Wednesday - September 2, 2020

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U M J LI A N

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PERMIT NO. 30 JULIAN, CA

ESTABLISHED

An Independent Weekly Newspaper Serving the Backcountry Communities of Julian, Cuyamaca, Santa Ysabel, Shelter Valley, Mt. Laguna, Ranchita, Canebreak, Sunshine Summit, Warner Springs and Wynola.

Julian News

PO Box 639 Julian, CA 92036

1985

Change Service requested

DATED MATERIAL

The Newspaper of Record.

For the Community, by the Community.

Wednesday

September 2, 2020

Volume 36 — Issue 05

Julian, CA.

ISSN 1937-8416

www.JulianNews.com

Blueprint For Reducing COVID-19 In The State

ESTABLISHED

1870

YEARS

County Looking For In-Person Voting Site Manager Election Worker Specialist $20/hour

The role of a Site Manager is to manage the operations of an in-person voting location for the November Presidential General Election, including the training and supervision of staff while providing excellent service to a diverse voter population. Requirements: The ideal candidate will be a team player, exhibit strong leadership, multitasking and training skills, professionalism, patience, flexibility, and integrity at all times. Site Managers will lead a staff in the operations of a fast-paced voting location using up-to-date election technology. Candidates must represent the Registrar of Voters in a professional/nonpartisan manner. Work Period: Site Managers are required to attend 5 days of a paid training program to learn to train staff on carrying out election processes and assist in the operation of a voting location. From September 28-November 2, Site Managers will work M-F 8am — 5pm and may be required to work in excess of eight hours and some weekend days during peak periods leading up to Election Day. November 3, Election Day, Site Managers are required to work from 5:30am — 10pm. M a n a g e m e n t / Fa c i l i t a t i o n Responsibilities: • Learn and remember important details of election procedures and accurately convey this information to staff • Train election staff adhering to program guidelines • Supervise up to 15 election staff at assigned election facility • Handle and resolve difficult situations in a positive manner • Demonstrate customerservice and line management skills • Communicate effectively with staff, public, and management • Perform daily procedures, policies, and supply responsibilities • Ensure daily sign-in/out of staff • Coordinate facility access with facility contact/management • Direct the setup/teardown of facility supplies and equipment • Exhibit keen attention to detail • Read, write, and speak English (bilingual is a plus) • Use of electronic election equipment/applications (i.e. tablet, laptop, ballot marking device, printers) Professional Behaviors: • Positive attitude • Arrive at all scheduled assignments on time • Accuracy, dependability, and display good judgement • Ability to manage and work well within a diverse team while demonstrating supportive behavior • Ability to provide guidance and give constructive feedback • Willingness to perform other duties as needed and to work a continued on page 3

California has a blueprint for reducing COVID-19 in the state with revised criteria for loosening and tightening restrictions on activities. Every county in California is assigned to a tier based on its rate of new cases and positivity. At a minimum, counties must remain in a tier for at least 3 weeks before moving forward. Data is reviewed weekly and tiers are updated on Tuesdays. To move forward, a county must meet the next tier’s criteria for two consecutive weeks. If a county’s metrics worsen for two consecutive weeks, it will be assigned a more restrictive tier. Public health officials are constantly monitoring data and can step in if necessary. The Blueprint for a Safer Economy replaces the County Data Monitoring List for determining what business can and cannot open. So why change? We learned a lot over the first several months of the pandemic about COVID-19 and how it spreads. For example, we know how much safer outdoor activities are than indoor ones and that it’s critical everyone wears a mask to limit the spread of the disease. This blueprint incorporates what we’ve learned. The Blueprint for a Safer Economy is the next evolution of our response. We’ve revised the criteria and the time between changing tiers. We’ve made it easy for counties to see how changes affect the disease’s trajectory and for businesses and customers to plan ahead. And we’ve given Californians one place to look up whether a business or activity is allowed near them. Schools in the Widespread (purple) tier aren’t permitted to reopen for in-person instruction, unless they receive a waiver from their local health department for TK-6 grades. Schools can reopen for in-person instruction once their county has been in the Substantial (red) tier for at least two weeks. Schools must follow these guidelines when they reopen or if they have to close again. Blueprint recognizes that COVID-19 will be with us for a long time and that we all need to adapt and live differently to get through this New plan imposes risk-based restrictions on sectors across state; expands time between changes. Like every aspect of California’s response, data and science are the North Star, and as a result, this new framework makes a number of changes to the state’s previous resilience roadmap. Californians can go to covid19. ca.gov to find out where their county falls and what activities are allowable in each county. “This Blueprint is statewide, stringent and slow,” said Governor Newsom. “We have made notable progress over recent weeks, but the disease is still too widespread across the state. COVID-19 will be with us for a long time and we all need to adapt. We need to live differently. And we need to minimize exposure for our health, for our families and for our communities.” The Blueprint builds on lessons learned from the first six months of the disease – and the new scientific understanding that has been collected – to create a new system for regulating movement and COVID-19 transmissions. It includes: • At least 21 days to expand activities beyond the initial tier to ensure California better limits the spread of the virus;

• Mandatory metrics – case rates and test positivity – to measure how widespread COVID-19 is in each county and guide what is allowed; • A uniform state framework, with four categories instead of 58 different sets of rules; • A more nuanced way of allowing activity: Instead of open vs. closed, sectors can be partially opened and progressively add to their operations as disease transmission decreases; • A new process for tightening back up again quickly when conditions worsen. Based on recent data, each county will fall into one of four colored tiers – Purple (Widespread), Red (Substantial), Orange (Moderate) and Yellow (Minimal) – based on how prevalent COVID-19 is in each county and the extent of community spread. That color will indicate how sectors can operate. For example, in the Purple (Widespread) tier where

the disease is widespread, restaurants can only operate outdoors. But once a county has achieved a lower level of disease transmission and moved into the Red (Substantial) tier, restaurants can operate with 25 percent capacity indoors or 100 patrons, whichever is fewer. It relies on two leading health metrics: number of cases per 100,000 residents and percentage of COVID-19 tests that come back positive. In addition, counties will also be required to show they are targeting resources and making the greatest efforts to prevent and fight COVID in communities and with individuals with the highest risk, and demonstrate improvements in outcomes. Counties must remain in every tier but purple for a minimum of 21 days before being eligible to move into the next tier. Each Tuesday, California will update each county’s data for the previous week and make corresponding changes to tiers.

In order to move into a less restrictive tier, a county must meet that tier’s criteria for two straight weeks. Conversely, counties that fail to meet the metrics for their current tier for two consecutive weeks must move to the next most restrictive tier. The plan also includes an “emergency brake” where the state can intervene more immediately for concerning factors like hospitalizations. Purple (Widespread) is substituted for the previous County Data Monitoring List (which has equivalent criteria to Purple). Schools in the (Purple) Widespread tier aren’t permitted to reopen for in-person instruction, unless they receive a waiver from their local health department for TK-6 grades. Schools can reopen for in-person instruction once their county has been in the Red (Substantial) tier for at least two weeks. The plan also emphasizes that no matter what restrictions the state puts in place, COVID-19 will

get the upper hand if Californians don’t adapt their behaviors for the duration of the pandemic. That means, until an effective vaccine is distributed, Californians must wear a mask every time they’re with people outside their household. Residents must take activities outside and maintain distance even with loved ones who do not live with them. Californians must realize that the safest place to be is still at home. And the elderly and those with medical conditions should still stay away from others as much as possible. The Governor on Friday also announced new PSAs highlighting the dangers of social gatherings during the pandemic and partnerships with Yelp, Facebook, Google and OpenTable, which will now encourage businesses to share COVID-19 safety precautions through new features so that customers can make informed decisions to protect their health and safety.

Couinty Seeks Your Input on Fixing Up the Neighborhood

by Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office

The County is asking residents and nonprofits working in the unincorporated areas for ideas on how to improve their communities. Those ideas may qualify for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. The federal entitlement grant program provides annual grants to states, cities and counties. Applications for County CDBG funds are being accepted now through Dec. 1. In past years, the funds were used to improve local youth and senior centers, parks, streets, drainage systems, accessibility issues and fire facilities. Proposed projects must benefit lowand moderate-income residents, align with the County’s Consolidated Plan and support the goals of: • Increasing the availability of affordable, supportive and livable housing; • Improving the quality, safety, accessibility and walkability of communities; or • Increasing and maintaining accessible, available and supportive homeless shelters and services. The County will be hosting

For more information, contact Marco De La Toba at (858) 6948724 or Marco.DeLaToba@ sdcounty.ca.gov or Freddy Villafan at (858) 694-8747 or Fr e d d y.V i l l a f a n @ s d c o u n t y. ca.gov. People who are hearing impaired may call (866) 9452207.

three virtual community forum sessions for feedback on how best to use CDBG dollars. Due to current public health orders, the Annual Plan Community Forums will be hosted on the WebEx platform.<www. webex.com> They will take place at: 10:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 31 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 2 Instructions and details on how to join each session are available online at SDHCD.org. The meetings will also provide general information about the following programs:

HOME Investment Partnerships and CDBG Affordable Housing Programs: These programs fund affordable housing opportunities such as the County’s First-Time Homebuyer Program. Emergency Solutions Grants: These funds are for improving the quality and number of emergency shelters and transitional facilities for the homeless, and to prevent at-risk families or individuals from becoming homeless. Housing Opportunities for Persons with HIV/AIDS: The funds are for affordable housing and services for low-income households living with HIV or AIDS.

BE KIND TO HUMANKIND WEEK

Show your support for your fellow man.

Traps in Yards Help County Watch for Invasive Pests

Insect detection specialists for County Agriculture, Weights and Measures help guard the region against potentially devastating pests. They vigilantly set and check traps for many insects, including Gypsy moths and Japanese beetles in summer months. Neither of the insects has made it to San Diego County yet, but the pest detectors are keeping close watch to prevent an infestation. One important tool is putting traps in residents’ yards. If you continued on page 3 ESTABLISHED

1870

YEARS


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