Newsom wants to reopen public schools; Kristin Smart murder case update

Plus: African bush viper bites San Diego Zoo worker; Visalia to proudly showcase its woodies

I’m Winston Gieseke, philanthropy and particular sections editor for The Desert Sun in Palm Springs, bringing you the day’s key headlines on this windy Wednesday.

In California brings you high Golden State tales and commentary from throughout the USA TODAY Network and past. Get it free, straight to your inbox.

Newsom wants to reopen public colleges, however districts, lecturers and oldsters resist

Gov. Gavin Newsom mentioned Wednesday that all California schools should reopen when the new academic year begins next fall.  His frustration was evident: “Money is not an object now. It’s an excuse,” he said. “I want all schools to reopen. I’ve been crystal clear about that.”

Newsom spoke at an elementary school in Santa Rosa that began welcoming students back this week. But his wishes remain an expectation rather than a mandate in California’s decentralized education system, where 1,200 school districts negotiate separately with teachers unions and ultimately govern themselves.

Facing political pressure and a recall effort, Newsom has said he plans to lift most of California’s coronavirus restrictions on June 15 as part of reopening the state to business as usual. Earlier this month, he made a similar pronouncement, but many districts and teachers remain reluctant.

Newsom has repeatedly said he sees no barriers to getting the state’s 6.2 million public school students back into classrooms now, as California’s COVID-19 infections continue to drop and more residents are being vaccinated.

“If present traits and finest practices proceed, the following faculty 12 months can start with providing full in-person instruction to all college students,” the California Department of Health said in a presentation Wednesday that focused on school reopening. It specified that schools should plan to offer full days of instruction, five days a week.

‘How is this OK?’: Meanwhile, pissed off dad and mom all through the state, say that whereas college students could also be permitted to return to faculty in individual, more than half will stick with distance learning.

Associated Press reports that Kira Gaber said she’s been told to send her kindergartner back to his San Francisco classroom with a laptop and headphones — while his teacher works online from home. “How is this OK? This is completely not in-person learning,” said Gaber, who doesn’t plan to send her son to class with a computer. “I’m going to send him with worksheets and a coloring book.”

Frustrated parents in San Francisco have even coined a new phrase for their latest classroom reality: “Zoom in a Room.”

As vaccine eligibility expands, a flux in supply and demand

As extra California counties open up vaccines to youthful adults — tomorrow the state opens eligibility to everybody 16 and up — California public health officials warned of decreases in supply, the results of a nationwide discount of the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The state has received about 2.4 million doses this week, and it expects 2 million next week and 1.9 million the week after. This is in addition to vaccines shipped directly to pharmacies and community health centers from the federal government.

This week, availability remains mixed, with some places reporting an excess of open appointments. Humboldt County in Northern California, for example, urged residents to make an appointment, saying that “hundreds of doses” were available through the weekend. 

Similarly, a mass vaccination site at California State University, Los Angeles, announced it would take adults on a walk-up basis because of excess appointments. But by late Tuesday morning, the site was turning people away because of demand.

Here’s what we know a day after Paul Flores’ arrest in Kristin Smart’s disappearance

Paul Flores will face first-degree murder charges in the 1996 disappearance of Stockton college student Kristin Smart, authorities say.

Police said they believed that Flores, now 44, had been attempting to rape Smart, his fellow Cal Poly student, when she was killed inside his dorm room. His father, 80-year-old Ruben Flores, is charged with accessory to murder after the fact for helping to conceal Kristin’s body.

Both men were arrested Tuesday morning. The arraignment is set for Thursday.

“We’ve got physical evidence, we have witness statements, things that in our view in the totality bring us to the point where we believe we can go forward and prosecute Paul Flores for the murder of Kristin Smart,” San Luis Obispo County District Attorney Dan Dow said during a press conference Wednesday.

Smart’s body has yet to be found, but authorities received evidence in the last month regarding a possible location where she was taken, Dow said. He also did not rule out a plea deal with Paul Flores in exchange for information leading to Smart’s remains.

African bush viper bites San Diego Zoo employee; no antivenom known

A venomous snake bit an worker on the San Diego Zoo Monday, in accordance to zoo officers. A spokesperson for the zoo mentioned the wildlife care specialist was immediately transported to a hospital for evaluation and treatment.

“Although the San Diego Zoo cares for a number of venomous reptiles, incidents like this are very rare, and the snake was contained at all times with no risk of an escape,” the zoo said in a statement.

The snake involved is an African bush viper, also known as Atheris squamigera. Native to parts of western and central Africa, their venom can cause fever, hemorrhaging and possibly death in humans, according to the University of Michigan’s Museum of Zoology website.

While there isn’t a identified antivenom for an African bush viper’s venom, per the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, New York, sufferers could be handled for his or her bites utilizing antivenom created for different snakes’ venom.

Visalia to proudly show off its woodies

And finally, if you’re a fan of woodies — those vintage cars with their signature wooden frames that evoke images of surfers transporting their boards to and from the beach — you are in for a rare privilege.

The Central Valley Woodie Club will be sponsoring its 15th annual Woodies in the Valley, an all-woodies car show, Friday and Saturday in Visalia. A sampling of the autos from 1928 to 1951, together with unique, restored and full hot-rod woodies, will probably be on show.

For extra information on the occasion, go to valleywoodies.com or contact Wayne Yada, president of the Central Valley Woodie Club, at (559) 967-1357 or info@valleywoodies.com.

In California is a roundup of news from across USA Today network newsrooms. Also contributing: Associated Press. We’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow with the latest headlines.

As the philanthropy and special sections editor at The Desert Sun, Winston Gieseke writes about nonprofits, fundraising and people who give back in the Coachella Valley. Reach him at winston.gieseke@desertsun.com.

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