In California: Woods has surgery after crash; $600 checks on the way to neediest
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. I'm Julie Makinen, California editor for the USA Today Network, bringing you Tuesday's headlines.
Tiger Woods crash: What we know, and takeaways
Golfer Tiger Woods was seriously injured in a one-car, rollover crash near Rancho Palos Verdes on Tuesday morning. His injuries included a shattered ankle and two leg fractures, one of which was compound, according to a source familiar with his treatment. "Lucky to be alive," the L.A. County sheriff told the L.A. Times.
Woods was the only person in the car. His longtime agent, Mark Steinberg, said the golfer suffered "multiple leg injuries." "He is currently in surgery, and we thank you for your privacy and support," Steinberg said Tuesday afternoon.
Longtime golf columnist Larry Bohannan says the wreck is a reminder that pro athletes are human beings — "not just widgets to be plugged in or pulled out of sporting events for the amusement of fans or the profit of owners."
"For years, Woods was a cold, calculating athlete, someone who rarely allowed fans or his opponents to get a glimpse inside of the mind or the heart of perhaps the best to ever play golf. But we all know that golf tends to humble athletes, and that Father Time is undefeated," Bohannan said. "As Woods has fought his body breaking down as well as personal demons from more than a decade ago, the cold-blooded winner has shown a softer side. That was never more true than at the PNC Father-Son events in December where Woods played with his 11-year-old son Charlie and looked and acted every bit the doting father."
The site of the accident was a known treacherous stretch of road. Paste BN was able to piece together the location of Woods' crash and his probable path by examining police reports, newscasts, and social media posts, and satellite imagery. You can see photos of the crash site here. Let's hope Woods has a speedy recovery.
$600 stimulus payments on the way after Newsom signs bill
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a $7.6 billion coronavirus relief package on Tuesday that will give at least $600 one-time payments to 5.7 million people while setting aside more than $2 billion in grants for struggling small businesses.
Newsom signed the law as Congress is debating a much larger stimulus package for the nation, a proposal that also could put money into the pockets of most Americans. And it comes as the first-term governor is facing a recall effort fueled in part by widespread anger over his handling of the coronavirus, particularly its impact on businesses, Associated Press reported.
Wondering if you'll get a check? Calmatters breaks it down.
“The backbone of our economy is small business. We recognize the stress, the strain that so many small business have been under,” Newsom said at a bill-signing ceremony at Solomon's Deli in Sacramento. “And we recognize as well our responsibility to do more and to do better to help support these small businesses through this very difficult and trying time.”
California is closing in on 50,000 COVID-19 deaths, as the country has surpassed 500,000. The L.A. Times reports that a coronavirus variant that emerged in mid-2020 and surged to become the dominant strain in California not only spreads more readily than its predecessors, but also evades antibodies generated by COVID-19 vaccines or prior infection and is associated with severe illness and death, researchers said.
But some health officers are optimistic. Ventura County Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin predicted Tuesday that many COVID-19 restrictions could be eased and life could return to "near normal" by late summer, the Ventura County Star reported.
"Many, many of us will have been vaccinated," said Levin. "I’m thinking we’ll be traveling. We’ll be going to restaurants indoors and outdoors. We’ll be going to movies."
On Tuesdays, the state announces new tier assignments in its color-coded reopening framework. Today, five counties moved to a less restrictive tier, from purple (widespread) to red (substantial): Humboldt, Marin, San Mateo, Shasta, and Yolo. One county, Trinity, moved to a more restrictive tier, from orange (moderate) to red (substantial).
Forty-seven counties remain in the purple tier, nine in the red tier, and two are in the orange tier.
Becerra faces scrutiny on Capitol Hill
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra faced the Senate Committee on Health, Education Labor & Pensions for his confirmation hearing as President Joe Biden's nominee for Health and Human Services secretary.
If confirmed, Becerra would be the first Latino appointed to the role. As HHS secretary, he would play a crucial role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Becerra faces two days of contentious Senate hearings and is set to testify before the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday, which will vote on advancing his nomination.
Prior to the hearing, some GOP lawmakers said Becerra, a former attorney with no medical experience, is unqualified to helm HHS, a $1.4 trillion agency with a broad portfolio, during the pandemic.
Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, the top Republican on the committee, said the “level of expertise that the American people deserve” may exceed Becerra’s experience, which also includes serving as a California congressman assigned to the subcommittee on health. “Members of Congress do not become subject matter experts just because they are members of Congress, just because they sit on a committee that has health responsibilities,” Burr said.
HHS has a "central role" in meeting the ambitious goals Biden has set to battle COVID-19, including 100 million vaccinations in the administration's first 100 days, "safely and equitably," Becerra said, stressing that he plans to achieve them in a bipartisan fashion.
"As attorney general, I saw the importance of this on the frontlines. I worked with colleagues in other states – both Republicans and Democrats – to make COVID treatments more readily available. I am ready to work with you, our state and local partners and across government to get this right," he said.
Quick takes from the great outdoors. ...
A big fish: A Lakeport man appears to have shattered the California state black crappie record by 4 ounces when he landed a 4-pound, 5 ounce behemoth while bass fishing on Clear Lake in Lake County on Feb. 17.
The L.A. Times suggests six ways you can help save the disappearing monarch butterfly.
A last call for Seven Magic Mountains?
Speaking of things that are vanishing...
Anyone driving north on Interstate 15 from Southern California toward Las Vegas has likely seen the bright columns in the distance. Looking quickly enough — just east of the freeway and about five miles north of the Nevada town of Jean — there they are: colorful boulders stacked neatly atop one another in an otherwise remote landscape populated by creosote bushes.
The art installation, known as the “Seven Magic Mountains,” first opened to the public in May 2016 and has attracted an untold number of visitors as they make their final push to Sin City. Some see the seven stone towers as an eyesore, while others view them as a source of inspiration and wonder. Either way, 2021 could mark the final chance to visit them, the Victorville Daily Press reports.
A light of San Francisco's literary scene goes out
Last, but not least, if you've been to San Francisco, chances are you've been to City Lights. Lawrence Ferlinghetti, co-founder of the store and a poet, publisher, painter and pivotal figure to the Beats and about every other counterculture literary movement in San Francisco, has died at 101, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Ferlinghetti was both a veteran of D-Day, in World War II, and of the left-wing intelligentsia that arose after the war. But his greatest contribution to the world of letters was as co-founder of City Lights, a paperback bookstore in North Beach and propeller of the San Francisco Renaissance in poetry. Ferlinghetti died Monday evening in his second-floor walk-up apartment in North Beach, where he lived for 40 years.
In California is a roundup of news from across USA Today network newsrooms. Also contributing: Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, L.A. Times.
Julie Makinen is California editor for the USA Today Network. Follow her on Twitter at @Julie_Makinen