10-21: $100 million gift to Cal community colleges; young people voting early; Covid spreading "uncontrollably"—but not in Cal; OC hate crimes rise, natch

✅$100M for California Community Colleges 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     California's community colleges just received the largest donation to community colleges in history, according to a news release from the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office. 

     The Jay Pritzker Foundation, named after the founder of Hyatt Hotels, has pledged $100 million to the Foundation for California Community Colleges to be spent over the next two decades. The money will go toward scholarships for students who are close to completing a degree or certificate or who are transferring to a university. It will also provide funds for emergency financial aid for students. 

✅Report: Hate crimes rise again in Orange County 

—OC Reg 

✅Chapman University opens campus to undergrads for in-person learning 

—OC Reg 

✅The Souls of Black Professors 

Scholars discuss what it’s like to be a Black professor in 2020, who should be doing antiracist work on campus and why diversity interventions that attempt to “fix” Black academics for a rigged game miss the point entirely. 

—Inside Higher Ed 

✅Colleges Sue Trump AdministrationOver H-1B Rules 

Colleges say new rules on H-1B visas from Trump administration would make it hard if not impossible to retain international researchers and professors. 

—Inside Higher Ed 

✅Where Are Most International Students? Stranded Here, Needing Colleges’ Help 

—CHE

✅More Than Half a Million Young People Have Already Voted 

—Inside Higher Ed 

     Younger voters are apparently heeding urgings to vote early. A Tufts University study finds that, as of Oct. 14, over a half a million more voters aged 18 to 29 had already voted in this year’s election in 13 key states compared to the same date in 2016. 

✅Healthcare for millions of Californians is on the line in the election -- California has done more over the last decade than almost any other state to expand health insurance, bolster services for its most vulnerable residents and improve the quality of its clinics and hospitals. Noam N. Levey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/21/20 

✅Democrats want the names of voters who used GOP drop boxes. Now they’re going to court -- California Republicans refuse to hand over information about who used their unofficial ballot drop boxes. Now, state Democratic leaders are taking them to court. Lara Korte in the Sacramento Bee Michael Lozano CalMatters John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/21/20 

✅A Black woman will lead CHP for first time as Newsom appoints Amanda Ray to lead agency -- Amanda Ray, 54, of Sacramento, will become commissioner on Nov. 17, according to the release from Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office. Newsom appointed Ray, who is currently a deputy commissioner with the department, to the leadership post. Wes Venteicher in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/21/20 

✅Coronavirus spreading ‘uncontrollably’ in much of U.S. — but not California. Here’s why -- Seven months into the pandemic, the coronavirus is spreading rampantly across much of the U.S. — with California a very notable exception. Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/21/20 

✅African American, Latinx Communities In “Survival Mode” As Pandemic Enters Seventh Month -- African Americans and Latinx people continue to bear the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the start of the pandemic, the two groups have been more likely than others to test positive for the virus, die from the virus, and become unemployed due to the economic shutdowns. Sarah Mizes-Tan Capital Public Radio -- 10/21/20 

✅For first time, heads of all California’s public education systems are Black or Latino -- California is the most diverse state in the nation, so having a diverse leadership of its schools and colleges shouldn’t be that notable. But it is. Even for California. Louis Freedberg EdSource -- 10/21/20 

✅Trump administration launches antitrust salvo against Google -- The Justice Department and several Republican-led states filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google on Tuesday, unleashing the might of the U.S. government against one of Silicon Valley's most powerful companies. Leah Nylen Politico -- 10/20/20 

OC Covid, cases per day

OC Covid, deaths per day