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Updating . .   

Newsom strikes school reopening deal with California lawmakers -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers struck a deal Sunday that would push school districts to open classrooms to the youngest students by the end of March while stopping short of new requirements regarding vaccines and collective bargaining. MacKenzie Mays Politico Adam Beam Associated Press Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ John Woolfolk in the San Jose Mercury$ Taryn Luna, John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ Sophia Bollag and Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/1/21

LAUSD to get enough staff vaccines to reopen elementary schools; union talks continue -- The Los Angeles school district will get the COVID-19 vaccines it needs by the end of next week to inoculate staff and reopen its elementary school campuses, state and local officials confirmed Monday morning. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/1/21

1.2 million more L.A. County residents can get COVID-19 vaccines starting today. A new phase in the effort to vaccinate Los Angeles County begins Monday as more than 1 million people become eligible for shots and hopes grow that more vaccines will become available across California. Alex Wigglesworth, Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/1/21

Vaccine rollout for farmworkers is fraught with confusion and bad timing -- In the wine region of northern San Joaquin Valley, the coarse spindles of pruned grapevines are sprouting delicate creepers that curl toward wire trellises, and cherry trees are shedding soft pink blossoms. Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/1/21

Two San Diego pastors are lost to the coronavirus, and the grief extends across the border -- When Taurino and Silvia Rivera were laid to rest beneath a California pepper tree on Friday morning, their white caskets were surrounded by their three sons and daughters-in-law and seven grandchildren, members of the church they founded in San Diego and pastors who had grown close to them during their years of ministry. Kate Morrissey in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/1/21

Recall  

People from across the country are funding effort to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom -- Vincent Page was outraged when he heard Gov. Gavin Newsom had banned singing California in churches. “I was just incensed at the overreach,” said Page, an independent contractor from Pattison, Texas, a small town west of Houston. Lara Korte and Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/1/21

Moving On 

Bay Area's migration is real, but Postal Service data shows California exodus isn't -- Despite all the talk of people leaving the Bay Area during the pandemic, only a small fraction of residents have left the state, suggesting that reports of an exodus have been exaggerated, according to a Chronicle analysis of United States Postal Service data. Roland Li , Susie Neilson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/1/21

Cannabis  

No more urine tests: Proposed California law would end most workplace marijuana tests -- A new bill in the Legislature aims to end a still common employment practice five years after Californians voted to legalize recreational cannabis in which private companies require can workers to test for marijuana use. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/1/21

Also . . . 

Learn4Life charter schools in San Diego did not violate state law, appeals court rules -- An appeals court has reversed judgments from two years ago that had ordered five Learn4Life charter school locations in San Diego County to close. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/1/21

Sacramento Republic FC president Gumpert resigns after billionaire backs out of deal -- Sacramento Republic FC president Ben Gumpert announced Monday morning he was leaving the organization. The announcement follows the news last week that billionaire investor Ron Burkle was no longer supporting the team, putting the team’s bid to join MLS in 2023 in jeopardy. James Patrick in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/1/21

‘Close call with death’: Lady Gaga’s dog walker recounts being shot and thanks supporters -- Ryan Fischer, the dog walker who was shot as he resisted being robbed of Lady Gaga’s French bulldogs on a Hollywood street last week, posted a long statement on Instagram on Monday morning in which he described the harrowing attack and thanked everyone for their support as he recovered. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/1/21

This tiny California city has been rocked by corruption scandals. Will charges bring change? -- Ramon Medina spent eight years achieving his small-town political dream and about half of that time tarnishing it. After winning a seat on the Maywood City Council in 2015, Medina was engulfed in scandals. Ruben Vives in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/1/21

 

California Policy and P  olitics Monday Morning  

L.A. County teachers, some essential workers eligible for vaccine starting Monday -- Teachers and workers in child care, emergency services and food and agriculture will be eligible to receive COVID-19 vaccinations in Los Angeles County starting Monday, though officials warn that the pace will be slowed by limited supply. Alex Wigglesworth, Laura King, Chris Megerian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/1/21

Oakland: Rally downtown seeks to push district to reopen schools sooner -- Dozens of parents, students and teachers of the Oakland Unified School District gathered Sunday at Eastshore Park to call on district officials to reopen schools as the spread of the deadly coronavirus pandemic continues to slow. Aldo Toledo in the San Jose Mercury$ Sam Whiting in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/1/21

San Francisco Parents Work to Recall School Board Members Amid Reopening Controversy -- Fed up with the pace of plans to reopen public schools, parent groups are mobilizing against San Francisco’s elected school board, arguing it has given priority to social justice issues over getting kids back in classrooms. Alejandro Lazo in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/1/21

Young athletes are eager to get back on the field after COVID ‘blew everything up’ -- One year after the pandemic canceled sports seasons, new state guidelines may let Little Leaguers and others play ball again. John Wilkens in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/1/21

Farmworkers get coronavirus vaccines at on-site Santa Clara County clinic -- The solution to protecting the farmworkers who feed millions of Americans seemed straightforward for a population that can’t work from home: Bring the COVID-19 vaccine to their places of employment. Elliott Almond, Randy Vazquez in the San Jose Mercury$ Vanessa Arredondo in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/1/21

Social visitation to resume at Rio Cosumnes jail, Sacramento sheriff’s officials say -- Following a moratorium on social visits at a jail near Elk Grove due to a spike in coronavirus cases, Sacramento County law enforcement officials are allowing visitation once again. Vincent Moleski in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/1/21

Education 

California’s failure to diversify community college faculty tied to arcane state law -- At a time of renewed focus on race and equity across academia, the nation’s largest higher-education system is saddled with a byzantine and failing strategy to diversify its teaching ranks to more closely reflect its student body. Thomas Peele and Daniel J. Willis EdSource -- 3/1/21

California parents continue to disagree on return to school as Covid-19 cases decline -- As more California school districts reopen campuses, many are finding themselves in the middle of a contentious debate among parents over safety and other priorities. Sydney Johnson EdSource -- 3/1/21

Policy & Politics 

Photo shows Newsom visited restaurant with actor George Lopez. Did he break COVID dine-in rules? -- According to a spokesperson for the governor, Newsom did not dine at the restaurant. Instead, he visited Los Amigos to highlight a small business that was receiving some financial relief as part of the governor’s $2 billion business grants for small businesses negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Bryant-Jon Anteola in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/1/21

Work from Home  

Pay Cuts, Taxes, Child Care: What Another Year of Remote Work Will Look Like -- Facebook considered tracking its employees. Lyft is making some workers move before April. Here’s how big companies are wrestling with thorny work-from-home issues. Chip Cutter and Emily Glazer in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 3/1/21

Marines  

Marines knew infantryman shared extremist content online months before investigation, records show -- When Marine Corps leaders first found out a Camp Pendleton-based inand fantryman 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 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$ -- 3/1/21

Homeless  

Smith: Why not use pandemic-emptied buildings as homeless shelters? One woman is trying -- “Mama. That’s what they call me.” Rose Rios lets her words trail off to wave at a man approaching her Mid-City home. His name is Salvador, and he’s one of the many Angelenos she has helped get off the streets and into housing as the founder of Cover the Homeless Ministry. Erika D. Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/1/21

Climate   

Rainy season peters out in another moisture-starved year for S.F. -- A too-dry February left San Francisco with only 38% of normal rainfall for the month, and forecasters say residents should get used to it: With the wet season ending, it’s almost impossible to see the water year ending with anything close to a normal soaking. Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/1/21

Housing  

Bay Area cities want to end single-family home zoning, but will it create more housing? -- The national movement to eliminate exclusionary single-family zoning is picking up steam in the Bay Area as cities explore the benefits of getting rid of a land use policy designed to keep people of color and working class families out of certain neighborhoods. J.K. Dineen in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/1/21

Environment   

Lawsuit looks to block dismantlement of San Onofre nuclear plant -- An advocacy group based in Del Mar is taking the California Coastal Commission to court, looking to stop the dismantlement work underway at the now-shuttered San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station. Rob Nikolewski in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/1/21

Also . . .   

Two stealth fighter jets, long retired, seen flying over California -- One of the world's most reclusive aircraft is back in the air: A pair of F-117 Nighthawks, retired since 2008, have been seen flying in the Los Angeles area in recent days. Katie Dowd in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 3/1/21

-- Sunday Updates

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