THOMAS D. ELIAS
The late March deadline for approving a new ethnic studies program for California public schools is almost here, and one thing remains clear: This project is still a work in progress, needing much more work before it becomes something that will not insult large groups of Californians and stir even more divisions than todayâs.
Yes, there have been improvements. So much so that many who contributed to the original draft of the program that was soundly rejected two years ago are now asking to have their names erased from the final version, whatever it eventually looks like.
THOMAS D. ELIAS
Within days, or a couple of weeks at the most, Californians will know whether their state Supreme Court will respect their views on a key aspect of criminal justice, or whether their ideas on what is right and just will be ignored.
Only a few months ago, voters opted by almost a 57-43 percent margin to reject Proposition 25 and along with it a law passed in 2019 that would have ended cash bail virtually everywhere in this state.
Instead, judges would have been forced to grant pretrial release for criminal defendants regardless of how serious their offense so long as even one judge deemed them unlikely to flee or commit more violent acts.
THOMAS D. ELIAS
There was a wide sense of relief when Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the other day that people aged 16 to 65 who suffer from certain severe underlying health conditions will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations starting on the Ides of March.
Starting March 15, if youâre in a wheelchair, on a walker, need oxygen, take immune-suppressing anti-rejection drugs to preserve an organ transplant, suffer from coronary artery disease or heart failure or deal with chronic kidney or lung disease â you can sign up to get either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines shot in your arm.
State health officials estimate this will add between 4 million and 6 million folks to the list of those eligible for shots â between 10 percent and 15 percent of all Californians. Overall, about half the populace will then be entitled to inoculations.
Thomas D Elias: Criminals or victims: Who should justice serve? napavalleyregister.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from napavalleyregister.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
THOMAS D. ELIAS
Everything went smoothly the other day at a mass vaccination center in the parking lot outside The Forum, the Inglewood arena kitty-corner from modernist SoFi Stadium, new home of the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers football teams.
Lines of cars were long but manageable as they moved slowly and steadily. Nurses checked on the newly vaccinated recipients of first doses of Pfizer BioNTech inoculations against the dread COVID-19 virus, found to be at least partly effective on every mutation yet discovered. Folks were free to go after a 15-minute waiting period to assure they were having no immediate serious side effects.