Category Archives: California

Surge in gun violence is stress test for Oakland’s defund the police campaign

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Homicides in the city have risen 314% and while some back shifting resources to prevention and healing, others want alternatives in place to keep Black and brown people safe

Since the visceral video of George Floyd pinned beneath a police officer’s knee sparked massive uprisings in US cities last summer, movements to defund police departments have grown from siloed local campaigns into a national movement. But in multiple cities, this work is being done amid a disturbing rise in gun violence that is affecting the same Black and Latino communities most affected by police misconduct.

While some crime survivors support shifting resources from police and into prevention and healing services, others who have lost loved ones to shootings and live in high-crime areas worry that depleting police budgets without proven alternatives to fill any gaps will make Black and brown communities less safe.

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Covid-fatigued California’s effort to recall Newsom may be a rallying cry for Republicans

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Analysis: more than a serious effort to unseat the governor, it is likely a strategy to rally voters, boost Republican candidates and raise funds

Nearly a year after Gavin Newsom became the first American governor to issue a statewide stay-at-home order to combat the coronavirus, the California leader delivered his “state of the state” address from an empty Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

“Let’s allow ourselves to dream of brighter days ahead,” Newsom said on Tuesday.

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Push to recall California governor Gavin Newsom gains steam – but who’s behind it?

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Effort to oust governor – though unlikely to succeed – reflects political polarization that has widened amid Covid

Across California, hundreds of thousands of people armed with signs and clipboards are gathering outside of local Walmarts, in shopping center parking lots, and on beachside boardwalks, trying to convince their neighbors that the governor needs to go.

An effort to recall Gavin Newsom has gained momentum in recent weeks, as the California governor’s approval ratings dipped amid mounting frustration over how the state has handled the Covid pandemic, and the economic slump caused by closures.

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‘I’m operating’: doctor makes Zoom court appearance while in surgery

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California medical board to investigate after plastic surgeon appeared at a virtual trial from an operating theatre

Medical authorities in California have said they will investigate a plastic surgeon who appeared in a videoconference for a traffic violation trial while operating.

The Sacramento Bee reported that Scott Green appeared for his trial at Sacramento superior court on Thursday, held virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic, from an operating room.

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California death toll from Covid-19 tops 50,000 after winter surge

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  • Most populous US state has highest most coronavirus deaths
  • LA county health director: ‘It is heartbreaking’

California’s Covid-19 death toll rose above 50,000 on Wednesday, after Los Angeles county reported another 806 deaths during the winter surge.

The county, which has a quarter of the state’s 40 million residents, said the deaths mainly occurred between 3 December and 3 February. The department of public health identified them after going through death records that were backlogged by the sheer volume of the surge’s toll.

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Victorian house rolls through streets of San Francisco to new address – video

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After 139 years at 807 Franklin Street in San Francisco, a two-storey Victorian house has a new address. The green home with large windows and a brown front door was loaded on to giant dollies and moved to a location six blocks away on Sunday. Onlookers lined the sidewalks to snap photos as the structure rolled – at a top speed of 1mph – to 635 Fulton Street

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‘Like moving a herd of elephants’: San Francisco’s history of houses on wheels

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This weekend, the city moved a Victorian house six blocks – a practice that has continued for more than a century

Hundreds of San Franciscans lined the streets on Sunday – phones drawn and ready – to glimpse a unique procession slowly making its way through the city. “Ladies and gentlemen, please stand on the sidewalk,” a police speaker blared. “There’s a house coming down the street.”

The two-story, 5,170-sq-ft green Victorian, known as the Englander House, had spent more than a century in the heart of San Francisco. But for years it stood vacant and fell into disrepair, sandwiched behind a gas station and loomed over by new apartment buildings. The city, which suffers from a housing shortage, was ready to build a 48-unit building in its place.

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Police say Tiger Woods ‘lucky to be alive’ after car crash in California

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  • 45-year-old undergoes surgery after crash in suburb of LA
  • Reports say golfer suffered compound fractures to legs

Tiger Woods has been taken to hospital with serious injuries to both legs after a car accident, with a Los Angeles police officer saying the golfer is “very fortunate” to have survived.

Carlos Gonzalez, the first LA county deputy to respond to the scene, added that Woods was “calm and lucid” despite being trapped inside his vehicle. Woods was removed from the crash by firefighters, and his vehicle suffered “major damage”.

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‘We’re risking our lives’: California’s slow vaccine rollout leaves essential workers exposed

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Millions who cannot afford to stay home still lack access to inoculation, even as their work puts them in harm’s way

Pharmacy workers helping maskless customers. Uber drivers transporting coughing passengers. Janitors cleaning contaminated workspaces.

Amid California’s slow Covid-19 vaccine rollout, millions of essential workers in high-exposure jobs are still waiting to get the life-saving doses, with many uncertain when or how they will get access.

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Trump ally Nunes sees CNN Ukraine lawsuit thrown out by New York judge

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  • California congressman sought $435m in damages
  • Story linked him to hunt for Biden dirt in Ukraine

A defamation lawsuit brought against CNN by the California Republican Devin Nunes, a leading ally of former president Donald Trump, was tossed out by a Manhattan judge on Friday.

Related: Icy blast of anti-Ted Cruz outrage shows little sign of abating

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‘California and Texas are warnings’: blackouts show US deeply unprepared for the climate crisis

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Both states have faced widespread power outages after failing to plan for extreme weather

When California saw widespread power blackouts last year during wildfires and a summer “heat storm”, Republican lawmakers from Texas were quick to deride the coastal state’s energy policies. “California is now unable to perform even basic functions of civilization, like having reliable electricity,” tweeted senator Ted Cruz during the record-breaking heatwave in August.

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How fires have spread to previously untouched parts of the world

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Fires have always been a part of our natural world. But they’re moving to new ecosystems previously untouched by fire – and this is concerning scientists

Wildfires are spreading to fuel-abundant regions of the world that used to be less prone to burning, according to a new analysis of 20 years of data by the Guardian.

While the overall area of annual burn in the world has remained relatively static in this period, the research indicates a shifting regional fire pattern that is affecting more forests and fewer grasslands.

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‘Rock stars of American cheese’: the enduring legacy of Cowgirl Creamery

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Over the course of two decades, Sue Conley and Peggy Smith created a beloved California brand – and helped redefine our relationship to food

When Sue Conley and Peggy Smith announced their retirement last month from Cowgirl Creamery – the cheese company they grew from plucky startup to leader in the modern farm-to-table movement – the tributes came in thick and fast.

To their devoted followers, this was no surprise.

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California lifts its statewide Covid stay-at-home orders

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Announcement comes after months of a surge in cases and as the governor is sued for restrictions on outdoor dining

California lifted its stay-at-home order statewide Monday after four-week projections showed intensive care unit capacity to be above 15% in beleaguered regions for the first time in weeks.

The announcement follows months of a relentless case surge that exhausted the healthcare system statewide and made California the first US state to record 3m Covid-19 infections. It also comes as more than 50 wine country-based restaurants and wineries have filed a lawsuit against Gavin Newsom, California’s governor, over the state’s restrictions on outdoor dining.

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‘Come with me if you want to live’: Schwarzenegger receives Covid-19 vaccine – video

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Hollywood star and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger shared a video of himself receiving his first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. The 73-year-old visited a vaccination clinic at Dodger stadium in Los Angeles after residents aged 65 and over were able to receive dosages. The star of the Terminator franchise encouraged others to receive the vaccine, using one of the series' famous catchphrases: 'Come with me if you want to live'

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Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit reaches space eight months after first flight

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  • LauncherOne rocket carries very small satellites
  • First demonstration launch failed in May last year

Richard Branson’s Virgin Orbit reached space on Sunday, eight months after the first demonstration flight of its air-launched rocket system failed, the company said.

Related: Virgin Orbit looks into cause of LauncherOne test failure

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One in three Los Angeles residents has been infected with Covid, scientists say

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County has seen 898% increase in cases since surge began in November, with 1,125% increase in deaths, official says

Los Angeles county scientists estimate that one in three residents in the county have been infected with Covid-19 at some point since the beginning of the pandemic, a reflection of how severely the virus has overtaken the most populous region in California.

The new estimate by county scientists would mean that more than 3 million of the county’s 10 million residents have been infected with coronavirus. As of Thursday, Los Angeles county had more than 975,000 total reported cases, with 17,323 new cases in the past 24 hours. Through the course of the pandemic, 13,234 people have died in LA county because of Covid-19, accounting for nearly half of California’s total deaths.

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US officials warn ‘full resurgence’ of Covid in major population centers

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White House coronavirus taskforce reports advocate for ‘aggressive action’ amid 23m confirmed cases in US

As coronavirus continues to tear across the US without any sign of slowing down, officials have warned there is a “full resurgence” in most major population centers – and that the country could see an additional 92,000 deaths in less than a month.

There have been more than 23m confirmed Covid-19 cases in the US and 385,503 deaths, Johns Hopkins University’s most recent data revealed.

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California bids to speed its painfully slow vaccine rollout – here’s what you need to know

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The state’s vaccination plan has been decidedly sluggish – but now every Californian aged 65 and older is eligible for the vaccine

California leaders are facing mounting pressure to speed up distribution of the new coronavirus vaccine, announcing major steps this week to makes doses available to more people.

On Wednesday the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, said that all residents 65 and older will be able to get a vaccine. The move follows the announcement of new mass-vaccination sites at locations such as Disneyland and Dodger Stadium.

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‘The horror stories are countless’: inside the LA hospital at the center of the Covid crisis

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Los Angeles sees a person infected every six seconds. In a predominantly Latino neighborhood, Martin Luther King Jr community hospital faces ‘a sea of illness’

Husbands and wives, twin brothers in their 20s, parents and their children. Family members are turning up one after another at Martin Luther King Jr community hospital (MLKCH) in South Los Angeles. The deaths have been piling up.

Patients have been arriving at MLKCH terribly sick, and at higher rates than anywhere else in the region – the impoverished Latino and Black neighborhood is one of the worst Covid hotspots in America. Inside the hospital, staff face a dire scramble to ensure they have the supplies, the healthcare workers and the physical space needed to take care of the overwhelming crush of Covid victims.

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