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By Rachel Becker, CalMatters

California still does not have enough capacity to test for coronavirus, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday, despite furious efforts by private, university and government laboratories to scale up to handle thousands of more patients. 

To help triage the crush of Californians in the Bay Area who want to be tested for the novel coronavirus, Newsom announced a new website created in partnership with Alphabet’s subsidiary Verily that will provide screening and testing support.

Starting Monday, Californians with mild symptoms or who are concerned about exposure can take a questionnaire that will direct those especially at risk from the virus to two pilot testing sites in Santa Clara and San Mateo, according to a Verily news release.

As of Monday morning, however, the questionnaire did not ask about risk factors or exposure history, and did not direct people to testing. Verily did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Newsom called it “the next phase” for testing in California, which to date has conducted 8,316 tests for the virus — of which, 335 have come back positive for the novel coronavirus. “That’s a 14 percent increase from the prior day,” Newsom said. “Tragically, we now have six individuals that have passed away.” 

In the press briefing, Newsom said California has the capacity for just shy of 9,000 tests. But he alluded to issues surrounding the availability of supplies, saying he was worried now about access to adequate numbers of swabs for collecting patient samples. The governor’s office declined to elaborate further during the press briefing or afterward. 

“There’s still some capacity concerns not only on the diagnostic side on the back end with the labs — both private, public, commercial — but as it relates to supplies,” Newsom said. “And one must be honest about that.” 

Politicians and health officials across the country have criticized the slow rollout of U.S. testing relative to other countries. Until the end of February, labs were barred from using tests they created themselves without prior federal approval, even as labs across the country discovered flaws in the CDC’s early tests. 

Now, academic medical centers in California, as well as private companies, are racing to catch up to what is expected to be a dramatic increase in the spread of the virus.

The test itself is a standby of molecular biology called a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR. Clinicians collect samples by swabbing a patient’s nose and throat and send it to a lab to extract genetic material called RNA from the swab. 

The challenge is detecting the virus in the soup of human and microbial genetic material, so lab workers use probes that stick to parts of the virus’s genetic code and run a series of reactions to amplify the signal. That way, if the virus is there, they’ll be able to see it. 

“The PCR is the really easy part,” said Frances Sladek, a professor of cell biology and toxicology as well as the divisional dean of life sciences at UC Riverside. Freshmen who have never touched scientific instruments learn in a lab course how to run PCR well enough to identify species of fish from the filets at a store, Sladek said. That’s why it’s so incomprehensible to her, she said, “that there’s any problem at all with this.”  

In addition to bureaucratic slowdowns from the federal government, testing has been hampered by a series of technical failures. Many of the early tests sent out by the CDC had faulty components that made it impossible to tell if a positive result was real, according to Science. The CDC did not respond over the weekend to a request for more information about the flawed tests. 

Then, another hold-up: Politico first reported a shortage of key ingredients needed to extract genetic material from patient samples. “The availability of those reagents is obviously being looked at,” CDC Director Robert Redfield told Politico. “I’m confident of the actual test that we have, but as people begin to operationalize the test, they realize there’s other things they need to do the test.” 

Newsom publicly criticized the test kits Thursday, calling them incomplete. “You’re going to the store and purchasing a printer, but forgetting to purchase the ink,” he told reporters. “I’m surprised this is not more of the national conversation.”

But the governor’s office directed followup questions to California’s Department of Public Health, which said questions about RNA extraction kit supplies would need to be answered by the CDC.  Neither state public health officials nor the CDC responded to CalMatters’ questions about the number of extraction kits California expected, or how many it received.  

The bottleneck may be coming from the CDC itself: the CDC only names RNA extraction kits from two vendors — QIAGEN and Roche — on a webpage detailing the supplies sent to public health laboratories. And until Sunday, CDC’s instructions for the diagnostic test only listed QIAGEN’s kits for RNA extraction, saying that “names of vendors or manufacturers are provided as examples of suitable product sources. Inclusion does not imply endorsement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.” 

Still, Yousef Haj-Ahmad, president and CEO of Norgen Biotek Corp, a Canadian Biotechnology Company that also makes RNA extraction kits, said Norgen’s kits should have made the cut. “CDC made an error by only recommending Qiagen; doing so created a bottle[neck] for testing,” he told CalMatters in an email. 

A Qiagen spokesperson told Reuters on Friday that Qiagen ramped up production of its extraction kits by 70 percent, and isn’t to blame for the testing delays in the US. Qiagen could not be reached for comment over the weekend.

But even as medical centers at UC San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Diego offer in-house tests for the novel coronavirus, they too are bracing for a shortage. 

Right now UCSF is only testing hospitalized patients, not the general public, spokeswoman Laura Kurtzman said. And while UCSF is not currently hurting for RNA extraction supplies, it “may encounter this as testing continues to ramp up,” Kurtzman said. “In parallel, we are developing tests that may potentially bypass the extraction step so would not need these chemicals.” 

Farther south, UCLA Health is testing hospitalized patients with the same test that the CDC and California Department of Public Health are using, according to spokesman Enrique Rivero. Citing the shortage of RNA extraction kits, Rivero said, “UCLA’s laboratory is working to modify the CDC kits to work with other reagents.” 

It’s a near-universal challenge, Nam Tran, associate professor and senior director of clinical pathology at UC Davis, told CalMatters on Sunday. “When every hospital is competing for the same thing, that’s what happens — you end up being in very short supply.” 

UC Davis’s strategy is to bring not one but three different types of tests online over the next several weeks. One is a CDC-type test. Another runs cartridges containing samples on a more automated device that Tran compared to working like a video game: “You put the cartridge in, or device in, and press start. And in an hour and a half, you get a result.” The test can run samples from 12 patients at a time, and Tran expects it to be ready in the next week. 

The third test will take longer to be up and running; it’s a home-grown assay that runs on an SUV-sized piece of equipment called the cobas 6800 made by biotech company Roche. The instrument can run 1400 tests in a day, according to Tran, which he called a “game changer.” 

Stanford, which recently announced drive-through testing, has been running in-house tests through its clinical virology laboratory since March 4, according to Benjamin Pinsky, associate professor of pathology and medicine. He couldn’t say how many tests but said the number is increasing. The lab is testing samples from a number of hospitals including Stanford Hospital, Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, and Kaiser Northern California. 

“At this point, the demand for testing and need for testing outpaces the availability of testing,” Pinsky said. His team has also experienced shortages in key components, including some of the Qiagen extraction kits, and is now working to validate other kits and enzyme mixes. 

“I’m really proud of Stanford that we were a little bit ahead of the game here and we’re able to provide this testing for the Bay Area,” Pinsky said. “I think that has really helped patients in this area get the right care.” 

Companies also are stepping up. Quest Diagnostics has been running a lab-developed test for the novel coronavirus at its infectious disease laboratory in Juan Capistrano since March 9. The company is rolling out the test nationally and expects to be performing 10,000 tests per day by the end of this week, according to a news release. 

While Quest’s test does include a step to extract genetic material from patient samples, spokeswoman Rachel Carr told CalMatters the company has the supplies needed to perform the tests.“It’s the largest laboratory in the world, and we have continuous access to the reagents we need, and so right now we’re not experiencing any shortages,” she said. “However, we’re closely monitoring our supply continuously.” 

Quest CEO Stephen Rusckowski announced the company also would incorporate a newly approved diagnostic test from biotech company Roche. The test can run on the same cobas 6800 instrument the team at UC Davis uses, which Roche said can turn around results in about three-and-a-half hours. “Upon authorisation Roche will have millions of tests a month available for use on the cobas 6800 and 8800 systems,” the release said. 

Of course, all the tests in the world won’t help if healthcare workers can’t safely collect samples from patients. Carmela Coyle, president of the California Hospital Association, said in a state Senate budget subcommittee meeting on Thursday that more test kits may not widen the bottleneck if another shortage isn’t addressed, and quickly: personal protective equipment. 

“We’re already short,” she told lawmakers. Without equipment like face shields and masks that protect health workers from infectious droplets, she’s concerned about a backlog. “That will very quickly become a rate-limiting factor, and we’re concerned most of the testing, as a result, will end up back in hospitals.”

In the hearing, Kat DeBurgh, executive director of the Health Officers Association of California, asked for help addressing yet another shortage: staff, to help track down people who might have been exposed and follow through with quarantine orders.  

Over the past 15 years, 11 public health labs have closed in California, according to DeBurgh. And last year, the Health Officers Association of California and the County Health Executives Association of California requested $50 million in ongoing funding to shore up the state’s infrastructure to address infectious diseases, she said. “We got $40 million in one-time funding. And we can’t hire staff with one-time funding — and staff is our greatest need.”

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

By Joe W. Bowers Jr. | California Black Media

By Sunday evening, more than 720 of the state’s 1,000 school districts announced they were closing beginning Monday. They made the decision out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of students, parents and staff and with the intent of sharing responsibility with the broader community in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Then, on Monday, county health officials put more than 6.7 million Californians in six Bay Area counties under a “shelter in place” order that instructed residents to stay isolated in their homes and away from public places and human interaction as much as possible.

The directive, which took effect Tuesday at 12:01 am and lasts at least through April 7, affects San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Marin, Contra Costa and Alameda counties.

The closures are scheduled to last between two to four weeks.

In all, more than 95 percent of public school students in 41 of 58 counties will be impacted. Many of the school districts that California’s 334,652 African-American students attend have announced they will be closed.

Outside California, more than 33 states, plus the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, have announced plans to close schools for two or three weeks.

Most of the announcements of school district closings happened on Friday, closely following the closure announcement by the two largest school districts in the state – Los Angeles Unified and San Diego Unified.

Los Angeles superintendent Austin Buetner and Cindy Marten, San Diego superintendent, issued a joint statement that read, “California has now entered a critical new phase in the fight to stop the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. There is evidence the virus is already present in the communities we serve, and our efforts now must be aimed at preventing its spread. We believe closing the state’s two largest school districts will make an important contribution to this effort.”

Before deciding to close their schools, the districts consulted with their county offices of education and their public health departments. Many school leaders were concerned about interrupting student learning and the negative effect closures would have on the families that depend on schools to provide meals and other essential social services.

Inglewood Unified was one of the school districts making the decision to close on Friday. With a student body that is 40 percent African American, among districts with over 2,000 students, Inglewood has the largest percentage of Black students in the state. Los Angeles Unified with 8.4 percent and Oakland Unified with 24 percent respectively have the largest number of African-American students.

Dr. Erika Torres, Inglewood’s County Administrator, said she decided to close the district’s schools because, “We are concerned about the health, safety and well being of our students and families.”

“I wanted to make sure that we were very proactive in this decision,” she said.

Like many of the school districts that are closing, Inglewood has no reported cases of coronavirus among students or staff.

Even as California banned large public gatherings, Governor Newsom resisted taking steps at the state level to close schools.  On Sunday, Newsom defended his approach saying, “I know for a fact that not all these districts have planned for the needs of these kids next week, and I’m deeply concerned about their health and I’m deeply concerned about their safety and I’m deeply concerned about their parents’ inability to go to work and many of those parents work in hospitals, work as firefighters, work as paramedics, work as the people that would get in gear to help us advance the mobile testing (for the virus) throughout the state.” 

While school leaders were deciding to close schools last Friday, the U.S. Department of Education said it would consider waiving requirements for statewide tests that are mandated for grades 3-8 and high school. With testing set to start during the spring, it may not be feasible for districts to administer the tests if school closures are extended.

On Friday, Newsom signed an executive order announcing that California schools that close due to the coronavirus outbreak will continue to receive funding, on condition that dollars are directed toward remote learning opportunities and childcare options during workday hours. For school districts like Inglewood Unified and Oakland Unified that are paying off state loans and Los Angeles Unified, which is experiencing budget issues, the governor’s action relieves some of the fiscal strain of closing schools.

Given the rapidly changing nature of the coronavirus outbreak and CDC’s guidance, what school districts decide to do after closing for two to four weeks is in flux. It is important for all parents and students to check their District websites for updated information and follow directives from the California Department of Public Health. 

By Nigel Duara, Ana B. Ibarra and Jackie Botts, CalMatters

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday called for seniors and people with chronic conditions to isolate themselves during the coronavirus pandemic, raising questions about the state’s capacity to ensure delivery of food, medicine and services to some of its most vulnerable residents.

Newsom pledged that his office would address specific issues related to this directive in a plan to be released on Tuesday, after state officials and private industry collaborate and work out the details. He did not say how long he expected that people would have to isolate themselves since no one knows how long the pandemic will last or how bad it will get.

The governor’s advisory does not carry the force of law, but Newsom said he would not hesitate to sign an executive order making it mandatory if the directive is not followed.

“If you want to establish a framework of martial law which is ultimate authority and enforcement, we have the capacity to do that, but we are not at this moment thinking that is a necessity,” Newsom said.

It’s unclear how the government will help coordinate the delivery of meals to an estimated 5.7 million California seniors and millions of other Californians who suffer from heart, respiratory, kidney and immune system disorders.

“We are doing so with our eyes wide open at the magnitude of what that means and the need to provide wraparound services to support our seniors in need of medical supplies, in need of meals and the like,” Newsom said Sunday at a press conference.

The traditional method of delivering food to seniors is through “access points” like a senior center, said Los Angeles Regional Food Bank Chief Executive Officer Michael Flood. But dozens of seniors congregating in a small space is no longer feasible, so other options will have to be considered.

Newsom emphasized multiple times on Sunday that the state will partner with private industry to respond to the pandemic, whether that means feeding children with free or reduced-price lunches from shuttered school districts or seniors who are isolating themselves. Flood said the LA Regional Food Bank envisions something similar to feed the 28,000 seniors it serves each month. 

“We’ve never had this type of discussion, how we can possibly leverage [private industry] logistics to deliver for a nonprofit,” Flood said. “We‘re going to have to figure this out.”

Here are a half-dozen questions raised by the governor’s announcement: 

How many people are we talking about here? 

California is getting grayer. Newsom said his self-isolation guidance would apply to the approximate 5.3 million seniors age 65 or older who live in the state. However, according to 2019 Census numbers, that number may be closer to 5.7 million.

And it’s not just the elderly who are being advised to stay home. So are people with underlying chronic health conditions. That means people with heart and respiratory diseases, diabetics and asthmatics. That’s a lot of people. 

In California, about one in three adults— more than 8 million people — live with cardiovascular disease, which includes heart failure, artery disease, hypertension, strokes and other disorders, according to 2016 state data. 

Also, about 2.5 million adults in the state have been diagnosed with diabetes, while 2.3 million adults have asthma and another estimated 1.5 million have chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Why the elderly?

“We are prioritizing their safety because of their unique vulnerabilities to this virus,” Newsom said. 

Health officials say that older adults, as well as people with compromised immune systems and those with underlying chronic medical conditions, seem to be at higher risk of developing serious, life-threatening complications from the coronavirus. 

Out of California’s 335 positive cases as of Sunday, 116 were among people 65 and older.

In China, where the virus was first detected, the majority of deaths have been among older adults, who tend to have weaker immune systems and have a higher rate of chronic disease. While the mortality rate for COVID-19 remains low — about 2.3 percent —  it increases with age or when combined with a chronic illness. 

For example, the COVID-19 mortality rate in China for people with heart disease jumped to 10.7 percent, and to 7.3 percent for patients with diabetes. The mortality rate for those with respiratory illnesses was 6.3 percent.

Similarly in Italy, a national analysis earlier this month found that the average age of 105 people who died in relation to COVID-19 was 81. Most of those patients were men and two-thirds of them had three or more existing conditions. 

So, what does self-isolation mean anyway? Can they go to the grocery store or pharmacy?

The idea of Newsom’s plan is to keep people who may be sick away from seniors and people with compromised immune systems or weakened hearts, kidneys and lungs.

Newsom did not give any specific advice, but his plan likely would mean people staying home from work and other public places as much as possible, and not meeting with friends, even at home.

Guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say people should restrict activities outside their homes except for seeking medical care. On Sunday, the CDC advised that all gatherings of 50 people or more be cancelled for the next eight weeks, from weddings to sporting events.

In New Zealand, self-isolation protocol allows for others to drop off food and supplies to those in isolation. 

Until recently, only people who were infected or believed to be infected by the coronavirus but didn’t require hospitalization had been asked to home isolate for 14 days. 

Newsom recognized that asking millions of seniors to stay home was bound to create anxiety. 

“We are doing so with our eyes wide open at the magnitude of what that means,” he said. He added that his team is working on services to help these seniors with food and medication. 

If these people can’t go to the grocery store, how are they going to eat? 

Good question. Newsom said that the state has “been working for days” to answer this question, but he did not provide specifics.

Newsom did allude to “strike teams that will support the social safety net and those services for our seniors” run by Mark S. Ghilarducci, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

“What is really important is to understand what a massive logistics operation it would be to take a formerly pretty self-sustaining group of people and expand an already stretched safety net to cover that group of people too,” said Ashley McCumber, executive director of Meals on Wheels San Francisco, which serves hot meals to 3,600 people who are over 60 or disabled each week. 

McCumber said that the need for home-delivered boxes of groceries will grow dramatically, as will the need for hot meals for those who rely on senior day centers and other facilities because they can’t prepare their own meals at home. 

Food banks across California are already facing shortages of volunteers and closures of their distributions sites due to coronavirus concerns. 

Partnering with private home delivery companies could bridge the gap. McCumber said the food delivery company DoorDash called last week to explore how it could support Meals on Wheels San Francisco. 

Newsom said that he is not ordering restaurants to close, in part, because they could be part of the state’s plan to deliver food to people in self-isolation. Instead, restaurants were asked to cut their number of customers in half, keep them separated and stress take-out meals.

“We want to expand the points of access to get those deliveries. Restaurants by definition provide those points of access,” Newsom said. “So having an organized construct that allows delivery of hot, prepared and nutritious food within an existing infrastructure we think is appropriate to this moment.”

What if you’re homeless and you’re also a senior or have a health condition? 

Newsom included the homeless, along with seniors and those suffering from chronic conditions, among the three most vulnerable groups in the state. But the governor’s directive was short on details for those who are seeking to self-isolate while they are unhoused. 

Newsom said the state would prioritize getting homeless people indoors as soon as possible, either in hotel and motel rooms or in one of the state’s 450 newly-purchased trailers. In an executive order issued Thursday, Newsom directed the state health agency and its office of emergency services to be prepared to make available accommodations “suitable for use as a temporary residence” and to commandeer those sites, if necessary. 

The U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development says there were more than 108,000 unsheltered homeless people in California on any given day in January 2019. Those numbers are concentrated in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, and the counts have been found to dramatically underestimate the real numbers. 

HUD issued guidance last week to homeless service providers regarding the coronavirus. 

“Individuals experiencing homelessness have an increased likelihood of chronic medical conditions (such as diabetes, asthma, and hypertension) as well as coinciding mental health diagnoses or histories of substance use,” according to the HUD document. “During crisis situations, health conditions can be exacerbated if health care regimens are not

maintained, or if histories of trauma trigger high-risk behaviors.”

What about seniors who work but can’t work from home? Is the state going to help? 

More than one million seniors, or about 19 percent of Californians ages 65 and older, are in the labor force, according to 2018 Census data. Many continue to work because they don’t have enough retirement savings or social security to cover expenses.

For seniors who can’t take their work home — for example, those who work in retail, the service industry, manufacturing or as drivers — self-isolation could mean losing wages or even jobs. 

Newsom made it clear that seniors working on the medical frontlines of the coronavirus response — such as nurses, doctors and pharmacists — are not exempt from the directive to self-isolate. A 70-year-old emergency room doctor in New Jersey contracted the virus and is in intensive care. He led his hospital’s emergency preparedness.

The Governor’s office did not immediately respond to questions about whether the state would provide financial aid to low-income seniors who are forced to miss work due to the coronavirus.

On Thursday, Newsom signed an executive order waiving the one-week wait time for those seeking unemployment insurance or disability benefits due to COVID-19.

On Saturday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a legislative package that would provide emergency leave, including two weeks of paid sick leave and up to three months of paid family and medical leave. The Senate will consider the package early this week. 

The state’s public health department recommends that all people keep their distance from each other, disinfect their homes, wash their hands frequently and avoid touching their faces. 

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CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics.

By Anthony Thigpenn; Convener, Black Census and Redistricting Hub; President, California Calls

Throughout the history of the United States, the Black community’s consistent fight for recognition has been an unfortunate and inescapable reality.

History is not a precise science, nor an impartial one. Take a glance at a history textbook from past decades, and you will quickly understand that American history was written from the viewpoint of white men.

In so many ways, the history of Black Americans IS the history of America. Slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, and, in the modern era, the preeminence of Black popular culture, have all shaped and still define this country.  

This year we have an opportunity to set a positive trajectory for the future of Black communities in the nation’s most economically and socially powerful state. A chance to be counted, to ensure our voices are heard, and to secure the resources we deserve for the next generation – through participating in the 2020 Census.

History hasn’t been kind or accurate when it comes to counting Black neighborhoods. In Census after Census, the supposedly straightforward act of counting everyone in America has dismissed and disregarded millions across the country.

Nationally, the last Census in 2010 undercounted Black people by 2.1 percent — a total of 800,000 people missing from the record, rendered invisible. Black children were twice as likely to be missed as white children, affecting federal funding allocations to programs to provide support to children in schools.

The reasons many in the Black community wind up overlooked by the count are complex and pervasive. Complex housing issues, including renting, instability and living in unique arrangements make them even more likely to be missed in the Census.

There are also strong cultural and political headwinds. Decades of segregation, legal discrimination, and police brutality mean that many Black communities understandably reject the federal government as an agent for positive change. Wary of providing information, many fear it will be used against them.

California is leading a collaborative effort to educate and motivate the hardest-to-count Californians to fill out the Census form. We have the power to change the course of our history.

Across California, which has the fifth largest Black population in the country, Black activists and organizations are once again stepping up. This time to partner with the state to conduct the most comprehensive and diverse outreach campaign in state history. 

As such, California Calls, a growing alliance of 31 grassroots, community-based organizations spanning urban, rural and suburban counties across the state, is reaching out to communities in California to make the case for being counted. As one of California’s outreach partners for the 2020 Census, California Calls has done outreach to Black populations throughout the State using door-to-door canvassing, phone banking, and digital communication strategies.

My Black Counts is an education and awareness initiative convened by California Calls as part of The California Black Census and Redistricting Hub Project. This is our chance in California to right historical wrongs and for communities to claim what is rightfully theirs.

We hope –– no, we will make certain – this time around there will be a difference. We are telling communities that the Census is safe and secure. Not only is the U.S. Census Bureau required by law to keep any personal information it collects confidential, but that information also cannot be used for law enforcement purposes or to determine eligibility for government benefits. 

Starting in mid-March, the U.S. Census Bureau will invite all Californians to complete the Census. It’s a short form – 9 questions per person – and households can participate by phone, mail or online. In May, Census enumerators will visit homes in person to count those who don’t respond.

The 2020 Census is an opportunity for Black Californians to correct the record and chart a better way forward. But for that to happen, we must all stand up and be counted.

We have a big task ahead, but we know Black Californians are up to meeting the challenge. It’s our time to show we aren’t invisible.

SACRAMENTO, CA— This week, under the direction of Governor Gavin Newsom, the Department of Managed Health Care directed all commercial and Medi-Cal health plans regulated by the Department to immediately reduce cost-sharing to zero for all medically necessary screening and testing for the COVID-19. This includes waiving cost-sharing for emergency room, urgent care or provider office visits when the purpose of the visit is to be screened and tested for COVID-19. The need for COVID-19 testing is based on medical necessity, a clinical determination made on a case by case basis by medical professionals.

“Californians shouldn’t have to fear a big medical bill just because they took a test for COVID-19,” said Governor Newsom. “This action means that Californians who fit the testing requirements can receive the test at no cost. We’re all in this together, and I’m grateful to those health providers who have already stepped up and heeded our call.”

“This action will ensure that Californians who need a test will receive one at no cost,” said Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency.

“This doesn’t mean every Californians should be seeking a test. If you are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and may have had contact with a person with COVID-19 or recently traveled to countries with apparent community spread, call your health care provider or local public health department first before seeking medical care.”

The California Department of Insurance issued similar direction providing cost free medically necessary testing for an additional 2 million Californians. Combined these announcements ensure that 24 million more Californians are eligible to receive testing, should their health care provider deem it medically necessary.

By California Black Media

Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus, has introduced, a new bill, AB 3121. It calls for setting up a task force to study and develop reparation proposals for African Americans.

“Existing law,” the language of the legislation reads, “requests the Regents of the University of California to assemble a colloquium of scholars to draft a research proposal to analyze the economic benefits of slavery that accrued to owners and the businesses, including insurance companies and their subsidiaries.”

AB 3121 requires eight members appointed to the task force.

The proposal would empower the group to “identify, compile, and synthesize the relevant corpus of evidentiary documentation of the institution of slavery that existed within the United States and the colonies,” the language goes on. “ The bill would require the Task Force to recommend, among other things, the form of compensation that should be awarded, the instrumentalities through which it should be awarded, and who should be eligible for this compensation.”

Other members of the CLBC are co-authors of AB 3121, including Senators Steven Bradford (D-Los Angeles) and Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles); Assemblymembers include Autumn Burke (D-South Bay, Los Angeles), Jim Cooper (D-Sacramento), Mike Gipson (D-Carson), Chris R. Holden (D-Pasadena), Reginald Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles), and Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento).

The Assembly has not yet assigned the bill to a policy committee for review.

LOS ANGELES, CA— The UCLA Black Alumni Association (UBAA) will recognize Black Lives Matter co-founder and Yes on R founder and chair, Patrisse Cullors, at its prestigious Winston C. Doby Legacy Scholarship Gala honoring prominent UCLA alumni and Los Angeles community members for their career achievements and contributions to the overall African American community.  The awards dinner and ceremony will take at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel at California Plaza located at 251 South Olive Street in Downtown Los Angeles on Saturday, March 14, 2020 from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.

“UCLA has a long history of being at the forefront of social justice issues and Patrice Cullors continues that tradition as an influencer and agent of global change in the unapologetic demand that Black Lives be valued,” said Michelle Johnson, UCLA Black Alumni Association President.  “Patrice embodies Black Bruin Excellence.”

The Ralph Bunche Humanitarian of the Year Award is being presented to artist, activist, educator, public speaker, and Los Angeles-native Patrisse Cullors.  Patrisse has been on the frontlines of criminal justice reform for the past 20 years like the Los Angeles-based grassroots organization she founded, Dignity and Power Now, and through her role as co-founder of the Black Lives Matter Global Network.  She continues her social activism work through ongoing work leading Reform LA Jails and the “Yes on R” campaign, a ballot initiative that passed with 71% of votes during the March 2020 primary election.

Individual tickets for the event are on sale now and can be purchased at www.uclablackalumni.org.

By California Black Media

Sacramento-based attorney, businessman and activist James Sweeney, who was an avuncular and towering African American figure in California political and social circles, has passed. He served as the regional Vice President of the Sacramento Black American Political Action Committee (BAPAC).

Politicians, businesspeople, media leaders, activists and others up and down the state remember him with fondness for his influential and inspirational presence in their lives. Consistently offering sound advice, they say, always giving them his unconditional support, kind words of encouragement and occasionally sharing dry “uncle” jokes.

James W. Sweeney was born in Fresno, California on July 28, 1948 to the union of Lonnie Lee Sweeney and Evelyn Randle. He is the younger of two sons born to this union. Sweeney’s parents, and his brother Sherman Sr., preceded him in death.

“James Sweeney’s leadership and wisdom will be missed,” said Betty Williams, President of the Sacramento Chapter of the NAACP.

James W. Sweeney was the Founder and Managing General Partner of James W. Sweeney and Associates, an advocacy and small business consulting firm located adjacent to the State Capitol. James worked with major companies and clients and was involved in deals exceeding 3.5 billion dollars. James was founding stockholder of Revere Bank. Starting with twenty million in assets, the bank now exceeds one billion in assets. James was co-owner of First Federal Financial Services, a credit card processing firm that has successfully processed over 500 million in transactions.

“He will truly be missed,” said Rory Kaufman, President of BAPAC, the largest African political fundraising organization in the state. “A Black man of vision, courage and insight. He stood for us and he fought with us.”

Throughout his career, Sweeney has been involved in a number of business investments across the state, and has worked in several political capacities, including the Berkeley City Council and the state Council on Mentally Ill Offenders (COMIO). He has served COMIO under four governors: Newsom, Brown, Schwarzenegger and Davis.

Sweeney attended San Bernardino high school in the Inland Empire, east of Los Angeles, where he was a basketball star.

He later graduated with a bachelor’s degree in three majors (Political Science, Black Studies and Sociology) from the University of California Riverside. He earned his law degree at the Humphreys School of Law in Stockton.

“This is sad news for our community,” said Kendra Lewis, vice chair of the California Democratic Party African American Caucus (CDPAAC).

Sweeney was a quiet force in California politics. Often working behind the scenes, he was instrumental in setting up a minimum-security juvenile detention facility for children in California named after him (Camp Sweeney). He also worked on California divesting from the African nation of Sudan because of war crimes the Arab government committed against Black citizens in the country’s Darfur region.

“In true Sweeney fashion,” Lewis said the last time she saw her “mentor,” he told her, “You have our support. Let us know what you need.”

James W. Sweeney was called home on February 27, 2020. His memories will always be cherished by his loving wife, Renee; his devoted adopted siblings, Jerry King and Toni Turner; his children, Wayne Sweeney, Jr. (Angela); Samantha Stonework- Hand (Eric); and Brett Sweeney; his grandchildren, Shayne Sweeney, Ronan Sweeney, Xavier Hand, and Roosevelt Hand; and a host of other family and friends.

No funeral arrangements, as of yet, have been made.

By Arthur Davis

This is a story that I am very proud to tell about my granddaughter, Tayler Davis, born to our son LaMond Ray Davis and daughter-in-law Patrice Townsend, and of course her proud grandparents Arthur L. and Fredda Davis. 

My wife and I grew up in San Bernardino and attended the local schools, as well as our oldest son LaMond Ray, who lives in San Jose with his wife and family where he currently works as a Sergeant with the Santa Clara Sheriff’s Department.

Tayler Davis was born on September 27, 1991.  She had early influences in her life that made her the compassionate young woman that she is today. When one hears the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child”, it was clearly the case with Tayler.

She spent her early childhood with her maternal great grandparents, both paternal and maternal grandparents, she was also surrounded by many aunts and uncles who helped shaped her morals and values. She started her schooling at Apostles Lutheran School in San Jose where she attended from Kindergarten to eighth grade. It was very structured and taught her discipline and respect along with developing faith and trust in God. 

During elementary school years she developed her passion for tennis at the tender age of 7.  She was blessed with an African American coach, Don Johnson.  He picked up Tayler and her younger sister from school during the week to help develop their tennis skills. 

From the very beginning when she first picked up a racquet, one could tell how gifted she was. She was very athletic, has excellent hand/eye coordination, was competitive, and was yearning to learn the sport and soak up all the strategies and techniques involved to become a top player. 

Tayler was also very tall for her age due to the Davis’ gene.  She quickly emerged as a top junior player in the United States Tennis Association (USTA) in a very competitive sport that requires much time and travel in order to become a top junior player in the U.S.  She was able to obtain a sponsorship for her racquets, clothes, lessons, travel, and tournaments due to her high ranking and was able to secure an African American scholarship to help offset some of the costs involved. She ended up being top 10 in the nation by the end of her junior year. She was offered scholarships to various academies early on, but would have to be home-schooled and live in dorms at the academy. She chose not to pursue the academy road, but rather focus more on school as she wanted to go to college and secure a college scholarship to play tennis.

Tayler decided to attend a private Catholic school Archbishop Mitty High School in San Jose.  The school is well known for top academics with elite athletic teams; admission is very difficult to get into. Tayler entered her freshman year and wanted to play on the tennis team. 

The tennis team was very competitive and was in a very tough conference which was the WCAL (West Catholic Athletic League).  Tayler played on the varsity tennis team in the #1 singles position. It is very rare for any freshman to play in that spot due to mostly senior veteran players who has experience and can win at the important position. Tayler ended up playing all 4 years for Archbishop Mitty and compiled a 101-3 record.

She was selected team MVP for 4 years, Mercury News Athlete of the Year 4 years, team captain 4 years, WCAL MVP for 4 years and ultimately selected for the highest honor at the school which was induction into the Hall of Fame for Mitty High School in 2015. There were notable other athletes such as Drew Gordon, UCLA basketball player, Aron Gordon, 1^{st round} draft pick, Orlando Magic basketball, Keilani Ricketts, softball player at Oklahoma and USA Olympic team. Tayler was also selected to Hall of Fame for leading the tennis team championship in 2017 for winning league and state with a record of 31-1. 

During her high school studies and tennis, Tayler missed 32 days of school per year as she traveled to various US cities in order to compete at a much higher level and continue her high ranking. At this time she developed her discipline, organization and sacrifices to be the best student and athlete in order to continue on with her dreams. She missed various, dances, proms, parties and other social functions that interfered with what she was aspiring to do in her life. She did always find a balance to incorporate fun in her life to attend football games, hanging out with friends, school sporting events and dates.  She was featured in various newspapers, cover of ESPN sports, cover of Mercury News many times, community newspaper and of course the USTA media outlet.

Tayler ended up with a 3.8 GPA and was offered many scholarships to all the top schools in the nation for tennis. She committed to CAL Berkeley with a full tennis scholarship her junior year basing her decision on staying close to home, CAL academics, top 5 NCAA tennis team and the diversity of the school.  She had a very successful college career, playing at the number 3 or 4 spot in the singles line up and playing number 2 spot for doubles. Her highest ranking was #30 in the NCAA. She was voted co-captain her sophomore year thru her senior year. She was a strong leader and a role model for her teammates. She continued on with her discipline to focus and persevere with her mind set on graduating in Legal Studies in 2016. It is very difficult to play college tennis at such a high-level school that also excels in top academics due to the length of the tennis season which is August until May. The student athlete misses many lectures, classes and notes.  Tayler stayed on track and graduated in 4.5 years which is the standard due to their tennis schedule.

After graduation, Tayler was undecided on what she wanted to pursue after college, so she traveled all over as a hitting partner for a young top player in the world 15-year-old Cici Bellis. Tayler spent 1.5 years practicing every day with her when they were not traveling, they were playing WTA (women’s tennis association) tournaments with all the pros in the world.  She gained knowledge, experience and dedicated her time and effort to help this young girl reach her aspirations.

From her work she was able to save $70,000 and then decided to take the LSAT (Law School Admission Test) to attend law school.  She continued to teach and share her knowledge of the game to younger students while studying and preparing to take the test. She passed the test and was offered another scholarship to Santa Clara University Law School. 

In order to maintain the African American Scholarship, she needed to end the school year in the top 3% of the class each year. Once again, she dedicated her life to pursuing her dream to become a lawyer. She sacrificed much of her three years to study tirelessly to pass the bar in 2019.

She continued giving tennis lessons early in the morning or in between classes to keep up with her financial responsibilities and even traveled with young students in the summer to take them to out of state national tournaments just as she did when she was a junior player.

During her law studies, she became involved in the Innocence Project for 2 years and was instrumental in helping 2 different clients get exonerated. It was truly her passion to help others who were wrongfully accused of a crime and not having strong representation due to financial or poverty issues. Tayler continued as an intern for Santa Clara County in the public defender’s office learning and gaining experience for her next journey after law school.

Tayler graduated from Santa Clara in May 2019 with her JD degree (Juris Doctor). She was able to maintain her scholarship for 3 years and is proud to have paid the remaining balance with the money she saved, entering her career debt free, a truly amazing feat!

She took the bar after studying for 3 months in May 2019 and was getting the results in November. Needless to say, with her dedication and hard work, she passed it the first time. The California Bar is said to be one of the toughest to pass in the US.

She was already working as an intern for Santa Clara County however there was only 1 opening for the public defender position. There were 4 colleagues in the department that also passed the bar. They all needed to interview with a panel of 5 judges. Tayler received all 5 unanimous votes and was selected to begin her career in December 2019 as Santa Clara County Public Defender, Attorney Davis!  

She was sworn in December 2019 by a judge who Tayler worked for during her internship who shared she had nothing but praise for her work ethic and was not surprised she was offered the opportunity, and this is only the beginning for her.  When reflecting back on all her success and accomplishments in both academics and athletics, it is beyond amazing the characteristics she possesses and the hard work she puts in day after day without ever losing sight on what she sets her mind and heart to do!

We are most proud of the woman who wants to stand up and provide legal aid for those who are poor and needy, being able to provide representation for those who cannot afford an attorney to represent them. 

She has become one of the most well educated, well trained and a very dedicated person to advocate for others that there is no limit on what she can attain.

She plans to move up within the Public Defender’s office and possibly pursue politics as her next move. We are beyond proud of the amazing young woman she  become!  My Granddaughter thank God every day for all the gifts she has been given.

By Tanu Henry | California Black Media

The California Legislative Black Caucus (CLBC) announced March 10 that it has introduced legislation to repeal proposition 209.

The bill is called ACA 5 or the California Act for Economic Prosperity.

“Since becoming law in 1996, Proposition 209 has cost women-and-minority-owned businesses $1.1 billion each year,” said Assemblymember Shirley Weber (D-San Diego), who is chair of the CLBC.

“It has perpetuated a wage gap where women make 80 cents on every dollar made by men and has allowed discriminatory hiring and contracting processes to continue unhindered,” Weber continued.

Weber announced the bill at the California state Capitol flanked by members of the CLBC, the  California Legislative Women’s Caucus, other progressive lawmakers, as well as  supporters like Asian Americans Advancing Justice.

In 1996, after a heated public debate divided Californians who supported Proposition 209 and those who opposed it, voters passed the ballot initiative.

Also known as the California Civil Rights Initiative, Prop 209 outlawed the consideration of race and gender in hiring, awarding state contracts, college admissions, policymaking, and even in most forms of official state documentation.

The entire CLBC co-authored ACA 5. And supporters range from churches and civil rights organizations to community based organizations, labor unions and legal aid providers.

Besides Weber, other members of the CLBC are: Senators Steven Bradford (D-Los Angeles) and Holly J. Mitchell (D-Los Angeles); and Assemblymembers Autumn Burke (D-South Bay, Los Angeles), Jim Cooper (D-Sacramento), Mike Gipson (D-Carson), Chris R. Holden (D-Pasadena), Reginald Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), Sydney Kamlager (D-Los Angeles), and Kevin McCarty (D-Sacramento).