California Democrats Aim To Put Abortion Amendment On November Ballot: The right to an abortion and to use or refuse contraceptives would be enshrined in the California Constitution under an amendment announced Wednesday by Democratic legislative leaders. Lawmakers are moving quickly to place the amendment on the November ballot. Read more from AP, the Los Angeles Times, and Politico.
Oakland Declares Racism A Public Health Crisis: The Oakland City Council unanimously voted on Tuesday to declare racism a public health crisis. The vote sets aside $350,000 to fund two new positions in the city Department of Race and Equity. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage. For today's national health news, read KHN's Morning Briefing.
More News From Across The State
Los Angeles Times:
California Man With Weapons Is Detained Near Brett Kavanaugh's Home
A California man armed with a handgun, knife and burglary tools was detained near the Maryland home of Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh early Wednesday morning after making threats against Kavanaugh, federal officials said. The man, identified as Nicholas John Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, is being charged with attempted murder of a federal judge, according to a criminal complaint. (Solis, 6/8)
The New York Times:
Armed Man Traveled To Justice Kavanaugh’s Home To Kill Him, Officials Say
Nicholas John Roske, 26, of Simi Valley, Calif., was charged with attempted murder after two U.S. deputy marshals saw him step out of a taxicab in front of the justice’s house in Chevy Chase, Md., early Wednesday morning, federal prosecutors said. Mr. Roske was dressed in black and carrying a suitcase and a backpack, according to a federal affidavit. Inside the suitcase and backpack, the authorities later discovered a “black tactical chest rig and tactical knife,” a pistol with two magazines and ammunition, pepper spray, zip ties, a hammer, a screwdriver, a nail punch, a crowbar, a pistol light and duct tape, in addition to other items, according to the affidavit. His plan was to break into the house, kill the justice and then kill himself, according to the affidavit. (Cramer and Jimenez, 6/8)
Politico:
Supreme Court Security In Spotlight After Kavanaugh Threat
The attempted murder charges against a California man who allegedly threatened to kill Justice Brett Kavanaugh rattled Washington on Wednesday and raised questions about the security and safety of the Supreme Court justices as they prepare to deliver an opinion on the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion case. The Justice Department has charged California resident Nicholas Roske with attempted murder, alleging he appeared in Kavanaugh’s Maryland neighborhood early Wednesday morning with a gun. Roske allegedly later told police during questioning that he was “upset” about a draft Supreme Court decision that would overturn precedent granting a federal constitutional right to abortion, according to the criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court on Wednesday. (Swan and Gerstein, 6/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco COVID Positive Test At Second-Highest Level Ever
The coronavirus test positivity rate in San Francisco, which tracks the percentage of tests coming back positive for COVID-19, topped 14% on Wednesday, according to city data analyzed by The Chronicle. That is the second-highest rate the city has reached to date. The seven-day average climbed up to 18.9% this January during the winter surge before dropping to 2.4% in mid-March. It has been rising steadily since and is now far higher than the statewide average of 8.9%. (Vaziri, 6/8)
Los Angeles Times:
New Omicron Subvariants In California Bring New Questions About Coronavirus Outlook
The upward track of California's coronavirus case rate may be easing, but contradictory data are muddying the state's outlook as a new pair of omicron subvariants seen in South Africa are increasingly making appearances here. The case rate dipped 6% over the past week, from 15,800 new cases a day to 14,900, according to a Times analysis of state data released Tuesday. On a per capita basis, California is recording 266 coronavirus cases a week for every 100,000 residents. A weekly transmission rate of 100 cases or more per 100,000 is considered high. (Lin II, 6/8)
CalMatters:
COVID Relief: Scant Oversight Of Billions To California Schools
When the pandemic closed schools in March 2020 – abruptly ending classes and stranding children and working parents – leaders in Washington and Sacramento scrambled to provide relief. The result was a series of stimulus measures that allocated $33.5 billion in state and federal funds to California’s K-12 schools to address the devastation of the pandemic. It was a staggering amount of one-time funding for the state’s cash-strapped schools, equal to a third of all the money they got the year before the pandemic. (Lewis and Hong, 6/9)
CalMatters:
Secrecy Shrouds How California Schools Spent COVID Stimulus
Burlingame schools spent more than $300,000 on Chromebooks. Long Beach Unified spent nearly $13,000 on music recorders. Redding Elementary School District spent about $1,800 on a reading intervention program. Districts bought hand sanitizer from Amazon, printer cartridges from Office Depot and hot spots from T-Mobile. Schools issued purchase orders for textbooks, counseling services and buses — all detailed in response to CalMatters’ public records requests. (Lewis and Hong, 6/9)
Stat:
Moderna Says Omicron-Containing Booster Outperforms Current Vaccine
Moderna said Wednesday that using a new version of its Covid-19 vaccine as a booster led to a superior antibody response against the Omicron variant compared to its current shot. The company said it plans to submit its data to the Food and Drug Administration in the coming weeks and that it hopes that the new booster will be available in the late summer. (Herper, 6/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Moderna’s Covid-19 Vaccine Targeting Omicron Produces Stronger Immune Response
The study didn’t measure the efficacy of the modified booster shot—whether it actually reduces the risk of Covid-19 disease caused by Omicron. The company disclosed the results in a press release. The data haven’t been published in a peer-reviewed medical journal. Moderna’s modified, “bivalent” booster shot was designed to target in a single shot both the Omicron variant and the original coronavirus strain. The company’s original vaccine, Spikevax, was designed to target the original coronavirus, both as a two-dose primary series and as a booster shot. (Loftus, 6/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Novavax’s COVID Vaccine Could Soon Be Available In The US
A fourth COVID-19 vaccine option could soon be available in the U.S., after Food and Drug Administration advisers on Tuesday recommended emergency use authorization for the shot made by Novavax. The vaccine from the Maryland-based drugmaker is used overseas but is a latecomer to the U.S. field occupied for more than a year by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson - and it differs in several ways from those three now-familiar brands. (Hwang, 6/8)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
San Diego's Veyo, Which Brought An Uber Model To Health Care Transportation, Is Being Acquired By Rival MTM
San Diego-based Veyo, which developed an Uber-style model to get Medicaid and Medicare members to doctor’s appointments, inked a deal to be sold to rival Medical Transportation Management of St. Louis for an undisclosed price. (Freeman, 6/8)
inewsource:
Food Quality, Sanitation Suffer At Veterans Village Of San Diego
Staff and residents at Veterans Village of San Diego said the nonprofit’s rehab center has not provided appropriate food and is struggling to keep the facilities clean and sanitary. They shared photos and videos of expired food, unhealthy meals, clogged toilets, dirty bathrooms and cockroaches inside the residential drug and alcohol treatment center. (Castellano, 6/8)
inewsource:
Navy SEAL Overdoses At Veterans Village Rehab Center
Former Navy SEAL Nathanael Roberti is on the run. The 38-year-old was born in Thailand to Baptist missionaries and moved to the U.S. as a child. In 2005, as a member of Navy SEAL Team 10, the Taliban opened fire on his team’s helicopter, leaving 11 of his friends dead. (Castellano, 6/8)
Los Angeles Daily News:
Possibly Record-Breaking Heat On Its Way To Parts Of Southern California This Week
Southern Californians should brace for a heat wave that’s set to arrive later this week, with the Inland Empire expected to see triple-digit temperatures beginning Friday. A high-pressure system will start to make its way over the region on Wednesday, reducing marine layer clouds and fog and bringing a warming trend that will peak on Friday, according to the National Weather Service. Record-breaking temperatures are possible across inland communities, with highs in the Coachella Valley reaching up to 115 by Friday. (Lee, 6/7)
Los Angeles Daily News:
Heat Advisories Issued For Inland Southern California Into Weekend Amid Heat Wave
Heat advisories were in place Wednesday, June 8, for inland locations in Southern California as a heat wave descending upon Southern California was expected to continue turning up the temperature dial into the weekend, meteorologists said. (Wilson, 6/8)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Opening New Homeless Cooling Center For First Time
The city of Sacramento this week will open its new homeless weather respite center for the first time. The city will open the center, located at 3615 Auburn Blvd. near Watt Avenue, from noon to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. The center will have space for 50 people at a time, along with pets, snacks, and space for device recharging, a city blog said. (Clift, 6/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Oakland Estimates A Cost Of More Than $20 Million Per Year To Shelter 1,000 People At Former Army Base
It would cost more than $20 million a year for Oakland to temporarily shelter 1,000 homeless people on the city’s former Army base, according to a staff report that also detailed toxic pollution at the site. The report unveiled at Tuesday’s City Council meeting said building a cabin community, or tiny home village, for 1,000 people at the site would cost millions to construct and $22.5 million per year to operate. Building a safe site for RVs to park on the former Oakland Army Base would cost about $5 million to construct and $18 million a year to operate. (Ravani, 6/8)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County To Open 100 Tiny Homes For Homeless
By a narrow vote, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday approved a 100-unit tiny home village on Florin Road in south Sacramento, marking a milestone for one of its largest-yet homeless shelters. The 3-2 vote advanced a project the board delayed in April, when it postponed a decision on the site. (Clift, 6/8)
CapRadio:
County Supervisors Approve South Sacramento Tiny Home Village For Homeless Residents
Sacramento County is moving forward with building a tiny home community for unhoused people in South Sacramento after the board of supervisors voted 3 to 2 on Wednesday. The $7.6 million project will be the county’s first “Safe Stay Community,” providing 100 shed-sized private homes designed to offer greater privacy and security for the homeless people who move in. Unhoused residents often reject large group shelters due to unsanitary and unsafe conditions. (Nichols, 6/8)
Oaklandside:
Oakland Will Create Its First-Ever Rental Housing Registry
Oakland renters, landlords, and politicians will soon have access to a lot more information on rental housing in the city. The city’s first-ever rental housing registry—approved by the City Council unanimously on Tuesday—will likely include data on who owns which properties in Oakland, whether they’re covered by rent control, how much landlords can charge tenants, and the eviction history for any unit. The registry will include all housing covered by Oakland’s rent control and eviction laws, which is most rental buildings constructed before 1995. (Orenstein, 6/8)