AP: Supreme Court Halts COVID-19 Vaccine Rule For US Businesses 
The court’s conservative majority concluded the administration overstepped its authority by seeking to impose the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s vaccine-or-test rule on U.S. businesses with at least 100 employees. More than 80 million people would have been affected and OSHA had estimated that the rule would save 6,500 lives and prevent 250,000 hospitalizations over six months. “OSHA has never before imposed such a mandate. Nor has Congress. Indeed, although Congress has enacted significant legislation addressing the COVID–19 pandemic, it has declined to enact any measure similar to what OSHA has promulgated here,” the conservatives wrote in an unsigned opinion. (Sherman and Gresko, 1/14)

California Healthline: Justices Block Broad Worker Vaccine Requirement, Allow Health Worker Mandate To Proceed
The Supreme Court temporarily blocked a federal rule requiring larger businesses to mandate employees be vaccinated or wear masks and undergo weekly testing. At the same time, however, it allowed a federal order that health care workers be vaccinated. (Rovner, 1/13)

The Washington Post: Biden Expresses Dismay As SCOTUS Blocks Workplace Vaccination Mandate
President Biden expressed dismay at the Supreme Court’s decision on Thursday to halt his administration’s efforts to impose a requirement for coronavirus vaccinations or testing on businesses with at least 100 workers. “I am disappointed that the Supreme Court has chosen to block common-sense life-saving requirements for employees at large businesses that were grounded squarely in both science and the law,” he said, adding that he would still push companies to immunize their employees. “The Court has ruled … but that does not stop me from using my voice as President to advocate for employers to do the right thing.” (Jeong and Francis, 1/14)

The Hill: Biden Calls On Employers To Mandate Vaccines Despite Supreme Court Ruling 
President Biden on Thursday appealed to states and companies to require people to get vaccinated against the coronavirus despite the Supreme Court blocking his vaccine-or-test mandate for large employers. ... “As a result of the Court’s decision, it is now up to States and individual employers to determine whether to make their workplaces as safe as possible for employees, and whether their businesses will be safe for consumers during this pandemic by requiring employees to take the simple and effective step of getting vaccinated,” the president said in a statement. (Gangitano, 1/13)

AP: Businesses React To Ruling Against Biden Vaccine Mandate
For companies that were waiting to hear from the U.S. Supreme Court before deciding whether to require vaccinations or regular coronavirus testing for workers, the next move is up to them. Many large corporations were silent on Thursday’s ruling by the high court to block a requirement that workers at businesses with at least 100 employees be fully vaccinated or else test regularly for COVID-19 and wear a mask on the job. Target’s response was typical: The big retailer said it wanted to review the decision and “how it will impact our team and business.” (Koenig, 1/14)

Los Angeles Times: Infant Dies Of COVID, Riverside County's Youngest Death From The Virus 
A Riverside County infant died this week after contracting COVID-19, the youngest person to die in the county after contracting the virus since the pandemic began nearly two years ago, health officials said Thursday. The child, who was less than a year old, was taken to a Riverside County hospital after becoming ill and died, the Riverside University Health System-Public Health said in a release. (Martinez, 1/13)

Modesto Bee: Stanislaus Sets A Record For New COVID Cases 
An update Thursday on the Stanislaus County online dashboard is further evidence the COVID omicron variant is highly contagious. The county posted 1,565 new cases of infection. Those keeping track can mark that down as the record since COVID-19 was first detected in the county in March 2020. The county update Wednesday recorded 802 new cases. (Carlson, 1/13)

Sacramento Bee: Elk Grove COVID Spike Prompts Concern From City Leaders 
Elk Grove is a COVID-19 hot spot, posting some of Sacramento County’s highest infection rates since December and the numbers have only risen in recent days as city officials on Wednesday urged residents to “do better” to help slow omicron’s spread. Nearly 3,000 cases have been logged in the last 30 days in the city’s two largest ZIP codes: east Elk Grove’s 95624 and the 95757 neighborhoods, west of Highway 99, as the virus’ highly contagious omicron variant races through California. (Smith, 1/13)

CapRadio: Omicron Surge Strains Sacramento 
Business owners are not the only ones overwhelmed and burdened by the latest COVID-19 surge. The current increase in cases, the sharpest uptick in Sacramento County since the start of the pandemic, has led to widespread absences, low morale and fatigue in the major social sectors that meet our most basic needs. (Bartolone, 1/13)

CapRadio: COVID-19 Outbreaks At Sacramento County Jails Prompt Emergency Releases 
More than 200 incarcerated people in Sacramento County jails will be released early as another COVID-19 outbreak hits the facilities. As of Jan. 13, 76 people at the county’s main jail have the virus, and another 48 are positive at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center in Elk Grove. That’s a more than 350% increase from Jan. 5, when only 27 people total were positive at both facilities, according to data from the Sacramento County Sheriff’s office. (Hooks, 1/13)

KQED: The Realities Of Getting COVID, From The KQED Hosts Who've Been There
We used to think of breakthrough cases of COVID in vaccinated people as being relatively rare. But the rise of the omicron variant has shown that's no longer the case. We know booster shots help raise your protection against omicron, as public health officials urge everyone eligible for one to get one. We also know that being vaccinated still gives you greater protection against severe hospitalization and death. Still, when a breakthrough case happens, it can be easy to feel surprise and shock. Just ask three of our own KQED hosts. (Blanco and Severn, 1/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Labor Leaders And Legislators Push For Reviving Expanded COVID-19 Sick Pay
For much of last year working people in California could take up to two weeks paid time off if they or a family member were infected with COVID-19, or had to care for a loved one who caught the virus. But the state’s federally-funded COVID-19 supplemental paid sick leave rule expired at the end of September without a replacement, leaving some workers to decide between using regular sick or vacation time or in some cases showing up to work and potentially spreading the virus to put food on the table. (DiFeliciantonio, 1/13)

CalMatters: Will COVID Sick Leave Return To California?
Labor unions and their Democratic allies in the Legislature want to bring back extra paid sick leave for COVID-19. Gov. Gavin Newsom is also proposing to revive supplemental leave in his budget. But as with so much else in the pandemic, it’s not a simple proposition. There’s opposition from powerful business groups. And key details of the leave still must be worked out, including whether companies would get any help to offset their costs. (1/13)

Bay Area News Group: Santa Clara Co.: Amnesty For Work Program Halted By COVID-19
More than 1,600 people who were sentenced to a Santa Clara County sheriff’s weekend work program in the first year of the pandemic, but were unable to fulfill it because it was suspended for safety reasons, have been cleared of their obligations in an act of amnesty by the court. Superior Court Judge Eric Geffon’s order, signed Thursday, removes a limbo status for hundreds of people who whose work sentences were set to begin during the shutdown period. They were still technically on the hook for their sentences even though they had no chance to show up, and after the program resumed, there was no capacity to clear the backlog amid scores of new incoming sentences. (Salonga, 1/13)

Sacramento Bee: Here’s Who Gave To CA COVID Efforts At Gavin Newsom’s Behest 
Six Flags and Facebook are among the private companies that donated to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s coronavirus response efforts in 2021, continuing an explosion in philanthropic giving to California governmental efforts that began in 2020. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the amount of money Newsom has solicited from companies and foundations for charitable or governmental purposes, so-called behested payments, has skyrocketed. (Bollag, 1/13)

Orange County Register: Assembly Candidate, Vaccine Skeptic Benjamin Yu Talks About How COVID-19 Sent Him To ICU 
Assembly candidate Benjamin Yu wasn’t vaccinated when he spent New Year’s in Las Vegas. A week later, when he was back home, the Lake Forest resident was so sick with COVID-19 and his oxygen levels so dangerously low that a local hospital admitted him to intensive care. The previously healthy 39-year-old said he’s lost “weight, stamina and strength” over the past two weeks. Family and friends who helped take care of Yu also have become sick. At times, he said he’s wanted to bump his head against the wall to “relieve the pain and hopelessness.” (Staggs, 1/13)

The Washington Post: Nearly All Teens In CDC-Backed Study Needing Intensive Care For Covid-19 Were Unvaccinated 
Nearly all teenagers needing intensive care for covid-19 were unvaccinated in a study of more than 1,000 hospital patients in the United States. The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine prevented 94 percent of hospitalizations and was 98 percent effective at keeping patients out of intensive care (ICU) or from requiring life support, per the peer-reviewed analysis published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. (Timsit, 1/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Court Upholds California’s COVID Workplace Protection Rules
A state appeals court has upheld California’s emergency workplace rules for COVID-19, which require employers to have prevention programs, provide protective equipment and provide paid leave to employees who have been exposed to the virus. The regulations, issued in November 2020 by the state Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board, were challenged by the Western Growers Association, other farming organizations and the California Business Roundtable, which argued they were unnecessary and overly burdensome for employers. (Egelko, 1/13)

CalMatters: California COVID Rules: Here Are New Ones For The Workplace
Today, as COVID-19 case rates in California have jumped to their highest levels yet — more than six times the peak of the delta variant wave — updated workplace rules are kicking in to better help protect workers vaccinated against COVID-19. The revised rules come from the California Division of Safety and Health — also known as Cal/OSHA — which regulates health and safety in California workplaces. (Gedye, 1/14)

CBS News: Marine Corps Grants Armed Services' First Two Known Religious Exemptions To COVID-19 Vaccine 
The Marine Corps has approved two requests to service members who are refusing the COVID-19 vaccine on religious grounds, marking what are believed to be the first known religious exemptions granted across all the armed services — out of thousands of requests. The religions of the two Marines who obtained exemptions from the Marine Corps are not known. A spokesperson for the Marines said the service could not provide more details for privacy reasons. (Watson, 1/13)

AP: Biden To Double Free COVID Tests, Add Masks To Fight Omicron 
President Joe Biden announced Thursday that the government will double to 1 billion the rapid, at-home COVID-19 tests to be distributed free to Americans, along with “high-quality masks,” as he highlighted his efforts to “surge” resources to help the country weather the spike in coronavirus cases. Biden also announced that starting next week 1,000 military medical personnel will begin deploying across the country to help overwhelmed medical facilities ease staff shortages due to the highly transmissible omicron variant. Speaking at the White House, he said six additional military medical teams will be deployed to Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio and Rhode Island. (Miller, 1/13)

Orange County Register: LA County Will Devise Plan To Stamp Out Fake COVID-19 Testing Sites 
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors wants to prevent phony COVID-19 testing sites from harvesting personal information from people or charging them for what should be a free service. That effort comes amid a surge in demand for COVID-19 screening, and in response to growing concerns from residents about suspicious, potentially illegitimate pop-up testing sites, said Helen Chavez, a spokeswoman for Kathryn Barger, the supervisor who introduced a motion Tuesday that was passed Thursday. (Licas, 1/13)

CalMatters: Free Tests? As COVID Surges, Rapid Results Cost Up To $300 
With the explosion of the highly transmissible omicron variant, more Californians find themselves seeking tests wherever they can find them. State and local testing sites offer free COVID-19 tests but they are swamped, forcing people to seek private pop-up clinics. Quick results often come with hefty upfront costs: Some clinics charge nearly $300 for a rapid PCR test. (Ibarra, 1/14)

California Healthline: What Patients Can Learn With Confidence From One Negative Rapid Test (Hint: Very Little)
Although at-home antigen testing remains a useful tool, experts warn it is often used inappropriately and can provide false confidence for people concerned about safety. (Appleby and Galewitz, 1/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Here’s One Critical Thing To Check Before You Buy Or Use A Rapid Home COVID Test
If you’re among those fortunate enough to have gotten your hands on an at-home COVID-19 test during the omicron surge, pharmacists say it’s a good idea to check the expiration date. Over-the-counter rapid antigen tests have been hard to find in the Bay Area and elsewhere as demand has skyrocketed, with decisions about safety, quarantining and isolation hinging on whether you test positive or negative. (Hwang, 1/13)

CBS News: 5 Places Where You Can Buy A Home COVID-19 Test Today 
For now, the at-home screening tools are still hard to find in stock — many are sold out across brick-and-mortar pharmacy chains and online retailers. If you're looking for a test, read on to learn about five places that offer a range of at-home, rapid COVID-19 tests that are authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration. (Cerullo, 1/13)

Fresno Bee: Is Rate Of COVID Vaccination Increasing In CA With Omicron? 
The raging omicron variant is sending COVID-19 transmission rates to all-time highs in California, breaking records almost daily since the start of 2022. With coronavirus infections as well as hospitalizations soaring, are more unvaccinated California adults getting first doses during the omicron surge than before it began? (McGough, 1/14)

California Healthline: As Omicron Surges, Effort To Vaccinate Young Children Stalls
Just 18% of 5- to 11-year-olds are fully vaccinated, with rates varying significantly across the country, a KHN analysis of federal data shows. Pediatricians say the slow pace and geographic disparities are alarming, especially against the backdrop of record numbers of cases and pediatric hospitalizations. (Pradhan and Recht, 1/14)

Stat: Unvaccinated Pregnant People Are At Higher Risk For Covid Complications
Unvaccinated pregnant people who get Covid-19 are at much higher risk for complications from the disease and death of their babies than their vaccinated counterparts, according to a new study from Scotland. Authors of the population-level study, published Thursday in Nature Medicine, examined data from all pregnant people across Scotland between December 2020 and October 2021 that included information on Covid-19 vaccination status and infection. Almost all of the pregnant people who needed critical care for Covid-19 — 102 out of 104 overall — were unvaccinated. There were over 450 total fetal and newborn deaths that coincided with Covid-19 — all among unvaccinated mothers. (Gaffney, 1/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. School District, Unions Reach Deal On COVID-19 Safety Measures
The San Francisco Unified School District and a number of unions reached a tentative agreement on Thursday over health and safety conditions related to the coronavirus pandemic. School district officials will provide an additional 10 days of sick leave for employees to be taken for “COVID-19 related reasons,” will continue offering weekly coronavirus testing for students and staff at all sites, and provide “high quality face masks,” such as N95, KN95 or KF94 masks to students and staff, the school district announced in a statement Thursday evening. (Hernandez, 1/13)

Sacramento Bee: Yuba City Elementary School Closing Campus Due To COVID 
A Yuba City elementary school is closing for in-person learning due to a large number of COVID-19 infections. Butte Vista Elementary School in a message posted to its website around 8 p.m. Wednesday said the rate of COVID infections at the campus is “escalating” and “warrant(s) a temporary school closure.”(McGough, 1/13)

Southern California News Group: About One-Third Of LAUSD Students Absent This Week
One-third of Los Angeles Unified students have been absent from school, on average, over the first three days of second semester. The nation’s second-largest district, which welcomed students back to campuses on Tuesday, reported on Thursday, Jan. 13, that the average attendance rate for the first week of school was 66.8%, based on preliminary data. (Tat, 1/14)

Orange County Register: School Stress Explodes As COVID-19 Cases Soar 
With winter break over and classes reopened, the current surge of COVID-19 is leading to soaring absenteeism — along with frustration and anxiety — in schools throughout Orange County. While student absences are problematic, schools also are hurt by big numbers of teachers and other staff calling in sick because they’ve got the virus or been exposed to it. The cascading problems have left educators scrambling to fill teaching vacancies and distribute test kits to families — all while trying to keep school as normal as possible. (Kopetman, 1/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Oakland Unified Likely To Push Back Student Vaccine Mandate To Summer
More than 6,000 Oakland school district students are still not fully vaccinated despite a requirement that would remove them from in-person instruction at the end of the month. That’s nearly a third of the district’s students ages 12 and older, a number so large the school board — for a second time — will consider a delay on enforcement of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate. (Tucker, 1/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Restaurateur Donates 10,000 KN95 Masks To Help Oakland Schools In A ‘Very Tough Bind’
When restaurateur Eugene Lee learned that Oakland students had created an online petition last week demanding school district officials provide KN95 masks to help protect all pupils during the omicron surge, he sprang into action. Lee, whose restaurant Noodle Belly is opening Saturday in Oakland’s Fruitvale district, reached out to Mayor Libby Schaaf, who put him in touch with Oakland Unified School District officials. This week, he donated 10,000 KN95 masks to the district and another 15,000 to the city for emergency workers. (Flores, 1/13)

Newsweek: Texas, California And Florida Lead Surge In Obamacare Signups As Deadline Looms
Florida leads the nation with over 2.5 million enrollments. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis voted to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act while in the House of Representatives. California and Texas have the next highest enrollments each with just over 1.7 million. Texas, led by state attorney general Ken Paxton, previously sued to end the ACA. (McDade, 1/13)

AP: As Omicron Surges, HealthCare.Gov Sign-Up Deadline Arrives
People looking for health insurance in the grip of the omicron surge have through Saturday to sign up for taxpayer-subsidized private coverage under the Obama-era Affordable Care Act. ... People who sign up by Saturday will have coverage effective Feb. 1. After Jan. 15, people still looking for coverage will need a specific reason, such as losing a job or a change in family circumstances, to qualify for a special enrollment period. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 1/14)

CNN: Obamacare Open Enrollment For 2022 Coverage Ends Saturday As Interest Surges 
Obamacare is proving particularly popular in GOP-led states that have not expanded Medicaid to low-income adults, including Florida and Texas. The surge in interest in the Affordable Care Act comes as the Biden administration and the Democratic-led Congress have pumped more resources into the landmark health care law. The hefty enhancement of Obamacare's federal premium subsidies, part of the Democrats' $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package enacted last March, is helping drive consumers to sign up for plans. (Luhby, 1/14)

Market Watch: Retiring Early This Year? Look Through Affordable Care Act Plans Now Before The Deadline Saturday
Retirement Tip of the Week: Before the open enrollment period ends on Jan. 15, peruse Affordable Care Act plans to see which will be best for you in early retirement – even if you don’t need to enroll right now. (Malito, 1/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: California’s EDD Freezes 345,000 Disability Claims To Battle Fraud
Some disabled people could get caught in the crossfire as California’s Employment Development Department battles a new wave of fraudsters. EDD has frozen 345,000 claims for disability insurance because of “suspected organized criminal elements filing false (disability insurance) claims using stolen credentials of individuals and medical or health providers,” it said in a statement Thursday. (Said, 1/13)

Los Angeles Times: Lawmakers Move To Tighten Restrictions On Sex-Offending Doctors
Doctors who are convicted of sexually abusing patients would be permanently banned from practicing medicine in California under a bill introduced this week by state legislators. The move comes a month after a Times investigation found that the Medical Board of California had reinstated 10 physicians since 2013 who lost their licenses for sexual misconduct. They included two doctors who abused teenage girls and one who beat two female patients when they reported him for sexually exploiting them. (Dolan, Mejia and Christensen, 1/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Former Doctor For John Muir Health Says Hospitals Put Money Ahead Of Patient Safety, Cites Child’s Death
A former doctor at John Muir Health alleges in a lawsuit that the nonprofit group, which operates hospitals in Walnut Creek and Concord, put money ahead of patient safety and ignored her warnings of surgical dangers which led to illnesses and deaths. Hospital officials denied the allegations made by Dr. Alicia Kalamas in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Contra Costa County Superior Court. (Gafni, 1/13)

The Bakersfield Californian: JJ’s Got The Dot Hosting Blood Drive With Houchin Blood Bank 
JJ’s Legacy’s Got the Dot High School Leadership Program is partnering with Houchin Blood Bank and Me n Ed's Pizzeria for a blood drive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. High school students make up about 20 percent of Houchin’s blood donations and with limited access into schools due to COVID-19, blood donations are greatly needed, according to organizers of the drive. (1/13)

The Bakersfield Californian: CSUB Starts New Kinesiology Scholarship 
Cal State Bakersfield will be offering a new scholarship for kinesiology majors beginning next year, thanks to a donation from retired accountant and former Bakersfield resident Gayland Smith. The Joy Anderson Smith Scholarship, named in memory of Smith's late wife, will be open to juniors and seniors in kinesiology, according to a release from CSUB. The $5,000 scholarship will be available to at least one student each year who has a grade point average of at least 2.7. (1/13)

The Washington Post: The Ethics Of A Second Chance: Pig Heart Transplant Recipient Stabbed A Man Seven Times Years Ago
Leslie Shumaker Downey was at home babysitting her two grandchildren Monday when a message pinged on her cellphone. Her daughter had sent a link to a news article about a 57-year-old man with terminal heart disease. Three days earlier at the University of Maryland Medical Center, he had received a genetically modified pig heart. The first-of-its-kind transplant was historic, saving the man’s life and offering the possibility of saving others. What a great breakthrough for science, Downey thought, reading the headline. Then her phone pinged again. (Johnson and Wan, 1/13)

The New York Times: Doctors Debate Whether Trans Teens Need Therapy Before Hormones 
An upsurge in teenagers requesting hormones or surgeries to better align their bodies with their gender identities has ignited a debate among doctors over when to provide these treatments. An international group of experts focused on transgender health last month released a draft of new guidelines, the gold standard of the field that informs what insurers will reimburse for care. (Ghorayshi, 1/13)

The Hill: UCLA Researchers Come Closer To Finding Possible Cure For HIV 
Researchers at UCLA have inched closer to finding a cure for human immunodeficiency virus by targeting infected cells that could be lying dormant in the body. In a study published in the journal Nature Communications this week, researchers improved upon a method originally developed in 2017 to kill hidden HIV-infected cells using cells that are naturally produced by the body’s immune system. The advance brings scientists one step closer to control or even eradicate the virus, which attacks the body’s immune system. (Migdon, 1/13)

AP: Study: Stronger Evidence Linking Virus To Multiple Sclerosis 
There’s more evidence that one of the world’s most common viruses may set some people on the path to developing multiple sclerosis. Multiple sclerosis is a potentially disabling disease that occurs when immune system cells mistakenly attack the protective coating on nerve fibers, gradually eroding them. The Epstein-Barr virus has long been suspected of playing a role in development of MS. It’s a connection that’s hard to prove because just about everybody gets infected with Epstein-Barr, usually as kids or young adults -- but only a tiny fraction develop MS. (Neergaard, 1/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: PG&E Can Be Held Responsible For Contamination From Former Gas Plant, Judge Rules
A federal judge says Pacific Gas and Electric Co. can be held responsible for any contamination caused since the early 1900s by a manufactured gas plant that the utility’s predecessor company operated near San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square. The Cannery plant was based at the city’s waterfront, above Aquatic Park Cove, from 1898 until 1906, when it was damaged in the San Francisco earthquake. Such plants used oil and coal to produce gas that they supplied to customers, while also generating potential pollutants. (Egelko, 1/13)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Files Lawsuit Over Smell In Dominguez Channel 
Los Angeles County filed a lawsuit Thursday accusing property owners and tenants of negligence in connection with a warehouse fire that sent discharge into the Dominguez Channel last year, causing a sickening odor to linger in the Carson area for weeks and displacing thousands of residents. The county, along with its fire protection and flood control districts, said the warehouse’s owners and tenants knew of fire code and hazardous materials violations before the Sept. 30 fire but did nothing to abate them. It is seeking to recover millions of dollars in costs associated with the investigations, cleanup and public relocation effort, as well as injunctions and civil penalties. (Martinez, 1/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Here’s The Reason For The S.F. Bay Area’s Poor Air Quality Right Now
Air quality across the Bay Area was “moderate” to “unhealthy” Thursday morning due to a high-pressure system trapping pollutants in the air over the region, meteorologists said. The high-pressure system that brought sunny skies and seasonable weather to the Bay Area this week has also made the air stagnant, meteorologists said. A temperature inversion is to blame. (Flores, 1/13)

The Washington Post: The Past Seven Years Have Been The Hottest In Recorded History, New Data Shows 
In the middle of a historically sweltering summer, a NASA researcher stood before Congress and declared the unvarnished, undeniable scientific truth: “The greenhouse effect has been detected,” James Hansen said. “And it is changing our climate now.” The year was 1988. Global temperatures were about 0.6 degrees Celsius (1.1 degrees Fahrenheit) above the preindustrial average. It was, at the time, the hottest 12-month period scientists had ever seen. None of us will ever experience a year that cool again. (Kaplan and Muyskens, 1/13)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Santa Rosa Launches Mental Health Emergency Response Team
Santa Rosa’s long-anticipated mental health emergency response team launched its operations Tuesday. At a ribbon-cutting ceremony outside Santa Rosa City Hall, city officials unveiled the dedicated van for inRESPONSE, a program modeled after Eugene, Oregon-based CAHOOTS and other alternatives to police that cities across the country have piloted in recent years. (Wilder, 1/13)

Sacramento Bee: Newsom Order Letting Nurses With COVID Work Will Kill People 
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s decision to let California hospitals push infected health care employees back to work immediately, without isolation or testing, is akin to pouring water into a sinking ship. We want to help our patients get better — not infect them with a deadly virus. Sending nurses and other health care staff back to work while infected is dangerous. If we get sick, who will be left to care for our patients? (Cathy Kennedy, 1/12)

Modesto Bee: Stanislaus Leaders Must Dial Into Highest COVID Need: Tests 
When COVID-19 vaccines became available a year ago, Stanislaus County sprung into action. Knowing that the surest way to save lives was (and still remains) getting as many shots in as many arms as possible, Stanislaus ignored rigid protocols adopted elsewhere and didn’t even require sign-ups for vaccine appointments. People anxious for protection against the deadly disease showed up in such numbers that TV crews rushed here to capture long lines and to interview those waiting, many in upbeat anticipation. This editorial board praised the county for rising to the moment, for providing exactly what the people — at that time, 65 and older — needed most. (1/12)

Orange County Register: Michael Hiltzik’s Cruel Attack On Kelly Ernby 
On Jan. 10 Los Angeles Times business columnist Michael Hiltzik wrote the cruelest column I’ve ever seen, titled, “Mocking anti-vaxxers’ COVID deaths is ghoulish, yes – but may be necessary.” The URL of the column reads, “why-shouldnt-we-dance-on-the-graves-of-anti-vaxxers.” In the column, Hiltzik gratuitously attacked Republican activist and Orange County Deputy District Attorney Kelly Ernby, who died of the disease on January 4. Although I met her a couple of times, I didn’t know her. By all accounts a wonderful colleague, wife and mother, she didn’t deserve this and other national attacks. (John Seiler, 1/12)

San Francisco Chronicle: 7 Reasons You Really Don’t Want Omicron Right Now
Many of us have meticulously followed the carousel of recommendations: social distancing, isolating after exposure and upgrading our masks. As soon as the boosters were ready, we were waiting in line. As the new year begins, we’re left wondering when we’ll reap the benefits of our compliance. We’re eager to ditch our masks, visit our favorite restaurants and regain a sense of normalcy. Yet now, with the highly contagious omicron variant, we hear that we will all get infected anyway. (Amy Lockwood and Karen Pak Oppenheimer, 1/11)

Los Angeles Times: Two Years In, COVID-19 Is Still A Threat, But There Is Reason For Hope 
We are two years into a pandemic that has killed roughly 5.5 million people globally and altered life in ways big and small. Last January I wrote a column suggesting there was hope for a turnaround because the best medicine available — vaccine — was being pumped into arms everywhere. So where do we stand now? (Steve Lopez, 1/14)

East Bay Times: Let's Have The Universal Health Care Debate In California
Calling the Democrats’ new universal health care legislation “bold” is an understatement. It would be a life-changer for practically every Californian. It also would require by far the largest state tax increase in history. Some powerful opponents will call it “socialist.” But aren’t Social Security and Medicare socialist? And they’re among the most popular government programs in America. (George Skelton, 1/10)

Los Angeles Daily News: What California Can Do To Improve Children’s Mental Health 
California’s children are struggling. Unprecedented levels of toxic stress and trauma stemming from the pandemic have exacerbated a pre-existing crisis in children’s mental health. Even before the pandemic began, rates of adolescent suicide and self-harm were on the rise. Now, nearly two years into the pandemic, social isolation, emotional disconnection, economic stress and COVID’s physical impact have taken a toll on our youth and exacerbated an already critical problem. (Pedro Nava, Sean Varner and David Beier, 1/10)

Los Angeles Times: Bad Bologna In O.C. Jail Should Turn Your Stomach Too
Reports of rotten food served in Orange County jails ought to make you sick. It doesn’t matter whether you’ve ever set foot in jail, or even the county for that matter. Unhealthful, spoiled or otherwise inadequate food in jails is inhumane and degrades not just the people who have to eat it. It is the public’s responsibility to ensure that incarcerated people are not subject to this kind of mistreatment, which will have continuing health consequences. (1/13)

San Francisco Chronicle: Want S.F. To Achieve Net-Zero Carbon Emissions? Don’t Forget To Green The Health Care Industry
The Bay Area has been making important strides on climate action, most recently with Mayor London Breed’s unveiling of a 2021 climate action plan that aims to make San Francisco a net-zero emissions city by 2040. Though laudable, the plan may fall short of achieving its goal if the city continues to overlook the adverse climate impact of one local industry: health care. (Henna Hundal and Gurbani Kaur, 1/10)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Enforcement Of Certain Policies Endangers Public 
The city of Sacramento is increasingly at odds with itself, struggling to balance its code enforcement policies with the agenda of the City Council. The tension over homelessness policies during the past year, which devolved into a community-wide skirmish last month when the council retained enforcement grounds for problematic vehicle encampments, is a clear example of this. As the council’s $100 million homeless plan comes to fruition, code enforcement officials are undermining trust and cracking down on vehicle encampments across the city, despite a lack of new shelter sites. (1/12)

Los Angeles Times: Homeless Encampments' Neighbors Aren't Just Grousing 
One day last month, an RV parked outside Westside Neighborhood School in Playa Vista caught fire and burned to ashes just after 3 p.m., as parents had gathered to pick up their children from school. Less than a week earlier, during the morning drop-off period, a dead body was discovered in an encampment outside the same school. This is the scene in and around Venice, a 3.5-square-mile neighborhood that in 2020 had 1,900 unsheltered homeless individuals, more than any other area in L.A. except skid row. This is the backdrop as we are living our lives, raising our children, trying to care for our neighbors. Our city leaders and “experts” say that the surge of homelessness is caused by housing costs and scarcity, but they do not see what we see. (Soledad Ursúa, 1/13)