USA Today: COVID-19 Vaccine: Police, Firefighters, Teachers Will Be Next In Line
Police, firefighters, teachers and grocery workers will be among those next in line for a COVID-19 vaccine, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advisory panel decided Sunday. The committee voted 13-1 to recommend that Phase 1b include people 75 and older and front-line essential workers. Phase 1c will include people 65 to 74 and people 16 to 64 who have high-risk medical conditions, along with other essential workers. (Weise, 12/20)

AP: Panel: People Over 75, Essential Workers Next For Vaccines
Sunday’s vote by the panel was who should be next in line, and by a vote of 13-1, it decided that it should be people 75 and older, who number about 20 million, as well as certain front-line workers, who total about 30 million. The essential workers include firefighters and police; teachers and school staff; those working in food, agricultural and manufacturing sectors; corrections workers; U.S. Postal Service employees; public transit workers; and grocery store workers. They are considered at very high risk of infection because their jobs are critical and require them to be in regular contact with other people. It’s not clear how long it will take to vaccinate those groups. (Hanna and Stobbe, 12/20)

Los Angeles Times: Hospital Housekeepers Among First To Get Vaccine
They comfort adults and children, protect patients and staffers from the spread of infection and toil in a landscape of heartache and risk alongside nurses and doctors for a fraction of the pay — and none of the glory. The unleashing of the vaccine has raised questions about its distribution: who will get it first and whether the rich, powerful and famous can cut to the front of the line. The hospital housekeepers’ moment in the spotlight of the vaccination of America is a small cosmic push in the direction of equity. “Whether it’s that [environmental services worker] or it’s this top-notch physician, they are the same for us,” said Dr. Neha Nanda, medical director of infection prevention at Keck Medicine of USC. “Each person is equally important.” (Mejia, 12/19)

Bay Area News Group: COVID Vaccines Are Here, But Big Questions Remain About Immunity, Mandates
Whoops of celebration, crackling applause and tears of joy erupted as the first health care workers were jabbed with the coronavirus vaccine last week, kicking off the largest mass vaccination campaign in history. After their second dose, will they have to roll up their sleeves again in six months or a year? Will you? (Sforza, 12/20)

The Hill: FDA Investigating Allergic Reactions To Pfizer Vaccine Reported In Multiple States 
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is investigating allergic reactions to the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine that were reported in multiple states after it began to be administered this week. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, told reporters late Friday that the reactions had been reported in more than one state besides Alaska and that the FDA is probing five reactions. (Axelrod, 12/19)

Capital Public Radio/KXJZ: Can California Protect COVID-19 Vaccine From Cheaters And Fraudsters?
For the next several weeks, vaccines will be available in limited amounts in California and across the nation — and only to high-risk individuals, with supply expected to ramp up in the months to come. Experts estimate vaccines will be available to the general public sometime in the spring. Until then, step in line. But the pandemic already has showcased deep inequalities, scams, greed, fraud and a system that favors the rich and famous. Will it be the same with the COVID-19 vaccine? “We will be very aggressive in making sure that those with means, those with influence are not crowding out those that are most deserving of the vaccines,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a recent press briefing. (Ibarra, 12/20)

Los Angeles Times: Anti-Vaxxers Team Up With Alt-Right Against COVID-19 Vaccine
As California and the nation begin rolling out coronavirus vaccines, anti-vaccine campaigners are aligning with small-business owners and far-right groups, an effort that some experts fear could supercharge mistrust of government at a crucial moment for public health. In California, the movement toward businesses is being led by a group calling itself Freedom Angels 2.0. Originally founded by three women in response to a 2019 state bill tightening vaccine requirements for attendance in schools, the organization was best known for its protests at the state Capitol against that measure and other vaccine legislation, often filling hallways and disrupting hearings with children in tow. (Chabria, 12/18)

CNBC: U.S. Slashed Vaccine Numbers For Several States Due To Confusion Over FDA Requirement
Officials with Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. government program to distribute Covid-19 vaccines to Americans, had to slash the number doses for several states due to confusion over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s certificate of analysis requirement for vaccine rounds. The federal government’s error disrupted vaccination distribution plans in at least 14 states and frustrated governors and state health officials who said they were caught off guard upon learning of shipment shortfalls. (Newburger, 12/20)

Fox News: Murthy Believes 'Realistic' Timeline Sees Public Vaccinations Starting Midsummer
President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for surgeon general believes that a more "realistic" timeline will see the coronavirus vaccine distributed to the public starting midsummer 2021. Dr. Vivek Murthy cautioned that the Trump administration's timeline, which would see general public access to the vaccine as early as April 2021, is possible but would require everything to go right. "I think when it comes to the vaccine timeline, we all want the vaccine to be delivered as quickly, as fairly as possible, and you can be sure that every day and night, myself and others on the Biden team are working toward that end," Murthy told NBC’s Chuck Todd during Sunday’s "Meet the Press." "But we also want to be realistic about the timeline." (Aitken, 12/20)

Los Angeles Times: California Continues To Shatter Coronavirus Case Records
The virus’ spread showed no signs of slowing in L.A. or across the state, which posted record numbers all week, heightening concerns that already overwhelmed hospitals will get even more strained in the coming weeks. Experts say it typically takes two to three weeks for a person who contracts the coronavirus to become sick enough to require hospital care. And California is now reporting two to three times more cases than it was at the beginning of December, according to data compiled by The Times. (Wigglesworth and Newberry, 12/19)

Bay Area News Group: San Francisco Surpasses 20,000 Coronavirus Cases, Health Officials Report
Alameda County recorded its highest-ever number of new coronavirus cases on the same day that San Francisco health officials reported that the city had surpassed 20,000 cases of the deadly virus, a grim milestone for a region beset with a health crisis unlike any other. Vaccines for the virus are already being administered to healthcare workers across California, but health officials are continuing to battle a third deadly surge in the virus that has been far more difficult to deal with than the previous two. In the Bay Area, 216,530 people have contracted the disease — 4,188 of whom were reported infected Saturday — and 2,267 people have died, including 18 new deaths. (Toledo, 12/20)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Why COVID-19 Rages Amid California's New Stay-At-Home Order 
California’s first coronavirus lockdown order, in the spring, produced benefits within a month. By April, Gov. Gavin Newsom was able to crow that the state had “arguably flattened” the curve on infections. It has been two weeks since a second stay-at-home order was issued, and no such flattening has yet occurred across most of California. This may be because restrictions are looser than those in the spring, and because many Californians are so fatigued by public health orders — or militantly resistant to them — that they are mixing with people from outside their households. (Dolan, Lin II and Lai, 12/21)

The Hill: Surgeon General Nominee Says More Contagious Viral Strain In UK Does Not Appear To Be Deadlier 
Former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, whom President-elect Joe Biden has nominated to return to the position, said Sunday that a new, more contagious coronavirus strain reported in the U.K. does not appear to be any deadlier. “This news from the U.K. appears to be about a new strain of the virus that’s more transmissible, more contagious than the virus we’ve seen prior to this,” Murthy said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “While it seems to be more transmissible, we do not have evidence yet that this is a more deadly virus to an individual who acquires it.” (Budryk, 12/20)

LA Daily News: As LA County Tops 600,000 Coronavirus Cases, Officials Lift Ban On Indoor Worship 
As 13,756 new cases reported on Saturday, Dec. 19 pushed Los Angeles County’s total past the sad milestone of 600,000 since the pandemic began — public health officials announced they are modifying stay-home orders to allow for indoor and outdoor worship, in response to recent Supreme Court rulings. (Carter, 12/19)

The Bakersfield Californian: Local Prisons See Spike In COVID-19 Cases 
As hospital beds fill up and coronavirus surges across California, many state prisons in Kern County are facing their worst outbreaks yet. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation reports there were 1,766 active cases as of Friday in the five state prisons in Kern County alone. (Morgen, 12/19)

Los Angeles Times: Grocery Stores, Essential Businesses Hit Hard By COVID-19
Supermarkets have been hit hard by the unprecedented explosion of the coronavirus in Los Angeles County, further straining an essential service that needs to remain open despite the new stay-at-home order. Outbreaks are increasing at an alarming rate across industries, officials say — an unavoidable consequence of so many people falling sick in the region. But those at grocery stores and other essential retailers pose a unique challenge for officials attempting to reduce coronavirus transmission, as well as for county residents trying to pare down their activities to only what is necessary. (Karlamangla, 12/20)

San Diego Union-Tribune: As Crisis Deepens, Hundreds Of Hotel Rooms Reserved For COVID-19 Response Go Unused By San Diego County
As COVID-19 spreads unchecked across the region and state, San Diego County officials are leaving vacant hundreds of hotel rooms they had reserved for sick or at-risk people, even though much of the cost is being subsidized by state and federal relief funds. The county’s level of participation in one hotel shelter program was so minimal that just 6 percent of the available rooms were occupied last month. (McDonald, 12/20)

Los Angeles Times: Gov. Gavin Newsom Will Enter Quarantine After COVID-19 Exposure 
Gov. Gavin Newsom will go into quarantine again for 10 days after being exposed to a staff member who tested positive for the coronavirus, a representative said in a statement Sunday night. Newsom tested negative but will enter quarantine as a precaution, in accordance with state public health guidelines. Other staffers in the governor’s office who were exposed to the infected individual also tested negative. They will begin 10-day quarantines, the representative said. (Feldman, 12/20)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Gov. Newsom To Quarantine; Staffer Tests Positive For Virus 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom will quarantine for 10 days after one of his staffers tested positive for COVID-19, according to a spokesperson for the governor’s office. The staffer tested positive Sunday afternoon, the spokesperson stated. Newsom was then tested and his result came back negative. (12/20)

The Desert Sun: Groups Work To Educate Worried Farmworkers About COVID-19 Vaccine
Maria Isabel Ventura rushed her husband from Blythe to Palm Springs several weeks ago, watching with despair as he struggled to breathe along the 120-mile journey through the desert. Infected with COVID-19, he was so weak by the time they arrived that he needed a wheelchair to travel from the car to the doors of Desert Regional Medical Center’s emergency department. (Plevin, 12/19)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed By Family Of First Person To Die From COVID-19 In Immigration Custody 
The family of Carlos Ernesto Escobar Mejia, who died in immigration custody after contracting the coronavirus during an outbreak at Otay Mesa Detention Center, has sued the federal government as well as the private prison company in charge of the facility. Escobar Mejia was the first person to die in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement because of COVID-19. Eight in total have died from the virus since the pandemic began. (Morrissey, 12/20)

Los Angeles Times: South Korea Sends San Diegan A COVID-19 ‘Survival Box’ 
Forty years ago, Paul Courtright went to South Korea as a Peace Corps volunteer, helping a developing country find its footing after decades of foreign occupation, poverty, disease and war. Last month, with the United States reeling under a surge in coronavirus cases, South Korea returned the favor. It sent “COVID-19 survival boxes” to Peace Corps alumni in the U.S. (Wilkens, 12/20)

Bay Area News Group: Monterey County Family Cares For Each Other, Loses Two To COVID-19 
Julia Duran was caught between a rock and a hard place. She knew that she would be putting herself at risk when her 81-year-old father developed a cough and her 78-year-old mother and 46-year-old brother with down syndrome, soon began to feel sick. But she had limited options and they needed help. In the end, COVID-19 would claim the lives of two of her family members while the infection would cause varying degrees of illness and hospital stays for others. (Herrera, 12/21)

Politico: Congress Strikes Stimulus Deal After Days Of Frantic Talks 
Congressional leaders on Sunday clinched a Covid stimulus deal after days of hard-fought negotiations — but Americans will have to wait at least a little longer to get much needed relief. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Sunday evening that negotiators had finalized a $900 billion coronavirus aid package, after breaking a multi-day stalemate over the Federal Reserve’s lending powers. (Everett, Desiderio, Zanona and Caygle, 12/20)

San Francisco Chronicle: California, Hard-Pressed Cities Lose In COVID Stimulus Deal As Aid Is Left Out 
A $900 billion coronavirus aid package that congressional leaders agreed to Sunday includes no dedicated money for state or local governments, undercutting hopes that California and many of its cities would be able to close growing budget gaps without major cuts. The deal, which the House and Senate are expected to vote on as early as Monday, includes a new round of direct $600 stimulus payments to many adults and children, an additional $300 a week in jobless aid, rental and food assistance, money for vaccine distribution and a small business loan program. All of that could help ordinary Californians struggling through the pandemic. (Koseff, 12/20)

Modesto Bee: It’s A Deal. Californians Could See More Unemployment Payments, Stimulus Checks Soon
Millions of Californians would get quick financial help — stimulus checks, more unemployment benefits and other aid — under the economic relief agreement announced Sunday by congressional leaders. The deal, which still needs approval from Congress and President Donald Trump, assures an estimated 1 million state residents they would not lose unemployment benefits that are set to expire at the end of this week. That approval is expected Monday. Under the $900 billion agreement, weekly benefits for qualified unemployed people, now a maximum $450 in California, would go up by $300 for 11 weeks, according to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. (Lightman, 12/20)

CNN: When Will You Get A Second Stimulus Check? 
Lawmakers are expected to vote Monday on the deal, which would provide for $600 checks, but experts say it will take at least two weeks for the Treasury to get cash into individuals' bank accounts after legislation is signed. "The timing could be more challenging this time, but the IRS could likely begin to get the money out in January," said Howard Gleckman, a senior fellow at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. (Lobosco, 12/20)

The New York Times: The Stimulus Deal: What’s In It For You
Individual adults making up to $75,000 a year would receive a $600 payment, and a couple earning up to $150,000 a year would get twice that amount. If they have dependent children, they would also get $600 for each child. The first payments early this year began arriving via direct deposit about two weeks after legislation passed. It took some people months, however, to receive the money. (Bernard and Lieber, 12/20)

CNN: Here's What's In The Second Stimulus Package 
The bill would extend until January 31 the eviction protection set to expire at the end of the year. It also would provide $25 billion in rental assistance for individuals who lost their source of income during the pandemic. (Lobosco and Luhby, 12/20)

Bay Area News Group: Protest At Stanford Hospital Over COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout
More than a hundred Stanford Health Care medical residents and fellows protested administrators’ rollout plans for the first wave of COVID-19 vaccines Friday, asserting that they were mostly left out in spite of their regular contact with infected patients — sometimes in favor of higher-ranking faculty at far lower risk. Bolstered by uproarious chants like “First in the room, back of the line,” the morning demonstration in the halls of the university’s prestigious hospital spurred a prompt response from hospital leaders, including from Stanford Health Care CEO David Entwhistle, who told the assembled crowd: “We’ll correct it. We know that it’s wrong.” The seeds of the protest were planted earlier this week after Stanford announced how it was going to distribute its initial allocation of vaccines — upwards of 5,000 doses. (Salonga, 12/18)

The Desert Sun: Nurse Strike At Three SoCal Hospitals Averted
A planned strike by nurses at Riverside County's largest hospital has been averted with a tentative new deal reached Saturday, their union announced. The tentative agreement concluded 102 hours of negotiations since Dec. 11, after members voted to authorize a strike and a federal mediator was brought in to help resolve issues. Members are scheduled to vote to ratify the contract Dec. 22 and 23. (12/20)

Modesto Bee: EMT Has COVID Symptoms After Giving CPR To United Passenger
When a fellow passenger fell ill Monday on a cross-country United Airlines flight, emergency medical technician Tony Aldapa knew he had to help. “Knowing I had the knowledge, training and experience to help out, I could not have sat idly by and watched someone die,” Aldapa wrote on Twitter. He and two others performed CPR on the dying passenger for nearly an hour, Aldapa wrote. But the man died at a hospital after United Flight 591, bound from Orlando to Los Angeles, diverted to New Orleans, McClatchy News previously reported. (Sweeney, 12/20)

Fresno Bee: COVID-19: Can Relaxed Nursing Ratios Ease ICU Case Surge? 
Dr. Rais Vohra, Fresno County's interim health officer, discusses the state relaxing hospital ICUs from two patients per nurse to three as a temporary relief measure in a surge of COVID-19 cases. Video from Dec. 15, 2020. (Sheehan, 12/17)

Fresno Bee: Fresno Patients Are Not Receiving Adequate Care In Latest COVID Surge, Hospital Staff Say
As Fresno hospitals fill up with COVID-19 patients, many nurses and other workers said staffing shortages are leading to a decrease in quality of care for patients. In a questionnaire circulated by The Bee, registered and vocational nurses, respiratory technicians, a physical therapist, a lab tech and a housekeeping aide described the situation in their workplace as stressful, hectic, awful, unpredictable, chaotic and exhausting. Responses came from workers in Fresno hospitals such as Community Regional Medical Center, Clovis Community Medical Center, Saint Agnes Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente and Valley Children’s Hospital. (Calix, 12/20)

Los Angeles Times: ‘We’re Going To Be New York’: L.A. Hospitals Brace For The Worst
A doctor at an L.A. County public hospital said the number of COVID-19 patients is “increasing exponentially, without an end in sight.” Many parts of that hospital are being converted to COVID-19 wards, and ICU teams are being staffed up with workers from other departments that are temporarily halting services. The doctor, who was not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity, said it appears that by early January, the hospital will have to begin rationing care. “We’re going to be New York, with bodies piling up. Wouldn’t be surprised if L.A. rings in the new year as the COVID capital of the world,” the physician said. “I don’t know how many ways to explain to people to isolate and stay home, short of bringing a camera to the ICU and [emergency department] to show them the mess of what we’re experiencing.” (Wigglesworth and Karlamangla, 12/21)

NPR: As COVID-19 Cases Soar, Overwhelmed California Hospitals Worry About Rationing Care
On Friday, the nation's most populous state recorded 43,608 new cases, while almost 17,400 people are currently hospitalized with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 cases, according to the California Department of Public Health. Over 3,500 of those cases are being treated in intensive care units, putting immense strain on hospitals. Nearly all of California is under stay at home orders as ICU capacity statewide hovers around 2%. In Southern California and the 12-county San Joaquin Valley area, ICU capacity has been exhausted, leaving some facilities to go into "surge" mode, putting critical patients in other parts of the hospital like emergency rooms or operating recovery rooms. (Lonsdorf, 12/20)

San Diego Union-Tribune: COVID-19 Crushing County's ERs: Too Many Patients, Too Few Beds, Not Enough Staff 
At 4 p.m., two patients in respiratory distress arrived at Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa, one by ambulance and one brought in by loved ones through the main entrance. Then word arrived that yet another patient, this one suffering a stroke, would be delivered by ambulance in 10 minutes. For most of its history serving a vast swath of East County, three cases in 10 minutes would barely be worth mentioning for the region’s busiest emergency department. But with more than 70 patients already occupying beds on the unit, three more equaled a full house, and it was time to once again begin the process of shifting patients around. (Sisson, 12/19)

Orange County Register: What Public Health Leaders Mean By ‘0% ICU Beds Available’
Intensive care bed availability in Southern California has been reported at 0% capacity by state and county health officials. But that alarming figure carries a big asterisk: it doesn’t mean there are no open ICU beds that day. In the context of the coronavirus pandemic’s bleakest chapter, the state Department of Public Health’s front-and-center metric, “current ICU capacity by region,” takes the actual percentage of remaining adult ICU beds each day and tweaks it to reflect the lopsided share of COVID-19 patients in intensive care compared to others who also need those beds for life-saving treatment and equipment, such as ventilators. Beds for newborns and children are excluded. (Wheeler, 12/18)

Sacramento Bee: CA Faces Latino Doctor Shortage Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
The high number of coronavirus infections and deaths among California’s Latino communities is underscoring the state’s shortage of culturally competent, Spanish-speaking doctors. Medical experts fear the scarcity of Latino or Spanish-speaking doctors could lead to worse health outcomes for the state’s Hispanic communities, who, so far, represent more than 700,000 COVID-19 cases and 10,000 virus-related deaths in California. “You can’t plant strawberries in your front room. You can’t stay at home and be a farmworker. Hence, because they’re more exposed, they’re more likely to become infected,” said Dr. David E. Hayes-Bautista, director of the Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture at UCLA. “Now, at that point, the Latino doctor shortage suddenly becomes critical.” (Bojórquez, 12/21)

Los Angeles Times: San Francisco Public Schools Won’t Reopen In January 
San Francisco public schools won’t reopen for in-person learning in January because of a breakdown in negotiations between the school district and teachers unions over coronavirus safety, the San Francisco Unified School District said. “The district cannot meet all of the new requirements SFUSD’s labor unions have proposed, and there is not sufficient time to complete bargaining in order to reopen any school sites on Jan. 25,” the district said in an online statement. (Dolan, 12/20)

Fresno Bee: More COVID Outbreaks Happen At CSU Party Schools 
The California State University campuses with the most reported cases of COVID-19 have something else in common — they also regularly top the lists of best party schools in the state. San Diego State, Cal Poly, and Chico State are suffering some of the worst coronavirus outbreaks among the 23 CSU schools. Around the U.S., college towns have been some of the hardest hit as students in other states returned to campus, only to be sent home weeks later after an outbreak. Parties and gatherings are bearing most of the blame. (Panoo, 12/21)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Spare The Air Alert Issued For Monday Due To Smoke
This is the second such alert this winter and follows a record-setting year for unhealthy air conditions in the region. As fires raged through California this summer and fall, the Bay Area was covered in smoke. On one morning in September, residents woke up to a dark, orange-hued sky that made national news and was widely described as apocalyptic. Well over 50 Spare the Air alerts have been issued — far exceeding the previous record, 46, set in 2017. Those who ignore the order must either take a “wood smoke awareness course” or pay a $100 fine. Second-time offenses are met with a $500 ticket and that amount increases with each subsequent violation. (Kost, 12/20)

The Bakersfield Californian: In An Especially Stressful Year, New Hotline Provides Relief For Those In Need 
December is already the most stressful time of the year for many Americans, but add a pandemic into the mix and the stress can be too much to handle. That’s why the Kern County Latino COVID-19 Task Force has launched a new mental health and wellness hotline. By calling 525-5900, Kern County residents struggling to make it through the most challenging holiday season in recent memory can get access to a sympathetic ear and some potentially much-needed advice. (Morgen, 12/20)

Sacramento Bee: Fewer Black Kids Are Dying In Sacramento County. Here’s Why
According to new results shared with the Board of Supervisors last week, the county saw the rate of Black child deaths drop by 30% and the rate of Black infant deaths drop by 19% by 2018, the most recently available data released. As part of the Black Child Legacy Campaign, seven neighborhood centers receive $120,000 annually to offer a plethora of programs and services designed to prevent Black childhood death: Case managers helped connect families to government aid. Nighttime youth-focused events kept teens out of trouble. Expecting mothers received safe sleeping habits education, free cribs and home visits. Parents enrolled in anger management training and parenting classes. (Yoon-Hendricks, 12/19)

The Bakersfield Californian: Eye Care Provider For Kern County's Neediest Struggles To Survive In A Pandemic 
It’s Arturo Beltran’s first visit to an eye doctor at Advanced Center for Eyecare. He’s just 5 years old, so his mom, Marisela Rodriguez, hoists him up on her lap so that an ophthalmic technician can help to find out what kind of prescription he might need. “OK, this is easy stuff, buddy, I’m just going to have you look at some balloons,” the technician, Gabriel Uranday, tells Beltran, as he peers into the autorefractor. Over the course of the next hour, Beltran will wind his way through the 6,000-square-foot ACE clinic on Westwind Drive just off Truxtun Avenue. He sees an optometrist, Jolly Mamauag-Camat, who gently touts the benefits of wearing glasses while he’s doing schoolwork, and finally he goes to pick out his very own pair of glasses. (Gallegos, 12/18)

Bay Area News Group: Rehab Doctor Jailed For ‘Patient Brokering’ Released To Luxury California Home After COVID Diagnosis 
The Beverly Hills doctor accused of building a luxurious life on the backs of desperate drug users — and contributing to some of their deaths — has been released from jail after he was diagnosed with COVID-19, despite the strident objections of prosecutors who’ve charged him with 88 felonies and fear he’s a flight risk. Randy Rosen ran Wellness Wave, a surgical center in Beverly Hills that allegedly paid addicts eager to make a buck to endure unnecessary surgeries, get unnecessary lab tests and receive unnecessary injections for inflated prices, according to Orange County prosecutors. (Sforza, 12/21)

Sacramento Bee: Dozens Of Sacramento Hotel Tenants Facing Eviction
Amid a severe surge in coronavirus cases and with Sacramento nighttime temperatures dipping into the 30s, dozens of tenants could soon be evicted from a River District residential hotel. The Calabasas-based Ezralow Co. sent notices to at least 38 tenants of the Hawthorn Suites on Nov. 16, saying they needed to leave so the hotel could be renovated or sold. For the 14 tenants who had been staying there more than a year, the notices ordered them to move out by Jan. 15, offering a month of waived rent. For the 24 tenants who have been there less than a year, the notices offered no financial assistance, and said they needed to leave by Dec. 15. (Clift, 12/20)