July 14, 2020

14Jul

POLICY & POLITICS

North SJ Valley:

County reaches new high in single-day infection rate

Modesto Bee

As Stanislaus County neared the 5,000 mark for residents testing positive for the coronavirus, Sunday marked the highest one-day infection rate since the agency began keeping track in early March.

Northern California counties prepare to go after coronavirus health order violators

Modesto Bee

No longer shy about challenging scofflaw businesses, two Sacramento-area counties now say they will fine or suspend permits of businesses that resist coronavirus safety measures.

Central SJ Valley:

No Big Fresno Fair concerts this year; Clovis cites restaurants

Fresno Bee

Nearly 20,000 people have been infected with the coronavirus across the six counties in the central San Joaquin Valley. Last week, the region hits 10,000 active cases and, as of Friday, had added an average of 539 cases each day for the last two weeks.

See also:

Fresno leaders to consider stricter rules for masks, businesses with infected workers

Fresno Bee

A Fresno city leader is proposing stricter mask and case reporting requirements as the number of positive COVID-19 cases continue to climb at an increasing rate. Councilmember Nelson Esparza said he wants to add language to the city’s coronavirus orders that would require people working, even when outside, to wear masks while near others.

Devin Nunes’ setback in Twitter lawsuit drives big fundraising haul for Democratic opponent

Modesto Bee

Rep. Devin Nunes’ Democratic opponent is raising big money off of news about the incumbent’s lawsuits against media organizations and his online critics. The Fresno Democrat, Phil Arballo, hauled in $65,000 in the three days after a Virginia judge last month ruled against Nunes in the Republican’s lawsuit against Twitter, finding that Nunes could not sue the social media company for negligence over remarks by anonymous people who mock him.

South SJ Valley:

Governor says Kern exempt from new business restrictions for now

Bakersfield Californian

Kern County is among 30 counties statewide that must now stop indoor activity at hair salons, barbershops, malls, fitness centers, houses of worship, non-critical offices and businesses providing personal care services, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced at his COVID-19 briefing at noon Monday.

State:

Gavin Newsom announces new wave of California closures as COVID-19 positive rate spikes

Fresno Bee

California shopping malls, gyms, indoor church worship and nail salons will shut down again, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Monday in a new round of measures aimed at curtailing the fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak.

See Also:

New round of shutdowns in California, where infections top 320,000

Sacramento Bee

Huge swaths of California’s economy have now plunged back into shutdown mode, as Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ordered the closure of shopping malls, gyms, indoor church worship, nail salons and more to limit the rapidly growing coronavirus outbreak.

See also:

How dangerous is it to be in a crowd in California? Map helps you calculate the risk

Fresno Bee

An online tool can predict your chances of exposure to the coronavirus in California.

Democrats see immigration reform as topping Biden agenda

TheHill

Democrats are vowing to move forward with immigration reform if presumptive nominee Joe Biden is elected president and the party also takes back the Senate in this fall’s elections.

California Republicans drop suits against governor’s plan to send mail ballots

San Francisco Chronicle

Three Republican lawsuits seeking to block Gov. Gavin Newsom from sending mail ballots to every active California voter this fall through an executive order have disappeared, victims of a Democratic bill that the governor has signed into law.

As Covid-19 Cases Surge, Latino Communities Feel the Brunt 

Wall Street Journal

In heavily Hispanic neighborhoods of Los Angeles, crowded apartments and concerns about testing affecting immigration status are common

Federal:

Negotiators look for common ground on unemployment aid extension

Modesto Bee

How to provide additional relief to jobless workers has become a major partisan tension point in preliminary talks for another COVID-19 aid package. An expanded federal benefit of $600 per week is set to expire at the end of this month, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi says an extension of unemployment insurance must be part of any new package.

1% of US population officially has coronavirus. Experts say real number is much higher

Sacramento Bee

More than 1% of the United States population has tested positive for coronavirus, but various factors have led experts to believe millions more Americans have contracted the virus.

Coronavirus Trackers:

Coronavirus (COVID-19) in California

Covid19.ca.gov

COVID-19 is a new illness that can affect your lungs and airways. It’s caused by a virus called coronavirus.

See also:

Elections 2020:

100,000 mail-in votes went uncounted in California’s primary

Fresno Bee

More than 100,000 mail-in ballots were rejected by California election officials during the March presidential primary, according to data obtained by The Associated Press that highlights a glaring gap in the state’s effort to ensure every vote is counted.

Joe Biden, President Trump win Louisiana’s presidential primary; Biden wins in Puerto Rico

Los Angeles Times

President Trump and Joe Biden have won Louisiana’s twice-postponed presidential primary, and the former vice president won the Democratic presidential primary in Puerto Rico. Trump faced no true challenger for the Republican nomination in Louisiana’s vote, but four other GOP contenders ran against him on the ballot Saturday.

Why Joe Biden Has His Eye on Karen Bass

The Atlantic

The California representative’s low-key manner and progressive credentials could strengthen Biden’s campaign when he needs it most.

There are two easy steps to avoiding chaos this election. We haven’t taken them yet.

Washington Post

The management of elections inherently raises concerns about politicization, with each party worrying that the other will try to manipulate the rules to gain advantage.

Other:

Chatham wins auction to buy McClatchy, will seek final approval from bankruptcy court

Modesto Bee

Chatham Asset Management, the New Jersey hedge fund that is McClatchy Co.’s largest creditor, has won an auction to buy the bankrupt local news company. Under the proposed deal that will be submitted to the bankruptcy court for approval, Chatham would buy the entire company, McClatchy said Sunday.

Fox: Racial Soul-Searching and White Comfort 

Fox & Hounds

During this time of national reflection on racial issues, the terms white privilege, white supremacy, and white power have been bandied about plentifully. A different term has been offered up by eminent Los Angeles civil rights attorney, Connie Rice, in assessing the potential outcomes from current protests: white comfort. 

AGRICULTURE/FOOD

Less Than Three-quarters Of The U.S. Corn Crop Rated Good/Excellent, Usda Reports

Successful Farming

The U.S. corn and soybean ratings have yet to catch up to their averages, according to the USDA Monday. On Monday, the USDA released its Crop Progress Report that shows falling good/excellent corn progress.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE​/​FIRE​/​​PUBLIC SAFETY

Crime:

Editorial: Prop. 66 promised to speed up executions. It hasn’t. We should abolish the practice

Los Angeles Times

The federal government is set to resume executions this week, reminding California voters about the fateful choice they made four years ago when faced with two competing death penalty initiatives. One would have abolished the practice and converted all existing death sentences to life without parole.

Public Safety:

SJ defender leads charge as lawyers fume over spotty mask wearing in state’s courtrooms

Stockton Record

Christine Kroger, a deputy public defender in San Joaquin County, did an “inventory” last week to see how many people were wearing face coverings in the county’s courthouse. She toured every Superior Court department that was open.

Bankruptcy forced this California city to defund police. Here’s how it changed public safety

Los Angeles Times

Resolute, sincere and white, Stockton Police Chief Eric Jones stood in front of a Black congregation in 2016 and apologized for a history that most law enforcement officials dismiss: the slave patrol origins behind modern American policing.

The Spring 2020 spike in firearm sales

Brookings

In just the first six months of 2020, approximately 19 million firearms were sold in the United States, representing more than one firearm for every 20 Americans. In a new analysis, Phillip Levine and Robin McKnight look at how recent events⁠—including COVID-19 and nationwide protests against police brutality⁠—have shaped gun purchasing behavior.

Seven Ideas for Reshaping Policing in America: QuickTake

Bloomberg

There is a flood of police reform proposals in the works across the U.S., driven by the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer later charged with his murder and by the massive protests that followed.

Fire: 

Crews work to contain wildfire near Kerckhoff Lake in Madera County

Fresno Bee

A wildfire near Kerckhoff Lake in eastern Madera County that has burned about 100 acres and destroyed one home was 30 percent contained Sunday afternoon, according to Cal Fire officials.

ECONOMY/JOBS

Economy:

Fresno native uses tech to help small businesses find money to survive COVID-19. Here’s how

Fresno Bee

As the federal government worked this spring to shovel hundreds of billions of dollars in aid to businesses struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, the inability of many small businesses to make it through the application and approval process became a significant problem.

Clovis restaurants cited by state officials for allowing indoor dining

Fresno Bee

Two Clovis restaurants were cited recently for allowing customers to eat inside, a violation of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s orders to slow the spread of COVID-19. Fresno County is among the counties affected by the state of California’s crackdown due to the rising numbers of positive cases.

Restaurant owners seeing empty outdoor tables as Fresno temperatures reach triple digits

abc30

It was over 100 degrees as people sit outside of Vino Grill and Spirits in Northeast Fresno. For those dining there, it took more than blistering heat to get in the way of enjoying their meal. At restaurant Heirloom, most of their outdoor seating was taken.

‘I Can’t Keep Doing This:’ Small-Business Owners Are Giving Up

New York Times

More owners are permanently shutting their doors after new lockdown orders, realizing that there may be no end in sight to the crisis.

Jobs:

As California jobs become available again, what will change with unemployment benefits?

Fresno Bee

What happens if you’re reluctant to accept a job offer as coronavirus cases spike again? Can you still get payments if you need to stay home to care for children? Suppose you’re called back to work — but only get half the hours you once did? In all those cases, you could be eligible to continue collecting unemployment benefits.

See also:

Coronavirus: Black and Latinx women in California have lost work at three times the rate of white men

San Jose Mercury News

Between March and May, the number of Black women working in California declined 23 percent from the previous three-month period, while the number of Latinx women working dropped 22 percent, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data from the California Budget & Policy Center. That’s nearly twice the rate of Black and Latinx men and more than three times the rate of white men.

‘Women of color are left out’: California corporations lack diversity, study finds 

Sacramento Bee

A proposed law would require corporations to appoint diverse leaders

California labor commissioner files office’s first AB 5 enforcement lawsuit

POLITICO

The legal action accuses a Southern California-based MobileWash Inc. of violating the law by treating its car washers as independent contractors rather than employees, saying the company is depriving its workers of protections like minimum wage and sick days.

EDUCATION

K-12:

Fresno-area parents fear sending kids back to school — and they fear keeping them home

Fresno Bee

As COVID-19 cases rise in the central San Joaquin Valley, some parents say they are afraid schools won’t be safe to reopen in the fall. But other parents say they’re even more worried about their children falling behind if campuses remain shuttered and students are forced to take classes exclusively online.

See also:

Porterville students can return to campus or continue distance learning this fall, district says

abc30

The Porterville Unified School District released two learning options available for its students when school resumes in August. Superintendent Nate Nelson said parents could have their students return to campus for in-person classes or continue distance learning from home.

Superintendents: Reopening schools depends on Stanislaus knocking down coronavirus numbers

Modesto Bee

Modesto City Schools never has changed its 2020-21 academic calendar from having Aug. 10 as the first day of school. That’s been the one certainty during the shelter-at-home period brought on by the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Masks on buses, fewer kids in class, no rallies. Modesto board gets schools update

Modesto Bee

Modesto City Schools staff sketched for board members Monday evening how the school year might look when it begins in August. But given how quickly the COVID-19 landscape still is changing, the picture they drew is more likely the equivalent of a single frame in an animated short.

Will California students fill classrooms in the fall? Newsom says it depends on the district 

Sacramento Bee

Los Angeles County is waiting to open schools for in-person learning. The Orange County Board of Education wants to run forward, preparing to hold a full schedule of classes this fall with no requirements that students wear masks.

KHSD Teachers Association recommends 100% distance learning model for fall

Bakersfield Californian

The Kern High School District Teachers Association executive board is recommending beginning the 2020-2021 school year operating under a 100 percent distance learning model, according to an email from the executive board. 

Los Angeles, San Diego schools will remain closed when classes resume

Politico

California’s two largest school districts announced Monday they will start the upcoming school year with full distance learning, potentially giving momentum to other districts as the state grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases.

See also:

Walters: Will California’s schools reopen their doors?

CALmatters

Will California’s public schools, with 6 million students, reopen after shutting down due to the COVID-19 pandemic? Or will stay-at-home classes continue?

Schools can open safely this fall

Wall Street Journal

Opening schools in the fall is crucial for meeting the educational and social needs of children. But local officials should have the discretion to take tailored actions to help keep children safe.

Masks for kids? Schools confront the politics of reopening

AP

On one side are parents saying, let kids be kids. They object to masks and social distancing in classrooms this fall — arguing both could hurt their children’s well-being — and want schools to reopen full time. On the other side are parents and teachers who call for safeguards that would have been unimaginable before the coronavirus pandemic: part-time school, face coverings for all or a fully online curriculum.

Higher Ed:

Fall semester starts next month at UC Merced. What will happen to classes amid COVID-19?

Fresno Bee

UC Merced plans to open campus for the fall semester on Aug. 26 with a hybrid mode — with some classes being offered on-campus and while others will be online. How do to that safely, however, remains a work in progress, as coronavirus case numbers surge statewide and the central San Joaquin Valley.

More than 200 schools back lawsuit over ICE rule on international students

abc30

More than 200 universities are backing a legal challenge to the Trump administration’s new restrictions on international students, arguing that the policy jeopardizes students’ safety and forces schools to reconsider fall plans they have spent months preparing.

See Also:

Pandemic hurts student mental health

Inside Higher Ed

Sixty percent of college students say the pandemic has made it harder to access mental health care, even as financial stresses and prevalence of depression increased among them, according to a new survey on the impact of COVID-19 on student well-being. 

CSUB receives housing support from CSU Chancellor’s Office 

CSUB News

California State University, Bakersfield is one of 13 California State University campuses to receive a grant from the Chancellor’s Office under the Emergency Housing Initiative. While the allocation is per student, Student Housing has currently acquired around $30,000.

ENVIRONMENT/ENERGY

Environment:

Judge denies Nevada off-road challenge to grouse protection

Fresno Bee

A federal judge has upheld the U.S. Forest Service’s authority to keep a 250-mile (400-kilometer) motorcycle race out of sage grouse habitat in Nevada’s high desert, rejecting a lawsuit by off-road vehicle enthusiasts who argued the agency illegally short-circuited the environmental review process.

Energy:

EPA declines to tighten smog standards amid pressure from green groups | Democrats split on Trump plan to use development funds for nuclear projects| Russian mining giant reports another fuel spill in Arctic

The Hill

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday did not propose more ambitious standards for reducing smog despite pressure from environmental groups and even some courts that had urged the agency to set more restrictive regulations on the pollutant.

Biden To Call for $2 Trillion in Clean Energy Spending

Bloomberg

Joe Biden on Tuesday will call for setting a 100% clean-electricity standard by 2035 and investing $2 trillion over four years on clean energy, three people familiar with his plan said Monday.

See also:

HEALTH/HUMAN SERVICES

Health:

‘It’s like the garden hose turned into a fire hose.’ COVID-19 continues to spread in Fresno

Fresno Bee

In just over four months, a previously little-known organism has managed to change the everyday lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Fresno County and millions across California and the United States.

See Also:

One-third of young adults may be at risk of severe COVID-19, especially if they smoke or vape

San Francisco Chronicle

One-third of young people across the country may be at risk of getting seriously sick with COVID-19, especially if they smoke or vape, according to a UCSF study published Monday in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Smoking was the most common risk factor for severe COVID-19 complications among otherwise largely healthy young people, the study found.

Why a coronavirus vaccine won’t end the pandemic by itself

San Francisco Chronicle

A vaccine may not be enough to end the coronavirus pandemic and restore society to some semblance of normalcy, according to doctors and researchers who say effective treatments for COVID-19 are equally important.

Masks offer much more protection against coronavirus than many think 

Los Angeles Times

There’s a common refrain that masks don’t protect you; they protect other people from your own germs, which is especially important to keep unknowingly infected people from spreading the coronavirus. 

See also:

Why a Pediatric Group Is Pushing to Reopen Schools This Fall

New York Times

Guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics encourage “having students physically present in school.” Dr. Sean O’Leary, an author of that advice, explains why.

Human Services:

The dental care program at school was something to smile about. Until the pandemic hit

Sacramento Bee

Lanessa Pinkney has always struggled to bring her four kids to the dentist. She would have to take time off work, yank her kids out of school, and juggle appointments on multiple days.

Hit Or Miss: Californians Describe Vastly Different COVID-19 Testing Experiences

Capital Public Radio

It’s the new conversation starter: Have you been tested? Was it hard to get an appointment? How quickly did you get results? As Californians rush to get tested to reassure themselves and their families they aren’t carrying the virus, many have echoed frustrations: Appointments that are weeks out. Tests being denied. Growing delays for results, and lost tests. Confusion about what insurance will and will not cover. 

IMMIGRATION

Immigration courts reopen despite rising coronavirus cases

Fresno Bee

Three immigration courts reopened Monday as the government extended its push to fully restart the clogged system despite rising coronavirus cases in states where many of the small courtrooms are located.

New ICE guidelines jeopardize international students 

Brookings

Last week, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released new guidelines for international students studying in America: these students now must either resume in-person classes—amid rising coronavirus case counts—or leave the country. Diana Quintero, an international student herself, breaks down what this decision means for students like her.

LAND USE/HOUSING

Land Use:

It’s so hot at Death Valley National Park that cars are breaking down

Fresno Bee

Having your car break down is never pleasant, but it’s probably much worse when it’s 128 degrees outside. Some unlucky visitors at Death Valley National Park ran into car trouble Sunday when the extreme heat caused their engines to give out, the park said Monday.

Housing:

In a California manufactured home park, seniors asked to sign leases that may outlive them

Fresno Bee

On a hot evening in June, residents of the Glenbrook Trails manufactured home park for seniors in Loomis gathered outside in an empty site. Through their face masks, they discussed their fears about the new leases they’ve been offered.

Residents in rural Fresno County hoping for better living conditions after court ruling

Fresno Bee

Residents and advocates from rural and disadvantaged Fresno County communities hope a Fresno Superior Court judge’s ruling from earlier this year could improve living conditions.

Building bust? Residential construction ‘stable,’ commercial unclear

Business Journal

While the coronavirus has helped build anxiety over public health and the economy, it has also dampened the construction and building industry.

Project to house homeless in hotel postponed following negative community reaction

Bakersfield Californian

Kern Project Roomkey — the Bakersfield-Kern Regional Homeless Collaborative plan to lease hotel space to temporarily house homeless individuals most vulnerable to COVID-19 mortality — has been postponed following negative feedback from the community, according to the collaborative’s governing board chair Deborah Johnson.

PUBLIC FINANCES

More stimulus checks could be coming — but they might be sent to fewer people this time

Sacramento Bee

Americans should expect another aid package to help with the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic by the end of July, Congressional leaders have said, but it’s still unclear if that package will include stimulus checks and increased payments to the unemployed.

More than 80 percent of PPP loan recipients will run out of money by August: Goldman Sachs

TheHill

More than eight out of ten small business owners who got coronavirus relief loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) say they will run out of funding by the first week of August, according to a Goldman Sachs survey released Tuesday.

TRANSPORTATION

California DMV gives another extension to seniors with expiring driver licenses

Fresno Bee

California seniors with expiring driver licenses can wait to renew them for another year. The new grace period from the California Department of Motor Vehicles is meant to prevent drivers 70 and older — a population vulnerable to COVID 19 — from visiting a field office during the pandemic.

Commentary: Recognize the progress of high speed rail project and dropped the term ‘boondoggle’

CALmatters

Someday California’s high-speed rail system will be regarded like the Golden Gate Bridge, as an icon, and BART, which has helped reduce Bay Area traffic.

WATER

The water is contaminated. But California bottled water program isn’t helping this town

Fresno Bee

The cost of buying cases of bottled water for cooking and drinking is adding up for residents of Earlimart, where a contaminated well became the main source of tap water for more than 8,000 people there in late May.

“Xtra”

Concerts at Big Fresno Fair canceled amid COVID-19 concerns, organizers say

abc30

Fairgoers will not be able to attend concerts at this year’s Big Fresno Fair due to the coronavirus pandemic, organizers announced on Monday. The Table Mountain Concert Series at the Paul Paul Theater, which would’ve featured Becky G, Ezra Ray Hart, Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons and The Isley Brothers, has been canceled as Fresno County continues to see an increase of COVID-19.