Pre-Board Virtual Worksite Meetings Successful. Thank you to all the CAPS Members who registered and participated in any of the Pre-Board Virtual Worksite meetings that were held ahead of the February 20th Board of Directors’ Meeting. Over the course of the meetings, your CAPS Board and staff members were able to virtually meet with CAPS Members across the State.

Board of Directors’ Meeting Recap.  The quarterly CAPS Board of Directors’ Meeting was held last Saturday, February 20, 2021, via Zoom. Actions undertaken by the Board of Directors included:

• Approving the Minutes of the November 7, 2020 Board Meeting.
• Approving updates to Article III, Sections 2 and 4 and 5, of the CAPS Bylaws to allow for methods other than US Mail for balloting.
• Approving the CAPS PAC Long Range Plan for the 2021-22 election cycle.
• Approving CAPS’ endorsement of David Miller’s (Sr. ES [Spec], DTSC – Sacramento) reelection to the CalPERS Board in 2021.
• Approving CAPS’ endorsement of Sydney Kamlager for Senate District 30 in the 2021 Special Election.
• Approving CAPS’ endorsement of Dr. Dawnte Early (Research Scientist [Sup] II, MHSOAC – Sacramento) for West Sacramento City Council.

Additionally, the Board of Directors discussed setting goals for the remainder of the Board Term, and adopted a new goal-setting system.

Staff Quarterly Report Posted. The Quarter 4 Report (October – December 2020), detailing representation items of interest is now posted on the Members-Only Section of the CAPS Website here. The password is Winter2020 – 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 June 30, 2021 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.

News Briefs. 

State health department launches PSA that encourages vaccinations – San Mateo Daily Journal The California Department of Public Health released a pair of public service announcements Monday intended to underscore the importance of getting the coronavirus vaccine.  The PSAs feature mothers longing for physical connections like hugging loved ones that have been discouraged during the pandemic. The ads close with the message “love means getting vaccinated.”

Treasure Island cleanup concerns persist as development proceeds – San Francisco Examiner Efforts to get an update on the cleanup of toxic materials on Treasure Island were hampered after the U.S. Navy declined to attend a hearing at Monday’s San Francisco Board of Supervisors’ Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting. Supervisor Matt Haney, whose supervisorial district includes the island, initially called the hearing, bringing out a bevy of local and state agencies, whistleblowers, environmental advocates and Treasure Island residents.

Data issues thwart California’s COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts – Napa Valley Register / Los Angeles Times Omitted doses, uploading errors, lag times and software mishaps.  California’s vaccine rollout has been plagued by data issues, leaving the state unable to keep track of how many doses of the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine are available at any one time.  Now county officials say they are worried the data accuracy issues will cause future allotments to be curtailed based on flawed conclusions from faulty figures.

In Review. Check out what you may have missed from past CAPS Updates here:

February 18, 2021. CAPS Science Fair Program. Science Fair season has kicked off. CAPS typically has a Science Fair Program at 15 different California Science Fairs where a Special Award is provided to students with outstanding science projects. CAPS members are the judges of this special award. This year, CAPS has decided to offer the CAPS Science Achievement Award at Fairs that decide to go virtual, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Are you looking for a way to inspire the next generation of scientists? Want to earn Mentoring Leave? Contact CAPS (caps@capsscientists.org) and let us know that you’d like to participate as a judge at a regional Fair. We’ll respond with available slots!

Read the rest of the entries, or see what else you may have missed on the CAPS Website here: https://capsscientists.org/supervisors/. The password is S10CAPS – it IS case-sensitive.

Choose Unity. Choose Strength. Choose CAPS!