Some California ICUs are completely full: 'It's the worst we've seen'
LA Times's FAITH E PINHO/RONG-GONG LIN II/LUKE MONEY: "Some California counties on Tuesday saw intensive care units hit full capacity, and others were getting close to that level as COVID-19 cases continued to surge.
At least three counties in the San Joaquin Valley have reached 0% capacity in their hospitals’ intensive care units, making the state’s agricultural hub the first area in California to become maxed out.
In Santa Clara County, meanwhile, conditions are deteriorating rapidly. Officials said there are only 31 ICU beds remaining — less than 10% of the county’s capacity — and that a few hospitals have run out completely."
LA County could get 84K COVID-19 vaccine doses by next week
LA Times's JACLYN COSGROVE/LUKE MONEY: "After nine months on a seesaw of lockdowns and reopenings, Los Angeles County will likely get its first allocation of COVID-19 vaccine as early as next week.
The plan will be to rapidly deploy the 84,000 doses to healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic.
Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting that the county could get its second and third allocations of doses later this month, and then weekly allotments starting next year."
READ MORE related to Vaccines and Pandemic: 'Thanksgiving bump' sends California to record 35.4K coronavirus cases, 219 deaths -- LA Times's LUKE MONEY/RONG-GONG LIN II; Hospitalizations, COVID deaths soar as potentially disastrous holiday season nears -- The Chronicle's AIDIN VAZIRI/TATIANA SANCHEZ; COVID vaccines are coming soon. Here's what Bay Area residents should know -- The Chronicle's CATHERINE HO/ANNIE VAINSHTEIN
Capitol Weekly Podcast: The vaccines are coming
Capitol Weekly: "As most of the state winches down amid a new surge of COVID-19 cases, doctors and scientists are racing to prepare for the largest vaccination campaign in generations. Multiple coronavirus vaccines have been found to be be effective; now the challenge shifts to distribution.
Capitol Weekly’s John Howard and Tim Foster were joined by Dr. Dean Blumberg, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, UC Davis School of Medicine and Acting Chief, Pediatric Infectious Disease Section, UC Davis Medical Center."
With eviction protections ending, California lawmakers propose an extension to help tenants
LA Times's PATRICK MCGREEVY: "A state law protecting tenants from evictions in California expires in two months, but lawmakers are seeking an extension until the end of next year.
“As we move into one of the most frightening COVID surges, keeping renters in their homes is crucial to ensuring our communities are healthy,” said Assemblyman David Chiu (D-San Francisco), author of AB 15, in a written statement. “Allowing these protections to expire Feb. 1 could lead to a wave of evictions and an increase in COVID cases.”"
ar, citing continuing economic hardships from a new stay-at-home order that’s meant to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
The current law bars evictions as long as renters pay at least 25% of their rent and attest to financial hardship, but it expires on Jan. 31, 2021. Legislation introduced Monday would extend the protections for 11 months, until Dec. 31 of next year.
Former US Rep Katie Hill alleges years of abuse by her ex-husband, receives restraining order
LA Times's JAMES QUEALLY: "Former Congresswoman Katie Hill accused her ex-husband in court filings Tuesday of continuing to harass her since their divorce and detailed years of abuse she says he inflicted on her.
In the filings, Hill, who resigned last October amid allegations she had an inappropriate relationship with a staff member, sought a restraining order against her ex-husband, Kenneth Heslep. She has accused Heslep previously of leaking intimate images of her as part of a campaign to sabotage her political career.
A judge granted Hill the restraining order, which requires Heslep to stay at least 100 yards away from the former congresswoman, her mother and her sister."
California lawmakers try again to make it easier to build housing
The Chronicle's ALEXEI KOSEFF: "The legislative package to address California’s housing shortage next year will look a lot like it did this year, before it fell victim to internal politics, battles with interest groups and the coronavirus pandemic.
State Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, said she expects lawmakers to bring back at least half a dozen unsuccessful measures, including her own proposal to make it easier to split lots and convert homes into duplexes.
“You’re going to see a number of the bills that we put forward last year that actually got really far down the road and we anticipate them being well-received, because we did the work,” Atkins said during a Zoom call with reporters after the Senate was sworn in Monday for a new two-year session."
California's tax windfall is $15.5B, Newsom tells tech industry group
LA Times's JOHN MYERS: "Gov. Gavin Newsom’s upcoming state budget will assume California’s tax windfall is $15.5 billion, he said Tuesday during an event held by a technology industry trade group.
The governor revealed the estimate during an online presentation during the annual state policy conference of Technet, said a source who attended the event but was not authorized to publicly discuss Newsom’s comments. The organization describes itself as a “bipartisan network of technology CEOs and senior executives that promotes the growth of the innovation economy” and lobbies on a variety of issues in Sacramento.
An email to the group seeking comment was not immediately answered."
Is Xavier Becerra 'radical'? Republicans criticize Biden nominee's record
Sac Bee's DAVID LIGHTMAN: "Xavier Becerra’s limited experience as a manager or a health care expert — as well as his views on abortion — are stoking concern among Republican senators whose votes will be crucial to his confirmation as Health and Human Services secretary.
Becerra, the California attorney general, is President-elect Joe Biden’s choice to head the massive agency. If confirmed, he would become the administration’s chief spokesman for his policies on health care reform, response to the COVID-19 pandemic and other related issues.
That bothers some GOP senators."
In new twist of SF City Hall scandal, judge orders drug testing for ex-SFPUC chief
The Chronicle's MEGAN CASSIDY: "Former San Francisco Public Utilities Commission chief Harlan Kelly must surrender his passport, rid himself of any firearms and not use alcohol in excess while he is out of jail and awaiting trial on a federal charge of wire fraud.
Those standard conditions, ordered by Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler Tuesday after setting bond at $200,000, also came with an additional stipulation for Kelly to undergo drug testing after prosecutors said a substance that appeared to be cocaine was found in his home.
Beeler initially questioned whether she should order drug testing, given the safety risks associated with the pandemic, and said she didn’t want to impose it without cause."
Facing a huge budget gap, LA takes a first step toward cutting hundreds of city jobs
LA Times's DAVID ZAHNISER: "The Los Angeles City Council made its first move Tuesday toward eliminating hundreds of jobs at the Police Department and other city agencies, while stopping short of a more sweeping plan that would have targeted nearly 1,900 workers.
Facing a projected $675-million deficit, council members agreed to seek new employee furloughs, drain much of the city’s reserve and borrow $150 million to cover the cost of ongoing operations. But they scaled back the portion of the budget-balancing plan devoted to job cuts, identifying 843 positions — three-fourths of them at the LAPD — for possible elimination if other cost savings cannot be found.
The package of budget-balancing measures, which passed on a 13-2 vote, decreased the number of positions targeted at the LAPD from 1,679 to 628 — 355 officers and 273 civilians. Councilmen Joe Buscaino and John Lee voted against the proposals, saying they do not want any LAPD jobs to be contemplated for layoffs."
READ MORE related to Economy/Reopening: At least three Bay Area counties raise grocery store capacity limits to 35% -- The Chronicle's SHWANIKA NARAYAN
Above Santa Cruz, residents fear devastating mudslides
LA Times's SUSANNE RUST: "The fire that rampaged through the San Lorenzo Valley in August and September burned hotter and destroyed more acreage than anyone in these rugged, rural and breathtaking mountains can remember.
The CZU August Lightning Complex fire killed Tad Jones, a 73-year-old man who lived in the mountains above Santa Cruz. It also destroyed hundreds of homes, displacing residents, and left scores without potable water.
Now the region is bracing for more devastation, in the form of potentially deadly debris flows caused by winter storms. Taking advantage of an unusually dry November and early December, local first responders and government agencies are frantically cleaning the debris left behind by the fires, and securing the search and rescue equipment they will need for the mudslides almost sure to come."
Tesla called her a criminal. Her fight could be a milestone for employee's rights
LA Times's RUSS MITCHELL: "The woman from human resources opened the doors — those big heavy fire doors with the push bars. She led the way through an unlighted, windowless room, draped in plastic, smelling of paint. Cristina Balan grew nervous. “This doesn’t look like the way to Elon’s office,” she thought to herself.
She was led, she said, through another door into a room where she saw two large men in security uniforms behind desks. They were ordered to wait outside. Balan’s boss walked in. Balan was told to sit in a rolling desk chair. They were joined by a company lawyer.
The day was not proceeding as planned."
Trial date set for Chinese UC Davis researcher despite courts' actions to combat COVID
Sac Bee's SAM STANTON: "A federal judge in Sacramento has set a February trial date for a UC Davis Chinese researcher charged with lying to U.S. officials about her ties to China’s military and Communist Party, despite the fact that no one expects the trial to happen as scheduled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a move highlighting the difficulty courts are facing as COVID-19 continues to ravage California and the nation, U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez set a Feb. 8 trial date for Dr. Juan Tang, but told her lawyers in a Tuesday Zoom hearing that “we’re not going to be open to the public by then.”
Tang’s lawyers, Malcolm Segal and Tom Johnson, have argued that even if their client went to trial and was found guilty of lying on her visa application to enter the country she likely would receive a six-month sentence."
Vallejo police to investigate email sent to Chronicle columnist by officers' union
The Chronicle's LAUREN HERNANDEZ: "The Vallejo Police Department said it intends to investigate an email sent by the police officers’ union to Chronicle columnist Otis R. Taylor Jr., who announced Monday that he is leaving the news organization for a job in Atlanta.
The email from the Vallejo Police Officers’ Association said: “Looks like 2021 will be a little bit better not having your biased and uniformed (sic) articles printed in the newspaper that only inflame the public...... you have never looked for the truth in any of your writings.
“We will warn our Georgia colleagues of your impending arrival,” the email read, referring to law enforcement in Georgia, where Taylor will move to join the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s investigative team."
Elon Musk moves to Texas, criticizes California
BLOOMBERG: "Elon Musk has moved to Texas to focus on two big priorities for his companies: SpaceX’s new Starship spacecraft and Tesla Inc.’s new Gigafactory, currently under construction in Austin.
There also are potentially enormous tax implications for Musk, who recently became the world’s second-wealthiest person. Texas has no personal income tax, while California imposes some of the highest personal income levies in the nation on its richest residents.
“I have moved to Texas,” Musk said Tuesday, speaking in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. Musk did not specify where or say whether he has bought a home."
SCOTUS says no to first and probably last high court appeal of 2020 presidential election
LA Times's DAVID G SAVAGE: "President Trump had predicted that the Supreme Court would finally decide who won this year’s presidential election, but if so, he lost again on Tuesday.
Without comment or dissent, the high court turned away the first appeal from Trump supporters to reach the high court, a claim by several Pennsylvania Republicans who said the state’s election results should not be certified.
It may be the last appeal as well. Under federal election law, Dec. 8 marks the date when a state’s results are deemed to be set and final. President-elect Joe Biden won by more than 81,000 votes in Pennsylvania and will win the state’s 20 electoral votes."
