“We ask that you immediately reclassify the restaurant industry as critical infrastructure before more damage is done,” the letter says. “As it is becoming obvious to Californians, these essential businesses do more than simply provide a place to eat. Restaurants are active participants in local neighborhoods, providing meals to senior citizens and working with food banks to feed families struggling to put food on their tables.”

The governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The petitioners submitted their letter Friday. The signers were Sens. Patricia Bates, R-Laguna Niguel, and Scott Wilk, R-Lancaster, along with Sens. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore, Andreas Borgeas, R-Fresno, Brian Dahle, R- Redding, Shannon Grove, R-Yucca Valley, Melissa Hurtado, D-Hanford, Brian Jones, R-El Cajon, and Jim Nielsen, R-Roseville; Sen.-elect Rosilicie Bogh, R-Rancho Cucamonga, and Assemblywoman Monique Limon, D-Santa Barbara.

LAUSD 6 hours ago

LAUSD Extends No-Fail Policy Due to Pandemic

georgia 7 hours ago

Georgia Man Who Lied to Employer About Having COVID-19 Pleads Guilty

“We urge you, in the strongest possible terms, to reclassify restaurants as essential businesses and adopt the industry’s protocols that would allow restaurants to operate safely,” the letter reads. “The future of thousands of restaurants, their employees and the unique character of our local communities are dependent on the survival of this industry.”

The petitioners pointed out that in 2019, 1.8 million jobs statewide were tied to the restaurant and food service industry. Roughly 60% of eateries are owned by people of color, and 50% are owned or partially owned by women, according to the lawmakers’ letter.

The California Restaurant Association last week prevailed in a case against Los Angeles County related to public health-mandated restaurant closures earlier this year. However, the industry has not filed suit challenging the governor’s decree.

The current closures are connected to Newsom’s limited stay-at-home order issued on Nov. 19, as well as the broader regional order he signed on Dec. 3, citing rapidly escalating coronavirus infection rates.

“The bottom line is, if we don’t act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed,” he said. “If we don’t act now, we’ll continue to see the death rate climb, more lives lost.”

Newsom noted that the first doses to arrive in California roughly matched the number of cases the state was seeing each day. He said that the arrival of the Pfizer vaccine marked a turning point.

“We are in the midst of the worst moment of this pandemic, so today is hopeful,” Newsom said. “There is light at the end of the tunnel but … we’re still in the tunnel.”

The COVID-19 vaccine couldn’t have come soon enough with hospitals facing an onslaught of patients, ICUs in jeopardy of being overwhelmed in most of the state and additional hospital beds being set up in an arena, a gym and a convention center, among nearly a dozen overflow sites.

Newsom said the vaccine, which will first go to health care workers and nursing home patients, will not arrive soon enough to help slow the current wave of cases that have exploded since November. He urged people to continue to wear masks and maintain distances from others.

Most of the state’s residents are living under a modified stay-home order that Newsom said was having some impact on slowing spread of the virus.

The state received the first 33,000 doses from Pfizer that were also distributed Monday to hospitals in San Francisco, San Diego and Eureka on the North Coast, Newsom said. About 300,000 more doses are scheduled to be distributed to 24 hospitals Tuesday and five on Wednesday. Nearly 400,000 additional doses are expected next week.

California expects to have more than 2 million doses by the end of the year, Newsom said. That would still fall short of inoculating all of the roughly 2.5 million health care workers in the state.

During a photo opportunity that preceded his news conference, Newsom stood a few feet away as two nurses, an emergency room doctor, a cleaning employee and respiratory therapy worker were vaccinated one at a time.

“Protect me,” ICU nurse Helen Cordova said as a colleague rolled up the right sleeve of her scrubs and jabbed her in the shoulder to a round of applause from Newsom, Mayor Eric Garcetti and other workers who gathered for the cheerful event.

Cordova said she had initially been reluctant to get the vaccine, but changed her mind after discussing it with colleagues, reading research about it and considering the misery she’s witnessed at work where even some patients who recovered have struggled.

“Everything I’ve been seeing in our unit, just, you know, the patients that are dying alone,” she said. “Some will say, ‘well, the mortality rate is not as high,’ but the aftermath of: you got better, but now you’re dealing with all of this? … That really convinced me that this vaccine will help prevent that.”

Newsom said the next month to six weeks will be challenging in bringing down the number of cases as the number of vaccines increase.

The current surge is part of a trend that began in early November and grew after Thanksgiving. The percentage of people testing positive has gone from 3.5% six weeks ago to over 10%.

Los Angeles County, the most populous with a quarter of the state’s 40 million residents, expects to get through the Thanksgiving surge in the next 10 days and see more stable numbers, Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said at a briefing.

The big fear is that it could be followed by a spike of people traveling or gathering for Christmas and New Year’s, she said, urging people to stay home and avoid travel.

“If you’re not playing by the rules of public life at this point, you’re part of the problem,” Ferrer said. “And you’re contributing to the distressing increases that we see in cases, hospitalizations and deaths.”

Los Angeles, which has had a disproportionately large number of cases and deaths, issued a stay-home order last month after closing restaurant dining.

Newsom, who was the first governor in the U.S. to issue a statewide stay-home order in March, soon followed up with his own modified order that shuttered several types of businesses, ended restaurant dining and limited capacity in stores in most of the state when ICU capacity dwindled below 15%.

Some San Francisco Bay Area counties, which haven’t dropped below that threshold, voluntarily followed the order, leaving mostly just rural Northern California areas under less strict rules.

Newsom said the order was having some success, as measured by cell phone tracking data, though he provided no specifics.

Beyond health care workers, state officials are discussing prioritizing vaccines for teachers and farmworkers and grocery store employees who provide an essential service.

Newsom said he was not afraid of getting vaccinated but would not use his position to score an early dose.

“I’m not cutting the line,” he said.

___

Associated Press journalists Ryan Pearson, John Antczak and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, Janie Har in San Francisco and Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento contributed.

It’s not uncommon in California for residents to seek recalls but they rarely get on the ballot — and even fewer succeed. Several launched against Newsom faded but another attempt is drawing greater attention as his fortunes change while he enters a critical stretch in his governorship.

Newsom received high praise for his aggressive approach to the coronavirus last spring, when he issued the nation’s first statewide stay-at-home order. Now there is growing public angst over subsequent health orders that have shuttered schools and businesses and a massive unemployment benefits fraud scandal, while a public shaming continues for his ill-advised dinner at the French Laundry in Napa Valley, an establishment that features a white truffle and caviar dinner for $1,200 per person.

Photos of the dinner — a birthday party for a Newsom confidante who also is a lobbyist — emerged showing the governor without a mask at a time when he was imploring people not to socialize with friends and wear a face covering when going out and around others.

Recall organizers say they have collected more than half the nearly 1.5 million petition signatures needed to place the recall on the ballot, and they have until mid-March to hit the required threshold.

Randy Economy, a senior adviser to the recall effort, said there was a surge of several hundred thousand petition signatures after Newsom’s restaurant debacle last month. “It has resonated. It’s about the arrogance of power,” he said.

Newsom appears to be getting on campaign footing. He has hired veteran Capitol insider Jim DeBoo as a senior adviser, which could help him repair frayed relationships with legislators and bring sharper political instincts to his office. Newsom also just named Dee Dee Myers, a former Warner Bros. executive and White House press secretary for President Bill Clinton, as director of the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development.

The prospect of a recall election is reviving memories of California’s circus-like 2003 recall, in which voters installed Arnold Schwarzenegger as governor after deposing the unpopular Democrat Gray Davis. There were 135 candidates on the ballot, including Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and former child actor Gary Coleman.

If the recall qualifies, Newsom would be forced to fend off rivals in the midst of a pandemic that has cost the state millions of jobs, cored government budgets and upended life for nearly 40 million residents.

The campaign could sap his focus just as the state manages the complex project of vaccinating millions of residents while rebuilding its virus-wounded economy. California continues to deal with other risks, from deadly wildfires to a homelessness crisis in big cities.

“He’s got a plate of Biblical plagues staring him in the face,” said Garry South, who was Davis’ chief political adviser.

Still, South sees Newsom in a far stronger position to survive a challenge compared to the political climate 17 years ago when Davis was pushed out. A Republican hasn’t won a statewide race in California in 14 years, and there is no Hollywood superstar emerging as a potential candidate.

“A recall (election) is never good, obviously,” South said. But “the Republicans are in a far weaker position” than in 2003.

For the telegenic, 53-year-old Newsom, a recall election could unsettle a political ascendancy that many see aimed for the White House. A closer-than-expected race could hurt the former San Francisco mayor’s national profile as well as make him look vulnerable for 2022, when he is expected to seek a second term.

Newsom’s challenging year already has encouraged Republicans who have signaled they are likely candidates, including former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and Newsom’s 2018 rival, businessman John Cox.

Recall organizer Orrin Heatlie, a retired county sheriff’s sergeant, predicted they would gather the needed signatures, though added an infusion of cash would help.

State records show just under 300,000 signatures have been filed, though Economy said another 500,000 are in the pipeline with county election officials.

The group began gathering signatures in June and have about three months to hit the required 1,495,709 signatures. They will need a surplus since some signatures are sure to be disqualified.

The 2003 recall took off after Republican U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, a car-alarm magnate, poured $1.7 million of his fortune into the campaign to get the proposal on the ballot.

Organizers this year estimate they would need $2.8 million to hire professionals to gather another 800,000 signatures, at a price of $3.50 each.

State records show Cox donated $50,000 to the recall campaign in October, but at this point he has no plans to invest more.

“I’m not going to be Darrell Issa,” he said. “If there were a whole bunch of other people that stepped up and helped, I’d probably help some more.”

If he faces a recall, Newsom would have advantages. He would have no donation limits on his fundraising, opening the way for a record flood of cash to defend his seat. Democrats have a nearly 2-to-1 advantage in registered voters.

The potential election could also increase the chances he picks longtime friend and Secretary of State Alex Padilla to fill the U.S. Senate seat that will be vacated by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris. Facing uncertainty, Newsom needs a loyalist in Washington who will embrace his priorities, including securing federal funds for the virus and wildfires.

Newsom’s advisers are carefully watching the signature count and depict the effort as a President Donald Trump-inspired tactic to alter the election calendar in hopes of gaining political advantage.

Voters, they say, want the governor to remain focused on the pandemic.

“There are a lot of ambitious Republicans who want to be governor but would rather not play by the rules,” Newsom political strategist Dan Newman said.

State Democratic Party Chairman Rusty Hicks said in a statement that “the California Republican Party continues to demonstrate how disconnected they are from the plight and pain of working families.”

If it qualifies, state rules are not specific on when the election would occur. Recall organizers hope the date would be scheduled in July or August.

Former top Davis aide Susan Kennedy warned that “you just can’t underestimate the depth of people’s anger” but added that Newsom has time to recast his legacy.

“He will be defined not by the shutdowns and not by the crisis, he will be defined by the vaccine distribution and the recovery,” she said.

Statewide, more than 30,000 confirmed coronavirus cases were reported Sunday, making California’s total at 1,551,766. Millions of Californians in the majority of the state are under stay-at-home orders.

In Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous, more than 4,000 people were hospitalized for COVID-19, according to figures released Sunday afternoon. More than one-fifth of hospitalized patients are in intensive care units.

The county’s new figures break the previous record set only the day before, with 3,850 patients in a hospital, and follows the trend of hospitalizations increasing nearly every day since Nov. 1.

LA County Health Director Barbara Ferrer warned on Monday — when hospitalizations were 2,988 — that the county could see the statistic to climb to 4,000 within two weeks. It happened in six days.

In San Francisco County, health officials reported 323 new cases on Saturday, the highest number of new coronavirus infections there yet. San Francisco emerged as a leader in the state’s response to the pandemic early on but has since moved to battling its own cases.

The record-breaking figures in Los Angeles and San Francisco counties come as more than 325,000 doses of a COVID-19 vaccine are on the way to California.

The first shipments of the Pfizer vaccine left Michigan early Sunday for 145 distribution centers nationwide. States will get vaccines based on their adult population and additional shipments are coming this week.

The vaccine is heading to hospitals and other sites across the country that can store it at extremely low temperatures — about 94 degrees below zero. Pfizer is using containers with dry ice and GPS-enabled sensors to ensure each shipment stays colder than the weather in Antarctica.

In California, counties will have specific allotments that will be distributed to hospitals determined by state health officials to have adequate storage capacity, serve a high-risk health care population and have the ability to vaccinate people quickly. Priority will be to inoculate health care workers on the front lines of a pandemic that has infected more than 16 million people and claimed nearly 298,000 lives in the U.S. alone.

Represented in those U.S. deaths include a disproportionate number of people of color.

In Santa Clara County in Northern California, volunteers have begun a door-to-door coronavirus testing pilot program in a majority Latino community that has become a virus hot spot. Officials started handing out self-testing kits in the East San Jose neighborhood of Silicon Valley’s San Jose last week, where 55% of the population is Latino and officials say many residents cannot easily access testing sites.

But for many, the vaccines are still out of reach. The priority will be for health care workers to be inoculated first.

Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted that a group of medical experts convened by Western states met Saturday to discuss the vaccine and confirm that it is safe for public use. Newsom said distribution could begin as early as Sunday.

Medical facilities at military bases in Alameda and San Diego will be among the first sites to receive vaccines, the U.S. Department of Defense announced earlier this month.

The vaccines are coming as the situation grows more dire by the day nationwide and in California, with the holiday season well underway. Public health officials are afraid the already surging infection rates and hospitalizations will continue to climb as people ignore precautions to gather for the holidays.

On Saturday, the number of available ICU beds in San Joaquin Valley plummeted to zero for the first time.

Now, Garcia, 43, mayor of Long Beach, California, is one of four people Newsom, now the governor, is weighing to serve in the Senate when Vice President-elect Kamala Harris vacates her seat in January, NBC News reports.

“It inspired me to step forward, to support groups that are being marginalized,” said Garcia, who is considered the dark horse contender for the nomination.

The front-runner is California Secretary of State Alex Padilla. Also being considered are Reps. Barbara Lee and Karen Bass, both Black women serving in the U.S. House.

Padilla is seen by many Democrats in the state as a shoe-in because of his decadeslong personal relationship with Newsom. The state’s other senator, Dianne Feinstein, has publicly endorsed Padilla. If selected, Garcia or Padilla would be California’s first Latino senator in a state where Hispanics are nearly half the population.

In a recent poll by the University of Southern California Schwarzenegger Institute, 76 percent of respondents said they are looking for a “fresh and new voice” to replace Harris and serve alongside Feinstein, the oldest sitting senator. When asked about each candidate individually, 57 percent of respondents said they would support Garcia, 53 percent said the same of Bass and Padilla and 51 percent said as much about Lee.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

In a letter sent Friday to Midway Ventures LLC and F-12 Entertainment Group, the owners of Pacers Showgirls International and Cheetahs Gentlemen’s Club, respectively, Xavier Becerra said the clubs must change their policies because they are in violation of the order, issued Dec. 6, that covers Southern California.

“Specifically, the Regional Stay at Home Order requires that restaurants, including your clients’ restaurants, may continue to operate for carry-out and delivery services but may not offer indoor or outdoor dining or other services that cause people from different households to come into contact for extended periods of time and thereby increase the risk of transmission of COVID-19,” Becerra said.

“Therefore, MIDWAY AND F-12 are hereby ordered to cease and desist from operating in violation of the Regional Stay at Home Order.”

Becerra said the state will pursue legal action if the companies don’t comply. The clubs could not immediately be reached for comment.

The clubs sued the county in October after officials ordered them to close, saying live entertainment was not allowed under the public health order.

A judge issued a preliminary injunction Nov. 6, protecting the establishments from enforcement actions by state and local officials, though the businesses must still adhere to a 10 p.m. curfew and close early.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Joel R. Wohlfeil sided with the clubs, saying adult live entertainment is “constitutionally protected speech” and said the harm would be greater to the businesses than to the government.

That argument set the strip clubs apart from restaurants or gyms, whose pleas to allow indoor activity was rejected by another San Diego judge last month when the county moved into the state’s most restrictive tier because of spiraling coronavirus cases.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Just a day earlier, the region’s ICU capacity was at 4.5%, according to the California Department of Public Health.

The region comprised of 12 counties in central California, along with the enormous Southern California region, which contains more than 60% of the state’s 40 million residents. Last week, the two regions were ordered to follow the strictest anti-COVID-19 rules under a new state stay-at-home order that aims to keep hospitals from being overwhelmed by restricting infectious contacts.

The 0% calculated by the state doesn’t mean all hospitals have run out of intensive care unit beds, and in Stanislaus County, 3.6% of ICU beds were available as of Saturday, said Kamlesh Kaur, a spokeswoman for the county’s public health department.

“From what we understand, the state is looking at the percentage of available, staffed ICU beds and makes adjustments based on the percentage of COVID-positive patients admitted to hospitals,” Kaur said.

She said the county has activated a surge plan, which allows hospitals to transfer non-COVID-19 patients to a facility opened by the state in Sacramento to provide relief for local hospital workers. At least one local hospital has requested and received help from volunteer medical workers, she said.

In Imperial County, El Centro Regional Medical Center recently opened a tent in its parking lot with a capacity for 50 non-coronavirus patients as it deals with the crush of people with COVID-19.

Meanwhile, the state is awaiting the first batch of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine and plans to distribute it to hospitals to inoculate healthcare workers on the front lines of the pandemic.

Gov. Gavin Newsom tweeted that a group of medical experts convened by Western states met Saturday to discuss the vaccine. He added that he expects the distribution of the vaccine to begin as early as Sunday.

Public health officials blame the surge in cases on people ignoring safety rules to wear masks and social distance except for people in their own households. They have voiced fears that COVID-19 infection rates and hospitalizations will continue to soar as people ignore stay-at-home orders to gather for the holidays.

The restrictions — the toughest since a spring lockdown — have been met with defiance from some business owners who say it will ruin them after nearly a year of seeing their clientele avoid public places because of COVID-19 fears and on-again, off-again restrictions.

Six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area and the city of Berkeley chose to implement their own voluntary orders independent of the state. Sonoma County joined that group Thursday, implementing its own lockdown beginning Saturday.

San Francisco reported 323 new cases on Saturday, the highest since the pandemic began.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Oracle is the latest tech company to move its headquarters out of California. The company said on Friday it’s moving its headquarters from the Silicon Valley to Austin, Texas.

“Oracle is implementing a more flexible employee work location policy and has changed its Corporate Headquarters from Redwood City, California to Austin, Texas. We believe these moves best position Oracle for growth and provide our personnel with more flexibility about where and how they work,” a spokesperson confirmed to CNBC.

Bloomberg first reported the move.

A bulk of employees can choose their office location, or continue to work from home part time or full time, the company said.

“In addition, we will continue to support major hubs for Oracle around the world, including those in the United States such as Redwood City, Austin, Santa Monica, Seattle, Denver, Orlando and Burlington, among others, and we expect to add other locations over time,” Oracle said. “By implementing a more modern approach to work, we expect to further improve our employees’ quality of life and quality of output.”

Oracle is one of Silicon Valley’s older success stories, founded in Santa Clara in 1977. It moved into its current headquarters in 1989. Several of the buildings on its campus there are constructed in the shape of a squat cylinder, which is the classic symbol in computer systems design for a database, the product on which Oracle built its empire.

The coronavirus pandemic has given a number of tech companies and prominent Silicon Valley figures an excuse to exit California. Hewlett Packard Enterprise announced earlier this month that it will relocate its headquarters from San Jose, California, to Houston, Texas. Data analytics software company Palantir Technologies also moved its headquarters to Denver, Colorado from Palo Alto, California, earlier this year.

Tesla and SpaceX chief Elon Musk also confirmed this week that he moved to Texas, though his companies still maintain their major operations in California. Larry Ellison, Oracle’s co-founder and chairman, serves on Tesla’s board. Ellison has a longstanding friendship with Michael Dell, whose computer company was founded and remains headquartered in the Austin area.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

It’s one example of confusing messages from governments as most of California is under a broad shutdown order that includes an overnight curfew to try to stem record-breaking coronavirus cases that threaten to overwhelm the hospital system.

While state and county health officials are pleading with residents to stay home and only mingle with those in their household, the order allows all retailers to remain open with 20% capacity and encourages people to get outside to exercise.

Manhattan Beach Mayor Suzanne Hadley said her community saw an opportunity to aid local businesses while meeting the stipulations of the order. The solution: repurposing city-owned patio areas set up to allow restaurants to serve diners outdoors — which no longer is allowed — into “public seating areas” where downtown shoppers can relax.

“Shopping for a Christmas gift, buying a to-go meal, watching a sunset are allowed, and even the outdoor activities are encouraged by the state,” she said.

INVESTIGATIVE Dec 11

California's Rich and Famous Won't Cut Vaccine Line, Promise State Officials

coronavirus pandemic Dec 11

Virus Updates: FDA Approves Vaccine Emergency Use

Manhattan Beach in is Los Angeles County, the state’s largest with 10 million residents and disproportionately large numbers of California’s coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths.

On Thursday, when the state set a one-day record of 220 deaths, county Health Director Barbara Ferrer said if people don’t follow orders to stay home except for essential needs and not mingle with people outside their households, “we are running a risk that could have catastrophic consequences, with hospitals becoming overwhelmed and severely ill patients not able to get the care they need.”

Ferrer said the county needs to return to the restrictions of the spring at the beginning of the pandemic.

The shutdown order by Gov. Gavin Newsom took effect last weekend, but it seems to be having a minimal effect on daily life. It allows many more activities than the March shutdown that made the state a model on how to respond to the pandemic.

Marissa Englund was among about two dozen hair stylists who protested Thursday outside the office of Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County’s public health officer. Hair salons are among the businesses shuttered by the latest health order.

Coronavirus Deaths in Your City and State — and Across the US

These charts use daily coronavirus death data from Johns Hopkins University to show the seven-day moving average of deaths at the city, state and country level.

The impact of coronavirus varies enormously in the United States from one place to another.

Source: Johns Hopkins University.
Credit: Visuals by Amy O’Kruk/NBC, data analysis by Ron Campbell/NBC

“They’re basically contradicting themselves because they’re telling everybody to shelter in place and stay at home as much as you can but go ahead and go Christmas shopping,” Englund said.

Back in March, all retail in California was closed. The normally clogged streets of San Francisco were so desolate that for weeks birds could be heard singing at all times of day.

But their tweets have long been replaced by the din of cars and delivery trucks racing down major thoroughfares. The parking lot of a Target store in the city was almost full one afternoon this week with shoppers going in and out and no one verifying the store was operating at the required 20% capacity.

In Southern California’s Huntington Beach, people were lifting weights at a fitness center that is supposed to be closed under the order.

Dr. Scott Morrow, public health officer for San Mateo County, said in a letter to residents he decided against joining other San Francisco Bay Area counties in a voluntary shutdown because he doesn’t think the new order “will do much good” if no one enforces the rules.

He also said he had no knowledge of data that suggests business activities restricted by the state have had a major impact on transmission of the virus.

“What I believe now is the power and authority to control this pandemic lies primarily in your hands, not mine,” Morrow wrote.

Susan Snycerski, a psychology professor at San Jose State University, said pandemic fatigue is setting in and may be contributing to less people heeding health orders. But conflicting messages at the federal, state, and local levels also are having an impact.

“We’ve been asked to do something that we’ve never had to do in our entire lives and to do that we need to have a clear message, we need to have models in terms of watching people engage in the right behaviors — and we haven’t had that for the most part,” she said.

Englund said it has been frustrating to see small shops near her salon remain open when she spent $7,000 to set up her salon and buy all the personal protective equipment needed to make it safe for her clients. She only has one chair and is the only one who works there. Masks are required and never taken off, and she takes 15 minutes in between clients to sanitize, she said.

“People are walking into these stores, and you know that they’re not sanitizing everything that somebody touches. How is that OK?” she asked.

“The unfortunate thing is that they’re going to force everybody underground, and it’s so much more unsanitary to go to somebody else’s house (for a haircut). Whereas we can control our environment and our space where we work,” she said.

Ignacio Castro, a 46-year-old mechanical engineer from Los Angeles, said the new order has him rethinking how often he goes out for groceries. He’s now planning to go once a week. But Castro, who cares for his elderly parents, said he thinks he’s one of few really heeding the plea to stay home.

“I’m seeing even more traffic,” he said. “In March, the streets were empty. People were genuinely scared to go out.”

Paz Jackson, a registered nurse, said she and her husband took the half-hour drive from Los Angeles to Manhattan Beach to eat lunch outdoors — something they can no longer do near their home.

She said she felt safe grabbing a burger and taking it to the public patio as there were few people and no crowds. But she said she understands why Newsom issued the order, especially in larger cities where the virus is surging.

“We love to eat outside,” she said. “A lot of people would like to go out and not be staying at home all the time. It’s an individual decision.”

___

Taxin reported from Orange County, California, and Rodriguez from San Francisco.

“It’s an enormously complicated undertaking and in fact, it’s been described as one of the greatest logistical challenges in history,” said Dr. Eric Toner, who has studied pandemic preparedness for 20 years and currently serves as a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “So things will go wrong.”

While the rich and famous have benefited from better access to COVID-19 testing, Toner believes skipping ahead to the front of the vaccine line will be far more difficult.

“With testing, you can go out and buy a test kit, even go to an urgent care center or laboratory,” said Toner, who is also a former emergency room physician of 23 years. “But…the vaccine is owned by the government and it’s tightly controlled. So, I think it’ll be harder to do that. Nothing’s impossible, but I think it would be harder.”

By next week, the pharmaceutical company Pfizer is expected to send 327,000 doses of its vaccine to pre-selected distribution sites across California.

Gov. Newsom Vows Rich and Famous Won’t be Given Preferential Treatment

Governor Gavin Newsom said state officials would be aggressive in ensuring those with money, influence, or connections won’t be given preferential treatment as vaccines are doled out across California.

“Those that think they can get ahead of the line and those that think because they have resources or they have relationships that will allow them to do it, we will be monitoring that very, very closely,” Newsom said at a virtual press conference earlier this month. “We will prioritize, and we will expect that everyone in the healthcare delivery system is held to the same ethical standard, prioritizing those that are truly in need.”

While nursing homes and the state’s medical force have been placed at the front of the line for vaccines, it’s still a very long line. There are 2.4 million healthcare workers and thousands of assisted living facilities in California, so there is growing concern about whether the most vulnerable populations will, in fact, be the first to receive the vaccine, as health officials intend.

“That is millions and millions of people when you only have a few hundred thousand doses of vaccine,” Newsom said.

Nationwide, getting the vaccine to 300 million Americans will be an unprecedented logistical challenge, said Toner, who worries about vaccine access inside the country’s marginalized communities.

“Mostly, I’m worried about our ability to get to those places that where we really think it is most important,” he said. “That is communities that have historically been marginalized or disenfranchised that distrust both government and people in the medical field.”

All 58 Counties in California Required to Submit Vaccine Distribution Plans

Each of California’s 58 counties were required to submit their own vaccine distribution plan to the state earlier this month, answering a standard set of questions, including how county health officials would reach those marginalized communities, and how they would keep the vaccine secure.

The NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit obtained and reviewed plans from counties across the Bay Area and found most counties, such as Santa Clara, said they will perform random audits to ensure storage and inventory requirements are being followed at points of distribution for the vaccine.

“[The Public Health Department] will complete random audits by calling or emailing the provider to check in on their procedures, and conduct site visits, as necessary,” Santa Clara County health officials wrote in their vaccine plan. “If the provider continues to not meet requirements, they may not receive allocations until corrective action is in place.”

The Investigative Unit also reached out to several large hospital chains in the region to inquire about their plans to secure the vaccine once they get it, but all declined to discuss specific details. Most hospitals have increased their general security since the onset of the pandemic to enforce admittance restrictions.

Many hospitals and health care facilities will be responsible for vaccinating their own staff, and frontline health care workers will be among the first to receive a dose.

Healthcare Workers React to Prospect of Receiving Vaccine

“News of the vaccine, which has really been a remarkable scientific achievement, has really offered a big ray of hope and optimism for folks on the front lines,” said Dr. Armond Esmaili, medical director of the Respiratory Isolation Unit at the UCSF Parnassus Heights campus, which was created in the midst of the pandemic to care for COVID-19 patients.

“I think [the vaccine] gives us confidence that we can go into work feeling safe. In addition, we’ll return to our lives a little bit safer as well with our family and loved ones.“

Over the past nine months, Esmaili has treated dozens of patients suffering from COVID-19 and said he has medical colleagues across the country who have become infected as well.

“It strikes a chord when you see someone who’s pouring 80, 90 hours into the week, their heart and soul,” Esmaili said. “Not seeing loved ones, not seeing family – to see them get ill, it’s really hard.”

Esmaili said getting vaccinated isn’t just about his safety. It will also limit the exposure of the most vulnerable who continue to be admitted to the hospital, giving him peace of mind while he and his colleagues continue to treat the sick and dying.

“Many of us feel like this is what we were made for,” Esmaili said. “This is what we’ve trained our whole careers to do and this is where we rise to the occasion to meet the needs of our patients.”

You can share your loved one’s story to be included in this memorial at the link below.

For some, it happened quickly. Others described the end of life as agonizing. 

Since the first known coronavirus-related death in the Bay Area on Feb. 6, more than 20,000 people have died from the virus in California.

As the global coronavirus outbreak spread, many hospitals and nursing facilities put in place new policies and guidelines to slow the spread of COVID-19. Due to restrictions in visitor access to these facilities, many families have been forced to say goodbye to their loved ones using FaceTime on an iPad with the help of healthcare workers.

Some didn’t get to say goodbye at all. 

“It seems like a bad dream,” one woman said, after losing her husband of nearly 30 years to the deadly virus.

One man would tell his children to never be afraid of anything in life. Then he died of coronavirus complications working an essential job.

One woman came to the United States with a few dollars in her pocket, learned English, got her GED and a good job at a hospital. When she fell ill, her daughter begged to take her to the hospital, but she said she didn’t feel sick enough to warrant a visit to the emergency room.

“She was young and she was an achiever and humble and caring and loving,” an uncle said of his 20-year-old niece, who worked as a nurse’s assistant at a facility in Riverside before she died.

Below, we remember some of the people we’ve lost.

Select an image to learn more about each person.

If you have lost a loved one due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and would like to tell their story, please let us know.

You can use the form below to contact us. Select “Coronavirus” in the dropdown menu.

Some lawmakers are saying enough is enough.

Nearly 60 state lawmakers are demanding answers from Bank of America, which issues the unemployment benefit debit cards.

But one lawmaker is demanding sweeping changes at the state unemployment department itself.

California Nov 24

At Least 35,000 Unemployment Claims Filed on Behalf of California Prison Inmates – Including Scott Peterson

coronavirus Nov 21

EDD Told to Stop Mailing Social Security Numbers — But It Didn't, Audit Finds

coronavirus Nov 21

California's EDD May Have Exposed 38M Social Security Numbers Despite Being Told Year Before to Stop

Scammers first started manipulating the state’s unemployment system, or EDD, by stealing identities and applying for benefits.

The result: thousands of EDD debit cards were mailed to abandoned houses, or homes with easy-to-access mailboxes, like Sandy Marton’s.

“Open the mailbox – there’s eight of them. Eight of them the first day,” the Sylmar resident said.

Scammers went on to apparently hack EDD debit cards, swiping money from cards of citizens who need it the most.

Patricia Moynihan lost $7,000.

“This could have put me on default on my mortgage,” Moynihan said. “This could have put me under the 405 freeway with the rest of the people there”

The collective billions of dollars in fraud prompted the state and Bank of America to freeze hundreds of thousands of suspicious accounts. The problem: legitimate accounts were inadvertently frozen, as well, and getting that money freed up has been nearly impossible for some.

Sharon Quirk-Silva has joined dozens of state lawmakers in asking Bank of America for more transparency in how it determines which accounts are fraudulent. The bank wouldn’t comment on if it’ll do this.

But assemblymember Laura Friedman is focused on a bigger picture — changes at EDD, which she says will significantly reduce fraud, and all the problems it’s created.

She’s co-authoring a bill that would allow benefits to be direct deposited to bank accounts.

“You avoid the middleman, you’re not mailing checks around, you’re not mailing cards that can be intercepted and stolen, and you reduce a lot of potential for fraud,” Assemblymember Friedman said.

For cards that would still be issued, Friedman says they need to contain a chip — which is harder to hack, and something current cards don’t have.

“Having chips on those cards would reduce a lot of fraud,” Friedman said.

After NBC4’s I-Team reached out to Bank of America about Patricia Moynihan’s missing $7,000, the bank refunded it to her.

It said it has hired thousands of employees to help with EDD account problems, and the governor’s office continues to monitor and address problems at EDD.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

The plaintiffs are all family members of Edward Louie Contreras and Gracie Contreras. The 55-year-old Contreras and his wife, 53, had recently married and were headed home with Gracie’s son on Oct. 12, 2019, when Salvador Gomez, allegedly fleeing police in a stolen Jeep, and the pursuing officers ran a red light and crashed into the victims’ vehicle at Glendora and Cameron avenues in West Covina.

All three were ejected. The woman’s son, now 14 years old, survived and is one of the plaintiffs in the Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit, which names as defendants Gomez, the cities of West Covina and Baldwin Park and the state, which has jurisdiction over the California Highway Patrol.

The suit alleges wrongful death and motor vehicle negligence. The plaintiffs seek unspecified damages.

The city attorneys for West Covina and Baldwin Park did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

About 9 p.m. Oct. 11, Gomez, using a knife, forcefully obtained a woman’s Jeep in Baldwin Park, the suit states. Police were alerted and the Jeep was seen heading toward West Covina, according to the suit.

The woman’s cellphone, which had a GPS system, was left in the Jeep, the suit states. The Jeep was seen about 2 a.m. Oct. 12, but instead of continuing to track Gomez and avoid a pursuit, the police agencies demanded he pull over even though he posed no threat to anyone and there was no emergency, according to the suit.

“This caused Gomez to panic, refuse to obey the request and proceed to speed away,” the suit states.

Gomez and the pursuing officers, after running a red light, all crashed into the car containing the couple and the woman’s son, the suit alleges.

The plaintiffs believe that none of the police cars had their emergency lights on or their sirens active, the suit states.

The collision caused injuries to Edward Contreras’ spine and neck and he later died, the suit states. Gracie Contreras suffered injuries to her abdomen that also proved fatal, the suit states.

The woman’s son sustained “massive” injuries from the collision and had multiple surgeries at a hospital, where he was placed in a coma for weeks, the suit states. He will spend the rest of his life recovering from his injuries, according to the suit.

The collision occurred due to the “grossly negligent, wanton and reckless conduct” of Gomez and the police officers, the suit states.

The rollout of CA Notify on Thursday comes as the nation’s most populous state grapples with rising cases and hospitalizations nine months after it became the first state to introduce sweeping restrictions due to the pandemic. More than 80 percent of the state’s residents are under orders not to leave their homes for at least the next three weeks except for essential purposes.

Many residents will get a notification Thursday inviting them to participate. The more phones in the system, the better the system will work.

Here’s what to know about the mobile app.

• The tool doesn’t track people’s identities or locations but uses Bluetooth wireless signals to detect when two phones are within 6 feet of each other for at least 15 minutes, officials said.
• Californians will be able to activate the tool in their iPhone settings — make sure you’re using version 13.7 or later — or on Android phones by downloading the CA Notify app from the Google Play store.
• The encounters are temporarily logged in a way that doesn’t reveal a person’s identity or geographic location.
• If people who have activated the technology test positive for the virus, they get a verification code from the California Department of Public Health and can use that to send an anonymous alert to other participating phone users they might have exposed over the past 14 days.
•  How quickly you receive the notification depends on when the other person received a positive result and how quickly they consented to activate notifications in CA Notify.
• Nearly 20 states already have apps based on Google and Apple’s Exposure Notification technology. In California, CA Notify was part of a pilot program at seven University of California campuses.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Deputies broke up the party Saturday night at a vacant home in Palmdale, northeast of Los Angeles.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said at a news conference on Tuesday that organizers broke into the home and used a rental truck to move their party equipment.

“This is how brazen this operation was,” Villanueva said, calling the party a “superspreader” event that could become a “deadly source of contagion” during the coronavirus pandemic.

“As you can see, this was a flagrant violation of the governor’s health order. But also please understand that even without the health order, these actions were criminal in nature,” he said.

Authorities arrested 158 people at the party, including 35 juveniles. A 17-year-old girl who Villanueva described as a “commercially sexually exploited child” was rescued from the home. Six guns were also recovered.

Read the full story at NBCNews.com

On its website, the state said playgrounds could stay open to “facilitate physically distanced personal health and wellness through outdoor exercise.”

Ali Bay, a spokesperson for California’s Department of Public Health, said in an email that the change was new as of Wednesday morning and the department was working to share the news more broadly.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has come under heavy criticism for the closure of children’s playgrounds when the administration has repeatedly said being outdoors is safer than being indoors and there is little evidence of virus spread on playground structures.

Coronavirus Deaths in Your City and State — and Across the US

These charts use daily coronavirus death data from Johns Hopkins University to show the seven-day moving average of deaths at the city, state and country level.

The impact of coronavirus varies enormously in the United States from one place to another.

Source: Johns Hopkins University.
Credit: Visuals by Amy O’Kruk/NBC, data analysis by Ron Campbell/NBC

Playground advocates have said children need fresh air and exercise for their emotional and physical health, and many don’t have access to private backyards. Fraught parents also need a place to take their cooped-up kids, advocates said.

Many of the state’s 40 million residents are subject to the latest round of stay-home orders, although several counties in the San Francisco Bay Area chose to implement their own voluntary orders independent of the state. The voluntary order for San Francisco, Santa Clara, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties also shuttered playgrounds.

But on Twitter, San Francisco Mayor London Breed said that she was happy to learn that the state had changed its order and said city playgrounds would reopen Thursday after closing earlier this week.

“Outdoor activity is important for all of our physical and mental health, especially children,” she said. “But it is imperative that we continue to avoid gatherings with people you don’t live with and wear a mask.”

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Ornelas, who was assigned to the Antelope Valley area office, was on patrol Nov. 23 when his CHP motorcycle collided with a pickup truck. He died of his injuries on Dec. 2.

Ornelas, 27, was a 3 1/2-year veteran of the CHP and came from a law enforcement family. His father, Art Ornelas, is a Los Angeles Police Department officer, and his mother, Kellie, is a retired CHP officer. His brother, Cody, is also a CHP officer.

He is additionally survived by his wife, Taylor, and sister, Nikki Ornelas.

Services will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at JetHawk Stadium, 45116 Valley Central Way, with “extremely limited seating at the venue to adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols,” according to a CHP statement.

The service will be livestreamed at https://vimeo.com/chphq; on the CHP’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/chp, and at www.chp.ca.gov.

A memorial fund has been set up through the CAHP Credit Union. Donations may be made on the credit union’s website at https://cahpcu.org/OfficerAndyOrnelasMemorialFund; or by mailing a check to: Officer Andy Ornelas Memorial Fund, PO Box 276507 Sacramento, CA 95827.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

The noon blast to the state-designated 11-county Southern California region and 12-county San Joaquin Valley region was sent by the state Office of Emergency Services.

The text also urged people to wear masks and physically distance.

Both regions came under increased restrictions this week after the capacity of hospital intensive care units dropped below 15%. The restrictions will remain in effect for at least three weeks.

The regions will be eligible to emerge from the order on Dec. 28 if ICU capacity projections for the following month are above or equal to 15%, the emergency services office said.

Meanwhile, three counties northwest of Los Angeles are planning an attempt to separated themselves from the Southern California region.

Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties plan to seek approval to create a smaller Central Coast region if the tri-county ICU capacity exceeds 15% in the next three weeks, the counties said in a statement Monday.

At that point, the three counties will ask to be assessed on the tri-county ICU capacity and not overall Southern California region capacity.

race for a vaccine Dec 8

Side Effects of COVID-19 Vaccine: Trial Participant Speaks Out

vaccine Dec 8

California's First Wave of Coronavirus Vaccine Will Include 2 Million Doses

“We believe it’s reasonable to have the Central Coast as one region instead of including our county with over half the state’s population in the current Southern California Region,” Ventura County Executive Officer Mike Powers said in a statement.

Last week, amid a huge surge of COVID-19 cases, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom divided the state into five regions to use intensive care unit capacity in each region as a trigger for widespread closures, setting a 15% threshold that occurred during the weekend.

The 11-county Southern California region includes Los Angeles County, where public health officials say the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 has surpassed all-time highs every day since Dec. 1.

“We’re really distraught that we’re being lumped in with Southern California where they have more severe problems than we have,” Lynn Compton, chair of the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, said in an interview.

In Los Angeles County, where gatherings are banned under public health orders, 158 people were arrested at an illegal house party Saturday, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said last week that since March he focused on educating people about virus-related restrictions, but now will crack down on “super-spreader events.”

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Elon Musk said Tuesday that while SpaceX and Tesla maintain major operations in California today, he has personally moved to Texas.

“If a team has been winning for too long, they do tend to get a little complacent, a little entitled and then they don’t win the championship anymore. California has been winning for too long,” Musk said at The Wall Street Journal CEO Council summit, repeating an analogy he has used many times before to express his displeasure with California’s regulatory environment.

Musk, who has clashed with regulators in Fremont, California, this year, and in Brandenburg, Germany, this week, said he views government as “monopoly that cannot go bankrupt.” He also said, “regulations are immortal” and that government should think more about removing them not just making new rules.

Like Musk, President Donald Trump promoted the idea of reducing regulation with an executive order he signed in 2017 directing federal agencies to repeal two existing regulations for every new one they put in place.

The Tesla and SpaceX CEO said what government should do for business is “just get out of the way.”

Asked directly if he had moved away from California, Musk gave a long preface to his answer.

“First of all, Tesla and SpaceX obviously have massive operations in California. In fact, it’s worth noting that Tesla is the last car company still manufacturing cars in California. SpaceX is the last aerospace company still doing significant manufacturing in California,” he said. “So. There used to be over a dozen car plants in California. And California used to be the center of aerospace manufacturing! My companies are the last two left…That’s a very important point to make.”

Then he confirmed, “For myself, yes I have moved to Texas.”

Musk also remarked that while California is great in some ways, he thinks that Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area have “outsized influence in the world,” that will likely be reduced as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, which has driven some investors and executives out of the state, and forced companies to figure out how to manage a remote workforce.

However, Musk noted, “Social media is still very much centered in Silicon Valley. We need to be concerned about mind viruses. You know, just memes that travel very quickly through social media that may or may not be correct.” He qualified that with a nod to free speech, saying: “We want to encourage a healthy dialogue. If there’s someone out there who wants to shut down one side of a debate or the other we should resist that.”

CNBC reported last week that Musk told friends he intended to relocate to Texas and was already spending time there.

Musk, the world’s second-wealthiest person behind Amazon’s Jeff Bezos spends most of his time in Texas between Austin, where Tesla and his tunnel start-up Boring Co. have operations, and a coastal village called Boca Chica, home to a SpaceX facility. SpaceX started operating in Texas in 2003.

The move makes Musk part of a broader tech exodus from Silicon Valley, with many executives and venture capitalists moving to Texas. It could also save Musk billions of dollars in taxes. The CEO’s pay package, approved by Tesla’s board and shareholders in 2018, means he’s getting significant stock awards based on Tesla’s market-cap increases and hitting financial targets.

Under the state’s new coronavirus guidance, which divides California’s 58 counties into five regions, any region whose intensive care unit availability falls below 15% must go into a three-week long stay-at-home order.

COVID-19 in California

More on the coronavirus in the Golden State.

Covid-19 Dec 7

San Diegans Share Mixed Emotions Over Shutdown

coronavirus Dec 7

Many Californians Brace for New Lockdown as Virus Cases Soar

For now, that order will impact San Diego County – and other Southern California – businesses and employees. The order went into effect on at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 6 and will force the following to close:

• Hair salons and barbershops
• Personal care services
• Playgrounds
• On-site dining, even outdoors, at restaurants, breweries and wineries
• Indoor recreational facilities
• Indoor use of libraries
• Museums, zoos aquarium
• Movie theaters, family entertainment centers and casinos

Meanwhile, some places will still welcome visitors under certain COVID-19 safety modifications. Here’s a look at what will be open in San Diego County and Southern California:

• Retail stores and shopping centers, but at a 20% capacity
• Gyms and fitness centers, but with outdoor services only
• Places of worship, but with outdoor services only
• Parks, but playgrounds are closed
• Hotels as critical infrastructure support
• Non-urgent medical and dental care
• Child care and pre-K

Additionally, professional sports can continue without live audiences. Films and other forms of entertainment can continue with their productions.

The Regional Stay at Home Order states that after the three weeks of a stay-at-home order have passed, the order will be lifted if that region’s ICU capacity satisfies the 15% mark. Such figures will be assessed weekly after the initial three-week period, according to the state.

NBC 7 will follow the impact of these restrictions throughout the day; check back for updates.

In a letter to Newsom, 28 civil rights leaders urged him to pick either U.S. Rep. Karen Bass from Los Angeles or U.S. Rep. Barbara Lee from Oakland. Both are Black women.

Harris is the only Black woman in the U.S. Senate. But she will leave that job in January when she is sworn in as vice president.

#SomethingGood Dec 6

San Jose Teen Artist Named One of Time's ‘Kid of the Year' Honorees

politics Dec 4

Kamala Harris Announces New Staff Picks, Marking First Time Women Will Hold Top 3 Spots in VP's Office

Newsom gets to pick who replaces Harris for the final two years of her Senate term. He is facing pressure from various groups, including those wanting him to appoint California’s first Latino U.S. senator.

The letter was signed by leaders from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Southern California, Al Sharpton’s West Coast National Action Network, and the Los Angeles chapter of the NAACP, among others. It says while one Black woman in the Senate is not enough, “zero is unacceptable.”

“We would find any appointment other than Karen Bass or Barbara Lee to carry out the remainder of Vice President- Elect Harris’ term as a step backwards in our struggle for equity and justice for all,” the letter said.

As rolling blackouts continue to plague California, one company is hoping that a new $100 million investment will help it keep the lights on — by paying customers to turn the lights off.

On Monday OhmConnect said it received $100 million from Alphabet-backed Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners to build the largest distributed clean power plant in North America. SIP invested $20 million in OhmConnect directly, with the additional $80 million going towards building a virtual power plant, known as “Resi-Station.”

Founded in 2014, California-based OhmConnect acts as a power supplier during times of peak demand by taking energy offline. When the grid is overwhelmed, the company sends alerts to customers asking them to reduce usage by turning off the air conditioner or stopping the dryer, for example.

Even though OhmConnect isn’t generating power, it’s designated as a power plant, which means that it is paid for the energy it supplies by users cutting back. The company then passes on some of the savings to its customers, tracking usage through in-home smart devices. CEO Cisco DeVries said the amount paid to each customer depends on a host of factors including the current price of electricity. This year the company plans to pay its customers around $4 million.

The company is also making the grid greener since during peak demand the power plants that ramp up — known as peaker plants — are typically gas or oil powered, since they can ramp up at will, unlike solar or wind, for example.

If OhmConnect were a physical power plant it could turn to capital markets for financing, DeVries said, but its distributed network of thousands of customers all over the state proved tricky, which is where SIP comes in.

“They are actually funding us to build this new power plant as if it were physical, even though it’s all distributed,” DeVries told CNBC. “Not only is that [building the next-generation of the grid] essential for keeping the lights on, it’s also essential for decarbonisation. If we’re going to go to more and more renewable energy on the grid, we need to be able to flex demand in real time,” he said.

Much of the funding will be used to grow OhmConnect’s user base. The company currently has around 150,000 active customers in California, and through Resi-Station is expecting to add around another 750,000.

For SIP, the funding commitment is the first major transaction for its Resilia platform, which is focused on making electric systems bidirectional, transactive and distributed.

“With this distributed clean power plant … we are rethinking the structure of modern power grids, allowing them to function more like a symphony than a solo — a sequence of energy-taking and energy-giving systems that communicate and cooperate with one another to deliver electricity safely, cheaply, and efficiently,” Jonathan Winer, co-CEO of SIP, said in a statement.

SIP is independent from Alphabet-backed Sidewalk Labs.

SIP’s $20 million investment into the company directly leads OhmConnect’s Series C funding round. Prior backers include venture capital firms Floodgate and City Light Capital, based in Silicon Valley and NY, respectively, as well as Tom Steyer’s Radicle Impact.

OhmConnect’s expansion comes as California scrambles to find solutions for its outdated grid. Solar companies including rooftop installer Sunrun have also announced virtual power plants, while micro-grids are also popping up as a way to ensure grid resiliency.

“We are helping to democratize access to clean energy. … 40% of our customers are lower and moderate income, and we are often providing them the first smart device they’ve ever had, and the first tangible benefit from clean energy that they’ve had,” DeVries said.

OhmConnect also has operations in Australia and Canada, and plans to expand to Texas in 2021.

“This is my first episode of civil disobedience in my entire life. My whole family is in law enforcement. I’m a follow-the-rules kind of person,” said Luntey, owner of San Francisco Deli, a popular sandwich shop in Redding, more than 200 miles (320 kilometers) north of the restaurant’s namesake city.

It’s in northern Shasta County, one of several rural California counties that appeared to dodge the virus in the spring but are now seeing some of the most alarming spikes in COVID-19 infections statewide. In an effort to avoid overwhelming hospitals, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a strict new shutdown order that has taken effect in many other parts of California and will likely soon affect Shasta County.

But outside California’s big cities, especially in conservative areas, the backlash against tough new restrictions is growing, and some sheriffs say they won’t enforce health orders.

Luntey is not a virus skeptic. She washes her hands so much they’re raw. But she shrugs off the idea of a stay-at-home order that shutters businesses. She watched other restaurants collapse, and she and her husband, both in their 70s, cannot afford that.

“I want people to understand we are not thumbing our nose at the government,” Luntey said. “I’m trying to keep my business alive.”

California has had some of the most aggressive coronavirus measures in the country. It was the first state to impose a stay-at-home order in March that shut businesses and schools for months, and now most of the state is under a nighttime curfew and a majority of restaurants were ordered to close indoor dining.

In the nation’s most populated state, confirmed infections have surged past 1.3 million, with an average of nearly 15,000 new cases a day. Each day brings dire new records in hospitalizations and deaths, which neared a total of 20,000 on Sunday.

Coronavirus Deaths in Your City and State — and Across the US

These charts use daily coronavirus death data from Johns Hopkins University to show the seven-day moving average of deaths at the city, state and country level.

The impact of coronavirus varies enormously in the United States from one place to another.

Source: Johns Hopkins University.
Credit: Visuals by Amy O’Kruk/NBC, data analysis by Ron Campbell/NBC

But many are still reluctant “to accept that this is a real and dangerous virus,” said Chuck Smith, spokesman for the COVID-19 response center in Sutter and Yuba counties. “A lot of transmission is caused by people not taking the precautions that are being recommended.”

Sutter County, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of San Francisco, logged one of the state’s highest rates of positive tests last week at 20.2%, and neighboring Yuba County ranked close behind at 17%.

They share one hospital, Adventist Rideout Memorial, which is overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. It has no intensive care beds available, and staff were treating 50 COVID-19 patients after having none just a month ago, spokeswoman Monica Arrowsmith said.

The strict new shutdown order in California took effect starting Sunday in Southern California, much of the San Francisco Bay Area and a vast swath of the Central Valley. The new measures, which include a stay-at-home order and widespread business closures, are triggered in any region that crosses an ICU capacity threshold of 85%. The rest of the state is on the brink of the same restrictions.

“If we don’t act now, we will continue to see our death rate climb,” Newsom said.

Tough in tone, his orders lack enforcement, which is frustrating for health officials issuing local guidance — often to no avail.

In a pre-Thanksgiving Facebook post, Shasta County Sheriff Eric Magrini asked people to be responsible but said he “will not be enforcing the compliance of any health or emergency orders related to curfews, stay at home orders, Thanksgiving or other social gatherings” or mask mandates. Several sheriffs in other areas have made similar statements.

In Sutter County, “we’re not running around arresting people, so it’s all about personal responsibility,” said Smith of the COVID-19 response center. “But can you tell me a law enforcement agency anywhere in California that is enforcing this?”

Some officials in the San Francisco Area are handing out tickets and fines.

Many in rural California were lulled into a false sense of security early in the pandemic when the virus seemed to hit mostly cities. Counties with low virus rates last spring objected to a one-size-fits-all shutdown.

“We had a lot of people who could not understand why in the world we would be doing that. We had very few cases, and not a lot of spread,” said Kerri Schuette, spokeswoman for the the Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency.

Shasta now has more than 5,000 cases and at least 50 deaths. Illustrating how fast the virus multiplies, the agency noted that it took 206 days to hit the first 1,000 infections, from March 8 to Sept. 30, while the second thousand took 28 days. The third thousand came in 16 days. The fourth thousand took seven days.

Schuette says people are taking it more seriously now, but officials nationwide are bracing for higher numbers after Thanksgiving gatherings and worrying about Christmas. Most of the transmission in hard-hit counties is due to socializing with family or friends, officials say.

Tensions over virus restrictions are encapsulated at Luntey’s deli, where a sign on the door tells customers to wear masks but whether they do is up to them.

“My take on that is, it’s your choice,” said Luntey, adding that her staffers wear masks and she’s reduced seating by half, to a dozen well-spaced tables.

The deli, in a strip mall, has no place to put substantial outdoor seating. Earlier in the year, she tried to survive on takeout, but it wasn’t enough to pay the bills or wages for 15 employees.

She’s not concerned about getting penalized because authorities have taken a “quiet, backseat” approach to enforcement. And her regulars praise her for staying open.

“We all need to eat,” said longtime customer Tracy Foster-Olstad who stopped to talk with Luntey after lunch. She said she doesn’t agree with “the way things are being governed” and wants to support struggling local businesses.

“The ripple effect of COVID is horrible,” Foster-Olstad said. “To me, this is an essential place.”

___

Gecker reported from San Francisco.

The tool doesn’t track people’s identities or locations but uses Bluetooth wireless signals to detect when two phones are within 6 feet (1.8 meters) of each other for at least 15 minutes, officials said. Newsom said it will be ready for use on Thursday.

“The process is private, anonymous and secure, and is one of the many tools in the state’s data-driven approach to help reduce the spread,” Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement.

Sixteen other states, plus Guam and Washington, D.C., have already made available the system co-created by Apple and Google, though most residents of those places aren’t using it. The tool has been used on a pilot basis on University of California campuses to try to track virus cases.

The announcement came as coronavirus cases are exploding in California and more than 80 percent of the state’s residents are under orders not to leave their homes for at least the next three weeks except for essential purposes.

Newsom’s administration issued the stay-at-home rules shuttering restaurant dining, salons and playgrounds in Southern California and a large swath of the state’s Central Valley agricultural region after more than 85% of beds in intensive care units were occupied in those regions.

Five San Francisco Bay Area counties voluntarily joined the rules, saying they didn’t want to wait until their ICU capacity dropped too low to take action. Those restrictions will last until Jan. 4, a week longer than the state’s timeline.

Ten months into the pandemic, most of the state is now back to where it started with the stay-at-home rules.

But unlike in March, when the pandemic was in its infancy and California was the first state to impose such rules, fewer people are likely to obey them. Several law enforcement agencies have said they have no plans to enforce them and are counting on people to voluntarily wear masks and practice physical distancing.

California on Sunday announced more than 30,000 new coronavirus cases — the most ever in a single day. More than 9,700 people were hospitalized because of COVID-19, including more than 2,200 in intensive care. The state had just over 1,500 ICU beds available as of Sunday.

Californians will be able to activate the tool in their iPhone settings or on Android phones by downloading the CA Notify app from the Google Play store. Many residents will get a notification Thursday inviting them to participate.

The encounters are temporarily logged in a way that doesn’t reveal a person’s identity or geographic location.

If people who have activated the technology test positive for the virus, they get a verification code from the California Department of Public Health and can use that to send an anonymous alert to other participating phone users they might have exposed over the past 14 days.

The recent rise in infections began in October and is being blamed largely on people ignoring safety measures and socializing with others.

___

Taxin reported from Orange County, Calif.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Separately, Biden picked a Harvard infectious disease expert, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, to head the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And he announced a new role for Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert.

If confirmed by the Senate, Becerra, 62, will be the first Latino to head the Department of Health and Human Services, a $1 trillion-plus agency with 80,000 employees and a portfolio that includes drugs and vaccines, leading-edge medical research and health insurance programs covering more than 130 million Americans.

Biden’s selection of Becerra and Walensky was announced early Monday in a press release from the transition office. The post of CDC director does not require Senate confirmation.

Biden also announced other top members of his health care team, though some posts remain unfilled.

More Biden Transition Coverage

Twitter Dec 6

Biden's Pick to Head OMB Brings Experience, Twitter Enemies

Donald Trump Dec 4

Biden Endorses the Latest Bipartisan Covid Stimulus Deal, Says It ‘a Good Start'

Becerra, as the state of California’s top lawyer, has led the coalition of Democratic states defending “Obamacare” from the Trump administration’s latest effort to overturn it, a legal case awaiting a Supreme Court decision next year.

A former senior House Democrat, Becerra was involved in steering the Obama health law through Congress in 2009 and 2010. At the time he would tell reporters that one of his primary motivations was having tens of thousands of uninsured people in his Southern California district.

Becerra has a lawyer’s precise approach to analyzing problems and a calm demeanor.

But overseeing the coronavirus response will be the most complicated task he has ever contemplated. By next year, the U.S. will be engaged in a mass vaccination campaign, the groundwork for which has been laid under the Trump administration. Although the vaccines appear very promising, and no effort has been spared to plan for their distribution, it’s impossible to tell yet how well things will go when it’s time to get shots in the arms of millions of Americans.

Becerra won’t be going it alone. Biden is expected to stress a coordinated response to the virus when he publicly introduces his team this week.

The Biden Administration: A Look at Who Has Been Nominated

President-elect Joe Biden, who will be sworn in on Jan. 20, has started to choose people to fill top positions in his administration.

Here’s a look at how the administration is coming together. Click to read more.

Source: Staff reports

Businessman Jeff Zients was named as Biden’s White House coronavirus coordinator. An economic adviser to former President Barack Obama, Zients also led the rescue of the HealthCare.gov website after its disastrous launch in 2013. Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, a co-chair of Biden’s coronavirus task force, is returning to his post as the nation’s doctor, with broader responsibilities.

Biden announced Fauci will be the president’s chief medical adviser, while continuing as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

Adding to the group are national security expert Natalie Quillian as co-director of the coronavirus response and Yale public health specialist Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, who will head a new working group to reduce health disparities in COVID-19, a disease that has taken a deeper toll among minorities.

The core components of HHS are the boots on the ground of the government’s coronavirus response. The Food and Drug Administration oversees vaccines and treatments, while much of the underlying scientific and medical research comes from NIH. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention takes the lead in detecting and containing the spread of diseases. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services provides insurance coverage for more than 1 in 3 Americans, including vulnerable seniors, as well as many children and low-income people.

Biden still has not picked the heads of FDA and CMS.

Under President Donald Trump, CDC was relegated to a lesser role after agency scientists issued a stark early warning that contradicted Trump’s assurances the virus was under control, rattling financial markets. The FDA was the target of repeated attacks from a president who suspected its scientists were politically motivated and who also wanted them to rubber-stamp unproven treatments.

As CDC director, Walensky would replace Dr. Robert Redfield, who accurately told the public coronavirus vaccines would not be available for most people until next year, only to be disparaged by Trump as “confused.” Walensky is a leading infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and has devoted her career to combatting HIV/AIDS.

Becerra’s experience running the bureaucratic apparatus of the California attorney general’s office, as well as his success working with Republicans, helped seal the pick for Biden, said a person familiar with the process but not authorized to comment publicly. Becerra had worked with Louisiana’s Republican attorney general to increase the availability of the COVID-19 drug treatment Remdesivir in their states. He’s also worked closely with other Republican attorneys general on legal challenges against opioid manufacturers.

Early in California’s coronavirus response, Becerra defended broad shutdowns Gov. Gavin Newsom had put in place to curtail the pandemic, including limits on religious gatherings. Three churches in Southern California had sued Newsom, Becerra and other state officials because in-person church services had been halted.

Biden’s offer was extended to Becerra on Friday. The president-elect has been under pressure from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to appoint Latinos to the Cabinet.

Becerra has been jokingly known in Democratic legal circles as the man who sued Trump more than anyone else. Beyond health care, the California attorney general’s lawsuits centered on issues from immigration to environmental policies.

Previously Becerra had served for more than a decade in Congress, representing parts of Los Angeles County. He had also served in the California state assembly after attending law school at Stanford.

His mother was born in Jalisco, Mexico, and emigrated to the U.S. after marrying his father, a native of Sacramento, California, who had grown up in Mexico.

Becerra often cites his parents as his inspiration, saying they instilled in him a strong work ethic and a desire for advancement. His father worked road construction jobs, while his mother was a clerical employee. Becerra is married to Dr. Carolina Reyes, a physician who specializes in maternal and fetal health.

In an AP profile published last year, a lifelong friend of Becerra’s said he learned to stay calm and self-controlled in high school as a varsity golfer and an exceptional poker player. Becerra studied the advice of famous golfers while practicing with a set of used clubs costing less than $100.

Lemire reported from Wilmington, Delaware. Associated Press reporters Aamer Madhani, Zeke Miller and Kathleen Ronayne in Sacramento, California, contributed to this report.

Friday night’s update for Southern California’s remaining ICU bed capacity was 13.1%. On Saturday, ICU bed capacity fell to 12.5%, triggering a 3-week stay-at-home order that will go into effect on Sunday at 11:59 p.m.

“For now, however, we’ve got to bear down, heed the orders and get through this new wave of cases,” said Supervisor Greg Cox.

The stay-at-home order will be lifted once the region’s ICU capacity projected out four weeks (from three weeks since the Stay-at-Home Order started) is above or equal to 15%, according to the CDPH. If lifted, individual counties will fall back into their assigned tiers based on case and positivity rates.

Governor Gavin Newsom introduced the plan on Thursday, and said all five of the state’s regions — Northern California, the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California — were weeks, if not days, from meeting the threshold.

The Southern California region includes Imperial, Inyo, Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties.

Here’s how the rest of the regions looked for Saturday:

• Bay Area: 21.7%
• Greater Sacramento Region: 21.4%
• Northern California: 24.1%
• San Joaquin Valley: 8.6%

What You Need to Know:

Once the stay-at-home order is in effect on Sunday at 11:59 p.m., the following will be closed:

• On-site dining at restaurants, wineries and breweries,
• Playgrounds
• Indoor recreational facilities
• Hair salons and barber shops
• Personal care services (including nail salons)
• Museums, zoos, aquariums
• Movie theaters, cardrooms and casinos, and family entertainment centers

Casinos have sovereign authority and aren’t required to comply. NBC 7 has reached out to local casinos, and have yet to hear back.

Along with these new regulations, beginning Dec. 7, the San Diego County library will only offer door services Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Walk-up door service will be available per request with no appointment required. More information can be found here, or by calling your local branch.

The Parks and Recreation Department will keep parks open for day use but will close playgrounds and prohibit overnight camping. 

Some establishments will be allowed to continue operations but with modifications, including:

• Retail stores and shopping centers can stay open indoors at 20% capacity.
• Hotels may remain open for critical infrastructure support, as can offices.
• Churches and places of worship can only hold outdoor services
• Professional sports can continue without live audiences, as can production of films and other entertainment.
• Critical Infrastructure
• Non-urgent medical and dental care
• Child care and pre-K

Schools serving K-12 students will not be affected by the order. Those open for classroom instruction now can remain so.

Click here for more information on restrictions and modifications.

“We have to fight through the fatigue that COVID is as real and deadly and dangerous as it was in March. We have to summon and find that sense of community that brought us together in the early days,” said Supervisor Nathan Fletcher.

San Diego County’s individual remaining ICU bed capacity is at 23% as of Saturday, but it won’t keep the stay-at-home order away because the state is making decisions based on regional data.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

A state-mandated “regional stay-at-home” order goes into effect at 11:59 p.m. Sunday, triggered when intensive-care unit bed availability remained below 15% after Saturday’s daily update, according to the California Department of Public Health. 

The 11-county Southern California region’s available ICU capacity was 12.5% Saturday, a decrease from 13.1% the day before. Los Angeles County had 21% of its ICU beds available and Orange County had 20%, but those numbers were expected to decline later when the counties release their daily updates. Gov. Gavin Newsom had said Thursday that the Southern California region could meet that trigger within days. 

The Southern California region consists of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Imperial, Inyo, Mono, San Bernardino, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. 

The stay-at-home order will be in place for three weeks and will bar gatherings of people from different households. Under the order, the following businesses/recreational facilities will be forced to close: 

• indoor and outdoor playgrounds; 
• indoor recreational facilities; 
• hair salons and barbershops; 
• personal care services; 
• museums, zoos, and aquariums;
• movie theaters;
• wineries; 
• bars, breweries and distilleries; 
• family entertainment centers; 
• cardrooms and satellite wagering; 
• limited services; 
• live audience sports; and 
• amusement parks. 

Schools with waivers will be allowed to remain open, along with “critical infrastructure” and retail stores, which will be limited to 20% of capacity. Restaurants will be restricted to takeout and delivery service only. 

Hotels would be allowed to open “for critical infrastructure support only,” while churches would be restricted to outdoor only services. 

Entertainment production — including professional sports — would be allowed to continue without live audiences. Some of those restrictions are already in effect in select counties. 

Los Angeles County set a daily-case record for the third time in four days Friday with nearly 9,000 infections confirmed, while hospitalizations continued rising at record levels and deaths spiked to a level not seen in months. 

The county reported 8,860 new coronavirus infections on Friday, shattering the daily record of 7,854 set on Thursday. The number of people hospitalized stood at 2,668, the highest point of the entire pandemic. 

Health officials also announced 60 new deaths, continuing an upward trend that began in late November. Two weeks ago, the county’s average number of daily deaths was 21. 

“Los Angeles County continues to experience a pandemic that is moving in a direction that will cause significantly more suffering and deaths,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. “As case numbers and hospitalizations continue to rapidly increase, the number of individuals who will experience severe health outcomes will also increase.”

“The best thing to do right now and in the upcoming holiday season is to stay at home and not travel,” she said. “Encourage your family and friends to stay connected virtually and delay meeting in person until we are at a better place in the pandemic. Collectively, we have a chance to slow the spread and save lives.”

The 8,860 new cases reported by the county, along with 148 announced by Long Beach and 93 by Pasadena, lifted the countywide cumulative total since the start of the infection to 430,824. The 60 new deaths, and one additional fatality announced by Pasadena, lifted the overall total to 7,843. 

Newsom said the order is “fundamentally predicated on the need to stop gathering with people outside of your household, to do what you can to keep most of your activities outside and, of course, always … wear face coverings, wear a mask.”

coronavirus Dec 5

Covid Is Killing More Than 2,000 People a Day in the U.S. as Infections and Hospitalizations Hit Records

coronavirus Dec 5

Covid-19 Deaths Could Nearly Double in U.S. by April Despite Rollout of Vaccines, Report Warns

restaurants Dec 5

LA County Restarts Grant Applications for Restaurants After Online Crash

The governor also noted that the state still has a travel advisory in place recommending against non-essential travel and urging people to quarantine when they return to the state. When the regional stay-at-home order is triggered, it will strongly urge residents to cancel any non-essential travel. 

Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s Health and Human Services secretary, acknowledged there is no real mechanism for enforcing such a travel restriction, but the state will rely on public cooperation. 

“We believe that really emphasizing this is what we hope our citizens will do because their communities are at particularly high risk, their hospitals are having difficulty keeping available ICU beds open, that people will restrict their travel statewide,” he said. 

The state’s full stay-at-home order can be read at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/.

Retirees Mark and Midge Mayer live off their social security and pension. They also have a retirement account to fund the extras, something they didn’t need this year because of the pandemic. 

“We weren’t making any travel plans, and we aren’t going to dinner and movies, so we didn’t need the extra money,” Midge said. 

politics Dec 4

U.S. Sells More Than $175 Billion in Weapons to Foreign Governments, Nearly 3% Higher Than Last Year

Donald Trump Dec 4

Sidney Powell Amends Court Filing That Mistakenly Said Georgia Votes Were Flipped From Biden to Trump

Donald Trump Dec 3

Ivanka Trump Says She Was Deposed for 5 Hours in Inaugural Spend Probe. Here's What She Failed to Mention

Normally, the couple is required to take a distribution from their retirement account. But according to the CARES Act, this year they don’t have to. Certified financial planner Pamela Marshall says this is a huge perk for retirees.

“That’s a significant savings this year,” said Marshall. “That you can let that money stay in, keep growing, and not be taxed on that income this year.”

Marshall says there are two other big changes to retirement accounts this year: retirees don’t have to take required distributions until they’re 72, which has been pushed back two years; and retirees can make IRA contributions after 70, something that hasn’t been allowed before.

“Particularly if they’re quarantining and not out spending money, and they’re able to save, it’s a great opportunity for them,” said Marshall.

Marshall says now’s the time to tackle other financial housekeeping. Like making sure your 401k is properly allocated, and your flex spending account is on track for next year. She suggests you review the beneficiaries on your life insurance, something often put in place years ago. 

“I’ve seen situations where people have gotten divorced, been widowed, or family circumstances change, and it’s 20-30 years later, they die, and low and behold their life insurance through their employer goes to an ex-wife,” said Marshall.

Marshall says younger families might consider buying extra life insurance, especially if family members rely on an income. And it’s a good idea for families to have a will and trust in place, even if you don’t have a lot of assets. 

“You want to make sure that you’re paying attention to choices for guardians and who might be in charge of any assets left to the kids,” said Marshall.

Finally, review your home and car insurance policies; make sure your personal liability limits are high enough to protect your assets. 

And if you don’t think you need this financial planning, think again, says Marshall. She says it’s not just for the wealthy. 

“I would point out that people who are rich, especially people who became rich on their own, generally did it by having a financial plan,” said Marshall. 

And one final tip: check your credit report every year. It’s also a good idea to freeze your credit. That’s a free service, and it’s easy to lift the freeze when someone needs to check your credit. You’ll need to do that with all three credit bureaus: Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion.

Two regions in California, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California, have triggered the state’s new stay-at-home order after capacity in their intensive-care units fell below 15%, according to the California Department of Public Health.

The new restrictions, which will last for at least three weeks beginning late Sunday, come as the state reports a record 25,068 new Covid-19 cases on Friday, according to the CDPH.

Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday said the state would be split into five regions — the Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, Northern California, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. If the remaining ICU capacity in a region falls below 15%, it will trigger the stay-at-home order, he said. Newsom warned that every area was projected to drop below 15% ICU capacity at some point in December.

San Joaquin Valley’s ICU capacity dropped to 8.6% as of Saturday, while Southern California’s capacity, which includes Los Angeles and San Diego counties, dipped to 12.5%, according to a statement from CDPH.

The order will require bars, wineries, personal services, hair salons and barbershops to temporarily close. Personal services are businesses like nail salons, tattoo parlors and body waxing, according to the state’s website.

Schools that meet the state’s health requirements and critical infrastructure would be allowed to remain open. Retail stores could operate at 20% capacity and restaurants would be allowed to offer take-out and delivery.

The new measures are intended to prevent Californians from mixing with people who don’t live in their household and to keep gatherings outside rather than inside. However, people are still encouraged to do things outdoors, like walk their dog, exercise, go sledding or walk on the beach, Newsom said.

On Friday, San Francisco Bay Area health officials announced they wouldn’t wait for their ICU capacity to dip below the 15% threshold and said they would implement the order early.

“Our hospitalization rates are rising locally, especially in our ICU right now. And just as importantly, hospitalizations are rising everywhere, so if we run out of beds, there won’t be another county that can help us,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said during a press briefing Friday.

With a new lockdown looming, many rushed out to supermarkets Saturday and lined up outside salons to squeeze in a haircut before the orders in some areas take effect on Sunday.

Five San Francisco Bay Area counties imposed a new stay-at-home order for their residents that will take effect Sunday. Southern California and a large swath of the central portion of the state could join this weekend.

Those two regions have seen their intensive care unit capacity fall below the 15% threshold that under a new state stay-at-home order will trigger new restrictions barring all on-site restaurant dining and close hair and nail salons, movie theaters and many other businesses, as well as museums and playgrounds.

If their capacity remains below that level when the data is updated Saturday, the closures will take effect Sunday and stay in effect at least three weeks.

In San Francisco, resident Michael Duranceau rushed to a market to prepare for the new closures.

“I’m just stocking up before Sunday — the basics, bread, eggs,” he told KGO-TV, clutching a heavy grocery bag and a baguette.

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the new plan Thursday. It is the most restrictive order since he imposed the country’s first statewide stay-at-home rule in March.

The new order divides the state into five regions and uses ICU capacity as the trigger for closures. Newsom also says people may not congregate with anyone outside their household and must always wear masks when they go outside.

As of Friday night, the 11-county Southern California region had only 13.1% of its ICU beds available, the California Department of Public Health reported. The figure was 14.1% for the San Joaquin Valley region, composed of a dozen counties in the agricultural Central Valley and rural areas of the Sierra Nevada.

The other three regions — Greater Sacramento, Northern California and San Francisco Bay Area — were all around 21%.

But health officers in five of the Bay Area’s 11 counties didn’t wait. On Friday, they adopted the state’s stay-at-home order. The changes begin to take effect Sunday night in San Francisco, Santa Clara, Marin, Alameda and Contra Costa counties, as well as the city of Berkeley.

“We don’t think we can wait for the state’s new restrictions to go into effect. … This is an emergency,” Contra Costa Health Officer Chris Farnitano said.

“Our biggest fear all along — that we won’t have a bed for you or your mother or your grandmother or grandfather when they get sick — is the reality we’ll be facing unless we slow the spread,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said.

The Bay Area order will last at least through Jan. 4, a week longer than the state’s timeline, and came as the state recorded another daily record number of new cases with 22,018. Hospitalizations topped 9,000 for first time and ICU patients were at a record 2,152.

The new shutdowns were a gut-wrenching move for small businesses that have struggled to survive over nearly a year in which they were repeatedly ordered to close, then allowed to reopen but with complex safety precautions.

Michelle Saunders James was in tears Friday at the thought of closing down her Oakland nail salon just five weeks after reopening it.

“We wear (face) shields. We take temperatures. We do everything we are told to do so everyone feels safe, including our staff and team,” she told KGO-TV. “So I don’t understand why it’s not enough and I’m terribly sad and afraid.”

Under Newsom’s order, retail stores and shopping centers can operate with just 20% customer capacity.

restaurants Dec 5

LA County Restarts Grant Applications for Restaurants After Online Crash

coronavirus Dec 5

Covid Is Killing More Than 2,000 People a Day in the U.S. as Infections and Hospitalizations Hit Records

coronavirus Dec 5

Hispanic Unemployment From Covid-19 Has Been Cut in Half, But Can It Last?

In the East Bay, Berkeley Bowl’s two grocery stores already had laid in stocks of essentials in case of a return of panic buying that was seen after the state issued a strict stay-at-home order in mid-March that later was eased.

“We’ve learned valuable lessons from last time,” general manager Steve Tsujimoto told the San Francisco Chronicle. “We acted proactively and have been warehousing certain select items — toilet paper, sanitizers, wipes, beans, rice, grains, flour, bread — things of that nature.”

Critics say the broad statewide order unfairly lumps too many disparate counties together into regions.

The approach “places our ability to reopen with 10 other counties including Los Angeles County which has absolutely failed to control the coronavirus and Mono County whose most populous city is 344 miles away,” said Fred M. Whitaker, chairman of the Republican Party of Orange County.

The explosive rise in COVID-19 infections that began in October is being blamed largely on people ignoring safety measures and socializing with others.

Berkeley Health Officer Lisa Hernandez said people should not meet in person with anyone they don’t live with, “even in a small group, and even outdoors with precautions.”

“If you have a social bubble, it is now popped,” Hernandez said. “Do not let this be the last holiday with your family.”

Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous with 10 million residents, could reach ICU capacity within days. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said that could mean people with other life-threatening illnesses, such as strokes and heart attacks, might be unable to get a bed.

The city alone could see more than 11,000 lives lost to the virus by year’s end, the mayor said.

“That means 3,000 additional deaths in a single month. To put that in perspective, it’s a decade of homicides,” Garcetti said. “This is the greatest threat to life in Los Angeles that we have ever faced.”

In the inland Central Valley, Fresno County had just 10 of its 150 ICU beds available. Health officials described a grim picture with hospitals struggling to stay staffed because of coronavirus infections and exposures. One hospital is holding ICU patients in the emergency department until beds open up, Emergency Medical Services Director Daniel Lynch said Friday.

The county has requested help from the state with staffing for a couple of weeks. But so far only one or two additional workers have shown up at three local hospitals as the whole state struggles with staffing.

At Kaweah Delta medical center in Visalia, in Tulare County, there were 18 ICU beds available Friday but only the staff to handle four additional patients, said Keri Noeske, the chief nursing officer. Some 125 employees are out sick or quarantined because of COVID-19.

“Lives will be lost unless we do more than we’ve ever done,” said Newsom from his home where he is in quarantine.

The governor enforced a stay at home order back in March, but this time, you may have noticed the metrics controlling whether San Diego falls into a shutdown or gets out are now based on a regional calculation, not a county one.

The governor is carving up the state into five regions. And San Diego falls into what looks like the largest in size- the Southern California region. It includes LA, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, just to name a few.

This means we’re stuck in a shutdown unless every county in our region keeps their remaining ICU bed capacity from falling under 15%.

That could seem a bit unfair. Right now, San Diego’s capacity is at 23%, well above that 15% threshold. But already, surrounding counties with more crowded hospitals are bringing down the number.

“It is in fact well thought out,” said Dr. Lewis Kaplan, president of the National Society of Critical Care Medicine.

Kaplan said the virus doesn’t care about county lines, and hospitals don’t really work that way either.

“It makes sense in terms of how patients move,” Kaplan said.

Hospitals move patients regionally based on trauma center and burn center hubs, according to Kaplan.

“When you think about COVID care, realize this virus has an impact on the entire body, from your nose to your toes,” he said.

In other words, treatment can get complicated, and those complications mean moving patients across county lines.

“None of us think for a second that it’s going to be three weeks,” said Robert Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable. “When we first got the order we, frankly, were very concerned.”

Lapsley said the shutdown should allow all businesses to stay open at reduced capacity, not just retailers.

“We’ve learned so many lessons since last March,” Lapsley said. “So why are we not applying those businesses?”

Unlike Kaplan, Lapsley takes issue with the regional approach, and suspects more may be at play.

“Your region’s too big,” said Lapsley. “The reason that your region is so big, is because the governor doesn’t want people traveling from one county to another.”

But Kaplan argues counting hospital capacity by hospital regions is just smart.             

“There is strength in that,” said Kaplan. “And there is flexibility and so I think this is being well done.”

Without a shutdown, the governor said California is currently on track to hit 112% ICU capacity by mid-December.

As coronavirus cases and hospitalizations continue to rise in our region, health experts are warning that new restrictions are imminent. 

“It’s been a fluctuation between inside-outside, capacity, curfew and we’re now reaching another hurdle to go over and it’s just unfortunate,” said Jennifer Davis, staff manager at 710 Beach Club in Pacific Beach.

New restrictions would mean restaurants would have to shut down all dinning operations and go back to take-out orders only. 

“It’s very scary, especially this time around that there is no stimulus package to help with the extra cost of living,” said Davis. “I don’t have kids of my own but I know a lot of my employees have kids and families they need to support.”

If the shutdown goes into effect, Davis says 710 Beach Club’s roster of 30 employees will have to be reduced to just a handful.

“Unfortunately, there is only so many shifts to give out to people,” said Davis.

And the businesses latest investments will be for nothing.

“All of our tables we had to buy ourselves and then with winter we had to purchase a bunch of space heaters to keep it warm out there for everyone dining outside,” said Davis.” “It’s been very expensive and it’s unfortunate it’s coming to another end. Especially with Christmas, we were making it very Christmasy and family-oriented.”

Holiday decorations that are now likely not to make it to Christmas day.

According to the state, San Diego County will likely have to impose new restrictions in early December. 

San Francisco Bay Area health officials announced on Friday that they would implement California’s new stay-at-home order early, even though they haven’t reached the state’s threshold triggering the new restrictions.

“Today is a really tough day,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said during a press briefing. “Our hospitalization rates are rising locally, especially in our ICU right now. And just as importantly, hospitalizations are rising everywhere, so if we run out of beds, there won’t be another county that can help us.” 

On Thursday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state would be split into five regions — the Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, Northern California, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. If the remaining ICU capacity in a region falls below 15%, it will trigger a three-week stay-at-home order, Newsom said.

The order would require bars, wineries, personal services, hair salons and barbershops to temporarily close. Personal services are businesses like nail salons, tattoo parlors and body waxing, according to the state’s website.

Schools that meet the state’s health requirements and critical infrastructure would be allowed to remain open. Retail stores could operate at 20% capacity and restaurants would be allowed to offer take-out and delivery, Newsom said

While none of the regions met the ICU threshold to trigger the stay-at-home order on Thursday, Newsom warned that every area was projected to drop below 15% ICU capacity at some point in December. The Bay Area was expected to be the last region to reach that mark, he said.

Health officers for the counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco and Santa Clara as well as the city of Berkeley made the joint announcement on Friday, saying they would implement the order early. The new restrictions will last until Jan. 4, 2021, according to the order.

However, the announcement did not include some counties in the Bay Area region, as defined by the state’s order, including Santa Cruz, Monterey, Napa, San Mateo, Solano, Sonoma.

“It takes several weeks for new restrictions to slow rising hospitalizations and waiting until only 15 percent of a region’s ICU beds are available is just too late,” said Dr. Tomas Aragon, San Francisco health officer, in a statement. “Many heavily impacted parts of our region already have less than 15 percent of ICU beds available, and the time to act is now.”

California is reporting a weekly average of roughly 16,392 Covid-19 cases daily, a more than 21% increase compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

San Francisco public health director Dr. Grant Colfax said based on current trends, San Francisco’s hospitals would run out of ICU beds on Dec. 26.

“Our San Francisco ICU, intensive care unit, bed capacity is quickly decreasing,” Colfax said. “We are in an extremely volatile position for our health-care system.”

Breed in a tweet after Newsom’s announcement on Thursday said that while the order didn’t apply to San Francisco yet, the county was “looking closely at local data and talking to our neighboring counties about next steps.”

“I don’t want do any of this,” Breed said on Friday. “I know this means people’s jobs, their businesses, their livelihoods are at stake. This is going to be painful.”

The region’s notorious Santa Ana winds decreased slightly but red flag warnings of extreme wildfire risk were in place into the weekend because of low humidity. After the weather calms in the southern part of the state, winds are expected to increase in Northern California starting Sunday, forecasters said.

Firefighters were still busy trying to contain a number of blazes south and east of Los Angeles. The biggest began late Wednesday as a house fire in Orange County’s Silverado Canyon that spread to dry brush by fierce winds. Some 25,000 people were ordered to flee their homes, although some evacuations orders were later lifted.

The fire grew to 6,400 acres and blanketed a wide area with smoke and ash. It was 10% contained as calmer conditions helped hundreds of firefighters who fought the flames on the ground and by air.

Wildfires Dec 3

Wind Fans Wildfire in California Canyons, Residents Flee

santa ana winds Dec 3

Why We Have Santa Ana Winds And How They Occur

Two firefighters were hurt battling the blaze but there was no immediate word on their conditions, fire officials said.

Some residents said they didn’t receive evacuation alerts because Southern California Edison had shut off power as a precaution before the fire erupted, leaving them without cellphone service.

The fire was not far from the site of October’s Silverado Fire, which also forced thousands from their homes and left two firefighters critically burned. The two firefighters were released from the hospital Friday morning.

Crews mostly tamed two small fires that prompted evacuations in Riverside County east of Los Angeles.

Mandatory evacuations were in effect in the Modjeska, Silverado and Williams Canyon areas, Foothill Ranch and Portola Hills west of El Toro and north of the 241 Toll Road. Evacuation orders were lifted for Lake Forest, north of Alton Parkway, east of the 241 Toll Road.

Voluntary evacuations were issued for the following areas:

• Lake Forest, from the 241 Toll Road, along Bake Parkway to Musick and north to the border with Irvine and from the 241 Toll Road north to Bake Parkway to Foothill Ranch Community Ranch
• Borrego Canyon
• Baker Ranch
• Portola Hills
• Live Oak Canyon
• Trabuco Canyon
• Rose Canyon
• Valley Vista Way
• Meadow Ridge Drive
• Cowan and Lemon Heights

And to the south, a small blaze in San Diego County that threatened about 200 residences was fully contained Thursday after destroying one home and damaging six others in a neighborhood near El Cajon.

Santa Ana winds hit 50 mph to 85 mph at times throughout the region beginning Wednesday night.

Numerous studies have linked bigger wildfires in America to climate change from the burning of coal, oil and gas. Scientists have said climate change has made California much drier, meaning trees and other plants are more flammable.

The fires erupted as Southern California utilities cut the power to more than 100,000 customers to avoid the threat of winds knocking down or fouling power lines and causing wildfires — something that has sparked devastating fires in recent years.

Southern California Edison cut power to nearly 50,000 homes and businesses but as winds eased the utility began restoring electricity.

California Wildfires Dec 4

AQMD Issues Smoke Advisory Involving Bond, Airport Fires

California Wildfires Dec 3

Power Goes Out as Fire Danger Looms in Southern California

San Diego Gas & Electric’s precautionary blackouts affected around 73,000 customers at the peak.

California already has experienced its worst-ever year for wildfires. More than 4 million acres have been scorched, a total larger than the combined area of Connecticut and Rhode Island. At least 31 people have been killed and 10,500 homes and other structures damaged or destroyed.

The latest fire threat comes as much of California plunges deeper into drought. Virtually all of Northern California is in severe or extreme drought while nearly all of Southern California is abnormally dry or worse.

Associated Press reporter Amy Taxin contributed from Orange County, California.

Newsom’s latest effort to keep people from gathering with others from outside their households divides the state into five regions and links business closures and travel restrictions to hospital ICU capacity. When a region has fewer than 15% of its ICU beds available, new restrictions are imposed.

Newsom said four regions — all but the San Francisco Bay area — could meet that threshold “within a day or two.” A litany of changes would take effect, including closing hair salons, barber shops and movie theaters. Restaurants may only serve takeout and delivery, and playgrounds will be off-limits.

Retailers and shopping centers would have to limit stores to 20% capacity during the busy holiday shopping season.

The ordertakes effect Saturday and, once triggered, regions would have 24 hours to implement the rules, which stay in effect at least three weeks. The rules don’t apply to public schools with in-person learning.

“The bottom line is if we don’t act now our hospital system will be overwhelmed,” Newsom said during an online news conference from his home, where he has quarantined with his family for the past two weeks after his children were exposed to the virus. “This is the most challenging moment since the beginning of this pandemic.”

The announcement was a gut punch for retailers and restaurants counting on the shopping season to boost a dismal year.

“The loss of revenue many small businesses will experience as a result of this latest shutdown could be catastrophic,” said Allan Zaremberg, California Chamber of Commerce president and CEO.

The new rules are the Newsom administration’s latest attempt to control a virus that is spreading at rates that astonished health experts. In the last month, the state has pulled the “emergency brake” by imposing restrictions in 52 of the state’s 58 counties, including asking people not to leave the state and implementing an overnight curfew.

The curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. had little impact, Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s top public health officer, acknowledged Thursday. He said data shows people have not curtailed trips outside their homes during the period that is only supposed to be for essential trips.

“We of course had hoped and wanted to see more from that already, but we haven’t,” he said.

Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles Fielding School of Public Health, said such a broad shutdown wouldn’t be necessary if the state had better data on where people are contracting the virus.

“We do not have adequate data to know where transmissions are occurring and that reflects a failure of public health,” he said.

Better understanding the data could, for example, show the state if transmissions are occurring at grocery stores, barber shops or restaurants and better target interventions. Klausner likened the current approach to shutting down food production, restaurants and grocery stores because of a salmonella outbreak.

“That’s not the way we traditionally work in public health,” he said.

California imposed the nation’s first statewide stay-at-home order in March. It was open-ended and much more aggressive — all but essential businesses were closed.

The order was widely praised by public health experts, but it came with a heavy cost: California lost 2.6 million jobs in March and April, overwhelming the state with claims for unemployment benefits.

Since then, California has gotten 44% of those jobs back in a modest recovery as new cases fell dramatically after large gatherings ceased, and people wore masks and distanced in public.

But by fall people were congregating more as cooler weather drove them inside, where the virus flourishes. A new wave of cases that began in late October has dwarfed anything the state had seen. California is now averaging nearly 15,000 newly reported cases daily.

Unlike in March, when the pandemic was in its infancy and people were more willing to follow rules, the latest mandate will be met by a frustrated population entering its 10th month of restrictions. Some counties have bucked the rules, following cues from state and local elected officials who have criticized the governor for going too far.

Shannon Grove, Republican leader in the state Senate, criticized Newsom on Thursday for continuing “to disrupt life as we know it without releasing the full data behind his decisions.”

“And to be clear, it’s not just about the numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations he runs through in his almost-daily press conferences, but the data and facts about the toll his shutdown orders are taking on Californians’ mental health, on our children’s education, including the achievement gap, on domestic violence and child abuse rates,” she said.

In San Luis Obispo, hairstylist Amy Lovece said she was angry because “salons are not the problem.”

“I just go between home and work. I don’t go to parties or bars and I just want to keep working,” she said.

California’s virus hospitalizations have nearly quadrupled since mid-October and now stand at 8,240, including 1,890 in intensive care units. California Hospital Association President and CEO Carmela Coyle said 80% of ICU beds in the state are occupied.

“Hospitals are doing everything possible to address this crush of acute care needs but are challenged by a lack of needed critical care nurses, worldwide shortages of personal protective equipment and testing supplies,” Coyle said, adding hospitals support the governor’s new restrictions

Newsom acknowledged the difficulty in following the rules. But he urged people to stay vigilant, promising the worst is almost over.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel. We are a few months away form truly seeing real progress with the vaccine,” Newsom said. “We do not anticipate having to do this again but we really all need to step up. We need to meet this moment head on.”

California will impose a limited stay-at-home order on certain regions of the state where Covid-19 cases are placing a strain on intensive care units, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday.

The state will be split into five regions — the Bay Area, Greater Sacramento, Northern California, San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. If the remaining ICU capacity in a region falls below 15%, it will trigger a three-week stay-at-home order, Newsom said.

The order would require bars, wineries, personal services, hair salons and barbershops to temporarily close. Personal services are businesses like nail salons, tattoo parlors and body waxing, according to the state’s website. Schools that meet the state’s health requirements and critical infrastructure would be allowed to remain open, and retail stores could operate at 20% capacity and restaurants would be allowed to offer take-out and delivery, the Democratic governor said.

So far, none of the regions have triggered the stay-at-home order, though every part of the state is expected to at some point in December. Newsom said he anticipates four of the five regions to have less than 15% ICU capacity “as early as the next day or two.” The Bay Area is projected to reach that milestone by mid-to-late December, he said.

“The bottom line is if we don’t act now, our hospital system will be overwhelmed. If we don’t act now, we’ll continue to see a death rate climb, more lives lost,” Newsom said during a press briefing.

Roughly 8,208 people were hospitalized with Covid-19 in California as of Wednesday, based on a weekly average, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by the COVID Tracking Project, which is run by journalists at The Atlantic. That figure marks a more than 35% increase compared with a week ago.

“We are right now in the most dangerous time of this pandemic for our state and our region,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed said in a tweet after the governor’s announcement.

“Cases and hospitalizations are surging. Unless we get things under control immediately, we could quickly run out of hospital beds in the Bay Area,” Breed said.

Under the state’s four-tiered reopening plan, most of the state’s population remains under the most restrictive “widespread” tier. Thursday’s announcement would impose the restrictions in “a much more broad, much more comprehensive way,” Newsom said.

The new measures are intended to prevent Californians from mixing with people who don’t live in their household and to keep gatherings outside rather than inside. However, people are still encouraged to walk their dog, exercise, go sledding or walk on the beach, Newsom said.

“This is not a permanent state. This is what many had projected,” Newsom said, adding that this will be the pandemics “final surge” as vaccines move closer to authorization.

“There’s light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

— CNBC’s Riya Bhattacharjee contributed to this report.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

LA County shut down outdoor dining on Nov. 25 for three weeks in response to a rise in coronavirus cases, but “Eat at Joe’s” owner Alex Jordan is defying the county’s orders as he continues to offer patio dining to patrons.

The patios at the “South Bay landmark” that’s been open since 1969 were full Monday afternoon with customers supporting the move.

“I think this whole thing is a travesty,” customer Terry Kane said. “It’s killing the small business, small restaurants, it’s killing the employees. They have no other way to make income. There’s no stimulus. There’s no relief from California on restaurants.”

LA County Nov 24

Outdoor Dining Ban Begins Wednesday Night for Restaurants in Most of LA County

Gavin Newsom Nov 16

Newsom Says He Made ‘Bad Mistake' Attending Pricey Party

A banner hanging outside the long-running diner reads “The French Laundry Patio Dining” — an obvious dig at California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent dinner outing amid the coronavirus pandemic. After photos of Newsom attending the pricey party without a mask were released, he issued an apology, calling it a “bad mistake.”

Jordan says Newsom’s fine dining outing was “totally hypocritical.” He said the move “set him on edge,” prompting him to hang “The French Laundry” banner outside Joe’s.

“If it’s good enough for Gavin Newsom, it’s good enough for all of my clients,” Jordan said.

And, the move to keep his restaurant open is about “keeping my employees employed during this tough time of the year,” he added.

He said that he feels it’s “somewhat unfair,” stating that his business and employees have followed the rules and regulations when it comes to temperature checks, social distancing and masks, but “they [LA County] keep moving the goal line further and further back.”

County health officials said during last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting that it agrees with targeted enforcement of restaurants, but there are 31,000 eateries in the county, and only enough inspectors available to visit about 1% of them a week.

And on Tuesday, Eat at Joe’s was included in that 1%.

An inspector with the LA County Health Department stopped by the diner, notifying Jordan that the restaurant had to close immediately or risk being fined and having their license revoked.

“Public Health advised the restaurant that if onsite dining continued, the owner’s Public Health Permit would be suspended for 7 days, requiring the restaurant to discontinue operation,” the health department explained in a statement.

The department is planning on sending an inspector on or after Dec. 4 to follow up.

Redondo Beach Nov 30

Redondo Beach Restaurant Owner Chooses to Stay Open, Defy Outdoor Dining Ban

coronavirus Dec 1

California Hospitalizations Soar, May Spur More Restrictions

While business has been “busy,” Jordan says his employees are anxious to see what happens. He said before the pandemic, he employed roughly two dozen workers. He’s now down to eleven.

“I don’t want to give up because I think it’s wrong … but in the long-term you don’t want to lose your license, so we’ll wait and see,” Jordan told NBCLA on Wednesday.

At this point, Eat at Joe’s has no plans to offer only takeout because it’s not financially feasible, Jordan added.

“Given the recent 225% increase in the number of cases reported and 94% increase in hospitalizations due to COVID-19, Public Health is hopeful that the owner will decide to cooperate with the Health Officer Order and serve food via takeout and delivery services only,” the health department said in a statement. “Restaurants impacted by the restriction on outdoor dining are encouraged to apply for a grant from the Los Angeles County Department of Consumer Affairs to help offset the associated costs. More information can be found at keeplacountydining.lacda.org.”

On Tuesday, The county Department of Public Health announced 7,593 new COVID-19 infections, topping the previous daily record of 6,124 set just last week.

A total of 2,316 people were reported to be hospitalized due to the virus, topping the previous peak level of 2,232 set in July. 

City News Service contributed to this report.

Following an early summer surge that prompted a new round of restrictions, California’s cases plummeted in August and September. The state relaxed restrictions, allowing more businesses to operate, indoor religious services to resume and many schools to reopen for classroom instruction.

But new cases have exploded in recent weeks to the point that the state is averaging 15,000 new cases a day and the infection rate has more than doubled. A record 8,500 people are in the hospital, including more than 2,000 in the intensive care unit, leaving the state with fewer than 2,000 available ICU beds.

Newsom’s own staff has been hit. A member of the governor’s office tested positive for COVID-19 Wednesday afternoon, the office said. The staffer didn’t have any contact with the quarantined governor but is believed to have come into contact with other staff members, who will begin quarantines, the office said.

Overall, California has reported more than 1.2 million COVID-19 cases and more than 19,300 deaths. The state reported 20,759 new cases on Wednesday, surpassing the previous high of 18,350 set just last week.

In Los Angeles, county health director Barbara Ferrer said: “We’re seeing terrifying increases in numbers.”

The nation’s largest county with about 10 million residents recorded its highest daily total of cases Tuesday with more than 7,500 and on Wednesday fell just shy of 6,000, still one of the highest to date.

The county’s caseload has gone up 225% over three weeks in November, which was reflected in one steep and consistent line rising on a graph used at her briefing.

Ferrer urged everyone to mask up when out of the house for every activity except swimming.

“We do have a choice to make, each one of us,” Ferrer said. “Do we want to be part of a solution to this horrifying surge or do we want to be the problem? Because where you fall in this effort now has a life-or-death consequence.”

Newsom warned Monday that “red flags are flying,” saying if numbers don’t improve he would take “drastic action.” Los Angeles and Santa Clara counties already have done that, imposing new stay-home orders.

Newsom is expected to follow suit, perhaps as early as Thursday. The new measures would come during a critical time for retailers and restaurants, which were counting on a robust holiday season to rebound from a year marked by forced closures.

Last month, the state’s beleaguered restaurant and hospitality industry added 66,000 jobs as the state’s unemployment rate dipped below 10% for the first time since March. But new restrictions are threatening those gains.

And the surge of new cases is coinciding with a rash of politicians violating the very rules they are urging the public to follow, cratering their credibility.

State public health officials said Wednesday’s record case total is not a true day-over-day change as the number includes cases from previous days. But they acknowledged the alarming increase.

Experts said the skyrocketing new cases likely don’t yet reflect travel and gatherings around Thanksgiving. Brad Pollock, associate dean for public health sciences at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, said he expects cases from Thanksgiving to start showing up in hospitals around Christmas.

“I think the ICUs are going to be very busy during Christmas,” he said.

California reported 113 coronavirus-related deaths on Wednesday, the most since 162 were reported on Oct. 13. Still, Pollock noted the mortality rate has fallen as the virus has infected a younger population.

Newsom was still isolating in his Sacramento-area home on Wednesday after three of his children were exposed to the virus by an infected California Highway Patrol officer. A spokesman for Newsom’s office said the governor would remain at home until the weekend.

The governor has already imposed the toughest restrictions on 51 of the state’s 58 counties comprising nearly the entire state population of almost 40 million, including a 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. curfew for anything but essential errands and work. But some local government officials have refused to enforce those rules, including Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones, who announced Wednesday he had contracted the coronavirus after being close to an employee who had also tested positive.

“The Sheriff is only one of dozens of Sacramento Sheriff’s Office employees who, despite rigorous institutional safety practices and following all recommended personal safety protocols, have contracted the virus while performing their essential duties,” sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. Rod Grassmann said.

Other local governments are imposing their own drastic measures. In Santa Ana, a city of more than 300,000 in Southern California’s Orange County, the City Council voted to authorize a mandatory face mask rule and for the police to enforce it.

“The public should know there could be consequences if they don’t comply. But we would rather not have to take such actions,” city spokesman Paul Eakins said.

——

Associated Press reporters Brian Melley in Los Angeles and Amy Taxin in Orange County contributed to this story.

Placer County paid Samuel Kolb, 50, and his family $9.9 million to settle the lawsuit the family filed after a deputy shot him twice on Jan. 14, 2018, inside a North Lake Tahoe rental cabin where Kolb and his teenage son were vacationing, Kolb said.

“There’s a measure of relief in not having to go through this and not having to put my family through any more legal challenges. But I would trade all the money plus interest to have my old life back, to not have gone through this and put my family through this, to have full use of my body. No amount of money makes up for that,” Kolb said.

Kolb and his son had traveled from their home in San Mateo for a ski trip in Lake Tahoe and were staying at a cabin in Carnelian Bay when Kolb woke up before dawn and began pacing around the cabin.

He woke up his then 16-year-old son and asked him to get medical help, Ronald Kaye, the Kolbs’ attorney, said in the federal lawsuit he filed to dismiss Monday. A federal court Tuesday granted the stipulation for dismissal.

Kolb’s son called 911 and reported his father was acting odd and was “in a dream-like state,” according to court documents.

He told the dispatcher his father had a history of temporal lobe epilepsy and that they had smoked marijuana together before going to bed.

Temporal lobe epilepsy can cause people to feel a sudden sense of fear or anxiety, anger or sadness, though a lawsuit filed by Kaye said Kolb had not had a similar incident in about 15 years.

Kolb’s son “did not believe, nor did he represent, that his father presented any danger to his safety — he simply requested medical help as he observed his father suffering from a mental health episode,” Kaye said in court documents.

When Placer County Deputy Curtis Honeycutt arrived, he found Kolb and his son standing outside the cabin in the cold. Kolb was only wearing a short-sleeved shirt and pajama bottoms and Honeycutt instructed them to go back inside instead of securing Kolb in the back of the patrol car to await mental health intervention, the lawsuit said.

Once inside, Kolb grabbed a 10-inch (25-centimeter) carving fork. In response to Kolb’s raising the fork, Honeycutt began “repeatedly, unreasonably and unjustifiably discharging his office issued firearm,” shattering one of Kolb’s vertebrae, the lawsuit said.

After the incident, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement posted on its Facebook page that Honeycutt believed his life was in danger after Kolb stabbed him with a sharp instrument. A sheriff’s office spokesman later said the deputy was attacked with a large barbecue skewer.

His bulletproof vest protected him from injury but when Kolb tried to stab him a second time, the deputy used his service weapon to end the attack, the department said.

Kolb’s son later testified he never saw his father attack Honeycutt and forensic evidence showed the deputy’s vest had no signs of a stabbing, Kolb said.

Detectives without training on interviewing minors who witnessed traumatic events questioned Kolb’s son without asking for the authorization of his mother, who was driving from Silicon Valley to reunite with him, the lawsuit said.

The detectives also secretly recorded Kolb’s son while he spoke on his cellphone with family members to obtain incriminating information against his father, the lawsuit alleged.

Angela Musallam, a spokeswoman for the Placer County Sheriff’s Office, said Tuesday that the sheriff’s office “does not have anything further to say about Mr. Kolb’s case.”

At the time of the shooting, Kolb was working as a senior director at Survey Monkey. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, which is a felony, and felony child endangerment.

He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor offense of brandishing a deadly weapon other than a firearm “in order to spare my family further legal trouble and spare my son having to testify and worry that he held my life in his hands,” Kolb said.

Honeycutt shot Kolb once on the left side of his torso and once in his back. Kolb now lacks bowel and bladder control, cannot engage in normal sexual activity and lives with chronic pain.

Now an engineering manager at Facebook, Kolb said he volunteers his free time to press for legislative changes to California’s blanket immunity for police officers and to reform policing in the country.

“This is a morally bankrupt and corrupt system that is bent on one thing, which is protecting the power of the entrenched police unions and this power structure,” he said.

“The red flags are flying in terms of the trajectory in our projections of growth,” said Gov. Gavin Newsom. “If these trends continue, we’re going to have to take much more dramatic, arguably drastic, action.”

Hospitalizations have increased 89% over the past 14 days and nearly 7,800 coronavirus patients were hospitalized as of Monday. About 12% of Californians testing positive are likely to need hospital care within the next two to three weeks.

The biggest concern is intensive care cases, which have increased 67% in the past two weeks. If that continues, it would push ICU beds to 112% of capacity by mid-December.

That statistic is likely to drive decisions over whether to impose state-mandated stay-at-home orders in 51 of California’s 58 counties that already are seeing the most restrictions on business activities, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s secretary of health and human services.

ICU hospitalization rates vary by county and region, he said, and is a greater concern than overall hospital capacity.

“Bottom line is we are looking at intensive care unit capacity as the primary trigger for deeper, more restrictive actions,” Ghaly said.

“When that capacity goes away, or even when it gets stretched so far that staffing is stretched, that we have to set up space that isn’t typically used for intensive care units, we know that the quality of care … sometimes takes a dip and we see outcomes we don’t want to see,” he said.

By the second half of December California “could be pushing the limits in some areas,” Ghaly said, adding that “we want to act sooner than that so we can get transmission down and we can handle those potential high ICU surges.”

Carmela Coyle, president and CEO of the California Hospital Association, said the current rise in cases “can’t be described as anything other than alarming.”

“We are concerned that those needs will outstrip in particular the staff we have available to care for people in the intensive care units,” Coyle said. “That is where the most critically ill COVID-19 patients are cared for. That is where the life and death circumstances occur.”

Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody over the weekend similarly said she fears hospitals in her county could be overwhelmed within three weeks, given that it has the highest case rate in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous and home to 10 million residents, already imposed its own stay-home order starting Monday. It banned most gatherings but stopped short of a full shutdown on retail stores and other nonessential businesses.

“A continued surge in cases is just not sustainable,” said county Health Director Barbara Ferrer, repeating concerns that rising cases could begin to overwhelm the health care industry beginning as early as this week.

From Nov. 13 to Nov. 26, the average daily number of hospitalizations in LA County spiked 93%. The county reported 5,150 newly confirmed cases on Monday, figures that Ferrer called “extraordinarily high.”

Newsom put out a new call for retired medical professionals to join the volunteer California Health Corps, and said the state may soon be using tents and other makeshift hospitals to help deal with the surge. Nearly 900 people are part of the corps, only 10 of whom are supporting skilled nursing facilities and hospitals, said Rodger Butler, a spokesman for the California Health and Human Services Agency.

Just 1 of the 11 “surge hospitals” is currently operating: a medical tent set up at Imperial Valley College in hard-hit Imperial County. It had 15 patients in 20 available beds Monday, but could quickly ramp up to handle 115 patients. The other temporary facilities could also begin operating quickly if they are needed.

With businesses already suffering, more shutdowns on the horizon, and no imminent help from Congress, Newsom and state legislative leaders announced several steps aimed at helping small business owners survive until the federal and state governments can act more broadly early next year.

They include an automatic three-month extension for those reporting less than $1 million in sales tax; interest-free payments for companies with up to $5 million in sales tax; and $500 million in grants of up to $25,000 each available to small businesses.

Businesses can also begin applying Tuesday for a Main Street Hiring Tax Credit, which allows $100 million in tax credits.

Still, with many businesses already imperiled, Newport Beach Mayor Will O’Neill urged caution as the state considers new restrictions.

“Tens of thousands of small businesses and schools have lived up to our community expectations by investing heavily in customer and student safety,” he said in a statement. “I hope that the Governor’s office recognizes their efforts by using a scalpel and not a hammer.”

___ Associated Press writer Amy Taxin contributed to this story from Orange County.

The court agreed with a lower court ruling that said expert testimony estimating the time of death could have raised reasonable doubt in the minds of jurors who convicted Kimberly Long.

Prosecutors said she killed Oswaldo Conde, 33, at her home in Corona, southeast of Los Angeles.

Long had said she found him dead after returning home after spending the evening with friends. The weapon was never found.

Long’s first trial ended in a mistrial but she was convicted of murder in 2005. She wasn’t sent to jail until losing an appeal in 2009 and spent seven years behind bars before being freed in 2016 after the Riverside County judge reversed the conviction.

The Riverside County district attorney’s office will review the Supreme Court decision before deciding whether to seek a retrial, spokesman John Hall told the Orange County Register.

Long, 45, said she remembers “breaking down” after hearing that the Supreme Court had overturned her conviction.

“I feel like justice is finally being served,” she told the Register.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Loren Krytzer walked into a California auction room broke and unemployed, surviving on disability checks. Seventy-seven seconds later, he walked out a millionaire — all thanks to a blanket.

His life changed forever when he discovered that a forgotten old family heirloom, a Navajo blanket from the 1800s that had been sitting in his closet for seven years, was actually worth $1.5 million. And just in time, too. He had been scraping by, living in a shack on the edge of California’s Liona Valley, having lost a leg to a near-fatal car accident. Now he’s living in a $250,000 home.

Don’t miss: Highest-ever Amex Gold Card welcome bonus is worth up to $600 in gift cards

The sale of the blanket “gave me a new lease on life,” Krytzer tells CNBC Make It. “It truly did.”

But that new lease on life hasn’t come without its own set of new unexpected challenges, including tax hurdles and family drama. As Krytzer explains, those are some of the biggest downsides to a windfall.

Even after being braced for realistic expectations by advice of the CPA that worked for the auction company that sold his blanket, Krytzer was still shocked at how quickly a pile of money can dwindle. 

“It’s not like it was 40 or 50 years ago,” he says. “If I’d have gotten $1 million 50 years ago, I’d be rich right now, I would literally be rich.”

From NBC News and Shop TODAY:
October 2020: Best sales and discounts being offered this month
New & Notable: Latest products from Apple, Echelon, and more
Drink more water and stay hydrated with these 11 smart products

Instead, after having used most of his newfound fortune buying two homes in Central California, Krytzer says he is losing about $10,000 a year in insurance and property taxes alone. With no income stream now that his disability checks were cut off, Krytzer says that, to continue living off his windfall, he’ll have to relocate to somewhere where the costs of living are lower.

“We’re getting taxed to death here, I can’t afford it,” he says. “I’m from California, I grew up here, but without working it’s just hard to survive.”

He and his wife are now looking into selling their house and moving north to Idaho where taxes aren’t as burdensome and life is more affordable.

And then there’s the issue of dealing with family members that hear about newfound wealth. In the immediate aftermath of the auction, Krytzer says he got calls from distant relatives asking for a cut and suffered from frequent anxiety attacks. Things got so bad he stayed in a hotel for five nights to decompress.

His sister even threatened to sue him, Krytzer says, for a portion of the profits from his family’s blanket. 

“I had people calling me and bugging me and stuff,” Krytzer says. “People you haven’t seen in years, family members that don’t talk to you … You get some money and they’re like, ‘Where’s mine?'”

It’s been just as difficult to explain to his children that just because he received $1.3 million after fees doesn’t mean he’s able to buy them whatever they want. 

“When I first got the money, I helped them out,” Krytzer tells CNBC Make It. “But now it’s like I can’t do it, I don’t have it, and they are like, ‘You have millions of dollars, you’re being selfish.'”

And yet, with all the problems that came with the windfall, Kryzter says the positives have outweighed the negatives. He spent wisely, for the most part, dedicating most of his funds to real estate, stocks and bonds, and he allowed himself some “splurge” purchases that he couldn’t afford when he was living on just $200 a month after paying rent.

He took his new wife Lisa and his three daughters on a cruise to Mexico as part of a pre-honeymoon trip. And he bought a 2012 Dodge Challenger SRT8 that came souped up from West Coast Customs, the mechanic shop made famous by MTV’s “Pimp My Ride.”   

“I never had nothing like that, so I wanted a nice car and I did, I bought one,” he says.

Overall, he says money hasn’t changed him. Krytzer says with a smile that life has just gotten a bit easier since the auction — in fact, he credits it for saving his life.

“I firmly believe I’m here because years ago I turned my life around,” he says. “The things I’ve been through, I tell people it’s a strong faith and a strong mind. Without those things you’re not going to make it.”

Don’t miss: Chase Sapphire Preferred is offering a massive 80,000-point bonus for a limited time

Like this story? Like CNBC Make It on Facebook! 

Don’t miss:

• This 24-year-old made $345,000 in 2 months by beating Kickstarters to market
• This entrepreneur is getting people to eat $100,000 of a venomous fish to save the ocean
• How a 33-year-old turned $200 into $1 million in 92 days selling Kevlar pants online

The diver, 34-year-old Ryder Sturt of Port Hueneme was diving for lobster off a 20-foot recreational boat with a dive partner, according to the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office. When the second diver surfaced but Sturt did not, that diver called for help.

The U.S. Coast Guard responded to the Painted Cave Preserve area at about 6:45 p.m. Sunday to search for the diver.

The Newport Beach-based Coast Guard cutter Narwhal assisted with the search off Santa Cruz Island overnight while aircraft searched from above, including the Santa Barbara County Air Support Copter 964, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Underwater Search and Recovery Team began dives at about 1:30 p.m. Monday for approximately three hours, according to authorities, but were not able to find Sturt. Rescue efforts were suspended at 5 p.m.

The search will continue on Tuesday with additional agencies responding to help including the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Dive Team, Los Angeles Port Police, and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team.

The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office says the incident does not appear to be suspicious in nature.

The patios at Eat at Joe’s, a “South Bay landmark” since 1969, were full Monday afternoon with customers supporting the move.

“I think this whole thing is a travesty,” customer Terry Kane said. “It’s killing the small business, small restaurants, it’s killing the employees. They have no other way to make income. There’s no stimulus. There’s no relief from California on restaurants.”

LA County Nov 24

Outdoor Dining Ban Begins Wednesday Night for Restaurants in Most of LA County

Gavin Newsom Nov 16

Newsom Says He Made ‘Bad Mistake' Attending Pricey Party

A banner hanging outside the long-running diner reads “The French Laundry Patio Dining” — an obvious dig at California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent dinner outing amid the coronavirus pandemic. After photos of Newsom attending the pricey party without a mask were released, he issued an apology, calling it a “bad mistake.”

Eat at Joe’s owner Alex Jordan says Newsom’s fine dining outing was “totally hypocritical.” He said the move “set him on edge,” prompting him to hang “The French Laundry” banner outside Joe’s.

“If it’s good enough for Gavin Newsom, it’s good enough for all of my clients,” Jordan said.

And, the move to keep his restaurant open is about “keeping my employees employed during this tough time of the year,” he added.

He said that he feels it’s “somewhat unfair,” stating that his business and employees have followed the rules and regulations when it comes to temperature checks, social distancing and masks, but “they [LA County] keep moving the goal line further and further back.”

County health officials said during last week’s Board of Supervisors meeting that it agrees with targeted enforcement of restaurants, but there are 31,000 eateries in the county, and only enough inspectors available to visit about 1% of them a week.

If the LA County Department of Health completely shuts his restaurant down, he says “I won’t be any worse off than I would be if I just never stayed open. We’ll stay open as long as we can.”

On Sunday, the county reported another 5,014 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 16 additional deaths, bringing the county’s totals to 395,843 cases and 7,639 fatalities.

Even more concerning was the continued rise in hospitalizations, which reached 2,049 on Sunday, reaching its highest point since summer.

City News Service contributed to this report.

“This is not the end result we fought for, but I am proud of the strong, grassroots campaign we ran,” Smith, D-Santa Clarita, said in a concession statement. “Over the last few weeks, our attorneys reviewed thousands of uncounted ballots and our campaign volunteers undertook an extraordinary effort to cure hundreds of votes throughout the district that may not have been counted. We exhausted every possible option, and did everything within our power to ensure that every voice in this election was heard. Nonetheless, we came up short.”

Donald Trump Nov 29

Trump Says His Election Challenges Probably Won't Make It to the Supreme Court

Donald Trump Nov 30

Arizona and Wisconsin Officially Declare Biden Beat Trump in Those States

As of Monday morning, Smith was trailing Garcia, R-Santa Clarita, by 405 votes from the Nov. 3 election. The candidates were neck-and-neck through most of the vote-counting. At one point, Smith had a nearly 1,300-vote lead, but Garcia pulled ahead and maintained a narrow lead that Smith was unable to erase.

“Though I’m humbled by every vote we earned, the results show our district is deeply divided,” Smith said. “With so many issues laid bare by this pandemic and moment of crisis in our nation’s politics, I will continue to be a voice for the unheard and unseen, working families, small businesses, our environment and the schools in our district and state. I am ready to work with partners across our community to heal division, move forward and rebuild together.”

Garcia had earlier claimed victory in the race. He issued a statement Monday saying he is “honored” to represent the district.

“My focus is on representing all constituents in CA-25,” Garcia said. “In the short term, this means pushing to get federal relief to those who are most impacted by COVID, individuals and small businesses. It’s been a tough election, but the fight has been worth it. I am looking forward to two more years. Thank you CA-25!”

Garcia defeated Smith, 54.86%-45.14%, or 95,667-78,721, in a May 12 special election to fill the final 7 1/2 months of the term of former Rep. Katie Hill, D-Agua Dulce, who resigned following the online release of salacious photos and allegations of an extramarital affair with a staff member.

The seat had long been held by Republicans until Hill’s 2018 victory over then-Rep. Steve Knight, R-Palmdale.

Health officials are preparing for a wave of virus cases over the next two or three weeks that could be linked to Thanksgiving gatherings. Authorities had urged residents to stay home and limit their interactions with others, but millions nationwide defied the advice.

coronavirus 12 hours ago

List of Coronavirus Cases in the Bay Area

coronavirus pandemic Nov 30

Virus Updates: Trump Adviser Scott Atlas Leaving White House Job

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that ICU beds in California will be at 112% capacity by Dec. 24, according to state projections. Newsom indicated a new stay-at-home order is possible if the surge in cases and hospitalizations continues.

“If these trends continue, we’re going to have to much more dramatic, arguably drastic action, including taking a look at those purple tier counties,” Newsom said. “If we see these trends continue, the potential for a stay-at-home order for those regions in purple because of hospitalizations and ICUs.”

With regard to a timeline on vaccines, Newsom said he and his team anticipate California will receive about 327,000 initial doses by mid-December, with the second doses coming three weeks later.

California has had nearly 1.2 million confirmed cases since the pandemic began, with 19,121 virus-related deaths.

The state reported 7,415 coronavirus hospitalizations on Sunday, citing the most recently available data from the previous day. More than 1,700 of those patients are in intensive care units. The number of hospitalizations broke the state’s previous record of 7,170 in July.

The figures are expected to rise in coming days as similar trends happen nationally.

The number of new COVID-19 cases reported in the United States topped 200,000 for the first time Friday. The highest previous daily count was 196,000 on Nov. 20, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Since January, when the first infections were reported in the U.S., the nation’s total number of cases has surpassed 13 million. More than 265,000 people have died.

“The big unknown here is what actions were people taking over this long holiday weekend,” Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said.

If people engaged in high-risk activities, she said, “we’re in for a very rough time because we will have a surge on top of a surge.”

California county officials statewide issued new restrictions, with many taking effect Monday, in an effort to avoid overwhelming hospitals.

Los Angeles County, the nation’s most populous, imposed new rules calling for its 10 million residents to stay home “as much as possible,” prohibiting them from gathering with people outside of their households for public or private occasions — except for faith-based services and protests.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has estimated that the county’s COVID-19 death toll could reach over 11,500 by the end of the year — meaning that more than 4,000 residents could die in over the next five weeks, the Los Angeles Times reported. A record number of people in the county were infected last week.

In Northern California, Santa Clara County — home to Silicon Valley — banned all high school, collegiate and professional sports and imposed a quarantine for people traveling to the region from areas more than 150 miles away.

San Francisco and San Mateo counties moved to the most restrictive purple tier in the state’s pandemic blueprint for the economy, forcing most indoor activities to close by noon Sunday and placing the residents under curfew starting Monday night.

In San Francisco’s famous Golden Gate Park, the new 150-foot Ferris wheel named SkyStar closed Sunday under the new tier’s restrictions.

The wheel was supposed to be the centerpiece of the park’s 150th anniversary being celebrated all year and was only approved to open in late October. No reopening date has been announced.

This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento was evacuated shortly after 6 p.m. when shots were fired near one of the mall’s entrances, police spokesman Karl Chan said.

A 19-year-old man was found dead at the mall and a 17-year-old boy was found critically wounded at a bank outside of the mall. He was taken to the hospital and succumbed to his injuries several hours later, police told the Sacramento Bee on Saturday.

Workers at the mall said they heard up to a dozen shots.

“Heard a couple of shots go off, didn’t really think anything of it,” Antwon Martinez said. “And more and more kept going off, so everyone started running toward our back room. … Everyone just started running.”

He said customers and workers evacuated through the corridors and stairways in the back of the mall.

The coronavirus pandemic kept crowds thinner than usual on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, the newspaper reported.

Chan said the shooting appeared to be a targeted and isolated attack, though he didn’t disclose the gunman’s motive. Police said they were looking for a suspect in his 20s.

COVID-19 Nov 27

Black Friday 2020 Looks Bleak at Stores, Malls, as Shoppers Stick to Couch Surfing During the Pandemic

UCLA Nov 28

Six Individuals With UCLA's Athletics Program Test Positive For COVID-19

coronavirus Nov 28

Black Friday Shopping in Stores Craters 52% During Pandemic as E-Commerce Sales Surge

Other details of the shooting weren’t immediately released but Chan urged people who may have witnessed the shooting to come forward and said the mall’s security camera footage will be examined by homicide detectives.

“We do know that the mall does have a pretty robust surveillance footage,” he said.

Gun assaults and homicides have surged in the California capital, as well as in Los Angeles and other cities. About 40 homicides have been reported this year.

“We are deeply concerned by the increase in gun violence in Sacramento and other cities during the pandemic, and have supported increasing our efforts to reach young people at risk,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg tweeted. “A gun is never the answer.”

Arden Fair Mall in Sacramento was evacuated shortly after 6 p.m. when shots were fired near one of the mall’s entrances, police spokesman Karl Chan said.

A 19-year-old man was found dead at the mall and a 17-year-old boy was found critically wounded at a bank outside of the mall. He was taken to the hospital and succumbed to his injuries several hours later, police told the Sacramento Bee on Saturday.

Workers at the mall said they heard up to a dozen shots.

“Heard a couple of shots go off, didn’t really think anything of it,” Antwon Martinez said. “And more and more kept going off, so everyone started running toward our back room. … Everyone just started running.”

He said customers and workers evacuated through the corridors and stairways in the back of the mall.

The coronavirus pandemic kept crowds thinner than usual on Black Friday, one of the busiest shopping days of the year, the newspaper reported.

Chan said the shooting appeared to be a targeted and isolated attack, though he didn’t disclose the gunman’s motive. Police said they were looking for a suspect in his 20s.

Other details of the shooting weren’t immediately released but Chan urged people who may have witnessed the shooting to come forward and said the mall’s security camera footage will be examined by homicide detectives.

“We do know that the mall does have a pretty robust surveillance footage,” he said.

Gun assaults and homicides have surged in the California capital, as well as in Los Angeles and other cities. About 40 homicides have been reported this year.

“We are deeply concerned by the increase in gun violence in Sacramento and other cities during the pandemic, and have supported increasing our efforts to reach young people at risk,” Mayor Darrell Steinberg tweeted. “A gun is never the answer.”

The announcement by the company was made in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing earlier this week, saying 32,000 employees will be terminated in the first half of fiscal year 2021, which began last month. In late September, the company had already announced plants to terminate 28,000 theme park workers.

In the SEC document filed on the eve of Thanksgiving Day, the company said it also put 37,000 employees not scheduled for termination on furlough as a result of the pandemic.

“Due to the current climate, including COVID-19 impacts, and changing environment in which we are operating, the company has generated efficiencies in its staffing, including limiting hiring to critical business roles, furloughs and reductions-in-force,” the document said.

The company also said they may make more cuts in spending such as reducing film and television content investments and additional furloughs and layoffs.

In Florida, the company has been limiting attendance at its parks and changing protocols to allow for social distancing by limiting characters’ meet and greets.

The company has not specified the number of workers that would be affected in its Orlando theme parks.

Disney’s parks closed in March as the pandemic started spreading in the U.S. The Florida parks reopened in the summer, but the California parks have yet to reopen pending state and local government approvals.

The study upends the conventional wisdom that a transplant’s success improves if it comes from a nearby habitat, as the data showed no connection between geography and survival.

“It flies in the face of what we know from other translocation studies, but lots of genetic variation was hands-down the best predictor of whether a tortoise lived or died,” said UCLA professor Brad Shaffer, a conservation ecologist and senior author of the study.

Climate change increasingly makes relocating threatened species necessary, despite the tactic’s frequently low success rate. UCLA’s research offers a fast, inexpensive new conservation tool to increase survival rates when moving endangered plants and animals.

The researchers sequenced the DNA of Mojave desert tortoises that were relocated around the same time period. They found that survivors averaged 23% greater genetic variation, or heterozygosity, than those that perished.

From 1997-2014, U.S. Fish and Wildlife translocated approximately 9,100 threatened Mojave desert tortoises that were abandoned as pets or pushed out by development. They were relocated to a 100-square kilometer site in Ivanpah Valley, southeast of Las Vegas. The threatened species, native to the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico, is under consideration for endangered status in California.