Pre-Board Virtual Worksite Meetings Successful. Thank you to all the CAPS members who registered and participated in one of the three Pre-Board Virtual Worksite meetings that were held prior to the August 22 Board of Directors’ Meeting. Over the course of the three meetings, CAPS Board and Staff were able to meet with over 200 CAPS members across the State. 

As noted during the meetings, hosting virtual meetings of this scale was a new undertaking for CAPS. As such, we’d appreciate any feedback about the software and/or format of the meetings. Please send your feedback to caps@capsscientists.org

Board of Directors’ Meeting Recap. This past Saturday, the CAPS Board of Directors hosted the first Virtual Board of Directors’ Meeting, as a result of the novel Coronavirus pandemic. Actions taken by the Board of Directors at the meeting included:

• Approving the Minutes from the February 22, 2020 Board of Directors’ Meeting.
• Approving new CAPS Local Rep Juan Garcia (CDPH – Sacramento).
• Approving CAPS’ endorsement of additional legislative candidates as recommended by the Polical Action Committee (PAC) to the CAPS Board.  A  list of the endorsements can be viewed here.
• Approving CAPS’ endorsement of Scott Bauer for Eureka City Council in 2020.
• Approving CAPS’ endorsement of Proposition 15, the Schools and Communities First Initiative (2020).
• Approving CAPS’ endorsement of Proposition 16, the Repeal Proposition 209 Affirmative Action Amendment (2020).
• Approving CAPS’ endorsement of Proposition 21, the Local Rent Control Initiative (2020).

Additionally, the CAPS Board of Directors discussed additional resources for the membership that will be developed and hosted on the CAPS Website regarding discrimination and harassment in light of the racial equality movement currently underway as related to the workplace. The Board also discussed additional topics of communications to the membership related to your rights to volunteer in precinct elections, support your local communities through mentoring leave, and providing more information to Local Representatives related to the bargaining processes. 

The Board would like to thank the CAPS members who took time out of their busy schedule to attend the meeting.

 Staff Quarterly Report Posted. The Quarter 2 Report detailing representation items of interest is now posted on the Members-Only Section of the CAPS Website here: https://capsscientists.org/members/. The password is Summer2020 – it IS case-sensitive.

JSTOR offers 100 articles for free each month. JSTOR, the digital library for scholars, researchers, and students, has decided to provide free access of up to 100 articles per month until December 31, 2020 as a way to assist during the challenging times brought on by the novel Coronavirus. You can read more about what JSTOR is offering here. 

Census Reminder. CAPS would like to take the opportunity to remind you to fill out the 2020 Census form, if you haven’t already. Your participation helps direct billions of dollars in funds for our communities for health services, emergency response, schools, educational programs, roads, and other vital services.

We can shape our communities and create a more equitable future by completing the simple and confidential nine question survey. The survey is confidential and there is no citizenship question. Take the Census today online (2020census.gov), by phone (844-330-2020) or mail (via the form received). 

News Briefs. 

California’s Data Failures Stymie Efforts to Curb COVID-19 Virus – The failure of California’s infectious disease monitoring system for a stretch of at least 20 days in July and August triggered potentially deadly fallout that continues to reverberate across the state. The fallout has been most severe in heavily populated counties, which rely primarily on a statewide electronic information system to guide their pandemic response. Local health departments couldn’t clearly see where the coronavirus was spreading, dramatically slowing their efforts to track and trace new infections – leading to more death and disease, public health officials said.

See ash falling? Take a picture to help scientists track California wildfires like never before – Radar can tell us exactly where it’s raining the heaviest – sometimes down to the exact neighborhood and street. So why can’t it tell us whether an entire community is on fire? To improve the performance of this powerful tool, scientists are appealing to Bay Area residents to photograph the ash that has fallen on cars, sidewalks, porches, streets and other surfaces, and share that information on Twitter.

California transport companies fined $750,000 for arsenic-contaminated wastewater – Two companies responsible for transporting hazardous waste material for drinking water company Crystal Geyser have been fined $375,000 each for improperly transporting arsenic-contaminated wastewater.