REDDING — Brenda Luntey is openly violating California’s order to close her restaurant to indoor dining. But she wants her customers and critics to know she isn't typically a rule-breaker. It’s a matter of survival. “This is my first episode of civil disobedience in my entire life. My whole family...
Walters: Who Will Have Priority for COVID-19 Vaccine?
There’s nothing new about political jousting over shares of a limited but valuable resource. For instance, Californians have been squabbling for decades over divvying up water supplies among agricultural interests, municipal consumers and the natural environment. The conflict never goes away but increases in intensity every time the state experiences...
Walters: A Legislative Session Shaped by Pandemic
The California Legislature will reconvene Monday for what may be its most unusual session in the state’s 170-year history. Even the manner of its first meeting of the biennial session will be odd due to concerns about the surging COVID-19 pandemic. The 80-member state Assembly will initially gather in Sacramento’s...
Vaccines Getting Closer: Governor Outlines Priorities for Who’s Up First
Californians will likely see the first doses of Pfizer’s new COVID-19 vaccine arrive between Dec. 12 and 15, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday as he unveiled the state’s distribution plans for its initial allotment of 327,000 doses. The coveted first batch is reserved for health care workers directly caring for...
PG&E Regulators Approve 8% Rate Increase for Residential Customers
Pacific Gas & Electric's household customers will be hit with an average rate increase of 8% to help the once-bankrupt utility pay for improvements designed to reduce the risks that its outdated equipment will ignite deadly wildfires. The higher prices, approved Thursday, take effect March 1 and are expected to...
Newsom Expected to Announce ‘Drastic Action’ Including New Stay at Home Order
Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected to announce new “drastic action” Thursday to combat the sudden surge in coronavirus cases, potentially issuing a new stay-at-home order for the state's nearly 40 million people amid fears that hospitals could be overwhelmed within weeks. Newsom scheduled a news conference three days after warning...
Couple Arrested for Flying to Home to Hawaii After Positive Virus Tests
HONOLULU — A couple was arrested at a Hawaii airport for traveling on a flight from California despite knowing they were infected with COVID-19, authorities said. Wesley Moribe, 41, and Courtney Peterson, 46, boarded a United Airlines flight to Lihue with a 4-year-old child after San Francisco International Airport officials...
Supreme Court Orders Review of California Virus Rules for Churches
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered a lower federal court to reexamine California restrictions on indoor religious services in areas hard hit by the coronavirus in light of the justices' recent ruling in favor of churches and synagogues in New York. The high court's unsigned order, with no noted...
Walters: GOP Congressional Wins Set Stage for 2022
It is remarkable — even amazing — that as Democrat Joe Biden rang up a nearly 2-to-1 victory over Republican President Donald Trump in California this year, Trump’s party regained four of the seven congressional seats it lost two years ago. California’s outcome was a big share of the Democrats’...
Opinion: Agencies Should Follow CARB’s Leadership on Emissions From Gas Appliances
California led the nation earlier this year with the country’s first gas-powered vehicle phase-out, but the state’s air regulators aren’t stopping there. An overlooked directive during a recent California Air Resources Board meeting was the first step in phasing out gas-powered appliances in our homes, citing the health and climate...