April Reopening For San Francisco Colleges; Baseball Followers Prepared For In-Particular person Opening Day – CBS San Francisco
CBS San Francisco Staff Report
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — With the demand for COVID-19 vaccination growing, the information you need to know is coming fast and furious. Here’s a roundup of the COVID stories we’ve published over the last 24 hours.
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Study: Reports Of Mass Exodus From California in 2020 Are False
BERKELEY — A nonpartisan think tank’s new study found that a reported “mass exodus” from California in 2020 did not happen. Most moves during 2020 happened within the state, the California Policy Lab said Thursday. Departures from the state were consistent with historical patterns but the biggest statewide change was fewer people moving into California, the lab said in a press release. The researchers used a dataset of quarterly credit bureau information called the University of California Consumer Credit Panel to analyze where people from each county moved after the coronavirus pandemic struck a year ago. “While a mass exodus from California clearly didn’t happen in 2020, the pandemic did change some historical patterns, for example, fewer people moved into the state to replace those who left,” author Natalie Holmes said. Read More
Gov. Gavin Newsom Signs Law Aimed At Putting Kids Back In California Classrooms
SACRAMENTO — California’s public schools can tap into $6.6 billion of new state spending to return students to classrooms under a bill Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Friday that has attracted bipartisan support and scorn in equal measure. Newsom signed the bill via Zoom, mimicking how most of the state’s 6.1 million public school students have been learning for the past year. The irony was not lost on Newsom, who said the virtual ceremony was necessary to include other state officials who were scattered across the state. Newsom signed the law as he faces a possible recall election later this year, fueled by anger over his handling of the pandemic. On Friday, Newsom said “now is the time to safely reopen,” highlighting the struggles he and lawmakers have had in negotiating a plan on the best way to do that “When you look at 58 counties, a thousand-plus school districts, this truly is a challenge at a scale no other state in the country is faced with,” Newsom said. Read More
California Allows For Some Fans At Ballparks, Limited Capacity At Amusement Parks April 1
SAN FRANCISCO — California public health officials announced Friday that fan attendance at outdoor stadiums and performances would be allowed to take place with capacity restrictions starting in April, along with the opening of amusement parks. The changes allow for in-person attendance at games and live performances even in counties that are under the Purple Tier. Mask wearing would remain mandatory. “With case rates and hospitalizations significantly lower, the arrival of three highly-effective vaccines and targeted efforts aimed at vaccinating the most vulnerable communities, California can begin gradually and safely bringing back more activities, especially those that occur outdoors and where consistent masking is possible,” California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said. Read More
San Francisco School District Reaches Deal With Teachers to Commence In-Person Learning April 12
SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Unified School District announced Friday night that “a select number” of city public schools are on track to resume in-person learning for young students beginning April 12. According to an e-mail statement from SFUSD superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews and San Francisco Board of Education president Gabriela Lopez, additional students will be offered in-person learning by the end of April. The district reached an agreement late Friday evening with the United Educators of San Francisco union to allow students to return for almost a full day, five days a week. In addition the plan allows students to stay with their teachers. “We are enthusiastic to share this progress and we also know that some students and families who want to return will not be able to at this time,” superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews said in a statement. Read More
Indoor Restaurant Dining Resumes, Movie Theaters Reopen in SF and Santa Clara Counties
SAN JOSE — It was a busy Friday night in San Jose where this was the first weekend back in the red tier in Santa Clara and San Francisco counties — meaning movie theaters and indoor dining are open once again. At Santana Row in San Jose, outdoor dining tables were packed all night but the biggest change was inside. Restaurants were allowed to seat guests at 25 percent capacity. At Left Bank in Santana Row, it was the first Friday night rush since guests have been welcomed back into the dining room — a space that had been closed for months. “I’m a little nervous because I feel like people are really excited to come dine with us and do so in a safe manner,” said Left Bank general manager Giovanni Joris. Read More
E. Bay Teachers Union At Odds With District Plan To Get Students Back On Campus
WALNUT CREEK — Students in Contra Costa County could be back in the classroom in just three weeks, but teachers unions are pushing back. Mount Diablo Unified School District released photos of social distancing markers on the ground and spread out desks to show what a return to campus could look like for students and teachers under a proposed hybrid model. Negotiations, however, are still on-going between the district and the unions for teachers and staff, despite the announced March 17th return date for teachers and March 22nd for students on all campuses and all cities. It’s a sticking point for the Mount Diablo Educators Association. Read More
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Woman Arrested For Anti-Asian Attacks In Mountain View
MOUNTAIN VIEW — A woman has been arrested Friday in connection with two crimes targeting Asians in Mountain View last month, amid an ongoing rise in anti-Asian attacks in the Bay Area and across the country. According to police, the suspect is accused of stealing food and clothing from a store on the 200 block of Castro Street in downtown on February 13. Police said the suspect allegedly told the victims she did not have to pay because of their Asian ancestry. The suspect was also linked to a battery at a downtown restaurant around the same time. Police said she allegedly yelled at two patrons, one of whom was Asian, made racist statements and spit at the victim. Following the incidents, the suspect was detained. The victims said they did not desire to prosecute and the suspect was released since neither incident was witnessed by officers, police said. Read More
Social Housing May Be A Fix For San Francisco’s Housing Affordability Crisis
SAN FRANCISCO – Democrats across the country say there’s one solution that can help solve the housing affordability crisis, it’s what’s known as Social Housing. From inside the dome of the state capital to San Francisco City Hall, 2021 has sparked all kinds of conversations around the concept of Social Housing, but there’s one problem, most people don’t really know what it is.“How do I explain this as simply as possible?” State Assembly Member Alex Lee pondered out loud before landing on, “Social Housing is publicly maintained housing developments. “Basically, Social Housing is housing controlled by the people,” San Francisco Supervisor Dean Preston said. Both Preston and Lee recently introduced legislation that pushes for Social Housing. Read More
Activists Briefly Disrupt Virtual Court Proceeding For Evictions in Martinez
MARTINEZ — A group of tenant rights activists attempted to disrupt a Contra Costa County virtual courtroom Friday to protest ongoing evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic. The group of 70 or so joined in the protest whereby they attempted to gain entry, via Zoom, to Superior Court Judge Rebecca Hardie’s proceedings. By signing on to the teleconferencing platform using hashtags such as #StopEvictionsSaveLives, #CloseTheCourt and #AltoALosDesalojos or using aliases close to the names of real people on the docket rather than their own names in order to confuse the judge, the protesters hoped to gain entry to the court’s 1:30 p.m. video call. Once inside, the plan was to read statements calling for an end to the court’s eviction proceedings during the pandemic, for Contra Costa County Sheriff David Livingston to stop eviction lock-outs, to close loopholes in state law and for the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors to enact stronger tenant protections. Read More
Vaccination Site Near Golden Gate Fields Open Friday After Closure Due to Protest
BERKELEY — The massive COVID-19 vaccination site in Berkeley near the Golden Gate Fields horse race track opened again Friday following a shut down the day before after animal rights activists forced the racetrack to close temporarily, city officials said. About 200 people Thursday failed to get the COVID-19 vaccine because of the action by the activists, Berkeley city spokesman Matthai Chakko said. The vaccination site on Buchanan Street was closed for about three hours before reopening about 3 p.m. Over the next couple of days, the site’s medical provider Curative will be getting in touch with the people prevented from getting the vaccine on Thursday. Four protesters lay down on the track at Golden Gate Fields Thursday afternoon to stop racing and to demand the track shut down permanently, according to Direct Action Everywhere, an animal rights group. Read More
9 Great Apes At San Diego Zoo Become First Non-Humans To Receive A COVID Vaccine
SAN DIEGO — CBS Los Angeles) – Nine great apes at the San Diego Zoo have received a COVID-19 vaccine, it was reported Thursday. The four orangutans and five bonobos received an experimental vaccine developed by drug maker Zoetis, per CBS News. The zoo chose to give the great apes the vaccine after several gorillas at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park contracted COVID-19 in early January. “That made us realize that our other apes were at risk,” Nadine Lamberski, chief conservation and wildlife health officer for the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, told the San Diego Union-Tribune newspaper Thursday. “We wanted to do our best to protect them from this virus because we don’t really know how it’s going to impact them.” Read More
East San Jose Roller Rink Transformed Into Mass Vaccination Site
SAN JOSE — A roller rink at San Jose’s Eastridge Mall became Santa Clara County’s latest mass COVID-19 vaccination site Friday, the third to open in one of the county’s hardest hit areas. The clinic located at the mall’s Aloha Roller Rink aims to offer up to 2,000 vaccinations a day once the state supplies enough vaccine, officials said. “Locating a mass vaccination site in East San José is how we will vaccinate our residents and workers who have been infected by COVID-19 in much higher numbers,” said County of Santa Clara Supervisor Cindy Chavez. Aloha Roller Rink was only in operation for 16 months before it was shut down during the first wave of COVID-19 restrictions last March. The carpeted area of the rink is being used for check-ins, registrations and administering shots, while the rink itself is where patients will wait for several minutes for possible side effects. Read More
North Bay Student Maximus Vega Overcame Huge Obstacles To Excel
SANTA ROSA — If this Students Rising Above story were a movie, it would probably be more of a buddy film than an action thriller. Either way, it would have two leads, each sharing the role of hero. Maximus Vega and his dad Steven are best friends. Their favorite pastime is watching movies. In fact, Maximus is named after Russell Crowe’s character in the Hollywood blockbuster ‘Gladiator.’ On a recent sunny day in a park near the family’s Santa Rosa home, father and son watched a few clips of the movie on their laptop. “I already thought Maximus was a cool name. Then I saw the movie ‘Gladiator,’” explained Steven Vega. “And I thought ‘What could be a better name than that?’” Read More
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San Francisco Launches Workforce Development and Retraining Program
SAN FRANCISCO — Mayor London Breed on Friday announced a new $28 million economic recovery program that focuses on workforce development and job training to address employment inequities in San Francisco in the wake of COVID-19. The Building Back Stronger program draws funding from the city’s Dream Keeper Initiative and aims to expand services for workers and jobseekers while bolstering San Francisco’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a release issued by the mayor’s office. The $28 million investment into workforce programs has been in the planning stage for the past two years and will feature expanded opportunities in job development, paid training, job placement and employment services for San Franciscan residents, especially for those who face obstacles to employment. Read More