Newsom Delivers Campaign-Like State of the State; Mass Vaccinations for Farmworkers

Newsom delivers State of the State; a pastoral message from U.S. Bishops on COVID-19 anniversary and their response to the passage of American Rescue Act; vaccination clinics for farmworkers; and one of the oldest CA missions gets a restoration grant in this week’s Insights.

 

Gov. Newsom Delivers State of the State Address

In a break from tradition, Governor Newsom delivered his State of the State address this week from an empty Dodger Stadium, where he noted that the 56,000 – seat capacity of the facility reflected the approximate number of Californians who have died of COVID-19 over the last year.

 The Governor also recognized essential workers as he focused on the State’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, spoke about education and bridging student learning and achievement gaps from this school year, connected the state’s wildfires with climate change, which he holds responsible for last year’s record wildfire season.

Newsom touted parts of California’s COVID-19 response, including being the first state to issue stay-at-home orders, building the most comprehensive testing system in the nation, establishing the first-of-its-kind state-run testing lab, and being the first to launch federally sponsored mass vaccination sites, which is now a model now for the other 49 states. He also highlighted the 11 million vaccines the state has already administered, more than any other state.

Delivering the address under the spotlight of a looming recall campaign, the Governor also owned that mistakes have been made during the state’s response.

“For all that we have done well, we have made mistakes. I’ve made mistakes, but we learn from them, I’ve learned from them. Since the pandemic began, uncertainty is about the only thing we were certain of,” he said.

The Governor also talked about his administration’s continued plan to battle homelessness via Projects Room Key and Home Key, which have now housed 35,000 homeless Californians. Last year, Newsom spent his entire State of the State address outlining the state’s plan to combat homelessness.

Education also took center stage in the governor’s address, reiterating his view that now is the time to re-open schools. He spoke of the state’s objective to prioritize education and highlighted the $6.6 billion state funding package that is targeted to address learning loss, provide tutoring, mental health help, and the possibility and flexibility to extend the school year and/or the school day.

Governor Newsom also discussed the issue of climate change and California’s response to the issue. According to Newsom, last’s year’s summer heat dome that settled over the entire West Coast led to historically high temperatures and contributed to the record-setting wildfires the state experienced. In one 24-hour period in August, he shared, 12,000 lightning strikes led to 560 wildfires.

“This year, the state is committing $1 billion dollars to combat climate change’s effects on our forests, including by addressing fire prevention, fire breaks and home hardening,” Newsom said. He also added the state is ramping up its partnership with the Forest Service to meet these goals.

 

USCCB Issues Pastoral Message on Anniversary of COVID-19 Pandemic

As we embark on the one-year mark of COVID-19 altering life as we knew it, the CCC asks for prayer for those souls who have been lost, their grieving family and friends, for essential workers, and for those who have suffered loss and hardship as a result of the pandemic. 

The USCCB issued a statement marking one-year of “sickness, death, mourning, a lack of food, unstable housing, loss of work and income, struggles with education, separation, abuse, isolation, depression, and anxiety. We witnessed racial injustices, the diminishment of the poor and the elderly, and painful divisions in our political life. Yet we know, as the Psalms remind us, that we find comfort in God’s promise that gives us life (Ps 119:50).”

Read the Statement at USCCB.org

 

Catholics Schools Successfully Navigate COVID-19 While Open

While much of the public school system has remained in remote learning platforms this school year, Catholic schools have provided a model for successfully navigating the challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented.

In this L.A. Times article, Jesuit High School in Sacramento is profiled for its ability to remain open with in-person learning without a significant COVID outbreak, while the number of infections climbed to record numbers this past fall and winter.

Congratulations to our Catholic schools for paving the way, and please pray for their continued success.

Read on LATimes.com.

 

Vulnerable but Essential Farmworkers’ Vaccine Clinics Taking Place

Governor Newsom promised this week that 40% of vaccines would go to high-risk populations in the state. Out of care for yourself, your neighbor, and the community-at-large, and with the permission of your healthcare provider, please plan to vaccinate at your earliest convenience.  

Several vaccine clinics are taking place throughout the Central Valley and Central Coast for farmworkers, who have remained essential throughout the pandemic but are suffering from COVID-19 infection rates disproportionately higher than other populations.

Thousands of farmers in the Central Valley are set to be vaccinated at the ‘Forty Acres’ property near Delano over six weekends in March and April. Similar events will be held in Gilroy and Salinas along the Central Coast. 

The Forty Acres site was the first headquarters of the United Farm Workers (UFW) and is closely related to César Chávez.  It now houses a museum as part of the National Park Service.

Click here to read statements from the Vatican, USCCB and the California Catholic Conference on the COVID-19 vaccines.

 

USCCB Response to American Rescue Act

The USCCB released a statement on Wednesday following the passage of the American Rescue Plan Act expressing support for the provisions in the bill that would provide relief to help those in need during the ongoing COVID pandemic, but that is also critical of the bill’s lack of protection for the unborn.

“There are provisions in this bill that will save people from extremely desperate situations and will likely save lives,” the statement reads. “However, it is unconscionable that Congress has passed the bill without critical protections needed to ensure that billions of taxpayer dollars are used for life-affirming health care and not for abortion.”

Read the statement here.

 

Carmel Mission to be Restored with $1.8M Grant

A Catholic group has received a large grant to restore one of the oldest California missions and to provide a place for tourists to examine the state’s religious and cultural history.

In February, Carmel Mission Foundation received a $1,800,000 grant for the Downie Museum and Basilica Forecourt Restoration, which seeks to rejuvenate the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo located in Carmel, CA., about five miles south of Monterey.

The project is scheduled to be completed by the fall in time to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the mission’s establishment. The grant was issued by the Hind Foundation, which provides non-profit organizations with the resources and tools to help restore monumental structures.

Continue Reading at AngelusNews.com

 

 

“#Lent is a journey that involves our whole life, our entire being. It is a time to reconsider the path we are taking, to find the route that leads us home and to rediscover our profound relationship with God, on whom everything depends.”

-@Pontifex

 

 

March 12, 2021
Vol. 14, No. 10

En Español

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