THE BUZZ — So much comes down to testing.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has promised us more detail today on his broad six-point framework for California emerging from a coronavirus-induced lockdown. Those prerequisites include the state being able to gauge the virus’s trajectory by testing for infections and tracking the impact on the most vulnerable — a need that underscores the persistent equipment shortfalls that have undermined coronavirus response in California and around the nation.
Newsom says the state has made progress since announcing a testing task force that enlists private labs and universities, working through a backlog and bolstering from a former capacity for 2,000 tests a day to some 14,500 a day. The goal of 25,000 a day by the end of this month is within sight, though a lack of swabs and viral media continues to hamper the effort. But those figures don’t answer the indispensable question: how much testing is enough to reopen?
The governor conceded on Tuesday that it’s not a fixed figure but a “very dynamic” target that can vary “depending on who you talk to.” Assemblyman Phil Ting got a similarly squishy answer when he pressed an administration official on Monday to define how many tests we need to be able to conduct daily “to return to some kind of normalcy” and when we’ll get there. The closest he got was a commitment to provide that information soon.
Could “soon” be today? We will know in a few hours. But short of the vaccine and herd immunity that are likely still more than a year away, expanded testing could be the hinge allowing California to swing back open.
Businesses are also looking for more clarity on what reopening looks like, POLITICO’s Katy Murphy reports, as they prepare to navigate a new world of lingering restrictions and a potential patchwork of different regulations.
BUENOS DIAS, good Wednesday morning. Newsom has said that a previously planned expansion of Medi-Cal to undocumented seniors is unlikely to happen this year, given dire budget constraints, but legislators are still pushing: Sen. Maria Elena Durazo, Assemblyman David Chiu and Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula are making their case today on a call with advocates.
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “We’re looking carefully at a number of these rules that are being put into place, and if we think one goes too far, we initially try to jawbone the governors into rolling them back or adjusting them. And if they’re not and people bring lawsuits, we file statement of interest and side with the plaintiffs.” Attorney General Bill Barr tells Hugh Hewitt about pressuring states with stringent coronavirus restrictions.
TWEET OF THE DAY: Assemblywoman Melissa Melendez @AsmMelendez highlights privacy concerns: “Tech giants like google and Apple want us to let them track and trace us as part of the COVID19 response. NO NO NO A THOUSAND TIMES NO. MM”
WHERE’S GAVIN? His daily #NewsomAtNoon briefing, to be livestreamed on @CAGovernor Twitter feed, will update Covid-19 news in California.
Sign up for POLITICO Nightly: Coronavirus Special Edition, your daily update on how the illness is affecting politics, markets, public health and more.
— “Steyer emerges as Newsom economic point person — and business groups are concerned,” by POLITICO’s Carla Marinucci: “He’s signed up millions of voters in an effort to impeach President Donald Trump and run for the White House as a crusader against fossil fuels, all in the last year. But can billionaire Tom Steyer now put California businesses back on track during the coronavirus crisis?”
— “California Democrats upset that party refuses to release Bauman sexual misconduct investigation,” by POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White: “Chairman Rusty Hicks announced last week that an investigation into [Eric] Bauman’s conduct had been completed but would not be released in deference to victims, who Hicks said could still speak out if they wished.”
TRAGIC TALE — “A nurse watched her father die of coronavirus in her hospital. She couldn’t help him,” by the LA Times’ Angel Jennings.
— “Coyotes, falcons, deer and other wildlife are reclaiming L.A. territory as humans stay at home,” by the LA Times’ Louis Sahagun: “Although local experts insist these creatures were always there, and were just ignored in more industrious times, shelter-at-homers are enjoying a rare glimpse into Southern California’s natural heritage.”
THE BEGINNING — “Santa Clara autopsy revelation: First known coronavirus death was Feb. 6,” by POLITICO’s Victoria Colliver: “Santa Clara County officials reported late tonight that autopsy results revealed the first person died in the county from coronavirus on Feb. 6 — making it the first known death in the country associated with the virus and indicating Covid-19 was likely circulating earlier than previously thought.” (Pro link)
SHOCKING — “Black Californians have died of coronavirus at rate double their population share,” by POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White: “African Americans in California are dying of coronavirus at a rate double their share of the state’s population, according to new state data that breaks down the pandemic’s racial impact. Officials have been working in recent weeks to break out data on deaths by race — an effort that reflects accumulating evidence that minorities have suffered disproportionately.“ (Pro link)
REVEALED — “California sets guidelines on which patients are prioritized if hospitals overwhelmed by coronavirus,” by the LATimes’ Taryn Luna.
— “The Inside Story Of How The Bay Area Got Ahead Of The COVID-19 Crisis,” by Kaiser Health News’ Angela Hart and Anna Maria Barry-Jester: “Now, officials nationwide are weighing how to lift isolation orders as the rate of COVID-19 transmission slows — and protests against the orders mount. The Bay Area is again poised to lead, but with a warning: All of this could be for naught if it isn’t done right.”
PRICE POINT — “Becerra, 19 other AGs ask 3M to help prevent price gouging,” by POLITICO’s Debra Kahn.
— “From beachgoers to a trumpet player, shelter-in-place violators get citations,” by the SF Chronicle’s Michael Cabantuan.
— “San Diego to reopen neighborhood parks as promising signs emerge in COVID-19 fight,” by the LA Times’ Gary Warth: “[Mayor Kevin] Faulconer said he had spoken with mayors of other coastal cities to discuss a safe, phased and coordinated approach to opening some sort of water access.”
— “Antibody tests reveal coronavirus spread in California, but not who is immune,” by the SF Chronicle’s Erin Allday and Sarah Ravani: “At this time, scientists say, it is impossible to know whether an individual is safe from the coronavirus based on an antibody test.”
— “Four more people have died of coronavirus as Tulare County tops region in cases, deaths,” by The Fresno Bee’s Joshua Tehee.
With the help of The COVID Tracking Project — a volunteer-run accounting of every coronavirus test conducted in America — POLITICO is monitoring how many Americans have been tested in all 50 states. Our live tracker will continue to update with the latest numbers across the country as they come in.
THE TRUMP TACTIC — “Gavin Newsom’s Nation-State,” by The Atlantic’s Todd S. Purdum: “‘About 40 percent of the state is more likely to listen to Trump than to him,’ the Newsom aide told me, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to be candid. ‘Part of his rhetoric was not alienating those folks—knowing that they would have to take real sacrifice—in order to build trust with that part of the state, so that they would pay attention to him when it came time to take mandatory action.’”
DENIED — “Grenell rebuffs Schiff demand to halt intel community overhaul,” by POLITICO’s Kyle Cheney: “President Donald Trump’s acting intelligence chief, Richard Grenell, has rebuffed a request from House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff for details about his efforts to reorganize the leadership of the office he is temporarily running.”
IMMIGRATION MOVES: “Trump to halt most green cards, with notable exceptions,” by POLITICO’s Anita Kumar: “So-called essential workers, including health care workers, will still be able to receive green cards, as will nuclear family members. And, notably, the administration will also continue processing visas for temporary workers, the biggest source of immigration at the moment.”
— “DeVos bars undocumented college students from emergency aid,” by POLITICO’s Michael Stratford.
VIA PLAYBOOK PM — MCCARTHY PUSHES PELOSI: House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy sent Speaker Nancy Pelosi a letter “to request that we work to establish a clear, safe, and effective plan for reopening Congress.” This is the highest profile Republican — the top GOP lawmaker in the House — pressing a return back to some semblance of normalcy. This is something that’s of intense interest at the White House, as well. Give it a read.
— “Transport Workers Union pours $450K into fighting gig company initiative,” by POLITICO’s Jeremy B. White: “The Transport Workers of America has been active in California efforts to organize drivers, advocating for them to be reclassified under CA AB5 (19R) and to secure back wages and unemployment insurance benefits.” (Pro link)
TECH DIVIDE — “Rural leaders: Students have few options for remote learning due to internet gap,” by POLITICO’s Mackenzie Mays: “Tech giants have donated thousands of tablets and hot spots to California students in an attempt to bridge the ‘digital divide’ as learning has gone remote, but state lawmakers say that means nothing for rural families who still lack adequate internet infrastructure.” (Pro link)
HOMELESS DILEMMA — “Will S.F. embrace ‘safe’ tent encampment sites during coronavirus pandemic?” by the SF Chronicle’s Trisha Thadani and Kevin Fagan: “Supervisor Rafael Mandelman introduced a resolution Tuesday urging the city to turn empty parking lots into sanctioned encampments where the homeless could set up their tents — six feet apart — and also access bathrooms, handwashing stations, meals, drinking water and garbage disposal during the coronavirus pandemic.”
— “California releases incomplete list of assisted living facilities with infections,” by The Mercury News’ Thomas Peele and Annie Sciacca.
AIRY SITUATION — “California’s widely polluted air may increase coronavirus death toll,” by the SF Chronicle’s Kurtis Alexander: “The American Lung Association’s ‘State of the Air’ report, released Tuesday, indicates that the top metro areas for year-round particle pollution in the U.S. are all in California.”
BIG BUCKS — “Facebook sets a record with its first-quarter lobbying spend,” by POLITICO’s Steven Overly: “Lobbying disclosures show the social networking giant paid out $5.26 million in the first quarter of 2020, a period that includes the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the U.S.” (Pro link)
— “Privacy group’s chief out amid coronavirus ‘uprising’,” by POLITICO’s Steven Overly: “The longtime leader of the influential Washington-based advocacy group Electronic Privacy Information Center is departing, the organization announced today, days after Protocol reported that he had continued going to work, despite learning he might have the novel coronavirus.”
— “Apple and Google CEOs should be held responsible for protecting coronavirus tracking data, says GOP Sen. Hawley,” by CNBC’s Lauren Feiner.
— “Leading Insurer Sues to Exclude Coverage of Mark Geragos’ COVID-19 Losses,” by The Hollywood Reporter’s Eriq Gardner: “One of the earliest battles to watch may now be shaping up in California between a pair of star litigators set to parse the meaning of this worldwide pandemic.”
— “Protocol, 11 weeks into life, is already laying off a big chunk of its staff,” by Nieman Lab’s Joshua Benton: “It was only two and a half months ago — a.k.a. about 387 lifetimes ago — that Protocol, the tech site launched by parent company of Politico, debuted on the scene.” (Note: Protocol and POLITICO share ownership.)
— “Garcetti pushes law protecting displaced workers from being replaced by cheaper labor,” by the LATimes’ Alene Tchekmedyian and Colleen Shalby.
— “‘Such a mess’: Bay Area businesses despair as government loans are exhausted,” by the SF Chronicle’s Shwanika Narayan and Roland Li.
— “How San Francisco Unified feeds school families in the time of coronavirus,” by Jessica Battilana in the SF Chronicle.
— “SF follows Oakland’s lead, closes some streets to cars during pandemic,” by the SF Examiner’s Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez.
— “Man barricading inside Tenderloin building after SF police shooting,” by the SF Chronicle’s Alejandro Serrano.
— “Fans sue MLB, teams over ticket money, ask for class action,” via The AP.
— “Lewis MacAdams, famed crusader for the Los Angeles River, dies at 75,” by the LA Times’ Louis Sahagun.
— “Former Stanford president Donald Kennedy dies of COVID-19,” by The Mercury News’ Jason Green.
Bernardo Urquieta … Sana Ali … Brian Forde is the big 4-0
Belated from Tuesday: Democratic adviser Debbie Mesloh…
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NEWSOM to talk REOPENING — CADEM’s HICKS blasted over BAUMAN report — GRENELL denies SCHIFF — MCCARTHY pushes PELOSI on opening HOUSE
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