Southern California News Group: California’s Vaccine Progress Impressive, But ‘Herd Immunity’ A Long Way Off 
Remember when COVID-19 vaccines were as elusive as your car keys on Monday morning and harder to snag than Rolling Stones tickets? The jabs started rolling out to more people in February and, after a slow start, California has clocked an impressive pace. On Feb. 16, according to state data, just 6.3 million doses had been administered, mostly to health workers, the elderly and those at high risk of complications. Three months later, 36.5 million jabs have entered arms — an increase of 30 million in just three months. (Sforza, 5/26)

Los Angeles Daily News: Coronavirus: Here Are Vaccinations By ZIP Code And County Tier Levels As Of May 25
As of Tuesday, May 25, the California Department of Public Health’s vaccine dashboard showed about 5.2 million doses have been shipped throughout the state (1.5 million more than a week ago) and ... 36.5 million have been administered. (Snibbe, 5/25)

CapRadio: No, It Is Not Illegal For Businesses To Require Proof Of Vaccination
An image shared on Instagram and Twitter claimed businesses cannot legally require customers to provide proof of vaccination or deny entry based on vaccination status. The image cites the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Title III of the U.S. Civil Rights Act, but experts say the Fourth Amendment applies only to government entities and Title III of the U.S. Civil Rights Act makes no mention of discrimination based on a medical condition. Private businesses cannot discriminate on the basis of race, gender, religion, national origin or disability, but otherwise, they have the right to conduct transactions with whomever they choose. (Hupka, 5/25)

Los Angeles Times: CDC: 2% Of 'Breakthrough' Infections Cause COVID-19 Deaths 
In a four-month span during which the U.S. vaccination campaign was in a race against a spate of COVID-19 surges, a nationwide study has found that roughly 10,000 people became infected with the coronavirus after they had received all their recommended doses. Two percent of those patients with “breakthrough” infections died, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention. … Those [10,000 breakthrough] cases represent less than 0.01% of the 107,496,325 people in the U.S. who had been fully vaccinated by April 30, according to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker. (Healy, 5/25)

Bay Area News Group: CDC Finds Breakthrough Infections Rare Among The Vaccinated
COVID-19 infections have been reported in just a tiny fraction of Americans who have been fully vaccinated against the disease, according to a survey Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study looked at so-called vaccine breakthrough infections reported to the CDC from January 1 through April 30. The CDC defines vaccine breakthrough infections as detection of the coronavirus in respiratory samples taken from a person two weeks or more past the final vaccine dose. (Woolfolk, 5/25)

Fresno Bee: Vaccinated Employees Crucial For Fresno-Area Businesses With California Tiers Expiring
As the number of new coronavirus cases reported in Fresno County reaches levels not seen in more than a year, the county’s top health official said revised state guidelines taking effect in several weeks will continue to require residents to wear face masks in certain indoor settings. New workplace rules are also expected next month to guide how employers should protect their staffers, Dr. Rais Vohra told members of the Fresno County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. (Sheehan and Miller, 5/25)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Cross-Border Effort Under Way To Vaccinate Thousands Of Maquiladora Workers
Thousands of maquiladora workers employed in Baja California by U.S. subsidiary companies will be vaccinated against COVID-19 as part of a first-of-its-kind cross-border pilot program announced Tuesday. “This is the first cross-border agreement that we have that aims to try to equalize vaccination rates on the northern border, especially in cities that have greater interconnection, such as Tijuana and San Diego,” Marcelo Ebrard, Mexico’s ministry of foreign relations, said Tuesday. (Mendoza, 5/25)

Modesto Bee: COVID Cases, Deaths Continue To Drop Due To Vaccines 
More than a year into the coronavirus pandemic, it’s safe to say we’re sick of all the bad news. Now, it’s time for the good. COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations have been dropping consistently over the last several weeks, with the nation’s seven-day average of new coronavirus infections and hospital admissions down 91% since Jan. 8 and 81% since Jan. 9, respectively, according to the White House. (Camero, 5/25)

San Francisco Chronicle: Bay Area Counties Have Final Say On June 15 Reopening. Some Have Concerns
Marin County may be better prepared than any other place in California for the state’s June 15 reopening. In three weeks, more than 75% of the county’s total population will be fully vaccinated, health officials say — that’s even taking into account children under 12 who aren’t authorized for the shots yet. Marin has among the lowest rates of new coronavirus infections in the country, averaging under 2 cases per 100,000 people a day. On Thursday, the county reported the death of an unvaccinated resident — its first COVID-19 fatality in more than a month. (Allday 5/25)

San Diego Union-Tribune: There's A Free Treatment For COVID-19; Why Aren't More People Using It? 
There is a free treatment available in San Diego County that can significantly minimize the severity of COVID-19, and even prevent death, but not enough people are taking advantage of it, officials say. Drugs containing coronavirus monoclonal antibodies have increasingly shown an ability to pick off the pathogen before it gets the chance to cause critical cases of COVID-19. (Sisson, 5/24)

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego's Coronavirus Numbers Hit New Lows 
The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients across San Diego County dipped below 100 for the first time in more than a year in Tuesday’s county tracking report, providing a fresh testament to the growing power of the region’s vaccination efforts. It is the first time the region’s total number of hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease has been just two digits since the county health department started reporting the total on April 1, 2020. (Sisson, 5/25)

VC Star: Ventura County On Pace To Enter COVID-19 Yellow Tier Next Week
Ventura County could reach the Mount Everest summit of California's tiered reopening system on June 1, just 14 days before colored tiers are eliminated and nearly all COVID-19 restrictions are set to be lifted. The county's COVID case rate on Tuesday met a critical benchmark for the first of two required weeks. If the rate of new cases remains stable and other metrics hold steady, the county would move from orange into the long-coveted yellow tier next week. (Kisken, 5/25)

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Sonoma County Reports First COVID-19 Death In A Month
A Sonoma County man who was fully vaccinated against the coronavirus died of complications from COVID-19 last week, marking the first county resident who was inoculated to die from the disease, county officials said. The county reported the death, the first since April, late Monday, bringing the local coronavirus death toll to 315. (Chavez, 5/25)

The Bakersfield Californian: As Reopening Approaches, Kern County's Coronavirus Case Rate Continues To Decline 
Kern County will remain in the orange tier for the next two weeks despite a drop in coronavirus spread. In the California Department of Public Health’s weekly update, Kern’s coronavirus case rate dropped for the second straight week after a brief increase. For the past several weeks hospitalizations due to COVID-19 have remained relatively stable. On Monday, 22 patients were held in local hospitals, with five in intensive care units. (Morgen, 5/25)

Sacramento Bee: What Is Open Placer County, California In COVID Orange Tier 
Placer County was moved to the orange tier of COVID-19 risk on Tuesday, allowing many indoor spaces to reopen at greater capacity ahead of the June 15 state reopening. The county’s test positivity rate is 2%, the lowest it’s been in over a month. The county’s daily case rate, which has been problematic in recent months, keeping the county in the more restrictive red tier since March, has now fallen to 4.4 cases per 100,000. (Sullivan, 5/25)

CapRadio: California Coronavirus Updates: Placer, Merced And Other Counties Move To Less-Restrictive COVID-19 Tier 
Four counties are moving to a less restrictive tier in California's color-coded reopening system, state officials announced Tuesday.Merced and Placer counties are moving from the red to the orange tier. Inyo and Mariposa counties are both moving from orange to yellow. No counties moved into a more restrictive tier. (5/25)

Los Angeles Times: Cal/OSHA Proposes COVID-19 Fines For Foster Farms 
In the wake of deadly COVID-19 outbreaks at poultry processing plants operated by Foster Farms in California’s Central Valley, the state’s health and safety agency is proposing nearly $300,000 in fines. Foster Farms, one of the West Coast’s largest producers of poultry, faced ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19 during the pandemic. By the end of 2020, 12 Foster Farms workers had died. (Lin II and Miller, 5/25)

AP: Schools Try Pep-Rally Tactics To Get Students Vaccinated
A growing number of public schools are using mascots, food trucks and prize giveaways to create a pep-rally atmosphere aimed at encouraging students to get vaccinated against the coronavirus before summer vacation. Districts from California to Michigan are offering free prom tickets and deploying mobile vaccination teams to schools to inoculate students 12 and up so everyone can return to classrooms in the fall. They are also enlisting students who have gotten shots to press their friends to do the same. (Watson, 5/25)

San Francisco Chronicle: Masks Likely When S.F. Schools Return Full Time; Start Times Will Be Staggered
The San Francisco school district promised a return to five full instruction days a week in the fall, and shared new details Tuesday about what a robust reopening will look like. The San Francisco school board had already pledged in April that the district would plan for a full-time fall return, and the superintendent again reiterated that plan. The district also expects to drop health screenings and surveillance testing but keep masking. (Talley, 5/25)

Los Angeles Times: Democrats Promised To Lower Drug Prices, But Plans Are Sputtering 
With control of Congress and the White House, Democrats have an opportunity to bring down prescription drug prices, addressing one of voters’ top concerns and finally fulfilling a campaign pledge Speaker Nancy Pelosi made to voters 15 years ago. Despite widespread support among Democrats, the idea has sputtered, however, as President Biden left it out of his infrastructure plan and is expected to leave it out of his budget while congressional Democrats remain noncommittal about how they might enact it. The initiative has fallen victim to extremely slim majorities and division among Democrats. (Haberkorn and Stokols, 5/26)

State Of Reform: Local Health Plans Of California Name Linnea Koopmans As New CEO
Friday, the Local Health Plans of California (LHPC) announced Linnea Koopmans as the association’s new Chief Executive Officer. Koopmans has served as interim CEO since last February.  LHPC represents all 16 of the non-profit, community-based local health plans in California, which provide health coverage to more than 70% of the 11.3 million members enrolled in Medi-Cal managed care. (Kurle, 5/25)

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego County Announces First $5 Million Of $25 Million In Grants For Mental Health 
Kicking off plans to invest $25 million in mental health care infrastructure in the coming years, San Diego County will announce a $5 million grant to community organizations on Monday. Of that first funding round, $4.7 million will go to La Maestra Clinic in City Heights to build 21 beds for patients undergoing mental health or addiction treatment. The remaining $300,000 will fund vehicles and communications upgrades for four other mental health providers. (Sullivan Brennan, 5/24)

Inewsource: First COVID-19 Wrongful Death Claim Filed By Family Of Donovan Inmate
The family of a man incarcerated in San Diego who died from COVID-19 has filed a wrongful death claim against the California corrections department. The claim, submitted to the Office of Insurance and Risk Management on May 9, is a precursor to filing a lawsuit against the state for its role in Leon Martinez’s death. (Castellano and Plummer, 5/25)

Los Angeles Times: COVID PPP Money Is Drying Up. How Can You Still Get Loans? 
Time is running out for small-business owners looking to get a government Paycheck Protection Program loan. Applications for the final round of PPP loans will be accepted only until Monday or until the remaining funds are drained, whichever is sooner. Most of the money is already gone. As of Friday, only about $3 billion was left of the $800 billion provided for the program, according to congressional staff. The Small Business Administration has approved more than 11 million of the loans over the course of the program. (Masunaga, 5/25)

The Guardian: ‘Permanent Damage’: Can Minority-Owned Businesses Recover From Pandemic’s Toll?
Many business owners of color are still struggling to make ends meet – or have already shuttered – after their clients were ravaged by the virus. (Villarreal, 5/26)

NPR: Audio: Women Left Their Jobs To Be Caregivers. A Business Coalition Wants Companies To Help
About 400,000 more women than men have left the workforce since the start of the pandemic. The percentage of women in the paid labor force has not recovered from the steep drop in the spring of 2020. Many had to leave their jobs last year to take care of their children when schools closed. A new business coalition wants companies to take the lead in creating better options for child care and elder care, as well as push the federal government to create a minimum standard of federally funded family and medical leave. The group also advocates better working conditions for people who work as caregivers. (Martin and Doubek, 5/26)

San Francisco Chronicle: Mayor Breed Proposes Big Investment To Bring Downtown San Francisco Back To Life
Mayor London Breed proposed a $9.5 million investment for downtown San Francisco Tuesday to attract workers and tourists back to an area devastated by the pandemic lockdowns. The goal of Breed’s Downtown Recovery Plan — part of a budget proposal that she’ll unveil June 1 — is to make downtown San Francisco feel “welcoming” again. (Thadani 5/25)

KCRW: High Cost Of Los Angeles Homeless Camp Raises Eyebrows And Questions
In Los Angeles, city officials grappling with an ongoing homelessness crisis have turned to an idea that for decades was politically unpopular and considered radical: a government-funded tent encampment.Other cities, including San Francisco, Seattle and Tampa, Fla., have opened similar programs in recent years. But the high public cost of LA's first sanctioned campground — more than $2,600 per tent, per month — has advocates worried it will come at the expense of more permanent housing. (Scott, 5/25)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Tenants In Public Housing Where Breed Grew Up Sue Over Health And Safety Concerns
A group of public housing tenants at Plaza East Apartments sued the property owner and management on Tuesday over pests, mold and mildew, inadequate heat, broken plumbing, electrical wiring and appliances and lack of security. The lawsuit was filed in San Francisco Superior Court by 18 tenants in the 193-unit apartment complex against developer McCormack Baron Salazar, its affiliated management company McCormack Baron Management and property owner Plaza East Associates. The lawsuit alleges management violated civil and health and safety codes. The suit alleges tenants made numerous complaints about uninhabitable and dangerous conditions that posed “severe health and safety hazards” which management either ignored or made insufficient repairs to address. (Moench, 5/25)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Supervisors Approve Moratorium On Renter Evictions Through September
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously approved a three-month extension of the city’s moratorium on residential evictions. The move extends protections for San Francisco renters from the end of June to the end of September. Under San Francisco’s ordinance, landlords can only evict tenants for not paying rent, violence, threats of violence or health and safety issues. Separately, a state law that protects against evictions for nonpayment of rent is expected to expire on June 30. (Talley, 5/25)

San Francisco Chronicle: Rents In These 3 Big Bay Area Cities Are All Up For The First Time In The Pandemic
It appears that relatively rock-bottom rental prices in the Bay Area are coming to an end. In May, for the first time during the pandemic, one-bedroom rental prices in three of the Bay Area’s biggest metropolitan areas all rose compared to the previous month, according to the latest national rent report from listings website Zumper. (Hwang, 5/25)

Reveal: Amazon’s Relentless Pace Is Injuring Workers And Violating Law, Washington State Regulator Says 
Amazon is violating the law by pressuring warehouse employees to work at speeds that exacerbate injuries without adequate time to recover, state safety regulators concluded earlier this month after an inspection of the commerce giant’s DuPont, Washington, fulfillment center.  Regulators found a “direct connection” between the incidence of injuries at the warehouse and Amazon’s expectation that warehouse employees “maintain a very high pace of work” or else face discipline. (Long and Evans, 5/25)

Orange County Register: Normal Life Is Indeed Returning: The Getty Has Reopened 
The Getty Center, the pastoral artistic hub of Los Angeles County, reopened Tuesday, May 25, after being shuttered since March 2020 by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Getty’s older, more ornate sister museum, the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, opened a month ago. (Crane, 5/25)

Los Angeles Times: The Post-Lockdown Return Of L.A. Concert Staple Dancing Man 
One day last March as the pandemic was ravaging the world and nightlife was shutting down, Howard Mordoh, 70, looked at his empty calendar and started freaking out. Known to countless Southern California concertgoers as “Front Row” Mordoh, That Silver-Haired Dancing Man, or some variation thereof, Mordoh has attended many thousands of gigs since the early 1970s and has very prominently grooved during most of them. That fateful day, the self-described “attention whore” was facing an abyss. (Roberts, 5/25)