8-9: a collective shrug

✅Walters: Another version of ‘ethnic studies’ -- A year ago, the California Department of Education released a draft of guidelines for implementing “ethnic studies” in public high schools. It unleashed a torrent of controversy — for good reason. Dan Walters CalMatters -- 8/9/20

✅California Democrats divided over COVID-19 stimulus, millionaire tax to fund economic recovery -- How should California dig itself out of a $54 billion deficit? A divide between state lawmakers over how to generate revenue mirrors a national reckoning in Democratic politics. Lauren HeplerCalMatters -- 8/9/20

 

✅The lost days of summer: How Trump fell short in containing the virus -- As the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows is responsible for coordinating the vast executive branch, including its coronavirus response. But in closed-door meetings, he has revealed his skepticism of the two physicians guiding the anti-pandemic effort, Deborah Birx and Anthony S. Fauci, routinely questioning their expertise, according to senior administration officials and other people briefed on the internal discussions. Philip Rucker, Yasmeen Abutaleb, Josh Dawsey and Robert Costa in the Washington Post$ -- 8/9/20

✅Rick Gates, Ex-Trump Aide and Mueller Witness, Is Publishing a Memoir
NYT

✅Even Asymptomatic People Carry the Coronavirus in High Amounts

NYT

✅At Least 1 Dead and 20 Wounded in Washington, D.C., Shooting

NYT

 

✅A president ignored: Trump’s outlandish claims increasingly met with a collective shrug

More than 3½ years into his term, President Trump often finds himself minimized, as many of his outrageous or groundless statements are briefly considered and then, just as quickly, dismissed.

Washington Post

✅‘Like Groundhog Day’: Republicans fret over Trump’s fading fortunes

Negotiations for coronavirus relief have fallen apart. Coronavirus deaths continues to rise. Several Trump allies acknowledged that if the election was held today, Trump would likely lose.

Politico

8-8: a pious Trumpian, pants unzipped

Social distancing at Liberty U

✅OC Elementary Reopenings in Limbo Following State Coronavirus Data Flap

Voice of OC

…Earlier this week, a wave of OC elementary schools applied for waivers that would allow them to reopen classrooms. The waiver process became available Monday, after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s July order requiring schools to do online learning if their respective counties are on the state watchlist, like OC, for virus case and hospitalization trends. 

But the state’s reporting system glitched and there’s a backlog of up to 300,000 test results that haven’t been reported to counties yet, said Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services. 

“That failure led to inaccurate case numbers and case positivity rates,” Ghaly said at a Friday news conference….

 

✅Falwell Placed on Leave From Liberty [University]

Executive committee of board acts after president [Jerry Falwell Jr.] posts photograph of himself with his pants unzipped with a woman who is not his wife.

—Inside Higher Ed

✅Live Coronavirus Updates: Here’s the Latest

The fall is days away, and Covid-19 is surging. The Chronicle is tracking developments across higher ed here. Read on for daily live updates and information.

CHE

✅Official: California fixed glitch that backlogged COVID data -- A technical glitch that has plagued the data system the state relies on to make decisions about reopening businesses and schools has been fixed, but it could take up to 48 hours to get the numbers updated, California’s top health official said Friday. Amy Taxin and Janie Har Associated Press Dustin Gardiner and Catherine Ho in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Taryn Luna in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/20

 

✅California colleges can reopen with a ton of restrictions, limited dorms, online classes -- As California colleges and universities reopen this fall they must adhere to strict limits on in-person classes and greatly restrict dorm and campus life, state public health officials said Friday in long-awaited guidance for how campuses can operate amid a surge in COVID-19 cases. Teresa Watanabe, Nina Agrawal in the Los Angeles Times$ Beau Yarbrough in the Orange County Register -- 8/8/20

✅College admissions scandal: Rick Singer’s employee to plead guilty to racketeering -- A woman employed by William “Rick” Singer, the Newport Beach consultant at the heart of the college admissions scandal, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to commit racketeering. Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/8/20

✅Russia continues to meddle in the election to aid President Trump, intelligence officials said.

NYT

✅When Covid-19 Hit, Many Elderly Were Left to Die

Warnings had piled up for years that nursing homes were vulnerable. The pandemic sent them to the back of the line for equipment and care.

NYT

✅Trump antagonizes GOP megadonor Adelson in heated phone call

Trump chided the Las Vegas mogul [Sheldon Adelson] — a financial linchpin of his reelection effort — for not spending more. And now, he might not.

Politico

 

✅The Wedge Issue That’s Dividing Trumpworld

A group of social conservatives wants the president to embrace anti-transgender issues to reverse his sagging poll numbers. Some Trump advisers think it’s political suicide.

Politico

We've been warned that recent numbers have been dubious.
The state/county should have the numbers straightened out within a couple of days.

Our impressive Incompetence Exceptionalism

      These graphs were provided by Kevin Drum of Mother Jones this morning:

     It is noteworthy that, though only one Western nation has worse deaths-per-million numbers than the U.S. (namely, the UK), Covid deaths in all Western nations are very much in decline, with the U.S. the exception, where Covid deaths are clearly ascendent.

     The upshot: people aren't dying much anymore in other Western nations. But they're dying at a rate of over 1,000 per day in the U.S.

     Drum seems to include Latin America as among Western nations. Accordingly, Argentina and Mexico are two Western nations with death-per-million numbers better than ours (in the U.S.) that are, however, seeing a definite ascendency in Covid deaths. Mexico's situation looks mighty grim: they've already lost 50,000 people and the death rate keeps going up. Argentina could (but likely won't) turn things around before they see truly awful death numbers. So far, they suffered only about 4,400 deaths.

     We've got it especially bad in the U.S. (worse than Mexico): already a huge number of deaths (160K) and an increasing death rate. That points to many more American deaths in future. So we really stand out.

     Owing to a stunning lack of national leadership—permitting a stunning level of irrational pandemic skepticism among ordinary Americans, especially Trumpians—we have a huge catastrophe on our hands, while most other Western nations do not. 

     American exceptionalism, I guess. American incompetence exceptionalism.

     Again, in the U.S., it's a catastrophe grounded in incompetence. We should feel very ashamed. And angry. But that's not what we're witnessing. It's pretty alienating, among other things.

     America, the irrational, the clueless. The hopeless?

     Hang on, it's gonna get worse!

A DISTURBING FACT:

     The number of deaths thus far reported for Covid-19 in the U.S. is 162,000 (or maybe 161,347). That number is likely to get much higher.

     That number is greater than the number of deaths of Americans in these wars combined:

 

World War I: 116,516

Korean war: 36,516

Gulf War: 294

Iraq war: 4,497

Afghanistan: 2,216

 

Total: 160,039

It's a time for outrage.

8-7: it is what it is STILL

✅Scores of Orange County Elementary Schools Move to Reopen Classrooms

Voice of OC

     A wave of Orange County elementary schools are trying to reopen classrooms for the upcoming school year during the coronavirus pandemic, after state health officials announced a waiver process earlier this week.  

     Most of the schools looking to reopen are in South County, where the virus hasn’t hit residents as hard, compared to working class neighborhoods in Anaheim and Santa Ana. In addition, an overwhelming percentage of them are private or charter schools. 

     OC schools were thrust into the national spotlight last month, when the OC Board of Education voted to recommend schools reopen without requiring masks or physical distancing. But the board’s vote has no bearing on schools and their respective districts. 

     Bernadette Boden-Albala, founding dean of UC Irvine’s Public Health program, said if the virus trends continue to go down, then schools should start planning for reopening classrooms. She also said schools should give learning options to students and parents, stagger class days and implement a robust testing and contact tracing program.  

     “I think we’re in this place where we probably could start if our case numbers stay where they are or go down. Then we can start talking about what hybrid education really looks like. It does mean lower numbers, trying to do things outside. Staggering schools, giving a choice for some kids that can’t go … but they’re still engaging and having the proper education,” said Bernadette Boden-Albala, founding dean of UC Irvine’s Public Health program. 

     But, Boden-Albala said, the reopens could depend on how severely impacted the surrounding community is, like the hard-hit neighborhoods in Anaheim and Santa Ana. 

     “This is all about density. The densest communities are going to get hit the hardest” like Anaheim and Santa Ana, Boden-Albala said in a Tuesday phone interview. “You just have these populations in these cities like Anaheim and Santa Ana that are living more densely, as opposed to more of a suburban structure where there’s more space between households — where the transmission is less.” 

. . .

     Over 100 elementary schools have already filed paperwork seeking waivers according to a public records request answered by the county Health Care Agency….

 

✅‘Broken’ coronavirus tracking system leaves California in the dark: ‘We have no idea’ -- The breakdown in California’s coronavirus test reporting system is disrupting pandemic response efforts across the state, leaving local officials in the dark about the spread of COVID-19 and blocking the ability of counties to get restrictions lifted until the the system is fixed. Anita Chabria, Maura Dolan in the Los Angeles Times$ Fiona Kelliher in the San Jose Mercury$ Dustin Gardiner and Erin Allday in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Michael McGough in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/7/20

 

JUST IN:

✅State health department freezes coronavirus watch list, citing faulty data system that threw off crucial case metrics

OC Reg

✅Coronavirus impact: Chasm grows between whites, people of color, California poll finds -- The ongoing coronavirus pandemic and its economic toll are hitting people of color in California especially hard, and a new poll illustrates just how alarming the disparity has grown among the state’s families. Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/7/20

 

✅California colleges in last-minute scramble to open without state guidance -- Just days before the fall semester is set to begin, California colleges and universities are scrambling to finalize reopening plans that affect thousands of students as top leaders say the state’s lack of guidance for weeks has frustrated efforts to bring back limited in-person learning and dorm living. Teresa Watanabe, Nina Agrawal, Phil Willon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/7/20

Trump’s economic comeback is becoming a slowdown and likely a stall-out -- New jobless claims declined a bit last week after two weeks of increases but remain above 1 million per week.  Ben White Politico -- 8/7/20

 

✅More Than 400,000 Students Leave Their States for College. Here’s How They Could Carry Covid-19 With Them.

CHE

Today's numbers are highly suspect.
"In the dark" indeed

These guys turned out to be such assholes, that they had to break up.

Voice of OC blasts the County for its lack of transparency; 32 new Covid deaths reported

✅ Santana: The County of Orange Isn’t Transparent or Open When it Comes to Coronavirus

Voice of OC

By Norberto Santana Jr. [Editor in chief]

     I like Orange County CEO Frank Kim and respect his work but was floored last week when he insisted the County of Orange has been transparent and open about its handling of the Coronavirus.

     Far from it.

     I would have challenged Kim directly at last Thursday’s press conference on this misstatement but the county media PR-machine he declared as fully dedicated to openness doesn’t allow reporters to ask follow up questions.

     So much for transparency and openness.

. . .

     As this column goes to publication, according to sources close the matter, Kim is reportedly asking county supervisors about their schedule availability to hold a special meeting – potentially on Friday – to allow County Supervisor Lisa Bartlett to schedule a controversial item extending supervisors’ term limits, for the third time this month.

     Keep in mind that under the state’s open meeting laws, the Ralph M. Brown Act, supervisors aren’t supposed to be debating public policy in private.

. . .

     Since we are on the topic of public meetings, which Kim so ardently defended in his speech about the commitment to openness by county supervisors, let’s talk about how unevenly county supervisors enforce their public comment rules.

     We just reported today that an Orange County Superior Court concluded there was little doubt about the uneven way that current chairwoman [Michelle] Steel conducts meetings, creating grave constitutional deficiencies for public participation.

     If Steel likes your point of view or position, you get extended time to speak. If she doesn’t, you get held to the time limit, which is often times shortened from three minutes to two in recent meetings.

     In addition to the uneven handling of public comment, there’s the whole structure that supervisors’ adopted during the outbreak of the pandemic to only encourage in-person commenting – at a time where public health advisories asked people to refrain from being indoors without masks.

     So any member of the public that wanted more mask enforcement or education had to come down to the county board meeting and stand next to activists who don’t wear masks or practice social distancing to make their voices heard.

     The result was an uneven indication of public comment regarding the mask issue, one which ultimately muddied policymaking by supervisors to the point that it led to the resignation of the Public Health Director, Dr. Nicole Quick.

     Was that transparent and open?

. . .

Nicole Quick

     [The Covid-update press] conferences always start with Steel coming out and basically being granted a free campaign stump opportunity.

     In most cases, she leaves immediately and reporters are not allowed to ask any questions of her.

     In recent weeks, Steel’s remarks haven’t even centered on Covid but instead focused on her resolutions regarding public safety appreciation.

     After Steel’s stump speech, technocrats – like Health Care Agency Director Clayton Chau – offer some general announcements on hot topics of the day.

     Complex issues – like Covid testing efforts, contact tracing and sheltering in urban environments, hospitalization numbers – are all covered in just a few minutes.

     Then, reporters – usually numbering about a dozen – get one question each with no follow ups.

     When we ask questions about complexities, we get general answers.

     Even more insulting is when Chau or Kim ask reporters to follow up with county Public Information officers that in many cases don’t return calls for days or in some cases at all.

     Keep in mind that virtually every public health order that the County of Orange has issued – about the March shutdown, about the Memorial Day reopening, about masks – all have been rolled out to huge confusion and in just about every case had to be re-written and re-issued.

     Data reporting on Covid – despite fancy press releases from the county about their new website, months into the crisis – is often times not reliable and again, there’s virtually no public information effort to back it up. State data and county data often tell a totally different story on any given day.

     As reporters, we are constantly getting emails from residents and taxpayers bewildered by the constant problems and inconsistencies in the county published data.

     Reporters also were among the first to publicly call on the county to release infection data by city – a crucial piece of data people wanted to see.

     Until public pressure and media attention mounted, Kim admitted that he kept those numbers from the public after being pressed by city managers to keep it secret.

     Is that transparent and open?

. . .

     Lastly, let’s talk restaurants.

     During Kim’s presentation last week, he told reporters the OC approach to restaurant inspections regarding Covid was focused more on engagement and education rather than hard enforcement.

     Fair enough.

     Yet I keep reading about restaurants having Covid-related closures (kudos to the OC Register’s Anne Valdespino for her solid coverage of the restaurant outbreaks).

     At last week’s press conference, I asked Kim if he could show taxpayers how HCA is doing that kind of vibrant restaurant outreach meant to protect consumers.

     I asked for details like how many pamphlets have been passed out, how many restaurant owners have been contacted, what kinds of resources are most requested by restaurants who need help?

     I was told there would be follow up.

     I am still waiting.

     Based on the agenda circulated yesterday for today’s press conference, the answers will apparently be presented at today’s public press conference, this week scheduled for 1 p.m. on the County Facebook page.

     A week to get basic stats on restaurant inspection outreach – in the midst of Covid outbreaks at restaurants.

     Is that transparent and open?

Trumpians

✅ OC Judge Allows Lawsuit Against Orange County Public Comment Policies to Move Forward

Voice of OC

     A lawsuit alleging Orange County supervisors have unconstitutionally restricted public comments got the green light to move forward Wednesday, after a Superior Court judge rejected a county legal motion that argued there were no legal grounds for the complaint.

     In her new ruling – in an updated case by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) – OC Superior Court Judge Sheila B. Fell found the plaintiffs “alleged sufficient facts” to show that restrictions on speech at supervisors’ meetings must “be reasonable and viewpoint neutral.”

     “The lack of any guidance or standard for the Chair to decide whether to grant permission renders the [speaking] Rule unreasonable and, as such, unconstitutional,” Fell ruled on Wednesday.

     The ruling allows the lawsuit to move closer to an evidence-gathering phase, and a possible trial next year.

     [Click here to read the ruling.]

     The case was brought by the ACLU on behalf of a group of homeless advocates, the People’s Homeless Task Force, who often criticize supervisors during public comments at the supervisors meetings. Among other things, the lawsuit alleges supervisors enforce speaking time limits more strictly against people who criticize them.

     At one meeting in 2017, Supervisor Michelle Steel, in her first meeting as chairwoman of the board, let some corporate executives talk for about twice as long as the time limits she enforced against homeless advocates and county workers.

. . .

     The ACLU’s lead attorney in the case said the ruling clearly bolsters their point that the County of Orange rules for public comment violate free speech rights. 

     “We’re very pleased that the court denied the county’s motion,” said Peter Eliasberg, chief counsel with the ACLU of Southern California.

     “We think that this gives us an opportunity to go forward and further develop the work and further show that a variety of the county’s policies really are not compatible with their obligations with respect to public transparency and public access to government through the Brown Act,” he added, referring to the California law that requires open and equal access to meetings of local elected officials.

     “We’re confident that the court will see it our way and that we’ll get rulings that some, if not all, of the policies that we’re currently challenging violate the law.”….

See County data

In other news: (From Rough&Tumble)

✅Raucous parties, young adults fueling California’s COVID-19 crisis -- Younger adults are fueling California’s coronavirus pandemic like never before, health officials are warning, and massive parties and other large social gatherings are threatening to unravel the progress the state is making. Rong-Gong Lin II in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/6/20

✅A mask in every mailbox? California Democrats up pressure campaign in Congress -- California Democrats in Congress are increasing pressure on their leaders to get all Americans to wear masks to fight the coronavirus pandemic — including by mailing them to every household. Tal Kopan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/6/20

✅Newsom searches for messaging rhythm as coronavirus fatigue sets in -- The state remains in a holding pattern. Indoor restaurant dining, bars and gyms have been closed for weeks. Most schools are planning to start with full distance learning. Debra Kahn and Carla Marinucci Politico -- 8/6/20

✅'Back to feeling blind': What we know about California's missing COVID data -- A major reporting issue with California's coronavirus data means state and county health officials no longer have a clear idea of how the state's cases are trending. For days, California hasn't received full counts on the number of tests conducted nor the number that came back positive for COVID-19, Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Tuesday. Katie Dowd in the San Francisco Chronicle Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$ Fiona Kelliher, Evan Webeck in the San Jose Mercury$ Amy Taxin Associated Press -- 8/6/20

✅Politicizing COVID: Poll finds big gaps between Trump and Biden voters in support for reopening schools, masks -- Found 80 percent of Biden voters thought the state moved too quickly to reopen businesses, while 79 percent of Trump supporters thought the opposite. Nico Savidge in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/6/20

✅Another college announces it’s going online this fall: Santa Clara University -- Santa Clara University will go online for the fall quarter, the Jesuit school announced Wednesday, joining a majority of Bay Area campuses that will be mostly virtual the rest of this year. Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/6/20

8-5: “our strong mitigation efforts are working very well”

❎Extra Tuition-Free Time on Campus

Two colleges -- St. Norbert College and Pacific Lutheran University -- will offer students an extra term or two without charge. The programs aim to make up for subpar on-campus experiences amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Inside Higher Ed

 

❎House Republicans Examine Foreign Money to Colleges

Representatives wrote Harvard, Yale and four other universities asking for records into any deals they have with foreign countries.

Inside Higher Ed

 

❎Democrats Again Call for Aid to Undocumented Students

Inside Higher Ed

 

❎MeTooSTEM Leader Admits to Faking Identity

Inside Higher Ed (See also The Anonymous Professor Who Wasn’t, NYT)

❎Don’t Blame Colleges for the Coming Fall Debacle

This is just what higher education looks like in a failed state.

CHE

From Rough&Tumble:

❎California’s coronavirus test result data may be flawed, says top health official -- A steep decline in California’s coronavirus infection rate announced this week by Gov. Gavin Newson may not be accurate, according to the state’s top public health official who said Tuesday that the state’s data system used to process COVID-19 test results is marred with technical issues. Colleen Shalby in the Los Angeles Times$  Ana B. Ibarra CalMatters Aidin Vaziri in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Amy Taxin Associated Press -- 8/5/20

 

❎These O.C. parents have a message for Gov. Newsom, teachers’ unions: ‘Open up the schools.’ -- A pro-charter school group brought some 75 parents, teachers and a couple of Orange County Board of Education members together Tuesday evening to rally for the reopening of schools that were closed because of coronavirus concerns. Parents, they said, should be making the choice of whether their children learn on campus or online. Roxana Kopetman in the Orange County Register -- 8/5/20

❎Some California teachers asked to return to empty classrooms during distance learning -- When Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered school districts to remain closed for in-person instruction in counties where coronavirus cases are spiking, some California teachers felt relieved. But now, several school districts are requiring teachers to conduct distance learning from their physical classrooms, sparking new fears as Covid-19 cases continue to climb across the state. Sydney Johnson EdSource-- 8/5/20

 

❎Nurses statewide to protest shifting ratios at medical facilities -- The California Nurses Association plans to stage rallies at nearly 70 hospitals and medical centers Wednesday to protest waivers that allow facilities to staff some units below state-mandated nurse-patient ratios as nurses are shifted to more critical patients. Kevin Smith in the Orange County Register -- 8/5/20

In the future, things will be swell

❎Census facing uncertainty, hostile president -- Every 10 years since the 18th century, the United States has counted noses. A lot is riding on this decennial tally. It affects the way federal funding is distributed and it can have a dramatic impact on the boundaries — and number — of political districts. Lana Schwartz Capitol Weekly -- 8/5/20

 

❎Deputies accused of being in secret societies cost L.A. County taxpayers $55 million, records show -- Los Angeles County has paid out roughly $55 million in settlements in cases in which sheriff’s deputies were alleged to belong to a secret society, records obtained by The Times show, illuminating the entrenched nature of a subculture that has plagued the Sheriff’s Department for years. Alene Tchekmedyianin the Los Angeles Times$  Stefanie Dazio Associated Press -- 8/5/20

 

❎California legislators urge Newsom to sign bill requiring CSU students to take ethnic studies -- Within the next 12 days, Gov. Gavin Newsom will decide which ethnic studies courses California State University students must take to graduate. Ashley A. Smith EdSource -- 8/5/20

 

❎Billions for national parks as historic bill becomes law -- After spending his presidency denying climate change, placing coal and oil industry officials in top environmental jobs, and weakening dozens of public health and wildlife rules, President Donald Trump on Tuesday reversed course and signed a historic law to pump billions of dollars into long-neglected repairs and upgrades at America’s national parks. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 8/5/20

 

❎Trump Cherry-Picks Coronavirus Data in Briefing Appearance -- President Trump, in a news conference on Tuesday, cited a slew of statistics to argue that “our strong mitigation efforts are working very well.” Here’s a fact-check. Linda Qiu in the New York Times$ -- 8/5/20

8-4: Board of Ed stifles public's input

✅ Orange County Residents Debate Going Back to School

Voice of OC

     Orange County’s Board of Education call for a return to classrooms without masks or social distancing last month drew a host of reactions from across the country.

     Yet panel members never gave Orange County residents their own chance to sound off. 

. . .

     Over 4,000 email comments were submitted for the Board of Education’s July 13 meeting but board members chose not to publicly acknowledge any of the emails before taking a vote. 

     Board members instead chose to hear from 20, in-person commenters who seemed to have been picked at random but were overwhelmingly in favor of the board’s proposal. 

     The board still has not published the emails on their website, which they are required to do under the Brown Act, and has not announced a plan on how to release the emails to the public. The only information published by the board is a list of names from the commenters.

     Voice of OC filed a public records request the night of the July 13 meeting, hoping to see what the public’s opinion of the recommendations were, and has reviewed half the emails. 

. . .

     A vast majority of the public comments reviewed so far were in favor of schools remaining closed until proper safety protocols could be implemented. 

     Of the 2,097 emails reviewed by this publication date, 1,540 commenters said they were against the board’s proposed guidelines for reopening free of restrictions and 345 commenters were clearly in favor of a return to classrooms without masks or social distancing.

. . .

     A number of the commenters vowed to vote against board members who advocate in favor of a reopening with no masks and no social distancing come the next election.

     The last elections for the County’s board of education was in March of this year that saw Republicans hold on to a supermajority of seats. 

     The next election is set for 2022, when trustees Mari Barke and Lisa Sparks will be up for reelection.

✅ UCI creates pharmacy school, will enroll students in fall 2021

OC Reg

From Rough&Tumble:

✅ California’s coronavirus cases are finally dropping. How do we stop another surge? -- The number of reported cases, people hospitalized with COVID-19 and the percent of tests coming back positive are dropping for the first time since a June spike in infections sent shock waves through the state’s recovery plans. Those are “encouraging signs,” Newsom said, but he warned Californians to not forget what happens when we get too comfortable. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ Don Thompson Associated Press -- 8/4/20

 

✅ California’s COVID-19 positive test rate declines. Did closing bars and malls work? -- The governor said it’s possible that “all of the above” contributed to the current decline, while cautioning that the trend is not yet clear. In critiquing his own performance, he has repeatedly said that the state didn’t focus enough in the first round of opening on educating the public about the caution and behavioral changes that would be required. Sophia Bollag in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 8/4/20

 

✅ Newsom provides path for elementary schools to open, strictly limits youth sports -- California elementary schools that want to open their doors for in-person learning must consult with parents, labor unions and others on campus and demonstrate their plans for contact-tracing and other public health measures that have been widely implemented in summer camps and child care settings, according to new guidelines released Monday night. Katy Murphy and Jeremy B. White Politico Dustin Gardiner in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Robert Jablon Associated Press Anita Chabria, Nina Agrawal in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 8/4/20

 

✅ Democrats take fundraising lead in Orange County’s State Senate, Assembly battles -- Democrats are raising more money than Republicans in all but one of Orange County’s nine state Senate and Assembly races, according to the latest fundraising reports filed with the state. Brooke Staggs in the Orange County Register -- 8/4/20

✅ UC Regents want to investigate top salary cuts -- Two key members of the UC Board of Regents are in favor of a model that would reduce top salaries to help offset pandemic expenses. Also, next year’s UC budget has more money for policing and the stage has been set for a likely September vote about a telescope in Hawaii. Mikhail Zinshteyn CalMatters -- 8/4/20

 

✅ D.A. Is Investigating Trump and His Company Over Fraud, Filing Suggests -- The office of the district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., made the disclosure in a new court filing arguing Mr. Trump’s accountants should turn over his tax returns. William K. Rashbaum and Benjamin Weiser in the New York Times$ -- 8/4/20

✅ Rent is coming due in California: ‘Two weeks to avoid complete catastrophe’ -- The California Legislature has less than a month left in its pandemic-shortened session to deal with one of the state’s worst economic crises in decades, and there’s no greater emergency than what to do about the rent. Alexei Koseff in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 8/3/20

✅ California undercounting COVID-19 cases due to ‘serious’ technical issue, counties say

The Sacramento Bee

     Health officials in multiple California counties say the electronic system used by most local health departments statewide to report data on infectious diseases is currently experiencing “serious” technical issues, resulting in coronavirus cases being significantly undercounted.

     The technical problems suggest that the apparent statewide decline in COVID-19 activity that had been observed in the past few days, and which Gov. Gavin Newsom touted during a Monday news conference as an indication the state has been “able to get a handle” on the pandemic via social distancing and business closures his administration re-implemented last month, may instead be either partially or entirely attributed to a data glitch….

New case numbers likely under-reported today

In one possible world: March 1930