Posts Tagged: coronavirus

News

CA skateboarders and COVID-19: Demand up, equipment down

A skateboarder in action. (Photo: Shawn Henry)

Shelter-in-place has pushed consumers of varying ages to skateboarding in unprecedented numbers, creating a dramatic increase in participation and sales. Unfortunately, California’s COVID-19 regulations limiting public gatherings have also slowed the manufacturing and distribution of skateboard equipment, causing historic supply disruptions. 

News

Facing COVID-19 on California’s rural front

A lonely road in Inyo County near Lone Pine, Calif., with the Sierra Nevada in the background. (Photo: Nella, via Shutterstock)

California’s most heavily populated counties are drawing the most attention as COVID-19 spikes and spreads, with Los Angeles reporting more than 140,000 cases and nearly 3,900 deaths since March. But California’s rural counties also face immense challenges. And while their populations are less dense and the infection levels lower overall than the larger counties, the available health services often are scant.

News

Survey: Most Californians favor continued shelter-in-place

Empty streets in L.A. during April amid the shelter-in-place rules. (Photo: Time Media, via Shutterstock)

Many Californians believe that the worst is yet to come for the U.S. with the COVID-19 pandemic, and less than three in 10 believe restrictions on physical activity in their area should be decreased. Gov. Newsom’s job approval has increased since earlier this year—and most Californians approve of his handling of the pandemic—but his recently released budget plan gets mixed reviews.

News

State slow to crack down on COVID-19 ‘treatments’

A photo illustration of the coronavirus pandemic and California. (Photo: bekulnis, via Shutterstock)

The state of California and its top medical regulator remain mired in a go-slow posture on the regulation of “snake oil” stem cell clinics that are currently riding the COVID-19 crisis to peddle dubious treatments to desperate patients. The marketing surge by the clinics has drawn increased attention nationally, including in prestigious scientific journals such as Cell Stem Cell whose usual fare deals with such things as “Stem Cell Hierarchy in Colorectal Cancer.”

News

California fights fires amid COVID-19 and a tight budget

A man watches the 2018 Woolsey fire in Los Angeles. (Photo: BrittanyNY, via Shutterstock)

Strapped California, facing an unprecedented budget crisis as it battles COVID-19, is setting aside hundreds of millions of dollars to confront wildfires. Already, more than 1,300 fires — mostly small — have been reported as the hottest, driest months of the year approach.

Podcast

Capitol Weekly Podcast: Jim Wunderman of the Bay Area Council

Jim Wunderman, photo by Margo Moritz

Jim Wunderman, CEO of the Bay Area Council, joins the Capitol Weekly Podcast to talk about the impact of the coronavirus on his association’s members, and what to expect as California reopens. What you can’t expect is for things to be the same as they were before COVID-19.

Opinion

Summer camp? Now, more than ever, we need it

One of the joys of summer camp: gathering around the campfire. (Photo: Volodya Senkiv, via Shutterstock)

OPINION: As a team that works on developing, producing, and running cool camp programs, most of us can’t think of a more challenging time.  The old adage “nailing Jello to a tree” rings true as we plan for what camp in this current environment might look like.  Just when we think we’ve got something solved, a new hurdle or change comes about.

News

For survival, stem cell agency hunts for ‘wet signatures’

Robert Klein, who spent six years as the state stem cell agency's chairman, addresses issues related to the November ballot initiative. (Photo: David Jensen, California Stem Cell Report)

The folks who are trying to save the $3 billion California stem cell agency from financial extinction are using a well-worn technique that goes back to ancient Egypt, at least by some accounts. It is expensive, depending on what you are peddling, and generates a return as low as 1 percent. It is direct mail, but with a significant twist.

Analysis

Racial inequality and COVID-19 

The annual Black History Parade and Festival in Pasadena. (Photo: Jesse Watrous, via Shutterstock)

ANALYSIS: Both the New York Times and ProPublica have written about the impact of COVID-19, reporting that in states where Black communities make up only a relatively small portion of the population, nearly half — if not majority — of all COVID-19 deaths are members of the Black community.

News

PPIC: Three in four worried about finances, family illness

People line up outside a Trader Joe's market in San Francisco on April 5 during tne coronavirus pandemic. (Photo: Bjorn Bakstad, via Shutterstock)>

As the number of known COVID-19 cases statewide continues to grow, overwhelming majorities of Californians are worried about a family member getting sick or about their personal finances worsening due to the coronavirus.

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