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New L.A. County ‘Safer at Home’ restrictions revealed as COVID-19 surge worsens -- With coronavirus cases and COVID-19 deaths surging at an alarming rate, Los Angeles County officials Tuesday began to outline a new limited Safer at Home order aimed at slowing the virus spread while sticking with an outdoor dining ban amid a growing outcry. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money, Jaclyn Cosgrove, Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/20

Coronavirus: Cases, hospitalizations continue to explode in California as state records highest daily death toll in a month -- California has recorded more new cases of COVID-19 in the past 48 hours than any other two-day period of the pandemic, after another day of widespread infections detected across the state. Evan Webeck in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 11/25/20

Officials are shutting down COVID-weary L.A. County again. Is it really necessary? We talk to the experts -- L.A. County is contemplating a new version of a “Safer at Home” order to further discourage gatherings and situations where people from different households interact, which officials say is needed to halt the alarming spike in new cases. Rong-Gong Lin II, Sean Greene, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/20

LA County’s ban on in-person dining will hit low-income workers hardest, experts say -- Los Angeles County’s shutdown of in-person dining will further slow the restaurant industry’s recovery and likely have a disproportionate economic impact on low-income workers, according to experts, though the effects will be less severe than the more expansive closures from when the coronavirus first hit the region in the spring. Hayley Munguia in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 11/25/20

Hope on the way: Here’s what you need to know about California’s COVID-19 vaccine plan -- California is in the throes of another COVID-19 surge — cases are skyrocketing and hospital beds are filling up quickly. On Tuesday, hospitals had 3,300 more COVID patients than at the beginning of this month, state health officials said. Ana B. Ibarra and Barbara Feder Ostrov CalMatters -- 11/25/20

Coronavirus infections are higher than ever, but COVID-19 deaths are not. Why? -- For months, epidemiologists have predicted a spike in COVID-19 cases as winter approaches. Now it appears those dark forecasts were all too accurate. Deborah Netburn in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/20

As pandemic aid ends, California families face brutal new year -- An estimated 750,000 Californians are set to lose federal unemployment benefits the day after Christmas, and 2.1 million could lose their homes weeks later when a statewide eviction moratorium lifts. Nigel Duara CalMatters -- 11/25/20

Airports become a surreal oasis from COVID fears, warnings as determined holiday travelers take flight -- It’s Thanksgiving week at Los Angeles International Airport, and you could almost forget a pandemic is raging, aside from the masks obscuring travelers’ faces. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/20

L.A.'s annual Thanksgiving traffic jam might look a little different this year -- In L.A., nothing signifies the start of the holiday season like those twinkling red and white lights. No, not the Christmas tree kind: the freeway kind. Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/20

We shouldn’t be panic buying again in the Bay Area, but some are. Experts explain why -- Remember panic buying? Those weeks after the coronavirus pandemic erupted in March, when essential consumer items disappeared from shelves, and toilet paper in particular became the hottest commodity in the Bay Area? Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/20

California health chief says all school reopening is local -- California's top health official said Tuesday that school districts still have to decide for themselves when and how to reopen campuses as the pandemic continues, despite increasing calls for Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state to intervene. Kevin Yamamura and MacKenzie Mays Politico -- 11/25/20

Policy & Politics 

How Biden administration could upend Prop. 22 and make Uber, Lyft drivers employees -- Californians voted decisively this month, by more than 58%, to reclassify drivers for companies like Uber and Lyft as contractors rather than employees after the companies spent a record $200 million on Proposition 22. But the federal government may have the last word on the issue. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/20

Newsom communications director Click departs, will be replaced by Melgar -- Nathan Click is leaving his post as Gov. Gavin Newsom's communications director next week to start his own political strategy and communications firm focused specifically on “progressive causes and campaigns,” he told Politico. Carla Marinucci Politico -- 11/25/20

L.A. County moves to create new juvenile justice system focused on ‘care,’ not punishment -- After years of incremental reform, Los Angeles County is moving to dismantle the largest youth justice system in the country in favor of a “care-first” model that would look less like prison and would emphasize emotional support, counseling and treatment. Jaclyn Cosgrove in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/20

3 O.C. cities look to unplug from Southern California Edison -- Three Orange County cities are preparing to pull the plug on Southern California Edison as their electricity procurer and take up the task themselves, a move they say will cut customer rates and hasten the move to clean energy. Martin Wisckol, Alicia Robinson in the Orange County Register -- 11/25/20

San Clemente councilwoman censured by colleagues -- Three San Clemente City Council members voted to censure their colleague, Mayor Pro Tem Laura Ferguson, after a nearly six-hour meeting on Monday, Nov. 23. Erika I. Ritchie in the Orange County Register -- 11/25/20

Wildfire  

Parts of California face Thanksgiving Day blackouts -- Fire season is now year-round in California. Dry, blustery conditions in the forecast for Southern California Thursday and Friday will heighten the risk for fallen or damaged power lines to spark wildfires. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/25/20

California regulators: PG&E’s tree trimming falls short for fire safety -- California’s top utility regulator may force Pacific Gas and Electric Co. to submit to a stricter oversight process that could ultimately result in the company losing its license and being taken over by the state. J.D. Morris in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/20

What are foehn winds? Fires in the Eastern Sierra were fueled by Santa Ana-like gusting -- Strong southwesterly downslope winds fed fires in the Eastern Sierra last week, including one that devastated the town of Walker, near the California-Nevada border. Winds gusted to 40 mph for 12 to 16 hours, according to Marvin Boyd, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Reno. Paul Duginski in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/20

Street  

Police Commission rules fatal shooting of man holding bicycle part was justified -- The Los Angeles Police Commission ruled Tuesday that an LAPD sergeant acted within department policy when he fatally shot a 31-year-old man who was holding a bicycle part that resembled a handgun in Culver City in January. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/20

Are California prison guards covering up misconduct? Lawmaker wants an investigation -- The chairman of the Assembly Public Safety Committee has requested a broad investigation into whether California prison guards are covering up misconduct. On Friday, two former California State Prison-Sacramento prison guards were charged with falsifying records to change details of an inmate’s death in 2016. Wes Venteicher in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/25/20

Gun crime in East Bay cities has police and officials seeking to keep perpetrators off the streets -- Law enforcement officers throughout the East Bay are furiously trying to deal with a shocking rise in gun crimes and a revolving door in the judicial system that releases people arrested in possession of deadly weapons back to the streets. Phil Matier in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/20

California Policy and P  olitics Wednesday Morning  

Coronavirus: California sees record case spike, more counties restricted. Are we behaving ‘selfishly’? -- California moved more counties to tighter restrictions on business and activities Tuesday after the state set new records of daily infections amid a relentless autumn surge that has left health officials pleading with people to avoid Thanksgiving gatherings outside their households this week. John Woolfolk, Evan Webeck in the San Jose Mercury$ Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/25/20

S.F. remains in California’s red tier, even as other Bay Area counties clamp down due to coronavirus surge -- San Francisco did not move into the most restrictive purple tier of California’s economic reopening plan as expected on Tuesday. But public health officials said coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are climbing dramatically and they expect to land there later in the week. Aidin Vaziri and Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/20

San Francisco will keep outdoor dining for now despite COVID-19 surge -- San Francisco will keep restaurants open for outdoor dining when the city moves into the most restricted coronavirus tier, possibly later this week, a city official said Tuesday. Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/20

What happened with SF's expected move into the purple? -- The good news is that San Francisco didn't jump back to the purple tier in the state's reopening plan Tuesday. The bad news is that it's still possible the city will regress into the most restrictive level — and it could happen as early as later this week. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 11/25/20

The winter coronavirus surge is here; Orange County sinks deep into strictest purple tier -- The county’s rate of new coronavirus cases has tripled over the past two weeks in a buildup that public health officials suspect is fueled by “COVID fatigue.” And it is happening at the confluence of flu season and end-of-year holidays. Ian Wheeler in the Orange County Register -- 11/25/20

UC San Diego detects coronavirus in waste water samples from five areas of campus -- UC San Diego says it detected traces of the novel coronavirus in five areas of campus over the weekend after it greatly expanded its search for the pathogen in waste water samples drawn from dozens of buildings. Gary Robbins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/25/20

Policy & Politics 

Prisoners’ fake unemployment claims cost state hundreds of millions, California D.A.s say -- Scammers have made off with hundreds of millions of dollars meant for unemployed Californians using the names of jail and prison inmates, according to district attorneys across the state. Chase DiFeliciantonio and Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/20

California’s ‘dysfunctional’ EDD was unresponsive amid inmate unemployment fraud, prosecutors say -- California prosecutors Tuesday blasted the state’s Employment Development Department as a dysfunctional, often unresponsive, agency that was unable to help much while inmates filed hundreds of millions of dollars in fraudulent unemployment claims. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/25/20

Tobacco industry submits signatures on California referendum to block ban on flavored products sales -- A coalition representing the tobacco industry said Tuesday it has turned in more than 1 million signatures as it seeks to qualify a referendum for the November 2022 ballot aimed at overturning a law banning the retail sale of flavored tobacco products in California. Patrick McGreevy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/20

Sacramento Sheriff’s Office Breaks COVID-19 Enforcement Commitment After Collecting Millions In Federal Relief Funding -- Sacramento Sheriff Scott Jones has backed down from his department’s commitment to break up social gatherings and enforce social distancing to stop the spread of coronavirus — a commitment that helped garner his department millions of dollars in federal COVID-19 relief funds at the start of the pandemic. Scott Rodd Capital Public Radio -- 11/25/20

Walters: Identity politics vs. melting pot vision -- The jousting over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s appointment of a U.S. senator to succeed Vice President-elect Kamala Harris is fast becoming the epitome — or nadir — of identity politics. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 11/25/20

Jerry Brown's Climate Advice to Biden: Rebuild Credibility, Disregard Environmental Advocates -- The man who presided over one of the most ambitious climate change agendas in the world has some advice for Joe Biden, who in a matter of weeks will become president of the only nation in the world to have signed and then left the Paris climate agreement. Kevin Stark KQED -- 11/25/20

A win for ‘OGWOOLF.’ Judge bars California DMV from enforcing personalized license plate policy -- The California Department of Motor Vehicles is now barred from enforcing its policy of refusing personalized license plates that are “offensive to good taste and decency,” after a federal judge ruled that such a policy violates the First Amendment. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 11/25/20

Morain: There’s a front-runner for Kamala Harris’s Senate seat — but Gavin Newsom could surprise us all -- President Trump’s election machinations aside, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) will soon select a Senate replacement for Kamala D. Harris after she is sworn in as vice president. Newsom certainly could use a diversion after L’Affaire French Laundry. Dan Morain in the Washington Post$ -- 11/25/20

Lopez: Should Mayor Garcetti go to D.C. if Biden offers a job? When does the next plane leave? -- If President-elect Joe Biden calls Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and offers him a big job in the new administration, should the mayor go east? If I were Garcetti, I’d already have my bags packed and a Washington condo lined up. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/20

Election  

Pollsters are taking lumps for bad calls in battleground states. Here’s why they’re taking victory laps in California -- Voters in key battleground states fooled pollsters again this presidential election, but in California they did just what the polls suggested they would. John Wildermuth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/20

Street  

LAPD request for $100-million budget increase draws criticism amid city’s fiscal crisis -- Despite growing concern over a ballooning budget shortfall that could usher in sweeping cuts to city services in coming weeks, the Los Angeles Police Department put forward a proposal Tuesday that would increase its operating budget next year by more than $100 million. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/20

L.A. County Sheriff’s department accused of trumped up train-wrecking charges against protester -- The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office has filed charges against a protester for allegedly attempting to wreck a train at the scene of a demonstration against the sheriff’s department — a case where the defendant’s attorneys have accused officials of gross exaggeration in retaliation for protest activity. Leila Miller in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 11/25/20

Video shows forceful arrest of an unarmed homeless man. Did Fresno police go too far? -- Recently released body cam footage shows how Fresno police officers pinned down and arrested a man for trespassing in February as they cleared a crowded homeless encampment on an empty city lot. Throughout the physical struggle, the homeless man said, “I can’t breathe.” Manuela Tobias and Brianna Calix in the Fresno Bee -- 11/25/20

Border 

Massive stash of cartel cash, drugs and ammo seized from Otay Mesa truck yard -- Three Mexican nationals tied to cross-border trucking companies were charged in San Diego federal court Tuesday following the discovery of a massive cache of drugs, cash and ammunitions stockpiled at an Otay Mesa truck yard, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Kristina Davis in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 11/25/20

Biotech   

Genentech wins approval for massive headquarters expansion in South San Francisco -- On Tuesday night, the city council approved Genentech’s massive expansion plan to nearly double its headquarters campus by adding up to 4.3 million square feet over 15 years. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/20

Covid Workplace  

Supermarket employees demand hero pay, protections as COVID-19 spikes -- In front of pictures of essential workers who died of COVID-19, Food 4 Less employees and protestors gathered outside the supermarket in LA’s Boyle Heights neighborhood last week to demand the company reinstitute hero pay and adopt better protections as cases spike across the state. Jacqueline Garcia CalMatters -- 11/25/20

Education 

Declining immunization rates for non-Covid illnesses means some students won’t be able to return to campuses whenever they reopen -- Even as public health officials face the challenge of how to vaccinate all or most people to protect them from the Covid-19 virus, school administrators are having to come up with innovative ways to ensure that students get immunized against more familiar diseases like measles and whooping cough. Diana Lambert and Ali Tadayon EdSource -- 11/25/20

Also . . .   

Bay Area’s commercial Dungeness crab season delayed again to Dec. 16 -- Dungeness crab season is delayed yet again. On Tuesday, the state announced the commercial crab fishing season from Point Arena to the Mexican border would be pushed a second time to Dec. 16 to prevent endangered whales from getting entangled and injured in fishing gear. Tara Duggan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 11/25/20

POTUS 46  

Transition Gets Underway in Earnest as Biden Team Fans Out Across Capital -- On Wall Street, the stock market surged on the news that a robust transition was set to begin, with the Dow Jones industrial average surpassing 30,000 for the first time. Investors appeared buoyed by Mr. Biden’s choice of Janet Yellen, a former chair of the Federal Reserve, to serve as Treasury secretary. Michael D. Shear in the New York Times$ -- 11/25/20

POTUS 45  

Trump’s assault on the election could leave a lasting mark on American democracy -- When President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in on Jan. 20, he will face a fundamental challenge unlike any incoming president before him: Tens of millions of Americans who doubt his legitimacy and question the stability of the country’s democratic traditions — in part because of his predecessor’s unprecedented attempt to set both ablaze before leaving office. Toluse Olorunnipa, Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Rosalind S. Helderman in the Washington Post$ -- 11/25/20

Trump Is Said to Plan Pardon of Flynn -- The expected pardon of President Trump’s former national security adviser, who twice pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I., is said to be one of a string Mr. Trump plans to issue before leaving office. Maggie Haberman and Michael Crowley in the New York Times$ -- 11/25/20

Beltway   

Nearly a sixth of the Senate Republican caucus has tested positive for coronavirus -- As of writing, eight senators have tested positive for the virus, according to data compiled by GovTrack. That’s an 8 percent rate of positive tests, more than twice the national measure. Philip Bump in the Washington Post$ -- 11/25/20