California’s highest-in-the-nation gas taxes are rising. But promised repairs are lagging
PATRICK McGREEVY, LA Times: "Four years after the Legislature boosted the gas tax in order to fix California’s crumbling roads and bridges, the state has spent billions and made some progress in repairs, but officials now say the funding is sufficient only to complete less than half of the work needed.
The gas tax has been a political hot potato since it was passed in 2017, resulting in the recall of a Democratic state senator who voted for the legislation and an unsuccessful attempt by Republicans in 2018 to ask voters to repeal the higher charges.
Now, with the gas tax set to increase again July 1, the campaign to fix roads and bridges is again stirring contention, drawing criticism from some lawmakers who say repairs have been too slow and the effort has lagged behind other states in maintaining and improving transportation systems."
Experts say gas prices could change before Memorial Day
Sac Bee, VINCENT MOLESKI: "Sticker shock at the fuel pump? You aren’t the only one.
Sacramento’s gas prices — largely in line with California-wide trends — have been increasing all year, as nationwide gas prices have been shooting up in recent weeks.
California is leading the nation in pricey fuel, with the state averaging $4.18 for a gallon of regular grade unleaded gasoline, according to the gas price aggregator GasBuddy. Sacramento isn’t far behind the state, averaging $4.13 per gallon."
California to end social distancing, business capacity limits in June, officials say
HANNAH WILEY, SacBee: "California businesses will be able to open their doors on June 15 without the COVID-19 capacity and social distancing restrictions that have been in place for more than a year, according to the state’s top public health officials.
During a Friday press call, Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said California is on track to meet the reopening criteria Gov. Gavin Newsom announced in April. On Saturday, another milestone was reached as federal officials said half of Californians 18 and older are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
About 68%of California adults have received at least one vaccine dose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among residents 65 and older — who were given early preference for vaccination — 89.9 percent have at least one shot and 70.6 percent are fully vaccinated."
As EDD keeps struggling, California targets millions to help jobless people with claims
CAROLYN SAID, Chronicle: "Gov. Newsom’s latest budget proposal allocates millions of dollars to reforming the state’s troubled Employment Development Department, which has struggled to handle unemployment claims for a deluge of people left jobless by the pandemic.
Hiring more people to help guide claimants, offering direct deposit, improving language access and creating a more user-friendly online interface are among the proposed changes to the EDD in the revised $213 billion state budget Newsom issued this month.
Lawmakers applauded the suggested changes."
These California metro areas now have the lowest coronavirus case rates in the U.S
KELLIE HWANG, Chronicle: "The pandemic is in retreat across the U.S. — especially in California, which continues to record the lowest coronavirus case rate of all U.S. states and is home to four of the 10 metropolitan areas with the lowest rates.
The Salinas area on Sunday had the lowest rate of daily new cases out of about 400 metro areas in the country, at 0.6 per 100,000 population, according to the nonprofit data website COVID Act Now. At No. 2 lowest was the Santa Cruz metro area, with 0.7 cases per 100,000.
The San Jose region in the Bay Area was No. 8, at 1.8 cases per 100,000. And the Los Angeles County metro area was No. 10, with 1.9 cases per 100,000."
Masks rules are easing in California. Will they be required inside schools in the fall?
Sac Bee, SAWSAN MORRAR: "Mask mandates are rapidly changing, leaving many parents wondering what school policies will look like in the fall for their children.
State Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said California will effectively end its mask mandate on June 15, when the state plans to fully reopen. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has already provided guidance saying vaccinated people shouldn’t be required to wear masks in most indoor situations.
The California Department of Public Health has not announced a change in guidance, and public health officials in Sacramento County said they are currently awaiting updates and changes from the state. Ghaly said the wait to change California rules is not because the state disagrees with the new recommendations, but rather an effort to give “time to prepare and think through the implementation” of new state guidance."
Schools across California become pop-up vaccination sites
EdSource's SYDNEY JOHNSON: "ifteen-year-old Felipe Caceres isn’t fond of shots and needles. But when his school district in Davis opened a vaccine clinic for students his age, he quickly hopped in line.
“We don’t know everything, and there’s always a possibility you could get sick, but the goal is to be safe,” said Caceres, who is the last in his household to get a vaccine. “I’m a little nervous, I’m not that good with shots. But this is for the greater good.”
On May 10, the Food and Drug Administration expanded the emergency authorization of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for adolescents ages 12 and up. Following the announcement, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Department of Public Health gave their approvals for using the vaccine in individuals 12 and older."
How your Sacramento commute is suddenly harder: Construction, congestion and crashes
TONY BIZJAK, SacBee: "Motorists, be warned: The dreaded three C’s – congestion, construction and collisions – have returned to Sacramento roadways.
As the coronavirus pandemic recedes in the rear-view mirror, Sacramento freeways are again filling up, leading to fender-benders and serious crashes as drivers struggle to re-acclimate to the old normal of stop-and-go commute traffic.
To add to the degree of difficulty, the state last week launched a historic and highly visible demolition project on the elevated W-X section of the Capital City Freeway, which has required crews to temporarily reduce the width of freeway lanes by one foot."
California prison doctors fear drug treatment program could create new addicts
Sac Bee, WES VENTEICHER: "More than a third of California state prison doctors are objecting to a new corrections department requirement that they prescribe an opioid treatment drug, saying the prisons aren’t taking enough precautions to prevent its abuse.
The 138 doctors’ objections, outlined in a petition drafted by the Union of American Physicians and Dentists, come as the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation continues its rapid rollout of the largest prison drug treatment program in the country.
Launched in January 2020, the program makes available to prisoners the three most effective opioid medications available. The corrections department launched the program to try to curb an alarming rise in prison overdoses: 64 California prisoners died of overdoses in 2019, according to the most recent data."
SF's Grace Cathedral Holds In-Person Services for the First Time Since Pandemic Began
MJ Johnson, KQED: "For the first time since March 2020, Grace Cathedral in San Francisco opened its doors to its congregation for in-person service.
Sunday, two hundred masked congregants entered the historic cathedral for mass.
John Wolf has been attending services at the cathedral for years.
"Glad to join together with so many loved ones. When we join together we join as one body and it's been so long since we’ve done that and it's just a beautiful day," he said."
$2.5M of meth hidden in cross-border shipment of watermelon at Otay Mesa
JONATHAN WOSEN, Union-Tribune: "Customs and Border Protection officers seized more than 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine — worth an estimated $2.5 million — in a shipment of watermelons earlier this week, the agency said Saturday.
A driver arrived at the Otay Mesa commercial import inspection facility on Tuesday in a truck hitched to a tractor-trailer that, according to the manifest, was filled with watermelons. But an inspection by officers and drug-sniffing dogs uncovered among the fruit nearly 200 plastic containers packed with 1,100 pounds of methamphetamine, authorities said.
Officers arrested the driver, a 47-year-old Mexican national, on allegations of attempted drug smuggling."
