San Francisco Chronicle: Why 20,000 Extra COVID Deaths Are Missing From California's Official COVID Stats
COVID-19 has officially killed more than 90,000 Californians, roughly equivalent to the populations of Santa Barbara and San Leandro. But research suggests the true toll of the pandemic could be much higher, with more than 20,000 “hidden” excess deaths concentrated in the southernmost counties, plus a handful of rural counties to the north. These deaths, according to researchers, are a combination of uncounted COVID-19 fatalities — some deliberately overlooked for political reasons — and deaths from other pandemic-related causes, like gun violence, traffic accidents, overdoses and strained hospital systems. (Neilson, 5/31)

Bay Area News Group: Here's Why New COVID Variants Are Driving Surprise Surge
In its evolutionary fight for survival, the COVID virus is switching strategies: It’s becoming a master at slipping past our immune systems. And that, say experts, is largely why we’re dealing with an unexpected surge. Powered by two mutations, new lineages of the omicron variant — called BA.2 and its more recent descendants BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 — are increasing rates of vaccine breakthrough and reinfection, according to an analysis published Saturday by Trevor Bedford, a virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, who studies the evolution of viruses. (Krieger, 6/1)

Los Angeles Times: New Coronavirus Wave Is Disrupting Lives
A new surge of coronavirus cases is taking shape, as California slogs into a third pandemic summer with far fewer hospitalizations and deaths but still significant disruptions. There are fewer cases of serious illness than occurred during other waves, underscoring the protection imparted by vaccinations, therapeutic drugs and, for some, partial natural immunity stemming from a previous infection. (Lin II and Money, 6/1)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: COVID-19 Infections Possibly Stabilizing In Sonoma County, But Local Transmission Still Widespread
After two months of slow but steady increases in COVID-19 cases, the last few days has seen a stabilization, if not an outright decrease, in the rate of new infections, Sonoma County health officials said Tuesday. For seven consecutive days, average daily transmission dropped from 46.1 new cases per 100,000 residents on May 17 to 38.8 new cases per 100,000 on May 24, the latest county data available. But health officials warn its still too early to declare the end of the latest coronavirus surge. (Espinoza, 5/31)

Orange County Register: Coronavirus: Orange County Reported 2,620 New Cases And No New Deaths Since Friday
The OC Health Care Agency reported 2,620 more cases of the coronavirus between Friday, May 27, and Tuesday, May 31, increasing the cumulative total since tracking began in the county to 571,995. There were 10,847 new cases reported in the last two-week period as of Tuesday, May 31. The county is averaging about 21 new cases a day per every 100,000 residents. (Goertzen, 5/31)

San Francisco Chronicle: Warriors Vs. Celtics: In COVID Surge, How Risky Are Games And Watch Parties?
The Warriors-Celtics face-off in the NBA Finals gets underway this week in the Bay Area amid a sharp spike in COVID-19 cases that could rival this last winter’s omicron surge. But with pandemic health restrictions largely a thing of the past, many Warriors fans will find themselves in at least one of these scenarios: attending a game or official watch party in person at Chase Center, catching a game at a crowded bar or restaurant, or cheering alongside family and friends at a private gathering. (Hwang, 5/31)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Fire Chief Files Wrongful Termination Claim 
Former Sacramento Fire Chief Gary Loesch on Tuesday filed a claim against the city signaling he’s preparing to sue over his termination and alleging top officials deliberately exposed him to COVID-19 after he appealed a disciplinary pay cut. (Clift, 5/31)

The Wall Street Journal: Pulse Oximeters Are Less Accurate Among Black, Hispanic And Asian Covid-19 Patients 
Pulse oximeter measurements among Black, Hispanic and Asian Covid-19 patients were less accurate than measurements for white patients, a study showed, underscoring shortcomings in a critical device used to monitor the disease’s riskiest outcomes. The discrepancies may have led to some patients of color with severe disease receiving delayed or no treatment despite having oxygen levels low enough to warrant it, researchers said Tuesday in a study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. (Mosbergen, 5/31)

Stat: Faulty Oxygen Readings Delayed Covid Care For Darker-Skinned Patients
Undetected low oxygen levels led to delays in Black and Hispanic patients receiving therapies such as the drugs remdesivir and dexamethasone. Widely used pulse oximeters, which measure oxygen levels by assessing the color of the blood, have been under increasing scrutiny for racial bias because they can overestimate blood oxygen levels in darker-skinned individuals and make them appear healthier than they actually are. A 2020 study comparing oxygen levels measured by the devices with readings taken from “gold standard” arterial blood samples found pulse oximeters were three times less likely to detect low oxygen levels in Black patients than in white patients. (McFarling, 5/31)

AP: Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Reinstates Indoor Mask Mandate
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo reinstated indoor masking on Tuesday due to rising numbers of COVID-19 cases. The numbers are not on the order of what was seen during the worst of the winter omicron surge but they are still concerning from a health and safety standpoint, Anthony J. Knight, executive director of public safety, said in a statement. (5/31)

San Diego Union-Tribune: As Cases Rise, Here's What You Need To Know About San Diego Theaters' Mask Mandates 
As the Union-Tribune theater critic, I’m out two to four nights a week reviewing shows, and ever since the state ended its indoor event restrictions on March 25, I’ve encountered a wide and ever-changing variety of COVID policies at local theaters. (Kragen, 5/31)

Los Angeles Daily News: Granada Hills Charter High School Parents Protest Ban On Unvaccinated Students At Graduation 
A group of parents and students at Granada Hills Charter High School rallied outside the campus Tuesday to oppose a policy barring 70 students who aren’t vaccinated against COVID-19 from attending in-person graduation ceremonies on Thursday, June 2.  Not far off, on the school’s football field, hundreds of seniors who have been vaccinated rehearsed for graduation night. (5/31)

NPR: DOJ Asks Federal Appeals Court To Reverse Order Lifting Travel Mask Mandate
The Justice Department asked a federal appeals court on Tuesday to overturn last month's court decision by a federal judge that declared the mandate requiring masks on airplanes and other public transportation unlawful. In a 48-page document filed in the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, the Justice Department argues that the order issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in early 2021 "falls easily within the CDC's statutory authority." Last month, the Justice Department said that it would appeal U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle's decision to strike down the CDC's mask mandate for public transportation if the agency determines the mandate is still needed to protect public health. (Franklin, 6/1)

Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court Decisions Due On Abortion, Guns, Religion
The Supreme Court is heading into the final weeks of a term that may reveal the full impact of its newly dominant conservative bloc. The justices have 33 remaining cases to be decided by the end of June or the first week in July. The issues include abortion, guns, religion and climate change. (Savage, 5/31)

CNN: Supreme Court Roe V. Wade Leak Investigation Heats Up As Clerks Are Asked For Phone Records In Unprecedented Move 
Supreme Court officials are escalating their search for the source of the leaked draft opinion that would overturn Roe v. Wade, taking steps to require law clerks to provide cell phone records and sign affidavits, three sources with knowledge of the efforts have told CNN. Some clerks are apparently so alarmed over the moves, particularly the sudden requests for private cell data, that they have begun exploring whether to hire outside counsel. (Biskupic, 5/31)

FiveThirtyEight: There’s A New Age Gap On Abortion Rights
Americans’ views on abortion have been relatively consistent for years despite massive demographic changes, social upheaval and shifting perspectives on sexuality. But that may be about to change. A new report from the Pew Research Center found that support for abortion rights is considerably higher among young Americans. Roughly three-quarters of 18- to 29-year-olds say abortion should generally be legal, including 30 percent who say it should be legal in all cases. Meanwhile, Americans 65 and older expressed much more tepid support — only 54 percent said abortion should be legal without exception (14 percent) or with some exceptions (40 percent). (Cox, 6/1)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F.’s Chinese Hospital Receives Huge Donation To Expand Care
San Francisco’s Chinese Hospital, a nonprofit health care provider to mostly low-income Chinatown seniors, has received $7 million from the foundation of businessman Charles Huang, representing the largest single donation in the hospital’s 123-year history. The money will be used to renovate electrical and mechanical infrastructure at the hospital’s six-story outpatient building on Jackson Street, which opened in 1979, and to expand services including the laboratory and outpatient surgery, said Chinese Hospital CEO Dr. Jian Zhang. The hospital operates as two buildings — the second one being the eight-story inpatient building next to the outpatient tower. (Ho, 5/31)

San Gabriel Valley Tribune: Doctors At Three L.A. County Hospitals Vote To Strike If Contract Talks Break Down 
More than 1,300 resident physicians and fellows at three of L.A. County’s largest hospitals have voted to authorize an unfair labor practice strike, claiming they work long hours and often earn below minimum wage. Failing a resolution in the coming days, the workers – represented by the Committee of Interns and Residents/Service Employees International Union – said they are prepared to walk out. It would be the first time CIR members have staged a strike in 32 years. (Smith, 5/31)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute Celebrates Four Decades In San Diego 
In 1982, Zach Leigh was among a handful of kids who helped commemorate the launch of Scripps Whittier Diabetes Institute. Forty years later, his 9-year-old hand prints still visible in a preserved chunk of cement set during the institute’s groundbreaking ceremony, nearly everything about diabetes has changed. (Sisson, 5/31)

Voice Of San Diego: San Diego Food Bank Gets A New CEO 
The Jacobs & Cushman San Diego Food Bank has appointed a new leader nearly a year after its longtime CEO quietly and abruptly left the nonprofit at a time of unprecedented need. The Food Bank announced last week that its board selected veteran Food Bank executive Casey Castillo, who has served as the agency’s interim CEO, to permanently lead the organization. (Halverstadt, 5/31)

Sacramento Bee: What Happens If You Don’t Follow The City Of Sacramento’s Food Waste Mandate? 
In an email to The Bee, Jesa David, a spokeswoman for Sacramento’s Recycling and Solid Waste Division, said residents won’t see any consequences for not recycling their food waste properly until after the first year of the waste program. (Taylor, 5/31)

The Desert Sun: Is This California’s Year For A Long-Term Drinking Water Assistance Program?
For 35 days between March and April of this year, Dante Woolfolk went without any running water in his house in Brooktrails, a small town nestled amid the leafy canopies of Mendocino County in Northern California. A spiraling unpaid water bill had led the local water system to turn off the spigot. (Ross, 5/31)

Orange County Breeze: WalletHub Study: 2022’s Best And Worst Places To Raise A Family
With nearly 32% of people who moved last year citing being closer to family as the main reason, the personal-finance website WalletHub released its report on 2022’s Best & Worst Places to Raise a Family, as well as accompanying videos and expert commentary. To determine the most family-friendly places in America, WalletHub compared more than 180 cities across 46 key metrics. The data set ranges from housing affordability to school-system quality to the percentage of residents who are fully vaccinated. Fremont, California, topped the list. (5/31)

Voice Of San Diego: Wastewater Recycling Made Sewage Valuable. Now East County And San Diego Are Fighting Over It. 
The city of San Diego pursued its massive wastewater-to-drinking water recycling program, in part, because the federal government said it had to. Millions of gallons of undertreated sewage enters the Pacific Ocean through the city’s aging Point Loma treatment plant on the regular; Pure Water is the region’s first step toward a solution. But now, a bloc of eastern San Diego County water agencies is building their own recycling project because, they say, the cost of buying imported water from the drought-ravaged Colorado River is unsustainable. The East County Advanced Water Purification Program would provide 30 percent of the drinking water its participating agencies need, agencies that otherwise rely solely on water imported from hundreds of miles away. (Elmer, 5/31)

Bloomberg: Gen Z Prefers Marijuana Or Shrooms To Alcohol
Gen Z, the meme-hungry, gender-fluid generation that’s already reshaping everything from social media to shopping, is also redefining how society unwinds. Of people aged 18 to 24, 69% prefer marijuana to alcohol, according to a recent survey by New Frontier Data, a cannabis research firm. Consumers up to age 44 have a similar stance. But the youngest cohort is of particular interest, because many of Gen Z’s members still don’t have paychecks and purchasing power. Its oldest members, up to age 24, may thus be a leading indicator, given that they already have around $360 billion in disposable income, are just of legal age to spend it on alcohol or marijuana, and will doubtlessly influence their younger peers. (Kary, 5/31)

Axios: Youth Vaping Reversed Declines In Tobacco Use
More than a million teens started vaping from 2017 to 2019, throwing decades of declining tobacco use in reverse, according to a new study in Pediatrics. The popularity of Juul in particular led a new generation of 14- to 17-year-olds to get hooked, although use dropped off after an outbreak of vaping-related illnesses and deaths. "We saw a huge increase in addiction," study co-author John Pierce told Axios. (Dreher, 5/31)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramentans Could Get Help Clearing Their Criminal Records Courtesy Of The Weed Industry
Hundreds of Sacramentans looking to clear their criminal records so that they can find better employment prospects are about to get a little help from the marijuana industry. The California Community Reinvestment Grants Program, which receives funding from cannabis cultivation and excise tax revenue, announced a $450,000 grant to United Core Alliance to support the organization’s criminal record expungement clinics. (Sheeler, 5/31)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Wants To Ban Encampments Near Every School, Daycare
The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday instructed its lawyers to draft a major change to the city’s anticamping ordinance, barring homeless encampments within 500 feet of schools and daycare centers. The council voted 13-2 to draft legal language that would expand its anticamping law to cover hundreds, possibly thousands, of educational facilities. (Oreskes and Zahniser, 5/31)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Sonoma County, Santa Rosa, Petaluma Launch Plans For Tackling Homelessness As Spending On The Crisis Surges
As spending on homelessness in Sonoma County reaches unprecedented levels, governments in the region are trying to coordinate long-term plans for outreach, increased shelter capacity and other services to better tackle the growing crisis. Sonoma County, Santa Rosa and Petaluma are now in the process of drafting what officials hope will be shared frameworks for substantially reducing homelessness over the next five years. (Varian, 5/31)

Voice Of San Diego: ‘It's A Bigger Problem’: A Conversation About Homelessness With The Region’s Leader
San Diego’s latest homeless census found the number of people living on the street and in shelters has grown 10 percent since the last count in 2020. But because it’s a one-night snapshot, experts agree that number is just the minimum. The Regional Task Force on Homelessness tallied 8,427 homeless individuals across the county in late February for its annual point-in-time count. But other data points suggest the scope of the region’s homelessness crisis is much larger. (Wood, 5/29)