Good morning, and welcome to the Important California e-newsletter. It's Saturday, Jan. 22.
Right here’s a take a look at the highest tales of the final week
There’s cautious optimism as coronavirus transmission charges have begun to fall throughout California. After weeks of an unprecedented spike in instances that challenged hospitals, faculties and different establishments, there have been indicators the surge attributable to the extremely contagious Omicron variant was flattening. Nonetheless, the scenario at many hospitals was worsening as admissions and demand for emergency room companies soared. Extra youngsters have been hospitalized with COVID, renewing fears for medically fragile kids. And on Friday, Los Angeles County well being officers have been persevering with to induce the general public to keep away from nonessential gatherings.
“Suspicious” incapacity insurance coverage claims have been frozen — and possibly some legit ones, too. California introduced that it had frozen 345,000 incapacity insurance coverage claims, battling scammers focusing on its advantages system. The state stated it suspected the claims have been fraudulently filed utilizing stolen credentials of docs and different medical suppliers. Amongst these claims there could also be some which might be legit, which may delay incapacity checks to Californians who want them.
PG&E is a “persevering with menace,” in keeping with a choose. The utility’s probation is nearing its finish. PG&E maintains that it has change into “a basically safer firm” over the course of 5 years of felony probation. The choose supervising the corporate disagrees, saying in a scathing report that, whilst he tried to rehabilitate it, the corporate went on a “crime spree.”
Native Individuals are working to be rid of the title Squaw Valley. They are saying it’s a racist and sexist slur, notably for Indigenous girls. However a white county supervisor for the unincorporated space of Fresno County that goes by that title is opposed and says context issues. On the coronary heart of the battle is who will get to resolve whether or not the time period is offensive.
California was imagined to clear hashish convictions, however tens of 1000's are nonetheless languishing. When voters legalized hashish for leisure use in 2016, one promise was the creation of a authorized pathway by the courts for clearing many previous marijuana-related convictions or lowering them to a lesser cost. It was a step meant to proper most of the injustices inflicted by the nation’s conflict on medicine that was disproportionately waged on poor individuals and communities of coloration. However regardless of a 2018 regulation meant to hurry up and automate the method, tens of 1000's of Californians are nonetheless caught with felonies, misdemeanors and different convictions on their information, a Los Angeles Occasions investigation discovered.
In a groundbreaking resolution, Cal State added caste as a protected class in its systemwide anti-discrimination coverage. The brand new coverage is deeply significant to Dalit college students of South Asian first rate. It got here after years of activism by the scholars and their allies to carry an finish to caste discrimination they encountered on campuses throughout California.
At USC, it was determined that frat events may return in March — with caveats. Many of the faculty’s fraternities can be open for events if members abide by strict guidelines, which embody posting safety guards at stairs or hallways resulting in bedrooms. The brand new polices have been enacted three months after allegations of sexual abuse and drugging at a number of homes.
The Summit of the Americas can be held in L.A. It’s a key gathering that U.S. officers hope will assist mend diplomatic fences within the Western Hemisphere. It’s solely the second time within the almost 30-year historical past of the occasion that the assembly has been held on U.S. soil. It’ll happen in early June.
Felony fees in a deadly crash involving Tesla’s Autopilot characterize a milestone. Two years after a tragic crash during which a Tesla Mannequin S on Autopilot hit a Honda Civic, killing two occupants, L.A. County prosecutors filed two counts of vehicular manslaughter towards the motive force of the Tesla. Specialists imagine it's the primary felony prosecution in america of a driver who prompted a fatality whereas utilizing a partially automated driver-assist system.
Mom bears and cubs are battling for survival as wildfire, drought and visitors take a heavy toll. Almost a century after the California grizzly was hunted to extinction, black bears are being killed by motorists in file numbers. The surge in lethal automobile strikes is probably going the results of bears fleeing huge wildfires within the Sierra Nevada, in addition to the results of drought, in keeping with biologists. With conventional foraging grounds both desiccated or charred by flames, bears are transferring to decrease elevations in the hunt for meals and coming into harmful contact with humanity.
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ICYMI, listed here are this week’s nice reads
In her first two years as UCLA’s gymnastics choreographer, Bijoya “BJ” Das has set the web aflame with three viral ground routines. Watch them and examine how Das, in herthird yr as UCLA’s ground choreographer, is attempting to up the ante on the group’s trademark occasion by emphasizing every gymnast’s individuality. “Someway, I feel the routines are the most effective they’ve ever been,” coach Chris Waller stated.
COVID upended this household. He turned a wrestler as a result of his father was a wrestler. He deliberate to work on the similar energy plant as his dad when he graduated from highschool. The 2 shared the identical title: Anthony Michael Reyes. Then Anthony Sr. died of COVID-19. Anthony Jr. took his personal life Dec. 27. He had endured a pandemic, the lack of this father, the ache of isolation and the heartaches that include being a teen.
A bitter feud facilities on the supply of Arrowhead bottled water. Excessive within the San Bernardino Mountains, water seeps from the bottom and trickles down the mountainside. Close by, water gushes by a system of tunnels and boreholes and flows right into a community of stainless-steel pipes that be a part of collectively in a single line. The water then programs downhill throughout the San Bernardino Nationwide Forest to a tank, the place some is hauled away to be bottled and bought as Arrowhead 100% Mountain Spring Water. Environmentalists say this removes valuable water that ought to nourish the ecosystem. After almost seven years of preventing, activists say they hope California regulators will lastly order BlueTriton Manufacturers to drastically scale back its operation within the nationwide forest.
Another factor: Yesterday, an alert for an article by Occasions opinion columnist Jackie Calmes was delivered to various Important California readers in error. We apologize. (However for those who favored it, you could possibly all the time join right here!)
At this time’s week-in-review e-newsletter was curated by Laura Blasey. Please tell us what we are able to do to make this text extra helpful to you. Ship feedback, complaints and concepts to essentialcalifornia@latimes.com.
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