Newsom orders mandatory masks in public
LA Times's PHIL WILLON/HANNAH FRY/LUKE MONEY: "Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday ordered all Californians to wear face coverings while in public or high-risk settings, including when shopping, taking public transit or seeking medical care, after growing concerns that an increase in coronavirus cases has been caused by residents failing to voluntarily take that precaution.
Newsom’s order came a week after Orange County rescinded a requirement for residents to wear masks and as other counties across California were debating whether to join local jurisdictions that had mandated face coverings.
“Simply put, we are seeing too many people with faces uncovered — putting at risk the real progress we have made in fighting the disease,” Newsom said in a statement. “California’s strategy to restart the economy and get people back to work will only be successful if people act safely and follow health recommendations. That means wearing a face covering, washing your hands and practicing physical distancing."
Judge fines PG&E in Camp Fire case, laments utility 'can't be incarcerated'
Sac Bee's DALE KASLER: "PG&E Corp. received its criminal sentence Thursday for igniting the deadliest wildfire in California history: a $4 million fine that the judge and prosecutor acknowledged may have been too small for the crimes committed.
Two days after the utility’s chief executive entered guilty pleas to 85 felony charges in connection with the 2018 Camp Fire, a Butte County Superior Court judge levied the maximum penalty allowed by state law: $3.5 million in fines and penalties, plus $500,000 in additional fees to cover prosecutors’ investigative costs.
Judge Michael Deems, speaking to a nearly empty Chico courtroom, expressed some frustration that “PG&E cannot be sent to prison” and said a person who committed the same crime would be facing 90 years in prison."
While some Califiornia police unions promise change, others seek to undo reforms
The Chronicle's JOE GAROFOLI: "While three of California’s biggest local police unions are taking out full-page newspaper ads promising to back reforms, other law enforcement organizations have pumped more than $2 million into a November ballot measure that would partially overturn laws that some call models for reforming the criminal justice system.
Police unions have contributed more than half the nearly $4 million raised for the Reducing Crime and Keeping California Safe Actcampaign. The ballot initiative would roll back provisions in three measures that were aimed at reducing the state’s prison population, including Proposition 47, a voter-approved 2014 initiative that reclassified several felony crimes as misdemeanors.
The measure would change Prop. 47 by allowing prosecutors to charge a defendant with a felony for a third offense of stealing something worth more than $250. Prop. 47 raised the felony threshold for theft to $950 from $450."
READ MORE related to Post-Protest Police Reform: SF police turned off body cameras before illegal raid on journalist, memo says -- The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY; Sacramento police sued over rubber bullets, other force during Floyd protests -- Sac Bee's SAM STANTON/THERESA CLIFT
Newsom signs law ordering mail-in ballots for November election
Sac Bee's MATT KRISTOFFERSEN: "Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Thursday requiring elections officials to mail a ballot to every registered, active voter in the state ahead of the November election.
The bill almost mirrors the election-related executive orders that Newsom issued since the coronavirus outbreak, which guarantee that registered voters receive ballots ahead of the election.
Republicans have criticized the orders and challenged them in court as examples of executive overreach. Lawmakers passed the legislation to ensure that voters don’t have to go to a polling place while the novel coronavirus is spreading."
CalPERS long term insurance care to see 'significant premium increases,' officials say
Sac Bee's WES VENTEICHER: "CalPERS has suspended enrollment in its long term care insurance plans and is preparing for a rate hike as the coronavirus takes a toll on the plans.
Health officials expect “significant premium increases” and will share specifics in September, CalPERS Chief Health Director Don Moulds told the CalPERS board this week. The new rates would go into effect in July 2021, Moulds said.
About 118,000 current and retired state workers are enrolled in CalPERS’ long term care insurance plans. The plans help cover costs of care in nursing homes, long term care facilities and at home."
READ MORE related to Insurance, Pensions & Retirement: Deciphering new rules for taking money out of IRAs, and putting it back in -- The Chronicle's KATHLEEN PENDER
Klobuchar urges Biden to pick nonwhite woman as running mate
AP's SARA BURNETT: "Amy Klobuchar says she is dropping out of the running to be vice president and urging Democrat Joe Biden to select a woman of color instead.
The white Minnesota senator, who had seen her prospects fall as racial tensions swept the nation, said Thursday that she called the presumptive presidential nominee Wednesday night and made the suggestion. Biden had already committed to choosing a woman as his running mate.
“I think this is a moment to put a woman of color on that ticket," Klobuchar said on MSNBC. “If you want to heal this nation right now — my party, yes, but our nation — this is sure a hell of a way to do it."
Possible VP Kamala Harris often avoided controversy in California. Here's how
Sac Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Kamala Harris had a reputation in California as a prosecutor and attorney general who waited rather than led, who moved on controversial issues only once she saw what was politically viable.
She didn’t take a position on the 2015 California Assembly proposal to make sure incidents involving police using deadly force got independent investigations. Today she’s cited by the bill’s sponsor as an influential voice in aiding his effort.
She opposed a 2010 state initiative to legalize marijuana. She now says she strongly supports legalization."
SF creates coronavirus loan fund for black-owned businesses
The Chronicle's ROLAND LI: "San Francisco is creating a coronavirus relief fund for black-owned businesses and black entrepreneurs amid ongoing protests for racial justice.
The fund will start with a $1.5 million investment from Give2SF, the city’s existing coronavirus relief fund. The zero-interest loans of up to $50,000 will include flexible repayment terms and loan forgiveness options.
Funding will be prioritized for long-standing businesses and those that have been most affected by shelter-in-place restrictions, which have hit retailers and restaurants hard."
After Supreme Court DACA decision, state universities commit support to immigrant students
LA Times' TERESA WATANABE: "The University of California vowed Thursday to continue leading the way in supporting immigrant students, hours after the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the Trump administration’s plan to rescind temporary protections for young immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.
UC President Janet Napolitano and Board of Regents Chair John A. Pérez hailed the court decision in a case that the UC system first brought in 2017 and said the university would continue to provide its generous immigrant support services, including the nation’s first free legal services center for students without legal status.
“They still have special needs, particularly in the current environment, and we want to make sure that we are supporting them even as they pursue their university educations,” Napolitano said in a teleconference Thursday."
Here are the rules for local buses, Amtrak and rideshare as California mandates masks
Sac Bee's MICHAEL FINCH II: "A state order requiring people to wear masks in public came as Regional Transit officials in Sacramento were planning to roll out their own mandate for passengers, following in the footsteps of rideshare companies and passenger railroad services.
RT has been encouraging riders to wear masks and they are required of employees, including bus and light rail operators. The agency planned to soon roll out a mask requirement of its own but the details of enforcement are still unsettled, said Devra Selenis, an RT spokesperson.
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that all Californians must wear masks in indoor public spaces to slow the spread of COVID-19 — including people riding in taxis and rideshare services like Uber and Lyft, or taking public transit."
Legendary screen presence Ian Holm dead at 88 from Parkinson's-related problems
AP: "Ian Holm, the acclaimed British actor whose long career included roles in “Chariots of Fire” and “The Lord of the Rings” has died. He was 88.
Holm died peacefully Friday morning in a hospital, surrounded by his family and carer, his agent, Alex Irwin, said in a statement. His illness was Parkinson’s related.
A star of stage and screen, Holm won a Tony Award for best featured actor as Lenny in Harold Pinter’s play “The Homecoming” in 1967."
