a house in east Salinas, she pays $1,050 a month. It’s what she can afford as a fieldworker picking strawberries, her job for the last nine years. A couple with three children rents the other room. In all, 11 people share a living room and kitchen. There is one bathroom.
Every day, Leon, 40, is gripped with fear that she could bring home the coronavirus, infect her children and possibly spread it to the rest of the household. The couple in the other room also works to cover their half of the rent, she said."
California wants to get fire coverage for burned-out towns. Here's why watchdogs are worried
Sac Bee's MACKENZIE HAWKINS: "After several years of catastrophic burns — and the insurance industry pulling back from some fire-prone communities — many California homeowners will face the upcoming fire season without proper coverage.
California lawmakers are trying to entice insurance carriers to return to fire-prone communities, and are advancing a bill that would allow insurers to request higher rates in exchange for coverage guarantees. It overwhelmingly passed the Assembly this week and is headed to the Senate.
The legislation would change the rate calculation formula, allowing insurance companies to factor in rising reinsurance costs that are not subject to state regulation."
PG&E's Oakland move could break records with $892 million purchase option
The Chronicle's ROLAND LI/JD MORRIS: "PG&E Corp.’s move from San Francisco to Oakland could shatter real estate records as the utility considers the potential $892 million purchase of its new headquarters building.
PG&E has the option to buy 300 Lakeside Drive in 2023 from developer TMG Partners for that price, the company said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Tuesday.
The potential deal would be the biggest building sale in Oakland history and a sign of strength after the Bay Area has been battered by the coronavirus epidemic, which forced millions of office employees to work from home. Oakland would receive $22.3 million in transfer taxes if the sale occurs."
SF passes sweeping pandemic-related eviction ban
The Chronicle's TRISHA THADANI: "Landlords will be permanently barred from evicting tenants if they can’t pay rent due to coronavirus-related issues, like job loss or getting sick from the virus, under legislation passed by the Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
The legislation passed 10-1, with Supervisor Catherine Stefani in dissent.
Mayor London Breed already issued an emergency order banning evictions during the public health emergency — and for two months after — to help people avoid displacement during the pandemic. She also eliminated late fees and interest and gave tenants more time to pay back their rent."
California science teachers look for new ways to bring hands-on experiments to students
EdSource's SYDNEY JOHNSON: "California schools were already undergoing a transformation to the way science is taught across the state before campuses were forced to close during the coronavirus pandemic. During the last few months of school, science teachers had to use a variety of tools to keep science lessons going at a safe distance, from at-home experiments to virtual simulations.
The pandemic has forced teachers to adapt goals and lessons to a virtual setting where teachers and students no longer share the same class or lab space. And that has made it difficult for some teachers to continue teaching California’s new science standards, which put a stronger emphasis on hands-on learning.
“It’s a shame we can’t be in person to do hands-on labs,” said Robin Cooper, a seventh-grade science teacher at Albany Middle School in Alameda County. “There isn’t much out there that will be a replacement.”
LA police union spent big in local elections. Some politicians now shun the money
LA Times's EMILY ALPERT REYES: "It was the morning after Los Angeles Councilwoman Monica Rodriguez and other officials had proposed cutting up to $150 million from the Police Department and she was facing a dismayed crowd at a command post in Panorama City.
One officer said that if the city needed to cut, it should start with protection details at council members’ homes. Another accused Rodriguez of “pandering” to protesters and said that if it weren’t for the police, the city would have burned down.
“I promise you, this union will go to our grave fighting. ... We’re gonna fight,” said Jerretta Sandoz, a board member with the Los Angeles Police Protective League."
Three CHP officers fired shots in killing of Erik Salgado after he rammed officer vehicles, police say
The Chronicle's ANNA BAUMAN: "Three CHP officers who fatally shot Oakland resident Erik Salgado on Saturday opened fire when Salgado rammed their vehicles with the Dodge Hellcat he was driving as officers attempted to pull him over, Oakland police said Tuesday.
Highway patrol officers were in East Oakland conducting a follow-up investigation into a Friday night shooting on Highway 580 when they spotted the red Dodge with stolen license plates “driving recklessly,” Oakland police said. Authorities did not provide details about that shooting or say whether Salgado was involved.
CHP officers exited their vehicles to conduct a traffic stop around 10:46 p.m. on the 9600 block of Cherry Street and Salgado started ramming the patrol cars, according to Oakland police."
READ MORE related to Criminal Justice Reform/Defunding Police Movement: Berkeley bans police use of tear gas -- The Chronicle's MICHAEL CABANATUAN/RITA BEAMISH
Trump vilifies elderly protester as his campaign struggles to relaunch
LA Times's ELI STOKOLS/NOAH BIERMAN: "President Trump’s reelection campaign is struggling to convince voters to back a second term despite nearly 112,000 U.S. deaths from COVID-19, the second-worst unemployment level since the Great Depression and a historic surge of national protests against police brutality and systemic racism.
And he may be digging himself into deeper trouble.
Even as polls show sliding support for the president among older voters, Trump suggested Tuesday that a 75-year-old protester who fell and hit his head on the sidewalk — drawing blood — after being shoved by a pair of armed police officers may have deliberately provoked police or faked his injuries."
US seeks to house missiles in the Pacific. Some allies don't want them
LA Times's DAVID S CLOUD: "The governor of a Japanese territory where the Pentagon is thinking about basing missiles capable of threatening China has a message for the United States: Not on my island.
“I firmly oppose the idea,” said Gov. Denny Tamaki, the governor of Okinawa, in an email to The Times.
Officials in other Asian countries are also signaling they don’t want them."
