California Policy and P  olitics Wednesday Morning  

Young man with COVID-19 finally leaves the hospital after six months on life-saving device -- More than eight months after COVID-19 put him in a hospital bed, Eduardo Moreno left Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla on Tuesday with his family pushing him through a throng of cheering health care workers. Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/24/21

700 janitors to walk off job sites in S.F. 'We are literally going to strike to stay alive' -- Hundreds of San Francisco janitors who are represented by SEIU Local 87 plan to walk off their job sites citywide Wednesday morning as part of an unfair labor practice strike demanding workplace safety measures, union officials said Tuesday. Lauren Hernández in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/21

S.F. moves to orange: 'Downtown is going to start to come alive again' -- San Francisco lifted a handful of coronavirus restrictions Tuesday as cases continued to drop, and allowed offices to partially reopen for the first time since a brief period in the fall. Trisha Thadani, Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/21

Why experts still warn against indoor dining, even as S.F. advances to orange tier -- Despite indoor dining expanding across the Bay Area and San Francisco entering the orange tier on Tuesday, local infectious disease experts still warn that the activity presents some risk for even fully vaccinated people. One expert said he was even more concerned now than when indoor dining first started opening in early March. Janelle Bitker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/21

'Stranded': Only 85% of Muni service returning by 2022 in struggle to restore lines -- Muni plans to bring back 85% of service by January 2022, as the agency struggles to restore lines while facing hiring and financial troubles after a year of scaled-back service. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/21

L.A. nightclubs exhale as stimulus money and even an end to shutdown appear in sight -- Seven years ago, Candice Fox caught a show at the Hotel Cafe, a tiny singer-songwriter venue in Hollywood. August Brown in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/21

Will cars return to S.F.'s Golden Gate Park? Some supes say to keep it car-free is 'segregationist' -- Two San Francisco supervisors called to reopen JFK Drive in Golden Gate Park to cars to make it more accessible to their constituents of color who live farther away, to the dismay of some advocates who shot down their arguments. Mallory Moench in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/21

California isn’t seeing COVID-19 spikes like New York and Florida. Can we keep it up? -- Despite rising coronavirus case rates in other parts of the nation, California is continuing to see its metrics trend downward. At least for now. Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/21

Transmission rate spike spurs fear of new coronavirus surge in LA County -- There may be enough immunity among vulnerable populations to fuel at least some hope a new surge wouldn’t be as bad, even as transmission rates creep up. Still, health officials urge vigilance in holding the line. Ryan Carter in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 3/24/21

California reaches 15 million shots; equity gap narrowing, state says -- The California Department of Public Health reported Tuesday that about 5.37 million Californians are now fully vaccinated and 4.84 million have one of the required two inoculations. Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/24/21

Can coronavirus vaccines be home delivered? LA County is working on it -- The Board of Supervisors’ action Tuesday directs county departments to assess how it can get vaccine to those who can’t get out to get it. It could utilize programs such as Meals on Wheels, community health workers and key community health advocates. Ryan Carter in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 3/24/21

Riverside County removes public health officer -- Kaiser soon became the target of ire from residents who viewed his mask mandate and businesses restrictions as tyrannical and unnecessary. Members of the public blasted him during two marathon hearings in May 2020, and a parody account arose on Twitter that put a Hitler mustache on Kaiser’s face and called him “the public health fuhrer.” Jeff Horseman in the Riverside Press Enterprise$ -- 3/24/21

Staying Afloat  

L.A. to start accepting rent relief applications March 30 from landlords and tenants -- Los Angeles landlords and tenants can apply for $235.5 million in rental relief funds starting March 30, city officials said Tuesday, outlining an effort to keep tenants housed and enable property owners to pay their bills. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ Elizabeth Chou in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 3/24/21

Policy & Politics 

Jewish lawmakers condemn recall campaign for ‘Adolf Newsom’ and other offensive rhetoric -- California Jewish lawmakers on Tuesday condemned the effort to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom for repeatedly comparing the governor to Adolf Hitler and comparing his coronavirus restrictions to the Holocaust. Lara Korte in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/24/21

Steyer polls the Newsom recall — offering himself as an alternative -- Tom Steyer is polling the California recall. And the billionaire environmental activist and erstwhile presidential hopeful has included his own name among the list of possible contenders to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom, according to three people familiar with the recent survey. Christopher Cadelago, Sam Stein and Carla Marinucci Politico -- 3/24/21

Feinstein revives talks of national ban on semiautomatic weapons after shootings -- On March 12, a judge in Colorado blocked the city of Boulder from enforcing its ban on semiautomatic rifles — the type of firearm police say was used to kill 10 people at a Boulder supermarket 10 days later. Bob Egelko in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/21

Steinberg told he will not be named California attorney general -- Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg has been told by Gov. Gavin Newsom that he will not be California's next attorney general, Capitol sources told Politico on Tuesday. Carla Marinucci Politico Sophia Bollag and Hannah Wiley in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/24/21

QAnon now pushes alarming conspiracy myths targeting China and Jewish people -- Experts on extremism are warning about a troubling shift in the right-wing QAnon movement toward a new vein of conspiracy that blends anti-Chinese and anti-Jewish tropes with fears of vaccines and a global plot to take over the world. Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/21

Workplace  

Parents may be in for a rude awakening as they start to return to work and seek child care -- As some providers closed down and others reduced their capacity in wake of pandemic, competition to secure child care has grown fierce. Linh Tat, Munguia, Theresa Walker, Brian Whitehead in the Orange County Register -- 3/24/21

Workers Get More COVID-19 Sick Time Under Bill Signed By Newsom -- The measure requires companies with 25 or more employees to provide up to two weeks of paid sick time. Workers can use the time to quarantine if they have been exposed to the coronavirus, schedule a vaccine, care for a sick family member, or take care of a child whose school or daycare is closed. Nicole Nixon Capital Public Radio -- 3/24/21

Street  

After raising nearly $900,000, woman attacked in S.F. to donate back to Asian American community -- The family of the woman of Asian descent who was attacked last week along San Francisco’s Market Street says they will donate the nearly $900,000 raised through a crowdfunding campaign “back to the Asian American community to combat racism,” according to her grandson. Michael Williams in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/21

‘From Oakland to Atlanta’ vigil mourns, honors victims of anti-Asian violence -- With flickering candles and folded paper cranes, bouquets of flowers and signs held aloft, hundreds of people gathered Tuesday night in Madison Square Park to express their sorrow over the killing of eight people a week ago in the Atlanta area, including six Asian American women — and to share their resolve that such tragedies must come to an end nationwide. George Kelly, Joseph Geha in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/24/21

Asian widow in Seal Beach gets hate letter days after burying husband: ‘Go back to your country’ -- Days after a Seal Beach widow buried her husband, she got this in the mail — a handwritten, threatening letter marking his death as “one less Asian to put up with in Leisure World.” The note, written on yellow lined paper, referred to “fricken Asians taking over our American community!” and threatened to “Watch out! Pack your bags and go back to your country where you belong.” Roxana Kopetman in the Orange County Register -- 3/24/21

Overdoses keep piling up in S.F., putting city in reach of surpassing 2020 as deadliest year -- San Francisco experienced yet another staggering increase of fatal overdoses last month, a tragic metric that puts 2021 on track to surpass 2020 as the deadliest year in the city’s drug epidemic. Trisha Thadani in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/21

Sheriff Villanueva fights subpoena for his testimony on deputy cliques -- L.A. County Sheriff Alex Villanueva is challenging a subpoena to answer questions about secretive, gang-like cliques of deputies in the department, arguing in a court filing that the request is “too broad” and “harassing.” Alene Tchekmedyian in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/21

San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy shot, suspect wounded after pursuit and gun battle -- A San Bernardino County sheriff’s deputy was shot Tuesday and airlifted to a hospital, and the suspect was wounded by deputies after a pursuit that ended in the desert, authorities said. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/21

LAPD shooting outside Olympic station adds to ‘striking’ cluster of police shootings since last week -- The Los Angeles Police Department is reviewing an unusual cluster of six separate police shootings since last week, the latest of which occurred just outside the department’s Olympic police station Tuesday afternoon. Kevin Rector, Richard Winton, Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/21

Gang member gets 16 years for firebombing Black families’ homes -- A leader of a Latino street gang was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison for a 2014 firebombing that sought to drive Black families out of a Los Angeles housing project. Michael Finnegan in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/21

Fire destroys Long Beach’s rainbow lifeguard tower, a symbol of LGBTQ pride -- Mayor Robert Garcia said he has little doubt the fire was an act of hate. The tower had no power source that could spontaneously ignite, he said. Hannah Fry in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/21

Water  

Drought is real and California is now facing water restrictions -- State and federal water officials have delivered their most dire warning yet of California’s deepening drought, announcing that water supply shortages are imminent and calling for quick conservation. Kurtis Alexander in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Dale Kasler in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 3/24/21

Blackouts  

California scrambles to improve electric grid to avoid summer blackouts -- State agencies and electric utilities are scrambling to shore up power supplies in hopes of avoiding the rolling blackouts that left 800,000 California homes and businesses without power during a record-breaking heatwave last August. Martin Wisckol in the San Bernardino Sun$ -- 3/24/21

Border 

The other Rio Grande: Central American migrants navigate jungle river en route to the United States -- A steady stream of boats packed with Central American migrants navigates a river that delineates the international boundary. Adults carrying babies and holding the hands of young children alight from the craft. Guides baring cellphones point the way into a new country. Patrick J. McDonnell in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/21

Migrant children could arrive at San Diego Convention Center by the weekend -- San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairman Nathan Fletcher said in a press conference outside the Convention Center on Tuesday that the plan was coming together fast. But many details still were unknown, including the number of children who will be sheltered at the venue and the exact date of their arrival. Kate Morrissey, Gary Warth in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 3/24/21

Education 

Public weighs in on racist tweets by S.F. school board member -- San Francisco school board members gathered for the first time, since the rediscovery of racist tweets posted by one of their own, in a meeting attended by more than 1,000 community members looking to weigh in on the scandal. Jill Tucker in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/21

Homeless  

Everything you need to know about the Echo Park homeless encampment -- A large homeless encampment on the banks of the landmark Echo Park Lake has emerged as a flashpoint in Los Angeles’ crisis of how to treat the unhoused. Benjamin Oreskes, Doug Smith in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/21

As prospect of Echo Park Lake closure looms, homeless people mull whether to stay or go -- On Tuesday, homeless people in Echo Park were faced with a decision as an imminent city closure drew near. The choice: leave or hunker down? Doug Smith, Benjamin Oreskes, Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/21

LA County Board approves $10 million, looks to lease buildings for homeless -- Supervisor Sheila Kuehl proposed the new program, in part as a way to permanently house residents living in otherwise unoccupied motel rooms that may not remain available once most Angelenos are vaccinated. Ryan Carter in the Los Angeles Daily News$ -- 3/24/21

Housing  

Southern California home prices reach all-time high in February -- The six-county region’s median sales price jumped nearly 15% from a year earlier to $619,750, according to data from real estate firm DQNews. Sales surged 17.6% from February 2020. Andrew Khouri in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/21

Environment   

Wolf walks 500 miles to farthest south in California in 99 years -- In the latest sign that gray wolves — one of the iconic species of the American West — are continuing to expand their presence back into California, state wildlife officials are reporting that a 2-year old male wolf from Oregon who first entered Northern California two months ago has made it all the way south to rural Fresno County. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 3/24/21

Also . . .   

North Tahoe passes controversial new rules on Airbnb, Vrbo property rentals -- The ordinance, which has been in the works for two years, establishes a permit system for STR hosts, sets property occupancy limits and quiet hours, and emphasizes enforcement on rules about house parties, parking violations and litter. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 3/24/21

L.A. could roll back move to ticket sidewalk vendors who lack permits -- Los Angeles is weighing whether to formally reinstate a moratorium on ticketing unpermitted vendors who sell hot dogs, elote and other street foods on its sidewalks, reversing a decision made in the early days of the pandemic. Emily Alpert Reyes in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 3/24/21

POTUS 46   

Biden Seeks Assault Weapons Ban and Background Checks -- After the second mass shooting in a week, the president said tighter gun laws should not be a partisan issue, but Republicans in Congress showed little interest in Democratic proposals. Annie Karni and Catie Edmondson in the New York Times$ -- 3/24/21