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96-year-old grandmother, Julia Rodriguez. She was living in Sunshine Mobile Village. Last we heard she was evacuating on Wednesday but haven’t heard from her. She doesn’t have a cell phone. Any advice? We are very worried and live in NY.”

Miami native Tony Jankowski, who moved to Port Charlotte in 2015, works at the Gasparilla Marina in the town of Placida, where they lost 60 of 800 boats in the hurricane and suffered considerable damage. He said the mobile home park next to the marina was completely leveled, some of the trailers landed in the marina, and most of the residents there were retirees on fixed incomes.

Jankowski said he is concerned that people in that area are “in panic mode,” especially recent transplants who had never experienced a hurricane.

“Back with Andrew, we had been through hurricanes before, so we knew what we had to do to prepare, and we knew to be patient after,” he said. “Over here on the West Coast, the best way to explain it is there are a lot of Northerners, snowbirds. A lot of people who moved here recently since COVID, who used to live in Michigan, Chicago, Minnesota, they have moved here full time, made this their home, and this is their first hurricane so they’re panicking.

“Remember Andrew, we couldn’t get anything or get to stores for two or three weeks. I drove up to Fort Lauderdale to go get stuff and then drove back to Miami. Here, you have so many people that this is so new to them that they’re in a panic mode.”

Jankowski, whose house is still without electricity, said he had just returned from Publix, where he got a quarterpound of four different deli meats. The man in front of him ordered 3 pounds of each meat. He said cars lined up for more than two miles along Veterans Way to get into a Home Depot.

“People are pulling up into gas stations, the ones that have power to pump, they’re filling up their cars and also filling not just a carrying container but giant containers that fit in the back of their trucks and they’re filling those up with 200 gallons of gas,” Jankowski said. “I’m thinking, ‘What are you doing? Try to save some for the rest of the people.’ That’s where you see the panic. People think this isn’t going to end, they’re going to be without lights for months. We’re already getting lights back in some areas, but people are scared.”

The Florida District Medical Examiners, which reports hurricane deaths to the Medical Examiners Commission (MEC) following autopsy to confirm the death is storm-related, reported 44 deaths attributed to Hurricane Ian as of Saturday night. Thirty of those were in Lee County. Combining tallies from the MEC with other deaths reported by sheriff offices on Saturday, Hurricane Ian has killed 71 people.

President Joe Biden will visit Florida on Wednesday to witness the damage caused by Hurricane Ian, the White House announced Saturday night. The president will first go to Puerto Rico on Monday to view the devastation from Hurricane Fiona two weeks ago.

The White House did not release exactly where Biden will go in Florida or who he will meet with during his visit. The president has approved a Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster declaration for areas hit by the storm, including enhanced individual assistance for residents in 13 counties.

FEMA announced it had sent 1.6 million liters of water to Florida and promised another 6.6 million liters in the coming days. They also are providing 5.5 million meals, more than 400 ambulances and four aircraft to evacuate people from nursing homes and other facilities. Also, the agency said: n Power restoration continues across Florida. Nearly 70% of peak power outages have been restored and fewer than 800,000 power outages remain. n The state of Florida provided 4,000 gallons of diesel to Lee County to power emergency generators to supply water to nearby hospitals. The state is also delivering 1.2 million gallons of water from Lakeland to Fort Myers for hospitals without water. n More than 550 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers personnel are conducting safety inspections, installing generators and assessing power needs.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell, speaking on CBS’ “Face the Nation” Sunday morning, praised power companies for their work thus far

Putin

From Page One

Regional officials have suggested that after Lyman, Kyiv’s army will push toward Kreminna, about 20 miles to the east.

“It is important to capture the area that opens up the way to liberate Donbas settlements – Svatove, Kreminna, Sievierodonetsk and others,” Serhiy Cherevaty, a spokesman for Ukraine’s armed forces, said on Saturday.

Russia’s previous defeat — its troops retreated from a chunk of Kharkiv province in September – was thought to be the motivation for Putin’s partial mobilization of 300,000 reservists. Moscow’s forces have also suffered heavy casualties in the seven-month war, although exactly how many is unclear.

Since the call-up, hundreds of thousands of draft-age Russian men are believed to have left for Kazakhstan, Georgia and other locations. Videos have surfaced of mayhem among those who’ve been conscripted.

Partly for that reason, the additional reservists are seen as unlikely to turn the tide for Putin.

“The Ukrainians fight with purpose, have better leadership and have a learning culture that underpins adaptation,” said Mick Ryan, a retired Australian army general who tweets about military strategy.

California Lottery | Sunday

Fantasy 5 Numbers picked

Match all five for top prize. Match at least three for other prizes. 7, 8, 21, 37, 38

Daily 4 Numbers picked 2, 5, 6, 1 Daily Derby 1st place 9, Winning Spirit 2nd place 1, Gold Rush 3rd place 5, California Classic Race time 1:45.34 August declined to take a position.

Why it matters

Supporters say few low-income workers can afford the 30% to 40% pay cut to take time off for a disability or to care for a new child or sick family member. From 2017 to 2019, leave claims by workers making less than $20,000 a year declined while they rose for all other workers — increasing the most for those making $100,000 and above, according to the Employment Development Department. And under current law, lower-earning workers contribute a greater share of their paychecks to the program than higher earners because of the cap on taxing incomes above $145,600. More immediately, without this bill the current amount of benefits is set to expire and would return to 55% of a worker’s wages in January.

Governor’s call

Newsom signed the bill on Sept. 30, the last day of his decisions.

Limiting enforcement of jaywalking

What the bill would do

AB 2147, The Freedom to Walk Act, would allow law enforcement officers to stop a pedestrian for jaywalking only when “a reasonably careful person would realize there is an immediate danger of a collision.” The Legislature passed, but Newsom vetoed, a similar bill last year that would have repealed the state’s jaywalking laws and prohibited fines until Jan. 1, 2029.

Assemblymember Phil Ting, a San Francisco Democrat and the bill’s author, is hopeful this version of the legislation meets Newsom’s objections.

Who supports it

The California Bicycle Coalition, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area and other groups say the bill will prevent racially biased enforcement while still keeping pedestrians safe.

Who is opposed

The California District Attorneys Association and other groups say the bill will endanger pedestrians and unnecessarily tie the hands of law enforcement.

Why it matters

Last year, pedestrian fatalities in the U.S. hit a four-decade high, and California recorded the highest number of any state. At the same time, local law enforcement agencies in California write thousands of jaywalking tickets every year, which studies find disproportionately impact people of color.

Governors call

Newsom signed the bill on Sept. 30 among his final decisions.

Disciplinary action for Covid disinformation

What the bill would do

AB 2098 would make it easier for the Medical Board of California to punish doctors who deliberately spread false information about Covid-19, vaccines and treatments. The bill, authored by Cupertino Democrat Evan Low, would classify disinformation as “unprofessional conduct,” allowing the board to take action. Discipline could include a public reprimand, probation, suspension, or license revocation.

Who supports it

The bill is supported by doctor groups including the California Medical Association, the California chapters of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Emergency Physicians. The groups argue that Covid disinformation is dangerous and undermines public health efforts.

Who is opposed

Some individual doctors and groups like A Voice for Choice Advocacy argue that the bill infringes on doctors’ free speech and that physicians should be allowed to share their professional opinions without fear of repercussions.

Why it matters

The Covid-19 pandemic is ongoing and the virus has killed more than 94,000 people in California. Covid disinformation has been linked to vaccine hesitancy and in some cases has popularized unproven treatments. Since early in the pandemic, California has dealt with its share of doctors who have made false claims about the virus. Disinformation can have serious consequences. For example, last year the nations’ poison control centers saw a spike in calls after people reported taking ivermectin, an anti-parasite drug for animals, to cure Covid-19 after being persuaded by false information shared by influential people on the internet.

Governor’s call

Newsom signed the bill on Sept. 30, among his final decisions. In a signing statement, he sought to make clear that the measure “does not apply to any speech outside of discussions directly related to C0vid-19 treatment within a direct physician patient relationship.”

“I am signing this bill because it is narrowly tailored to apply only to those egregious instances in which a licensee is acting with malicious intent or clearly deviating from the required standard of care while interacting directly with a patient under their care,” he added.

Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic file College administrators celebrated graduates in a drivethru ceremony in May. AB 1705 would have California Community Colleges, like Solano, offer fewer remedial courses.

Robinson Kuntz/Daily Republic file (2015) California State Prison, Solano inmate audience members clap at the conclusion of Macbeth in May. AB 2632 to limit solitary confinement was vetoed by Gov. Newsom.

Fewer remedial courses at community college

What the bill would do

Assembly Bill 1705 continues California’s efforts to ensure more community college students enroll in classes required to transfer to a UC or Cal Statecampus. The bill, by Democratic Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin of Camarillo, would order community colleges to enroll most students in a transferlevel math and English course if their program requires those subjects. It would exempt shortterm credentials that have industry-specific math requirementsand adult programs that don’t require a math or English course (think: basic office software or fire-resilient landscaping), among other carve-outs.

Who supports it

Pretty much everyone but faculty. The bill received not a single dissenting vote from lawmakers. Its champions include the Chancellor’s Office of the California Community Colleges system, Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, various think tanks and a few individual community colleges.

Who is opposed

Faculty unions, associations and the academic senate, plus Mt. San Antonio College, who fault it for being too prescriptive. Faculty groups also say the bill comes with no additional funding to hire more tutors who work alongside faculty to help students during class and give faculty more training.

Why it matters

Until a few years ago, most community college students had to take remedial math and English. For many, their goal was to eventually transfer, so remedial courses were a key hurdle. Over time research chipped away at that logic: Students with high school grades who enrolled directly into transfer-level math and English courses were likelier to pass the courses in a year than if they took a remedial class first. Following a 2017 change in the law, most students started taking gateway courses to eventually get into a UC or CSU, but still thousands – 20% of firsttime students – continue to take these remedial courses. In almost all cases, campuses couldn’t justify their policy of requiring that.

Governor’s call

Newsom signed the bill and several other higher education proposals on Sept. 30, his last day to act.

Limiting solitary confinement

What would it do

Assembly Bill 2632 from Democratic Assemblymember Chris Holden of Pasadena would overhaul how California prisons treat inmates in solitary confinement. They would no longer be held in solitary for longer than 15 consecutive days, or 45 days in a 180-day period. The bill would also prohibit the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation from putting certain groups in solitary confinement, including inmates younger than 26 or older than 59, pregnant people or those with mental or physical disabilities.

Who supports it

Civil liberties groups, immigration advocates and a constellation of criminal justice reform groups, including the California Public Defenders Association. A federal judge has ruled that the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has systematically violated the due process rights of inmates, and continues to ignore a 2015 settlemen between the state and two Pelican Bay State Prison inmates held in solitary confinement for decades based on their perceived gang affiliations.

Who is opposed

The people operating prisons and the Security Housing Units within them. The California Correctional Peace Officers Association wrote in a letter of opposition that forcing violent inmates back into the general prison population will lead to more violence, both to inmates and prison guards. “Inmates who have attempted, or succeeded in, murdering their cellmates would be let right back into the population they pose a risk to.”

Why it matters

Solitary confinement is the Wild West of carceral regulations – there aren’t many rules in place, so prisons set many of their own. Horror stories abound from California and elsewhere of people kept for years in solitary confinement, getting perhaps two hours of time outside their cell a day with little contact with the outside world. The bill would also extend its regulations to private California prisons that house federal inmates or immigration detainees.

Governor’s call

Newsom vetoed the bill on Sept. 29, but directed the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to develop regulations to restrict the use of segregated confinement to “limited situations.”

Court

From Page One

that “we’ve known for some time that the court was headed in a rightward direction, with the only questions being how far and how fast.”

“There’s no reason to think this coming term, or any term in the foreseeable future, will be any different on things that matter most,” Gornstein said. “Get ready for a lot of 6-to-3s.”

Roman Martinez, a Supreme Court litigator at Latham and Watkins, said there’s “a lot of play in the joints” of the cases, as differences between the justices’ approaches could increase or tamp down on the sweep of the opinions.

“With this court in particular, it’s not just who wins or who loses, right versus left, but some of the nuances and the distinctions between the six on the conservative side can really drive a lot of the outcomes,” Martinez said at a Federalist Society event last week.

In the two cases concerning affirmative action, for example, Roberts and other conservatives could decide the case in a limited way, or in a broader way that might cast doubt on other nondiscrimination provisions of civil rights legislation, such as Title VII employment law.

Gornstein and others noted that Roberts has stated a preference for a “color blind” view of the Constitution that may not allow for the challenged policies that consider race in admissions decisions at Harvard and the University of North Carolina.