KHARNAK, India — Nomad Tsering Angchuk vows to stay put in his remote village in India’s Ladakh region.

His two sons and most of his fellow villagers have migrated to a nearby urban settlement but Angchuk is determined to herd his flock of fine cashmere-producing goats in the treeless Kharnak village, a hauntingly beautiful but unforgiving, cold mountainous desert.

Dolma Angmo, wife of nomad Tsering Angchuk, attends her hardy Himalayan goats that produce cashmere in the remote Kharnak village Sept. 17 in the cold desert region of Ladakh, India.

Mukhtar Khan, Associated Press

The 47-year-old herds 800 sheep and goats and a flock of 50 Himalayan yaks in Kharnak. In 2013, he migrated to Kharnakling, an urban settlement in the outskirts of a regional town called Leh but returned a year later, not because his old home had become any better, he said, “but because the urban centers are getting worse and there are only menial jobs for people like us.”

Nestled between India, Pakistan and China, Ladakh has faced both territorial disputes and the stark effects of climate change. The region’s sparsely populated villages have witnessed shifting weather patterns that have already altered people’s lives through floods, landslides and droughts.

People are also reading…

Thousands of Ladakh nomads, known for their unique lifestyle in one of the most hostile landscapes in the world have been at the heart of these changes, compounded by border conflict and shrinking grazing land. The changes have forced hundreds to migrate to mainly urban settlements, while others work to make it a more habitable place.

Angchuk’s sons didn’t return — they don’t want to be shepherds, he said — and settled in Leh. One became a construction contractor and the other works at a travel agency, part of the region’s burgeoning tourism industry.

With 300-plus days of sunshine, the desert is in the rain shadows of the Himalayas and receives only about 4 inches of precipitation annually.

Nomad Tsering Angchuk, right, talks with a reporter as he sits with his wife, Dolma Angmo inside their mud and stone house in remote Kharnak village Sept. 17 in the cold desert region of Ladakh, India.

Mukhtar Khan, Associated Press

At an altitude of 15,000 feet, temperatures can fall to minus 31 degrees Fahrenheit during long winter months. But it’s getting hotter.

There is no word for mosquito in the local Ladakhi language, but the region has lots of these insects now, said Sonam Wangchuk, an engineer working on solutions for sustainability at his Himalayan Institute of Alternative Ladakh.

“These are all coming with the viability of climate for them,” he said.

Ladakh’s thousands of glaciers, which help give the rugged region its title as one of the water towers of the world, are receding at an alarming rate, threatening the water supply of millions of people.

“This year we had an unprecedented melting of glaciers,” said Prof. Shakil Romshoo, a leading glaciologist and earth scientist.

Romshoo said his team has been studying seven glaciers in the Kashmir and Ladakh Himalaya for nine years but “this year shows the maximum ablation,” referring to the amount of snow and ice that has disappeared.

Drung-Drung, Ladakh’s second largest glacier, melted 197 inches in its thickness this year compared to an average 39 inches annually in the past few years.

A nomad fetches water from a hand pump Sept. 17 in remote Kharnak village in the cold desert region of Ladakh, India.

MUKHTAR KHAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS

The melting, experts say, has been exacerbated by an increase in local pollution that has worsened due to the region’s militarization. Black carbon or soot from the burning of fossil fuels on the glaciers absorbs sunlight and contaminates waterways, threatening the region’s security of food, water and energy.

The pollution is “a huge environmental onslaught,” engineer Wangchuk said. “Most of it is due to heating shelters that can be easily replaced by non-carbon-based heating systems.”

He added Ladakh today is “probably the densest militarized zone where the civilian-soldier ratio is 1:2.”

The ongoing standoff between India and China has witnessed the deployment of tens of thousands of additional soldiers to the already militarized region.

“Climate change is a global mismanagement while the pollution is a local mismanagement. We’re witnessing devastating effects of the mix in Ladakh,” Wangchuk said.

“It’s not just any little conflict, it’s much more than that and whoever wins we all lose.”

Herders say with access to the usual breeding and birthing grounds blocked by militaries on either side, newborn goats and sheep are perishing in the extreme cold of higher elevations.

Shepherds roamed these pasturelands atop the roof of the world along the unmarked borders with China for centuries where the harsh winds cause the goats to grow their super-soft wool.

Cashmere takes its name from disputed Kashmir, where artisans weave the wool into fine yarn and exquisite clothing items that cost up to thousands apiece in a major handicraft export industry.

Nomad women weave carpets in remote Kharnak village Sept. 17 in the cold desert region of Ladakh, India.

MUKHTAR KHAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS

“None of the other products get as much revenue as what they produce and they are the true generators of wealth in Ladakh,” Wangchuk said about Kharnak nomads. “They’re the most precious but they’re the most neglected lot.”

The nomads live a grueling life and follow a strict round-the-clock routine. They milk and shear their animals twice a day, maintain stone-walled pens, weave carpets, collect and sun-dry manure for fire and cook food. Shepherds also shuttle their animals from place to place more often than usual in search of greener grazing areas.

But there’s almost no health care, school or a proper irrigation system.

“It’s a whole year work here, no holidays. Even if you’re sick you’ve got to tend to animals,” Angchuk, the nomad, said. “In a decade or so I think there won’t be any Kharnak nomads although our people will be around. We’ll be history.”

Authorities say they’re doing everything they can to stop the flight of nomads. Today the village has solar panels for electricity, government-built prefab huts and water taps. Some parts have telecommunication coverage.

But the herders say it’s not enough.

Tundup Namgail, the Leh district head of sheep husbandry department, said all facilities notwithstanding, the nomads need to be “lured back on practical terms, not by romanticizing their life.”

The “only way to keep them there is to improve their profitability. Make them rich somehow,” he said.

The ‘urban heat island’ effect has made these 10 cities the most heat-intense in the US

The ‘urban heat island’ effect has made these 10 cities the most heat-intense in the US

Urban heat islands are areas within cities that are hotter than their outlying regions, largely due to albedo—the tendency of a material like asphalt or pavement to absorb, rather than reflect, heat from the sun. Lack of tree cover, an abundance of tall buildings, and population density can amplify this phenomenon as well.

These hot spots generally experience temperatures about 1-7 degrees Fahrenheit higher during the day and 2-5 degrees Fahrenheit higher at night than the surrounding areas. The rise in temperature increases the chances of air pollution and could prove dangerous for those without air conditioning. Urban heat retention isn’t just uncomfortable: it’s a serious public health threat.

More than 80% of Americans live in urban areas, according to Census data. But within these areas, it is almost always those in low-income and underserved neighborhoods that find themselves living in urban heat islands. This makes them not only economically disadvantaged, but also more at risk of the slew of health dangers urban heat islands pose.

Many of the most heat-intense cities in the U.S. are older cities in the Northeast. These are more compact and developed than other parts of the country. They also tend to have taller buildings, which adds to the heat island effect.

New Jersey Real Estate Network examined data from climate change nonprofit Climate Central to find which cities experience the most intense heat due to overbuilding, also known as the urban heat island effect. Out of 159 assessed cities, these 10 had the highest index.

Ryan DeBerardinis // Shutterstock

#10. Providence, Rhode Island

– Index score: 7.08

– Main contributors: Building height, impermeable surface

Providence owes its high heat concentration in part to a large highway (Route 95) that cuts through the city, and its frequently used industrial port. Areas like Pavilion Avenue, which are sparsely covered in tree canopy, are particularly heavily affected.

This means that lower-income and minority members of Providence’s population bear the brunt of the urban heat island effects as is true in almost every other city. For instance, childhood asthma rates are highest in the parts of the city where heat island intensity is also highest. To combat this, the Providence Neighborhood Planting Program is offering citizens the opportunity to have free trees and greenery planted in their areas.

ESB Professional // Shutterstock

#9. Baltimore, Maryland

– Index score: 7.08

– Main contributors: Building height, impermeable surface

The worst of Baltimore’s urban heat island is in the east of the city, especially the neighborhood of Patterson Park. In these areas, temperatures are as much as 20 degrees higher than elsewhere in the city, with heat-hoarding roofs and roads largely to blame.

To lower temperatures, the city is hoping to implement “cool roofs,” which would have collateral benefits for the local economy, flood damage prevention, and public health. The B’More Cool initiative, started in 2014, is investigating where Baltimore’s urban heat islands are the worst and how to best mitigate the damage. Among their sustainable solutions is an unexpected tactic the entire community can help with: composting.

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

#8. Miami, Florida

– Index score: 7.24

– Main contributors: Building height, impermeable surface

Miami broke new ground in addressing urban heat islands when it inaugurated the world’s first chief heat officer. Since taking the role, Jane Gilbert is devising solutions to dissipate the strength of urban heat islands, and the class inequities in health they dole out. Among these are climate resilience hubs, which will offer relief for residents suffering through a heat spell.

Additionally, Keep Safe Florida is stepping in to assist low-income residents in these hot pockets of the city. The program provides funding for low-income properties to install and update infrastructure to protect against urban heat islands, as well as other effects of climate change.

Mia2you // Shutterstock

#7. Chicago, Illinois

– Index score: 7.24

– Main contributors: Building height, impermeable surface, population density

Chicago’s heat concentration is quite skewed, thanks to the city’s position on Lake Michigan. With the lake’s waters cooling downtown, it is the city’s western suburbs that are heating up disproportionately. The fact that these areas are also increasingly developing, with additional heat-absorbing buildings and structures being constructed, only adds to the intensification.

To fight against this, Chicago’s city government has developed a series of building codes and green infrastructure projects. These include plans to install reflective roofing and rooftop gardens; requiring that newly built flat roofs meet EPA standards; and offering funding for projects that will encourage greenery and other heat island mitigation.

ezellhphotography // Shutterstock

#6. Boston, Massachusetts

– Index score: 7.24

– Main contributors: Building height, population density

Boston’s neighborhoods with high concentrations of pavement, asphalt, dark roofs, and high buildings are where urban heat islands can be found. These include the neighborhoods of Chinatown, Dorchester, East Boston, Roxbury, and Mattapan.

The city’s Heat Resilience Solutions for Boston is a plan designed to counteract these heat-gulping hot spots, especially during the summer. Strategies laid out include a grant program to fund the installation of cool roofs, as well as plans to distribute cooling kits to the public during outdoor summer gatherings. The Extreme Temperatures Response Task Force has been directed to design action plans to put these ideas into motion.

Marcio Jose Bastos Silva // Shutterstock

#5. San Francisco, California

– Index score: 7.37

– Main contributors: Building height, impermeable surface, population density

San Francisco’s environmentally friendly reputation makes it a receptive city to try solutions for urban heat islands. The Next Generation Urban Greening Project hopes to expand preexisting sustainability programs from the city’s affluent neighborhoods to its poorer ones, where urban heat islands are concentrated. Plans are being considered to redesign sidewalks and buildings to accommodate greenery and reflective materials, even if strategies must be fitted uniquely block by block.

In January 2017, San Francisco became the first city in the U.S. to require at least 15-30% of roof space to have solar panels or greenery. The city’s Clean Air Plan also suggests implementing a “cool parking ordinance,” which would pay particular attention to planting and installing shade materials in parking lots, which are major culprits for absorbing heat.

Daily Travel Photos // Shutterstock

#4. Houston, Texas

– Index score: 7.46

– Main contributors: Impermeable surface, surface color/reflectivity

The Houston Harris Heat Action Team, or H3AT, attempted to map the city’s urban heat islands in 2020 and found that areas close to Richmond Avenue and Chimney Rock Road were noticeably hotter than others. Many of Houston’s hot spots are not random, but the result of past patterns of socioeconomic inequality.

The city’s Third Ward neighborhood has found itself an urban heat island largely because of historical bureaucracy and systemic decision-making that sidelined the community from programs to develop parks and green spaces. Overall, only 18% of the city is shaded. The city would need to plant 2.4 million trees to provide adequate shade for all residents.

Nate Hovee // Shutterstock

#3. New York, New York

– Index score: 7.62

– Main contributors: Building height, impermeable surface, population density

It is perhaps not surprising that the “concrete jungle” is also the third-worst urban heat island in the country. There are over 6,000 high rises and more than 270 skyscrapers in New York City, all of which suck in the sun’s rays and heat up the city. The NYC CoolRoofs project paints urban rooftops around the city white, which lessens the extent to which they absorb heat. The initiative focuses on providing this service to nonprofits, low-income residential areas, community centers, and schools.

Cool Neighborhoods NYC, established in 2017, has dedicated $106 million to reverse the city’s heat-hungry infrastructure—$82 million alone will be used to plant trees in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn. New York’s one saving grace is Central Park, which cools the areas around it. However, as the park’s surrounding neighborhoods are some of the wealthiest in the city, low-income residents are once again disproportionately affected by urban heat.

Andriy Blokhin // Shutterstock

#2. Newark, New Jersey

– Index score: 7.71

– Main contributors: Impermeable surface, building height, population density

Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood suffers significantly from heat hoarding, in part because of its population density: It is home to around 50,000 people within 4 square miles. It doesn’t help that the neighborhood is also slated for construction projects that will increase its tall, heat-absorbing structures, including a six-story apartment building, a 13-story retail space, and an 11-story building near Penn Station.

To understand why Newark’s urban heat islands exist where they do, one can look as far back as the 1930s and 1940s, when funding was allocated to other neighborhoods of the city. This led to many Newark residents—including a disproportionate number from lower income and minority neighborhoods—lacking heat-deflecting green spaces while other areas in the wealthier North Ward received more investment, more trees—and decades later, less heat.

quiggyt4 // Shutterstock

#1. New Orleans, Louisiana

– Index score: 8.94

– Main contributors: Surface color/reflectivity, impermeable surface

New Orleans’ lack of tall buildings may offer an aesthetic benefit, but it leaves the city with a climate disadvantage, lacking much shade from the sun. The city also has a high number of dark roofs and roads, in combination with a low amount of greenery. Hurricane Ida worsened the city’s ability to fight against intense heat, cutting residents off from power, and with it the ability to use fans or air conditioners.

The city government has pledged to reverse this and reach 30-40% of the city covered in green areas by 2030. Supplementing this, Sustaining Our Urban Landscape has planted 5,000 trees in the last five years alone, attempting to compensate for the 100,000 trees lost during Hurricane Katrina.

This story originally appeared on New Jersey Real Estate Network and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

Be the first to know

Get local news delivered to your inbox!

The post Ladakh herders endeavor to avoid wasting future amid local weather disaster appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

English

San Francisco plans to build a towering number of new homes by 2031, though progress on that front is slow. Meanwhile, many of the city’s currently available homes—even its “affordable” ones—are out of reach for San Francisco’s vulnerable, low-income seniors.

The math is dire.

Most affordable units in San Francisco target their rents at between 30% and 50% of the Area Median Income (AMI), which means a one-bedroom apartment rents for between $799 and $1,333 a month. But the latest report from San Francisco’s Department of Disability and Aging Services shows over 75% of senior renters say their actual income levels are below 20% of the AMI.

In other words, many seniors are spending 75% or more of their monthly, fixed income on rent each month, and struggling to pay for other necessities like food and bills.

“There is definitely a housing crisis facing seniors and people with disabilities in the city,” said Jessica Lehman, the executive director of San Francisco Senior & Disability Action, a local nonprofit.

In 2019, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved a pilot program called Senior Operating Subsidies (SOS), which helps low-income seniors in certain housing units pay their rents. San Francisco Mayor London Breed agreed to provide $4 million to the SOS program in her latest budget proposal for the next two years.

Watch our video for a full look at the affordability crisis facing San Francisco’s low-income seniors.

English

The post San Francisco’s Inexpensive Housing Disaster appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

From 2015 to 2021, the city permitted 24,600 units to be built, a little over 3,500 units annually. The Chronicle looked at six years worth of building permit data for 15 cities with populations between 600,000 and 1.1 million people and found that San Francisco ranked in the bottom half. (The US census uses new housing units permitted to measure local housing construction because most permitted housing gets built.)

In the late 60s, the California government issued a mandate requiring local governments to identify and meet the housing needs of residents. Known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation, the mandate requires local governments to determine how much housing needs to be built to house its projected population. The final assessment is an eight-year plan called the Housing Element.

According to the latest 2014 Housing Element, SF needs to build 82,000 new units from 2023 to 2030, which means building more than 10,000 units per year starting in 2023. That’s almost triple the city’s recent pace.

The post The San Francisco housing disaster, in contrast with different main cities. appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

From 2015 to 2021, the city permitted 24,600 units to be built, a little over 3,500 units annually. The Chronicle looked at six years worth of building permit data for 15 cities with populations between 600,000 and 1.1 million people and found that San Francisco ranked in the bottom half. (The US census uses new housing units permitted to measure local housing construction because most permitted housing gets built.)

In the late 60s, the California government issued a mandate requiring local governments to identify and meet the housing needs of residents. Known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation, the mandate requires local governments to determine how much housing needs to be built to house its projected population. The final assessment is an eight-year plan called the Housing Element.

According to the latest 2014 Housing Element, SF needs to build 82,000 new units from 2023 to 2030, which means building more than 10,000 units per year starting in 2023. That’s almost triple the city’s recent pace.

The post The San Francisco housing disaster, in contrast with different main cities. appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

The opioid epidemic has been linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the US over the past two decades, counting those from prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and generic oxycodone as well as illicit drugs such as heroin and illegally produced fentanyl.

The surge in deaths has led to more than 3,000 lawsuits filed by state and local governments, Native American tribes, unions, hospitals and other entities in state and federal courts over the toll of opioids. In San Francisco, Mayor London Breed declared a state of emergency last year in the Tenderloin neighborhood, saying something had to be done about the high concentration of drug dealers and people consuming drugs in public.

The city attorney’s office says San Francisco saw a nearly 500% increase in opioid-related overdose deaths between 2015 and 2020 and that on a typical day, roughly a quarter of visits at the Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital Emergency Department are opioid-related.

In 2020, 712 people died of drug overdoses, compared with 257 people who died of COVID-19, according to the city health department.

A high percentage of an estimated 7,800 homeless people in San Francisco — many of whom pitch tents in the Tenderloin — are struggling with chronic addiction or severe mental illness, often both. Some people rant in the streets, nude and in need of medical help.

Pharmacy chains have been south less often than opioid makers or wholesalers that distribute pharmaceuticals more broadly. In one groundbreaking case, a federal jury in Ohio last year found CVS, Walgreens and Walmart recklessly distributed massive amounts of pain pills in two Ohio counties.

In May, Walgreens reached a $683 million settlement with the state of Florida in a lawsuit accusing the company of improperly dispensing millions of painkillers that contributed to the opioid crisis. Walgreens did not admit wrongdoing in its agreement with Florida and will make payments to the state over 18 years.

The company also faces litigation in Alabama, Michigan and New Mexico, among other states.

Deerfield, Illinois-based Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. runs a network of around 9,000 drugstores in the United States. Walgreens and other prescription drug distributors have faced a slew of lawsuits over the opioid crisis.

This article was first published in the Associated Press, with contributions from Associated Press writer Tom Murphy in Indianapolis.

The post ‘Pharmacists Have been Pressured to Fill Fill Fill’: Decide Guidelines Walgreens Culpable in San Francisco Opioid Disaster appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Find an updated count of COVID-19 cases in California and by county on our tracker here.

Latest Updates

San Francisco state Senator wants to declare monkeypox a public health crisis

COVID-19 pandemic has set back global efforts to end HIV/AIDS

Studies bolster theory that COVID-19 originated in live animal market in Wuhan, China

U.S. signs off on buying 800,000 more monkeypox vaccines

President Biden comes out of isolation and tells everyone to get vaccinated

COVID-19 By The Numbers

Thursday, July 28

12:09 a.m.: San Francisco state Senator wants to declare monkeypox a public health crisis

San Francisco state Senator Scott Wiener is calling to declare monkeypox a public health crisis to enact a state of emergency.

Wiener says the state of emergency declaration will give California flexibility around testing, contracting for services and administering vaccines. He blamed the federal government for the slow response in acquiring vaccines to prevent an outbreak.

Wiener also said that given that gay and bisexual men and trans people are the most impacted, it’s “clear we are being left behind once again.”

There are more than 600 confirmed monkeypox cases in California, with San Francisco and Los Angeles County accounting for more than two-thirds. At the time of this reporting, Sacramento has reported 29 cases.

Last week, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon announced he has sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra asking the former California Congressman and state Attorney General to declare a national state of emergency.

11:42 a.m.: COVID-19 pandemic has set back global efforts to end HIV/AIDS

Hard-won progress against HIV has stalled, putting millions of lives at risk — that’s according to an alarming report Wednesday on how the collision with the COVID-19 pandemic and other global crises set back efforts to end AIDS.

According to the Associated Press, declines in new infections are leveling off, but cases are rising in some spots.

COVID-19 disrupted HIV care and widened inequalities, leaving vulnerable people at more risk.

Experts are calling for fast efforts to start getting back on track. The report from UNAIDS was released at the International AIDS Conference in Montreal.

Wednesday, July 27

12:39 a.m.: Studies bolster theory that COVID-19 originated in live animal market in Wuhan, China

Two new studies provide more evidence that the coronavirus pandemic originated in a Wuhan, China market where live animals were sold.

According to the Associated Press, this further bolsters the theory that the virus emerged from the wild rather than escaping a Chinese lab.

The research was published online Tuesday by the journal Science.

It shows that the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market was likely the early epicenter of the scourge that has now killed nearly 6.4 million people around the world.

Scientists also concluded that the virus that causes COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, likely spilled from animals into people two separate times.

11:26 a.m.: U.S. signs off on buying 800,000 more monkeypox vaccines

Health regulators say nearly 800,000 doses of monkeypox vaccine will soon be available for U.S. distribution.

The Wednesday announcement follows weeks of delays and growing criticism that authorities have been too slow in deploying these shots, according to the Associated Press.

The Food and Drug Administration needed to inspect and certify the standards of a Danish manufacturing plant where the doses are manufactured. The agency said two weeks ago that the inspection had been completed, but the final go-ahead came Wednesday.

U.S. health officials say they will announce allocation plans on Thursday.

Health departments in San Francisco and other major cities say they still don’t have enough shots to meet demand.

10:44 a.m.: President Biden comes out of isolation and tells everyone to get vaccinated

President Joe Biden has emerged from five days of isolation after contracting the coronavirus, telling Americans that “COVID isn’t gone” but saying serious illness can be avoided with vaccines, booster shots and treatments.

As reported by the Associated Press, Biden spoke after testing negative for the virus Tuesday night and again Wednesday morning.

Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, says the president has completed his course of treatment with the drug Paxlovid and remains free of fever.

O’Conner says that given those factors and the pair of negative tests, Biden will discontinue his “strict isolation” measures. The 79-year-old president tested positive last week and had mild symptoms.

Tuesday, July 26

11:40 a.m.: New COVID-19 boosters may be available in the fall

The Biden administration may scrap plans to let more younger adults get second COVID-19 boosters this summer.

Instead, officials are trying to speed up the availability of the next generation of boosters in the fall, NPR has learned.

The new strategy is aimed at trying to balance protecting people this summer with keeping people safe next winter when the country will probably get hit by yet another surge.

But the possible shift is being met with mixed reactions. The Food and Drug Administration could make a final decision by the end of the week.

11:11 a.m.: Families and caregivers brace themselves for another school year amid COVID-19

COVID-19 infections are again on the rise and filling families with dread as a new school year approaches.

The Associated Press says parents and caregivers fear the return of the pandemic scourge of outbreaks that sideline large numbers of teachers, close school buildings, and force students back into remote learning.

Some school systems around the country have moved to bolster staffing to minimize disruptions. However, many districts are hoping for the best without doing much else differently compared with last year.

Even some of the districts that had the most disruptions to in-person schooling amid the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant point to a few specific changes in their prevention efforts.

10:49 a.m.: Micronesia becomes last nation with population over 100,000 to undergo a COVID-19 outbreak

Micronesia’s first outbreak of COVID-19 has grown in one week to more than 1,000 cases and is causing alarm in the Pacific island nation.

According to the Associated Press, Micronesia likely became the final nation in the world with a population of more than 100,000 to experience an outbreak of the disease.

Micronesia had largely avoided the virus for two-and-a-half years thanks to its geographic isolation and border controls.

Health officials said cases were rapidly increasing. It’s reported that there’s been 140 new cases on Monday, bringing the total to 1,261, a figure which includes some border cases from before the outbreak.

Monday, July 25

11:05 a.m.: WHO declares monkeypox a global emergency

The chief of the World Health Organization says the expanding monkeypox outbreak in more than 70 countries is an “extraordinary” situation that qualifies as a global emergency.

The head of the U.N. health agency decided to issue the declaration Saturday after WHO’s expert committee didn’t reach a consensus.

Monkeypox has been established in parts of central and west Africa for decades. It wasn’t known to spark large outbreaks or spread widely among people until May.

As reported by the Associated Press, that’s when authorities detected epidemics in Europe, North America and more. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 16,000 cases of monkeypox have been reported in 74 countries.

10:56 a.m.: Biden still suffering from sore throat caused by COVID-19

President Joe Biden’s physician, Dr. Kevin O’Conner, says Biden continues to “improve significantly” despite a lingering sore throat, as reported by the Associated Press.

Biden tested positive for the virus on Thursday, and he’s been taking the antiviral drug Paxlovid. The White House COVID-19 coordinator, Dr. Ashisha Jha, says Biden is feeling “much, much better,” and “thank goodness our vaccines and therapeutics work well against it.”

Officials have emphasized that Biden’s symptoms are mild because he received four vaccine doses and had started taking Paxlovid.

O’conner said the president likely became infected with a highly contagious variant known as BA.5 that’s spreading throughout the country. Jha confirmed it on Sunday.

10:38 a.m.: North Korea relies on herbal medicines to fight COVID-19

North Korea has recently reported fewer than 200 daily fever cases amid its first domestic COVID-19 outbreak and says its traditional Koryo herbal medicines are playing a key role in curing patients.

According to the Associated Press, outside experts say North Korea’s emphasis on the role of Koryo medicines means it will likely claim that it’s overcoming the outbreak on its own without international help.

Observers say North Korea is mobilizing Koryo medicine because it lacks modern medicine to treat COVID-19 illnesses. They say traditional medicines could effectively treat fevers and minor symptoms, but not serious illnesses.

Friday, July 22

5:45 p.m.: Sacramento County to keep two Project Roomkey motels open for unhoused residents this summer

Sacramento County has extended its Project Roomkey program, a move that allows two motels that are sheltering 168 people experiencing homelessness to remain open this summer. 

The statewide program shelters older and medically vulnerable unhoused residents. It was established at the start of the pandemic to keep people protected from COVID-19. 

The Vagabond Inn in downtown Sacramento had been set to close on June 30 while the Comfort Inn in Rancho Cordova was to close August 31. 

Both will stay open as needed after county officials learned the federal government would pay for the program through September, Janna Haynes, a county spokesperson, said on Friday. 

But Haynes said the region’s lack of affordable housing and available shelter space will make it difficult to end the program, which the county has extended several times. 

Haynes said 168 people remain in the motels.

“We can service people forever, but unless we have somewhere that they can be housed, we cannot end their homelessness,” Haynes said. “And so that is our No. 1 challenge, not only with Project Roomkey, but with homelessness in general.” 

Each motel room costs nearly $4,000 per month. That includes rent, meals, security, laundry and medical expenses. 

The county initially opened four motels but has closed two as participants have slowly transitioned out of the program, either to housing, shelter or back to the streets. 

The statewide program has sheltered hundreds of people in the county and thousands across California since the start of the pandemic. It provides rooms used as shelter, as well as those designated as “isolation rooms” for unhoused residents who contract COVID-19.

11:07 a.m.: Here’s what we know about Biden’s COVID-19 infection

President Joe Biden is reporting a runny nose, fatigue and an occasional dry cough from his COVID-19 infection.

According to the Associated Press, Biden tested positive Thursday at the White House, and he’s been taking Paxlovid, an antiviral pill that’s been shown to reduce the chances of severe disease.

His infection was detected first with an antigen test, the same type that many Americans use at home. His infection was later confirmed with a PCR test.

Biden felt tired Wednesday evening and didn’t sleep well.

The president is fully vaccinated and twice boosted. The White House says the president will work in isolation until he tests negative.

10:57 a.m.: Oregon encourages a return to masking in 21 counties

Oregon health officials are urging people in 21 counties with high COVID-19 cases, including three Portland-area counties, to return to mask-wearing because the hospital system is again under extreme strain.

The Oregonian/OregonLive reports while COVID-19 hospitalizations are lower than in past surges, staff shortages, patients who delayed care and elevated COVID-19 infections have substantially reduced hospital systems’ capacity to care for patients.

Oregon Health Authority epidemiologist Dr. Dean Sidelinger suggests people reconsider summer plans to protect themselves and others during what he called “this extremely challenging time.”

He says Central Oregon hospitals have been particularly hard-hit but that no part of the state has been spared.

Thursday, July 21

12:02 p.m.: President Joe Biden tests positive for COVID-19

President Joe Biden says he’s “doing great” after testing positive for COVID-19. 

According to the Associated Press, the White House said the 79-year-old Biden is experiencing “very mild symptoms,” including a stuffy nose, fatigue and cough. 

He’s taking Paxlovid, an antiviral drug designed to reduce the severity of the disease. Biden is also fully vaccinated and has received two boosters.

When a fully vaccinated person experiences infection, the chance of severe illness or death is low. The White House says Biden is isolating at the White House but carrying out his duties via phone and Zoom.

He canceled a planned visit to Pennsylvania on Thursday and tweeted: “I’m doing great. Thanks for your concern.”

11:58 a.m.: WHO considers declaring monkeypox a global emergency

The World Health Organization has convened its emergency committee to consider for the second time within weeks whether the expanding outbreak of monkeypox should be declared a global crisis. 

According to the Associated Press, some scientists say the striking differences between the outbreaks in Africa and in other continents will complicate any coordinated response and possibly deepen existing inequities between the rich and poor.

While African officials say they are already treating the continent’s epidemic as an emergency, experts elsewhere say the mild version of monkeypox in Europe and North America makes an emergency declaration unnecessary.

Yet, while the U.S., Britain, Canada and other countries have bought millions of vaccines, none have gone to African nations.

10:29 a.m.: San Diego Comic-Con is back in full swing

The pop culture extravaganza that is Comic-Con International is back to its old extravagance. 

Stars, cosplayers and fans are filling the San Diego Convention Center in full force after the pandemic forced it to go virtual for two years, as reported by the Associated Press.

The pandemic necessitated virtual versions of the event in the summers of 2020 and 2021, including a scaled-back in-person version in November. However, those events were nothing compared to the huge spectacle that happened before COVID-19.

It’s not clear whether the convention will draw the estimated 135,000 people who flooded San Diego before the pandemic, but during yesterday’s preview night, fans came in droves, mobbing the floor. 

Far bigger crowds are expected tonight when the event begins in earnest.

Wednesday, July 20

5:10 p.m.: Top California lawmaker calls U.S. monkeypox response ‘maddeningly slow’ despite two years of COVID 

The number of confirmed monkeypox cases continues to grow in California and the country — and with it calls for the federal government to do more.  

It has been almost eight weeks since the first case of monkeypox was confirmed in California. Since, there have been more than 265 in the state, with more than 2,100 nationwide.  

On Wednesday, Democratic Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon said more could have been done to slow or prevent the spread.

“Despite two years of experience with COVID, our response to monkeypox has been maddeningly slow,” Rendon said.

The speaker, one of the most powerful lawmakers in the state, says he has sent a letter asking U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to declare a public emergency for monkeypox. He says such a declaration would ramp up vaccination, testing, education and outreach.  

“We should always have a quick response. Had monkeypox primarily affected men identifying as heterosexual, we might have seen that rapid action,” Rendon said.

The LGBTQ-plus community has been hardest hit by the outbreak, and Rendon says opportunities were missed for treatment and messaging during Pride month celebrations in June. 

1:13 p.m.: Sacramento City Council meetings going back to in-person

The Sacramento City Council is headed back to City Hall chambers after holding virtual meetings all pandemic long.

The city has argued for months it should continue with virtual meetings while under a state of emergency. They said it’s an effort to keep the most vulnerable safe while physically distancing is still recommended.

But after two years of video meetings, the council is going back to the dais on Aug. 9.

The following week, residents will be able to attend meetings in person, but the chambers will only be half-full. People will also have to wear a mask and sit one seat apart from each other.

11:53 a.m.: Southern California man sentenced for pandemic PPP fraud

A Southern California man who tried to obtain $27 million in unemployment benefits by falsely claiming his business was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic has been sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison.

The Associated Press reports that Robert Benlevi submitted 27 applications for forgivable loans under the Paycheck Protection Program.

Benlevi made applications to four banks on behalf of the eight companies he owned. He claimed that each company had 100 employees when in fact, they had none.

Authorities say Benlevi sought $27 million and obtained $3 million.

11:40 a.m.: FDA approves Novavax, a ‘traditional’ vaccine option for COVID-19

Health officials say U.S. adults who haven’t gotten any COVID-19 shots yet should consider a new option from Novavax.

According to the Associated Press, the protein-based shot is a more traditional kind of vaccine than the three mRNA brands available in the U.S.

Federal regulators authorized the two-dose vaccine last week for adults. Recently advisers for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention unanimously recommended the option on Tuesday and the agency agreed.

The company hopes to also clear booster doses and teen use fairly soon.

Tuesday, July 19

11:55 a.m.: Dr. Fauci plans to retire by 2025

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease expert, says he plans to retire by the end of President Joe Biden’s term in January 2025, as reported by the Associated Press.

Fauci, 81, became director for the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 1984 and has advised seven presidents.

Fauci said on CNN Monday that he doesn’t have a specific retirement date in mind and hasn’t started the process.

He was thrust into the national spotlight at the height of the coronavirus pandemic under then-President Donald Trump, who suggested the pandemic would “fade away,” promoted unproven treatment methods and vilified scientists who countered him.

11:24 a.m.: Scars of COVID persist for sickest survivors, their families

While more than 1 million people in the United States died of COVID-19, many more survived ICU stays that have left them with anxiety, PTSD, and a host of health issues, the Associated Press reports.

Research has shown that intensive therapy starting in the ICU can help, but it was often hard to provide as hospitals teemed with patients.

Families find themselves in a tough place as the world moves on and mask mandates disappear. The COVID-19 pandemic is not gone for them and it may never be. Those that survived are left dealing with long-term consequences.

Monday, July 18

11:32 a.m.: Ballot boxes used during COVID-19 pandemic for 2020 election are safe, survey says

An Associated Press survey of state election officials across the U.S. found that the expanded use of drop boxes for mailed allots during the 2020 election didn’t lead to any widespread problems.

The survey revealed no cases of fraud, vandalism, or theft that could have affected the results — contrary to false claims made by former President Donald Trump and his allies, who have intensely criticized their use and falsely claimed they opened the door to fraud.

Drop boxes are considered by election officials to be safe and secure. They became a mainstay in states with extensive mail voting for years and had not previously rained any alarms.

They were used widely in 2020 as election officials sought to provide alternative ways to cast ballots with the COVID-19 outbreak, creating concerns about in-person voting and U.S. Postal Service delays.

Despite mail-in ballot boxes being nearly universally agreed to be a safe voting method, conspiracy theories and efforts by some Republicans to eliminate or restrict them persist.

11 a.m.: The UK to offer a fourth booster dose to residents 50 and older

Everyone in Britain who is 50 or older will be offered a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine in the fall, lowering the age threshold from the previously announced 65.

According to the Associated Press, the U.K.’s Department of Health said it had accepted advice from the Union’s independent vaccines adviser about the autumn booster program.

Fourth doses will also be given to health care workers, nursing home staff and residents, and everyone 5 and older with health conditions that make them more vulnerable to severe illness from COVID-19.

Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the booster campaign would “keep our defenses strong over autumn and winter.”

The U.K. has one of Europe’s highest official death tolls in the pandemic, with almost 178,000 confirmed deaths.

Friday, July 15

11:41 a.m.: 25 million kids worldwide missed their immunizations due to misinformation surrounding COVID-19

About 25 million children worldwide have missed out on routine immunizations against diseases like diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis, largely because the coronavirus pandemic disrupted regular health services or triggered misinformation about vaccines.

According to the Associated Press, a new report published Friday by the World Health Organization and UNICEF said their figures show that 25 million children last year failed to get vaccinated against those three diseases, a marker for childhood immunization coverage.

That continues a downward trend in childhood immunizations that began in 2019.

UNICEF called it “a red alert” for child health, warning that the lack of vaccinations and the current rise in global malnutrition would result in many lives lost.

11:35 a.m.: Canada approves Moderna vaccine for preschoolers

Canadian regulators have authorized Moderna’s COVID-19 shots for infants and preschoolers, according to the Associated Press.

Health Canada said the Moderna vaccine can be given to children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years in doses one-quarter the size of that approved for adults.

U.S. regulators authorized the first COVID-19 shots from Moderna and Pfizer for infants and preschoolers last month.

Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 6 months to 5 years was submitted to Health Canada last month and is still under review.

Thursday, July 14

3:38 p.m.: Los Angeles County may soon require masks

The nation’s most populous county is facing a return to a broad indoor mask mandate as new omicron variants are again driving hospital admissions and deaths higher. 

Health officials say Los Angeles County, home to 10 million residents, could reinstate the mandate on July 29, the Associated Press reports. In recent weeks, states and cities began to rethink their responses to COVID-19. And the White House is stepping up efforts to alert the public. 

Some experts say the warnings are too little, too late. The highly transmissible variants have shown a remarkable ability to get around the protection offered by vaccination.

The highly transmissible variants have shown a remarkable ability to get around the protection offered by infection and vaccination — especially as protection from vaccinations are warning for Americans overdue for booster shots. 

Less than half of all eligible U.S. adults have gotten a single booster shot, and only about 1 in 4 Americans age 50 and older who are eligible for a second booster have received one. 

1:23 p.m.: You can reduce the time you wait between COVID-19 infection and a booster shot, Yolo County health officer says

With new, highly contagious variants like BA.5 and the even newer BA.2.75, COVID-19 cases are increasing. Hospitalizations in California are rising, but deaths remain low thanks to vaccines, treatments and therapeutics.

Dr. Aimee Sisson, the public health officer for Yolo County, said she’s now encouraging people not to wait as long after an infection to get up to date on their vaccination or booster shots if they need to.

“I used to encourage people to wait about 90 days after an infection before getting boosted because the infection itself can serve as a booster dose,” Sisson said. “But I think, you know, now with the variants that we have that are escaping immunity, any additional boost that you can get from a vaccine in addition to the booster that you get from infection is important.”

Sisson said you still need to wait at least 10 days after infection and not show symptoms such as a fever before getting a vaccine or booster shot.

11:04 a.m.: Food banks are seeing long lines again

Long lines are back at food banks around the U.S. as working Americans overwhelmed by inflation increasingly seek out charity to feed their families.

As reported by the Associated Press, food banks struggle to help even as federal programs provide less food, grocery store donations wane and cash gits don’t go nearly as far while U.S. inflation hits a 40-year high. 

Charitable food distribution has remained far above amounts given away before the coronavirus pandemic, even though demand tapered off somewhat late last year.

Wednesday, July 13

11 a.m.: Officials look to expand monkeypox vaccine access as outbreak continues

While COVID-19 continues to spread, another virus outbreak is on the rise in California: Monkeypox.

There are over 140 possible and confirmed cases of the virus in the state California as of this week. At least 10 possible cases have been reported in Sacramento County, according to KCRA.

The Biden administration announced last week that almost 300,000 doses of the vaccine would become available nationwide throughout the country in the upcoming weeks to address an ongoing vaccine shortage.

Currently, the vaccine is only available now for those who have had suspected or confirmed exposure to monkeypox.

In Sacramento County, it’s also being offered to men who have sex with other men and trans people if they fit specific criteria. County health officials said those interested in getting the vaccine should check with their healthcare provider or contact the Sacramento County Public Health Immunization Assistance Program at (916) 875-7468 to schedule an appointment.

Tuesday, July 12

11:34 a.m.: White House urges caution on latest COVID-19 variants and is pushing for more booster shots

The Biden Administration is calling on people to exercise renewed caution about COVID-19, emphasizing the importance of getting booster shots for those who are eligible and wearing masks indoors.

According to the Associated Press, the warning comes as two new highly transmissible variants are spreading rapidly across the country.

The new variants, labeled BA.4 and BA.5, are offshoots of the omicron strain that has been responsible for nearly all of the virus spread in the U.S. and are even more contagious than their predecessors.

White House doctors pressed the importance of getting booster doses and said people shouldn’t wait until the fall when vaccines targeted at the variants in addition to the original strains.

11:06 a.m.: European Union urges another booster for people ages 60 to 79

The European Union says it’s “critical” that authorities in the 27-nation bloc consider giving second coronavirus booster shots to people between the ages of 60 to 79 years and other vulnerable people.

As reported by the Associated Press, a new wave of the pandemic is sweeping across Europe.

European Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said in a statement that with cases rising in many nations, “there is no time to lose.”

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control and European Medicines Agency said that the second booster can be given at least four months after the first booster.

The recent advice comes after the agencies in April recommended that people over 80 years of age be considered for a second booster.

10:48 a.m.: London’s Heathrow will limit daily passengers amid travel boom

London’s Heathrow Airport is capping daily passenger numbers for the summer and telling airlines to stop selling tickets as it steps up efforts to quell travel chaos caused by soaring travel demand and staff shortages.

According to the Associated Press, Britain’s busiest airport said that it’s setting a limit of 100,000 passengers that it can handle each day through Sept. 11.

The restriction is likely to result in more canceled flights even after airlines have already slashed thousands of flights from their summer schedules.

Booming demand for summer travel after two years of COVID-19 travel restrictions have overwhelmed European airlines and airports that had laid off tens of thousands of staff amid the depths of the pandemic.

Monday, July 11

11:02 a.m.: New coronavirus mutation is causing concerns among scientists

The quickly changing coronavirus has spawned yet another super contagious omicron mutant that’s worrying scientists as it gains ground in India and pops up in numerous other countries, including the U.S.

Scientists say the variant, which is called BA.2.75, may be able to spread rapidly and get around immunity from vaccines and previous infection, according to the Associated Press.

It’s still unclear whether it could cause more serious disease than the globally dominate omicron variant BA.5.

Scientists are concerned about the fact that this new variant is geographically widespread — it’s already been detected in India as well as about 10 other nations.

10:32 a.m.: Weddings derailed by pandemic got to celebrate their union at a ‘re-wedding’ event in New York

Hundreds of couples whose weddings were derailed or scaled back due to the COVD-19 pandemic got a do-over thanks to a New York City landmark.

According to the Associated Press, the Lincoln Center for Performing Arts in New York City hosted “Celebrate Love: A (Re)Wedding” on Sunday in the pavilion outside the center.

Lincoln Center’s website called it “a special day for newlyweds, those whose weddings were canceled or diminished and people who want to recommit their love to their partners and the city we love.”

The event featured a multicultural ceremony, music, dancing and more. The website notes that the ceremony is not legally binding.

10:05 a.m.: Baby formula production once again resumes at the troubled Abbott Nutrition factory

Abbott Nutrition says baby formula production has resumed at the Michigan plant, whose February shutdown over contamination contributed to a national shortage.

As reported by the Associated Press, damage from severe thunderstorms had halted the Sturgis plant operations in mid-June after just two weeks of renewed production. Abbott says EleCare, a specialty formula, is being made at Sturgis following a July 1 reboot and that Similac production will resume as soon as possible.

Abbott is just one of four companies that produce 90% of U.S. baby formula.

Its recall in February of several leading rands squeezed supplies already strained by supply chain disruptions and stockpiling during COVID-19 shutdowns.

Friday, July 8

10:38 a.m.: Biden awards Medal of Freedom to first nurse in the US to receive coronavirus vaccine

President Joe Biden has presented the nation’s highest civilian honor to 17 people, including gymnast Simone Biles and the late Arizona Republican Sen. Jon McCain.

The president who took office during the coronavirus pandemic also honored Sandra Lindsay, the New York nurse who received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine that was administered in the U.S. outside of clinical trials.

Others receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom include gun safety advocate Gabrielle Giffords, U.S. women’s national soccer team player Megan Rapinoe and late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.

10:30 a.m.: Uruguay pauses vaccinations for children under 13

Uruguay has stopped administering coronavirus vaccines to children under age 13, the Associated Press reports.

The halt began after a judge ordered on Thursday that all inoculations in that age group halt until officials present documents relating to contracts signed with vaccine manufacturers.

The government says it’ll apparel the ruling, characterizing the stoppage as a threat to public health.

Vaccination for children under 13 in Uruguay has been on a voluntary basis. The Health Ministry says vaccinations for those older than 13 will continue.

10:16 a.m.: Beijing residents push back against vaccine mandate

Beijing, China’s capital, appears to be backing off a vaccine mandate it announced just two days ago.

According to the Associated Press, the mandate would require vaccinations for entry into certain public spaces, including gyms, museums and libraries, starting next week. It drew intense discussion as city residents worried how the sudden policy announcement would disrupt their lives.

While not explicitly saying the government had dropped the plan, a city official was quoted in state media late Thursday saying that people could enter venues with a negative virus test result and a temperature check, as has been the norm.

They also said vaccinations would continue on the principle of informed, voluntary consent.

Thursday, July 7

10:41 a.m.: Pharmacists can now prescribe COVID-19 pill to patients

U.S. pharmacists can now prescribe the leading COVID-19 pill directly to consumers, according to the Associated Press.

The Food and Drug Administration said Wednesday that pharmacists can begin screening patients to see if they are eligible and then prescribe Pfizer’s drug Paxlovid.

Previously only doctors could prescribe it. Paxlovid has been shown to curb the worst effects of COVID-19, but it has to be started within five days of symptoms.

Paxlovid is intended for people with COVID-19 who are more likely to become seriously ill, including older people and those with health conditions.

10:19 a.m.: The Sacramento Food Bank’s two Oak Park locations are closing

The Sacramento Food Bank is closing its two Oak Park facilities to consolidate services at its North Sacramento Location.

The closures came with little warning to the community it’s served for 50 years. Residents were outraged on social media and were left confused by the decision.

The organization’s Family Services building had adult education, clothing programs and provided legal assistance for immigrants.

In response, the food bank’s president and CEO, Blake Young, answered a few questions about the closure at a recent public meeting.

“We’re lucky in that we can provide some of those other family services,” they said. “But with the pandemic, with inflation, with where we saw the demand for food resources in our own county going, we needed to focus on that.”

He said a number of services offered at Oak Park locations had been suspended because of the pandemic. Since then, the food bank has leaned on other community organizations to help.

9:52 a.m.: Canada is throwing out 13.6 AstraZeneca vaccine doses

Canada is going to throw out about 13.6 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines because it couldn’t find any takers for it either at home or abroad.

According to the Associated Press, Canada signed a contract with AstraZeneca in 2020 to get 20 million doses, and 2.3 million Canadians received at least one dose of it, mostly between March and June 2021.

Following concerns in the spring of 2021 about rare but potentially fatal blood clots from AstraZeneca, Canada instead focused on using its ample supplies of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

In July 2021, the country promised to donate the rest of its procured supply, about 17.7 million doses, but in a statement on Tuesday, Health Canada said that despite efforts to meet the pledge, 13.6 million doses have expired and will need to be thrown out.

Wednesday, July 6

10:56 a.m.: COVID-19 vaccine requirement dropped for Nevada university employees

The Nevada Board of Regents will no longer require staff at the state’s public universities and colleges to be vaccinated for COVID-19.

According to the Associated Press, a majority of the regents for the Nevada System of Higher Education voted Thursday to rescind an employee vaccine mandate after it was first approved last year.

Regents met on the issue in December but could not come to a majority vote.

Hundreds of employees statewide ended up quitting or losing their job because they would not get vaccinated. It was not immediately clear if those employees would be offered their jobs back.

According to the regents, roughly 97% of 22,000 current system employees have gotten vaccinated.

10:40 a.m.: CDC urges counties in high-risk areas to start masking again. Sacramento County is on this list.

People in 24 Oregon counties, 15 counties in Washington and over 30 counties in California should resume mask-wearing indoors in public and on public transportation, according to recommendations from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Data from the CDC shows that those aforementioned counties are considered at high risk for COVID-19 infection as of June 30, the Associated Press reports.

California counties labeled as high risk include: Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, El Dorado and the rest of the surrounding area.

High risk means the counties have had 200 or more new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the last seven days or more than 20 new COVID-19 hospital admissions per 100,000 within a seven-day period.

Emerging research suggests reinfections could put people at higher risk for health problems.

Unvaccinated people have a six times higher risk of dying from COVID-19 compared with people with at least a primary series of shots, the CDC estimated based on available data from April.

10:36 a.m.: Shanghai and Beijing are forced to undergo more COVID-19 testing

Residents in parts of Shanghai and Beijing have been ordered to undergo further rounds of COVID-19 testing following the discovery of new cases in the two cities.

According to the Associated Press, restaurants have also been restricted to takeout only in the northern city of Xi’an, which endured one of China’s most sweeping lockdowns under the hardline zero-COVID policy.

The gambling hub of Macao has also shut down one of its most famous hotel casinos after cases were discovered there.

The strict measures have been retained despite relatively low numbers of cases, with mainland China reporting 353 cases of domestic transmission on Wednesday, 241 of them asymptomatic.

Tuesday, July 5

12:17 p.m.: US warily treads forward through another pandemic summer

The fast-changing coronavirus has kicked off summer in the U.S. with lots of infections but relatively few deaths compared to its prior incarnations.

Keep in mind that COVID-19 is still killing hundreds of Americans each day even though many people feel it’s not as dangerous as it once was.

It’s easy to feel confused by the mixed picture — repeat infections are increasingly likely and a sizeable share of those infected will face the lingering symptoms of long COVID-19.

According to the Associated Press, how long this interlude will last is impossible to know since more dangerous variants could be around the corner.

10:03 a.m.: About half of US adults would continue using virtual services

A new poll shows that about half of Americans would think it’s a “good thing” if virtual options continue, as reported by the Associated Press.

Digital services like exercise classes, telehealth and so forth are all examples of services that moved remotely during the pandemic.

However, a poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that close to half of U.S. adults say they won’t return to virtual activities like having groceries delivered or use curbside pickup once the pandemic ends.

9:56 a.m.: Monkeypox cases triple, worrying health officials

The World Health organization’s European chief has warned that monkeypox cases across the region have tripled in the last two weeks and called on countries to take stronger measures to ensure the previously rare disease does not become entrenched in the continent.

According to the Associated Press, in a statement on Friday, Dr. Hans Kluge said increased efforts were needed despite the U.N. health agency’s decision not to declare the escalating outbreak a global health emergency last week.

To date, more than 5,000 monkeypox cases have been reported from 51 countries worldwide, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and prevention.

Kluge said the number of infections in Europe represents about 90% of the global total.

Friday, July 1

9:32 a.m.: Two people accused of $5 million in fraud from CARES Act loans

Two men have been indicted by a federal grand jury in New Hampshire on multiple fraud charges alleging that they falsely applied for $5 million in federal CARES Act loans for companies and misused some of the proceeds, including one man’s purchase of a Rolls Royce.

According to the Associated Press, court documents say both men were based in New Hampshire, but one later moved to Irvine, Calif.

Prosecutors allege that the two applied for over two dozen loans in 2020 and in 2021, submitting fabricated tax documents.

The California man was arrested in Hawaii on Thursday.

It wasn’t immediately known if he had an attorney. The New Hampshire man was arrested, released and faces a hearing.

9:16 a.m.: When can you stop isolating after a COVID-19 infection? Here’s what you need to know

With inections on the rise in some places, some Americans are wondering — when can you stop isolating after a COVID-19 infection?

It can feel extra stressful and confusing if you’re feeling good but still testing positive on a rapid test.

NPR reports that even with the new subvariants, the basic rules haven’t changed since omicron first developed. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says someone can stop isolating after five days if they’re fever-free for 24 hours and are starting to get better.

Just keep wearing your mask for another five days.

Some researchers don’t agree and point out that some people are still infectious after day five. But if you’re feeling alright and are tired of waiting, here’s what you need to know.

8:32 a.m.: Summer travel numbers are all over the place due to pandemic recovery

Summer travel is underway across the globe, but a full recovery from two years of coronavirus could last as long as the pandemic itself.

Interviews by the Associated Press in 11 countries in June show that most passionate travelers are thronging to locales like the French Riviera, Amsterdam and the American Midwest.

But even as safety restrictions fall, places like Israel, India and Rome are reporting only fractions of the record-setting tourism of 2019.

For them, a full recovery isn’t forecasted until at least 2024. China, once the world’s biggest source of tourists, remains closed per its “zero-COVID” policy, which is holding down the rebound in many countries.

Find older coronavirus updates on our previous blog page here

Follow us for more stories like this

CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you.  As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.

Donate Today  

The post California coronavirus updates: San Francisco state Senator desires to declare monkeypox a public well being disaster appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Laguna Honda is in crisis, and it’s one that extends far beyond the hospital itself.

A full review of federal inspection reports from Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center reveals a tipping point for many aspects of San Francisco’s public health system.

As the availability of affordable health services and housing has declined, a growing population of older adults with complex health needs has few options besides the hospital—California’s largest public skilled nursing facility—one that is now threatened with closure.

Nearly 700 extremely low-income, medically fragile patients face displacement if Laguna Honda is not successful in its efforts to regain its lost certification.

In April, federal regulators said they would cut Laguna Honda off from government-subsidized health care such as Medicaid and Medi-Cal, which covers the costs of the majority of patients at the facility. The decision came after regulators reported dozens of safety code infractions from inspections launched after two nonfatal overdoses on site in 2021. Full reports from federal inspections can be found here.

The most recent safety survey in April found staff members failing to follow protocols around personal protective equipment. Previous findings were even more serious. In October 2021, 13 out of 37 sampled residents tested positive for non-prescribed substances. The reports say that two of these residents experienced “life-threatening emergencies” and hospitalization, and two others were reported to have fallen.

The surveys also found multiple examples of drug paraphernalia and illicit substances on-site, including fentanyl and methamphetamine. One report said a guest coming into the facility was suspected of bringing in drugs on multiple occasions.

“The failed practices place all residents to unsafe (sic) living environment and negative health outcomes,” a report from October 14 reads.

Other inspections between October and April highlight disputes among residents, as well as preventable accidents, such as a woman who was not properly buckled into her wheelchair after a dialysis appointment and fell in a transportation van, resulting in bone fractures.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which overseas government health care programs, will return to Laguna Honda for follow-up inspections in September and again in December. At the same time, the hospital must implement a closure plan that involves moving people out in order to sustain federal funding during the recertification process.

The facility is still licensed for the time being, but losing federal funding would be devastating to operations.

Tipping point

The crisis unfolding at Laguna Honda in part represents the culmination of a years-long decline in public health resources for low-income elders and people with disabilities including those with substance use challenges.

The total number of assisted living facilities in San Francisco decreased by 22% from 2012 to 2018, according to a 2019 city report, creating a gap in board-and-care options specifically for adults under age 60. That same population has filtered through San Francisco General Hospital at Laguna Honda in recent decades.

“San Francisco is being punished for addressing a need while everyone else has abandoned the field,” Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said at a Board of Supervisors meeting on June 14. “This is some kafkaesque nonsense.”

Many experts in nursing home regulations are baffled by regulators’ decision to decertify Laguna Honda, which is the largest skilled nursing facility in the state. Some say the challenges found at the facility pale in comparison to some of the horrific circumstances and abuse that have been identified in other nursing homes that received the same level of punishment from federal regulators.

“This should be addressed absolutely. But typically, what we see are just horrific, almost nightmarish conditions that terminate care for Medicare and Medicaid funding. In this case, it seems like lacked supervision or culture of drug use that needs to be remedied,” said Anthony Chicotel, an attorney with the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.

Yet others, including former staff at San Francisco’s largest skilled nursing facility, feel The City has downplayed the recent infractions and other issues reported internally for years.

“The City and county have minimized the infractions to the public but in fact, they are quite serious,” said Teresa Palmer, a geriatrician who worked at Laguna Honda from 1989 to 2005. “By not admitting the real problem, by minimizing it, that doesn’t make for a good prognosis.”

Either way, nearly all of these problems are fixable in some form or another, asserts Roland Pickens, interim CEO of Laguna Honda, whether through enhanced training or new programming specific for individuals with substance use disorder.

For instance, one citation involved a nurse who reported seeing a lighter, burned aluminum foil and plastic brown straws in a resident’s room indicating possible fentanyl use, but the nurse left the items where they were. In documents provided by federal regulators, the nurse said he had not been advised on how to handle such situations and stated “we need training” on how to deal with illicit drugs or supplies.

Exactly how many patients at Laguna Honda struggled with substance use issues is unclear. Hypertension, dysphagia, epilepsy, pulmonary disease, major depressive disorders and other diseases are listed among the top 10 most common resident diagnoses, according to the hospital’s 2019-20 annual report. But treatment or other services for substance use disorder are not included on the list.

Hospital officials said they are exploring changes to where residents with substance use disorders, mental disabilities and other health needs are located within the facility.

“It may very well be that as we emerge from this recertification process, we will establish a unit that may cohort particular patients who now may be dispersed among the units,” Pickens said to the Board of Supervisors on June 14.

However, the growing gap in public health services beyond Laguna Honda’s walls for The City’s aging low-income and unhoused populations will be much harder to solve.

A place to go

Laguna Honda makes up a significant portion of San Francisco’s entire stock of skilled nursing beds, and the city is a key funder of assisted living services.

At the same time, patient flow into Laguna Honda has evolved greatly in the last 20 years so a growing number of residents now come directly from San Francisco General Hospital. Laguna Honda has become a key destination for the population that has suffered most from the decline in assisted living facilities that take Medi-Cal or Medicaid patients.

The change in patient flow over the years has resulted in an increasingly younger and male-skewing population with health challenges far more complex than a typical nursing home. How to appropriately care for elderly residents as well as younger patients with complex mental disabilities and drug use challenges has become a sticking point.

San Francisco is currently working towards a goal of adding nearly 400 mental health care beds across the city. For the 2022-24 budget years, Breed is allocating $57.5 million for the operation of new-acquired behavioral health facilities with 360 beds altogether.

In the meantime, local options for patient transfers are exhausted. Just six individuals have already been discharged from Laguna Honda, according to the most recent numbers shared by hospital officials. Transferring the remaining 670 medically-fragile residents will be nearly impossible by September, the earliest possible date of closure, according to a notice sent to patients in May.

“The numbers state that we probably aren’t going to meet that goal (to discharge all patients before any possible closure) but we are going to do everything we can,” Pickens told the Board of Supervisors on June 14.

Those familiar with the changes at Laguna Honda over the years stress the urgency of funding alternative care options in San Francisco.

“We don’t have disability-friendly substance use treatment for even unhoused elders,” said Palmer. “There is a lack of services. Once you’re an unhoused elder, you’re, excuse my language, shit out of luck.”

The post Laguna Honda disaster displays San Francisco’s fragile well being system | Information appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

Laguna Honda is in crisis, and it’s one that extends far beyond the hospital itself.

A full review of federal inspection reports from Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center reveals a tipping point for many aspects of San Francisco’s public health system.

As the availability of affordable health services and housing has declined, a growing population of older adults with complex health needs has few options besides the hospital—California’s largest public skilled nursing facility—one that is now threatened with closure.

Nearly 700 extremely low-income, medically fragile patients face displacement if Laguna Honda is not successful in its efforts to regain its lost certification.

In April, federal regulators said they would cut Laguna Honda off from government-subsidized health care such as Medicaid and Medi-Cal, which covers the costs of the majority of patients at the facility. The decision came after regulators reported dozens of safety code infractions from inspections launched after two nonfatal overdoses on site in 2021. Full reports from federal inspections can be found here.

The most recent safety survey in April found staff members failing to follow protocols around personal protective equipment. Previous findings were even more serious. In October 2021, 13 out of 37 sampled residents tested positive for non-prescribed substances. The reports say that two of these residents experienced “life-threatening emergencies” and hospitalization, and two others were reported to have fallen.

The surveys also found multiple examples of drug paraphernalia and illicit substances on-site, including fentanyl and methamphetamine. One report said a guest coming into the facility was suspected of bringing in drugs on multiple occasions.

“The failed practices place all residents to unsafe (sic) living environment and negative health outcomes,” a report from October 14 reads.

Other inspections between October and April highlight disputes among residents, as well as preventable accidents, such as a woman who was not properly buckled into her wheelchair after a dialysis appointment and fell in a transportation van, resulting in bone fractures.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which overseas government health care programs, will return to Laguna Honda for follow-up inspections in September and again in December. At the same time, the hospital must implement a closure plan that involves moving people out in order to sustain federal funding during the recertification process.

The facility is still licensed for the time being, but losing federal funding would be devastating to operations.

Tipping point

The crisis unfolding at Laguna Honda in part represents the culmination of a years-long decline in public health resources for low-income elders and people with disabilities including those with substance use challenges.

The total number of assisted living facilities in San Francisco decreased by 22% from 2012 to 2018, according to a 2019 city report, creating a gap in board-and-care options specifically for adults under age 60. That same population has filtered through San Francisco General Hospital at Laguna Honda in recent decades.

“San Francisco is being punished for addressing a need while everyone else has abandoned the field,” Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said at a Board of Supervisors meeting on June 14. “This is some kafkaesque nonsense.”

Many experts in nursing home regulations are baffled by regulators’ decision to decertify Laguna Honda, which is the largest skilled nursing facility in the state. Some say the challenges found at the facility pale in comparison to some of the horrific circumstances and abuse that have been identified in other nursing homes that received the same level of punishment from federal regulators.

“This should be addressed absolutely. But typically, what we see are just horrific, almost nightmarish conditions that terminate care for Medicare and Medicaid funding. In this case, it seems like lacked supervision or culture of drug use that needs to be remedied,” said Anthony Chicotel, an attorney with the California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform.

Yet others, including former staff at San Francisco’s largest skilled nursing facility, feel The City has downplayed the recent infractions and other issues reported internally for years.

“The City and county have minimized the infractions to the public but in fact, they are quite serious,” said Teresa Palmer, a geriatrician who worked at Laguna Honda from 1989 to 2005. “By not admitting the real problem, by minimizing it, that doesn’t make for a good prognosis.”

Either way, nearly all of these problems are fixable in some form or another, asserts Roland Pickens, interim CEO of Laguna Honda, whether through enhanced training or new programming specific for individuals with substance use disorder.

For instance, one citation involved a nurse who reported seeing a lighter, burned aluminum foil and plastic brown straws in a resident’s room indicating possible fentanyl use, but the nurse left the items where they were. In documents provided by federal regulators, the nurse said he had not been advised on how to handle such situations and stated “we need training” on how to deal with illicit drugs or supplies.

Exactly how many patients at Laguna Honda struggled with substance use issues is unclear. Hypertension, dysphagia, epilepsy, pulmonary disease, major depressive disorders and other diseases are listed among the top 10 most common resident diagnoses, according to the hospital’s 2019-20 annual report. But treatment or other services for substance use disorder are not included on the list.

Hospital officials said they are exploring changes to where residents with substance use disorders, mental disabilities and other health needs are located within the facility.

“It may very well be that as we emerge from this recertification process, we will establish a unit that may cohort particular patients who now may be dispersed among the units,” Pickens said to the Board of Supervisors on June 14.

However, the growing gap in public health services beyond Laguna Honda’s walls for The City’s aging low-income and unhoused populations will be much harder to solve.

A place to go

Laguna Honda makes up a significant portion of San Francisco’s entire stock of skilled nursing beds, and the city is a key funder of assisted living services.

At the same time, patient flow into Laguna Honda has evolved greatly in the last 20 years so a growing number of residents now come directly from San Francisco General Hospital. Laguna Honda has become a key destination for the population that has suffered most from the decline in assisted living facilities that take Medi-Cal or Medicaid patients.

The change in patient flow over the years has resulted in an increasingly younger and male-skewing population with health challenges far more complex than a typical nursing home. How to appropriately care for elderly residents as well as younger patients with complex mental disabilities and drug use challenges has become a sticking point.

San Francisco is currently working towards a goal of adding nearly 400 mental health care beds across the city. For the 2022-24 budget years, Breed is allocating $57.5 million for the operation of new-acquired behavioral health facilities with 360 beds altogether.

In the meantime, local options for patient transfers are exhausted. Just six individuals have already been discharged from Laguna Honda, according to the most recent numbers shared by hospital officials. Transferring the remaining 670 medically-fragile residents will be nearly impossible by September, the earliest possible date of closure, according to a notice sent to patients in May.

“The numbers state that we probably aren’t going to meet that goal (to discharge all patients before any possible closure) but we are going to do everything we can,” Pickens told the Board of Supervisors on June 14.

Those familiar with the changes at Laguna Honda over the years stress the urgency of funding alternative care options in San Francisco.

“We don’t have disability-friendly substance use treatment for even unhoused elders,” said Palmer. “There is a lack of services. Once you’re an unhoused elder, you’re, excuse my language, shit out of luck.”

The post Laguna Honda disaster displays San Francisco’s fragile well being care system | Information appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

San Francisco will open a drug sobering center on Monday where people on the streets can temporarily ride out highs and get connected to treatment, the latest initiative to address the overdose crisis and complaints about drug use on city streets.

The center, called SOMA RISE, will operate out of a former office building the city is leasing at 1076 Howard St. in the South of Market Neighborhood, one of the epicenters of the drug crisis, along with the Tenderloin.

It will have 20 beds where people from the Tenderloin and SoMa are expected to stay between four and 12 hours, longer if necessary. People can access beds and chairs, bathrooms and showers, food and water, clothes and connections to “services and housing support,” according to information online.

The city designed the center in 2019 to mainly serve users of methamphetamine, which can cause bad reactions including paranoia or hallucinations and can prompt aggressive behavior. The increase in meth use over the last decade contributed to skyrocketing overdose deaths and flooded San Francisco’s emergency rooms with people in a mental health crisis. The center will also help users of the powerful opioid fentanyl, a factor in a majority of the city’s more than 1,300 overdose deaths over the past two years, and other drugs.

The program will be voluntary. People can walk in or be transported by ambulance or city outreach teams that respond to people who are homeless or in mental health crises.

Staff on site will monitor participants’ vital signs, respond to and reverse overdoses and help them find and navigate services. Once people come down from their highs, staff can transport them to their next destination, such as a shelter, treatment program, medical clinic or “home location,” information said online. The site will be run by nonprofit drug treatment provider HealthRight360, but funded by the city.

The center will initially be open daily from 8 am to 8 pm and scale up to 24 hours a day.

Officials hope the opening of the long-awaited drug sobering center — after three years of planning — will provide long-term solutions to people suffering from addiction and reduce the number of people acting erratically or dangerously while high on the streets.

“The rise in drug use and overdoses in San Francisco shows that we have to take action and try new things to get people the help they need,” Breed said in a statement in June 2021. “Opening a sobering center provides our outreach teams with a place to take someone who shouldn’t be left alone on the street where they can sober up, settle down, and get connected to other services.”

The need is far greater than 20 beds: In the last comprehensive count in 2019, the city counted 4,000 people who struggled with substance use, mental illness and homelessness.

The 18-month pilot program finally comes to fruition as San Francisco continues to try to grapple with reducing public drug use and fatal overdoses. The center’s opening follows Mayor London Breed’s emergency declaration in the Tenderloin in December to address the overdose crisis. It also comes a week after the news that the centerpiece of the emergency – a drop-in center to connect people to services in UN Plaza – will close at the end of the year.

The Tenderloin center was meant to help people get off the streets, receive basic services and find long-term housing and treatment, but critics took issue with the city allowing drugs use in the outdoor area of ​​the center, saying it enabled addiction. Supporters said it provided a low-barrier space for people to get help.

The debate could be reigned at the sobering center. Last year, the city said people would not be allowed to use drugs at the new sobering center, but would not be kicked out if they were caught using them.

Tom Wolf, a recovery advocate, said he wanted to reserve judgment on the sobering center to see how it goes. He supported the idea three years ago, but was more hesitant after the city allowed drug use at the Tenderloin center, which he opposed as counterproductive to recovery.

“I appreciate the fact that (the city) is trying to do something to address drugs and people in crisis,” he said. “I’m not 100% sold that this low-barrier approach where they give people a space to use dope, when it’s not a clinical setting like a drug consumption site, is really the best approach.”

He expects all the beds will be full, but said the key is to see what happens after visitors leave the center.

“What happens to that human being?” he asked.

The federal government prohibits supervised drug consumption sites staffed by medical professionals, but New York City has opened two. City officials, including Breed, have been talking for years about also opening a consumption site in San Francisco similar to New York’s, but the plan hasn’t moved forward, frustrating harm reduction advocates.

Her spokesman Jeff Cretan said Tuesday the city was still talking with the Department of Justice as they worked through “very real issues.” He said it was “an option” to have a nonprofit run the site, as New York does, to avoid liability, but the city was still “working with the federal government and finding a path forward.”

The city started planning the drug sobering center in 2019, but the pandemic delayed the planned opening in 2020. The city announced last June that the center would open in the fall. It wasn’t immediately clear why the opening was yet again delayed.

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who co-chaired the city’s meth task force, which recommended opening such a site in 2019, told the Chronicle in the spring of 2021 that while he was glad the site was in the works, he was concerned about delays and that this tiny pilot wouldn’t be enough to meet the needs.

“I’m sure we’re going to find that we need more than just one,” he said at the time.

Information online about the center said experts are developing criteria to evaluate the program’s effectiveness, which will guide improvements and “may support initiatives to create additional drug crisis response centers in other neighborhoods where we know the need exists.”

The program’s costs, what long-term services would be offered and other details weren’t immediately available Tuesday.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Mallory Moench (she/her) is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@mallorymoench

The post San Francisco to open drug sobering middle to handle meth and fentanyl epidemic and road disaster appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

A heated community meeting—is there any other kind?—kicks off. A developer has bought a 1,200-square-foot single-family home in a transit-rich, highly desirable location and plans to turn it into a 19-unit building. Dozens of neighbors have banded together in opposition. The building would turn “day into night” with its shadows, they tell city officials, with one person worrying about the threat of seasonal affective disorder. It would “discriminate against families,” as the units are so small. They brand it a “dorm.” They ask why not four stories instead of six; why not six units instead of 19? “Please do not beach this enormous whale in our neighborhood,” one neighbor begs.

These kinds of municipal debates happen all the time in localities across the country and mostly go unnoticed. But in San Francisco, someone is watching how the city gets built, or not, and making sure people hear about it. He does so for his own edification. He is not getting paid. He is just a guy with a computer and a bit of spare time. For the past four years, Robert Fruchtman has monitored and live-tweeted dozens and dozens—and dozens and dozens—of community meetings, including this one, about a proposed development near Dolores Park. “People just have no idea what goes on with these hearings, most of the time,” he told me. “You don’t hear about it except for snippets that occasionally make the news.”

No wonder. Not everyone enjoys watching neighbors squabble over the positioning of a bike lane or bureaucrats ensure that a building has the right paperwork to add an annex. “No one’s ever going to have a land-use-and-transportation-committee-watching party the same way people have an Oscars-watching party,” Fruchtman said. But what happens at these sorts of meetings is important. San Francisco, like many cities in California, makes many property-development decisions subject to public debate. Builders, business owners, and homeowners tend not to have the right to do what they want with their properties; instead, they have to ask city officials and their neighbors to approve their plans. This policy ensures that residents of lovely, tree-lined blocks do not get surprised by single-family homes getting razed and 19-unit buildings going up. It also is how, brick by brick, block by block, San Francisco has constructed one of the worst housing crises on Earth: Such citizen actions lead to not just the so-called preservation of neighborhood character but also sky-high rents and mortgages, worker shortages, displacement, gentrification, and climate-wrecking suburbanization.

Annie Lowrey: NIMBYism has reached its apotheosis

Fruchtman has, for years, documented this process in real time, making it easier for community activists, politicians, and journalists to notice and get involved. Can the city move forward with affordable housing at 730 Stanyan Street (delayed, but yes) or permanent supportive housing at 1800 Sutter Street (no)? How about a tiny-home village at 33 Gough Street? (Finally opened last month.) Can a developer put homes at 1846 Grove Street? (Delayed for years.) Can a homeowner build an honest-to-goodness mansion at 376 Hill Street? (Yes.)

“I look for cases where San Francisco’s progressive ideals don’t match up,” Fruchtman, who is a software engineer and volunteers with the local YIMBY group, told me. One time, he called in to a planning commission meeting to hear a debate on proposed changes to an apartment building in his neighborhood. “I guess it was lucky I logged in a little early,” he said. An established ice-cream shop, Garden Creamery, was attempting to prevent a prospective soft-serve shop, Matcha n’ More, from moving onto the same block, using a provision of a state law designed to protect against environmental degradation.

Ensue public comment! The first caller asked why the question of whether two dessert shops could operate on the same block was an issue for the planning commission in the first place. The 64th caller was more blunt. “I support the new business,” the person said, per Fruchtman, whose tweet thread on the meeting went viral. “The whole process is dumb as shit.” Still, Jason Yu of Matcha n’ More ended up spending $200,000 navigating San Francisco’s bureaucratic processes. After two years of procedural wrangling, he gave up.

This kind of kudzu does not just prevent the construction of new homes or the opening of new businesses; it also has a profound effect on the size and shape of the city and on the carbon emissions of the state. Regulatory bottlenecks increase the cost of building and drag out project timelines. What would cost $250,000 to build in rural Texas might cost $750,000 in San Francisco; what would take weeks to get approval for in Idaho might take years here. Many reasonable projects never get built at all, driving up housing costs, pushing families into homelessness, sapping the city of new businesses, and squeezing Bay Area residents out to the far-flung suburbs.

In San Francisco, “Instead of bright-line rules, where a developer knows I’m allowed to build this here, everything is a negotiation and every project proceeds on an ad hoc basis,” Jenny Schuetz, a housing economist at the Brookings Institution , told me. Small-d democratic-citizen participation has led to profoundly regressive outcomes.

That small-d democratic participation is not very democratic, for one. The kinds of people with the time and energy to show up at community meetings are disproportionately white, disproportionately old, and disproportionately wealthy, as my colleague Jerusalem Demsas has noted. They also tend to be conservative, in the sense that they like things the way they are and do not want to see 19-unit buildings going up in their neighborhoods. “Even in highly diverse communities, development meetings are dominated by whites who oppose new housing, potentially distorting the housing supply to their benefit,” one study found.

Jerusalem Demsas: Community input is bad, actually

The meetings tend to be formal. But people’s participation tends to be, well, a little unmeasured, Fruchtman told me. “Hysteria,” he said. “There’s often a sense of hysteria at these meetings that is not reflected in what you read in the press.” He recalled the time that a person described his fight to prevent the construction of a navigation center for homeless services as a kind of personal “Little Bighorn.” Or the time another person objected to the conversion of a parking lot on the grounds that it would increase traffic. Such rhetoric is “intellectual malpractice,” Fruchtman added. And the intemperate rants of the people who show up matter, as city officials hear such impassioned claims mostly from a privileged class trying to keep things as they are.

The flip side of so few participating so much is that everyone else participates so little. Who can blame them? So Fruchtman shows up. Trying to rent here was what got him interested in YIMBY politics in the first place, he told me. “I had dropped out of graduate school and got a job offer out in Silicon Valley,” he said. “I was trying to line up an apartment before I got to the city. And I realized how bad it was. Besides the sticker shock, it was the fact that anytime I emailed anybody or called anybody about an apartment, every single time, they said it was taken. Trying to get an apartment a month out or even a week out was impossible.”

He did find a place, in time. And part of his motivation for going to or calling into or watching so many public meetings is that he came to San Francisco to find himself and his community—and it pains him that others might not be able to. “One reason I wanted to move to San Francisco specifically is, as a gay man, it really always stood out to me my whole life as a place where I could be accepted,” he told me.

The NIMBY tide is finally beginning to recede in the state and the city, thanks to activism and the rise of YIMBY elected officials. A flurry of bills have streamlined the permitting process and exempted more projects from discretionary review, as well as allowing property owners to build structures like casitas by right. Still, the state is short of millions of housing units, and the thirst for apartments and homes in San Francisco feels unquenchable.

A bunch of 19-unit buildings are what the city needs, if not what its residents want. At that meeting, after they made their complaints, the builder responded that their proposed changes would make the project financially infeasible. A city supervisor worried that the tall building would “blow through” the objections of the community. The board gave a kind of go ahead for the developer to build. Now the project is tied up in litigation. It may never break ground.

The post One Man’s Quest to Repair San Francisco’s Housing Disaster appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.