California prisons launched a unit to investigate misconduct. Wardens aren't using it
Sac Bee's ANDREW SHEELER: "California prison wardens have largely ignored a new system set up to handle prisoner complaints of staff misconduct, according to a new report from the Office of the Inspector General.
The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in April 2020 implemented a new system for managing inmate complaints about prison staff misconduct — a system designed to place responsibility for handling complaints outside of the prison command structure.
The state spent $10 million to launch the program and assigned dozens of experienced officers to staff it."
READ MORE related to Crime/Public Safety: Rampant burglaries plague SF businesses, compounding the hurt of the pandemic -- The Chronicle's SHWANIKA NARAYAN/MEGAN CASSIDY; Oakland plan to replace police with mental health workers in disarray -- The Chronicle's RACHEL SWAN
California wastes its extra solar, wind energy. Could hydrogen be the storage key?
The Chronicle's DUSTIN GARDINER: "No amount of solar panels and wind turbines alone will be enough for California to reach its goal of a clean electrical grid unless the state can solve its energy-storage problem.
The state already generates an abundance of energy from wind and solar farms, particularly during the sunny and blustery spring and early summer months. But it loses much of that energy because it has nowhere to store it, and unlike fossil fuels, the sun and wind don’t generate power 24 hours a day. Utilities must kick on gas-fired power plants to keep up with California’s energy demands during peak demand periods.
Some experts and legislators say the missing puzzle piece could be hydrogen, the most abundant element in the universe, which can be used as a zero-emission fuel for power plants, vehicles and machinery. Extra solar and wind energy can be used to create hydrogen fuel, which can then be stored and used to generate electricity to fill the gaps when the sun doesn’t shine and wind doesn’t blow."
Berkeley considers ending single-family zoning by December 2022: A 'big deal'
The Chronicle's SARAH RAVANI: "Berkeley is considering ending single-family zoning by December 2022 — an effort to right the wrongs of the past and address the region’s housing crisis, city leaders say.
On Tuesday, the City Council will vote on a symbolic resolution that calls for an end to single-family zoning in the city.
Berkeley is the latest city looking at opening up these exclusive neighborhoods to more housing as the region struggles with exorbitant rents and home prices and increasing homelessness. Sacramento recently took a big step in allowing fourplexes in these neighborhoods and one San Francisco politician is pushing a similar plan."
READ MORE related to Homeless/Housing/Population: People are leaving SF, but not for Austin or Miami. USPS data shows where they went -- The Chronicle's JK DINEEN; Two tech investors paid for SF billboards uirging people to move to Miami -- The Chronicle's NORA MISHANEC; SF Bay Area sinking under its own weight -- 3.5T pounds -- The Chronicle's KURTIS ALEXANDER
A top California hospital says it's the target of retaliation by a giant Catholic healthcare chain
LA Times's MICHAEL HILTZIK: "Hoag Memorial Hospital, the most respected medical institution in Orange County, has been affiliated with the giant Catholic hospital chain Providence Health since 2016. But you wouldn’t know it from Providence’s publicity materials.
The chain removed Hoag’s three facilities from its website listing of Southern California locations sometime in late October or early November. But that was just one of several actions Providence, which is based in Renton, Wash., has taken against Hoag.
In June, Providence terminated Hoag’s specialists from St. Joseph Heritage Healthcare, its network of medical providers for managed care plans in Southern California. According to USC healthcare expert Glenn Melnick, who has been consulting with Hoag officials, Providence didn’t inform patients of the change until late November, giving them little time to find new specialists before they had to choose their healthcare plans for 2021."
Since California speaker rose to power, corporate money flowed to nonprofits tied to his wife
Sac Bee's HANNAH WILEY/LANCE WILLIAMS: "In the years since Anthony Rendon rose to power as speaker of the California Assembly, nonprofits associated with his wife, Annie Lam, received more than $500,000 in donations and event sponsorships from dozens of companies with business before the Legislature.
Nonprofits are not required to publicly disclose their donors. But since 2016, when Rendon ascended to the speakership, five nonprofits where Lam is employed have received donations or sponsorships from more than 50 entities, according to public records, promotional flyers and interviews.
More than half of the sponsors and donors are corporations that regularly lobby the Legislature on bills that have the potential to affect their bottom lines, records show. Other sponsors include lobbyists, lawyers and a handful of public agencies."
Are COVID vaccines the reason for case rates dropping? Here's what we know
Sac Bee's KATIE CAMERO: "For the last five weeks, coronavirus cases have been steadily declining in the U.S. following peaks likely spurred by holiday gatherings. Meanwhile, COVID-19 vaccination rates have been picking up pace.
The big unknown: Are the two trends connected?
Experts agree it’s too early to know if the small amount of vaccines administered relative to the U.S. population is responsible for the recent dip in cases, hospitalizations and deaths. It’s partly because COVID-19 vaccines do not prevent infection, but rather severe disease and death, meaning vaccinated individuals may still contract the virus and spread it to others."
READ MORE related to Vaccinations: SF city attorney to school district: Vaccination demands for reopening will be challenged in court -- The Chronicle's JILL TUCKER; LA postpones COVID-19 vaccine appointments as winter weather delays shipments -- LA Times's LUKE MONEY/COLLEEN SHALBY/JENNIFER LU
Gym shuts down after racking up $1M in fines, state officials say
Sac Bee's SUMMER LIN: "A San Jose gym has closed after being fined nearly $1 million for defying coronavirus orders.
California Ripped Fitness said in an email obtained by KTVU that the gym “had no choice but to close” and blamed a “court order.”
“If we didn’t close now we would of been shut down permanently,” the gym wrote. “We are still fighting our legal battle for your rights and ours, hopefully we will be open soon.”"
Here's how close each Bay Area county is to reaching the red reopening tier
The Chronicle's KELLIE HWANG: "As coronavirus case rates continue to drop in the Bay Area and across California, officials suggested this week that several counties may soon advance out of the most restrictive purple reopening tier.
On Jan. 25, Gov. Gavin Newsom lifted regional stay-at-home orders, returning most counties to the purple “widespread” tier in the state’s four-tier color-coded framework. Each California county must meet specific thresholds to move to less restrictive tiers, allowing it to reopen more businesses and other activities at greater capacities.
Currently, all but six counties in the state are in the purple tier — but Newsom said Tuesday he anticipates that a “substantial number” will move to the red tier next week, and “even more in the subsequent weeks” if the trends continue."
Newsom says new school plan doesn't move 'fast enough' in bringing kids on campus
Sac Bee's LARA KORTE: "Aiming to break a stalemate that has kept many California schools closed this year, leading Democrats in the Legislature on Thursday unveiled their own plan to start in-class instruction by mid-April.
Senate Bill 86, known as the “Safe and Open Schools Plan,” follows many of the same reopening tenets laid out by Gov. Gavin Newsom at the start of the year, with some adjustments that would have classrooms reopen later than he wanted.
The plan would send the state’s most vulnerable students back to in-person instruction by mid-April at the latest, and require county public health departments to make COVID-19 vaccines available to onsite teachers and staff."
READ MORE related to Education: East Bay school board members caught disparaging parents on hot mic -- The Chronicle's JESSICA FLORES; SF community groups trying to stop UCSF's expansion of Parnassus campus -- The Chronicle's JK DINEEN
Watch NASA's Perseverance rover make a safe landing on Mars (VIDEO)
LA Times's NANI SAHRA WALKER: "NASA’s Perseverance rover touched down safely on the surface of Mars on Thursday, completing a 293-million-mile journey through space. The mission seeks to find evidence of ancient extraterrestrial life."
LA Times's NOAH BIERMAN: "Vice President Kamala Harris plans to return to her
Brentwood home Friday for her first extended visit in about a year — and her first as vice president — taking a three-day personal weekend to handle chores, including packing belongings.
The trip with her husband Doug Emhoff, through Monday, will not include any public events. Harris is traveling with a small staff and is expected to have some virtual meetings. Aides compare the trip to a personal visit President Biden made to his home in Delaware over a long weekend earlier this month.
Harris had initially planned to depart Thursday but was delayed by a snow and ice storm in Washington. She stopped home briefly to rest in the final days of the 2020 presidential campaign — for less than 12 hours between events in Nevada and Arizona in late October — but has otherwise stayed away as the pandemic has limited most Americans’ travel. She has been vaccinated but is still not expected to be out and about."
