Leads:
- Businesses have until after the holidays to implement Biden Covid vaccine mandate. The vaccine deadline is now January 4th to match the deadline set for other private companies and health-care providers. The Biden administration is pushing out a new federal rule that also gives employees the option of being tested weekly if they refuse to be vaccinated. The new mandate also demand employers must provide paid time off for workers' shots. All un-vaccinated workers must begin wearing masks by December 5th.
- The Western States Scientific Safety Review Workgroup is giving the thumbs up to Pfizer-BioNTech COVID vaccine for kids ages five to eleven. This after both the FDA and CDC gave their approval in recent days. Washington, Oregon and Nevada joined California's COVID-19 Scientific Safety Review Workgroup last year to provide another layer of review for COVID-19 vaccines as they go through the federal process.
- The City of Oroville is taking matters into its own hands...and has declares itself a Constitutional Republic. In a constitutional republic, executive, legislative, and judicial powers are separated into distinct branches and the will of the majority of the population is modified by protections for individual rights so that no individual or group has absolute power. The resolution will not impact any school mandates, with Councilmember Art Hartley saying, "basically all we're doing is making a political statement...it has absolutely no teeth." Councilmembers liken the ordinance to when cities pass resolutions declaring themselves sanctuary cities.
- California's Treasurer Fiona Ma now has a sizable legal defense fund. Ma faces sexual harassment and a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by Judith Blackwell. Blackwell alleges Ma made unwanted sexual advances when the two shared a hotel room on a business trip and was fired for rejecting her. Legal experts say since Ma is being sued as a private and public individual, it's reasonable for her to get money from private donors. She has currently raised $50,000, $20,000 of which came from two real estate developers in Rancho Cucamonga.
Extra Links:
- World's largest 3D-printed neighborhood to break ground in Texas.
- The Biden administration announced Thursday that its vaccine rules applying to private businesses with 100 or more employees, certain health care workers and federal contractors will take effect January 4.
- Children aged 5-11 can now get the COVID-19 vaccine in California.