Los Angeles Times: Jobs Report: Coronavirus Sends Unemployment Rate To 14.7%
The U.S. economy suffered its biggest labor market shock on record last month, as government figures released Friday showed the COVID-19 pandemic erased 20.5 million jobs and sent the nation’s unemployment rate to 14.7%, the highest since at least the 1940s. As recently as February, the United States had enjoyed record economic expansion and the lowest unemployment in half a century, 3.5%. Not only is that gone, but more bad news is almost certain in the weeks and months ahead. (Lee, 5/8)

KQED: Does California Need A Defense Production Act For Medical Supplies?
Governor Gavin Newsom called the scramble for supplies "The wild, wild, west"— a months-long free-for-all by state and local governments to purchase protective equipment, ventilators and testing supplies needed on the front lines of the fight against COVID-19. A lack of coordination by the federal government left states like California on their own to negotiate contracts for goods desperately needed to protect health care workers and safeguard the re-opening of businesses as the world attempts to respond to a global pandemic. (Marzorati, 5/7)

CalMatters: Lawmakers Want Details Of Blue Flame, Other Mask Contracts 
California lawmakers plan to probe why state officials wired half a billion dollars for masks to a medical supply company that had existed for just three days, and want to know what’s changed in the state’s vetting process since the deal collapsed. “We really need to ensure that there are appropriate controls in place and that we are spending California’s tax dollars efficiently and responsibly,” said Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris, a Laguna Beach Democrat. (Rosenhall, 5/7)

San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF Medical Workers Question Federal Distribution Of COVID-19 Medicine 
The distribution of a promising drug by the federal government to hospitals with COVID-19 patients has raised hackles among medical professionals after UCSF and many other medical centers with critical patients weren’t given a single dose. The experimental drug, remdesivir, reduced coronavirus symptoms in clinical trials and was approved last week by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under what is called an emergency use authorization, but only two of the 25 medical centers that got the drug were in California. (Fimrite and Morris, 5/7)

The Associated Press: Masks To Become Part Of Life In California, But Rules Vary
For Californians venturing outside, donning a mask will be as common as putting on a cap or sunglasses when the state begins gradually easing stay-at-home orders on Friday. But rules about face coverings vary from county to county, and it’s unclear what enforcement might look like. Masks have been ubiquitous at essential businesses like grocery stores and medical clinics since the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. On the sidewalks of dense cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, people have been wearing masks for weeks, giving wide berth to the small number of others whose faces aren’t covered. (Weber, 5/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: Anti-Mask League: San Francisco Had Its Own Shutdown Protests During 1918 Pandemic
Even before the mandatory order was approved by supervisors on Oct. 24, 1918, The Chronicle reported, 4 out of 5 citizens were already wearing face coverings on the streets. “A week ago I laughed at the idea of the mask,“ local Red Cross Chairman John A. Britton told a reporter. “I wanted to be independent. I did not realize that the cost of such independence was the lives of others.” (Hartlaub, 5/8)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Protests Show U.S. Racial And Political Tension
The crowds protesting California’s stay-at-home orders aimed at stopping the spread of the novel coronavirus have a litany of grievances: Open the beaches. Free the churches. End the tyranny of a governor who has gone too far. They hop barricades to surf. They cite the Constitution. They wave American flags. They sport Trump 2020 gear. They rail against vaccines. In other states, including Michigan, protesters have shown up at government buildings carrying rifles. (Branson-Potts, Chabria, Campa and Vega, 5/8)

Los Angeles Times: Nomads Canteen Leads Orange County's Stay-At-Home Resistance
When Jeff Gourley welcomed diners into his San Clemente restaurant, Nomads Canteen, last week for the first time since mid-March, the response was so overwhelming that he quickly ran out of food — and had to close again. Gourley made attempts to socially distance customers by spreading out tables inside and having patrons wait on the restaurant’s sunny deck. But the eatery quickly filled with customers eager to get out of the house and return to some sense of normalcy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (Fry, 5/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: Coronavirus: Price-Gouging Charges Filed Against Grocery Store In Alameda County 
Prosecutors charged a Pleasanton grocery store owner with nine misdemeanor counts of price gouging on Thursday after the store allegedly increased the cost of certain food items by as much as 300% during the coronavirus emergency. The charges, filed against grocery store Apna Bazar in a joint complaint by Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley and California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, mark the first price gouging case in Alameda County. (Cassidy, 5/7)

San Francisco Chronicle: Testing, Tracing And Homeless Housing: What California Counties Must Do To Reopen 
California counties that want to go further than the state in reopening their local economies must meet testing benchmarks, be able to handle a hospital surge and have had no coronavirus deaths for 14 days, under rules that state officials laid out Thursday. Gov. Gavin Newsom said local governments would be able to ask the state public health director next week to let some businesses, including sit-down restaurants, reopen for more than the curbside pickups he is allowing in the first stage of his phased reopening. That stage begins Friday, although only two Bay Area counties are going ahead immediately. (Koseff, 5/7)

San Francisco Chronicle: Solano County Allows ‘Low-Risk’ Businesses To Reopen Friday 
Retailers, manufacturers, pet grooming, florists, offices and some parks can reopen in Solano County starting Friday, Solano County health officials announced Thursday night. Health officials amended the county’s shelter-at-home order to widen the scope of permitted businesses and activities. The county also issued a roadmap to reopening that explains what the next months could look like. (Bauman, 5/7)

Los Angeles Times: Coronavirus Linked To Syndrome Similar To Rare Disease In Kids
Three patients at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles who displayed symptoms similar to Kawasaki disease, a rare condition that can weaken blood vessels in children, have tested positive for antibodies against the novel coronavirus, indicating a potential link between the little-understood syndrome and the virus, according to a doctor who studies Kawasaki disease. (Matthew Ormseth, 5/8)

The Associated Press: 138 Central California Meat Plant Employees Have Coronavirus
At least 138 employees at a meat packing plant in Central California have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials say. Kings County Supervisor Doug Verboon told the Fresno Bee that the outbreak at Central Valley Meat Co. in Hanford accounts for nearly two-thirds of the coronavirus cases in the rural county, which has a total of 211 reported cases. (5/7)

CalMatters: Can California Cities Weather The COVID Recession?
For local governments still sporting the budgetary scars of the last “once in a generation” recession, this downturn is at once familiar — forcing elected leaders to cut, furlough and delay — and entirely new. Never in state history has so much economic activity ground to a halt so fast. (Christopher, 5/8)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Women Sew, Donate Masks For Health Workers 
Two retired women honed in their sewing skills while quarantining at home, making about 350 masks for families, health care workers and community members since March. One of them is Beverly Tanaka. She has been sewing since 8. Her grandmother, an avid sewer, inspired the same passion in her and taught her the craft. She got her first sewing machine in junior high as a present from her father. Whenever she has spare time, she sews. (Yu, 5/8)

Sacramento Bee: CA Jails Aren’t Testing Inmates For COVID-19. Why That’s Risky 
Just 4 percent of inmates in California’s largest jails are known to have been tested for COVID-19, despite a drumbeat of warnings about the potential for outbreaks in facilities where people are confined in tight spaces, a Sacramento Bee review has found. Roughly 1,600 tests for the new coronavirus have been administered in jails located in the 15 California counties experiencing the highest number of infections, according to county-reported data and responses from sheriffs offices and local health departments contacted this week by The Bee. More than one-third of those tests — 667 — have come back positive. (Pohl, 5/8)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento County Jail Inmate Tests Positive For Coronavirus
For the first time since the coronavirus crisis began, an inmate at the Sacramento County jail had tested positive for COVID-19. Sacramento County Sheriff’s officials confirmed Thursday that a female inmate, who was housed in the Main Jail’s 7th floor’s west wing and came into the jail at the end of April, was asymptomatic when she was booked. Nonetheless, officials tested her and placed her in isolation for seven days, the jail’s policy during the pandemic. (Stanton, 5/7)

San Francisco Chronicle: 574 Inmates Test Positive For Coronavirus At Lompoc Federal Prison Complex, 2 Dead 
Nearly 600 inmates and staff have tested positive for the coronavirus amid an outbreak at a federal prison complex in Santa Barbara County, officials reported Thursday... Santa Barbara County’s public health department reported that of 109 new confirmed cases in the county Thursday, 100 were at the Lompoc prison complex.

San Francisco Chronicle: Women Released From Mesa Verde ICE Detention Facility Amid Coronavirus Fears 
More than a dozen women held in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility in Bakersfield have been released after they held a hunger strike amid coronavirus concerns, an advocacy group said Thursday. ICE officials released at least 15 women from the Mesa Verde Detention Facility in Kern County, according to Centro Legal de la Raza, an Oakland-based legal organization that represents some of the women who were released. (Bauman, 5/7)

Fresno Bee: 36 More Fresno County Coronavirus Cases, Valley Totals Grow 
Health officials reported 36 new COVID-19 cases in Fresno County on Thursday afternoon, bringing the county’s case count up to 813. No new coronavirus deaths were reported. The county’s eighth and ninth COVID-19 deaths were nursing home residents. (George, 5/7)

Fresno Bee: COVID-19 Violations: $35,000 In Fines Issued By Fresno, CA 
Fines issued by the city of Fresno for opening a non-essential business, price gouging or other violations in connection with coronavirus rules in the past month totaled $35,000, according to numbers released by city officials. The largest fine, $10,000, was issued to Super Liquor at 4045 W. Fountain Drive, in connection to a charge of price gouging. Other large fines, each for $5000, were issued to Crazy Bernie Furniture at 4224 W. Shaw Ave. and The Spot Smoke Shop at 5665 N. Blackstone Ave., as a second count of operating a non-essential business. (Guy, 5/7)

Sacramento Bee: When Will Pro Sports Return? Newsom: Not Until COVID-19 Vaccine 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said professional sports have the power to lift the nation’s spirits and unite people living in isolation, but he doesn’t believe major sporting events will return any time soon. Newsom offered a regretful response during his daily news conference Thursday when asked if the games will go on as the state eases COVID-19 restrictions in the months ahead. Newsom said he doesn’t envision large-scale, live-audience sporting events until a vaccine is available, and that is unlikely to happen for a minimum of 12 to 18 months, according to medical experts. (Anderson, 5/7)

Sacramento Bee: Gov. Gavin Newsom Releases Coronavirus Mask Deal Contract 
Let’s cut Gov. Gavin Newsom some slack. In early April, fearing that COVID-19 might overwhelm hospitals and threaten the lives of tens of thousands of Californians, Newsom made bold attempts to procure large amounts of personal protective equipment (PPE) to protect frontline workers from exposure to the coronavirus. On Wednesday, Newsom finally released the details of the state’s $1.1 billion contract with BYD, a Chinese manufacturer with a Chinese subsidiary. (5/7)

San Jose Mercury News: Newsom's Dangerous Response To COVID-19 Nursing Home Deaths
Gov. Gavin Newsom is recklessly pushing to place more coronavirus patients in nursing homes and assisted living facilities while COVID-19 cases and deaths are mounting rapidly in California’s care residences for the elderly. State data shows that at least 41 percent of all known coronavirus deaths in California have occurred among residents and staff of nursing homes and assisted living facilities. (5/6)

CalMatters: California Needs To Invest Now For The Next Health Emergency 
If there is anything that the coronavirus pandemic has taught us, it is that it’s impossible to predict when a crisis will strike but it is possible to prepare. And preparation is key to dealing with such a crisis. (Young Kim, 5/6)

CalMatters: Anti-Vaccine Protests Hold Lessons For Covering Rallies Against Shelter-In-Place Orders 
Great job, California! Your high, continued support for social distancing and sheltering-in-place have helped reduce COVID-19’s spread and lay the groundwork for state and federal plans to slowly re-open society. But not everyone is celebrating. Rallies protesting stay-at-home measures recently occurred in several state capitals, including Sacramento, and in smaller California locales like Encinitas, Huntington Beach and San Clemente. (Richard M. Carpiano and Dorit Rubinstein-Reiss, 5/8)

Fresno Bee: Fresno Coronavirus Freedom Rally Protest Was Peaceful 
Walking down P Street in the direction of Fresno City Hall before Wednesday’s Freedom Rally, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Would it be a bunch of right-wing wackos being manipulated by well-paid organizers and publicity seeking politicians? Or would it be everyday people, most of them local, expressing sincere frustrations and legitimate concerns over city and state policy designed to slow the spread of coronavirus? The answer turned out to be a little of both. (Marek Warszawski, 5/6)

CalMatters: In Wake Of COVID-19, Hospitals Are Considering Layoffs, Furloughs 
COVID-19 has claimed the lives of more than 2,500 Californians, a tragic toll that could have been far greater if not for the hundreds of thousands of women and men who put their own safety, and the safety of their families, on the line to care for those afflicted with this new virus. Now, the more than 400 hospitals in California – the places where these heroes come to work every day – are facing another form of crisis. (Carmela Coyle, 5/7)

CalMatters: Providing Legal Immunity For Health Care Providers Could Be Dangerous 
Under cover of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gov. Gavin Newsom is poised to sign off on a request to slash health care provider accountability for negligent, reckless and abusive conduct toward patients, which could harm elders, people with disabilities and people in marginalized communities. The governor needs to change his mind. (Tony Chicotel, 5/5)

Sacramento Bee: Medical Professionals Deserve Investment In Their Well-Being 
“She tried to do her job, and it killed her.”That was the heartbreaking eulogy offered by the father of Dr. Lorna Breen after the Manhattan emergency room physician took her own life earlier this week... To help address the factors that create and cause burnout for health care professionals, the California Medical Association has partnered with the Service Employees International Union and the United Nurses Association of California to push for state funding to support Care 4 Caregivers Now. (Emily Coriale and David Logan, 5/2)

Fresno Bee: Fresno Doctor Recounts Inequities In Health Care 
Ms. Hernandez is my 64-year-old patient. Her body is marked with the vestige of field labor. Her large-joint arthritis, the tenderness to her back muscles, the callous changes to her hands — all resulting from seasonal harvest. But her uncontrolled diabetes and high blood pressure are the result of poor access to care. (Dr. Elieth Martinez, 5/8)

San Jose Mercury News: Don't Let Pandemic Evolve Into A Child Abuse Pandemic
Even in the best of times, child welfare systems in California are beleaguered, underfunded, and stressed. Last year, California had 83,000 children living in foster care — the largest number of any state. Times are tough enough for a child who has been removed from their family because of abuse or neglect. But COVID-19 has thrown all of this dysfunction into even more chaos. (Ginni Ring, Renee Espinoza and Frederick J. Ferrer, 5/5)

CalMatters: Older Californians Making Their Mark During COVID-19 Pandemic 
Older adults were the first to be asked to stay at home – but you are certainly not sitting out these challenging times during the COVID-19 pandemic. Even behind closed doors and face masks, you are meeting this moment and finding new ways to serve your community and support your loved ones. (Kim McCoy Wade, 5/8)

San Francisco Chronicle: Another Of The Tenderloin’s Lost Souls Dies On The Street As San Francisco Dithers 
We see them all the time, the same lost souls in the same San Francisco neighborhoods caught in the same sad cycles of homelessness, drug addiction and mental illness. Ian Carrier was a particularly distinctive fixture of the Tenderloin. He used a wheelchair after getting hit by a car. He sported black facial tattoos. He had puffy hands and abscesses on his skin, telltale signs of drug use. (Heather Knight, 5/8)

Fresno Bee: Fresno State Students Challenged By Distance Learning 
It was an abrupt change for students and faculty at Fresno State when the COVID-19 crisis forced a switch in March from in-person classes to virtual classrooms using video technology. With only about a week to prepare for this monumental change in teaching methods, the last half of the spring semester has gone relatively smoothly. (Jim Boren, 5/6)