SACRAMENTO — A day after announcing that California's public health director suddenly resigned, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday dodged questions about her departure even as he stressed the importance of transparency and accountability. “Decisions were made, and we're moving forward," he said of the Sunday night resignation by Dr. Sonia...
Only California Bans Beauty Salons From Operating Indoors, Tuesday Rally Seeks Change
California hair and nail salons can only provide services outdoors. A planned Tuesday rally at the state Capitol by several hundred beauty professionals seeks to change that. Alicia Orabella runs a hair salon in the Bay Area. After several months of being shut down and seeing many of her friends...
California’s Top Public Health Director Out, No Reason Given
SACRAMENTO — California's top public health official has resigned, just days after the state announced a fix for a glitch that caused a lag in reporting coronavirus test results used to make decisions about reopening businesses and schools. Dr. Sonia Angell said in a resignation letter made public late Sunday...
California Sets In-Person Voting Rules Amid Coronavirus
SACRAMENTO — Worried about the unpredictable coronavirus wreaking havoc on the November election, California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed a law to let counties offer fewer in-person polling places in exchange for opening the sites earlier. The change follows another law Newsom signed in June requiring counties to mail...
Technical Issue Has California Under-Reporting Virus Cases
LOS ANGELES — A technical problem has caused a lag in California’s tally of coronavirus test results, casting doubt on the accuracy of recent data showing improvements in the infection rate and number of positive cases, and hindering efforts to track the spread, the state’s top health official said Tuesday....
Walters: Should California Borrow More or Tax More?
The state budget that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed earlier this summer had been hastily adjusted to cope with projections that state revenues would plummet by tens of billions of dollars due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the sudden recession it sparked. Nevertheless, it was a budget based on hope —...
Support Team Arrives as Newsom Says Central Valley Is Biggest COVID Concern
A support team from the state met with Fresno County leaders on Monday about how to corral the COVID-19 surge in the Central Valley. Fresno County has just 11% of its 149 ICU beds available, according to public health officials. In the past 14 days alone, the county has seen...
What Will Online Learning Look Like This Time for Fresno Unified Students?
Fresno Unified School District students will have daily live instruction with their teachers when they start the school year with online learning on Aug. 17 — and for all students, from transitional kindergarten through high school, the school day starts at 9 a.m. Their teachers will instruct either from home...
Newsom Asks Warren Buffett to Back Dam Removal
LOS ANGELES — Gov. Gavin Newsom has appealed directly to investor Warren Buffett to support demolishing four hydroelectric dams on a river along the Oregon-California border to save salmon populations that have dwindled to almost nothing. Newsom on Wednesday sent a letter to Buffett urging him to back the Klamath...
Anonymous Tips Help California Counties Enforce Virus Orders
LOS ANGELES — After weeks of stressing education over enforcement, California communities say they are now issuing fines and relying on anonymous tips to make sure businesses and residents are complying with health orders requiring masks, disinfection and social distancing as the state tries to contain the coronavirus. Los Angeles...