Updating . .   

Role of extremist groups at California lockdown protests raises alarms -- In California and across the country, lockdown protests have drawn a melting pot of participants, including peaceful activists such as the DeBows and militias such as the Boogaloo Boys, who have credos that call for civil war, said Brian Levin, professor of criminal justice and director of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino. Anita Chabria in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/20

California Gov. Newsom picks longtime dining hot spot to announce restaurant policy -- Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t pick just any restaurant to announce that the state was preparing to allow dine-in restaurants and offices to reopen in some counties — he picked Mustards Grill in Napa Valley. Phil Matier in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/20

With masks, temperature checks and anxiety, California’s retail economy gingerly reopens -- Linda Sims tucked into a booth across from her husband Anson Saturday in the back of the Busy Bee Café in downtown Ventura. Her first decision took some judgment: entering a restaurant for the first time since the coronavirus stay-at-home order was imposed. The second decision was easier: getting the pancakes. Kevin Baxter, Alex Wigglesworth, Sonali Kohli in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/20

As reopening begins, will San Diego’s brick-and-mortar retail recover from COVID’s blow? -- San Diego retailers are reopening their doors just as Memorial Day arrives. But even the beautiful weather and extra time off may not bring stores the traffic of years past, as shops attempt to shake off the tremors running through the retail industry. Brittany Meiling in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/24/20

Pandemic a boon for the bicycle as thousands snap them up -- Joel Johnson hadn’t owned a bicycle since he was 15, but the pandemic changed all that. Johnson first bought a multipurpose bike to avoid the germs on crowded buses and trains but then discovered a passion for pedaling around San Francisco, where some streets are now closed to traffic. Olga R. Rodriguez Associated Press -- 5/24/20

New-look Santa Anita cashes winning ticket as racing returns -- Horses are thundering down the stretch again at Santa Anita. There are no fans or owners cheering them on. No photos in the winner’s circle. No bets placed at the track’s windows. Beth Harris Associated Press -- 5/24/20

How coronavirus has upended life for thousands at California’s largest apartment complex -- Nowhere in Los Angeles are the logistical, financial and health complications of the coronavirus outbreak on greater display than at Park La Brea — the largest housing complex west of the Mississippi River. The post-World War II landmark on the Miracle Mile is home to a small town’s worth of people living in 4,245 high-rise and garden-style apartments on 160 acres. Liam Dillon in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/20

As small L.A. retailers await coronavirus reopening, the landscape is bleak -- For small-business owners, the steps toward opening their doors again after coronavirus lockdowns are welcome — but far from easy. Ronald D. White in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/20

 

California Policy & Politics Sunday Morning  

Density, poverty keep Los Angeles struggling against virus -- The nation’s most populous county is not planning to reopen more widely until the next summer holiday, July 4th, because it has a disproportionately large share of the state’s coronavirus cases and can’t meet even new, relaxed state standards for allowing additional businesses and recreational activities. Brian Melley Associated Press Soumya Karlamangla in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/20

L.A. County reports progress in coronavirus fight as hospitalizations drop, fewer people test positive -- Los Angeles County public health officials Saturday announced 1,032 new cases of the coronavirus and 41 related deaths but also revealed encouraging signs of progress in slowing the virus’s spread. Alex Wigglesworth, Sonali Kohli in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/20

New cases spike in San Mateo, Contra Costa counties -- As state-wide data showed 90,000 people across California have tested positive for coronavirus, new confirmed infections in San Mateo and Contra Costa counties jumped significantly Saturday over recent daily averages, health officials reported. Ethan Baron in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/24/20

California recommends testing all residents and staff at nursing homes -- The new guidelines, made public Friday evening, are meant to address what many see as a failure to react quickly to COVID-19, which has taken a heavy toll on nursing homes. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/20

Amid coronavirus crisis, L.A. County may create an inspector general to oversee nursing homes -- Los Angeles County officials will consider on Tuesday whether to appoint an inspector general to oversee nursing homes, a new position that would bring “much-needed accountability” to the epicenter of the county’s COVID-19 crisis, according to a motion filed this week. Jaclyn Cosgrove in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/20

Surge of coronavirus cases in Santa Cruz tied to family gatherings -- Public health officials in Santa Cruz are investigating four discrete clusters of COVID-19 infections, all associated with family gatherings, including a multigenerational Mother’s Day celebration. Rachel Swan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/20

More coronavirus cases tied to churches in Mendocino, Butte counties as California prepares to ease religious closures -- In a video update Friday, Mendocino County health officer Dr. Noemi Doohan said the county’s six most recent confirmed cases were all connected to an outbreak at Redwood Valley Assembly of God. Lauren Hernández and Kate Galbraith in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/20

California’s remote getaways anxious about summer visits -- As California begins to emerge from its economic coma, rural counties that depend on summer tourists are anxiously bracing for what comes next. Many in the state’s popular weekend destinations worry that the unprecedented halt of travel could give way to a deluge of coronavirus-carrying arrivals. Others say economic relief can’t come soon enough. Gregory Thomas in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/20

Knight: Summertime, and the living’s uneasy? Doctors tell us what’s OK, what to put off till another day -- I now know all there is to know about safely operating a flea market, a chartered fishing boat and a curbside retail operation. I know it’s OK to explore rock pools, meditate outdoors and go sculling (even though I barely know what sculling is). I know I could get busted, however, for playing lacrosse, bocce ball or cricket. Bummer. Heather Knight in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/20

Farmer John plant in Vernon faces coronavirus outbreak -- More than 100 workers at the Farmer John plant in Vernon have contracted the coronavirus in an outbreak plaguing the facility that produces the Dodger Dog. Thus far, 116 workers at the Smithfield-owned meat-processing plant have tested positive, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. Jaclyn Cosgrove in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/20

California DMV issues another extension for expiring licenses, driving permits -- The new extensions will allow most drivers with licenses expiring from March to July to stay on the road until July 31. Those 70 and older are being given another 120-day extension if their license expires in June or July, while March expirations can be pushed back to July 31. Vincent Moleski in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/24/20

Policy & Politics 

Willie Brown: Joe Biden’s winning strategy: Shelter in the basement and let Trump beat himself -- Joe Biden’s people called to tell me that the former vice president is leading President Trump by 11 points on average in the key states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Michigan. Willie Brown in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/20

Walters: How long will one-man rule last? -- For the past decade, California has been a case study in one-party rule. Democrats hold every statewide office and enjoy overwhelming majorities in the congressional delegation and both legislative houses. Republicans, due largely to their own failures, are irrelevant. Dan Walters Calmatters -- 5/24/20

Unemployed  

Finding answers to questions about unemployment in California is a job in itself -- With the state unemployment rate shooting up above 15%, it’s not surprising that readers seem to have endless questions about jobless benefits, especially the new federally funded Pandemic Unemployment Assistance for self-employed and other people not eligible for regular state unemployment insurance. Kathleen Pender in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/20

Education 

UC San Diego begins ‘audacious’ coronavirus testing program in hopes of resuming in-person classes in fall -- As colleges across the country grapple with rampant uncertainty about how to conduct classes this fall, UC San Diego officials are taking a more proactive approach. They’re diving into coronavirus testing with uncommon vigor. Now. Ron Kroichick in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/20

Food Needs  

600 people get food from pop-up food pantry in Giants’ parking lot -- The San Francisco-Marin Food Bank set up its first Mission Bay walk-up, pop-up food pantry in the shadows of a place where pop-up usually means something else. Michael Cabanatuan in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/20

Front Lines  

Clorox’s coronavirus challenge: 500% demand spikes and nonstop manufacturing -- The cleaning supplies maker, founded in Oakland in 1913, saw record shipments of disinfecting wipes, sprays and bathroom cleaners in the first three months of 2020. Net cleaning product sales spiked 32% to $671 million in that period compared with 2019. As U.S. shutdown orders began in March, demand surged 500% for some products, which have been consistently sold out at stores. Roland Li in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/20

Reopen     

A cautious — yet hopeful — kick off to San Diego’s unofficial start to summer -- The beaches, usually packed with throngs of sun-seeking tourists, were instead playgrounds for quarantine-weary locals. Restaurants and shops were similarly sparse, but bolstered by a thin stream of patrons ready for a dose of normalcy. The relative quiet might have been otherwise disconcerting, but many people saw hope and comfort in the familiar — however small. Karen Pearlman, Morgan Cook in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/24/20

As Sacramento Restaurants Reopen, Diners And Staff Feel Out New Rules -- Midtown restaurants had taken a range of precautions Saturday to reduce the chance of infection, from asking guests to use hand sanitizer upon entry to posting an employee outside for crowd control. At Ruhstaller, a bar near the arena, servers are using five-foot styrofoam pool noodles to push patrons back away from the counter. Sammy Caiola Capital Public Radio -- 5/24/20

Too soon? Packed patios, no symptom checks as Sacramento restaurants reopen for service -- More broadly, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office released a 12-page, 99-point state list of safety measures restaurants are advised or required to follow as restaurants began opening in other counties earlier this month. For all the 12-page document’s directives and “musts,” Sacramento County restaurants are not facing as much oversight as they did before the pandemic. Even routine health inspections were replaced by check-in phone calls at the start of the shelter-in-place order. Benjy Egel, Darrell Smith, and Rosalio Ahumada in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/24/20

In rural California community, officials slow reopening -- Humboldt County on California’s North Coast was among the first in the state to get the governor’s green light to open up restaurants and stores after a two-month statewide coronavirus lockdown. Olga R. Rodriguez and Amy Taxin Associated Press -- 5/24/20

California wineries slowly begin to reopen tasting rooms, but in altered state -- If you were at Holly’s Hill Vineyards when it first reopened last weekend, you might, for a moment, have forgotten about the coronavirus altogether. Esther Mobley in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/20

Pinnacles National Park reopens, but with some restrictions -- Pinnacles National Park, a 26,000-acre landmark south of Hollister renowned for its towering rock formations, dark caves and California condors, has reopened after being mostly closed for two months in the coronavirus pandemic. Paul Rogers in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/24/20

Orange County cleared to reopen more businesses amid coronavirus restrictions -- Orange County has been approved by the state to mount a more aggressive reopening of local businesses, officials announced Saturday. The county joins 45 others that have been cleared to resume in-restaurant dining and in-store shopping. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/20

Reopen Economy    

Lives or livelihoods? Bay Area seeks balance in reopening economy -- As America lurches toward reopening after weeks of coronavirus-related shutdowns that ravaged the economy, some people, including political leaders, frame the situation in binary terms: It’s a choice between lives and livelihoods — grandma’s health or Wall Street’s wealth. But the real-time, high-stakes experiment now under way is far more complex, a calculus with innumerable variables. Carolyn Said in the San Francisco Chronicle$ -- 5/24/20

California just made it easier for bars, wineries, distilleries to offer to-go drinks -- Bars, wineries, distilleries and breweries that don’t have their own kitchens can sell alcoholic drinks to go, as long as they partner with a meal provider to offer the drinks with food, the state Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control announced Friday night. Drinks must also be sold in sealed containers. Alex Wigglesworth in the Los Angeles Times$ Vincent Moleski in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/24/20

New Normal Economy  

They’ve survived earthquakes and Prohibition, but can Bay Area bars survive coronavirus? -- Heinold’s First and Last Chance Saloon has only closed twice since 1884, once when the 1906 earthquake leveled much of the Bay Area, and in 1929 when then-owner Johnny Heinold had surgery. Leonardo Castañeda, Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/24/20

Pancakes, face masks, temperature checks: Ventura County restaurants reopen to customers, concerns -- The door was open although the restaurant was technically closed late Saturday morning when the first group of curious customers filed into Nature’s Grill, Thomas Larsen’s storefront cafe. “We open at 11,” Larsen whispered with a shrug, a cloth face covering hiding a smile as he glanced at his watch. It read 10:55. Kevin Baxter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/20

The Protesters  

Hundreds protest in Sacramento against stay-at-home order -- Hundreds of protesters rallied outside the state Capitol on Saturday to protest against California’s stay-at-home orders even as residents entered the Memorial Day weekend with newly expanded options for beachgoing, barbecuing and shopping. Cuneyt Dil Associated Press -- 5/24/20

Court upholds Newsom’s coronavirus ban on in-person church services in California -- The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ban on in-person church services, in a split ruling that landed Friday night and is likely to further anger pastors who claim that California is trampling on religious freedoms. Sonali Kohli, Matthew Ormseth in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/24/20

POTUS 45  

Trump opts for a 2016 disruption strategy that Democrats say is ill-suited for a pandemic -- Flush with record amounts of cash and a massive organization, President Trump and his allies had planned to spend the spring unleashing a torrent of withering attacks against Joe Biden in an attempt to define him in the eyes of voters before the former vice president could do so himself. Toluse Olorunnipa and Ashley Parker in the Washington Post$ -- 5/24/20

Beltway   

How the Trump Effect Could Lift Democratic Senate Candidates -- The G.O.P. has tightened its ranks; its reliable voters, hovering at around 40 percent of the electorate, tend to approve of almost anything President Trump does. Yet throughout his term, from the 2017 battles over health care and tax cuts to his impeachment and subsequent acquittal early this year, very few people from outside the party have been coming aboard. Giovanni Russonello in the New York Times$ -- 5/24/20

 

-- Saturday Updates   

More than 90,000 Californians test positive for coronavirus -- The number of coronavirus infections in California surpassed 90,000 on Friday, even as Gov. Gavin Newsom promised to reveal yet another set of guidelines early next week to slowly reopen the state. At the same time, California counties reported a drop in new COVID-19 deaths. Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/23/20

California state unions have three weeks to negotiate pay cuts. Can they avoid furloughs? -- The administration has given the unions a June 12 deadline to reach deals that will reduce state workers’ compensation by 10 percent, according to several of the unions. That’s three days before the state’s deadline to pass a budget that will address a projected $54 billion deficit. Wes Venteicher in the Sacramento Bee$ -- 5/23/20

Memorial Day brings heat and warnings on outings amid coronavirus in Southern California -- With a heat wave in the forecast, Memorial Day weekend is going to pose a challenge in the fight against the coronavirus. Alex Wigglesworth, Colleen Shalby, Hannah Fry, Luke Money in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/20

Four-alarm fire consumes warehouse at Pier 45 at Fisherman’s Wharf -- Flames from the blaze shot more than 40 feet in air and billows of black smoke shrouded the waterfront as 150 firefighters with 50 trucks and other pieces ßof equipment fought the fire on Pier 45, next to the SS Jeremiah O’Brien, the last of the World War II liberty ships. Steve Rubenstein and Ron Kroichick in the San Francisco Chronicle$ Marisa Kendall in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/23/20

California elections officials suggest schools as voting sites for social distancing -- Elections officials across California, seeking a way to offer in-person voting in November with strict coronavirus protections, are urging lawmakers to close schools and allow campus gyms and auditoriums to be used in the days leading up to and including election day. John Myers in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/20

As coronavirus stay-at-home restrictions ease, California casinos gamble on reopening -- Michael L. Fennell says he has spent a good portion of his 70 years gambling, so he knows the difference between a long shot and a sure bet. And he admits his decision to step inside a casino during a global pandemic was a bit of a gamble. Kevin Baxter in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/20

County makes an example of Pacific Beach bar as Memorial Day weekend arrives -- Consequences were swift Friday for El Prez, a Pacific Beach bar and restaurant that blew up social media after patrons posted videos featuring crowds of people drinking, often maskless and far closer to each other than the 6-foot standard set for restaurants under newly-approved reopening guidelines. Lyndsay Winkley, Paul Sisson in the San Diego Union-Tribune$ -- 5/23/20

California’s coronavirus testing ground: Is this the kind of place that’s ready to reopen for business? -- There was a huge outbreak this month at the local meat-packing plant in this Central Valley community that’s home to miles of sprawling dairies and cattle farms. The number of coronavirus cases has continued to surge over the past week, and COVID-19 patients at the county’s hospitals have been climbing all month long. Does Kings County sound like the kind of place that’s ready to reopen for business? John Woolfolk, Emily DeRuy in the San Jose Mercury$ -- 5/23/20

Marin’s health officer developed antibodies. He’s now in a unique spot to fight coronavirus -- Dr. Matt Willis holds the dubious distinction of being one of the only California public health officers known to have come down with COVID-19. Susanne Rust in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/20

Lopez: Column: First one death in the family, then another, and the toll kept mounting for Inglewood couple -- The first death from COVID-19 came toward the end of the first week of May, and that alone was hard enough to deal with. The came another death in the family, and another, and another. Steve Lopez in the Los Angeles Times$ -- 5/23/20

One final viral infusion: Trump’s move to block travel from Europe triggered chaos and a surge of passengers from the outbreak’s center -- Across the Atlantic, Jack Siebert, an American college student spending a semester in Spain, was battling raging headaches, shortness of breath and fevers that touched 104 degrees. Concerned about his condition for travel but alarmed by the president’s announcement, his parents scrambled to book a flight home for their son — an impulse shared by thousands of Americans who rushed to get flights out of Europe. Greg Miller, Josh Dawsey and Aaron C. Davis in the Washington Post$ -- 5/23/20