Bay Briefing: A ‘very difficult and dangerous time’ - San Francisco Chronicle

simpanta.blogspot.com

Good morning, Bay Area. It’s Thursday, Dec. 24, and burglaries are spiking in some parts of San Francisco. Here’s what you need to know to start your day.

California passes 2 million coronavirus milestone

California on Wednesday hit 2 million coronavirus cases since the pandemic’s start, while the state’s intensive care capacity was nearly maxed out and public health officials repeated their pleas to cancel holiday gatherings.

Just 1.1% of intensive care beds in California were available Wednesday, and the Bay Area’s availability fell to 11.4%, the lowest level since the state began reporting daily capacity on Dec. 3. Both Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley were over capacity for the sixth straight day.

Dr. Sara Cody, the Santa Clara County health officer, said 35 intensive care beds were available for the entire county, and eight out of 10 hospitals had fewer than five ICU beds left. “We are facing a very, very difficult and dangerous time in our county,” she said. “All of our numbers are going in the wrong direction.”

• Charts compare coronavirus crisis in each Bay Area county as holidays begin.

• Sonoma County warns about New Year’s Eve party for 4,000 at tribal casino.

• Coronavirus outbreak infects 20% at East Bay women’s prison.

Antibody treatments going unused

Lab techs at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals work on antibody drugs to treat COVID-19.

The much-touted monoclonal antibody treatments that helped President Trump and several members of his administration recover from the coronavirus are sitting idle in many Bay Area hospitals because of staffing, regulatory and logistical problems.

Some hospitals are not using their allotments of the drugs, produced by Regeneron and Eli Lilly, and physicians say supplies are sitting in storage untouched despite an unprecedented surge in COVID-19 cases in the Bay Area and across California.

‘Cops can’t do this by themselves’

Mark Deitrich covers the mail slot on his garage door to prevent burglars from seeing inside.

Amid a rash of brazen burglaries this year, some San Francisco residents are adopting a siege mentality. Burglaries citywide are up by 47% year-over-year, jumping from 4,827 reported incidents a year ago to 7,084 in 2020.

Areas overseen by the San Francisco Police Department’s Richmond, Northern and Park stations are posting some of the biggest spikes. “It’s just heartbreaking — every single day, there’s probably two to four break-ins a night,” said Mark Deitrich, a resident of the Richmond who is trying to raise community awareness.

As Megan Cassidy reports, no one’s sure what’s propelling the rise, but police and residents suspect the coronavirus pandemic may be playing a role.

A boom year for oil permits

Wells operate at a drilling site on Deer Valley Road in Antioch.

In the same year Gov. Gavin Newsom declared that California faced a “climate damn emergency” with wildfires, his administration approved far more permits to let companies drill new oil and gas wells. California approved 1,646 drill permits in the first nine months of 2020 — a 137% increase over the same period last year, according to government data.

Environmentalists say the increase reveals a disconnect between Newsom’s rhetoric and a lack of strong policies to confront climate change, which many experts believe contributed to a record-setting wildfire year in California.

Around the Bay

• “This just isn’t the time to take a vacation”: Tahoe-area officials urge Airbnb to help halt rentals during coronavirus shutdown.

• The scene at the mall: Last-minute Bay Area holiday shoppers face coronavirus risks.

• Political plans: Alex Padilla and Shirley Weber, promoted to new jobs by Newsom, say they’ll run in 2022.

• Changing hands again: Historic Napa winery Stony Hill sold to Arkansas billionaire, with a star winemaker taking the helm.

• Welcome reprieve: Golden Gate Transit workers spared from layoffs for now in anticipation of coronavirus relief funds.

• On the table: S.F. proposes $1.9 million in relief for Chinatown restaurants.

• Flareup over dining pods: An S.F. bar says it was vandalized. A homelessness expert cries foul.

• “You are less than a man”: Michaela Garecht’s mother reacts to suspect’s arrest in 1988 Hayward kidnapping.

• From Justin Phillips: Seeing Black Santas shaped my worldview. We need more of them.

A year without the ‘Nutcracker’

‘The Nutcracker’ on video just won’t be the same for some.

The “Nutcracker” has been a holiday tradition across the U.S. for almost eight decades, but San Francisco has a special historic connection to the work. In 1944 the San Francisco Ballet mounted the first full-length American production of the “Nutcracker.” Since then, it’s been a pillar of the company’s holiday season.

The ballet is streaming a recorded performance this year because of the coronavirus pandemic’s restrictions on live performances. But for die-hard fans like Jeanne Rose, who hasn’t missed a show for 52 years, it’s a difficult adjustment.

“I just can’t watch the ballet on a 3-inch screen on my phone, and my computer I associate with work,” says Rose, who hasn’t decided whether she’ll watch. “It won’t be the same on video.”