7/21/2021 Couple accused of involuntary manslaughter in gender-reveal ignition of El Dorado fire – San Bernardino Sun ___

NEWSCRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY • News Couple accused of involuntary manslaughter in gender-reveal ignition of El Dorado fire

San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson releases the charges being filed against defendants who started the El Dorado Fire during a gender reveal party last year. Anderson made the announcement during a press conference at San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office in San Bernardino on Tuesday, July 20, 2021. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

By BRIAN ROKOS || [email protected] || TheThe Press-EnterprisePress-Enterprise PUBLISHED: July 20, 2021 at 5:33 p.m. || UPDATED:UPDATED: July 21, 2021 at 7:42 a.m.

Two people have been indicted on multiple charges, including involuntary manslaughter, in connection with a pyrotechnic gender-reveal photo shoot that went awry and sparked last year’’s deadly 22,680-acre El Dorado wildfire in San Bernardino County, the county’’s top prosecutor said Tuesday.

District Attorney Jason Anderson announced the charges at a news conference after the grand jury heard four days of testimony, listened toto 3434 witnesseswitnesses andand reviewedreviewed 434434 exhibitsexhibits beforebefore returningreturning 3030 countscounts againstagainst thethe couple.couple. TheThe indictmentindictment waswas unsealedunsealed Tuesday.Tuesday.

Refugio Manuel Jimenez Jr. and Angelina Renee Jimenez,, thethe couplecouple accusedaccused ofof beingbeing behindbehind thethe gender-revealgender-reveal eventevent thatthat involvedinvolved aa pyrotechnic device, were charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter, three felony counts of recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury, four felony counts of recklessly causing a fire to inhabited structures and 22 misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing a fire toto propertyproperty ofof another,another, AndersonAnderson said.said.

https://www.sbsun.com/2021/07/20/grand-jury-indicts-couple-linked-to-pyrotechnic-gender-reveal-event-that-led-to-deadly-san-bernardino-c… 1/4 7/21/2021 Couple accused of involuntary manslaughter in gender-reveal ignition of El Dorado fire – San Bernardino Sun

They pleaded not guilty to all charges in Superior Court in San Bernardino. The DA’’s Office sought bail, but they were released on their own recognizance, Anderson said. It could not be immediately determined if they were represented by attorneys as the Superior Court’’s online records did not yet reflect the Jimenezes’’ appearancesappearances TuesdayTuesday evening.evening.

Among the victims was U.S. Forest Service hotshot firefighter Charles Morton, who perished in the blaze. Thirteen other firefighters were injured.injured.

Anderson said the indictment suggests that the grand jury found an “unbroken chain” of events — one that did not include firefighter negligence — that led to the death of Morton, a 39-year-old resident of Big Bear.

“The conditions that were created that led to the firefighter death were a direct result of the fire,” Anderson said.

The El Dorado fire started Sept. 5 at El Dorado Ranch Park when sparks from a pyrotechnic device usedused toto generategenerate coloredcolored smokesmoke —— which color has not been revealed — during a gender-reveal photo shoot ignited dry brush on an unseasonably warm day, Cal Fire’’s San Bernardino Unit said.

Morton, a USFS hotshot crew boss, died fighting the fire in the San Gorgonio Wilderness on Sept. 17 when flames burned over him. More detailed circumstances of his death have not been made public.

San Bernardino National Forest firefighter David Cruz lowers his head during the last call for Charles Morton, the U.S. Forest Service firefighterfirefighter assignedassigned toto thethe BigBig BearBear HotshotsHotshots whowho waswas killedkilled inin thethe lineline ofof dutyduty onon Sept.Sept. 1717 onon thethe ElEl DoradoDorado FireFire inin thethe SanSan BernardinoBernardino National Forest, during his memorial service at The Rock Church in San Bernardino on Friday, Sept. 25, 2020. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

Zachary Behrens, a spokesman for the USFS, referred questions about the status of the investigation to the Washington D.C. office.

“We would like to thank the District Attorney’’s Office and Sheriff’’s Department for their hard work and diligence in bringing forth charges inin thisthis case.case. OurOur thoughtsthoughts areare withwith CharlieCharlie’’s family, friends and colleagues today and always,” the USFS said in a written statement.

The fire burned 22,680 acres,, destroyeddestroyed fivefive homeshomes andand damageddamaged fourfour othersothers inin additionaddition toto thethe humanhuman tolltoll itit took.took.

Mountain Home Village, Forest Falls, Angelus Oaks, Seven Oaks and Barton Flats were among the communities evacuated. The fire also burned in Cherry Valley in Riverside County.

Anderson acknowledged that the length of time it took the DA’’s Office to reach a decision on filing charges frustrated some members of the public. Six agencies were involved in the investigation, and Anderson said in late February that he had not yet received every report.

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“Given the scope and impact of the El Dorado fire on the land and lives of so many, particularly Charles Morton and his family, it was imperativeimperative thatthat everyevery investigationinvestigation bebe completedcompleted withinwithin bothboth federalfederal andand statestate agenciesagencies toto provideprovide aa fullfull andand fairfair presentationpresentation toto thethe members of our community that made up the grand jury,” Anderson said. 7/21/2021 Couple accused of starting El Dorado Fire charged

NEWS Couple accused of starting El Dorado Fire during gender reveal party charged with 30 counts Martin Estacio Victorville Daily Press Published 5:56 p.m. PT Jul. 20, 2021 Updated 6:01 p.m. PT Jul. 20, 2021

A couple who allegedly sparked the deadly El Dorado Fire with a smoke bomb during a gender reveal ceremonylast year have been charged with 30 crimes, including involuntary manslaughter.

Refugio Manuel Jimenez Jr. and Angela Renee Jimenez were arraigned in court Tuesday where they pleaded not guilty.

A judge released them on their recognizance despite prosecutors' request that they each be held on $50,000 bail, San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson said during a news conference.

A criminal grand jury indicted the couple Monday also with three felony counts of recklessly causing a fire with great bodily injury, four felony counts of recklessly causing a fire to inhabited structures and 22 misdemeanor counts of recklessly causing fire to property of another.

The El Dorado Fire reportedly started Sept. 5 after the smoke bomb was set off during the couple’s gender reveal gathering in a Yucaipa park.

Charles Morton, a firefighter squad boss with the Big Bear Interagency Hotshots, died Sept. 17 while battling the blaze that night.

According to the U.S. Fire Administration, Morton’s death was due to being caught or trapped and he died of burns.

The fire burned more than 22,000 acres in the San Bernardino National Forest and destroyed 20 structures, including five homes, and damaged four additional residences, fire officials said. https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2021/07/20/couple-accused-starting-el-dorado-fire-charged/8036201002/?utm_source=vvdailypress-Daily Br… 1/2 7/21/2021 Couple accused of starting El Dorado Fire charged

The blaze also injured two other firefighters and forced the evacuation of several communities including Oak Glen, Forest Falls and Angelus Oaks.

Anderson said Tuesday that the couple could face sentences extending from the “upper teens to low 20s” if found guilty on all charges.

When asked how prosecutors would argue the couple’s actions were responsible for Morton’s death, Anderson said the firefighter was “fighting a fire that was started because of a smoke bomb.”

“That’s the only reason he was there,” he added.

The couple is expected to appear back in court Sept. 15, officials said.

Associated Press contributed to this report.

Daily Press reporter Martin Estacio may be reached at 760-955-5358 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.

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Fears rise of a new covid surge

More counties urge mask-wearing indoors as hospitalizations continue to climb. BY LUKE MONEY A spate of new coronavirus infections is striking California’s healthcare system, pushing COVID-19 hospitalizations to levels not seen since early spring — lending new urgency to efforts to tamp down transmission as a growing number of counties urge residents to wear masks indoors. Statewide, the number of coronavirus patients in the hospital more than doubled in the last month, and the numbers have accelerated further in the last two weeks. Even with the recent increase, though, the state’s healthcare system is nowhere near as swamped as it was during the fall-and-winter surge. And many health experts are confident that California will never see numbers on that scale again, given how many residents are vaccinated. But with the continued spread of the highly infectious Delta variant, which officials fear could mushroom in communities with lower inoculation rates, the next few weeks are key in determining how potent the pandemic’s latest punch may be. The recent increases confirm that nearly everyone falling seriously ill from COVID-19 at this point is unvaccinated. “This is a pandemic of the unvaccinated. And so, if you care about getting back to normalcy once and for all, please get vaccinated,” Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters Tuesday. The fact that about 52% of all Californians are already fully vaccinated sets a ceiling on how many people remain exposed to potential infection. Still, L.A. County Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly said Tuesday that “the individual consequences of a choice not to get vaccinated can be dire for that person and his or her family and friends.” Ghaly said seeing a continued stream of COVID-19 patients, the vast majority of whom are unvaccinated, triggers a range of emotions in healthcare workers who have long been on the front lines of the pandemic: frustration, sadness and “some level of disbelief that, after https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pubid=50435180-e58e-48b5-8e0c-236bf740270e 1/4 7/21/2021 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper all of the pain and suffering that we’ve all seen … there’s still people who either don’t believe it or don’t believe that it can affect them.” The highest-risk Californians — notably the elderly — have been vaccinated at high rates. But the numbers drop off for younger segments of the population, and children under the age of 12 still aren’t eligible to be vaccinated. “I think sometimes the mentality is that people think, ‘Well, I’m not going to get that sick. I’m going to be OK. I’m not going to die from COVID; I’m young; I’m healthy,’ ” Ghaly said. “And I can tell you, hopefully that’s the case, but that’s not necessarily the case.” From June 22 to July 6, the daily number of COVID-19 patients hospitalized in California increased from 978 to 1,228, a nearly 26% bump, state data show. Over the last two weeks, the daily count swelled by an additional 76%, reaching 2,164 as of Monday. California’s intensive care units also are filling up. As of Monday, 552 coronavirus-positive individuals were in ICUs statewide, more than double the total a month ago. The latest numbers still pale in comparison to the peak of the last wave, when more than 21,000 COVID-19 patients were packed into hospitals and nearly 4,900 people were in ICUs on some days. Officials have long characterized coronavirus transmission as a dangerous chain: The rising number of infections trigger corresponding increases in hospitalizations a week or two later and, eventually, an uptick in deaths. However, inoculations have the power to interrupt that. There’s a wealth of academic and real-world data demonstrating the high level of protection afforded by vaccines, especially when it comes to preventing serious illness and death. “We have the tools to end this epidemic. It is up to us to utilize those tools to their maximum,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious-diseases expert, told a Senate committee Tuesday. In Los Angeles County, for example, the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has more than doubled in the last month. But out of the nearly 4.8 million people countywide who had been fully vaccinated as of July 13, only 213 — or .0045% — later ended up hospitalized for COVID-19. In Ventura County, Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin said recent data show that unvaccinated residents are 22 times more likely to be infected and hospitalized than those who have rolled up their sleeves.

“All community members should take action to protect themselves and others against this potentially deadly virus,” he said Monday.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pubid=50435180-e58e-48b5-8e0c-236bf740270e 2/4 7/21/2021 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper San Bernardino County hospitals also are “seeing a rising number of COVID-19 patients, and, if national statistics are any indication, they are all unvaccinated,” according to interim Public Health Director Andrew Goldfrach. “What everyone needs to recognize is that we cannot end this pandemic until we have vaccinated the vast majority of our population,” Goldfrach said in a recent situation update. “It was that way with polio, it was that way with smallpox, it was that way with the measles, and it will take mass vaccination to eliminate COVID-19. The truth is that we have it within our collective power to stop the sickness and deaths.” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has said that more than 97% of COVID-19 hospitalizations nationwide are among those who have not been vaccinated. Like hospitalizations, coronavirus cases have rebounded statewide over the last month — though they’re nowhere near as high as previous surges. Over the weeklong period ending Monday, California reported an average of 4,200 new cases per day, more than four times the level in mid-June. During the height of the fall-and-winter surge, the state was recording more than 40,000 daily cases, on average. And many experts believe the healthcare system is better armored against an uptick in infections this time largely because of vaccinations. Of particular concern now is the Delta variant, which is believed to be twice as transmissible as the conventional coronavirus strains. Despite arriving in the state fairly recently, it has quickly become the dominant variant in California. Like other variants, Delta is the result of natural mutations that occur as the coronavirus replicates and spreads. Reducing the number of infections, Ghaly said, limits the chances for the virus to adapt in even more dangerous ways. “The virus can’t mutate without a host. It doesn’t mutate sitting on a tabletop; it doesn’t mutate sitting in a respiratory droplet in the air,” she said. Given the risk Delta poses to those who have yet to be fully inoculated, 16 counties — including Ventura, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, San Francisco and Santa Clara — are now urging all residents, even those who have been fully vaccinated, to wear masks in indoor public settings such as grocery stores, movie theaters and retail outlets. L.A. County is mandating that masks be worn in such settings. All of those counties have gone beyond the guidance issued by the California Department of Public Health, which continues to advise that fully vaccinated residents are allowed to go mask-free nearly everywhere, though uninoculated residents must still mask up in public indoor spaces.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pubid=50435180-e58e-48b5-8e0c-236bf740270e 3/4 7/21/2021 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper When asked about the possibility of issuing a new statewide mask mandate, Newsom said that “if we can get more people vaccinated, that answer is unequivocal: We won’t need it.” “We’re not looking to do any physical distancing, any social distancing. We’re not looking to close anything down. We’re fully committed to getting our kids back in school, in person, for instruction,” he said. “But we need to get more people vaccinated.” While the inoculation campaign has largely entered a more deliberate phase — one where officials, in cooperation with community groups and local leaders, are working on the ground to answer questions, dispel misinformation and build vaccine confidence — some areas are taking a different approach, at least when it comes to their employees. Pasadena will require all city employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19 once the shots receive federal approval — the first municipality in Southern California to take that step. San Francisco already has ordered all workers in “high-risk settings,” such as hospitals, nursing homes and residential facilities for the elderly, and jails, to be fully vaccinated by Sept. 15. All 35,000 city workers — including police, firefighters, custodians and clerks — also will need to get vaccinated or risk losing their jobs once a vaccine has been formally approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, the vast majority of cities and counties have yet to adopt that tactic. Dr. Muntu Davis, L.A. County’s health officer, said last week that “we do recognize that not everyone is going to get vaccinated, and we accept that. It is a personal decision at this time.” But, he added, “If you make a decision to not get vaccinated, make sure you’re doing everything you can to reduce your risk, especially at this moment.” Times staff writers Faith E. Pinho and Rong-Gong Lin II contributed to this report.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pubid=50435180-e58e-48b5-8e0c-236bf740270e 4/4 7/21/2021 Current COVID-19 infection rate would put LA County in purple tier if CA was still using reopening system - ABC7 Los Angeles CORONAVIRUS LOS ANGELES Current infection rate would put LA County in purple tier if CA was still using reopening system

Wednesday, July 21, 2021 5:46AM

If California was still using its color-coded framework for lifting COVID-19 restrictions, Los Angeles County would now be in the most restrictive purple tier.

On June 15, California lifted most of its coronavirus-related restrictions and did away with its tier-based system, the Blueprint for a Safer Economy. But if the state's reopening blueprint were still in effect, a current surge in coronavirus cases would push Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties into the purple tier -- prompting many closures and restrictions, including no indoor dining. Ventura County would be in the red -- or substantial -- tier, while https://abc7.com/los-angeles-county-covid-purple-tier-california-reopening-system/10901183/ 2/8 7/21/2021 Current COVID-19 infection rate would put LA County in purple tier if CA was still using reopening system - ABC7 Los Angeles Orange County would fall into the orange -- or moderate -- tier and Riverside County would be in the least restrictive yellow tier.

Los Angeles County late Saturday night re-instituted a requirement that everyone wear masks in indoor public settings, regardless of vaccination status. Previously, only unvaccinated people were required to wear masks indoors. However, since compliance was based solely on the honor system, officials said many unvaccinated people were likely failing to comply with the rule.

Health officials say unvaccinated people and the highly contagious Delta variant are the major factors contributing to the recent spike in cases in L.A. County, which marked its12th consecutive day of 1,000 or more new COVID-19 infections Tuesday.

Seventeen California counties, including Santa Barbara, are recommending mask wearing indoors.

Meanwhile, Pasadena's indoor mask mandate could go into effect as early as Wednesday.

Pasadena, which has its own health agency independent from L.A. County, announced Monday night it would impose the mask-wearing requirement. Pasadena To Require Vaccines For Employees, Face Masks Indoors

By CBSLA Staff July 20, 2021 at 3:30 pm

PASADENA (CBSLA) — Pasadena will soon require face coverings indoors regardless of vaccine status as COVID cases spike across Los Angeles County. The city is also working on a policy that would require its city employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“While Pasadena’s case rates were lower than Los Angeles County’s rate last week, weekend case rates continued to climb,” Lisa Derderian, city spokesperson, said. “Pasadena now meets the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]’s defnition of ‘substantial transmission’ of COVID-19.” The Pasadena Department of Public Health was said to be nalizing the updated public health order that is expected to be posted this week. The order will require face masks indoors in both public and business settings, regardless of vaccination status.

“We’ve also detected the Delta variant in multiple households unrelated to each other so we know it’s really driving our spread,” said Pasadena Public Health Director Dr. Ying-Ying Goh.

In addition, Derderian said the city manager was working on an implementation order to mandate that all city employees get vaccinated.

“Currently, [there are] approximately 60% of employees who attested to being vaccinated,” she said. “Although, with an upward trend in positive cases and the new variant, a mandatory policy is the right thing to do to protect employees who at times spend more hours at work [than] home.”

Derderian said the city would be the frst in Southern California to initiate the policy and follows a similar announcement from the University of California system.

“Initially, we were waiting for Food and Drug Administration approval for at least one of the COVID vaccinations,” said Derderian. “But at this point that may be a while so want to move forward once we can formalize this policy.” 7/21/2021 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper

Time to bring back the mask mandates

BY PETER K. ENNS AND JAKE ROTHSCHILD Last week, nearly every state in the U.S. experienced an increase in daily coronavirus cases. Driven by the Delta variant, this rise and an accompanying increase in hospitalizations have sparked a debate about returning to indoor mask mandates for all, regardless of vaccination status. Los Angeles County announced Thursday that face masks will be required indoors for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, and the state of Hawaii has maintained a similar requirement amid rising cases. However, officials in both New York City and Chicago recently rejected the idea of a new universal indoor mask mandate. Are mask requirements again necessary in the U.S.? Our research shows why the answer is yes in many places: The unvaccinated are least likely to wear masks. We could avoid mask mandates if everyone who is eligible gets vaccinated. Nearly half of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, and almost 70% of adults (and nearly 90% of those 65 and up) have received at least one dose. But these vaccination rates vary substantially by county. Federal and local governments must continue to find creative ways to encourage — or require — vaccination. France recently introduced new vaccination requirements, and despite some controversy, a rush for vaccines ensued. Until vaccination rates increase, it might seem that the simplest solution is to require the unvaccinated to wear masks, and several states have adopted this policy. Masks help prevent those infected from spreading the virus, and they also offer protection to those wearing the mask. But that bifurcated approach doesn’t work well if unvaccinated individuals are unlikely to follow mask require- ments when the vaccinated no longer need to wear masks. The unvaccinated are also the least concerned about the Delta variant. To understand the mask-wearing behaviors of the unvaccinated population, we surveyed a nationally representative sample of 939 adults in the U.S. from July 11 to July 14. We reminded respondents that masks have been used to limit the spread of the coronavirus and we then asked if they would wear a mask in a variety of settings where unvaccinated people were asked to do so: at a friend’s party, at a grocery store, at the post office and at a job. As a follow-up, we asked each person to tell us whether he or she has received a

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pubid=50435180-e58e-48b5-8e0c-236bf740270e 1/2 7/21/2021 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper COVID-19 vaccine. We are thus able to analyze the mask-wearing habits of those who have and have not been vaccinated. The results are striking: In each scenario, respondents who have not been vaccinated were more likely to say they would not wear a mask than those who have received at least one vaccination shot. Nearly half of the unvaccinated say they would not wear a mask at a party (49%) or a grocery store (48%), despite explicit requests for them to do so. Mask refusal rates among the unvaccinated were slightly less when we asked about the post office (43%) and work (37%) but still greater than among vaccinated respondents. Further, the survey showed that about 15% of all adults are both unvaccinated and unwilling to wear masks when asked to in public. This is a significant population, which could enable the spread of dangerous new mutations like the Delta variant. Given mask resistance, a universal requirement may be the only effective approach. When everyone is required to wear a mask, businesses, government offices and employers do not need to worry about vaccine verification and unvaccinated people cannot easily avoid masking. It may feel unfair that individuals shunning the vaccine and masks could cause us all to have to mask up again. But until vaccinations are more broadly required, policies like the federal rule that everyone wear masks on planes, trains and buses is the most viable option. More than 608,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States. To prevent more illnesses and deaths, more counties will again need to require everyone to mask up. Peter K. Enns is co-founder of Reality Check Insights and professor of government and director of the Cornell Center for Social Sciences at Cornell University. @pete_enns. Jake Rothschild is a senior data scientist at Reality Check Insights. @jake_rothschild

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pubid=50435180-e58e-48b5-8e0c-236bf740270e 2/2 7/20/2021 CDC Says Delta Variant Makes Up an Estimated 83 Percent of US Cases - The New York Times

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/us/politics/delta-variant-usa.html

LIVE Coronavirus Updates

The Delta variant makes up an estimated 83 percent of U.S. cases, the C.D.C. director says.

By Sheryl Gay Stolberg

July 20, 2021, 4:10 p.m. ET

The highly infectious Delta variant now accounts for an estimated 83 percent of new coronavirus cases in the United States — a “dramatic increase” from early July, when it crossed the 50 percent threshold to become the dominant variant in this country, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday.

In some regions, the percentage is even higher — particularly where vaccination rates are low, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the C.D.C. director, said during a Senate health committee hearing. Two-dose vaccines have been shown to be effective against the Delta variant but questions have been raised about Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose regimen against Delta. While almost 60 percent of U.S. adults are fully vaccinated, less than half of the total U.S. population is.

She said the C.D.C. would update its website later Tuesday to reflect the new estimate of Delta cases, which the agency derives from gene sequencing of new coronavirus cases.

The new figure comes as new cases have been rising across the United States, though cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain a fraction of their peaks. Still, public health experts are watching the increases with deep concern and Dr. Walensky warned last week that “this is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated.” The seven-day average now shows more than 35,000 new daily cases, up from about 11,000 a day not long ago, according to a New York Times database.

Tuesday’s hearing was contentious at times. Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, pressed Dr. Janet Woodcock, the acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, on when the F.D.A. would authorize booster shots — and was not happy when she could not provide a specific answer. Federal health officials have said booster shots are not necessary now and have pressed Pfizer for more evidence.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/us/politics/delta-variant-usa.html?referringSource=articleShare 1/2 7/20/2021 CDC Says Delta Variant Makes Up an Estimated 83 Percent of US Cases - The New York Times Other Republicans clashed with witnesses over matters including mask mandates, booster shots for Covid-19 vaccines and “gain of function” research designed to identify genetic mutations that could make a virus more powerful.

Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, escalated his long-running attacks on Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, President Biden’s top medical adviser for the coronavirus pandemic, and accused Dr. Fauci of committing a crime by lying to Congress in May when he told senators that the National Institutes of Health did not fund “gain of function” research at a laboratory in Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the pandemic’s early days.

Dr. Fauci, in turn, accused the senator of falsely implying that the N.I.H. is somehow responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths from the pandemic — an extraordinary exchange for the Senate, where witnesses almost always defer to lawmakers.

“I have never lied before Congress and I do not retract that statement,” Dr. Fauci declared, adding, “Senator Paul, you do not know what you are talking about, quite frankly, and I want to say that officially.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/20/us/politics/delta-variant-usa.html?referringSource=articleShare 2/2 Democracy Dies in Darkness Vaccine hesitancy morphs into hostility, as opposition to shots hardens

By Dan Diamond, Hannah Knowles and Tyler Pager

July 15, 2021 at 9:58 a.m. EDT

9.7k

On July Fourth, President Biden celebrated dramatic progress in the war on the coronavirus, with more than 150 million adults fully vaccinated and infections plunging 93 percent since Inauguration Day. “Together, we’re beating the virus,” Biden said at a party on the White House lawn.

But at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference, attendees celebrated a different — essentially opposite — milestone: that Biden had missed his goal of vaccinating 70 percent of adults.

“Clearly they were hoping — the government was hoping — that they could sort of sucker 90 percent of the population into getting vaccinated,” activist Alex Berenson told the crowd Saturday, seeming to inflate Biden’s target. “And it isn’t happening.”

The crowd clapped and cheered at that failure.

What began as “vaccine hesitancy” has morphed into outright vaccine hostility, as conservatives increasingly attack the White House’s coronavirus message, mischaracterize its vaccination campaign and, more and more, vow to skip the shots altogether.

The notion that the vaccine drive is pointless or harmful — or perhaps even a government plot — is increasingly an article of faith among supporters of former president Donald Trump, on a par with assertions that the last election was stolen and the assault on the U.S. Capitol was overblown.

Appearing at CPAC, Republican lawmakers such as Reps. Madison Cawthorn (N.C.) and Lauren Boebert (Colo.) took aim at Biden’s push for “door-to-door” vaccine outreach, framing efforts to boost inoculations as a creeping menace from big government.

“We’re here to tell government: We don’t want your benefits, we don’t want your welfare, don’t come knocking on my door with your Fauci ouchie,” Boebert said, referring to Biden’s top medical adviser, Anthony S. Fauci, her voice rising as she paced the stage and shook her finger. “You leave us the hell alone!”

In Tennessee, health officials on Friday were ordered to halt outreach to adolescents for all vaccines — not just the coronavirus shot — after pressure from Republican lawmakers, as the Tennessean first reported. That prohibition extends to vaccines for the flu, human papillomavirus and other infectious diseases.

Michelle Fiscus, Tennessee’s former top vaccine official, said in a statement Monday that she had just been fired for c e e scus, e essee s o e top vacc e o c a , sa d a state e t o day t at s e ad just bee ed o promoting immunizations. “I have been terminated for doing my job because some of our politicians have bought into the anti-vaccine misinformation campaign rather than taking the time to speak with the medical experts,” Fiscus said.

A Tennessee Department of Health spokeswoman said the agency is continuing to provide outreach and communication on vaccines, and that it recognizes their importance for childhood health.

On television and online, conservative media outlets are amplifying fears about the vaccine.

“Vaccine door-knocking instructions revealed,” read one headline Tuesday on One America News’s website, with an accompanying video that grappled with what to do if “Big Brother comes knocking.” Newsmax host Rob Schmitt suggested last week that vaccines go “against nature,” though the network later said it supports Biden’s efforts to distribute the vaccine.

And Fox News’s Tucker Carlson, who at times has backed the vaccine, has also said, “Maybe it doesn’t work, and they’re simply not telling you that.”

The message is resonating, and the resistance is solidifying. In a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, 29 percent of Americans said they were unlikely to get vaccinated, including 20 percent who said they definitely would not. That represented an increase from three months earlier, when 24 percent said they were unlikely to get a shot.

The trend is unsettling public health experts, particularly as the outbreak worsens again. Confirmed U.S. coronavirus cases have more than doubled in the past week, with deaths rising 28 percent. Medical experts say those deaths are almost entirely among unvaccinated Americans.

“We always ask, what will be the last straw? What will be the moment that we lose the ability to communicate and cooperate and get things done?” said Frank Luntz, a longtime GOP pollster who’s been working to encourage vaccinations. “Well, we’ve reached it. This is it.”

He added: “Now, decisions are being made not because of evidence or facts or statistics, but strictly on political lines. And now people are going to die.” For months, public health experts have been hammering on one big message: Vaccines are safe, effective and the best way to stamp out the pandemic. But red and blue America have responded to these exhortations in different ways, leaving Trump country particularly vulnerable to the coronavirus, those experts say.

The Kaiser Family Foundation found last week that nearly 47 percent of residents in counties won by Biden were fully vaccinated, compared to 35 percent of residents in Trump counties. And that has pitted some traditional Republican lawmakers against those in the populist, Trump-aligned wing.

“I don’t know how many times you all heard me say this, but I’m a huge fan of vaccinations,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters on Monday, citing his own experience surviving polio. McConnell said he was “perplexed” by the slowdown in coronavirus shots.

Asked about GOP lawmakers like Sen. Ron Johnson (Wis.) who are raising doubts about the vaccines, McConnell demurred. “I can only speak for myself,” he said.

School boards are increasingly emerging as a battleground for vaccine fights, a trend that is all but certain to intensify in the fall. On Wednesday, the office of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) sent a letter challenging two school districts on a requirement that unvaccinated students who have been exposed to covid-19 must quarantine for 10 days. Ducey’s office argued that this policy violates a state law saying schools can’t require the vaccines.

On Sunday, onstage at CPAC as the final speaker, Trump bragged of pushing federal health agencies to make the vaccines a reality. “Thanks to the relentless efforts of my administration” — “and me,” he added after a slight pause — “we got miraculous therapeutics straight to patients with historic speed, and we produced three vaccines to end the pandemic in record time.”

The staunchly pro-Trump audience cheered. But in interviews, some attendees — all of them huge Trump fans — still said nothing could convince them to get their shots.

Gregory Chittum, a 58-year-old from Port Aransas, Tex., said he admires Trump but distrusts the vaccine because of the other people involved. “He depended on Fauci!” Chittum said of Trump.

Chittum, who rattled off misinformation about the coronavirus — claiming that it has killed only 12,000 people in the United States rather than the 607,000-plus deaths measured by the Centers for the Disease Control and Prevention — vowed that his opposition to the vaccines would not melt away with more time and testing.

“You’re going to have to bury me to get it,” he said.

One of the few ways to change the minds of people like Chittum, Luntz said, is for Trump himself to get involved and endorse the vaccine in a full-throated way. “He says he wants to get the credit for developing the vaccines, but his followers are saying — in his name — that the vaccines are killing people,” Luntz said. “You can’t have it both ways.”

Trump may be wary of alienating the base that adores him, a former senior Trump official said. “It’s a chicken-and-egg problem,” said the former official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to stay on good terms with Trump’s retinue. “Is he willing to use the immense credibility he has with that base to endorse the benefits of covid vaccination, or does he want to sit back and not have his base get mad at him?”

A White House official stressed that despite the anti-vaccine sentiment, millions of Americans continue to get vaccinated every week. Still, Biden aides concede that the remaining group of unvaccinated Americans will be the hardest to persuade.

On Thursday, Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy attended the regular White House press briefing to discuss a new advisory on coronavirus vaccine misinformation. “The problem right now is that the voices of these credible public health professionals are getting drowned out,” Murthy said.

“I think the White House has come to the conclusion that something more has to be done,” Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, said Wednesday on CNN. “We have to take this on frontally and not simply shrug it off as if, ‘Well, people will eventually come around to the right perspective.’ We’re losing time here. The delta variant is spreading. People are dying. We can’t actually just wait for things to get more rational.”

It remains unclear what a Democratic administration can do to reach those who still have no interest in getting vaccinated, especially as immunizations become the latest flash point in America’s bitter war over identity and culture.

“Anything that comes from the Biden administration will be rejected out of hand, regardless of what the message is,” said Celine Gounder, an epidemiologist at New York’s Bellevue Hospital and a member of Biden’s coronavirus transition task force. “That really requires conservatives to, in a sense, mobilize independently of the Biden administration. And who would it be to do that?” Some former Trump administration officials have been privately discussing whether they can find a way to help the national effort. Former health and human services secretary Alex Azar has floated the idea of a joint public service announcement with other former Democratic and Republican health secretaries, said two people with knowledge of the discussions.

The Biden administration has yet to reach out to Trump alumni, said three former officials, who also rebuked the White House for criticizing the Trump vaccine operation it inherited.

“They tried to distance themselves from the Trump vaccine and now they’re having trouble getting the Trump supporters. They shouldn’t be surprised,” said Paul Mango, who as deputy chief of staff at HHS helped manage Operation Warp Speed, the program that oversaw the vaccines’ development.

Mango, who did praise Biden and his aides for doing a “spectacular job” administering vaccines this year, said the current president is missing an obvious tactic: enlisting the former president. “I don’t know why Biden doesn’t invite Trump to the White House and hold hands and say, ‘This is an American effort, we got vaccinated, let’s all get vaccinated,’ ” Mango added.

The White House declined to comment.

The opposition of the fiercest vaccine critics is having a ripple effect even on those who are less impassioned, as some conservatives who initially championed the administration’s vaccine drive are now adopting more skeptical stances.

Podcast host Megyn Kelly, who this spring shared her story of hunting for a coronavirus vaccine in New York City and repeatedly urged her listeners to get vaccinated, has more recently rebuked the effort to vaccinate younger populations.

“I don’t want my kids to get this,” Kelly said on her June 28 show, criticizing efforts to require vaccines for school and citing ostensible risks, like fertility problems. “Can you imagine looking at your kid and trying to explain that they lost their ability to, God forbid, do something as profound as have children because you really wanted them to participate in gym class and sports?”

There is no evidence the vaccines affect fertility, the CDC has said.

Other conservatives acknowledge the vaccines may have some worth, but are torn. Debbie Billingsly, a 67-year-old Texan who attended CPAC for the first time, said she and her husband got the coronavirus vaccine on a doctor’s recommendation. Her husband is diabetic, she said, making him more vulnerable to covid-19.

“I had mixed emotions, to be honest,” Billingsly said. “I don’t think, though, that these companies would inject all these millions of people with something that they thought was not safe.”

But now, she said, she’s hearing that Pfizer is advocating booster shots.

“Why do we need a booster if it worked — you know what I’m saying?” Billingsly said. “So you kind of question what’s going on.” go g o .

She added, “I will not get the booster. I’m done.” 7/21/2021 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper

Are 12 state legislators hypocrites?

Republicans have no incentive to reveal their vaccination status

COVID-19 vaccinations have become a political battleground, but that’s no excuse for politicians to keep silent about their inoculation status. (Irfan Khan Los Angeles Times) NICHOLAS GOLDBERG

This newspaper recently reported that 12 members of the state Legislature refused, when asked by The Times, to disclose their vaccination status. To the extent that any of them offered reasons, it was, basically, that it’s nobody else’s business. “I don’t discuss my medical records with anyone but my husband and my doctor,” said Assemblywoman Laurie Davies (R-Laguna Niguel). “I’m not answering any of your questions,” said Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City). https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pubid=50435180-e58e-48b5-8e0c-236bf740270e 1/3 7/21/2021 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper Maybe they’re being honest. Maybe these principled legislators are keeping silent to protect the sanctity of medical privacy. But I don’t believe it. My gut tells me that at least some of them are being disingenuous. Either they’ve been vaccinated — because they know it’s the safe and healthful thing to do — but out of sheer hypocrisy rooted in political cowardice, they’re unwilling to stand up and tell their constituents what they’ve done. Or, alternatively, they haven’t been vaccinated — presumably because they believe the claptrap they hear on Fox News — but they know they’ll take a huge amount of grief from the science-and-reality-based community if it comes out. Either way they’re hypocrites, keeping their mouths shut because it’s politically risky to speak the truth about vaccinations. Now if I had to guess, I’d say that the first explanation is the more likely: They’ve been vaccinated but they don’t want it known by their conservative constituents. Eleven of the 12 who won’t disclose their status are Republicans, presumably most concerned about keeping their base voters satisfied. They’re well aware that the anti- vaxxer movement is hardening. Fueled by conspiracy theories and misinformation on social media and news outlets like Fox News, conservatives increasingly see vaccination as malevolent government overreach. Declining to be vaccinated is viewed as an emblem of liberty and independence, and a raised middle finger to liberal orthodoxy. Elected Republicans should be fighting that, obviously. They should be using the power of their offices and whatever personal credibility they’ve got to help recalcitrant constituents understand the overwhelming value of vaccination at a time when COVID-19 has killed more than 600,000 people and caseloads are again rising. The science is irrefutable. But, uh, wait a minute. Let’s look at it from their point of view. What’s the political advantage of speaking the truth? When the L.A. Times calls and asks if you’re vaccinated, isn’t it easier just to keep mum and alienate no one? If many of your constituents hate the vaccine like they hate vampires, it might be smarter to keep the news of your own jab off Twitter and off your website and out of the newspapers. I realize it’s harsh to suggest, without clear evidence, that these Republican legislators are being hypocrites, and it’s certainly possible that some of them have other reasons for keeping mum. But the sort of cynical, self-serving behavior I’ve described above would be entirely in keeping with what we’ve seen over the last few years, as otherwise rational Republicans (with some heroic exceptions) have become less and less willing to stand up to misinformation or buck the mob.

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pubid=50435180-e58e-48b5-8e0c-236bf740270e 2/3 7/21/2021 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper This is the direction we’ve been heading since the Trump train came barreling down the track in 2016 and Republicans decided that if they wanted to remain in power they had to get on board, not stand in the way. That’s why so few have been willing to speak out forcefully against the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. That’s why the myths about the stolen presidential election and the exaggerated specter of voter fraud have been allowed to take root. On the national level, politicians like Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who surely knows better, sold their souls to the Trumpists. Nothing, it seems, is more important than clinging to power — even the danger of a global pandemic. Consider the hypocrisy of those like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who, when Trump was still president, praised him for saving lives with vaccines as a result of Operation Warp Speed. Now she’s tweeting that Americans should “just say no” to the vaccine and to the “medical brownshirts” showing up at the door “ordering” vaccinations. What changed, other than the occupant of the White House and the mood of the voters? With regard to the 11 California Republicans who won’t disclose their vaccination status — we may never know the full story. They’re not required to tell us whether they’ve been immunized or not, or why. But my guess, and I’m sticking with it, is that some or all of these 11 Republican legislators are running scared of their conservative constituents rather than acting like leaders, standing up for the truth and urging everyone to get vaccinated. I hope I’m wrong. But I’m sorry to say it would be entirely in line with what I’ve seen in recent years. @Nick_Goldberg

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pubid=50435180-e58e-48b5-8e0c-236bf740270e 3/3 7/20/2021 Riverside and San Bernardino County COVID-19 Update by Taylor Boggs - City News Group, Inc.

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

Riverside and San Bernardino County COVID- 19 Update

Photo Courtesy of: There are several factors linked to the increase of COVID-19 cases since the June 14 statewide social distancing rules being lifted for both Riverside and San Bernardino Counties.

By Taylor Boggs Community Writer 2021-07-20 at 14:42:02

https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/riverside-and-san-bernardino-county-covid-19-update 7/20/2021 Riverside and San Bernardino County COVID-19 Update by Taylor Boggs - City News Group, Inc.

As Riverside and San Bernardino Counties continue to see an increase in new cases of COVID-19 over the past month, many residents are wondering what the main cause could be. Due to the statewide social distancing rules being lifted in the middle of June, the Delta Variant of COVID-19 making its rounds, and the unvaccinated population these seem to be some of the factors for the increase in COVID-19 cases.

As of July 19th, Riverside County has a seven-day average of 177 new cases of COVID-19 per day. That number is almost five times as much as it was on June 14th, when the county was averaging only 45 new cases per day. For San Bernardino County, it has been even worse. On July 19th, the county was facing a seven-day average of 229 new COVID-19 cases per day, up from only 46 per day on June 14th.

https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/riverside-and-san-bernardino-county-covid-19-update 2/8 7/20/2021 Riverside and San Bernardino County COVID-19 Update by Taylor Boggs - City News Group, Inc.

"The county expected there to be an increase in cases when the restrictions were lifted, simply because people would go back to being close to each other without masks and without social distancing and in restaurants and movie theaters and everywhere else," San Bernardino County public information officer, David Wert, said. "The increase in hospitalizations, though, is clearly caused by the unvaccinated people who are still out there."

Those unvaccinated people, an estimated 37.7 percent of San Bernardino county's eligible population and an estimated 41 percent of Riverside County's, are being urged to get vaccinated as fast as possible. According to the California Department of Public Health, unvaccinated residents are not only at a higher risk of getting COVID-19, but

https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/riverside-and-san-bernardino-county-covid-19-update 3/8 7/20/2021 Riverside and San Bernardino County COVID-19 Update by Taylor Boggs - City News Group, Inc. they are also far more likely to suffer a severe illness, hospitalization, or death.

"Since February, more than 22,000 new cases were reported in Riverside County and 98.1% of the people who have been infected were unvaccinated or only partially vaccinated, which tells us that the vast majority of them fit in that same pattern," Riverside County Public Information Specialist Jose Arballo said. "So I think it would be safe to say that, they (unvaccinated people) are probably a big factor in this."

In Los Angeles, although vaccine rates are higher than they are in both Riverside and San Bernardino Counties, the spike in unvaccinated people being hospitalized over the last month has led to the county reinstating its indoor mask policy. While some may easily connect the dots and see that as a sign of things to come for https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/riverside-and-san-bernardino-county-covid-19-update 4/8 7/20/2021 Riverside and San Bernardino County COVID-19 Update by Taylor Boggs - City News Group, Inc. the Inland Empire, Arbillo says that reinstating the indoor mask policy isn't yet on the table for Riverside County.

"At this point, we're not considering it and it hasn't been really brought up," Arbillo said. "Obviously, as it moves forward, we will monitor everything. Hospitalizations, ICU numbers, and if it's warranted, we might be revisiting the issue. But at this point, we have not discussed implementing or reinstating the indoor mask requirements."

According to Wert, San Bernardino County is seemingly in the same boat when it comes to reinstating the policy.

"The county follows the state's guidance at this point, and the state hasn't said anything about masks yet," Wert said. "Our focus is on the vaccinations. Masks definitely do reduce the risk of spreading and contracting, but vaccination is the best tool https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/riverside-and-san-bernardino-county-covid-19-update 5/8 7/20/2021 Riverside and San Bernardino County COVID-19 Update by Taylor Boggs - City News Group, Inc. that there is out there to prevent serious illness."

According to a White House COVID-19 press briefing on July 16 by Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Adviser on COVID-19 for the president, the Delta Variant of COVID-19 has been detected in at least 99 countries since the first round in June 2020. Since April 2021, there has been an overall increase of Delta Variant cases worldwide and on July 15, over 80 percent of positive cases were tied to the Delta Variant worldwide. According to the CDC, there are four notable variants in the United States: Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta.

“These variants seem to spread more easily and quickly than other variants, which may lead to more cases of COVID-19,” the CDC stated.

https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/riverside-and-san-bernardino-county-covid-19-update 6/8 7/20/2021 Riverside and San Bernardino County COVID-19 Update by Taylor Boggs - City News Group, Inc. According to Fauci, at least 5 vaccines: Pfizer/BioNtech, Moderna, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Bharat Biotech, have some proof of protection against the Delta variant. Fauci noted that the Pfizer vaccine had a 96% vaccine effectiveness vs hospitalizations with the delta variant.

Vaccination appointments for individuals that are age 12 and up can be made by visiting myturn.ca.gov or by going to a walk-in or drive-in vaccination site. For more information on the safety and effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine, visit cdc.gov.

For more local news and information click here.

https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/riverside-and-san-bernardino-county-covid-19-update 7/8 7/21/2021 County's COVID-19 communications campaign honored | News West Publishing

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County's COVID-19 communications campaign honored

Needles Desert Star Staff Jul 21, 2021 1:56 AM

The National Association of Counties has awarded a 2021 Achievement Award to San Bernardino County for its campaign to inform and educate residents about the COVID-19 pandemic and its local impact. https://mohavedailynews.com/news/133007/countys-covid-19-communications-campaign-honored/ 1/11 The #SBCountyTogether initiative began in March 2020 and was cited for Best Management Practices in Civic Education and Public Information.

“We recognized early on that we needed to move beyond our traditional, non-centralized approach to county communications,” said Public Information Offcer David Wert. “Moreover, our multicultural communications were limited, and we needed to ensure that underserved communities were represented and prioritized.”

The county's communications team identifed three primary objectives for the campaign:

* Promoting safe practices ranging from compliance with stay-at-home orders to social distancing and mask wearing * Emphasizing the critical need for COVID-19 testing to slow the spread of the virus * (Encouraging residents to get vaccinated as the principle strategy for overcoming the pandemic and re-opening the local economy.

The award-winning communications campaign comprised a variety of elements, including:

Brand: “#SBCountyTogether” was created as a campaign theme and logo to help residents recognize a consistent — and trusted — information source while emphasizing the importance of working collaboratively to combat the pandemic.

Website: www.SBCovid19.com became a comprehensive resource for local information related to COVID-19 and vaccines. FAQs were added and the site was updated as information and priorities changed.

Resident eNewsletter: The County Update began as a daily e-newsletter distributed via direct email to 250,000-plus residents; through the existing CountyWire blog (about 175,000 unique readers); and through the county’s primary social platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter). Now distributed once a week, the e-newsletter enabled San Bernardino County to provide critical news briefngs, safety tips and resources on a consistent basis.

https://mohavedailynews.com/news/133007/countys-covid-19-communications-campaign-honored/ 2/11 County's COVID-19 communications campaign honored | News West Publishing Social Media: San Bernardino County also distributes a variety of additional #SBCountyTogether-related content on Facebook (@SanBernardinoCounty), Instagram (@sbcounty) and Twitter (@sbcounty). In addition, YouTube (@SBCountyPIO) is used to house all #SBCountyTogether videos.

Visual Assets: Informational iers, mobile vaccine unit van wraps, social media graphics, news- reel style videos, infographics, PowerPoint presentations, and advertisements are among the visual storytelling tools the county has used to share information.

Advertising: San Bernardino County has implemented two major advertising campaigns, one for COVID-19 testing and another for vaccines. The early testing campaign included print, digital, outdoor, radio, and TV advertising. Key messages were focused on the central role of testing in getting the pandemic under control, with each ad directing users to the website to nd and schedule an appointment.

Media Relations: The public information team used County Update to share relevant data and information with journalists and largely replaced the need for press releases and media advisories. Virtually all our local and regional media subscribe to this communication and use it to identify stories about COVID-19.

“We didn’t shy away from publishing the tough news,” Wert said. “We understand that being as transparent as possible is critical to building trust with the public, so we published daily numbers of COVID cases and deaths.” 7/20/2021 Legislation would ban single term limits and salary restrictions for county supervisors | California County News

LEGISLATION WOULD BAN SINGLE TERM LIMITS AND SALARY RESTRICTIONS FOR COUNTY SUPERVISORS

MON, 07/19/2021

Last November, San Bernardino County voters passed Measure K, which restricts county supervisors to a single term in office and limits their compensation to $5,000 per month. Soon, the state could step in and prevent controversial legislation like that from ever happening again.

AB 428, sponsored by Assemblyman Chad Mayes, would ensure that all county supervisors in California be eligible for at least two terms. It also specifies that compensation will be set by county officers, including the Board of Supervisors.

californiacountynews.org/news/2021/07/legislation-would-ban-single-term-limits-and-salary-restrictions-county-supervisors?mc_cid=ee37556e39&mc_… 1/3 7/20/2021

Sen. Connie Leyva has expressed concerns that AB 428 looks like a ploy to interfere with San Bernardino voters’ wishes through Measure K. Mayes disputes that. He has amended his bill to make clear it is not retroactive.

The fight over Measure K in San Bernardino has now been thrust into the courts. The Board of Supervisors is challenging the ballot measure’s legality. A hearing in the case took place Friday.

Read more about the debate over supervisor compensation and term limits and AB 428 at Voice of OC. 7/20/2021 Santana: Sacramento Readies Bail Out for Embattled County Supervisors in Places Like San Bernardino, Orange County

NORBERTO SANTANA, JR. Santana: Sacramento Readies Bail Out for Embattled County Supervisors in Places Like San Bernardino, Orange County

San Bernardino voters decided last November to revolutionize local politics, creating a one-term limit for county politicians and limiting their pay to $60,000 annually. Now, legislation in Sacramento seeks to prevent that from ever happening again in places like Orange County.

BY NORBERTO SANTANA JR.

Published Jul 15, 2021 Updated Jul 16, 2021

Why you can trust Voice of OC

The Board of Supervisors meeting on May 25, 2021. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC

https://voiceofoc.org/2021/07/santana-sacramento-readies-bail-out-for-embattled-county-supervisors-in-places-like-san-bernardino-orange-county/ 1/10 7/20/2021 Santana: Sacramento Readies Bail Out for Embattled County Supervisors in Places Like San Bernardino, Orange County

hould local elected officials look more like grand jurors, only signing up S for a one-year term with a modest stipend to look over public budgets and hold appointed leaders accountable on a regular basis?

That’s exactly what an overwhelming majority of San Bernardino voters decided last Norberto Santana, Jr. November, creating the ultimate term limit.

Just one.

Pay was set by the voters at the median salary for local residents, estimated at $60,000 annually by ballot initiative sponsors. A pioneering leader in the nation’s rising nonprofit news movement and an award- winning journalist. Santana has The political class has been fighting established Voice of OC as Orange it ever since. County’s civic news leader, uncovered truths across Southern California governments for more than two decades In fact, Sacramento is on the verge and reported on Congress and Latin of outlawing it. America. Subscribe now to receive his latest columns by email.

San Bernardino’s county board of supervisors immediately took the ballot measure to court.

A hearing in that case is expected tomorrow in San Bernardino Superior Court, at 10 a.m. in department S23 in front of Judge Donald Alvarez.

It’s the second time San Bernardino voters have tried such a ballot initiative to curb supervisors’ power. A similar vote back in 2012 was ultimately

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stymied by county officials — who sponsored a competing measure on the ballot.

So far, those kinds of governing gimmicks have worked in preventing the emergence of true citizen legislators in San Bernardino.

Here in Orange County, supervisors have been fighting similar reforms since they bankrupted the county back in 1994. Back then, former legislators like Republican Marian Bergeson and others floated the idea of part-time supervisors.

Years back, the county switched from a general law county (more subject to Sacramento) to a charter (more flexibility in governing structures) in order to allow for special elections for vacant offices as opposed to gubernatorial appointment. Recently, an Ethics Commission also was added to the county charter.

Thus, changing the charter isn’t that far a stretch.

Supervisors recently tried to get out in front of any kind of reform effort by themselves taking action to extend their terms, potentially for decades.

Over the past year, Supervisor Lisa Bartlett worked to engineer three separate attempts to set up a misleading ballot initiative establishing a 12-year lifetime term limit on office. The proposed lifetime term limit would have exempted incumbents and reset the clock for many of the current crop of county supervisors already in office.

Two times that Bartlett proposed the idea, I wrote columns before the item was taken up.

Residents reacted and the item was tabled.

https://voiceofoc.org/2021/07/santana-sacramento-readies-bail-out-for-embattled-county-supervisors-in-places-like-san-bernardino-orange-county/ 3/10 7/20/2021 Santana: Sacramento Readies Bail Out for Embattled County Supervisors in Places Like San Bernardino, Orange County

Earlier this summer, while I was on vacation Jeeping through Northern California forests, Bartlett once again resurrected the plan, an effort that this time was narrowly approved.

To their credit, Supervisors Don Wagner and Katrina Foley publicly dissented against the scheme.

Orange County residents got super lucky thanks to the fact that Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t want any competing measures on the upcoming September recall election.

Thus, the supervisors’ efforts were quashed by Sacramento legislation barring any new local ballot measures in the recall election.

Yet by most accounts, they will be back with an effort to extend their terms.

Given how little media coverage county supervisors attract, these super-well- paid politicians know they can afford to be brazen in their attempts to hold onto power.

Supervisors know that as incumbents, they are essentially protected from electoral challenges, given the broad fundraising opportunities that authorizing government contracts brings with it, along with their taxpayer- funded media mailers.

These days in Orange County, they don’t even have to legislate much in public – given they cut their meetings in half years ago to only meet two times a month.

Not one member made any public tweak to this year’s $8 billion budget.

And most recently, they barely listen to public comment.

https://voiceofoc.org/2021/07/santana-sacramento-readies-bail-out-for-embattled-county-supervisors-in-places-like-san-bernardino-orange-county/ 4/10 7/20/2021 Santana: Sacramento Readies Bail Out for Embattled County Supervisors in Places Like San Bernardino, Orange County

In recent months, county supervisors have systematically taken away people’s rights to comment – limiting comment time periods to an insulting 30 second slot, condensing public comment or just moving the section to the end of the meeting, making hundreds of residents wait in the hot Summer sun.

Last month, Do canceled a public comment opportunity that 116 people signed up to speak on, publicly acknowledging what has angered so many public commenters about the lack of county supervisors hearing their concerns.

“I don’t know if the public comments will necessarily guide how we think,” Do said at the Jun 8 meeting.

This week, at Tuesday’s meeting, when the last resident finished speaking, Do let out a deep sigh.

“I keep expecting public comments to be over. Are we in fact over now?” he said.

Large numbers of residents — many of whom are frustrated by and questioning the state and county’s pandemic response — continue to show up at supervisors’ meetings, hoping for an interaction with lawmakers, a chance to offer suggestions and even question conventional thinking.

Instead, they leave vocally frustrated over being ignored.

This past week, Do even canceled the ability of his own colleagues to offer their own public comments before the meeting adjourned.

Moving forward, board comments will only be heard after the meeting has adjourned — something virtually no city council in Orange County does.

Combine that with the total cancelation of any kind of regular public press briefings or even bi-weekly public updates at supervisors’ public meetings

https://voiceofoc.org/2021/07/santana-sacramento-readies-bail-out-for-embattled-county-supervisors-in-places-like-san-bernardino-orange-county/ 5/10 7/20/2021 Santana: Sacramento Readies Bail Out for Embattled County Supervisors in Places Like San Bernardino, Orange County

about the ongoing pandemic, which continues to have so many realtime public policy implications.

Don’t forget the total lack of transparency on how more than $1 billion in federal relief is being spent by the county government — spending our newsroom has had to go to great lengths to document.

All of this isn’t exactly being lost on community groups like OC Tax, which have been critical of the lack of transparency on COVID contracting, or resident groups that don’t agree with how the county has handled mask mandates, policies or vaccination verification.

One group of residents is so angry at being consistently ignored and restricted at public comment, that they have started formally organizing to recall all five county supervisors.

“The great disrespect they are showing to everyone is abhorrent,” said Brian Isley, a Laguna Beach resident who is heading up recall organizing efforts against all five supervisors.

“These people think they are above the law. They treat people like second class citizens,” he said.

Isley laments the lack of a “spirited dialogue,” on Coronavirus response, funding, preventative measures and vaccine verification policies.

“That’s what’s really missing in this whole thing,” he said.

The same concerns can be heard in Orange County from homelessness activists – pushing supervisors to be more thoughtful.

Or most recently with boaters living at Dana Point Harbor — urging supervisors to be more sensitive regarding steep boat docking increases at the public harbor.

https://voiceofoc.org/2021/07/santana-sacramento-readies-bail-out-for-embattled-county-supervisors-in-places-like-san-bernardino-orange-county/ 6/10 7/20/2021 Santana: Sacramento Readies Bail Out for Embattled County Supervisors in Places Like San Bernardino, Orange County

When asked why he got this involved, Isley echoed Tom Murphy, who works with the citizen’s organizing group in San Bernardino that passed the one- term limit.

“This is not partisan,” Isley said. “It’s not Democrat or Republican.

It has to do with our rights, our freedoms.”

Murphy, who heads up the Red Brennan group, named after a well-known grand juror in San Bernardino, told me their effort to go the ballot drive route — targeting the structure of office — also was not about ideology, but the cost and effectiveness of government.

“It’s not right vs. left,” Murphy said. “It’s the governing class against the governed.”

Murphy says elected leaders have gotten too far away from the people and the popular idea of term limits needs to be boiled down into its most basic form to spur the development of citizen legislators, not politicians.

After hearing about the Red Brennan group’s efforts, Isley acknowledged the recall may not be their “final effort.”

That’s probably why the governing class is working to take this option off the books.

Sacramento is getting ready to throw embattled supervisors like those in San Bernardino and Orange County a huge safety net, saving them from any future efforts to impose term or pay limits.

Meet AB 428, sponsored by Palm Springs Assemblyman Chad Mayes, which would take away the rights of Californians to set a one-term limit on any politician or limit their pay.

https://voiceofoc.org/2021/07/santana-sacramento-readies-bail-out-for-embattled-county-supervisors-in-places-like-san-bernardino-orange-county/ 7/10 7/20/2021 Santana: Sacramento Readies Bail Out for Embattled County Supervisors in Places Like San Bernardino, Orange County

I was able to watch a hearing of our State Senate’s Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee earlier this week on AB 428 and was stunned to see it narrowly get by a committee vote.

Sen. Connie Leyva spoke eloquently against the bill, saying it looked like “a work-around” to a popular protest in San Bernardino.

“To me, it looks like a work around. The voters voted. We didn’t like it, so we’re telling them what to do,” she said.

Leyva, a Democrat whose district includes San Bernardino, said she thinks a one-term limit is a terrible idea.

“But this is a work around. People voted on Measure K. It looks like we in Sacramento are telling them what to do.”

“It looks bad,” Leyva said later before casting her vote.

Assemblyman Mayes publicly responded to Sen. Leyva, insisting that the legislation has nothing to do with the popular protest in San Bernardino, but was more about good government.

In fact, Mayes amended his bill to make certain it only applies going forward.

Yet hearing the arguments against a one-term limit actually made me take a second look at the idea.

According to Mayes and others in the elected class, it takes them quite a while to actually understand the jobs they are vying for.

That’s not a very good defense of professional politicians.

By the time someone has reached the county board of supervisors, they’ve likely been an elected official for some time.

https://voiceofoc.org/2021/07/santana-sacramento-readies-bail-out-for-embattled-county-supervisors-in-places-like-san-bernardino-orange-county/ 8/10 7/20/2021 Santana: Sacramento Readies Bail Out for Embattled County Supervisors in Places Like San Bernardino, Orange County

Why do we need to provide taxpayer-funded on-the-job training?

Not only that, most of the county budget is a pass-through from federal and state allocations.

OC Supervisors have almost $1 billion in discretionary spending, out of a county budget of nearly $8 billion.

And most of their discretionary spending — along with about 75 percent of supplemental budget requests — goes to law enforcement year after year, meaning the allocations don’t really change much.

Now, one of our State Senators from Orange County — Democrat Josh Newman — who was a majority vote on AB 428 defended his position, saying lack of participation — not professional politicians — is the problem.

“I get that people can be justifiably frustrated and/or cynical about politicians these days,” Newman said. “But I would say that, rather than applying drastic changes to term limits and official pay, a better solution to this problem would be to combine encouraging greater participation while reducing barriers to entry and removing other advantages enjoyed by incumbents, thereby bringing greater diversity and rigor to the process of choosing who represents us.”

Yet I don’t see this current crop of Orange County supervisor adopting any of those kinds of measures to spur more public participation.

In fact, they are very much moving the opposite direction.

After covering public agencies for several decades, I seriously wonder whether a one-term, citizen legislator could do any worse than the full-time county supervisors we employ today.

https://voiceofoc.org/2021/07/santana-sacramento-readies-bail-out-for-embattled-county-supervisors-in-places-like-san-bernardino-orange-county/ 9/10 7/20/2021 California State Budget Includes Critical Funding for Inland Empire Communities by Mark Farouk - City News Group, Inc.

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

California State Budget Includes Critical Funding for Inland Empire Communities

By Mark Farouk Media Contact 2021-07-20 at 14:40:18

https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/california-state-budget-includes-critical-funding-for-inland-empire-communities 7/20/2021 California State Budget Includes Critical Funding for Inland Empire Communities by Mark Farouk - City News Group, Inc. With the passage of additional state budget bills by the Legislature, Assembly Majority Leader Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-San Bernardino) highlighted local funding priorities that were included in the state budget.

“With the passage of the state budget and associated budget bills California has prioritized greater investments in education, homelessness prevention and stimulus payments to working families,” said Assemblymember Reyes. “This budget package responds to the priorities of Californians and puts this state on a path to a prosperous future built on equity and inclusion. Among this progressive spending proposal are several local funding measures that I and stakeholders advocated for, and I am excited to see those included in the budget as well.”

https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/california-state-budget-includes-critical-funding-for-inland-empire-communities 2/6 7/20/2021 California State Budget Includes Critical Funding for Inland Empire Communities by Mark Farouk - City News Group, Inc. The state budget package includes the following local funding proposals:

• $4 million to keep KVCR open as the educational broadcast arm of the San Bernardino Community College District. KVCR is the only locally-owned and operated public media outlet in the Inland Empire.

• $1 million to the City of San Bernardino to rehabilitate and expand the Garcia Center for the Arts.

• $31 million for a workforce training hub at San Bernardino Valley College.

• $6 million for Crafton Hills College to replace the outdated Finkelstein Performing Arts Center.

• $200,000 for the Colton Hutton Senior Center to continue serving the senior https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/california-state-budget-includes-critical-funding-for-inland-empire-communities 3/6 7/20/2021 California State Budget Includes Critical Funding for Inland Empire Communities by Mark Farouk - City News Group, Inc. community.

• $1 million for an International Healing Garden facility at Rialto Unified School District.

• $1.5 million for relocation and completion of Ayala Park

• $200,000 for a mobile food bank for the Community Action Partnership of San Bernardino County Foodbank.

• $103,400 for the County of San Bernardino for a Medical Assistant Workforce Development Program.

• $10 million for a homeless youth emergency service pilot project for Counties of Orange, Fresno, El Dorado and San Bernardino.

https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/california-state-budget-includes-critical-funding-for-inland-empire-communities 4/6 7/20/2021 California State Budget Includes Critical Funding for Inland Empire Communities by Mark Farouk - City News Group, Inc. • $6 million for parent and youth civic engagement for Inland Congregations United for Change.

• $182 million to the Emergency Food Assistance Program which provides grants to the California Association of Foodbank including food banks in the Inland Empire.

• $150 million grant program to provide financial relief to live performance venues for recovery from economic consequences of COVID-19. Grant program will be available to local venues such as the Inland Empire 66ers minor league baseball team.

• $10 million for a housing complex in Riverside for homeless LGBTQ youth from the Inland Empire.

For more local news and information click here.

https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/california-state-budget-includes-critical-funding-for-inland-empire-communities 5/6 7/20/2021 36 Years of Dedication by Spencer Reinart - City News Group, Inc.

Tuesday, July 20, 2021

36 Years of Dedication San Bernardino County Sheriff, John McMahon Retires

By Spencer Reinart Community Writer 2021-07-20 at 14:40:41

https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/36-years-of-dedication 7/20/2021 36 Years of Dedication by Spencer Reinart - City News Group, Inc. After dedicating 36 years of service, Sheriff John McMahon said farewell to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department as he entered into retirement on July 16th. The announcement came on Friday, June 18th from McMahon that after more than eight years as Sheriff and years of service, he would retire.

McMahon had never intended to become Sheriff of San Bernardino County, but admits that he has enjoyed every minute of it saying, “I don’t believe I am here by accident, I believe I am here for a reason, and on purpose.” McMahon says that his retirement has come so that he can devote more time to his family.

He has led the Sheriff’s department in taking part in the 2013 manhunt for LAPD officer Christopher Dorner just three months after his appointment to Sheriff. As well as the 2015 mass shooting at San https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/36-years-of-dedication 2/5 7/20/2021 36 Years of Dedication by Spencer Reinart - City News Group, Inc. Bernardino’s Inland Regional Center. McMahon has dedicated his time, service, and more to the department throughout the years. He commented, “When I walk out the door, I can look back and say that it is a little better than the way I found it and it’s the responsibility of those who follow to take it to the next level.”

Stepping into the shoes of Sheriff for San Bernardino County is the new Sheriff, Shannon Dicus. He was sworn in by Sheriff McMahon on July 14th and plans to continue the great work that is being performed throughout the communities. Dicus has lived in San Bernardino County for over 40 years and has served in the United States Army. He has been with the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department since 1991.

Dicus serves as the 36th Sheriff-Coroner of the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/36-years-of-dedication 3/5 7/20/2021 36 Years of Dedication by Spencer Reinart - City News Group, Inc. Department. According to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department, “Sheriff Dicus has held a position at every rank in the Department and his past assignments include corrections and patrol in Barstow, Apple Valley, Victorville City, and Victor Valley Stations. He worked Specialized Investigations in Narcotics, SWAT, and Criminal Intelligence.”

He has led the department and the community in times of need and has dedicated years to making this a safe and enjoyable community for everyone. Upon Sheriff McMahon’s departure on his last day, all of the employees lined the building of the Sheriff’s Headquarters to wish him a happy retirement. The walls were lined from his office going down the stairs of the building and the outside walkways with everyone clapping and cheering him on in his next venture.

https://www.citynewsgroup.com/articles/36-years-of-dedication 4/5 7/21/2021 McMahon reflects on Terrorism and Trump | Local News | hddailynews.com

https://www.hddailynews.com/news/local/mcmahon-refects-on-terrorism-and-trump/article_cd19d278-e84d- 11eb-88bc-bb3d6c4492d3.html

FEATURED McMahon refects on Terrorism and Trump

Andrew Caravella Jul 20, 2021

On Friday, July 16, 2021, Former Sheriff McMahon retired after decades of service to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. In part 2 of our series with McMahon, we refect on his time as Sheriff. McMahon revisited a tragic day in December 2015 when terrorist killed several people and wounded numerous more at Inland Regional Center. Some reports say it was the deadliest terrorist attack in America since September 11, 2001.

HDdailynews.com also spoke to McMahon about the moment in time the President of the United States singled him out for recognition of the work that's being done in San Bernardino County. No questions were off limits.

John McMahon refects on terrorism and former President Donald Trump's recognition

HD Daily News https://www.hddailynews.com/news/local/mcmahon-reflects-on-terrorism-and-trump/article_cd19d278-e84d-11eb-88bc-bb3d6c4492d3.html 1/2 7/21/2021 McMahon reflects on Terrorism and Trump | Local News | hddailynews.com

San Bernardino County Sheriff @sbcountysheriff

We are extremely proud that Sheriff John McMahon was recognized for his leadership on a national level. Our department members and county residents are very fortunate to have the greatest sheriff!

2:14 PM · Feb 13, 2019

423 18 Share this Tweet

https://www.hddailynews.com/news/local/mcmahon-reflects-on-terrorism-and-trump/article_cd19d278-e84d-11eb-88bc-bb3d6c4492d3.html 2/2 7/21/2021 Coroner releases first unnatural-death details after month of silence

NEWS Coroner releases first unnatural-death details after month of silence; explanation murky Charlie McGee Victorville Daily Press Published 4:39 p.m. PT Jul. 20, 2021

San Bernardino County’s coroner has released details on three unnatural deaths that occurred last week — the first time it has released such information in nearly a month after halting the standard announcements amid “a review of policies and procedures” that remains unexplained.

The Coroner Press Release page on the sheriff’s website is a valuable resource for members of the public to learn about deaths in the county by unnatural causes, such as traffic accidents, exhaustion in the desert and shootings.

The Coroner Division, housed within the sheriff’s department, usually updates the page within a few days of an incident to announce details such as the victim’s name, age and residency, when and where he or she was discovered by law enforcement, and the nature of the death. The alternatives for obtaining such information are sending mail or physically traveling to the relevant law enforcement office with a specific death in mind.

A note appeared atop the coroner’s page earlier this month stating that these announcements were being suspended.

“Due to a review of policies and procedures regarding Coroner Press Releases, no press site updates will be posted until those procedures are reviewed and approved,” the page stated. “Information regarding individual cases can be requested by members of the press and submitted by email.”

The most recent incident announced by the coroner prior to the freeze is a single-vehicle rollover on June 15.

https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2021/07/20/coroner-releases-first-unnatural-death-details-after-month-silence/8035160002/?utm_source=vv… 1/3 7/21/2021 Coroner releases first unnatural-death details after month of silence

Neither the sheriff's department nor the coroner division has responded to requests for further explanation on the review of policies and procedures.

Separate from the coroner division, the sheriff’s department sometimes posts its own press releases after an incident it is involved in ends with the death of a civilian. On occasion, both the coroner and the sheriff will release their own statements recounting details of the same fatal incident.

Yet, the details in each statement haven’t always lined up. Last month, each agency released its own statement on the death of Barstow resident Juan Rodriguez Jr., which provided contradicting details about the events leading up to deputies shooting him in Yucca Valley on June 9.

After multiple weeks without any updates, the coroner removed its policies-and-procedures note sometime between Friday afternoon and Sunday morning. In its place are three new announcements of recent deaths, each a result of traffic accidents that occurred on July 14, 15 and 16.

No further incidents have been added, leaving only three unnatural deaths announced by the coroner for the month of July and a monthlong gap in which no details have been offered.

By comparison, the coroner’s page lists past announcements of 21 deaths by unnatural cause during the first half of June. It lists 18 deaths that occurred in May, though additional deaths during the first week of the month may have been announced and since removed from the page.

Numerous unnatural deaths have occurred during the monthlog void in the coroner’s announcements.

On July 3, for example, two people died in separate, single-vehicle crashes on the same stretch of road in Victorville. Incidents of this nature are usually announced by the coroner – and in this case, the Daily Press obtained such information upon request – but the two deaths are yet to be added to the coroner release page.

Upon a call to the coroner’s main phone line on Sunday, a spokesperson told the Daily Press to direct its inquiry to the sheriff’s public information officer, Cindy Bachman. Later that day, Bachman said to direct the inquiry to the coroner.

“As far as a message they posted, or removed, I’m not sure what you’re referring to so I suggest you speak to the supervisor or watch commander at the Coroner Division,” Bachman https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2021/07/20/coroner-releases-first-unnatural-death-details-after-month-silence/8035160002/?utm_source=vv… 2/3 7/21/2021 Coroner releases first unnatural-death details after month of silence

told the Daily Press in an email.

Since Sunday, the coroner hasn’t responded to multiple emails asking how the review of policies and procedures began, what changes occurred and whether any deaths between June 15 and July 14 are going to be added to the website.

Charlie McGee covers the city of Barstow and its surrounding communities for the Daily Press. He is also a Report for America corps member with the GroundTruth Project, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit news organization dedicated to supporting the next generation of journalists in the U.S. and around the world. McGee may be reached at 760-955-5341 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @bycharliemcgee.

https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2021/07/20/coroner-releases-first-unnatural-death-details-after-month-silence/8035160002/?utm_source=vv… 3/3 7/21/2021 Authorities say no active shooter at Apple Valley Walmart

NEWS Authorities say no active shooter at Apple Valley Walmart on Monday night Martin Estacio Victorville Daily Press Published 3:37 p.m. PT Jul. 20, 2021

Despite receiving several calls reporting an active shooter at an Apple Valley warehouse Monday night, authorities said those reports were unfounded.

Shortly before 10 p.m., deputies responded to the Walmart Distribution Center at 21101 Johnson Road after a woman there called 911 asking for help, the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department said.

“The caller did not say what she needed help with,” sheriff’s spokesperson Jackie Alban said Tuesday.

Sheriff’s dispatch then received “numerous calls” reporting an active shooter at the center, according to officials.

Deputies arrived as employees were being evacuated and discovered that no shooting had occurred. The officers then conducted a security sweep of the center which lasted about three hours, Alban said.

No arrests were made or citations issued, she added.

Daily Press reporter Martin Estacio may be reached at 760-955-5358 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @DP_mestacio.

https://www.vvdailypress.com/story/news/2021/07/20/authorities-say-no-active-shooter-apple-valley-walmart/8034284002/?utm_source=vvdailypress-… 1/1 7/21/2021 Big Bear send off Mayor Dave Caretto honored by colleagues | Big Bear Grizzly

Dave Caretto sat in his former seat at the dias July 19 surrounded by colleagues, friends and family. Caretto resigned from the Big Bear Lake City Council in June due to health reasons. He was lauded during a reception at the start of the July 19 City Council meeting. Caretto and his wife, Cindy, are moving to the desert.

Big Bear send off Mayor Dave Caretto honored by colleagues

Jul 21, 2021 12:00 AM

https://bigbeargrizzly.net/news/5621/big-bear-send-off-mayor-dave-caretto-honored-by-colleagues/ 1/10 7/21/2021 Big Bear send off Mayor Dave Caretto honored by colleagues | Big Bear Grizzly Dave Caretto didn't plan to retire when he did. It was on his agenda, but a health emergency forced him to make a decision earlier than planned.

The former Big Bear Lake City Council member and mayor was honored during the early moments of the July 19 City Council meeting. Caretto resigned in June and the council is close to interviewing candidates to fll his seat. But on this night, Caretto's colleagues, friends and community members turned out to say goodbye and share their thoughts on his 15 years of service to the city.

Mayor Pro Tem Rick Herrick asked Caretto one last time if he wanted to reconsider and stay before listing many of Caretto's accomplishments. Herrick presented gifts and a proclimation and Cindy Caretto was given fowers.

Former councilman Bill Jahn said the city of Big Bear Lake is a better place because of Caretto's hard work. Another former council member Liz Harris said Caretto has been a delight to work with

"You've really made a difference, Dave," said Jim Miller, former member of the city staff and current eld rep for San Bernardino County Supervisor Dawn Rowe. Miller cited the look of the city 14 years ago and now and what a beautiful place the city it thanks to Dave Caretto's efforts.

Video messages were sent by Congressman Jay Obernolte, who was elected to the Big Bear Lake City Council at the same time as Caretto, and Supervisor Rowe. City Attorney Steve Deitsch has known Caretto for 40 years and shared that Caretto has left the city a much better place. Deitch said he is grateful to know Caretto in a professional capacity and as a friend.

Presentations were also made by State Assemblyman's Thurston Smith's ofce, members of the council and Mountain Transit.

https://bigbeargrizzly.net/news/5621/big-bear-send-off-mayor-dave-caretto-honored-by-colleagues/ 2/10 7/21/2021 ‘It’s crazy’: San Bernardino County’s median home price up 21.3% to $442,750; sales up 41.7% – San Bernardino Sun

NEWSHOUSING • News ‘It’s crazy’: San Bernardino County’s median home price up 21.3% to $442,750; sales up 41.7% At $680,000, the region’s median home price was up $125,000 in the 12 months ending in June, the second-biggest year-over-year gain in CoreLogic records.

Southern California’s median home price hit an all-time high of $680,000 in June, the fifthfifth straightstraight recordrecord inin aa row,row, figuresfigures fromfrom DQDQ News/CoreLogicNews/CoreLogic show.show. SalesSales jumpedjumped toto 27,012, the highest number of monthly transactions in nearly 15 years. (Stafff chart)chart)

By JEFF COLLINS || [email protected] || OrangeOrange CountyCounty RegisterRegister PUBLISHED: July 20, 2021 at 8:00 a.m. || UPDATED:UPDATED: July 20, 2021 at 5:26 p.m.

https://www.sbsun.com/2021/07/20/southern-california-home-prices-set-fifth-straight-record-as-sales-soar/ 1/7 7/21/2021 ‘It’s crazy’: San Bernardino County’s median home price up 21.3% to $442,750; sales up 41.7% – San Bernardino Sun Southern California’’s housing boom stormed into June with home prices setting a fifth-straightfifth-straight recordrecord andand salessales soaringsoaring toto thethe highesthighest levellevel inin almostalmost 1515 years.years.

Bidding wars andand buyerbuyer concessionsconcessions remainremain thethe norm,norm, withwith sevenseven outout ofof 1010 homes selling over the asking price, agents and CoreLogic said. But the market frenzyfrenzy hashas cooledcooled somewhatsomewhat asas peoplepeople turnedturned theirtheir attentionattention toto summersummer activities, the supply of homes for sale increased and buyers became wary of overpaying.

CoreLogic also forecasts home-price growth likelylikely peakedpeaked inin JuneJune andand willwill slowslow throughthrough thethe restrest ofof thethe year.year.

The median price of a Southern California home — or price at the midpoint of all sales — hit $680,000, up 22.5% in a year, DQ News/CoreLogic reported Tuesday, July 20. By comparison, annual price gains averaged 9.5% over the past nine years.

Record prices also were set in all six counties in the region. In Orange County, the median price for all homes hit $900,000, while the cost of an average, mid-priced house topped $1 million for a second straight month. The median-priced condo — considered the more affordable homeownership option — now trades at $627,000 inin OrangeOrange CountyCounty andand $635,000$635,000 inin LosLos AngelesAngeles County.County.

“It’’s crazy. It’’s the craziest I’’ve ever seen it,” said Suzanne Seini, co-owner of Irvine-based Active Realty. “It’’s tough for (buyers).. II thinkthink theythey getget disheartened.”disheartened.”

Related: Bidding war tips: Do’’s and don’’tsts forfor homebuyershomebuyers

Sales last month totaled 27,012, the most for any month since August 2006.

June’’s total sales were up 52% from a year ago, when the housing market was depressed by pandemic lockdowns and open houses were banned, something thatthat waswas reversedreversed justjust lastlast month.month. MoreMore significantly,significantly, however,however, JuneJune’’s sales tally was up 12.3% from the previous month.

Low mortgage rates continuecontinue toto motivatemotivate buyers,buyers, withwith 30-year30-year fixedfixed mortgagesmortgages averaging 2.9% this year so far, according to mortgage giant Freddie Mac.

But that’’s just a part of the story, said CoreLogic Deputy Chief Economist Selma Hepp.

Almost a third of the homes sold in June were over $1 million, compared with 18% the previous June, skewing the averages higher.

https://www.sbsun.com/2021/07/20/southern-california-home-prices-set-fifth-straight-record-as-sales-soar/ 2/7 7/21/2021 ‘It’s crazy’: San Bernardino County’s median home price up 21.3% to $442,750; sales up 41.7% – San Bernardino Sun “Households who are able to purchase higher-priced homes have not been hit as hard financially and may have, in fact, benefited from a burgeoning stock market,” said Hepp. “Thus (they) were able and willing to spend more on the house and bid up the price.”

And there’’s more buyer demand duedue toto thethe sheersheer numbernumber ofof millennialsmillennials comingcoming of homebuying age at the same time they were saving money because they were eating out and traveling less during the pandemic.

Agents interviewed estimated 70%-95% of the homes are getting multiple offers.. Buyers still are bidding over the asking price and making concessions like waiving theirtheir rightright toto killkill thethe dealdeal ifif thethe lenderlender’’s appraisal comes in too low.

Cash is still king

Arash Yazdanian is one example of how brutal the housing market has been for buyers.

In early 2020, Yazdanian, 44, and his wife sold their Aliso Viejo home to improve theirtheir chanceschances ofof gettinggetting theirtheir offeroffer acceptedaccepted onon aa homehome withwith aa biggerbigger backyardbackyard forfor theirtheir kids.kids. HeHe figuredfigured itit wouldwould taketake twotwo toto threethree monthsmonths toto findfind aa replacementreplacement house. It ended up taking well over a year.

The Yazdanians looked at close to 100 houses, putting down offers on four of them.them. InIn eacheach case,case, cashcash buyersbuyers gotgot thethe house,house, hehe said.said.

“Financing a home seems like an odd thing to do these days,” Yazdanian said. “You put in an offer, and they say, ‘‘we have better offers for all cash.’’ ””

Related: Zero-down mortgages are back a decade after mortgage meltdown

After months of watching prices going up and up, the couple had all but given up. Then a five-bedroom house in Laguna Hills with a large yard and a pool caught theirtheir eye.eye. ThisThis time,time, theirtheir agentagent advisedadvised themthem toto bidbid atat leastleast $50,000$50,000 overover thethe asking price — more than $200,000 over their original budget — and to drop the appraisal contingency. They agreed to an escrow of just 22 days.

Their deal closed July 8, and they’’re getting ready to move in.

“We’’re excited it’’s over,” said Yazdanian, a vice president for a mortgage company. “We don’’tt havehave toto looklook anymore.”anymore.”

Agents say they’’ve seen a shift in recent weeks, with buyers now more hesitant to bid six figures over the asking price, saying they don’’tt wantwant toto buybuy atat thethe toptop ofof thethe market. https://www.sbsun.com/2021/07/20/southern-california-home-prices-set-fifth-straight-record-as-sales-soar/ 3/7 7/21/2021 ‘It’s crazy’: San Bernardino County’s median home price up 21.3% to $442,750; sales up 41.7% – San Bernardino Sun Some are saying, “I’’m out. I’’m just going to keep on renting,” Seini said. “Things aren’’tt affordable.”affordable.”

Last winter, homes were getting 100 showings in 10 days and 20 to 30 offers, said Stephanie Vitacco, an agent with Keller Williams Encino-Sherman Oaks. Now, therethere areare perhapsperhaps fivefive toto sevenseven showingsshowings inin thatthat timetime andand oneone toto threethree offers.offers.

“It’’s like someone took their foot off the pedal,” Vitacco said. “It’’s not as chaotic as itit waswas earlierearlier inin thethe year.”year.”

The good news for buyers is Southern California listings bottomed out in February and increased 10 percent — some 3,600 homes — since then, figures from Zillow show. On the other hand, listings are 18% lower than during the depths of pandemic lockdowns, down some 8,700 listings year over year.

Will prices come down?

Expect a gradual decrease in the appreciation rate, economists and industry insidersinsiders say,say, butbut dondon’’tt holdhold youryour breathbreath forfor aa slump.slump.

Freddie Mac issued a quarterly forecast last week predicting prices will rise 12.1% inin 2021,2021, withwith gainsgains slowingslowing toto 5.3%5.3% inin 2022.2022.

“The housing market remains strong even as certain obstacles have begun to slow sales across the country,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’’s Chief Economist.

Debi Durzi, an agent with Park Regency Realty in Granada Hills, expects prices to go up for another 8-12 months, then will level off. It’’s “not necessarily going to crash,” she said.

“A market can’’tt keepkeep goinggoing andand goinggoing andand going,”going,” VitaccoVitacco added.added. “Something“Something willwill change. It will shift.”

Here’’s a county-by-county breakdown of June’’s numbers:

https://www.sbsun.com/2021/07/20/southern-california-home-prices-set-fifth-straight-record-as-sales-soar/ 4/7 7/21/2021 ‘It’s crazy’: San Bernardino County’s median home price up 21.3% to $442,750; sales up 41.7% – San Bernardino Sun

Los Angeles County’’s median rose 23.1% to $790,000; sales were up 68.9% to 8,555 transactions. Orange County’’s median rose 17.6% to $900,000; sales were up 67.2% to 4,146 transactions.transactions. Riverside County’’s median rose 20.0% to $510,000; sales were up 43.8% to 4,790 transactions. San Bernardino County’’s median rose 21.3% to $442,750; sales were up 41.7% to 3,547 transactions. San Diego County’’s median rose 24.9% to $750,000; sales were up 34.5% to 4,789 transactions. Ventura County’’s median rose 22.7% to $736,000; sales were up 47.6% to 1,185 transactions. 7/21/2021 Upland scraps plan to limit sizes of warehouses and distribution centers – Daily Bulletin ___

LOCAL NEWS • News Upland scraps plan to limit sizes of warehouses and distribution centers Proposed zoning ordinance was deemed "overreaching" and unfriendly to businesses

A semi-truck leaves an Amazon Fulfillment in Eastvale on Thursday,, Nov.Nov. 12,12, 2020.2020. (Photo(Photo byby WatcharaWatchara Phomicinda,Phomicinda, TheThe Press-Enterprise/SCNG)Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

By STEVE SCAUZILLO || [email protected] || SanSan GabrielGabriel ValleyValley TribuneTribune PUBLISHED: July 20, 2021 at 10:07 a.m. || UPDATED:UPDATED: July 20, 2021 at 10:09 a.m.

Like many cities in the Inland Empire, Upland continues to wrestle with how to limit the effects of trucks, noise and air pollution on nearby residents stemming from logistics warehouses.

A most recent attempt — a sweeping zone change that would have prohibited larger-sized warehouses in some areas near residential properties and required Conditional Use Permits (CUPs) on others — was soundly rejected by the City Council last week.

After moving ahead with a set of specific warehouse restrictions onon Jan.Jan. 25,25, thethe CityCity CouncilCouncil scrappedscrapped thethe planplan onon JulyJuly 12,12, agreeingagreeing withwith thethe Planning Commission, which called the set of new zoning regulations “overreaching,” “not business friendly” and “a bad idea.”

Although agreeing with the Planning Commission, the City Council said it still wanted to find ways to keep trucks serving warehouses off residential streets and address concerns of residents in the southwest portion of the city about too many trucks spewing diesel-pollution, making too much noise and causing a safety hazard. As a side motion, the council asked staff to study less-sweeping ways to surgically examine the issue on a project-by-project basis.

“I kept hearing “not business friendly” but can the city be resident friendly? Because (warehouses) will affect all the residents and there are a lot more residents than there are businesses in the city,” said Bob Waggoner, an Upland resident who spoke at the July 12 council meeting.

https://www.dailybulletin.com/2021/07/20/upland-scraps-plan-to-limit-sizes-of-warehouses-and-distribution-centers/?utm_email=5424657724… 1/4 7/21/2021 Upland scraps plan to limit sizes of warehouses and distribution centers – Daily Bulletin

What killed the original council proposal was the revelation that a zoning amendment banning larger warehouses in some zones and requiring CUPs based on size would not only affect future warehouses, but have a ripple effect on existing warehouses and their operating businesses.

The proposed zone code amendments placed around 10 existing warehouses into the limbo of “legal non-confirming uses.” This would have serious consequences, from preventing additions and improvements to wiping out future loans or refinancing.

Craig Scheu, an Upland resident who said he was speaking on behalf of his family, said the changes would have unintended consequences on small entrepreneurs who run start-up businesses within several existing warehouses, possibly driving them out of business.

“The result will be derelict properties,” he said. “The impact will be on hundreds of small entrepreneurs who will be forced to leave the city.”

Sam Greek, owner of two industrial properties totaling 170,000 square feet on 12 acres, where 65 small businesses, most owned by Upland residents, are providing goods and services, strongly opposed the change. If the zone changes were passed, his properties would become non- conforming, putting small-business owners under draconian restrictions, “rendering the property untenable,” he said.

“I am kind of shocked and dismayed this was actually ever offered up,” Peter Mann, owner of Mountain View industrial park, told the council. “It isis suchsuch aa poorlypoorly writtenwritten law.law. NumerousNumerous incubatorincubator spacesspaces herehere inin UplandUpland wouldwould bebe significantlysignificantly affected.”affected.”

The proposed ordinance would have prohibited warehouses 25,000 square feet or larger in the light industrial zone and in the commercial/residential mixed-use and commercial/office mixed-use zones. Those 50,000 square feet or larger would have been banned in the commercial/industrial mixed-use zone. Those 100,000 square feet or larger would have been prohibited in the general industrial zone.

InIn otherother instances,instances, warehousewarehouse projectsprojects wouldwould meetmeet specificspecific requirementsrequirements viavia individualindividual useuse permits.permits.

The effects on existing warehouses — some operating for more than 20 years without resident complaints — was not the intent of the City Council. “This item was not intended to be overarching or offensive to our business community,” said Councilwoman Shannan Maust.

Councilwoman Janice Elliott said when the council originally moved the zone amendment forward, it believed existing buildings and businesses would be grandfathered in. This was not the case.

Mayor Bill Velto said he received more than 30 phone calls from people in opposition to the changes.

Elliott pushed for further review of the issue. In particular, she asked if the city planning staff were to incorporate into a project usable and non- usable truck routes and ban trucks during night time as CUP items specific to a project instead of sweeping zone changes, how would these be enforced?

Robert Dalquest, development services director, said those restrictions would have to be written into the project prior to approval. “We would call code enforcement and have them pay a visit,” he answered. 7/21/2021 Council approves hemp moratorium | News West Publishing

The level of THC for hemp is 0.3% or less. For marijuana, it's higher than 0.3%.

Council approves hemp moratorium

By KANE WICKHAM, Needles Desert Star Jul 21, 2021 1:59 AM The Needles City Council voted unanimously July 13 to approve a 45-day moratorium on the

In California, hemp farming requires registration and approval by a county agricultural commissioner.

The moratorium will prevent anyone from receiving a permit from San Bernardino County to grow hemp within Needles.

"We just want to make sure no one gets a hemp permit from the county and thinks they can start cultivating hemp within the city limits" said City Manager Rick Daniels.

The moratorium also will give the city time to determine how hemp cultivation might affect the city's

One concern is cross-pollination — which can lower THC levels in cannabis, thus reducing its value.

"What we grow are all female plants," said Marc Kaplan of Vertical, a cannabis company with operations in Needles. "A male hemp plant could pollinate them and render the plants unsmokable. Then it becomes merely an extractable."

According to healthline.com, the level of THC for hemp is 0.3% or less. For marijuana, it's higher than 0.3%.

The possibility of airborne cross-pollination is also of concern to City Councilman Zachery Longacre.

"There's no way to stop pollen from going in air conditioners," he said. "You can flter the smell, but you still have to suck air into those buildings."

Both hemp and marijuana are high in CBDs, but the only thing you will get from smoking hemp is a headache. https://mohavedailynews.com/news/133012/council-approves-hemp-moratorium/ 2/10 A hemp farm in Mohave Valley recently experienced a rash of break-ins and plant thefts. The intrusions even became violent, as a vehicle trying to escape the property stuck a pedestrian.

Striking a balance between the two types of cannabis cultivation likely won't be simple.

"The industrial hemp thing is a big deal for the outdoor guys more than indoor growers," Kaplan said. "For the indoor guys it's more fear than reality." 7/21/2021 San Bernardino leaders embrace resuming in-person meetings after virtual year – San Bernardino Sun ___

LOCAL NEWS • News San Bernardino leaders embrace resuming in-person meetings after virtual year The City Council meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 21, at Feldheym Library

San Bernardino City Council holds their first meeting in Bing Wong Auditorium at Feldheym Library in San Bernardino on Wednesday, Aug 7, 2019. (Photo(Photo byby TerryTerry Pierson,Pierson, TheThe Press-Enterprise/SCNG)Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

By BRIAN WHITEHEAD || [email protected] || TheThe SunSun PUBLISHED: July 20, 2021 at 5:33 p.m. || UPDATED:UPDATED: July 20, 2021 at 5:35 p.m.

The San Bernardino City Council last met in person on March 18, 2020.

Watch the recording now and see just how much has changed in 16 months.

Elected officials and city officials started meeting virtually on April 1, 2020, to adhere to public safety measures implemented to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. Since then, thethe bulk of city business hashas beenbeen conductedconducted overover Zoom,Zoom, withwith eacheach councilcouncil membermember andand department head logging in remotely.

On Wednesday, July 21, however, policymakers and City Hall administrators will return to Feldheym Library to convene in person for the firstfirst timetime inin 70-odd70-odd weeks.weeks.

And not a moment too soon for some.

“We’’ve waited a long time for this day, but I imagine no one more than the newly elected council members who will be on the dais with the public, in public, for the very first time,” Councilman Ben Reynoso said Monday, July 19, in a text message. “I imagine loads of much- needed feedback from our residents on Wednesday night and I embrace it fully.” https://www.sbsun.com/2021/07/20/san-bernardino-leaders-embrace-resuming-in-person-meetings-after-virtual-year/ 1/4 7/21/2021 San Bernardino leaders embrace resuming in-person meetings after virtual year – San Bernardino Sun

Elected last year, Reynoso, Councilwoman Kimberly Calvin and Councilman Damon Alexander will get their first look at the public from behind the dais Wednesday evening.

Alexander, for one, looks forward to engaging with residents in a more personal forum.

“Zoom is so impersonal,” he said Monday. “You can’’tt reallyreally understandunderstand thethe depthdepth andand passionpassion ofof someonesomeone’’s public comment on a phone call. But you can see their passion in their face and body language in person.

“I can’’tt wait.wait. II’’m excited. It’’s an honor to sit there with my colleagues.”

Myriad changes have been made to the temporary Council Chambers at Feldheym Library to protect the health of elected officials, city administrators and the public.

Capacity for attendees is capped at about 36, with the appropriate social distancing between seats. There will be space in the lobby to watch thethe proceedings,proceedings, andand thethe meetingmeeting willwill bebe televisedtelevised andand streamedstreamed onon thethe citycity’’s website as usual.

Individuals are encouraged to wear masks if they have not been vaccinated. The auditorium has plenty of hand sanitizer.

Chairs on the dais have been spaced as much as possible, with glass dividers separating council members.

“The way we’’ve been (meeting) has been convenient and easy,” Councilman Fred Shorett said Monday, “but we can’’tt dodo thatthat forever.forever. …… II support returning. It’’s necessary. The public is clamoring for it, the public wants us back, and we want to come back into the Chambers.”

The City Council meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Feldheym Library, 555 W. Sixth St. San Bernardino. California will spend $6 billion to expand internet access. Who gets priority?

BY ISABELLA BLOOM JULY 20, 2021 01:39 PM, UPDATED 4 MINUTES AGO Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Tuesday to spend $6 billion over the next three years expanding broadband access throughout the state, prioritizing unserved, underserved and rural communities.

Much of the money will fund increased connectivity for rural communities with little to no network access and public spaces like schools and libraries with less access to high-bandwidth internet.

Newsom signed the broadband bill into law surrounded by students at Traver Joint Elementary School in Tulare County.

“The issue of access and equity — those are the two words that bring us here today,” Newsom said. “The spirit is that next generation that will be the beneficiaries of this historic, landmark investment.”

The bill passed with bipartisan support in the Assembly and Senate, with many legislators emphasizing how COVID-19 lockdowns revealed vast disparities in internet access throughout the state.

“This pandemic has shown that the digital divide is one of the most pressing civil rights issues of the 21st century,” said Assembly member Al Murasutchi, D-Torrance, in the Assembly floor session. “If you don’t have affordable, reliable internet access, you can’t get into the classroom. If you don’t have reliable internet service, you can’t telecommute and get into the workplace. For those who don’t have internet service, they can’t see their healthcare providers.”

The law establishes a deputy director of broadband, broadband advisory council and office of broadband and digital literacy at the California Department of Technology. The deputy director for broadband will be appointed by the governor and act as the point of contact for Caltrans, the Legislature, the commission and the third-party administrator. More half of the money, $3.25 billion, is intended go toward increasing middle-mile infrastructure, which links major internet providers to a local access point like schools and hospitals. Building this middle mile will bring internet services to rural areas and create competition in urban communities that will lower prices.

The middle-mile construction will prioritize areas without sufficient high-bandwidth connectivity, such as elementary and secondary schools, higher education, healthcare institutions, libraries and tribal lands.

In fall 2020, more than a quarter of K-12 students and nearly 40% of low-income students did not have reliable internet access, according to data from the Public Policy Institute of California.

Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa, described the state of broadband access in his district at the Assembly floor session Thursday.

“We have kids and adults who go and sit in parking lots at a library to get Wi-Fi access to fill out a job application or an application for college,” Wood said.

Another $2 billion will be used for last-mile projects to connect underserved households to high-speed internet. At least $1 billion of this allocation must be spent in rural counties.

Rural areas in California have the lowest access to broadband, as shown by the 2019 American Community Survey, with the exception of rural wealthy regions in Sonoma and Marin counties.

“This is sorely needed. We have wasted decades with the status quo,” Senator Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, said at the Senate floor session. “We cannot leave any child, any senior, any family behind.”

Although the bill passed unanimously, Assembly legislators brought up several concerns such as continued funding for operation and maintenance.

“Every year wildfires burn miles and miles of fiber optic cable ... that have to be replaced at significant expense,” said Assemblyman Jordan Cunningham, R-San Luis Obispo, who nonetheless requested support for the bill as an important first step. “I don’t know if this bill really fully contemplates the operation maintenance costs.”

The final $750 million in the $6 billion allocation is slated to go toward a reserve to cover loan losses for local governments and nonprofits as they fund broadband projects. 7/20/2021 Sonoma County Supervisors to appeal decision concerning Measure P on November ballot | California County News

SONOMA COUNTY SUPERVISORS TO APPEAL DECISION CONCERNING MEASURE P ON NOVEMBER BALLOT

MON, 07/19/2021

From the County of Sonoma

SANTA ROSA, CA – The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors voted in closed session today to appeal a June ruling by the Public Employment Relations Board concerning Measure P, the voter-approved initiative to strengthen oversight of the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, while also moving ahead with the meet and confer process concerning two bargaining units that filed the complaints. californiacountynews.org/news/2021/07/sonoma-county-supervisors-appeal-decision-concerning-measure-p-november-ballot?mc_cid=ee37556e39&… 1/4 7/20/2021 Sonoma County Supervisors to appeal decision concerning Measure P on November ballot | California County News

While appealing the ruling to the California Courts of Appeal, the Board directed staff to continue with the development of operational protocols between the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach (IOLERO) and the Sheriff’s Office as called for in Measure P. This process includes meeting and conferring with all bargaining units that will be covered by the protocols, including the Sonoma County Deputy Sheriff’s Association and the Sonoma County Law Enforcement Association, which filed the original unfair labor practice complaints with PERB.

“The County feels strongly that the PERB decision is clearly erroneous as a matter of law and contrary to the public’s interests,” said Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, Chair of the Board of Supervisors. “At the same time, the County is committing to sitting down with DSA and SCLEA representatives to explore resolution through the meet and confer process. We’re hopeful that we will be able to complete this process in a way that preserves the integrity of the oversight infrastructure that voters approved overwhelmingly last fall and have it implemented as soon as possible.”

Passed in November 2020 with 64.7 percent of the vote, Measure P gave the Independent Office of Law Enforcement Review and Outreach new authority to investigate potential wrongdoing, post body-worn camera video and make discipline recommendations. After the Sonoma County Law Enforcement Association and the Deputy Sheriff’s Association filed complaints against the draft ballot measure in August 2020, PERB ruled last month that Measure P’s amendments related to investigation and discipline of DSA and SCLEA employees were subject to the meet and confer process. The Board of Supervisors made clear today that PERB’s decision did not invalidate Measure P. Rather the decision directs the County to halt efforts to apply those specific amendments that PERB determined were subject to bargaining.

Additionally, PERB’s decision is read as requiring the County to meet and confer in good faith over Measure P amendments before those amendments can be applied to DSA and SCLEA represented employees. Therefore, the Board of Supervisors believes it is important to initiate the dual-track process of challenging the PERB decision while also meeting and conferring with DSA and SCLEA.

To that end, the County supervisors made clear that they are committed to working collaboratively with the Sheriff’s Office to proceed with developing operational protocols between IOLERO and the Sheriff’s Office and subsequently sitting down with DSA and SCLEA representatives to explore mutually acceptable resolution to the Measure P amendments.

The County has until July 23, 2021 to appeal the PERB decision, which was issued on June 23.

Santa Barbara Supervisors sacrifice farmers to the sun god by Andy Caldwell July 18, 2021

San Bernardino County has banned utility-scale solar farms for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, it does nothing to help the local community in the way of tax revenue (it is exempt from property taxes), nor does it satisfy the need for housing or jobs, and it debilitates the quality of life for local residents.

Regardless, Santa Barbara County wants to go all in on solar. Will this be another version of our marijuana debacle?

Meanwhile, please consider the fact that agriculture-zoned properties compose most of the land in the county. Yet our farmers and ranchers have suffered outright prohibitions, restrictions, exorbitant fees and torturous permit processes having to do with uses on their properties such as greenhouses, wineries, hoop houses, coolers, farm worker housing, family member housing, the ability to host events, such as weddings, along with alternative uses of the land, such as golf, not to mention oil and gas operations, the latter of which helps ranchers pay their bills.

The rationale? The preservation activists don’t want urban sprawl, leapfrog development, industrialization or non-ag intensification of these lands. They want to keep it rural and natural, or so they say.

Lost on all the people who want to preserve ag lands as a form of open space? The aforementioned land use opportunities can be considered essential to staying in business. Alternatively, many properties have been unduly converted from agriculture to estate living.

Hence, all lands outside the urban boundary are zoned agricultural and virtually no “other” uses were deemed “compatible” to agriculture, nor could agricultural lands be “converted” to other uses. Even uses that were essential for vertical integration, such as the ability to process grapes into wine and sell the same on the property, have been effectively constrained.

Our ranch lands can only handle so many cows per acre, due to our ever-recurring drought cycles. Hence, our area’s cattle operations must have an additional source of income to make a living. The fortunate ones have oil and gas mineral leases on their property — fortunate that is, until the county started doing everything it could to shut down oil and gas in our county, both onshore and offshore.

In spite of all these controls, prohibitions and machinations, the county is intending to allow utility-sized solar “farms” to be built on ag-zoned lands, thereby giving this industrial scale, non-ag use, a free pass on all the aforementioned impositions.

Accordingly, COLAB requested the Board of Supervisors to reconsider the aforementioned uses when they consider rewriting all these land-use policies to accommodate utility-sized solar because our farmers and ranchers need options more than California needs more redundant solar power. Our request was denied.

Surely you are well aware that there is no way to adequately and affordably store solar power. Hence, we often must pay Arizona to take excess solar off our hands during the daylight hours.

Conversely, for example, our grape growers are forced to truck 50% of their harvest out of the county to process the same. Does that make sense to anyone?

Finally, how is it that once again, the Coastal Zone and Montecito, not to mention the Santa Ynez Valley, will, in the end, most likely get a pass from this agricultural land conversion to utility-sized solar? South County in particular has more power outages than anyone else.

There is no rationale for keeping the south off limits while parking these projects, like the Lompoc wind farm, exclusively in North County, except for the fact that the residents in the tony areas of the county don’t want to have to look at them, due to the tendency to be blinded by the light (solar glare) or shook by the bad vibrations (wind turbines).

Andy Caldwell is the COLAB executive director and host of “The Andy Caldwell Show,” airing 3 to 5 p.m. weekdays on KZSB AM 1290, the News-Press radio station.

7/21/2021 Riverside residents praise, blast city over Reps. Gaetz, Greene rally – Press Enterprise ___

LOCAL NEWS • News Riverside residents praise, blast city over Reps. Gaetz, Greene rally

Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz make an appearance at an “America“America First”First” rallyrally whichwhich waswas movedmoved toto thethe RiversideRiverside CityCity Hall,Hall, pictured,pictured, onon SaturdaySaturday,, July, 17, 2021. (Photo by Cindy Yamanaka, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)

By DAVID DOWNEY || [email protected] || TheThe Press-EnterprisePress-Enterprise PUBLISHED: July 20, 2021 at 4:26 p.m. || UPDATED:UPDATED: July 20, 2021 at 8:39 p.m.

Dozens of people spoke out during the Riverside City Council’’s Tuesday, July 20 meeting about the weekend rally in Riverside involvinginvolving Reps.Reps. MattMatt GaetzGaetz andand Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Speaking in person and by phone, the commenters were sharply divided. https://www.pe.com/2021/07/20/riverside-residents-praise-blast-city-over-reps-gaetz-greene-rally/?utm_email=5424657724D5A5829504148… 1/5 7/21/2021 Riverside residents praise, blast city over Reps. Gaetz, Greene rally – Press Enterprise Some praised City Council members for taking a stand against plans to stage a rally at the city-owned Riverside Convention Center featuring the two controversial members of Congress. That Saturday-night, July 17, planned America First rally was canceled latelate Friday,Friday, JulyJuly 16.16.

Other speakers criticized council members and alleged city officials violated the First Amendment by denying Gaetz and Greene the right to free speech.

Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson addressed the criticism.

“Neither the city leadership nor the City Council had anything to do with the cancellation of the event,” Lock Dawson said at the Tuesday meeting. “I just want toto makemake thatthat clear.”clear.”

Raincross Hospitality Corp., which manages the downtown venue for the city for about $500,000 a year, informed city officials Friday evening that the planned convention-center event would not take place, a news release stated. “I commend Raincross Hospitality Corp. for this decision,” Lock Dawson said in the Friday news release.

Some speakers, however, suggested Raincross canceled the event because of pressure from the City Council. “That is simply not true,” said Councilmember Ronaldo Fierro. Lock Dawson also denied the decision was made because of political pressure from city leaders.

Lock Dawson said the events of the weekend had fostered sharp division in the community.

“It must stop,” she said. “It’’s got to stop. We must be better as Riversiders.”

Gaetz and Greene first planned to hold their rally at Pacific Hills Banquet & Event Center in Laguna Hills. But the center’’s general manager canceled it, hopinghoping toto steer clear of the controversy.

The event then shifted to the Riverside Convention Center and after it was canceled there, organizers moved the America First event back to Orange County — to the M3 Live Anaheim Event Center. It was then canceled a third time.

After the three venues canceled the planned events, the two Congress members — who have been on tour since early May — settled on holding a rally outside Riverside City Hall,, wherewhere nono permitpermit waswas requiredrequired becausebecause itit isis aa publicpublic place,place, citycity spokesman Phil Pitchford said.

A shouting match developed on Saturday night between supporters and opponents of Gaetz and Greene. No violence was reported.

https://www.pe.com/2021/07/20/riverside-residents-praise-blast-city-over-reps-gaetz-greene-rally/?utm_email=5424657724D5A5829504148… 2/5 7/21/2021 Riverside residents praise, blast city over Reps. Gaetz, Greene rally – Press Enterprise On Tuesday night, several speakers took direct aim at Fierro.

Before the comments began in the evening session, Fierro said his business had been vandalized and his family had been threatened.

Nicole Johnson, visibly upset, spoke directly to him: “I’’m sorry that your family has been threatened.”

But Johnson said Fierro’’s comments on social media about the event inflamed people, and should have included an acknowledgement that Gaetz and Greene had the right to speak. She said she was at the rally at City Hall.

“We peacefully assembled that night,” she said.

Rich Gardner warned that the city likely will face a lawsuit over the cancellation.

Joan Donahue, president of the League of Women Voters of Riverside, said it was a “specious argument” that the issue was only about freedom of speech.

Donahue said federal intelligence officials have warned that white supremacist organizations may incite violence this year and said the two members of Congress are “lightning rods for white supremacist rhetoric.”

In the council’’s Tuesday afternoon session, Riverside activist Jason Hunter thankedthanked thethe mayormayor forfor providingproviding context.context. HadHad thethe councilcouncil playedplayed aa rolerole inin thethe cancellation at a city-owned facility, he said, that would be concerning.

The First Amendment exists to “protect speech that you are not comfortable with,” said Hunter, who commented in person at City Hall. He said the city cannot be in the business of denying someone to speak on the basis of their anticipated message.

“Otherwise you are getting into ‘‘Minority Report’’ kindkind ofof stuffstuff aboutabout whatwhat theythey might say,” he said, referring to the futuristic 2002 Tom Cruise movie.

Debbie Mitchell, who commented by phone, was critical.

“I’’m highly disappointed in my city government,” Mitchell said. “What you guys did is deplorable.” She charged officials took away her right to go and see someone she might have wanted to see.

A woman caller who didn’’tt givegive herher namename saidsaid freefree speechspeech isis forfor “everyone,“everyone, notnot justjust forfor thethe liberals.”liberals.”

Freya Foley, on the other hand, thanked council members for taking a stand “when peddlers of discord and disinformation came to Riverside this weekend.”

https://www.pe.com/2021/07/20/riverside-residents-praise-blast-city-over-reps-gaetz-greene-rally/?utm_email=5424657724D5A5829504148… 3/5 7/21/2021 Riverside residents praise, blast city over Reps. Gaetz, Greene rally – Press Enterprise Vicki Bodich offered praise to those who “shut down the liars and haters.”

“This is about morality, this is about truth, and this is about public safety,” she said.

Gaetz, who represents a Florida House district, and Greene, who represents one inin Georgia,Georgia, areare knownknown forfor theirtheir staunchstaunch supportsupport ofof formerformer PresidentPresident DonaldDonald Trump, their rejection of COVID-19 safety measures and their false belief that the 2020 presidential election was won by Trump.

Greene also is known as a conspiracy theorist who has written pro-QAnon articles, and reportedly said 9/11 was a government plot and a California wildfire was the work of a “space solar generator” controlled by a Jewish banking family, among others.

Video clips have surfaced of her espousing racist and Islamophobic views. And a recording showed Greene, who has reportedly claimed the government orchestrated several mass shootings to gin up support for gun control, following and taunting a survivor of the 2017 school shooting in Parkland, Florida.

Greene has said her past social media posts don’’tt reflectreflect whowho sheshe is.is.

Gaetz has said leftist radicals posing as Trump supporters were responsible for thethe Jan.Jan. 66 CapitolCapitol riot.riot. HeHe isis underunder investigationinvestigation forfor anan allegedalleged sexualsexual relationshiprelationship with a 17-year-old girl, which he has denied. He has said he is the victim of an extortion plot. 7/21/2021 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper

Even appalling speech is protected

ON TOUR with a GOP-pleasing road show are Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). (Phelan M. Ebenhack Associated Press) ROBIN ABCARIAN

Let’s say you are a Republican congressman who is under federal investigation for sex trafficking because you are suspected of taking a minor across state lines for sex, and also for possible influence trading because you once wrote legislation paving the way for your buddies to obtain lucrative licenses to grow, process and sell medical cannabis. Or perhaps you are a Republican congresswoman whose public pronouncements are so inflammatory, obnoxious and inane that even members of your own party vote to strip you of committee assignments, leaving you with nothing but time on your hands. What would you do?

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pubid=50435180-e58e-48b5-8e0c-236bf740270e 1/3 7/21/2021 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper If you are shameless attention hounds like Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, there is only one thing you can do: Team up and take your show on the road, hoping to raise some cash along the way. Judging from news reports, rallies for the pair’s America First tour, which have taken place mostly in red states for the past two months, seem like a parody of their party’s current obsessions. Like that famous Gary Larson cartoon about what dogs hear when people speak — “Blah, blah, Ginger” — Greene and Gaetz spew a word salad composed of a lot of blah, blah, blahs with occasional bursts of “Trump,” and right-wing trigger words like “AOC,” “Adam Schiff,” and “Liz Cheney.” Weirdly, they also have taken to warning about the menace of communism. Not Chinese communism, which they loathe, but a homegrown, entirely imaginary form. But as much as I loathe the politics embraced by these two, I share one concern with them. “You and I cannot let these communists shut us down and take away our First Amendment rights,” Greene announced after three Southern California venues backed out of letting the pair stage rallies at them. OK, that’s not how I would have phrased it, but like them, I am discomfited that public officials in Anaheim urged the operators of the Anaheim Convention Center to cancel the event. I groaned when I read the statement put out by Anaheim spokesman Mike Lyster: “As a city we respect free speech but also have a duty to call out speech that does not reflect our city and its values.” (“This statement is almost like a law school exam,” tweeted conservative attorney and writer David French, in which students are asked to spot “First Amendment red flags.”) Apart from being wrongheaded, Anaheim’s attempt to regulate speech it doesn’t agree with is the exactly the kind of fuel that fringe figures like Gaetz and Greene run on. It helps them kindle their persecution fantasies all the way to the bank — or in this case to a scaled-back event outside Riverside City Hall to “protest against communism” and a meet-and-greet event for paying supporters on the sand in Huntington Beach. A 43-year-old Brooklyn actor- comedian named Walter Masterson had a far better approach to the pair’s gatherings. Instead of trying to muzzle them, he trolled them. Masterson, who has made it his mission to expose the extreme right with a Borat-style approach, told me he paid $250 for the opportunity to get his photo taken with Gaetz and Greene in Huntington Beach. “There were a few hundred people in line,” he said late Monday night. “I was in the back. I kept trying to think of something creative to say.”

https://enewspaper.latimes.com/desktop/latimes/default.aspx?pubid=50435180-e58e-48b5-8e0c-236bf740270e 2/3 7/21/2021 Los Angeles Times - eNewspaper You may have seen Masterson, whose video mocking opponents of critical race theory by pretending to be one of them recently went viral. Last week, he appeared at the microphone during the public comments portion of the Yorktown Heights school board in New York’s Westchester County. “The best way to end racism,” he said, “is to stop talking about it. We never talked about it in the 1950s and I mean, how great were the 1950s?” On Saturday, he donned a flag-themed shirt and shorts and approached Gaetz and Greene as if he were overwhelmed to be finally meeting them. Naturally, the encounter was recorded on his phone. “Oh my God, I’m so excited!” Masterson said breathlessly as he positioned himself between the pair, who were grinning with both hands in a thumbs-up position. “Everyone thinks you’re crazy, I don’t think you’re crazy!” he said to Greene, who didn’t seem to register the insult and kept smiling, thumbs still up. “People think you’re a pedophile, I don’t think you’re a pedophile!” he said with his arm around Gaetz, who dropped his hands and looked toward his security guard for help. The guard gently pushed Masterson away. It is unclear when the federal investigation into Gaetz’s behavior will conclude, and of course unclear whether any charges will be filed. However, the man long considered to be his “wingman” in various escapades, former Seminole County, Fla., tax collector Joel Greenberg, pleaded guilty in May to six federal charges, including child sex-trafficking and wire fraud. Earlier this month, a judge granted Greenberg’s request for a three-month delay in sentencing, according to reports, because he is still cooperating with prosecutors. He faces 12 years in prison. Meanwhile, despite calls for Gaetz to be stripped of his committee assignments, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Bakersfield) has vowed to leave his assignments untouched unless Gaetz is charged with a crime. “Matt Gaetz is the same as any American, he’s innocent until proven guilty,” McCarthy said in April, two weeks after reports first surfaced that Gaetz was under investigation. Well, duh. But that also means that Gaetz continues to sit on the House Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Justice Department, which is investigating … you guessed it, Matt Gaetz. @AbcarianLAT

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