California lifts coronavirus restrictions on church gatherings
NORA MISHANEC, Chronicle: "California public health officials on Monday lifted capacity limits on places of worship after the Supreme Court ruled Friday that the state could not enforce its ban on indoor religious gatherings.
“In response to recent judicial rulings, effective immediately, location and capacity limits on places of worship are not mandatory but are strongly recommended,” according to the updated guidance posted on the state’s coronavirus website late Monday afternoon.
The guidance recommends that churches, mosques, temples and other religious communities located in orange tier counties like San Francisco and Alameda limit indoor services to 50% capacity with good ventilation and screening for all parishioners."
California consumer confidence back to pre-pandemic levels
JONATHAN LANDSER, OC Register: "California shoppers are feeling the best they have since the coronavirus slammed the economy, two surveys show.
The Chapman University-Claremont McKenna College California Consumer Sentiment Index jumped a record 37% in the first quarter from the end of recession-scarred 2021.
The Conference Board’s California Consumer Confidence Index hot 110.8 for March — up from a revised 96.1 a month earlier and up from 107.5 a year ago. That’s a 15%, one-month gain (fourth increase in a row) and a 3% gain over 12 months. The last time optimism was higher was in February 2020, just before the pandemic throttled the economy."
CA bullet train hopeful over Biden’s infrastructure plan
WILL SHUCK, Capitol Weekly: "State rail officials are taking the glass-half-full view. Rather than lamenting the fact that high speed rail is absent from the president’s infrastructure plan, they’re pointing to supportive statements from Biden and his team, and insisting there’s time before Congress irons out a final deal to claim a share for California’s fast train.
“It’s a lot of money,” Brian Annis, the High Speed Rail Authority’s chief financial officer, said of rail’s piece of the $2.3 trillion plan. “We’re talking $80 billion with a ‘b,’ and I can’t say we know how big our slice is going to be.”
Overall, said Annis, “We’re very pleased with it.”
Break-in at Sacramento Chinese American organization leaves major damage, members shaken
ASHLEY WONG, SacBee: "A break-in at the Sacramento chapter of the Chinese American Soo Yuen Benevolent Association last Monday left the organization’s building with extensive damages and its members deeply shaken.
The Sacramento chapter of the SYBA operates at a building on J Street directly across from Downtown Commons, a location the chapter has called home since 1970. Last Monday, the association’s property manager went to the building to pick up mail when he noticed water leaking from the second floor, according to Eric Fong, SYBA Sacramento president.
When the property manager went upstairs, he discovered a stranger there, Fong said, and quickly ran out of the building to call the police. According to Officer Karl Chan, Sacramento Police Department spokesperson, the suspect was detained by officers and identified as Brian Myers."
Here's every website you can use to book a vaccine appointment in California
AMY GRAFF, SF Gate: "California will open up vaccine eligibility to individuals 16 and over on Thursday, and a rush of millions of residents will be jumping online to find vaccine appointments.
There will likely not be enough appointments immediately available for those who want a shot, and public health officials are asking people to be patient. While you won't have to wait until fall for your vaccine, it make take you days, weeks, even a month or two to get an appointment.
To put this in perspective: There are about 18.7 million Californians age 16 to 49, and while some of those people have likely already been vaccinated because they're health care workers or fell into another category that made them eligible earlier in the rollout, there were still be millions and millions of people who can get inoculated for the first time. Meanwhile, this week the state expects to receive only about 2 million doses from the federal government. Next week, the state is slated to receive 1.9 million doses from the federal government. This number doesn't include doses the federal government distributes directly to pharmacies and other entities, which account for about 30% of available doses in California."
Farmers vs. fish: Tensions rise again in California-Oregon border area water battle
GILLIAN FLACUS, AP via LAT: "One of the worst droughts in memory in a massive agricultural region straddling the California-Oregon border could mean steep cuts to irrigation water for hundreds of farmers this summer to sustain endangered fish species critical to local tribes.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees water allocations in the federally owned Klamath Project, is expected to announce this week how the season’s water will be divvied up after delaying the decision a month.
For the first time in 20 years, it’s possible that the 1,400 irrigators who have farmed for generations on 225,000 acres of reclaimed farmland will get no water at all — or so little that farming wouldn’t be worth it. Several tribes in Oregon and California are equally desperate for water to sustain threatened and endangered species of fish central to their heritage."
California reopens health insurance exchange; federal subsidies could slash premiums for many
ADAM BEAM, AP via LAT: "California has reopened enrollment for its state health insurance exchange, hoping more people will buy coverage now that the federal government is offering new assistance that could lower monthly premiums by $1,000 or more in some cases.
Normally, people can only buy health insurance through the state exchange, known as Covered California, once per year during an open-enrollment period. But last month, President Biden signed a $1.9-trillion coronavirus relief package, about $3 billion of which is coming to California in the form of new subsidies to help some people pay their monthly health insurance premiums. In some cases, people can buy coverage for as little as $1 per month.
The new subsidies are available only through December 2022 to people who buy coverage through a health insurance exchange, which were created as part of former President Obama’s healthcare law. State officials said Monday they would let people purchase plans on California’s exchange through the end of the year."
California Could Phase Out Fracking, Other Oil Drilling Under Bill Headed for First Test in Legislature
TED GOLDBERG, KQED: "Legislation that would gradually phase out fracking and other extraction methods that account for most of California's petroleum production faces its first big test in Sacramento on Tuesday.
The nine-member Senate Natural Resources and Water Committee is set to vote on a proposal, Senate Bill 467, that would bar new permits for hydraulic fracturing, cyclic steaming, steam flooding and water flooding.
The legislation would begin taking effect in 2023 and also prohibit renewing existing permits for fracking and the other targeted methods, which a committee bill analysis says accounts for an estimated 80% to 95% of the state's oil production."
Former sheriff’s deputy sentenced to seven years in prison for leading fake drug raid
ALENE TCHEKMEDYIAN, LA Timesd: "A former Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who orchestrated a fake drug raid to steal more than half a ton of marijuana and $600,000 in cash from a downtown warehouse was sentenced Monday to seven years in federal prison.
Marc Antrim, who was assigned to the Temple City sheriff’s station at the time of the scam, pleaded guilty in 2019 to multiple crimes, including deprivation of rights under color of law and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a news release.
“The seriousness of the crime could not be overstated,” U.S. District Judge Virginia A. Phillips said during a court hearing at which she handed down the sentence, according to the release. She added that the heist eroded the public’s trust in law enforcement."
Thousands of San Diego kids go back to school, finally
DEBORAH SULLIVAN BRENNAN, ANDREA LOPEZ-VILLAFAÑA and KRISTEN TAKETA, Union-Tribune: "Tens of thousands of San Diego-area students returned to classrooms Monday as their districts, some of the largest, were among the last in the county to open campuses for in-person instruction — to a mix of delight and nervousness among parents and educators.
“It was great, excellent, he loves it,” said Lori Kluck of her second-grade son’s first day at Torrey Pines Elementary. “He needs to be around kids. He’s an only child, and being at home was depressing. Walking into school today, there was an energy that was amazing. We’re back baby!”
It has been about a year and a month since schools in San Diego Unified, Chula Vista Elementary, San Ysidro Elementary, Sweetwater Union High and Lemon Grove Elementary districts brought large numbers of students to schools."
California's ArcLight and Pacific Theaters to close for good
LINDSAY BAHR, AP: "Hollywood’s theatrical business may be slowly rebounding but for some exhibitors the last year has been catastrophic. Pacific Theaters, which operates some 300 screens in California, including the beloved ArcLight theaters and the historic Cinerama Dome in Hollywood, said Monday that it will not be reopening.
“This was not the outcome anyone wanted, but despite a huge effort that exhausted all potential options, the company does not have a viable way forward,” a Pacific Theaters representative said in a written statement.
Pacific Theaters also operates the multiplexes at The Grove and The Americana shopping malls in the Los Angeles area."
Placerville City Council will again debate whether to remove noose from city logo
MOLLY SULLIVAN, SacBee: "Placerville’s City Council will revisit a nearly yearlong debate whether to remove the noose from the city logo at its meeting Tuesday.
The issue was first raised last summer when council members discussed removing the noose, a symbol that is associated with the city’s Gold Rush-era name, Old Hangtown.
At that time, violent crimes against miners such as murders and robberies became frequent in the small mining camps along the American River, “and before long, several merchants and miners had lost their poke of gold at knife point,” according to a city website."
Salesforce pushes remote-work option to end of year, but will open S.F. tower offices soon
ETHAN BARRON, Mercury News: "Office software giant Salesforce will let employees work remotely till at least year’s end, it said Monday. The San Francisco firm said earlier that its workers would have the option of working from home through at least the end of July.
However, Salesforce said it would start bringing workers back to its headquarters offices in the city’s tallest building next month. A “phased reopening” process worldwide will see employees coming back to desks as local COVID-safety conditions allow, the company said.
“Offices will gradually reopen from 20% to 75% capacity, depending on the COVID data rating and local guidance,” Salesforce said in a news release. “In this stage, we will welcome both vaccinated and non-vaccinated employees, and we will continue to follow safety protocols and provide testing where possible.”
