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As California’s COVID cases rise, antibody treatments go unused -- Deployment of the free, life-saving monoclonal antibody therapy, which reduces the risk of hospitalization by 80%, has been slowed due to poor communication and administrative coordination, as well as a shortage of facilities equipped to provide the infusion. In some cases, patients may not be aware of the treatment or may be hesitant to use it. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/12/21
How effective are today’s vaccines against omicron? Here’s what we know so far -- Less than three weeks after omicron was identified and given a name, scientists already have the first evidence that the highly mutated coronavirus variant may be better than any of its predecessors at evading immunity from vaccines or previous infection. Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/21
With COVID-19 variants, greater vaccine distribution works better than travel bans -- San Diego State University professor Godfried Asante discusses the benefit of more equitable global vaccine distribution, versus travel bans, in mitigating the development and spread of COVID-19 variants Lisa Deaderick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 12/12/21
Hundreds of people are fired, online learning set to return amid vaccine resistance at nation’s second-largest school district -- The second-largest school district in the United States is facing mounting woes over its coronavirus vaccine mandate, recently terminating hundreds of employees who refused to comply and vowing to put thousands of unvaccinated students into online classes. Lindsey Bever in the Washington Post$ -- 12/12/21
Policy and Politics
Robberies. Drought. Tent Camps. Los Angeles’s Next Mayor Faces a Litany of Crises -- Peter Nichols has lived for 22 years in a two-bedroom Cape Cod in the Fairfax District, in the flat, bungalow-lined midsection between the east and the west sides of Los Angeles. His block used to make him proud, with its neat lawns and palm trees: Crime was low. Streets were clean. When a problem arose — drug use in the park, traffic from the nearby Melrose Avenue shopping district — the city seemed to know how to address it. All that has changed. Shawn Hubler and Jill Cowan in the New York Times$ -- 12/12/21
He was hired to fix California schools — while running a business in Philadelphia -- California’s first superintendent of equity lives in Philadelphia and has a separate job there, more than 2,500 miles away from the schools he advises as one of the highest paid officials in the state Department of Education, according to records and interviews. MacKenzie Mays Politico -- 12/12/21
One year in, Kamala Harris says she won’t be distracted by ‘ridiculous’ headlines -- As Vice President Kamala Harris was about to convene the first White House Day of Action on Maternal Health last week, the internet was obsessing over her distrust of Bluetooth headphones. Her response the next day in her West Wing office: “Really?” Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/21
Kamala Harris has redecorated the VP’s office. Here’s the meaning behind her choices -- A year into the job, the East Bay native has moved into her West Wing office space, sandwiched between the president’s chief of staff and national security adviser. The hallways leading to her space are adorned with photos of her on the job. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/21
Proposed state law seeks to ban freeway expansions in underserved communities -- Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia (D-Bell Gardens) said her bill would prohibit the state from funding or permitting highway projects in areas with high rates of pollution and poverty and where residents have suffered negative health effects from living near freeways. Liam Dillon, Ben Poston in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/21
Will new bacon law begin? California grocers seek delay -- A coalition of California restaurants and grocery stores has filed a lawsuit to block implementation of a new farm animal welfare law, adding to uncertainty about whether bacon and other fresh pork products will be much more expensive or in short supply in the state when the new rules take effect on New Year’s Day. Scott McFetridge Associated Press -- 12/12/21
San Diego street vendor crackdown delayed again, frustrating merchants across city -- Merchant groups in San Diego say the city badly needs a new vending law to address what they say is unfair competition and illegal dumping of trash by upstart vendors in several areas of the city, including downtown, Balboa Park and the city’s beach communities. David Garrick in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 12/12/21
What San Diegans should know about the $160B plan for transit and road charges approved on Friday -- San Diego’s top transportation experts say they have a solution to ever-tightening gridlock traffic that will also curb tailpipe emissions and improve the life of many low-income residents who rely on public transit. The catch: Voters must embrace multiple tax hikes, including per-mile fees on driving, and endure three-plus decades of massive rail, highway and other construction projects. Joshua Emerson Smith in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 12/12/21
Cannabis
Forget the Boston Tea Party. Here comes the California Weed Tax Revolt -- Back in 2016, when Californians were asked to legalize marijuana for recreational use, voters were promised that doing so “will incapacitate the black market.” Obviously, that hasn’t happened. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/21
Water
Here’s what it would take to fill California’s reservoirs and end the drought this winter -- California seems poised for a continuation of its crippling drought next summer. And that might well be the case. It also might flood. Experts who study California’s weather patterns say it’s too early in the rainy season to make any predictions about the state’s water supply. Ryan Sabalow in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/12/21
Street
Sacramento police chief speaks of equity, protests and death threats as he’s set to retire -- The past four years in Sacramento have seen high-profile police killings of unarmed men and mass protests. Crime is on the rise, as it is in many big cities. The city and its police department have adopted significant police reforms, yet some community activists contend city leaders have not been bold enough or invested an appropriate amount in community programs. Rosalio Ahumada in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/12/21
Her husband was killed even after months of frantic police calls. Could it have been prevented? -- The rocks smashing through Melina Armstead’s front window sounded like gunshots. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/12/21
Families paid the ransoms. This Tijuana kidnapping crew is accused of killing captives anyway -- At least three U.S. citizens, including a San Diego man, were killed after kidnappings in 2020, according to a federal indictment in Los Angeles. Kristina Davis, Wendy Fry in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 12/12/21
COVID Economy
While most Bay Area economies floundered in the first year of the pandemic, Santa Clara County’s soared -- Local economists attribute Santa Clara County’s outlier performance to the cluster of high-tech industries that have made it their base. Technology was one of the very few industries that didn’t skip a beat during the pandemic, and many of the larger companies have boasted record profits. Gabriel Greschler in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 12/12/21
Housing
She lived in her car near a Denny’s in Oakland for six years. Her faith kept her going until she landed housing -- During the six years that Delbra Taylor slept in her car outside the Denny’s near the Oakland Coliseum, she often wondered how she would survive. In the winters, she worried she would die from the cold. The 70-year-old prayed each day for a home. Sarah Ravani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/21
Develop
Brookfield team takes sports arena from unremarkable to unmistakable in bid for San Diego site -- Discover Midway advances the idea that San Diego’s aging entertainment venue can be made exciting once again with an exoskeleton-of-sorts that transforms its monolithic style and singular function. Jennifer Van Grove in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 12/12/21
Climate
San Clemente prepares for wave of beach changes with sea-level rise, erosion -- What will coastal towns do when the sea creeps over the disappearing beaches and threatens buildings, roads and infrastructure? One small beach city in south Orange County wants to be prepared. Laylan Connelly in the Orange County Register -- 12/12/21
Also . . .
‘The heartbeat of the city’: Why San Francisco's Cable Car Museum is a must visit for locals -- On a chilly fall morning aboard San Francisco’s Powell-Mason cable car line, operator Tsombe Wolfe hits the break. We stop on a dime, precisely, at the edge of an intersection. I ask him how long he’s been operating the car. “Two minutes,” he jokes, before revealing that he’s been at it for 16 years. Dan Gentile in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 12/12/21
California Policy and Politics Sunday Morning
Gavin Newsom calls for bill modeled on Texas abortion ban to crack down on gun manufacturers -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Saturday he will push for a new law modeled on Texas’ abortion ban that would let private citizens sue anyone who makes or sells assault weapons or ghost guns. Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ Adam Beam Associated Press Shawn Hubler in the New York Times$ -- 12/12/21
COVID
Due to parish worries, S.F. church delays Archbishop Cordileone’s visit after he reveals he’s unvaccinated -- A Catholic church in San Francisco pushed back a visit from Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone scheduled for a Dec. 19 Mass after he recently revealed that he’s unvaccinated. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/21
Beverly Hills firefighters sue over vaccine mandate they call ‘experimental gene modification’ -- It’s the latest salvo in the heated battle between some public sector employees and governments over public health requirements, which have seen workers stage protests and mount legal actions. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/21
Should the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ be changed to include a booster shot? -- For many Americans who scrambled to get vaccinated against COVID-19 as soon as their turn came up, the relief of gaining immunity was just one reward. Achieving “fully vaccinated” status conferred a faint halo of virtue as well. Melissa Healy in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/21
Omicron could become dominant in some European countries by next week, officials predict -- European leaders and scientists warned Friday that the omicron variant could become dominant in some countries startlingly soon, overtaking the delta variant, which has remained the most common version of the virus globally for months. Rick Noack in the Washington Post$ -- 12/12/21
Policy and Politics
Newsom administration to send search and rescue aid to Kentucky after deadly tornadoes -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom approved the deployment of Urban Search and Rescue personnel to Kentucky on Saturday after several deadly tornadoes hit parts of the midwestern and southern United States. Vincent Moleski in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 12/12/21
Walters: Some schools are closing ‘achievement gap’ -- Nearly a decade ago, the Legislature and then-Gov. Jerry Brown overhauled school financing with the declared goal of closing a stubborn “achievement gap” separating poor and English-learner students from their more privileged peers. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 12/12/21
Charlotte Shultz
She was a transplant from a small Texas town. But she became the heart of San Francisco -- It was a beautiful day in 1963 when Charlotte Ann Smith, a slender blonde from a small Texas oil town, landed in San Francisco for the first time. She was 29 years old, a nobody from nowhere, and she hardly knew a soul. But it was love at first sight. “Unless they throw me out of town,” she told herself, “I’m not leaving.” Carl Nolte in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/21
Bakersfield
In Bakersfield, Many Find a California They Can Afford -- Known for both oil and agriculture, the “Texas of California” rises in population as city dwellers seek backyards and shorter commutes. Jill Cowan in the New York Times$ -- 12/12/21
Street
Experts say San Diego case likely first to use conspiracy charges against antifa -- When San Diego prosecutors charged a group of individuals this week with conspiracy to commit the crime of riot, it was believed by experts who study domestic extremism to be the first time nationwide that a conspiracy charge has been used specifically to prosecute alleged anti-fascists, or “antifa supporters” as prosecutors described them. Alex Riggins in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 12/12/21
Man fights back, fatally shoots would-be robber near USC, police say -- The three armed men, all in their 20s, got out of a vehicle in the 1300 block of West 35th Street, west of USC, and approached the other man and attempted to rob him, said Los Angeles Police Department spokesperson Norma Eisenman. But the man resisted and an altercation ensued. When one of the would-be robbers dropped his handgun, the man picked it up and shot him, police said. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/21
Family was in car with toddlers during San Francisco smash-and-grab at Lombard Street -- Kimberly Balde of Chicago was sitting in a minivan, with her young nieces and an adult cousin, near San Francisco's Lombard Street on Monday afternoon when she heard a loud and startling smash. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 12/12/21
Police, prosecutors bugged a Vista courtroom to get evidence against defendants in a murder case -- Defense lawyers say the bugging operation was misconduct. The DA’s office says such tactics are legal -- but will now be prohibited under a new policy. Greg Moran in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 12/12/21
French bulldog stolen at gunpoint in the same neighborhood Lady Gaga’s were taken -- A woman walking her French bulldog was held up at gunpoint Wednesday night by three men who snatched her dog and fled in a car, the latest pet-theft incident near the spot in Hollywood where Lady Gaga’s bulldogs were stolen this year. Alejandra Reyes-Velarde in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/21
Water
State tells San Joaquin Valley agencies that groundwater plans are flawed -- California water officials have alerted local groundwater agencies in farming areas across the San Joaquin Valley that their plans for bringing aquifers into balance don’t adequately address how continuing declines in water levels could cause many more wells to run dry. Ian James in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/21
Merced Irrigation District alleges state ‘water grab’ will hurt residents, asks for support -- As the State Water Resources Control Board moves forward in its plan to divert water away from the Merced River, Merced Irrigation District officials are trying to get the public involved in preventing what they are calling a “water grab.” Madeline Shannon in the Merced Sun Star -- 12/12/21
Also . . .
Mission accomplished: Beth Pratt raised millions for a freeway overpass for L.A. cougars -- On a warm spring morning in 1976, when Beth Pratt was 7 years old, she noticed a “For sale” sign posted in the woods near her home just north of Boston. Louis Sahagún in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/21
Santas return to the streets and bars of San Francisco but in smaller numbers than usual -- SantaCon, the holiday event where people dress up in various versions of Santa Claus outfits and stagger across San Francisco swilling beer and cocktails, was officially on pause for the second year in a row as the coronavirus continues to act like the Grinch and snuff out large festive holiday gatherings. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/21
Lopez: Comfort food confessional: My lifelong quest to find, or create, the perfect chilaquiles -- In the 1980s, when Grace and Tony Lopez boarded a plane in California to visit me in Philadelphia, they traveled with a blue-and-white cooler that contained a most precious cargo. Chilaquiles. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/21
Uber and Lyft too expensive at LAX? You have options -- Bomani Mintz walked out of baggage claim at LAX during Thanksgiving weekend and was greeted with sticker shock. His five-mile Uber ride home to Marina del Rey was going to be $50. Then he noticed the unusually long lines for taxis. Karen Garcia in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 12/12/21
Bay Area animal shelters see surge in unwanted ‘pocket pets’ -- The day before Thanksgiving, eight fluffy angora rabbits appeared in cardboard boxes on the doorstep of Marin Humane’s Novato animal shelter. A few days later, San Francisco Animal Care and Control received a throng of 20 unwanted hamsters. In Vallejo, staff at Ratical Rodent Rescue suddenly became caretakers to 44 guinea pigs, all left in a box in the rescue’s parking lot. Andres Picon in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 12/12/21