‘I’d rather not alarm anyone,’ Gov. Newsom says + How to lobby with social distance

Happy Wednesday readers! Here’s hoping cabin fever hasn’t set in yet for those of you working from home.

COVID-19 UPDATE

We have a long way to go, friends.

Gov. Gavin Newsom in a frank news conference late Wednesday said California schools probably will not open until June.

He wouldn’t go into detail when we asked how many fatalities he expects or when he anticipate the coronavirus to peak in California. “I’d rather not alarm anyone with our estimates,” he said.

Newsom said the next eight weeks are critical, and the state is acquiring tens to thousands of hotel rooms and thousand of hospital beds to increase its capacity to treat people who will become infected with the virus.

• Capitol closed to public — The Joint Rules Committee told legislative staff late Wednesday that the Capitol will be closed to the public “until further notice.” You can still get in if you have “essential government business to conduct.”
• Stay at home — Sacramento County health officials issued a directive that everybody, sick or healthy, young and elderly, should stay at home unless engaged in essential business, like going to the grocery store. The directive stopped short of being a direct order, but that didn’t stop Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg from cautioning that “a directive is an order by another name, and it’s crucial that we all follow it.”
  
  
• State workers in limbo — Many California state workers want clear guidance from Gov. Newsom on whether they can work from home. They are still waiting for it.
• Military reserves — The Pentagon is releasing its stockpile of ventilators and breathing masks.
• Courts closed down — The Sacramento Superior Court is preparing to shut down as early as Wednesday as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Don’t flush those wipes — The State Water Board would like to politely remind you that while it’s appreciated that you’re using sanitary wipes to disinfect surfaces you regularly touch, they would also very much appreciate it if you didn’t flush those wipes down the toilet. They warn that flushing wipes, paper towels and similar products clogs sewer pipes, causing backups and risking creating a new public health risk.
  
  

VIRTUAL LOBBYING

What do you do when you want to engage your lawmaker in the era of social distancing and self-quarantines?

Gun violence prevention group Moms Demand Action - California used social media, including Twitter to reach out to California lawmakers. More than 700 California volunteers, including 110 survivors of gun violence, participated in the advocacy day, according to Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts.

Volunteers were lobbying on behalf of expanding the budget for the California Violence Intervention and Preventon Grant Program, or CalVIP, which funds grants to cities and community-based organizations “to support evidence-based violence reduction initiatives,” according to the Board of State and Community Corrections, which administers the program.

Last year, the state appropriated $30 million to the CalVIP program, Moms Demand Action - California wants to see that number raised to $39 million.

Lawmakers heard from people like Mia Livas Porter, a Moms Demand volunteer and gun violence survivor whose brother died by gun suicide.

“I still wonder if he’d be alive without easy access to a gun,” Porter said in a video posted to Twitter.

Moms Demand Action volunteers held 16 virtual meetings with California lawmakers and their staff, according to a statement from the group.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“We cannot wait for major emergencies to force local elections officials to offer new ways for voters to vote, especially at the last minute. It’s time for national no-excuse vote-by-mail options for every eligible voter.”

- Secretary of State Alex Padilla, via Twitter.

Best of the Bee:

• Sacramento teacher who died of coronavirus was member of church with at least 4 other cases, via Sam Stanton

• Caltrans suspended most roadside homeless camp cleanups on Monday, citing risks from coronavirus, via Wes Venteicher.

• Lime, the shareable bike and e-scooter company, announced Tuesday it is suspending service effective immediately in five of its markets that are most heavily impacted by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, including California, where its heaviest presence in the Bay Area, via Michael McGough.

This story was originally published March 18, 2020 at 4:55 AM.