POLICY & POLITICS
North SJ Valley:
Coronavirus update: Graffiti Festival off; latest case count; shopping tips
Modesto Bee
Grocers and other essential stores have refined their safeguards for shoppers amid the coronavirus. This includes sanitizing surfaces, reducing crowding and shielding workers at checkout lines. Read Marijke Rowland’s Biz Beat column.
EDITORIAL: Is Modesto too small? City may not make the cut for coronavirus aid in stimulus bill
Modesto Bee
Modesto may end up on the short end of the stick when Washington hands out billions of dollars in coronavirus relief during the coming weeks. Why? The city may be too small.
Central SJ Valley:
This Fresno councilmember thinks there should be fines for violating social distancing
Fresno Bee
Fresno City Councilmember Luis Chavez said he will propose a city ordinance to fine residents who are violating social distancing and other public health measures during the coronavirus pandemic.
See also:
● Opinion: How long will Fresno be social distancing? Buckle up, because it could be a while Fresno Bee
Fresno Bee
At the Central California Food Bank, with dwindling stocks of food, Fresno Mayor-Elect Jerry Dyer launched a fundraising campaign, givehelpnow.org, to support organizations aiding the needy during coronavirus outbreak.
See also:
● 5 Fresno businesses set up $500,000 fund to encourage donations amid coronavirus Fresno Bee
● Jerry Dyer creates donation site for local nonprofits abc30
Fresno, Clovis lift RV parking restrictions for workers to self-isolate during pandemic
Fresno Bee
The cities of Fresno and Clovis are easing restrictions over on-street parking of recreational vehicles to allow workers in essential functions to isolate themselves from their families during the coronavirus pandemic.
● Clovis Waives Rules On RV Parking For Covid-19 Isolation Business Journal
Fresno gets hundreds of complaints about non-essential businesses still open
abc30
The city of Fresno ordered non-essential businesses to shut down two weeks ago. But they've gotten hundreds of complaints about places that have stayed open anyway.
Answering Fresno-area reader questions about coronavirus: How many cases in each city?
Fresno Bee
As coronavirus continues to upend life in the central San Joaquin Valley, The Fresno Bee is here to answer your pandemic-related questions.
USA Today
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is in hot water again after he said the decision to close California schools for the remainder of the school year was "way overkill," and disagreed with the date the White House set to extend coronavirus social distancing guidelines.
WARSZAWSKI: How long will Fresno be social distancing? Buckle up, because it could be a while
Fresno Bee
Most of us are in our third week of staying home, and sheltering in place is starting to feel like hibernation.
South SJ Valley:
Kern County issues order banning private gatherings, begins crackdown on businesses
Bakersfield Californian
The Kern County Public Health Services Department has issued a new order banning all public and private gatherings, and will soon begin increasing enforcement against nonessential businesses that remain open despite the ban.
Kern County residents can now file complaints on non-compliant businesses online
KGET
Residents can now file complaints of businesses not following stay-at-home orders with Kern County Public Health.
CSUB professor Dr. Jeanine Kraybill breaks down the politics of a pandemic
Kern Radio
How do politics bleed into the medical response of a pandemic? CSUB professor Jeannine Kraybill breaks it down.
CSUB economics professor says we may be flirting with a depression
Kern Radio
How bad is the economic impact of this virus? Dr. Richard Gearhart says we could be headed toward a depression.
Californian earns top honor in California Journalism Awards
Bakersfield Californian
The Bakersfield Californian earned first-place general excellence honors in the 2019 California Journalism Awards, recognizing the entire newsroom staff for its reporting and writing, photography, design and overall presentation.
State:
Challenging Times for California
PPIC
This is a time of global crisis. We are all living through a fast-moving, large-scale disaster that is having extraordinary public health and economic consequences. Here in California, public leaders and private industries took early action to mitigate the effects of COVID-19, putting policies in place to flatten the curve sooner than any other state.
See also:
· See how California’s COVID-19 death curve is projected to look, compared to other large states Sacramento Bee
· California, you’re doing a great job staying home, tracking data show. (Except these places) Sacramento Bee
California launches task force to deal with staggering testing backlog
SF Gate
During a Thursday news conference, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that his state is launching a "testing task force" to deal with the backlog and increase general testing capacity.
Newsom says face coverings can help, but California won’t mandate now
Los Angeles Times
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday that face coverings are beneficial for trips to grocery stores, but his administration has stopped short of telling Californians to wear them outside.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announces initiative to help workers during coronavirus
Fresno Bee
California Gov. Gavin Newsom at noon Thursday will announce an initiative to help workers and small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, according to his office.
See also:
· 'We're not New York': Newsom says California has enough safeguards to continue construction Politico.
Federal Fiscal Relief and COVID-19: Implications for Californians
California Budget & Policy Center
In recent weeks, in response to the rapid spread of COVID-19, the ensuing public health crisis, and heightened concerns about the economic implications of the crisis, federal leaders enacted three fiscal relief packages intended to provide support for public health responses; economic assistance for affected workers, businesses, and households; and fiscal relief for state, local, and tribal governments.
Commentary: Brown’s Decision on Funding Medical Supplies Understandable at the Time, Not Later
Fox & Hounds
Should Gov. Jerry Brown be blamed for the lack of California medical supplies? Hindsight is an unsympathetic observer. It often measures past events by current circumstances. Brown’s decision of not continuing the funding of the state’s built-up medical supply reserves at the time he was facing a huge budget deficit is understandable—but an opportunity to replenish later was ignored.
Backers of California tax initiative submit signatures
Hanford Sentinel
Supporters of a proposed amendment to the California Constitution that would raise property taxes on some businesses by up to $12 billion a year announced Thursday they have collected more than 1.7 million signatures, all but assuring it will appear on the November ballot.
See also:
● Backers of California Proposition 13 revision turn in ballot signatures San Francisco Chronicle
Unique California gun program clears fewer cases in 2019
Bakersfield Californian
State authorities cleared 8.6% fewer cases last year regarding people who no longer are allowed to own firearms, down from a record high in 2018, through a unique California program.
Federal:
Experts and Trump’s advisers doubt White House’s 240,000 coronavirus deaths estimate
Washington Post
Leading disease forecasters, whose research the White House used to conclude 100,000 to 240,000 people will die nationwide from the coronavirus, were mystified when they saw the administration’s projection this week.
See also:
· Commentary: Forget Trump’s daily briefings. Watch these coronavirus messengers instead Los Angeles Times
Most believe stopping virus is larger priority than saving economy: poll
The Hill
The majority of Americans believe that fighting and stopping the coronavirus outbreak should be the federal government's top priority, ahead of fixing the country's crippled economy, a new Public Agenda-USA Today-Ipsos poll finds.
See also:
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Rotting masks, busted ventilators in U.S. stockpile sent to states fighting coronavirus
Fresno Bee
As the Strategic National Stockpile dwindles, health officials across the country say they’ve received unusable masks and ventilators damaged by mold or broken with missing parts, media outlets report.
See also:
● States demand ventilators as feds ration limited supply Fresno Bee
● Fresno business manufactures protective face shields during pandemic abc30
● Less than 10% of the N95 masks requested have been received by 5 states Roll Call
● U.S. Expected to Recommend Cloth Face Masks for Americans in Coronavirus Hot Spots Wall Street Journal
● FEMA tells lawmakers most new ventilators won't be ready until June Politico
Trump admin moves toward promoting broader use of face masks
Fresno Bee
The Trump administration is formalizing new guidance to recommend that many Americans wear face coverings in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, as the president is aggressively defending his response to the public health crisis.
See also:
● Trump admin moves toward promoting broader use of face masks abc30
● Health officials: Face coverings could help slow spread of virus Turlock Journal
● ‘Please, please, please step up:’ Union, employer make joint appeal to Trump on face masks Sacramento Bee
● Trump Administration To Recommend People In Coronavirus Hotspots Wear Masks Capital Public Radio
● Should Everyone Wear Masks Outside? Guidelines May be Changing, But For Now Medical Experts Are Mixed. Capital Public Radio
● Face masks could provide coronavirus protection. But there’s a ‘but’ Los Angeles Times
● Inside America’s mask crunch: A slow government reaction and an industry wary of liability Washington Post
● White House expected to urge Americans to wear face coverings in public to slow spread of coronavirus Washington Post
Company incorrectly claimed FDA approval of 2-minute coronavirus test
The Hill
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week said it did not approve a two-minute coronavirus blood test that a company touted as receiving government approval.
See also:
· Exclusive: California Company Under Scrutiny For 'At-Home' Coronavirus Test Claims VPR
Trump's federal coronavirus quarantine isn't happening (for now). But what can states do?
NBCNews
How much can the government limit the actions of private individuals during a global health crisis? And specifically, can states quarantine out-of-state travelers? That is one of the big unanswered legal questions raised by the coronavirus crisis.
See Also:
● GOP senator: National shelter-in-place order would be an 'overreaction' The Hill
● OPINION: The States of Covid-19 Wall Street Journal
● OPINION: Coronavirus vs. Governors: Ranking the Best and Worst State Leaders Politico
In time of crisis, Trump-Pelosi relationship remains broken
Fresno Bee
Two of the most powerful people in Washington have not spoken in five months at a time when the nation is battling its worst health crisis in a century, one that has already killed more than 5,000 Americans and put 10 million others out of work.
Trump administration ended pandemic early-warning program to detect coronaviruses
Los Angeles Times
Two months before the novel coronavirus is thought to have begun spreading in Wuhan, China, the Trump administration ended a $200-million pandemic early-warning program aimed at training scientists in China and other countries to detect and respond to such a threat.
FACT CHECK: Trump Pushes Tax Break To Boost Restaurants, But Would It Actually Help?
KPCC
President Trump wants to bring back the tax write-off for business meals and entertainment, but critics say reviving what is known as the "three-martini lunch" tax break is not the answer to the problem that restaurants face right now.
Washington Post
The Internal Revenue Service plans to send electronic payments as soon as late next week to millions of Americans as part of the $2 trillion coronavirus law, a week sooner than expected, according to a plan circulated internally on Thursday.
See Also:
● Some Americans may not get stimulus checks until August. Here's why. abc30
● Top Republican lawmakers maintain their opposition to ‘Phase 4’ coronavirus package MarketWatch
Trump Administration Plans to Pay Hospitals to Treat Uninsured Coronavirus Patients
Wall Street Journal
The Trump administration is expected to use a federal stimulus package to pay hospitals that treat uninsured people with the new coronavirus as long as they agree not to bill the patients or issue unexpected charges, according to two people familiar with the planning..
Commentary: COVID-19 relief package will save lives, protect working families
Bakersfield Californian
With fatalities in the thousands and job losses in the millions, the novel coronavirus pandemic is a crisis unlike any other we’ve ever faced.
Opinion: What if the Supreme Court strikes down the ACA during the COVID-19 pandemic?
The Hill
With COVID-19 spreading across the United States, the fate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is once again up in the air, hanging on the outcome of a Supreme Court case. Should the law be overturned, upwards of 20 million people could lose their health insurance.
Coronavirus Trackers:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) in California
COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It's caused by a virus called coronavirus.
See also:
● California Department of Public Health
● Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pandemic - WHO
● See how California’s COVID-19 death curve is projected to look, compared to other large states Fresno Bee
● Tulare County unveils COVID-19 map to give 'accurate' view of areas affected by the virus Visalia Times Delta
● John Hopkins University & Medicine John Hopkins University
● Tracking coronavirus in California Los Angeles Times
● Coronavirus Tracker San Francisco Chronicle
● Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count New York Times
● How many coronavirus cases have been reported in each U.S. state? Politico
● Coronavirus Daily NPR
● Coronavirus tracked: the latest figures as the pandemic spreads Financial Times
● Coronavirus in California by the numbers CalMatters
Elections 2020:
How Bernie Sanders could help fix Joe Biden’s Latino voter problem
Fresno Bee
One of the legacies of Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign is likely to be his success with engaging Latino voters, a constituency Democrats often take for granted that the Vermont senator invested in early and heavily.
Los Angeles Times
Former Vice President Joe Biden has promised that if elected in November, he will appoint the first black woman to the Supreme Court — a step he called “long overdue.”
Coronavirus concerns prompt Democrats to move convention from July to August
Los Angeles Times
The Democratic National Convention has been delayed until Aug. 17 because of the coronavirus sweeping the country.
Coronavirus voting: Dems renew drive for changes, while GOP pushes back
San Francisco Chronicle
A Democratic plan to spend $2 billion on changes that lawmakers say would make it safer and easier for voters to cast ballots in the shadow of the coronavirus is under attack by Republicans.
See also:
· Trump campaign declares war on Dems over voting rules for Nov Politico
New election security funds won’t come easy for hard-hit states
Roll Call
Cash-strapped states, which Congress just pumped $150 billion into, will nonetheless have to pony up in order to access new election security grants in the massive new coronavirus aid package signed by President Donald Trump last week.
How the coronavirus is shaping the 2024 presidential race
Politico
Andrew Cuomo’s poll ratings are soaring. Jay Inslee is drawing more attention than his failed presidential campaign ever did. Gretchen Whitmer is burnishing her credentials as a possible running mate for Joe Biden.
See also:
· Skelton: Newsom and Cuomo have been top leaders in the coronavirus crisis. Don’t count on them to challenge BidenLos Angeles Times
Other:
Can Democracy Survive Coronavirus?
U.S. News
STATE PRIMARY ELECTIONS have been delayed, and experts fret about how to hold a credible and accessible general election in November. Congress is out until at least April 20, and many state legislatures have suspended their sessions. Government buildings are closed. The Trump administration wants "emergency" powers to allow suspects to be detained indefinitely, while abroad, world leaders are using the pandemic to seize more power.
How Census Is Building a Citizenship Database Covering Everyone Living in the U.S.
Nextgov
By March 2021, the bureau plans to release anonymized statistics while keeping the raw data on individuals' citizenship status confidential.
Commentary: From Rural Digital Divides to Local Solutions
Brookings
Thick snow flurries fell on the night that my colleague Mark Hoelscher, then Brookings’s resident photographer, and I left Washington, D.C., driving northwest on Interstate 270 toward Garrett County, Maryland. The trip, which is normally three hours, took five given the blinding and hazardous weather conditions in the Allegheny Mountains
Some Local Agencies Are No Longer Responding to Public Records Requests
Voice of San Diego
Most government agencies across the region are no longer providing records to the public as is typically required under a state law known as the California Public Records Act amid the coronavirus pandemic. Even requests for records related to the crisis that exist electronically are being largely denied indefinitely.
Column: You can thank the coronavirus for a plunge in robocalls
Los Angeles Times
Like most of us, Elaine Regus and her husband have adapted to being home most of the day, except for the occasional walk around the neighborhood. The San Dimas resident told me that in the past, they’d typically find several messages from robocallers awaiting them any time they returned home.
Opinion: America’s Pandemic War Games Don’t End Well
FP
One simulation of an uncontrolled disease outbreak concluded with riots and the National
Guard on the streets.
AGRICULTURE/FOOD
Farmworkers, Mostly Undocumented, Become ‘Essential’ During Pandemic
New York Times
Like legions of immigrant farmworkers, Nancy Silva for years has done the grueling work of picking fresh fruit that Americans savor, all the while afraid that one day she could lose her livelihood because she is in the country illegally.
See Also:
● Farmworkers face coronavirus risk: ‘You can’t pick strawberries over Zoom’ Los Angeles Times
● How Can We Make Farm Work Healthier? (Streaming Online, Tues, 4/14) Zócalo Public Square
Coronavirus safety comes first as Modesto Certified Farmers Market opens season
Modesto Bee
The market got off to a light start, which Burch Bees Pure Honey proprietor Shiela Burch said was fine with her. A quiet day would be perfect for working out any kinks involved in greeting customers amid the new measures in place because of the coronavirus pandemic.
KCCOA works around COVID-19 to distribute food
Hanford Sentinel
It was a windy Wednesday morning, but Kings County Commission on Aging Executive Director Bobbie Wartson and others were ready to distribute food to the community as always.
10 tips for safe shopping, from the California Grocers Association
Bakersfield Californian
The California Grocers Association released a list of 10 tips for safe shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here they are: Only visit the store when it’s essential. Then buy only what you need for one week or a little more. There is enough for all if shopping patterns remain normal.
See also:
● First-responders get special shopping times at FoodMaxx, Save Mart stores Bakersfield Californian
● ‘Eggs were flying off the shelves.’ But they should return soon, experts say Sacramento Bee
● Leave your reusable grocery bag at home in coronavirus pandemic, markets tell customers Sacramento Bee
CalMatters
For many of us working in restaurants, it’s about community, the whole community. We are woven into a city’s social fabric as places for people to celebrate, negotiate, argue or fall in love. That is what hospitality does best — bring people together.
See also:
· Craft Brewers In California Grateful To Remain Open, Hopeful New Business Model Will See Them Through Capital Public Radio
Ordering takeout is probably safe during COVID-19 outbreak, experts say, but take precautions
PolitiFact
Restaurant dining rooms across the U.S. are closed due to COVID-19, but many are offering more takeout and delivery service than ever before. The option to savor your favorite dish from your neighborhood haunt may feel like a silver lining during this time of stay-home directives. But one nagging question may spoil your appetite: Is it really safe?
Hemp grower whose crop was destroyed by KCSO presses for search warrant information
Bakersfield Californian
A hemp grower is asking a local judge to force the release of information about county authorities' destruction last fall of a large crop near Arvin that reportedly tested positive for marijuana.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE/FIRE/PUBLIC SAFETY
‘Matter of life and death’: Judges implored to order California inmate releases
Fresno Bee
Calling the coronavirus crisis inside California prisons “literally a matter of life and death,” attorneys for state inmates called on federal judges Thursday to order a reduction in overcrowding prisons so that prisoners can be afforded the same 6-foot social distancing officials have mandated for the public.
See also:
● Tulare County judges start releasing some inmates early due to COVID-19 concerns abc30
● Employee at Valley State Prison tests positive for COVID-19 abc30
● Mass release of California prisoners weighed by judges amid coronavirus fears Los Angeles Times
● OPINION: Releasing Sex Offenders Is No Way to Fight Coronavirus Wall Street Journal
What, if anything, works in prisoner reentry?
AEI
Every year, 600,000 Americans are released from prison, and nearly two-thirds of them will be rearrested for new crimes within three years. Many attempts at reducing criminal recidivism have yielded disappointing results, leading researchers and policymakers to ask “what works” in improving the odds of a successful return to society?
CA gun background checks surge amid COVID-19 pandemic
abc30
Californians are flocking to gun stores in big numbers during the coronavirus pandemic, even as gun buyers nationwide are setting new records according to new federal data.
See also:
· Unique California gun program clears fewer cases in 2019 Bakersfield Californian.
Fire:
Erin Brockovich: Why fire victims should accept PG&E settlement
San Francisco Chronicle
My goal was simple — I wanted every person who was a victim of fires caused by PG&E to be paid in full by the company that destroyed their homes, forever changing their lives.
ECONOMY/JOBS
Economy:
CSUB economics professor says we may be flirting with a depression
Kern Radio
How bad is the economic impact of this virus? Dr. Richard Gearhart says we could be headed toward a depression.
Newsom: Small businesses are “devastated”
CalMatters
A record 6.6 million Americans filed new unemployment claims in the week ending March 28, in addition to the 3.3 million the week before, the U.S. Labor Department said Thursday. Nearly 879,000 of them were Californians — more than twice as much as any other state.
See Also:
● Stimulus Aid For ‘small Business’ Will Go To Some Big Chains Business Journal
● California Gives Small Businesses Tax Extension Amid Pandemic KQED
● California Gov. Gavin Newsom Wants Sales Tax Relief For Businesses kpbs
● Need a Small Business Loan? Here’s What You Need to Know Wall Street Journal
● Government Doubles Interest Rate on SBA Loans After Banks Complain Wall Street Journal
● CARES Act Allocates $350 Billion for Small Business Loans Under Paycheck Protection Program AALRR
Paid Family Leave Could Spell End For Some Businesses
Business Journal
To try and provide protections for employees, the Senate recently passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, phase II, on March 18.
See Also:
● Coronavirus relief law gives California state workers with children 12 weeks paid leave Sacramento Bee
● Trump Administration Scales Back Paid Leave in Coronavirus Relief Law New York Times
● A Future of Work That Complements Family Life Institute for Family Studies
California Trade Report for February 2020
California Center for Jobs & the Economy
The February data begins to capture the sharp downturn in economic activity related to the current COVID-19 emergency. The table below shows the initial effects related to shutdowns in China, with goods trade with China, Hong Kong, and Macau through the state’s ports down 60.2% from the year earlier.
Stocks Decline as Investors Digest Collapse in Jobs Market
Wall Street Journal
U.S. stocks and government bond yields fell Friday after new data showed that March was the worst month for job losses since the last financial crisis. The S&P 500 fell 1.2% in morning trading. The Nasdaq Composite lost 1%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 306 points, or 1.4%. All three major U.S. indexes are on track for weekly declines.
Wall Street Rises For First Time In Three Days As Oil Spurts
Business Journal
Wall Street rallied Thursday for its first gain in three days after a sudden surge in oil prices revived beaten-down energy stocks. But, as has so often been the case in this year’s market sell-off, it took a few U-turns to get there.
Start-Ups Are Pummeled in the ‘Great Unwinding’
New York Times
After a crush of travel cancellations in March, WanderJaunt, a short-term home rental start-up in San Francisco, laid off 56 of its 240 employees last week.
Brookings
The coronavirus pandemic has thrown America into a coast-to-coast lockdown, spurring ubiquitous economic impacts.
Jobs:
A record 10 million sought US jobless aid in past 2 weeks
Fresno Bee
More than 6.6 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week — doubling a record high set just one week earlier — a sign that layoffs are accelerating in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak.
See also:
● 6.6M applied for unemployment in US last week, shattering record abc30
● A record 6.6 million Americans seek jobless aid as layoffs mount amid coronavirus Los Angeles Times
● Companies Try to Preserve Jobs by Cutting Pay Amid Coronavirus Crisis Wall Street Journal
● Jobless rate jumps to 4.4 percent in March, but much worse lies ahead for American workers Washington Post
● Staggering: Record 10 Million File For Unemployment In 2 Weeks VPR
● CBO: Unemployment rate could hit 12 percent by summer Roll Call
● Unemployment insurance is not good enough. We should be backstopping every business's payroll Washington Examiner
Capital Public Radio
Companies that continue to pay their employees during the coronavirus pandemic can apply for grants up to $10 million. Gov. Gavin Newsom also announced that small businesses can keep up to $50,000 in sales taxes as an interest-free loan for a year.
See also:
● Government Works To Begin Disbursing Loans And Payments Amid Record Unemployment Capital Public Radio
● Jobs report Friday is expected to end record hiring streak Fresno Bee
● US sheds most jobs in a decade, ending record hiring streak KGET
● Jobs Data Will Be From Way Back When Things Were Normal: 3 Weeks Ago Capital Public Radio
● U.S. Employers Cut 701,000 Jobs in March Wall Street Journal
● Country in ‘Great Depression neighborhood’ and unemployment could top 32% San Francisco Chronicle
● First People Were Sent Home to Work. Now They’re Getting Laid Off Remotely. Wall Street Journal
● Clinica Sierra Vista, Bill Wright Toyota disclose layoffs Bakersfield Californian
● Golden Valley Health Centers furloughs, lays off a quarter of its staff due to pandemic Modesto Bee
Lost your job? Here’s how to find openings, resources in California during coronavirus crisis
Fresno Bee
Hundreds of thousands of California residents have already lost jobs to the coronavirus pandemic, as sprawling “stay-at-home” orders to prevent the spread of coronavirus shuttered non-essential businesses.
See also:
● Bitwise creates website for Californians who lose job during COVID-19 outbreak abc30
● Have you lost your job or had your hours cut? Here are the state programs you might qualify for Stockton Record
● Non-English speakers struggle to file coronavirus unemployment claims CalMatters
‘The $2 is insulting’: Retail workers fight for more pay amid coronavirus crisis
Los Angeles Times
Work has changed for Daniel Reyes-Velarde, an employee at a CVS in Lakewood, Calif.
Lines are longer than ever, leaving him little time to restock the shelves and label items. Hand-washing is mandated, timed, and sometimes overseen by a manager. Customers are panicked, and every conversation feels like an added risk.
Grocery Workers Keep America Fed, While Fearing For Their Own Safety
VPR
Millions of essential workers are showing up for their jobs at warehouses, food processing plants, delivery trucks and grocery checkout lines. Work that is often low-paid, and comes with few protections, is now suddenly much more dangerous.
OPINION: Give Hospital Workers Hazard Pay
Wall Street Journal
Doctors, nurses and other medical workers have been justly praised for their heroism and courage. We owe them our lives, we are told. What are we doing for them?
The Recorder
A federal judge asked a lawyer representing a class of Lyft drivers if she was trying to use the COVID-19 pandemic to get her client’s reclassified as employees after failing to do so during past attempts.
What Will U.S. Labor Protections Look Like After Coronavirus?
Harvard Business Review
The consequences of Covid-19 fall more heavily on those at the bottom end of the wage distribution. Easily lost amid the chaos, however, is how this crisis may be an opportunity to improve employee protections — and not temporarily but permanently.
EDUCATION
K-12:
Fresno County schools will get millions in COVID-19 funds. Here’s how they can spend it
Fresno Bee
Fresno and Clovis-area schools will receive over $2 million from the state in COVID-19 relief funds to help sanitize school sites, provide meals and implement distance learning, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond announced this week.
Central Unified extends closure into the summer break
Fresno Bee
Central Unified will remain closed through June 11, the school district announced Thursday evening. Central’s Board of Trustees voted to keep all campuses closed while continuing online distance learning and the distribution of meals.
See also:
● FUSD extends school closures for remainder of 2019-2020 school year abc30
● Modesto super lays out some of what students, families can expect rest of school year Modesto Bee
● San Joaquin County calls for school sites to remain closed this year Stockton Record
Clovis Unified School District
Within 24 hours of our videos posting , subtitles in multiple languages are available. Select the Closed Captioning (CC) button in the bottom-right of the video player and select your language of choice.
Kings County schools to transition to distance learning
Hanford Sentinel
Following a press conference held by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, in which Newsom expressed that it is very unlikely schools would resume this year, school districts will shift their focus to distance learning.
See also:
● KCSOS turns attention to strengthening distance learning amid school closures Bakersfield Californian
● California Schools Give Laptops To Students As Districts Prepare For ‘Distance Learning’ Capital Public Radio
● California school unions, district leaders pledge to cooperate on coronavirus challenges EdSource
School board puts Lile in charge
Madera Tribune
In the face of the rising threat from the coronavirus pandemic, Madera Unified trustees have joined other school districts in placing unusual responsibilities on its school chief.
Sierra Tel Offering Free Internet to Students Impacted by Pandemic
Sierra News
Local internet service provider Sierra Tel is offering mountain area students from low-income households free internet service in order to continue their studies online in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak and ongoing school closures.
Capital Public Radio
Across California, children with special needs are home from school and missing their usual therapy, social interactions and other supports. Now, their parents are looking to the state, their school districts and the Internet for help.
How to help students during coronavirus lockdown
CalMatters
In a Wednesday virtual Q&A hosted by CalMatters, two of California’s top education leaders gave parents and teachers advice on how to educate students while schools remain physically closed.
After coronavirus subsides, we must pay teachers more
Brookings
As Wall Street takes a pounding from the COVID-19 pandemic, the stock we place in teachers is on the rise. If you didn’t appreciate the expertise, labor, and dedication that teachers patiently pour into our children most days of the week, then you probably do now.
The Great Zoom-School Experiment
New Yorker
In some ways, the Lang School, a small, private school in the Financial District, was well-suited to the age of the coronavirus. Online classes commenced on Tuesday, March 17th, via Zoom. But for second and third graders, “it was clear that it was a disaster.”
See also:
· Watch at 1 pm: Are Colleges Ready for Online Learning During the Pandemic? CalMatters
USA Today
Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Calif., is in hot water again after he said the decision to close California schools for the remainder of the school year was "way overkill," and disagreed with the date the White House set to extend coronavirus social distancing guidelines.
EDITORIAL: School shutdowns threaten to worsen the achievement gap
Los Angeles Times
The COVID-19 crisis threatens to undo years of educational efforts to help disadvantaged students catch up to their more affluent classmates.
See also:
● How COVID-19 Closures May Disrupt Student Learning Public Policy Institute of California
Higher Ed:
Nursing Students at Bakersfield College Will Help Lighten The Load For Kern Hospitals
VPR
This week Governor Gavin Newsom announced a program to bring more professionals into the medical field, including students and retirees. Bakersfield College also announced a similar pipeline to help its upper-level nursing students finish their education.
Colleges Go Test-Optional After SAT, ACT Are Called Off
VPR
A growing list of colleges have announced they're going test-optional for the class of 2021, meaning the SAT or ACT will not be required for admission.
UC, the state’s 3rd largest employer, will not do layoffs through June amid coronavirus crisis
Los Angeles Times
The University of California, whose 227,000-member workforce is the third largest in the state, will not lay off any career employee through June 30 because of the coronavirus emergency, despite mounting financial uncertainty facing campuses, UC President Janet Napolitano announced Thursday.
UC and Cal State relax admissions criteria due to coronavirus: What you need to know
Los Angeles Times
The University of California and California State University systems announced Wednesday a temporary easing of admissions requirements for applicants for fall 2020 and beyond, citing the wide disruptions to education faced by K-12 and community college students.
Bakersfield Californian
I am a UCLA trained physician, specialized and board certified in psychiatry, who has focused on treating the university student population during more than 20 years of practice. I was the psychiatrist at a university in southern Mississippi when Hurricane Katrina devastated the area, and saw firsthand the negative effect on students, which lasted several years.
CalMatters
Most kids like to play on their phone, but few know how to program one. Although they are avid consumers of technology, most students in California don’t have the opportunity to learn computer science in order to become creators of it.
ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY
Environment:
Coronavirus will change our lives, but environment could see benefits
San Francisco Chronicle
When you look out at the crystal blue skies over California, it doesn’t look like a deadly pandemic. In fact, the Bay Area is basking in its cleanest air in months, if not years. And we’re not alone.
Cleanup of US nuclear waste takes back seat as virus spreads
Fresno Bee
The U.S. government’s efforts to clean up Cold War-era waste from nuclear research and bomb making at federal sites around the country has lumbered along for decades, often at a pace that watchdogs and other critics say threatens public health and the environment.
Energy:
PG&E customers to receive climate credit in April
KRON4
If you’re using a little more energy at home in the wake of the stay-at-home orders during the pandemic, PG&E wants to help you out. The utility company said Thursday that all residential customers will receive the state-mandated California Climate Credit on their bills during the April billing cycle.
See also:
● PG&E Customers Getting $62 ‘California Climate Credit’ in April Sierra News
Wall Street Journal
U.S. crude oil prices jumped 25% Thursday to $25.32 a barrel after President Trump suggested that Saudi Arabia and Russia could soon settle their destructive price war. This is all the more reason to resist calls from the U.S. shale patch for domestic production quotas or import duties when he meets with oil executives on Friday.
HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES
Health:
12 more people test positive for coronavirus in Fresno County, officials say. Valley passes 200
Fresno Bee
Positive tests for the new coronavirus continue to rise in the central San Joaquin Valley as experts continue to implore people to stay home to slow the spread of the respiratory illness.
See also:
● Merced County reports four new infections, brings total to 16 confirmed cases Fresno Bee
● Tulare County has 15 new coronavirus cases, including several more at area nursing home Fresno Bee
● COVID-19 cases rise to 158 in Kern Bakersfield Californian
● COVID-19 cases rise to 158 in Kern County, public health says KGET
● California could see 5,000 coronavirus deaths a week if social distancing eases too soon Los Angeles Times
● Coronavirus: Much has changed as California marks grim 10,000 case milestone Mercury News
Lemoore sailor in isolation after testing positive for the coronavirus
Fresno Bee
A Lemoore sailor tested positive for the coronavirus, the Lemoore Naval Air Station said in a post on Facebook on Thursday.
See also:
● NAS Lemoore service member tests positive for coronavirus abc30
● NAS Lemoore sailors among nearly 3,000 sailors to leave carrier amid virus outbreak Hanford Sentinel
There are now 1 million coronavirus cases worldwide — with nearly a quarter in the US
Fresno Bee
Coronavirus cases worldwide have doubled in the last week and reached 1 million confirmed cases Thursday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
See also:
● Global Coronavirus Cases Top One Million, as Economic Toll Mounts Wall Street Journal
FDA loosens restrictions on gay and bisexual men, encourages blood donations amid coronavirus crisis
abc30
The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday said it would loosen some of the restrictions that have blocked gay and bisexual men from donating blood.
See also:
· Blood centers begin collecting coronavirus antibodies from COVID-19 survivors Los Angeles Times
Patients infected by coronavirus may be moved to California nursing homes
San Francisco Chronicle
California nursing homes, already struggling to fight the new coronavirus, could soon become landing spots for infected patients from overflowing hospitals, according to a controversial state order that nursing home experts have derided as a “death sentence” for vulnerable residents.
See also:
· California senior-home inspectors now using Zoom, Skype to limit coronavirus exposure Sacramento Bee
A coronavirus immunity test is essential for the U.S. But will it work?
Los Angeles Times
It’s a potential saving grace salvaged from a pandemic: As people recover from the coronavirus, they may develop immunity that could allow them to return to school or work, helping place the U.S. on the road to recovery.
ecommended deferral period from 12 months to three months.
California resumes disclosing how many health workers have the coronavirus
San Francisco Chronicle
The California Department of Public Health is again reporting daily counts of health workers infected with the coronavirus after The Chronicle reported its decision this week to withhold the data, prompting outrage from nurses and other medical professionals.
See also:
· EDITORIAL: Health care workers inspire; their working conditions, not so much San Francisco Chronicle
Can you catch coronavirus from someone talking to you? Experts say it’s possible
McClatchy
Talking normally could transmit coronavirus through airborne particles, researchers say. People who are asymptomatic but infected with coronavirus could make enough infected air particles to spread the virus, according to aerosol scientists at the University of California, Davis.
EDITORIAL: Closing houses of worship during the pandemic is an act of faith and charity
Los Angeles Times
Among the other disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has been the closing of houses of worship and the cancellation of religious gatherings.
Commentary: Low U.S. COVID-19 Death Rate Means Efforts Are Working
RealClearPolitics
The percentage of coronavirus cases that result in death is the only true reflection of how successfully a country is dealing with the challenge the virus presents.
Opinion: How did covid-19 begin? Its initial origin story is shaky.
Washington Post
The story of how the novel coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China, has produced a nasty propaganda battle between the United States and China.
Human Services:
Emergency coronavirus hospital coming to Fresno. Here’s where it’s expected to go
Fresno Bee
Fresno County has picked the convention center as the site for the emergency coronavirus field hospital. If the state approves, the facility will be up and running next week, an official told The Bee.
See also:
● KDMC braces for surge, reserves convention center Visalia Times Delta
● PDC field hospital plans still in early stages Porterville Recorder
● California hospitals desperate for safety supplies, fear ‘disaster’ as coronavirus wave hits Los Angeles Times
● Listen: California hospitals prep for coronavirus — and life afterward CalMatters
Two weeks for coronavirus test results? Fresno officials say it’s rare and help is on the way
Fresno Bee
Coronavirus testing remains a controversial and frustrating topic for residents, politicians and doctors alike. While the U.S. faces a major shortage of tests, other countries have made widespread testing a priority and found it to be a handy tool to slow the spread of the virus.
See also:
● Testing issues cloud scope of California’s virus outbreak Fresno Bee
● Local man waited 12 days for positive COVID-19 results after backlog of tests at Quest Diagnostics Bakersfield Californian
● This Coronavirus Test Promises Results In 45 Minutes. But Some California Labs Can’t Get It. Capital Public Radio
● Trump Claims U.S. Testing For Coronavirus Most Per Capita — It's Not Capital Public Radio
● California’s coronavirus testing backlog is a vast 64% unprocessed San Francisco Chronicle
● Testing issues cloud scope of California’s virus outbreak Associated Press
Why are Fresno-area Native American clinics sending staff home during coronavirus pandemic?
Fresno Bee
Health care clinics serving Native Americans in the Fresno-area are grappling with the same testing and supply shortages faced by other hospitals, but they’re also sending many of their staff, including medical personnel, home.
● What Are the Benefits of Wearing a Face Mask? Wall Street Journal
Telemedicine provides opportunity for care during COVID-19 crisis
abc30
This week, the federal communications commission unveiled plans to provide $200 million to boost telemedicine programs. The technology gives doctors the ability to provide care while maintaining social distancing.
See also:
● Merced hospital offering virtual visits for possible patients and families abc30
Kaweah Delta reserves convention center for COVID-19 surge, expands drive-through testing
Visalia Times Delta
As coronavirus cases across the central San Joaquin Valley continue to climb, Kaweah Delta is bracing for a surge of COVID-19 patients expected to hit Tulare County in late April. Hospital leaders are working closely with city officials to potentially convert the Visalia Convention Center and Marriott into temporary medical centers should the need arise.
Employees: Redwood Springs not prepared for COVID-19
Visalia Times Delta
Workers at a Visalia nursing home hit by a COVID-19 outbreak say facility administrators aren't doing enough to keep patients and staff safe. But, administrators said "without hesitation" staff was given the tools and guidance to fight the pandemic.
Opinion: Implement Critical Care Surge Strategies Now to Save Lives
RAND
Facing a potentially overwhelming increase in the number of critically ill patients seeking care, hospitals may need to make fundamental changes in the way they allocate space, staff, and stuff—changes that may have been unthinkable only a few weeks ago.
Opinion: Should patent protections be relaxed amidst the COVID-19 crisis?
AEIdeas
As the coronavirus pandemic intensifies around the world, one particularly pressing intellectual property issue has arisen: Should patent protections be loosened when doing so may save lives?
IMMIGRATION
Disaster in motion: 3.4 million travelers poured into US as coronavirus pandemic erupted
abc30
An ABC News investigation offers sobering insight into how COVID-19 has spread and penetrated so broadly, so deeply and so quickly in the United States. It also helps explain why Americans, no matter where they live, must continue to self distance.
U.S. stops issuing passports except in emergencies
Los Angeles Times
The U.S. State Department won’t be processing new passports and renewals except for emergency cases because of the coronavirus pandemic, the agency’s website said.
Leaked Border Patrol Memo Tells Agents to Send Migrants Back Immediately — Ignoring Asylum Law
ProPublica
Citing little-known power given to the CDC to ban entry of people who might spread disease and ignoring the Refugee Act of 1980, an internal memo has ordered Border Patrol agents to push the overwhelming majority of migrants back into Mexico.
California Supreme Court won’t hear immigration case from O.C.
Los Angeles Times
The California Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to hear a challenge to a state law that limits police collaboration with federal immigration agents.
LAND USE/HOUSING
California homeless advocate: ‘We’re moving way too slowly’
Fresno Bee
Since the beginning of an international pandemic, experts have known one population is particularly vulnerable to contracting and spreading the coronavirus: the homeless.
See also:
● Billions in virus aid aim to shelter, test the homeless Hanford Sentinel
● First homeless patient tests positive for coronavirus in Fresno CalMatters
● U.S. Tries to House Its Homeless in a Hurry to Prevent Coronavirus Outbreaks Wall Street Journal
‘You can’t move and you can’t stay’: Top Democrats say COVID renter protections won’t work
Sacramento Bee
Two top Democrats in the California Legislature say Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order temporarily protecting tenants who can’t afford rent because of COVID-19 doesn’t stop landlords from initiating eviction proceedings and could allow a wave of evictions once the order ends on May 31.
Amid pandemic, some California sheriffs’ departments still evicting renters
CalMatters
Lori Waldman got lucky. She thought she and her 87-year-old father would be sleeping in her car tonight. As recently as yesterday, the 58-year-old expected to be locked out of her apartment by Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies. The eviction notice they received last week said they had to be out by April 1. But Waldman didn’t know where they were supposed to go in the middle of a pandemic.
Home lenders brace for up to 15 million mortgage defaults
Los Angeles Times
Mortgage lenders are preparing for the biggest wave of delinquencies in history. If the plan to buy time works, they may avert an even worse crisis: Mass foreclosures and mortgage market mayhem.
See also:
· How to Suspend Your Mortgage Payments During Coronavirus Turmoil Wall Street Journal
PUBLIC FINANCES
Gavin Newsom planned a $222 billion state budget. It’ll be ‘radically changed’ by coronavirus
Fresno Bee
California Gov. Gavin Newsom says he is going back to the drawing board for his budget proposal, abandoning the $222 billion plan he laid out in January as the coronavirus pandemic hammers the state’s economy.
See also:
· Opinion: Post-Coronapocalypse pension reform checklist for California California Policy Center
Do you have to pay your property taxes? Gavin Newsom says he doesn’t want to ‘overpromise’
Merced Sun-Star
Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday he’s in talks with local governments about property taxes due April 10 as the coronavirus pandemic bludgeons the economy, but cautioned that he does not want to “overpromise” relief for taxpayers.
See Also:
● A coronavirus property tax delay? Californians shouldn’t count on it CalMatters
● Newsom seems unlikely to delay property tax deadline, but may consider alternative relief Politico
Coronavirus relief law gives California state workers with children 12 weeks paid leave
Sacramento Bee
State workers with children stuck at home may take up to 12 weeks of paid leave under a federal law that went into effect Wednesday, according to the California Department of Human Resources.
California delays sales tax payments for small businesses
Bakersfield Californian
California's governor on Thursday said small businesses can keep up to $50,000 in sales tax receipts for the next year as the COVID-19 outbreak has forced people to stay home and many shops to close.
It took her 20 years to claw out of poverty. Coronavirus could take it all away
Los Angeles Times
Raquel Lezama had reason to be proud. At 17, after crossing the Mexican border, she toiled in a Los Angeles garment factory, earning 5 cents for each blouse she ironed — $50 a day if she could manage 1,000 pieces.
Backers of California tax initiative submit signatures
Hanford Sentinel
Supporters of a proposed amendment to the California Constitution that would raise property taxes on some businesses by up to $12 billion a year announced Thursday they have collected more than 1.7 million signatures, all but assuring it will appear on the November ballot.
See also:
● Backers of California Proposition 13 revision turn in ballot signatures San Francisco Chronicle
Stimulus checks for the coronavirus pandemic won’t be sent to my family
CalMatters
The $2 trillion stimulus package will offer relief to many Americans affected by the economic downturn from the coronavirus pandemic, but the checks meant to ease the financial hardships won’t help families like mine.
Millions Are Suddenly Working From Home. Can They Claim a Tax Break?
Wall Street Journal
If you’re one of millions of Americans who are now working from home instead of the office because of the coronavirus pandemic, count yourself lucky: you aren’t sick and you have a job.
TRANSPORTATION
Mexican airline says coronavirus forces it to suspend service to Fresno, 13 other U.S. cities
Fresno Bee
Mexican airline Volaris says it has temporarily halted flights out of Fresno Yosemite International Airport because of the coronavirus until further notice.
Construction traffic near High-Speed Rail corridor in Kings County
Hanford Sentinel
The California High-Speed Rail Authority, in cooperation with design-build contractor Dragados-Flatiron Joint Venture, announced intermittent traffic impacts in Kings County for the next several months.
See also:
· Video shows progress on Calif. high-speed rail project RT&S
Caltrain, battered by the coronavirus, pushes ahead with November sales tax measure
San Francisco Chronicle
As it stumbles through the coronavirus pandemic, Caltrain still has ambitious plans to electrify and nearly double the size of its fleet by 2022. All the agency needs is money.
WATER
Community Advocates Say Water Shutoff Order Is Good, But Not Enough
VPR
On Thursday, Governor Gavin Newsom placed an executive order restricting water shutoffs retroactively from March 4th. That’s good news, community advocates say, but it doesn’t help those whose water was already shut off.
See also:
● Californians won’t have water service turned off for unpaid bills during coronavirus crisis, Newsom says Los Angeles Times
● Coronavirus: Newsom bans water shutoffs for customers with overdue bills Mercury News
● Gavin Newsom issues a moratorium on water utility shutoffs during the coronavirus emergency Sacramento Bee
March storms weren’t enough to boost California’s snowpack, officials say
Los Angeles Times
A series of late winter storms that dampened the Southland in March were not enough to boost California’s snowpack, despite high hopes among water managers. The snowpack, measured on Wednesday at the California Department of Water Resources’ Phillips station, was 43.5 inches, about 66% of average for the time of year at the location.
See also:
· ‘Winter Storm Watch’ Issued for Mountain Area Through Weekend Sierra News
“Xtra”
Chaffee Zoo staff, animals adapt to life under shelter-in-place order
abc30
While the Fresno Chaffee Zoo remains closed to visitors, staff and volunteers continue to work as normal to keep the animals fed and cared for.
Missing live music while sheltering in place? Visalia's Rudy Parris has you covered
Visalia Times Delta
Visalia's Rudy Parris, best known for his appearance on NBC's "The Voice" and for providing lead vocals for The Buckaroos at The Crystal Palace in Bakersfield, will perform free live online concerts for people sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kern County has been safe haven for golfers during pandemic
Bakersfield Californian
In recent weeks, golfers from Los Angeles, Fresno and Porterville have been coming to Kern County to play golf at some of the few remaining open courses in the region, according to Allen Sorensen, owner of the North Kern Golf Course.