Updating . .   

15 killed in crash involving big rig and SUV carrying 27 people near U.S.-Mexico border -- A collision between a semitruck and an SUV carrying more than two dozen people near the U.S.-Mexico border Tuesday morning has left 15 dead and several others injured, officials said. Faith E. Pinho in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore hospitalized but ‘in great spirits’ -- Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore was hospitalized Monday night after “not feeling well” and transporting himself to a hospital, police confirmed to The Times on Tuesday. Kevin Rector, Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

Californians need higher wages and better jobs, Newsom commission says -- California’s high poverty rate, low wages and frayed public safety net require a new “social compact” between workers, business and government, according to a report by a blue-ribbon commission that highlights the state’s widening inequality. Margot Roosevelt in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

School  

Firm teachers union stance means LAUSD will be slower to reopen than other parts of state -- A huge boost in the number of vaccines targeted exclusively for the Los Angeles Unified School District could lead to in-person classes in the current academic year, but the district won’t bring students back to campus for at least six weeks — a return that also depends on the continued decline of coronavirus infection rates. Howard Blume in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

Bay Area parents worry that classrooms won't reopen full time in the fall. When will normal return? -- It’s been nearly a year since the vast majority of California’s 6 million students have experienced a normal school day, playing kickball at recess, huddling at a table to discuss Shakespeare, or cutting up frogs in science class, and the hope for even a partial return to classrooms before summer is fading fast. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/21

Reopenings   

California poised to allow more business reopenings despite new COVID-19 fears -- More parts of California may be allowed to further reopen their economies this week amid both growing optimism as the last coronavirus wave continues to recede, and swirling concern that new strains of the virus threaten to imperil that progress. Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

Indoor dining, movies and museums can reopen Wednesday in San Francisco -- Indoor dining and other activities that have been shuttered or severely curtailed for more than three months will resume in San Francisco Wednesday morning, as coronavirus cases continue to drop and the city moves into a less restrictive tier in the state’s pandemic reopening plan. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Janie Har Associated Press -- 3/2/21

El Dorado moves to red tier as COVID rates improve across California, Sacramento area -- El Dorado is the second county in the Sacramento area to depart tight purple-tier restrictions, following Yolo County last week. Elsewhere in the state, Lassen, Modoc, Napa, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo and Santa Clara moved from purple to red this week. Michael McGough and Tony Bizjak in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/2/21

Game on: Sacramento County youth sports get the green light from state to play games -- Play ball. Those are the sweet words for Sacramento County youth sports teams Tuesday as the county’s rate of coronavirus cases dropped low enough to allow sports to begin practices and games for the first time in a year. James Patrick in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/2/21

Vaccine  

COVID: Sutter cancelling 90,000 vaccine appointments because of supply shortage -- Sutter Health has had to cancel or postpone about 90,000 coronavirus vaccine appointments across its system because it has not received enough supply, a company spokeswoman said Tuesday. Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/2/21

COVID-19 vaccination sites pop up in San Fernando Valley -- A pop-up COVID-19 vaccination effort kicked off Tuesday in the northeast San Fernando Valley, with the first of three sites opening in Pacoima, officials said. Lila Seidman in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

CVS, Walgreens challenge Newsom’s comments about unused doses in California -- Gov. Gavin Newsom stood in front of local government leaders and lawmakers in Fresno on Friday and told Californians the state had taken swift action to reallocate thousands of COVID-19 vaccine doses from a provider who “was not administering the vaccines quickly enough.” Melody Gutierrez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

COVID-19 vaccine rates in Brentwood, Santa Monica twice as high as poorer L.A. County areas -- New data continue to show that areas of Los Angeles County hardest hit by the pandemic have low rates of COVID-19 vaccinations, while inoculations are the highest in neighborhoods that have been relatively spared the worst of the coronavirus’ devastation. Rong-Gong Lin II, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

Congress is investigating One Medical over its vaccine distribution in San Francisco and other cities -- Congress has launched an investigation into San Francisco-based health care provider One Medical following reports that it disregarded vaccine eligibility requirements in multiple cities, including at least three Bay Area counties. Susie Neilson in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/21

Street  

City Council has a new plan for spending $88 million on L.A. communities of color -- For months, L.A. politicians have wrestled with how to spend tens of millions of dollars cut from the city’s Police Department budget after protests erupted over George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis last May. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

An Asian American family in O.C. was being harassed. Now their neighbors stand guard -- Every night, the neighbors converge on the Si family’s two-story home, which has large windows and an expansive porch adorned with columns. Some sit in camping chairs in front of the driveway. Others keep watch from their cars or patrol the nearby parks. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

Two California residents charged with operating online ‘child pornography group,’ allegedly required new members to submit videos -- Two California residents have been indicted on conspiracy charges in connection with what prosecutors describe as an online group they allegedly created to spread and receive child sexual abuse material, court records show. Nate Gartrell in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/2/21

Homeless  

Homeless people exposed to coronavirus were put in hotels. For hospitals, the move paid off -- San Francisco researchers have found an effective way to help homeless residents suffering from mild to moderate cases of COVID-19: House them in hotel rooms, thus lowering the burden on hospitals deluged with more seriously ill patients. Amina Khan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

Oakland’s top homelessness official steps down, as city struggles with ongoing crisis -- Oakland is losing its top official tasked with managing homelessness, at a time when the city is struggling with an ongoing crisis of unhoused residents living in cars, RVs and sprawling encampments. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/2/21

S.F. could move more than 500 people off streets into hotels - but where they go next is uncertain -- In the latest push to keep people off San Francisco’s streets, the Board of Supervisors is poised to pass an emergency ordinance to move 560 more homeless people into shelter-in-place hotels over the next two months. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/21

EDD  

California’s unemployment call center remains overwhelmed 1 year into COVID -- Trying to get through to the state’s unemployment agency call center remains a grueling, frustrating chore for many people — yet the Employment Development Department has been warned time and again that the system badly needed fixing. David Lightman in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/2/21

Before California’s current EDD scandal, two fraudsters ran their own mini version -- Before California’s $11 billion unemployment fraud scandal broke into the open late last year, Robert J. Maher and John Michael Herron II figured out their own angle to fleece the state of nearly half a million dollars. Sam Stanton in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/2/21

DMV Scam  

Get a text asking for personal info for REAL ID? It’s a scam, California DMV says -- The California Department of Motor Vehicles has issued a warning about a new phishing scam related to REAL ID that seeks to get personal information, such as a driver’s license number, Social Security number or financial information. Andrew Sheeler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/2/21

Sac Soccer  

Sacramento still in running for Major League Soccer. But here’s what has to happen next -- Almost immediately after news broke Friday evening that business investor Ron Burkle had dropped plans to bring a Major League Soccer expansion franchise to Sacramento, the phone calls started to come into leaders of the local effort from potential new financiers. Finding that deep-pocketed investor is vital to Sacramento’s chances of getting back into the MLS picture. Tony Bizjak and Marcos Bretón in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/2/21

49ers

49ers tap team of experts for advice on returning to Levi's Stadium -- The 49ers are exploring ways to return safely to Levi’s Stadium, and announced Tuesday that the football team has assembled an advisory committee of medical experts to offer safety guidelines for its eventual homecoming to Santa Clara. Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/21

California Policy and P  olitics Tuesday Morning  

L.A. nursing home ‘dumped’ residents to bring in lucrative COVID patients, authorities say -- A nursing home accused of illegally “dumping” patients onto city streets and into ill-equipped homes in order to take in more lucrative COVID-19 patients will nearly double its nursing staff, allow increased oversight and pay $275,000 in penalties and costs to settle a lawsuit brought by the Los Angeles city attorney’s office. James Rainey in the Los Angeles Times$ Josh Cain in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 3/2/21

California’s $2-billion school reopening plan: What you need to know -- The plan unveiled by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders aims to incentivize districts across the state to return transitional kindergarten through second-grade students to the classroom by April 1. Taryn Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ Adam Beam Associated Press David Rosenfeld in the Orange County Register John Fensterwald EdSource -- 3/2/21

Bay Area districts cheer California schools deal but will it help them reopen sooner? -- A $6.6 billion reopening plan announced Monday for California schools comes with significant strings attached, requirements that could mean many Bay Area districts might see millions of dollars cut out of their cash windfall. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/21

LA teachers union slams California schools plan as 'propagating structural racism' -- California's largest local teachers union on Monday slammed the state's new school reopening plan as "a recipe for propagating structural racism" hours after Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers unveiled their compromise proposal. MacKenzie Mays Politico -- 3/2/21

Q&A on school reopenings: What you need to know about California’s COVID plan -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers have reached a deal tying public schools’ funding to an April 1 deadline to reopen campuses from coronavirus restrictions. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/2/21

Newsom: Schools that reopen this month to get billions in extra state funds -- Gov. Gavin Newsom set an April 1 reopening deadline for schools if they want to get their share of $6.6 billion in state reopening funding incentives. Those incentives could entice local districts that have yet to set a reopening date and others that already have committed to opening in April or later. Kristen Taketa in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/2/21

With reopenings in gear, Newsom warns virus cases could shift from drop-off to ‘plateau’ -- The darkest days of California’s winter coronavirus surge are shrinking in the rearview mirror, prompting new optimism — as well as continued pleas for vigilance — as the state moves forward with a wider reopening of businesses, as well as schools for in-person learning. Luke Money, Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

Second case of worrisome South Africa variant found in Alameda County -- In both cases, the individuals were residents of Alameda County who had recently returned from traveling internationally, and almost certainly became infected with the variant overseas, public health officials said. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/21

‘Worrisome’ California and N.Y. coronavirus variants raise specter of new outbreaks -- New coronavirus variants that have emerged in California and New York are “worrisome” reminders that it’s too soon to roll back pandemic restrictions, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading expert on infectious diseases. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

San Francisco is poised to move to the red tier. Here's what it'll take to get to orange -- San Francisco is poised to advance from California’s purple reopening tier to red this week, and as cases continue to drop throughout the Bay Area, many in the city may already be looking toward the next step: orange. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/21

When will nursing homes reopen to visitors? State officials won’t say -- COVID-19 cases at California’s nursing homes have plummeted 98% since December. But long-term care facilities say they are waiting for state guidance before reopening to family visits. Barbara Feder Ostrov CalMatters -- 3/2/21

As of March 1, hospitalizations in Orange County down 81%, 14-day cases down 91% from their highs -- The OC Health Care Agency reported 419 patients with coronavirus-related infections admitted to local hospitals as of Monday, March 1. Hospitalizations have continued to decline, now down 81.5% since the Jan. 6 high of 2,259 patients. Jeff Goertzen in the Orange County Register -- 3/2/21

Bay Area coronavirus deaths fall 33% in February vs January -- The virus killed an average of 403 Californians each day in February, a shocking figure that is nevertheless 25% lower than the average number of daily deaths in January, which was 482, according to a Chronicle analysis of county figures. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/21

Vaccine  

California launches new COVID-19 vaccine system. What Bay Area residents should know -- California on Monday launched a new COVID-19 vaccine distribution system operated by insurance giant Blue Shield of California, a shift that state officials say will speed up the rollout of doses and unify a county-by-county patchwork of eligibility standards. But for Bay Area residents, it will take a few more weeks to notice any difference. Maggie Angst in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/2/21

California's vaccine sites don't all require proof of eligibility, leaving room for line jumpers -- When Doug Garfinkel, a San Francisco teacher, walked into Walgreens last week to get his first coronavirus shot, he was surprised no one asked for identification or proof that he was the educator he said he was when he made his appointment online. Catherine Ho, Meghan Bobrowsky in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/21

New COVID-19 vaccine type is on the way, but may not mean people can pick their shot -- With doses of a new vaccine possibly arriving in California within days, health officials are pondering how best to deploy the still-scarce resource – and whether to offer people a choice in the type of shot they get. Alicia Robinson, Teri Sforza, David Rosenfeld in the Orange County Register -- 3/2/21

More than 40% of California prisoners, employees vaccinated for COVID-19 -- More than 40% of prisoners and employees for the state’s prison system have gotten the first round of vaccinations for COVID-19, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials said Monday, March 1. Emily Rasmussen in the Orange County Register -- 3/2/21

What to know as single-dose vaccine from J&J heads to California -- California has in recent days averaged well over 200,000 shots per day in its campaign to mass vaccinate against COVID-19, with supply ramping up by the week and a third vaccine about to become available. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/2/21

Staying Afloat  

‘It just sucks’: America’s jobless owe thousands of dollars in taxes on their unemployment -- “I was so upset. How do I owe over $600 in taxes?” said Rose, 31, who lives in Los Angeles. “I have never been so fearful in my life of how I’m going to pay my bills.” Rose is among millions of unemployed workers facing surprise tax bills, ranging from several hundred to several thousand dollars, and many say they just cannot pay. Heather Long in the Washington Post$ -- 3/2/21

Policy & Politics 

LA City Council will boost unarmed crisis response, universal basic income to reinvest LAPD dollars -- The revamped plan includes $7.8 million for an unarmed team that would respond to 911 calls, and $6 million for a universal basic income program in the 9th council district. Elizabeth Chou in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 3/2/21

Orange County Republicans take aim at California’s bullet train -- Newly elected Orange County Republican leaders are pushing back against funding for California’s controversial high-speed train, even as the state’s rail authority touts progress in creating jobs and building the first stretch of the line. Brooke Staggs in the Orange County Register -- 3/2/21

Too little, too late? Schools deal may not alter Newsom recall politics -- A long-awaited deal to encourage California’s schools to reopen may provide families hope, but it’s unlikely to swiftly improve Gov. Gavin Newsom’s political standing. Jeremy B. White Politico -- 3/2/21

Masks? Global warming? Chapman survey shows OC voters lean left of perception on several issues -- Despite the county’s recent reputation as a hotbed of voters who flout mask-wearing and other social distancing rules, the 2021 Orange County Annual Survey from Chapman University shows seven out of 10 local voters support a national mask mandate, and similar majorities back other science-friendly views on preventing the spread of COVID-19, including ranking public health over perceived short-term economic gains. Andre Mouchard in the Orange County Register -- 3/2/21

Will Gov. Newsom end state worker pay cuts with tax revenue soaring? Here’s what he said -- Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that he will continue to work through the collective bargaining process to restore state workers’ pay after the Finance Department reported tax revenue is running $10 billion above projections. Wes Venteicher and Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/2/21

City Hall corruption scandal: 5 Nuru-linked execs barred from doing business in S.F. -- Five local contractors allegedly implicated in the San Francisco City Hall bribery scandal are now prohibited from doing business with the city, the product of a new anti-corruption rule that allows the suspensions even while the executives’ cases are still winding through criminal court. Megan Cassidy in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/21

Hiltzik: Biden throws a bombshell at Amazon’s anti-union campaign -- Over the decades, America has had some anti-union and some pro-union presidents. But it’s never had one take a stand on behalf of a union organizing drive as forthright and powerful as the statement President Biden issued Sunday. Michael Hiltzik in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

Street  

New lawsuit alleges L.A., Santa Monica, Beverly Hills used curfews to crush legitimate protest -- More than 40 people arrested in Los Angeles County for curfew violations during last summer’s mass protests have alleged in a new lawsuit that the curfews were an unconstitutional and coordinated tactic by the county, several local cities and their police forces to stifle legitimate political speech against police violence. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

Family of mentally ill man sues LAPD over his fatal shooting in Culver City last year -- Family members of a mentally ill man who was fatally shot by Los Angeles police while holding a bicycle part that resembled a handgun in Culver City last year have filed a federal lawsuit against the city of L.A. and the officers involved. Kevin Rector in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

A mother's video of her dying son forces an East Bay suburb to consider police body cameras -- As two Antioch police officers restrained Angelo Quinto on a bedroom floor on Dec. 23, his mother instinctively reached for her cell phone. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/21

Workplace   

Safeway refers online customers to Instacart - union takes issue -- Safeway’s Northern California stores must let their employees’ union see Safeway’s contract with Instacart after it was discovered that the grocer was referring online customers to the company for non-union deliveries, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/21

San Diego pays women, workers of color significantly less than white men, study shows -- The first comprehensive pay equity study of San Diego’s city workforce shows women earn 17.6 percent less than men and people of color earn 20.8 percent less than Whites. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/2/21

School  

Video of Berkeley teachers union chief taking daughter to preschool erupts as flashpoint in reopening battle -- Another Bay Area school reopening controversy spilled over online this weekend when a group of Berkeley public school parents posted a YouTube video showing the president of the district’s teachers union — who they say has delayed schools reopening — dropping his young daughter off at a private preschool. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/2/21

Sacramento Zoom class shows school employee making slant-eyed gesture, disparaging Asians -- A Sacramento school district employee has come under fire after video during a Zoom class showed her making a slant-eyed gesture that is disparaging to Asians. Officials quickly condemned the racist stereotype, which was captured on video last week. Faith E. Pinho in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

Acne mask or blackface? $20 million lawsuit alleges school wrongfully forced out students over viral photo -- Two former St. Francis High School students and their parents are suing the private school for just over $20 million, claiming administrators forced the kids out after they were alleged to have worn blackface in a widely circulated photo. Joseph Geha in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/2/21

School Sports

Orange County high school athletes file lawsuit over state’s indoor sports restrictions -- Two volleyball players, a basketball player, a wrestler and one cheerleader jointly filed for a temporary restraining order, with the the support of their parents/guardians, in Orange County Superior Court on Monday, March 1. They seek an immediate return to competition under the same guidelines used by college or professional sports, San Diego-based attorney Ian Friedman said. Dan Albano in the Orange County Register -- 3/2/21

Education 

California State University faculty seek paid leave for juggling caretaking and online teaching -- Some California State University faculty members are asking for relief from the pressure of teaching online, helping students and their colleagues, while also taking care of their families amid the pandemic. Ashley A. Smith EdSource -- 3/2/21

Develop  

San Francisco Bay: EPA deals setback to Cargill over Redwood City property -- The Biden administration has sided with environmentalists in their long-running battle with Cargill Salt over whether an expansive property on the shoreline of San Francisco Bay in Redwood City can be developed. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/2/21

Also . . .   

Sacramento doctor who appeared on video during surgery pays fine to avoid new court date -- A Sacramento plastic surgeon, whose mid-operation Zoom call before a traffic court judge last week garnered national headlines, quietly resolved his case Monday morning in Sacramento Superior Court. Darrell Smith in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/2/21

U.S. Forest Service inspector charged with steering contracts in exchange for bribes -- An employee of the United States Forest Service tasked with keeping the agency’s vehicles in working order has been charged in federal court with steering nearly $900,000 in maintenance contracts to the owner of an Inland Empire auto body shop in return for bribes and kickbacks. Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/2/21

California prison phone rates to fall under new contract with vendor -- Inmates at California state prisons will save $17 million a year on telephone calls under the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s new contract with its phone vendor. Tony Saavedra in the Orange County Register Nate Gartrell in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/2/21