COVID-19 Roundup: Paycheck Protection Program Fraud; Lake Merritt Parties Elevate Concern; Muni Driver Assaulted For Enforcing Masks
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- The tsunami of news about the current coronavirus outbreak and now the reopenings can be overwhelming. To help you navigate through what you need to know here's a news roundup of the top coronavirus and reopening-related stories from the last 24 hours.
KPIX Investigation Reveals Paycheck Protection Program Is Vulnerable To Fraud
SAN JOSE -- The national Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has loaned half a trillion dollars to thousands of small businesses and some bigger ones since the start of the pandemic. There's still more than a billion dollars left to hand out. So what does it take to qualify? KPIX 5 discovered that, for some applicants, not much. We got a tip from a viewer about suspicious activity involving some large PPP loans, so we decided to check it out. Lebnitz Tran's businesses just got over a million dollars thanks to the program. He registered four companies with the state in May and one month later received large PPP loans for each one of them. The four companies - 88 Cloud Computing LLC, 88 Enterprise Services LLC, 88 Investment Empire LLC and 88 Venture Capital LLC - are on the Small Business Administration's list of companies that received PPP loans. Each received between $350,000 and $1 million in loans within the span of a week in June. Read More
Valencia Street in SF Mission District Goes Car-Free
SAN FRANCISCO -- A car-free Valencia Street between 16th and 17th and between 18th and 19th energized a neighborhood hit hard by the pandemic. "It makes complete sense to have certain streets shut down thorughout the city to allow for certain businesses to be able to social distance," said Patrick Du of San Francisco. Several restaurants in the Mission are hoping the closed-off blocks will give them a much-needed boost. "It almost feels like ... a European feel, where everything is on the outside -- dining and drinking and having a great time," said Philip Angulo of San Francisco. "It includes families, kids, all those mothers and grandparents and all that good stuff." Read More
2 State Prison Inmates, 1 From San Quentin, Die From Suspected COVID-19 Complications
SACRAMENTO -- Two more California state prisoners died Friday from what appear to be complications of the coronavirus, corrections officials said. An inmate from San Quentin State Prison near San Francisco and another from Avenal State Prison in Kings County died at outside hospitals, according to a statement from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The state prison system has been struggling with major outbreaks of COVID-19 at its facilities. There have been more than 7,500 cases among inmates, including nearly 2,000 that are considered active cases of infection. Forty-four inmates have died, according to state figures. Nearly 900 employees have active cases, authorities said. Read More
Chinese Hospital Test,Track & Trace Program Stops COVID-19 Outbreak At Chinatown SRO
SAN FRANCISCO -- A new COVID-19 testing and tracking program is underway to prevent outbreaks in one of San Francisco's most vulnerable communities. In Chinatown at a single room occupancy hotel, or SRO, on Waverly Place, two or three people live in a tiny, 10-by-14 foot space. They share narrow hallways, kitchens, and bathrooms. Although building owner Ding Lee renovated to add extra showers and bathrooms, social distancing is still a challenge for some tenants like Jie Yao Zhu. "I'm a little concerned given how many people are living in the same building," she said through a translator. Read More
Skyrockting COVID-19 Cases In Oakland Traced To Large Parties, Gatherings At Lake Merritt
OAKLAND -- East Oakland residents are being urged to avoid social gatherings because they are leading to a surge in COVID-19 cases. On Friday, public health officials warn the number of positive COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing there partly due to the large parties and gatherings at Lake Merritt. The surge has been directly related to parties and social gatherings, and of specific concern are large gatherings at Lake Merritt, according to the leaders citing data released this week by Roots Community Health Center, which is based in East Oakland. The health center reported in July that 40 percent of the positive cases in Oakland were due to large gatherings and parties. They pointed to the numbers in four zip codes representing East Oakland are some of the highest per 100,000 residents in the region. Read More
Dodgers Wallop Giants in 2nd Outing of Abbreviated COVID-19 Season
LOS ANGELES -- Max Muncy homered twice and doubled, Ross Stripling pitched seven neat innings and the Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Francisco Giants 9-1 on Friday night. A day after beating the Giants 8-1 on opening day, the NL West champion Dodgers scored in every inning except the third and outhit the Giants 13-4. NL MVP Cody Bellinger raised his arms as if encouraging the fake crowd cheers when the game ended. Mookie Betts notched his first RBI for Los Angeles in going 1 for 6. He went 1 for 5 in the opener, having signed a 12-year, $365 million contract the previous day. Muncy hit solo shots in the first off Tyler Anderson and in the sixth off Kevin Gausman. He and Justin Turner doubled back-to-back in the fourth. Read More
A's Slam Angels in 1st MLB Game With New Extra-Inning Rule
OAKLAND -- In the first major league game with the new, unpopular extra-inning rule, automatic runner Marcus Semien began the bottom of the 10th on second base and scored on Matt Olson's grand slam, sending the Oakland Athletics over the Los Angeles Angels 7-3 Friday night. Olson, whose alert throw from first base nailed Angels free runner Shohei Ohtani in the top of the 10th, connected with one out. The A's gathered around home plate to greet him on opening night. Major League Baseball instituted the controversial extra-inning runner rule for this season to keep games from dragging on amid a compressed, 60-game schedule that started late because of the virus outbreak. Read More
San Jose Mayor San Liccardo Refutes Trump Administration COVID-19 Criticism
SAN JOSE -- Mayor San Liccardo took to national media Friday, questioning why San Jose was singled out in an assessment by one of the leaders of the White House COVID-19 task force. On Wednesday, White House coronavirus task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx privately told a group of state and local health officials Wednesday about a concerning rise in coronavirus cases in 12 U.S. cities, including San Jose. Her comments led Liccardo to refute the doctor's statement, while allowing that the city still had room for improvement. "I won't speculate why the White House selected the cities that it did, as hundreds of US cities have higher rates of transmission, hospitalization, and death than does San Jose," he said in a prepared statement. Read More
Family And Friends Pay Tribute To Alameda County Deputy Who Died From COVID Complications
DANVILLE -- Family and friends of an Alameda County sheriff's deputy who died from coronavirus complications less than 24 hours ago on Friday were remembering the law enforcement officer as a remarkable individual. The department confirmed that 57-year-old Senior Deputy Oscar Rocha died just before 7 p.m. Thursday evening after being removed from life support at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek. Friends described him as a man of integrity, honor and loyalty. His wife Maureen Ennor Rocha was at his side. "I got to sit with him a little bit longer and then…when they took everything out," remembered Rocha. "I went in and sat with him and I put his badge in his hand, so that he could die with is badge in is hand." Read More
San Francisco Muni Driver Assaulted With Bat After Asking Passengers To Put On COVID-19 Masks
SAN FRANCISCO -- A San Francisco Muni bus operator was recovering Friday from injuries suffered when three passengers who refused to put on masks attacked the driver with a bat before fleeing, authorities said. The incident took place after three young men boarded the bus at 11th and Division St. near the Potrero Hill neighborhood. They were not wearing masks as required by San Francisco's COVID-19 health order. Several times, the driver told the three they needed to put on face coverings if they wanted to remain on the bus. Investigators said when the driver told them to get off the bus, one of the young men pulled out a bat and began battering the driver. The three then fled the scene. Read More
Newsom Announces Effort To Expand Protections For Essential Workers
SACRAMENTO -- California Governor Gavin Newsom announced new efforts Friday to protect essential workers, especially Latino workers who have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Newsom noted that most of the essential workers in different economic sectors, especially in agriculture and construction, are Latino who the state Department of Public Health says make up 55 percent of the state's confirmed COVID-19 cases despite being just 39 percent of the population. The additional worker safeguards involve preventative measures for essential workers, new employer education resources and measures to ensure long-lasting protections for workers who are sick or have been exposed. Some of Newsom's proposals will require lawmakers to pass legislation to expand on current measures already in place. Read More
'Hit The Reset Button' - Some UC Medical Experts Urge 2nd Shutdown To Contain COVID-19 Surge
SAN FRANCISCO -- Medical experts, including several at UCSF and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, have signed a letter urging political leaders to shut down the country again to contain the new surge in COVID-19 cases. The letter, drafted by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and co-signed by more than 100 health professionals across the country, urged the Trump Administration, Congress and governors to "hit the reset button." Earlier this week, the country reached the grim milestone of 4 million cases and more than 144,000 deaths from the coronavirus pandemic. Read More
Virtual Tom Hanks To Hawk Hot Dogs To Cutout Oakland A's Fans
OAKLAND -- In the virtual world of COVID-19 Major League Baseball, there will be a celebrity sighting in the stands at Oakland's RingCentral Coliseum for Friday night's opener between the A's and the Anaheim Angels. A cutout of Tom Hanks dressed in the concessionaire's outfit he wore decades ago when he hawked $6 hot dogs in the coliseum stands will be among the sea of virtual fans images. Hanks, a Bay Area native, got his first job selling concessions to fans in his late teens. The A's said Friday that they plan to play audio recordings during games of Hanks hawking peanuts, hot dogs, programs and other ballpark fare along with traditional stadium sounds of cheering fans, drums, vuvuzelas and chants of "let's go Oakland." Read More
Sonoma Supes Consider Fines Up To $10,000 Over Non-Compliance With COVID-19 Measures
SANTA ROSA -- In a Sonoma County Board of Supervisors meeting Thursday, county officials discussed a proposed program that would involve giving out fines to residents for not complying with COVID-19 safety measures. The board will vote Aug. 6 on whether to adopt the program that would entail stricter compliance efforts, with fines potentially ranging up to $10,000 for commercial incidents. The ranges have not been decided completely and will continue being discussed at the meeting next month. The Board of Supervisors supported the idea of using a sliding scale for the fines, with a flat fee of $100 for non-commercial incidents and $1,000 for commercial incidents. According to Deputy County Counsel Debbie Latham, the criteria used for determining the sliding scale will most likely come from the code of enforcement for land use violations that businesses must already follow. Read More
San Francisco's Ferry Building Reclassified As Transit Hub, Restaurants, Shops Allowed To Reopen
SAN FRANCISCO -- San Francisco's iconic Ferry Building has been reclassified from an indoor shopping area to a transit hub allowing its shops and restaurants. San Francisco currently is on the state COVID-19 Watchlist and has been forced to rollback several reopenings including large indoor shopping areas like malls and the Ferry Building. All the shops and restaurants that were serving food to go and at outside tables were ordered to close early this week. But on Thursday, ferry building officials said they had received a reprieve from the state. "The Ferry Building has been notified that the state of California reclassified the building as a transport terminal, rather than an indoor shopping mall," officials said in a release. Read More
San Francisco Schools Developing 'Learning Hubs' For Remote Teaching
SAN FRANCISCO -- Mayor London Breed has announced that the city will create 'learning hubs' to support up to 6,000 disadvantaged students when San Francisco schools reopen for the fall with distance learning. The hubs, at 40 sites across the city, are set to open Sept. 14 and will be managed by the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families. Possible locations include libraries, recreation and cultural centers and several community-based organizations, pending state approval, Breed's office said.The hubs aim to provide in-person support for low-income students, foster youth and those in English Language Learners classes. "Many young people in San Francisco are struggling with being away from their friends and the support systems they have outside of their homes, and some students don't have the space or resources to successfully participate in distance learning from home," Breed said in a statement. Read More