Bay Briefing: Can California’s targeted shutdowns curb the coronavirus? - San Francisco Chronicle

kotortopo.blogspot.com

Good morning, Bay Area. It’s Wednesday, Dec. 2, and Gov. Gavin Newsom isn’t the only one under fire for a French Laundry dinner. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

“Our dangerous winter has arrived”

As Californians face increasingly restrictive orders to curb the swelling pandemic, public health experts say the targeted measures applied so far — including indoor dining bans and statewide curfews — may not be enough, and another strict lockdown may be on the horizon.

“They want to balance safety and maintaining the economy ... But this kind of half-measure approach, especially when the surge is increasing — I’m not sure if it’s going to work,” said Dr. Lee Riley, an infectious disease expert at UC Berkeley.

San Francisco leaders said Tuesday that they expect to issue new orders this week, possibly today, after local cases quadrupled over the past month and hospitalizations doubled in just 10 days. The rollbacks likely would include stricter limits on retail and other indoor business capacity and further reductions in the size of outdoor gatherings, as well as a mandatory quarantine for people coming to San Francisco from out of town.

“Our dangerous winter has arrived,” Mayor London Breed said Tuesday. “We’re going to have to take more restrictive action, and it pains me to say that.”

• Coronavirus cases and deaths soared in nursing homes across California. Here’s why.

• S.F. officials want teachers prioritized for coronavirus vaccines.

• S.F. will not close any hotels for the homeless this year; uncertainty ahead in 2021.

Another French Laundry party, this time with Mayor Breed

The French Laundry in Yountville was site of dinners attended by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor London Breed.

The night after Gov. Gavin Newsom’s much-criticized attendance at a birthday party last month at the French Laundry, San Francisco Mayor London Breed also dined at the three-star Michelin restaurant in Yountville.

Breed joined seven others on Nov. 7 to celebrate socialite Gorretti Lo Lui’s 60th birthday, Breed’s spokesman Jeff Cretan confirmed. The party of eight dined in the same kind of partially enclosed room with a ceiling and chandelier as Newsom did.

As columnist Heather Knight writes, Breed’s dinner at an opulent restaurant might not have technically violated the rules, but it isn’t a great look.

• San Jose mayor apologizes after attending Thanksgiving gathering.

S.F. corruption case: What’s next for city administrator?

San Francisco City Administrator Naomi Kelly officiates at a wedding in City Hall.

The fraud case against San Francisco’s now-former Public Utilities Commission chief Harlan Kelly may have serious implications for another high-ranking city official: His wife.

City Administrator Naomi Kelly, the most powerful unelected official in San Francisco government, attended a family vacation that federal investigators believe was intended as a bribe for Harlan Kelly, according to the criminal complaint against him released Monday. But the documents also suggest Naomi Kelly may have misled FBI agents investigating the case about who paid for the trip, and how much it cost.

A man passes stores that are boarded-up but open under San Francisco virus regulations.

Naomi Kelly has not been charged with any crime in connection with the criminal complaint filed against her husband. But the allegations have raised questions about Naomi Kelly’s future with the city and have pulled her deeper into a far-reaching City Hall corruption scandal.

Around the Bay

• November data: S.F. is still a renter’s market. Will Bay Area prices rebound in the spring?

• “Muni is in deep trouble”: SFMTA could lay off more than 20% of workers as it faces devastating budget deficit.

• Weather outlook: Bay Area dry spell could stretch to mid-December as wildfire watch continues.

• Indoor services at issue: Judge orders San Jose church to comply with health orders.

• “Constitutional obligation”: Parents, advocacy groups sue California, say remote learning leaves some children behind.

• Election 2020: California GOP rallies from “blue wave” election of 2018 as Republican wins House race.

• Dive boat tragedy: Grand jury indicts Conception captain on manslaughter charges.

• Major upgrade: New floating fire station to arrive in S.F. on Thursday.

• Unique chicken: A San Francisco company is set to be the first in the world to sell meat grown in a lab.

• Sporting Green: Two Warriors test positive for coronavirus, start of training camp pushed back a day. Also: 49ers will stay, practice and play in Arizona. And: Stanford football relocates to Northwest to continue season away from coronavirus bans; CIF pushes back resumption of high school sports amid coronavirus surge.

She’s upending the man’s world of baseball agents

Rachel Luba is one of the few female baseball agents, and she had to bypass barricades to get there

Rachel Luba’s introduction to the world of baseball agents arrived with a warning: “You’re not welcome in the industry.”

Luba stared at the man as she absorbed the ominous message. The agent represented her friend Trevor Bauer, who had arranged the meeting after the pitcher was selected third overall in the 2011 Major League Baseball draft out of UCLA.

“I won’t sugarcoat it: You’re a girl,” Luba recalled the man saying. “I was like, ‘Yeah, well aware.’ ... He said, ‘I’m not saying you can’t do it, I’m saying it’s a boys club.’”

Challenge accepted. Nine years later, the 28-year-old Monterey native is Bauer’s agent at a pivotal point in both of their careers. And the question is no longer whether Luba can succeed, but whether other agents can keep pace.