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Living with COVID-19: How the virus could turn into the common cold, or something far worse -- As it races around the world, the COVID-19 omicron variant shows tantalizing hints that it could morph into the ideal virus: highly transmissible, to be sure, but tamed by vaccines and milder than previous, sometimes deadly versions. Lisa M. Krieger in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/9/22

How omicron changed the way we view pandemic life -- In the first year, COVID hadn’t touched a single person he knew, but Ranjan Wadhwa was still terrified. When he ventured to the grocery store, he wore gloves and double-masked — and sometimes added a scarf on top of that. Julia Prodis Sulek in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/9/22

Think ‘mild’ omicron is no big deal? Here’s what long COVID symptoms feel like -- People seem to think COVID-19 is a binary — you either die or you get better. (You might even be lucky enough to get better after being asymptomatic.) But there’s actually a third path, which is long COVID. You don’t die, but you don’t get better, either, and are left with debilitating symptoms that might be permanent. Effie Seiberg in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/9/22

L.A. County reports highest one-week coronavirus total of pandemic -- Los Angeles continued to see an Omicron-fueled surge in coronavirus cases Saturday, as staffing shortages necessitated the deployment of California National Guard troops to testing sites and led the state to permit hospitals to relax rules about letting infected workers return to work. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/9/22

California weighs order canceling elective surgeries as COVID surges -- In Los Angeles, a severely ill patient has to wait for a new lung after his transplant, scheduled for last Friday, was canceled. In San Diego, brain surgery to ease the chronic pain of a 7-year-old girl was called off last week. Barbara Feder Ostrov CalMatters -- 1/9/22

Medicine meets emotion: COVID expert shares what happened when his son tested positive -- The retweets, likes and comments lit up for hours Saturday after a well-known San Francisco COVID expert posted an extraordinary story on Twitter. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/9/22

First claim filed over COVID-19 death in San Bernardino County jails -- The first wrongful death claim stemming from COVID-19 in San Bernardino County jails has been filed against the county and the Sheriff’s Department amid a resurgence in coronavirus-related illnesses among inmates. Joe Nelson in the Orange County Register -- 1/9/22

Pregnant with COVID, she survived a nightmare -- Amy Yamaguchi met her daughter when the infant was five months old. That’s because at the time of the C-section birth, Yamaguchi was in a coma and suffering from COVID-19. And that’s just part of the story. Roxana Kopetman in the Orange County Register -- 1/9/22

Labs Limit Covid-19 Test Access as Demand Soars -- Escalating demand for Covid-19 tests is prompting some laboratories to ration access, giving priority to people with symptoms or other health concerns as the Omicron variant quickly spreads. Brianna Abbott, Cornell Watson in the Wall Street Journal$ -- 1/9/22

Policy and Politics  

California 2022 ballot will be heavy on health care -- Voters will weigh whether to overturn a state law that bans flavored tobacco products and will likely consider increasing the cap on medical malpractice awards. They may also vote on proposals that effectively legalize psychedelic mushrooms and regulating dialysis clinics. Samantha Young in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 1/9/22

Garofoli: The face of organized labor in California just got a lot bolder (and more Twitter-savvy) -- Lorena Gonzalez will soon become the face of organized labor in California. So if you thought labor was already a powerful force in California politics, hang on, because it probably will become bolder, louder and more fearless when the 50-year-old San Diego Democrat assumes the leadership of the California Labor Federation later this year after nearly a decade in the state Assembly. Joe Garofoli in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/9/22

Walters: Once again, California auditor finds high-tech failures -- Elaine Howle retired the other day after more than two decades as the state’s auditor but left behind a few reports that cement her legacy as a fierce watchdog of inefficiency and malfeasance in state and local government. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 1/9/22

McManus: The lesson of Jan. 6: Jan. 6 still isn’t over -- Lucky countries have celebrations that remind their citizens of what binds them together — think Memorial Day or the Fourth of July. Unlucky countries do the opposite: They commemorate the divisions that drive them apart. Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/9/22

Sex   

With sexually transmitted infections soaring, California pushes at-home tests -- California has become the first state to require health insurance plans to cover at-home tests for sexually transmitted infections such as HIV, chlamydia and syphilis — which could help quell the STI epidemic that has raged nearly unchecked as public health departments have focused on COVID-19. Rachel Bluth in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/9/22

Workplace  

California farmworkers now get overtime pay after 8 hours. Some growers say it’s a problem -- For years, hundreds of thousands of farmworkers toiling in California’s agricultural heartland weren’t entitled to overtime pay unless they worked more than 10 hours a day. But that has changed due to a 2016 state law that’s been gradually implemented over four years. Nadia Lopez in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/9/22

Street  

Hundreds died in L.A. traffic crashes in 2021. Is Vision Zero a failure? -- Mayor Eric Garcetti’s goal of ending traffic deaths by 2025 looks increasingly unattainable following another year of rising fatalities and injuries caused by motorists. Dakota Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/9/22

Employee killed in shooting at LA Taco Bell drive-thru -- A Taco Bell employee was killed when someone opened fire in the drive-thru lane of the restaurant in South Los Angeles, authorities said. Police are searching Sunday for two suspects, described only as men between 20 and 25 years old, ABC 7 reported. Associated Press -- 1/9/22

Citizens’ review board probe finds misconduct by two deputies in San Diego jail death -- Two San Diego sheriff’s deputies failed to recognize or respond to a jail inmate’s medical emergency after he told them he was having trouble breathing and minutes later he collapsed and died in Central Jail, an independent review has found. Kelly Davis, Jeff McDonald in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 1/9/22

Homeless  

Sacramento spends millions on homeless shelters and services. But is the crisis worse? -- The year started with an outburst from Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg about the city’s failure to address homelessness. It ended in a similar way. In January 2021, the city kept the doors of a downtown warming center closed during the worst night of a major storm, while people lined up outside to get in. Theresa Clift in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/9/22

Nearly 200 homeless people died in Sacramento County last year. What we know about them -- At least 195 homeless men, women and children died in 2021 in Sacramento County, a Sacramento Bee analysis found. That number is significantly higher than the previous record, set in 2018, when 140 homeless people died, according to Sacramento County Coroner’s Office records. Theresa Clift and Nathaniel Levine in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/9/22

Develop  

How Sacramento’s mayor cleared way for construction of multibillion-dollar Aggie Square -- Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg leveraged the trust he built with union and University of California leaders to negotiate a lawsuit settlement that clears the way for a development he described as ‘the single biggest opportunity’ city leaders have to diversify the city’s economy. Cathie Anderson in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/9/22

California Policy and Politics Sunday Morning  

Antiviral pills to treat COVID so scarce they won’t help in omicron fight -- Two newly authorized COVID antiviral pills started arriving at a small number of Bay Area medical centers and pharmacies this week. But supply is so meager that the medications probably won’t make a major impact in the current omicron surge. Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/9/22

LA County COVID-19 hospitalizations jump by nearly 400 — with 34,448 new cases reported Saturday -- With the swiftly spreading omicron variant’s growth showing no sign of relenting, Los Angeles County posted 34,448 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, Jan. 8, with 16 new deaths linked to the virus. Kristy Hutchings in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 1/9/22

L.A. County reports highest one-week coronavirus total of pandemic -- Los Angeles continued to see an Omicron-fueled surge in coronavirus cases Saturday, as staffing shortages necessitated the deployment of California National Guard troops to testing sites and led the state to permit hospitals to relax rules about letting infected workers return to work. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/9/22

More California kids are hospitalized with COVID than ever before, officials say -- California officials say hospitals are admitting children with COVID-19 at an unprecedented rate, mirroring a nationwide trend as the omicron variant continues spreading across the United State. Lara Korte in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/9/22

Gov. Newsom sends California National Guard to COVID testing sites amid omicron surge -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom has activated the California National Guard to help at COVID-19 testing sites as the omicron coronavirus variant surges throughout the state. Vincent Moleski in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/9/22

Yolo County to give out free COVID-19 tests in effort to shorten home isolation period -- Yolo County will begin handing out free COVID-19 antigen test kits to those who have recently tested positive for the coronavirus in order to shorten the necessary period of home isolation and quarantine. Vincent Moleski in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/9/22

Battling misinformation and increasing testing, vaccines: Newsom seeks $2.7 billion for pandemic response -- Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to ask the Legislature to immediately approve $1.4 billion in his state budget proposal as an emergency response to the pandemic, primarily to boost access to vaccines, testing and support for overwhelmed hospitals. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ Maggie Angst in the San Jose Mercury$ Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/9/22

COVID School  

Hayward school district reverts to temporary online instruction to weather omicron -- With more than 500 students testing positive for the coronavirus and teachers present in fewer than half of classrooms, Hayward Unified School District will shut down in-person instruction for at least a week starting Monday and hold classes remotely. Nanette Asimov in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/9/22

Poweless   

Thousands of PG&E customers still without power in Sierra Nevada foothills -- Thousands of Pacific Gas and Electric Co. customers remain without power nearly two weeks after a severe winter storm dumped snow over the Sierra Nevada foothills, knocking down power lines and plunging many in the region into darkness. Vincent Moleski in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/9/22

Policy and Politics  

OC Congresswoman Young Kim tests positive for COVID-19 -- Kim, 59, who represents parts of Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties, said she was feeling fine and that she had received both vaccinations and a booster shot. While she recovers, Kim said she “will be proxy voting as I monitor my symptoms.” Hunter Lee, Caitlin Antonios in the Orange County Register -- 1/9/22

Street  

‘That baby is all of our babies’: Viewing for girl killed by LAPD strikes deep chord -- Tyrone Napper never knew Valentina Orellana Peralta or her family. But when he heard about how the 14-year-old was killed by a Los Angeles police officer while shopping with her mother, he felt compelled to take a 30-minute bus ride Saturday morning to the girl’s public viewing at Angelus Funeral Home in Crenshaw. Cindy Carcamo in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 1/9/22

Climate  

Photos from the king tides show what permanent sea level rise could look like in San Francisco Bay Area by 2050 -- Experts say the king tides help us understand what the impacts of future sea level rise will be, and the photos above and below taken in Mill Valley and Sausalito show roadways and bike paths entirely underwater and water encroaching on buildings. Amy Graff in the San Francisco Chronicle -- 1/9/22

Education  

California education issues to watch in 2022 — and predictions of what will happen -- The 2021-22 school year was supposed to have been a rebound to normalcy, with Covid in the rear-iew mirror. Instead, midway through, the year has been “shock and overload,” with teachers and administrators “working harder and losing ground,” as Mike Kirst, former president of the State Board of Education, put it. John Fensterwald and Yuxuan Xie EdSource -- 1/9/22

High Covid rates, staff shortages and confusing legislation challenge schools' reopenings -- California’s schools are reopening after the holiday break amid a sharp spike in Covid cases and test scarcity, but some school officials are concerned that outbreaks and staffing shortages will make it difficult to stay open in the coming weeks. Diana Lambert, John Fensterwald, and Ali Tadayon EdSource -- 1/9/22

Standardized test scores in California fell during year in distance learning -- After five straight years of gradual improvement, standardized test scores declined significantly last year for many California students, most of whom spent 2020-21 in distance learning. Gaps in achievement between Black and Hispanic students and their white and Asian peers, already wide before the pandemic, expanded in math and English language arts. John Fensterwald and Daniel J. Willis EdSource -- 1/9/22

Also . . .   

Body of 43-year-old skier who went missing on Christmas found near Northstar ski resort -- Rory Angelotta, who worked at a ski shop at the resort, was reported missing by friends after he didn’t make it to a Christmas dinner. He had previously said he was going to ski at the Northstar resort. Vincent Moleski in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 1/9/22

Dog lost during Caldor Fire reunited with family after snowy rescue in El Dorado County -- A dog that got separated from his owner last August as the Caldor Fire swept toward South Lake Tahoe was reunited with him after a skier spotted the canine in deep snow last month, setting off an intense rescue operation. Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 1/9/22