California, Bay Area opening mass vaccination sites
The Chronicle's CATHERINE HO: "State and local officials are starting to open mass vaccination centers to speed up coronavirus immunizations and to accommodate the millions of additional Californians now eligible for vaccines under the state’s new, looser guidelines.
Vaccination sites are opening as soon as this week at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, Petco Park in San Diego and Cal Expo in Sacramento, Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a news briefing Monday. Some sites are also opening in the Bay Area, though for now they are for health care workers and by appointment only. But they are poised to open to members of the broader public in the next few weeks.
Opening mass vaccination clinics marks the next stage of a historic immunization campaign that began just a month ago, when the first vaccines were injected into the arms of high-risk health care providers."
READ MORE related to Vaccine: COVID-19 vaccines to be administered at Disneyland, Orange County's first 'super' distribution site -- LA Times's MATTHEW ORMSETH
COVID-19 job losses will worsen L.A. homelessness by 2023, new report says
DOUG SMITH, LA Times: "Massive job losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic nationwide will leave tens of thousands of low-wage workers without homes over the next three years, a report published Tuesday by a Los Angeles-based research group forecasts.
Los Angeles County, already struggling with one of the nation’s largest homeless populations, will be especially hard hit, on a per-capita basis, because of its large low-wage labor force and high housing costs.
Based on the effects of the 2008 recession, the Economic Roundtable report “Locked Out” concludes that pandemic-related unemployment will start a brutal cycle of homelessness. It says the uptick began as a trickle in 2020, but will triple this year and peak by 2023."
LA is overwhelmed. How Sacramento hospitals are trying to avoid their own COVID crisis
Sac Bee's TONY BIZJAK/CATHIE ANDERSON: "Southern California hospitals are in crisis mode, overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases and, in some cases, rationing care. Are Sacramento County hospitals next?
Intensive care unit space at Sacramento hospitals has dropped to 10%, and officials say they are now girding for a potential “surge upon a surge” stemming from infections likely spread during Christmas and New Year’s gatherings.
In the last week, the November/December surge of new hospital cases has plateaued. But, “resources are stressed,” said Edmundo Castañeda, president of Mercy General and Woodland Memorial hospitals for Dignity Health, which has six local hospitals. “We are concerned about what is going to happen in the next week or two.”"
California Assembly -- led by ex-GOP leader -- calls for Trump's resignation over riot
Sac Bee's LARA KORTE: "In its first big vote of the new year, the California Assembly on Monday passed a resolution backed by its former Republican leader calling for President Donald Trump to be removed from office with 10 days left in his tenure.
The measure passed overwhelmingly, 51-6, with most of the Assembly’s 19 Republicans declining to cast a vote.
Former Assembly Republican Leader Chad Mayes of Yucca Valley sponsored the resolution, characterizing it as an attempt to defend the U.S. Constitution after a mob of extremists supporting President Trump overwhelmed the U.S. Capitol last week in a riot that resulted in five deaths."
State bulletin train delays 'beyond comprehension,' contractor says in blistering letter
LA Times's RALPH VARTABEDIAN: "One of the state’s top bullet train contractors has sent a scorching 36-page letter to California high-speed rail officials, contradicting state claims that the line’s construction pace is on target and warning the project could miss a key 2022 federal deadline.
The letter, obtained by The Times, alleges that a multitude of problems have remained unresolved for years, including rapid turnover of state officials, continuing delays in obtaining land for the rail and the state’s failure to secure agreements with outside parties, including utilities and freight railroads. The delays will result in idled work sites and layoffs of field workers, says the letter, by construction giant Tutor Perini.
As of mid-November, construction teams can not build on more than 500 parcels in the Fresno area because the California High Speed Rail Authority still lacks possession or proper documentation, according to the Jan. 4 letter. The company has completed all the work that could be done efficiently and as a result is now operating at other sites at a slower pace."
California exodus intensifies as retirees, teachers, musicians seek cheaper, less-crowded pastures
LA Timers's STEPHANIE LAI: "The California dream has been fading for a long time, and people have been voting with their feet.
In the last few years, the exodus has accelerated, with tens of thousands more people leaving than moving in.
The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted even more people to give up on the state, experts say. Some have retreated to their hometowns elsewhere because they lost their livelihoods. Others are taking advantage of working remotely to escape the state’s high housing prices and long commutes."
Calling all billionaires: SF plans to ask philanthropists for huge sums to help schools post-pandemic
The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER: "San Francisco officials are hatching a plan to raise a huge sum over five years — possibly more than $2 billion — for city schools to address the academic and emotional damage done by the pandemic, and also prove that with enough cash, a public education can look and feel a lot more like a private one.
The fundraising effort would align with a new, temporary commission tasked with coming up with a way to address the learning loss and other issues related to the pandemic as well as long-term plans for a first-class public education, one that incorporates tutoring, art, music and family services.
Officials hope the effort will also help keep families in San Francisco schools and possibly lure back parents who have fled the school system during distance learning."
READ MORE related to Education: California schools would get more money than ever in Newsom's budget, but can they open? -- Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY/SAWSAN MORRAR
FBI, Sacramentro-area law enforcement prepare for possible violence at California Capitol
Sac Bee's SAM STANTON: "Federal law enforcement officials, hate-crime specialists and social media platforms are warning of the possibility of nationwide attacks at state capitols and in Washington, D.C., in the days leading up to the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden.
One federal law enforcement source said Monday that authorities had no specific information about planned activities at California’s state Capitol, where weekly protests have been staged since election day by supporters of President Donald Trump and his false claims that voter fraud cost him the White House.
But the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly, confirmed to The Sacramento Bee that FBI field offices nationwide have been alerted to the possibility of violence through Inauguration Day and have set up command posts to interact with state and local law enforcement, including the California Highway Patrol, which has jurisdiction over the state Capitol."?
Did secret Sacramento City Council discussion of Sac PD's protest response break state law?
The Chronicle's THERESA CLIFT: "The Sacramento City Council gathered last week behind closed doors to discuss the police department’s response to downtown demonstrations attended by white supremacist groups, a move that watchdogs said potentially violated a state law requiring most meetings about city business to be public.
An agenda said the Tuesday meeting was closed to the public because the council was conducting a performance review for City Manager Howard Chan. But council members viewed “a lot” of video footage of police responding to the demonstrations, Councilman Jeff Harris said in a public session afterward.
Harris referenced the closed-meeting discussion after a member of the public who had called into the meeting accused Sacramento police of protecting white supremacists."
As pandemic lowers rents, it increases scams on tenants seeking a good deal
The Chronicle's JK DINEEN: "The plunge in San Francisco’s apartment market fueled by the coronavirus pandemic has been a blessing for thousands of tenants who have successfully haggled with their landlord for lower rents or moved into units that are at least 25% less expensive than they were a year ago.
But it has also created opportunities for scam artists who are using current safety precautions to bamboozle tenants eager to take advantage of the soft market.
Across the country, pandemic health restrictions have forced rental transactions to go digital, as tenants and landlords rely on their smart phones and laptops to do everything from 3-D tours to digital signings. Property managers and tenants attorneys say the pace of the scams is picking up."
They're climate scientists. They're mothers. Now they're joining the battle to get Americans to act
ANNA M PHILLIPS: "The ad opens with two apple-cheeked little girls hiking, camping and taking their wobbly first turns on skis. A mother speaks about her children’s future with worry in her voice. You brace yourself for the inevitable pitch to buy life insurance or an SUV.
Instead, the ad, which will debut this week in the swing states of Arizona, North Carolina and Wisconsin, is one of the most sophisticated and well-funded efforts to spread the word on the urgency of climate change in a decade.
It’s part of a $10-million campaign that will put climate scientists who are mothers in the living rooms of families across the country so they can speak to parents like them. The campaign, called “Science Moms,” will include TV and digital advertising and will also run in Pennsylvania, Colorado and Florida."
Councilman Kevin de Leon wants 25,000 housing units for homeless by 2025
LA Times's BENJAMIN ORESKES: "When the Los Angeles City Council opens its 2021 term on Tuesday, Councilman Kevin de León will introduce a range of motions with the goal of creating 25,000 new housing units for homeless people by 2025.
The former state Senate president pro tem made homelessness a centerpiece of his run for the seat that represents skid row and includes the most homeless people in the city of Los Angeles. Since he took office in October, he’s repeatedly stated that local government lacks a “North Star” in its quest to solve the homelessness crisis.
In an interview, De León was light on details about how the city might generate enough housing to almost double the number of units available to homeless people. Still, he said it was useful to have an ambitious but attainable goal that elected officials and the public could rely on as a yardstick for success and failure."
Internet crackdown on Trump, supporters spreads from AWS to Twilio, Stripe and others
The Chronicle's SHWANIKA NARAYAN/ROLAND LI: "The online banishment of President Trump and his supporters has spread from Facebook and Twitter to lesser-known companies that operate the infrastructure of the internet, threatening his ability to raise money, rally supporters and remain a political and cultural force as he prepares to leave office.
A host of web security, hosting and payment companies are stopping services to both Trump and organizations that have tolerated right-wing extremists advocating further violence.
The moves highlight the power that a small number of firms have over the internet, including obscure Bay Area tech companies that provide the plumbing of a modern web presence. Well known to the region’s app designers and web engineers, their services let websites load quickly, users verify identities, and payments get processed securely. Without them, it’s difficult to maintain an online presence that reaches large numbers of people or pays for itself."
Dems know removing Trump from office won't be easy. They want to try anyway
Sac Bee's FRANCESCA CHAMBERS/DAVID LIGHTMAN/ALEX ROARTY: "Democrats are charging ahead with a plan to impeach President Donald Trump over inciting last week’s Capitol Hill riot, even though the rapidly developing effort faces a set of daunting challenges that make it unlikely he’ll be removed from office before Joe Biden’s inauguration next week.
Maintaining that Trump could provoke additional violence during his last days in office, Democrats said Monday that they would vote quickly on measures aimed at pressuring the president to leave office earlier than the end of his term on Jan. 20.
The goal for some Democratic lawmakers is to keep Trump from holding office ever again, barring a potential comeback for the outgoing Republican president."
After frosty few days, Pence, Trump appear to reach detente
AP's JILL COLVIN/ZEKE MILLER: "President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence appear to have come to a détente after nearly a week of silence, anger and finger-pointing.
The two met Monday evening in the Oval Office and had a “good conversation,” according to a senior administration official. It was their first time speaking since last Wednesday, when Trump incited his supporters to storm the Capitol building as Pence was presiding over certification of November's election results. Pence and his family were forced into hiding.
During their conversation, the official said, Trump and Pence pledged to continue to work for "the remainder of their term" — a seeming acknowledgement that the vice president will not pursue efforts to try to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office with nine days left in his term."
3 US Capitol Police officers suspended as investigations mount
LA Times's CHRIS MARQUETTE: "There are at least eight investigations into 17 U.S. Capitol Police officers related to the pro-Trump riot that left five dead last week, a House aide familiar with the investigations told CQ Roll Call.
Three Capitol Police officers are currently suspended with pay, the aide said, adding that it is unclear whether those suspensions are related to the eight investigations.
There are also investigations into social media posts and social media activity of Capitol Police officers."
Dems balance impeachment with Biden's first 100 days as clock ticks toward Trump exit
LA Times's JENNIFER HABERKORN/DAVID LAUTER: "House leaders set plans in motion to impeach President Trump for a second time, with a vote as early as Wednesday, as President-elect Joe Biden and congressional leaders huddled over how to carry out a Senate trial later this month without derailing the new administration’s agenda.
The discussions highlighted the urgent but tricky task facing Democrats as they prepare to take power next week: how to hold Trump accountable for his role in inciting last week’s mob invasion of the Capitol while simultaneously launching Biden’s new administration in the midst of a public health and economic crisis, with a continued threat of violence.
Democrats said they’re confident they have the votes needed to pass the article of impeachment introduced Monday by Reps. David Cicilline (D-R.I.), Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) and Jamie Raskin (D-Md.). It has only one charge: incitement of insurrection."
FBI warns of plans for nationwide armed protests this week
AP: "The FBI is warning of plans for armed protests at all 50 state capitals and in Washington in the days leading up to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration, stoking fears of more bloodshed after last week’s deadly siege at the U.S. Capitol.
An internal FBI bulletin warned that the nationwide protests may start this week and extend through Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration, according to two law enforcement officials who read details of the memo to the Associated Press. Investigators believe some of the people are members of extremist groups, the officials said. The bulletin was first reported by ABC.
“Armed protests are being planned at all 50 state capitols from 16 January through at least 20 January, and at the U.S. Capitol from 17 January through 20 January,” the bulletin said, according to one official. The officials were not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity."
Sheldon Adelson, billionaire casino owner and Republican mega-donor, dies at 87
LA Times's STEVE CHAWKINS: "Las Vegas casino magnate Sheldon G. Adelson, whose faux Venetian palaces drew gamblers eager to beat the odds and Republican candidates eager to win campaign jackpots, has died. He was 87.
His death was confirmed by his wife, Miriam Adelson. Adelson was being treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, his company disclosed in early 2019.
Adelson was listed by Forbes magazine in 2020 as the 19th-richest American, with holdings estimated at $29.8 billion. After he took his Las Vegas Sands Corp. public in 2004, his wealth increased by $1 million an hour. During the 2008 recession, it plummeted for a time at $1,000 a second."
