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James Bikales

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James is a health intern at CalMatters. He is a junior at Harvard University studying government and East Asian Studies. Prior to joining CalMatters, James was an intern on The Hill’s healthcare team. While at school, he covers the Faculty of Arts and Sciences for the Harvard Crimson and serves as co-chair of the Crimson's Diversity & Inclusivity Committee. He is from Portland, Oregon.

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Monica Corona, center, with her sons, from left, Christian, Alfonso and Nicholas, at Washington Manor park near their home in San Leandro on Dec. 19, 2020. Corona and her sons all lost their jobs at Oracle arena in March after the state-mandated shelter in place order went into effect. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters
Economy
Empty seats mean empty wallets for thousands of sports arena workers
As basketball season opens with no fans, Californians who work at ballparks, arenas and stadiums are out of work. For 21 years, Monica Corona has served food and drinks at Oakland Arena during concerts and basketball games, rising in the ranks to concessions lead and even recruiting her three sons to work there.  But since […]
By • December 22, 2020
Economy
Not just restaurants: Caterers are suffering even more
California’s catering businesses were booming. Then the pandemic hit. One caterer who stages high-end parties says she has lost more than 75% of her revenue. Christine McEnery hasn’t “cracked the code” on how to get her business back amid a global pandemic.  After losing every gig she had on the calendar for 2020, the Monterey […]
By • December 22, 2020
Marica Kumayama Petrey at her home in Oakland on Dec. 19, 2020. Kumayama Petrey, a film producer and musician, has had much of her work curtailed this year due to the pandemic. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters
Economy
The show must go on. But will it after the pandemic?
California’s dancers, musicians and other performers have lost their audience to a pandemic. Some may never return to the stage even when the patrons are back. Marica Kumayama Petrey had put eight months of pre-production work into the live debut for her first album with a new pop/rock band, Girl Swallows Nightingale, planned for March. […]
By • December 22, 2020
Gov. Gavin Newsom visits a new, 134,000 sq. foot COVID-19 testing facility on Oct. 30 in Valencia. Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP Photo/Pool
Politics
How risky was that Napa party Gavin Newsom attended?
A model calculates a 12% chance that a guest at a small dinner party in Napa Valley is infected with the virus. Whether indoors or outdoors, dining in a restaurant is “amongst the riskiest things we do for COVID,” a UC San Francisco health expert said.
By • November 20, 2020
La instructora de educación especial Liz Duffield rocía las mesas en su salón de pre-kínder y jardín de infantes al final del día escolar el 27 de octubre de 2020. Duffield dice que la desinfección y la lavada de manos se han convertido en una parte importante para mantener a ella y a sus estudiantes saludables y tiene la intención de continuar con ellos después de la pandemia. Foto de Anne Wernikoff para CalMatters
CalMatters en Español
Lo que sabemos hasta ahora sobre la reapertura de escuelas en California
A pesar de los limitados requisitos de evaluación, las escuelas de California que han reabierto para recibir instrucción en persona han evitado en gran medida los brotes de COVID-19. Aún así, algunos maestros y legisladores dicen que las pruebas de vigilancia a gran escala son necesarias para el resto de las escuelas del estado y que la falta de datos es un problema.
By and • November 2, 2020
Special education instructor Liz Duffield sprays down the tables in her pre-k and kindergarten classroom at the end of the school day on Oct. 26, 2020. Duffield says that sanitizing and hand washing has become an important part of keeping herself and her students healthy and she intends to continue with them after the pandemic. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters
Education
What we know so far about school reopenings in California
Despite limited testing requirements, California schools that have reopened for in-person instruction have largely avoided COVID-19 outbreaks. Still, some teachers and legislators say large scale surveillance testing is necessary to the rest of the state’s schools and that lack of data is a problem.
By and • November 2, 2020

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