San Diego Union-Tribune: COVID-19 Deaths Pass 5,000 Mark In San Diego County 
San Diego County passed a disheartening milestone Wednesday as the number of COVID-19 related deaths exceeded 5,000, according to the county health department’s weekly report.Passing the 5,000 mark is a two-sided touchstone for the community. (Sisson, 2/23)

Monterey Herald: COVID-19 Deaths Continue To Rise As Case Count Drops In Monterey County
As the number of COVID-19 cases continues to drop this month, the Monterey County Health Department continues to record more COVID-19 deaths as the omicron surge wanes. Monterey County has reported 30 deaths attributed to COVID-19 this month (not counting one death the Health Department removed last week, citing data cleaning), including one on Wednesday and eight on Tuesday. In all, the county says 697 Monterey County residents have died from COVID-19. (Wright, 2/24)

Bay Area News Group: CDC: 8 Weeks Between COVID Vaccine Shots 'Optimal' For Some
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has modified its COVID-19 vaccine dosing recommendations, advising that for the young and healthy — especially males — it may be better to allow eight weeks between the two Pfizer or Moderna shots than the approved three- or four-week interval. (Woolfolk, 2/23)

Los Angeles Daily News: LA County: Starting Friday, Masks Can Come Off Indoors With COVID Vaccination Proof
Starting Friday, Los Angeles County businesses and some other venues can allow patrons to go unmasked indoors if they can prove they are fully vaccinated, officials said Wednesday, Feb. 23.The action, in the form of the latest amended L.A. County Public Health order on coronavirus, marks a significant shift as the region emerges from the grip of the winter omicron surge. The move is still, however, an interim measure with the county still in a “high-transmission” stage of the virus. Schools not yet part of the latest health order revision. (Carter, 2/23)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County To Relax Mask Rules At Locations With Vaccine Proof 
Fully vaccinated individuals will soon be able to shed their masks indoors at Los Angeles County establishments that screen the inoculation status of visitors and patrons, health officials said Wednesday. While not a complete easing, the revised rules — which take effect at 12:01 a.m. Friday — represent a significant relaxation of the county’s universal indoor mask mandate, which has been in place since July. And depending on how many businesses elect to take advantage, the impact could be both widespread and widely apparent, especially in places like offices, gyms, restaurants, bars and hair salons. (Money and Lin II, 2/23)

Los Angeles Times: What You Need To Know About L.A. County's Relaxed Indoor Mask Rules 
Big changes are coming to L.A. County’s coronavirus regulations. At indoor businesses and offices that verify vaccination status, people who are fully vaccinated will no longer have to wear masks starting Friday, county health officials announced Wednesday. (Money and Lin II, 2/23)

Los Angeles Daily News: Maternal Deaths Jumped In U.S. Since The Pandemic Started 
An increasing number of women have died during pregnancy or not long after giving birth since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a new report released Wednesday, Feb. 23. The study released by the National Center for Health Statistics, discovered that the rate of maternal deaths jumped 14 percent to 861 in 2020 from 754 in 2019. (Grigoryants, 2/23)

California Healthline: Why Pregnant People Were Left Behind While Vaccines Moved At ‘Warp Speed’ To Help The Masses
Clinical trials of covid-19 vaccines excluded pregnant people, which left many women wondering whether to get vaccinated. (Szabo, 2/24)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Guide Highlights San Diego-Area Resources For Breastfeeding 
Breastfeeding provides crucial nutrients for babies, and the process itself is an opportunity for important mother-child bonding. For many new moms, however, breastfeeding doesn’t come easily — and the challenges they face can keep them from sticking with it. That’s where the 2022 San Diego County Breastfeeding Resource Guide comes in. (2/22)

The Bakersfield Californian: Bakersfield Experienced Worst Dip In Air Quality Of All Mid-Sized Metros In 2020
From 2019 to 2020, Bakersfield experienced the worst drop in air quality of all similarly sized cities, according to a report released by air filter producer Filterbuy. The report highlighted the improvement in air quality many U.S. cities experienced during a year defined by business lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. But Bakersfield and other cities throughout the San Joaquin Valley saw air quality dip drastically, the report says. (Morgen, 2/23)

Los Angeles Times: California Targets Microplastics Polluting The Ocean 
California aims to sharply limit the spiraling scourge of microplastics in the ocean, while urging more study of this threat to fish, marine mammals and potentially to humans, under a plan a state panel approved Wednesday. The Ocean Protection Council voted to make California the first state to adopt a comprehensive plan to rein in the pollution, recommending everything from banning plastic-laden cigarette filters and polystyrene drinking cups to the construction of more green zones to filter plastics from stormwater before it spills into the sea. (Rainey, 2/23)

The Bakersfield Californian: Federal Water Allocation Of 0 Percent To 15 Percent Too Skimpy, Contractors Say
The Bureau of Reclamation announced its 2022 water allocations for the Central Valley Project on Wednesday. The CVP is a more than 400-mile network of federal canals and dams that transports water to farms and towns throughout the valley. CVP contractors south of the Delta will receive no water, except for a couple of specific agencies. (Vad, 2/24)

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Freezing Temperatures Highlight Need For Warming Centers, Shelter Beds For Sonoma County’s Homeless Residents
The gap between Sonoma County’s sizable homeless population and its shelter capacity is often most dire in periods of inclement winter weather, like this week’s run of frigid nights. (Murphy, 2/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘A Humanitarian Crisis:’ Bay Area Counts Unsheltered Homeless People After Long Delay
Experts say homelessness exploded throughout the Bay Area over the last few years, as tents popped up under freeways and RVs lined many neighborhood streets. But numbers on the unhoused remained outdated despite the dire need for accurate data. This week, Bay Area counties are finally taking a step to find out how many people are living on the street with one-night counts unfolding throughout the region, a crucial event that helps determine how much federal, state and local money is directed to the homelessness crisis. (Ravani, 2/23)

Bay Area News Group: How Bad Is It? The Bay Area Counts Its Homeless Residents
For the first time since before the pandemic hit, the Bay Area is counting the number of residents sleeping outside this week — gathering crucial data experts hope will help them better understand the region’s homelessness crisis. Setting out before dawn and late at night, groups of elected officials, city employees, outreach workers and volunteers on Wednesday began tallying every person they spotted living in a tent, a vehicle or on the street. The results will influence everything from how much federal funding each county receives for homeless housing and services to how local aid organizations structure their programs. (Kendall, 2/23)

Los Angeles Times: Pandemic Adds Urgency To Count Of L.A. County's Homeless Population
On a map of Los Angeles County, census tract 124300 is shaped like a trapezoid. It's the part of North Hollywood where Emma Taylor and two others spent Tuesday night conducting a count of people living on the streets. (Viven, 2/23)

Ventura County Star: Ventura County Conducts 2022 Homeless Population Count
In an effort to survey the area’s homeless population, about 400 volunteers hit the streets Wednesday as part of Ventura County's 2022 homeless count. Volunteers and organizers searched city streets and unincorporated areas for homeless individuals and encampments. Their goal was to take a point-in-time count of the county’s homeless population, while handing out donations of food and water and directing the people to available resources. (Varela, 2/23)

Desert Sun: Coachella Valley Volunteers Participate In Point-In-Time Homeless Count
When Ryan Jones came to the Coachella Valley from the Tampa Bay area more than three years ago, it was to help seek treatment for a substance use disorder. What he didn't expect was the "unbelievable" journey his life would take him on, which currently includes homelessness. Paying for rehabilitation services was difficult. One site cost around $600 a month, and he said about one and a half months were paid for by the program, while the other half of the month was covered by his mother. When he and his mother couldn't pay for additional months, he had no place to turn to but the streets. (Sasic, 2/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: ‘People Are Dying’: Fatal S.F. Encampment Fire Provokes Outcry Over Homelessness Crisis
A deadly fire that broke out in a homeless encampment in Wednesday morning’s near-freezing temperatures under a freeway overpass in San Francisco’s Glen Park neighborhood provoked outrage and dismay from residents and elected officials, who called the incident a tragic emblem of the city’s homelessness crisis. The fire left one woman dead and three other people critically injured. Officials with the San Francisco Fire Department said it took around an hour to reach the four people trapped under the overpass. (Flores and Whiting, 2/23)

San Diego Union-Tribune: New Board To Ask: Is Your Money Being Well-Spent On Homelessness?
Many people want to do what they can to help homeless people throughout the county, and a new board has formed that could help donors and even cities decide which efforts they want to support. The San Diego Taxpayers Educational Foundation is launching the board and will work with data scientists, experts, stakeholders and the general public to create regionally accepted standards that define good outcomes in public improvement efforts. (Warth, 2/23)

Modesto Bee: Turlock CA Committee Proposes Plan To Reduce Homelessness
The Turlock City Council on Tuesday took a step toward planning long-term strategies to reduce homelessness, including potential contracts for health services. Voting 5-0, the council approved a homeless committee report with recommendations Councilwomen Rebecka Monez and Pam Franco began working on eight months ago. (Lam, 2/23)