News you don’t want to miss for May 28:
1. El Dorado County, which includes Lake Tahoe, removed its covid-19 travel ban, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. But the move doesn’t mean it wants travelers and vacationers to come visit just yet. $$
2. Amid an expected $54 billion budget deficit, Gov. Gavin Newsom has one proposal that is sure to make progressives very happy. Newsom hopes to save $400 million a year by closing two state prisons within the next three years, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. $$
3. Meanwhile, California state senators are proposing the state balance its budget by using more reserve funds than Newsom proposed earlier this month, the Associated Press reports. Senate Democrats also want to hold $9 billion in payments to school districts for one year.
4. BART’s effort to instill confidence in the transit system during the pandemic includes new social distancing rules on trains, SFGate reports. “BART will run long trains throughout the day to allow riders to spread out. Transit officials say that with no more than 30 people in a car, physical distancing of 6 feet can be preserved. With 60 people in a car, a 3-foot distance can be maintained.”
5. A covid-19 outbreak infected 12 employees at the Cardenas Markets on Fruitvale Avenue in Oakland, the East Bay Times reports. $$
6. According to a statistical model created by the Center for Disease Control, Alameda County will have 164 covid-19 deaths by Sept. 1, the East Bay Times reports. As of Thursday, the county has suffered 94 deaths. $$
7. Oakland elevated City Clerk Latonda Simmons to assistant city administrator, the city announced Wednesday night. Known for promoting greater public accessibility to City Hall, Simmons may also be the most popular person in Oakland, as this 2015 profile in Oakland Magazine suggests.
$$ = Stories you may have to pay to read.
