In California: A winter hibernation for restaurants? High court hears arguments on teen murder case
Plus, GOP's Mike Garcia wins House seat by 333 votes. Salesforce will buy Slack. And, hello to Elliott Page.
I'm Julie Makinen, California editor for the USA Today Network, with the latest California news to jump-start your week.
In California brings you top Golden State stories and commentary from across the Paste BN Network and beyond. Get it free, straight to your inbox.
COVID cases just keep on climbing
A day after Gov. Gavin Newsom warned of prolonged stay-at-home orders for counties with the most widespread coronavirus transmission if the state continues to see a surge of new cases, the numbers continue to look bleak.
- The number of newly confirmed infections reported in the Golden State on Monday — 21,848 — surpassed the previous high of 20,654 set a week ago, according to data compiled by the Los Angeles Times, though that figure was partially inflated by reporting lags from Thanksgiving.
- About 298,000 of the state’s more than 1.2 million coronavirus cases were diagnosed in November alone, the most of any month since the pandemic began.
On Tuesday, Los Angeles County shattered a record for new reported cases, the Times reported. Preliminary totals from the county — the state's most populous — showed about 7,000 new cases — the most in a single day. That tally didn't include new cases from Long Beach and Pasadena, which operate their own independent public health departments. The previous single-day high for all of L.A. County was 6,186 cases recorded on Nov. 23, just before Thanksgiving. Elsewhere in SoCal, Ventura County has record hospitalizations, and San Bernardino County is nearing 100,000 cases.
Cases are rising dramatically in Northern California as well. In San Francisco, hospitalizations have doubled in just 10 days, and that has some restaurants mulling a "winter hibernation," the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Maybe that explains why San Francisco Mayor London Breed went out for dinner at the swanky French Laundry a day after Gov. Gavin Newsom's ill-fated trip to the Yountville restaurant — a final treat out before endless weeks of home cooking? Newsom has taken significant heat for failing to practice what he preaches about staying home during the pandemic. Breed is now contemplating more serious restrictions in San Francisco. “Our dangerous winter has arrived,” she said a briefing Tuesday afternoon, according to the Chronicle. “We’re going to have to take more restrictive action, and it pains me to say that.”
- Meanwhile, an L.A. County supervisor also is drawing fire for eating out — right after approving a ban on outdoor dining.
- In sports COVID news, the San Francisco 49ers will play two home games at the Arizona Cardinals' State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, after Santa Clara County issued a three-week ban on contact sports.
- And U.S. public health officials voted Tuesday to add residents of long-term care facilities to front-line health care workers as the first Americans to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Teen's murder cases in hands of high court as justices decide disputed law
The minor is accused of two murders he allegedly committed at 14. According to the Ventura County District Attorney's Office, the boy known by the initials O.G., fatally shot a man on April 22, 2018, and fatally stabbed another about a month later. He has denied any involvement in the killings.
The law at the center of the dispute between the teen and the DA's office, Senate Bill 1391, allows the boy, if convicted, to avoid prison and be held in the more rehabilitative juvenile justice system. The law bars 14- and 15-year-olds from being prosecuted as adults, no matter the crime.
The argument opposing the law presented to the state's highest court on Tuesday revolved around the weight granted to the opinion of voters and the power of the Legislature. Senior Deputy District Attorney Michelle Contois said SB 1391 trampled over what voters decided when they passed Proposition 57 in 2016. That initiative stripped away prosecutors' ability to directly file felony charges against a juvenile in adult court and gave that power to judges. It restricted the types of offenses that made 14- and 15-year-olds eligible to be transferred to adult court.
Prop 57 was allowed to be amended only if the amendment was consistent with what voters wanted. Banning all 14- and 15-year-olds from being prosecuted as adults was not what voters intended, Contois argued.
A decision from the high court is expected to be issued in a few months.
Other headlines: Hello to Elliott Page, Mike Garcia wins by 333 votes, and boat captain is indicted
- “The Umbrella Academy” star Elliot Page announced that he is transgender in a statement Tuesday on social media. Page, also known for his Oscar-nominated lead role in “Juno,” said he felt both “lucky” and “scared” to open up about his identity.
- Republicans retained control of the 25th Congressional District as Rep. Mike Garcia beat Democratic challenger Christy Smith by 333 votes in a marathon that stretched four weeks after Election Day.
- The captain of the scuba diving boat the Conception that caught fire and sank off the coast of California last year, killing 34 people who were trapped below deck, was indicted Tuesday on federal manslaughter charges for one of the deadliest maritime disasters in recent U.S. history, AP reported.
- In Silicon Valley news, San Francisco powerhouse Salesforce is buying the messaging app Slack. The Washington Post mulls what that means for the future of remote work.
83-year-old Dr. Ross will help you get moving after turkey day
Feeling like a couch potato after Thanksgiving? You might want to join 83-year-old Dr. Diane Ross for some Zoom workouts.
Ross studied and taught kinesiology — how the body moves — and about a decade ago became a fitness instructor at the Mizell senior center in Palm Springs. Now, she is the first to lead the center's virtual fitness class. “Move It or Lose It with Dr. Diane Ross” goes live every Tuesday and Thursday at 10 a.m.
A recent session started with Ross, wearing white pants and a T-shirt, walking in place in front of her chair. “Voulez-vous” by ABBA was playing in the background — the perfect five-minute song for a five-minute warm-up. Student Robert Strong, 75, at first thought that class might be “dorky,” but now he's sold.
“I’m not in the best of health at all,” Strong said. “I’m doing things now that I couldn’t do before the class,” he added, including trimming his bougainvillea hedge.
That's all that's shaking today, folks. We'll be back tomorrow with more Golden State stories.
In California is a roundup of news from across USA Today network newsrooms. Also contributing: Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle.