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Updating . .   

California revenues soar as rich get richer during pandemic -- At the end of 2020, California had lost a record 1.6 million jobs during the pandemic. Nearly a half-million people stopped even trying to look for work. Business properties saw their value plummet more than 30%. Adam Beam Associated Press -- 2/28/21

Families of prisoners hospitalized with COVID-19 say they’re not notified until too late -- By the time Santos Ruiz heard from the prison doctor last July, his father had been at St. Francis Memorial Hospital in San Francisco for two weeks and on a ventilator. “We don’t think he’s going to make it,” he recalled her saying. This was the first time Ruiz had heard that his father, a 61-year-old inmate at San Quentin State Prison, even had the virus. Leila Miller in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/28/21

Here's which San Francisco neighborhoods have the highest and lowest percentages of vaccinated people -- New neighborhood-level data on vaccinations in San Francisco shows that the area with the highest proportion of doses is Japantown, and the least-vaccinated area is Treasure Island. Susie Neilson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/28/21

These parts of L.A. barely felt the winter coronavirus surge. Here is why they were spared -- In West Hollywood, Malibu and Playa del Rey, infection rates actually fell, or increased much less than elsewhere, according to a Times data analysis of more than 300 neighborhoods and cities across the county. Matt Stiles, Hayley Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/28/21

Spotlight on coronavirus vaccines overshadows furious effort to find new treatments -- 'The quest to save more lives from COVID-19 isn’t even close to being finished,' says the director of the National Institutes of Health. Teri Sforza in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 2/28/21

Policy & Politics 

Newsom expected to value death penalty opposition in a new California attorney general -- Two years after Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered a moratorium on executions in California, he is preparing to appoint a state attorney general from a field of potential candidates that includes some of the state’s leading critics of the death penalty. Patrick McGreevy, Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/28/21

McManus: The dumbest thing Ted Cruz said last week. Hint: It wasn’t about his Mexico trip -- Explaining why he plans to vote against confirming President Biden’s nominee for secretary of Health and Human Services, Cruz complained that Xavier Becerra “has no background in virology.” Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/28/21

Street   

This Oceanside homeless encampment has one rule: Keep it clean -- The row of tents lining a side street near Oceanside Boulevard looks alarming at first sight, and anyone passing by might expect to see the area overrun with the trash and clutter generally associated with homeless encampments. A closer look, however, reveals the area is spotless. Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/28/21

Marines knew infantryman shared extremist content online months before probe, records show -- When Marine Corps leaders first found out a Camp Pendleton-based infantryman was claiming to be chairman of a nationalist organization and was sharing extremist material on social media, they counseled him to leave the group and remove some of his posts but kept him among their ranks and sent him on deployment, recently released documents show. Andrew Dyer in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/28/21

San Diego County supervisors to consider making jail phone calls free -- When Georgina Mercado was arrested in Chicano Park in 2016 and booked into the Las Colinas women’s jail in Santee, her first thoughts were about her children, who were 2, 4 and 6 years old at the time. Kelly Davis in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/28/21

Privacy   

Expansion of LA tracking system to taxis, ride-hailing services stirs privacy concerns -- Los Angeles is quietly expanding a controversial real-time tracking system from dockless scooters to taxis and ride-hailing vehicles with the goal of creating a future-proof tool to digitally manage the city’s rights of way, but critics fear the technology puts passengers’ privacy at risk. Jason Henry in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 2/28/21

Develop  

Despite slowed rent growth, developers keep building new San Diego apartments -- San Diego’s rent growth slowed in 2020 and all it took was a global pandemic. Phillip Molnar in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/28/21

Environment   

Energy company to breed endangered California condors to replace birds killed by turbine blades -- They are among the top goals of California environmentalists: preserving endangered species and replacing fossil fuels with clean energy. Louis Sahagún in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/28/21

Also . . .  

Backlash in Fresno as evangelical church tries to buy Tower Theatre, a bohemian landmark -- At first, few in the neighborhood paid attention to the churchgoers filing into the Tower Theatre on Sunday mornings. Diana Marcum in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/28/21

San Diego civic leader Willie Blair headed campaigns for racial equity -- The Navy veteran with a background in local and national politics headed the Black American Political Association of California. Deborah Sullivan Brennan in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/28/21

Where are Mexico’s disappeared? Many have been in government graves all along -- After hearing that her 44-year-old son had been murdered in downtown Tijuana, Guadalupe Aragón Sosa went searching for him. She gave police a sample of her DNA, but they said they found no hits when they checked it against a database of unidentified bodies. Maya Averbuch, Kate Linthicum in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/28/21

 

California Policy and P  olitics Sunday Morning  

Signs point to COVID-19 vaccines slowing viral transmission, not just disease -- After countless hours spent searching for a COVID-19 vaccine appointment, Elizabeth Kostas is days away from getting her second and final shot. And like many San Diegans, she’s wondering what she’ll be able to do next. Jonathan Wosen in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/28/21

Herd immunity by June? San Francisco must meet this vaccine benchmark for it to happen -- After a sluggish start, San Francisco’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout has picked up in recent weeks. The city reached a high of nearly 6,000 daily vaccinations in mid-February before widespread shortages caused mass vaccination sites like Moscone Center to temporarily close. Susie Neilson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/28/21

California, Bay Area officials hail Johnson & Johnson vaccine authorization -- Gov. Gavin Newsom said California expects to receive “around 380,000 doses” of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine “as early as this week.” Newsom called the authorization “excellent news.” Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/28/21

Blue Shield to roll out new California COVID vaccine system on Monday -- Blue Shield will begin its takeover of California’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution system on Monday with the goal of creating a uniform statewide set of eligibility rules and ramping up vaccination to 4 million shots a week by the end of April. Leonardo Castañeda in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/28/21

Teachers pack vaccine station on first day of eligibility -- More than half a million San Diegans are newly authorized for COVID-19 shots, including police, farm workers and food handlers. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 2/28/21

Small crowd protests outside Dodger Stadium vaccination site -- A handful of protesters demonstrated outside the vaccine distribution site at Dodger Stadium on Saturday, but authorities reported no major issues. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/28/21

A road like no other, in peril like never before -- Highway One at Big Sur has been severed again, this time the result of the new threat posed by fire. Scott Wilson in the Washington Post$ -- 2/28/21

Peninsula teen’s rally against anti-Asian American hate crimes draws hundreds -- Leung was one of hundreds to pour into San Mateo’s Central Park Saturday, rallying in response to racist and violent incidents against Asian American people in the Bay Area that have stirred both anguish and demands for change. Fiona Kelliher in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/28/21

UC Davis Health plans $3.75B, 16-story project at hospital in seismic overhaul -- To meet California’s seismic standards by a 2030 deadline, UC Davis Health System is proposing to replace its current Sacramento hospital buildings as part of a $3.75 billion project that would boast an expanded 16-story tower and five-floor pavilion. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/28/21

One corner in the Tenderloin embodies hope and despair amid S.F.'s fentanyl crisis -- Every morning before sunrise, Damian Morffet arrives at San Francisco’s most distressing street corner. There, at Golden Gate Avenue and Hyde Street, each dawn looks bleaker than the one before. Dealers hawking fentanyl have already staked their territory. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/28/21

Policy & Politics 

Victims rights advocates launch recall effort against newly elected L.A. Dist. Atty. George Gascón -- The recall campaign group held a “victims vigil” outside the Hall of Justice downtown and planned to gather the minimum of 20 signatures required to file a notice of intent to formally begin the recall process next month. About 100 people attended the event, organizers said. Ben Poston in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/28/21

Rep. Devin Nunes misleadingly attacks BART extension as 'tunnel from Silicon Valley to S.F.' -- In the wake of the House’s approval of the $1.9 trillion recovery bill, California Rep. Devin Nunes misleadingly characterized the BART extension in San Jose and Santa Clara, which would receive money as part of the bill, as “a tunnel from Silicon Valley to San Francisco” for “tech oligarchs...who sure as hell don’t need anyone’s money.” Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 2/28/21

Conservatives slam California, challenge Gavin Newsom at national event -- Conservatives are taking aim at liberalism at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida this weekend. The most emblematic of these targets? According to some speakers, it’s California and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Lara Korte and Kate Irby in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/28/21

Walters: State auditor’s office has been on a roll -- State Auditor Elaine Howle has been on a roll lately, repeatedly revealing how state agencies and their programs are falling short — often way short — of performing their declared missions. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 2/28/21

-- Saturday Updates

He shares conspiracy theories and won’t mask up. It got him elected in Huntington Beach -- Tito Ortiz strolled into a Huntington Beach burger shack, steps from the sand on Pacific Coast Highway, as he did every Sunday. But this time, the employee behind the counter at TK Burger told the recently elected mayor pro tem he wouldn’t be served unless he put on a mask. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/27/21

New fears of next coronavirus wave as case declines slow, variants grow -- Federal officials are expressing worry that the decline in national daily coronavirus cases is starting to flatten, as one of the variants, from the U.K., is increasing throughout the nation. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/27/21

‘More people are going to die’: Immigrant detainees wonder when they’ll get vaccinated -- When Ruperto Robles, 60, came down with COVID-19 early last month, he spent days with fever, muscle aches and fatigue, isolated from others at the Yuba County Jail. Andrea Castillo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/27/21

School  

Reopening high schools gets ugly, divisive in Bay Area district where rich and poor mix -- Reopenings of high schools in the Bay Area provide a window into conflicts sure to play out in Los Angeles and other parts of California as more counties move into red and orange tiers. Schools in wealthier areas tend to be more willing — and better prepared — than their poorer counterparts to restart in-class instruction, at least in L.A. County, as The Times revealed in an investigation earlier this month. Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/27/21

Vaccine  

Private schools sought early vaccines with access codes or by claiming healthcare duties -- At least three private schools in Los Angeles County offered their teachers and other staff a way to get COVID-19 vaccinations during a time of limited supplies — one school urging them to use restricted access codes and two others certifying that their staff were responsible for healthcare-related duties. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/27/21

How SoFi Stadium in Inglewood will be used to vaccinate LAUSD teachers -- SoFi Stadium was built as home to the Rams and Chargers, and also as a host to an array of mega-events such as Super Bowls, Final Fours, and the Olympic Games. No one could have guessed the $5-billion venue would play a vital role in combating the COVID-19 scourge. Sam Farmer, Gary Klein in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/27/21

California Democrat asks Twitter, Facebook to ban Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine posts -- California state Sen. Richard Pan, D-Sacramento, is calling on Twitter and Facebook to ban high-profile anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from their platforms as part of a national campaign to encourage vaccination against COVID-19. Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/27/21

Testing  

Rural California county says Newsom-backed coronavirus testing clinic is a ‘boondoggle’ -- A rural Northern California health department says it was handling coronavirus testing just fine until the state got involved. Hailey Branson-Potts in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/27/21

Policy & Politics 

Grenell to discuss potential California governor run with Trump Saturday -- Former acting national intelligence director Ric Grenell is slated to have dinner with former President Donald Trump Saturday evening to discuss his potential run for California governor, among other issues, according to three people familiar with the plans. Alex Isenstadt Politico -- 2/27/21

Conservatives slam California, challenge Gavin Newsom at national event -- Conservatives are taking aim at liberalism at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Florida this weekend. The most emblematic of these targets? According to some speakers, it’s California and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Lara Korte and Kate Irby in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/27/21

As recall threat grows, California Gov. Gavin Newsom shifts his governing style, pushing reopenings -- Throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom has often talked about his desire to reopen schools. It wasn’t until the final days of last year, however, that he introduced a plan to speed up a return to the classroom. Taryn Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/27/21

California may get Kimberly Guilfoyle back, running for public office -- When Kimberly Guilfoyle left California 17 years ago, bound for cable news stardom in New York City, she was a highly-regarded San Francisco prosecutor and the telegenic wife of San Francisco’s Mayor Gavin Newsom. Martha Ross in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 2/27/21

Street  

Ruling over adult trials for teens resonates in high-profile Sacramento slayings -- California’s highest court has upheld a contentious law that barred 14- and 15-year-olds accused of violent crimes from being tried as adults and that loomed heavily over a pair of high-profile Sacramento-area murder cases, ending an emotional legal fight over the statute. Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/27/21

Vanessa Bryant wants to make public names of deputies accused of sharing Kobe crash photos -- Vanessa Bryant wants to publicly name four Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies who her lawyers allege shared “unauthorized” photos of the site of the helicopter crash that killed her husband, Kobe Bryant, their daughter and seven others. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/27/21

Lopez: On Wednesday, his leg was amputated. On Thursday, he was back at work with the homeless -- Those who really know the Rev. Andy Bales, CEO of the Union Rescue Mission on skid row, have come to accept that there are certain things you can’t tell him. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 2/27/21

Sac Soccer

Burkle backs out: Sac Republic fans react to news of teams bid to MLS being in doubt -- The news dump on Friday night that lead investor Ron Burkle would be backing out of the ownership group — leaving Sacramento’s MLS bid in limbo — had fans feeling mixed emotions. Cameron Salerno in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 2/27/21