January 12, 2022 Media Brief
Orange County
OC Register: Coronavirus: Orange County surpasses 400,000 total cases with more than 1,000 hospitalizations, Jan. 11
Another 49 people with confirmed COVID-19 cases were reported in Orange County hospitals on Tuesday, bringing the total number of hospitalizations to 1,013 with 159 patients in intensive care units. The county reported three more deaths as of Tuesday, increasing the count of those who have died from the virus in Orange County to 5,911.
Voice of OC: Some OC school districts have hundreds of confirmed COVID-19 cases after winter break
On Tuesday night, Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District trustees were supposed to consider a resolution against the state vaccine mandate for in-person attendance but ended up adjourning their meeting within minutes after some members of the public refused to wear a mask.
Voice of OC: Demand for OC senior programs surges during COVID-19 pointing to a bigger problem ahead
“The County Office on Aging programs have seen a 30-50 percent increase in demand compared to pre-pandemic levels, particularly with senior nutrition,” said county spokesperson Molly Nichelson in a written response that month.
OC Register: Work on freeways, OC streetcar project will take shape in 2022
Construction should ramp up on the 405 improvement project – entering its last full year before completion – and crews will continue making headway on the last two-thirds of work to be done on the 5 Freeway widening between the 73 and El Toro Road.
OC Register: Plan for cleaner, costlier electricity approved for 4 OC cities
Tens of thousands of Orange County homes are expected to pay about 4% more for electricity in exchange for accelerating the state — and global — push toward 100% clean energy, according to a rate plan approved Tuesday, Jan. 11, by the Orange County Power Authority.
Labor
Chicago Tribune: Chicago Teachers Union vote clears way for in-person classes to resume Wednesday
A proposal for Chicago Public Schools to resume in-person classes Wednesday has been approved by the Chicago Teachers Union’s House of Delegates following a contentious weeklong standoff.
Califorina
OC Register: Gasoline tax ‘holiday’ proposed for California as inflation hits
Under Governor Newsom’s proposal, the state would delay an annual inflation-indexed increase in the fuel tax that was set for July 1. The annual adjustment would resume next fiscal year, though he said he’d consider delaying it again should economic conditions warrant it.
OC Register: How Newsom’s proposed budget will help LA, Long Beach ports shore up supply chain, reduce pollution
If enacted, those billions of state dollars, coupled with already announced and future infusions of cash from the federal government, would help modernize California's ports.
Nation
OC Register: US inflation soared 7% in past year, the most since 1982
Inflation jumped at its fastest pace in nearly 40 years last month, a 7% spike from a year earlier that is increasing household expenses, eating into wage gains and heaping pressure on President Joe Biden and the Federal Reserve to address what has become the biggest threat to the U.S. economy.
Publication Date: January 12, 2022
