LOS ANGELES — California hired retired state workers and transferred other employees to help process an avalanche of over 1 million unemployment claims amid a surge of job losses from the coronavirus pandemic, the state said Thursday. The announcement came as Los Angeles saw a 50% jump in newly confirmed...
California Must Make Up Every Missed School Day
Not one day. Our kids should not lose one day of school, not a single day of instruction, to the coronavirus. Or to anything else. Let me be clear: I’m not arguing against closing schools in the midst of the pandemic. Flattening the curve of infections comes first. But the...
Flatter or Fight? Governors Seeking Help Must Navigate Trump.
SACRAMENTO — At first, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker tried to play nice. He limited criticisms of the federal government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic and asked for medical supplies through official channels. But nothing came, so he went on television. The first-term Democrat blasted the Trump administration Sunday on CNN for failing...
Few Sheltered as California Aims to Help Homeless Amid Virus
SAN FRANCISCO — Homeless outreach workers are passing out hand sanitizer, checking temperatures and pleading with people not to crowd together. But a week after Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged thousands of hotel rooms to help the homeless survive the coronavirus pandemic, most of those rooms sit empty. For most of...
Newsom Says 4 Banks Agree to Allow Mortgage Payment Pause
SACRAMENTO — Four of the nation's largest banks agreed to temporarily suspend residential mortgage payments for Californians affected by the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Wednesday. The announcement comes as more than 1 million Californians have filed for unemployment benefits since March 13 because many businesses have had to shut...
Newsom Says Virus Likely to Curb State Spending
SACRAMENTO — With nearly 40 million people stuck at home because of the coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday warned state agencies to prepare for less money from the government that will likely postpone many of the state's ambitious spending plans. Citing a “severe drop in economic activity,” Gov. Gavin...
Los Angeles County Backtracks on Teen's Possible Virus Death
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles County health officials backtracked Tuesday on their announcement that a child died from coronavirus, saying it’s possible the death was caused by something else. During their daily briefing, the county health department said the unidentified child from the city of Lancaster was among four new...
Walters: Newsom Veers Off the Rails
During his first couple weeks of managing California’s COVID-19 crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s words and actions were impressively cool-headed and measured. Last week, however, he veered off the rails, needlessly causing alarm and confusion as Californians were adjusting to the greatest public health threat in more than a century. He,...
Newsom Cautious on Earlier Release of Inmates
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday ruled out releasing violent inmates in response to the coronavirus pandemic, but left the door open to other relief that he said needs to be carefully weighed to avoid worsening the state's homelessness crisis. One inmate and five employees in California’s massive prison...
PG&E to Plead Guilty to Lethal Crimes in 2018 Wildfires
SAN FRANCISCO — Pacific Gas & Electric will plead guilty to 84 counts of involuntary manslaughter for a swath of death and destruction left behind after its fraying electrical grid ignited the 2018 wildfire that destroyed three Northern California towns and drove the nation's largest utility into bankruptcy. The plea...