Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
California Lawmakers Block Health Care Cuts
State legislators and Gov. Gavin Newsom have hammered out an agreement on a budget that rejects Newsom’s proposed cuts to health care services for older and low-income people. (Samantha Young, )
Sex In The Time Of COVID: Gay Men Begin To Embrace A ‘New Normal’
Like other people, many men who have sex with men have done all they could to avoid the coronavirus. Now some are braving renewed contact while balancing risk. (David Tuller, )
Newsom Issues Shutdown Warning As Cases Spike: Gov. Gavin Newsom warned Monday that he could shut down part of the economy again if California loses control of the coronavirus pandemic as the state shattered its single-day record for most new coronavirus cases. “It’s your individual decision that will determine our fate and future ... to mitigate the likelihood and need that we ever have to toggle back on these stay-at-home orders,” Newsom said at a news conference. As of Monday evening, county health departments had reported more than 6,000 new cases, with several counties still yet to report, according to data compiled by The San Francisco Chronicle. California hadn’t exceeded 4,515 new cases in a single day previously, according to the state’s health department. Read more from Dustin Gardiner and Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle.
California Budget Deal Avoids Permanent Cuts In Health Care, Schools: California will make up its estimated $54.3 billion budget deficit in part by delaying payments to public schools and imposing pay cuts on state workers, according to an agreement announced Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and legislative leaders. The agreement avoids billions of dollars in permanent cuts to public schools and health care programs, including proposals from Newsom that would have made fewer low-income older adults eligible for government funded health insurance and would have eliminated programs aimed at keeping people out of nursing homes where the coronavirus has spread with deadly consequences. “We’re not solving for everything in one calendar month. We have a lot of work to do over the next few years,” Newsom said. Read more from Adam Beam of The Associated Press and Alexei Koseff of the San Francisco Chronicle.
In related news from Modern Healthcare: California Governor, Lawmakers Reject Hospitals' Call For $1 Billion In Relief
Below, check out the full round-up of California Healthline original stories, state coverage and the best of the rest of the national news for the day.
More News From Across The State
Los Angeles Times:
California Summer Fun Collides With Coronavirus Danger As Hospitalizations, New Cases Keep Rising
The California tradition of summer fun — barbecues, garden parties, group excursions to beaches and mountains — is colliding with the state’s desperate efforts to prevent new surges of coronavirus cases as the economy opens up and people begin freeing themselves from months of stay-at-home rules. Confirmed coronavirus cases have continued to climb as California allowed many businesses to reopen. But on Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said COVID-19 hospitalizations are also beginning to rise again statewide, a troubling shift that raises new questions about whether the reopening might need to be slowed. (Lin and Luna, 6/23)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County COVID-19 Cases Top 2,000 For Third Day In A Week
Los Angeles County health officials reported 2,571 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the third day in the last week that the county has reported more than 2,000 infections. The number is especially high considering that cases reported on Mondays are typically lower because of limited testing on weekends and a lag in reporting. In addition, the county announced 18 additional COVID-19 deaths, bringing the death toll to 3,137. (Shalby, 6/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
SF Looks To Speed Up Reopening Salons And Bars, Citing Encouraging Health Stats
San Francisco officials are looking to accelerate the city’s emergence from the economic shutdown prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic by moving up the date at which certain businesses, including hair salons, museums and outdoor bars, can reopen. The next phase of San Francisco’s reopening will now take effect June 29 — rather than mid-July — provided the city gets permission from the state and that critical health indicators, like the number of hospitalizations and new cases, remain stable. (Fracassa, 6/22)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County, California Sees Spike In COVID-19 Cases
The coronavirus epidemic in Sacramento has found a new and alarming nesting ground – inside family homes. A week-long surge in coronavirus cases culminated with 267 new cases Friday through Sunday, the biggest three-day increase by far since COVID-19 hit the region three months ago. But to the surprise of health officials, most of the spread is not happening at newly reopened nail salons, restaurants and barbers, or at previously hard-hit nursing and assisted care living centers. The surge also does not appear to be related to police brutality protests held in the earlier this month. (Bizjak, 6/22)
Sacramento Bee:
Assembly Employee Tests Positive For COVID-19, In Quarantine
An unnamed Assembly employee, who was in the Capitol building last week, has tested positive for the coronavirus, Chief Administrative Officer Debra Gravert said. She said the employee was in the office the week of June 15. That was the day both houses gathered for a budget vote. (Kristoffersen, 6/22)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Jail Inspectors Decline To Track COVID-19 Infections
More than three months into the coronavirus pandemic, California officials say they still have no plans to collect and publish basic data about COVID-19 testing and outbreaks in local jails, frustrating advocates, families and even some members of the state’s own jail oversight board. The state board that regulates California’s county jails and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office both maintain local sheriffs should work with public health departments to test for and contain the disease. (Pohl, 6/23)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Phone Buddy System Connects SF Homeless Hotel Residents With Volunteers For Regular Chats
Sometimes, all it takes is a few kind words over the phone to brighten up someone’s day. Especially if that person is homeless. And holed up in a hotel to avoid coronavirus, with no idea when things might slide back toward normal. Not that being homeless is normal anyway. It’s a traumatic, frightening way to live, fraught with uncertainty. Which is why a new program launched in San Francisco on Tuesday, called Miracle Friends, should be doubly helpful. (Fagan, 6/23)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Gilead To Study Inhalable Form Of Remdesivir — A Possible COVID-19 Breakthrough
The pharmaceutical company that makes the antiviral drug remdesivir, which has shown promise as a treatment for COVID-19, will begin trials for an inhalable version of the medication this summer as officials pump up production amid a worldwide push for a cure. Gilead Sciences, the Foster City company that developed the drug as a potential treatment for ebola, said researchers will begin screening volunteers this week for a clinical trial of the nebulized formula, which is scheduled to start in August. (Fimrite and Morris, 6/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
A Reporter’s Surreal Pandemic Cross-Country Move To The Bay Area
Three months ago, as the coronavirus pandemic was rapidly unfolding, reporter Kellie Hwang was trying to get from Indiana to California to join The Chronicle. Hwang tells the story of her strange cross-country journey - and her arrival in a Bay Area already dramatically changed. (Hwang, 6/23)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Coronavirus: 13 Dead, 75 Test Positive At Concord Skilled Nursing Facility
Thirteen residents of a skilled nursing facility in Concord have died with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19, according to state data. Additionally, 62 residents at San Miguel Villa have tested positive for the coronavirus as well as 13 workers. It remained unclear Monday afternoon when the residents of the 190-bed facility died. (Serrano, 6/22)
Los Angeles Times:
Plane-Disinfecting Invention Takes Off After COVID-19 Hits
Seven years before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Arthur Kreitenberg, a Los Angeles orthopedic surgeon, came up with an invention in his basement to quickly disinfect an airplane cabin using ultraviolet light. He even bought airplane seats from the airline graveyard in the Mojave desert to test his idea. (Martin, 6/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Many Men Dislike Coronavirus Masks. How Can We Change That?
Darth Vader, the Minnesota Vikings and Mike Pence, who’s wearing a “Make America Great Again” face mask, walk into a bar. That may sound like the setup to a very funny (and perhaps risqué) joke, but it also hints at how to solve a deadly serious problem: getting more people — particularly the swaggeringly toxic mask-averse males of the species — to don face coverings in public to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. (Tschorn, 6/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Jose Police Seek Woman Who Coughed On Baby In Social Distancing Dispute
A woman is wanted for assault after coughing on a one-year-old baby in a San Jose Yogurtland, officials said. The suspect was in line at the yogurt shop on Cottle Road around 5:25 p.m. June 12 when she became upset that the woman standing behind her with a stroller was not maintaining proper social distancing, San Jose police said. Surveillance footage shows the suspect walk to the stroller, lean over and cough two to three times in the baby’s face. The mother immediately snaps the hood over the stroller to protect her child. (Bauman, 6/22)
Fresno Bee:
$0 Bail Continues For Most Arrestees In Fresno, California, Jail
Fresno courts will extend the $0 bail policy for most prisoners due to “unforeseen circumstances” related to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases in the Fresno County North Jail. Tony Botti, spokesman for Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims, said the decision between the sheriff and presiding Judge Alvin Harrell was reached over the weekend after 1,200 inmates were placed in quarantine Friday. (Guy, 6/22)
CalMatters:
Migrant Students Work In Fields During COVID School Closures
When the coronavirus pandemic interrupted education across the state, and classes shifted online, many teenage students went to work picking strawberries or other crops. Advocates worry they're falling behind. (Aguilera, 6/22)
Fresno Bee:
COVID-19 Tests Show More Cases In Fresno, Tulare
Increased testing of residents across the Valley for COVID-19 continues to reveal more confirmed infections among the region’s population. Many people who contract the infection deal with few, if any, symptoms from their bout with the novel coronavirus. Still, the number of people being hospitalized for treatment of more serious illness from the virus remains near an all-time high since the first local cases in the pandemic were reported in early March. (Sheehan, 6/22)
WBUR:
California Surgeon General: Systemic Racism Is Linked To COVID-19 Pandemic
A new California rule requires everyone to wear face masks in public as more businesses and public spaces reopen in the state this week. For some residents, the mandate is controversial even as COVID-19 hospitalizations are surging. California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke Harris says public health officials are considering how to boost economic activity in the safest way possible. (Mosley and Hagan, 6/22)
The Washington Post:
LAX Is Testing Thermal Cameras As A Coronavirus Health Measure
Officials on Monday planned to announce a pilot program to test the use of thermal imaging cameras at the departures entrance and the corridor for international arrivals in the airport’s Tom Bradley International Terminal. “We’re trying to do everything we can to make sure that our airport terminals are a safe environment, and we’re making sure that we’re doing everything we can to make it healthy for people to come in,” said Justin Erbacci, chief executive of Los Angeles World Airports. (Sampson, 6/22)
Los Angeles Times:
LAPD Officers Call In Absent For Nearly 700 Transit-Policing Shifts
Dozens of policing shifts on Los Angeles County’s transit system went unfilled last week after Los Angeles Police Department officers called in absent nearly 700 times, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority said. The absences, for overtime shifts with premium pay, came after Chief Michel Moore temporarily froze overtime for the LAPD. (Nelson, 6/23)
Los Angeles Times:
LAUSD Board To Decide Whether To Defund School Police
A uniformed and armed school police officer pepper-sprays students at a campus in Los Angeles. Is that excessive force, even police brutality, or a rare but justifiable de-escalation of an incident that otherwise could have become more dangerous? As the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education debates the future of its 471-member police department Tuesday, two distinct interpretations are emerging from similar data on police involvement at schools: one points toward eliminating officers on campus; the other toward keeping them in place. (Blume and Kohli, 6/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Garcetti Under Fire For Handling Of George Floyd Protests
The police union has called him unstable. Activists accuse him of supporting racist institutions. Even longtime allies said his decisions during the recent protests over police brutality hurt Los Angeles’ communities of color. Mayor Eric Garcetti’s handling of the demonstrations and his subsequent actions drew criticism from an array of groups, wide pushback unseen during his seven years leading the city. Garcetti, known for avoiding political risk, has appeared at times whipsawed by the protests and their aftermath. (Smith, 6/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Sheriff Asks State To Monitor Gardena Shooting But Puts Hold On Autopsy Findings
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department on Monday asked the California attorney general to monitor its investigation of the controversial shooting of a man in Gardena but also blocked the public from learning the results of an autopsy the coroner was scheduled to perform on 18-year-old Andres Guardado. Sheriff Alex Villanueva said on Twitter on Monday that he had reached out to Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra to monitor the Guardado investigation “out of an abundance of caution.” (Tchekmedyian and Vives, 6/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Judge Prohibits California From Putting Cancer Warning On Weed Killer Roundup
Despite three trial verdicts awarding nearly $200 million to cancer victims who used Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, California cannot require a cancer warning on the product label because it is contradicted by “the great weight of evidence,” a federal judge ruled Monday. In issuing a permanent injunction against the state’s attempt to place a cancer warning on the world’s most widely used weed killer, U.S. District Judge William Shubb of Sacramento did not prevent California from including Roundup’s main ingredient, glyphosate, on its own list of probable human carcinogens. (Egelko, 6/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Stem Cell Advocates Qualify $5.5 Billion Measure For November Ballot
After a last-ditch push for signatures, supporters of a $5.5 billion bond that would keep California’s stem cell research institute in business have qualified their measure for the November ballot. The measure asks voters to re-fund the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the state’s stem cell agency, by allowing it to issue bonds for research, training and facilities construction. (Gardiner, 6/22)
KQED:
Supporters Of Sports Gambling Legalization Halt Effort For 2020 Ballot Measure
A push to legalize sports wagering in California through a November 2020 ballot measure has been abandoned, supporters announced on Monday. The sports gambling proposal, or Senate Constitutional Amendment 6 (SCA 6), could have added California to the growing list of states that permit gambling on sporting events. But provisions in the measure that tackled thorny issues around state gaming laws drew fierce opposition from many of the state's Indian tribes, which own and operate lucrative casinos throughout the state. (Marzorati,6/22)
Sacramento Bee:
UC Davis Seeks 12 Couples To Test Contraceptive Gel For Men
UC Davis Health is looking for 12 healthy couples to test out a new birth control method for men that could become the first male hormonal contraceptive on the market. The contraceptive comes in the form of a gel, and men rub about a teaspoon-size dollop of it on their shoulders each day. Its effects are reversible, UC Davis researchers said. (Anderson, 6/22)
NBC News:
California Man Who Served 30 Years For Stepmom's Murder Pleads Guilty To Killing Doctor
A Southern California man who served nearly 30 years for killing his stepmother pleaded guilty Monday to killing a retired doctor last year after he was released on parole, prosecutors said. The man, Timothy Chavira, 57, was immediately sentenced to life without the possibility of parole in the death of Dr. Editha Cruz de Leon, 76, who was killed with a sharp object in her home Dec. 7, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said in a statement. (Helsel, 6/22)