News you don’t want to miss for Sept. 2:
1. Alameda will begin issuing citations to individuals and local businesses who fail to wear a mask or adhere to social distancing protocols, the East Bay Citizen reports. The Alameda City Council approved the ordinance on Tuesday night. City staff said fines starting at $250 for a first offense will hopefully provide a deterrent for repeated violations of the public health order.
2. Following a surge in covid-19 cases in California starting in mid-July, the number of new confirmed cases has steadily dropped to levels not seen since last June, the East Bay Times reports.
3. Distance-learning at Oakland schools has led district administrators to scramble to fix a raft of Information Technology issues, ranging from problems with laptops to WiFi connectivity, KQED reports.
4. In a court filing, attorneys for Alan Strickland, the Alameda County Sheriff’s deputy involved in an altercation with a Toronto Raptors executive at Oracle Arena last year, denies any racial bias in the incident and alleges Masai Ujiri, the Raptors general manager, filed a countersuit in order to capitalize on racial tensions, the Washington Post reports.
5. United Airlines plans to layoff 3,246 employees in the Bay Area, SFGate reports. The entire airlines industry is struggling mightily during the pandemic. United plans to layoff more than 16,000 employees across the country.
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