Los Angeles Times: Unvaccinated People Face Growing Danger From Delta 
Recent spikes in coronavirus cases in Los Angeles County and elsewhere in California underscore a pandemic divergence, in which the unvaccinated face growing danger, while the vaccinated are able to move back to regular activities without fear of getting sick. Some who have not been inoculated may have hoped that the dramatic decline in COVID-19 cases this spring and summer — which officials attribute to a robust vaccination campaign — would be enough to protect them without getting a shot. But with the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, infections are again on the rise — and communities with low vaccination rates are in the crosshairs. (Money and Lin II, 7/12)

Modesto Bee: Booster COVID-19 Vaccines Aren’t Necessary Yet: Fauci 
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, said a third COVID-19 vaccine dose isn’t necessary yet. Fauci’s comments, made Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union,” echo a Thursday joint statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration, which said fully vaccinated Americans do not need a booster coronavirus shot “at this time.” (Aldridge, 7/11)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Yes, The Second Shot Matters; County Urges Residents To Get Vaccinated 
More than 140,000 people across San Diego County are due for their second coronavirus vaccine doses but so far have not received them, and about 40,000 are more than 90 days beyond their recommended date for their final stick, public health officials said this week. It is a particularly-serious situation, noted Dr. Eric McDonald, the county’s chief medical officer, as the delta variant begins to gain dominance in the region and across the nation. (Sisson, 7/9)

Southern California News: LA County Reports Rising Coronavirus Transmission Among Unvaccinated Young 
Los Angeles County’s alarming spike in coronavirus cases continued on Saturday, July 10, as officials reported another 1,094 new cases of COVID-19 and eight additional deaths. The number of people hospitalized in Los Angeles County due to the virus is also rising steadily, swelling from 336 on Friday to 373, according to state figures. There were 79 people in intensive care as of Saturday, down from 83 the previous day. (7/10)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Records 3,000 New Coronavirus Cases In 3 Days 
Los Angeles County has recorded more than 3,000 new coronavirus cases in three days, part of a troubling rise in cases as viral transmission increases among unvaccinated people. It was the first time since early March that the county reported three consecutive days with more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases. The numbers underscore growing concerns about how the highly contagious Delta variant is spreading among unvaccinated people. (Lin II, 7/11)

KQED: 47 Residents At Sonoma County Homeless Shelter Test Positive For Delta Variant 
A total of 47 residents at a homeless shelter in Santa Rosa have tested positive for the delta variant of the coronavirus over the last week, officials said. The outbreak has affected almost a third of the 153 residents at Samuel L. Jones Hall, Sonoma County’s largest homeless shelter. (7/9)

Bay Area News Group: Map: Which California Counties Won’t Provide Information On COVID Workplace Outbreaks? 
At the start of the year, California adopted a law that was intended to increase transparency around workplace outbreaks of COVID-19. But many counties have continued to keep the information secret, a recent Bay Area News Group investigation found. This news organization requested specific workplace outbreak data — including names of worksites, dates, locations and numbers of cases — from all 58 California counties and the three cities with their own public health departments. So far, about a third have produced records. Seventeen flatly declined to provide the information, arguing without evidence that naming employers who have reported outbreaks risks individual employees being identified. (Kelliher, 7/10)

Los Angeles Times: As California Shakes, Hospitals And Newsom Seek Delay For Earthquake Upgrades
One hour after a 6.0-magnitude earthquake struck Northern California on Thursday, the California Hospital Association tweeted that it’s “time to to update seismic standards — to focus on all the services people need after a disaster of any kind. ”But the association’s tweet omitted that its proposal circulating in the state Capitol would actually weaken existing standards, giving hospitals another seven years — until 2037 — to ensure that their buildings remain operable after the Big One and limiting the required upgrades to buildings that support emergency services. (Luna and Gutierrez, 7/11)

Los Angeles Times: California Wildfires Outpacing 2020, The Worst On Record 
California is off to another record-breaking year of wildfires as the state enters its most dangerous months, with extreme heat and dry terrain creating the conditions for rapid spread. More than twice as many acres burned in the first six months of this year than during the same period last year — and hundreds more fires, officials said. (Smith, 7/12)

Bay Area News Group: How Bad Is This Fire Season In California Really Going To Be?
It’s not quite noon, but it’s already getting hot as Alan Huston pushes his way through thickets of dry, prickly brush on a parched hillside overlooking the town of Los Gatos. “If a fire broke out here, all this stuff is going to burn,” said Huston, a researcher in San Jose State University’s Fire Weather Research Lab. “There are some healthier-looking big trees over there. But a lot of this?” his voice trailed off as he waved his hand over the water-starved landscape dotted with multimillion-dollar homes. “Not looking good.” It’s a refrain being heard increasingly this summer from Silicon Valley to the Sierra, Southern California to Shasta County.  California is on edge. Two consecutive record-dry winters, followed by early heat waves that have sent temperatures in some places soaring above 110 degrees, have left vegetation dangerously dry and primed to burn heading into the hottest summer months. (Rogers, 7/11)

Los Angeles Times: Northern California Wildfire Destroys Homes, Triggers Evacuations For 3,000 People
A wildfire in Northern California continued to grow overnight amid an intense heat wave and increased winds that were expected to complicate firefighting efforts. Authorities received reports of homes destroyed in multiple communities, but no official figures have been released, said Lisa Cox, public information officer for the Beckwourth Complex fire. Video posted to social media showed homes ablaze in the town of Doyle. A damage assessment team was working on a tally. (Wigglesworth, 7/11)

San Gabriel Valley Tribune: Excessive Heat Warnings In Place For Southern California Desert Areas; Some Records Set Saturday 
Daily heat records were broken on Saturday in some desert areas of Southern California amid an ongoing heat wave and drought across the state, weather officials said. And residents were warned to take precautions against the heat as a ridge of high pressure is expected to send temperatures soaring way past the century mark across the desert areas of Southern California through next week, forecasters said. (Valdez, 7/10)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Cooling Off After Weekend Of Scorching Inland Temperatures
The stifling hot temperatures that gripped parts of the Bay Area over the weekend will start to drop Monday and cool more significantly Tuesday, meteorologists said. While San Francisco and coastal cities saw mostly mild temperatures Sunday, the Bay Area’s inland and northern areas bore the brunt of the warm conditions: Livermore and Cloverdale hit 93 and 96 degrees, respectively, compared with the upper 80s typical for this time of year. (Ho and Flores, 7/11)

USA Today: Will Californians Get $600+ Stimulus Checks Announced In May? Payments For Millions Still In Limbo.
Two-thirds of California taxpayers still await COVID-19 stimulus checks announced by Gov. Newsom about two months ago – and they likely will have to wait longer. The checks are part of an extension of the Golden State Stimulus program, which originally distributed $3.8 billion to low-income residents in the form of one-time payments of $600, according to the nonprofit Cal Matters. This second set of stimulus checks would provide a one-time payment of $600 to middle-class residents earning up to $75,000, as well as a $500 check to qualifying residents with dependents. (Segarra, 7/10)

CapRadio: New Complaint Says State Missteps — Including Bad Translations — Block Access To CA Pandemic Rent Relief 
While hundreds of thousands of California households fell behind on rent during the pandemic, a state rent relief program has delivered assistance to only several thousand so far. Housing advocates have filed a complaint with the state, saying at least one reason for the low numbers should be clear: lack of access. They say barriers for tenants with limited English skills, and tenants with disabilities, are contributing to the slower-than-expected pace of getting funds to the people who need them. (Huang, 7/10)

AP: Biden To Talk Crime With City, Police Leaders Nationwide
President Joe Biden will host New York City’s Democratic mayoral candidate and other city and law enforcement leaders from around the country to talk about reducing crime. Eric Adams, Brooklyn borough president and the likely next mayor of New York, plus Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser and San Jose, California, Mayor Sam Liccardo are expected to attend the meeting Monday, according to two people familiar with the plans. They were not authorized to speak publicly about the meeting and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. (Balsamo, Long and Lemire, 7/12)

San Francisco Chronicle: Debate Over Oakland Violence Prevention Intensifies With Dueling Rallies
The Robinsons, wanting an end to the kind of violence that took their son, went to a “Stand Up for a Safe Oakland” rally sponsored by the Oakland Police Department at Lake Merritt Amphitheater on Saturday — held as shooting deaths in Oakland soar to 71 this year. The fix for keeping the city safe, however, isn’t easy, nor is everyone in agreement on how to do it. At the same time the Police Department held a rally condemning violence, a group held another rally on the other side of the lake condemning police and advocating for community-based solutions to the problem. (Echeverria, 7/10)

KPBS: State Fines San Diego Nursing Homes Over Handling Of Alleged Sexual Assaults By Caregiver
California regulators have fined two local nursing homes for violations relating to how they handled sexual assault allegations against a former caregiver. The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) fined Parkway Hills Nursing and Rehabilitation in La Mesa $16,000. (Sharma, 7/9)

CNN: California Has Reported Its First West Nile Death Of The Year 
California has confirmed the first death from the West Nile virus in the state for 2021. The death occurred in San Luis Obispo County, according to a news release from the California Department of Public Health. It gave no further identifying information about the death. “West Nile virus activity in the state is increasing, so I urge Californians to take every possible precaution to protect against mosquito bites,” Dr. Tomás Aragón, the state public health officer and health department director, said in the news release. (Furst and Elassar, 7/12)

Los Angeles Times: From Homelessness To Homicides, Garcetti Leaves L.A. With Unfinished Business
For Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, there is so much unfinished business. Homeless encampments have taken hold throughout the city, even though hundreds of millions of dollars have gone toward shelter and low-income housing. Transit ridership has been declining for years, despite billions of dollars devoted to new rail construction. And while city leaders are looking to rework the duties of the Los Angeles Police Department, moving away from armed responses to certain calls, they’re also contending with a surge in homicides and gun violence. (Zahniser and Alpert Reyes, 7/10)

Los Angeles Times: Conventions Return To California With With COVID-Era Changes
Would you feel comfortable inside a convention center, or would you send a remote-controlled robot in your place? (Martin, 7/10)

Southern California News Group: California Man Accused Of Pocketing $3 Million In Sham PPE Deal 
A federal grand jury indicted a Lake Forest man accused of pocketing $3 million during the COVID-19 pandemic from companies attempting to buy personal protective equipment he didn’t actually have to sell, prosecutors said Friday, July 9. Christopher John Badsey, 60, of Lake Forest, was charged with four counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering, all felonies, in an indictment returned by the grand jury  Wednesday. He was arrested by FBI agents Thursday. (Licas, 7/11)

CalMatters: California Paid Family Leave: Will More Workers Benefit?
Many lower-paid workers can’t take advantage of California's family leave, even though money for the program gets taken from their paychecks. (Kamal, 7/12)

Sacramento Bee: U.S. Bill Would Help Plant Trees In Low-Income Neighborhoods
Sacramento is the so-called city of trees, but for many neighborhoods, that designation rings false. In some of the city’s wealthiest neighborhoods, lush tree canopies provide shade and improved air quality, while low- and moderate-income areas such as Meadowview, Del Paso Heights, Parkway and Valley Hi suffer in the scorching sun. A new bill introduced earlier this year by Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, aims to change that. The Trees for Residential Energy and Economic Savings Act, or TREES Act, would create a new program in the U.S. Department of Energy that would invest $250 million over the next five years to plant thousands of trees in residential neighborhoods across the country. (Yoon-Hendricks, 7/12)