LAKE COUNTY
COVID-19 update: Help us all breathe easier and return to normalcy – get vaccinated
Lake County’s Testing Positivity and Case Rates have recently trended in the minimal-moderate range. We remain in the Orange Tier of the State’s Blueprint for a Safer Economy. State Public Health officials expect California’s economy to more fully reopen June 15. Read today’s detailed announcement here: https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/Beyond-Blueprint-Framework.aspx
With COVID-19 transmission relatively stable in Lake County, the last daily update of the Health Services Department’s data pages will occur Thursday. Starting the week of May 31, updates will occur Mondays and Thursdays before 3pm: http://health.co.lake.ca.us/Coronavirus/COVID-19_Data.htm
50% of eligible county residents are now vaccinated – together, we can reach our goal of 70%
“Now is the time to help us all move forward in our lives; to safely return to community events and gatherings, to safely patronize our business and get our children to school, and ultimately to get back to normalcy!” emphasizes Evan Bloom, MD, MPH, Lake County’s Acting Public Health Officer. “Getting vaccinated is the single greatest action you can take to protect yourself against this virus, as well as to protect your loved ones and all those living and working in Lake County. 70% vaccination coverage among residents remains our goal – we can do it together!”
“To those who have received their vaccinations: a heartfelt thank you,” continues Bloom. “For the half of the county who have not yet received their COVID vaccination: please help us all breathe easier!”
Vaccination appointments can be scheduled at https://myturn.ca.gov/. Lake County-focused information and resources are available at http://health.co.lake.ca.us/Coronavirus/Vaccines.htm.
If you want to be vaccinated, and need assistance overcoming barriers, call 707-263-8174.
State masking mandate expected to remain in place until June 15
State officials expect to align California’s masking guidance with the CDC’s June 15. Until that time, the requirement to wear face coverings in most indoor settings remains in place. State guidelines (updated 5/3) are available at https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/COVID-19/guidance-for-face-coverings.aspx.
—Submitted
LAKE COUNTY
First 5 Lake Commission to meet via zoom May 26
The next meeting of the First 5 Lake Commission will be held on Wednesday, May 26, 2021 at 2 p.m. via Zoom. On the meeting agenda are the approval of 2021 financial statements, approval of a number of at-large commissioners and the approval of a funding request for a “portrait of Lake County” report, among other itmes.
Zoom Log-In: https://lakecounty.zoom.us/join
Meeting ID: 938 9248 2386
Passcode: 637129 or members of the public can join by phone: 669-900-6833
—Submitted
SACRAMENTO
Card rooms give big to Bonta
Yes, it’s 2021, but you can bet your bottom dollar that California politicians and interest groups are already gearing up for the 2022 election. Case in point: Of the $500,000-plus newly appointed Attorney General Rob Bonta has raised for the 2022 election — which is already shaping up to be a closely watched race — card rooms, non-tribal casinos and their executives have contributed more than $300,000, Politico reports. Those groups oppose a likely 2022 ballot measure that would allow tribal casinos and some horse racing tracks to conduct sports betting. Guess who’s in charge of writing the ballot measure title and summary that many voters use to make their decisions? That’s right — Bonta. Gaming interests are also giving thousands of dollars to Bonta’s wife, Mia, who is running for her husband’s vacant Alameda-area Assembly seat.
- Campaign consultant Ned Wigglesworth: ““This … highlights a longtime major flaw in the initiative process, where an attorney general can take campaign contributions from interest groups and then write the ballot label for measures that impact those interests.”
A lot’s at stake in how ballot measure titles and summaries are written. Last year, then-Attorney General Xavier Becerra was sued at least six times for the way he labeled and summarized some of the most contentious measures.
—CALMatters
San Francisco on track to break overdose record — again
More than 250 San Franciscans died of drug overdoses from January to April of this year — a sizable uptick from the 181 who fatally overdosed during the same period last year, when the city saw a record number of overdose deaths, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. The scope of the city’s drug crisis dwarfs that of the pandemic: Last year, more than twice as many San Franciscans died from drug overdoses as from COVID-19. Nevertheless, a superior court judge on Friday rejected a request from the San Francisco city attorney to ban four people charged with drug dealing from the Tenderloin, where much of the city’s drug use is concentrated, citing the defendants’ constitutional rights. The line between public safety and individual rights is a hotly contested one: Counties are currently debating whether to opt into a state law that would permit them to force more severely mentally people into treatment against their will.
San Francisco isn’t the only city struggling with a surge in overdose deaths. Fentanyl overdose deaths spiked 202% in San Diego County last year, prompting the county’s public health officer to sign an order Friday that would allow the general public to administer Narcan inhalers to help reverse overdoses.
—CALmatters
—Compiled by Ariel Carmona Jr
