In summary
Dr. Mark Ghaly, the state’s top health official, says the California schools COVID mask mandate will stay in place, but could change Feb. 28.
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Well, that was anticlimactic.
After weeks of hinting that a key piece of California’s forthcoming “endemic strategy” for dealing with COVID — changing the statewide school mask mandate — could be unveiled as soon as Monday, the Newsom administration on Monday instead announced plans to punt the decision to Feb. 28 at the earliest.
The news came not from Gov. Gavin Newsom himself but from the state’s top health official, Dr. Mark Ghaly, who in the course of a nearly 90-minute press conference took pains to emphasize that “the one thing that has been important throughout our entire response … especially in schools, is that we don’t make hasty decisions.”
- Ghaly: By Feb. 28, “we anticipate being able to share what the next period of time will look like and, with some specificity, give a date when the masking requirement will move to a recommendation.”
- California Teachers Association President E. Toby Boyd: “We support the administration’s decision to pause and gather more information to make a science-based decision on school masking that responds to this moment in the pandemic and helps the state transition with an eye on equity.”
But, as CalMatters’ Joe Hong reports, some parents and educators are frustrated by the state “kicking the can down the road,” in the words of Dr. Will Sheldon, an Oakland parent and family medicine physician.
Others accused the state of inconsistency, noting that California’s statewide indoor mask mandate is set to expire Wednesday in most locations for vaccinated residents, and Los Angeles on Sunday hosted the Super Bowl with tens of thousands of fans — including celebrities and politicians — many of whom were seen without face coverings.
- Megan Bacigalupi, executive director of CA Parent Power: “By delaying a decision to make masking optional in K-12 schools, Governor Newsom has once again let politics, not science, dictate pandemic policies for children.”
A few other key takeaways from Ghaly’s presentation:
- Local officials will be able to implement stricter mask rules than the state’s. “There will be the ability, as there has been throughout, that communities that want to add additional layers of protection as they see fit should and can.”
- The state wants to increase pediatric vaccination rates. “We will use this opportunity to remind students, families, that this is a great chance to get vaccinated, that vaccines are safe and effective, that they do a lot to help protect not just the individuals, but the community at large.”
- Any move the state makes will face pushback. “That change is gonna be one that I think will be met with a lot of excitement in some, and a lot of fear in other circles.”
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The coronavirus bottom line: As of Sunday, California had 8,244,329 confirmed cases (+0.5% from previous day) and 82,026 deaths (+0.7% from previous day), according to state data. CalMatters is also tracking coronavirus hospitalizations by county.
California has administered 70,728,315 vaccine doses, and 73.9% of eligible Californians are fully vaccinated.
Other stories you should know
1. Lots of recalls and special elections
It’s election season, baby! As frustration over COVID policies collides with a “Great Resignation” of state lawmakers, today marks the deadline for voters in San Francisco and Los Angeles to cast or mail in their ballots in a number of closely-watched elections:
- The recall of three San Francisco school board members. The recall, prompted by parent frustration over prolonged public school closures, “has now catalyzed an entire city into demanding better leadership for our children,” said recall organizer Siva Raj. The outcome could provide the first glimpse into the effectiveness of parents’ strategies to leverage pandemic anger into political power.
- A special election to fill a rare vacant state Assembly seat representing part of San Francisco. Four candidates are running to replace David Chiu, who resigned to take over as San Francisco City Attorney. If no candidate wins more than 50% of the vote, the top two will head to a runoff on April 19.
- And a special election to fill a vacant Assembly seat representing part of Los Angeles. Two candidates are running to replace Ed Chau, who resigned after Newsom appointed him as a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge.
- More to come: California also has four April 5 special elections on the books to fill three Assembly seats and one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The high number of vacancies in the state Legislature has made it more difficult for Democrats to pass controversial bills, including a single-payer proposal that met its demise late last month.
Meanwhile, Nevada County activists are seeking to recall the entire Board of Supervisors for COVID policies they describe as “crimes against humanity” — a move that comes on the heels of Shasta County voters recalling a GOP supervisor whom they felt didn’t oppose Newsom’s COVID measures ardently enough.
2. Boudin spotlights use of survivor DNA
San Francisco police have been using DNA profiles collected from sexual assault survivors to investigate them as suspects in other crimes, District Attorney Chesa Boudin alleged Monday — a practice he said could violate state law and discourage people from reporting incidents of sexual assault.
- The announcement escalated an ongoing battle between Boudin’s office and the San Francisco police department over prosecuting police use-of-force cases — one into which state and city officials waded Monday to help the two parties reach an agreement.
- It also prompted state Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat, to condemn the police department’s alleged actions as “extremely troubling” and say he will “seriously consider” introducing legislation to ban law enforcement from using rape kit DNA for unrelated criminal investigations.
Separately, advocates are calling on Newsom and state lawmakers to use California’s budget surplus to funnel $15 million annually into sexual and domestic violence prevention programs, arguing that the state “should be investing in strategies that prevent violence from ever occurring, and not responding after they occur.”
- A 2021 report from the Little Hoover Commission, an independent state oversight agency, found that sexual violence drains California of at least $149 billion annually in tangible and intangible costs.
- Another Little Hoover Commission report found that more than 14,000 human trafficking victims received state help from 2016 to 2019, 78% of whom were trafficked for sex and 22% for forced labor. Democratic Assemblymember Joaquin Arambula of Fresno recently introduced a bill to crack down on labor trafficking, CalMatters’ Melissa Montalvo reports.
3. Housing California’s students
If you think California housing policy is contentious, try California student housing policy. UC Berkeley announced Monday that it may be forced to cut its incoming fall 2022 class by one-third — slashing 3,050 student seats and costing the university $57 million in tuition revenue — unless the California Supreme Court intervenes. Berkeleyside has more on the legal backstory, which involves a group called Save Berkeley’s Neighborhoods challenging the university’s expansion plan on the grounds that it didn’t adequately account for the environmental impact of adding so many students and not enough housing.
- The legal battle has high stakes: California lawmakers are pushing the UC system to dramatically expand enrollment — and accept higher numbers of Californians — even as applications skyrocket, due in part to UC last fall scrapping its admissions test requirement.
- Meanwhile, student housing remains scarce. UC Berkeley, for example, houses only 22% of undergraduates and 9% of graduate students, the lowest percentage in the system, according to Berkeleyside.
Still, there’s some good student housing news. After the California State University system realized it misread the fine print for a new state grant to build affordable student housing — potentially resulting in a loss of thousands of new beds — officials went back to the drawing board, ran new numbers and told lawmakers they have a plan to develop more discounted student homes. The result: As many as 800 more Cal State students — for a total of nearly 3,400 — could soon see heavily subsidized housing slots, CalMatters’ Mikhail Zinshteyn reports.
CalMatters commentary
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Republican state Sen. Brian Dahle’s campaign for governor will probably fail, but could help the GOP regain relevance in California.
How to fix California’s recall elections: Here are two major reforms that would address the weaknesses in our current system, writes Pedro Nava, chair of the Little Hoover Commission.
A great opportunity for women: The “Great Resignation” of state lawmakers ahead of the 2022 election marks a chance for California to elect leaders that reflect the people they serve, argues Susannah Delano, executive director of Close the Gap California.
Other things worth your time
California lawmaker takes aim at plastic waste from online retailers. // San Francisco Chronicle
What can Devin Nunes do with $11 million in campaign cash? // Sacramento Bee
Former aide to Faulconer testifies he regularly deleted texts about city business. // San Diego Union-Tribune
Alberto Carvalho begins new role as LAUSD’s superintendent. // EdSource
Kaiser Permanente broke its own profit record in 2021. // Modern Healthcare
‘They just throw people away’: Bay Area parents seek help for mentally ill children. // San Francisco Chronicle
Oakland homicides hit a similar inflection point a decade ago — then violence plummeted. Can it happen again? // San Francisco Chronicle
Armed robbery of $500,000 watch gets 2 men 12 years in prison. // Los Angeles Times
Whistleblower suit accuses national home leaser of cheating 18 California cities. // San Diego Union-Tribune
Doctors group sues UC Davis over Elon Musk-funded monkey research. // Sacramento Bee
Why tons of people suddenly are getting married in Humboldt County. // San Francisco Chronicle
Will rising seas ruin the California dream? // Bloomberg
West megadrought worsens to driest in at least 1,200 years. // Associated Press
‘The Brad Pitt of mountain lions’: How P22 became Los Angeles’ wildest celebrity. // The Guardian
Wild pigs run amok in San Jose, residents want repayment for wrecked landscaping. // Mercury News
See you tomorrow.
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