10-24: Hate crimes on the rise; many won't take vaccine, when available; cats and dogs running for office

✅For fifth year in a row, hate crimes rise in Orange County — and by 24% -- The findings were released this week by the nonprofit Orange County Human Relations Commission in its 2019 Hate Crimes Report. The review cited 83 hate crimes documented by community groups, education institutions and law enforcement. Anh Do in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/23/20 

✅Violent hate crimes in L.A. hit highest level in more than a decade; white supremacist acts jump 38% -- Los Angeles County reported the highest number of violent hate crimes last year in more than a decade, with white supremacist crimes jumping by 38%, while attacks on the transgender community surged 64%, according to a new report. Richard Winton in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/24/20 

✅Coronavirus is surging in college towns. The worst spot? Texas

—LA Times

✅California Republicans face turnout burden after Trump mail ballot attacks -- Three weeks after every registered, active voter in America’s most populous state was mailed a ballot, liberal Californians are proving far more eager to return ballots than conservatives. That trend inverts voting patterns of years past — and could create opportunity for liberal campaigns while increasing turnout burdens for Republican-reliant ones. Jeremy B. White Politico -- 10/24/20 

✅‘There is a voter-suppression wing’: An ugly American tradition clouds the 2020 presidential race -- A Memphis, Tenn., poll worker turned away people wearing Black Lives Matter T-shirts, saying they couldn’t vote. Robocalls warned thousands of Michigan residents that mail-in voting could put their personal information in the hands of debt collectors and police. In Georgia, officials cut polling places by nearly 10%, even as the number of voters surged by nearly 2 million. James Rainey in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/24/20 

✅Rural California is divided, armed for revolt. What’s the matter in the State of Jefferson? -- Carlos Zapata has a message for any government official who shows up at his Tehama County restaurant and tries to enforce California’s pandemic shutdown orders. “I’ve made it very clear that if they come to shut us down, I’m going to call 100,000 people that’ll be there with guns, and what happens happens, you know?” Zapata said Tuesday. Ryan Sabalow, Lara Korte, and Jason Pohl in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 10/24/20 

✅Retiring Federal Prosecutor Goes Public With Harsh Criticism Of AG William Barr -- Phil Halpern worked as a prosecutor at the San Diego U.S. Attorney’s office for 36 years, serving six presidents and 19 different attorneys general. Amita Sharma KPBS -- 10/24/20 

✅Gov. Newsom Pledges to Ban Fracking in California – Then Greenlights More of It -- On Sept. 23, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order to ban hydrofracturing in the state by 2024. Just three weeks later, on Oct. 16, his administration approved permits to frack six new wells owned by a company with whom he has lobbying ties. That company, Aera Energy – a joint venture of Shell and ExxonMobil – is represented by the lobbying firm Axiom Advisors. Steve Horn Capital & Main -- 10/24/20 

✅CSU graduation rates continue to climb, but stymied by stubborn equity gaps -- Halfway through a 10-year initiative to increase the share of graduating students, the nation’s largest public university continues to make steady progress on improving overall graduation rates but remains stymied by stubborn equity gaps and faces the threat of backsliding amid state budget cuts and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced almost all instruction online. Nina Agrawal in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/24/20 

✅Cats and dogs running for ‘mayor’ in Oakland are a fuzzy antidote to your election anxiety -- One of the most contentious and nail-biting election campaigns in the Bay Area is at its peak right now. But it’s probably not the one you’re thinking about. Kellie Hwang in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/24/20 

✅Not just California: Colorado and other Western states suffering worst fires in modern history -- The wildfires result from the intensification of long term global warming trends due to human-caused climate change, experts say — and on their current trajectory, they’re not only here to stay but will grow even more powerful. Annie Vainshtein in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 10/23/20 

✅Now for some good news: California praised for recent handling of pandemic -- While other states experience deadly surges in coronavirus cases, a national public health expert says the Golden State “holds a lesson for all of us.” Barbara Feder Ostrov CalMatters -- 10/23/20 

✅Many Californians, particularly Black residents, would skip taking COVID-19 vaccine today, survey finds -- As scientists race to develop COVID-19 vaccines, a new poll shows fewer than one-third of Black residents in California plan to get immunized. Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/23/20 

✅New forecasts show why masks are the easiest — and cheapest — way to save U.S. lives -- If Americans would stop complaining about face masks and wear them when they leave their homes, they could save well over 100,000 lives — and perhaps more than half a million — through the end of February, according to a study published Friday in Nature Medicine. Deborah Netburn in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 10/23/20

OC Covid numbers: worrisome uptick?