Complications related to coronavirus claim the life of the first Golden State youth. Congress leaves without extending unemployment benefits — your move, state Legislature. And $2.1 billion heads to a vaccine whose makers hope to bring it to regulators…
Author: Arlene Martinez, USA TODAY
In CA: When is a tax increase not a tax increase? And COVID-19 testing failures put Latino communities in harm’s way
A coronavirus disbeliever and Bay Area priest calls on parishioners to be holier. A state taxpayer group sues state Attorney General Xavier Becerra for failing to call a tax increase a tax increase. Plus: Inadequate testing is likely one of the reasons…
In CA: Pandemic is not an excuse to block new housing, state warns city
A city hiding behind the pandemic to avoid approving new housing gets another stern warning from the state. And criminal justice advocates are calling on corrections staff to not repeat its prison mistakes at youth facilities. Plus: What are the odds o…
In CA: Big Sur tribe gets back land stolen centuries ago; protesters chain themselves to Newsom’s fence
A Big Sur tribe gets back stolen land. Gov. Gavin Newsom asks for $52 million for the Central Valley as coronavirus cases soar in the eight-county region. And speaking of Newsom, protesters chained themselves outside of his house early Monday, demandin…
In CA: More housing for essential workers; a quest for police records heads to court
Gov. Gavin Newsom sends a housing lifeline to workers on the front lines; millions of others wonder how they’ll make August rent. Plus: Is your mail late? That could be intentional.
In CA: A toilet flush could hold clues for preventing spread of coronavirus
Detecting COVID-19 in wastewater could help officials understand the prevalence of the virus in specific areas. And on the eve of what was to be the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, calls grow for Los Angeles to give up its 2028 bid.
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In CA: 50,400 minutes — how do you measure five weeks?
Officials warn that’s how long we could stay on shutdown. Do you count job losses? Number of permanent business closures? Impacts to mental health? Yes. And I talk to an author who writes about that time she took up boxing at age 28 … and in the proc…
In CA: USC’s huge parting gift; an expensive oil and gas bankruptcy; home sales soar
Under pressure to resign, USC President C.L. Max Nikias left with a generous separation package, tax records show. And why a bankruptcy by the state’s biggest oil and gas producer could cost taxpayers big. Plus: Home sales see a resurgence.
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In CA: $320,000 in overtime when your base salary is $25,000; It’s the life in the LADWP
Gov. Gavin Newsom calls it a dimmer switch, but for many Golden State businesses, it’s lights out. Again. And it’s a good gig if you can get it — a security guard at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power pulled in a cool $931,000 in overtime ov…
In CA: Can anyone or anything, even the coronavirus, take away your right to sing?
There are no signs caseloads are easing in California and across the Southwest. And as schools furiously debate reopening and how, a rumor swirls about whether vaccines are required (I hate to give away the end, but they’re not. More on that later). Pl…